If you were one of the bazillion people who watched the international smash hit, Top Gun, when it came out back in 1986, you were likely rocked to the core by the sensational, bombastic Kenny Loggins theme song, "Danger Zone".
And perhaps, after leaving the theater, you may have rushed out to your local record store to buy the 7" single of the song on vinyl.
Now... if I asked you what the B-side to the "Danger Zone" single is, would you guess "Playing With the Boys" from the film's iconic volleyball scene?
If so, you would be wrong.
While "Playing With the Boys" (and its accompanying scene) is amazing in its own right, the song you would have actually found on Side B was "I'm Gonna Do It Right" from Loggins' 1985 album, Vox Humana.
Vox Humana was Loggins' fifth album, and was his first album following his wildly successful title track to the 1984 Kevin Bacon movie, Footloose.
For many critics, Vox Humana was a big disappointment. Loggins was at the height of his musical powers in the mid-80s and decided to make the leap of faith from acoustic guitar-wielding Yacht Rocker to the dangerous zone of overproduced, synthesized pop rock.
The album also had to follow High Adventure, Loggins' most commercially-successful album, which featured the singles, "Heart to Heart", "Heartlight", and the Grammy-nominated Steve Perry duet, "Don't Fight It".
By comparison, Vox Humana fell flat, despite Gold-certified sales numbers and ballad single, "Forever".
But if you slept on Vox Humana or forgot to flip your "Danger Zone" single over, you may have missed out on "I'm Gonna Do It Right" -- a funktastic track featuring none other than the legendary Pointer Sisters on backup vocals and Sheila E. on percussion.
It is easily one of the most uptempo dance tracks in Loggins' deep songbook, and I'm sad to say I'd never heard it until this week because it's a real club banger. As a child of the '80s, I couldn't help but love it right away. Give it a spin in the player below, and get ready to cut. foot. loose.
Postscript: Fellow blogger, Steve, and I once attended a Kenny Loggins concert at a local casino roughly a decade ago. I went in expecting a routine run through of the hits (for which Loggins has MANY), but what I was not expecting was the exuberance and showmanship he had for performing and he belted out 30+ year old songs with the enthusiasm of a young man who'd just recorded them rather than someone who had played them thousands of times. It was a great show!
One of my favorite aspects of Hip Hop music is discovering the musical legacy behind the singles. I love it when I stumble across an old tune and instantly recognize it from its use in a more-famous rap song. I've found a lot of great music this way over the years.
Many of the Hip Hop genre's biggest hits have sampled from Jazz, Funk, R&B and Rock songs, and from the earliest days of the rap scene, artists would dig through crates of old records for inspiration. Sometimes just a few seconds from a dusty old album would speak to an artist enough to sample, loop and rhyme over.
For many young artists without the means for expensive musical equipment, two turntables and a microphone (cue Beck) were enough to create unique, original music.
Just last week, I was having a conversation about samples with a coworker and asked him if he'd ever listened to Bernard Wright's album, 'NARD, because a couple of the album's tracks have been prominently featured in some of Hip Hop's greatest hits.
He was unfamiliar, and realizing I didn't actually own it myself, I promptly ordered myself a copy of the LP on Discogs. I've been happily spinning it since and that brings me to today's post...
'Nard is the near definition of a forgotten gem.
Bernard Wright was born in Jamaica, Queens in 1963--the son of the legendary Roberta "Killing Me Softly" Flack. A prodigal young jazz/funk keyboardist, Wright began touring with jazz drummer Lenny White when he was only 13-years-old.
Wright's debut album, 'Nard, was recorded when he was just 16 and released in 1981. While the album didn't gain as much momentum as it deserved, it did make it to #7 on the Billboard Jazz charts, and the single, "Just Chillin' Out", made the charts for both US R&B and Dance that year.
But here we are, 40 years later, and the album still holds up.
From the wacky, funked-out roller coaster trip of "Haboglabotribin'" to the beautiful piano rendition of Miles Davis' "Solar" concluding the album, 'Nard is a musical joy ride.
Wright's commercial career peaked a few short years later with the single "Who Do You Love?" (which was later the base for LL Cool J's hit single, "Loungin").
But back to 'Nard...
If you've ever heard the song "Gz & Hustlas" from Snoop Doggy Dogg's 1993 breakout masterpiece, Doggystyle, you'll instantly recognize Bernard Wright's connection when you hear "Haboglabotribin'".
A few years after Snoop, 2Pac sampled the same song on "Lie to Kick It" from his album, R U Still Down?
The song's music box intro transitioning to full on, bass-slappin' funk was a major player in the memorable Snoop anthem. Wright's amusement park raps and tweaked vocals throughout the song feel like a lost track from George Clinton. It's goofy and weird, but funky as all get out.
Speaking of slap bass, the album's next track, "Spinnin'" is even more impressive -- highlighting Wright's keyboard skills and a tight horn section bringing to mind Earth, Wind & Fire or Kool & the Gang.
Around the 1:25 mark, the song suddenly switches gears to a laid back vibe. That :15 seconds of chill was later sampled on the self-deprecating megahit 1995 song, "I Wish" by Skee-Lo.
Check out Bernard Wright's "Spinnin'" in the YouTube clip below, and then watch Skee-Lo's classic music video to hear the sample.
The whole 'Nard album is worth checking out if you haven't heard it, and used copies of the out-of-print LP aren't difficult or expensive to find online. Enjoy!
(The sampled clip on "Spinnin'" first appears at 1:25)
Lighter and fluffier than their grunge counterparts, School of Fish delivered the power pop-tastic '3 Strange Days' in 1991. And unlike their alternative rock contemporaries who were digging deep into the songbook of punk, School of Fish reached all the way back to Woodstock, implementing psychedelic guitar licks and power hooks.
After '3 Strange Days,' School of Fish faded from the radar. Tragically, singer Josh Clayton-Felt died of cancer in 2000 at the age of 32.
On the heels of her breakthrough Exile in Guyville, Liz Phair released follow-up Whip-Smart just a year later. 'Supernova' was the sophomore album's flagship single, but it oozed of perfunctory pop hooks and formulaic production value when compared to the Exile collective.
Nevertheless, for as much as 'Supernova' seemed to mimic the alternative radio shtick of the time, it sounds refreshingly underground by today's standards. Modern "Alternative" often sounds too polished, and modern "Indie" often gets lost in its own digital abstraction. 'Supernova,' on the other hand, is a back-to-basics ode to garage punk and songwriting. It stands on its own merits. And for that, I find 'Supernova' quite endearing.
Check out the video to 'Supernova' below. (Try not to laugh too hard at all the nineties tropes):
The Archers of Loaf may not have garnered the same level of indie-rock stardom as many of their early-'90s counterparts, but that didn't stop the influential Chapel Hill, NC band from making a lot of noise.
With a sound as angular and pop-centric as Pavement, but owing equal credit to the pure noise of Sonic Youth and the raw energy of the Pixies, the Archers strutted the line between melody and discordance like few of their contemporaries.
While the band's 1993 debut, Icky Mettle could still be considered their best and most important album, I have an affinity for their follow-up, Vee Vee. On Vee Vee, the band plowed straight ahead with such a genuine lack of restraint that songs come off as contorted and misshapen, yet strangely and perfectly balanced. "Harnessed in Slums" is a great example of the group's ethos, and an often overlooked indie-rock gem.
Watch the video for Archers of Loaf's joyfully raucus, "Harnessed in Slums" below:
Truer words couldn't have described this laid back West Coast hip-hop track by Souls of Mischief. Eighteen years later, that chillness lives on.
Acclaimed as one of the seminal classics of the West Coast underground rap movement, the album 93 'Til Infinity is considered somewhat of a forgotten masterpiece. Music critic Steve Huey even referred to it as "...one of the most slept-on records of the '90s"
The album's title track gained S.O.M. some attention upon its release, sampling Billy Cobham's "Heather" and incorporating smoothed out jazz and funk aethetics and breaks. Souls of Mischief's lyrical complexity, charisma and tight group dynamic are evident on this underappreciated release.
Watch the video to Souls of Mischief's "93 'Til Infinity" below:
By the time Simply Red released its hit 1991 album, Stars, it had already been around for half a dozen years - building success through tracks like 'Holding Back the Years' (1985) and 'If You Don't Know Me By Now' (1989).
However, it was Stars' opening track, 'Something Got Me Started,' that got me started listening to Simply Red.
The song's dance grooves and jazzy keyboards were a pleasant shift from the group's easier-listening, soul-pop leanings. The album as a whole was funkier than the group's previous three offererings. While the album's title track went on to become the bigger single, 'Something Got Me Started' still deserves recognition for its pure clubability.
To start your own 90s dance party, click the song below:
If the name Babylon Zoo sounds familiar, you might recall a certain Levi's commercial from 1996 which featured a chipmunked Sci-fi dance track.
The song was called 'Spaceman,' and the success of the advertisement sent it rocketing to the #1 spot in England - where it sold a million copies and still ranks among the fastest selling debut singles in history. Surprisingly, not too many people remember the band for all of its one-hit wonder status.
Babylon Zoo, a.k.a. Jas Mann, had recorded 'Spaceman' in its original industrial-glam style, but it wasn't until after the single had been remixed to warp speed by producer Arthur Baker that people began to really take notice. Levi's contacted the band about using the remix for a new jeans ad, and eventually came to an agreement. The band then rereleased the single, adding the famously sped-up introduction, and it soared from there.
I'm sure many who bought the single were disappointed to find that the "chipmunk song" was merely a small portion of the actual track. When compared to the high-octane intro, the rest of the song's tempo simply crashes.
I played 'Spaceman' repeatedly in the mid-90s, but eventually shelved it once the initial novelty wore off. However, upon recently rediscovering it in my collection, I must admit I've had a tough time keeping the song out of my rotation.
'Spaceman' goes from 100 to zero, and then slowly trudges it's way back up to the point of rocking out again. The dynamic shifts throughout this extraterrestrial single have always managed to pique my curiosity.
We've all experienced the feeling of turning on the radio and hearing a song that we've long-since forgotten about - a song that instantly takes us back. Today at work, in the midst of completing one of my many redeeming tasks, I heard the faint humming of a song that caused me to drop everything for a moment. I felt like I'd been sucked into a time warp, asking myself "Is it 1993?" I made a mental note, and soon after getting home, did an online lyrics search for the only line of the song that I could remember. The result was 'Sleeping Satellite' by Tasmin Archer. Upon further audio confirmation, and a half dozen listens, I have decided to share my enthusiasm.
Tasmin Archer's debut came in 1993, with her album Great Expectations. The soul singer's leading single, 'Sleeping Satellite', gained her wide-spread attention in her U.K. homelands, and made the charts in the U.S. and other parts of Europe.
Echoes of electronics open the track, cascading into heartfelt vocals accompanied by acoustic guitar strummings. It doesn't take long before the drums and piano make their appearance, and further build to make room for the bass. The song relies heavily on the chorus lines, however it avoids repetition by continuing to make small changes in its form, such as allowing the piano to turn into an organ, and bits of electric guitar pieced in. The song pushes ahead, and once to the summit, celebrate's in itself for a little while, before eventually fading out around 4 minutes 30 seconds.
Fitting snuggly into the early 90's vault of alternative-pop/R&B hits, 'Sleeping Satellite' is a track that was practically born to be played on adult contemporary stations more than a decade later. Somewhere between Wilson Phillips and Des'ree,Seal and Tracy Chapman... you'll find this classic by Tasmin Archer.
lyrics:
[I blame you for the moonlit sky and the dream that died with the eagles' flight I blame you for the moonlit nights when i wonder why are the seas still dry? don't blame this sleeping satellite*]
Did we fly to the moon too soon did we squander the chance in the rush of the race the reason we chase is lost in romance and still we try to justify the waste for a taste of man's greatest adventure
[chorus*]
have we lost what it takes to advance? have we peaked too soon? if the world is so green then why does it scream under a blue moon we wonder why If the earth's sacrificed for the price of it's greatest treasure
[chorus*]
and when we shoot for stars what a giant step have we got what it takes to carry the weight of this concept or pass it by like a shot in the dark miss the mark with a sense of adventure
