Scotch Sampler

[HecticArt]

Her coolness definitely ran out about 10 years ago. I remember seeing this, because she lived north of me.

Dale Bozzio, Missing Persons Singer, Begins Jail Sentence on Animal Cruelty Charges

Dale Bozzio is the singer for 1980s new wave band Missing Persons, but now she's in the spotlight for a less flattering reason. The musician has entered an Ossipee, New Hampshire jail after being co...

www.zimbio.com

I forgot all about that. I think she was a legit punker.
And $2700 to night-night a couple of alley cats? Damn.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Today, another perfect album. Two years after Gaucho was released, Steely Dan frontman Donald Fagen released The Nightfly. Based on both the sound and time between releases, this was - for all intents and purposes - the next Steely Dan album. This may be the most perfect album in my favorites list, as there's not a bad song on it. In addition to the 5 songs featured below, there's the excellent title track (about an overnight DJ), the sultry Maxine, and the bouncy swing of Walk Between Raindrops. The songs integrate jazz and blues into pop in an immensely satisfying way. The grooves and melodies are infectious, and the lyrics are both fun and thought-provoking. The theme of the album is a retro-perspective look into the future.

The first track is I.G.Y. (International Geophysical Year), subtitled What a Beautiful World. You can decide if it's sincere or sarcastic.

Donald Fagen – I.G.Y.



Green Flower is a groovy song with a fun beat
Donald Fagen – Green Flower Street (live)



This is my favorite song on the album, it's just a great groove, and the video is fun
Donald Fagen – New Frontier



This is one of those bouncy, danceable songs. It was covered by Mel Torme, but I won't torture you with that
Donald Fagen – The Goodbye Look



And finally, we have this sultry, groovy cover of a rock & roll staple
Donald Fagen – Ruby Baby

 

[Aaron]

I actually bought The Nightfly album just a few months ago. It's awesome.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I actually bought The Nightfly album just a few months ago. It's awesome.

I thought I saw someone recently make a post about it. Perhaps it was you.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

In 2017 we saw Steely Dan and they did one song of his from this album (New Frontier) which I at the time had never heard of but liked it. I added it to my iTunes library. I will check out the other songs and it may be a case like most other Steely Dan albums where I just grab the whole album.

 

[sadchild]

Yeah those sound very Steely Dan, like dead ringer. He has a unique way of writing a chord progression, you can immediately tell he wrote the song by just that alone. I'd previously only heard IGY and New Frontier - I vaguely remember hearing them back in the 80s a handful of times, and rediscovered them both on SXM within the last ten years.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

In 2017 we saw Steely Dan and they did one song of his from this album (New Frontier) which I at the time had never heard of but liked it. I added it to my iTunes library. I will check out the other songs and it may be a case like most other Steely Dan albums where I just grab the whole album.

I downloaded the remaining songs. Cheaper to do so one at a time then the whole album. Not sure why. But they are now part of my library.

 

[scotchandcigar]

A great performing group, with a string of hits, is the underrated Australian band INXS. They first gained fame in the US with 1982's Shabooh Shoobah, with the songs The One Thing, and this

INXS – Don’t Change (live)



They followed with 1984's The Swing, where they charted with Original Sin. A year later, they'd be scoring more hits with Listen Like Thieves. Songs included the title track, This Time, and this big hit

INXS – What You Need (live)



But in 1987, they released the monster album Kick, with a bunch of hits like New Sensation, Devil Inside, Never Tear Us Apart, and Mystify. Plus this great two-part song with an iconic video

INXS – Need You Tonight/ Mediate



1990's X had a few radio hits, including this one (check out the awesome SNL performance)

INXS – Suicide Blonde (live)



In '92, they followed up with Beautiful Girl, off of Welcome to Wherever You Are. Their album success tailed off after that.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I like their song Eligantly Wasted which had lyrics which responded to their feud with Oasis. If you listen you can hear the words "We're better than Oasis" over most of the chorus. Not the official lyrics of course. I like it for its deviousness.

 

[HecticArt]

Man, I haven't heard Elegantly Wasted in ages. That's a great tune.
I dig INXS. They have like 20 guys on stage and each one plays these tiny little parts that aren't much on their own, but they layer up nicely to make these killer songs.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I was so amazed by that spot-on SNL performance, I actually compared it side-by-side with the studio recording, to see if maybe it was a mix of lip-syncing and live instruments (although the instruments - such as the harmonica - sound identical too). I did find a few places where there seemed to be a slight difference in the vocals between the two, but 95% of it sounds identical. So I'm not sure what to conclude.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I like their song Eligantly Wasted which had lyrics which responded to their feud with Oasis. If you listen you can hear the words "We're better than Oasis" over most of the chorus. Not the official lyrics of course. I like it for its deviousness.

Yeah, that's a good tune, and one that I forgot existed. But also, I'm trying not to stray too far from my timeline; otherwise, I'll lose track of where I'm at.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Yeah, that's a good tune, and one that I forgot existed. But also, I'm trying not to stray too far from my timeline; otherwise, I'll lose track of where I'm at.

It's our job to make that more difficult for you.

 

[scotchandcigar]

It's our job to make that more difficult for you.

It would be much easier if my brain operated like Sadchild or Jon: "Here's one of my favorite songs; I like it more than song A, but less than song B". I'm more like the lyrics to California Girls:

East coast girls are hip
I really dig those styles they wear
And the Southern girls with the way they talk
They knock me out when I'm down there
The Mid-West farmer's daughters really make you feel alright
And the Northern girls with the way they kiss
They keep their boyfriends warm at night

See, they're all great, one is not better than another; they just want all of them to be in California.

 

[sadchild]

I don't own any INXS albums, but I have 23 MP3s in my collection from them. I'm an a la carte INXS fan.

1. Not Enough Time
2. Laying Down The Law
3. Good Times
4. Beautiful Girl
5. Deepest Red
6. What You Need
7. Listen Like Thieves
8. Devil Inside
9. Guns In The Sky
10. The Gift

 

[HecticArt]

So I'm not sure what to conclude.

I was kinda thinking that the music may have been recorded, and the vocals we're live.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I'm a rock & roll guy, but sometimes a pop artist can break that boundary between rock and pop, and get onto my favorites list. You can't talk about early 80's music without acknowledging the King of Pop. As a solo artist, Michael Jackson was mostly being played on the R&B radio stations, with his album Off the Wall. But he started getting airplay on the mainstream stations, with songs like the title track, Rock With You, and the funky Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough. This last one was so ingrained in the mainstream, it made its way onto the Seinfeld farewell clip show

Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (Seinfeld clip)



But obviously, the big breakthrough was the release of the Thriller album. It generated 7 singles, reinvented MTV, and took over radio. One of my favorites from the album has a funky dance groove which continues the signature of Off the Wall

Michael Jackson – Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (live)



Of the several mega-hits on the album, Beat It integrated guitar rock into the mix, thanks to Eddie Van Halen. Here's a live performance featuring female guitar virtuoso Orianthi

Michael Jackson – Beat It (live with Orianthi)



And finally, here's a live version of Thriller in which MJ is singing, and sounds good
Michael Jackson – Thriller (live)

 

[sadchild]

Michael Jackson

1. Human Nature
2. Billie Jean
3. Beat It
4. Leave Me Alone
5. Smooth Criminal

I liked Dangerous when it came out, but it sounds too dated now with that damn New Jack Swing sound.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

1. Billie Jean


2. Thriller
3. Beat It
4. Smooth Criminal
5. Rock With You

 

[scotchandcigar]

There's some good stuff on Bad and Dangerous, but none make my favorites cut.