2 posts tagged “80s_pop”
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How I Got This CD: The first used CD I bought in college, even though it was already a few years old by then
Note: To stream the sample tracks, click on the thumbnail image in this post.
I have an confession to make. I love bagpipes. Love. Them.
This is why I love the Dropkick Murphys. This is why I love The Pogues. This is why I love Big Country.
For some reason, though, Big Country tends to be the red-headed step-child of my bagpipe love. I have invested in the Dropkicks, less well in The Pogues. I seem to have forgotten Big Country, although this CD reminds me why I shouldn't have.
Yes, yes. I know. Big Country's bagpipes aren't real bagpipes. They're E-Bow bagpipes. And yes, I know the E-Bow-produced sound is not an exact match for the real thing — compare Big Country's "bagpipes" with the real bagpipes used by Dropkick Murphys and the fakery becomes pretty obvious — but it's close enough to make me happy. I'm very sure that somewhere out there someone is ready to whack me with a claymore for admitting that.
The Crossing, the only Big Country CD I own, was the band's first CD and biggest hit in the U.S. Note that neither 'Fields of Fire' or 'In a Big Country' — both of which were hit singles in the U.S. — are included in the four sample streaming tracks. Why? Because they're actually not a great representation for the overall feel of this CD. Instead, I went for four tunes — I couldn't whittle it down to three because it's such a solid CD — that better reflected the CD's character.
Yeah, I know. The review is gushing and the rating is low. Again, this comes down to economics. The Crossing is 22 years-old (Wait! How old?!?!?!) and can be found in just about any used CD and record store for $7 to $10. Good it may be, but why pay full price when you don't have to?
Best of Backtrax USA with Kid Kelly Rating=$
[Support the Artist]
How I Got This CD: Picked up for less than $1 at a used CD store.
Note: To stream the sample tracks, click on the thumbnail image in this post.
This
CD comes from the cheese-tastic end of late 80s pop music, which means
it is a perfect representation of Kid Kelly's weekly radio show, Backtrax USA.
(Confession: I always prefered Barry Scott's Lost 45s weekly show, which at one time aired directly opposite Backtrax USA on Sunday nights in the Boston area.)
What makes this compilation truly unusual among compilations is that there isn't a single track on this CD that's rare or difficult to find, and yet it still manages to miss the boat as a representative sample of early- to mid-80s music. Most compilation CDs usually have at least one track that takes you by surprise because it's either not well-known or it came from somewhere other than the pop scene. Not so here. This collection is safe, safe, safe. It's so safe, that your brain will go numb. Then you'll fall asleep.
Save your pennies. There are better 80s music compilations out there with far more interesting track picks. I guarantee that if you've got an 80s music compilation anywhere in your collection, you've got every track on this CD already.
How can I sum up this CD in a single sentence?
This CD is exactly the kind of weak-ass K-Tel style compilation that you'd find in the collection of your friends with tragically bad taste in music.
(Please note: I make fun because I love. I dated
one of these people all through college. It's no wonder we had a stormy
relationship. While I was kicking it back the Ramones, Dead Kennedys,
Dropkick Murphys, Marshall Crenshaw, Elvis Costello, 10,000 Maniacs,
The Church, The Smithereens, Yaz and so on, he was into...whatever
Casey Kasem said was hot. I'm still bitter about the INXS concert he
dragged me to. I should've known it was hopeless as soon as I saw his
CD collection.)
