Here are the latest entries in the "albums that influenced me" series I started writing in May 2020.
Note: Just because an album appears on this list doesn't mean I give it a blanket endorsement. Many of the secular albums on this list are mainly there because they wound up being spoofed by ApologetiX.1451. The Cars Anthology: Just What I Needed - The Cars
What do you get for a fan of The Cars who already owns (or owned)
Greatest Hits and
Complete Greatest Hits? Well, speaking as one of those people, I'd suggest
The Cars Anthology: Just What I Needed. Released in November 1995, this two-disc set featured 40 songs from the group's first six original LPs — six apiece from their self-titled debut LP (1978) and
Candy-O (1979), four apiece from
Panorama (1980) and
Shake It Up (1981), five from
Heartbeat City (1984), and three from
Door to Door (1987) — plus "Tonight She Comes" from
Greatest Hits (1985). That left room for eight previously unreleased tracks and three flips B-sides from old singles: "That's It" (from "Let's Go"), "Don't Go to Pieces" (from "Don't Tell Me No" and "Gimme Some Slack") and "Breakaway" (from "Why Can't I Have You"). I used to own the "Let's Go" 45, so I was familiar with "That's It," but I'd never heard "Don't Go to Pieces" before. I knew and loved "Breakaway" (#19 mainstream rock) from hearing it on the radio in 1985 and always thought it should have been a the A-side of that single. It's the highlight for me of the "new" stuff on
The Cars Anthology, along with a cover version of "Little Black Egg" by The Nightcrawlers, a garage-rock classic from 1965 that went to #135 initially and then #85 in '67. There was also a remake of Iggy Pop's "Funtime." In general, the previously unreleased tracks were demos and not nearly as polished as the album cuts. "Take Me Now" and "Cool Fool" were recorded in 1977, the year before the band's first album, and "Slipaway" was recorded before
Candy-O. The three other demo versions on this collection are songs that eventually did make it onto official Cars LPs: "Nightspots," "Leave or Stay," and "Ta Ta Wayo Wayo." I bought a used copy of
The Cars Anthology in July 2006, shortly after seeing The New Cars do a new tune called "Not Tonight" on some late-night television show. That group featured Cars guitarist Elliott Easton and Cars keyboardist Greg Hawkes along with Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Kenny Aronoff, and Prairie Prince. Even with Rundgren singing lead vocals, they sounded so much like The Cars! I'd never realized just how much Easton and Hawkes had contributed with backing vocals as well as instrumentally to the original band's sound. The title of the new song seemed to be a winking nod to classic Cars ... "You're All I've Got Tonight" "Tonight She Comes," "Who's gonna drive you home tonight" (from "Drive"), "It's Not the Night," and "Nightspots.” I bought a digital copy of "Not Tonight," but I'd have to wait until 2011 for a full-fledged album of all-new music from The Cars.
1452. Feedback - Rush
When you purchase an EP, you don't usually expect a lot of songs, but Rush made sure they gave everybody their money's worth. I guess that's why they call them ... they call them the working band. Released on June 29, 2004,
Feedback revisited eight rock classics from 1965-70, although a couple of those songs were remakes of even older tunes — Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" as performed by Cream, and Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" as performed by Blue Cheer and then The Who. There was also a second Who song, "The Seeker." Two other groups were represented twice — The Yardbirds ("Heart Full of Soul" and "Shapes of Things") and The Buffalo Springfield ("For What It's Worth" and "Mr. Soul"). Completing the set was "Seven and Seven Is," a cover of "7 and 7 Is" by Love. They're all faithful renditions, yet they all still have the Rush touch and that formula worked really well. I got my copy of
Feedback in December 2005. ApologetiX spoofed Cream's version of "Crossroads" in 2018.
1453. Pharaohization! The Best of Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs - Sam the Sham & The PharaohsThis 14-track LP from Rhino Records came out in 1985, but I didn't get my copy until 2001. Sam the Sham(Domingo Samudio) and The Pharaohs are best known for two blockbuster novelty records they released in the mid-'60s: "Wooly Bully" (#2
Billboard, #2
Cash Box, #1
Record World) and "Lil' Red Riding Hood" (#2
Billboard, #1
Cash Box, #1
Record World). If you appreciated the sound and spirit of those two, you'd probably enjoy their other Top 40 hits, "The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin" (#22) — a thematic sequel to "Lil' Red Riding Hood" — "Ju Ju Hand" (#26), "How Do You Catch a Girl" (#27), and "Ring Rang Doo" (#33). It's all pretty silly stuff but a lot of fun. I might like two lower-charting hits by the group, "Oh That's Good, No That's Bad" (#54) and "Black Sheep" (#68), even better than everything else besides "Wooly Bully" and "Lil' Red Riding Hood" ... but it doesn't matter, because all of the songs I mentioned were included on
Pharaohization! anyway. The only Hot 100 hit missing from this collection was the one that charted the lowest, "Red Hot" (#82), featuring the immortal line "My girl is red hot. Your girl ain't doodley squat." ApologetiX spoofed "Lil' Red Riding Hood" in 2003. Sam eventually became a street preacher and was also involved in prison ministry.
CLICK HERE to listen to a really great 10-minute interview from 2009 in which he discussed his spiritual journey and his relationship with Christ.
1454. Wimoweh: The Best of the Tokens - The Tokens
I ordered this CD in November 2001 for the same reason you would have — to get "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," a #1 single for three weeks in December 1961 and January 1962. Consequently, I shouldn't complain, but you'd think that a 20-track collection titled
The Best of the Tokens would include at least one of the Brooklyn vocal group's other three Top 40 hits: "Tonight I Fell in Love" (#15 in '61), "I Hear Trumpets Blow" (#30 in '66), or "Portrait of My Love" (#36 in '67). Unfortunately, this is an RCA LP, and none of those was released on the RCA label except "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." In fact, each came out on a different label — "Tonight I Fell in Love" on Warwick, "I Hear Trumpets Blow" on B.T. Puppy, and "Portrait of My Love" on Warner — so that explains their absence. Released in 1994,
Wimoweh: The Best of the Tokens did feature the other five Tokens singles on RCA that charted, even though none hit the upper half of the Hot 100, and two bubbled under: "B'wa Nina (Pretty Girl)" (#55), "La Bamba" (#85), "Hear the Bells" (#94), "Sincerely" (#120), and "Tonight I Met an Angel (#126). You can definitely tell they were sung by the same guys who did "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," but they're all pleasant little tunes. And I do mean little; none of the tracks are longer than 2:45, and four are shorter than two minutes.
1455. The Best of Simple Minds - Simple Minds
The first time I ever heard of Simple Minds was when their lead singer, Jim Kerr, married Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders in 1984. The following year, a little movie called
The Breakfast Club helped push the Scottish rock band to the top of the U.S. pop and rock charts. They were only able to maintain that momentum in America from 1985-86 but had a significantly longer stretch of success across the pond, with 20 of their tunes reaching the U.K. Top 20 from 1982-98. Released on November 5, 2001,
The Best of Simple Minds featured 32 tracks, including all six of their U.S. Hot 100 hits: "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (#1 pop, #1 mainstream rock, #7 U.K.), "Alive and Kicking" (#3 pop, #2 mainstream, #7 U.K.), "Sanctify Yourself" (#14 pop, #3 mainstream, #10 U.K.), "All the Things She Said" (#28 pop, #9 mainstream, #9 U.K.), "See the Lights" (#40 pop, #1 alternative, #20 U.K.), and "She's a River" (#52 pop, #6 mainstream, #10 alternative, #9 U.K.). Another cut, "Mandela Day," was a Top 20 hit on the U.S. alternative chart (#17). This compilation also featured every other song that made the U.K. Top 20: "Belfast Child" (#1 U.K.), "Let There Be Love" (#6 U.K.), "Love Song" (#6 U.K.), "Promised You a Miracle" (#13 U.K.), "Waterfront" (#13 U.K.), "Ghost Dancing" (#13 U.K.), "This Is Your Land" (#13 U.K., #37 U.S. mainstream, #12 U.S. alternative), "Stand By Love" (#13 U.K., #42 U.S. mainstream, #4 U.S. alternative), "Kick It In" (#15 U.K.), "Glittering Prize" (#16 U.K.), "Let It All Come Down" (#18 U.K.), "Hypnotised" (#18 U.K.), "Glitterball" (#18 U.K.), and "Speed Your Love to Me" (#20 U.K.). I don't know if you noticed, but five of those U.K. hits peaked at #13. That's got to be some kind of a record. Speaking of records, I purchased my copy of
The Best of Simple Minds on CD in April 2005. Frankly, when I listen to all those U.K. hits that didn't make it across the Atlantic, it certainly wasn't because of any deficiency/decline in quality. If you liked Simple Minds' stuff from '85-86 (as I did), you'd probably like their stuff from '82-84 and '87-98 (as I do). The songs sound big, beautiful, meaningful, and important. If the artist name on the record label had been U2 or Depeche Mode, I think a number of those singles could have been hits here, too. ApologetiX spoofed "Don't You (Forget About Me)" in 2018.
1456. The Best of Pete Townshend (Coolwalkingsmoothtalkingstraightsmokingfirestoking) - Pete TownshendFor all the hoopla over The Who (and I was a huge fan), they only ever had one U.S. Top 10 hit, "I Can See for Miles, which reached #9 in 1967. The group's guitarist and primary songwriter, Pete Townshend, matched that with his biggest pop hit, "Let My Love Open the Door," which reached #9 in 1980. I already covered three of his LPs (
Empty Glass,
All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, and
White City: A Novel) earlier on my list, and it often seemed like he saved some of his best songs for them instead of the group that made him famous. Full disclosure: Townshend only had two solo Top 40 hits, whereas The Who had 16 of 'em. Nevertheless, I preferred his albums from the '80s to theirs from that decade. This compilation came out in April 1996, although I didn't get my copy till April 2005. Quite a title, eh?
The Best of Pete Townshend (Coolwalkingsmoothtalkingstraightsmokingfirestoking) features all four of his Hot 100 hits: "Let My Love Open the Door" (#9 pop, #46 U.K.), "Face the Face" (#26 pop, #3 mainstream rock, #89 U.K.), "A Little Is Enough" (#72 pop), and "Rough Boys" (#89 pop, #39 U.K.). It also contains four songs that did decently on rock radio: "A Friend Is a Friend" (#3 mainstream), "Give Blood" (#5 mainstream), "English Boy" (#19 mainstream, #87 U.K.), and "Slit Skirts" (#41 mainstream). I was particularly pleased to have "Sheraton Gibson" from his 1972 LP
Who Came First. There were 15 tracks in all. Townshend published his autobiography
Who I Am in October 2012, and I read it soon after.
1457. Like a Virgin - Madonna
Two history-making albums dominated the last six months of 1984 and the first month of 1985. Bruce Springsteen's
Born in the USA hit #1 on the Billboard 200 the first week of July and stayed there for the rest of the month before being dethroned by Prince's
Purple Rain for 24 straight weeks. After that, Springsteen returned to the summit for three more weeks. Then came Madonna's second LP and first chart-topper, which vanquished Springsteen for good and stayed at #1 for six weeks. Released November 12, 1984,
Like a Virgin sold 10 million copies in the United States and 21 million worldwide. It spawned four Top five singles, "Like a Virgin" (#1 for six weeks), "Material Girl" (#2), "Angel" (#5), and "Dress You Up" (#5). The first Madonna fan I ever remember meeting was a fellow named Kevin, a visiting high-school buddy of one of my college roommates during sophomore year. He couldn't get enough of her first hit single, "Holiday," and seemed smitten with the cover photo on her debut LP. She actually looked and seemed pretty innocent (or at least innocuous) to me at the time.
Like a Virgin changed all that, and one of my housemates from junior year, Jorge from Venezuela, suddenly seemed obsessed with her. I can't remember him ever expressing much interest in music before Madonna came along. That's when I realized she was a force to be reckoned with. Since I collected #1 and #2 singles at the time, I would be buying quite a few of her 45s over the next few years, whether I liked it or not. Sometimes I did, and sometimes I didn't, but I'll admit that I did get a kick out of "Material Girl." ApologetiX spoofed "Like a Virgin" in 2016.
