Rock of the '80s

This series of CD's, packaged individually, tends to be a little on the short side as far as CD length, but the songs all tend to be of pretty high quality. Most every disc has something good on it, and most of them are filled with good one hit wonders that are sure to jar the memory.

You can buy them at Amazon


Title   : Rock of the '80s (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 38:50
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 4 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Whip It                                Devo
Call Me                                Blondie
My Sharona                             The Knack
Tenderness                             General Public
I Ran                                  A Flock Of Seagulls
Love Plus One                          Haircut One Hundred
Words                                  Missing Persons
One Thing Leads To Another             The Fixx
Tempted                                Squeeze
I Got You                              Split Enz

Comments:
        This whole series tends to have short running times (none exceed
45 minutes) but with the exception of almost every disc having a track
by the Fixx, tends to have "one hit wonders" that are very difficult to
find.  The first three discs tend to have more mainstream samplings.
Overall, the discs have a good selection and a great order.



Title   : Rock of the 80's, Volume 2 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 38:00
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 5 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
She Blinded Me With Science            Thomas Dolby
Tainted Love                           Soft Cell
Always Something There to Remind Me    Naked Eyes
The Look of Love                       ABC
The Metro                              Berlin
Hold Me Now                            Thompson Twins
Cars                                   Gary Numan
Video Killed The Radio Star            The Buggles
Never Say Never                        Romeo Void

Comments:
        This disc has a VERY hard to find mix of "She Blinded Me With Science"
by Thomas Dolby.  This mix is the original VINYL album mix that is not present
on the CD version of this album.  That alone gives this disc a 5 rating.
Along with the other songs, there is not one artist with more than 2 hit songs
on this disc and makes it well worth the cost, since you'll never find these
songs on anything other than another compilation of greatest hits.  The
version of "Video Killed The Radio Star" is the well known song that launched
MTV (not the original Bruce Wolley &The Camera Club, check out the Big Hits
Skinny Ties disc if that's the version you wish.)  The order of songs on this
disc is PERFECT.  If you were going to buy any disc in this series, this is
the ONLY disc to consider.



Title   : Rock of the 80's, Volume 3 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 36:80
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 4 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
She's A Beauty                         The Tubes
Weird Science                          Oingo Boingo
Turning Japanese                       The Vapors
I Don't Like Mondays                   The Boomtown Rats
Mexican Radio                          Wall of Voodoo
99 Luftballons                         Nena
Is There Something I Should Know       Duran Duran
Talking In Your Sleep                  The Romantics
(I Just) Died In Your Arms             Cutting Crew

Comments:
        Not as good as the first two discs, but the selections run the gamit,
and have some very hard to come by tracks.  Pretty much sums up the rest of
the series.

From Greg
A short disk but packed with some wonderful, hard to find cuts. Split
reaction on "I Don't Like Monday's" Great, great song. But it's 1979.
Rating: 4




Title   : Rock of the 80's, Volume 4 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 40:10
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 4 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Shout                                  Tears For Fears
Wild, Wild West                        The Escape Club
Who Can It Be Now?                     Men At Work
Venus                                  Bananarama
Time (Clock Of The Heart)              Culture Club
Everybody Have Fun Tonight             Wang Chung
Der Kommissar                          After The Fire
The Politics of Dancing                Re-Flex
Money (That's What I Want)             Flying Lizards

Comments:
        This disc has some unique tracks, "Der Kommissar" is of course the
English version of this song, DeFalco did the original in German, which
I haven't seen yet on a compilation disc (neither have I seen the English
version of Nena's Luftballons on a compilation disc).  Most of the Culture
Club songs that were popular are on this series on one disc or another,
with the exception of "Church of the Poison Mind."



Title   : Rock of the 80's Volume 5 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 32:29
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 4 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Too Shy                                Kajagoogoo
Voices Carry                           'til Tuesday
Goody Two Shoes                        Adam Ant
The Future's So Bright, I Gotta
Wear Shades                            Timbuk3
Kiss                                   The Art Of Noise (Featuring Tom Jones)
Saved by Zero                          The Fixx
Love My Way                            The Psychedelic Furs
Cool Places                            Sparks
Oh Yeah                                Yello

Comments:
        The version of "Oh Yeah" on here, has to be the shortest version
every recorded, which is somewhat disappointing.  "Kiss" is a remake of
the Prince song which came out not too long after the original, which is
somewhat unusual.  "The Future's So Bright..." is the rarest song on this
disc, and makes it worthwhile to grab.



Title   : Rock of the 80's, Volume 6 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 37:18
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 3 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Overkill                               Men At Work
Lay your hands On Me                   Thompson Twins
Promises, Promises                     Naked Eyes
Red Skies                              The Fixx
Desperate But Not Serious              Adam Ant
What About Love                        'til Tuesday
Destination Unknown                    Missing Persons
Space Age Love Song                    A Flock of Seagulls
Dead Man's Party                       Oingo Boingo

Comments:
        This disc seems to have almost nothing but artists that appeared
on the first 5 discs, with their lesser known songs.  Not really a bad
disc, but not great.



Title   : Rock of the 80's Volume 7 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 38:19
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 3 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Everybody Wants To Rule The World      Tears For Fears
Do You Really Want to Hurt Me          Culture Club
Eye In The Sky                         The Alan Parsons Project
I've Been In Love Before               Cutting Crew
Gold                                   Spandau Ballet
Stand Or Fall (Live)                   The Fixx
Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)        Icicle Works
A Girl In Trouble
(Is A Temporary Thing)                 Romeo Void
Heaven (Must Be There)                 The Eurogliders

Comments:
        The only saving grace of this disk is the Cutting Crew and
"Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)" which are both hard to find.  While
I'm a big fan of Tears For Fears, this is a pretty common song on all
the compilations I have.  What really makes this disc earn a low
rating is yet ANOTHER $*#@ING FIXX SONG!  To top it off, it's live, and
not a very good recording.



Title   : Rock of the 80's, Volume 8 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 35:35
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 4 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Down Under                             Men At Work
King For A Day                         Thompson Twins
Are We Ourselves? (Live)               The Fixx
Heartbreak Beat                        Psychedelic Furs
I Predict                              Sparks
When The Lights Go Out                 Naked Eyes
Strip                                  Adam Ant
Walking In L.A.                        Missing Persons
Lust To Love                           Go-Go's

Comments:
        A great selection of harder to find tracks, especially "Lust To Love"
by the Go-Go's which was a great seldom heard selection.



Title   : Rock of the 80's, Volume 9 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 36:39
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 3 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Mad About You                          Belinda Carlisle
You Keep Me Hangin' On                 Kin Wilde
Life In A Northern Town                Dream Academy
The Promise                            When In Rome
In The Name Of Love                    Naked Eyes
God Is A Bullet                        Concrete Blonde
Pass The Dutchie                       Musical Youth
Wishing (If I Had A Photograph of You) A Flock Of Seagulls
I Want Candy                           Bow Wow Wow

Comments:
        A little on the short side, but most of these songs are memorable.
The inclusion of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" was also great as this song is
rather hard to find on other compilations.




Title   : Rock of the 80's, Volume 10 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 34:45
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 4 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Shattered Dreams                       Johnny Hates Jazz
Waiting For A Star To Fall             Boy Meets Girl
Something About You                    Level 42
Valotte                                Julian Lennon
Veronica                               Elvis Costello
Breakout                               Swing Out Sister
Freedom Of Choice                      Devo
Live My Life                           Boy George
Wouldn't It Be Good                    Nik Kershaw

Comments:
        Every song on this disc is a one hit wonder which makes this disc
a lot of fun to listen to.  The arrangement of the disc is also great. I'd
also have to say that very few of these songs are available on other
compilations which makes this a great disc to get songs you might not
have otherwise.




Title   : Rock of the 80's, Volume 11 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 34:51
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 3 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Puttin' On The Ritz                    Taco
Axel F                                 Harold Faltermeyer
Funky Town                             Pseudo Echo
I Wanna Be A Cowboy                    Boys Don't Cry
Pop Goes The World                     Men Without Hats
Where Are You Now?                     Jimmy Harnen With Synch
It's My Life                           Talk Talk
Peter Gunn                             The Art of Noise (Featuring Duane Eddy)
Cross My Heart                         Eighth Wonder

Comments:
        This has to be one of the shortest compilations I have ever bought,
it does have "Pop Goes the World" which is a somewhat hard to find second
hit by the people that brought us "Safety Dance."  Overall the CD isn't
bad, just not great.




Title   : Rock of the 80's, Volume 12 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 38:43
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 3 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Karma Chameleon                        Culture Club
Vacation                               Go Go's
Head Over Heels                        Tears For Fears
Games People Play                      The Alan Parsons Project
Dance Hall Days                        Wang Chung
Deeper and Deeper (Live)               The Fixx
Perfect Way                            Scritti Politti
Call Of The West                       Wall of Voodoo
Jane's Getting Serious                 Jon Astley

Comments:
        Who ever thought of placing the Go-Go's and Alan Parsons Project
songs back to back should be admitted for psychiatric evaluation.  The
other songs included here aren't bad, and it's nice to see Jon Astley
included, it's a rather hard to find song.




Title   : Rock of the 80's, Volume 13 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 40:29
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 2 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
It's A Mistake                         Men At Work
Doctor! Doctor!                        Thompsons Twins
The Sign of Fire                       The Fixx
Just Another Day                       Oingo Boingo
Talk To Ya Later                       The Tubes
The Ghost In You                       Psychedlic Furs
China                                  Red Rockers
Strength                               The Alarm
I Have The Skill                       The Sherbs

Comments:
        This disc isn't all that great, the songs here are just not
memorable for the artists (most of whom were).  Rather lame overall.




Title   : Rock of the 80's, Volume 14 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 33:49
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 5 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Heat Of The Moment                     Asia
The Warrior                            Scandal (Featuring Patty Smyth)
Walking On Sunshine                    Katrina And The Waves
Suddenly Last Summer                   The Motels
Your Love                              The Outfield
Someday, Someway                       Marshall Crenshaw
And We Danced                          The Hooters
Holiday                                The Other Ones
Mutual Surrender
(What A Wonderful World)               Bourgeois Tagg

Comments:
        This is one of the best discs in the series, all the songs on here
were popular.  This is a great disc for a party too as the songs are for
the most part energetic with a few slow ones thrown in.




Title   : Rock of the 80's, Volume 15 (Available at Amazon)
Label   : Priority Records
Medium  : CD
TTime   : 38:05
Notes   : Track listing with year of release, running times, and original label
Reviewer: Charles R. Grosvenor Jr.
Paid    : $10
Rank    : 4 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Come On Eileen                         Dexy's Midnight Runners
Heart And Soul                         T'Pau
I'll Tumble For Ya                     Culture Club
Good Girls Don't                       The Knack
Secret Separation                      The Fixx
In A Big Country                       Big Country
When The Heart Rules The Mind          GTR
Coming Up Close                        'til Tuesday
19                                     Paul Hardcastle

Comments:
        A couple of hard to find one-hit wonders here, like T'Pau, GTR,
and Big Country.  With the exception of the Culture Club song and the
the Knack song here, this would be a great disc.



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