For those of you who didn't grow up in southern California, KROQ was the big New Wave station of the early eighties which helped push New Wave into the lime light for at least a little while. The most memorably DJ during this whole movement was Richard Blade (who currently does a flashback lunch segment on KROQ) and these discs are his picks from the time period. This series earns a 4.5, all these songs are gems, although the last disc isn't that great. Even if you own all the Rhino compilations (Just Can't Get Enough) this series helps fill in the holes they forgot about.

(Available at Amazon)

This isn't really the least bit important (to anyone but me, that is), I must admit, but I grew up in LA, and the most popular/innovative DJ on KROQ in the late 70's/early 80's was Rodney Bingheimer, rather than Richard Blade (per review of Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites). Richard Blade was ok, in spite of the somewhat fakey sounding aussie accent, but Rodney Bingheimer was the "in" DJ, at least amongst me and my punkish friends. He introduced groups such as X to the world. Last time I was in LA, he still had a show on Sunday nights at Midnight. There used to be three compilation albums from him ("Rodney on the Rock") but they are long out of print (too bad, they were an excellent document of 80's LA Punk/New Wave).

Note from ChuckyG: Rodney was actually British, regardless of how "fake" his accent might have sounded.

Title: Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites (Available at Amazon)
Label: Oglio Records
TTime: 66:01
Notes: Small comments on each group by the DJ from KROQ
Paid : $12
Rank : 4 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Doot Doot (Extended 12" Mix)           Freur
Let Me Go (Extended 12" Mix)           Heaven 17
This Is The Day (Extended 12" Mix)     The The
Everywhere That I'm Not                Translator
Hey St. Peter                          Flash And The Pan
Der Kommissar (Long Version)           After The Fire
Say It Again (Extended Danse Mix)      The Danse Society
Love And Pride (Extended 12" Mix)      King
Dancing In Heaven                      Q-Feel
World Destruction (Extended 12" Mix)   Time Zone
Party At Ground Zero (Visual Mix)      Fishbone
88 Lines About 44 Women                The Nails

Comments:
        This disc (and the rest of the series) is great for one reason,
extended and rare mixes.  Some of these songs are also special for the
reason that they received very little airplay, yet probably deserved a
little more than they received.  I only recommend these discs however,
if you're either from the L.A. region of California and heard KROQ play
these, or if you have a lot of compilations and are just looking for more
Big Eighties sound songs to play.

Title: Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites Vol. 2 (Available at Amazon)
Label: Oglio Records
TTime: 64:31
Notes: Small comments on each group by the DJ from KROQ
Paid : $11.50
Rank : 4 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
The Look Of Love                       ABC
China                                  Red Rockers
Nowhere Girl                           B Movie
Shy Boy                                Bananarama
Our House                              Madness
Don't Try To Stop It (Ext. Club Mix)   Roman Holliday
Electricity                            OMD
The Beat Goes On/Switching to Glide    The Kings
Cashflow                               Leisure Process
Ant Music                              Adam And The Ants
Romeo Void                             Never Say Never
White Lines (Don't Do It)              Gradmaster &Melle Mel

Comments:
        This is a fun compilation, it doesn't have a lot of extended remixes
like the first disc in this series, but it does have "White Lines (Don't Do
It)" which is great, since no one seems to ever include that.  Most of these
tunes were minor hits, with the exception of maybe 3 songs though, none of
them were huge hits.  If you liked new wave in the eighties though, this is a
great disc since it picks up what all the other discs all leave off.  Unlike
other discs that tend to just throw anything on to sell one or two of the
other songs on the disc, this one actually sounds like a playlist of a
new wave station in the early eighties (not everything was popular).

Title: Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites Vol. 3 (Available at Amazon)
Label: Oglio Records
TTime: 55:16
Notes: Small comments on each group by the DJ from KROQ
Paid : $5
Rank : 5 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Chamber of Hellos                      Wire Train
Numbers With Wings                     The Bongos
Clean Clean                            The Buggles
Yellow Pills                           20/20
What I Like About You                  Romantics
What Does Sex Mean To Me               Human Sexual Response
Making Plans For Nigel                 XTC
She Talks In Stereo                    Gary Myrick &The Figures
The Fanatic                            Felony
Don't Tell Me                          Blancmange
AEIOU (Sometimes Y)                    EBN-OZN
Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go     Soft Cell

Comments:
        This disc (and the rest of the series) is great for one reason,
extended and rare mixes.  This disc earns a 5, especially with the remix of
Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go, this isn't an easy find by any means and
it's a definite must have as well as the extended remix of the EBN-OZN
classic, AEIOU (Sometimes Y) which is also an extended remix that has to be
heard to be believed. The only thing I wish is that they had continued
labeling the songs with what remix they were (since not all the songs are
remixes) like the first disc in this series did.

Title: Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites Vol. 4 (Available at Amazon)
Label: Oglio Records
TTime: 60:07
Notes: Small comments on each group by the DJ from KROQ
Paid : $11.50
Rank : 5 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
The Way You Are (12" Mix)              Tears For Fears
Reap The Wild Wind                     Ultravox
The Promise (O.N. Mix)                 When In Rome
Nevermore (Extended Version)           Plus One
When The Lights Go Out                 Naked Eyes
Chant #1 (Extended Mix)                Spandau Ballet
Oh Yeah (12" Mix)                      Yellow
Lies (Extended Version)                Thompson Twins
Come On Eileen                         Dexy's Midnight Runners
Beat Surrender                         The Jam
Turning Japanese                       The Vapors
Janitor                                Surburban Lawns

Comments:
        This disc has some really cool extended remixes that you would
normally never find on CD in the ninties.  This disc is also packed full of
really great songs from mostly one hit wonders (Thompson Twins and Tears For
Fears being the only real exception, Naked Eyes had like 2 hits).  This is a
really great dance disc for a small party of friends to listen to.

Title: Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites Vol. 5 (Available at Amazon)
Label: Oglio Records
TTime: 52:19
Notes: Small comments on each group by the DJ from KROQ
Paid : $11.50
Rank : 5 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Send Me An Angel (Orig. Ext. Mix)      Real Life
Telephone Operator                     Pete Shelley
867-5309/Jenny                         Tommy Tutone
Overkill                               Men At Work
Hero Takes A Fall                      Bangles
The Ghost In You                       Psychedlic Furs
Acceleration (Remix)                   Bill Nelson
A Million Miles Away                   The Plimsouls
Make A Circuit With Me (Club Mix)      Polecats
Just Got Lucky                         Joboxers
Samson And Delilah (Biblical Vers.)    Bad Manners
Chicken Outlaw                         Wide Boy Awake

Comments:
        Another great disc in this series, I just can't find any real faults
with it.  Perhaps a few more extended mixes, the disc only weighs in at
around 50 minutes (unlike most of the other discs in this series).  There
are songs from pretty big groups like Men At Work, The Pyschedlic Furs,
and the Bangles and pretty big hits like "867-5309" and "Send Me an Angel"
(which is one of the coolest remixes on the disc).  I already have most of
these songs on other compilations, but it's still a great overall disc.

Title: Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites Vol. 6 (Available at Amazon)
Label: Oglio Records
TTime: 58:47
Notes: Small comments on each group by the DJ from KROQ
Paid : $11.50
Rank : 2 out of 5.

Track Listing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title                                  Artist(s)
-=-=-                                  -=-=-=-=-
Music For Boys (Remix)                 The Suburbs
X Ray Eyes                             3D
Computer Games (Ext. Mix)              Mi Sex
Universal Radio (Universal Dance Mix)  Nina Hagen
Harley David (Son Of A Bitch)          Bollock Brothers
In Shreds                              The Chameleons
Seriously Affected                     The Romeos
Cruel To Be Kind                       Nick Lowe
Eyes of A Stranger (Full Version)      Payolas
All Roads Lead To Rome                 The Stranglers
Talk To Me (I Can Hear You Now)        I Am Siam
Nemesis (Extended Mix)                 Shriekback

Comments:
        This disc is a disappointment after the first five, and a pretty weak
ending to the series.  With the exception of Nick Lowe, most of these songs
got almost no airplay (except maybe on KROQ) and most of them deserve to stay
that way, I'm pretty sure I won't pull this one out very often as I really
don't care for many of these songs.

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