80's Hit Song Review: "Right Between the Eyes" by Wax (1986)

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 43 (No. 60 in their native U.K.)

Backstory: This short-lived British rock and pop group was formed by 10cc's Graham Gouldman and Andrew Gold (Gold was best known for songs such as, "Thank You For Being A Friend" (1978, No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100), "Never Let Her Slip Away" (also 1978, No. 67 on the Billboard Hot 100), and even the 1996 Halloween style novelty song, "Spooky Scary Skeletons", which later became an internet meme and was later remixed by the Living Tombstone.)  After going thru a couple of band name changes, they finally settled on simply calling themselves Wax and released this first hit single off of their debut album, Magnetic Heaven. It nearly made the Top 40 in the U.S., yet ironically and surprisingly stalled at just No. 60 in their Native U.K. It also made it all the way to No. 24 in the Netherlands, and barely made the Top 40 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks, peaking at No. 39 on that chart. They released another much bigger hit single in their native U.K., "A Bridge To Your Heart" which peaked at No. 12 on the U.K. Singles Chart. Though they released two more albums, they sadly weren't too successful and they disbanded by 1989. Sadly, Gold died from heart failure caused from kidney cancer, and died on June 3rd, 2011 in his sleep. Gold was 59.

The review: Oh MAN, how I absolutely LOVE this song! To me, it's just an absolutely brilliant 4 minute long pop and rock tune with great guitars, drums, and keyboards, along with absolutely FANTASTIC production. Even the lyrics, though kinda simple, are pretty nice as well, and I absolutely love the, "You hit me with a million volts!", main chorus, along with the lyrics about true love and being in love. The song also has a nice synth based instrumental section at nearly the 3 minute mark that lasts for a short yet still long enough amount of time. And I also love Gold's positive sounding, "DIG IT!", remark at the very ending of the song. Overall, just an absolutely brilliant and wonderful positive and upbeat sounding pop and rock tune that sadly stalled early in both the States and in their native U.K.

Final rating: 10/10