Backstory: Not a whole lot is known or written about Fellini, but from what I could dig up, this was her one and only single to ever chart which was off of her one and only album. Apparently, she might now be a music teacher at PS166 in New York City, which is the Richard Rodgers School of the Arts and Technology. I also found out that she sang some backup vocals for Peter Criss's 1982 album, LetMe Rock You. Interesting.
The review: This is a fun and upbeat post punk style New Wave song with some good and catchy vibes. Suzanne also has a unique young girl like vocal style that I also like with hints of Debbie Harry. Should've been a bigger hit.
Backstory: This short lived American rock and power pop group was formed in Woodstock, NY and released their one and only album and charting single off of Todd Rundgren's very own Bearsville Records label. The song made it only about halfway up the chart before falling off. They released one more single, "Some People" off of their one and only album of the exact same name, but it failed to chart. Mick Hodgson and his wife, Nikki (who appears and sings the lead vocals on this track) were the main two members of this group. Oddly, Nikki went on to voice the Berry Godmother character in the Strawberry Shortcake cartoon series in 1983 after the group split, while member Shane Fontayne (real name Mick Barakan) went on to play with Bruce Springsteen's band during the period in which the E-Street Band was disbanded.
The review: This is definitely a pretty good and cutesy little short ditty with nice vocal work from Wills and some cool synth and modulation effects. Should've at least have a minor Top 40 success. Overall, a very fun yet definitely not outstanding or brilliant tune.
Backstory: This American singer-songwriter from Hamilton, Ohio was born in 1953 and moved to Nashville when he was 10. He started writing songs in the early 70's and even wrote songs for artists such as Juice Newton, Kenny Rogers, and Crystal Gayle. Then, in 1981, he released his first charting single off of the short-lived Handshake Records and Tapes label, this minor hit which couldn't climb higher than 79. Famous country singer Lee Greenwood of, "God Bless the U.S.A." fame would later cover the tune in 1984, where it got to as high as No. 9 on the Billboard Country Charts and No. 6 on the Canadian Country Charts. Stephenson would only have two other songs chart, both in 1984, though they were both much bigger successes than this one was: "Modern Day Delilah" (No. 22), and, "What the Big Girls Do". He would only release one more album in 1986, though he would still work in the music industry for a bit longer. Sadly in 2001, he died from a form of cancer called melanoma. He was just 47.
The review: While I don't think that this tune is a masterpiece, it certainly deserved to do a whole lot better than just getting as high as No. 79 on the charts. It's a soft and sweet soft rock love song with a feel and vibe to it, and Stephenson has a really nice voice in this song. The instrumentation is quite simple, but it still flows along really fine. Overall, just a really good soft rock song, though it's not a masterpiece.
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.
