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Song of the Day #6,322: ‘Notorious’ – Duran Duran

Continuing my look at the albums of 1986…

In the early 80s, Duran Duran released Rio and Seven and the Ragged Tiger, their two most successful albums. A world tour followed, after which the band members started getting pulled in different directions, taking on solo work and side projects.

By the time 1986 rolled around, the quintet had become a trio, following the departures of drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor. (Incidentally, none of the three Taylors in Duran Duran — Roger, Andy, and bassist John — are related).

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Song of the Day #6,321: ‘Saving All My Love For You’ – Whitney Houston

Before getting to this week’s featured Throwback Weekend selection, I have to note that I missed by one week my chance to highlight what is perhaps my all-time favorite song: A-Ha’s ‘Take On Me.’ That track enjoyed its one and only week atop the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending October 19, 1985.

Of course, ‘Take On Me’ has already shown up on the blog in many different forms, so I would have ended up writing about the #2 song anyway. And that happens to be the song that replaced ‘Take On Me’ at #1 the following week — Whitney Houston’s ‘Saving All My Love For You.’

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Song of the Day #6,320: ‘Miracles’ – Jefferson Starship

Throwing back to the week of October 25, 1975, we find Neil Sedaka and John Denver holding on to the top two spots of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Bad Blood‘ and ‘I’m Sorry,’ respectively.

At #3, where it peaked, was Jefferson Starship’s ‘Miracles,’ a soft rock song inspired by the teachings of an Indian guru. The album version of the song ran nearly seven minutes and was trimmed to half that length for radio play (conveniently omitting the lyric “I had a taste of the real world when I went down on you, girl”).

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Song of the Day #6,319: ‘No Sleep till Brooklyn’ – Beastie Boys

Continuing my look at the albums of 1986…

It would be malpractice to write about the music of 1986 and not mention the Beastie Boys’ debut release Licensed to Ill. This is one of the best-selling rap albums of all time and one of the most successful debuts. It was the first rap album to top the Billboard 200 and the second to go Platinum.

It is also critically acclaimed, praised for its punk rock sensibility, its creative use of classic rock samples, and the chemistry of its three leads.

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Song of the Day #6,318: ‘Earn Enough For Us’ – XTC

Continuing my look at the albums of 1986…

I was prepared to put English rock band XTC’s Skylarking on my list of the best 1986 albums, remembering my fondness for it during college. But when I listened to it for the first time in years, maybe the first time in decades, it didn’t grab me the way it used to.

‘Dear God’ still hits hard, but much of the rest is a bit too much. Too strident, too weirdly psychedelic.

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