The Swimming Pool Q's - The Swimming Pool Q's (1984)

Sweet, bright jangle pop/alternative from a great band that never quite broke through. My dad loves this band, and earlier today he sent me links to a pair of songs from this record, without caption or comment. He underwent pretty major surgery last month and is still recovering, both physically and emotionally. Neither of us have ever been good at staying in touch with people we care about, but a mutual love for music keeps us in regular contact. Tomorrow I'm gonna send him this Ben Watt video -- he kinda hates Pink Floyd so David Gilmour's presence might initially be off-putting, but the song is very much up his alley. Really wish I could just give him a hug, but listening to the same songs will have to do for now.

Track listing:

1. The Bells Ring

2. Pull Back My Spring

3. Purple Rivers

4. The Knave

5. Some New Highway

6. Just Property

7. Silver Slippers

8. She's Bringing Down the Poison

9. Celestion

10. Sacrificial Altar

A basket full of flowers flowing over the rim

Incandescence in a high school gym

And every single street corner

Will remind me of him

Other stuff my dad got me into:

Jane Siberry - The Walking (1987)

Steve Tibbetts - The Fall of Us All (1994)

Steve Hillage - For to Next (1982)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:

Steve Hillage - Green (1978)

Guitarist/psychedelic lifer Steve Hillage's skewed, hypnotic take on synth-y 80s pop rock, colored by his reliably sublime guitar work and spectral, Eno-esque vocals. I've always loved Hillage's first few records, but for some reason, I never really delved further into his discography until last week, when a friend kinda randomly sent this my way, and I immediately fell in love with it. Destined to be one my most listened-to records of the summer.

Track listing:

1. These Uncharted Lands

2. Kamikaze Eyes

3. Alone

4. Anthems for the Blind

5. Bright Future

6. Frame by Frame

7. Waiting

8. Glory

A triumph and a tragedy

You should also hear:

Gary Numan - Warriors (1983) + Strange Charm (1986)

Jan Bang - Frozen Feelings (1989)

Jennifer Warnes - Jennifer (1972)

Third and easily best solo album by American singer/songwriter Jennifer Warnes, whose career trajectory is weird enough to briefly summarize here. She started out in the late 60s as a folk-rocker singing slightly overwrought covers. Sometimes in the early 70s, she caught the attention of some pretty cool people: her third album (this one) was produced by John Cale, and she joined up with Leonard Cohen, playing in his band and contributing to a bunch of his records over the course of the next five decades. Her ensuing solo records, on the other hand, while moderately commercially successful, were as middle-of-the-road as it gets. In the 80s, she briefly carved out a niche for herself singing the female part on massive hit duets written for movies. First, it was the dreadful "Up Where We Belong", then it was "(I've Had) The Time of My Life", both of which went to #1. Like I said, weird career. [EDIT: Thanks to a commenter, I now know that she also sings on Arthur Russell's "That's Us/Wild Combination", literally one of the best, most beautiful songs ever recorded.]

Anyway, the album. Her best solo record by a wide margin, it consists of the kind of folky pop-rock that dominated the charts in the early 70s, but there's stylistic range beneath the surface -- over the course of three tracks, she jumps from sunny country rock to an ethereal take on Donovan's "Sand and Foam" to a  smoldering, soulful rendition of Free's "Be My Friend" without missing a beat. This can probably partially be attributed to Cale's pitch-perfect production; Warnes' pristine vocals, which are far more subtle and expressive than on her previous efforts; and great songs, which include a Cale original ("Empty Bottles") and Warnes' own take on the now-iconic "These Days". It's not gonna change your life, but it's a really nice listen.

Track listing:

1. In the Morning

2. P.F. Sloan

3. Empty Bottles

4. Sand and Foam

5. Be My Friend

6. Needle and Thread

7. Last Song

8. All My Love's Laughter

9. These Days

10. Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone)

The simple act of an oar's stroke put diamonds in the sea

Also listen to:

Christine Perfect - Christine Perfect (1974)

Dion - Born to Be with You (1974)

The Lover Speaks - The Lover Speaks (1986)

Excellent, sophisticated pop rock/new wave from this short-lived English duo. The Lover Speaks were clearly aiming for the fences with their self-titled debut, and artistically, their efforts paid off -- it's what I want Spandau Ballet to be -- but the album's commercial impact was pretty much nil, and the band broke up while recording their second album. Given that they received their first industry boost by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, it tracks that The Lover Speaks are best remembered for Annie Lennox's cover of their single, "No More 'I Love You's", which I'm pretty sure most people (in America, anyway) don't realize is a cover.

It's worth noting that, while The Lover Speaks had only two official members -- vocalist David Freeman and everything-else-ist Joseph Hughes -- The Lover Speaks was undeniably a group effort. Most significantly, there's vocalist June Miles-Kingston, whose ethereal, Elizabeth Fraser-esque singing is so prominently featured in every song that it's truly awkward that she wasn't billed as an official member.

Track listing:

1. Every Lover's Sign

2. No More "I Love You's"

3. Never to Forget You

4. Face Me and Smile

5. Absent One

6. Love Is: "I Gave You Everything"

7. "This Can't Go On"

8. Still Faking This Art of Love

9. Tremble Dancing

10. Of Tears

The language is leaving me

You'd also like:

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - The Pacific Age (1986)

The Dolphin Brothers - Catch the Fall (1987)

The Aluminum Group - Plano (1998)

Breezy, understated, lushly-produced indie pop from a Chicagoan brother-brother duo. Elements of bachelor pad music, jazzy lounge, and yacht rock abound, making for music that's extremely easy on the ears, but holds up quite well to closer listening. Think The Divine Comedy, but instead of aggressively hetero, gay. I wonder if anyone has ever written about this band without using the word "sophisticated."

Track listing:

1. Chocolates

2. Angel on a Trampoline

3. A Boy in Love

4. Sugar & Promises

5. The Mattachine Society

6. Sunday Morning

7. 9 Months Later

8. Sad Gay Life

9. Steam

10. Star Wish

11. Photograph

12. Storytime

Am I bringing you down when I'm bringing you candy?

Similar listening:

The Magnetic Fields - The Wayward Bus (1992)

Komeda - Pop På Svenska (1993)

The Three O'Clock - Sixteen Tambourines (1983)

An early gem from the Paisley Underground, i.e. an L.A. band making 60s psych pop by way of 80s pop rock. Apparently some people get annoyed by vocalist Michael Quercio's high-pitched, reedy voice, but I love it; he pretty much just sounds like Susanna Hoffs.

Track listing:

1. Jet Fighter

2. Stupid Einstein

3. And So We Run

4. Fall to the Ground

5. A Day in Erotica

6. Tomorrow

7. In My Own Time

8. On My Own

9. When Lightning Starts

10. Seeing Is Believing

Feel Ann go through you

If you like this, try:

Aztec Camera - High Land, Hard Rain (1983)

Michael Penn - Resigned (1997)

Wally Badarou - Back to Scales To-Night (1980)

Related:

M - The Official Secrets Act (1980)

Debut solo record from synth/keyboard session man Wally Badarou; I'm not even going to try to start naming all the great artists he's played with. Laid-back, synth-fueled, reggae-tinged lite funk/pop-rock/R&B that's positively perfect for summer nights. Yes, his second album, Echoes, is his masterpiece, but DO NOT sleep on this record.

Track listing:

1. Back to Scales Tonight

2. Sing Me Your Song

3. One Day, Won't Give It Away

4. Dream on the Sand

5. London Town (Instrumental)

6. He Was a Rasta in London Town

7. She Turns Me On

8. Lady Finger Blue (Instrumental)

9. Preachin'

Leaving this place

If you like this, listen to:

Wayne Henderson - Emphasized (1979)

Kimiko Kasai - Kimiko (1982)

E - A Man Called E (1992)

The music of Mark Oliver Everett -- aka E, best known as the only permanent member of Eels -- has remained more or less unchanged for about three decades now. Sure, he has singer-songwriter mode (his default setting), weirdo pop mode, 'rock' mode (NOT GOOD), and even Shrek mode, but it's all splitting hairs around the same mopey, lovesick smart-ass. The only thing that's really changed about his music has been its quality, which has taken a significant downturn over the past 15 years or so.

His debut album, A Man Called E finds him in full-blown pop-rock singer-songwriter mode, and it's often more effortless, thoughtful, and mature -- not to mention concise -- than anything he'd put out as Eels. Due to having first heard them as a stoned sadsack teenager, I'll always have a very special place in my heart for Beautiful Freak and Electro-Shock Blues, but as a content but anxious adult, A Man Called E is my favorite thing dude's ever done.

Track listing:

1. Hello Cruel World

2. Fitting In with the Misfits

3. Are You & Me Gonna Happen

4. Looking Out the Window with a Blue Hat On

5. Nowheresville

6. Symphony for Toy Piano in G Minor

7. Mockingbird Franklin

8. I've Been Kicked Around

9. Pray

10. E's Tune

11. You'll Be the Scarecrow

Bad and beautiful and strange

Monkeys dancing in a cage

Also listen to:

The Beautiful South - Welcome to the Beautiful South (1989)

Sparklehorse - The Black Sessions (2006)

Dion - Born to Be with You (1975)

A work of strange beauty and accidental (or, at least, incidental) genius from a usually pretty mediocre folk rock singer. The product of a contentious collaboration with Phil Spector, Born to Be with You is both loved and hated for its murky yet widescreen production, which provides a funereal backdrop for Dion's turn towards hipness. It's honestly difficult to tell whether or not they were trying to make a hit album -- if they were, they failed -- but as a piece of outsider pop art, from the jarringly plainspoken heroin references of "Your Own Backyard" to the baffling cover of "(He's Got) The Whole World in His Hands)", it's a 10/10.

Track listing:
1. Born to Be with You
2. Make the Woman Love Me
3. Your Own Back Yard
4. (He's Got) The Whole World in His Hands
5. Only You Know
6. New York City Song
7. In and Out of the Shadows
8. Good Lovin' Man

I can do anything that I wanna do
I do it straight, I do it better, too

You might also enjoy:

Colin Blunstone - One Year (1971)
Ennismore (1972) Journey (1974)
+ Planes (1976)

Graeme Edge Band
featuring Adrian Gurvitz -
Paradise Ballroom (1977)

Boatz - Boatz (1979)

Here's a lost gem of 70s soft rock that popped up at my work the other day. Boatz is the only thing that this completely unknown band ever put out, and if you're into easy-breezy, unabashedly commercial, probably cocaine-saturated pop rock à la Toto, you and your beard/moustache are gonna love this record.

Track listing:
1. In the Middle of the Night
2. It Was Only the Radio
3. Big Deal
4. Straight to My Head
5. Out of This World
6. Boomerang Logic
7. The Ice Age Is Coming
8. Gone So Long
9. Sun Come Down
10. Blame It on the Future

I just wanna go out of this world

If you like this, check out:

Adrian Gurvitz -
Sweet Vendetta (1979)

Gerry Rafferty -
Sleepwalking (1982)

Kimiko Kasai - Kimiko (1982)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Kimiko Kasai - Butterfly (1979)

Shimmering, smooth-as-butter disco/soft rock from Japanese singer Kimiko Kasai. Known best as a jazz singer, Kimiko probably represents an attempt to garner a broader American audience. However, regardless of the album's immaculate arrangements and deft pop songwriting, her complex, idiosyncratic voice just wasn't meant for a pop audience, so here it is, three and a half decades later, on a nerdy music blog.

Track listing:
1. The Right Place
2. Looking for Love
3. Steppin' Outside Tonight
4. I'm So Much in Love
5. I Felt You Glancin'
6. Love Is All We Need
7. I Wish That Love Would Last
8. Over You

I felt you glancing

Give these a spin, too:

Adrian Gurvitz -
Sweet Vendetta (1979)

Teena Marie -
Starchild (1984)

Teena Marie - Starchild (1984)

Slick 80s pop that takes equally from airy disco, electro-funk, slow-burning R&B, and twinkly soft rock. Teena Marie certainly got an initial boost from her friendship and collaborative relationship with Rick motherfucking James, but her best albums (Starchild, for instance) came when Teena took the creative reins.

Track listing:
1. Lovergirl
2. Help Youngblood Get to the Freaky Party
3. Out on a Limb
4. Alibi
5. Jammin'
6. Starchild
7. We've Got to Stop (Meeting Like This)
8. My Dear Mr. Gaye
9. Light

White lines on the dresser

More, more, more!:

Adrian Gurvitz -
Il Assassino (1980)

Mazarti -
Mazarti (1987)

Nektar - Remember the Future (1973) + Magic Is a Child (1977)

First-rate Germany-based prog. I couldn't decide which direction I wanted to go with this post. Typically, with relatively well-known bands, I'll post lesser known or what I see as underrated material, which in this case would be Magic Is a Child, the album on which Nektar abandoned sprawling prog epics in favor of more concise, prog-y pop rock that's kinda along the lines of Supertramp (not unlike Eloy did with Colours.) Cranky old prog-heads hate it because they think it was a sellout move, but we know better, right?

BUT is Nektar really that well-known? They're not exactly a household name. If that's the case, I'd have to go with Remember the Future, the album on which they IMO perfected their expansive, noodle-y sound with a single epic, divided across two sides of an LP. It has everything that you like about 70s prog -- space-y buildups, odd-time signature breakdowns, hints of fusion, heavy payoffs, quasi-philosophical lyrics about time travel, pretension galore -- and if you haven't heard it, you need to. What's a nerdy music blogger to do?

So, you get both. Happy day!

Track listing:
-Remember the Future-
1. Remember the Future - Part One
2. Remember the Future - Part Two
-Magic Is a Child-
1. Away from Asgard
2. Magic Is a Child
3. Eerie Lackawanna
4. Midnight Light
5. Love to Share (Keep Your Worries Behind You)
6. Train from Nowhere
7. Listen
8. On the Run (The Trucker)
9. Spread Your Wings

Spin the wheel of never-ending time

You should also hear:

Starcastle -
Starcastle (1976)

Novalis -
Brandung (1977)

Todd Rundgren - Initiation (1975)

Someone must've seen this post coming, right? I love synths, 70s pop-rock, and drugs, so it was only a matter of time before I posted Initiation, an album representing the moment in which former pop-rocker Todd Rundgren, clearly having already embraced his love for hallucinogens, did so for his love of synthesizers.

Track listing:
1. Real Man
2. Born to Synthesize
3. The Death of Rock 'n Roll
4. Eastern Intrigue
5. Inititation
6. Fair Warning
7. A Treatise on Cosmic Fire I: Intro - Prana
8. A Treatise on Cosmic Fire II: The Fire of Mind or Solar Fire
9. A Treatise on Cosmic Fire III: The Fire of Spirit or Electric Fire
10. A Treatise on Cosmic Fire IV: The Eternal Fire or Fire by Friction / Outro - Prana

Will the real God please stand up?

If you dig this, try these, too:

Automatic Man -
Automatic Man (1976)

Rick Wakeman -
No Earthly Connection (1976)

Adrian Gurvitz - Sweet Vendetta (1979)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Adrian Gurvitz - Il Assassino (1980)

More soft, airy disco from Adrian Gurvitz. It's like ELO dancing under a mirrorball with Toto.

Track listing:
1. Untouchable and Free
2. The Wonder of It All
3. Put a Little Love (In Life's Heart)
4. Love Space
5. The Way I Feel
6. Time Is Endless
7. I Just Wanna Get Inside Your Head
8. Free Ride
9. One More Time
10. Drifting Star [bonus]

Life's still waiting for you

These are pretty great, too:

Colin Blunstone - One Year (1971) + 3 more

Wayne Henderson - Emphasized (1979)

Adrian Gurvitz - Il Assassino (1980)

You might know Adrian Gurvitz from one or more of his early bands -- The Gun, Three Man Army, or Baker Gurvitz Army (all proto-metal/hard rock greats) -- or his work with the Graeme Edge Band. What you might not know is that he released a series of phenomenal, disco-flavored soft rock solo records in the late 70s and early 80s, of which Il Assassino is the second, and my personal favorite.

Though it's all pretty much perfect, from the immaculate production to the breezy melodies to the casually diverse instrumentation (his rock chops shine through in the form of a few crucial twin guitar leads), what really sets this LP apart is Gurvitz's somewhat bleak lyrical approach, which compliments the often minor-key arrangements and provides a depth that you don't often get on records that sound like this.

Track listing:
1. Borrowed Beauty
2. Seventeen
3. Movie Picture
4. Hit Man
5. Movie Picture Theme
6. She's in Command
7. New World
8. Crying to the Night
9. Heat

Out of dreams

You might also dig:

Niteflyte - Niteflyte (1979)

Oliver Cheatham - The Boss (1982)

Dwight Twilley - Twilley (1979)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Dwight Twilley Band - Sincerely (1976)

Twilley's first official 'solo' record is a tad darker than Sincerely and Twilley Don't Mind -- less songs about cruising around in cars loving life, more about being heartbroken and stoned -- but that doesn't stop it from being pure power pop perfection.

Track listing:
1. Out of My Hands
2. Nothing's Ever Gonna Change So Fast
3. Runaway
4. Standin' in the Shadow of Love
5. Alone in My Room
6. Betsy Sue
7. Darlin'
8. I Wanna Make Love to You
9. Got You Where I Want You
10. It Takes a Lot of Love

There will come a day

You might also like:

Colin Blunstone - One Year (1971)
Ennismore (1972)  Journey (1974) + Planes (1976)

The Professionals - I Didn't See It Coming (1981)

Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul - Men Without Women (1982)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Bruce Springsteen - Chimes of Freedom (1988)

Steven Van Zandt's (of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band/Silvio on The Sopranos) first solo record. Men Without Women makes it clear just how greatly he contributed to the classic E Street Band rock/girl group/soul/folk hybrid sound, in that it plays like a lost Springsteen record, circa The River. Earnest, upbeat songs of love, lust, and heartbreak, embellished by classic soul horn sections.

Track listing:
1. Lyin' in a Bed of Fire
2. Inside of Me
3. Until the Good Is Gone
4. Men Without Women
5. Under the Gun
6. Save Me
7. Princess of Little Italy
8. Angel Eyes
9. Forever
10. I've Been Waiting

I spent my whole life just tryin' to find
Something I know I need but can't define

Dwight Twilley Band - Sincerely (1976)

Sincerely is the kind of perfect, would-be classic power pop record that makes you realize just how arbitrary success in the music business is. Like, I think that in some weird, imaginary world, every record that I post on here would be a hit, but Sincerely could have been a huge hit in this world. Listen to this and tell me I'm wrong.

So, much like their spiritual comrades, Big Star, the Dwight Twilley Band mixed 70s dad rock sounds with a kinda fey, pop-oriented approach and ended up generating a series of positively perfect power pop gems while toiling in virtual obscurity; unlike Big Star, though, DTB --and their namesake, who continues to record and release records to this day -- have stayed there. I only found them because their song "Looking for the Magic" is prominently featured in the movie You're Next. Having finally heard it, though, I genuinely believe that Dwight Twilley should be at least indie-famous by now, and I implore you: give this one a spin.

For more info, here's an article that I found; apparently, I'm not the only one who's made the Big Star comparison, nor the only one to think that Twilley should be a star.

Track listing:
1. I'm On Fire
2. Could Be Love
3. Feeling in the Dark
4. You Were So Warm
5. I'm Losing You
6. Sincerely
7. TV
8. Release Me
9. Three Persons
10. Baby Let's Cruise
11. England
12. Just Like the Sun

I don't wanna sit and watch it all roll by

Gerry Rafferty - Sleepwalking (1982)

The last time I posted a Gerry Rafferty record, it got taken down due to a DMC violation within a week of being up. But that was City to City, his most commercially successful record (due to two huge singles, "Baker Street" and "Right Down the Line"), whereas this is Sleepwalking, a relative commercial flop whose dark, introspective lyrics and heavy use of synthesizers alienated fans and critics. Anyone familiar with this blog should know that "dark lyrics" and "heavy use of synthesizers" are pretty much what I'm all about, so for me, this is right up there with his more celebrated works. And maybe EMI won't care that I'm posting it, who knows?

Track listing:
1. Standing at the Gates
2. Good Intentions
3. A Change of Heart
4. On the Way
5. Sleepwalking
6. Cat and Mouse
7. The Right Moment
8. As Wise as a Serpent

Driftin' along with the wind