Ridiculous that I can still remember hearing Romeo & Juliet in Fine Fare as an 8 year old. Something so gentle about it and quite lovely melodies that somehow hook.
The same can be said, maybe more so - for Sultans of Swing and I’ll get no kudos for typing it but again them guitar melodies and runs although light are weighty in substance.
Private Investigations was a chart oddity. Not quite in the (Laurie Anderson) O Superman bracket but its length, bass and moments of near silence before crashing guitar stabs always stuck out to me. Not ashamed to say I like it.
In 1985 I was in Solihull to look at shops, hang out, etc with a friend and it was a scorching hot Summers day. In an almost film style setting a big sports car, sunroof down, yuppie guy in late 20’s with shades on, attractive female counterpart in passenger seat pulled up momentarily along side us - and the guitar blast from Money For Nothing played at what was probably full volume. My mate and myself just looked at each other in a kind of stunned silence, hard to get across with typed words but such an 80’s moment, kind of dumb but magical really.
That’s all I’ve got really. The fact I can’t tell you any album only (non single) track perhaps tells its own story. I do feel record companies seized on the sound and buying demographic to promote the compact disc medium. To be fair the CD probably does sound better than a compact tight groove vinyl (long length poor pressing). There’s no doubt that album was the front runner for masses to change how they consumed music, at twice the price the record companies knew what they were doing.
I kind of like them. Yuppie Dylan with nice guitar and somehow they feel occasionally like classical music played via a rock medium. Plus, at least they went away when their time / era was done. No money for something reunions as far as I’m aware.
I’ll stretch to a 3 which is generous.
They are no Slayer!
