Customer Reviews

Rock On 1982-Hot in the City

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4 star:		(1)
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By some weird quirk, the "Rock On" series actually has two different entries from the year 1982. The one that I'm reviewing here is called "Rock on 1982: Hot in the City."

Most multi-artist compilations of 1980s music are not very good. They usuaully have only 2 or 3 or 4 good songs, with the rest being filler. So far I have never seen any multi-artist 1980s compilation that I would give 5 stars to. In fact most such compilaitons only deserve 2 or 3 stars. It's a rare find to come accross one that deserves 4 stars. But that's exactly what we have here.

Perhaps the best song here is "Words" by Missing Persons. When I first saw the video for this back on MTV in 1982, I was largely distracted by the visuals, and I never considered the song to be more than a ditzy, bubble gum pop song. But now that I hear it on my stereo, which sounds much better than a 2 inch TV speaker, and does not distract me with the video, I realize that my past interpretation of the song was totally wrong. In reality, "Words" is a superior, elegant, beautiful example of 1980s new wave at its best. The synthesizers are used very tatsefuly, without sacrificing anyting to art or musicianship. This is a very powerful, intelligent, well thought out song. It deserves to be heard on a good stereo system.

Another standout track is "Hungry Like the Wolf." This one has definitely stood the test of time. "Caught Up in You" also holds up well. Same thing for "Kids in America."

What a joy to hear Melissa Manchester's "You Should Hear How She Talks About You." Before I bought this CD, I hadn't heard that song since 1982. Check out the memories that come flooding back!

"Shadows of the Night" is Pat Benetar's best song. She has a lovely, beautfiful, strong, powerful voice. She was trained in opera.

"Everybody Wants You" is a fantastic imitation of Led Zeppelin. Of course in 1982 when I first heard it, I had no idea who Led Zeppelin was. But now that I do, the influence is obvious.

"Out of Work" is a decent imitation of Bruce Springsteen. The way the singer sings, and the lryical subject are both obvious Springsteen copies. The song even has a saxophone part in the middle.

Most of the other songs are in the range of OK to good. In fact there's only one song here that I truly despise, and that's the Air Supply song. Why did they put that one on here? People who like the other 11 songs are not the kind of people who like Air Supply. Well, at least it's the very last track, so it's easy to avoid hearing it.

All in all, this is a great CD. For anyone who can remember the 5 original MTV veejays, and the rocket blasting off, and how MTV used to play nothing but videos, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, this CD should bring back a lot of great memories.

Rock On 1982-Hot In The City is the second volume in the series for this standout musical year. The mix is a great collection of hits and lesser-known gems. "Out Of Work" by Gary "US" Bonds was written and produced by Bruce Springsteen and is an overlooked gem. Huey Lewis & The News' "Do You Believe In Love" is a great single and a perfect radio hit as is .38 Special's "Caught Up In You". Billy Squier's "Everybody Wants You" has a great, propulsive beat and Missing Persons' "Words' is a solid, new wave rocker. Marshall Crenshaw is a sharp singer-songwriter who never achieved mainstream success, but his great Buddy Holly sounding, "Someday, Someway" managing to creep into the lower reaches of the Top 40. Billy Idol's first big US hit, "Hot In The City" is a good, summertime sounding hit. Air Supply and Melissa Manchester provide some good cheese with "Even The Nights Are Better" and "You Should Hear How He Talks About You" respectively. Pat Benatar shows her first signs of adding more a pop sound to her music with "Shadows Of The Night" and Kim Wilde goes for anthem material with "Kids In America". Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf" was recorded in '82, but was really a big hit in 1983 and would have been better suited in a collection from that year, but it is still a great song.

this cd is a treasure for disco music colectors.