Somebody's Watching Me [Import]

Rockwell (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Original Release Date: 1984
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Motown
• ASIN: B0009YJXZA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,726 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Debut album from Rockwell featuring Michael Jackson on the #2 title track - track listing: SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME / obscene phone caller / TAXMAN / change your ways / RUNAWAY / wasting away / KNIFE / foreign country

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Living in the twilight zone..., August 28, 2008

By 

Nse Ette (Lagos, Nigeria) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Somebody's Watching Me (Audio CD)

Rockwell, son of Motown founder berry Gordy, and brother-in-law of Michael Jackson's brother may have fallen into the "where are they now" category, but way back in 1984, he had a huge smash off his debut album.

Title track "Somebody's watching me" is a Funk/Pop ditty with a dramatic narration about paranoia and feeling like one is living in "The twilight zone". Incredibly catchy, it was a top 5 hit in the US (#2) and UK, and featured prominent backing vocals from his famous in-law.

"Obscene phone caller" is more of the same, bouncier and more rock tinged, with a narration about a nutty phone caller who just breathes heavily down the phone when it's picked up.

Other standouts are a synth heavy remake of George Harrison's "Taxman", and the punk feel of "Runaway" and "Wasting away" (with a squealing guitar solo).

The album's emotional centerpiece though is its lone ballad; "Knife". Sounding like a seventies cinematic classic (very Elton John-ish or Jason Mraz-like), it is a tender piano ballad about heartache. The lyrics "When I pretend/wear a smile to fool my dearest friends/I wonder if they know/It's just a show" are so intense and I feel a strong connection to them. He gives such a heartfelt and emotive vocal performance, showing he can do more than just narrate as he did on his lone big hit. Heartache never sounded so beautiful!

The album hit #15 in the US and his follow up albums, though posessing moments of sporadic brilliance ("Don't it make you cry", "He's a cobra" from "Captured"), sank much without a trace. Shame really, but this is such a fun album, a perfect example of 80s Pop.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good first album, March 5, 2006

By 

Preston (nc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Somebody's Watching Me (Audio CD)

Rockwell's first album was really good. It had a funk driven feel to it on most tracks. Obscene Phone Caller was a good follow up to Somebody's Watching Me. Anybody that can get Michael Jackson to sing on your song is a winner in my book as that song is still funky 2 decades later! It sounded very close to Michael's own hit Billie Jean in terms of the rhythm and beats. Unfortunately, Rockwell couldn't match that early success with his next album. But this was a good start for him in his short lived music career.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It rocks very well!, March 5, 2006

By 

MVideo Nut (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Somebody's Watching Me (Audio CD)

This is a totally awesome CD! For highlights this has the very well known "Somebody's Watching Me", another hit "Obscene Phone Caller", & the awesome remake of George Harrison's "Taxman" (I think I like this version better!)!