New Wave Outpost Forum

Anyone familiar with New Wave albums or tracks that were recorded by artists who were otherwise very un-New Wave. Kind of like Disco back in the day or Club these days. Sometimes it's hard to decifer if it's a stab at selling a few more records with the latest trend or a genuine respect for the music. I can think of a few off the top of my head: Helen Reddy did a pretty good NW song called "Imagination". Dolly Parton recorded her LP The Great Pretender, which was basically NW covers of 50's and 60's tracks. Her dark, synth version of "Save The Last Dance For Me" is excellent. Actually, her quasi-metal take on "I Walk The Line" is just as good if not better. Mamie Van Doren did a superb 12" in '84 called "State Of Turmoil". The sound of this record is right-on New Wave, really wish it would be issued on disc! Care to add any others to the list...

And Melissa Manchester had her album Mathematics, which had some credible New Wave moments: "Energy", "Shocked", "All Tied Up".

Robert Palmer, at heart a blue-eyed R&B singer, assembled new wave dalliances that actually got him played on new wave radio stations - specifically the "Clues" album. Having finally grabbed a copy, I was shocked to see that not only does Palmer do a Gary Numan cover, Numan himself plays on the track...

Paul Young kind of falls into the same category - a pop/soul singer who had the bright idea to do a Joy Division cover.

-Sean
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Pete Townshend-Empty Glass(his great contribution to tough power rock-was it called punk then- and arty synth based pop)

Robert Fripp-Exposure(atmospheric-minimal sound together with his prog rock virtuosity)

Hall and Oates-Private Eyes(When the soul pop duo embraced the early 80s synth machine, the result ,if not terrific, was pretty interesting...)

Warren Zevon-Excitable boy(i know an outsider is always an outsider,and Warren was exactly this case.When he wrote this masterpiece,noone gave him a damn,although fulled of great proud songs,grotesque humour and lot of fun.Somewhere in the mid eightees,REM named him as a big influence,until his day of death before 3 years.Warren was for sure no new wave,but this album, leaves to listener the taste of a lonely dark soul fights his demonsthrough his personal way.OK, this was also punk for me.)

Here's a big old similar thread...

http://www.nwoutpost.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1532

Sparks. They had their biggest US hits with a string of new wave-ish albums in the early '80s. "Whomp That Sucker" is probably my favorite Sparks record overall, although '75's "Indiscreet" runs it close.

Of course one could argue that much of Sparks' '70s material kind of forecasted new wave, but that's another debate.

Robin Gibb (of the Bee Gees) actually came out with a new wave LP in the early 80s. [:D]

Sparks''Whomp that sucker''considered as the return of Mael and Mael,in the ultra smart pop-rock form of their 70s albums, after their rather dissapointing two american albums in 1976 and 1977.It was a great album that unfortunately epitomized their careere until recently.

Well you mentioned Hall and Oates but there's the even earlier album no one seems to remember called X-Static which would really qualify as New Wave. Remember Be-Bop Drop? No Brain No Pain? Intravino?

Then there's Alice Cooper's attempt Flush The Fashion with Clones and Pain (which is a great single overshadowed by Clones).

Then there was the hysterical attempt by the Village People to go New Romantic...funniest thing I ever saw on Merv Griffin was those guys totally dressed up like Adam Ant about 5 years too late.

I almost forgot Linda Ronstadt's Mad Love album on which she actually covers a few Elvis Costello songs.

And Head Games from Foreigner was obviously an attempt at The Cars Candy-O sound.

Neil Young took a few stabs at a retro sound.

When he first appeared on the scene some people considered Tom Petty New Wave which if you think of American Girl makes sense.

And how the HELL can I forget my all-time favorite song-

We Built This City by Jefferson Starship!!!

They leapt into the New Wave arena with this one!!!

The BEST!!!!

...someone just fire-bombed my friggin' car...

Neil Diamond - The ironically titled "Headed for the Future" - he was several years late for the boat by the time he released this.

I forgot about Linda Ronstadt's stab at New Wave--and I love that album! "Hurt So Bad" is a real mood-setter the way it kind of eases its way into your ear. The same with her cover of Neil Young's "Look Out For My Love". It starts and ends like a hot stuff you're watching mosey down the 9th Grade corridor. I really dig her cover of Elvis' "Girls Talk", too. She doesn't top his, of course, but it comes close. This whole album was really panned at the time it was released and was opined as one of her blunders for quite a while afterwards, but at second sight, it's still a credible Ronstadt album underneath all its dated instrumentals.