A RADIO DIAL EXTRA: "Stiletto" by The Night Flight Orchestra

           Well, this is unusual… It seems another modern song has caught my attention, and thus, been picked up by the receivers of the Radio Dial. Just a little over two months after discovering the soulful Lianne La Havas and her hit-that-should-have-been “What You Don’t Do”, I now find myself constantly humming a song that draws inspiration from ‘80s AOR anthems, and apes those styles nearly perfectly. Crank it up and rip the knob off for “Stiletto” by The Night Flight Orchestra! 

Formed by Bjorn Strid and David Andersson of the Swedish melodic death metal group Soilwork, along with Sharlee D'Angelo, Jonas Källsbäck, Richard Larsson, and Sebestian Forslund, The Night Flight Orchestra was created out of Bjorn and David’s mutual appreciation for 70s and 80s classic rock and an attempt to recapture the sound and melody of that era. “Stiletto” is taken from this year’s LP “Skyline Whispers”, and celebrates the intense physical desire the singer feels for his woman, despite the fact that their emotional connection eroded a long time prior. 

“Stiletto” would have sounded perfectly at home on an AOR or rock leaning top 40 station circa ‘85 or ‘86. Strid and Andersson are clearly drawing inspiration from the icons of the era, recalling acts like Loverboy, Survivor, Billy Squier, and Sammy Hagar, and lyrics that evoke the intense longing of Bryan Adams’ “Run To You”, and the aggressive, cocky “swagger” of John Parr's “Naughty Naughty”. There’s also a very real mid ‘80s movie soundtrack quality here, as if “Stiletto” is actually a long lost single recorded for the Rocky III or Over The Top soundtracks.

I was recently introduced to The Night Flight Orchestra by my friend Justin, a serious metal fan by trade, who learned of the band due to it's Soilwork connection. He recommended that I check out “Stiletto” because of my appreciation of all things ‘80s. Upon first listen, I knew I had found the next Radio Dial Extra.

Click the window below and give “Stiletto” a spin. And don’t be surprised if an ‘80s movie styled “montage” starts playing in your mind’s eye as you listen… what you fill that montage with, I’ll leave up to you.

And Justin, I would just like to say… \m/ SLAYER! \m/ 

“Please don’t take off your stilettos… They never tell me lies… I’m under a spell, can never let go… Don't hold me on the line… hold me on the line.”

 

"Tell It Like It Is", and "There's The Girl" by Heart

         Long time readers of the blog know that on occasion, two songs by the same act will share the Radio Dial spotlight. Basically, I can't decide which of the two equally deserved tunes should get the attention, so both songs are featured. Tonight is one of those very times. Settle on in, as the Dial brings you the music of Heart, featuring the inimitable sisterly duo of Ann and Nancy Wilson, and their underplayed hit singles “Tell It Like It Is”, and “There's the Girl”.

“If you want something to play with... go and find yourself a toy.
Cause baby, baby, my time is much too expensive... And I don't want no little boy”

A #8 U.S. hit single pulled from 1980's “Greatest Hits / Live” LP, Ann belts out a passionate cover of this 1966 Aaron Neville soul ballad that lays out the desire felt by the singer for her intended beau.

Coming along at the tail end of their “Little Led Zeppelin” phase, and many years prior to their mid-80s MTV fueled career resurgence, “Tell It...” was their highest charting single at this point in their career. Even the ubiquitous '70s hits “Magic Man” and “Barracuda” lagged slightly behind this hit cover chartwise, as they hit US #9, and #11, respectively.

“Tell It” also dates from a rather cover-heavy period for the band, as it was preceded a year prior by the 1979 single release of Badfinger/Harry Nilsson’s “Without You” (taken from the '78 LP “Magazine“), and was immediately followed by another extract from “Greatest Hits / Live”, a powerful live cover of the pop standard “Unchained Melody” (most closely associated with The Righteous Brothers), which hit US #83 in 1981. Additionally, other covers from the 1980 live set include songs originally recorded by The Beatles, Little Richard, and the Wilson’s sister’s idols… Led Zeppelin, themselves.

“Tell it like it is... Oh yeah, just let your conscience be your guide...
You know, deep down inside... I believe you love me, just forget your foolish pride” 

 

Following a period of declining sales, and diminishing chart success, Heart reinvented themselves and burst back onto the scene in 1985 with their 5X Platinum self titled LP, which, among other hits, contained their first #1 hit single, the ethereal “These Dreams”. The AOR sounds of the new MTV-embracing Heart continued with 1987's “Bad Animals” LP, from which was extracted our second spotlight single, the US #12 hit “There's the Girl”.

“You're a polished diamond... Now you're feeling kinda rough...
Yes I know how long you've been searching... for the perfect touch
You better hear what I say... I can tell your eyes are just about to give you away”

Following the release of Bad Animals' #1 smash ballad “Alone”, and the top 10 “Who Will You Run To”, “There's...” is a warning put to song. A warning by a woman telling her (platonic?) male friend that the girl HE carries a torch for is bad news and will likely leave him heartbroken. I imagine you could even call this girl a “Bad Animal”, as per the album title.

Of note here is that lead vocals are handled by Nancy, not Ann, who typically sang lead on most Heart releases. “There's” peaked at US #12, and was the last sizable hit from its parent LP.

Aside from the Wilson sisters, the only other Heart bandmate to appear on both “Tell It...” and “There's...” is Howard Leese, performing guitar and keyboards on both cuts. The rest of the 1980 line up included Steve Fossen on bass, Roger Fisher on guitars, and Michael DeRosier on drums. By the 1987 release of “There's...”, The Wilsons and Leese were joined by Mark Andes on bass, and drummer Denny Carmassi.

“'Cause there's the girl... that you were after... feel your heart beating faster now
There's the girl that you were after... Can you say that you don't want her anymore?”

 

Yes, I know these tracks aren’t especially “deep cuts” from Heart’s discography, but they are quite rare to hear on terrestrial radio (at least in my home market of central Ohio). In fact, last month I heard “There’s The Girl” on the radio for the first time in at least a decade, and I still haven't heard “Tell It Like It Is” over the airwaves since its original chart run.

Give these forgotten tracks a listen and reawaken your musical memories, brought to you courtesy of Ann and Nancy and the rest of the Heart family, and Kyle's Radio Dial!

"Twilight Zone / Twilight Tone" by The Manhattan Transfer

         Hey friends, thanks for checking in at my humble little slice of the internet, a place where you can be assured of finding songs that awaken your memories and please your ears. It's a modest little blog I call “Kyle's Radio Dial”, and tonight, I spotlight an early '80s disco tribute to a lasting television classic. Read on to learn about and listen to “Twilight Zone / Twilight Tone” by The Manhattan Transfer.

“With a key, you unlock the door to imagination... Beyond it is another dimension...”

Taken from the Transfer's 1979 Extensions LP, and released as a single in early '80, this disco-fied interpretation of the classic TV series came along at the tail end of the disco craze. As the highly publicized “Disco Demolition Night” of July '79 demonstrated, America was growing weary of repetitive dance floor rhythms, and as such, any new single with a beat you could dance to had a rough time climbing the charts in the early months of the new decade. It's not at all surprising that “Zone” only reached US #30, though it fared slightly better in the UK at #25.

The New York based vocal quartet comprising of Tim Hauser, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, and Cheryl Bentyne, was able to rebound spectacularly from the underwhelming chart performance of “Zone” with their only top 10 hit, the Grammy-award winning “The Boy from New York City”. A cover of the The Ad Libs’ 1965 soul hit, the Transfer took their jazzy remake up to US #7 in 1981.

“When I hear this melody, this strange illusion takes over me... Through a tunnel of the mind, perhaps a present or future time...”

As would be expected, “Zone” incorporates Marius Constant’s iconic “do-do-Doo-do” Twilight Zone opening title theme, and it also works in elements of Bernard Herrmann's background music that was featured in many episodes of the classic series. Alan opens the song with his Rod Serling imitation, while Janis handles the lead vocals.

The song’s verses don’t seem to reference any specific TZ episodes, but instead offer up two vague tales of a psychic girl from Memphis, and a man on an airplane flight that sees “Glen up there bopping a rhythm”. Perhaps this is some sort of Glen Miller shout out?

Interestingly, Twilight Zone (the series) has served as inspiration for many songs, both on and off the Hot 100. Iron Maiden, Rush, Golden Earring, 2 Unlimited, and The Markettes have all recorded songs which were named after the show, or featured lyrical, or musical references to, Serling’s masterpiece.

“Out of nowhere comes this sound, this melody that keeps spinning round and round... Pyramidial locomotion from this mystic unknown zone.”

It’s also not the first attempt to take a disco cover of a classic TV theme onto the pop charts, as the Wilton Place Street Band demonstrated in 1977 when they took their dance floor rendition of the “I Love Lucy” theme to US #24.

While it is unarguably a fun recording, “Zone” can't really be considered a serious tribute to Serling's iconic series, being that it's practically a novelty song. But it is a curious musical trinket of the era, best played on the jukeboxes found in the smoky corners of clubs and bars in… the Twilight Zone. (and on Kyle's Radio Dial of course!)

“Hearin' the twilight... Hearin' the twilight... twilight tone”