“Hold Me 'Til the Mornin' Comes” by Paul Anka

      Don't you find it true that we all can use a little down time these days? Just a moment to step away from the craziness of life, take a deep breath, and relax. Some may enjoy reading a chapter of a favorite book, others may like to leisurely sip a favorite beverage. Here at the Radio Dial, we prefer to listen to songs that have slipped out of the playlists of most radio stations years ago. We invite you to share one of these relaxing moments with us, as we listen to (and review) Paul Anka’s 1983 minor hit ballad, “Hold Me ‘Til the Mornin’ Comes”.

“Two broken hearts… neither one knows what to say… both falling from love, but not quite all the way”

Written by Anka and legendary songsmith David Foster, and featuring Chicago frontman Peter Cetera on the chorus, “Hold Me...” is a plaintive tune concerning a man attempting to reconcile with his lady love after a regretful breakup. Anka's character is remorseful, yet reserved, as he lays his emotions on the line to the girl he pushed aside.

A #40 pop and US #2 AC hit single taken from his ’83 LP “Walk A Fine Line”, “Hold Me...” would be the final top 40 entry for Paul, who first charted on the Hot 100 26 years earlier with 1957’s US #2 “Diana”.

His hits continued with the pop standards “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” (US #2, 1959), and “Puppy Love”, (US #2, 1960) and the 70’s cheesefest “You’re Having My Baby” (US #1 ’74). He also authored the lyrics to Frank Sinatra’s soul-stirring inspirational classic “My Way”. (It amuses me that Anka was responsible for these last two songs in particular, as they are at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of respectability.)

“Hold Me…” experienced an indirect revival of sorts in the late 90s as the music in the bridge section was sampled in KC and JoJo's 1998 #1 smash ballad “All My Life”, though personally, I find Paul's recording to be a much better song. It’s more melodic and genuinely romantic, unlike the whiny and manufactured vibe I get from KC and JoJo's concoction. Though since Anka is listed as a co-writer for the later hit (due to the sample), and that single far outsold the 1983 original, I'm sure he didn't complain when he cashed those royalty checks! (I know I wouldn't have!)

“Where shall we start… a tender word that we can share… and if we believe… in time we will get there.”

Back in the 80s, and because of the Peter Cetera vocal, I always assumed I was hearing a Chicago track, with verses sung by a Chicago member that didn't ordinarily handle lead vocal, leaving Peter to sing the chorus. I was only recently reunited this year with “Hold Me...” when I caught it on a local AM station, and upon rehearing it after all that time, I still initially misidentified it as a now obscure Chicago ballad. Imagine my surprise when I looked it up, and found it was Paul “You’re Having My Baby” Anka!

"Hold Me..." was among the first group of songs I came to know under the term “Adult Contemporary”, along with Sergio Mendez's “Never Gonna Let You Go” (#4, ’83), and Patti Austin and James Ingram's “Baby, Come To Me” (#1, ’83), pleasant melodic hits informed by soul techniques and jazz smoothness. Of course, as the years went on, this sub-genre of pop often came under ridicule and derision, being accused of saccharine lyrics and an overall banality. But I think this is unfair. If you're looking for a relaxing vibe you can't get much better than AC tracks, especially from this era. And anything to help reduce stress in this crazy world is a good thing.

“Would you still love me in the mornin’? Would you still be there in the mornin’? Or would you leave without a warnin’? Say you love me too…” 

Anka's ballad also joins the ranks of other great tunes that peaked at the last position of the top 40 like Paul Simon's “Still Crazy After All These Years” ('75), The Buggles “Video Killed The Radio Star” ('79), Alice Cooper's “Clones (We're All)” ('80), Blue Oyster Cult's “Burnin' For You” ('81), and “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure ('88). Give it a listen too, and see if you agree that a #40 peak is way too low for a ballad this smooth and classy.

“Darlin’, hold me til’ the mornin’ comes… until I see you smile… take all the sadness from your eyes…”

"Gemini Dream" by The Moody Blues

Good evening, friends! 

It’s that time again, when the Dial locks onto a signal from decades past, fine tunes it to crystal clarity, and presents to you for your listening pleasure. Sit back and enjoy The Moody Blues and “Gemini Dream”!

“Long time, no see… short time for you and me… so fine… so good… we’re on the road, like you knew we would.”

A Billboard US #12 single extracted from their 1981 Long Distance Voyager LP, (which also produced the US #15 hit “The Voice”), “Gemini Dream” is a curious and infectious melding of prog rock, new wave, and post-disco dance music. Consisting at the time of four-fifths of their classic late '60s line-up, the Moody Blues in '81 were, Justin Hayward (electric guitar, vocals), John Lodge (bass guitar, vocals), Ray Thomas (backing vocals), Graeme Edge (drums, percussion), and newcomer Patrick Moraz on keyboards, whom replaced original member Mike Pinder before the recording of this LP.

The Moodies were among a special class of 1960s “survivors” including The Rolling Stones, The Who, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Steve Winwood, and Paul McCartney, whom all enjoyed continued chart and radio success with contemporary hits into the MTV era.

“First night, so long… state of mind, what can go wrong? We’re here, the time is right, to rock n roll, right through the n-n-n-n-night”

I never understood what exactly the lyrics meant as a kid, but looking back on it now, I believe the tune can be taken in two different ways. My first conclusion is that “Gemini Dream” is a story of two lovers reconciling after a period of time, and the resulting anxiety over reclaiming the love that was lost. The interesting thing here is how this romantic reunification is told using musical terminology as a clever metaphor. There's “stage fright” (anxiety of starting the relationship again), “lights go up” (the moment of truth when the couple reconciles), and the rather obvious “rock n roll”, which means just what you think it means!

But then I started thinking that maybe the tune is more literal, and it REALLY IS about musicians. Perhaps it's about a band or a musical duo re-uniting after years apart in order to play another show. But what about the frequent references to love in the lyrics? Maybe that's not love in the romantic sense, but instead is the love felt from the audience when a musician plays to an appreciative crowd.

You could even make the argument that it's a little of both – reuniting musicians that were lovers as well, reigniting their passion for each other as they play to the audience one last time.

And what of the title... the “Gemini Dream” itself? Whether you agree with the lovers, or musicians angle, the Gemini Dream is clearly a mutually shared goal between two people.

“Turned round, to see… where we’ve been and what we believe… in life… love… take a chance, see it through, you’ll be glad that you came too.”

This was the first Moody Blues song I was aware of, no doubt because it was current in 1981, after I had already fallen in love with everything about top 40 radio. I remember being quite surprised later on, when I discovered that “Gemini” came from the same guys that did the brooding “Nights in White Satin”, and sophisticated “Tuesday Afternoon”, songs I knew and loved from listening to my parents’ favorite oldies station. Those late 60s hits didn't sound to my ears like they could have been recorded by the same group that did “Gemini”, which is clearly a testament to how creative and versatile these English gentlemen really are.

Give it a spin, why don't ya?

“There’s a place… a gemini dream… there’s no escaping from the love we have seen… so come with me, turn night into day… you’re gonna wake up, you know you’re gonna wake up in a Gemini Dream”

"Shot in the Dark" by Ozzy Osbourne

Are you ready to ROCK, Dialophiles???

Tonight, the Dial blasts an undisputed classic from one John Michael Osbourne... The Madman... The Prince of Darkness. Pulled from 1986, back in his post-Black Sabbath, pre-reality TV days, raise your devil horns up high for Ozzy's “Shot In The Dark”!

“Out on the streets, I’m stalking the night… I can hear my heavy breathing…”

“Shot…” tells the story of an ex-soldier, who is constantly haunted by both the voices of his enemies whom he bettered in war, and those of his military and government superiors. He contemplates revenge against the officers who trained him (identified as “the people who hate”), since they forced him to commit acts of war that he didn't believe in. Chillingly, the soldier dares those officers to underestimate him. Not exactly a light-hearted topic to be sure, but then again, you would expect nothing less from The Ozzman.

“Paid for the kill, but it doesn’t seem right… something there I can’t believe in.”

From 1986’s “The Ultimate Sin” LP, “Shot…” is a true snapshot-of-its-time hard rock classic, with awesome squealing guitar riffs courtesy of Jake E. Lee, and Mike Moran’s synthesizer work bearing more than a passing pop and even slight glam rock influence.

A bit of controversy exists surrounding the songwriting credits, as they are currently listed to Ozzy and bassist Phil Soussan, but Phil maintains that he wrote the song entirely himself before joining Osbourne's crew. Soussan claimed that he was never paid royalties for the track, which likely influenced Epic Records to delete The Ultimate Sin in the early 2000s, and not reissue or remaster the LP as of yet, unlike most of the rest of Ozzy's back catalog.

“But just like the wounded, and when it’s too late… they’ll remember, they’ll surrender.”

As far as Ozzy’s history goes, “Shot” is significant for being his first appearance on the Hot 100 as a solo performer. Landing at US #68 in ’86, and earning a #10 position on the US Mainstream Rock chart, it was to be followed in 1989 by the US #8 Lita Ford duet, “Close My Eyes Forever”, his only top 10 single. Later hits include the iconic tracks “No More Tears” (US #71 in ‘91), and “Mama, I’m Coming Home” (US #28 in '92). And for those of you that assume that Ozzy hit big early on with his proto-heavy-metal band Black Sabbath, it may surprise you to learn that Sabbath’s highest charting offering stateside was “Iron Man”, which stalled in that great magnetic field at US #52 in ’71.

“Never a care for the people who hate… underestimate me now.”

Ozzy’s LP covers scared the crap out of me as a kid, especially his earlier LP Bark at the Moon, which I saw at the age of nine in my local record store. At the time, I had been largely sheltered from horror films and scary imagery, and as a result, Ozzy’s werewolf/dog creature creeped me out something fierce. Of course, I look at it now as high camp, but back then… I admit I lost some sleep thinking of that album cover, but whenever I was in that record store, I sought the LP out as I was absolutely fascinated with the visual and I just couldn’t look away.

So, crank it up and rip the knob off for the Godfather of Metal, and be sure to check back soon for another great cut from our shared musical past right here on Kyle's Radio Dial!

“But a shot in the dark… one step away from you… just a shot in the dark… always creeping up on you”