"Almost Over You" by Sheena Easton

HowYOUdoin, Dialophiles?

As we happily celebrate Valentines’ Day with our sweeties this weekend, we must remember and extend kindness and happy vibes to those who have recently lost a love, and haven’t yet made peace with that loss. If this describes you, you may feel that nobody understand what you are going through. However, we here at the Dial have it on good authority that Miss Sheena Easton understands your burden… so for all you lonely hearts out there… we offer her 1983 hit “Almost Over You”.

“I saw an old friend of ours today… she asked about you, I didn’t quite know what to say…”

A beautiful piano driven ballad, “Almost…” possesses a mature and classy sound, expertly detailing the pain of heartache due to an unfaithful partner, without crossing the line into “schmaltzy” territory. Even as a kid, I appreciated the lilting melody and harmony of this hit, which is no real surprise, given that Mom raised me on soft rock masters like The Carpenters and Barry Manilow. Her record collection allowed me to recognize and appreciate well-written and orchestrated pop ballads, and Sheena’s forgotten hit certainly fits that description.

A smash hit on the Adult Contemporary charts, where it placed at #4, “Almost...” had less of an impact on the Top 40, where it settled for a rather “meh” #25. Easton’s Best Kept Secret LP, from which “Almost” was extracted, did produce a big hit in the disco-influenced “Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)”, a #9 Hot 100 smash.

“You’re such a sly one with your cold, cold heart… maybe leaving came easy, but it tore me apart…”

Easton enjoys the impressive distinction of being the first artist to earn top 5 singles on five different Billboard charts consecutively, those being the pop/hot 100, adult contemporary, country, dance, and R&B charts. She even, (and rather infamously), earned a slot on Tipper Gore and the PRC’s “Filthy Fifteen” list with her Prince-authored “Sugar Walls”. If that’s not a diverse range, I don’t know what is.

Although I never truly forgot this lovely track, it was made top of mind a few years ago when some friends informed me how petite Sheena throws an arcade game off a balcony in the video for this very song!  Being a huge fan of the 1980s arcade scene, and having never seen the video back in the day, (I didn’t have cable until the early 90s), I knew I had to watch this clip immediately.

Sure enough, as Sheena sings her heart out, in what is presumably her ex-boyfriend’s home, she passes by and interacts with two (now classic) arcade games, Defender, and Sinistar. The implication is that her man was too busy playing the games to spend time with her, thus provoking the ballad.

The Sinistar machine seen here is the real deal, a brand spanking-new 1983 release from Williams Electronics. However, the Defender machine, also by Williams, the very one heaved by Sheena “She Hulk” Easton over the side, is NOT an actual Defender machine, but most likely a prop cabinet created for the express purpose of destruction. Notice it is never seen actually powered on (unlike the Sinistar), and probably is just a wooden shell with no monitor or guts. (this would certainly make it easier to heave over a railing…)

“I can forgive you and soon I’ll forget all my shattered dreams… although you left me with nothing to show, full of misery…”

As much as I love this song, the video’s interpretation that Sheena lost her guy not to another woman, but to an arcade game, is unmistakably camp, and immediately pushes the video into WTF territory, not fitting the serious emotion of the song itself.

Are we supposed to interpret coming back around, after painting the town, to mean the guy was out racking up high scores? I always thought that meant he was romancing other ladies… (there’s an easy joke about “scoring” here, but I will exercise good judgment…)

Also, if Sinistar was the game that was put between himself and Sheena (as the guy’s reflection in its video screen would seem to indicate), why did she send the helpless Defender machine to the great arcade in the sky? This has to be the most egregious display of violence against an arcade cabinet in a music video since Tom Petty knocked over Astro Invader in his “You Got Lucky” video.

Bizarre video aside… Easton really sells this one, portraying an emotional wreck trying to get over the guy that neglected her. When she sings the final chorus repetition, I get goose bumps, every time.

So take a moment to listen to Sheena’s overlooked hit this Valentine’s Day, and see if you too catch those same goose bumps that we do here at the Dial, whether your weekend is filled with romance and roses or catching up on DVDs on your couch solo.

“Now I’m almost over you… I’ve almost shook these blues… So when you come back around, after painting the town, you’ll see I’m almost over you.”

"Wrap It Up" by The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Yeah, that’s right, Dialophiles… tonight the Dial beams an overlooked gem from the Texas blues rock genre right to your speakers. Get ready to rock and maybe boogie a little too, with The Fabulous Thunderbirds and “Wrap It Up”!

“I’ve been watching you for days now baby… I just love your sexy ways now baby…”

A cover of an obscure 1968 B-side by soul legends Sam & Dave, and penned by R&B icons Isaac Hayes and David Porter, the T’birds remake went on to peak at US #50. The second single pulled from their blockbuster 1986 Tuff Enuff LP, “Wrap It Up” followed on the heels of their biggest hit, the US #10 title track.

The song’s memorable lyrics portray a man’s jubilant declaration of passion for his woman, as if he has found a perfect item in a department store after shopping all day. Now that’s he’s found her love after searching for so long, he tells his lady… just like he might tell a salesperson after finding that unique gift… “Wrap it up, I’ll take it.”

“Well no more will I shop around now baby… I know I got the best thing in town now baby…”

Hailing from Austin, Texas, the group, at the time of the Tuff Enuff LP, comprised of lead vocalist Kim Wilson, Jimmie Vaughan on guitar (yep, Stevie Ray’s brother), Preston Hubbard on bass, and drummer Fran Cristina.

The awesomely fun music video features many bodacious beauties, receiving the flirtatious advances of Wilson and the guys, and subsequently playing hard to get, or at least displaying apathy to their romantic intentions. However, while watching the last thirty seconds of the video again, it occurs to me that when the lovelies lip sync to Kim’s repeated “Wrap… wrap… wrap-wrap-wrap-wrap it up” adlib, they may be invoking a strong double meaning to the title phrase. As the girls pull the guys behind closed doors, and invite them into showers and so on… perhaps the song carries a safe sex message?

This makes perfect sense given the growing climate of sexual responsibility in the 1980s, even though I suspect that interpretation wasn’t intended or probably didn’t exist at all when Mssrs Hayes and Porter authored the tune 18 years prior.

“You’ve got tricks you ain’t never used… give it, give it, to me, it won’t be abused.”

So do yourself a favor, and check out this tasty jam from one of the leading blues-rock outfits of the '80s. I guarantee you’ll be humming it for days afterwards… and with a groove this sweet, it’s completely understandable!

“Wrap it up… I’ll take it. Wrap it up… I’ll take it.”

"Let Me Love You Tonight" by Pure Prairie League

How ya doin, Dialophiles? 

With the New Year well under way, the Dial’s resolution is to transmit more of those radio-friendly nuggets that you just don’t hear that much anymore. So without further ado, allow us to present “Let Me Love You Tonight” by Pure Prairie League!

“Dark clouds are blowin’ in the wind… he’s crossing your mind again…”

From 1980’s Firin’ Up LP, and featuring classic saxophone accompaniment by David Sanborn, “Let Me” is the story of a romantic fellow trying to persuade his intended lady faire to spend the night with him, even though she longs for the affections of a prior suitor.

Featuring lead vocals by future star Vince Gill (PPL’s third lead vocalist, following Craig Fuller and Larry Goshorn), later to grace the billboard charts on his own beginning with his 1984 minor hit “Victim of Life’s Circumstances”, Gill racked up an impressive run of forty-nine charting country hits, most of which went top ten. Though his country radio success lasted well into the new millennium, his impressive pipes were only heard once more on top 40 avenues, on the US #37 duet with future (and current) wife Amy Grant on her “House of Love” single from ‘94.

“They say once in your life, you find someone that’s right, someone who loves you like me.”

Curiously, LMLYT charted much higher on its original release than did PPL’s signature song, “Amie” (“What you wanna do?”), which, at least here in the Radio Dial’s home state of Ohio, continues to receive abundant radio airplay. LMLYT topped off at US #10 and hit #1 on the adult contemporary charts, versus Amie’s peak of US #27, with no position on any other chart whatsoever. Perhaps the soft rock/country/jazz arrangement of “Let Me…” makes it viewed as less “hip” in our contemporary age than does the timeless country vibe of Amie.

I realize that the sound of the genre has been derided as dated, or worse, soulless, but I continue to love soft rock, especially from the early 80s. Ambrosia, the Little River Band, Christopher Cross, Glenn Frey’s “The One Who Loves You”, CSN&Y’s “Southern Cross”, Hall & Oates “One on One”, Foreigner’s “Waiting For A Girl Like You”… I find the music comforting, innocent, and melodic, and I’m always put in a better “place” whenever and wherever I hear it.

“When the moon has forgotten what’s the night’s about… and the stars can’t work their places out. Hold me, tighter than tight, when the daylight comes, it’ll be all right.”

Now for an amusing aside… The window below will take you to some truly charming footage of Vince Gill alongside bluegrass bassist Gene Libbea, and PPL bandmate Jeff Wilson, singing “Let Me” at a small concert at a high school, but since it had been forever since Vince last sang the tune, he uses his daughter Jenny’s iPhone to read the lyrics as he sings! (I wish I could confirm exactly when and where this great clip happened.)

Whether you listen to the studio version below, or the off-the-cuff live version above, enjoy PPL’s mellow melody, and don’t be surprised if the relaxed “pop-meets-country-meets-jazz” vibe doesn’t just melt your cares away.

“Let me love you tonight. There’s a million stars in the sky. Let me love you tonight… I’ll make everything alright.”