When A&M acts "Jumped the Shark"

[Mr Bill]

Wasn't it LOVE AMERICAN STYLE?
What do I win?

Yes it was. You looked in Ed Marsh's book didn't you?

You win... A boot to the head! You may admonish yourself privately if you wish.

--Mr Bill

 

[Dave]

Wasn't it LOVE AMERICAN STYLE?


What do I win?


Dan

Love, Love, Love, Love American Style....

And on a star spangled night my love, (My love come to me)

You can rest you head on my shoulder.

Out by the dawn's early light, my love,

I will defend your right to try...


...Sorry, Guys...I couldn't help it!!! I love the theme for that show; haven't heard it in years!! Is it available on a '45'?! One of the Bähler's...John, actually, sung it. Just thought I'd "jump the shark" a little, myself... :goofygrin:

Dave

...truer than RED, WHITE & BLUE... :usflag:

 

[Harry]

^^It's available on Television's Greatest Hits Volume II in its original mono recording.

Harry

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Well, the things you learn around here. I always thought Happy Days was inspired by, as opposed to "spun off from," the movie AMERICAN GRAFFITI.

 

[Steven J. Gross]

"Warm" was an unusually MOR album, wasn't it? I kind of knew when I first heard it something was way different, and the public did not know what to make of it either, I think.
The solo Alpert stuff was all downhill after "Midnight Sun".
Herb has to make another great album so we can forget about the disaster: "Colors".

 

[Captain Bacardi]

The solo Alpert stuff was all downhill after "Midnight Sun".

I completely disagree here. I consider both Second Wind and Passion Dance to be Herb's better solo offerings. You are right about Colors, though. A disaster is a nice word for it.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Mr Bill]

Well, the things you learn around here. I always thought Happy Days was inspired by, as opposed to "spun off from," the movie AMERICAN GRAFFITI.

Well, there's no doubt that that particular segment of LAS was inspired by the success of American Graffitti. IIRC that segment featured Ron Howard, Anson WIlliams and Tom Bosley. That's about all I remember though...

I completely disagree here. I consider both Second Wind and Passion Dance to be Herb's better solo offerings. You are right about Colors, though. A disaster is a nice word for it.

I'm sort of with Steve Gross on this. In regards to Warm I do disagree. It went gold, gave the TJB a couple of chart appearances (admittedly nothing like they had only a few years earlier) and is a favorite among the more dedicated fans.

On the solo recordings, though I disagree with both of you. I haven't cared much for anything since Fandango. Sure, there are a few here and there. Lot's of the Bullishalbum are good. SOme cuts from Blow Your Own Horn are great (though I prefer the AyM Discos version Noche De Amor to the US version). Midnight Sun was a BIG disapopintment and none of the ALMOSounds recordings do much for me. A couple tunes of Colors and "Que Pasa Mr Jones" off Passion Dance are about it. Second Wind? IMHO it (pardon the pun) blows. It should have been to ALMOSounds what Lonely Bull was to A&M...

--Mr Bill
Hoping all concerned will consider this a "thread fart" as opposed to a "thread crap."

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I think Mr. Bill and I are on about the same wavelength, Alpertwise. Although I do like quite a bit of Passion Dance. I have never heard Colors but from what I've read on this forum, I'm sure I'd hate it.

 

[Rudy]

I haven't cared much for anything since Fandango.

So a good example: for you, he "jumped the shark" after Fandango.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Wasn't it LOVE AMERICAN STYLE?
What do I win?

Yes it was. You looked in Ed Marsh's book didn't you?

You win... A boot to the head! You may admonish yourself privately if you wish.

--Mr Bill

Nope, I didn't look in the book...I just remembered it...Harold Gould played Howard Cunningham, as I recall, but I could be wrong about that. I was a Love American Style junkie every Friday night when I was a kid...


Dan

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Supertramp jumped right after "Breakfast in America". I guess the single "Cannonball" was the end.

 

[jfiedler17]

Re: Supertramp ... nah, I'd have to go with when Hodgson left as being the "jump the shark" moment. "Famous Last Words," while not as consistent as "Breakfast" and despite sounding terrible sonically-speaking, "FLW" still has some great moments on it; "My Kind of Lady" and "It's Raining Again" are great singles, and "Crazy" and "C'est Le Bon" are two of my more favorite Supertramp "filler cuts." But after Hodgson left, the band definitely took a dive. FREE AS A BIRD would've been a much better album to release as the first post-Hodgson effort. BROTHER WHERE ... was almost completely devoid of strong "singles" material (even "Cannonball" didn't sound like obvious "singles" material) and releasing a nearly side-long title track was an extremely oddball idea for an '80s pop album. Really bad career move.

 

[Dave]

I forgot about Paul Williams' Soundtrack for the movie, Phantom Of The Paradise. He hardly sings on it, himself. Jeffrey Comanor, who made an A&M LP a few years back, appeared on it, in a 'made up group', "The Beach Bums" and another 'made up group' sings a 50's-style song that starts the album. And Jessica Harper who sings in the movie sings a song or two, as does, William Finley.

Rented the movie and watched it a couple of times and it was good.

Dave

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Can't resist this one:
When Split Enz, on their "True Colors" LP recorded "SHARK ATTACK", they were "JTS".

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Maybe, but that was a very good album and the one following it, WAIATA was even better and the one following that,, TIME AND TIDE, was just great.

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Actually Mike, I agree with you 100%- they still had a ways to go. Then I beleive they became Crowded House?

 

[jfiedler17]

Yeah, I agree 100% about Split Enz! I think they did a reverse shark jump. The Split Enz albums got progressively better and better, and then they went and managed to top their Split Enz work when they became Crowded House, who are one of the best bands of the late '80s/early '90s. Love their singles! "Something So Strong" has definitely got to be one of my favorite songs of all-time.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Am I correct that it was only the Finn bros that were in Crowded House? The rest of Split Enz...well, split, right?

Anyway, back to shark-jumping.

 

[jfiedler17]

Actually, I think there were three Split Enz alums in Crowded House; Neil Finn (through all four albums), Tim Finn (the last two), and drummer Paul Hester.

More A&M shark-jumping fodder? How about Human League with HYSTERIA (a few good moments, i.e. "Louise", but, wow, talk about your terribly-produced albums!)? Jeffrey Osborne with "You Should Be Mine" (I personally love the song, but let's be honest, how can you NOT expect to lose some credibility singing a chorus that goes "Can you woo woo woo? Can you woo woo woo?" )? Cat Stevens with NUMBERS? Joe Jackson with WILL POWER?

Another A&M band that, like Split Enz, I think did a reverse shark jump: The Tubes. Their earliest A&M stuff is really amusing but most of it isn't exactly repeated-listen material (although "Don't Touch Me There" and their over-the-top B-side remake of "Love Will Keep Us Together" I enjoy listening to every so often), but they seemed to get better (or at least that much more accessible) with each successive album, and their first two Capitol releases even managed to outshine - sales-wise and quality-wise - their A&M work.

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Good ones Jeff.

 

[Mr Bill]

In regards to Split Enz and Crowded house, everyone is almost right here, but still a little off in the facts. Split Enz had many members come and go (and come and go more than once in several cases) over the span of eight albums (or nine, depending on how you count). Tim Finn was a founding member (with Phil Judd) but left to go solo soon after brother Neil joined up. After the final original LP, Conflicting Emotions, showed the wear and tear of member shifts and priorities drifting from music to other things, Neil disbanded Split Enz and (with Paul Hester, one of the newer Enz) formed Crowded House. Tim Finn came back to the fold (so to speak) and joined his brother in Crowded House for the second LP making CH a quartet instead of a trio. I used to have a URL for a family tree of the band and most offshoots which is very interesting.

--Mr Bill
fan since Mental Notes, long before their A&M days...

 

[Steven J. Gross]

I have this "Lazer Etched" vinyl of the Split Enz "True Colors"- I never for the life of me could figure out why that would be of interest.

 

[jfiedler17]

I have this "Lazer Etched" vinyl of the Split Enz "True Colors"- I never for the life of me could figure out why that would be of interest.

Yeah, good point. Plus, laser-etching really messes with the sound quality of the disc. When a song gets soft or silent for a second or fades out, you can tell if the needle's on the laser-etched part without even looking at the turntable. I noticed that not too long ago with my copy of Styx's "Paradise Theater". MAN, that's distracting!