It’s still a couple of years away but Billy Idol’s “Cradle of Love” is about to be one of those huge soundtrack singles – from the movie “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.” It’s a cheesy detective movie and Ford Fairlane was played by Andrew Dice Clay. The movie and soundtrack were full of late 80s/early 90s names: Sheila E., Tone-Loc, Kurt Loder, Robert Englund, Wayne Newton, Morris Day, Priscilla Presley and Ed O’Neill.
As a young publicist for 20th Century Fox, I was put to work on the set while filming in Colorado. Part of the job was finding enough bodies to fill Red Rocks Amphitheatre for the opening scene where the lead singer of the The Black Plague is killed onstage. It’s harder than it sounds because it was a stop-and-start, wait an hour for one take type of shoot and the crowd had to get fake fired up on cue. It was cold and they kept trying to leave. And, no one was supposed to know band to entertain them was being played by Queensryche – even if onscreen the band is played by guys from Ozzy’s band and Quiet Riot.
Enough people showed up at Red Rocks to make it look good and when it’s time to shoot the scene when Black Plague lead singer, Bobby Black, gets killed, I walked backstage expecting to find all kind of debauchery. Instead, after I timidly knock on the door and ask if Mr. (Vince) Neil is ready, he’s just sitting there talking to some lady. He looked like the guy from Motley Crue, but I’d expected more of something. Instead, he was totally professional.
The following day, the job required hanging out waiting for media interviews with various cast. The “Ford Fairlane” producer is a guy named Joel Silver. He was a big guy and he’s a yeller. His notorious temper had me worried and as I answered a phone in his suite, he started yelling at an assistant. The voice on the other line said she wanted to talk to Joel and I suggested it might not be a good time. The woman asked if it was Joel yelling just then and I told her it was. She called me by name and said, “I’ll handle him. Tell him Priscilla Presley wants a word.” The guy’s mood changed in a split second and she handled him. Priscilla was so nice and, like Vince Neil, also totally professional. When it was all over and the crew left town, you think to yourself that it was wild, but you’re glad that little work experience is behind you.
The film was pretty bad. The soundtrack was not. The comic books that came out in support of the film are fun. Like most movies, “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane” is a snapshot of a really unique period of in pop culture history. One of the best parts of it might be “Cradle of Love.”
Damn right! I'm surprised by the lack of chart success for these songs considering most of them have seemed omnipresent over time and still hold up well. I don't know how it happened, but I love me some Billy and love the whole set.
MJ and Prince in the same room. Voo doo in the box. Monkeys and snakes. And, Janet walks by. That's a lot for this early on a Monday.
This review is glorious - and why this column is so much fun. Thanks, Tom.
That is great trivia about the same bass line for "Tears of a Clown"/"When Smokey Sings."
MJ would have had more #1 AC hits if the rest of his stuff wasn't so Bad.
This is lovely, Rollerboogie and this may speak to a lot of us this way.
It is like a hymn and I'm one of the guys that this does move, as Tom notes. If there's a faith, for me it's the faith that music can bring healing and collective emotion. I'm not much of a cryer, but I saw U2 not after 9/11 and I'll be damned if Bono's reverse jacket display of the American flag didn't reduce me to a sobbing mess. And, I wasn't crying alone.
I'm glad I came back late in the day and am now offered this chance to defend "Licence to Kill" - (I'm a grammar nerd and it's the British spelling of "licence" - all c's).
When "The Living Daylights" hit Number One, I made a case for the the most underrated Bond themes and "Licence to Kill" was my choice. I love Gladys's shimmery voice and its meld into the song. And, it's the only song that actually has has a direct reference to the Bond series.
The other songs are fine - except "All Time High" is flaccid and has nothing to do with the movie. I'd go "A View to a Kill," "Licence to Kill" (so much killing), "For Your Eyes Only," "Living Daylights" and totally toss "All Time High."
Anmen - yes, THIS is a power ballad – maybe my favorite of all time and aren't they all going to have some shmoopy baggage. I love me some Heart – raging on one song and soft and soothing on another. “Barracuda” is the first rock record my pre-teen self remembers and it’s the first song that ever made me feel something weird deep down inside.
“Alone” gives me different kind of feelings – that “holy cow” amazement when Ann summons the elements and hits that glass-shattering high. And, then the “I’m just going to lay here and think about what just happened” moment while the keys feather kiss us all to the outro. Whew!
I'll still take the Supremes version, but respect that Vanilla Fudge at least added something gutsy to that remake.
Most of the Supremes' songs were cool and classic enough that remakes either seem like bad karaoke, like Wilde's, or just dumb filler - looking at you, Phil Collins, and that bleh "You Can't Hurry Love."
I'm always happy to hear this song, too. I like Aretha. I like George. I like the way they swoop together. Awkwardly, I guess I've heard it enough times that I can sing both their parts when I'm driving.
It's nice of you to try and help your in-laws, but you know what they say about leading horses to water. It's their loss. And, your characterization of hip-hop as wider, richer canvases is cool.
This is some smooth mashing - this could become a regular feature. Two good songs that sound good together. Maybe I know both of these songs too well - this sounds perfectly natural to me.
Yep - here for Ambrosia - and yacht rock. Between the mid-week diss of "What You Won't Do For Love" and these Ambrosia snubs, it's some undeservedly rough sailing for some of these songs.
Maybe I’m in a softer, nicer mood today (Happy Inauguration Day, TNOCS friends), but I love Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do For Love” and the Cetera/Cher “After All” collaboration – I’d rank them infinitely higher than Tom.
And, today I’ll be the odd man out and pipe up for Cetera. There are lots of singers with “unique” voices who are massively popular who I just don’t quite get, but still respect their success. Diamond. Dylan. Collins. A long-haired blonde guy coming up in this column who sounds like there’s something bolted on to his nads. Almost any rapper by 2020. I’d still take Cetera in “After All” or “Wishing You Were Here.”
I love "Fascination" but also really, really like "Human." I like the "Guess what, I'm a cheater, too, now let's get back to business" soap opera in the song. Icy voices singing icy stuff.
And, I'd rather hear this and Bananarama over any of the last dozen or so Number Ones.
I love these types of documentaries and "20 Feet from Stardom" and "Standing in the Shadows" are fun. So, is the new Barry Gibb/Bee Gees one. There's also a Diana Ross one from last year that has some great archival footage I hadn't seen before.
And, while not a music documentary per se, the new "Pretend It's a City" with Martin Scorcese and Fran Lebowitz has some unexpectedly cool musings about music and footage of musicians including Charles Mingus and Marvin Gaye.
It's a tough call. Lots of love to go around with those two.
And, I kind of disagree with Tom's thought that there may have been a choice to make between being a Prince fan or a Michael fan. I bought lots of all of these. Today's column is cool - it feels like the start of a new era, one with the big-hitters of 80s pop all in high gear: Janet, Madonna, Prince, George and Michael.
This is a fun song. Pop music is full of good breakup/get-out songs, and some really varying degrees of urgency in the “scram” messaging:
• The Supremes’ mean it: “...go on, get out, get out of my life and let me sleep at night...” in “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”
• Ray Charles grovels while a bunch of background ladies telling him to “Hit the Road Jack"
• Gloria Gaynor also means it with “...Go on, now go! Walk out the door. Don’t turn around now. You’re not welcome anymore!” in “I Will Survive"
• And, Beyonce coolly tells someone their junk is in a box to the left and gives a lesson in not being “Irreplaceable”
Few of them have the calm, icy snark of “The Rain.” Juice didn’t want violence on the “alley cat coat wearin’, Hush Puppy shoe wearing crumb cake” dude because it’d mess up his own fancy lynx coat. And, he thoughtfully tells his new ex all of the things she can learn from this experience - she's young, she can still learn. A song that is full of some good lines and good lessons.
Same here. Where else are you going to see the word "hoary" today?
And, I'm not wild about the song either. I'm actually surprised "The Metro" and "Sex" flew so low on the Hot 100 - I know them as well as "Take My Breath Away," and definitely like them better.
As is often the case here, I click in hoping to see one thing (what Tom would say about "Pop Goes the Weasel") and get something else - some light and laughter in the dark days of 2020. Thanks, MT. This is amazing. And, to you and all of the TNOCS crew, happy holidays.
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