Poptastic Confessions!

Friday, February 3, 2017

Subculture by Parralox

Dear Poptastic Readers,

If you haven't bought any albums in 2017, you are going to want to buy Subculture by Parralox. It is fantastic!

This is their first album of original material since their 2015 album Aeronaut. Since then, they have released Holiday '15 and Holiday '16. As always, click on the name to read our reviews. And if you don't know Parralox, check out our interview with John back in 2015. And here is our review of Subculture.

1. "Paradise" featuring Marcella Detroit starts off the album. The track is light and airy with a Spanish flamenco feel to it. It's a lovely song that just happens to be about breaking up with someone.

2. "Electric Nights" featuring Johanna Gervin. This is the Parralox song that fans have been waiting years for. The first version was recorded in 2008 with original singer Roxy. However, the song was never officially released — only in Megamix 2008. Some of Roxy's vocals remain on the new version. Johanna takes the lead vocals for the first time, while Louise and John chime in with backing vocals. This will be the first single from the album. Such an amazing song! We can't wait for the single release!

3. "Key to the Door of Heaven" featuring Louise Love takes all of the great elements of early 90s dance music while bringing it current to 2017. I absolutely love how the chorus wraps the lyrics so smartly around the melody.

4. "Give Me Back My Lovin" featuring Lilla sounds like it has a bit of a Stock Aitken Waterman feel to the track. It even has a glorious key change. Now, you might remember that singer Lilla was in John's former band Nova.

5. "Change Of Heart" is definitely one of the best songs on the album, and it is sung by John himself. We love, love, love this song. It very much deserves to be a single.

6. "A Question of Love" featuring Louise Love. The best way to describe this song is to imagine it is a Depeche Mode song in which Susan Ann Sulley from The Human League is singing along with them. It's definitely a darker song on the album, but we think it is amazing. This one deserves to be a single, too!

7. "Jupiter" featuring Louise Love is a space-age love song. It definitely is the track that lets you catch your breath. Beautiful and haunting.

8. "Pressure Point" by Louise Love picks the pace back up. The music reminds me of the Pet Shop Boys. Louise just makes the vocals sound so effortlessly. Is that Speak and Spell in the middle? The song never mentions the words "Pressure Point" so when I look at the title, I have a hard time recalling the tune — but it is a good one!

9. "Overdrive" featuring Ian Burden. Who is Ian Burden? Well he used to be in The Human League! And he plays the bass on this song. John is on vocals with Louise on backing vocals. The song also has subtle key changes. The bass guitar with the synths is great.

10. "Last Year at Marienbad" featuring Louise Love is so AMAZING! This has to be single because I just can't get enough of it. It is a duet sung by John and Louise. It reminds me of The Human League in the best possible way! We featured the song last year in Poptastic Confessions when it debuted on a radio show.

11. "Last Man Standing" featuring Peter Wilson is a fun track. Who is Peter Wilson? Well he is an Australian singer who loves Bananarama! (Who doesn't love them?) Anyhow, "Last Man Standing" starts off sounding a bit like Kylie in her Stock Aitken Waterman days — only with Peter singing. Having said that, it's not that retro. It's got a great melody and it will have you singing along in no time. Peter does a great job on vocals.

12. "Voyager II" featuring Louise Love was originally released in a shorter version on the Holiday '15 album. In the past, "II" has been designated for Parralox songs that have the same name, but are indeed different songs. "Voyager II" is the same song as "Voyager" so this new version is really more like an extended version. Regardless, both versions are great. "Voyager" came in at #42 in our 2016 countdown.

13. "Rocket Science II" is also the same song as "Rocket Science" that was featured on Holiday '15. This is also like an extended version. Both versions are amazing as John sings the lead vocals. "Rocket Science" came in at #28 in our 2016 countdown.

14. "86G" featuring A7-H is really the odd track on the album. It reminds me of the Eurythmics soundtrack album 1984 (For The Love of Big Brother). However, this is much more modern sounding.

Listen to the album sampler here ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgrqQUd9ElU

Subculture is an amazing album. John really did a wonderful job here. The only thing that would have made it better is if it had included their 2014 song "Crying On The Dancefloor" featuring Francine, as that song never appeared on a Parralox album. Having said that, the album is pretty perfect. And we love Parralox. You should, too!

Our single picks are:

1. "Electric Nights"
2. "Last Year At Marienbad"
3. "Change Of Heart"
4. "A Question Of Love"

Subculture is available on digital outlets everywhere as of January 29. You can even buy the physical CD at Conzoom, if they have any copies left. My physical CD arrived on Christmas Eve! Don't delay! Buy your copy today!

For more information on Parralox, check out their official website. You can also like their official Facebook page, and while you are there please like our Poptastic Confessions Facebook page!

Cheers then,
—Davearama

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Monday, January 23, 2017

A Tribute to George Michael

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Sorry that we've been gone since December. As I'm sure you know, George Michael died on Christmas Day in 2016. At the time, we were in the middle of our Top 20 countdown of our favourite alternative pop songs of 2016. I wanted to take some time to reflect over the holidays (and most of January) and write a proper tribute to George.

My first memory of George was in 1983 when he was in the group Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley. Even though Wham! was George and Andrew, their backing vocalists Shirlie and Dee C played an important part of the group. I remember seeing them perform on American Bandstand. They sang "Young Guns (Go For It)" and "Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do)." Both George and Andrew were only 19 at the time. It wasn't long before I started seeing their videos for "Bad Boys" and "Club Tropicana" on the music video shows. All of these songs were from their debut album Fantastic.

Even with lots of TV exposure, our local radio station wouldn't play their records. "Bad Boys" was the only single to chart in the US and it stalled at #60. In the UK, all four singles went top ten, while their album was #1 in the UK. Backing vocalist Dee C left to pursue a solo career. She married Paul Weller of the Style Council and her biggest hit was in 1985 with "See The Day" (UK #3). That song would later be covered by Girls Aloud in 2005 and their version charting at #9 in the UK. Dee C was replaced in Wham! by singer Pepsi.

It was in 1984 that Wham! would Make It Big. Their first single from their sophomore album was "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and it soared to #1 both in the US and the UK. The video helped spawn the day-glow fluorescent clothing trend.

"Careless Whisper" was the next single and also #1 on both sides of the Atlantic. It was credited as a solo song for George elsewhere, but in the US it was credited to Wham! featuring George Michael.

"Freedom" was the next single in the UK (4th single in the US) and the video featured the band's tour of China. It continued their #1 streak in the UK, but in the US the song only went to #3.

Band-Aid

In November of 1984, George took part in the super group Band Aid for the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" with Paul McCartney, Duran Duran, Bananarama, U2, Culture Club, Paul Young, Jody Watley, Spandau Ballet, Sting, Ultravox, The Boomtown Rats, Heaven 17, Kool and the Gang, Style Council and many more.

In the UK, the next single was the double A-side for "Everything She Wants" and "Last Christmas." That went to #2 in the UK. In the US, it was the spring of 1985 that we got the third single "Everything She Wants" and it went to #1 in the US, giving Wham! three consecutive #1s in the US. They had indeed made it big!

George had decided that he wanted to go solo and make more adult-oriented pop music. So they decided to end Wham! after the next album and tour.

In the fall of 1985, we got the single "I'm Your Man" taken from the third and final Wham! album. The single went to #1 in the UK and #3 in the US.

The third album in 1986 was called The Final in the UK and included past hits and remixes. In the US, the third album was called Music From The Edge of Heaven.

The album would see a George solo single called "A Different Corner" (UK #1 and US #7) and two more Wham! singles "The Edge of Heaven" (UK #1 and US #10) as well as "Where Did Your Heart Go?" (In the UK, it was a double A-side with "The Edge of Heaven" and in the US it stalled at #50).

With Wham! over, George concentrated on his solo career. And first up was a duet with Aretha Franklin in 1987 called "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" and it went to #1 in both the UK and the US.

Backing vocalists Pepsi & Shirlie formed a duo and in 1986 released a single called "Heartache" (UK #2, US #78). George Michael's duet with Aretha kept them from the #1 spot. Their album All Right Now would see four more singles in 1987: "Goodbye Stranger" (UK #9), "Can't Give Me Love" (UK #58), "All Right Now" (UK #50), and "Hightime" (UK #79). Pepsi & Shirlie released a second album in 1991 called Change and the only single "Someday" was produced by George Michael. Both album and single failed to chart. Shirlie would marry Martin Kemp, the bass player in Spandau Ballet. Pepsi & Shirlie reunited to sing backing vocals on Spice Girl Geri Halliwell's #1 hit "Bag It Up" in 2000.

George recorded another duet with Jody Wately for her debut album. The song was called "Learn To Say No." Sadly, it wasn't released as a single.

George's first single from his debut album Faith in 1987 was the controversial track "I Want Your Sex" (UK #3 and US #2). Other singles from that album were "Faith" (UK #2 and US #1), "Father Figure" (UK #11 and US #1), "One More Try" (UK #8 and US #1), "Monkey" (UK #13 and US #1), and "Kissing A Fool" (UK #18 and US #5).

George took over a year off and came back with his mature sophomore album in 1990 called Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. The singles included "Praying For Time" (UK #6 and US #1), "Freedom 90" (UK #28 and US #8) was most famous for having a video of supermodels lipsyncing his song, "Waiting For That Day" (UK #23 and US #27), "Heal The Pain" (UK #31), "Mother's Pride" (US #46), and "Cowboys and Angels" (UK #45).

Also in 1990, Andrew Ridgeley would release his one and only solo album called Son of Albert with the singles "Shake" (UK #58 and US #77) and "Red Dress", which features George on backing vocals. Although Andrew has remained out of the limelight since then, he started dating Keren Woodward of Bananarama in 1991, and the couple are still together today.

Speaking of Bananarama, George Michael remixed their 1991 single "Tripping On Your Love" (UK #76, US Dance #14). His mix is called the Metropolitan Mix. Bananarama would later cover "Careless Whisper" for their 2001 album Exotica. George thanked them in the liner notes of his last album Patience in 2004.

In the fall of 1991, George released a duet with Elton John called "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me." The song was originally an Elton John song from 1974. This new recording went to #1 in the UK and US.

George had planned an album called Listen Without Predjudice Vol. 2. But when his record company wouldn't let him release it, he took them to court and donated the finished songs to an AIDS awareness charity Red Hot + Dance. In 1992, George released his song "Too Funky" (UK #4 and US #10) and donated all of the profits to AIDS awareness.

In 1993, George released the Five Live EP (UK #1) that produced the singles "Somebody To Love" (US #30) with Queen and "Killer/Papa Was A Rolling Stone" (US #69).

George finally released his third album in 1996 on another record label. The album was called Older and featured the singles "Jesus To A Child" (UK #1 and US #7), "Fastlove" (UK #1 and US #8), "Spinning The Wheel" (UK #2), "Older"/"I Can't Make You Love Me" (UK #3), "Star People '97" (UK #2) and "You Have Been Loved"/"The Strangest Thing '97" (UK #2). Also in 1997, George recorded a duet with Irish artist Toby Bourke called "Waltz Away Dreaming" (UK #10). "Fastlove" would be George's last American hit, as well as his last UK #1.

The compilation Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael was released in 1998. It spawned two singles: the first was "Outside" (UK #2), which was a humorous take at George getting himself arrested earlier in the year for exposing himself to a police officer in a public restroom. The second single was a duet with Mary J. Blige called "As" (UK #4), which was a remake of Stevie Wonder's 1977 single.

In 1999, George released a covers album called Songs From the Last Century, which contained the single "Roxanne" — a cover of song by the The Police.

In 2000, George sang a duet with Whitney Houston called "If I Told You That" (UK #9).

George released two singles in 2002 that would later appear in his last studio album Patience in 2004. The first was "Freeek!" (UK #7), which had very sexual lyrics. The second single "Shoot The Dog" (UK #12) was a politically charged song directed at George W. Bush and Tony Blair's relationship with each other. The music sampled The Human League's 1982 hit "Love Action (I Believe In Love)" (UK #3).

In 2004, George released a wonderful single called "Amazing" (UK #4) right before the release of his album Patience. The album would see three more singles: "Flawless (Go To The City)" (UK #8), "Round Here" (UK #32), and "John And Elvis Are Dead", which didn't chart.

George released a second greatest hits compilation in 2006 called Twenty Five, which celebrated his 25th anniversary of his music career. The first single from the album was "An Easier Affair" (UK #13). The second single was a duet with Mutya Buena, who had just left the Sugababes. The song was called "This Is Not Real Love" (UK #15). The USA got a third single that was a remake of his 1991 song called "Heal The Pain" only this time it was recorded with Paul McCartney and released in 2008.

On Christmas Day in 2008, George's website gave a free download of his sweet, melancholy song "December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)." It would be released as a proper single in December of 2009 and charting at #14 in the UK.

George released a cover of New Order's 1987 song "True Faith" (UK #4, US #32) in 2011. George's version was quite slow and soulful, however his voice was quite digitally altered to have some distortion. George's version charted at #27 in the UK and all proceeds with to Comic Relief

In 2012, George released his last original single called "White Light" (UK #15). The song was inspired by a near-death experience George had the year earlier with an illness. I must admit that listening to it now that he is gone is very erie.

George released a live album in 2014 called Symphonica. The only single from the album a was a piano-ballad cover of Terence Trent D'Arby's 1993 song "Let Her Down Easy." George's version charted at #53 in the UK.

That covers George Michael's music career. And what a career it was. He will be greatly missed.

RIP, George!
—Davearama

Saturday, December 31, 2016

#1 of 2016

Dear Poptastic Readers,

#1 in our Top 100 Songs of 2016 is “The Mood” by Jody Watley featuring SRL (aka Shalamar Reloaded). Click on the name of the song to see what we first wrote about it.

This is the first #1 for Jody featuring SRL. However, Jody Watley had our #1 spot in 2013 with her song “Nightlife.” Shalamar Reloaded is the group that Jody formed to celebrate her past as a member of Shalamar, but also to create something new and fresh with singers Nate and Rosero. Together, the three of them did just that! They have since shortened the name to SRL.

You might remember that SRL were on our 2015 countdown when their song “SlowDance” came in at #18. Their other single this year was “O.R.I.G.In.A.L” and it came in at #25 on our countdown.

“The Mood” is an amazing RnB song with a feel-good chorus. We were lucky enough to see Jody Watley & SRL live this year at Yoshi’s in Oakland. A highlight of the setlist was when they performed this song. The glorious video was filmed in Hawaii, and sadly it has been taken down from YouTube. Here is a live performance ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wZX5UUTCYo

“The Mood” is available on digital outlets everywhere. Support the artist by downloading your copy today.

Listen to “The Mood” on our 2016 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify.

We are eagerly awaiting their album Bridges slated for release in 2017. In the meantime, you can keep up with the latest on Shalamar Reloaded, like their official Facebook page. And while you are at it please like Poptastic Confessions Facebook page!

We also wanted to thank you for visiting our blog during the countdown. A special thanks to those who "liked" our Facebook posts, tweets on Twitter, and photos on Instagram. A super special thanks to anyone who shared or retweeted and of the links.

Wishing you all a very safe and happy new year!

Cheers then,
—The Poptastic Confessions Collective

P.S. A lot of people talk about 2016 as a tough year, and it was for many, many reasons. However, the music in 2016 was wonderful. We had about 40 songs that we wanted to squeeze in our Top 20 list, so it wasn't an easy list this year. We hope you enjoyed our annual countdown of our favourite songs. The songs are the soundtrack of our lives, through good times and bad. May we cherish the happy moments we have, and think of them when we hear these songs in the years to come.

The rest of the list ...

#2 of 2016