ten to the dozen

howdy pop pickers

well, i believe this post marks the end of a quite unexpected, mostly agreeable vibes journey. this is all about, somewhat delayed after the release of it, a bit of a gander at the current, or if you will most recent, release of Now That's What I Call Music 10 (ten) on CD, look you see. and that would be the correct way to make reference, for this one was the first to get a proper compact disc release, in full, at the time, whereas some volumes had singular disc "highlight" issues. 

if this was already out in a double disc, complete (and indeed more complete then than it is now) form, why exactly the re-issue? presumably to make a nice, neat set of "ten", after re-issuing the first on CD for the first time ever (as in ever) was very successful indeed. no matter, for i never did have this, or any Now set, on CD before, so purchased it was, to sit on the shelf, mostly. 

the era, or period of time, covered in (or on) this set is roughly the middle bits of 1987, right through to about November or so. one or two of the tracks included here were pre-preemptive, so to speak, as they hadn't yet become available to the public to buy, but it is assumed they would be chart successes. 

overall, or kind of (sort of) in short, this is a pretty good set. volumes 7, 8 and 9 were not exactly the most amazing issues, containing a few classics and several that perhaps should have remained in the 80s. this would indeed be a nice way to end the re-issue campaign, as it would do such on a quasi high, at the least. 

for those curiously interested in moi, oddly only one song on here is one what i bought the single off of, and it was the CD single too. that would be the magnificent Rent off of Pet Shop Boys. not played it for some time, in truth, and hearing it here once more reminded me of what a bloody good song it is. cheers for the memory jog, nice one. 

going off at a tangent, or non-linear, is kind of my thing (or bag), so at this time i believe i was more still mourning the fact that Frankie had split, whilst exploring a mix of "different" vibes, through friends or my own journey. my soundtrack for 87 was most likely Sputnik (of Sigue Sigue), Prince, Motorhead, The Smiths, maybe Beastie Boys. also the Male Stripper 12" on repeat. bit of Laibach, too, most probably, thanks to the hysterical video for Life Is Life, but maybe that was a year or so later. 

yet i appear to have not much beyond fond memories of (very) nearly all the tunes included here. perhaps it's because these tunes were on the bus on school trips, or at the school or youth club disco, or indeed featured on the must-watch Top Of The Pops on Thursday nights. quite possible, if such shows were on at this time, a few cropped up on The Tube, or Friday or Saturday Live, and similar. 

best track on here? oh, easy one for me, Crockett's Theme off of Miami Vice by Jan Hammer. i absolutely love this one. Norman B@stard had the CD single of it, and i got him to make us a full 90 minute tape of it on repeat. most smart, that was. stand, as ever, to be corrected, but i think the biggest hit here is China In Your Hand off of T'Pau. whereas i much preferred their first single (i think it was their first), Heart And Soul, this one was at number one for ages, i think five or six weeks. 

rather weird, how time and memories work. listening to them here once more, and i had a thoroughly enjoyable couple of hours just listening to these two (2) discs, the likes of Johnny Hates Jazz, Wet Wet Wet and in particular Curiosity Killed The Cat are nowhere near as big massive tw@ts as teenage me dismissed them as so. especially him with the f*****g beret off of Curiosity. smart songs, actually. 

perhaps the biggest surprise for me was being able to get through the Nina Simone song without switching it off. i found it grating at the time, far (far) too twangy for my tastes, and the animated video of a cat or something was simply hideous, a clear case of trying to cash in on the success of the video for Reet Petite the previous Christmas. actually it turns out, and maybe this is just a more mature and sophisticated version of me now, i rather like it. 

absent tracks? well, two. i don't remember one, but the one that i do recall reading as being excluded due to some sort of "rights" issue is really annoying. that would be Here I Go Again (87) off of Whitesnake, fronted by that chap who claims to be "the most famous person ever to come from Saltburn", which i do not have the energy to quarrel with. once more i have some really fond memories of that tune at the time, so on a shiny disc, to have it, would have been quality. not to be, unless i go and but a Whitesnake CD, i suppose. probably not, no. 

in respect of songs what have "stood the test of time" or what have you, well, last track on disc two is Fairytale Of New York off of Pogues and Kirsty MacColl. infamously conceived as a bet that a song could not be done which was overtly of Christmas but also did not suck, it remains brilliant and, if anything, grows in popularity and stature every year. some nonsense kicks off each December, with some radio stations playing a (slightly) censored version, but such is the modern world. 

should it be so that this is now "it", we are really over and done, no more original variations (less licencing issue tunes) to be reissued, well. considering these ten (10) sets cover a period of, say, 5 years in the middle of the 80s, they oddly do a good job of comprehensively covering many hits, but by no stretch of the imagination do they tell the whole story of this golden, great era. the biggest omissions, and this is all due to licensing and rights and other such nonsense, for this 83 - 87 era are Prince, Madonna and The Smiths. not having their chart success and phenomenal cultural impact included in these sets does make one feel, well, this is a good half of a story. 

kind of glad that i picked up all ten (10) volumes of this, but as with the original issues, for the most part it shall only be Four (4) that i play often, or at all from them. have two copies of that one, so i can listen at home, then listen as i go about doing verk stuff. some of the others may get played every now and then, but probably not. 

oh, fear not, i have every confidence that them what do the Now sets shall find an interesting way to fleece more coins from me for vibes in the not too distant future. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!