Debbie Gibson - Anything Is Possible (1990)

We hear a lot about the sophomore jinx in music, and rightly so; making the jump from hit debut release to Greatest Hits, Volume 1 is a long road, and it’s got a big ol’ pothole where Album Number Two is supposed to be. For a minute, it looked like Debbie Gibson was going to make that jump — her second album, 1989’s Electric Youth, was an even bigger hit than her debut¹, and since all anyone ever talked about was how Debbie wrote, produced, arranged, and played on all her songs, she seemed to have what it took to stick around for the long haul.

And then the little-known third-album jinx snuck up behind her, said “Not so fast, bitch,” and punched Debbie Gibson right in her face.

This face-punching started with the release of this here cassingle, which was meant to lead off another season of chart success for Ms. Gibson. The title track to her third album, “Anything Is Possible” (download) found Gibbie working with Lamont Dozier in an effort to scrub the goody-two-shoes vibe from her sound. The (insufferably long) album was actually split between dance tracks and ballads, supposedly giving everyone something they could enjoy. (I said supposedly.) To his credit, Dozier did respectable work with what he was given; unfortunately, much of what he was given was as bad, or even worse, than “Anything Is Possible.” (more…)

A Tribe Called Quest - Award Tour (1993) Here’s one I don’t have much to say about, but should still help you get over the hump to your lunch break. Jiminy Christmas, was it really 15 years ago that A Tribe Called Quest released its third album? What the hell happened?

This is the part where someone with more energy would lament the lost promise of the Native Tongues Posse, or cry about Q-Tip’s solo career, or say some snarky things about the state of rap today. But music this good was meant to be celebrated, not lamented. “Award Tour” (download) isn’t my favorite ATCQ song, not by a long shot — and the instrumental mix (download) is pretty pointless — but hey, it’s still A Tribe Called Quest. Plus, dig the added value of having “The Chase, Part II” (download) as a second track on the B-side!

Turn it up, and tell your Kenny Chesney-loving officemates to suck it. There’s nothing wrong with a little bass on a Monday morning, nothing at all.

Was (Not Was) - Walk the Dinosaur (1989)

Boom boom acka-lacka lacka boom, fuckers!

Yes, yes, I realize it’s become trendy in certain circles to dismiss (or just remain proudly ignorant of) the weird, wonderful bursts of pop genius that Was (Not Was) gave the world during the ’80s.

Of course, this is the band’s fault as much as anyone’s — singles like “Walk the Dinosaur” (download) are made for killing careers — but still, the band deserves better than it’s gotten. Sadly, a Cassingle Vault post isn’t really the place for changing minds about an artist’s work. Perhaps one day, we’ll get around to doing a Pocket Guide on the band. In the meantime, this will have to do. (more…)

Zapp & Roger - Slow and Easy (1993)

We’ve owed Roger Troutman some props since the Chartburn post in which half the panel confessed total ignorance of his work. A Cassingle Vault post is sort of a cheap way of making it up to him, but until I can find someone willing to write a Popdose Guide to Zapp & Roger, this will have to do.

Troutman, as if you didn’t know, was the “Roger” in “Zapp & Roger,” the electro-funk collective responsible for smash R&B hits such as “More Bounce to the Ounce,” “Computer Love,” and “Dance Floor.” Aside from handling most of the instruments and a good chunk of the songwriting duties, Roger was responsible for bringing the vocoder and the talkbox into the R&B mainstream — an influence that persists (some would say unfortunately) to this day. For an example of the enduring Troutman effect, just take a look at this Snoop Dogg clip, from his latest Top 10 single: (more…)

Earth, Wind & Fire - Sunday Morning (1993)

In a classic bit of Cassingle Vault good news/bad news, I give you, ladies and gentlemen, an Earth, Wind & Fire single!

(wild applause)

…From 1993!

(slow clapping, bewildered looks, scattered laughter)

Yes, gang, EWF was still kicking around the major-label pipeline in ‘93. They had, in fact, recently left their longtime label home — Columbia — for a new deal at Warner Bros. This wasn’t entirely unexpected; since being coaxed back into action by the Columbia brass in the late ’80s, EWF had found itself trapped on the steady downward sales slope that helped convince Maurice White to disband the group in the first place.

Here’s how dire things had become for the kings of “September”: If I’m remembering this right — and no one is here to disagree with me yet, so let’s just say I am — the release of the band’s 1990 effort, Heritage, was kicked off with a Burger King promotional tie-in. Yes, during Black History Month 18 years ago, you could get an Earth, Wind & Fire cassingle with your Whopper.

Genius. (more…)

Siouxsie & the Banshees - Peek-A-Boo (1988)

Yes, “Peek-A-Boo” (download) turns 20 this year. You are old, old, so very old. I am too, but I have the slight advantage — I guess — of not having 20 years of memories attached to the song, as I was completely ignorant of Siouxsie and/or her Banshees in ‘88. (On the other hand, I’m at the extreme disadvantage of having been on what was probably my 5,000th listen of Toto’s The Seventh One when this was released.)

You know what I’m going to say next, so I’ll just get it out there: I wasn’t even aware of this song until Beavis started screaming “PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK-a-boo!” in the early ’90s, and studiously avoided the Banshees’ albums for years. Matter of fact, not counting this cassingle’s B-side, “False Face” (download), “Peek-A-Boo” is probably the only Siouxsie song I’ve heard all the way through.

That being said, “Peek-A-Boo” is thoroughly awesome. As a kid, I remember thinking that there was supposed to be something subversive about Siouxsie Sioux — possibly even dangerous — and although I believe I can be forgiven for thinking this (she did, according to Wikipedia, make her stage debut in “a cupless bra, black vinyl stockings and a black armband with a swastika on it”), there’s nothing subversive and/or dangerous about this delicious little slice of pop music.

So let’s just turn it up, shall we? I’ll leave you with a couple of parting fun facts first, however:

1. “Peek-A-Boo” was the inaugural Number One single on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart, in September 1988.
2. The entire instrumental bed was backmasked. Holy crap.

PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK-a-boo!

Keith Sweat - I Want to Love You Down (1992)

First of all, no. No, I did not own this when it came out. Not that there’s anything wrong with Keith Sweat, necessarily, but he wasn’t even on my lily-white radar in ‘92; it’s only been in the last few years that I’ve developed an (admittedly heavily ironic) appreciation for his gifts. Nope, “I Want to Love You Down” was part of a box of cassingles — still wrapped! — that arrived here last week, a gift from a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous. You know, at one point, I was worried that I’d eventually run out of cassingles to write about. These days, the Vault is full to stuffin’, and I’m worried I’ll never run out.

Which is why Keith Sweat has to be the subject of this week’s Cassingle Vault. You see the look on his face. I can’t have him in there with the other cassingles, or they’re going to start multiplying. (more…)

Clive Griffin - Commitment of the Heart (1993)

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Sony’s Next Big Thing of 1993!

A little explanation is in order, I can tell. You’ve never heard of Clive Griffin. (You have heard his voice — probably — but more on that in a minute.) He’s a footnote to a footnote now, but for a few months, Sony’s Epic/550 imprint did everything it could to convince the world that Griffin was a pop star in the making.

The label failed, of course, but before we start mocking them for their failure, let’s pause to acknowledge that records tank all the time, for lots of reasons, and hey, at least Epic put a little effort into promoting this one. And now that we’ve said something nice, let’s point out two things:

1. In making Clive Griffin a priority, Sony was committing millions of dollars to breaking a blue-eyed soul singer in 1993. They weren’t alone in this — various labels¹ released new albums and/or singles from Michael McDonald, Daryl Hall, and Paul Young the same year — but that doesn’t make the decision any less misguided. No one was buying McDonald, Hall, or Young records in ‘93, and those guys had name value.

2. Speaking of names: Pop stars are not named Clive.

(more…)

Shakespear’s Sister - Stay (1992)

It’s the summer of 1992, and we’re in her living room. Like most days, she’s got MTV on in the background. I forget what I’m saying, but she cuts me off: “Hey, check it out. I like this song.”

I turn to the television. A woman, pale as my ass, is hovering over a guy who appears to be dying. They’re in space or something.

I raise one eyebrow.

Then — ahhh! — a freaky chick appears. She looks like she belongs in one of Siouxsie Sioux’s nightmares. I recoil, Beavis-style.

“What the hell is this?”

“Shut up. It’s beautiful.”

“Are you kidding? This is terrifying.”

She purses her lips, turns toward the television, raises the volume.

In retrospect, she may have had a point — Shakespear’s Sister’s “Stay” (download) is sort of beautiful, in an early ’90s oh-look-how-goth-we-are way. Still, I wish I’d known that afternoon that I was watching Siobahn Fahey’s post-Bananarama incarnation, so I could have said, “Ha! This chick co-wrote ‘I Heard a Rumour’ and ‘Cruel Summer’!”

Of course, she probably would have pointed out that “Cruel Summer” is a pretty righteous pop song, and I wouldn’t have had any response. But whatever. I’m pretty sure neither of us would have liked this cassingle’s B-side, “The Trouble With Andre” (download), so I maintain that I was partially right about Shakespear’s Sister. And for the record, the video still freaks me out a little: