Choo-choo train is coming

Continuing my trip back through the 1988 album charts.

23/10/88 : To Whom It May Concern - The Pasadenas


This week, we should be meeting Luther Vandross's Any Love and I was looking forward to comparing it with the Alexander O'Neal album we met recently, but for some reason it's not available on any streaming service. So instead we get The Pasadenas who I remember being very popular for a bit, but I was just as mystified as their success.

The sound isn't a million miles away from Alexander/Luther, but has a bit more interest for me because it's a group so there's some nice harmonies. I just about remembered "Riding On A Train" and "Tribute (Right On)" and the rest of it isn't a million miles away - as with Alexander (and probably Luther), none of it is dreadful but I really don't understand what it's got that people liked so much.

We're at #6 in the charts this week on their second week of a 21 week run, with it peaking at #3 in its debut week. The top five were Dire Straits (a new entry), U2, Luther Vandross (another new entry), Pet Shop Boys and Kylie (that's quite the mix of genres) and the next highest new entry was Chris Rea (#8) with a re-recorded greatest hits album, which is quite an interesting take on the best-of.

Wikipedia tells us it's their debut album - and that's about it. Looking at their entry, it tells me they're British - I think I knew that but it's not something I felt the need to keep in my brain all these years. Their second album did absolutely nothing, so they recorded an album of covers for their third album (which we may see in '92) and that was pretty much it for the lads. The critics didn't exactly go overboard with this one either - "this is less soul music than it is music about soul music". It did manage to get to #83 in the US though, which seems like a decent effort in a crowded market for such things.

I'm not expecting anyone making their fortune selling this - it's not quite the cheapest we've seen because you're going to have to spend two quid to get a decent copy, but the most expensive one is £5.99. And that's pretty all I have to say on the matter - I will not be revisiting.

16/10/88 - Not his finest work
30/10/88 - Some nice late 80s nostalgia

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