I thought it was you who would stand by my side

Continuing my trip back through the 1988 album charts.

21/08/88 : Turn Back The Clock - Johnny Hates Jazz


Well, I can't say I'm expecting to love this but I am wondering whether I'll find it nostalgically bearable...

Yeah, it starts with "Shattered Dreams", "Heart Of Gold" and "Turn Back The Clock" which aren't the biggest musical crimes from this era, so there's a bit of appreciation there, but not loads - however, I would definitely say I preferred this to any Jason Donovan albums I've met. As a whole, I don't get the impression they're the most talented bunch and the album does drag but it certainly wasn't aimed at me, so let's just move along - I imagine it brings back fond floppy-haired memories for quite a few out there.

We're all the way down at #10 in the charts this week on their 32nd week of a 39 week run, with it having peaked at #1 in its debut week and it spent its first ten weeks in the top ten - wow, that was more popular than I remember. The top five this week were Kylie, Fairground Attraction, Now! 12, Tracy Chapman and Michael Jackson with the highest new entry being the Hot City Nights compilation (#12). 

Wikipedia tells us this is their debut album, the most successful single was "Shattered Dreams" which got to #1 and Kim Wilde sang backing vocals on the title track - and that's your lot. Looking at their entry, this album was pretty much it for them in terms of success, and they suffered quite a bit of misfortune over the years but two of them are still playing live now - often alongside other 80s "legends". Critically, it's safe to say the views were mixed with AllMusic describing it as a "true guilty pleasure" whilst Spin says "they commit many cardinal musical sins" (which I feel might be going a bit overboard). Commercially, it did amazingly well in Scandinavia, getting to #1 in Sweden, Norway and Finland - amusingly, the last album we met that got to #1 in Finland was Metallica and it's safe to say this is not quite in the same area. It even got to #56 in the US, which seems like a decent effort from the lads.

I struggle to imagine this is a record collector's dream and discogs.com tells us you can pick up a decent version for a couple of quid - but, if you want a reissued, remastered version signed by the band, it's gonna set you back £110! This wasn't hateful, so let's just go for "nostalgically bearable" whilst assuring you I'm never going to listen to it again.

14/08/88 - Truly horrible
28/08/88 - Decent voice, average material

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