The pop charts from years past can be a bit deceiving. Many songs that were giant hits have faded somewhat from public consciousness. Meanwhile, songs that barely made a dent on the charts now stand tall as classics. The latter phenomenon is especially true when it comes to the classic rock genre. These four excellent songs hardly cracked the Top 40 of 1981. But time has treated them well.
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“Burnin’ For You” by Blue Oyster Cult
Blue Oyster Cult has enjoyed a long, prosperous career as purveyors of brainy hard classic rock. But their pop chart excursions have been few and far between. We all know that the 1976 evergreen “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” was their biggest hit ever. “Burnin’ For You” represents their only ever journey to the Top 40. And even then, it only squeezed into the picture at No. 40 exactly. Richard Meltzer, a non-band member who often wrote lyrics for BOC, penned the words to “Burnin’ For You”. Guitarist Buck Dharma took it from there. The song offers an excellent example of the band’s knack for dark lyrical drama in the middle of a propulsive track.
“Twilight” by Electric Light Orchestra
Jeff Lynne was subtly starting to chafe a bit at the expectations hurled upon ELO after their massive success in the late 70s. As such, he started to take the band in directions that weren’t quite as commercial in the 80s. Case in point: the 1981 album Time, a concept record of sorts. Even while he was trying out these methods, however, Lynne’s pop sense never strayed. “Twilight” actually feels like it should have been a bigger hit, with its thrilling deployment of vocals coming from all angles and its outstanding chorus. It only managed a No. 38 spot on the pop charts in 1981, although it now holds up as one of ELO’s most ambitious singles.
“The Party’s Over (Hopelessly In Love)” by Journey
Because of the massive success of the albums Departure (released in 1980) and Escape (1981), a couple of projects that Journey undertook in the interim are a tad overlooked. There’s the 1980 soundtrack album Dream, After Dream, which mostly concentrated on the band’s artsier side. And then there’s Captured, a 1981 double album that collected the band’s most well-known songs since Steve Perry joined as lead singer in 1977. To promote the album, the band did one studio recording, which turned into a minor hit at No. 34. It’s easy to imagine the catchy “The Party’s Over (Hopelessly In Love)” being a bigger hit if it came in the middle of one of their typical album cycles.
“No Reply” by Genesis
Genesis scored their first Top 10 pop hit the previous year with “Misunderstanding”. “No Reply”, the most pop-friendly single off Abacab in 1981, didn’t scale quite as high, topping out at No. 29. But it’s a gem of a classic rock track, nonetheless. The instrumental chemistry of the three men stands out here, with highlights including Tony Banks’ inventive synth figures and Mike Rutherford’s melodic bass runs. Add to that the punchy element provided by the brass, handled by the horn section of Earth, Wind & Fire. Finally, the lyric is quite affecting as well, as Phil Collins laments his ineffectuality in a fading romantic relationship.
Photo by David Redfern/Redferns
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