My 25 year plus 1 high school reunion is next weekend, so the 80's have been on my mind a lot lately. I won't be able to attend, and I'm actually kind of bummed, because getting in touch with old friends and acquaintances has been fun and enlightening in any number of ways. I look forward to seeing pictures from the reunion on Facebook, although one person has threatened to put my senior yearbook picture up. Lord have mercy . . .
Lone Justice had the potential to break open mid-80's pop. I believe their debut release was produced by uber-produced Steve Lillywhite; the keyboard overdubs were done by Benmont Tench, keyboardist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Lead-singer Maria McKee has a piercing soprano voice, and I always imagined that's what Janis Joplin could hsve sounded like if she didn't smoke unfiltered cigarettes by the carton and drink a bottle of Jack every day. Their initial release had some seriously good countrified, old-fashioned rock and roll with few frills, but the debut single is just a good old fashioned rocker. The keyboards are a kind of muted organ, rather than the odd Mini-Moog sounds of far too much mid-80's pop. While singer McKee has a Madonna-esque look to her, I believe that can be written off as a sign of the times. Once she opens her mouth to sing, you know she and the dance diva have their gender and occupation as their only commonalities. I love this song. "Sweet Sweet Baby".
I found this performance, and what I love about it is the way the song builds from just McKee and her guitar to the whole band gaining speed, volume, momentum, until by the end, they're just a bunch of rock-n-rollers having a great time.
So, the 1980's weren't a wasteland, after all. . .
