Search - Various Artists :: Chart Toppers: Romantic Hits of 80's

Another strong entry in this fabulous series................

Jon | Scotland | 03/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Continuing where the rather lame predecessor left off, this - the fourth entry in the "Chart Toppers: Romantic Hits Of..." series - shines the spotlight on the 80s decade. There's a good mixture of songs featured on this CD, and they'll no doubt sound familiar as the majority of them are main-stays on 'easy listening' radio station the world over. Some of the tracks on this album feature the best pop and soul ballads that decade produced, but really, this is one of those 80s 'soft rock' collections. Contributions from the likes of Foreigner, Air Supply, Starship, Cheap Trick and The Cars show that writing brilliant love songs had been taken to another level. Also present is a lovely mixture of soulful ballads that only emphasizes how popular love songs were in the 80s. Lionel Ritchie, Paul Young, the always-reliable Marvin Gaye, Peabo Bryson and Luther Vandross ensures the word 'romantic' aptly fits into the album's title. Several songs on this compilation deserve mentioning as highlights: "True" (Spandau Ballet), "Sexual Healing" (Marvin Gaye), "Waiting For A Girl Like You" (Foreigner), "Tonight I Celebrate My Love" (Peabo Bryson) and "Baby I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley" by Will To Power. My favourite track, though, is the beautiful "Drive" by The Cars - a track that found success on it's own, but became even bigger when used to promote 'Live Aid' in 1985. This song is worthy of the label, *'genuine classic'*.As you'd expect with compilation CDs, there's a couple if dire tracks (in my opinion) found on "Chart Toppers: Romantic Hits Of The 80s". Willie Nelson's, "Always On My Mind" doesn't do anything for me (The Pet Shop Boys' version from 1987 was far better), while Chris De Burgh's, "Lady In Red" is so sickly-sweet, no wonder the song has become something of a joke over the years. At least the listener is spared from the equally embarrassing, "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton!I'm not really keen on 80s music, but this is a CD I could easily play over and over again. Nice attempt to spotlight a decade that produced a wide array of eclectic styles, but it would've been better if the record company had included the beautiful "Zoom" by Fat Larry's Band - the *ultimate* love song from the 1980s. Highly recommended.Jon"