It’s the end of the week once again, which means it’s time to dust off that glorious plastic and welcome another installment of Retro Cassette Fridays! We have three choice cuts from the tasty meat of years gone by for you to hungrily toss down your gullet and perhaps I should’ve eaten lunch before writing this:

Everything But the Girl

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright

1986

Holy moley, this record is a barrel full of feelings. Don’t put it on if you have a touch of the sadness lest you find yourself washed away in a sparkling sea of melancholy, memories of romantic disappointments and dead childhood pets drifting slowly by. However, if you are a more emotionally stable person than myself, this is seriously pretty music. Tracey Thorn could sing you into a coma if she wanted to. In a good way. ‘Fighting Talk’ has a gosh darn gorgeous string section happening and ‘Cross My Heart’ stands out for its poignant lyrics and glorious, glorious trumpet/trombone/French Horn situation. This is some potent musical wizardry happening here.

Donna Summer

Another Place and Time

1989

After reliving every break up I’ve ever had thanks to Everything But the Girl, I thought I should lift the mood a bit, and after selecting Our Lady of Disco Donna Summer, I was not disappointed. In fact I found it difficult to write a review for this record because of all the dance breaks it requires. Right off the bat you have the groove-tastic ‘I Don’t Want to Get Hurt’, then there’s the all time pop classic ‘This Time I know It’s For Real’, and that’s just side one! It is physically impossible not to bust a move while listening to this, even when she’s singing about the pain of love and longing. Donna Summer was such a gift to the dance floor. Somebody should name a cake after her.

‘Til Tuesday

Everything’s Different Now

1988

Why was everybody having so many feelings in the 80’s? It seems like everyone spent the decade sitting around in their polyester suits dabbing the blue eyeshadow-ridden tears from their cheeks with the ends of their mullets. But what do I know? I wasn’t there. Anyway, this record is full of very jangly, melodic, catchy songs. It’s the type of music that I imagine I would sing beside a campfire with a guitar to inspire and seduce my companions in some alternate universe where I can play guitar and enjoy camping. ‘Crash and Burn’ is especially excellent.

Check out other posts in this series

Sophie Joske