Well, what happened in the Eighties? It is one of those questions that people ask the Bluesbunny. That question usually makes us think of other questions like what happened to John Hughes, the seminal teen filmmaker of that era (we actually know the answer to that one and it involves a big dog). Musically, it was not the best of times as they say. Inspiration had been replaced by stadium rock and satin tour jackets. All the more unusual then that the Reagan Eighties have decided to revisit this decade as their inspiration on these synth powered six tracks.
It's all good fun, though. Driven along by cheesy synth riffs and some classy skin beating, this band produce the kind of music that Bluesbunny (vaguely) remembers dancing to way back in his dim and distant past. Take "Discotheque, Baby, Discotheque!" for example. This is the kind of song that would have given the Tubes a good name. . Having no respect whatsoever for modern musical trends, it goes for gold. "Midnight on the Garden of Good and the Lesser of Two Evils" is a lyrical highlight with some intelligent points made on how people's lives can become reflections of what they watch on television. The best track, however, would be the manic "You Think You're so Modern (But You're Such a Pre-Madonna)" with its "Just Say No to This Drug" hook. This song also produced a fairly embarrassing public display of old man dancing from the Bluesbunny with an equally embarrassing sing-along moment.
There is much to enjoy here. You don't even have to be of a "certain age" to join in the fun. Pop culture references to modern times abound. It is all done, however, with humour and a not inconsiderable amount of energy. Bluesbunny likes music that makes him smile and this CD certainly did that. Now that Bluesbunny thinks about it, he wonders if "Xanadu" has ever been released on DVD.