OUT OF SIGHT [1975]


Featuring 18 Top 40 Hits, Out Of Sight [1975] would seem to have a slight advantage on the K-Tel Scale as none of the first three albums had more than 17 Top 40 singles.  Upon closer inspection, we notice that 7 of the Top 40 songs on Out Of Sight reside in the bottom half of the chart, dragging down the album's score like an anchor.  In spite of bonus points from a dozen crossover chart hits, Out Of Sight is currently ranked at #5 on this week's K-Tel Scale chart which features eight albums - one US and one Canadian version of each of the four titles ranked thus far.


With the album retailing for $4.99, we were paying about 25 cents per song.  Sure, the songs were heavily edited and sounded horrible but we weren't exactly audiophiles back then. If HERC remembers correctly (he's got a few price stickers on his 45 sleeves to jog his memory), he was paying 79 cents for 45s in 1976 - adjusting for inflation, we can extrapolate that he was paying 75 cents for two songs or 37½ cents per song although he bought very few 45s in 1975.  (Going the other way, that 79 cents from 1976 is worth $3.25 in 2013 US Dollars.)


Out Of Sight [1975]
K-tel Scale: 23.40
Top 40 chart peaks
PopR&BDISCOAC
Satuday Night's Alright For FightingElton John12
I've Got The Music In MeThe Kiki Dee Band12
Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)Reunion8
Beach BabyFirst Class438
The Black-Eyed BoysPaper Lace
Touch MeFancy19
Higher PlaneKool & The Gang371
You Little TrustmakerThe Tymes122031
I Feel A Song (In My Heart)Gladys Knight & The Pips211
Kung Fu FightingCarl Douglas11
You Ain't Seen Nothing YetBachman-Turner Overdrive1
Get Dancin'Disco Tex & The Sex-O-Lettes10323
StarStealers Wheel296
After The GoldrushPrelude2211
So You Are A StarThe Hudson Brothers21
Heavy Fallin' OutThe Stylistics4
The Need To BeJim Weatherly116
Abra-Ca-DabraThe DeFranco Family32
Kings Of The PartyBrownsville Station31
Rock The BoatThe Hues Corporation1212




Song for song, HERC has to say that the Out Of Sight sold in Canada offers a more perfectly blended mix of songs from all the popular radio genres than its American brethern.  In addition to adding the mandatory Canadian artist tracks required by law, the compilers of the Canadain version of Out Of Sight swapped out all three #1 Pop hits from the US version - for another three #1 Pop hits.  Several artists had two different songs, one on each version of Out Of Sight, including Paper Lace, The Stylistics and Fancy.  And in spite of three zero scoring songs (aka the Canadian handicap), the Canadain Out Of Sight scored only marginally less than its American counterpart.  Factoring out those three songs would have given it the upset with a higher score than the US configuration. 

Out Of Sight [1975]
K-tel Scale: 22.55
Top 40 chart peaks
PopR&BDISCOAC
I Shot The SheriffEric Clapton133
Shang-A-LangTinker's Moon
Piano ManBilly Joel254
The Need To BeJim Weatherly116
The Night Chicago DiedPaper Lace127
Sugar Baby LoveThe Rubettes37
The Air That I BreatheThe Hollies63
Wild ThingFancy14
Please Come To BostonDave Loggins51
Crazy TalkChilliwack
Satuday Night's Alright For FightingElton John12
TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia)MFSB featuring the Three Degrees111
So You Are A StarThe Hudson Brothers21
Let's Put It All TogetherThe Stylistics18826
Steppin' Out (Gonna Boogie Tonight)Tony Orlando & Dawn74
I Feel A Song (In My Heart)Gladys Knight & The Pips211
One Hell Of A WomanMac Davis1120
StarStealers Wheel296
RingsLobo8
RamonaStampeders



Seven of the songs from Out Of Sight [US] were supplemented with three other songs from 1974-1975 (including HERC's very first 45 purchase - "The Streak") to make the CD.  Although it was released in 1996, HERC has been unable to confirm if the songs included were the original recordings or merely the original hits by the original stars as stated on the label - there is a difference.  A reader has asked HERC to apply the K-Tel Scale to the K-Tel CDs he's been featuring so here we go.

Out Of Sight [1996]
K-tel Scale: 36.40
Top 40 chart peaks
PopR&BDISCOAC
Beach BabyFirst Class438
Kung Fu FightingCarl Douglas11
You Ain't Seen Nothing YetBachman-Turner Overdrive1
(You're Having) My BabyPaul Anka15
Rock The BoatThe Hues Corporation1212
Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)Reunion8
After The GoldrushPrelude2211
I've Got The Music In MeThe Kiki Dee Band12
The EntertainerMarvin Hamlisch31
The StreakRay Stevens112

With a whopping 50% of the songs being Number Ones and a full 80% of the tracklist making the Top 10, the Out Of Sight CD scores a mighty 36.40.  Nevertheless, K-Tel CD scores will not be reflected in the official K-Tel Scale rankings.

2 comments:

  1. "Disco Tex & The Sex-O-Lettes" is one of the all-time great band names.

    ReplyDelete
  2. such awesome collections of music, especially when you are 12...

    ReplyDelete