The second-to-last K-Tel album I ever bought new was The Beat - Sound Wave of the 80's - in late 1982. Personally, it is probably in my Top 5 K-Tel albums of all time, and it has more than a few of my favorite songs on it. I'd say that there are only two songs out of the fourteen on the album that I have never really cared for: the one by Graham Parker and the one by OMD. The first three songs on Side One are my jams, and actually, Side One is top-heavy with favorites of mine, making Side Two look a little lame by comparison. I know enough about these songs to confidently say that not many hit the Top 40 and probably none of them crossed over to either the AC or R&B charts. I'm hoping they make a strong showing on the rock chart, and there is a distinct possibility a few migrated onto the dance floor and made the disco chart.
The Beat is available on album, cassette, and 8-track. My research yielded no Canadian release. The K-Tel Scale has been activated, and as I suspected, the results are disappointing, possibly the lowest score EVER and a full twenty points below the average K-Tel Scale Score after 64 albums. The only bright spot, if you can call it that, is the eighteen crossovers on the disco and rock charts, which is kind of odd when you think about it, as those two charts are almost never mentioned in the same breath, let alone the same sentence. The score has been redacted below to protect The Beat's reputation as well as my fond memories of the album.
Next time out, we'll be listening to The Best Of Today's Great Love Songs:
Censorship is un-American! Give the public the K-tel score!
ReplyDeleteOn the SRK scale, this compilation rates a 64 out of 100.