28. Men at Work--Business As Usual
#28: Men at Work--Business As Usual (1981)
Top-Notch Tracks: "Who Can It Be Now?" (HJ200 #105), "Be Good Johnny," (HJ200 #123), "Down Under," "People Just Love to Play With Words," "Underground," "Helpless Automaton"
Album Depth: "I Can See It In Your Eyes," "Touching the Untouchables," "Catch a Star," "Down By the Sea"
Weak Links: Nope
Stand-Out Lyrics: "Who can it be knocking at my door? Go away, don't come round here no more. Can't you see that it's late at night, I'm very tired, and I'm not feeling right? All I wish is to be alone. Stay away, don't you invade my home."--"Who Can It Be Now?"
"Are you going to play football this year, John? Nah! Oh, well you must be going to play cricket this year then, are you Johnny? Nah! Nah! Nah! Boy, you sure are a funny kid, Johnny, but I like you. So tell me, what kind of boy are you, Johnny?"--"Be Good Johnny"
"Buying bread from a man in Brussels. He was six foot four and full of muscles. I said, 'Do you speaka my language?' He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich."--"Down Under"
"I went to the man. I told him a robot is what I am. But he just smiled, said I was a fractious child."--"Helpless Automaton"
"I used to look at your school photographs, but I don't have them anymore. I wonder who's in my old college rooms, or stuck on my old locker door."--"I Can See It In Your Eyes"
"There are two sides, win or loss. What's two down and four across?"--"People Just Love to Play with Words"
"There's no need for you to fight, boys. Hang up all your guns. Find your mask and as best as you can get ready to run."--"Underground"
"There's nothing wrong with my state of mental health."--"Who Can It Be Now?"
"I only like dreaming, all the day long. When no one is screaming...be good, be good, be good, be good, be good, be good, be good, be good, be good Johnny!"--"Be Good Johnny"
"I met a strange lady. She made me nervous."--"Down Under"
Album cover: 8 out of 10. I'm not exactly sure what the album cover means, but it's got three things really going for it: 1) the mountains--I likes me some mountains! 2) the curly cord--this music is plugged in! And 3) Yellow--you don't see a whole lot of album covers that are this yellow, making it stand out from the crowd. Yellow! (And hey, they didn't go for the cliche of a self-titled debut album!)
Comments: First of all, let me say that this album is fantastic! Not only that, but it's one of the best debut albums ever.
But it could have been even better.
There are three songs that didn't appear on this album, but could have--and each of these three songs would have improved this already great album.
"Anyone For Tennis" is an (mostly) instrumental song that was the b-side for the single of "Who Can It Be Now." Even as a b-side it made such an impact on me that I ranked it #157 on the HondoJoe Top 200 Songs list.
"Crazy" was the b-side of "Down Under," and it's pretty darn amazing on its own. It's a kooky little fast-paced number with some excellent saxophone work.
And finally, there's "F-19," which was the b-side in Australia for "Be Good Johnny." It's another quick-moving instrumental, and though it's the worst of these three songs, it's still better than two or three of the songs that made the album.
It's even more reason to question why Men At Work flamed out so fast. If these were their throwaway b-side songs, how many more great songs were just waiting in the wings for those third, fourth, and fifth albums? Alas, it wasn't to be.
Of course, due to the cognitive triad of John, Sheldon, and Paul Hogan, I had a bit more of an affinity to all things Australian. (Would adding your Dad to this list make it a "cognitive cuatro?") But that still doesn't change the fact that, for two albums at least, Men At Work could go toe to toe and song for song with any group around. (Even those not from Australia.)
Up next: Dream a little dream of me.
I know that I have bigger problems with my memory than anyone else in the Arimo Mafia. But since this album was released in 1981, and their follow-up Cargo was released in 1983, I'm pretty sure that at the time we listened to these albums, Sheldon had not yet begun to explore the Land Down Under.
ReplyDeleteUnless we're talking euphemistically.
If that's the case, then he may well have explored the nether regions of several young ladies. Possibly at the same time.
Still, I'm pretty sure he had not yet set foot in Australia when these albums came out, so your affinity for them cannot be based on a cognitive triad of John, Sheldon, and Paul Hogan. I don't remember if The Paul Hogan Show had come to Southeast Idaho TV by November of 1981, but it's possible that it was, so I'll give you that one. Also, John was definitely in Australia during that time period from 1981 to 1983, so he's got a place in that triad as well. But as we all know, there is no such thing as a "cognitive duo," you've got to have a triad or you'll break the laws of physics. So there had to have been a third member of the Australian cognitive triad back in 1981 for you to have an "affinity to all things Australian" when "Business as Usual" came out. And since Sheldon's third member status is in question (he's only got one member--at least that I know of), we must find that third thing that you loved about Australia. "The Man from Snowy River" didn't come out until 1982, so that can't be it. Yahoo Serious wasn't a thing until the late '80s, so he's out. I don't think you listened to a lot of AC/DC either, so I'm saying that as great and awesome as they are, they aren't that third part of the triad. This leaves only one other thing that is Australian that I'm pretty sure you loved back in 1981--Olivia Newton John. She had some great songs in the '70s, but I think you didn't fall completely in love with her until you heard her voice backed by the Electric Light Orchestra when the song "Xanadu" was released in June of 1980. But after that, she became one of the founding members of the original Australian cognitive triad that formed when the Paul Hogan Show appeared on Pocatello TV and John got his mission call to Australia.
Mystery solved.
You're welcome.
Oh! And thank you for identifying those other Men at Work songs that should have been included on Business as Usual. I remember hearing "Anyone for Tennis" before, and I agree that is an excellent song. If they'd put lyrics to it, they probably could have had another charting hit. And i agree that "Crazy" and "F-19" could have definitely held their own with the other songs on "Business as Usual." It's always exciting to find these hidden gems related to those early years of a band you really love. I just wish there were more.
And there are! But you'll have to wait to get my write up on them until I post my own entry for Business as Usual. It'll be fair dinkum!
Nardo