> JOURNEYS TO GLORY, DIAMOND, TRUE, from '81, '82 and '83 
respectively. Some great singles there, but also some seriously dodgy 
album tracks.
> The early Spandau singles that did it for me were "To Cut A Long 
Story Short" (which has this great nagging, distorted keyoard riff and 
doesn't sound a thing like what one expects Spandau Ballet to sound 
like) and "Instinction."

Thanks Stewart - I see that "To Cut a Long Story Short" is on the 
Journeys to Glory album.  May have to add that to my want (LaLa) 
list...

>  Off of the big breakthrough album TRUE, I will put "Lifeline" up 
against any chart-pop single of its era.  Never did understand why 
they didn't reissue that in the states after "True" became a hit, 
because I'm positive it would have at least hit the Top 20.

Agreed - that's a great pop tune!  I also dug "Communication."

>  The first Nena LP was a terrific confection. I always liked the 
fact that the A-side was in English and the B-side was in 
German. "Just A Dream," off that LP was another terrific track, as 
was "Kino."

Thanks John - I've never heard any other Nena tunes, so I'm now 
curious to hear these.

>  Except the English version is sung phonetically and lacks the 
poetry of the German syntax.

Well at least it rhymes nicely!  And I like her phrasing on the 
English vocals (like when she sings "call the troops out, in a 
hurry").  BTW, I have nothing against German vocals, as I *far* prefer 
the original "Der Komissar" by Falco (off the fine Einzelhaft album), 
and have always found the English version by After the Fire to be 
pretty atrocious.

>  Prince delivered the best half time show ever. The man is truly 
amazing.

I missed it, so I'm very grateful for YouTube!  Awesome performance.  
The marching band cracked me up...

>  Has anyone caught his Vegas show?

I'm heading to Vegas in September, and hope he's still doing gigs at 
the Rio when I get there!  I caught the last (Musicology) tour in 
D.C., and it was just great.

Be seeing you,
Bill

np: The Clash - Groovy Times (great production, acoustic guitars!)