daumco's Full Review: Fight Dirty by Charlie (Pop)
For those of you who have read my first installment of "My Musical Fixations" I apologize but for those who haven't a brief explanation is in order.
I plan to write a series of reviews, not on certain full albums but upon those songs within that I obsessed on for a period of time, songs that no matter how many times I played them I never got tired of them. I'm sure you've had similar circumstances where certain songs got under your skin, well this review is my second installment about one of those songs. The band is Charlie(not exactly a household name), the album is Fight Dirty and the song is "KILLER CUT".
You've probably never heard of "KILLER CUT" but it was a modest hit on the Arista label. I remember the time of this fixation very well as I had just purchased my dream car of the time, a 1980 Nissan 280zx and took a vacation/trip through northern California in June of 1980. The time of my obsession preceded this by a week or two and extended a couple of weeks after.
A little background on the purveyors of this magnificent musical masterpiece, courtesy of AMG:
"The jazz-inflected, London-based group Charlie was as well known for the sexy babes on their album covers as they were for their close, smooth harmonies and slick, catchy singles like "Turning" and "Watching TV." The band's core lineup consisted of vocalist/guitarist Terry Thomas (who had also been in a band with Free and Bad Company's Simon Kirke), bassist/vocalist John Anderson (formerly of Axe), and drummer Steve Gadd, and a wide array of supporting players, including keyboardist Juilan Colbeck, guitarist Martin Smith, auxiliary drummer Shep Lonsdale, and former Argent members Bob Henrit and John Verity."
"Their radio-friendly sound debuted in 1976 with Fantasy Girls and the group managed a steady stream of moderate FM hits in the U.S. and the U.K., including 1978's "Killer Cut" and "She Loves to Be in Love." However, Charlie's biggest success came with the 1983 hit "It's Inevitable," which received considerable airplay from MTV and was featured on their self-titled seventh album."
"Despite the added prominence this single and tours with the Doobie Brothers, Styx, BTO, and the Kinks brought them, the group remained primarily a cult favorite for their nearly decade-long career. Charlie's swan song came in 1984 with In Pursuit of Romance, which featured Thomas as the only original member."
"Four of their albums — Fight Dirty, Good Morning America, Here Comes Trouble, and No Second Chance — were re-released as CD two-fer packages from Renaissance Records in the late '90s; the label also released Best of Charlie in early 2000." — Heather Phares
Enough small talk. Lets talk about the song. "KILLER CUT"
reminds me of Dire Straits', "Money for Nothin'". Not the music, it couldn't be more different, but the subject/storyline, which, in this case, deals with how success can be achieved by writing and recording one Killer Cut. I can't help but wonder if five years later Dire Straits. took this line of reasoning one step further by including the newly popular MTV. We'll never know but both songs are great in fact I was fixated on "Money for Nothin'", for a while as well.
"KILLER CUT" is a highly rhythmic, highly melodic song featuring multiple harmonies reminiscent of early Boston. It's long as radio friendly songs go, about 5 minutes.
The Lyrics to Killer Cut
So you wanna be a rock and roll star
Well, times have changed, that's all I say
You still need an electric guitar
But most of all you need that radio radio play
All day, all day, play and play and play
So you think that your music's an art
And every song has something to say
I'll tell you now that your learning will start
When you listen real hard to that radio radio play
All day, all day, play and play and play
You gotta write one killer cut, the song is a pearl
You gotta write one killer cut to turn on the world
So you wanna be a rock and roll star
Well, times have changed, that's all I say
You still need an electric guitar
But most of all you need that radio radio play
All day, all day, play and play and play
You gotta write one killer cut, the song is a pearl
You gotta write one killer cut to turn on the world
The short road to fame (if you don't mind the blame)
Is to steal the best bits from those top forty hits
Just keep it real short, and when the records are bought
You're a star
All the company men will remind you again and again
If you get things just right, it's success over night
If you listen and learn you'll have money to burn
You're a star
You gotta write one killer cut, the song is a pearl
You gotta write one killer cut to turn on the world
You gotta love it! Right?
STAY TUNED FOR GOLDEN EARING AND J. GEILS BAND
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