A Bangin' Second Album

You know the song, you know the opening line: “Josie's on a vacation far away…” The Outfield had one of the biggest hits of the 1980s with the song “Your Love”. It was three minutes and twenty two seconds of pure pop rock. And it catapulted the band and their debut album to the top ten of the Billboard charts.

So how do you follow that up? You release an underappreciated, flawless piece of pop rock. Released on this day in 1987, the album, Bangin’ needs to be reconsidered by critics and fans as a great continuation of music from a band that should have been much bigger. There's not a bad track on it.

Today’s Throwback Thursday is where we take a deep dive and explore Bangin’, the fantastic second album from The Outfield.

Lead by guitarist John Spinks songwriting and Tony Lewis’ wide-ranged vocals, the band sings about the classic unrequited love theme while moving the needle just enough from their debut.

The lead single, “Since You’ve Been Gone” hit number eleven on the Billboard charts in the United States. There’s great harmonizing and a catchy power-pop hook throughout. I hear shades of The Beatles in the bridge and the chorus. How about you?

One of the deeper cuts that’s a favorite is “Main Attraction” an all-out rocking song. The guitar intro again reminds me of The Beatles. Reminds me a bit of “Day Tripper” sped up.

Returning in the producer seat is William Wittman who produced their debut Play Deep. Smart move by the band keeping him on to help mature their early sound. Side Note: Wittman worked with a ton of great talent before and after The Outfield including Cyndi Lauper, Lloyd Cole and Too Much Joy.

The required love song/lost love song is “No Surrender” which became a major hit on MTV and radio airwaves. The video was classic 80s with it going back and forth between black/white “memories” and colorful performances by the band. Be sure to YouTube it.

Other favorites include the loud Bryan Adams-like “Long Way Home”, “Bangin’ on My Heart” and “Better Than Nothing”.

The album received decent reviews and sold okay, but doesn’t get it due credit. It got lost in 1987 among the releases from Richard Marx, Bryan Adams and The Hooters (who also released a follow-up album that year after their big breakthrough).

So what am I saying? It’s time once again to explore The Outfield and their fantastic releases.