Sports (1983) Review

1984 is widely recognized as one of the most incredibly competitive years for pop music. Only five albums topped the charts all year: Michael Jackson's Thriller from January to mid-April, the soundtrack for the movie Footloose from mid-April to late June, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA throughout July, and and Prince's Purple Rain from the beginning of August all the way to the end of the year. Oh, and also, for one week at the end of June, Huey Lewis and the News' Sports, which was obviously the best of the five albums.

Seriously. That was the top of the album charts for an entire year. And yeah, Huey only got that one week, but come on! Look at the competition! Here are some albums that didn't top the charts that year: Billy Joel's An Innocent Man, Culture Club's Colour by Numbers, Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down, Van Halen's 1984, the Police's Synchronicity...that was an absolute beast of a year for music.

And Huey and the boys earned the #2 spot on the year-end chart, behind only Thriller. Because this album is wall-to-wall bangers. It's easily their top-selling album, and it's their best. It was released in September of 1983, and it was a steady seller for years, scoring four top-ten singles, and a fifth in the top 20. In fact, it was on the album charts for a total of 160 weeks. That is literally over three years!

The album starts off with one of the iconic openings of all time. If you were around in the 1980s listening to the radio, and you heard that steady heartbeat coming on, you knew what was coming: The Heart of Rock and Roll, the album's third single released in April, 1984, it reached #6 on the pop charts and 5 on the rock charts. This anthem commemorates the enduring nature of rock music from city to city across the land, and has an absolute killer sax solo from the amazing Johnny Colla. I can't help bopping around to it just thinking about it in my head. Fantastic song, fantastic opener to the album.

Next up is the album's first single, Heart and Soul. A lot of people list this one as their favorite HLN song of all-time. I'd put it in the top five, but it's not my number one; that comes later in the album. It's a cover of a song they initially thought was unreleased. It wasn't even going to be on the album at first, but it was a last-minute addition after Huey heard another band covering it and decided that the News' version was a bit better. Released on August 30th, 1983, it topped out on the Billboard pop charts at #8, but hit #1 on the rock charts, their first #1 single. This one's hard to describe; it's a harder rock sound than the BusBoys cover, with a driving bass line and a solid keyboard foundation. The solo isn't much of anything, but it doesn't need to be. The song works just fine as it is.

Following that comes Bad is Bad. This song is so blues it belongs on a Robert Johnson album. It was written while Huey was with the band Clover. It's low and slow, and the band uses a drum machine in live performances for some reason. Huey takes over the solo with his harmonica, and the doo-wop harmonies from the band fit perfectly. It's one of the weaker songs on the album, but that's a testament to the strength of the rest of the songs. This one wasn't the B-side on any of the album singles, but it did back up another song by the band, their biggest hit ever, The Power of Love in 1985.

And to close out side one, the album's second single, I Want a New Drug, released on January 3, 1984.

Oh, wait...wrong link. Try this one instead. That first link? Yeah, if you listen to the both, you'd think they are the same song up until Ray Parker Jr. starts singing. The Ghostbusters theme was a blatant rip-off of this song, which was another big hit for the band, topping the Disco/Dance chart at #1, hitting #6 on the Hot 100, and #7 on the rock charts. The opening chords from Chris Hayes are an announcement that you are about to get down and dance. The verses have a repeating sequence throughout, no variations whatsoever. Practically a one-chord verse. The rhythmic hooks won't let go, and the howling lead-ins to the chorus are intense. The song ends with a long instrumental section which is much like the verses, with a bit of instrumental variation overtop from the guitar and the keyboard.

So, let's flip the record over and see what comes next. Like the opening of side one, we have an iconic opening: An ostinato bass line fade-in, with a three-note pattern over top (also from the bass guitar). Huey and the drums join in, and we're Walking on a Thin Line. This was the last single from the album, released in October of 1984, and it 'only' reached #16 on the rock tracks and #18 on the Hot 100. This song was an ode to the Vietnam veterans who returned from war changed men, unable to fit in with society anymore. It's heartbreaking, and at the same time it is absolutely AWESOME. This is my all-time favorite HLN song. Yes, even more than the one I listened to fifty times in a row. Chris Hayes adds a guitar solo that actually sounds like it's yearning, begging for understanding from the listener. I don't know how the hell he did it, but he did. This song is flawless, perfect in every single note. Feel free to disagree, but please understand that you are wrong.

Anyway.

After that masterpiece, we have Finally Found a Home. After backing I Want a New Drug earlier, this was the weakest of the album's six singles, released in August or September. It was the only single off the album not to break into the Top 40, topping out at #41 on the Hot 100. It's a song about being in the music industry and getting comfortable with that life. It's very good, if not great. It's much less of a rocker than the majority of songs on the album. It's not pop by any stretch, it's just not in that lane as thoroughly as songs like Heart and Soul or Walking on a Thin Line. It's got a dual-guitar solo (duet, really) that shines, and it finds a nice groove that you can dance to.

Up next is the band's fourth single, If This Is It. Like Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do from Picture This, this one is a slow-rocker, and the fourth consecutive top-10 single off the album. It was released on July 10th, and topped out at #5 on the Adult Contemporary(!) chart, #3 on the Top Rock Tracks chart, and #6 on the Hot 100. The video is an all-timer, probably the best one they did. Johnny Colla wrote this one on his own, with Huey adding the lyrics later. And of course, Johnny gives us another iconic saxophone solo, because that is his purpose in life.

Back to the driving rock music with You Crack Me Up. This track backed up Heart and Soul on the first single release. It's about a guy who is overcompensating for the aging process, acting like he's twenty when he is probably past twice that number. The solo is a keyboard-guitar combo with them doing a bit of call-and-response. Driving rhythms keep this one moving fast and hard.

And the album closes with, of all things, a cover of a Hank Williams song, Honky Tonk Blues. This one adds some steel guitar to the mix, and it fits right in with the rest of the band. This song reminds the listener that while Huey and the Boys can rock out, their roots are in the country/R&B realm. It's a fast, uptempo bluesy rock song that finds a nice, smooth groove and regretfully ends one of the best albums of all time on a fadeout.

So, I'm short on superlatives; I've used them all up on this album, but it deserves each and every one of them. I listened to this album religiously for a few years. I never got tired of it, I never stopped loving every second of it. It is easily my favorite album of all time, no qualifiers required. The only thing I wish was different? I wish there was more to it.