Compilation Album Review: "Summer '89"

Compilation: Summer '89
Released: 1988 – BMG Arista/Ariola
Number of tracks: 18
Number one singles: None
Top ten singles: 9
Best track: "Wild Wild West" by The Escape Club
Hidden gem: "Sexy Girl" by Sabrina

This is the compilation I have spent the most on so far! I paid $20.50 for it on eBay, and believe me, I'd seen copies on sale for a LOT more. I'm not sure why I spent so much – it's not like there are any tracks on it I HAD to have – but it looks like a true time capsule item to me. Look at that artwork! That's Australia in the late '80s, innit. This came out at the tail end of 1988 and is called simply Summer '89. Although this is the southern hemisphere so it should be Summer '88/'89 if'n ya wanna be technical about it.

It kicks off with, what else, FARNSEY. In 1988 FARNSEY sat astride the Australian music scene like a...a...big stridey thing. There was no escape from his powerhouse mullet and resplendent vocals (sorry, I'm partial to a bit of adjective swap). That tortured metaphor about the honey and the bee is the only naff part of "Two Strong Hearts", otherwise it's a solid Oz Rok™ tune®. As is Noiseworks' "Touch", heard on commercials for insurance for over two decades, and "If I Could" by 1927, their biggest hit and a fine example of pop-rock they continued into the '90s, but unfortunately not as many people were paying attention.

If you want regular Rok™, there's Bon Jovi, Poison and Guns N' Roses here. But remember, it's only recommended in small doses. You have been warned! Oddly enough it's Poison, with "Fallen Angel", that's the most tolerable of these three.

Yazz was another guilty '80s pleasure. Accept to imitators for the acid-house sound – looking at you, Collette. I reckon you'd need a good dose of helium to sing this, though. Sabrina Salerno's breasts also feature here with "Sexy Girl" – as an example of '80s Italian pop, it's not half bad, although it appears whoever wrote the song forgot to write an ending.

Oh man, that novelty Kylie Mole song, "So Excellent", is on here. For now, just this once, I'll allow it – since Kylie Mole was massive in '88. You want a time capsule of Australia at this time, you can't really leave it out. Seriously, I was 10 at the time and everyone was quoting that chick. Would you believe that the lyrics for this song are nowhere to be found online? However, there is no doubt that the term "go spack" is among them. Ace!

Y'know, I really hated "I Want Your Love" by Transvision Vamp when I first heard it, but I don't mind it now. I guess, as a little kid, I didn't 'get' it. And? The comp closes with "Oh Yeah" by Yello, a song from 1985, but I guess it got a re-release and charted in 1988, reaching the top ten. It seems to fit in quite nicely here.

Rating: 7/10