"In the dark I'd like to read his mind. But I'm frightened of the things I might find.." The opening line of the title track from 'Til Tuesday's debut CD "Voices Carry" is instantly recognizable to any 80s music fan. But to those of us who go beyond the basic 80s compilation or "Flashback Lunch" the music of 'Til Tuesday is so much more than their only hit.
The Boston band was comprised of Guitarist Robert Holmes, Joey Pesce on bass & keys, drummer Michael Hausman and the haunted voice of Aimee Mann.
Their debut doesn't have a bad track on it, it is as lush in places ("Sleep," "You Know The Rest") as it is funky in others ("Love In A Vacuum" & "I Could Get Used To This.") Though recorded in the eighties the disc does not sounded dated, It really holds up as an example of an ALBUM, a cohesive, well rounded piece of music where the songs belong together. The skitish princess of pain, Aimee Mann hides inside her fear until she can't anymore and eventually comes out swinging on tunes of betrayal and triumph. I know the words to very well crafted song on "Voices Carry" and so should you.
The Boston band was comprised of Guitarist Robert Holmes, Joey Pesce on bass & keys, drummer Michael Hausman and the haunted voice of Aimee Mann.
Their debut doesn't have a bad track on it, it is as lush in places ("Sleep," "You Know The Rest") as it is funky in others ("Love In A Vacuum" & "I Could Get Used To This.") Though recorded in the eighties the disc does not sounded dated, It really holds up as an example of an ALBUM, a cohesive, well rounded piece of music where the songs belong together. The skitish princess of pain, Aimee Mann hides inside her fear until she can't anymore and eventually comes out swinging on tunes of betrayal and triumph. I know the words to very well crafted song on "Voices Carry" and so should you.
The band's second CD "Welcome Home" suffered from a case of bad timing. I remember seeing their homecoming gig at the Boston Commons. The show was supposed to be timed with the disc release but for some reason their label had delayed it till months later. They played through many new tunes that night, apologizing for so much new material that the audience didn't know.
A few months later when the CD finally saw the light of day it looked like the ticket to the big time for 'Til Tuesday. The lead single, "What About Love" was juts a catchy and driving as "Voices Carry" and the country tinged "Coming Up Close" traded in slick production for acoustic guitar strumming which showed a growth in the band's music.
No one knew at the time but the sound of that song was a sign of things to come later during Mann's solo career. Another of my favorite tracks from the disc is "Will She Just Fall Down." It is full of understated beauty.
A few months later when the CD finally saw the light of day it looked like the ticket to the big time for 'Til Tuesday. The lead single, "What About Love" was juts a catchy and driving as "Voices Carry" and the country tinged "Coming Up Close" traded in slick production for acoustic guitar strumming which showed a growth in the band's music.
No one knew at the time but the sound of that song was a sign of things to come later during Mann's solo career. Another of my favorite tracks from the disc is "Will She Just Fall Down." It is full of understated beauty.
For the group's aptly titled third CD, "Everything's Different Now" the band became a duo of just Aimee Mann and Drummer Michael Hausman. Guitarist Robert Holmes is credited on the CD but not in the album art or part of the tour that followed. The CD features songs co-written by Mann's then boyfriend Jules Shear and Elvis Costello. The Costello track "The Other End Of The Telescope" is the disc's high point. But not only were things different inside 'Til Tuesday but also the music business. The 1980s were quickly coming to an end and hopeful pop songs were being replaced by grunge. And sadness. Something Mann would learn to exploit well.
After the album stiffed, the band called it quits with Hausman moving to the position of manager of Aimee Mann's solo career. A gig he still has in 2014. Mann of course has released a string of critically acclaimed solo CDS and even garnered an Academy Award niomination for her work on the "Magnolia" soundtrack. She is releasing a new solo CD on tax day this year that is sure to be packed with pathos, pain and brilliance.
While Mann's first two CD "Whatever" and "I'm With Stuppid" are amoung my favorites, it his her early music with 'Til Tuesday that I find myself going back to again and again. "Voices Carry" is in my top 10 of all time CDS. Alongside Prince and The Beatles. I suggest you go back and re-discover 'Til Tuesday. Go beyond their one hit and spend time with these three Cds. Or at least the first two. You'll be happy you did. Well, maybe not happy. But like Aimee Mann, you'll be happy to be sad or at least Melancholy.
After the album stiffed, the band called it quits with Hausman moving to the position of manager of Aimee Mann's solo career. A gig he still has in 2014. Mann of course has released a string of critically acclaimed solo CDS and even garnered an Academy Award niomination for her work on the "Magnolia" soundtrack. She is releasing a new solo CD on tax day this year that is sure to be packed with pathos, pain and brilliance.
While Mann's first two CD "Whatever" and "I'm With Stuppid" are amoung my favorites, it his her early music with 'Til Tuesday that I find myself going back to again and again. "Voices Carry" is in my top 10 of all time CDS. Alongside Prince and The Beatles. I suggest you go back and re-discover 'Til Tuesday. Go beyond their one hit and spend time with these three Cds. Or at least the first two. You'll be happy you did. Well, maybe not happy. But like Aimee Mann, you'll be happy to be sad or at least Melancholy.
Aimee Mann: NYC. Loan Star Road House.
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Buddy Judge (The Buddy System & later 'Til Tuesday) and Michael Hausman backstage at Great Woods, Mansfield, Mass.
Aimee Mann-Backstage on first solo tour opening for The Kinks.
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