Monday, June 06, 2011

Cassette Review: Cargo by Men at Work

MEN AT WORK
Cargo (Columbia) 1983
Business as Usual was a monster hit for these Aussie lads at the beginning of the 1980s. They won a Grammy in 1982 for "Best New Artist" (aka The Kiss of Death) and it was all down hill after that. There was Cargo though. I was a Men at Work fan in '82 and '83. After Queen they were probably my favorite band in junior high school. "Down Under" seemed to fit in with Dungeons & Dragons somehow. That single backed with "Crazy" was one of the first forty-fives I ever bought. Cargo would be followed by Two Hearts in '85. That album was met with the critical and commercial disappointment it almost surely deserved. Cargo saw four singles released. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is a decent enough tune. It's not on par with any of the hits of its predecessor, but it was good enough to warrant release as a single. "Overkill," "It's a Mistake" and "High Wire" were the other three. Again, not the same caliber of stuff that made Business resonate with the public or make the cash registers ring, but the best of a batch of mediocre stuff nevertheless. The rest of Cargo is pretty forgettable and signaled the end of the Men's career as hit makers. I paid 49¢ for this cassette at the Salvation Army on Montrose. Pretty crappy condition. It's worth about 19¢ tops.

1 comment:

sharmila said...
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