I first heard of Air Supply via their contribution on the Ghostbusters soundtrack, "I Can Wait Forever." That was a nice piano ballad with a sizzling rock guitar and strings during the chorus, with highlighted by Russell Hitchcock's Dennis DeYoung or Mickey Thomas-like vocals, depending how high he decided to sing. That song isn't on The Ultimate Air Supply, which contains all their Top 40 hits.
After that, it was "Just As I Am" from their self-titled 1985 album, which reached #19. This was the time they were on the decline, although they still fared well on the Adult Contemporary charts. A similar style, but not as good as "I Can Wait Forever." I also learned they did Jennifer Rush's "The Power of Love" before her own version charted the following year. Not a bad version, even though it bombed at #68, but it hit #13 on the AC charts.
What I'd missed before was a string of Top Five singles starting with "Lost In Love." This #3 hit demonstrated the veritable team of singing duo Graham Russell, with the lower-ranged voice, which were heard on the verses, and Russell Hitchcock's higher ranged vocals, which sang the choruses, gentle guitars and strings, harmonies, and in this song, a few spacey synths. In other words, this was radio-friendly easy love songs or lost love pop a la latter day Chicago or Melissa Manchester for the Adult Contemporary charts, where it spent 6 weeks at #1.
"All Out of Love," their next venture, was better, spending 4 weeks at #2, kept away from the top by Diana Ross's "Upside Down" and Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust." The emotional strings may be overblown in the final sections, but it helps the song, and my enjoyment. Chartwise, this was the 18th biggest hit of 1980, while "Lost In Love" was the 25th the same year.
Though not a single, "Chances" could easily have been a single, especially with the sad and soaring strings, and an electric guitar in the instrumental bridge. Vulnerable is how Graham Russell describes it, and that's how I feel.
The romantic #5 "Every Woman In The World" has a sweetness that may be described as sentimental mush, but at least there is a balance in the lines "you're my fantasy/you're my reality." And its #2 peak on the AC charts attest to that mush. However, it was their next single, "The One That You Love," the title track from their second album, that reached #1 in 1981 (and #2 AC) being the 16th biggest hit that year. The give me another chance motif of the song is highlighted in the chorus's "Here I am the one that you love/asking for another day/understand the one that you love/Loves you in so many ways." From the same album was the #5 (#1 for 3 weeks on AC) "Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You)", which is the closest to "I Can Wait Forever," except with more soaring strings.
Their next two singles also hit #5, "Sweet Dreams" and one of my faves, "Even The Nights Are Better," which was 4 weeks atop the AC charts. The string orchestration on the chorus provides a catchy swaying hook I enjoy.
Then their Top 5 streak was shattered with two consecutive #38s, "Young Love" and the romantically optimistic "Two Less Lonely People In The World," which accordingly to Graham Russell became a wedding anthem of the 80s, not bad when the cynicism of the 70s, of marriage as a no-longer solid institutional was still lingering.
But Air Supply managed to pull off a final big hit, my favourite AS song, the Jim Steinman-composed "Makin' Love Out of Nothin' At All," whose overblown operatic backing vocals and instrumentation made stars out of Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler (who ironically did this on her Free Spirit album, and whose version I first heard before AS's). It's the E Street Band's Professor Roy Bittan on piano and Max Weinberg doing the thundering drums that herald the second verse on this 3 weeks at #2 hit, the 22nd biggest hit of 1983.
Though eclipsed by the momentous year of 1984 by big hit albums, Air Supply provided a last gasp of breathable romantic easy pop radio ballads with their consecutive seven Top 5 hits from 1980 to 1982.
A lot of people have a hard time understanding how I can listen to Air Supply when I am a college student who also gets into heavy metal, punk, and indie rock most of the time. Yet their craft is undeniable, and I find myself reaching for this CD now and then because they simply do a fantastic job of slow to mid tempo ballads. The biggest problem with this CD is that it is painfully evident that that is their one trick - there's very little to shake things up here. Bands like Journey and REO Speedwagon who specialize in ballads can do rockers very convincingly, even Bread has a few tougher tunes in their repertoire. Yet the sheer amount of work put into these tunes, as well as the powerful voices of both vocalists, make them solidly enjoyable. "Lost In Love" is still probably one of the top 10 soft rock songs of all time, a nice blend of Eagles/Bread/Seals & Crofts, while "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" is a fantastic anthem.
Best Tracks:
Why MANY people choose to knock this group all the time is beyond me ... yes, they made some syrupy love ballads ... who cares? They also made some great catchy pop songs too ... Even The Nights ... & Just As I Am come to mind quickly.
They were one of the biggest things when I was a kid ... they are still great. And I really don't care what anybody else says!!
I hope I can conjure up the words necessary to explain to the world how important this band is to me. Their arrival on the scene in the mid-to-late seventies was like a breath of fresh air (no pun intended) and helped soothe some of the pain that I felt from Bread's disbanding. Soft rock had some new kings, and they weren't going to let anything bad happen to the kingdom (metaphor).
Listening to "Ultimate Air Supply", it's hard not to think back to some of the best times of my life, falling asleep to "Lost in Love" with the headphones on, or playing a little air guitar to "The One That You Love", trading Air Supply albums with friends. . .good times.
This is the good stuff, right here. This is rock music, gutsy and raw, as pure as it has ever been and ever will be. Punk may lay claim to being the purest genre, but no punk can sing or write with one tenth of the heart and soul that Graham and Russell bring. That goes for the Clash, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Gin Blossoms - all the punks.
As long as Air Supply is still making music, I can sleep easy at night. Thanks guys - from a real fan.
Air Supply was one of my favorite pop groups from the 80s. This a good collection of their music. I mostly bought the album for their big hits but I enjoyed a lot of the other songs on the album as well.
Tag: greatest hits
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