Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Artist: Eight Seconds, Album: Almacantar, Song: Kiss You (When It's Dangerous)


"Kiss you when it's dangerous.  I'll kiss you then and only then.  I'll kiss you when it's dangerous.  I'll kiss you once but never again."  Eight Seconds were a 5 piece from Ottawa, Ontario that had this hit back in 1986.  Kiss You was off their debut full length entitled, Almacantar.  The band won a local radio contest which prompted the attention of English producer Rupert Hine.  If you enjoyed any 80's release from The Fixx, Howard Jones, Chris DeBurgh, Saga or Tina Turner's Private Dancer  album, you have him to thank.  He had the band come to England where they recorded Almacantar as well as a very cool 12inch version of the song, Kiss You.  I found it recently in a used record store.  The liner notes show that this song as well as others were written 2-3 years prior to this release.  It seems this band's biggest problem was their label.  By the time they released their next album, it was almost 4 years later and the label ATCO went bankrupt.  The band at that point dissolved.  In 2002, a group formed to lobby Universal Canada to re-issue the Almacantar album as part of their Heritage Classic Series.  You can read about that at Almacantar Project.  Today, this album trades between $40 and $100 in used condition or new so I'm not sure how successful this project was but kudos to anyone who is passionate enough to preserve our musical history.  You can watch the video for the song on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO3bPUCgCAk).  You can also hear the 12inch version on Live 365 (www.live365.com/stations/raisedoncndnradio).  Thanks for reading and enjoy!