Anybody here like or know about him? Billy Ocean was an good artist back in the 80's. My favorites from him are "Caribbean Queen" , "One Of Those Nights" , etc. Anybody else like him?

I would say something like "Carribean Queen" but there's something endearing about "One of Those Nights (Feel Like Gettin' Down)".
[Edited 9/30/07 16:18pm]

Timmy84 said:

Sorry about the error. I tend to type really fast.

DarkSideOfBeauty said:

Oh that's alright. Carribean is a difficult word to spell.

Timmy84 said:

DarkSideOfBeauty said:

Either way you spell it though is still a great song though.

Najee said:

Yeah, I loved "Love Zone" because it was a true R&B ballad. I couldn't stand most of his pop stuff. He truly was the male Whitney Houston (or Shitney Houston as Andy says ).

Loverboy

Timmy84 said:

It sure was!

Timmy84 said:

What is wrong with some of his pop stuff? At least his was better than Whitney's pop songs.

DarkSideOfBeauty said:

LOL! Well he did have the better voice for those. I actually dug "The Color of Love" and "Love is Forever". However, "Suddenly" was ew, lol. I guess that's a double standard, lol. I actually enjoyed his shit over Whitney's.

Timmy84 said:

I agree! "Suddenly" was the only song from him that I don't like too much.

How about 'When The Going Gets Tough', a bit cheesy maybe.

kash said:

Maybe!

DarkSideOfBeauty said:

Let's see Billy Ocean's string of hits starting from the mid-1980s:

* the "Billie Jean"-inspired "Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run);"

* "Loverboy" (which was a much bigger pop hit than on the soul charts);

* "Suddenly," which was the prototypical pop ballad;

* "Mystery Lady," this and "Love Zone" are the only songs from I like from him (and not surprisingly, both did better on the soul charts than on the pop charts);

* "When the Going Gets Tough (the Tough Get Going)," which was as crossover-oriented as one could ever get;

* "There'll Be Sad Songs (to Make You Cry)," another typical crossover ballad;

* "Love Zone," my favorite song from him by a country mile;

* "Love Is Forever," which was derivative of "Suddenly;"

* "Get outta My Dreams, Get into My Car," which ties Lionel Richie's "Dancing on the Ceiling" as arguably the most obnoxious song I've ever heard;

* "Color of Love," which could have been called "There'll Be Sad Songs, Pt. II."

IMO, the reason why Ocean's career flamed out is because not only had he become blatantly pop but his music had become formulated ("Caribbean Queen" --> "When the Going Gets Tough" --> "Get outta My Dreams;" "Suddenly --> "There'll Be Sad Songs" --> "Love Is Forever" --> "Color of Love"). Another reason I liked "Love Zone" and "Mystery Lady" is because they didn't sound like his other stuff.
[Edited 9/30/07 17:30pm]

DarkSideOfBeauty said:

My mom used to love that song.

Calligraphy said:

Hi There! My mom did too!

Najee said:

I'm sorry that you don't like his music. I happened to like his pop songs as well.

DarkSideOfBeauty said:

"Like his pop songs as well?" The vast majority of Billy Ocean's catalog during his heyday was crossover pop (and VERY BLATANT crossover pop), save for "Mystery Lady" and "Love Zone." He was basically a male Whitney Houston or an overseas-based version of Lionel Richie.
[Edited 9/30/07 17:48pm]

Najee said:

Let me ask you a question. Do you like any 80's pop music?

billy is cool

DarkSideOfBeauty said:

It depends on the artist. I don't hate songs that cross over solely on the principle of it crossing over, but my primary music of choice is soul music. If it's a song that has elements of pop and soul or if it's a song that happens to cross over, there are plenty of songs I like that fall into that category. However, I detest songs that are deliberately created for the intention of being watered-down.

I actually liked (or at least tolerated) some of Billy Ocean's initial stuff during his celebrated run. Even though it was a riff of "Billie Jean," I have no problem with "Caribbean Queen." "Loverboy" wasn't bad. I already mentioned I loved "Love Zone" and dug "Mystery Lady," both of which did cross over on the pop charts (just not quite as big as his other hits).

My problem with Ocean's music started when he was blatantly copying the formula, which to me is sellout. He essentially made "Suddenly" several times and slapped different names on them; the same with "Caribbean Queen." That's not counting the post-"Suddenly" album tracks I heard I found to be lame.
[Edited 10/1/07 0:02am]

Najee said:

I like soul music too. I like Al Green , Johnnie Taylor , Aretha Franklin , Wilson Pickett , Dorothy Moore , Sam Cooke , Otis Redding , just to name a few.

He's coming in concert at one of the local casinos and I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw the photo of what he looks like these days! He's grown his gray hair out into long dreadlocks and is sporting a white beard. I wonder if he's making reggae music these days...

Google his official site to see pics. I tried to copy and post them here, but his site won't let me. Now it makes me wanna track down Eddie Grant ("Electric Avenue") and see what he's doing...

I actually liked Billy's 'When The Going Gets Tough", they used to play it to death during the WWF Wrestling broadcasts on Saturday Afternoons back in the 80's.

Najee said:

purpleunderground said:

"Electric Avenue"! Haven't heard that song in a long time.

sosgemini said:

I'm sure there is a purpose for this picture. Please enlighten me.

Najee said:

those two songs played back to back could scare michael myers away.