Another one of those “rock singer scores big with a solo ballad” moments that made the 80s so, um, memorable.
Kronomyth 0.9: The grammblings of a mudman.
Life is either cherry red or midnight blue. Or a series of unconnected and meaningless events that we rationalize after the fact and file away into neat little folders like DESTINY and DESIRE. In 1987, turning on the rock dial was a little like touching a hot stove; it could be something cool or (yee-ouch!) something like “Midnight Blue.” This song sucks the great ambivalent balzac in the sky for any number of reasons (crappy drum beat, talking during your own song, howling for love like Bryan Adams after a shot of tequila). Most distressing is the message. What starts out as a song about a young man claiming his own independence (okay, I’m with you so far) devolves into the usual “Baby, I’m a bad boy but you’re the one good thing in my life and I’ll love you forever” panty-loosening piffle. If you’ve ever been in a relationship where this was “your song,” go directly to jail, do not pass Go, and for heaven’s sake take off those cherry red glasses (even if it was the best four minutes of your life). The B side is “Chain of Love,” also from Lou’s debut effort, Ready Or Not. Neither song differs from its elpee version, since you can’t edit per-fec (cough).
Original 7-inch Single Version
A1. Midnight Blue (Lou Gramm/Bruce Turgon) (3:54)
B1. Chain of Love (Lou Gramm/Bruce Turgon) (3:58)
Original 12-inch Single Version
A1. Midnight Blue (extended remix) (Lou Gramm/Bruce Turgon)
B1. Midnight Blue (Lou Gramm/Bruce Turgon)
B2. Chain of Love (Lou Gramm/Bruce Turgon)
Atlantic Oldies 7-inch Reissue
A1. Midnight Blue (Lou Gramm/Bruce Turgon) (3:54)
B1. Ready Or Not (Lou Gramm/Bruce Turgon) (3:28)
The Plastic
Released on 7-inch and 12-inch single in January 1987 in the US and Australia (Atlantic, 7-89304), the UK (Atlantic, A 9304/T), Canada and Germany (Atlantic, 78 93047), Japan (Atlantic, P-2234) and Portugal (Atlantic, 1591367) with picture sleeve; reached #5 on the US charts (charted on January 30, 1987 for 20 weeks). Also released as blue vinyl 12-inch single in 1987 in the UK (Atlantic, A9304 TX). Also released as promotional 12-inch single in 1987 (Atlantic, PR996) feat. A on both sides.
- Re-released with “Ready Or Not” on back-to-back hits 7-inch single in the US (Atlantic Oldies, 7-84953).
