Some of you young whippersnappers out there will be far too young to remember ace early 90s pop group The Party. Basically what you need to know about them is that they were ace and that I spent hours working in some grotty supermarket to buy their CDs on import here in the UK. It all started when I heard that my teen queen obsession Debbie Gibson had penned a track, Ton of Bricks, for their debut album so I immediately knew I had to have it - and when it finally arrived, there were plenty of pop gems contained within. Whether it was the groove ridden pop of That's Why, the dreamy ballad Walking In The Rain or the sparkling fun of Sugar Is Sweet - these guys knew how to make pop that was a giddy treat for anyone listening. Their second album (In The Meantime & In Between Time) was an equally rewarding pop rollercoaster - most notably for the brilliant dance tune In My Dreams (sounding just as essential today as it did back then) and their charming cover of Peace, Love & Understanding. Their next album was more new jack swing - as was de rigour at the time - and Free was quite the insistent jam. They even got to sing All About Love on my fave tv show of the time (Blossom!) before splitting up the year after. However, for years fans have kept The Party going & now they are back (albeit one member light - Tiffani Hales, I miss you!) to show that the party ain't over! And thank God because someone needs to show these kids on the street that just because you may be in your 30s doesn't mean you can't have a rollicking good time with your buddies :) What's really clever about the comeback single, Salute To Summer, is that it plays into the nostalgia for the band as well as being a mighty fine contemporary pop song. Not only does the video evoke visual memories of their early days (more on that later), but the tune - and title - is vaguely reminiscent of one of their biggest smashes Summer Vacation. This link smartly provides a bridge between what has happened before with the here & now. Set over a percolating, seductive laid back groove it's a mix of semi-rapped verses, sweetly sung refrains (DeeDee's voice sounds just as lovely as it did 20 years ago) and a hook so catchy it should come with a federal health warning. "Put your drinks in the air for the summertime" insist the band as the bass & groove underscoring this irresistable command gets down and dirty in the background. And if that were the only catchy chant in the song, it would be more than a-ok, but The Party are out to spoil us rotten as they deliver mesmerising, unforgettable riffs left, right and centre - most notably during the middle 8/bridge when they sing "pool side, drinks up, salute, raise your cup". It's like every summer song you've ever loved and like nothing you've experienced before. Each band member brings exuberant joie de vivre to the song making it even more vibrant and essential - plus there's still something magic about their voices together, an alchemy of music that conjures up such hypnotic, amazing results. It's brilliantly simple and simply brilliant - bring on the album already I say because I'm ready to get my party back on. Now here's what happens in the deliciously salacious video...
- How lovely that there is a little throwback to The Party of days gone by at the beginning of the vid. Having seen some of these clips first time round makes me feel positively ancient. I hope the guys and gal of The Party have aged better than I have... :P
- Panic over my lovelies - they are all pretty darn tooting gorgeous. Plus the residuals from their back catalogue must be rolling in as they have quite a nice yacht (which is probably quite pricey even if you just hire it for the day. A Toyota Yaris is $50 a day for goodness sake :D)
- Chase is chilling on the yacht with his honeys. In what my american friends would call a wife beater top, but we Brits call a vest (not to be confused with an American vest which we Brits call a waistcoat). It's a much more civilised vernacular for this sartorial description.
- And at thirty seconds we have the money shot :) Damon is parading around in his denim shirt (so very on trend, don't you know) unbuttoned to give us all a tantalising glimpse of that enviable six pack. I think I speak for everyone when I say, damn the years done gone be good to that boy ;) In other news, he also has very good pop star hair to aspire to.
- Lots of people are either downstairs on the boat or inside a land boat (commonly known as a house) jumping up and down with their red cups. I'm mightily impressed at their self control because it appears that no-one spills a drop of their beer (or, in my case, a nice pear cider)...
- I think it is a house (maybe they have docked on a super exclusive island, like Lost but without all the horrifying deaths and smoke monster malarky) as there is a nice outdoor pool. My god, I want to join The Party - their summer seems SO much better than mine :)
- No girl has ever looked bad when she shows off her rocking bod, while her shimmering kaftan blows in the breeze behind her. DeeDee utterly proves this point - and shows that she has great sea legs as she doesn't even wobble as the speedboat takes her to Party House Central.
- As she sings "cuddled up with my lover" she literally is - he's a gentle type giving her a right good spooning on the boat (and - I think - hovvering close by in the pool too. Needy so and so :P) Just goes to show you don't need to get naked on a wrecking ball and twerk alongside Beetlejuice to get your man (though it worked for me) :D
- Damon decides to do a bit of crowdsurfing at his party. Despite the reckless spontaneous nature of crowdsurfing it really should only be tried in controlled conditions when you are sure people are going to catch. Kind of like a wild, out there trust fall. He looks like he's solid muscle so his party goers must have pretty sturdy arms :)
- (If you pause at precisely 1m13s, there is a great action shot of Damon mid-crowd surf. Summer. He sure down with that theme - and when he gets away he like to do the wild thing!)
- There's lots of freestyle dancing going on through the second run through of the chorus. You are probably already sashaying along at home, so darn resilient is that groove. Their friends and family seem to be having a right ol' knees up- in fact it's like a less debauched version of the booze cruise that European holiday makers love so much :)
- Bridge 1: Damon solo. Nuff said :) (Though he certainly knows how to pull some rather interesting facial expressions)...
- Bridge 2: The Albert Rap. People are dive bombing in the pool, bringing him drinks, draping themselves all over him - now you know he's the man :)
- OH THE SHAME - Albert takes his special lady friend downstairs only to walk in on Damon is getting his nasty on with a fine filly (whatever that means) of his own. ALBERT! You could've knocked, dude! (Though Damon it is considered polite to pop a sock or a tie on the door in these types of communal occasions)!
- In the cupboard, Albert strikes out again as Chase is getting smoochy & it's geek central in bedroom number two as Albert appears to walk in on what can only be the exiting of some sort of Nerd Orgy. And of course nerd stands for not even remotely dorky...
- More shenanigans as the party for The Party continues - Damon thrusts his crotch in the camera, there's some sort of ticker tape parade to rival the winning song moment on The X Factor, champagne gets sprayed everywhere (sure it's not the only sticky substance for some of the guests who get lucky :P And ew...) & sadly no one does the Harlem Shake. It's still brillz though :)
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