Garage Sale Vinyl: ‘Til Tuesday
Welcome Home / Epic / October 1986
by Christopher Long
For those of us who were there and who truly lived it, if we’re being completely objective, we might recognize that much of the music created during the ’80s hasn’t aged particularly well. Truth be told, I fought the good fight, carrying that neon-sprayed, spandex-woven banner through the trenches well into the new millennium. Yet, oddly, decades later, that “crappy” music from the ’90s speaks to me more loudly than much of the music I worshipped in the ’80s.
However, there are a few exceptions; those Missing Persons, 10,000 Maniacs, and Gene Loves Jezebel records, along with a handful of others, still make my soul sing. But ‘Til Tuesday will be perched eternally atop my personal ’80s totem pole. Why? Well, like I always say, it’s all about the songs.
Punchy, polished, and packed with impeccable songs, the Boston-based band’s 1985 debut LP, Voices Carry, achieved impressive Top 20 status. A mighty chart-buster and an MTV favorite, the title track remains an iconic ’80s staple. A smidge warmer and a bit more introspective, their 1986 sophomore set, Welcome Home, felt to me like a perfect progression, a sweet soul sister to their debut. And it proved bassist, vocalist, and primary songwriter Aimee Mann to be an engaging, master storyteller. In fact, if I were to play that drinking game in which I’m forced to pick one “desert island” record from that era, I’d gleefully choose Welcome Home.
Overseen by veteran producer Rhett Davies (King Crimson, B-52’s, OMD), Welcome Home continues to serve as a faithful personal life soundtrack. For nearly 40 years, the magical ten-track collection has seen me through some wonderful times as well as a few painful breakups. To this day, it’s a record that possesses the power to put me into the fetal position, balled-up and blubbering in a corner like a heartbroken Dallas Cowboys fan grappling with the reality that this ain’t gonna be “their year” (again) after all.
Simply put, Welcome Home was a perfect record, in every way possible. For starters, its overall sound was so delicious, it still makes my aural palate moist. And as with their debut record, the band’s performance was Tonka-tough and Schick-sharp. The intoxicating opening track “What About Love,” not only was the perfect lead-off single, but the video continues to snare and captivate me every time.
Complicated personal relationships inform most of the record’s songs, the most irresistible of which was Mann’s “Coming Up Close.” Among the array of other personal highlights, the bouncy “Will She Just Fall Down,” the conflicted “Lovers’ Day,” and the billowy heartacher “Have Mercy.”
In ‘86, CDs were all the rage. As a result, I’d never owned an LP copy of Welcome Home. And now that I was looking, decades later, vinyl copies were proving rather elusive. Growing increasingly desperate in my mission, I had to go rogue a couple of years ago, and I did the unthinkable — I located and bought a pre-owned vinyl copy, off the Internet! But it turned out to be in pristine condition, and well worth the obscene price of $12. Don’t judge me, man. Like I said, I was desperate. And now, if I do ever find myself forced to pick that “desert island” record, at least I’ll have it!
5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Welcome Home Track List
SIDE ONE
1. What About Love (A. Mann) – 3:56
2. Coming Up Close (A. Mann) – 4:37
3. On Sunday (A. Mann, J. Pesce, R. Holmes, M. Housman) – 4:07
4. Will She Just Fall Down (A. Mann) – 2:49
5. David Denies (A. Mann, J. Pesce, R. Holmes, M. Housman) – 4:50
SIDE TWO
1. Lovers’ Day (J. Pesce, A. Mann) – 4:18
2. Have Mercy (A. Mann) – 4:52
3. Sleeping and Waking (A. Mann, R. Holmes, J. Pesce, M. Housman) – 3:23
4. Angels Never Call (A. Mann) – 3:
5. No One is Watching You Now (A. Mann) – 3:52
