Gone Digital: SPK, Philippe Wynne, Peabo Bryson, The Forester Sisters, and Holland

If it’s Tuesday, then it must be time for Gone Digital, our weekly look at five albums which may not even realize are part of Rhino’s digital catalog. As ever, the types of music we’ll be covering will be all over the place, but that’s Rhino for you: we’re all about variety!

•    SPK, MACHINE AGE VOODOO (1984): Although this Australian band started out doing more industrial music, this album finds them squarely in synthpop / dance-rock territory. It wasn’t a huge seller here, but the singles “Metal Dance” and “Junk Funk” may sound familiar depending on how cool your local radio stations were.

•    Philippe Wynne, PHILIPPE WYNNE (1984): Best known as one of the lead singers of The Spinners, Wynne released three solo albums in his lifetime, and this was the last of the bunch. Released on Sugar Hill Records. Alas, Wynne actually died of a heart attack the year it was released, so it never really had a chance at success, but this and his other two albums are worth checking out if you’re a fan of his work with the Spinners.

•    Peabo Bryson, TAKE NO PRISONERS (1985): In the ‘80s, there were few vocalists on the R&B scene who could compete with the smooth sounds of Peabo Bryson. This album, his 11th full-length release, is arguably best known for the title track and “Love Always Finds a Way,” which was a significant hit on the adult contemporary charts.

•    The Forester Sisters, THE FORESTER SISTERS (1985): Hailing from Lookout Mountain, Georgia, these sisters – no, it’s not just a clever name – were a country music phenomenon straight out of the gate, with this self-titled debut climbing all the way to #4 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and spawning three #1 country singles: “I Fell in Love Again Last Night,” “Just in Case,” and “Mama’s Never Seen Those Eyes.”

•    Holland, LITTLE MONSTERS (1985): Named after their lead singer, Tommy Holland, a former frontman for Steppenwolf, this heavy metal band was decidedly short-lived, coming into existence in ’84, releasing this debut album, and then breaking up not long after it was released. Still, you might actually have heard one of the songs: “Wake Up the Neighborhood” was featured in the classic Sarah Jessica Parker / Helen Hunt / Shannen Doherty flick Girls Just Want to Have Fun.