The Best of Mr. Mister is a compilation album of American pop rock band Mr. Mister's hits and some of their other well-known songs. It contains the hits "Broken Wings", "Kyrie", "Hunters of the Night", "Is It Love", "Black/White" and "Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You)". It ends with the previously unreleased song entitled "Waiting in My Dreams" (which was originally intended for Pull, an album that would go unreleased until 2010).
All the tracks are single edits and are remastered from the original recordings.
Track listing
All songs by Richard Page, Steve George and John Lang except where noted.
"Kyrie" is a song by American pop rock band Mr. Mister, from their album Welcome to the Real World. Released around Christmas in 1985, it hit the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1986, where it was number 1 for two weeks. It also hit the top spot on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart for one week. In the UK, the song peaked at number 11 in March 1986.
The lyrics to "Kyrie" were written by Arizona-born John Lang, who co-wrote the songs on all of Mr. Mister's albums. The music was composed by Richard Page and Steve George while on tour with Adam Ant.
In Greek, Kýrie, eléison means "Lord, have mercy" and is a part of many liturgical rites in both Eastern and Western Christianity. Kýrie, eléison; Christé, eléison; Kýrie, eléison is a prayer that asks "Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy." According to Page's statements, he was initially skeptical about singing the Christian text Lang had written because he didn't want to make a "religious statement".
There is a myth that singer Richard Page wrote "Kyrie" while lying in a hospital bed after being assaulted. It was John Lang who had been assaulted three years before the composition; Lang has stated that the incident has nothing to do with the song.
The video was directed by Nick Morris, and shows the band in performance mixed with footage taken at the tail end of their Autumn 1985 tour with Tina Turner.
"Kyrie" was used in the hit U.S. TV series Miami Vice during season two, episode fourteen "One-Way Ticket". It was also used in the Netflix series' GLOW as well as the ABC sitcom The Goldbergs. The U.S. 7" single can be found pressed on transparent purple vinyl or polystyrene, depending on where it was manufactured.
Cash Box said it's a "booming track which ... features top musicianship and a soaring chorus hook."
Track listings
Non-UK 7-inch single
A. "Kyrie" – 4:10
B. "Run to Her" – 3:36
UK 7-inch single
A. "Kyrie" (edited version) – 3:38
B. "Kyrie" – 4:10
UK 12-inch single
A1. "Kyrie" – 4:10
B1. "Kyrie" (edited version) – 3:38
B2. "Hunters of the Night" – 4:07
European and Japanese 12-inch single
A1. "Kyrie" – 4:24
B1. "Run to Her" – 3:36
B2. "Hunters of the Night" – 5:07
The single edit (which was also used for the video version) ends with the a cappella phrase "Kýrie, eléison, down the road that I must travel", while the album version simply fades out.
"Broken Wings" is a 1985 song recorded by American pop rock band Mr. Mister. It was released in June 1985 as the lead single from their second album Welcome to the Real World. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1985, where it remained for two weeks. "Broken Wings" became the first of two consecutive number ones of the band on the American charts, the other chart-topper being "Kyrie".
Outside of the United States, "Broken Wings" topped the charts in Canada, peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Belgium (Flanders), the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and West Germany, and the top twenty of the charts in Austria, New Zealand, Spain and Sweden.
The ballad was co-written with lyricist John Lang, who was inspired by Kahlil Gibran's novel Broken Wings. The song is a mix of synth, digitally delayed guitar, bass which is provided by synthsesizer and drums. The song's hissing intro was an effect created by the sound of a crash cymbal played in reverse.
Although the 1968 Beatles song "Blackbird" contains an identical lyric, "Take these broken wings and learn to fly", Richard Page has described this as "a mindless unintentional reference" attributable to both compositions being influenced by the Gibran novel.
The music video for "Broken Wings" was directed by Oley Sassone and filmed in black and white. It features lead vocalist/bassist Richard Page driving through the desert in a classic Ford Thunderbird, the first allusion to birds. There is a scene where Page is sitting in a church when a Harris's Hawk flies in through the window and lands next to him on the pew and they exchange a gaze. The full band is also featured in performance scenes. Also appearing in the video are an unknown man and woman dancing tango. They are only shown from the waist down. At the end of the video Page is seen next to the Thunderbird with the vehicle's hood open.
Stereogum wrote about the song:
Lyrically, "Broken Wings" is an attempt to keep a relationship together through the magic of flowery language: "Take these broken wings/ And learn to fly again, learn to live so free/ When we hear the voices sing/ The book of love will open up and let us in." Those words are grandiloquent enough to be self-parody, but Page delivers them all perfectly straight-faced. He means every bit of it. In Page's mouth, the word "take" becomes a desperate animal yelp. I love it. I also love how overproduced "Broken Wings" is. The song is all ominous churn, and it never really kicks in. Instead, it captures a state of sustained anticipation.
Mr. Mister was an American rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, active from 1982 until 1990. The band consisted of Richard Page on lead vocals and bass guitar, Steve George on keyboards/backing vocals, Pat Mastelotto on acoustic and electronic drums/percussion and Steve Farris on guitars/backing vocals. Mr. Mister was the successor to the band Pages, fronted by Page and George from 1978 to 1981. The band is best known for their three US Top hits "Broken Wings", "Kyrie" and "Is It Love", all included on their second studio album Welcome to the Real World (1985).
Welcome to the Real World is the second studio album by American pop rock band Mr. Mister, released on June 20, 1985, by RCA Records. Two singles from the album, "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie", topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, while "Is It Love" peaked at number eight. Welcome to the Real World topped the Billboard 200 in March 1986. A remastered 25th-anniversary edition of the album was released as a digipak on April 20, 2010.
In 2024, Paul Elliott of Classic Rock called it "a classic melodic rock album featuring two of the defining songs of that era" and "a brilliant synthesis of AOR and new wave, comparable to the Cars' classic Heartbeat City."
Track listing
All tracks written by Richard Page, Steve George and John Lang, with additional writers noted.
"Black/White" Steve Farris/Pat Mastelotto 4:19
"Uniform of Youth" Farris/Mastelotto 4:27
"Don't Slow Down"Farris4:29
"Run to Her" Farris/Mastelotto 3:39
"Into My Own Hands"Farris5:10
"Is It Love"Mastelotto3:38
"Kyrie"4:26
"Broken Wings"5:44
"Tangent Tears"3:24
"Welcome to the Real World"Farris4:20
Total length:43:35
2015 remastered reissue bonus tracks
"Kyrie" (extended version)4:15
"Broken Wings" (live)6:18
"Uniform of Youth" (live)FarrisMastelotto 4:48
"Is It Love" (dance mix)Mastelotto6:29
"Is It Love" (dub mix)Mastelotto4:17
"Broken Wings" (extended version)5:45
Total length:75:27
Re-mastered in 2015 and sound shaped from 24 bit digital tools via POW-r technology.
Originally released in 1985 on RCA PL89647.
Comes in a standard jewel case with 16-page booklet.
Track 16 is the same as the album version, as it ever was. 16 is mastered differently than the rest of the album.
The 4:34 edit is missing to make it complete.
Recording information:
Mr. Mister – production
Paul DeVilliers – production, engineering
Lois Oki – engineering
Mick Guzauski – mixing
Mike Shipley – mixing
Bill Freesh – additional engineering
Tony Peluso – additional engineering
Tchad Blake, Judy Clapp, Carolyn Collins, Eddie Delena, Dave Egerton, Stuart Furusho, Heidi Hanscher, Coke Johnson, Stan Katayama, Daren Klein, Steve MacMillan, Richard Mekernan, Sebastian Thorer – engineering assistance
Heartbreak Radio is a Swedish Hard Rock/AOR band formed in 2004 by Claes Andreasson and Torbjörn Wassenius as a Last Autumn's Dream spin-off.
On Air is their second album, released in 2013.
Tracklist:
Love On Fire ラヴ･オン･ファイア 3:24
Angelina アンジェリーナ 4:56
You Are Love ユー･アー･ラヴ 5:26
Turn On Love ターン･オン･ラヴ 4:18
I Will Love You アイ･ウィル･ラヴ･ユー 4:15
Live Out Of Love リヴ･アウト･オヴ･ラヴ 4:19
All Over The World オール･オーヴァー･ザ･ワールド 5:36
My Heart's Just Missing You マイ･ハーツ･ジャスト･ミッシング･ユー 4:30
Keep Kickin' It Back Again キープ･キッキン･イット･バック･アゲイン 4:00
You Don't Love Me Anymore ユー･ドント･ラヴ･ミー･エニモア 6:38
MLI 2:57
Hard Rock City ハード･ロック･シティ 3:44
Let Me Have Your Heart Again レット･ミー･ハヴ･ユア･ハート･アゲイン 4:48
Knockin' On Hells Door ノッキン･オン･ヘルズ･ドア 3:29
Issued in a standard jewel case with: an 8-page colour booklet including English lyrics and release information; an 8-panel fold-out insert including Japanese/English track list, Japanese commentary, and lyrics translated into Japanese; and an obi.
The commentary is credited as: 2012. 11. 27 藤木昌生/Metallion
"The Boys of Summer" is a song by the American musician Don Henley. The lyrics were written by Henley and the music was composed by Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It was released on October 26, 1984, as the lead single from Henley's album Building the Perfect Beast. It reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, number one on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart, and number 12 in the UK Singles Chart.
The music video won several awards. "The Boys of Summer" was also performed live by Henley with the reunited Eagles; a version is included on the group's 2005 DVD Farewell 1 Tour: Live from Melbourne.
Mike Campbell, the guitarist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, wrote a demo for "The Boys of Summer" while experimenting with a LinnDrum drum machine. He showed it to Tom Petty, but Petty felt it did not fit with the record they were working on, Southern Accents. At the suggestion of the producer Jimmy Iovine, Campbell played it for Don Henley, the vocalist and drummer for the Eagles, who wrote the lyrics and recorded the vocal. They re-recorded the song after Henley decided to change the key.
"The Boys of Summer" uses a repeating guitar riff. It was recorded in the key of F♯ major with a tempo of 88 beats per minute. Henley's vocals span F♯3 to A♯4.
The lyrics appear to be about the passing of youth and entering middle age, with the nostalgic theme of "summer love" and reminiscence of a past relationship. In a 1987 interview with Rolling Stone, Henley explained that the song is about aging and questioning the past—a recurring theme in Henley's lyrics (cf. "The End of the Innocence", and "Taking You Home".) In an interview with NME in 1985, Henley explained the '"Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac" lyric as an example of his generation selling out.
I was driving down the San Diego Freeway and got passed by a $21,000 Cadillac Seville, the status symbol of the right-wing upper-middle-class American bourgeoisie – all the guys with the blue blazers with the crests and the grey pants – and there was this Grateful Dead "Deadhead" bumper sticker on it!
The song's title is taken from Roger Kahn's 1972 book about the Brooklyn Dodgers, which was in turn taken from a Dylan Thomas poem
"The Boys of Summer" reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart for five weeks. It was his most successful hit in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart. A re-release of the single in 1998 also reached No. 12.
Billboard called it "dance oriented pop swimming in synths and reverberating guitar."
In 1986, Henley won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for the song. "The Boys of Summer" was ranked No. 416 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "The Boys of Summer" is included in The Pitchfork 500, Pitchfork Media's "Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to Present."
Tom Petty was astounded by the track's success. One day, he and Campbell were out on a car drive to listen to a mix of their song "Don't Come Around Here No More", but turned on the ignition and heard "The Boys of Summer". Campbell changed the station in case the song would upset Petty, but another station was also playing the song. Petty enjoyed listening to it and regretted initially turning it down.
The music video to "The Boys of Summer" is a French New Wave-influenced piece directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino. Shot in black-and-white, it shows the main character of the song at three different stages of life (as a young boy, a young adult and middle-aged), in each case reminiscing about a past relationship. Interspersed with these scenes are segments of Henley singing the words of the song while riding in a pickup truck. The boy is dressed in a style typical of the 1950s, the teenage lovers are dressed in a style characteristic of the early 1960s while the middle-aged man is dressed in the style of the 1980s. As a boy in the 1950s, the protagonist practices playing the drums, suggesting musical aspirations; as a teenager in the 1960s, he walks down a beach with his girlfriend whom he kisses passionately; and as a middle-aged man in the 1980s, he appears to be an executive of some sort who is comfortable, but unhappy in life as he sits at his desk remembering his youth. The young boy in the video is played by a seven-year-old Josh Paul, while the girl is played by Audie England. Interspersed with these scenes are segments of Henley articulating the words of the song while driving in a convertible. At its conclusion, the video uses the post-modern concept of exposing its own workings, as with a wry expression Henley drives the car away from a rear projection screen.
The video won the Video of the Year at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards (leading Henley to comment at the Awards the following year that he had won for "riding around in the back of a pickup"). It also won that year's awards for Best Direction, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography. The Best Direction award was presented to Mondino by Henley's then-former Eagles bandmate Glenn Frey.
