CoronaVinyl Day 280 (Various Artists): K-Tel's Starburst by Various Artists

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is "Various Artists," and I'm going with K-Tel's 1978 compilation Starburst.  I sang the praises of K-Tel's compilation albums back in November when I featured the Superstars album, also from 1978.

Like Superstars, Starburst is a compilation of hits of the day, featuring songs from 1976 to 1978.  It's got disco, rock, funk, and pop.  The Brothers Gibb are well represented on the album, with youngest brother Andy's massive hit "Shadow Dancing" (co-written by Andy, Barry, Maurice, and Robin), and Samantha Sang's "Emotion," which was written by Barry and Robin and features Barry's signature falsetto on backing vocals.  It also features some early hits by artists who would become bigger in the '80s, like Robert Palmer, Rick James, Bonnie Tyler, Eddie Money, and Deniece Williams.  And with any good compilation, it has its share of one-hit wonders.

Here's the list of tracks (with the year of release and highest chart position on the Billboard Hot 100), and some saint made a Spotify playlist of the album, so you can hear it all in its late '70s glory:

Side 1
1.  "Shadow Dancing" by Andy Gibb (1978; #1)
2.  "Hot Child in the City" by Nick Gilder (1978; #1)
3.  "Shame" by Evelyn "Champagne" King (1977; #9)
4.  "Boogie Nights" by Heatwave (1977; #2)
5.  "Every Kind of People" by Robert Palmer (1978; #16)

Side 2
1.  "It's a Heartache" by Bonnie Tyler (1978; #3)
2.  "Handy Man" by James Taylor (1977; #4)
3.  "Emotion" by Samantha Sang (1977; #3)
4.  "Smoke From a Distant Fire" by The Sanford/Townsend Band (1976; #9)

Side 3
1.  "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" by Meat Loaf (1977; #11)
2.  "My Angel Baby" by Toby Beau (1978; #13)
3.  "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams (1978; #1)
4.  "I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me" by Atlanta Rhythm Section (1978; #14)

Side 4
1.  "Dance With Me" by Peter Brown (1978; #8)
2.  "You And I" by Rick James Stone City Band (1978; #13)
3.  "Get Off" by Foxy (1978; #9)
4.  "I Can't Stand the Rain" by Eruption (1978; #18)
5.  "Baby Hold On" by Eddie Money (1978; #11)

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Hot Child In the City" by Nick Gilder
This chart-topping hit was a glammy power pop song that turned out to be a one-hit wonder for Gilder.  But don't let it's poppy overtones fool you.  It's about child prostitution!

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Smoke From a Distant Fire" by The Sanford/Townsend Band
This is another one-hit wonder, and it's a soulful pop rock song, with some jazzy elements.

Favorite song from Side 3:  "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" by Meat Loaf
This power ballad was the second of three Top 40 hits from Meat Loaf's 1997 debut album Bat Out of Hell, and it remained his biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100 until his 1993 #1 hit "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)."

Favorite song from Side 4:  "You And I" by Rick James Stone City Band
This is one of the funkier songs on the album, and it's hard to say no to Rick James.