Seven Year Itch: 1982-1989

Fueled by a mingling of new wave and rock and doused with the sounds of keyboards and electronic drums, Toronto's Platinum Blondes scorched '80s radio in Canada, at times neck and neck with Bryan Adams in popularity. Their debut album, 1984's Standing in the Dark, posted four strong singles, looking and sometimes sounding like Duran Duran but distinct enough to gain a modest crowd following in their country. Seven Year Itch is a greatest-hits package that covers all of their singles, and is the only material that's available from Platinum Blonde on CD. The cuts from their first album are the sturdiest, especially both "Standing in the Dark" and "Doesn't Really Matter," each brimming with '80s rock spiritedness, even if their cold war threats are outdated. Alien Shores, from 1985, gave them a number-one hit on the Canadian charts with "Crying Over You," which also put the album in the number-one spot for a week. "Somebody Somewhere" and "Hungry Eyes" had the band sounding less edgy and more polished, caught in limbo during a rapidly changing music scene. The three songs from their last album, the uninspired and flavorless Contact release from 1987, represents a last-ditch effort at maintaining their survival with the band trying to push their formula, only coming off weak and overly thin. Not only is Seven Year Itch the only source of Platinum Blonde that's out there, it's also a worthy summation of their five year existence.