Happy 30th: The BoDeans, HOME

30 years ago (give or take a few weeks), the BoDeans released their third studio album, an LP which you may be surprised to learn – and we say that because we were surprised to learn it – is not the best-selling album of their career.

Why is this surprising? Mostly because it was the band’s first album after touring as the opening act for U2 on the band’s JOSHUA TREE tour, a gig which had most decidedly increased both their profile and their fanbase in a big, big way. But in looking back at the band’s chart history, it seems that their album to get the biggest boost from that tour was the one that was in stores at the time, OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, a.k.a. the album that featured the single “Only Love.”

HOME was produced by Jim Scott, who they’d met as a result of working on Robbie Robertson’s self-titled solo album the previously year, and the sessions were so productive that they ended up with 22 tracks, although only 15 of them would ultimately end up on the album. The LP’s first single was “You Don’t Get Much,” a song featuring guitar work which all but screamed, “Just in case you forgot that we opened for U2, listen to this!” (Seriously, you’ll want to check the credits to make sure it’s not actually The Edge doing a guest spot.)

As a whole, however, the album is pretty eclectic, offering up a nice variety of musical styles and more than a few hooks that reach out and grab the listener...like, say, the one on “Good Work.” Other notable tracks include “When the Love is Good,” “Far, Far Away from My Heart,” and “Brand New,” featuring backing vocals from Marshall Crenshaw.

Just to clarify, HOME didn’t do badly on the charts at all. In fact, it remains the band’s second highest-charting LP, having hit #94. But it still didn’t beat OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, which made it to #94. For what it’s worth, though, neither album had as much overall impact of GO SLOW DOWN,