1985 studio album by Kim Carnes
Barking at Airplanes is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Kim Carnes, released on May 5, 1985, by EMI America Records.
The album spawned two Billboard Hot 100 hit singles; "Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes)" (No. 15) and "Abadabadango" (No. 67). The 2001 reissue includes the Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes written track "I Am a Camera", which was previously recorded by Yes on their 1980 Drama studio album (as "Into the Lens") and by Downes and Horn themselves on the final Buggles studio album, Adventures in Modern Recording (1981).
Writing and recording
Barking at Airplanes is the first studio album Carnes co-produced since St. Vincent's Court (1979). The album is noted by Nashville Scene as the first synth-pop album produced by a woman.[1] Carnes wrote "Don't Pick Up the Phone" and "Crazy in the Night" on an ARP String Ensemble. "Crazy in the Night" was inspired by her son Collin's fear of the dark. The track opens with three loud door knocks followed by Collin saying, "Who is it?". Carnes' writing was inspired by films including Metropolis (1927) and Black Orpheus (1959), with a direct reference to the latter in the track "He Makes the Sun Rise (Orpheus)".[2] "Bon Voyage" features a sample of tannoy announcements recorded at Charles de Gaulle Airport by a staff member at the French branch of EMI.[1]
Release and promotion
Barking at Airplanes was released on May 5, 1985, by EMI America. In 2001, the album was reissued by EMI-Capitol Special Markets with three bonus tracks; a cover version of "Into the Lens" (retitled as "I Am a Camera") by Yes, "Forever" written by Steven Van Zandt, and a demo version of Carnes singing "Make No Mistake, He's Mine". Carnes became aware of this reissue during an interview with Nashville Scene in 2020, and said she never intended for them to be released.[1]
"Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes)" was released as the album's lead single on April 1, 1985. It spent a total of sixteen weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at no. 15.[3] The song also reached no. 24 on the Dance Club Songs chart and no. 22 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart.[4][5] The single charted highest in South Africa where it peaked at no. 3.[6] The track received two remixes by Rusty Garner.[7] "Abadabadango" was released as the album's second single in July 1985. It spent four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at no. 67.[3] The track received two extended remixes by Rusty Garner and Jack Witherby.[8] "Rough Edges" was released in the US and Canada as the album's third single in October 1985.[9] In the same year, "Bon Voyage" was released as a single exclusively in the Netherlands.[10]
Critical reception
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine described Barking at Airplanes as a "cohesive and consistent album" and her best outing since Mistaken Identity.[11]
People stated that Carnes has "never recorded an album as pleasing as this", noting her "enchanting" voice.[13]
