Automotion 3, Part 3 - Xenon

Song - Xenon

Artist(s) - Jeff Newmann

Released - 1988

Primetime Usage - 1989-90

Contained on - SON 292 (Automotion 3), Sonoton SCD 16 (Automotion 3)

Featured Highlight - Oilers @ Steelers, 1989


The third song to be profiled from Automotion 3, "Xenon," does kinda have the sciency & spacey synth sound you'd expect for a piece with that name.  It also has a happy-go-lucky feel that makes it work best for friendlier games (much like Priority).  I don't have much else to say about the music, so let's get to the highlight.  In the late '80s/early '90s (the Glanville & Pardee years), the Houston Oilers had a real reputation for not being able to win outside their comfy Astrodome.  That seemed to be a perfect setup for failure as they headed to Pittsburgh for a December contest in super-Wintry conditions.  The Oilers were nonetheless able to overcome their weaknesses (as well as 7 fumbles) and grit out a 7-point win in Three Rivers Stadium.  The Steelers got their revenge a few weeks later, though, and knocked off Houston on the road in overtime in the Wild Card round.  Fun fact:  Chuck Noll won 4 Super Bowls in the '70s, but his only Coach of the Year award came after his final playoff appearance in 1989.

Automotion 3, Part 2 - Priority & the Alias Master

Song - Priority

Artist(s) - "John Epping" (Gerhard Narholz)

Released - 1988

Primetime Usage - 1989-90

Contained on - SON 292 (Automotion 3), Sonoton SCD 16 (Automotion 3)

Featured Highlight - Saints @ Lions, 1989


The very first track on Automotion 3, "Priority," has much more of a hard-rock feel than the rest of the album despite its heavy synth instrumentation.  It's not anywhere near my favorite NFL Primetime song, but it works well for games that seem to have more of a friendly or emotionally neutral context.

Something I didn't know when I wrote yesterday's post:  it turns out Gerhard Narholz has a bunch of aliases beyond just Norman Candler.  John Epping is one of those pseudonyms, as is Sammy Burdson (who is credited on several other Primetime tracks that will be added to this blog later).  Other production music names I recognize that are actually the elder Narholz are Jim Harbourg, Mac Prindy, and Otto Sieben.  The entire known list is listed in the Discogs link above.

The featured highlight with Priority is the Lions/Saints game from 1989.  In this contest, New Orleans effectively threw away a shot at the playoffs thanks to a scorching 248 receiving yards from former USFL'er Richard Johnson.  Johnson had over 1800 yards and 14 TDs in his two seasons with the Lions (1989-90), yet only had 1 catch for 5 yards in his NFL career outside of that.  This video really shows how dangerous he was at his peak.