Tag: The 1980’s
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Steve Winwood ‘Arc of a Diver’ (1980)
As a member of some of my favorite classic rock bands from the late 60’s (Blind Faith and Traffic), I’ve always been a massive stan for Steve Winwood. His gloriously high and rich tenor voice, his ability to play multiple instruments, and his emphasis on writing songs that prioritize the groove above all else have…
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New Order ‘Power Corruption and Lies’ (1983)
New Order was formed by the former band members of Joy Division following the abrupt suicide of their lead singer Ian Curtis. With their new project they retained many of the things that made Joy Division a post-punk cult favorite (namely the repetitive drones and seemingly detached vocal style) while introducing more synth-pop and dance-rock…
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The Jesus and Mary Chain ‘Psychocandy’ (1985)
When brothers Jim and William Reid formed The Jesus and Mary Chain they clearly had one idea in mind– take traditional pop song arrangements and absolutely drench them in feedback, distortion, and reverb to render them almost entirely unnoticeable. With their debut album Psychocandy you could consider it mission accomplished. The entire album sounds as…
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Metallica ‘Ride The Lightning’ (1984)
1984’s Ride The Lightning was an ambitious next step Metallica following the release of their debut album Kill Em’ All. Whereas their debut album was just an absolute slugfest of heavy overhand rights, Metallica took greater artistic chances with their second album which ultimately paved the way for them to release their magnum opus Master…
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The Highwaymen ‘Highwayman’ (1985)
Combining the talents of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson onto a single album would have been unheard of during the 1970’s when all four were in their commercial and artistic heyday. Three out of those four men are proverbial titans of country music (Cash, Nelson, Jennings) known for their brand of…
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The Judds ‘Rockin’ With The Rhythm’ (1985)
The Judds are somewhat of a country music trope– a mother-daughter duo whose saccharine sweet vocal melodies and downhome lyrical content feel right at home on a lazy Saturday afternoon lounging around with the family in the backyard. Their ability to tug on these familial heart strings was purposeful, and led them to achieve an…
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The Dead Milkmen ‘Big Lizard In My Backyard’ (1985)
Punk rock has a long history of sardonic wit and apathetic humor, especially during the mid-80’s after the self-seriousness of the genre which dominated the late 70’s had begun to fall on deaf ears. The Dead Milkmen carved out their own spot in this niche, displaying an affable sense of comedic timing mixed with jangly…
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Simply Red ‘Picture Book’ (1985)
As far as debut albums go, Picture Book is an absolute beauty. Fusing the classic sounds of 1960’s Motown with the reverb and synth-driven hooks of 80’s soft rock, Simply Red turned in a soulful take on R&B that has stood the test of time as an 80’s classic. Lead singer Mick Hucknall’s vocal lines…
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Sade ‘Diamond Life’ (1984)
Sade’s rise to the zenith of smooth jazz started humbly enough in the early 80’s. Following a university career that saw her study fashion design and a brief stint as a model, Sade Adu was recruited to become a backup singer for the British band Pride. After establishing a songwriting partnership with guitarist/saxophonist Stewart Matthewman,…
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The Police ‘Synchronicity’ (1983)
By the time The Police released their fifth (and what would turn out to be their final) album Synchronicity in 1983, the band was arguably the most popular and well-regarded band in the entire world. The trio of Sting (vocals/bass), Andy Summers (guitar/keys), and Stewart Copeland (drums) were fresh off recording 1981’s Ghost in the…
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Tina Turner ‘Private Dancer’ (1984)
Following a divorce from her husband Ike Turner, whom she had carved out an incredibly successful career as a husband-wife duo, Tina Turner’s career was at somewhat of a crossroads. Despite her world class vocal talent her first four solo albums were nothing short of a disappointment– Acid Queen was the only one that made…
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Tom Petty ‘Full Moon Fever’ (1989)
Full Moon Fever was Tom Petty’s debut solo album after taking a hiatus from his longtime backing band The Heartbreakers, a similar career path that Bruce Springsteen took when he released Tunnel of Love in 1987 without the official backing of the E Street Band. My love for Petty has been well chronicled (you can…
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Wipers ‘Is This Real?’ (1980)
When Wipers lead singer Greg Sage was a child he grew fascinated with cutting records on his own. Since his father worked in the broadcast industry he had access to a lathe, and spent his evenings bootlegging songs off the radio and converting those to records for his friends at school. This passion pre-dated his…
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Megadeth ‘Killing Is My Business…and Business Is Good!’ (1985)
Despite Dave Mustaine incessantly whining like a petulant toddler for the better part of the last forty years about being kicked out of Metallica in 1983 (the guy seriously can’t get out of his own way), Megadeth is totally kick ass and helped to spearhead the American thrash metal movement in the 1980’s alongside their…
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Randy Travis ‘Old 8 x 10’ (1988)
Listening to Randy Travis has always reminded me of my late grandparents. There’s a tenderness to everything that Travis sings, a no-frills baritone that sounds like a mix of George Jones and Merle Haggard and James Taylor. He exhibits a warmness that feels like a cozy blanket, smells like freshly baked peach pie, and looks…
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Mötley Crüe ‘Dr. Feelgood’ (1989)
In the history of music there’s no band that better encapsulates the hedonistic and over the top lifestyle of rock and roll than Mötley Crüe. There’s been countless bands that told tales of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll in their music, and a handful who truly lived the lifestyle. And then there’s Mötley Crüe.…
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Motörhead ‘Ace of Spades’ (1980)
There are a few bands in the history of rock and roll that have cultivated a specific style, written that same style ad nauseam, perfected it over time, and yet still have the ability to knock my socks off every time an album of theirs comes on. Off the top of my head there are…
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N.W.A. ‘Straight Outta Compton’ (1988)
From the first spoken words of Straight Outta Compton (“You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge”) the tone is set. And as the bars unwind, starting with Ice Cube’s iconic opening line (“Straight outta Compton, crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube / From the gang called N**** with attitudes”), to MC Ren’s…
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Run D.M.C. ‘Run D.M.C.’ (1984)
Run D.M.C.’s self-titled debut was a watershed moment for hip-hop in many ways and within a historical context has remained one of the most influential hip hop albums to ever be released. It was the first hip hop album to be certified Gold by the RIAA, introduced the first song ever in the rap-rock genre…
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Haircut One Hundred ‘Pelican West’ (1982)
Besides bragging rights only I truly care about, one benefit of listening to an album a day for 14 straight months is the exposure you get to music that some of your favorite artists clearly took inspiration from. Which brings us to Haircut One Hundred, a British New Wave act from the early 80’s that…
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Hanoi Rocks ‘Two Steps From The Move’ (1984)
As if the album cover didn’t give it away, Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish glam rock band from the 80’s that encapsulated all of the excess of that era unironically. Two Steps From The Move was their breakthrough album in the United States, and with the production guidance of the legendary Bob Ezrin (who worked…
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Dwight Yoakam ‘Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.’ (1984)
Dwight Yoakam’s debut album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. is a perfect encapsulation of what has made Yoakam such a mainstay in the country music industry for forty years. His love for the traditional honky tonk sound, and undisguised disdain for the more pop-oriented focus that was coming out of Nashville at the time (and is…
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Duran Duran ‘Rio’ (1982)
Duran Duran’s second studio album Rio is somewhat of an amalgamation of what made the 80’s so insane. There is samples of crackling ice cubes, cigarettes being lit, background vocals of people yelling, saxophone solos, synthesizer leads, disco beats aplenty, and utterly bizarre lyrics– lead vocalist Simon Le Bon gushes over a woman who is…
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Crowded House ‘Crowded House’ (1986)
Australian pop rock band Crowded House’s self-titled debut features one of the best New Wave songs of all-time “Don’t Dream It’s Over”, which has been featured in a wide variety of 80’s media. The song is a wonderful little treatise on nostalgic longing that can be applied to a variety of life events– for me…
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The Alan Parsons Project ‘Eye In The Sky’ (1982)
For those unfamiliar with The Alan Parsons Project you’ll immediately recognize the first song off Eye In The Sky entitled “Sirius”. It’s ubiquitous with American sporting events, first becoming popular during the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls dynasty in the 1990’s and later as any introduction during an entrance to any big sporting event, and it…
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Journey ‘Frontiers’ (1983)
Not to be a contrarian, but Journey’s best song isn’t “Don’t Stop Believin’”. It’s a total banger and an iconic late night closing down the bar song, but the distinct honor of best Journey song undoubtedly goes to “Separate Ways (Worlds Away)” which kicks off their 1983 album Frontiers. It features all the best Journey…
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Guns N’ Roses ‘Appetite For Destruction’ (1987)
No album for me better represents all the glorious excess of the hard rock in the 1980’s combined with a heavy dose of top-tier musicianship than Guns N’ Roses 1987 magnum opus Appetite For Destruction. Slash and Axl Rose have become somewhat of a minor punch line in recent years due to a variety of…
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Don Henley ‘The End of The Innocence’ (1989)
When I was young Don Henley’s song “The End of The Innocence” played a pivotal role in establishing my love for music. The thematic subject matter about getting older and losing the carefree life of being at home with your parents spoke to me in a visceral way, serving as sort of a reminder that…
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ZZ Top ‘Eliminator’ (1983)
ZZ Top’s brand of Texas blues generated a ton of smash hits during their heyday during the mid to late 70’s, and in 1983’s Eliminator they introduced synthesizers and drum machines to create a more pop-oriented and commercially viable version of the boogie rock that made them famous. If you’re looking for the album that…
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Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers ‘Once Upon A Christmas’ (1984)
It’s hard to imagine a more iconic match in the mid-1980’s than Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers teaming up to do a Christmas album together, but the world managed to grace us with its presence for one winter in 1984 when they released Once Upon A Christmas. It’s a terrific soft-listening experience filled with all…
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Ray Charles ‘The Spirit of Christmas’ (1985)
By the time 1985 rolled along Ray Charles was well past the commercial success and utter brilliance of his work in the late 50’s and 60’s (1962’s Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music being his seminal work) and had become somewhat of an afterthought in American pop culture. In other words, 1985’s The Spirit…
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Minor Threat ‘First Two Seven Inches’ (1981)
Despite playing together for a mere three years Minor Threat’s influence on the American hardcore punk scene is indisputable. They were the harbingers of the DIY aesthetic (eschewing corporate influence to do everything from music production to concert promotion themselves), were fiercely unapologetic in their straight edge ideals (avoiding illicit drugs, alcohol, and promiscuous sex),…
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Toto ‘Toto IV’ (1982)
Toto is one of those yacht rock bands from the 70’s that seemingly tried everything under the sun sonically. They rolled up their favorite components of genres ranging from funk, pop, rock, soul, prog-rock, jazz, and the blues, stitched them together with expert musicianship, and slapped a sweet sheen of production prowess on top that…
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Def Leppard ‘Hysteria’ (1987)
The history behind Def Leppard’s Hysteria is a wonderful story about persistence in the face of adversity. After releasing their breakthrough hit Pyromania in 1983, Def Leppard went on a world tour that put them on the path to becoming one of the largest glam metal bands of their era. They initially entered the studio…
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Prince ‘Purple Rain’ (1984)
No artist impacted the sound of the pop music in the 80’s more than Prince. His unique blend of virtuoso musicianship (his guitar solo on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in 2004 is an absolute masterclass), unrivaled instinct for unique harmonic elements, and prolific writing capabilities that saw him release forty studio albums during his…
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De La Soul ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ (1989)
De La Soul’s debut album was a complete novelty in 1989. In stark comparison to the overtly political It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back by Public Enemy that dropped a year prior, as well as the burgeoning Gangsta Rap scene that was experiencing a meteoric rise towards the end of the…
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