Day 0487 - Wild Gift

X "Wild Gift" (1981)

 
Punk rock, rockabilly, mixed with almost 1950s-esque pop.  That style, with the combination of male and female vocals makes it feel like a slightly more musical take on the B-52s' sound, or something akin to the wild and woolly retro sound of the Cramps.

An enjoyable album that had my wife and I both bobbing our heads along with it.

The album was produced by ex-Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek, who also played on some of the tracks (I guess he'd have to really wouldn't he.  You wouldn't want to miss that opportunity).

Day 0486 - Damaged

Black Flag "Damaged" (1981)

Wow, that is an in-your-face punk album!  According to the book, the first few BF recordings had been in a much less intense 70s punk vein.  This album (the first with raging new singer Henry Rollins) slit that vein and spewed forth angry hardcore punk rock, almost crossing into metal in places.  There's not a lot of melody on show here, but it sorts of feels like too much melody would take away from the intensity of the music.

The band were early proponents of the DIY punk scene.  After their record label decided not to release the album, (claiming it was immoral) the band released it themselves.   The band then jumped in a van with their gear and a roadmap to tour the album off their own bat.

Day 0485 - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

David Byrne and Brian Eno "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" (1981)

Having enjoyed the individual works of Eno and Byrne; I was keen to hear this one.  The album, described by Eno as "psychedelic Africa" was delayed in its release due clearance issues with the various copyrighted materials sampled.  As a result, the Talking Heads'  "Remain in Light" album (also produced by Eno), though recorded later, was released before this collaboration.

Whereas that Talking Heads album was built on a foundation of jam sessions among the various musicians, this is much more a studio construct, formed around samples and based heavily on Holger Czukay's "movies" album.  An interesting album to be sure, but I'd say I really prefer Byrne in more of a traditional song-based vein, whether it's with the Heads, with St Vincent or as a solo artist.

Day 0484 - Architecture and Morality

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Architecture and Morality" (1981)

 
OMitD are one of those bands where I had heard their name plenty of times but wasn't really familiar with them musically.  Something about them (maybe as simple as liking their album artwork or liking their name) made me really keen to check them out.

The actual result fits in the "it's alright, but I wouldn't rush to listen to it again" category.  An album of synth-pop that the book perhaps overhyped with its various Beatles comparisons: they're from Liverpool and deliver their mix of pop and experimentalism in digestible 3 1/2 minute chunks.

I listened through a couple of times and none of the music particularly stayed with me.  There were parts where I enjoyed a melody here or a synth-line there, but largely it passed me by without too much fanfare. 

Regardless, I would be willing to hear more from this band.

Day 0483 - Non-stop Erotic Cabaret

Soft Cell "Non-stop Erotic Cabaret" (1981)

My favourite part from the blurb about this one in the book is where it said that the band ended up breaking up when, after a bad review, vocalist Marc Almond marched into the office of the critic and set upon him with a bullwhip.   It just screams the kind of twisted sass that you'd associate with a band who made a career out of singing about the seedy sex-market underbelly of the UK.

It's an interesting album  with a very 80s vibe.  The band are a duo with one of them on vocals and the other creating the music, largely just using a drum machine and synthesisers.  There are hints of sleazy jazz moods.  As far as the lyrical sleaze, it feels almost a tad naive in places; like a virgin trying to bluff everyone that he has totally got laid a bunch of times (no matter what that flasher jacket and sleazy porn-star mo might suggest).


The track most people will know from this one is "Tainted Love".





Really looking forward to the next little run of albums.  There are a few artists that I've been meaning to check out and just have never got around to.

Day 0482 - No Sleep 'til Hammersmith

Motörhead "No Sleep 'til Hammersmith" (1981)

A pretty solid live album.  I've said it before, I'm not the biggest fan of live albums.  This one works though, given that their albums are pretty down and dirty and lacking studio 'sheen' so this is just a raw representation of what they do, with the extra sweat and intensity of it being laid out live, and maybe a little faster.

The Motörhead ethos is clearly spelt out with the liner notes which include the dedication

"Thanks to Smirnoff and Carlsberg without whom lots of this would have been coherent."

Day 0481 - Beauty and the Beat

The Go-Gos "Beauty and the Beat" (1981)

Originally started in LA 1978 as a punk rock band (their singer had even been in the Germs for a while). The band claimed that they could barely play their instruments when they started, but that they seemed propelled towards success, with this, their first album spending 6 weeks in the Billboard chart.

By the time this album came out, much of the band's punkiness had been airbrushed with a gloss of a new-wavey take on the old-school girl group pop sound.  It actually works really well, like, catchy songs but with some guts and a bit of rock to them. Not a million miles from something like Letters to Cleo with their cover of "I want you to want me" in "10 things I hate about you". 

Day 0480 - Penthouse and Pavement

Heaven 17 "Penthouse and Pavement" (1981)

I remember listening to this one ages ago (in fact I quickly searched out a review I wrote in 2015 - all I said was that it was a good little pop album with some funky sounds and lighter synth bits). Didn't really remember the music off the top of my head... though I was listening to it during night-shifts back then so that might factor into it.

It remains a good pop album with some funky sounds and lighter synth parts.  A fun album, even though it's lead single "(we don't need this) fascist groove thing", championed by John Peel was banned by the BBC for implying that Ronald Reagan was a fascist.  Some things never change, the BBC have made some terrible censorship decisions in the past.

The band was formed by ex-members of the original line-up of the Human League (before they went extremely mainstream and had huge success with songs like "don't you want me"). That band had a reshuffle and the members who would form Heaven 17 created the company called the British Electric Foundation (BEF) under which the band was based... that idea of band/album as corporate product is illustrated (quite literally) on the album cover with it's corporate promotional vibe.

Day 0479 - Juju

Siouxsie and the Banshees "Juju" (1981)

Still not really sold on S&tB. I do prefer this one to "The Scream" though as the songs just feel stronger and with a stronger identity.

Much like the previous album, the driving rhythm section lays down some relentless pulsing grooves with the guitar alternately funk-rocking hard, pattering around the edge or droning with Siouxsie's vocal driving everything along. Another one that feels like a touchstone for a lot of indie-rock bands from the 00s.

Day 0478 - Kollaps

Einsturzende Neubauten "Kollaps" (1981)

Another band I heard a lot about.  I knew too that vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Blixa Bargeld had gone on to join Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, so that's all the reference I needed.

Their name translates as "collapsing new buildings" and the band, look to live up to this destructive moniker.  They set out to make the most unlistenable album they could, something in the spirit of Faust or Throbbing Gristle.

It is arresting. A mix of scrap metal percussion, power tools, heavily distorted guitar, screams and ambient parts. It's certainly not the most structured or melodic album of all time, but it is interesting and (for me) enjoyable. I can make easy connections between this album and several of the more avant bands of whom I'm a fan.

Day 0477 - The Pretenders

The Pretenders "The Pretenders" (1980)

Another of the many bands that I had heard of and really wanted to check out.  This list has made for a good motivation to get on with it.

According to what I've read, Chrissie Hynde was working as a writer for NME magazine in the UK and hanging out with Clash and Sex Pistols, even working in Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's SEX shop in London. A few of the punkers in the area didn't think much of Hynde and her musical aspirations. It was Lemmy from Motörhead who pushed her to put her money where her mouth was and get the band going.

Some great punky stuff in here mixed with some more pop moments and even a Police-esque new-wave reggae groove to "Private Life". Hynde's voice ties it all nicely together; alternately wailing, snarling or cooing. I recognised the track 'brass in pocket'.

Interestingly Madonna listed Hynde as one of the people who really inspired her to go and make music.

Day 0476 - Arc of Diver

Steve Winwood "Arc of a Diver" (1980)

Steve Winwood had previously tried to release a solo album and had somehow accidentally wound up reforming his band Traffic and releasing the album with them instead. Winwood then got out a self-titled solo album but it sank link a stone commercially. This one fared much better with the record-buying public. I'd certainly heard opener "while you see a chance" on the radio a bit in the past.

Winwood crafted his catchy, somewhat funky tracks, more or less entirely by himself... which was no mean feat taking into account the late 70s/early 80s study technology.

Day 0475 - More Specials

The Specials "More Specials" (1980)

 
The Specials had helped launch the ska craze in the UK. The label 2-tone records, started by Specials keyboardist and songwriter Jerry Dammers would go on to release music from artists such as Madness, the Beat, and Elvis Costello (only one single for EC though).

The band were exhausted from touring and were hoping to make a few changes for their second album in order to keep things interesting.

The first few tracks stick to the ska/reggae formula, but towards the middle of the album you start to get the kitschy sing-along of "Pearl's Cafe" and hard funking of "Sock it to em JB". The album works with passages of exotica and some noodling around with different keyboard textures. The mix of styles would go on to influence the 90s trip-hop explosion through artists like Portishead, Massive Attack and others.

 

Day 0474 - Kilimanjaro

The Teardrop Explodes "Kilimanjaro" (1980)

The book makes several comparisons between Teardrop Explodes and Love... I'd say there are some parallels with Love's "Forever Changes" album as far as the use of orchestral flourishes and building some of the songs from innocent, simple beginnings to lush crescendos.

The album is still of its time though, so has less of an acoustic folky bent like 'Forever Changes' and more of a post-punk (heading towards new-wave) sound. Definitely wouldn't mind another album from this band to show up on the list.

Day 0473 - UB40 "Signing off" (1980)

UB40 "Signing off" (1980)

 
I was most familiar with UB40 as purveyors of slightly twee reggae covers of Elvis and Neil Diamond songs; but this is actually a strong, moody reggae offering.

The band came from a working class background in Birmingham and funnelled discontent around their grim reality (the high unemployment figures, the rise of Margaret Thatcher's government, and the increasing popularity of the racist party the National Front) into lyrics that ranged from downbeat to scathing.

The music also ranged from lengthy atmospheric reggae jams, to deep rocksteady grooves and all with Ali Campbell's strong, heartfelt vocals.

At 66 minutes long, it was probably a little too much UB40 for my tastes, but then reggae has never been a genre that could hold my attention for too long a time.

Day 0472 - Heartattack and Vine

Tom Waits "Heatattack and Vine" (1980)

 
After 5 or 6 albums leaning on his downtrodden barfly troubadour persona, Waits started changing it up here. There are one or two songs where he still slur-croons clever couplets over a loungey jazz piano, but the guitar starts to play a much bigger role in his compositions, and Waits starts exploring his bluesy yell-mixed-with-Cookie Monster vocal that would come out full force in later albums.

For a guy who used to put out albums every year or so in the 70s; the 80s onwards have been increasingly sparse as far as his musical output goes (with the exception of his dual releases 'blood money' and 'Alice' in 2002).  Maybe that's due to an increase in acting roles and soundtrack music... or maybe he's just been enjoying life outside of the 'business.

Day 0471 - Sound Affects

The Jam "Sound Affects" (1980)

 
This band seems kind of like the meeting point of the Beatles (to the extent of nicking the 'Taxman' bassline for their song 'Start!') and the indie rock of the 00s.

Like a few albums of the day it has the post-punk mix of stripped down rock with occasionally bouncy and funky bass.  The band also add the odd horn section, double-tracked acoustic guitars (on hit "that's entertainment") and occasional fiddly poly-rhythmic guitars playing over a fairly straight ahead rhythm section.

Day 0470 - Hypnotised

The Undertones "Hypnotised" (1980)

I wasn't really too fussed on the previous Undertones album on this list; it was kind of fairly nondescript punk with a little extra melody thrown in.

This one is more of the same but with the punk dialled down a little and the pop/melody turned up slightly, and yet it seems so much better (to my ears). Maybe they reached the punk/melody 'bliss point' or were on a bit of a roll songwriting-wise... who knows?

Again it's not one that I'm really planning on revisiting, but it's more enjoyable and a lot of the songs just seem 'familiar'. I kind of feel like they could potentially have been an early influence on Blur (of whom I am a fan), going by the similarities in sound.

Day 0469 - Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden "Iron Maiden" (1980)

I remember seeing the 'classic albums' show for Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast" album, and they'd talked about the issues they'd had with their former singer Paul Di'Anno and what a step up Bruce Dickinson was.  From that, I'd assumed that the first guy must be absolute rubbish... but no.

Sure, on one or two songs he sounds like a bit more of a punk yowler than a metal howler, but he still manages some decent tremolo in places and some minor wails. I actually really like this album; it's almost as if having a slightly more limited singer over top of the virtuosic and showy music kind of reins it in and stops it getting too grandiose and up it's own arse!

The album does feature an instrumental track and several songs that take their sweet time getting to the vocals, which is maybe just how Maiden roll, or it could be a sign that they were already unhappy with Paul? Either way, as I say, this album works just fine for me. The bass work is incredible, which I guess is not surprising as the bassist started the damned band!

Day 0468 - Closer

Joy Division "Closer" (1980)

The sonic experimentation of 'unknown pleasures' is set aside in favour of laying the songs bare (other than some well placed reverb). The music remains fairly mechanical and cold but with increasing use of synthesizers, possibly hinting that the New Order direction would have still happened had Curtis survived.

Ian Curtis' lyrics are grim and funereal. He had said to one of his bandmates that he felt the lyrics were essentially writing themselves and that he felt like a weird feeling of claustrophobia and being pulled into a whirlpool and drowning. He was dead before the album was released, which makes the crypt/tomb album cover a rather prescient choice.

Day 0467 - Remain in Light

Talking Heads "Remain in Light" (1980) - got it

David Byrne was suffering a case of writers block so looked to build up some minimalist jams, often around just one or two chords. The band brought in influences from funk, to afro-beat, to electronica and Byrne helped craft the jams into functional songs.

Following the 'Fear of music' tour, the band had taken time off to pursue other interests. Byrne and 'Remain in light' producer Brian Eno recorded the "My life in the bush of ghosts" album.  Jerry Harrison produced an album for a soul singer.  The married rhythm section of Tina Weymouth and Chris Franz headed to the Caribbean to hang out with famed reggae rhythm section Sly and Robbie. The two mulled over the idea of leaving Talking Heads due to Byrne's controlling nature.

Eno too had questioned coming back as producer after his previous two albums with the Heads... so it wasn't really a happy working environment.   As it was, Eno didn't produce the next album ("Speaking in tongues") and a few year's later the band's inner turmoil became insurmountable and they broke up. It's probably telling that while many acrimoniously split groups have reformed throughout the years, the Heads (aside from a Rock n Roll Hall of Fame appearance) have avoided reuniting.

For all the friction in its making, the album produced some great songs, including one of TH's most known tracks "Once in a lifetime".

Day 0466 - Group Sex

Circle Jerks "Group Sex" (1980)

14 tracks in 15 minutes... it doesn't get much more punk than that, motherfucker!

Keith Morris had left Blackflag to form his own band which he did, forming Circle Jerks with Red Kross guitarist Greg Hetson.

The songs are raucous party tracks and pretty much set down the blueprint for every party punk band to follow e.g. NOFX.

Day 0465 - British Steel

Judas Priest "British Steel" (1980) - got it

 
So the development of metal continues.  Priest took the musicianship and thunder of Led Zep and Black Sabbath, added the speed and intensity of punk.  The vocals and lyrics though stay larger-than-life with songs like "Metal Gods" or "Grinder".

Because metal hadn't come of age and the 'rulebook' hadn't been set, there seemed to be no feelings of self-consciousness about belting out an uplifting anthem like "United", engaging in some party rock with "Living after midnight", or even dropping a hint of reggae with "the Rage".

I saw Judas Priest 4 years ago at a metal festival in Auckland, and by golly they could still put on a show! Rob Halford may be in his 60s but he was still able to wail and scream with the best of them. He also did this whole thing where he went off stage partway through one song, there was a loud roaring and he came rolling onto the stage on the back of a motorbike... what a showman.

Day 0464 - Killing Joke

Killing Joke "Killing Joke" (1980)

 The seeds of industrial metal find fertile soil here.... or is it this album that is the seed?  My metaphor is eating itself.

This is a really interesting album with elements of tribal drumming, funk bass, touches of what almost sounds like early electronica (heavily treated vocals, synthesizers), there's a bit of post-punk, there's atmospheric slow building repetitive tracks, there's more straight-ahead metal.

I was familiar with this band initially through a couple of side-routes
1) Metallica covering their track 'the Wait' on the "Garage Inc." album
2) vocalist Jaz Coleman producing the debut full-length from NZ band Shihad (and later their most recent album) which definitely bears hints of this album.

Day 0463 - Ace of Spades

Motörhead "Ace of Spades" (1980)

Lemmy, having been kicked out of Hawkwind for taking too much speed, went on to start a band that seems like the musical equivalent of that drug.

I quite enjoyed the band's slightly less intense self-titled debut album, but it's hard to deny the power and immediacy of the lightning fast riffage, crazed intensity and throat tearing yells of these tracks. One of the initial building blocks of metal, but also beloved by punks at the time.

Day 0462 - Crocodiles

Echo and the Bunnymen "Crocodiles" (1980)

Echo and the Bunnymen: the 80s-ness continues.

I have their album "Ocean Rain" which had a kind of atmospheric, gothic somnambulism to it and I really liked it... however, I'm glad that they sound different here, because variety is the spice of life.

This is much more a dark and jangly album with a definite post-punk  flavour, though still with hints of what their sound would become.

Day 0461 - Seventeen Seconds

The Cure "Seventeen Seconds"

The Cure are another band that I was primarily familiar with through a few singles... that I wasn't overly keen on; but this is a pretty fantastic album. Aside from the odd wailing, dramatic vocal this is a pretty low-key affair with jangling but mostly unobtrusive guitar. There are odd spots of keyboards but they're used sparingly and in such a way that they add to the music without drawing attention to themselves. In fact everyone here seems to be just doing good work to serve the songs.

I can definitely hear the influence of this band on artists like early REM, a lot of 00s indie rockers, and even the early demos of the Smashing Pumpkins bear a startling resemblance to this collection of songs.

Day 0460 - Underwater Moonlight

The Soft Boys "Underwater Moonlight" (1980)

The Soft Boys were actually recommended to me a few short years back by a friend who was really vibing on them. Pretty sure that this was the album he recommended to me.

Despite the fact that this reeks of late stage punk with encroaching post-punk sounds; this album puts me in mind of the Beatles.  The melodies, the dalliances with psychedelia and just some general overall 'tone' to their sound... so yeah, for me, Beatles = good.

Day 0459 - Peter Gabriel III (AKA "Melt")

Peter Gabriel "Peter Gabriel III" (AKA "Melt") (1980)

 
Gabriel was well clear of his Genesis 'Prog' sound, and with his first two relatively quirky and eccentric solo albums also behind him, he seemed content to settle into a groove as a purveyor of interesting and innovative art pop-rock in the vein of Berlin-Bowie and Brian Eno. He even uses Eno-regular Robert Fripp on guitar, along with his Genesis bandmate (and vocal replacement) Phil Collins.

PG experiments with world music (sampling African chants for one song) and new technology, playing around with drum machines, and studio trickery to produce an album that seems a collision of human with machine.

Day 0458 - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables

Dead Kennedys "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables" (1980) - got it

Contender for best punk album of all time, in my opinion... shockingly this was my first (second and third) time listening to this album from start to finish.

It combines everything that can be good about punk: there's anger and vitriol, but tempered with a sense of humour.  Blisteringly fast-paced music (but played with tight musicianship) that takes some sideways detours in places. Instead of being macho and body-slamming, or agro in vaguely white supremacist manner like some of their hardcore contemporaries; this music is almost spidery and angular with the bass overruling the guitar in a lot of places.

Jello Biafra's vocals sounds wild, frantic and slightly crazy but when you actually listen to him, you see that he's one of the smarter, more eloquent spokesmen for punk.

I was actually familiar with a lot of the songs, in part because I've heard several of them covered by other bands... always a good sign.

As you can see from the above - I have since picked up a copy of this one.

Day 0457 - Songs the Lord Taught Us

The Cramps "Songs the Lord Taught Us" (1980)

Another band where I'd heard the name but wasn't really familiar with the music... I assumed punk, based on the name and era. There is some punk here, but the band also digs deep into rockabilly, surf music and even b-movie soundtracks. The b-movie theme extends out to the lyrics with songs such as "I was a teenage werewolf" and "Zombie Dance".

The vocals are pleading, snarling and desperate, the music ranging from bare and unvarnished to drenched in reverb - as the song dictates/requires.

In places this album has a guttural rockabilly that sounds like it would fit nicely into Nick Cave's early oeuvre with the Birthday Party and early Bad Seeds.

Unfortunately the album, though critically acclaimed, was commercial disappointment. When the band went out to tour it, their guitarist Bryan Gregory drove off with a van full of their gear which he sold to help fuel his drug addiction. The band never saw him again until years later.