Day 0545 - Immigrés

Youssou N'Dour "Immigrés" (1984)

By the time this album would actually see worldwide release (1988); Senegalese percussionist and singer N'Dour had gained notoriety working with Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon.   One of those rare, but pleasant occasions when an album not sung in English, and making no quarter to contemporary western music (other than the odd synthesizer) managed to find a wider audience.

N'Dour's strong voice and complex (almost chaotic to western ears) polyrhythms are a joy to behold.

Day 0544 - Rattlesnakes

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions "Rattlesnakes" (1984)

Lloyd was obsessed with Bob Dylan and certainly seems to have taken a similarly literary approach to his lyric writing.  However, his vocal style seem to sail in between the slow murmur of Lou Reed and the vaguely neurotic yelp of David Byrne early in his Talking Heads days.

The music, likewise, seems to move between countries; sometimes sounding like the Engish alt-rock wash sound of the Cure, and sometimes evoking the US through a dusty desert folk rock sound, or the college rock' of early REM.

Day 0543 - Double Nickels on the Dime

Minutemen "Double Nickels on the Dime" (1984)

This album is all kinds of brilliant!  I had already listened to it a number of times in past years, and I can't remember if I found it through the 1001 Albums book or if it was recommended to me by a friend.  Whatever the case, while ostensibly a 'punk' album, it covers elements of post-punk, a whole lotta funk, sonically experimental 'alt rock', blues, flamenco guitar, and various other styles.  The tracks are largely under two-minutes, so if you're not entirely sold on what you're listening to... don't worry, it'll change in a moment.

Just the sheer scope of effortless musical exploration and the "throwing it at the wall and seeing what sticks" approach is admirable.  I could see a number of later bands (including the early music from the Red Hot Chili Peppers) being heavily influenced by this band and this album.

Minutemen made an impressive amount of sound for just 3 people.  The precise and funky bass of Mike Watt is brilliant.  Sadly, singer/guitarist D Boon died a year later, and the Minutemen died with him.  Mike Watt went on to have a varied and interesting musical career off and on over the following decades.

Day 0542 - Ocean Rain

Echo & the Bunnymen "Ocean Rain" (1984) - got it

According to the book, Echo's lead singer Ian McCulloch himself described this album as their definitive statement; I'd have to agree with him.

This is my favourite of the E&tB albums that I've heard.  After the sonic experimentalism of "Porcupine" where they threw everything including the kitchen sink at their songs; for Ocean Rain they stick with one audio embellishment: a string section.

The strings really add the right touch of drama to the gothy, interesting post-punk of E&tB.  They nicely complement McCulloch's voice, whether he's crooning somnambulantly or wailing with emotion.  My favourite here is probably the gothic "Nocturnal Me", but it's all good.

Day 0541 - Private Dancer

Tina Turner "Private Dancer" (1984)

Having split with Ike Turner, and having been struggling to get her solo career to really take off, Tina released "Private Dancer".  The album had a number of producers, including one member of the band Heaven 17.  The machine-pop (and occasional rock) laden with synthesizers and drum machines replaces the organic RnB of Tina's music with Ike.

The album was a huge success, though I agree with the assessment that much of the music itself is kind of forgettable.  It's Turner's amazing voice that really sells this music.  I didn't even entirely recognise "What's love got to do with it" until her voice kicked in.  In some ways though, the underwhelming impact of the music does serve to spotlight Turner's vocal power all the more.  

Side note: I never thought I'd hear someone best Al Green at "Let's stick together", but wow, she gives him a run for his money.

Day 0540 - Cafe Bleu

The Style Council "Cafe Bleu" (1984)

Style Council is another band that I knew by name, but didn't really know much of anything about their music.  In my mind, I think I'd frequently confuse them with Culture Club (who can keep all these clubs and councils separate?).

The Style Council though are a completely different ticket.  With a fairly diverse sound that dips into pop and soul, but mostly hangs around the jazz scene.  Whether it's the almost stride sound of "Mick's blessings", the latin jazz of "the Whole Point of no Return" or the beautiful guest spot from Everything But the Girl's Tracey Thorn on "The Paris Match".

There are some nice instrumentals on the album along with the great songs.  The only real misstep is the attempt at rap in "a gospel", and even that could've been worse than it is.

Day 0539 - Let it Be (no, not that one)

The Replacements "Let it Be" (1984)

 
This is another one that sounds good on the tin: "punk band that added in elements of melody and helped define the college rock sound".  I can certainly hear the sound of what had just come before (the  leftover classic punk sounds), and the more contemporary sounds (hints of hardcore and the raw stripped-down emotional rock of some of the post-punk set). 

All in all I liked it okay, but it don't feel a need to rush back to check it out again.  It falls into the "if someone puts it on at a party/bar I'll listen to it happily enough" category

Day 0538 - Purple Rain

Prince & the Revolution "Purple Rain" (1984) - got it

Prince set aside his sleazy synth-funk to put forward his pop opus, "Purple Rain".  This soundtrack to Prince's semi-autbiographical film of the same name would go on to become the third highest selling soundtrack (such as it was) of all time.

Prince lays down some catchy tunes with his usual ear for skilled and effective musical arrangements, overlaid with his wild, desperate vocals.  This was Prince's shot at the bigtime so he even set about cleaning up his sex-heavy lyrics... mostly.  He couldn't help himself, so the beautiful, melodic "Darling Nikki" features reference to masturbating with a magazine and (apparently) helped kickstart the "Parental Advisory" stickers that Al Gore's wife and her 'good taste' crusaders spearheaded.

Interestingly, the title track was originally aimed to be a country song, and a duet with Stevie Nicks.  She said that Prince sent her a 10 minute instrumental demo with a request for her to write lyrics, but she balked at the task.  It was eventually reworked as the epic psychedelic gospel pop rock track that it is.

Day 0537 - 1984

Van Halen "1984" (1984)

As the book suggests, there's nothing new here lyrically: more macho musings on fast cars and fast women; but the music shows signs of evolution.  Having worked on Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album that combined live instruments with synthesizers, and having been pushing to include synths on previous VH albums, Eddie Van Halen finally got his way here.

The resultant sound is a pretty fun mix of hard rock and cheesy synth rock, with "Jump" being the most known hit here.  Eddie VH still sprays a liberal serving of searing lead guitar over the album, and David Lee Roth is in fine voice.

Day 0536 - Out of Step

Minor Threat "Out of Step" (1984)

Minor Threat, a band that only produced around 50 minutes worth of music yet heavily influenced modern punk rock and, through their song "Straight-edge" helped to both christen and kickstart the lifestyle movement of the same name.

This album has all the aggression and speed associated with the hardcore movement, but also the sense of humour and ability to laugh at themselves that bands like the Dead Kennedys displayed.

The band released one more EP after this and then split, leaving Ian McKaye free to form Fugazi and continue his musical explorations.

Day 0535 - Treasure

Cocteau Twins "Treasure" (1984)

 
Another of those bands that I knew by name, but was left wondering what they sounded like.  The answer to that one it seems is: 'ethereal, shoegazer music, with sighing, crystal clear vocals, but which can occasionally switch to more propulsive energetic tunes".  Really good stuff.  I could see it having influenced a few 00s indie pop groups and maybe even some of the really early Smashing Pumpkins' dreamier material.

Really liked this one, and will keep an eye out for a copy.

Day 0534 - Diamond Life

Sade "Diamond Life" (1984)

Sade (band and singer of the same name) helped usher in a smoother, some might say 'colder' form of soul.   Moving away from the earthy grit and power of singers like Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner, in favour of softy, silkier soul.  The instrumentation too sounds cleaner and more polished.

 That colder, glossier sound is something that I associate mostly with the 80s or early-90s, and it's not necessarily my favourite approach to music, but these songs hold up fairly well now.

Day 0533 - Run D.M.C

Run D.M.C "Run D.M.C" (1984)

One of the great early rap albums.  Sparse arrangements over drum machine beats.  Occasional bursts of guitar and Jam Master Jay's scratches serve to anticipate their eventual 'rap rock' hit "Walk this Way".  The sounds act as a simple but effective backdrop for Run and DMC's rhymes.

They engage in some fun wordplay while delivering a healthy dose of social commentary.  The way they collaborate, play off each other and finish each other's sentences adds a bit of variety that you wouldn't necessarily get from a solo artist.

Day 0532 - Welcome to the Pleasuredome

Frankie Goes to Hollywood "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (1984)

Much more than just "Relax".   Produced by gloss pop maestro Trevor Horn (ABC, Spandau Ballet and Malcolm McLaren's Duck Rock), this album takes that gloss and rubs it in the smutty dirt.

The album manages to deliver some catchy pop while also delving into sonic experimentation such as on the meandering cover of "War" or the sprawling, bouncy epic "Welcome to the Pleasuredome".

Elsewhere the album has fairly loyal covers of Bacharach/David's "Do you know the way to San Jose" and Springsteen's "Born to run".  It's a bit of a musical smorgasbord and I'd happily listen to it again.  Might even pick up a copy at some point.

Fun fact: the band's name was taken from an entertainment headline regarding Frank Sinatra.

Day 0531 - Colour By Numbers

Culture Club "Colour By Numbers" (1983)

CC built on the success of their debut album "Kissing to be Clever" with another hit.  This album leads off with "Karma Chameleon" which would go on to be the band's signature song.

It'd be easy enough to just classify them as "80s pop", but they're actually a ridiculously diverse band for the time, with the reggae vibe of the previous album's hit "do you really want to hurt me" to the mix of RnB, pop, and even full-headed soul on show here.

Day 0530 - Meat Puppets II

Meat Puppets "Meat Puppets II" (1983)

 
I actually saw the Meat Puppets live a few years ago at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in the UK.  I enjoyed them, but I don't think I really appreciated it as much as I might have if I'd heard this album first.

The album was discovered by a raft of music fans in the 90s after Nirvana covered 3 tracks from it (Plateau, Oh me, and Lake of Fire) on their MTV unplugged set.  That representation didn't really do justice to the pure sprawling collection of rockabilly, psychedelia, folksy ramblings and 'alt-rock on show here.  I can also see why the music might have appealed to a 90s crowd, as they were operating on similar musical lines to Neil Young, "the Godfather of Grunge" and kind of predicting the whole grunge movement.

Day 0529 - Synchronicity

The Police "Synchronicity" (1983) - got it

 The Police were more or less sick of each other by this point, recording their parts in separate rooms of the studio, and even being symbolically 'separated' on the album cover.

The music seemed to be separating and stretching to the four corners too, with less of their reggae sounds, increased synthesizer presence, and touches of world music.   Sting's songs were sounding more and more like the de-clawed pop that he'd perfect later on.  He and drummer Stewart Copeland nearly fought aggressively because Sting wanted some simple, straight-ahead drumming on "Every breath you take" and Copeland wanted to do his thing (which he would go on to do to great effect in the band Oysterhead with members of Primus and Phish).

Andy Summers' two tracks are possibly among the more interesting: "mother" is a demented ode to the most important woman in his life, and 'Murder by numbers' is my favourite track on the album and (to my mind) the best mesh of the pop and experimental sides of the band's sound.

The band split after one last tour and, though they reunited for a series of shows, never rekindled their spark enough to want to record together again.

Day 0528 - War

U2 "War" (1983)

U2's last album with Steve Lillywhite before they hooked up Eno and Brian Lanois and became one of the biggest acts of the 80s.

Lilywhite's more stripped-down production sound really worked for where the band were at this point.  Their sound was a sort of post-punky vaguely new-wave but somehow that sound without synthesizers.

Larry's drums sound like he's booting the hell out of his kick.  Adam's melodic but simple bass makes a platform for the Edge to start really finding his guitar tone (with a few less effects than he'd eventually use).  All of that with the raw soul of Bono's voice (before he got too up his own arse) across it.

This album features one of my favourite U2 songs "Sunday Bloody Sunday".  Other highlights include "New Year's Day", "Seconds" (one of only two songs to feature the Edge on lead vocals) and the hymn-like "40", which would go on to be U2's go-to show closer for some time.

Day 0527 - Sweet Dreams are Made of This

The Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams are Made of This" (1983)

I don't have a lot to say about this one, to be honest.  I was introduced to the band through Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet dreams.." and through the later era single "I saved the world today" and I have a vinyl copy of one of their albums that I picked up at a sale once.

The video for 'Love is a stranger' was initially banned in the US where they accused Lennox of being "a youth-corrupting transvestite"... by the end of 1983, the album was a smash hit (score one for the transvestites).  There's an interesting mix of upbeat dance-pop, angular synth pop and more atmospheric numbers, like the ethereal "Jennifer" (which I love as it's a good song, and that's my wife's name).

Day 0526 - Eliminator

ZZ Top "Eliminator" (1983) - got it

The Top were still well into their dry-n-dusty blues-rock, and still singing about cars and girls.   Any suggestion, however, that they were a complete anachronism was at least delayed by them getting into synths and drum machines and injecting elements of disco and new-wave into their catchy rock grooves.

Various rumours have Billy Gibbons more or less excluding his two bandmates in favour of drum machines and playing the other instruments himself.  Whatever the case, the album fared very well, helped in no small part by its music videos (such as "Legs") which were put into high rotation on MTV.

Day 0525 - Porcupine

Echo & the Bunnymen "Porcupine" (1983)

E&tB's third album was apparently a bit of a chore coming after the ease of their first two.  They were experiencing a bit of writers block, and once they'd finished the album their record company dismissed it, saying that it was uncommercial.  ...Normally this would be the bit in the story where the band kicked against this assessment and pushed for 'their album'.  Instead, they said "Yeah, okay" and used the original album as a jumping off point to create something else.

Some sitar was laid down here and there (apparently against the wishes of much of the band).  A horn section was added to the song 'The Cutter', again, the band weren't happy but begrudgingly admitted that it improved the song somewhat.

This album is certainly a different beast to the previous two albums.  Aside from the different instrumentation, the Bunnymen's usual slow, Gothic groove was accelerated a bit in places.  Would have been interesting to hear what the original album sounded like, but the released version is enjoyable. 

Day 0524 - Hearts and Bones

Paul Simon "Hearts and Bones" (1983)

Following a decline in his popularity as a solo artist, Simon reunited with Garfunkel for some successful shows.  The two of them started working on a new S&G album, but all the old arguments flared up and they broke up again.  Paul chucked Art's songs and worked some of his into a new solo album.

At the time of its release, this album didn't fare much better commercially than his recent releases, though it seems to have been reassessed with hindsight.  To me it shows hints of his next (much more successful) solo album Graceland, in that it has a good bit of groove to it and the quite '80s' sounding production.  In places, the synth laden grooves even sound a bit like that good 70s era Stevie Wonder.

It's a bit of a mixed bag, and I'd argue that the more straight-ahead mellow tracks are still his strength, such as the sombre "the late great Johnny Ace", his tribute to John Lennon.  That being said, the peppy "Cars are cars" is a fun little song, regardless of its slightly so-so lyrics.

Day 0523 - She's So Unusual

Cyndi Lauper "She's so Unusual" (1983)

Lauper's band Blue Angel had been signed, flopped, dropped their manager and were then sued by him.  Lauper was forced into bankruptcy.  From there she set about singing in clubs in New York and essentially restarting her career.   She was spotted by a manager who took her on and got her signed to a label as a solo artist.

The resulting 'debut' album is "She's so unusual" which boasted 7 singles including hits like "Time after Time" and "Girls just want to have fun" saw Lauper for a while in close competition with Madonna for the "Queen of Pop" moniker.

Day 0522 - Back to Mystery City

Hanoi Rocks "Back to Mystery City" (1983)

The book referred to these guys as the meeting point between glam-rock and punk... which I kind of doubted and assumed they'd just sound like every other 80s rock band - newsflash: I was wrong.  This does have the anthemic vibe, flashy guitar solos and some of the glitz that I'd associate with glam; but also has a lot of humour to it and punky energy and swagger in places.

A couple of members of Mott the Hoople helped the band produce this, their third album overall, and their first with new improved drummer Razzle.  The success of the album landed them a three album deal with CBS.  Unfortunately the band broke up after Razzle was killed in a car accident while a passenger in the car of Vince Neill from Motley Crue.

Day 0521 - A Walk Across the Rooftops

The Blue Nile "A Walk Across the Rooftops" (1983)

According to the book, being a fan of Blue Nile requires only patience.  The albums are all pretty similar but it takes them at least 5 years between releases.  Apparently even in being offered a recording deal it took them several months to come back with an answer for their record company.

There was a persistent story that the band had been commissioned to make an album by a company wanting to show off their hi-fi equipment and that the recording so impressed the company that they formed a record label to release the album.  Apparently though that is not true and the company had already released one or two things already; but it makes for a nice story.

The sound of this album is reminiscent of a few other artists of this era, in that these are essentially soulful pop songs but just steeped in instrumentation and production techniques of the 80s that maybe make them cleaner and colder than they want to be.  I liked it well enough.

Day 0520 - Swordfishtrombones

Tom Waits "Swordfishtrombones" (1983)

Great album, and the beginning of a whole new era of Waits' music.  His wife Kathleen Brennan had been introducing him to a range of avant music and began collaborating on songwriting with him and it really starts to show with this album.

To me, this album feels like Waits' drunken barfly character fell so far down his hole of inebriation that he ended up in some strange hallucinatory underworld.  The opening track "Underground" could be seen as a signal of this, or a paean to Waits' own new musical discoveries courtesy of Brennan "It's a place I've found/There's a world going on/Underground.  The album title seems like something of a nod to Captain Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica" too.   

The other image the music conjures up for me is the Waits barfly joining a travelling circus and hitting the road.  The jarring instrumentation holds a definite carnival vibe, and Waits practises his ringmaster's holler on several tracks.  There are still one or two gentle moments here, including the melodic outro of "Rainbirds", providing a nice contrast to the abrasive opener.

Day 0519 - Soul Mining

The The "Soul Mining" (1983)

The The was set up by Matt Johnson and went on to feature a rotating cast of musicians with Johnson as the only constant, essentially making it more of a collaborative solo project (if that makes sense).

This music has the some of the drama and glitz of the new-romantic movement to it.  There are some squiggly little synth sounds, a little 'world music' percussion, but you can also hear the hints of Johnston's musical upbringing, growing up around his dad's East London pub in his vaguely misanthropic snarl and hints of 60s rock in places, maybe even a touch of the Velvet Underground adding a little New York to the mix.

0518 - Murmur

R.E.M. "Murmur" (1983)

Quite a different beast to the R.E.M. who would eventually break on the scene with their earnest emotional ballads and occasional rockers.  This is much more folky shoegazer stuff, with twangy Rickenbacker guitar behind Stipe's mumbled poetry and much less of Mike Mill's backing vocals.

There are moments of the future band shining through, but I can certainly understand why people who got into the band at this stage of their career might have been disappointed with their later direction (though I'm a fan of their mid-era albums myself).