Day 0569 - Infected

The The "Infected" (1986)

I enjoyed this much more than the previous The The album in this list (Soul Mining).  It has a strong pop base with some great beats and nice funky bass.   Some of it is upbeat and pulsing, other tracks are slinky and moody, one track even features an early appearance from Neneh Cherry ("Slow train to dawn").  Good solid 80s pop, with angry, socially conscious lyrics.

Day 0566 - Planet Rock - the Album

Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force "Planet Rock - the Album" (1986)

Amazing achievement, in that Bambaataa manages to be an early pioneer of hiphop, but also, through splicing various synth-heavy beats (including cuts by Kraftwerk) he also laid the groundwork for House music and other forms of electronic experimentalism.

I could easily see this being a reference point for bands as varied as early Red Hot Chili Peppers through to the Chemical Brothers.   Rage Against the Machine would go on to cover "Renegades of Funk" and the Beastie Boys would sample Bambaataa.

A true visionary musical force.

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 0508 - Thriller

Michael Jackson "Thriller" (1982)

The highest selling album of all time, sold a million copies per month for its first year of release, 6 of its 10 songs were hit singles.

What more could you really want from an album: it was produced by Quincy Jones with a seasoned collection of studio players (check out the videos of Michael's drummer playing some of the hits from this era, the groove is tight like you wouldn't believe), a guest vocal by Paul McCartney, a guitar solo by Eddie van Halen and even some backing vocals from his sister Janet.

I won't say that it doesn't sound dated, there are some production and instrument sounds here that are unmistakably 80s.  That being said, there are other sounds on here that have aged nicely and wouldn't be out of place in contemporary pop, particularly given the number of artists who Jacko has influenced directly or indirectly.

Day 0490 - Fire of Love

The Gun Club "Fire of Love" (1981)

Another album that I'd listened to when I first read through the 1001 albums book a few years ago.  I'd judged it by its cover and thought it was going to be something like "Dr John the nighttripper", a bit of voodoo-laced New Orleans rhythm and blues.  Much like the Cramps and X though, this is more of a rockabilly-meets-punk stripped down sound.  This album takes the stripped-down thing a bit further with the music being laid almost bare, with very little studio trickery to airbrush it.

The lyrics are occasionally in-your-face and uncomfortable with racial slurs and lines like  "I will fuck you till you die" thrown in to the mix.... possibly delivered with a sense of humour, but it's hard to tell.

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 0233 - Live!

Fela Ransome-Kuti and the Africa '70 with Ginger Baker "Live!" (1971)

 
Fela had been working in the genres of funk and afro-beat for a while.  After a slow start, he gained some popularity in his homeland of Nigeria.  He met with Ginger Baker (himself a fan of African music) who agreed to produce some albums for Fela and his band.  This led rather organically to this collaboration.

It's a record that explores its grooves intricately, with some exciting drumming from Ginger.  Arguably, his playing goes beyond even his work in Cream.