Tag: 1980sPage 1 of 19

Townes Van Zandt, At My Window, 1987 on Sugar Hill

Van Zandt’s eighth studio album and only one recorded in the 1980s, originally released on the bluegrass label Sugar Hill. I never miss a chance to pick up…

Camouflage, Voices & Images, 1988 on Atlantic

Camouflage were a synth-pop trio from Bietigheim-Bissingen in West Germany (near Stuttgart). Voices & Images was their debut album and included “The Great Commandment” which was a hit…

Heaven 17, The Luxury Gap, 1983 on Virgin

Heaven 17 included Martyn Ware and Ian Criag Marsh who had been founding members of The Human League – Glenn Gregory took the place of Philip Oakey to…

JoBoxers, Like Gangbusters, 1983 on RCA

I had not actually heard of JoBoxers but took a flyer on this one just based on the sheer 80s new-waveness of the cover – the hair, the…

Steve Earle, Guitar Town, 1986 on MCA Records

Earle’s debut album from the mid-eighties – note the proud “Digital Recording” stamp on the cover (where now you’d see “All Analog” promoted). Topped the country charts, and…

Wham!, Make it Big, 1984 on Columbia

This was the second studio album from the duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley – the first, Fantastic!, didn’t make much of an impression in the US,…

The Replacements; Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash; 1981 on Twin/Tone

This was the debut album of Minneapolis’ own The Replacements, in all its ragged glory. Somehow – likely because of how I acquired them – I’d always thought…

Willie Dixon, Mighty Earthquake And Hurricane, 1984 on PA USA

Though one doesn’t normally think of Dixon as an eighties artist (he started putting out recordings in the late 50s) he was still making great music into the…

The Time, The Time (Self-Titled), 1981 on Warner Bros.

This was the debut LP from Morris Day and co, though they started playing together in the early seventies under different names. The band here still includes Jimmy…

Rush, Exit . . . Stage Left, 1981 on Mercury

Like many, I found Rush as teen (or maybe pre-teen?) and was immediately hooked by the aggressive musicality and complexity and the allusive nature of Peart’s lyrics. Even…

Ry Cooder, Borderline, 1980 on Warner Bros.

Cooder’s 9th studio solo LP, with John Hiatt, Jim Keltner, Jesse Harms, George Pierre, Bobby King, Willie Green Jr., Reggie McBride, and Tim Drummond. Produced by Cooder with…

Various Artists, A Very Special Christmas, 1987 on A&M

Long before Maria’s “All I Want For Christmas” came this wonderful compilation to benefit Special Olympics International with a whos-who of mid-late 80s artists covering holiday songs: This…

Sly & Robbie; The Sixties, Seventies + Eighties = Taxi; 1981 on Mango

Great collection of songs produced by Sly Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare, whose production company and label were both called Taxi, released on Mango which was an Island Records…

Ry Cooder, The Slide Area, 1982 on Warner Bros.

Ry Cooder is a long time favorite who still has a tendency to fly a bit under the popular radar (though musicians do tend to love him). This…

Dire Straits, Alchemy – Dire Straits Live, 1984 on Warner Brothers

Wonderful 2xLP live album of early 80s Dire Straits. Recorded in London at the Hammersmith Odeon over two nights in July 1983. Great versions of “Romeo and Juliet”…

Simon & Garfunkel, The Concert In Central Park, 1982 on Warner Bros

One of the best live albums from one of my favorite duos. Good variety of tempos and tunes, enough stage banter to feel live but no so much…

Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes (box set), 2024 on Craft Recordings

This was one of my favorite albums of the 1980s (it came out on Slash Records in 1983), and I’ve been looking forever for a decent copy on…

Sinéad O’Connor, The Lion and the Cobra, 1987 on Chrysalis / Ensign

This was Sinéad’s debut album and is still just astonishingly great. The spoken word intro in gaelic by Enya before “Never Get Old” is Psalm 91: For He…

Michelle Shocked, The Texas Campfire Tapes, 1986 on Mercury / Cooking Vinyl

This was the debut album for Michelle Shocked, purportedly recorded by Cooking Vinyl founder Pete Lawrence on a Sony Walkman at an unplanned performance at the Kerrville Folk…

Depeche Mode, Some Great Reward, 1984 on Sire

I’ve not shared many Depeche Mode records here, mostly because I’m sharing new additions to my collection and I don’t find many DM records I don’t already have,…