Tag: 1980sPage 12 of 23
Professor Longhair, Crawfish Fiesta, 1980 on Alligator Records. At one point in my life, when I had hair, I could have been called Professor Longhair (or Dr. John,…
The Waterboys, self-titled LP, 1986 on Chrysalis. In the UK, this came out in 1983 (on the Chicken Jazz label) , and was followed later by the 1984…
The Abyssinians, Forward, 1982 on Alligator Records. With Sly and Robbie, Zoot Sims. Great roots/reggae record
Peter Case, Peter Case, 1986 on Geffen. Self-titled debut album – great version if Pair of Brown Eyes as well as strong originals Produced by T Bone Burnett…
Various Artists, Atomic Cafe: Radioactive Rock ‘n Roll, Blues, Country & Gospel, 1982 on Rounder Records. Soundtrack to a 1982 documentary The Atomic Cafe – songs inspired by…
Billy Bragg, Talking With the Taxman About Poetry, 1986 on Elektra. Title comes from a Mayakovsky poem printed on the inner liner – I appreciate much more now…
Simple Minds, Empires and Dance, 1980 on Zoom / Arista. My copy is a UK pressing on Zoom though I picked it up locally at Deep Thoughts in…
Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Johnny Copeland: Showdown!, 1986 on Alligator Records. One of Alligator Records’ most successful releases.
Fiddle Fever, Fiddle Fever, 1981 on Flying Fish. Is Fiddle Fever transmissable? That’s an awful lot of fiddles. They put out two LPs plus a Best Of CD
The Robert Cray Band, False Accusations, 1985 on Hightone Records. Third studio LP and the second on Hightone (after Bad Influence) – before signing to Mercury.
Hooters, Amore, 1983 on Antenna Records. If you know The Hooters, it’s likely from “All You Zombies,” or “And We Danced” which were on heavy MTV rotation in…
Queen Latifah, All Hail the Queen, 1989 on Tommy Boy. My copy is a 2018 reissue via Vinyl Me, Please on splatter vinyl Powerful debut album from Dana…
Let’s Active, Afoot, 1983 on I.R.S. Records. Mitch Easter may be more famous for his production work with R.E.M. and others, but Let’s Active was also a great…
Various Artists, Folkways: A Vision Shared (A Tribute To Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly), 1988 on Columbia. Great tribute album that was part of my introduction to the progressive…
Yazoo, Upstairs At Eric’s, 1982 on Mute My copy s a UK pressing, thus the Yazoo instead of Yaz, as the US Sire pressings had it. Vince Clarke…
Paul Simon, Graceland, 1986 on Warner Bros. Gotta be in my top 20 albums of all time. The tremendously talented Paul Simon and an equally talented group of…
Magic Slim & The Teardrops, Raw Magic, 1982 on Alligator Records. These days my rule is if I find an Alligator Records LP from them 70s or 80s…
Ranking Roger, Radical Departure, 1988 on I.R.S. Records First solo album from Roger Charley (1963-2019) aka Ranking Roger, who was part of the English Beat (or just The…
Tunde Mabadu, Viva Disco, 2018 on Mr. Bongo. Originally released by Afrodisia (which was started by Decca West Africa) in Nigeria in 1980, reissued by Mr. Bongo in…
Pretenders, Extended Play, 1981 on Sire. Label’s a bit off center on this one (see photos). Extended Play came out six months before Pretenders II, but had Message…