Tag: 1980s
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Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense, 1984 on Sire
It’s hard to overstate how critical this album and movie were – the impact on live music films, the impact on shows themselves (in staging and effects) and just the music itself. I recall it running for a very long time at the Uptown movie theater in Minneapolis – alternating Friday and Saturday nights with…
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James Blood Ulmer, Free Lancing, 1981 on Columbia.
A happy and accidental find at Academy Records in New York. Ulmer had played on several Ornette Coleman releases before going out on his own – this was his third solo LP and first on Columbia.
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Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel (aka Peter Gabriel III, or Melt), 1980 on Mercury
The third in the series of self-titled releases Gabriel put out between 1977 and 1982, Melt features lots of complex synthesizer and percussion work, with guests like Robert Fripp and Genesis bandmate Phil Collins. Kate Bush adds backing vocals on No Self Control and Games Without Frontiers. No, he’s not singing “she’s so popular” –…
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The Blasters, Non Fiction, 1983 on Slash
I had (and wore out) a cassette copy of one of the Slash records compilations that had Red Rose and Long White Cadillac on it, so hard to hear those songs without expecting the compilation track order, but this is a great LP. This was their second studio album on Slash and third overall –…
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Archie James Cavanaugh, Black and White Raven, 1980 on Black and White Raven, Inc.
Self-released in 1980 but reissued by the Numero Group, Black and White Raven mixes Yacht Rock, Disco, and Gospel with some flavor of Cavanaugh’s native Tlingit heritage. Lots of the musicians here were part of Redbone, an LA band made up of Mexican American and Native American members. This was a Secretly Society issue on…
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Taco, After Eight, 1982 on RCA Victor
Taco is one of those bands/artists which fell into a trap after their first single from their debut album becomes a massive hit – Puttin’ on the Ritz in this case. Taco Ockerse put out three or four more albums, but most folks know him for that one hit, which maybe verges on a kind…
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Wall of Voodoo, Ring of Fire (Remix) / The Morricone Themes (Live), 1982 on Index
12″ single from Stan Ridgway and Wall of Voodoo. The live tracks were recorded live at “The Barn” (Barstow CA?) November 22, 1980. Not sure why they chose to label Hang ‘Em High as composed by Morricone as it wasn’t – it was actually composed by Dominic Frontiere. My copy via a record fair at…
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Juluka, Scatterlings, 1982 on Warner Bros Records
US version on Warner Bros – globally came out on Safari Records, Lark, and/or MINC. Johnny Clegg – sometimes referred to as Le Zoulou Blanc (“the White Zulu”) founded Juluka in the late seventies and came to my attention in association with the anti-apartheid movement in the early 80s. This was their fourth full length…
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Peter Schilling, Error in the System, 1983 on Elektra
Most well known for “Major Tom (Coming Home)” which was a top 20 hit in the US. Unfortunately the runaway success of that single relegated Schilling to something of a one-hit wonder – too bad, as it is really an interesting album and suggests he might have had a more interesting career. My copy had…
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Ball and Pivot, Ball and Pivot EP, 1984 on Z Club Records
Ball and Pivot were a self-described “glam-rock” band in the early 80s in Boston, featuring Tom Hauck, B Wilkinson, and Paul Caruso (all of whom had also played in The Atlantics). I picked up this record on the basis of that description and the cover at Island Records on Martha’s Vineyard. You can find more…
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Michael Jackson, Thriller, 1982 on Epic
I remember listening to this right when it came out. I was young enough to not yet know I was supposed to reject Michael as too popular or unclear and instead just loved the grooves and the videos. My copy isn’t one I’ve had since then – I don’t think I even had a turntable…
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Null and Void, Happiness and Contempt, 1980 on M.A.O. Records.
Null and Void were a self-described “early 80s SoCal synth wave band.” This was their debut EP, recorded at Devon Sound – it’s been reissued by Medical Records along with Montage Morte, their second LP from 1982. This may have been MAO Records’ first releases – catalog number MAO 1001 and 1980 release suggests so.…
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Lucinda Williams, Happy Woman Blues, 1980 on Folkways (FTS 31067)
My copy is a 2019 reissue on what is now called Smithsonian Folkways (the Smithsonian acquired Folkways in 1987 from the estate of Moses Asch). This was Williams’ sophomore album, after Ramblin’ On My Mind. I didn’t come to know Wiliams until much later – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road in the late nineties…
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Pylon, Chomp, 1983 on DB Recs.
My copy is a 2020 reissue on New West Records. Pylon is one of the bands more felt by its influence than its direct fans – but definitely one you should know if you haven’t heard them. Happy to see New West bring out their back catalog.
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Eurythmics, In the Garden, 1981 on RCA
Many folks know Eurythmics only through a small set of hits – Sweet Dreams most notably, maybe a few others – but their output is really outstanding across the board both together and separately. Though Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox recorded together under earlier band names, In the Garden was their debut LP under the…
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The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Butt Rockin’, 1981 on Chrysalis
Kim Wilson, Jimmy Vaughan, Keith Ferguson, and Fran Christina, joined by the Roomful of Blues horn section. Produced by Denny Bruce, this was their third LP. I feel like somehow “Butt Rockin’” was an attempt to reclaim/reframe a dismissive moniker (that’s just butt rock), or just a straight ahead shake-your-caboose style call for rhythm &…
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Bauhaus, The Sky’s Gone Out, 1982 on A&M / Beggars Banquet.
I’m a bit late for World Goth Day here, but I definitely went through a hardcore Bauhaus phase – listening to the 1979-1983 compilation (volume one with white cover and dark bauhaus face, volume two the inverse) more or less non-stop, and then branching out into all the post-Bauhaus spin-offs (Tones on Tail, Love and…
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Huey Lewis and the News, Sports, 1983 on Chrysalis
Pretty hard to ignore this LP if you were listening to the radio (or more accurately watching MTV which showed videos then) in the early 80s. I think at the time I rejected it as too pop, but I’ve come to appreciate it now. Heart of Rock & Roll, I Want a New Drug, even…