Tag: 1980s
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Stevie Nicks, Bella Donna, 1981 on Modern Records.
Stevie Nicks, Bella Donna, 1981 on Modern Records. Nicks’ debut solo album, produced by Jimmy Iovine with Benmont Tench as musical director, Tom Petty on Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around, Don Henley on Leather and Lace, and many other guests Recently reissued by Rhino and Vinyl Me, Please – but my copy is from ’81…
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Echo and The Bunnymen, self-titled EP, 1983 on Sire
Echo and The Bunnymen, self-titled EP, 1983 on Sire My favorite era of Echo and the Bunnymen Via In Your Ear in Allston
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Laurie Anderson, Mister Heartbreak, 1984 on Warner Bros.
Laurie Anderson, Mister Heartbreak, 1984 on Warner Bros. Not sure how I first heard of Laurie Anderson, but it would have been around the time of this album. Includes “Excellent Birds” with Peter Gabriel and Nile Rodgers, which was originally composed as part of Nam Jun Pak’s “Good Morning Mr. Orwell” installation, on New Years…
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A Few, It’s A Wonderful Life, 1985 on Gark.
A Few, It’s A Wonderful Life, 1985 on Gark. Gark was (is?) A Minneapolis label owned by Dave Pinsky who released records by A Few, Angle Park, Gear Daddies, Trip Shakespeare and others. This album is an underappreciated gem that myself and 20 other people have, according to discogs. 🙂
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Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Organisation, 1980.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Organisation, 1980. Mine’s a 1986 UK pressing on Virgin sublabel Dindisc. Via Dyno Records in Newburyport (pre-covid). “Enola Gay, you should have stayed at home yesterday . . . ”
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Steve Earle, Live From Austin TX, 2017 on New West
Steve Earle, Live From Austin TX, 2017 on New West Recorded in 1986, released in 2004, and issued on vinyl in 2017. Long time fan of Steve Earle – this just goes to show how long he’s been producing great stuff
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‘Til Tuesday, Voices Carry, 1985 on Epic.
‘Til Tuesday, Voices Carry, 1985 on Epic. My first exposure to Aimee Mann through MTV at the time. Via Planet Score Records in St. Louis MO
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O Positive, Only Breathing, 1985 on Throbbing Lobster records.
O Positive, Only Breathing, 1985 on Throbbing Lobster records. Boston based alternative band from the 80s – whose singer now teaches entertainment law at The Northeastern University College of Arts, Media, and Design Saw them open for Sinead O’Connor circa 1990 at Great Woods (I think) Via In Your Ear Allston
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Blancmange, Don’t Tell Me, 1984 on London Records.
Blancmange, Don’t Tell Me, 1984 on London Records (uk pressing). 12″ single, b-side is “Get Out of That.” Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe, my favourite electropop duo named after a gelatinous milk dessert. They aren’t on Insta but see http://blancmange.co.uk/ for updates on new music and tour dates Via The Thing in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (pre-covid)
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The Alarm, Declaration, 1984 on IRS Records.
The Alarm, Declaration, 1984 on IRS Records. Look at that 1984 hair – I think Eddie MacDonald set the bar for my 14 year old attempts at big hair. Debut album from The Alarm
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Gene Loves Jezebel, Discover, 1986 on Geffen.
Gene Loves Jezebel, Discover, 1986 on Geffen. Saw them on tour in August 1987 at Northrup Auditorium with Echo & the Bunnymen and New Order – quite a triple bill.
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Now This Is Music, 1984 on EMI out of the Netherlands.
Now This Is Music, 1984 on EMI out of the Netherlands. First in a series of Dutch copilations which appeared between 1984 and 1989 – basically the Dutch version of “Now That’s What I Call Music” Great time capsule, with U2, Duran Duran, Queen, UB 40, but also Malcolm McLaren, Flying Pickets, Blue Nile and…
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The Pretenders, Learning to Crawl, 1984 on Sire.
The Pretenders, Learning to Crawl, 1984 on Sire. Third Pretenders studio album, recorded after the deaths of James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon. Middle of the Road, Chain Gang, My City Was Hone, 2000 miles. Via Music Connection in Manchester NH
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13th Floor Elevators, Fire In My Bones, 1985 on Texas Archive Recordings.
13th Floor Elevators, Fire In My Bones, 1985 on Texas Archive Recordings. Side: A live from the “Sump N’ Else” TV show (Dallas, 1966). Side B a mix of live and studio cuts from 1965-66.
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UB40, Signing Off, 1980 on Graduate Records.
UB40, Signing Off, 1980 on Graduate Records. Opens with “Tyler” (about Gary Tyler, sentenced to death at 17 in Louisiana, who served 41 years before being released in 2016), and includes: King (a tribute to MLK), Burden of Shame (“bloody deeds have been done in my name”) and Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit. Resonating with me…
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Slash: The Early Sessions, 1983 on Slash Records.
Slash: The Early Sessions, 1983 on Slash Records. The Blasters, X, Rank and File, Violent Femmes, Fear, The Germs. Great cover art directed by Lou Beach. Via Planet Records in Cambridge
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Guadalcanal Diary, Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man, 1984 on DB Records
Guadalcanal Diary, Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man, 1984 on DB records. My copy is the 1985 repressing on Elektra. Murray Attaway, Jeff Wallls (who passed in 2019), Rhett Crowe, and John Poe. Another Georgia indie band from the early 80s, though they were from Marietta not Athens. Originally signed to DB records…
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The Young Snakes, Bark Along With The Young Snakes, 1982 on Ambiguous Records.
The Young Snakes, Bark Along With The Young Snakes, 1982 on Ambiguous Records. Aimee Mann , Douglas Vargas, and Michael Evans. Extra credit for a pre-internet cat meme cover. Via Planet Records in Cambridge