Tag: 1980sPage 8 of 19

Various Artists, Atomic Cafe: Radioactive Rock ‘n Roll, Blues, Country & Gospel, 1982 on Rounder Records.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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…

Various Artists, Live! for Life, 1986 on I.R.S. Records.

Various Artists, Live! for Life, 1986 on I.R.S. Records. Benefit album for the AMC Cancer Research Center in Denver- executive producer Miles Copeland (brother of Stewart and Ian,…

The Blasters, The Blasters, 1981 on Slash.

The Blasters, The Blasters, 1981 on Slash. Their second album but first on Slash records- Border Radio, American Music, Marie Marie. via Residency Records, Salem MA

Bob Dylan, Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series Vol. 16 1980-1985, released 2021 on Columbia / Third Man Records edition.

Bob Dylan, Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series Vol. 16 1980-1985, released 2021 on Columbia / Third Man Records edition. Great 4xLP boxset of outtakes, live versions,…

Talking Heads, Little Creatures, 1985 on Sire.

Talking Heads, Little Creatures, 1985 on Sire. I do not believe there is a weak record in the Talking Heads discography. This gem from ’85 included And She…