Tag: 1988
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Fine Young Cannibals, The Raw & The Cooked, 1988 on IRS Records / MCA
This was the second Fine Young Cannibals album following their self-titled debut. Roland Gift on vocals with the rhythm section of Andy Cox and David Steele (formerly of The Beat aka The English Beat). Many of the songs on the LP had already appeared on film soundtracks including three from the Barry Levinson film Tin…
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DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, He’s the DJ, I’m The Rapper, 1988 on Jive
Second album from the duo of Jeffrey Townes (aka DJ Jazzy Jeff) and Will Smith (aka The Fresh Prince), including “Parents Just Don’t Understand” which won the first Best Rap Performance Grammy in 1989. Not sure I even realized this at the time, but their first two albums came out before The Fresh Prince of…
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Neil Young & The Bluenotes, This Note’s For You, 1988 on Reprise
An unusual entry for Neil Young, to be sure, but one of my favorite Neil Young albums post-1980. Later credited just to Neil Young when Harold Melvin (of Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes) threatened legal action. The video for the title track was in heavy rotation on MTV, mocking various kinds of celebrity endorsements. There’s…
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Billy Bragg, Help Save The Youth of America (Live and Dubious), 1988 on Elektra
Billy Bragg live six song EP released to encourage US youth to vote in the 1988 presidential election. Includes “Chile, Your Waters Run Red Through Soweto” (written by Bernice Johnson Reagon of Sweet Honey in the Rock) and “There is Power In a Union.” Remember, when you elect a President, you are electing President for…
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The Robert Cray Band, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, 1988 on Mercury
Fifth full length from Robert Cray and co – sometimes referred to as The Robert Cray Band, other places just Robert Cray from the 1980s. This was their second major label record (on Mercury following Hightone and Tomato). It was not as successful as Strong Persuader which preceded it but there are some great songs…
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The Waterboys, Fisherman’s Blues, 1988 on Chrysalis / Ensign
The fourth studio LP from Mike Scott, Steve Wickham, Anthony Thistlehwaite, Trevor Hutchinson, Peter McKinney et al. Marked a bit of a shift toward Irish and Scottish music, but including covers of Van Morrison’s “Sweet Thing” and (briefly) “This Land is Your Land.” My copy – a Carrollton Georgia US pressing from 1988 – via…
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Wall of Voodoo, The Ugly Americans in Australia, 1988 on I.R.S. Records
Live Wall of Voodoo recorded on their 1987 tour in Australia, primarily at The Palace in Melbourne. The cover painting is by Robert Williams (aka Robt. Wms.). This was their last output on I.R.S. and basically the end of their label support – after this things were self-released or reissues. My copy—via Vinyl Destination in…
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Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, 1988 on Geffen
This was an inescapable album in 1988 – not that I was trying to escape it. It was their studio debut and came out of nowhere to go 2x platinum. You could argue they were one-hit wonders with “What I Am,” with its ear-worm chorus (“What I am is what I am / are you…
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Talking Heads, Naked, 1988 on Fly/Sire
Eighth and final studio LP from Talking Heads – talk about going out with a bang! What a great record. They apologized in the liner notes to Minneapolis band The Wallets, who had a popular song called “Totally Nude” that came out in 1986. As a teenager in a Minneapolis that sometimes felt rather provincial…
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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 in Germany and broke through to the US. My copy via Pitchfork Records in Concord NH, has the gold promo stamp and a hype sticker listing the…
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Timbuk 3, Eden Alley, 1988 on I.R.S. Records
Timbuk 3 was the stage name for the duo of Pat MacDonald and Barbara K. MacDonald (nee Barbara Kooyman, aka Barbara K), as it evolved out of Pat MacDonald & The Essentials. They formed in Madison Wisconsin (later relocating to Austin Texas) and put out six albums, of which this was their second. I love…
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13th Floor Elevators, Flivver, 1988 on World Productions of Compact Music
I first heard Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators on fourth or fifth generation tape copies from friends in the 80s, but didn’t really come to appreciate them fully until much later. This record, on a bootleg Italian label with releases in the late 80s and early 90s, gathers live performances from The Avalon…
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Cowboy Junkies, The Trinity Session, 1988 on RCA
I could have (and would have) sworn this album was called The Trinity Sessions, plural, but I would have been wrong: it’s singular. (The session was recorded at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto). Fair, since it truly is a singular (in the sense of unique / one of a kind) album. It…
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R.E.M., Green, 1988 on Warner Bros.
R.E.M.’s sixth studio album, which came out my freshman year of college – I believe the last time I saw them live was on the Green tour at Boston Garden in April of ’89. Some of my fellow R.E.M. fans going back to Chronic Town, Murmur, and Reckoning felt like Green was the one where…
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Tom Tom Club, Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom., 1988 (UK)/1989 (US) on Sire.
Tom Tom Club, Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom., 1988 (UK)/1989 (US) on Sire. Via Mystic Disc in Mystic, CT Third LP from Tom Tom Club. This is the US/Canada version which has a different tracklist and cover than the 1988 one from the UK / rotw Highlight is a cover of Femme Fatale with Lou…
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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 tradition in America. Folk/blues Where else do you get Little Richard and Fishbone covering Rock Island Line? The Springsteen “I Ain’t Got No Home” and Emmylou’s “Hobo’s…
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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 Beat, as they are known in the UK) and General Public. via Light of Day Records in Jamaica Plain
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Various Artists, Stay Awake (Various Interpretations of Music From Vintage Disney Films), 1988 on A&M.
Various Artists, Stay Awake (Various Interpretations of Music From Vintage Disney Films), 1988 on A&M. Loved this when it came out in 1988, and I think it’s even cooler now. Tom Waits, Suzanne Vega, Los Lobos, Natalie Merchant and Michael Stipe, Aaron Neville, The Replacements, Sinéad O’Connor, Nilsson, James Taylor. via Light of Day Records…