Talking Heads' Remain in Light won 1980. Let's see who wins 1981. Big down year, personally, for me. Billboard chart-topping albums of 1981: John Lennon and Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy (cont. from '80) REO Speedwagon - Hi Infidelity (cont. from '80) Styx - Paradise Theatre Kim Carnes - Mistaken Identity Moody Blues - Long Distance Voyager Pat Benetar - Precious Time Foreigner - 4 Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna Journey - Escape The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You AC/DC - For Those About to Rock We Salute You Billboard chart-topping singles of 1981: John Lennon - Just Like Starting Over (cont. from '80) Blondie - The Tide is High Kool and the Gang - Celebration Dolly Parton - 9 to 5 Eddie Rabbit - I Love a Rainy Night REO Speedwagon - Keep on Loving You Blondie - Rapture Hall and Oates - Kiss on My List Sheena Easton - Morning Train Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes Stars on 45 - Stars on 45 Air Supply - The One That You Love Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl Diana Ross and Lionel Richie - Endless Love Christopher Cross - Arthur's Theme Hall and Oates - Private Eyes Olivia Newton-John - Physical What are your top three albums for 1981? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be: 1. Black Flag - Damaged 2. Rush - Moving Pictures 3. U2 - October What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later? YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm
rest of the top 10: 4. New Order - Movement 5. Tom Petty - Hard Promises 6. Adolescents - Adolescents 7. The Cure - Faith 8. Squeeze - East Side Story 9. The Replacements - Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash 10. Roky Erickson - The Evil One honorable mentions: black sabbath - mob rules blue oyster cult - fire of unknown origin the cars - shake it up the gun club - fire of love iron maiden - killers king crimson - discipline merle haggard - big city minutemen - the punch line ozzy osbourne - diary of a madman the police - ghost in the machine the rolling stones - tattoo you x - wild gift stuff to check out: david byrne and brian no - my life in the bush of ghosts depeche mode - speak and spell echo and the bunnymen - heaven up here gang of four - solid gold genesis - abacab grace jones - nightclubbing kim carnes - mistaken identity Kraftwerk - computer world moody blues - long distance voyager motley crue - too fast for love phil collins - face value prince - controversy psychedelic furs - talk talk talk siouxsie and the banshees - juju sparks - whomp that sucker tom verlaine - dreamtime
Some incredible singles this year. Not in love with (or haven't heard) many of the albums tho 1. Black Flag - Damaged 2. The Go-Gos - Beauty and the Beat 3. The Cure - Faith
1. Dan Fogelberg - The Innocent Age 2. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Hard Promises 3. ABBA - The Visitors Excruciating cuts: Foreigner - 4 Phil Collins - Face Value Others I love: Pat Benatar - Precious Time Prince - Controversy Bobby Womack - The Poet Hall and Oates - Private Eyes Rush - Moving Pictures Journey - Escape Pretenders - II Luther Vandross - Never Too Much Tygers of Pan Tang - Spellbound Rick Springfield - Working Class Dog Billy Squier - Don't Say No .38 Special - Wild-Eyed Southern Boys Carl Carlton - Carl Carlton Rosanne Cash - Seven Year Ache Good ones: The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You The Time - The Time Blue Oyster Cult - Fire of Unknown Origin Marvin Gaye - In Our Lifetime Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna Garland Jeffreys - Escape Artist Billy Joel - Songs in the Attic Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman Angela Bofill - Something About You Quincy Jones - The Dude Lindsey Buckingham - Law and Order The Cars - Shake It Up Elvis Costello and The Attractions - Trust The Moody Blues - Long Distance Voyager Joan Jett - Bad Reputation Kim Carnes - Mistaken Identity Ray Parker, Jr. and Raydio - A Woman Needs Love The Go-Go's - Beauty and the Beat The J. Geils Band - Freeze Frame Electric Light Orchstra - Time Al Jarreau - Breakin' Away Loverboy - Get Lucky Van Halen - Fair Warning Billy Ocean - Nights (Feel Like Getting Down) Jefferson Starship - Modern Times Toto - Turn Back Merle Haggard - Big City Echo and the Bunnymen - Heaven Up Here George Jones - Still the Same Ole Me Targets for listening: Alabama - Feels So Right Earth, Wind, and Fire - Raise! Genesis - Abacab Rick James - Street Songs The Neville Brothers - Fiyo on the Bayou Police - Ghost in the Machine Bauhaus - Mask Black Flag - Damaged Einstruzende Neubauten - Kollaps David Byrne and Brian Eno - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts Gun Club - Fire of Love Heaven 17 - Penthouse and Pavement Human League - Dare Motorhead - No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark - Architecture and Morality Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk Siouxsie and The Banshees - JuJu Soft Cell - Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club X - Wild Gift Greg Kihn Band - Rockihnroll Joan Jett and The Blackhearts - I Love Rock and Roll Santana - Zebop! Stray Cats - Stray Cats Styx - Paradise Theater The Tubes - The Completion Backwards Principle The Who - Face Dances Rickie Lee Jones - Pirates Squeeze - East Side Story Human Switchboard - Who's Landing in My Hangar Kid Creole and the Coconuts - Fresh Fruit and Foreign Places Black Uhuru - Red Romeo Void - It's a Condition Au Pairs - Playing with a Different Sex The dB's - Stand for Decibels David Lindley - El Rayo-X Smokey Robinson - Being with You Yoko Ono - Season of Glass Grace Jones - Nightclubbing Sheena Easton - Sheena Easton Girlschool - Hit and Run Shot in the Dark - Shot in the Dark Aswad - New Chapter Jim Steinman- Bad for Good Teena Marie - It Must Be Magic Willie Colon and Ruben Blades - Canciones Del Solar De Lose Aburridos Gary "U.S." Bonds - Dedication Franke & the Knockouts - Franke & the Knockouts The Alan Parsons Project - The Turn of a Friendly Card
has been for a bit now, yeah. it’s embarrassing. ginn wanted a paycheck. should have left the legacy in tact.
I’ve actually never heard it. It could probably have gone on my targets list, but I listened to Boy last week so realistically it probably wasn’t happening this week
As I give The Innocent Age a valedictory listen today, I’m pretty damn certain you’d love this @Craig Manning. Everything about it suits your sensibilities. Ambitious. Nostalgic. Lyrically reaching. Great sequencing. I know a double album is a big ask, but yeah, very convinced you’d be into it
1. Luther Vandross - Never Too Much 2. Dead Kennedys - In God We Trust 3. The Cure - Faith Never Too Much is just an absolutely perfect album, it's light, soulful, poppy and funky. Brilliant songwriting and without doubt one of my absolute favourite RnB or Soul albums from any time frame. Definitely (I think...) goes a little under the radar, but it's an absolute must hear. Just an EP, but In God We Trust is Dead Kennedys at their most righteously angry, taking major influences from the American hardcore scene that was happening around them. Nazi Punks Fuck Off is an all-time punk track, and We've Got a Bigger Problem Now shows them in full sardonic rage. Faith is perhaps not one of my most played Cure records, but I always love it whenever I put it on. Dense and dark, without much of the pop sheen they'd add a little later, it's a gloomy listen, but some great tracks on here. Honourable mentions; Black Flag - Damaged: A hugely influential hardcore record, showing Black Flag at their most direct and furious, before they'd morph into more experimental directions after this. Adolescents - Adolescents: A great and oft-imitated pop-punk track, with some great bratty songwriting that was often missing in 80s American punk. Amoeba was in Tony Hawks 3, so instantly brings back memories of playing that. Marvin Gaye - In Our Lifetime: Gaye's penultimate album, and he's in fine form, full of disco and funk, and plenty of pop. Joy Division - Still: A double album that functions as a B-side collection, as well as a live recording of the last ever Joy Division show, which has a real sort of morbid thrill to it, hearing a band right at the very end. Not necessarily essential, but an interesting listen. Minutemen - The Punch Line: Minutemen's first album, but comes in at just 15 minutes, with 18 tracks, showing their twitchy, rapid approach to songwriting. Mission of Burma - Signals, Calls and Marches: A great post-punk band that straddled the line between hardcore punk and indie rock. One of those bands where that classic Velvet Underground line applies to them, "[They] didn't sell many records, but everyone who bought one went out and started a band."
I legit get a huge grin every time I see how much you love that Vandross album, man. What a joy it is
It’s just absolutely perfect , on almost continual rotation with me, always in the mood for a bit of Luther Vandross, he makes everything seem so effortless.
to be honest, 1981 is a very light year for stuff I know 1. Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna 2. George Harrison - Somewhere In England first listens that could make the list Elvis Costello - Trust Elvis Costello - Almost Blue Phil Collins - Face Value Marvin Gaye - In Our Lifetime Lindsey Buckingham - Law and Order The Police - Ghost In The Machine Tom Petty - Hard Promises Van Halen - Fair Warning
Listen to Fogelberg, Steve. I’m evangelizing with the fervor of a money-grubbing television preacher this week.
I listened to the first half of Age Of Innocence today. I hoped to listen to it all together, but so it goes. “Nexus” is the highlight for me so far. Really cool song. It’s very sugary music, very sentimental, I want to rub dirt on it, but I’m looking forward to the rest of the record
Listening to the s/t by Shot in the Dark (who were Al Stewart’s backing band for a stretch) off a vinyl record of my Dad’s and it’s honestly causing me great distress. It’s SO good and it’s never once been issued in CD, never been streaming. I’ve never even been able to find an illegal rip. That’s so bleak to me that great albums can just disappear Edit: Scratch that. It’s apparently FINALLY on Spotify after all this time. Can’t tell you how often I’ve looked for it. That’s a relief that at least it’s there to be discovered
So far, I've given a first listen to: Genesis - Abacab X - Wild Gift Earth, Wind, and Fire - Raise! Shot in the Dark - Shot in the Dark Teena Marie - It Must Be Magic Police - Ghost in the Machine The Neville Brothers - Fiyo on the Bayou
Fiyo on the Bayou is a great album. I might like Yellow Moon a bit more overall songwise, but Fiyo has a really cool mood. And their 1990 album Brothers Keeper has a charming early 90’s vibe. Songs aren’t as good, but the title track rips