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And Don't The Kids Just Love It - Television Personalities. Sounds like Syd Barrett (early Pink Floyd psychedelic victim) joining late-70s modpunkrockers The Jam. Diverse subject matter and aggressive yet subtly arty punk.
Argybargy - Squeeze. Album of Special Merit. My personal Squeeze favorite. Lennon/McCartney style songs with solid backing band. Quirky, but less so than say, XTC. Saw them live and the harmonies were strong.
Back in Black - AC/DC. I must admit I liked to drive with this one. A really drunk girl told me she liked them because "no matter how drunk you get; you can always find the beat."
Black Sea - XTC. Quirky, semi-complex, semi-discoey rock with political undertones. Solid record by the boys influenced also by the goofiness of the Beatles like Madness was.
Boy- U2. Album of Special Merit. Tremendous blend of classic guitar rock with the embers of punk's fury. Man, these guys were young. Intense, reflective songwriting. "Another Time, Another Place" features sincerely wicked innovative guitar playing throughout; the solo is a crowning achievement.
Boys Don't Cry - The Cure. Mostly a collection of singles. Weird vocals that fit the music. Hard to believe Robert Smith was all of 18 on the 1st single. Not their best album, but a good intro and as good as most out in 1980. Seventeen Seconds - Great Combo sound--stripped-down and urgent while still being subtle. "M" and "A Forest" I thought were great; whining without totally whining.
Catholic Boy - Jim Carroll. Album of Special Merit. One of my favorites; unknown even to most New Wavers. I put this in the Iggy Pop/Lou Reed/Television category. "People Who Died" got airplay and I thought it was one of the weaker tracks. "Day and Night" and "Wicked Gravity" were two I loved. Carroll wrote the paperback "Basketball Diaries" which became a movie seriously miscasting that DiCaprio brat. (Craig Kilborn might've worked.)
Crimes of Passion - Pat Benatar. Yep, had posters of her on my wall at age 16. Listen to her today and tell me there's been a better female rock singer since. Neil Geraldo wrote some good tunes and rocked guitar innovatively. Patti B's cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" here shows her guts and range. I have a bootleg of this album live that's as good as any Stones or Zep boot. Tough, tight band.
Double Fantasy - John Lennon & Yoko Ono. "Wheels" and "Woman" I enjoyed as much as any of John's post-Beatle stuff. He was definitely mellow by then. I actually like Yoko's stuff. Her dance track here is good.
Empty Glass - Pete Townshend. Remember listening to this in the pool with Ladonna Miles and Robbi Dotson that summer. "I Am An Animal" is one of Pete's better compositions. PT came out of the closet in what, 1990? Two songs here hint towards such things...wonder if he got into the Smiths...
End of the Century - Ramones. The appearance of strings and horns doesn't wreck THE SOUND. "Rock and Roll Radio" is a true classic. Any of their albums up to this point are decent/let's face it, they're all so similar. Still have the guitar pick Johnny Ramone gave me 15 years ago.
Get Happy - Elvis Costello & the Attractions. Album of Special Merit. Over time, it still remains my favorite of his, but not the one I'd recommend to anyone unfamiliar with Costello. Heavy doses of Stax/Volt and Motown. Most of these tunes (20) are under 2 minutes, yet musically they are little symphonies. The guitar is downplayed on this one; the bass and keys are strong. "Riot Act" is a real power ballad in the style of Burt Bacharach or Righteious Brothers. Very passionate live show I saw.
I Just Can't Stop It - English Beat. Album of Special Merit. Not exactly ska, but lumped into that category. Dave Wakeling was a very good pop songwriter surrounded by a big yet tight reggae ensemble.
Kings of the Wild Frontier - Adam and the Ants. Album of Special Merit. No one sounded like this. (Bow Wow Wow did later, but of course, they were the "original" Ants.) Feedback, war whoops and multiple tribal drumming; what a combination! (Actually, Icicle Works employed the drums for "Whisper to a Scream," not the same song as appears on "Trust" by Costello.) Adam could sing, too, and he and Marco wrote good rock and roll songs, even if they looked like total clowns in their getups.
London Calling - The Clash. Album of Special Merit. I still say this has to be one of the top four or five albums of the Rock Era. Heavy, caring political messages that manage to not clobber you over the head. Fantastic arrange-ments; the Irish Horns and some cool organ. Multitude of influences: rockabilly, ska, early 60s pop, even disco...a real stunner.
Making Movies - Dire Straits. Album of Special Merit. I've owned 3 copies of this sucker. It has the best songs of any Straits lp. Remember the movie of side one? That was so cool. "Romeo & Juliet;" I can't believe how intense that one is. Indigo Girls have a decent cover of it. The solo that ends "Tunnel of Love" lifts my soul.
New Clear Days - Vapors. Great almost-Mods like The Jam. Clever fast pop with cultural commentary. Includes the growing-up ode "News at Ten," the anti-fashion "Spring Collection" and the kitschy "Turning Japanese"
Panorama - The Cars. Their most dark and New Wavey effort. No hits, although I think "Touch and Go" was on this one. Nice to see a reverse sellout, so to speak.
Permanent Waves - Rush. Yeah, the lyrics read like a tech manual and they appear incapable of playing a Chuck Berry song, but still I had fun drumming along with this one and liked the playing overall. Curious, most of this band's fans were teenage guys...
Pretenders - Pretenders. Album of Special Merit. "Brass in Pocket" didn't thrill me, but this was the most-played album in my car freshman year of college. Chrissie Hynde was one of the first rock "frontwomen" to posture sexually like Plant or Jagger. And no one (until Johnette from Concrete Blonde) had those husky vibrating pipes. I have a live bootleg on which she holds the end note of "Stop Your Sobbing" for 30 seconds. They helped define New Wave/the harder edge. Honeyman was my favorite guitarist at the time and I loved the "walking" bass guitar and floor-tom-banging drummer. Two tunes are in 5/4 time. They opened for Gang of Four at the Empire Theatre on Broad Street before we were cool. Tremendous performance on the ill-fated show "Fridays." (Cast members went on to be in "Seinfeld," "Parker Lewis," "Dear John," "Newhart," and the "Police Academy" series of flicks.)
Signing Off - UB40. Interracial reggae band named for a British unemployment form. Includes "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holliday, an anti-lynching ode. Several extremely good upbeat instrumentals. Solid beats under smokey saxophones and some eerie keyboards painting pastels of subtle, melodic stuff.
Sound Affects - The Jam. Album of Special Merit. Founder Paul Weller goes for a Beatles influence and comes up with some experimental music to boot. He always manages a few gems per album. "That's Entertainment" and "Man in the Corner Shop" qualify. Excellent poetry from a 22-year old writing about city life in London. Also extremely good performance on "Fridays." (Melanie Chartoff was ultra.) I remember they did "Start" and were jumping like salmon.
Specials - Specials. Album of Special Merit. Truer to the 60s rock-steady/ska movement than their peers. Emphasis on humor and rhythm; vocals almost rapped. Many funny songs.
Too Much Pressure - Selecter. Pauline Black had a lot of gusto. These are good fun ska tunes, too, with some anti-this and that overtones supported by a great band full of thought.
Up the Academy - Movie Soundtrack. Fun max. Cute movie sponsored by MAD magazine. Mostly US almost-punk bands like Dwight Twilley and Blowup.
Up The Down Escalator - Graham Parker & the Rumour. A slicker rockin' album than the hot, scathing "Sparks" which preceded. My all-time favorite singer/songwriter. Bruce Springsteen called him the "only person I'd pay to see sing." Bruce himself turns up on "Endless Night," which was the opening song at Max's every Friday night. Or was it Saturday? Graham's last release with the Rumour.
The River - Bruce Springsteen & the E. Street Band. Speak of the devil...actually I like the rockabilly turn this album took. Sort of overblown; could have been a single not double release...in my non-humble opinion
Wild Planet - B-52s. The first two albums ruled. (This one's #2.) I have a dance mix of them released the next year which was cool for cruising with ladies drinking coolers. This has solid songs and musicianship.
Zenyatta Mondata - the Police. Yeah, we heard it in the halls of high school too many times, but it's still one of the year's best. Copeland ruled on drums. "Driven to Tears"-- an awesome blend of social commentary/cool guitars/dance beat/brilliant feedback solo. Andy Summers really had mastered the sparse technique of guitar playing. Sting in many cases was playing just a few notes on bass.
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