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I believe this is the last year I have any "commercial rock" bands. I liked a lot of them at the time. Keep in mind, that year I went to college and everything changed. A lot of these albums I discoverd immediately, some a year or so later. God bless Back Alley Disc!
Bad Reputation - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. She was a tough bitch and her backup band was half the Sex Pistols. Recorded in 1979-81; some really good covers; this came out before "I Love Rock'n'Roll."
Battle of the Garages - Various Artists. The 1966 sound never left suburban America. Four or five gems, including "Left in the Dark" by the Stepmothers, covered by many.
Beauty & the Beat - Go-Go's. Loved dancing around the room with Rob Wagner and his sisters to this one. Every freshman girl had this, too. "Can't Stop the World" was my personal favorite.
Blasters - Blasters. Saw these rockabilly dudes live. Very good; lumped in w/the LA hardcore scene.
Condition Red - Red Rockers. Hardcore/punk hybrid. Interesting Johnny Cash cover. Hoarse vocals and picks raked down strings on each tune. Solid songs.
Damaged - Black Flag. Fun party record. Henry Rollins took himself too seriously logarithmically later.
Dance Craze - Movie Soundtrack. British Ska in its heyday: Beat, Specials, Selecter and the all-girl Bodysnatchers
Decline of Western Civilization - Movie Soundtrack. The L.A. hardcore scene's early document
Don't Say No - Billy Squier. Zep clone, his only decent record; wouldn't listen to it today too much.
Dreamtime - Tom Verlaine. Formerly of Television; a punky Stones thing happening; my personal cult guitar hero; the vocals are a cross between Lou Reed and the Violent Femmes' dude. Solid rock songwriting.
East Side Story - Squeeze. Their poppiest, sweetest; the 4th of 5 decent albums. Very 70s McCartneyish
Extended Play - Pretenders. For die-hard fans; "Cuban Slide" and a live version of "Precious," otherwise the rest show up in a few months on "Pretenders II." I never thought Chrissie was a real "babe," but these two album covers' shots of her are just beautiful.
Face Dances - The Who. As good as Who Are You. Jones fit this tighter style well. I guess when you have a wildman for a drummer who dies, your music will change greatly. Three very good songs and some okay ones.
Fair Warning - Van Halen. The most musicianly of their records. "Unchained" "Hear About It Later" and "So This Is Love?" I thought were cool teenage fun at the time.
Ghost in the Machine - Police. Funkier stuff; I liked all the songs; wasn't crazy about any.
Give the People What They Want - Kinks. As good to me as any of their 60s megasellers. Great Sat. Night Live performance. "Art Lover" "Better Things" and "Yo Yo" I really liked. Humor and power chords. My friend drove them from the airport to the gig at U of Md.
Moving Pictures - Rush. Their last decent album, if you like complex art-rock at all.
Pretenders II - Pretenders. Sex Pistols producers' add punch among two startling ballads. "Birds of Paradise" one of the prettiest songs ever. Includes "Message of Love" and "Talk of the Town." I had an awesome poster taken from the "Talk of the Town" video.
Prince Charming - Adam & the Ants. Dorky fun, "Sex" "Ant Rap" and "Stand and Deliver" I thought were neat.
Repercussion - dB's. This band influenced the whole 80s underground. Sort of like the Feelies; they burned straight ahead without being punky. Fast pop-rock like early REM or old Badfinger or The Who in 1967. Way-amped-up drumming.
Shot of Love - Bob Dylan. His so-called conversion album. "Heart of Mine" combines boogie-woogie piano with ska and there are heavier, louder rock guitars than on any Dylan record. First two eighties albums crossed rock with reggae pretty successfully. "Property of Jesus" is a Dylan classic, also one of his best vocal performances.
Stands for Decibels - dB's. Solid songs on this one, too.
Trust - Elvis Costello & the Attractions. His last rock record for five years. He would get on a serious drug binge, get divorced and mellow out. Really interesting arrangements and melodies. "Strict Time" and "Whisper to a Scream" (With Glenn from Squeeze) reeled.
Victory - Gen X. Formerly Generation X, their last lp before Billy Idol's solo stuff; features former punkers like Steve Jones, etc. Some good material. Liked it at the time, but you can tell these guys were just wasted.
Wild Gift - X. Album of Special Merit. Includes "We're Desparate" and "White Girl." "Adult Books" updates That Fifties Feel. Blend of bizarre harmonies, abstract poetry, hardcore & rockabilly. I love the line "I could throw my lipstick and bracelet like gravel/move to Alabama, I got some more scotch instead."
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