Rock Evolution – The History of Rock & Roll - 1984 - (page 198)

[Out on blue 6]

I know Nothing Can Stop us is a compilation album but it's one of favourites from that year. I was going to be obvious and pick Shipbuilding which does Costello's Incredible writing proud.

Even on tracks like Strange Fruit where he obviously can't be definitive, he brings something special to proceedings.

His voice is divisive but it's extraordinary. The weight of the world but a gentle defiance and sweetness along with half a dozen other traits.

Shipbuilding was the other choice but this is just as good.
Not going to pretend I knew who Robert was until he worked with Ultramarine on a couple of albums.

 

[threespires]

Shipbuilding was the other choice but this is just as good.
Not going to pretend I knew who Robert was until he worked with Ultramarine on a couple of albums.

As I was a saddo kid who had joined the LPYS I had a diet of music that included quite lot of political stuff (big and little p). Wyatt wasn't viewed as young/upbeat enough to feature on the recommended list of acts to play before meetings and events (yep, there was one) but he was well liked by a couple of the older guys.
Thinking about it, The Redskins had probably got going about now so I should put Lev Bronstien up for nomination, or maybe not!

 

[Out on blue 6]

As I was a saddo kid who had joined the LPYS I had a diet of music that included quite lot of political stuff (big and little p). Wyatt wasn't viewed as young/upbeat enough to feature on the recommended list of acts to play before meetings and events (yep, there was one) but he was well liked by a couple of the older guys.
Thinking about it, The Redskins had probably got going about now so I should put Lev Bronstien up for nomination, or maybe not!

New photo · Thursday, Oct 9

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[threespires]

New photo · Thursday, Oct 9

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No way we'd be seen dead in an Afghan. Donkey jackets and duffle coats!

 

[Protein Junkie]

Slim pickings this year so tracks 3 and 4 are
Pat Benatar-Shadows of the Night
Asia -Heat of the Moment
Maybe a cheeky @OB1 style bench warmer
Alan Parsons Project - Sirius/Eye in the Sky

 

[OB1]

As this thread is about history/evolution, it's worth pointing out that Abba called it a day this year, though they never explicitly said so. I'm not sure too many of us would have predicted, at that time, their subsequent revival. They petered out with a compilation but it had a new track that connects back to Bimbo's original list. @BimboBob do you have any interesting insight on how Blancmange came to cover The Day Before You Came?

A mini soap opera with, as Rob would say, a casio keyboard style accompaniment, it was quite a strange but beguiling single for them to bow out on. I say beguiling possibly more because of the video, up to this point I think I'd only been interested in girls my own age; but it's entirely possible that the more mature iteration of the blonde one in this video was instrumental in a fascination with older women that took about a decade to shrug off and nearly cost me my job at one point.

I'm not nominating it but if there's a coda for this year it would be nice for it to be included!

Meanwhile the other one from Abba was busy enabling the habit of Britain's favourite drum effect addict. The Collins family should probably have staged an intervention and taken out an injunction against her. Not one for the coda!

Another near miss for my short list was the Go Gos with the original version of Our Lips Are Sealed which l only became familiar with after the subsequent Fun Boy Three version. The original just makes more sense given the underlying story of it's creation.

You’re going to hate my third pick

Somewhere between the breakup of ABBA and the dominance of MTV, Anni-Frid Lyngstad — Frida, to you and me — decided she’d had enough of polite pop and wanted to make a record that hit like a Tsunami. The result was the title track of her 1982 solo album (which I only have on vinyl but I do have this track on cd):

Frida: I Know There’s Something Going On

Produced by none other than Phil Collins, and engineered by Hugh Padgham, it’s as much his record as hers: a Swedish torch song wrapped in a wall of thunderous British studio trickery.

The drums that open the Russ Ballard penned track are the sound of Collins’s post-Face Value empire in full swing. The gated reverb snare hit is so huge it could topple Stonehenge. It’s less percussion and more meteorology: thunderclaps in 4/4. The groove alone whips your TARDIS back to the early ’80s. However, this is not your typical pop beat; it’s moody, cinematic, and portentously heavy, providing a perfect counterweight to Frida’s vocals, which are chillier than a Swedish winter morning.

The magnificent guitar work is supplied by none other than Collins' long-time associate Daryl Stuermer, who brings the angular, biting tone familiar from Genesis tours and Phil’s solo outings. His clipped riff cuts through the dense, echoing mix like headlights in Scandinavian fog, giving the song a hard rock edge that ABBA never dared.

Frida herself rises magnificently to the occasion. Gone is the glossy, smiling Eurovision sweetheart. This is a voice full of suspicion, sensuality, and resignation. “I know there’s something going on,” she sings, in that slightly accented English that somehow makes the line even more haunting. It’s the sound of heartbreak filtered through a cold Nordic night, human warmth struggling against the encroaching synths and drums. This is the kind of moody atmospheric track that could have gone on an 80's Genesis album.

 

[threespires]

You’re going to hate my third pick

Somewhere between the breakup of ABBA and the dominance of MTV, Anni-Frid Lyngstad — Frida, to you and me — decided she’d had enough of polite pop and wanted to make a record that hit like a Tsunami. The result was the title track of her 1982 solo album (which I only have on vinyl but I do have this track on cd):

Frida: I Know There’s Something Going On

Produced by none other than Phil Collins, and engineered by Hugh Padgham, it’s as much his record as hers: a Swedish torch song wrapped in a wall of thunderous British studio trickery.

The drums that open the Russ Ballard penned track are the sound of Collins’s post-Face Value empire in full swing. The gated reverb snare hit is so huge it could topple Stonehenge. It’s less percussion and more meteorology: thunderclaps in 4/4. The groove alone whips your TARDIS back to the early ’80s. However, this is not your typical pop beat; it’s moody, cinematic, and portentously heavy, providing a perfect counterweight to Frida’s vocals, which are chillier than a Swedish winter morning.

The magnificent guitar work is supplied by none other than Collins' long-time associate Daryl Stuermer, who brings the angular, biting tone familiar from Genesis tours and Phil’s solo outings. His clipped riff cuts through the dense, echoing mix like headlights in Scandinavian fog, giving the song a hard rock edge that ABBA never dared.

Frida herself rises magnificently to the occasion. Gone is the glossy, smiling Eurovision sweetheart. This is a voice full of suspicion, sensuality, and resignation. “I know there’s something going on,” she sings, in that slightly accented English that somehow makes the line even more haunting. It’s the sound of heartbreak filtered through a cold Nordic night, human warmth struggling against the encroaching synths and drums. This is the kind of moody atmospheric track that could have gone on an 80's Genesis album.

Haha in fairness that's a great defence of the track. Rumours that I think Hugh Padgham should face the musical equivalent of a war crimes tribunal are entirely founded :-) There's actually very little music I absolutely can't stand and this doesn't breach the threshold but that doesn't mean I approve of it though!!

If I remember rightly she even got herself a fancy 80s haircut.

 

[OB1]

Haha in fairness that's a great defence of the track. Rumours that I think Hugh Padgham should face the musical equivalent of a war crimes tribunal are entirely founded :-) There's actually very little music I absolutely can't stand and this doesn't breach the threshold but that doesn't mean I approve of it though!!

If I remember rightly she even got herself a fancy 80s haircut.

She did get her haircut. the album cover features a drawing of a headshot that appears on the inner sleeve.

 

[OB1]

I was hoping to use my fourth pick on something else. I have plenty to choose from but then I played this track and knew I could not leave it out, especially given this week’s news.

Rush: Subdivisions

By 1982, Rush had fully shed their long-haired Dungeons & Dragons aesthetic and stepped into something far more haunting: the architecture of alienation. Subdivisions, from the Signals album, is the sound of three frighteningly precise musicians trying to make sense of modern life: suburbia, conformity, and the quiet despair hiding under fluorescent lights.

It opens with cold, stabbing synths before Geddy Lee’s hands start dancing over the keys like a nervous system in sound form. Neil Peart’s drums lock in, tight, mechanical, almost hypnotic.

The song moves with both precision and melancholy, like a robot developing feelings. Geddy’s voice, high and yearning, carries the alienation perfectly. His rippling synth and bubbling bass providing a perfect back drop for some of Peart’s most devastating lyrics. “Conform or be cast out” says so much in a brief phrase. It spokes to millions of young kids then and you can still test the echoes in the hallways of schools to this very day. This isn’t rock rebellion; it’s quiet desperation in 7/8 time.

But where is the guitar you ask? Alex Lifeson eventually steps forward like a shy kid hiding at the back of the classroom who just happens to be a virtuoso, his solo is short but memorable.

Subdivisions became an anthem for anyone who ever felt too weird, too smart, or too restless for small-town expectations or narrow minds

It was not a big hit single, but it became a fan favourite and live staple. I expect they will play it every night on the R50 tour.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

Slim pickings this year so tracks 3 and 4 are
Pat Benatar-Shadows of the Night
Asia -Heat of the Moment
Maybe a cheeky @OB1 style bench warmer
Alan Parsons Project - Sirius/Eye in the Sky

I was hoping I wouldn't be the only APP fan with my prior year nomination from them, so glad you took this PJ, as it was on my shortlist too.

Asia's track is the one still played on classic rock radio today, but there were others off that album I am a bit more fond of, but good to have that representation all the same. All 3 of those songs were heavily played with me in 82, well done!

 

[OB1]

I was hoping I wouldn't be the only APP fan with my prior year nomination from them, so glad you took this PJ, as it was on my shortlist too.

Asia's track is the one still played today, but there were others off that album I am a bit more fond of, but good to have that representation all the same. All 3 of those songs were heavily played with me in 82, well done!

First two tracks were on my short list.

I am not overly familiar with APP stuff although I do have a box set of most / all of their albums, but I need to listen to it more.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

I was hoping to use my fourth pick on something else. I have plenty to choose from but then I played this track and knew I could not leave it out, especially given this week’s news.

Rush: Subdivisions

...

It opens with cold, stabbing synths before Geddy Lee’s hands start dancing over the keys like a nervous system in sound form. Neil Peart’s drums lock in, tight, mechanical, almost hypnotic.

Those synths are a one note ID of the song that I'm confident at least 3 of us here would know in a heartbeat!

Subdivisions became an anthem for anyone who ever felt too weird, too smart, or too restless for small-town expectations or narrow minds

Raising hand from my greater Wilmington subdivision

It was not a big hit single, but it became a fan favourite and live staple. I expect they will play it every night on the R50 tour.

"Fifty Something" ;-), with another 11 shows just added in the same cities. Now for them to move a little further southeast perhaps from NYC.

I don't think the 3 birds and the placement of is not deliberate too.



Rush wasn't the first concert I saw that took place in 1982 (that will come out later today), but they are the band I've seen the most, likely a dozen times, including Time Machine where Moving Pictures was played start to finish in 2011.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

You’re going to hate my third pick

Somewhere between the breakup of ABBA and the dominance of MTV, Anni-Frid Lyngstad — Frida, to you and me — decided she’d had enough of polite pop and wanted to make a record that hit like a Tsunami. The result was the title track of her 1982 solo album (which I only have on vinyl but I do have this track on cd):

Frida: I Know There’s Something Going On

Produced by none other than Phil Collins, and engineered by Hugh Padgham, it’s as much his record as hers: a Swedish torch song wrapped in a wall of thunderous British studio trickery.

The drums that open the Russ Ballard penned track are the sound of Collins’s post-Face Value empire in full swing. The gated reverb snare hit is so huge it could topple Stonehenge. It’s less percussion and more meteorology: thunderclaps in 4/4. The groove alone whips your TARDIS back to the early ’80s. However, this is not your typical pop beat; it’s moody, cinematic, and portentously heavy, providing a perfect counterweight to Frida’s vocals, which are chillier than a Swedish winter morning.

The magnificent guitar work is supplied by none other than Collins' long-time associate Daryl Stuermer, who brings the angular, biting tone familiar from Genesis tours and Phil’s solo outings. His clipped riff cuts through the dense, echoing mix like headlights in Scandinavian fog, giving the song a hard rock edge that ABBA never dared.

Frida herself rises magnificently to the occasion. Gone is the glossy, smiling Eurovision sweetheart. This is a voice full of suspicion, sensuality, and resignation. “I know there’s something going on,” she sings, in that slightly accented English that somehow makes the line even more haunting. It’s the sound of heartbreak filtered through a cold Nordic night, human warmth struggling against the encroaching synths and drums. This is the kind of moody atmospheric track that could have gone on an 80's Genesis album.

Yeah, that's some good backstory on the drums as it was hard not to hear that same Collins sound from Face Value on that track. Unmistakable and a great tune from that year - no need for a disclaimer!

 

[threespires]

First two tracks were on my short list.

I am not overly familiar with APP stuff although I do have a box set of most / all of their albums, but I need to listen to it more.

Definitions of "Not overly familiar"...

Most people: "my mate played me the album once" or "saw them on totp a couple of times".

OB1: "haven't played the box set of their entire back catalogue as much as I'd have liked to"

:-)

 

[OB1]

Those synths are a one note ID of the song that I'm confident at least 3 of us here would know in a heartbeat!


Raising hand from my greater Wilmington subdivision

"Fifty Something" ;-), with another 11 shows just added in the same cities. Now for them to move a little further southeast perhaps from NYC.

I don't think the 3 birds and the placement of is not deliberate too.

View attachment 171809

Rush wasn't the first concert I saw that took place in 1982 (that will come out later today), but they are the band I've seen the most, likely a dozen times, including Time Machine where Moving Pictures was played start to finish in 2011.

Oh that "poster" is carefully designed. As one anlysis put it, one bird has flown the nest and his family have given the greenlight to replace him.

I am on 20 Rush gigs and desperate to add to that.

 

[OB1]

Definitions of "Not overly familiar"...

Most people: "my mate played me the album once" or "saw them on totp a couple of times".

OB1: "haven't played the box set of their entire back catalogue as much as I'd have liked to"

:-)

Yeah, it's some kind of addiction but I don't drink, smoke or take illegal subsbtances, so I'm hoping music and Man City are better for your health; although City can be detrimental!

 

[threespires]

Yeah, it's some kind of addiction but I don't drink, smoke or take illegal subsbtances, so I'm hoping music and Man City are better for your health; although City can be detrimental!

Certainly wasn't a criticism, think it's great.

 

[Mancitydoogle]

I spent a lot time in the early 80s in Manchester nightclubs,especially Brambles and The Millionaire and it definitely wasn’t for the music!
Very few got me on the dance floor, we had LV from last year so here’s another that I quite liked.

D TRAIN YOU’RE THE ONE FOR ME

 

[threespires]

Marc Almond is another divisive singer, what he sometimes lacked in pitch control and range he made up for in dramatic and expressive qualities and the ability to tell a story.

Offering what is imo one of the great lyrics of the 80s or any other decade for that matter, my next choice gave him an early opportunity to showcase the chansonnier approach he'd go on to use across much of his career. Underpinned by a simple but highly effective synth riff, it's starts off with a brilliantly evocative opening line and by the time he gets to...

What about me, well
I'll find someone
That's not going cheap
In the sales
A nice little housewife
Who'll give me a steady life
And won't keep going off the rails

It's more like you're listening to a sort of squalid low rent opera aria than a traditional pop song.

Soft Cell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

 

[RandolphMABlue]

1982 holds some good albums and one great one.

Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen.

I remember getting the tape of his new album for Christmas and listening with anticipation expecting a continued progression from Born to Run and The River. Instead we got Nebraska. At the time i was a little non plussed as it was not what i ad expected at all. Stark and intense. Lacking in bombast. Certainly not written for a live performance.

In early 1982, Bruce Springsteen was living in a rented house in Colts Neck, New Jersey, recuperating from a year-long tour following his 1980 double album The River. His band played 140 marathon shows and were on their way to becoming one of the biggest rock acts in the world. During this period, Springsteen tasked his guitar tech, Mike Batlan, with buying a simple tape recorder so that he could tinker with some new songs and arrangements without having to bother with renting studio time. Batlan picked up a Teac Tascam 144 Portastudio, a then-new device that was the first piece of equipment to use a standard cassette tape for multi-track recording. The new machine arrived in Springsteen’s life at the perfect moment, during what was arguably the most fruitful songwriting period in his long career, one that would produce enough material for two albums (1982’s Nebraska and 1984’s Born in the U.S.A.) with dozens of additional songs to spare. On it, he would craft what is still the most singular album in his catalogue.

In the arc of Springsteen’s career, Nebraska is still a blip. He has returned twice to the general format of the record, releasing the mostly solo and mostly acoustic albums The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) and Devils & Dust (2005), but neither comes close to the alchemy of Nebraska. This one just happened. Springsteen covers the entire episode of the record in just a few pages in 'Born to Run', and there isn’t a lot to say. He wrote the songs, he put them down on a demo, and that demo became the record. It didn’t sell particularly well and got no airplay. “Life went on,” is how he ends the section of his book on the record. And so it does.

And yet...
It remains my favourite Bruce album. On paper, this is Springsteen at his most novelistic, trying to get into the heads of murderers and corrupt cops, or diaristic, revisiting detailed scenes from his childhood. One writer even turned the songs’ narratives into a book of short stories. But the record’s most lasting power comes not from its words or melodies but from its sound. As Bruce Springsteen songs go, these are all very good ones. For this playlist I will choose:

State Trooper - Bruce Springsteen.

But it could have been any one of the tracks.

Great discussion and nomination. Agreed that there are many tracks that could be put forward, but this was always my favorite:

Well, they blew up The Chicken Man in Philly last night
Now they blew up his house, too

Atlantic City - Bruce Springsteen