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

One of the greatest guitarists of all time released his debut album in 1983. He struggled with drug and alcohol abuse during his short brush with fame, before being tragically losing his life in a helicopter crash in 1990.
Jackson Browne had heard Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble at the Montreux Jazz Festival in '82 and offered the band free use of his studio to make a demo. This led to them signing a recording contract, subsequently completing the album Texas Flood in just 2 days.
SRV was credited with sparking renewed interest in blues music at the time and he has certainly influenced many artists that followed. The track I have selected is Pride and Joy.
 
Protein Junkie said:
Arriving at 90125
Following the departure of Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, the rest of the band hired The Buggles and released the fresh sounding “Drama” album.
...
90125 was a radical change in sound. Yes were dragged and kicked into the 1980’s with a new cohort of fans induced by the unlikely hit “Owner of a Lonely Heart”.
For this long time fan I found the music too sterile and clinical. I very rarely listen to it and worse was to come with the follow up @Big Generator.
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I'm not going to argue with any of that as 90125 as a whole has not stood the test of time. The song I nominated is probably the only one I wouldn't skip, and I'd point out that "Owner..." was overplayed and the album upon retrospect was really a more focus on the vocals, especially with "Leave It" and the a cappella single version coming out.

As one who was finally getting to see concerts during this timeframe, I'd take any Yes I could get especially when the 70's classics were played, and thankfully there was enough of that at their shows.

But when I look back on Drama and 90125, it was the prior album when Trevor Horn was in the band that I prefer.
 
Mancitydoogle said:
Loved the original video of this which had Tom leading a marching band.Dont think we have any Tom Waits on this thread before, brilliant lyricist.

‘IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD’
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Think we might have discussed Tom Waits reinvention from his early sound to the this and subsequent, somewhere ?

Something off Rain Dogs will be a strong possibility when we get there in a couple of years, but I was contemplating a track off Swordfishtrombones but now I don't have to!
 
For my second pick I'm going for the Bard of Barking's debut EP. 7 tracks running to 17 minutes total, but more than enough to show he was someone to take notice of. No duffers on it and though part of me feels I should nominate A New England (Kirsty MacColl would have been 66 this month) I'm going for one of his politics with a little p songs. In reality it, like much of Bragg's output, was more interested in speaking about love and relationships than politics.

The Busy Girl Buys Beauty - Billy Bragg

Bragg one of many who left the army to pursue a musical career. The variety in that club always makes me chuckle; Hendrix & Willie Nelson rubbing shoulders with Ice T, Shaggy and James Blunt, to mention just a few!
 
I do hope someone is going to pick Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Released in this year but not making number 1 until 1984 the only members on Trevor Horns final version that were actually on the record were Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford. The original 12" should do it...long version...
 
BimboBob said:
I do hope someone is going to pick Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Released in this year but not making number 1 until 1984 the only members on Trevor Horns final version that were actually on the record were Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford. The original 12" should do it...long version...
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I'm doing 1984, so you can have it as a free pick then.
 
My contribution to a year I saw as one of transition on IMO not the best for singles and albums by any means are as follows:

King of Pain - The Police

Synchronicity has already been covered however this IMO is Sting and Co at their best with some incredible well placed interludes.

The First Picture of You - The Lotus Eaters - Of course I deserve to be chastised given their origin but its one of the better written songs from the " The New Wave ensemble " as they all had come from some good stock.

A Place in the Sun - The Marine Girls - Pleasant Post Punk without leaving an inextirpable imprint on you.

Mutiny in Heaven - The Birthday Party - I had the pleasure or misfortune as the case may be of being best mates with Mick Harvey's younger brother at school and my introduction to Nick Cave in boarding school at the time was being asked if I would try some dope which he would give me for free.

In typical Nick Cave fashion he morphed his fascination for Religion and Violence into the title of this Birthday Party classic.
 
mancity111 said:
My contribution to a year I saw as one of transition on IMO not the best for singles and albums by any means are as follows:

King of Pain - The Police

Synchronicity has already been covered however this IMO is Sting and Co at their best with some incredible well placed interludes.

The First Picture of You - The Lotus Eaters - Of course I deserve to be chastised given their origin but its one of the better written songs from the " The New Wave ensemble " as they all had come from some good stock.

A Place in the Sun - The Marine Girls - Pleasant Post Punk without leaving an inextirpable imprint on you.

Mutiny in Heaven - The Birthday Party - I had the pleasure or misfortune as the case may be of being best mates with Mick Harvey's younger brother at school and my introduction to Nick Cave in boarding school at the time was being asked if I would try some dope which he would give me for free.

In typical Nick Cave fashion he morphed his fascination for Religion and Violence into the title of this Birthday Party classic.
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Can't match that for school days alumni, I was below Johnny Marr at school, but I suspect that's where the parallels end. Not only did he not offer me any free drugs, the shithole we attended was nothing like Caulfield Grammar School. To be fair at the point Maher went it was in its last year as a Grammar school with a good reputation albeit with a bit of a dark side it transpired; but it would be reasonable to say it went more than a bit tits up subsequently.
 
threespires said:
Can't match that for school days alumni, I was below Johnny Marr at school, but I suspect that's where the parallels end. Not only did he not offer me any free drugs, the shithole we attended was nothing like Caulfield Grammar School. To be fair at the point Maher went it was in its last year as a Grammar school with a good reputation albeit with a bit of a dark side it transpired; but it would be reasonable to say it went more than a bit tits up subsequently.
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Believe me TS we were the laughing stock and the cheap end of the private schools in Melbourne at the time and Nick as you would have known or looked up if not was kicked out of school where he grew up in Warrnambool about 250km south west of Melbourne. I lived in a very small weatherboard with two siblings, parents and grand parents on site so I should be grateful they could scrap up enough to send me to a Grammar School ( much less commensurately to todays fees ) for my last 3 years at secondary school which I basically wasted as I was more interested in the girls from Shelford nearby and playing cards for money.

Nick was the leader of a group of boarders ( Caulfield was one of a few in those days that took on boarders ) and believe me Nick had access to and was shooting heroin in secluded pockets of the school grounds at the age of 16.

He hated Neil Young's Harvest at least he said so in no uncertain terms often and walked out of music class when I selected a Man Needs a Maid as my song to play during that class such was his petulance along with two of his junkie mates ( I wasn't going to select an obvious track to rile him on the album ) contrary to what is mentioned on wiki but perhaps like The Stooges at the time I didn't appreciate them until later on much after my introduction to them in 1975. I always thought that Nick modelled himself on JOJ with some more edge and controversy. Raw Power was the only music I heard blaring from his cassette tape player he always carried with him.
 
For my third track I've gone for a showcase for an underrated rhythm section namely Messrs Morris and Hook. Morris's man machine drum patterns and Hooks chorused melody focused bass make the opening track of New Order's Power Corruption & Lies a very danceable affair.

Age of Consent - New Order

For my final track I'm going for something from an album that in the words of Andy McCluskey....

“When we played it to the record company, you could just see the blood drain from their faces.”

Instead of producing Architecture and Morality Mk 2, OMD decided to try something a bit different. The entertainingly dotty Dazzleships was panned at the time and Virgin made it very clear to OMD that if they did that again they'd be in big trouble. They should have had more faith. The most commercial track from it only reached about no 20, but 40 odd years later it sounds like it should have been a number 1.

Genetic Engineering - OMD

I'll check in about midnight to see if there anything else to be added.

@Saddleworth2 do you want to nominate something to close the list?
 
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Last 2 from me,this song was mentioned but not nominated ,still sounds good today.

VIOLENT FEMMES ‘BLISTER IN THE SUN’

I was ‘friendly’ with one of the cast of ‘Tuckers luck’ and she had this album.I also like the acoustic version that Colin Hay plays in ‘Scrubs’

MEN AT WORK ‘OVERKILL’
 
threespires said:
For my third track I've gone for a showcase for an underrated rhythm section namely Messrs Morris and Hook. Morris's man machine drum patterns and Hooks chorused melody focused bass make the opening track of New Order's Power Corruption & Lies a very danceable affair.

Age of Consent - New Order

For my final track I'm going for something from an album that in the words of Andy McCluskey....

“When we played it to the record company, you could just see the blood drain from their faces.”

Instead of producing Architecture and Morality Mk 2, OMD decided to try something a bit different. The entertainingly dotty Dazzleships was panned at the time and Virgin made it very clear to OMD that if they did that again they'd be in big trouble. They should have had more faith. The most commercial track from it only reached about no 20, but 40 odd years later it sounds like it should have been a number 1.

Genetic Engineering - OMD

I'll check in about midnight to see if there anything else to be added.

@Saddleworth2 do you want to nominate something to close the list?
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Well I had my ten juke box bangers from 83 but since you ask. There is an eleventh which albeit made its mark in early 84 was released in November 83. It languished in the lower reaches of the charts during November and December until the band put an appearance on TOTP in early January 84 when it went boom. They did make some bloody good singles and its a belter to finish off our stripped down 83 play list.

Bimbo claimed it and I feel it should be on 83.

Frankie - Relax
 
Saddleworth2 said:
Well I had my ten juke box bangers from 83 but since you ask. There is an eleventh which albeit made its mark in early 84 was released in November 83. It languished in the lower reaches of the charts during November and December until the band put an appearance on TOTP in early January 84 when it went boom. They did make some bloody good singles and its a belter to finish off our stripped down 83 play list.

Bimbo claimed it and I feel it should be on 83.

Frankie - Relax
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Your delinquent assistant has finally added the last few and the playlist is complete (couldn't find a 12" version of Metal Dance for Bimbo).

The contrast between this and the playlists of the 70s is now pretty stark I think.
 
threespires said:
Your delinquent assistant has finally added the last few and the playlist is complete (couldn't find a 12" version of Metal Dance for Bimbo).

The contrast between this and the playlists of the 70s is now pretty stark I think.
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Never mind. Some good stuff coming in 84 (or at least better albums).

Ps never mind the delinquent, I really appreciate you doing this :-)
 
Saddleworth2 said:
Never mind. Some good stuff coming in 84 (or at least better albums).

Ps never mind the delinquent, I really appreciate you doing this :-)
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I wasn't suggesting the contrast was either good or bad, just making the point about the change.

You're right about 84 though, some very good debuts and a few returns to form as well. OB1's at the helm so they'll be extras galore :-)
 
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