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

threespires said:
Thought I'd wait a day or two to see if Bimbo did a Talk Talk and Sadds a Blue Nile - :-)

Despite me probably not having played it since they were born, both of my kids can sing most of Diamond Life so for all it's very 80's sounding, it's obviously endured.

There should be a dedicated speaker thread where you fancy types can discuss Monitor Audio and Mission and scutters like me can argue about the virtues of Kef Codas vs Wharfedale Diamonds ;-)
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I think Diamond Life and most of Sade's music is pretty timeless albeit that may be more about me stuck in the past.

I couldn't resist posting this from 'Stop Making Sense', the Jonathan Demme film of the Talking Heads concert. Arguably the greatest concert film ever made. I discovered it relatively recently thanks to @mancity2012_eamo It is a work of genius from both band and director and deserves to be recognised in this year. Check out the dance moves and groove.



Talking Heads - Life During Wartime
 
1984 saw the release of the first major label album from "just another band from East LA." How Will the Wolf Survive? had a number of great songs such as Evangeline, Don't Worry Baby, A Matter of Time, and more. Los Lobos sound had so many influences - rock, country, folk, Tex Mex, traditional Mexican music, etc., but their music was their own. Great band that is still going decades later.

Will the Wolf Survive? - Los Lobos
 
RandolphMABlue said:
1984 saw the release of the first major label album from "just another band from East LA." How Will the Wolf Survive? had a number of great songs such as Evangeline, Don't Worry Baby, A Matter of Time, and more. Los Lobos sound had so many influences - rock, country, folk, Tex Mex, traditional Mexican music, etc., but their music was their own. Great band that is still going decades later.

Will the Wolf Survive? - Los Lobos
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Superb choice, it was on my shortlist for the initial playlist.
 
Sooo many choices, I could pick at least 4 more from Bruce, The Unforgettable Fire, and The Scorpions "Still Loving You" as an album closer, the best Thompson Twins song "Hold Me Now", "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" from The Icicle Works, and so many more...

But I'm going to go with my final selection for a lyrical two-fer song combo that I think is the best and least appreciated part of Don Henley's landmark album.

On the closer from Hotel California, (mostly) Don Henley and Glenn Frey write about industry and commerce inevitably destroying beautiful places in "The Last Resort".

Don Henley takes it up a notch with this beautiful combo that initially reflects on the passing of time and the bittersweet feelings of growing older, particularly focusing on the displacement of an older, traditional way of life by modern, faster-paced society.

My grandson, he comes home from college
He says, "We get the government we deserve."
My son-in-law just shakes his head and says,
"That little punk, he never had to serve."
And I sit here in the shadow of suburbia
and look out across these empty fields
...
and I wonder when I'll see my companion again

This all blends in and leads perfectly into the 2nd part of the song combo that pays tribute to a real hamburger joint on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood that has since been demolished. The song uses the grill as a metaphor to comment on the changing nature of American cityscapes, the loss of family-owned businesses, urban sprawl, and the vapid commercialism of Hollywood.

These days a man makes you somethin'
And you never see his face
But there is no hiding place
Down at the Sunset Grill

"A Month Of Sundays / Sunset Grill" - Don Henley

1762610142485.png
 
Black&White&BlueMoon Town said:
Sooo many choices, I could pick at least 4 more from Bruce, The Unforgettable Fire, and The Scorpions "Still Loving You" as an album closer, the best Thompson Twins song "Hold Me Now", "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" from The Icicle Works, and so many more...

But I'm going to go with my final selection for a lyrical two-fer song combo that I think is the best and least appreciated part of Don Henley's landmark album.

On the closer from Hotel California, (mostly) Don Henley and Glenn Frey write about industry and commerce inevitably destroying beautiful places in "The Last Resort".

Don Henley takes it up a notch with this beautiful combo that initially reflects on the passing of time and the bittersweet feelings of growing older, particularly focusing on the displacement of an older, traditional way of life by modern, faster-paced society.

My grandson, he comes home from college
He says, "We get the government we deserve."
My son-in-law just shakes his head and says,
"That little punk, he never had to serve."
And I sit here in the shadow of suburbia
and look out across these empty fields
...
and I wonder when I'll see my companion again

This all blends in and leads perfectly into the 2nd part of the song combo that pays tribute to a real hamburger joint on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood that has since been demolished. The song uses the grill as a metaphor to comment on the changing nature of American cityscapes, the loss of family-owned businesses, urban sprawl, and the vapid commercialism of Hollywood.

These days a man makes you somethin'
And you never see his face
But there is no hiding place
Down at the Sunset Grill

"A Month Of Sundays / Sunset Grill" - Don Henley

View attachment 174246
Click to expand...
“Sunset Grill” features an amazing keyboard piece partway through.
 
This is probably my last year that I will wirite-up so got to go out with a bang and I have started a coda. There's some big tracks from the year I think need adding plus some of the big albums have so many great tracks.

First set of additions are:

Prince: When doves Cry
Bruce Springsteen: Dancing in the Dark
Bryan Adams: Summer of 69
VH: Panama
Tina Turner: What's Love Got to Do With it?
Madonna: Like a Virgin
Nena: 99 Luftballons
Tommy Shaw: Girls With Guns
 
threespires said:
Thought I'd wait a day or two to see if Bimbo did a Talk Talk and Sadds a Blue Nile - :-)

Despite me probably not having played it since they were born, both of my kids can sing most of Diamond Life so for all it's very 80's sounding, it's obviously endured.

There should be a dedicated speaker thread where you fancy types can discuss Monitor Audio and Mission and scutters like me can argue about the virtues of Kef Codas vs Wharfedale Diamonds ;-)
Click to expand...
Although I do have some Diamonds, very good by the way, I also have some rather nice Prodigy 5's for when I want to crank it up. A mute point though as a lot of the time I either pump vinyl out around the house via my Sonos speakers or use my headphones. But when they are on...boy are they on!
 
Saddleworth2 said:
I think Diamond Life and most of Sade's music is pretty timeless albeit that may be more about me stuck in the past.

I couldn't resist posting this from 'Stop Making Sense', the Jonathan Demme film of the Talking Heads concert. Arguably the greatest concert film ever made. I discovered it relatively recently thanks to @mancity2012_eamo It is a work of genius from both band and director and deserves to be recognised in this year. Check out the dance moves and groove.



Talking Heads - Life During Wartime
Click to expand...

Most of us also on the Album Review thread listened to this when this concert album was reviewed. if you are a big fan of that, I'd recommend revisiting that week if you are so inclined. @LGWIO nominated that selection, and while he and many of us may not have the same interests on the field today, we both agreed this album and film was quite the experience!

(this link goes direct to page 860 when the album was discussed, just ignore the current thread title. ;-) )

forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk

The Album Review Club - Week #191 (page 1286) - Harlequin Dream - Boy & Bear

Gimme a min for the write up... bloody work getting in way Nice pick. There's a 2023 remaster that has a couple of extra tracks that I've not yet listened to so I might go for that version. (Did the other album thread do Remain In Light or have I imagined that?)
forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk
 
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RobMCFC said:
I didn’t get into them until later, but I was surprised to find out that The Alarm’s debut album was as late as 1984.

“Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke” - The Alarm
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Same here on not yet hearing The Alarm in '84, but I have a certain person with a UK background to thank for that intro later, but we're just not quite there yet in the timeline... ;-)

That band is going to get some more justified nominations pretty soon, I'll predict.
 
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1984
Well I guess the main place to start is my 21st birthday in February.
I asked my brother to get me The Smiths debut album on the basis of having bought This Charming Man (which wasn't on the album, though it was on the cassette) and liked the follow up single What Difference Does It Make?
At my party, I had a pre-prepared tape blasting out the best punk / new wave / electro pop tunes. I opened my present from my brother and sat there reading the lyrics on the inside sleeve and was blown away by how many songs I could have said were written for me. I wanted to stop the tape and put the album on, but at the same time wanted the first listen to be a personal listen, which it was the next afternoon after I had recovered.

I was blown away. Punk had instilled in me an attitude and shaped me politically. But here was a band that was reflecting what I was feeling inside, with all the late teen / early 20's insecurities and questioning one's self packed into 10 songs. This was a band for me.
The gig in March at the Free Trade Hall was sold out so I had missed out on the tour - or so I thought..... City played away at Brighton March 10th and on our way down on the Special, I noted in the NME's gig guide that The Smiths were playing at Coventry Polytechnic that evening AND the Special was stopping at Coventry to pick up / drop off the Leicester & Rugby supporters club.
A quick phone call from a phone box in Brighton to my mum / dad in Coventry, saying "leave the key under the plant pot, I'll be there 11pm" and I got off at Cov and walked to the Poly (Lanchester Poly). I arrive and the gig has sold out but this lad is next to the door with a spare ticket, face value and I am in. City and The Smiths all on the same day! What a day!
The Smiths also had the collaboration with Sandie Shaw as well as "Heaven knows...." and "William it was really nothing" as well as the great compilation of Peel sessions and outtakes "Hatfull Of Hollow" at the end of the year. Crazy to think this, but "How Soon Is Now?" was originally released as a B side to "William...." late 1984 before being released as a single in its own right the following year.

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions also hit the charts with singles "Perfect Skin and the glorious "Forest Fire", topping it with the album "Rattlesnakes", with the great "Are you ready to be heartbroken?"

Another band to break through was Bronski Beat. Sure there had always been gay artists around but apart from songs like Walk On The Wild Side or The Killing of George, not many artists actually covered the topic of homosexuality. "Smalltown Boy" haunting keyboard intro that runs through the song and subsequent video highlighting problems at home and violence on the streets became an anthem, not just for gay people, but also disaffected youth / young adults trying to make their own way in the world who just didn’t feel that they “fitted in.”

More gigs in the year saw two trips to the Apollo to see (again) Siouxsie & The Banshees and The Psychedelic Furs.

While The Smiths were on the record player repeatedly, one other album was released that was my album of the year and my 4th favourite all time album!
Echo & The Bunnymen unleashed "Ocean Rain" with the singles "The Killing Moon", "Silver" and "Seven Seas". From the stunning front cover the album has no duff tracks and still plays regularly in my car 41 years on.

Other tunes of the year, The Banshees "Dazzle" and "Swimming Horses", from the "Hyaena" album, Killing Joke "Eighties", The Cure "Caterpillar" Psychedelic Furs "Ghost In You" and "Heaven" and New Order, who were albumless during the year but still came out with "Thieves Like Us"

Over all a great year!

Three songs for the playlist?

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Forest Fire
Echo & The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain
The Smiths - Please Please Please Let me get What I want

IMG_5949.jpeg
 
Mad Eyed Screamer said:
1984
Well I guess the main place to start is my 21st birthday in February.
I asked my brother to get me The Smiths debut album on the basis of having bought This Charming Man (which wasn't on the album, though it was on the cassette) and liked the follow up single What Difference Does It Make?
At my party, I had a pre-prepared tape blasting out the best punk / new wave / electro pop tunes. I opened my present from my brother and sat there reading the lyrics on the inside sleeve and was blown away by how many songs I could have said were written for me. I wanted to stop the tape and put the album on, but at the same time wanted the first listen to be a personal listen, which it was the next afternoon after I had recovered.

I was blown away. Punk had instilled in me an attitude and shaped me politically. But here was a band that was reflecting what I was feeling inside, with all the late teen / early 20's insecurities and questioning one's self packed into 10 songs. This was a band for me.
The gig in March at the Free Trade Hall was sold out so I had missed out on the tour - or so I thought..... City played away at Brighton March 10th and on our way down on the Special, I noted in the NME's gig guide that The Smiths were playing at Coventry Polytechnic that evening AND the Special was stopping at Coventry to pick up / drop off the Leicester & Rugby supporters club.
A quick phone call from a phone box in Brighton to my mum / dad in Coventry, saying "leave the key under the plant pot, I'll be there 11pm" and I got off at Cov and walked to the Poly (Lanchester Poly). I arrive and the gig has sold out but this lad is next to the door with a spare ticket, face value and I am in. City and The Smiths all on the same day! What a day!
The Smiths also had the collaboration with Sandie Shaw as well as "Heaven knows...." and "William it was really nothing" as well as the great compilation of Peel sessions and outtakes "Hatfull Of Hollow" at the end of the year. Crazy to think this, but "How Soon Is Now?" was originally released as a B side to "William...." late 1984 before being released as a single in its own right the following year.

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions also hit the charts with singles "Perfect Skin and the glorious "Forest Fire", topping it with the album "Rattlesnakes", with the great "Are you ready to be heartbroken?"

Another band to break through was Bronski Beat. Sure there had always been gay artists around but apart from songs like Walk On The Wild Side or The Killing of George, not many artists actually covered the topic of homosexuality. "Smalltown Boy" haunting keyboard intro that runs through the song and subsequent video highlighting problems at home and violence on the streets became an anthem, not just for gay people, but also disaffected youth / young adults trying to make their own way in the world who just didn’t feel that they “fitted in.”

More gigs in the year saw two trips to the Apollo to see (again) Siouxsie & The Banshees and The Psychedelic Furs.

While The Smiths were on the record player repeatedly, one other album was released that was my album of the year and my 4th favourite all time album!
Echo & The Bunnymen unleashed "Ocean Rain" with the singles "The Killing Moon", "Silver" and "Seven Seas". From the stunning front cover the album has no duff tracks and still plays regularly in my car 41 years on.

Other tunes of the year, The Banshees "Dazzle" and "Swimming Horses", from the "Hyaena" album, Killing Joke "Eighties", The Cure "Caterpillar" Psychedelic Furs "Ghost In You" and "Heaven" and New Order, who were albumless during the year but still came out with "Thieves Like Us"

Over all a great year!

Three songs for the playlist?

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Forest Fire
Echo & The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain
The Smiths - Please Please Please Let me get What I want

View attachment 174380
Click to expand...
All 3 are some of my favourite albums of that year.
 
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