613. The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues

Release Date: 1988
Label: Ensign

It's been a few hours since I listened to this and I'm still not sure how much I like it. Much like the Pogues album which came before, it took a while to grow on me.

Rating: 8/10

612. Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man

Release Date: 1988
Label: Columbia

'If you wanna do it, do it right, right, do it with me.' sang Lenny Cohen and George Michael on the smash hit 'I'm Your Man' - the title track of this album.

Rating: 7/10

611. Pogues - If I Should Fall By The Grace of God

Release Date: 1988
Label: Warner Music Group

Though not as immediate as the previous album from the Pogues, I really warmed to this towards the end. I was particularly impressed with the one about emigrating to the USA.

Rating: 9/10

610. Terence Trent D'arby - The Hardline According to Terence Trent D'arby

Release Date: 1987
Label: Columbia

Rating: 4/10

609. U2 - The Joshua Tree

Release Date: 1987
Label: Island

Despite being top heavy, this is another very good album from Dublin's finest (+ Bono)

Rating: 8/10

608. Pet Shop Boys - Actually

Release Date: 1987
Label: Parlophone

Pet Shop Boys succesfully marry the great combination of fantastic lyrics and fantastic melodies.If I didn't already own a PSB compilation I'd buy this.

Rating 7/10

607. Michael Jackson - Bad

Release Date: 1987
Label: Epic

Not too bad.

Rating: 9/10

606. The Triffids - Calenture

Release Date: 1987
Label:Island

 I've never heard of the Triffids before this, but it seems Bad Seeds' Martyn Casey was their bassist so they get points for that. They also get marks for a very good album.

Rating: 8/10

605. Sonic Youth - Sister

Release Date: 1987
Label: SST

I really enjoyed EVOL (the previous SonicYouth album) and I really like this one too.

Rating: 9/10

604. Napalm Death - Scum

Release Date: 1987
Label: Earache

My favourite thing about this album is not the content (which is awful), it's the fact that the original band split up halfway through recording, so the two sides are essential two different bands. I can only assume the band realised how shit they were and split up halfway through.

Rating: 1/10

603. Laibach - Opus Dei

Release Date: 1987
Label: Mute

Readers of this blog will know I am a massive fan of martial industrial/neoclassical dark wave music, as is Shakira Shakira.

Rating: 3/10

602. Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Shaka Zulu

Release Date: 1987
Label: Warner Bros

LBM were 'discovered' by Paul Simon whilst hanging around Elvis's Graceland residence. African music was clearly still a novelty in the 80s.

Rating: 4/10

601. Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands

Release Date: 1987
Label: Blanco y Negro

Years before Jack and Meg made male/female duets popular again Jesus and Mary Chain were deep-fried hit from north of the wall. Darklands isn't as well known and Psychocandy, and the VU/Glasvegas comparisons aren't as strong here, but this is still a solid album.

Rating: 8/10

600. Guns n Roses - Appetite for Destruction

Release Date: 1987
Label: Geffen

This one is too.

Rating: 8/10

599. The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come

Release Date: 1987
Label: Rough Trade

This is another album I own.

Rating: 9/10

598 - Astor Piazolla & Gary Burton - The New Tango

Release Date: 1987
Label: Atlantic

This is the kind of tango I recognise. Wikipedia refuses to recognise this album too, which is possibly a first. The album isn't terrible, but the music is forgettable.

Rating: 5/10

597. Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician

Release Date: 1987
Label: Touch and Go

You'd expect a band with a juvenile name to release an album of juvenile music. And you'd be right. Beavis and Butthead favourites are  never going to be mine.

Rating: 3/10

596. Husker Du - Warehouse: Songs and Stories

Release Date: 1987
Label: Warner Bros

Rating: 6/10

595. George Michael - Faith

Release Date: 1987
Label: Columbia

By 1987, George Michael was tired of Wham!. Faith is the first release under his own name and is largely disappointing.

Rating: 6/10

594. Sisters of Mercy - Floodland

Release Date: 1987
Label: Merciful Release

Following the success of the Mercy Brothers in the early 80s, their sisters decided to form a band for themselves. Floodland is the second album they released.

7/10

593. Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses

Release Date: 1987
Label: Mute

This album feels like a throwback to the early 80s, which kinda suggests Depeche Mode were the only band to survive from the synthpop revolution. I certainly can't imagine OMD or The Human League feauturing in this book again.

Rating: 7/10

592. The Cult - Electric

Release Date: 1987
Label: Beggars Banquet

This is an album you wouldn't have a desert island with you.

Rating: 4/10

591. Prince - Sign o' the Times

Release Date: 1987
Label: Paisley Park

Once again Prince Rogers Nelson manages to impress with an album packed with originality. Perhaps it's not as immediate as his earlier offerings - due to the lack of recognisable songs - but it's still a belter.

Rating: 9/10

590. REM - Document

Release Date: 1987
Label: IRS

This is one of the REM albums I already own. I imagine it was in some kind of sale when I bought it.

Rating: 8/10

589. Def Leppard - Hysteria

Release Date: 1987
Label: Phonogram

I'm loathe to admit it, but this album was not as bad as I expected it to be. In fact, there were times I really enjoyed it.

Rating: 8/10

588. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronsdatd, Emmylou Harris - Trio

Release Date: 1987
Label: Warner Bros

The album cover epitimises the 1980s in how bad it is. It looks like the kind of album you'd find in a charity shop, especially with Dot Cotton stood in the middle. Having said that, it is a lovely album.

Rating: 7/10

587. Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me

Release Date: 1987
Label: SST

Rating: 8/10

586. Antrax - Among The Living

Release Date: 1987
Label: Megaforce

 Rating: 3/10

585. Peter Gabriel - So

Release Date: 1986
Label: Charisma

After four albums and nearly ten years, Peter Gabriel and his creative team finally manage to think of a different album title.

Rating: 9/10

584. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead

Release Date: 1986
Label: Rough Trade

There is arguably no better album from the 1980s than this.

Rating: 10/10

583. Anita Baker - Rapture

Release Date: 1986
Label: Elektra

This is a pleasant album. 'Inoffensive' is probably a better term. It is similar in output to Sade without being as interesting.

Rating: 7/10

582. Bad Brains - I Against I

Release Date: 1986
Label: SST

Rating: 4/10

581. Steve Earle - Guitar Town

Release Date: 1986
Label: MCA

Fans of The Wire may recognise Steve Earle as a minor character from that show. I didn't. This is a fairly good country album which doesn't really do anything to elevate it.

Rating: 6/10

580. XTC - Skylarking

Release Date: 1986
Label: Virgin

Rating: 9/10

579. Run DMC - Raising Hell

Release Date: 1986
Label: Profile

This is a much, much better album than their self-titled debut.

Rating: 9/10

578. Paul Simon - Graceland

Release Date: 1986
Label: Warner Bros

After being disappointed by Paul Simon's two solo offerings thus far, it was good to know that 'Graceland' deserves the plaudits it has often recieved. I was worried it may have dated, but it doesn't seem to have done.

Rating: 9/10

577. Throwing Muses - Throwing Muses

Release Date: 1986
Label: 4AD

Rating: 6/10

576. Slayer - Reign of Blood

Release Date: 1986
Label: Def Jam

Why do we have to suffer through so many terrible metal albums, I hear myself ask. As terrible as I found this album, I am thankful that it was mercifully short. Therefore, I will be generous with my rating.

4/10

575. Sonic Youth - Evol

Release Date: 1986
Label: SST

I'm fairly sure there's a number of Sonic Youth albums in this book, which could be a cause for concern considering I've never really (knowingly) heard any of their stuff.

Rating: 9/10

574. Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet

Release Date: 1986
Label: Mercury

In their wisdom, Spotify decided not to let me listen to this by greying out half the tracks.

573. Megadeth - Peace Sells But Who's Buying?

Release Date: 1986
Label: Capitol

Another metal album not worth buying.

Rating: 5/10

572. Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring

Release Date: 1986
Label: EMI

I'm fairly sure I enjoyed this album when I listened to it.

Rating: 7/10

571. Billy Bragg - Talking With The Taxman About Poetry

Release Date: 1986
Label: Go Discs

Billy Bragg is never going to win awards for his singing, but when has that ever stopped me from enjoying somebody? The only problem is that the 'political' songs come nowhere near to the quality you'd expect.

Rating: 8/10

570. Nanci Griffith - The Last of the True Believers

 

Release Date: 1986
Label: Philo Records

We've not had a country album for a long time (or at least it seems that way), but now we have one of the nicest discoveries of the 80s. The album is considered to be one of the first alt-country albums, but despite is quality didn't do a thing commercially.

Rating: 8/10

569. The The - Infected

Release Date: 1986
Label: Some Bizarre

There is a fine line between remarkable and forgettable, and The The tread this line very well. Ask anybody under the age of 35 and I guarantee they will not be able to name more than two songs by the band.

Rating: 5/10

568. Metallica - Master of Puppets

Release Date: 1986
Label: Elektra

About ten years ago I was (un)fortunate enough to see Metallica headline Reading Festival. I stood very much near the back. The only song I recognised was 'Enter Sandman', which sounded nothing like The Chordettes version. 'Master of Puppets' is the first of four Metallica albums on this list, and they are possibly the most represented 'metal' band in the book. I like this more than a few people who have written.

Rating: 6/10

567. Beastie Boys - Licence To Kill

Release Date: 1986
Label: Def Jam

This is another album I already known. I probably bought it around the time of MCA's death in 2012.

Rating: 8/10

566. Afrikaa Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force

Release Date: 1986
Label: Tommy Boy

The most interesting thing about this album is how much it reminds you of the past and the future. Another pioneering hip-hop record from the early days, though perhaps no longer an essential purchase.

Rating: 6/10

565. Elvis Costello - Blood and Chocolate

Release Date: 1986
Label: Demon

A few years ago I bought the first handful of Elvis Costello albums, up to (but not including) this one. As much as I admire most of what I have by him, this isn't a record which impresses as much as his earlier offerings.

Rating: 7/10

564. Scritti Politti - Cupid & Psyche 85

 

Release Date: 1985
Label: Virgin

Having listened to this album a few days ago, I can't really remember too much about it. Suffice to say, it didn't really thrill me so I'll give it an average six out of ten.

Rating: 6/10