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
Friday, 31 August 2018
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
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
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
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
Thursday, 30 August 2018
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
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
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
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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
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
Wednesday, 29 August 2018
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
Tuesday, 28 August 2018
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
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
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
Sunday, 26 August 2018
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
Friday, 24 August 2018
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
Thursday, 23 August 2018
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
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
Wednesday, 22 August 2018
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