Below are my top ten albums from the 1980, in order of gravity for the reader/listener. Again, I have taken into consideration the quality of the entire record in terms of music, song writing and production, as well as the album’s longevity, importance and influence on popular music as a whole. The 1980s were such a prolific time for music generation, where the seeds of the 1970s really bloomed into some juicy music goodness. Here’s what I think are darn good:
Number 10: Dead Kennedys – Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980)
By 1980 punk in the US had mostly mutated into hardcore, and Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is the best example of this powerful, aggressive and exciting genre. This album is moody, angry, and disenchanted, but it is also incredibly funny, witty and intelligent. This was properly political punk, not just an empty nihilistic concept and fought the good fight against Reagan’s far-right, neo-Christian presidency.
Number 9: De La Soul – 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)
3 Feet High… was the first hip hop album that exampled the genre’s branching out into more sensitive, culturally informed areas, later to be known as conscious rap. The album had a really sincere, positive and upbeat vibe, which was unusual for rap in the era of Public Enemy and N.W.A. Including mainstay feel good hits such as “The Magic Number” and “Me, Myself and I”, De La Soul included literally hundreds of samples in this album, from artists as diverse as Funkadelic, Billy Joel and Led Zeppelin. A really innovative album, in production techniques and attitude.
Number 8: N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton ( 1989)
With its vocal and instrumental brutality, profound use of swear words and generally heavy attitude, Straight Outta Compton invented the gansta-rap genre, and put west-coast rap on the musical map. N.W.A. included some of the most important names in rap; Ice Cube, Dr.Dre, and Eazy E to name but a few. This album took the continuing problems with race relations in the US, and California in particular, and addressed them fully and forcefully. “Fuck tha Police” is a perfect example of the approach on this album.
Number 7: Bow Wow Wow - See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang, Yeah. City All Over! Go Ape Crazy (1981)
This album was probably the most perfect of Malcolm McLaren’s orchestrated projects (Adam Ant and The Sex Pistols being notable others), with a fully formed musical direction and great, exciting tunes to boot. Their music has aspects of surf-style, Brazilian pop, new wave and the famous McLaren mainstay – Burundi beats. Bow Wow Wow also constantly courted with controversy, fashion, and commercialism.
Number 6: Duran Duran – Rio ( 1982)
Without doubt, Duran Duran wrote some great pop music, and Rio is the greatest collection of their work. “Rio” itself is a work of pop art, and at over five minutes long, it is epic with it. Feisty, fast and very very 80s, this album was smooth and high-gloss, and the set the shape for pop to come.
Number 5: The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy and the Lash ( 1985)
Incredibly folk, yet very punk, obviously Irish, yet English too, The Pogues’ music combines these key elements in what was a very unique way at the time. This was not simple, misty-eyed folk. This was raw passion, punchy and poetic, with haunting timbres and melodies. It must be said though that Shane MacGowan’s lyrics are the pinnacle of this album. His lyrics are so perfect they are almost like prose, providing a grim, yet romantic outlook on traditionalism and inner-city living. There is certainly a lot more to the Pogues than “Fairytale of New York”.
Number 4: Madonna – Madonna ( 1983)
Madonna has obviously been a hugely influential entertainer and musician though the past three decades, but with this album her whole career, and concept started. Though her eponymous, Madonna made great strides in the dance-pop genre, and bought electronic based instruments, such as the Linn Drum machine and the Moog bass machine to the fore. With infectious, flirtatious ditties, and coy, girlish vocals, this album was the start of something big.
Number 3: Prince and the Revolution – Purple Rain ( 1984)
Point blank, Prince is one of the greatest musicians and performers of the modern era. This huge talent flooded through with Purple Rain , which is still probably Prince’s best album to date. His sound here combines rock, pop and soul amongst a myriad of other styles with lots of synth in a way that was truly innovative.
Number 2: The Smiths – Hatful of Hollow (1984)
Due the bizarre way UK record companies used to release singles and albums separately, Hatful of Hollow , the most renowned group of tracks by The Smiths, is not even a studio album. Containing “How Soon is Now?” “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” and “This Charming Man”, it is actually a collection of all the singles released by the group to date, as well as some studio sessions. Containing some marvellous and diverse guitar work by Johnny Marr, and superbly witty and poetic lyrics (‘England’s mine and it owns me a living’) this album is growing in relevance again, and is a vital influence on all indie generally.
Number 1: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5 – The Message (1982)
The Message was the debut studio album from Grandmaster Flash and co., and is considered to not only be the first true hip-hop album to have been released, but was also one of the most accomplished and influential. Demonstrating perfectly hip hop’s unprecedented use of samples for a wider audience, The Message bought hip-hop to the world. Unless you grew up in the Bronx in the 1970s, this album will have influenced your hip-hop some how. It also introduced a wider audience to the genuine disillusionment and depravity of many inner city communities in the US that before this record were mostly unknown and obscure.
See this article at Yoomoot: http://yoomoot.com/articles/top-10-tips-albums-you-must-hear-from-the-1980s/
