The Cure "Seventeen Seconds" (1980)

FIX 4

Seventeen Seconds
release date: Apr. 22, 1980
format: vinyl (FIX 004) / 2cd (2005 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Robert Smith, Mike Hedges
label: Fiction Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 2. "Play for Today" (4 / 5) - 3. "Secrets" - - B) 2. "A Forest" (5 / 5) - 5. "Seventeen Seconds"

2nd studio album by The Cure and the follow-up to Three Imaginary Boys (May 1979). Before recording this Michael Dempsey left the band and two new members were included. Simon Gallup replaced Dempsey on bass and Matthieu Hartley stepped in to play keyboard. The album introduces what became a new style of post-punk labelled gothic rock. This was the second album I listened to with The Cure. I really loved "Play for Today" and "A Forest", but I may not have heard it until early '81. I had only just turned 15 and "overnight" went from listening to The Police, Thin Lizzy, Kiss, Blondie, and all my older brothers' favourites like Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, and Dire Straits to discover punk rock and post-punk. It was like an awakening. I had so much to catch up with and tried to digest everything I could get hold of by The Clash, The Jam, Stiff Little Fingers, The Stranglers, The Damned, Undertones, XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dead Kennedys, Elvis Costello, Sods...
I've always found this more than ordinarily interesting but not entirely up there among the absolute best. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, The Guardian, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

R.E.M. "Lifes Rich Pageant" (1986)

vinyl cover

Lifes Rich Pageant
release date: Jul. 28, 1986
format: vinyl (ILP 57064) / cd (1993 - The I.R.S. Years Vintage 1986) / cd (2011)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,33]
producer: Don Gehman
label: I.R.S. Records / Capitol - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Begin the Begin" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "These Days" (4 / 5) - 3. "Fall On Me" (5 / 5) - 4. "Cuyahoga" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Hyena" (4 / 5) - 6. "Underneath The Bunker" - 7. "The Flowers Of Guatemala" (4 / 5) - 8. "I Believe" (5 / 5) - 9. "What If We Give It Away?" (4 / 5) - 10. "Just A Touch" (5 / 5) - 11. "Swan Swan H" (4 / 5) - 12. "Superman" (5 / 5)

4th studio album by R.E.M. released on I.R.S. Records and produced by Don Gehman. The original vinyl release A-side is labelled 'Dinner Side' and the B-side 'Supper Side'. This was the first album, I got with the band. I already knew their music and was a growing fan, and was given this as a Christmas present in '86. The album is still one of their best, I think. This is when they got everything together: great songs, great melodies, being raw yet harmonic, they somehow still managed to pass as virtually unknown. From this album and onward, although, critics loved the band and they were promised the big breakthrough, they didn't succeed commercially until Out of Time (1991). I loved this album, which in my mind is only narrowly surpassed by Green (1988).
The album was reissued in an expanded bonus tracks reissue in 1993 (The I.R.S. Years Vintage 1986) containing 6 bonus tracks - two B-sides and 4 previously unreleased recordings.
The album was also reissued in 2011 as a remastered 2-disc '25th Anniversary Edition' with the original album as disc 1 and "The Athens Demos" as disc 2 - a 19 track bonus disc containing demo recordings prior to what became Lifes Rich Pageant. This also includes the track "Bad Day", which wouldn't be released until 2003 as a single release only; however it would feature as a reworked song on Document (1987) as "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel fine)".
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

1993 bonus
tracks reissue

1986 Favourite releases: 1. The Smiths The Queen Is Dead - 2. Talk Talk The Colour of Spring - 3. R.E.M. Lifes Rich Pageant

Top 5 albums by R.E.M.
1. Green
2. Lifes Rich Pageant
3. Document
4. Monster
5. Automatic for the People

Visage "Fade to Grey" (1980) (single)

Fade to Grey, 7'' single
release date: Nov. 10, 1980
format: 7'' single
[single rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Visage & Midge Ure
label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) "Fade to Grey" (4,5 / 5) - - B) "The Steps" (2,5 / 5)

Single release by Visage released on the same date as the release of the band's first solo album Visage (both tracks are taken from the album as tracks #5 and #10 respectively). The single is the band's only second single release but its first after signing with (major label) Polydor.
"Fade to Grey" was the band's first and also only major hit single reaching number #8 on the national singles chart list, and several other top-10 chart entries throughout Europe, New Zealand and Australia, and also peaking at number #1 in Switzerland and in Germany.
I bought the single at some point in 1981 when the song already was a major radio hit. At the time it was referred to as new wave, although, it's more obvious in a style of new romantic and synthpop. I wasn't a fan of the band but liked the otherworldly sensation of the title track, which is a truly brilliant composition.

Visage "Visage" (1980)

Visage [debut]
release date: Nov. 10, 1980
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Visage & Midge Ure
label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 4. "Tar" - 5. "Fade to Grey" (4,5 / 5) - 8. "Moon Over Moscow"

Studio album debut by London-founded band Visage consisting of lead vocalist Steve Strange (aka Stephen Harrington), keyboardist Midge Ure (aka James Ure, former member of Thin Lizzy and Rick Kids, current member of Ultravox), guitarist John McGeoch (ex-member of Magazine), keyboardist (synthesizer) Dave Formula (aka David Tomlinson, ex-member of Magazine), violinist and keyboardist (synthesizer) Billy Currie (aka William Lee Currie, current member of Ultravox), and drummer Rusty Egan (ex-member of Rich Kids). Although being a sextet, the band is formed without a traditional bass player, and on the album ex-Magazine member Barry Adamson plays bass on three tracks (as the remaining songs are without traditional bass instrumentation).
Stylistically, it's closely related to the music by Ultravox in it's synthesizer-driven compositions, and on top of that it showcases a much bolder new romantic sensation and with that places the band alongside contemporary acts like Human League, Duran Duran, Altered Images and Japan.
I only came across the album because of the hit single "Fade to Grey" and that song is really the only great song on an album that hasn't aged well. At the time of its release, the music truly represented something else, as the punk rock era had done a few years before that by presenting music at the new frontier with technical sovereignty, though, I preferred the more chorus-based bands like Human League, Orchestral Manoevres in the Dark and bands with a stronger bond to the post-punk movement.
Visage is a very fine example of the new romantic era with its synthesised sound but I don't think, the album will survive very well on future chart lists, and the band only made one other - and a better attempt with a second album, The Anvil (1982) after which the band was continued with a new line-up and quite different music.

Madness "One Step Beyond..." (1979)

One Step Beyond... [debut]
release date: Oct. 26, 1979
format: cd (2000 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "One Step Beyond..." - 2. "My Girl" (4 / 5) - 4. "Believe Me" - 6. "The Prince" - 9. "Bed and Breakfast Man" - 13. "Mummy's Boy" - 14. "Madness"

Studio album debut (originally released on 2 Tone Records) by English band Madness - up until the recording and release of the album a sextet consisting of Graham McPherson [aka Suggs] on lead vocals, Mike Barson [aka Monsieur Barso] on keyboards, Chris Foreman [aka Chrissy Boy] on guitars, Mark Bedford [aka Bedders] on bass, Lee "Kix" Thompson on saxophones and backing vocals, and with Dan Woodgate [aka Woody] on drums and percussion. Seventh member Cathal Smyth [aka Chas Smash] takes part on the album and would formally join the band a few weeks after the album release. The band took its name from Jamaican ska artist Prince Buster's track "Madness", from his studio debut album I Feel the Spirit from 1963, Also the title track [original song] stems from a B-side single to the track "Al Capone" from '65 is by Prince Buster.
One Step Beyond... is the first in a long row of albums to be produced by the Clive Langer / Alan Winstanley team, who would later go on and work with artists such as Elvis Costello, Dexys Midnight Runners, They Might Be Giants, Morrissey, and David Bowie.
Stylistically, this is at the core of what would be known as 2 Tone, British ska or more precisely: ska revival as the style builds on the original 60s rocksteady and Jamaican ska, and also it's heavily inspired by British pub rock bands like Brinsley Schwarz, Kilburn & the High Roads, Eddie and the Hot Rods, and Ian Dury & The Blockheads. And British pub rock with its humour plays a central part in the music by Madness.
The track "The Prince" (by Lee Thompson) pays tribute to one of the original Jamaican ska artists Prince Buster (aka Cecil Bustamente Campbell) was a minor hit and the band's first single, which paved the way for a place on the [pre-MTV] TV show Top of the Pops.
The album is almost great as it contains some really classic songs of that particular period, and it's also made up of some minor fillers serving more as entertaining bits, but all in all it's a classic album, and a 'must-have' in any collection of modern pop music.
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Mojo, Q Magazine 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

U2 "War" (1983)

War
release date: Feb. 28, 1983
format: vinyl (gatefold - ILPS 9733) / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]
producer: Steve Lillywhite
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: A) 1. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "New Year's Day" - 5. "Drowning Man" - - B) 2. "Two Hearts Beat as One" - 5. "40'' (4 / 5)

3rd studio album by U2 is like the previous two produced by Steve Lillywhite. Just like the cover boy, the same boy who fronted the cover on Boy, clearly has matured, the album shows a more mature band, who has taken a new direction with more focus on songwriting and showcases much more varied arrangements. All in all, it all proves that the band has much more to offer than the fast guitar-driven uptempo sing-along chorus-lines. The production side has also improved considerably, leaving the first two albums as more straight-forward and less artistic statements, and October as more of an experiment as to try out what direction to take.
The album is the first by U2 to be enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, 👍Rolling Stone 4 / 5 ]

BEST OF 1974:Tom Waits "The Heart of Saturday Night" (1974)

The Heart of Saturday Night
release date: Oct. 1974
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,18]
producer: Bones Howe
label: Asylum Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "San Diego Serenade" - 4. "Shiver Me Timbers" - 5. "Diamonds on My Windshield (Looking For)" - 6. "(Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night" (5 / 5) - 8. "Please Call Me, Baby" (4 / 5) - 9. "Depot, Depot" - 11. "The Ghosts of Saturday Night (After Hours at Napoleone's Pizza House)"

2nd studio album by Tom Waits and his first of a long series of albums with producer Bones Howe. And what a follow up to a great debut! Stylistically, the music is unchanged and the album contains only fine compositions with "(Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night" being one of his absolute best songs.

Although the debut is really good and an instant classic, this one seems even more solid and it's just one of his very best.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone Album Guide 4 / 5 stars ]

1974 Favourite releases: 1. Tom Waits The Heart of Saturday Night - 2. Neil Young On the Beach - 3. Mike Odfield Hergest Ridge

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Almost Blue" (1981)

Almost Blue
release date: Oct. 23, 1981
format: cd (1994 remaster Extended Play)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Billy Sherrill
label: Demon Records - nationality: England, UK

6th studio album by Elvis Costello and his fourth consecutive album with The Attractions is an album of country covers recorded in Nashville, USA with producer Billy Sherill.
The '94 Extended Play version almost doubles the number of songs with its 23 tracks (the original album contains 12 songs) of which seven are live recordings (five from a concert in Aberdeen '81, one from The Palomino Club, Hollywood '79, and one live track from Royal Albert Hall, London '82.
The album was a hard one to swallow by critics and fans, I guess. Costello selected a bunch of songs that were not sheer hit-singles but still were classic country songs, and he may have felt he could do anything he wanted, so he turned to a style and genre, he had not yet excelled in. Also, the genre was perfect when considering his troubled private life with a wife and kid at home, and his ongoing relationships with new lovers on top of drug addiction issues.
Costello had been a success from the start and it's no wonder he thought he could do anything. But in restrospect, I don't think of this as one of his better albums.

Btw. the front cover is with reference to the 1963 album Midnight Blue by Kenny Burrell.
[ allmusic.com, Blender, Mojo, Uncut 4 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

Blur "Blur" (1997)

Blur
release date: Feb. 10, 1997
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,64]
producer: Stephen Street
label: Food Records / EMI Japan - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Beetlebum" - 2. "Song 2" (4 / 5) - 3. "Country Sad Ballad Man" - 7. "You're So Great" - 8. "Death of a Party" - 11. "Look Inside America" - 12. "Strange News From Another Star" - 14. "Essex Dogs"

5th studio album by Blur released a year an a half following The Great Escape (Sep. 1995) is band's so far final album with Stephen Street as producer. However, you could have the impression that it was made with another producer as it really introduces a new direction in terms of style. There's a change of balance in terms of spatial relationship when it comes to the instrumentation. There's a bold use of distortion and delay effects applied to guitars and vocals, and drums and bass are played more vigorously - with energy and a sneer. Stylistically, it's difficult to label as britpop, although, a few songs still contain elements of that style, but as a whole, it contains punk rock bits, and I find it more indie rock and alt. rock-shaped than any of their albums, so far.
At first, I found the album less appealing than the more classic Blur releases like Parklife and Modern Times..., but along the way I have really come to appreciate this a great deal more. I see the album as a turning point in the band's career, and it has also been enlisted in various best of lists including NME's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and I fully understand the inclusion of the album in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" as the third (and so far final) by Blur. The single "Beetlebum" is Blur's second single to top the singles chart list, and the album is also the third consecutive Blur album to enter the national albums chart list as number #1.
Recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Ryuichi Sakamoto "Neo Geo" (1987)

Neo Geo
release date: Jul. 1, 1987
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Bill Laswell, Ryuichi Sakamoto
label: Sony Music - nationality: Japan

Tracklist: 1. "Before Long" (4 / 5) - 2. "Neo Geo" (4 / 5) - 3. "Risky" (feat. Iggy Pop) - 4. "Free Trading" - 5. "Shogunade" - 6. "Parata" - 7. "Okinawa Song - Chin Nuku Juushii" - 8. "After All"

Studio album release by Ryuichi Sakamoto. I first came across this album around the year 2000, and it soon became one of my favourites by Sakamoto. Before that I basically only knew of Sweet Revenge (1994), Beauty (1989), and his world famous soundtrack Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983). After finding this beauty, I have collected another handful of albums by this fantastic modern composer. I don't think all his albums are great but I really enjoy his willingness to explore new musical territories, and you never know what style he investigates next, although modern classical, synth pop and new age are sticking styles in his vast repertoire. The short instrumental piano track "Before Long", which is SO beautiful and also so much Sakamoto, is the best track here. The only downside to it is the short playing time of 01:19 min.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Bauhaus "Press the Eject and Give Me the Tape" (1982) (live)

Press the Eject and Give Me the Tape (live)
release date: Oct. 19, 1982
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: [non-produced]
label: Beggars Banquet - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Rosegarden Funeral of Sores" - 5. "Bela Lugo's Dead"

3rd album release by Bauhaus is a collection of eleven live compositions from three concerts held in London and Liverpool in 1981 and '82. Six tracks were recorded at The Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, Oct. 31, 1981. One track is from a concert at Hammersmith Palais, London, Nov. 9, 1981, and four tracks are taken from a concert at The Old Vic, London, Feb. 24, 1982. A remastered version with an additional six tracks was released in 1988 (like most of the band's releases had new remastered bonus tracks editions), five of which were recorded Dec. 3, 1981, Le Rose Bon Bon, Paris.

The best thing about the album are the highlighted two compositions, which were previously unreleased: the band's very first single "Bela Lugosi's Dead" (running for more than 9 minutes) - a song the band was always expected to play live - and the cover song "Rosegarden Funeral of Sores" by John Cale, and a song the band almost made its own.

The album is a fine document of a band, who was fully capable of maintaining its unique sound and by adding dimensions to that when playing live, as their inert tone was of theatrical nature and simply contained that something quite suitable for the stage.

[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5 stars ]

Ramones "It's Alive" (1979) (live)

It's Alive (live)
release date: Apr. 1979
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Tommy Ramone
label: Sire Records - nationality: USA

1st live album by Ramones. The album has legendary status. It's a recorded live concert held on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, 1977 at The Rainbow Theatre in London. The original release was a double vinyl lp and the tracks are taken from the band's first four albums, basically comprising the best years by Ramones. The band members playing were the original quartet featuring Joey Ramone on lead vocals, Johnny Ramone on guitar, Dee Dee Ramone on bass and backing vocals, and Tommy Ramone on drums. The album nicely documents how Ramones went on stage and just played track after track without long breaks, and many times without pausing at all. It's truly a fine album at the peak of their performance. It was one of the first albums I was introduced to by the band, and I kept it on cassette for many years before finally purchasing it on cd around the mid 90s.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

C.V. Jørgensen "Storbyens små oaser" (1977)

Storbyens små oaser

release date: May 1977

format: cd (1988 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,02]

producer: Niels Henriksen

label: CBS Records / Elap - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Det ganske lille band" - 2. "Entertaineren" (5 / 5) - 3. "La containe" - 4. "Tobaksvejen" - 5. "Hamburger Sally" (4 / 5) - 6. "Storbybeduinen" - 8. "Bellevue" (5 / 5) - 9. "Abonnenten" (4 / 5)

3rd studio album by C.V. Jørgensen following two years after T-Shirts, terylenebukser & gummisko and originally released on Danish label Metronome. Nils Henriksen is again credited as producer, as on the predecessor, and although he is already a recognized guitarist, he is only credited additionally on backing vocals and on timbales. The album offers a reunion with guitarist Ivan Horn, who appeared on the debut album En stynet strejfer (1974), and together with bassist Erik Falck, keyboardist Per Wium, and new drummer René Wulf (replacing Gert Smedegård on the previous two albums), this is the quartet which became equated with 'Det ganske lille band', mentioned in the opening track, and for the rest of the decade was to become the unofficial name of C.V.'s backing band.

The album is generally regarded as Jørgensen's commercial and artistic breakthrough, and it marks a shift towards a softer version of folk rock with a distinct jazz tone. The significant inspiration from Dylan, The Band, Neil Young, and Little Feat is not absent but considerably toned down, just as new stylistic expressions have appeared. On this, you'll find similarities with soft rock from The Doobie Brothers, but especially country and blues influences from Steely Dan and J. J. Cale, which is the style now dominating Jørgensen's soundscape. In addition to the American artists in singer / songwriter, folk and country, there is a turn towards the British Isles with inspiration from Eric Clapton and new contemporary influences from David Bowie and Brian Eno. Bowie is mentioned on "Bellevue" and Per Wium plays a piano sequence on "Abonnenten", which was supposed to be inspired by Mike Garson's piano solo on Bowie's Aladdin Sane. In continuation of the new musical expression, C.V. also developed his songwriting in such a way that he expresses himself more satirically in relation to national politics and in comments about Danish everyday life.

The majority of contemporary Danish musicians spoke unequivocally and strongly confrontationally against conservatism and older generations from a clear left-wing perspective, which often seemed like a bombardment without nuances. Together with Kim Larsen, Sebastian, and Trille, C.V. Jørgensen appeared as one of a few significant songwriters who would be able to carry on the legacy of Eik Skalø - a position he not only maintained, but also came to substantiate in the coming years, and by the end of the decade he positioned himself as perhaps the best and most important Danish songwriter of a generation.

I was already quite familiar with C.V.'s music from early on, but this album was my first acquisition by C.V. Jørgensen, and I purchased that album simply because it was already considered a modern classic. Over the years, its status hasn't exactly faded. The Danish music magazine Gaffa chose Storbyens små oaser to represent C.V. Jørgensen on its list of the best Danish albums ever. Four decades later, it still has classic status - and especially in comparison with other acclaimed releases from 1977, and in a Danish musical historical context, you cannot skip Storbyens små oaser.

Highly recommended.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

The Slits "Animal Space / Animal Spacier" (1980) (single)

Animal Space / Animal Spacier, 7'' single
release date: Oct. 1980
format: vinyl (HUM 4)
[single rate: 3 / 5] [2,88]
producer: Dennis Bovell, Disco and The Slits
label: Human Records - nationality:

Tracklist: A) "Animal Space" - - B) "Animal Spacier"

Single release by UK art punk band The Slits with a composition from the album Return of the Giant Slits released one year later. The song is actually one long compositions titled "Animal Space / Animal Spacier" but here split in two halves to fit the seven inch format. The band started out and was announced as a 'girl band only', which they were in the early formations from 1976-78 until Budgie (aka Peter Edward Clarke) replaced founding member Palmolive (aka Paloma Romero) on drums. Here the band consists of lead vocalist Ari Up (aka Ariane Daniela Forster), guitarist Viv Albertine, bassist Tessa Politt, and with new drummer Bruce Smith who replaced Budgie on drums and percussion in late '79 / early '80 as Budgie had become official member of Siouxsie and the Banshees.

The Wake "Harmony" (1982)

Harmony [debut]
release date: Oct. 1982
format: vinyl (FACT 60)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Chris Nagle and The Wake
label: Factory Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Studio album debut by Scottish post-punk band The Wake.

[ collectors' item - 1st issue - from ~ €35,- ]

Bruce Springsteen "The River" (1980)

The River
release date: Oct. 10, 1980
format: 2 cd (1985 reissue)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,38]
producer: Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt
label: Columbia Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: Disc 1: 1. "The Ties That Bind" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Sherry Darling" (4 / 5) - 3. "Jackson Cage" - 4. "Two Hearts" (4 / 5) - 5. "Independence Day" - 6. "Hungry Heart" (5 / 5) - 7. "Out in the Street" (4,5 / 5) - 8. "Crush On You" - 9. "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)" (4 / 5) - 10. "I Wanna Marry You" (4 / 5) - 11. "The River" (4,5 / 5)
Disc 2: 1. "Point Blank" (4 / 5) - 3. "I'm A Rocker" (4 / 5) - 4. "Fade Away" - 5. "Stolen Car" - 7. "The Price You Pay" (4 / 5) - 8. "Drive All Night"

5th studio album release by Bruce Springsteen originally issued as a double album. This was one of the first full Springsteen album I had in my collection. I had only just discovered the predecessor, Darkness on the Edge of Town (Jun. 1978) when I listened to this at my best friend. The album is not that different from the '78 album, but it's a sort of a conceptual album dealing with the present state of economical recession in America, and what that does to ordinary families. The album has more focus on the singer / songwriter part and it contains both slow dwelling stories and the more uptempo rock & roll riffs from his earlier albums, like Darkness.. and Born to Run (1975). After this, he really took his first round with the folk and singer / songwriter side of his talent when releasing the even more sinister and simple album Nebraska (1982) as a solo album without any studio musicians.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]

Bauhaus "The Sky's Gone Out" (1982)

The Sky's Gone Out
release date: Oct. 5, 1982
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Bauhaus
label: Beggars Banquet - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Silent Hedges" (4 / 5) - "In the Night" - 5. "Spirit" - 8. "The Three Shadows Part 3" - 9. "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything" ( 4 / 5)

3rd studio album by Bauhaus following one year after Mask is a more experimental album pointing in several directions. The band plays with punk rock, art rock, reggae, and something that should later be labeled industrial, as well as applying acoustic instruments. The track "Spirit" comes in two very different versions, and this (the album version) is not my preferred version of the song. A more pop-mixed edition can be found on the single release "Spirit" (Jun. '82), which is also issued on "The Singles: 1981-1983" (Oct. '83).

The album is fine but not on level with the band's previous two albums. Its biggest flaw is the many styles and directions it points to. It's like an album of disorientation: "Look, we have so many ideas, so where to go from here?"

Once again the front cover is a painting by guitarist Daniel Ash.

[ allmusic.com, Record Collector 3 / 5 ]

Skids "Days in Europa" (1979)

Days in Europa
release date: Oct. 1979
format: vinyl / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Bill Nelson
label: Virgin Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Animation" (4 / 5) (live) - 2. "Charade" (5 / 5) (TOTP '79) - 3. "Dulce et decorum est (pro patria mori)" - 4. "Pros & Cons" - 5. "Home of the Saved" (2 / 5) - 6. "Working for the Yankee Dollar" (4 / 5) - 7. "The Olympian" (3 / 5) - 8. "Thanatos" - 9. "A Day in Europa" - 10. "Peaceful Times" (2 / 5)
[ At the Old Grey Whistle Test '79 ]

2nd studio album by Skids released only eight months following the splendid debut. After drummer Thomas Kellichan left the band just prior to recording the album, Skids were now reduced to a trio. The album contains really great songs (tracks #1, #2, and #6) that all follow the original formula from Scared to Dance but some of the songs seem like mere fillers making this a less coherent album. Both "Charade" and "Working for the Yankee Dollar" were minor hits for the band but then the album also contains "Peaceful Times", a strange track with guitars, drums and bass played backwards [!], which is not as bad as one might expect it to be, but it's basically something entirely different and more of a musical experiment.
Generally, the album wasn't well-received as Richard Jobson was confronted with his historical interest in World War I and II, for his glorification of the Roman Empire (a thing he would bring forth on later albums) and subjects related to Nazi-Germany - e.g. the choice of a front cover that appears to glorify the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Jobson and the band was subsequently accused for nazi-sympathy - which Jobson has always denied. The label reacted by reissuing the album with a new cover in 1980 (still showcasing the original cover in small format), and with the inclusion of the new single (hit) "Masquerade" in exchange for track #4 and with a slightly changed running order. However, newer reissues from 2001 have once again been issued with the original 'Olympic' cover.
Days in Europa has a better production sound than the debut, and the arrangements are generally at a slower pace. It's by no means a poor album - it just turns out as somewhat incoherent, and as a difficult follow-up to a great debut.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, Smash Hits 4 / 5 stars ]

1980 cover

Chet Baker Quartet "No Problem" (1979)

No Problem
Release date: Oct. 2, 1979
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Released as 'The Chet Baker Quartet'. Another album that was recorded and released in Denmark by SteepleChase Records, and it features Chet Baker (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), who composed all tracks, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Norman Fearrington (drums). The album was produced by Niels Winther. The style is typical for Chet's later career with much focus on cool jazz and vocal jazz.

Van Morrison "Veedon Fleece" (1974)

Veedon Fleece
release date: Oct. 1974
format: cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,08]
producer: Van Morrison
label: Polydor Japan - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Fair Play" (4 / 5) - 2. "Linden Arden Stole the Highlights" (4 / 5) - 3. "Who Was That Masked Man" - 4. "Streets of Arklow" - 5. "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River" - 7. "Cul de Sac" - 8. "Comfort You" - 10. "Country Fair"

8th studio album by Van Morrison originally released on Warner Bros. is a side-step to his more introvert compositions as heard on Astral Weeks, though the music here seems more bound to his Celtic background. Already, Morrison has been engaged in and has worked with many musical styles. Sometimes he turns to blues, soul, rhythm & blues, folk, celtic folk, but he always has his singer / songwriter profile whatever style he embraces and on Veedon Fleece he dwells more than ever before on ancient roots of his homeland without making it entirely celtic folk as on his later collaboration work Irish Heartbeat with The Chieftains. There's often acoustic guitar or piano up front combined with flute and string arrangements making it his most chamber or in those days: baroque-styled album.
Since his move to America in the late 1960s Morrison hadn't been back in Ireland, but a divorce and a physically exhausting tour in '73, which had produced his great live album It's too Late to Stop Now!, made him withdraw from the limelight and during a vacation in Northern Ireland, he found peace and room to write the majority of the tracks for this album.
Veedon Fleece wasn't met by critical acclaim or huge sales numbers but over time it has grown to be mentioned as a 'forgotten' masterpiece. As a contemporary rising solo artist, Van was expected to deliver strong and short soul-based songs, which could be linked with Them, but this as Astral Weeks weren't seen as the great albums that time would later have them positioned as.
After the album release and after luke-warm to negative reviews and poor sales of his most recent and emotional album Van Morrison withdrew from the music industry. He didn't launch on any new tours; in fact, the only live performance he made in a three year period was his appearance in The Band's acclaimed The Last Waltz concert in 1976.
Although, I have only come across the album in recent years, and after having settled with the greatness of Van the Man through many of his other albums, this is just another of his truly great albums that I shall never tire off. Listening to it, is like opening a window and feel how a delicate breeze change the air without a lot of turmoil, and it's easy to imagine open green fields and a desolate country-side, which may / may not have inspired him on his three weeks return to Northern Ireland back then. It's an album full of sentiments - a bombardement to your senses. In retrospect, I kind of understand how music critics and fans were disillusioned wanting to have him at 'full force gale' - but they were only in need of time to understand his true nature and vast repertoire.
It's hard just to pin out the very best tracks on this 'cause it's really like going through a novel - it takes you to places and the journey is just the way it is. There are no jumps or U-turns or mistakes along the road, but it's there, laid out for you, and the journey is so damn fine.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Record Collector, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Joan Jet & The Blackhearts "I Love Rock-N-Roll" (1982) (single)

I Love Rock-N-Roll, 7'' single
release date: Jan. 1982
format: vinyl (TAR 13)
[single rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]
producer: Kenny Laguna, Ritchie Cordell
label: Smash Records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) "I Love Rock-N-Roll" - - B) "Love Is Pain"

Single release by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts is the band's first single from the homonymous second album (Nov. '81) and the band's biggest hit.

I purchased this back then, but frankly never enjoyed it.

Men At Work "Business as Usual" (1981)

Business as Usual [debut]
release date: Oct. 1981
format: vinyl (CBS 85423) / cd (1990 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Peter McIan
label: CBS Records - nationality: Australia

Studio debut album by Australian pop / rock and new wave band Men At Work consisting of the two founding members (Scottish-born) vocalist and guitarist Colin James Hay and lead guitarist Ron Strykert, who formed the band in '78 as a duo. In late '79 the band had grown to the quintet, who plays on this and which also includes multi-instrumentalist Greg Ham, bassist John Rees and drummer Jerry Speiser.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]