80's albums that hold up on any level

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Dale Sams, Mar 13, 2013.

  1. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

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    Donald Fagen's 'The Nightfly' holds up well for me.
     
  2. SchwEnt

    SchwEnt Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    From the 80s only?

    Robert Cray, "Strong Persuader".
    Any Dire Straits albums.
    Billy Idol "Rebel Yell".
    I've got others...


    Hey, what can I say? Michael Jackson was never my bag.
     
  3. J.T.B.

    J.T.B. Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    London Calling, X's first four albums, Talking Heads Remain in Light, Speaking in Tongues and Little Creatures and their two live albums, the Replacements Hootenanny, Let It Be, Tim and Pleased to Meet Me, the English Beat's three studio albums, Shoot Out the Lights, REM's Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction and Life's Rich Pageant, Springsteen's The River, Nebraska and Born in the USA, Tom Waits Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs, Los Lobos How Will the Wolf Survive and By the Light of the Moon, all the Blasters records, Hüsker Dü's Metal Circus, Zen Arcade, New Day Rising, Flip Your Wig and Candy Apple Grey, Pretenders I and II and Learning to Crawl, Steve Earle's Guitar Town, Warren Zevon's Sentimental Hygiene, John Cougar Mellencamp's Scarecrow and Lonesome Jubilee, Rockpile's Seconds of Pleasure, Rosanne Cash's Seven Year Ache and King's Record Shop, Harris/Parton/Ronstadt Trio, Neil young's Old Ways and Freedom, the Pogues' Rum, Sodomy and the Lash, The Minutemen's What Makes a Man Start Fires, Double Nickles on the Dime, and 3-Way Tie For Last

    ... are a few that come to mind.

    Good call, I love that record.
     
  4. SchwEnt

    SchwEnt Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Oh right. Talking Heads. That's correct.
     
  5. Andrew_Kearley

    Andrew_Kearley Captain Captain

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    Well, here are a few that spring to mind:

    ABC: The Lexicon of Love
    Adam and the Ants: Kings of the Wild Frontier
    David Byrne: The Catherine Wheel and Rei Momo
    Kate Bush: The Dreaming, Hounds of Love
    The Cure: The Head on the Door, Disintegration
    Dexys Midnight Runners: Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, Too-Rye-Ay, Don't Stand Me Down
    Echo and the Bunnymen: Porcupine
    The Fall: Grotesque, Slates, Hex Enduction Hour, Perverted by Language, The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall, This Nation's Saving Grace, Bend Sinister, The Frenz Experiment, I am Kurious Oranj
    The Housemartins: London 0 Hull 4
    The Jam: Setting Sons, Sound Affects
    James: Stutter, Strip Mine
    The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy
    Joy Division: Closer
    Van Morrison: Common One, A Sense of Wonder, No Guru No Method No Teacher
    Morrissey: Viva Hate
    New Order: Low-Life, Brotherhood, Technique
    Pink Floyd: The Final Cut
    Pixies: Surfer Rosa, Doolittle
    The Pogues: Rum Sodomy & the Lash, If I Should Fall From Grace With God
    Public Image Ltd: album
    The Sisters of Mercy: First and Last and Always, Floodland
    The Smiths: The Smiths, Hatful of Hollow, Meat Is Murder, The Queen Is Dead
    U2: War, The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree
    The Waterboys: Fisherman's Blues

    The 80s was the greatest decade ever for music. And that's a fact.
     
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2013
  6. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
    Beastie Boys - License to Ill and moreso: Paul's Boutique

    Wait, they had more than one song? :)
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2013
  7. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

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    David Byrne's Music for 'The Knee Plays' is also a great album. Also, Laurie Anderson's 'Big Science' and 'Mister Heartbreak' were great alternatives to the standard radio fare.
     
  8. Avon

    Avon Commodore Commodore

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    i'd say Medusa by Clan of Xymox, but that might be heading into more obscure territory.
     
  9. Andrew_Kearley

    Andrew_Kearley Captain Captain

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    The greatest soul band of all time? I should say so... Which song are you referring to?
     
  10. Flying Spaghetti Monster

    Flying Spaghetti Monster Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Rush Moving Pictures Though only 40 minutes this album is enriched by the detail of it, from the spectacular (and subtlety funny) cover to the music inside, each song telling a sort of story in motion, this album is fantastic.
    Queensryche Operation: Mindcrime The finest concept album since The Wall, with a good balance of songs that capture the narrative and songs that accentuate a single emotional moment. Intense.
     
  11. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I believe in the US they are only known for "Come On Eileen".
     
  12. Andrew_Kearley

    Andrew_Kearley Captain Captain

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    Ah! Well, yes, that was a big hit here too, but it's not their best song by a long chalk. In fact, if I never heard it again, I wouldn't feel I'd lost anything. Not with the richness of the rest of their catalogue.
     
  13. Skellington

    Skellington Part-time poltergeist Rear Admiral

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    Brothers In Arms - Of its time, but nonetheless a timeless classic.

    Various Positions by Leonard Cohen - initially didn't even get a release in North America despite boasting such luminaries as Dance Me To The End Of Love, If It Be Your Will and Hallelujah. The recording does have a kind of aloof and studio-bound feel to it, but this is the case with many an eighties album.

    The Works by Queen - only nine songs if I recall, but when those songs include Radio Ga Ga, I Want To Break Free and Hammer To Fall, what's to complain about? Brian May in particular is on top form on this album. Freddie's voice tends to get the credit, but I always thought that this was the quintessential supergroup, with a certain je ne sais quoi at work between its disparate elements.
     
  14. 1001001

    1001001 Serial Canon Violator Moderator

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    I'd take Making Movies and Love Over Gold over that one any day of the week.

    :techman:

    U2 had an incredible run in the 80's: War, The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree.

    And of course...everything Rush released in the 80's, starting with Permanent Waves (released 1/1/80).
     
  15. jayceee

    jayceee Commander Red Shirt

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    Going through my cd collection, found two more albums which I thought held up well.

    - "Bella Donna" by Stevie Nicks
    - "Appetite For Destruction" by Guns 'N Roses
     
  16. Flying Spaghetti Monster

    Flying Spaghetti Monster Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I agree with this.. all the old u2 stuff was so powerful.

    I posted about Moving Pictures above.
     
  17. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

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    Bowie's 'Scary Monsters' is a favorite, but I have great fondness for 'Let's Dance' however much many Bowie fans may be scandalized by the album.
     
  18. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    Tom Waits - Rain Dogs -- Greatest album of all time

    Other big ones:

    The Smiths - Queen Is Dead
    Michael Jackson - Thriller
    The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
    Scritti Politti - Cupid & Psyche 85
    Mary Margaret O'Hara - MIss America
    Pixies - Doolittle
    Pixies - Surfer rosa
    Arvo Part - Tabula Rasa
    Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones
    Replacements - Let It Be
    Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
    Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
     
  19. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Paul Simon - Graceland
     
  20. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    Any of Springsteen's output, ditto that of Metallica.

    Guns 'n' Roses Appetite, Tesla's Mechanical Resonance, Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime, most of Van Halen's work (though Diver Down is a bit of a dog, IMHO) and DLR's solo albums.

    Ozzy's albums with Randy Rhoads and Sabbath's Heaven and Hell. Stevie Ray Vaughn's catalogue.

    Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms, for all that it may have come to symbolise the yuppie era (I don't know why, given Mark Knopfler's working-class Geordie roots).