1986 - Clive's Top Albums of Every Year Challenge

August 15, 2022 by Clive in Clive's Album Challenge, Music

Over what will likely be the next few years I’m going to be ranking and reviewing the top 5 albums - plus a fair few extras - according to users on rateyourmusic.com (think IMDB for music) from every year from 1960 to the present. If you want to know more, I wrote an introduction to the ‘challenge’ here. You can also read all the other entries I’ve written so far by heading to the lovely index page here.

The top 1986 headlines aren’t particularly positive I’m afraid: the Soviet nuclear reactor at Chernobyl exploded spreading radioactive material across much of Europe and the Space Shuttle Challenger also exploded 73 seconds after launching, killing all seven astronauts on board.

But onto more positive things, here’s rateyourmusic.com users’ top 5 albums of 1986:

#1 The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
#2 Metallica - Master of Puppets
#3 Slayer - Reign in Blood
#4 Astor Piazzolla and The New Tango Quintet: Tango: Zero Hour / Nuevo Tango: Hora Zero
#5 Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time

As is customary, I’ll also grab some from further down the list

#6 Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
#7 XTC - Skylarking
#8 Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring
#9 Sonic Youth - EVOL

#12 Peter Gabriel - So
#14 Paul Simon - Graceland
#28 Siouxsie & the Banshees - Tinderbox

Finally, to add more female artists to the equation, I’ll be grabbing anything from 1986 from NPR’s list of the best albums of all time by female artists, as well as the same list as voted on by their readers. This year we’ve just got the one album to add:

Janet Jackson - Control

13 reviews to do then, off we go.

Somewhere in Time is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 29 September 1986 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. It was the band's first album to feature guitar synthesisers. Since its release, Somewhere in Time has been certified platinum by the RIAA, having sold over one million copies in the US. - Wikipedia

Ah, another Iron Maiden release. Unfortunately, they remain that one band regularly appearing in these top 5s that I just can’t get into. Entertaining enough, and I can appreciate why others would like it, but I’m just not feeling it y’know. This one feels a little, dare I say it, poppier. I preferred some of their earlier releases, but this still has plenty of rock-solid riffs, guitar solos, and howling vocals.

Song Picks: Deja Vu

6.5/10

12. Epicus Doomicus Metallicus

Candlemass

Epicus Doomicus Metallicus is the debut album of the Swedish doom metal band Candlemass. It was released June 10, 1986 on Black Dragon Records. On its release, the album had a significantly different sound than other European heavy metal bands of the time, because of their use of operatic vocals mixed over slow and heavy guitar riffs. The album did not sell well on its initial release, which led to the group being dropped from the label during the same year. Since then, the album has been re-issued in several different formats. - Wikipedia

I’m getting a definite Black Sabbath vibe from Mats Björkman’s riffs on Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, they’re slow, methodical and powerful. Indeed they’re easily some of the most crushing I’ve ever heard. Messiah Marcolin’s vocals are operatic, and he’s less prone to high pitched wails than many of his contemporaries. The whole thing is a change of pace from the thrash-metal of Slayer and Metallica.

I’m generally a little biased against music that is too operatic, finding it rather hard to get into. The fact I very much enjoyed this is testament to how good it is, and though it was never going to become a favourite, I can absolutely appreciate why they’re as highly thought of as they are.

Song Picks: Demons Gate, Crystal Ball

8/10

Control is the third studio album by American singer Janet Jackson, released on February 4, 1986, by A&M Records. Her collaborations with the songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis resulted in an unconventional sound: a fusion of rhythm and blues, rap vocals, funk, disco, and synthesized percussion that established Jackson, Jam and Lewis as the leading innovators of contemporary R&B. The album became Jackson's commercial breakthrough and enabled her to transition into the popular music market, with Control becoming one of the foremost albums of the 1980s and contemporary music. - Wikipedia

Control contrasts nicely to many other pop albums by female artists in the 80s, such as those by Whitney Houston or Cyndi Lauper, in that it often has more of a focus on percussive power and energy than balladry. Tracks aren’t saturated with instruments blasting evocative chord structures, but instead have a sense of space, one which allows the cataclysmic drums to take centre stage. The album is more about funk and groove than it is about melody, and it sets Jackson apart from her contemporaries in way that is refreshing. While others blasted us with powerful vocals, Jackson blasts us with programmed, gated drums and funky bass grooves. It also features some superb guitar solos, which is a good way to my heart.

Song Picks: Control, You Can Be Mine, Principle of Pleasure

8.5/10

Skylarking is the ninth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 27 October 1986 on Virgin Records. Produced by American musician Todd Rundgren, it is a loose concept album about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the seasons, or a life. The title refers to a type of bird (skylark), as well as the Royal Navy term "skylarking", which means "fooling around". It became one of XTC's best-known albums and is generally regarded as their finest work. - Wikipedia

Andy Partridge’s ability to write a tune is evident from the opening Summer Cauldron (a song about a baby in the womb about to enter the world) and Grass (a song about ‘fumbling’ about on some grass). Recording was plagued with tension between Partridge and producer Todd Rundgren, the former apparently saying he wanted to embed an axe in the latter’s head at one point. The tension is somewhat audible, with the band and Partridge’s vocal sounding quite distant from each other. It’s that detached sound that gives the album a very unique feel though. A lot of these tracks would be a little kitschy (I’m looking at you That’s Really Super, Supergirl) if it weren’t for Rundgren’s grey production adding some darkness to Partridge’s ice-lolly coloured melodies, though the curveball lyrics help too. If you want a nerdier take on 80s pop, then you can’t go wrong with Skylarking.

Song Picks: Summer’s Cauldron, Season Cycle, That’s Really Super, Supergirl

8.5/10

9. Tinderbox

**Siouxsie & the Banshees**

Tinderbox is the seventh studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released on 21 April 1986 by Wonderland and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and by Geffen Records in the United States. It was the band's first full-length effort recorded with then-new guitarist John Valentine Carruthers; Carruthers had previously only added a few parts on the 1984 EP The Thorn. The first recording sessions for the album took place at Hansa by the Wall in Berlin in May 1985. - Wikipedia

As with 1981’s Juju, which I loved, Siouxsie Sioux’s vocals are in a class of their own, while the fact the guitars have stepped back a little bit gives the whole thing a slightly more ethereal feel. Tinderbox is one of those albums that is hard to get a grapple of, with the single Cities in Dust (about Pompeii) providing one of the album’s firmer emotional handholds with its great chorus. Tinderbox is the perfect mix of intrigue and accessibility.

Song Picks: Cities in Dust

9/10

Master of Puppets is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Denmark at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it was the band's last album to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident in Sweden during the album's promotional tour. - Wikipedia

Widely regarded as one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time, it incrementally improves on Ride the Lightning in pretty much every way, and that was already a very good album. The riffs are punchier, the whole thing feels more cohesive, and while Ride the Lightning felt more cerebral than visceral, Master of Puppets, although still leaning towards the former, hits a lot harder in terms of its production and riffs than its predecessor. Anyway, enough comparing, Master of Puppets is a truly great album in a genre that I have to confess to knowing little about. Hetfield’s vocals don’t have much range, but they do manage to add weight to the already heavy riffs here, and when he does crack out a more melodic part - such as on the excellent title track - it hits.

I’ve been a critic of Lars Ulrich over the years, largely because when I saw the band at Rock Im Park in Germany many years ago he was consistently well ahead of the beat, and even on these cleaner recordings he seems in a bigger rush than the rest of the band to me, denying the tracks some of the percussive power a more ‘relaxed’ drummer might have given them, which is a shame.

Nevertheless, Master of Puppets is marvellous. I find people are often too quick to call something heavy, but this absolutely qualifies. It sounds like a massive meteorite hurtling through Earth’s atmosphere.

Song Picks: Master of Puppets, The Thing That Should Not Be, Damage Inc

9/10

Reign in Blood is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on October 7, 1986, by Def Jam Recordings. The album was the band's first collaboration with producer Rick Rubin, whose input helped the band's sound evolve. The release date of the album was delayed because of concerns regarding the lyrical subject matter of the opening track "Angel of Death", which refers to Josef Mengele and describes acts such as human experimentation that he committed at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The band's members stated that they did not condone Nazism and were merely interested in the subject. - Wikipedia

Rick Rubin is now synonymous with the loudness wars, but his production here is perfect. Reign In Blood hits harder than Metallica’s Master of Puppets, and that’s going somewhere. This is real thrash metal, no-nonsense melodic acoustic breakdowns here, just pedal-to-the-metal blistering riffs, powerhouse drumming and Araya’s vocals roaring like an angry lion. I kid of course, melodic breakdowns are fine. Reign In Blood though wants nothing to do with them and thinks they’re a bootless errand. Reign In Blood is clearly keen not to waste your time, hence why it is only 28 minutes long, and not a second is wasted.

Song Picks: Altar of Sacrifice, Jesus Saves, Postmortem

9/10

The Colour of Spring is the third studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in February 1986. Musically, The Colour of Spring was a major step away from the synthesised pop of early Talk Talk, with a greater focus on guitars, pianos, and organs on such songs as "Life's What You Make It", "Living in Another World" and "Give It Up". It had a sound described by the band as much more organic than their earlier records, with the improvisation that was to dominate on their later works already apparent in the recording process. - Wikipedia

Is there a more sumptuous piece of 80s production than the opening Happiness is Easy? I think not. Webb’s bass groove, the variaphone and Hollis’ vocals all blend together to create something that is like audible honey. Hell, this whole thing is some gorgeous, sophisticated desert, like a fine tiramisu. Everything is tastefully done, and has had a lot of thought, but it at no point feels sterile. The Colour of Spring is one of those albums I’d not heard of at all that I’m really happy this challenge has introduced me to.

Song Picks: Happiness is Easy, I Don’t Believe in You, Life is What You Make It, Time it’s Time

9/10

Tango: Zero Hour (Nuevo Tango: Hora Zero in Spanish) is an album by Ástor Piazzolla and his Quinteto Nuevo Tango (in English: New Tango Quintet, often loosely referred to as his second quintet). It was released in September 1986 on American Clavé, and re-released on Pangaea Records in 1988. - Wikipedia

Piazzolla considered this his greatest album, and it appropriately marks zero hour for my adventure into any sort of tango music. Zero Hour is glorious, it rings with an energy and intricacy that never loses its feeling of rawness. I’d like to say it sounds like a dusty Spanish town on a hot day, where people have their windows open talking to each other across the street, but that would be incorrect. Zero Hour sounds like a couple dancing as that street interchangeably loudly and quietly collapses around them, until there’s nothing left but them in a desert of dust and rubble. If that sounds dramatic, just wait until you’ve heard this hauntingly beautiful record.

Song Pick: Concierto Para Quinteto

9/10

So is the fifth studio album by English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, released on 19 May 1986 by Charisma Records. After working on the soundtrack to the film Birdy (1984), producer Daniel Lanois was invited to remain at Gabriel's Somerset home during 1985 to work on his next solo project. Initial sessions for So consisted of Gabriel, Lanois and guitarist David Rhodes, although these grew to include a number of percussionists. Often considered his best and most accessible album, So was an immediate commercial success and transformed Gabriel from a cult artist into a mainstream star, becoming his best-selling solo release. - Wikipedia

So opens with Red Rain, a typically epic and 80s sounding Gabriel track, and one of my favourites. Though I think the live version from Secret World Live is superior to the version here, largely because I prefer Manu Katche’s drumming on the live track to the drumming here, it’s still a really powerful way to open the album. The album continues in a pretty forceful vein: gated drums, synths, and an exaggerated sense of drama helping bring a really 80s feel to the record. Sledgehammer is one of Gabriel’s most famous songs, and it brilliantly demonstrates his nous for huge sounding production (with backing choirs and a synthesised shakuhachi flute in this case) and playful melodies. Kate Bush features on the angelic Don’t Give Up, and excels in production perhaps a little less experimental than that on her own songs. In Your Eyes, ‘inspired by an African tradition of ambiguity in song between romantic love and love of God’ according to Gabriel, received a new lease of life when it played a prominent role in a scene in Say Anything…, starring John Cusack, is another one of the album’s famous tracks. A perfect love song that escapes its rather cheesy lyrical theme through yet more monumental production (this time including a clear African influence, including a great part in Wolof by Youssou N'Dour) and melodies to die for.

So is another 80s classic, from the man who had a knack for distilling the musical ideas of the decade (at least in pop) into songs that were catchy, huge, and interesting. Some say the album leans too much into the time, and feels dated now. I disagree, it’s a product of the 80s, and it wears that on its sleeve like a badge of honour.

Song Picks: In Your Eyes, Red Rain, Sledgehammer, Don’t Give Up, That Voice Again

9/10

EVOL is the third full-length studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Released in May 1986, EVOL was Sonic Youth’s first album on SST Records, and also the first album to feature then-new drummer Steve Shelley who had just replaced Bob Bert. In retrospective reviews, critics cite EVOL as marking Sonic Youth’s transition from their no wave roots toward a greater pop sensibility, while bassist Kim Gordon has referred to it as the band’s “goth record.” - Wikipedia

The first in what will be plenty of Sonic Youth albums appearing on these lists in the upcoming years is a paranoid and dark album of guitar chord drones and vocals that sound resigned to the ether. On Shadow of a Doubt Gordon whispers hauntingly over the plucked guitar part, before the other vocalists back her ever more paranoid screams during the chorus (if you can call it that). The fact the band has three distinct vocalists (bassist Kim Gordon and guitarists Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore) adds to the album’s anarchy. EVOL can be a challenging listen, particularly for those prone to anxiety among us. There’s a deep unease to a lot of the guitar work, Starpower features a superb riff that is both unsettling and enjoyable, while In the Kingdom #19 switches between a head-bopping riff and what sounds like an air raid (reminiscent of Hendrix’s version of the Star Spangled Banner) in a way that only Sonic Youth could make work. On Death to our Friends the guitar sounds so dissonant it’s as if it’s been found in an attic and never tuned.

EVOL is a dark chaos which has begun transforming itself into something resembling songs. It’s a masterful subversion of established genres to create something that sounds so punk, that you can’t call it punk at all.

Song Picks: Starpower; Shadow of a Doubt; Secret Girl; Madonna, Sean and Me

9/10

The Queen Is Dead is the third studio album by English rock band the Smiths. Released on 16 June 1986 in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records, and on 23 June 1986 in the US by Sire Records, it spent 22 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number two. It also peaked at number 70 on the US Billboard 200, and was certified Gold by the RIAA in late 1990.

In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked The Queen Is Dead 113th on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In its 2013 list, the NME named The Queen Is Dead the greatest album of all time. - Wikipedia

I had a feeling as I listened to other albums by the Smiths that this one would end up being my favourite, and it is. The Queen is Dead does away with some of the consistency issues of previous albums (though I very much like them all) and is packed front to back with everything that makes the Smiths great. Johnny Marr’s riffs power things along at pace, and occasionally even add a dramatic sense of urgency to things, such as on the opening title track’s second half. Morrissey is at his melodic best, I’ve talked about his style being almost operatic, and here its singularity is coupled with memorable melody after memorable melody. The album also contains some of his best lyrics, ‘I’ve got the 21st century breathing down my neck’ being just one example of the many great lines on this record. Love him or hate him, these are some of the most memorable vocal performances of the 80s.

The drums and bass are on point too, aided by the album’s sleek production, no doubt as much the work of Stephen Street (who produced Meat is Murder) at the mixing desk, as it was that of Marr and Morrissey who are credited as producers here.

The Queen is Dead is one of the 80s’ best bands at their absolute peak, and its effect on all ‘indie’ music since can’t be understated, something made evident by the fact that the NME - who typically loves that genre - named it the best album of all time in 2013.

Song Picks: The Queen is Dead, There is a Light That Never Goes Out, Bigmouth Strikes Again

9.5/10

Graceland is the seventh solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was produced by Simon, engineered by Roy Halee and released on August 25, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records. In the early 1980s, Simon's relationship with his former musical partner Art Garfunkel had deteriorated, his marriage to actress Carrie Fisher had collapsed, and his previous record, Hearts and Bones (1983), had been a commercial failure. In 1984, after a period of depression, Simon became fascinated by a bootleg cassette of mbaqanga, South African street music. He and Halee visited Johannesburg, where they spent two weeks recording with South African musicians. Further recordings were held in the United States, with guest musicians including Linda Ronstadt, the Everly Brothers, Louisiana band Good Rockin' Dopsie and the Twisters, and Los Angeles band Los Lobos. - Wikipedia

Objective reviews don’t exist - particularly not when I’m writing them - but this is an album that it’s particularly hard for me to look at with any distance. If I had to name one album that was the biggest part of my childhood, it’d be Graceland. My Mum had the tape, and I remember listening to it repeatedly on our drive to and from school every day in our old Volvo. It’s an album I know every word to, every nuance, and where the end of one song immediately means the intro to the next starts playing in my head. It’s been a factor of so much of my life that it doesn’t take me back to any specific part of it, but instead feels like the musical equivalent of the teddy bear I was given at birth. That guy still sits on my sofa by the way.

The idea of blending western music with South-African music sounds like some sort of gimmick, but Simon and his multiple collaborators here absolutely pull it off. This is a glorious blending of musical styles, one that soaks up another culture, rather than tokenises it, a beautiful testament to the artistry in diversity. It’s the musical equivalent of living in another country and adopting its culture rather than taking a tour bus, looking at the highlights, and returning with a head full of stereotypes. Throw into the mix fact that this is some of Simon’s best lyrical and melodic work since Simon & Garfunkel, delivered with a cadence like honey, and you get an album that is just a pure, effervescent joy. I don’t think an album has to be perfect to get a 10, but Graceland is.

P.S I think the title track is one of the most finely crafted songs of all time.

And she said, "losing love
Is like a window in your heart
Everybody sees you're blown apart
Everybody sees the wind blow"

Song Picks: Graceland, I Know What I Know, Gumboots, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, You Can Call Me Al,

10/10

1984 - Clive's Top Albums of Every Year Challenge

May 09, 2022 by Clive in Clive's Album Challenge, Music

So, we’re into 1984, the year forever immortalised by the name of George Orwell’s novel (published in 1949). Also the year that Joe W. Kittinger made the first solo transatlantic balloon flight, Apple released their Macintosh personal computer and Bishop Desomnd Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Musically, here’s the top 5 albums of the year as rated by rateyourmusic.com’s users

#1 Metallica - Ride the Lightning
#2 Prince - Purple Rain
#3 The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow
#4 Iron Maiden - Powerslave
#5 Cocteau Twins - Treasure

I’ll be grabbing a few more from further down the list, namely:

#6 Staatsorchester Stuttgart - Tabula Rasa
#8 Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
#9 The Replacements - Let It Be
#10 Husker Du - Zen Arcade
#13 The Smiths - The Smiths
#20 R.E.M - Reckoning

Finally, as usual, to add more female artists to the equation, I’ll be taking the below from NPR’s list of the best albums of all time by female artists, as well as the same list as voted on by their readers.

Tina Tuner - Private Dancer
Sade - Diamond Life
The Pretenders - Learning to Crawl

Having said I’d try to have a few less per year so that I can actually finish this challenge at some point in my life, I’ve gone and picked 14 albums to review - which I think is tied with the most I’ve ever looked at for any particular year - because I’m an idiot. Anyway, let’s see which of these 14 emerges victorious.

Iron Maiden’s 5th album was their first album to be recorded with the same line-up as the previous. That’s your stat for the week. It was ranked 34th in Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 best metal albums of all time.

I feel like Iron Maiden are the one band that keep appearing in these top 5s that I’ve still not massively got into. Has Powerslave changed that? Not exactly. Again, I can very much appreciate the great riffs and rapid solos all on display in the album’s opener Aces High and beyond, but I still can’t get into that 70s high pitch hard-rock vocal sound from Bruce Dickinson. I don’t love their Dungeons and Dragons lyrics either, but if I just chill out and try to listen without these prejudices, you know what? I end up having a good time. It’s hard not to be swept away by the barnstorming instrumental section (even if the mix is a little thin) and some internal headbanging definitely occurred. it does have to be said that Powerslave is infectiously riff-tacular, I was literally saying ‘oooo that’s a great riff’ at the start of every track.

Song Picks: 2 Minutes to Midnight, Losfer Words

7/10

The second studio album by the American punk rock band was originally released as a double album on two vinyl LPs. It tells the story of a young boy who runs away from an unfulfilling home life, only to find the world outside is worse. It’s widely regarded as one of the most influential albums in alternative rock, as the band moved away from their more hardcore roots to create some slower, and even acoustic songs.

I have to confess to not following the album’s narrative in particular, which the somewhat muffled vocal mix doesn’t help with, and I do think the album - at 70 minutes - is a bit long for my tastes in this genre, but I have to say it’s a really inventive album. It stretches what can be a slightly repetitive genre (whoa calm down there, I love punk as much as the next guy) in enough directions to make 70 minutes just about work, and that’s impressive in itself.

Song Picks: Never Talking to You Again, Reoccuring Dreams,

7.5/10

The English rock band’s debut was re-recorded between tour dates by John Porter, after Troy Tate’s initial production was deemed inadequate. The album peaked at number 2 in the UK, where it helped the band become a key member of the decade’s music scene, but it also had significant international success.

Morrissey, despite the insufferable man he’s become recently, is undoubtedly one of the most unique vocalists of not only the 80s, but ever. His faux-operatic whines slide from note to note like the vocal version of a lap steel guitar, a perfect sound of dejection. But he was far from the only great thing about the Smiths, as this collection of songs demonstrates. Johnny Marr’s guitar playing is jangly, pacey and percussive, while the rhythm section helps to provide the instrumental momentum that makes tracks like This Charming Man as effective as they are.

There were better, more consistent albums to come from the Smiths (one of which is on this list), and a few of the songs are a bit meandering and lacking in the engaging melodies that we know Morrissey is capable of. Their debut did make it very clear just how unique they were though, and that’s enough to make it very much worth a listen. Also it has This Charming Man on it, quite probably one of the best jangly pop songs ever written.

Song Picks: This Charming Man, What Difference Does It Make, Still Ill

7.5/10

Sade Adu began back-up singing for Pride following her work in modelling. She later formed Sade with 3 other members of Pride. Diamond Life was the best selling debut album by a female British vocalist for the next 24 years.

Diamond Life doesn’t just start with Smooth Operator, it is a smooth operator. With a chilled funky backing featuring prominent bass lines, simple and relaxed drums and frequent brass flourishes, the album sounds like some slightly jazzy silk. Sade’s vocals are full, soulful, and yet rather cold and detached, helping add to the synthetic 80s atmosphere, and giving proceedings a very sophisticated feel. It’s easy listening, but also interesting and progressive; that guy in a tuxedo on the dancefloor at the wedding with understated moves that he’s clearly put a lot of thought into.

Song Picks: Smooth Operator, Frankie’s First Affair

8/10

Metallica’s second album sees them tackling more complex arrangements and instrumental parts than their bullish debut Kill ‘Em All. This was largely influenced by bassist Bill Clifton teaching the band music theory, something that led to a more deliberate style of songwriting.

Ride the Lightning almost sounds like prog-rock at points, with major key acoustic guitar parts thrown in, you half expect them to start singing about to start singing about elves and trolls. Fade to Black is a good example of this but, of course, there’s no sign of elves and instead Hetfield sings about suicide. I generally prefer Hetfield’s almost hollow vocal to that of other metal bands of the time (e.g. Iron Maiden). He’s dramatic in a more believable way somehow, and his growls on For Whom the Bell Tolls give the track the gravity its topic - corporal punishment - merits.

Ride the Lightning’s riffs dodge and weave, they’re unpredictable and yet brutal. The album is as sophisticated as it is angry and heavy. This makes it a bit less visceral, but more cerebral, and that was to have a huge influence on the metal to come.

Song Picks: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Fight Fire With Fire

8.5/10

The Scottish band’s third album cemented both their line-up and sound going forward, their ‘signature ethereality’ as Pitchfork puts it. Interestingly, producer and bassist Simon Raymonde hated the album, claiming it to be their “worst album by a mile”.

Treasure is soaked in reverb, so much so that the fact that Elizabeth Fraser is singing an entirely made up language isn’t immediately obvious, and doesn’t seem remotely out of place. It feels like the kind of album the elves in Lord of the Rings would make if they happened upon an electric guitar, twin reverb amp and a drum machine in the forest. With Treasure, only Fraser will know if there’s any meaning behind her glossolalia, and it matters not whether there is. In some ways that lack of any literal meaning takes the pressure off and lets you sink comfortably into Treasure’s lush, washed out soundscapes, with Fraser’s melodies lulling you along.

Song Picks: Lorelei, Cicely, Donimo

9/10

R.E.M’s second album was recorded over 16 days, with producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon intending to capture the band’s live sound, binaural recordings were used to help achieve this.

Many of Stipe’s takes were too quiet and needed re-doing as he was so worn out from the 1983 tour. The end result is perhaps even mumblier than his work on the band’s debut, but the cleaner production means that overall, they’re a little more discernible. The lyrics are no easier to understand though and the album is another great example of why Stipe is one of my favourite lyricists. He has an ability to be completely evocative while remaining mysterious which, along with his singular vocal style, make him such a noteworthy songwriter.

Melodically, the vocals are as mesmerising as always. The coupling of the band’s bass-led and often up-tempo sound combined with Stipe’s long, thick and wavering notes continues to create one of the most unique combinations in music.

Song Picks: Harborcoat, 7 Chinese Bros, So, Central Rain, (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville

9/10

7. Tabula Rasa (Arvo Pärt)

Gidon Kramer, Keith Jarrett Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra

Tabula Rasa is a musical composition written in 1977 by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. The piece contains two movements, "Ludus" and "Silentium," and is a double concerto for two solo violins, piano, and chamber orchestra. A recording of the composition was first released in 1984 by ECM records and features violinist Gidon Kremer, pianist Keith Jarrett and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra among others.

Tabula Rasa is often sparse, with the focus regularly being on one melody at a time, whether it be the crying violin in Fratres - a piece of beautiful melancholic, wistful warmth - or the choral Celli in For 12 Celli. The first three pieces are fairly tranquil, if at times quite haunting, but things get much more frantic and intense in the penultimate piece, I. Ludus, before II. SIlencio, calmly takes us home on the musical version of a floating candle through the remnants of a battlefield.

Tabula Rasa is another classical classic, if you pardon my expression.

9/10

The Pretenders’ second album was recorded with a new guitarist and bassist after original members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon both died of drug overdoses.

Learning to Crawl is a pretty straight rock ‘n’ roll album. New guitarist Robbie McIntosh is less edgy than his predecessor, and his soloing very much recalls early rock ‘n’ rollers such as Chuck Berry in a way that would be cheesy if it weren’t so fun. I wasn’t expecting to love this album as much as I do, but it is a completely unpretentious, delightfully fun 40 minutes. Alongside McIntosh’s playful solos we have a rock solid rhythm section so comfortingly on it that at times it feels like you’re being physically hugged by the 4/4 time signature. Chrissie Hynde’s songwriting ability is on display from start to finish, and her vocals have a lovely warmth to them that fits perfectly with the band’s palette. Nowhere is this more perfectly on display than on the album’s iconic closing track, 2000 Miles, a song written for Honeyman-Scott after his death, and one that has now become on of the country’s most beloved Christmas songs. I think it’s one of the best songs ever recorded.

Song Picks: Watching the Clothes, Back on the Chain Gang, 2000 Miles

9/10

This compilation released by Rough Trade Records features various John Peel Session recordings for BBC Radio 1 and two singles and their respective B-sides. It came 44th on Q’s list of the 100 best British albums, and was successful in the UK album charts much like their debut.

There’s some crossover here from their debut album The Smiths, and Hatful of Hollow doesn’t always include the best version. The version of This Charming Man here for example isn’t quite as energetic as the studio recorded version, and I also prefer the studio version of Still Ill, though this one is still very good. Where Hatful of Hollow shines is in the sheer number of great songs it crams on, and it’s overall more cohesive feel despite it being a compilation album. The Peel sessions have a surprisingly upbeat feel, I think because of the generally less effects-driven sound produced at the Radio 1 studio combined with slightly less focus on the vocals, and perhaps just the live feel in general.

Marr’s guitar work is fantastic throughout, generally providing a lively backing to Morrissey’s howls, which have better melodies here than on the band’s debut. On Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, a song that despite it’s lyrical content ends up feeling defiantly bright and hopeful, the guitar skitters away like a jolly grasshopper. On the masterful Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want it strums wistfully as if it’s holding your hand - Marr’s rare solo being one of the finest ways any album has ever ended. On Back to the Old House it gets fingerpicked in a way that almost makes it feel Latin. On every song it’s perfect and backed by such solid drums and bass that it’s easy to forget you’re listening to mainly live performances. Morrissey’s vocals are as distinctive as always, and it’s here where he really starts to show his melodic prowess, particularly on the album’s penultimate track Reel Around the Fountain.

Hatful of Hollow is a wonderful document of a singular band. It has a raw quality to it that makes it a great addition to their studio albums. It feels like someone spotted the band on tour and asked them to record a few songs at a studio on their way to their next venue, a moment in time forever captured in a bottle.

Song Picks: Accept Yourself; Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want; What Difference Does It Make?; Reel Around The Bus

9/10

Turner’s fifth album is the one that put her on the map as a solo artist, and is still her best selling record to this day.

Private Dancer plays like a defiant roar as she emerges from the ashes of her abusive relationship with Ike Turner, which ended in 1978. The opener I Might Have Been Queen is a perfect showcase of the way she belt out notes with tremendous power, the chorus playing like a glorious self-affirmation.

Private Dancer also features Tina Turner classics What’s Love Got to Do With It and Let’s Stay Together, showcasing Turner’s melodic aplomb at the softer end of the spectrum as well as when growling at the top of her voice. Production-wise the album is very 80s, with gated snares and synths aplenty, but it serves up some completely engrossing soundscapes. Can’t Stand the Rain is one of my favourite examples, creating a musical equivalent of a neon tinged city being drenched with rain, as Tina waltzes through it, screaming her heart out to the tune of everyone’s broken dreams.

Song Picks: I Might Have Been Queen, What’s Love Got to Do with It, I Can’t Stand the Rain, Let’s Stay Together, Better Be Good to Me

9/10

3. Double Nickels on the Dime

Minutemen

Minutemen’s third album contains 45 songs, most likely the highest song count for any album I’ve reviewed on this challenge. The vast majority of these songs are only between one and two minutes long though, but that still brings the total running length to an epic 81 minutes. The album, like Hüsker Dü’s Zen Arcade, was released on two vinyls and the three band members chose the songs for one side each, with the remaining songs going on the the album’s fourth side, self deprecatingly named ‘chaff’.

By far my favourite of the year’s two punk rock epics, Double Nickels on the Dime is never punk of the really heavy variety. Sure there’s distorted guitars and the odd shout, but generally things are more rock ‘n’ roll inspired than punk I’d say, with Mike Watt’s snakelike basslines weaving perfectly in and out of George Hurley’s drums (which have a punchy sound that is to die for). D. Boon’s vocals are sometimes spoken word, generally slightly off key, and in many ways unremarkable, but they just fit. His guitarwork is superbly diverse, from one song to the next he can completely change the atmosphere (My Heart and the Real World into History Lesson Part 2 being a prime example) and his riffs and noodling sound as loose and unshackled as his lyrics, which cover all sorts of ground.

To call this album punk is selling it short in some ways, there’s just as much jazz, funk, country and rock as there is punk. And yet there’s no better word for it, it typifies punk’s disregard for boundaries or rules - the idea it has a sound is kind of daft - and beams with the energy of a band who just played whatever they felt like in the moment.

Double Nickels on the Dime is like walking down into a basement bar and inadvertently going to what ends up being one of your favourite gigs, not necessarily for any profound reason, but simply because you found a bunch of blokes you could relate to, having the time of their lives.

9.5/10

Now and again in this challenge - as with all the Dylan albums in the 60s - we come to an album that was already very much established as a favourite before I started this whole thing. Let It Be is one of those. While studying music production and sound engineering at Islington Music Workshop in London I made friends with the Replacement’s biggest fan, Matt Rider, now lead singer of Paper Mill. I rather quickly fell in love with the band too, loving Westerberg’s grainy vocals, the band’s energy, and their raw and punchy DIY sound. Westerberg is still one of my favourite punk songwriters.

Let It Be is the band’s third album. It was the first album that didn’t see the band playing at hell-for-leather speeds constantly. Let It Be is generally ranked among the best albums of the 80s, and was ranked as number 241 in Rolling Stone’s all time top 500.

"Playing that kind of noisy, fake hardcore rock was getting us nowhere, and it wasn't a lot of fun. This was the first time I had songs that we arranged, rather than just banging out riffs and giving them titles." lead singer Westerberg says of the album, and indeed it shows; the song structures, instrumental arrangements, and lyrics are clearly more thought out here. Let It Be is probably the least predictable punk album I’ve ever heard, things change up regularly not only from song to song (Tommy Got His Tonsils Out to Androgynous), but within the songs themselves. We’re Coming Out comes out of the gates like the messy, fast-paced rumble the band had been known for but unexpectedly turns into a low-key, sparse jam before its frantic ending, Seen Your Video spends two and a half minutes as an instrumental before Westerberg comes in with his characteristic melodic shouts.

Let It Be is crammed with musical ideas, it’s a band at the peak of their playfulness, led by Westerberg’s songwriting, which more than once goes into masterpiece territory. Androgynous is one of the finest celebrations of gender non-conformity ever written, Westerberg’s melodies croaking perfectly over the top of his bouncy piano playing and Unsatisfied would easily make it onto a CD of my very favourite songs. It’s the perfect cry into the ether of ennui and despair. As Westerberg himself puts it:

“It was just the feeling that we’re never going anywhere and the music we’re playing is not the music I feel and I don’t know what to do and I don’t know how to express myself. I felt that one to the absolute bone when I did it.”

That opening guitar riff, Stinsons’ elaborate sparkles, the snare slam that announces the band’s arrival, the slightly off-kilter drums, the messy mix, and most of all Westerberg’s superlative vocal performance that resonates to his very bone (as he himself says above), Unsatisified is perfect, and Let It Be is one of punk’s greatest achievements.

Song Picks: Unsatisfied, Androgynous, Answering Machine, Favorite Thing, Sixteen Blue

9.5/10

Prince’s sixth album needs no introduction, but I’m going to introduce it anyway. Purple Rain is the soundtrack to a film of the same name (I did not know this), starring Prince in the lead role. It’s rarely absent from the upper echelons of any best albums of all time list, and very much cemented Prince’s status as a pop legend.

First and foremost, Purple Rain is an absolute joy to listen to. Upbeat energetic tracks like the bombastic Let’s Go Crazy and grooving Take Me With U are impossible to have on without bopping - at least for me. The Beautiful Ones nails an atmosphere and delicate vocal style (until the screeched ending) that have been copied many times since, and rarely anywhere close to as effectively. Prince’s superlative guitar skills are evident throughout, not only his unbelievably fast lines on Computer Blue and that solo on the title track, but also in his general ability to create riffs that could be described as anything from groovy (on Let’s Go Crazy) to cataclysmic (on Darling Nikki).

When Doves Cry is notable for its lack of the bass guitar, an inspired decision which makes those drums pound all the harder. Prince’s melodies are superb as always, and it’s just a perfectly constructed song. Everything has its place, from the piano part chorus to the synth that enters half way through the song, to Prince’s stuttering solo that fires the track into rock and roll fame. The whole album sounds very much like the picture adorning its cover, featuring an impressively overdressed Prince standing astride a vibrant purple motorbike in a world that has learnt to cover up its own griminess with neon lights.

Of course the album’s most famous song is the title track, an eight minute and 40 second masterpiece featuring one of the most famous choruses of all time, as Prince anthemically repeats the song’s title - blares of instruments entering on his second repetition - you feel like you’re listening to more than music, but Prince’s very soul. The guitar solo tugs at the heart-strings more than any other I can think of, while the high choral vocals that provide the foundation for the track’s bombastic finale sound like the heavens themselves have opened to bless you. Indeed they have, and they’ve given you Purple Rain.

Song Picks: Purple Rain, Let’s Go Crazy, Computer Blue

10/10

1982 - Clive's Top Albums of Every Year Challenge

December 09, 2021 by Clive in Clive's Album Challenge, Music

It’s time to musically tackle 1982, the year the space shuttle Columbia made its first mission, Steven Spielberg’s E.T. and the Commodore 64 was released, the Falklands War happened, and Ingrid Bergman died.

We’re here for the music though right? Well, here’s what rateyourmusic.com’s users rate as their top 5 albums of 1982:

#1 The Cure - Pornography
#2 Kate Bush - The Dreaming
#3 Michael Jackson - Thriller
#4 Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
#5 Dead Kennedys - Plastic Surgery Disasters

I’m also grabbing this lot from further down the list:

#6 Glenn Gould - The Goldberg Variations
#9 Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
#13 The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
#18 Hiroshi Yoshimura - Wave Notation 1: Music for Nine Post Cards

And we’ve also got an extra album from NPR’s best albums by female artists list (Kate Bush’s Dreaming is also on that list, but we already have it above):

Laurie Anderson - Big Science (#80 in NPR’s 150 Best Albums Made by Women)

10 albums, let’s go.

10. The Number of the Beast

Iron Maiden

The English heavy metal outfit’s third album was their last with drummer Clive Burr and first with vocalist Bruce Dickinson.

At this point it’s all a bit of a blur, but I assume I’ve talked about how I’m not a massive fan of the kind of howly, heavy rock that Iron Maiden are famous for, and I’m definitely not a fan of their cover art, this one being partricularly bad. That said, I’ve enjoyed my listens of The Number of the Beast with tracks like Children of the Damned being thoroughly daft and enjoyable. There’s no doubt that Dave Murray knows how to write powerful guitar riffs and ripping solos (see The Prisoner) and that Dickinson’s howled vocals add the required drama to proceedings, it just hasn’t got me past my prejudice towards the genre - something others have managed more effectively.

Song Picks: Children of the Damned

6/10

9. Plastic Surgery Disasters

Dead Kennedys

The Dead Kennedy's second album is lead singer Jello Biafra's favourite and sees them expand further into the high speed hardcore chaos that made Holiday in Cambodia such a great track.

East Bay Ray's guitar riffs are so frantic one imagines his left hand must be a blur while he's playing them, while Biafra’s vocals give off the vibe of someone imminently about to fall off a cliff frantically blurting out as much as they can before they do. Lyrically it’s a mix of political and social commentary, with Biafra’s battling against social norms being as present as ever.

You could certainly critiscise Plastic Surgery Disasters for being samey, and the songs do seem to blend into one a bit, but if you’re after fast songs ranting about a whole range of topics in a relentlessly energetic manner, look no further.

Song Pick: Government Flu

7/10

Kate Bush’s fourth album is often considered her most experimental, and it’s easy to see why. The poppy melodies of her other releases haven’t disappeared entirely, but they are much less frequent and replaced with a playful creativity.

The Dreaming’s tracks feature Kate Bush duetting with herself regularly, in fact - as on the superb Suspended in Gaffa - she’s often singing in four or more distinct styles. Combined with the rhythmic and often staccato instrumentation this creates a really unique sound, and one that I’d struggle to find anything comparable to even today. Bush has herself called the album ‘mad’, and indeed it is. There’s a feeling of freedom to the way the compositions skitter from melody to melody, instrument to instrument and section to section, in a way that is largely unpredictable and unvonventional.

I’m in no doubt that many will find this album a bit too challenging, it’s not as immediately gripping as 1978’s The Kick Inside for example, and there’s not all that much to latch onto or even remember particularly, but to those who give it time this is a really rewarding album that you’re unlikely ever to get bored of.

The Dreaming cements Kate Bush as not only someone who can write great songs - we already knew that from previous entries to these lists - but someone who is completely unafraid to be herself. Bush was already pretty singular before The Dreaming, with its release she became one of the most remarkable artists to grace our airwaves.

Song Picks: Suspended in Gaffa, Sat in Your Lap

8.5/10

The Fall’s fourth album is described by the lead singer, Mark E. Smith, as a satirical stand against "bland bastards like Elvis Costello and Spandau Ballet ... [and] all that shit", and features his standard abrasive vocal style and lyrics rooted in ‘kitchen sink realism’, a movement from the 50s and 60s in the arts that saw protagonists disollusioned with life and living in cramped working-class conditions, portraying a harsh and more realistic style than the art that had come before it. The album was mainly recorded in a disused cinema in Hertfordshire.

The album starts with the fantastically brash The Classical, which unfortunately drops the ‘N’ word within the first few lines, something that was not uncommon at the time. Mark E. Smith has claimed he’s singing as if it’s not him saying it - believable considering his lyrics are often built up of random outbursts coming from seemingly different people - but it’s still problematic as is explored in much more depth than I have room to here. That aside though, the song demonstrates the band’s ability to create an infectiously ramshackle sound - with the melody often coming from the guitars rather than Smith’s vocals, which snarl and grate in a way that’s so brash you can’t help but love them.

Jawbone and the Air-Rifle is another superb track with a guitar riff that you can imagine people bouncing around to aggressively in 80s clubs, Smith’s vocals carry more of a melody this time, something he’s more than capable of doing, while still never loosing that razor sharp edge he has. The track feels entirely unconventional, while also remaining very accessible. It sounds like a band playing in a room far too small for them, so the drums pound over everything else, while the guitars bounce off the grime on the walls and Smith has to thin his voice to make himself heard. It’s a rough, perfectly British mess that’s punker than punk itself. Hex Induction Hour’s remaining tracks are probably less memorable, and certainly less dance-able and infectious, but they’re still the musical equivalent of showing your teeth to the system.

Song Picks: The Classical, Jawbone and the Air-Rifle

8.5/10

The English band’s fourth album wasn’t well received critically, though it was their most succesfull up to that point commercially. It has since garnered plenty of critical acclaim, and is seen as an important album in the development of gothic rock. It was their final album with Simon Gallup, whose departure meant that all of the band’s following albums had a poppier, and lighter feel. This one is very dark though, and was written and recorded during what songwriter and vocalist Rober Smith called “an extremely stressful and self-destructive period”.

The Cure have always been the masters of atmosphere and it doesn’t take long to realise this album is no different, with the opening One Hundred Years’ guitar part sounding positively massive, with so much reverb put on it that you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve fallen into a cave, “One and one we die one after the other” Smith sings as the guitar echoes this with suitably doomed notes. The Hanging Garden is a great example of the uptempo but downbeat thing that The Cure do so well, as the song chugs along at a fair clip while Smith sings lines like “Fall, fall, fall, fall out of the sky / Cover my face as the animals die” in a manner that suggests he’s had enough. But it’s not all doom and gloom… no, actually it is, every minute of Pornography is unapologetically devoid of hope. It’s a dip into the mind of someone at their lowest point, and yet in all the gloom and sadness, Smith’s melodies still fly. On the title track which closes the album, Smith is practically screaming as the drums march ominously on one side and a doom synth plays like a church organ signifying the end of time in the other, then it all cuts to black. Smith has cited this as the album that turned things around for him personally, and I see that cut at the end as the moment he’s got so low, that the only way is up, a flicker of hope that ignites a fire.

Song Picks: The Hanging Garden, One Hundred Years, Siamese Twins

9/10

Laurie Anderson’s debut is comprised of a selection of highlights from her eight-hour production United States Live - a performance piece in which music was only one element.

Big Science is avant-garde and hard to define. It’s electronic, but more concerned with soundscapes to back Anderson’s spoken word vocals than songs in the traditional sense. Having said that there are still melodies and hooks in there, often provided by other vocalists, as on the eerie title track, which brilliantly conveys the expansion of humankind in the following verse. Here Anderson cleverly turns direction giving on its head, referencing buildings that will be built rather than ones that are/were there:

Well just take a right where they're going to build that new shopping mall
Go straight past where they're going to put in the freeway
Take a left at what's going to be the new sports center
And keep going until you hit the place where
They're thinking of building that drive-in bank

O Superman, which became a surprise hit in the UK after John Peel championed it, is the album’s centrepiece and - in my opinion - masterpiece. Repeated ‘Ha’s’ in two different notes create the song’s spartan musical backdrop as Anderson talks enigmatically, and breaks into eerie melodies as she sings ‘here come the planes’. Originally inspired by the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 - the one depicted in the hit film Argo - it resonates far beyond that calmly presenting the fall of the world into some Orwellian nightmare:

'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice
And when justice is gone, there's always force
And when force is gone, there's always Mom.

Anderson begins to sing more after this song, and the album’s second half shines because of it. There’s a sense that Anderson has freed herself of self-consciousness as she bursts into a gentle, melodic flame.

Big Science is a bit like a 50 minute meditation session, but where instead of ‘scanning’ your body and feeling present, you follow Anderson’s soothing voice into an infinitely interesting and timeless void. It’s a kind of less on the nose, more beautiful 1984 in musical form. One of the most creative albums of the decade.

Song Picks: O Superman, Example #22, Let X=X

9/10

Springsteen’s sixth studio album is made up of songs that were initially intended to be demos that the E-Street band would flesh out, but he decided to release them as they were. It was recorded using just two SM57s and a 4-track recorder, as many a nerdy, wannabe sound engineer forum poster will tell you. Springsteen’s decision to keep the whole thing raw was a stroke of genius, and has played no small impact in the album being one of his most well regarded. Due to the sombre nature of the record, Springsteen never toured it.

Nebraska’s songs are about murderers, working class people, corrupt cops, or Springsteen’s childhood. He’s always been an exceptional storyteller, and when his songs are reduced to simple melodies, sparse acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangements and his voice, it’s his ability to get into the head of his subjects and portray their stories that makes this album shine so brightly. Bruce’s vocals are low and sombre, with none of the energy of Born to Run for example. There’s a resigned longing to all the songs, as if the songs’ subjects are always hoping for more, though they know they’ll never get it.

Such dark and intimate stories are presented here with no frills beside an atmospheric reverb. The lack of backup from a band makes the whole thing more intimate, you’re there with The Boss as he tells his stories. As Pitchfork’s review states, and indeed Bruce himself, Nebraska is as much about the presentation as the content. It was written in the environment it was recorded, and the songs would have lost something when taken out of that context. Nebraska is the perfect document of a moment when Bruce Springsteen sat down in his rented house in New Jersey, and unbeknownst to himself, wrote one of the most touching acoustic albums of all time.

Song Picks: Nebraska, Mansion on the Hill

9/10

3. Music for Nine Postcards

Hiroshi Yoshimura

Yoshimura’s debut album was initially intended to be played in the Hara Museum for Contemporary Art building, but was given a wider release after it garnered interest from the visitors. The album uses only a Fender Rhodes (a type of electric piano) and a piano. In the liner notes Yoshimura stated that he was inspired by “the movements of clouds, the shade of a tree in summertime, the sound of rain, the snow in a town." The album was only released in Japan in 1982, and was not given a release outside the country until 2017, when it was picked up by the Empire of Signs label and re-issued. It’s re-release was highly critically acclaimed.

Music for Nine Postcards is minimalistic, letting each note echo into your ears, it’s sad and yet hopeful, it sparkles and hums. A triumph in minimalism it sounds well ahead of its time, and could just as well have come out this year. The whistful twinkles of Clouds, the almost childish simplicity, but sheer beauty of the melody on Blink, and the quiet euphoria of Dance PM are just samples of the treat that you’re in for if you listen to this gem. The latter is perhaps my favourite album of the track, with certain notes being just out of time enough to feel real, natural, unprogrammed, and human - whilst maintaining a level of repetition that leaves me in a gentle trance. Dance PM is everything this album does so well. Unassuming, simple, really moving and bloody gorgeous from start to finish. Music for Nine Postcards has gently weaved its way into my heart, and I can’t see it ever leaving again. In a decade of excess, it hums along quietly and patiently, waiting for everyone to notice just how damn pretty it is.

Song Picks: Blink, Dance PM,

9/10

I’ve talked about Michael Jackson’s problematic nature in a previous review (1979’s Off the Wall), and how I think the evidence is pretty strong following numerous documentaries on the subject that he did indeed abuse children and that that has undoubtedly tainted his legacy and music, but also - more importantly - caused a lot of children and families unfathomable pain and trauma. Nevertheless, I’m going to talk about the music here, which is completely sublime.

The term is overused but I’ve no reservations in calling Michael Jackson a musical genius, something which is displayed here where he’s at the peak of his powers. Quincy Jones’ production is superb, with crystal clear instrumentation, and instrumental flourishes filling every space in a way that doesn’t feel overblown, but infectious and tasteful. On the all-time-classic opener Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ , that sublime guitar and bass groove are accompanied not only by Jackson’s sublime vocals - effortlessly going from gritty to smooth and always bang in tune - but also an endless array of instrumental touches; that brass shake echoing the bass and guitar line, the synth taps, I could go on. It’s a dance masterpiece, running through your blood and into your heart.

I’ve always been less of a fan of Jackson’s slower songs, but even those are great here, and he conjures up one of his most memorable melodies in the smooth The Girl is Mine where his vocals work surprisingly well with Paul McCartney’s, while Human Nature is another example of Jones’ knack of accentuating Jackson’s vocals by following them with perfect little guitar jingles, with a skittering, superb synth part that appears twice where most artists would hang an entire song on it.

The mid-album trio of Thriller, Beat It and Billie Jean are quite probably the best successive trio of songs on any album ever and Thriller and Billie Jean are undoubtedly two of the greatest pop songs of all time. The former combining gothic and pop in a way that hasn’t really been equalled before or since - those brass stabs, wolf howls, and that groove and narration by Vincent Price creating an atmosphere that’s so brilliant, that despite the fact I’ve hard it countless times, I still whoop whenever it comes on. Billie Jean features what I think is my favourite bass line ever, one which Quincy Jones apparently didn’t like and was only persuaded to use when Jackson told him it ‘made him want to dance’. I guess even the greats are wrong sometimes. The way the song starts with just the drums, before that bass line comes in, those little trumpet hums in the pre-chorus, Jackson’s imperious vocal performance, and that perfect chorus combine to make a song that’ll forever grace a list of my favourites. Hell, I’ve heard it 5,555,423 times, but yet here I am dancing around in my office chair to it, every nerve in my body revitalised. Billie Jean is a freaking beacon of life and energy smashing through your weary flesh.

Oh and I’ve not even mentioned Van Halen’s stupendous solo on Beat It have I? This album is just chock full of brilliance, so apologies if I’ve missed the odd bit.

I can totally understand those who don’t listen to Thriller, but I’m here to review the music rather than its creators, and I don’t think anyone can argue against the fact that this is one of the finest pop albums of all time.

Song Picks: Wanna Be Startin’ Something, Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller

9.5/10

Classical pianist Glenn Gould initially recorded his interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) in 1955, which sold very well for a classical album and very much launched Gould’s career. He re-recorded the variations in 1981 and died a year later in 1982, when this recording was released. Pitchfork have written an excellent comparison between the two here, but as this is an article about 1982 I’ll be focusing on the latter recording, which had sold over 2 million copies by the year 2000.

As Wikipedia states, Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) “is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may also have been the first performer of the work.”

I’ve always enjoyed listening to solo piano performances - Keith Jarrett’s The Köln Concert is one of my favourite live recordings of all time - but this one definitely stands out among the crowd. Gould’s virtuoisic skill eminantes from all 30 variations here, with a confident, sturdy style full of beautiful flurries. This interpretation of the Variations sounds autumnal, you can almost imagine the leaves of trees falling in time with Gould’s intricate key presses. The Goldberg Variations is a truly sumptuous piano recording, it makes for great background listening while working, but it shines when you lie down, close your eyes, and submit yourself to its joyful, hopeful music, where Gould weaves delicate worlds of piano notes seemingly effortlessly. There’s something magical about being completely transfixed by just one instrument, and that’s absolutely the case here. The Goldberg Variations is magic.

10/10