Hidden Treasures - 1983

[Scott]

1983 Year in music...

• February 26 – Michael Jackson's Thriller album hits #1 on the US charts, the first of thirty-seven (non-consecutive) weeks it would spend there on its way to becoming the biggest-selling album of all time.
• April 11 – Dave Mustaine is fired from Metallica just as the band is set to begin recording its début album. He is replaced by Kirk Hammett.
• September 1 – Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon of The Clash issue a press statement announcing that Mick Jones has been fired from the group.
• September 4 – Phil Lynott performs his final show with Thin Lizzy in Nuremberg, Germany.
• September 18 – The members of Kiss show their faces without their makeup for the first time on MTV, simultaneous with the release of their album Lick It Up.
• November 26 – Quiet Riot's Metal Health album tops the US album charts, the first heavy metal album to hit #1 in America. This commercial breakthrough confirms the ascendancy of "glam metal", which will remain popular with American youth for the next eight years.

My Top 5 Albums...

1. Bryan Adams - Cuts Like A Knife
2. Def Leppard - Pyromania
3. Krokus - Headhunter
4. The Tubes - Outside Inside
5. Survivor - Caught In The Game

 

1983 isn't just another year in this series for me, it was also my Senior year in High School. So music had a little more significance as it played as a soundtrack to an important transition in my life. So this week let's breakout the discussion and go a couple different directions. First, lets talk about your favorites from 1983 and then what music was important to you during your Senior year of High School, regardless of the year. Here's 5 track that were important, prevalent and still hold a high place of value to me from my Senior year.

 

PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/CA69EFD9E8C/ahiqdey0

 

	Bryan Adams Cuts Like A Knife 1 - I'm Ready Cuts Like a Knife included the hits "Straight from the Heart", "This Time", "Cuts Like a Knife", "I'm Ready", "The Only One" and "Take Me Back". All the singles had accompanying music videos. The first three singles charted on the Billboard Hot 100, while only "Straight from the Heart" peaked at the top ten. "Cuts Like a Knife" would become the most successful single from Cuts Like a Knife at its time of release on the rock charts, reaching number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number six on the mainstream rock chart. "Cuts Like a Knife" is regarded as one of Adams' most commercially successful and acclaimed albums. The album is regarded as one of the iconic albums of the 80's. It is often regarded as one of the Greatest Canadian Albums of all time. The title track has become one of Adams' signature songs and is a rock radio staple. It is the most-played song by Adams in his concert. "Straight from the Heart" is often regarded as one of the best ballads by Bryan Adams. Don't Leave Me Lonely" was co-written with Kiss drummer Eric Carr, intended to be included on the Kiss album "Creatures of the Night", but left off the final release.
	Jackson Browne Lawyers In Love 2 - Tender Is The Night Although "Lawyers in Love" and "For a Rocker" were successful singles, the album received a lukewarm reaction by critics. In his review for Allmusic, William Ruhlmann referred to Browne's often overlooked songcrafting, but wrote "...the craft, and the familiar tightness of Browne's veteran studio/live band, couldn't hide the essentially retread nature of much of this material." Critic Robert Christgau called the album "A satire on, celebration of, and lament for the upper-middle classmates an Orange County liberal knows like he knows his neighbor's backyard..." Rolling Stone critic Christopher Connelly had a more positive response. In reviewing the album at the time of its release, Connelly felt that the record was "a more nervy, intelligent LP than its predecessor" and "a welcome widening of perspective that allows Browne to escape, once and for all, the L.A. albatross that has hung around his neck." Christopher Connelly was right, but HOld Out is my favorite Browne albuj of all time.
	Rainbow Bent Out Of Shape 3 - Street Of Dreams This album is generally referred to by critics and fans as a commercial effort, with the band attempting to repeat the success of the song "Stone Cold" and the album Straight Between the Eyes. As a result, some of the songs, like the first single released from this album, "Street of Dreams", are usually considered to be more in the album-oriented rock style, instead of the hard rock sound of earlier Rainbow albums. The album was particularly aimed at the US market: the title is an American idiom rather than a British one. The song "Street of Dreams" has been re-recorded in two versions by Blackmore's Night in 2006 for their fifth studio album, The Village Lanterne. The version featured on a regular album was sung by Candice Night. The other version, a bonus track on a special edition of the album, was performed in a duet by Night and former Rainbow singer Joe Lynn Turner.
	Heart Passionworks 4 - How Can I Refuse Passionworks is the seventh studio album, released by the hard rock band Heart, in 1983. The album marks a shift in musical direction from hard rock and folk to mainstream rock. This album spent 21 weeks on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reached #39. The single, "How Can I Refuse?" hit No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and No. 1 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 1 week. Passionworks was the band's final album with Epic Records before their comeback-fueled move to Capitol Records. It is the first Heart album to feature Denny Carmassi and Mark Andes, who had replaced longtime members Mike DeRosier and Steve Fossen.
	Krokus Headhunter 5 - Screaming In The Night Headhunter was awarded Platinum album status in the United States and hit number 25 in the 1983 album charts. The album was Krokus' most successful album to date, both commercially and critically. It boasted the hit power ballad "Screaming in the Night", which saw heavy rotation on MTV and would become one of the band's most recognizable songs. Judas Priest's Rob Halford contributed backing vocals on the song "Ready to Burn". Bassist Chris von Rohr was fired in late 1983, prior to the band's appearance at the RockPop Festival in Dortmund, Germany, with rhythm guitarist Mark Kohler switching over to bass and Patrick Mason, aka Patrick Mahassen, from the Swiss band Crown taking over rhythm guitar duties for the remainder of the Headhunter touring cycle.

[Niels (Mod)]

Why doesn't it surprise me, that you feel that way, Jon?

[Scott]

Im with you on this one Niels...  crap-tastic!!

[Jon]

I ALMOST posted it. ALMOST.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Top 10 back then:

10. Billy Idol - Rebel Yell

9. The Police - Synchronicity

8. Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil

7. Huey Lewis & The News - Sports

6. Journey - Frontiers

5. Loverboy - Keep It Up

4. Rick Springfield - Living In Oz

3. Def Leppard - Pyromania

2. Night Ranger - Midnight Madness

1. Kiss - Lick It Up

[RJhog (Admin)]

Today, my Top 10 would look like this:

10. Men At Work - Cargo

9. U2 - War

8. Loverboy - Keep It Up

7. Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil

6. Dio - Holy Diver

5. Huey Lewis & The News - Sports

4. Kiss - Lick It Up

3. Def Leppard - Pyromania

2. Night Ranger - Midnight Madness

1. Rick Springfield - Living In Oz

[RJhog (Admin)]

Stats:

I have one of these five albums (Bryan Adams on vinyl).

I might have Bent Out Of Shape, can't remember right now, can't check.

I have heard four of these five tracks (the B. Adams tune being the one I haven't heard).

Ranking for these five songs: Screaming In The Night>How Can I Refuse>Street Of Dreams>I'm Ready=Tender Is The Night.

I'm not a big fan of the first two tracks.

I now have interest in checking out the albums by Krokus and Heart, possibly Rainbow.

At least four of these tunes, in my opinion, were pure shots at radio hits.  Basically pop music.  But, back in 1983, pop music like this was totally cool.  You could hear a guitar on every song.  Something that is sorely missing in today's pop music.  In 1983, pop music was cool.

[Niels (Mod)]

Oh yeah, "War". I didn't buy that until Febuary 1985, even though I really liked "New Years Day", when I heard it in the end of '83.

[RJhog (Admin)]

I didn't get it until the late 80's, that's why it's not on my "back then" list.  It's a very good album though.