MID LIFE CRISIS - PART DEUX
Woe is me... Will the 80's be able to shake Scott's mid-life issues? Or will they just lead into the 90's and another round of misery?
Lets pick up where we left off ...
WARNING: You will not find any Guns N Roses or Bon Jovi in this playlist. In fact, you will never find any Bon Jovi in my playlists, unless of course I do a Hidden Treasure - Sucks Edition.
HERES YOUR LINK...
http://www.podsnack.com/playlists/22d40f05b68ccf17018cc7b17a514513
1980TITLE: Turn Me LooseBAND: LoverboyALBUM: LoverboyWow, what a great year for music! So many choices, so many classics. I picked something that I thought shook up the rock scene at the time. Now it doesn’t seem as radical as it did back then, now it just sounds like a cool bass line with a great riff. But it was a New Wave movement that the tune came in with and a new fashion statement also. I liked the new wave movement at its beginning, and just like everything else, it got to poppy. But what great memories this music made at the start of it!
1981TITLE: All Over TownBAND: April WineALBUM: Nature of the BeastAnother stellar year to choose from. Journey had 2 releases this year, Rush and Foreigner released their biggest sellers. But I picked another band at its creative and rock peak! Seen them live as a headliner during this tour and they didn't disappoint. Watching a Lead Singer who is also the lead guitarist is an impressive thing. Myles Goodwyn. Peter Frampton, and Dave Meneketti are the only ones that I can think of who are true masters of this.
1982TITLE: Don't It Make You Feel GoodBAND: ChilliwackALBUM: Opus XA true hidden treasure that got caught up in bad promotion and lost in the midst of dozens of great releases in 1982. Too bad! This album was so good, sorry, I mean IS so good. It has everything, melodic and AOR friendly tunes on Side 1, and some of the best rock riffs of the 80's on side 2. This is the opener to side 2.
1983TITLE: It Can HappenBAND: YesALBUM: 90125There were numerous selections I could have used for this year, it was great one! But this album is special in so many ways. Most of the reasons I can think of have to do with my friends and the great times we had during our Senior year of High School. Also because it’s a really cool band getting their second chance at reaching a massive audience.
1984TITLE: All Or Nothing BAND: WhitesnakeALBUM: Slide It InSeen this band open for Quiet Riot when this first came out and one thing was clear, they were heading for Rock Super Stardom and Quiet Riot was fading faster than they appeared on the scene. I could have left that concert after they left the stage and got more than my money’s worth. This album is killer from top to bottom, their best IMO. Oh yeah, and Coverdale’s vocals? At their peak!
1985TITLE: After The FireBAND: Roger DaltreyALBUM: Under A Raging MoonMy wife doesn’t like this song, and I think the reason is that I play a lot since the time it was released up to now. I love it as much today as when it came out, it never gets old. And I know the fine listeners here love it as well, since it was posted as an AOTW awhile back and got positive response.
1986TITLE: Modern Day CowboyBAND: TeslaALBUM: Mechanical ResonanceI loved this debut album. And this song still kills it! 1986 seen the rise of synth rock and hair metal was starting to show cracks, so it was that a band like this was a breath of fresh air. The album seemed to be more of a straight ahead album with a great live in the studio feel not so compressed and over-produced as most everything else was at the time. This is still one of my all-time favorites.
1987TITLE: Ready Or NotBAND: Lou GrammALBUM: Ready Or Not(Needs to be remastered)The music scene at this time seems to have begun to transition into a weird phase, an ominous sign of the need for change? With releases from artists such as Bruce Willis, Butthole Surfers, Debbie Gibson, and LL Cool J, the music scene was trending towards unbearable! Thankfully Lou's first solo album was pretty darn good! Cool bass line and nice riff's. Not sure what happened with Foreigner because Inside Information came out the same year, but this is a much better album to get if you’re choosing!
1988TITLE: Gypsy RoadBAND: CinderellaALBUM: Long Cold WinterThe biggest hits of this year? A Groovy Kind Of Love and Don’t Worry Be Happy. Pure crap! I thought Long Cold Winter was the Shiz! Not sure the rest of the album holds up as well as Gypsy Road does, but I played the snot out it! It was very nice to reconnect with it. The riff is still a classic and very appealing.
1989TITLE: Sowing The Seeds of LoveBAND: Tears for FearsALBUM: The Seeds of LoveA curve ball to end the list? Depends on how you look at it. I look at it this way... This album is SOOOOOO good. It’s not fair to judge this band by their earlier hits, the music they wrote is so much better than the hits. I know, I'm posting a hit song, but check out Badman's Song (I’ve already used that one in another SHT list) and don’t stop there either, buy this album!
I am surprised at the way this turned out. I was really thinking that the 80's would be a breeze, but when I got to 1987 I noticed a huge drop off in the quality of music being released. Maybe it’s just me, but it was significant enough that the selections for 87 and 88 were tough. And while 89 could have been in the same situation there was a couple albums that made it very easy for me.
I hope you enjoyed this brief but very normal phase in the life of this forum. I’ve often spoke about the 90's as not being a favorable decade for classic rock fans such as us. But I’ve changed my mind about that. Bands like STP, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Live have really helped me appreciate what happened, and that changes needed to happen! Now I listen to everything with as open of a mind as possible, but I am now picky about what I buy. For me there is now a clear and definite generation gap between this music and the new sounds coming out now. And while I may be annoyingly picky about I like, I don't want to miss out anymore.
Looks like this therapy worked real nicely! No more mid-life crisis for me.