Hidden Treasures - 1985

[Scott]

1985 Year in music...

• January 1 - The newest music video channel, VH-1, begins broadcasting on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV. The first video played is Marvin Gaye's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner".
• January 11 One of the biggest music festivals in the world begins in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Rock in Rio, had a public of 1.5 million people at all, including artists like Iron Maiden, Nina Hagen, The B52's, Go Go's, Queen, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, AC/DC, and many more. National artists such as Gilberto Gil, Elba Ramalho, Barão Vermelho and Paralamas do Sucesso also perform.
• January 28 – Various artists, under the group name USA For Africa, including Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry, Kenny Loggins, Willie Nelson, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Huey Lewis, Tina Turner, Sheila E., Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham, Kim Carnes, Dionne Warwick, Waylon Jennings, Bob Geldof and Stevie Wonder, record the song "We Are the World".
• April 1 – After months of squabbling, David Lee Roth leaves Van Halen to begin a solo career.
• July 13 – The Live Aid concert takes place in Wembley Stadium, London, UK and Philadelphia, USA. The headlining acts at the latter venue included a Led Zeppelin reunion, the first since their 1980 disbandment.
• September 6 – Michael Jackson purchases the publishing rights for most of the Beatles' music for $47 million, much to the dismay of Paul McCartney, whom he is bidding against.
• September 19 – The Parents Music Resource Center's (P.M.R.C.) United States Senate hearing on rock censorship begin in Washington, D.C. Heavy metal singer Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, rock star Frank Zappa and country singer John Denver testify against the P.M.R.C.
• September 22 – The Farm Aid concert is held in Champaign, Illinois, USA.
• December 23 - Two young fans of Judas Priest in Sparks, Nevada shoot themselves, one fatally, after listening to the band's records. A lawsuit is brought against the group in 1986 claiming that they were compelled by backwards subliminal messages hidden in their music.
• Also - Metal Edge magazine is launched.

 

My Top 5 albums...

1. Accept - Metal Heart (This needs to be remastered!!)
2. Roger Daltrey - Under A Raging Moon
3. Heart - Heart
4. Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms
5. Ratt - Invasion of Your Privacy (The single best 80's riff can be found on this release)

 

Side Note: So far 1985 is turning out to be the most poppy year yet. Its becoming clear the issues that plagued 80's music. I once was blind, but now I see... Indeed!

 

PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/CA69EFD9E8C/a1pm693j

	Pat Benatar Seven The Hard Way 1 - Sex As A Weapon In November 1985, she released her sixth studio album, Seven the Hard Way. Benatar would hit the US Top 10 with the Grammy nominated single, "Invincible" (the theme from the movie The Legend of Billie Jean) which was written by Holly Knight (Love Is a Battlefield) and Simon Climie in 1985, three full months before the album was released. Her other Grammy nominated single, "Sex As a Weapon" would climb as high as #28 in January 1986, and "Le Bel Age" (#54) in February. The album Seven the Hard Way peaked at #26, earning an RIAA Gold certification (import cd). In Canada, it was her seventh consecutive platinum certified album and it peaked at 36 on the albums sales chart. In Benatar's autobiography, Between A Heart and A Rock Place, she said, "Out of all the albums, Seven the Hard Way cost the most to make and sold the least." The album sold approximately 600,000 US copies.
	Cheap Trick Standing On The Edge 2 - Tonight Its You Cheap Trick's LP Standing on the Edge, which peaked at number #35 on Billboard's Hot 100 LP chart in 1985, saw the band return to their standard hard-rocking sound with this album. The album was produced by Jack Douglas, who produced the band's eponymous debut album as well as the Found All The Parts EP. The original plans for the album called for band to return to the rough sound of their first album. However, Douglas backed out of mixing process due to legal issues he was having with Yoko Ono. Mixer Tony Platt was called in, and as a result, the album's production featured keyboards and electronic drums more prominently than the band and Douglas had intended. The album's most successful single "Tonight It's You", is the most well-known track from the album and also appears on numerous greatest hits compilations. Two promotional music videos were made for the song and both clips received much airplay on MTV.
	John Mellencamp Scarecrow 3 - Rumbleseat Scarecrow is the eighth album by John Mellencamp. Released in November of 1985, it peaked at #2 on the U.S. charts. The remastered version was released May 24, 2005 on Mercury/Island/UMe and includes one bonus track. This album contained three Top 10 hits, a record for a Mellencamp album: "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.," which peaked at #2 in the U.S.; "Lonely Ol' Night," which peaked at #6; and "Small Town," which also peaked at #6. "Lonely Ol' Night" also peaked at #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, his second chart-topping single on this chart. In 1989, it was ranked #95 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s, saying: "Scarecrow consolidated the band's rugged, roots-rock thrash and the ongoing maturation of Mellencamp's lyrics."
	Supertramp Brother Where You Bound 4 - Cannonball Allmusic's review was resoundingly positive, noting that the album's thematic exploration of Cold War tensions "is dated and hasn't aged very well... but the music is a pleasure." They particularly praise the "crystalline sound", the strong performances of the guest musicians, and the complexity of the compositions. They also praised the band for being "gutsy" enough to "re-embrace its progressive-rock roots" while improving their pop songcraft at the same time. The album's sixteen-and-a-half-minute title track featured Thin Lizzy's Scott Gorham on rhythm guitar and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour on the guitar solos. Also, the track had readings from George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. A demo for the song was recorded prior to Roger Hodgson's departure from the band, for potential inclusion on ...Famous Last Words..., but the band ultimately felt it was too densely progressive rock to be appropriate, and decided against recording the album. At the time of the demo, the song was only ten minutes long.
	Roger Daltrey Under A Raging Moon 5 - After The Fire Under a Raging Moon is Roger Daltrey's sixth solo album issued in September 1985. The album reached No. 42 on the US charts, and the single "After the Fire", written by Pete Townshend, reached No. 48. It includes a drummers tribute to Keith Moon, former drummer of The Who, who died in 1978, on the track "Under a Raging Moon". The album was produced by Alan Shacklock, recorded at RAK Recording Studios and Odyssey Studios, London, and released on Atlantic Records in the US. Later the album was also released on CD in the US, including the bonus track "Love Me Like You Do". The song "Under a Raging Moon" is a song written by John Parr (from St Elmos Fire fame) and Julia Downes the track is a tribute to The Who's former drummer Keith Moon who died in 1978. It was said that John Entwistle had wanted to play this song instead of Won't Get Fooled Again at Live Aid in 1985 with The Who but Pete Townshend disagreed so Entwistle decided to record his own version on his live solo album 'Left for Live' instead as a tribute to Moon.

[Niels (Mod)]

I usually do this by memory, so I probably forget some albums. Let's see...

In 1985 my top 5 would had been:

1. Simple Minds - Once Upon A Time

2. John Mellemcamp - Scarecrow

3. Night Ranger - Seven Wishes

4. Dokken - Under Lock and Key

5. Gary Moore - Run For Cover

 

Now it wouldn't be that much different:

1. Simple Minds - OUAT

2. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs

3. John Mellencamp - Scarecrow

4. ehhhhh....I don't know!

Some of the other albums, I bought that year:

It was a slow start, and therefore I spent most of my money on albums from earlier on, that I felt was missing in my collection, like U2, Metallica and ZZ Top-albums.

Saxon - Innocence is no excuse ( it was supposed to be some sort of come back-album, but the best thing about this was the album-cover)

Twisted Sister - Come Out And Play (Hated it then, and haven't heard it since then)

Fate (A danish AOR-band formed by Mercyfull Fate guitarist Hank Sherman) I really liked this album back then, but not my style anymore.

Marillion - Misplaced Childhood (I didn't really like it at the time. The follow-up was imo much better)

AC/DC - Fly On The Wall (What a lousy album!!!)

Bon Jovi - 7800 Fahrenheit (It was crap then, it's crap now!)

Cheap Trick - SOTE (Much better than NPP, but it was clear to me, that the greatness of CT from the late 70's was over)

KISS - Asylum (I WANTED so much this album to be great, and I might have fooled myself, because at the time, I kind of liked it. I can hear now, that it stinks!)

Dire Straits - BIA (Not the usual thing for me to buy, but I needed some new music. It was okay, and still is, but waaayyy overplayed, especially "I want my MTV....". Title-track is easily DS best track ever.)

Iron Maiden - Live After Death (I don't know, why I bought this. I don't think I heard it more than once. When the VHS came, I saw it hundred's of times. Much, much better!!)

The Cult - Love ( She sells sanctuary is still the best track from that band. The rest of the album was....just okay)

Phil Collins - NJR (We've discussed that album recently. Let's just say, I got rid of it pretty fast)

The Alarm - Strenght ( I liked this album very much, and I think, I heard it a couple of years ago, and it was still pretty good. The follow-up album was better, though).

ZZ Top - Afterburner (At the time, it was a great album. Just the sound of the times. Now it's mostly crap!)

The Firm - The Firm (Holy shit, was I dissapointed in this album!! What a load of crap!!)

Uriah Heep - Equator (Last album with Pete Goalby. Weakest album with Pete Goalby)

Ratt - IOYP (It was okay at the time, especially the album-cover, but I never liked Pearcy. Crap-voice)

Accept - Metal Heart (I loved this album back then, and it would probably had ended in top 6) 

 

[Niels (Mod)]

I told you, I forgot something:

Dio - Sacred Heart (At the time, I thought it was better than LIL (which mostly was crap), but the follow-up album was total crap, and then I never bought another Dio-album again.)

UFO - Misdemeanor ( My first UFO-album. It was okay at the time, but I haven't heard it since)

Y & T - Down For The Count (What a load of crap)

Magnum - On A Storytellers Night (This is actually a good album. The follow-up was better, but I might hear this one, one of the days)

Starship - The Single "We Buildt This City" (It was probably my favorite single, bought in 1985. I never got the album, but this is really the sound of '85, if you ask me)

Rush - Power windows (I was aware of this album, and I don't know, why I didn't buy it in 1985. The first Rush-album, I bought was "Hold Your Fire" in '87, but I regret, that I didn't buy this one back then, because I would have loved it. Now it sounds very dated, and I don't really care about it.)

Even though 1984 was a pretty weak year, compared to '80,'81,'82 and '83, 1985 was the weakest so far.

[Scott]

hahaha, you take any chance to bash Fly On The Wall... 

One of the weird things I noticed about 1985 was a lot of the great rock bands released Live albums (not all, but it seems like more than normal).  Overall it was a very poppy year in music

[Jon]

I have the Metal Heart remaster.

[Scott]

What?! Where did you find it?

[Jon]

Think amazon a few years ago, it has bonus tracks as well, but I think they are all love

 I'll check in a few hours when I am back home.

[Jon]

BINGO! Click HERE for the remaster! Good price as well.

[RJhog (Admin)]

So I ran through the album releases on Wikipedia for 1985.  It was a much better year overall than 1984 in my opinion.  Here are the albums that got all of my attention at the time:

Rick Springfield - Tao

Night Ranger - Seven Wishes

Motley Crue - Theater Of Pain

Ratt - Invasion Of Your Privacy

Heart - Heart

John Cougar Mellencamp - Scarecrow

Loverboy - Lovin' Every Minute Of It

Cheap Trick - Standing On The Edge

Kiss - Asylum

Joe Lynn Turner - Rescue You

Roger Daltrey - Under A Raging Moon

W.A.S.P. - The Last Command

Robert Palmer - Riptide

Mr. Mister - Welcome To The Real World

Dokken - Under Lock And Key

[RJhog (Admin)]

My Top 5 back then:

5. Rick Springfield - Tao

4. Motley Crue - Theater Of Pain

3. Ratt - Invasion Of Your Privacy

2. Loverboy - Lovin' Every Minute Of It

1. Kiss - Asylum

Today it would be:

5. Heart - Heart

4. Night Ranger - Seven Wishes

3. Cheap Trick - Standing On The Edge

2. Rick Springfield - Tao

1. John Cougar Mellencamp - Scarecrow

The top 3 today are really interchangeable.  They are all fantastic, top notch albums.  I'll listen later today at work and give some thoughts on the songs you posted then Scott.  

[RJhog (Admin)]

I just read Niels' post and realized that I forgot Bon Jovi's 7800 F album.  That would have been in my Top 5 back then, probably at number 2, which would have kicked Tao out.  Although it's still not in my current Top 5 from '85, it was a very good album, probably now my favorite of their first 6 albums.

[Jon]

7800 Fahrenheit is the album that turned me off of BJ. Never bought another BJ (album) after that piece of crap.

[Scott]

Uh... After this comment we should never allow Bon Jovi to be talked about again on this site.