80s Thursday - Best songs of 1980 (part 15) (synthpop)

With regards to synthpop from 1980, I previously shared tracks by OMD, Visage and Japan. Below are a few more synthpop albums from that year that deserve attention

Album: Vienna by Ultravox
Listen to:
Vienna
Astradyne
Private Lives

Album: Travelogue by Human League
Listen to
Being Boiled

Album: Metamatic by John Foxx 
Listen to:
Underpass

Album: From A to B by New Musik
Listen to:
A Map of You
Science
On Islands
Adventures
The Safe Side

Album: B-2 Unit by Ryuichi Sakamoto 
Listen to:
Riot In Lagos

Album: Folk of the 80's by Men Without Hats 
Listen to:
Antarctica








Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13) (part 14) (part 15)

80s Thursday - Best songs of 1980 (part 14)

Album: Heartattack and Vine by Tom Waits

Listen to:

Heartattack and Vine 

Saving All My Love For You 

On the Nickel 

Jersey Girl 

Album: Clues by Robert Palmer

Listen to:

Johnny and Mary 

Album: Pretenders by The Pretenders 
Listen to:
Brass in Pocket
Stop Your Sobbing (The Kinks cover)
Kid






Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13) (part 14)

80s Thursday - Best songs of 1980 (part 13)

Album: Remain in Light by Talking Heads 
Listen to:
Once In A Lifetime 
Born Under Punches

The Great Curve

Album: Flesh + Blood by Roxy Music

Listen to:

Same Old Scene
Oh Yeah!
Over You

Album: Dumb Waiters by The Korgis 

Beck would later record a cover of the song for the soundtrack to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Listen: 

Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime

Dumb Waiters

Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13)

80s Thursday - Best songs of 1980 (part 12)

Album: Now We May Begin by Randy Crawford
Listen to:
One Day I'll Fly Away

Album: Changes by Etta James

Listen to:
Donkey
It Takes Love To Keep A Woman

Album: Released by Patti LaBelle
Listen to:
Release

Album: The Audience With Betty Carter by Betty Carter
Listen to:
Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most

Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13)

Best songs of 1980 (part 11) (black female singers)

I already shared tracks from Diana Ross' album Upside Down, and below are three more albums from 1980 by black female artists I listened to. A suitable time to give one's attention to with Black History Month in February.

Album: Me Myself I by Joan Armatrading
Listen to: 
Me Myself I 
Is It Tomorrow Yet 

Album: Warm Leatherette by Grace Jones 
Listen to:
Pars (Jacques Higelin cover)
Private Life (The Pretenders cover)

Album: Fame soundtrack by Various Artists

Fame won the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Michael Gore also won an Oscar for Best Original Score.

Listen to:
Fame performed by Irene Cara
Hot Lunch Jam performed by Irene Cara and cast

Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13)

Best songs of 1980 (part 10) (female singers)

Album: Super Trouper by ABBA
Listen to:
The Winner Takes It All
Happy New Year
Super Trouper
Lay All Your Love On Me

Album: Guilty by Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
Listen to:
Woman in Love
Promises

Album: Xanadu soundtrack by Various Artists
Listen to:
Magic (Olivia Newton-John)
Xanadu (Olivia Newton-John)
All Over the World (Electric Light Orchestra)






Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13)

80s Thursday - Best songs of 1980 (part 9) (female singers)

Album: Come Upstairs by Carly Simon 
Listen to:
Jesse

Album: Romance Dance by Kim Carnes 
Listen to:
More Love (The Miracles cover)

Album: 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs by Dolly Parton
Listen to: 
9 To 5

Album: These Days by Crystal Gayle 

Songs from this album are part of my childhood so I can't be objective

Listen to:
If You Ever Change Your Mind
What A Little Moonlight Can Do (originally sung by Billie Holiday)
Too Many Lovers
You've Almost Got Me Believin'

Album: Coal Miner's Daughter soundtrack
Listen to: 
There He Goes sung by Sissy Spacek (Patsy Cline cover)






Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13)

80s Thursday - Best songs of 1980 (part 8) (female singers)

Album: American Gigolo soundtrack
Listen to:
Call Me by Blondie

Album: Rock Hard Suzi Quatro
Listen to:

Rock Hard  

Lipstick 

Album: Joan Jett by Joan Jett 
Listen to:
Touch Me (Gary Glitter cover)
Bad Reputation

Album: Autoamerican by Blondie 
Listen to:
Rapture
The Tide Is High (The Paragons cover)
Europa (instrumental)

Album: Protect the Innocent by Rachel Sweet 
Listen to:
Tonight
Jealous (Robert Palmer cover)





Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13)

Frank Sinatra was born 100 years ago today

To mark the occasion here is Sinatra's brilliant cover of New York, New York from his 1980 album Trilogy: Past Present Future. It was his last top 40 hit.
Composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb. It was written for and performed by Liza Minnelli for the musical New York, New York (1977), directed by Martin Scorsese.







Are you a fan of Frank Sinatra? Share your memories of him in the comments




Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13)

Best songs of 1980 (part 6) (Female singers from UK)

As promised, this week for 80s Thursday, we will look at a handful of female singers from the UK. Enjoy!

Album: Kaleidoscope by Siouxsie and The Banshees 
I'm not really familiar with the group except Hong Kong Garden and a couple of other hits. It's been noted that the sound quality here is lighter and much clearer than on previous releases and that Siouxsie's singing shows noticeable improvement. Kaleidoscope is often ranked among their best.
Listen to:
Happy House
Christine
Paradise Place
Hybrid
Non-album single:
Israel

Album: Never For Ever by Kate Bush 
I'm a fan of her unique artpop style. Breathing is about a foetus, aware of what is going on outside the womb and frightened by nuclear fallout. Army Dreamers deals with a mother who grieves for her young adult son, who was killed on military manoeuvres.
On Babooshka, one of her biggest hits, she goes full out pop while also making that word her own. According to a 1980 interview, the song chronicles a wife's desire to test her husband's loyalty.
Listen to:
Army Dreamers
Breathing
Delius (Song of Summer)
Babooshka
The Wedding List
Non-album Christmas single:
December Will Be Magic Again

Album: Your Cassette Pet by Bow Wow Wow 
I prefer the Kevin Shields remix from the Marie Antoinette soundtrack. It's interesting to hear the uptempo 1980 version. The song was a hit for Ricky Nelson in 1962.
Listen to:
Fools Rush In

Album: Tell me on a Sunday by Marti Webb

The Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals from the 80s provided amazing songs and this album has two of those classics.
Listen to:

Take That Look Off Your Face
Tell me on a Sunday

Twilight Café by Susan Fassbender (single)

She is considered a one hit wonder. An obscurity waiting to be discovered.





Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13)

What do you think of this music, any favorites? As always, comments are welcome. 
I'll take a break from 80s Thursday for the rest of December. The series will return in early 2016.

80s Thursday - Best songs of 1980 (part 5)

A lot of great music came out of England in the early 80s. In the next few weeks for 80s Thursday, I will look at 1980 albums by UK artists. I've attempted to group them together in a cohesive way.

Album: Closer by Joy Division
I already reviewed the album here. One of the darkest LPs ever made. It's well known that the shadow of Ian Curtis' suicide looms over the album and even the sleeve. There's emotional turmoil embedded in the lyrics and vocal, and the instrumentation elevates the sense of doom. It's difficult not to be affected by the brooding atmosphere. For me, especially Side B offers the most haunting moments. Of course, arguably the best songs were not even on the record, but released as stand-alone singles.
Listen to: 
Isolation
Twenty Four Hours
Decades
Atrocity Exhibition
The Eternal
Non-album singles:
Love Will Tear Us Apart
Atmosphere
B-sides to the singles:
These Days
Dead Souls

Album: Seventeen Seconds by The Cure
While it isn't my favorite Cure album, it is a minor classic and established the group's gothic rock direction. Beautiful guitar work, and a production that sounds far more expensive than it actually was.
Listen to:
A Forest
In Your House
Play For Today

Album: Visage by Visage
Features Visage's most recognizable song, Fade To Grey, in which the synthesizer and vocal work is iconic. You may remember the tune was played in the ball room scene in the film Laurence Anyways (2012). The way Visage dressed and used make up was inspired by Bowie and paved the way for other artists in the early 80s in what was known as New Romanticism.
Visage are also known for their inventive videos which helped promote their music to a wider audience. In fact, David Bowie recruited Visage lead singer Steve Strange and designer Judith Frankland for his 1980 video for Ashes to Ashes. Frankland had designed clothes for Strange's Visage videos, so they were inspired both ways.
Listen to:
Fade To Grey
Visage
Mind of A Toy

Albums: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark by OMD & Organisation by OMD
The band were very productive early on. Releasing not just their debut album, also their second album in 1980! So I'll share my favorites from both. Great synth work.
Listen to:
Enola Gay
Electricity
Messages

Gentlemen Take Polaroids by Japan
There's a definite Bryan Ferry/Duran Duran vibe about the vocal. The songs work on their own terms, so the comparisons to other artists don't really matter. Very atmospheric, very underrated.
Listen to:
Taking Islands In Africa
Gentlemen Take Polaroids
Nightporter




Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13)

What do you think of this music, any favorites? Did I miss any songs from these albums which you think deserve praise? As always, comments are welcome.
Next Thursday, I'll tackle five albums by female singers from the UK, stay tuned!

Best songs of 1980 (part 4)

Album: The River by Bruce Springsteen 

While the album is overlong, the title track The River is a timeless classic that deservedly still gets played on the radio. Hungry Heart was an uncharacteristic venture into pop. Rolling Stone ranked it at number 253 on their list of the greatest albums of all time.
A record I want to explore further, and so will his fans with the December 4th release of The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (2015), which includes a wealth of unreleased material.
Listen to:
The River
Hungry Heart
Point Blank

Album: Scary Monsters and Super Creeps by David Bowie

Both a critical and commercial success, Bowie would reach out to a new wave audience while also continuing to experiment. Described as "one of the decade's quirkiest pop albums". The music video for Ashes To Ashes is one of the most iconic of the 80s, the lyrics revisit Bowie's Major Tom character from 1969's "Space Oddity". The best three track run on any album, track 3-5.


Listen to:
Ashes to Ashes
Fashion
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) 

Album: Diana by Diana Ross 

These songs make you want to dance. Nile Rodgers, who wrote the guitar part for Get Lucky (2013), also showed his talent on Diana (1980). "Upside Down" still holds up as a great song and "I'm Coming Out" is good too, regardless if you are straight or gay.

Listen to:
Upside Down
I'm Coming Out

Album: Glass Houses by Billy Joel

A good album, just not as strong as his late 70s work. Most of the singles are very enjoyable. A little more rock based than piano.

Listen to:
It's Still Rock and Roll To Me
You May Be Right
Don’t Ask Me Why

Album: Unmasked by Kiss 

I'm not familiar with Kiss except their greatest hits. Apparently many Kiss fans dislike this album, I only listened to the singles. Unmasked marked a major departure musically for the band and received mixed reviews. The album's songs have been largely ignored in live performances, with the exception of "Shandi". I like the comic book sleeve.

Listen to:
Shandi

Album: Nothin' Matters And What If It Did by John Cougar (aka John Mellencamp)

I'm not quite sure why he used a different name. He claims these are "stupid little pop songs" which must have angered the record company. I like the Springsteen vibe in the track I shared, very catchy. There are some nice finds in the singer's catalogue if you do a little digging.

Listen to:
Ain't Even Done with the Night 







Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13)




What do you think of this music, any favorites? Did I miss any songs from these albums which you think deserve praise? As always, comments are welcome.
Next Thursday, I'll tackle a few 1980 albums by British bands, including The Cure and Joy Division. Stay tuned!