My contender list for 1985 is a solid 7 albums that are all very good. The three that didn't quite make the cut were: The Replacements Tim, Tears For Fears Songs From the Big Chair and The Jesus and Mary Chain Psychocandy. I also considered Sting, The Smiths and Phil Collins. Not bad for runners up.
Spoiler alert: 1985 is probably the beginning of a run of number one albums by a little band from Athens, GA. The top spot goes to Fables of the Reconstruction (or Reconstruction of the Fables). This is R.E.M.'s most dense and dark album, they had a miserable time recording it and I LOVE it. Sometimes you have to suffer for your art. "Driver 8" is indisputably the song that defines the R.E.M. sound. It starts with that tremendous Peter Buck riff, then Stipe comes in with "The walls you built up, stone by stone. Fields divided one by one". One of my favorite lines is "Power lines have floaters so the airplanes won't get snagged". "Kohoutek" maybe be the most beautiful song in the R.E.M. catalog. "Feeling Gravity's Pull" the most surrealistic. This is the first verse: "Fell asleep and read just about every paragraph. Read the scene where gravity is pulling me around. Peel back the mountains, peel back the sky. Stomp gravity into the floor. It's a Man Ray kind of sky. Let me show you what I can do with it. Time and distance are out of place here". FUCK! That's not even mentioning "Maps and Legends" and "Green Grow the Rushes".
Number two is Scarecrow by Mellencamp. Maybe it's corny, but I love ol' John Cougar Mellencamp. I'm also from a small Midwestern town and I found him relatable when I was younger. Scarecrow marked a major step up in his songwriting. There are some great tracks on this album: "Rain on the Scarecrow", "Small Town", "Lonely Ol' Night", "Rumbleseat" and "R.O.C.K. in the USA". I'm glad I got him on a Mt. Rushmore.
Number three is an album that kind of baffled me when it was released in 1985; Power Windows by RUSH. I was not a big fan of all the keyboards, but I powered through and learned to love it. "Big Money" and "Marathon" are standout tracks, but my favorite is "Middletown Dreams". It's kind of akin to the spirit of Mellencamp and Springsteen. The chorus is great, "Dreams flow across the heartland feeding on the fires. Dreams transport desires, drive you when you're down. Dreams transport the ones who need to get out of town". I guess that's more escapist like Springsteen, rather than Mellencamp.
Finally, a band that I forgot about in 1987, but they had a great two album run with Bangin" and my number four album for 1985, Play Deep...The Outfield. This album is so good and features the tracks, "Your Love", "All the Love" and "Say It Isn't So". Fantastic pop music. I was well into adulthood before I discovered they were British. Why would a band from the UK call themselves The Outfield? Crazy.
Looking ahead to 1984, it appears to be very good. Gonna have to make some tough cuts, like Diamond Life by Sade. "Smooth Operator" is like sex on a stick. Just sayin'. Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment