While I was compiling my listening list for 1980 albums, it seemed little a loaded year. As I revisited many of this records many hadn't aged well. I thought albums by REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, Van Halen, Pete Townshend, and Journey would surely make the cut. The beloved Talking heads album, Remain in Light, didn't make the list. Even the Paul Simon soundtrack album for One Trick Pony that I rated 4.5 Stars just last year got dropped to a low 4.0. However, I do have a very solid Top 25. Every album is 4.5 or 5 Stars. Interestingly, 18 of the 25 artists are from the U.K. My 21-25 is the most unusual group of acts on the list.
25. Adam and the Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier ( 4.5 Stars )
"So, unplug the jukebox and do us all a favor. This music's lost its taste, so try another flavor. ANTMUSIC". The first time I ever saw or heard of Adam and the Ants was their appearance on American Bandstand. Last night I looked it up on YouTube and it was as mind blowing as when I was a teen. The most striking things were the visual impact of Adam Ant and his Native American / Pirate aesthetic and the two drummer Burundi beats. Kings of the Wild Frontier isn't just an album, it's a manifesto. The "Ant" motif appears in several tracks; including the title track. "Kings of the Wild Frontier" also features the line, "I feel beneath the White there is a Redskin suffering from centuries of taming". This combined with Adam's face paint, and the track "The Human Beings" where he just repeatedly lists off the Native American tribes Blackfoot, Pawnee, Cheyenne, Crow, Apache and Arapaho; illustrate a fascination with their history. The music is infectious, angular, and rhythmically unique. Even the album cuts are great.
24. Peter Gabriel - Melt ( 4.5 Stars )
Peter Gabriel's third self-titled solo album, is commonly referred to as Melt due to the photo on the cover. It is a 4.0 because it features the incredible tracks "I Don't Remember" and "Games Without Frontiers". The rest of the album is solid, paranoid Gabriel fare. There are also appearances from Phil Collins, Robert Fripp and Kate Bush; most notably on the track, "No Self Control". Not too shabby. Throw in contributions from XTC's Dave Gregory, The Jam's Paul Weller and Tony Levin, as well as production from Hugh Padgham and Steve Lillywhite and you have an art rock masterpiece.
23. The Soft Boys - Underwater Moonlight ( 4.5 Stars )
One of the most iconic songs of the 80's underground is The Soft Boys "I Wanna Destroy You". I love the line, "And when I have destroyed you I'll come picking at your bone. And you won't have a single atom left to call your own". The track "Kingdom of Love" sounds like a late 60's, psychedelic garage rocker. I haven't checked out much Robyn Hitchcock over the years. I didn't really care for his 1984 solo album. I own the first two albums from The Soft Boys and I don't recall liking 1979's A Can of Bees, but Underwater Moonlight is a banger. It's also Robert Pollard approved.
22. DEVO - Freedom of Choice ( 4.5 Stars )
Everybody loves Akron, Ohio's very own, DEVO. They're actually from Kent, but close enough. Their third album, Freedom of Choice is tremendous. It opens with the delightful new wave classic, "Girl U Want". "Look at you with your mouth watering. Look at you with your mind spinning. Why don't you just admit it." And who can forget the first time they saw the bonkers video for "Whip It". My favorite song is the title track. The lyrics are fantastic. "In ancient Rome, there was a poem, about a dog, who found two bones, he picked at one, he licked the other, he went in circles, he dropped dead. Freedom of choice is what you've got. Freedom from choice is what you want." The other standout track here is the rocker, "Gates of Steel". If you enjoy twitchy, paranoid whimsy this is the record for you.
21. The Fall - Grotesque ( 4.5 Stars )
When Yard Act's first album came out in 2022, I wasn't too familiar with The Fall. So, I didn't really understand the comparisons. After listening to a couple albums by The Fall for these dives, now I understand. James Smith and Mark E. Smith have a very similar North of England talk singing delivery. Grotesque is much more lo-fi than anything by Yard Act...in a good way. Mark E. Smith's machine gun rantings about the government, sex, and Northern England are hilarious, yet acerbically biting. "New Face in Hell" is a subversive masterwork. The bizarrely titled track, "C 'n' C-S Mithering" is a screed about the music industry that name checks "Big A&M Herb". "The Container Drivers" is the most straight forward, Mancabilly rocker on Grotesque. "N.W.R.A" (North Will Rise Again) is a nine minute diatribe about Mark E. Smith's hometown, Manchester, that repeats the same riff for all nine minutes. There are far too many genius lyrics on Grotesque to document in this post. You'll have to check it out yourself. Peace.
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