1980 Deep Dive: Part Three

      Once again, my 11-15 includes four bands from the U.K. Must have been something in the air in 1980. The one outlier is an American legend. The U.K. bands aren't too bad, either. By the way, I have a gigantic songs list for 1980, so I haven't figured out what to do about that yet. Stay tuned.

15. XTC - Black Sea ( 4.5 Stars )

     If you weren't alive in the 80's, it's hard to explain the perception that the world was always one international crisis away from nuclear war. On Black Sea, XTC turned their satirical eyes to this threat with tracks like "Generals and Majors" and "Living Through Another Cuba". The latter with blunt lyrics like, "Russia and America are at each other's throats, but don't cry. Get on your knees and pray, and while you're down there, kiss your arse goodbye". They even "took the piss" on the song "Sgt. Rock", with the line, "Get the expert on mademoiselles, he could defuse any bombshell". However, there are also several quirky tunes about English life, such as, "Towers of London" and the brilliant lead track, "Respectable Street". Hugh Padgham and Steve Lillywhite were working on this album the same year they produced Peter Gabriel's third album. Nice work, if you can get it. 

14. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - The River ( 4.5 Stars )

     When I was listening to this again, I had forgotten how many amazing songs are on this album. Many critics complain that it's a double album that should have been cut down to a single album. I've never been that guy, except for Exile on Main Street. I don't know what you would cut from The River. I would list all the good tracks, but it's almost all 20 songs. My least favorite is probably the big hit, "Hungry Heart". So, that's a good sign for the rest of the record. The highlights, for me, are the title track, "Out in the Street", and "Cadillac Ranch". "The River" may be the most devastating, hopeless song ever written. I'm not a huge Springsteen fan, but that three album run of Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, and The River is pretty, pretty good. 

13. U2 - Boy ( 4.5 Stars )

     Those early days of U2 were great. "I Will Follow" was a revelation. And guess what, Steve Lillywhite also produced Boy. Crazy! Bono was so earnest and passionate on those early U2 albums. They spent four years developing their sound before recording this debut and it shows. The Edge already has his signature guitar style. I don't know if there's a band that has pulled off a run like U2, from Boy to How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Amazing. 

12. Echo and the Bunnymen - Crocodiles ( 4.5 Stars )

     In the 80's, I was mostly into hard rock and metal and didn't have much use for bands like Echo and the Bunnymen. I'm still not really a big fan of their big hit, "The Killing Moon". When YouTube channel, Tastes Like Music, did a discography for Echo I decided to at least check out their debut, Crocodiles. I was stunned by how much it rocked. The first thing that caught my ear was the propulsive drumming of Pete de Freitas. Then I was struck by Ian McCulloch's commanding vocals. It was nothing like "The Killing Moon". Apparently, I need to add Echo to the list of bands I need to deep dive. Maybe "The Killing Moon" is an outlier in their catalog. If they have more songs like "Going Up" and "Stars are Stars" I'm down. 

11. The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta ( 4.5 Stars )

     Barely missing the Top 10 are The Police. This is another album that was huge in 1980. The Lolita inspired "Don't Stand So Close to Me", and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" were on the radio all day (when "Another One Bites the Dust" wasn't). My favorites are the minor hits, "Driven to Tears" and "When the World is Running Down". I've also grown to love the droning, rhythmically fascinating track, "Voices Inside My Head". Zenyatta Mondatta is probably The Police's most successful merger of Sting's iconic vocals, Andy Summer's atmospheric guitars and the manic drumming of Stuart Copeland. When I say "successful", I mean musically. "Synchronicity" was obviously their most commercially successful record. One of my college roommates was always trying to convince me that The Police were a better band than RUSH. The notion seemed preposterous to me in 1983, but with the passing of time, I can appreciate his position more. But he was still wrong. Peace.