A really great year, as it turns out, one of the best of the poll. There were several albums I didn't want to leave off. I figured I'd throw classic rock a bone with Petty's best album and the sprawling Floyd record, but the meat of this lineup are some of the very first seminal post-punk releases.
NOTE: SINGLES GOING STEADY IS A COMP SO DON'T VOTE FOR IT!
Omissions:
The Raincoats * The Raincoats (Rough Trade)
Talking Heads * Fear Of Music (Sire)
The Slits * Cut (Island)
David Bowie * Lodger (RCA)
Stiff Little Fingers * Inflammable Material (EMI)
The Ruts * The Crack (Virgin)
Lee Perry * Larks From The Ark (Nectar)
Young Marble Giants * Colossal Youth (Crepiscule)
The Specials (Chrysalis)
The Pop Group * Y (Radar)
Prince Lincoln & The Royal Rasses * Humanity (Ballistic/Orange Street)
The Fall * Dragnet (Step Forward)
The Jam * Setting Sons (Polydor)
Essential Logic * Beat Rhythm News (Rough Trade)
The Damned * Machine Gun Etiquette (Chiswick)
Contortions (James Chance & the) * Buy (Arista/Infinite Zero)
XTC * Drums And Wires (Virgin)
Heldon * Stand By (Cunneiform/Rune)
Gary Numan * The Pleasure Principle (Atco/Beggars Banquet)
Chrome * Half Machine Lip Moves (Touch & Go)
Art Bears * Winter Songs (Ralph/Recommended)
Gregory Isaacs * Soon Forward (Front Line)
Jacob Miller & Inner Circle * Forward Jah Jah Children 1974-79 (Trojan)
Magazine * Secondhand Daylight (Virgin)
The Adverts * Cast of Thousands (RCA/Devils Jukebox)
The Fall * Live At the Witch Trials (Castle/Sanctuary)
Tom Verlaine * Tom Verlaine (Elektra)
Sylford Walker & Welton Irie * Lambs Bread International (Blood & Fire)
Norris Reid * Give Jah The Praises (Rockers)
Dennis Brown * Words Of Wisdom (Shanachie)
Serge Gainsbourg * Aux Armes Et Caetera (Universal Fr)
Chelsea (Step Forward)
Dennis Brown * Joseph's Coat Of Many Colours (Shanachie/Blood & Fire)
Motorhead * Overkill (EMI)
Motorhead * Bomber (Bronze)
Ijahman * Are We A Warrior (Mango/Jahmani)
Lizzy Mercier Descloux * Press Color (Ze)
Metal Urbain * Dead Men Are Dangerous/Anarchy In Paris! (Celluloid/Acute)
Horace Andy * Pure Ranking (Clocktower)
Adam & The Ants * Dirk Wears White Sox (Do It/CBS)
James White & the Blacks * Off White (Ze/Infinite Zero)
Tubeway Army * Replicas (Beggars Banquet)
This Heat (These)
The Congos * Congo Ashanti (CBS/Blood & Fire)
The Cure * Boys Don't Cry/Three Imaginary Boys (Friction)
Nick Lowe * Jesus Of Cool (Demon)
Metal Urbain * Les Hommes Mort Est Dangereux (Rough Trade)
Neil Young * Rust Never Sleeps (Reprise)
Throbbing Gristle * 20 Jazz Funk Greats (Mute)
Graham Parker & the Rumor * Squeezing Out Sparks (Arista)
Robert Fripp * Exposure (EG)
Simple Minds * Real To Real Cacophony (Virgin)
The Only Ones * Even Serpents Shine (Columbia)
Joe Jackson * I'm The Man (A&M)
James Blood Ulmer * Tales Of Captain Black (Artists House)
The Undertones * The Undertones (Sire/Rykodisc)
Johnny Osbourne * Truth and Rights (Studio One/Heartbeat)
Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus * Love Thy Neighbour (RAS)
The Boys * To Hell With The Boys (Safari)
Moebius & Plank * Rastakraut Pasta (Skyclad)
Blondie * Eat To the Beat (Chrysalis)
Iggy Pop * New Values (Arista)
Fingerprintz * The Very Dab (Virgin)
Alan Vega * Collision Drive (Infinite Zero)
Bad Brains * Black Dots (Caroline)
Japan * Quiet Life (Virgin)
Pere Ubu * New Picnic Time (Rough Trade)
The B-52's (WB)
UK Subs * Another Kind Of Blues (Gem)
Devo * Duty Now For the Future (WB)
Fela Kuti * V.I.P. (Universal)
Joe Jackson * Look Sharp! (A&M)
The Sound * Propaganda (Renascent)
Thin Lizzy * Black Rose: A Rock Legend (Mercury/Vertigo)
Judas Priest * Killing Machine/Hell Bent For Leather (Columbia)
Secret Affair * Glory Boys (Sire/Captain Mod)
The Mighty Diamonds * Deeper Roots (Virgin)
Visage (Polydor)
Generation X * Valley Of The Dolls (Chrysalis)
D.A.F. * Ein Produkt der DAF (Warning)
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers * Damn The Torpedos (MCA)
Scorpions * Lovedrive (Mercury)
Alternative TV * Vibing Up the Senile Man (Deptford)
Various * The Great New York Singles 1974-1979 (ROIR)
Rickie Lee Jones (WB)
Prince (WB)
Lene Lovich * Stateless (Stiff/Rhino)
Bob Marley & The Wailers * Survival (Tuff Gong/Island)
The Desperate Bicycles * Another Commercial Venture (Refill)
The Germs * GI (Slash)
Riot * Narita (Capitol)
The Wipers * Is This Real? (Park Ave.)
The Dickies * Dawn of The Dickies (A&M)
Human League * Reproduction (Virgin)
The Dickies * The Incredible Shrinking Dickies (A&M/Captain Oi!)
Squeeze * Cool For Cats (A&M)
Ted Nugent * Great Gonzos! The Best Of (Epic)
The Last * L.A. Explosion! (Bomp!)
Tuxedomoon * Scream With A View EP (Pre)
Cabaret Voltaire * Mix-Up (Rough Trade)
The Stranglers * The Raven (EMI)
Throbbing Gristle * Heathen Earth (Mute)
The Boys Next Door (The Birthday Party) * Door Door (Mushroom)
Madness * One Step Beyond . . . (Sire)
Bob Marley * Survival (Tuff Gong)
Angelic Upstarts * Teenage Warning (WB/Captain Oi)
Desperate Bicycles * Another Commercial Venture (Refill Records)
The Damned * Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit)
Killing Joke * Almost Red EP (Island)
The Gladiators * Sweet So Till (Front Line/Virgin)
The Members * At the Chelsea Nightclub (Virgin)
The Police * Regatta de Blanc (A&M)
Shoes * Present Tense (Elektra)
Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers * Back In Your Life (Beserkley/Castle)
Diamond Head * Lightning to the Nations: Behold The Beginning (Metal Blade)
Van Halen II (WB)
Patti Smith * Wave (Arista)
Lenoard Cohen * Recent Songs (Columbia)
Teenage Jesus & The Jerks * Everything (Atavistic)
Sparks * No. 1 In Heaven (Virgin)
Funkadelic * Uncle Jam Wants You (WB/Funk Mob)
Lurker * God's Lonely Men (Beggars Banquet)
Van Morrison * Into the Music (WB)
The Pagans * Buried Alive (Treehouse)
Sparks * Terminal Jive (Oglio)
ZZ Top * Deguello (WB)
Roxy Music * Manifesto (Virgin)
Parliament * Gloryhallastoopid or Pin The Tale On The Funky (Casablanca)
Telex * Looking For Saint-Tropez (Sire)
Siouxsie & The Banshees * Join Hands (Geffen)
Suicide Commandos * The Commandos Commit Suicide (Twin/Tone)
Cheap Trick * Dream Police (Epic)
Lou Reed * The Bells (RCA)
Led Zeppelin * In Through The Out Door (Swan Song)
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Quote:
Roger Waters constructed The Wall, a narcissistic, double-album rock opera about an emotionally crippled rock star who spits on an audience member daring to cheer during an acoustic song. Given its origins, it's little wonder that The Wall paints such an unsympathetic portrait of the rock star, cleverly named "Pink," who blames everyone — particularly women — for his neuroses. Such lyrical and thematic shortcomings may have been forgivable if the album had a killer batch of songs, but Waters took his operatic inclinations to heart, constructing the album as a series of fragments that are held together by larger numbers like "Comfortably Numb" and "Hey You." Generally, the fully developed songs are among the finest of Pink Floyd's later work, but The Wall is primarily a triumph of production: its seamless surface, blending melodic fragments and sound effects, makes the musical shortcomings and questionable lyrics easy to ignore. But if The Wall is examined in depth, it falls apart, since it doesn't offer enough great songs to support its ambition, and its self-serving message and shiny production seem like relics of the late-'70s Me Generation.
The Clash - London CallingQuote:
Give 'Em Enough Rope, for all of its many attributes, was essentially a holding pattern for the Clash, but the double-album London Calling is a remarkable leap forward, incorporating the punk aesthetic into rock & roll mythology and roots music. Before, the Clash had experimented with reggae, but that was no preparation for the dizzying array of styles on London Calling. There's punk and reggae, but there's also rockabilly, ska, New Orleans R&B, pop, lounge jazz, and hard rock; and while the record isn't tied together by a specific theme, its eclecticism and anthemic punk function as a rallying call. While many of the songs — particularly "London Calling," "Spanish Bombs," and "The Guns of Brixton" — are explicitly political, by acknowledging no boundaries the music itself is political and revolutionary. But it is also invigorating, rocking harder and with more purpose than most albums, let alone double albums. Over the course of the record, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones (and Paul Simonon, who wrote "The Guns of Brixton") explore their familiar themes of working-class rebellion and antiestablishment rants, but they also tie them in to old rock & roll traditions and myths, whether it's rockabilly greasers or "Stagger Lee," as well as mavericks like doomed actor Montgomery Clift. The result is a stunning statement of purpose and one of the greatest rock & roll albums ever recorded.
Gang of Four - EntertainmentQuote:
Entertainment! is one of those records where germs of influence can be traced through many genres and countless bands, both favorably and unfavorably. From groups whose awareness of genealogy spreads wide enough to openly acknowledge Gang of Four's influence (Fugazi, Rage Against the Machine), to those not in touch with their ancestry enough to realize it (rap-metal, some indie rock) — all have appropriated elements of their forefathers' trailblazing contribution. Its vaguely funky rhythmic twitch, its pungent, pointillistic guitar stoccados, and its spoken/shouted vocals have all been picked up by many. Lyrically, the album was apart from many of the day, and it still is. The band rants at revisionist history in "Not Great Men" ("No weak men in the books at home"), self-serving media and politicians in "I Found That Essence Rare" ("The last thing they'll ever do?/Act in your interest"), and sexual politics in "Damaged Goods" ("You said you're cheap but you're too much"). Though the brilliance of the record thrives on the faster material — especially the febrile first side — a true highlight amongst highlights is the closing "Anthrax," full of barely controlled feedback squalls and moans. It's nearly psychedelic, something post-punk and new wave were never known for. With a slight death rattle and plodding bass rumble, Jon King equates love with disease and admits to feeling "like a beetle on its back." In the background, Andy Gill speaks in monotone of why Gang of Four doesn't do love songs. Subversive records of any ilk don't get any stronger, influential, or exciting than this.
Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Armed ForcesQuote:
After releasing and touring the intense This Year's Model, Elvis Costello quickly returned to the studio with the Attractions to record his third album, Armed Forces. In contrast to the stripped-down pop and rock of his first two albums, Armed Forces boasted a detailed and textured pop production, but it was hardly lavish. However, the more spacious arrangements — complete with ringing pianos, echoing reverb, layered guitars, and harmonies — accent Costello's melodies, making the record more accessible than his first two albums. Perversely, while the sound of Costello's music was becoming more open and welcoming, his songs became more insular and paranoid, even though he cloaked his emotions well. Many of the songs on Armed Forces use politics as a metaphor for personal relationships, particularly fascism, which explains its working title, Emotional Fascism. Occasionally, the lyrics are forced, but the music never is — the album demonstrates the depth of Costello's compositional talents and how he can move from the hook-laden pop of "Accidents Will Happen" to the paranoid "Goon Squad" with ease. Some of the songs, like the light reggae of "Two Little Hitlers" and the impassioned "Party Girl," build on his strengths, while others like the layered "Oliver's Army" take Costello into new territories. It's a dense but accessible pop record and ranks as his third masterpiece in a row.
Joy Division - Unknown PleasuresQuote:
It even looks like something classic, beyond its time or place of origin even as it was a clear product of both — one of Peter Saville's earliest and best designs, a transcription of a signal showing a star going nova, on a black embossed sleeve. If that were all Unknown Pleasures was, it wouldn't be discussed so much, but the ten songs inside, quite simply, are stone-cold landmarks, the whole album a monument to passion, energy, and cathartic despair. The quantum leap from the earliest thrashy singles to Unknown Pleasures can be heard through every note, with Martin Hannett's deservedly famous production — emphasizing space in the most revelatory way since the dawn of dub — as much a hallmark as the music itself. Songs fade in behind furtive noises of motion and activity, glass breaks with the force and clarity of doom, minimal keyboard lines add to an air of looming disaster — something, somehow, seems to wait or lurk beyond the edge of hearing. But even though this is Hannett's album as much as anyone's, the songs and performances are the true key. Sumner redefined heavy metal sludge as chilling feedback fear and explosive energy, Hook's instantly recognizable bass work at once warm and forbidding, Morris' drumming smacking through the speakers above all else. Curtis synthesizes and purifies every last impulse, his voice shot through with the desire first and foremost to connect, only connect — as "Candidate" plaintively states, "I tried to get to you/you treat me like this." Pick any song, the nervous death dance of "She's Lost Control," the harrowing call for release "New Dawn Fades," all four members in perfect sync, the romance in hell of "Shadowplay," "Insight" and its nervous drive towards some sort of apocalypse. All visceral, all emotional, all theatrical, all perfect — one of the best albums ever.
Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box/Second EditionQuote:
PiL managed to avoid boundaries for the first four years of their existence, and Metal Box is undoubtedly the apex. It's a hallmark of uncompromising, challenging post-punk, hardly sounding like anything of the past, present, or future. Sure, there were touchstones that got their imaginations running — the bizarreness of Captain Beefheart, the open and rhythmic spaces of Can, and the dense pulses of Lee Perry's productions fueled their creative fires — but what they achieved with their second record is a completely unique hour of avant-garde noise. Originally packaged in a film canister as a trio of 12" records played at 45 rpm, the bass and treble are pegged at 11 throughout, with nary a tinge of midrange to be found. It's all scrapes and throbs (dubscrapes?), supplanted by John Lydon's caterwauling about such subjects as his dying mother, resentment, and murder. Guitarist Keith Levene splatters silvery, violent, percussive shards of metallic scrapes onto the canvas, much like a one-armed Jackson Pollock. Jah Wobble and Richard Dudanski lay down a molasses-thick rhythmic foundation throughout that's just as funky as Can's Czukay/Leibezeit and Chic's Edwards/Rodgers. It's alien dance music. Metal Box might not be recognized as a groundbreaking record with the same reverence as Never Mind the Bollocks, and you certainly can't trace numerous waves of bands who wouldn't have existed without it like the Sex Pistols record. But like a virus, its tones have sent miasmic reverberations through a much broader scope of artists and genres. [Metal Box was issued in the States in 1980 with different artwork and cheaper packaging under the title Second Edition; the track sequence differs as well. The U.K. reissue of Metal Box on CD boasts better sound quality than the Second Edition CD.]
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Damn the TorpedoesQuote:
Not long after You're Gonna Get It, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' label, Shelter, was sold to MCA Records. Petty struggled to free himself from the major label, eventually sending himself into bankruptcy. He settled with MCA and set to work on his third album, digging out some old Mudcrutch numbers and quickly writing new songs. Amazingly, through all the frustration and anguish, Petty & the Heartbreakers delivered their breakthrough and arguably their masterpiece with Damn the Torpedoes. Musically, it follows through on the promise of their first two albums, offering a tough, streamlined fusion of the Stones and Byrds that, thanks to Jimmy Iovine's clean production, sounded utterly modern yet timeless. It helped that the Heartbreakers had turned into a tighter, muscular outfit, reminiscent of, well, the Stones in their prime — all of the parts combine into a powerful, distinctive sound capable of all sorts of subtle variations. Their musical suppleness helps bring out the soul in Petty's impressive set of songs. He had written a few classics before — "American Girl," "Listen to Her Heart" — but here his songwriting truly blossoms. Most of the songs have a deep melancholy undercurrent — the tough "Here Comes My Girl" and "Even the Losers" have tender hearts; the infectious "Don't Do Me Like That" masks a painful relationship; "Refugee" is a scornful, blistering rocker; "Louisiana Rain" is a tear-jerking ballad. Yet there are purpose and passion behind the performances that makes Damn the Torpedoes an invigorating listen all the same. Few mainstream rock albums of the late '70s and early '80s were quite as strong as this, and it still stands as one of the great records of the album rock era.
Wire - 154Quote:
Named for the number of live gigs Wire had played to that point, 154 refines and expands the innovations of Chairs Missing, with producer Mike Thorne's synthesizer effects playing an even more integral role; little of Pink Flag's rawness remains. If Chairs Missing was a transitional album between punk and post-punk, 154 is squarely in the latter camp, devoting itself to experimental soundscapes that can sound cold and forbidding at times. However, the best tracks retain their humanity thanks to the arrangements' smooth, seamless blend of electronic and guitar textures and the beauty of the group's melodies. Where previously some of Wire's hooks could find themselves buried or not properly brought out, the fully fleshed-out production of 154 lends a sweeping splendor to "The 15th," the epic "A Touching Display," "A Mutual Friend," and the gorgeous (if obscurely titled) "Map Ref. 41°N 93°W." Not every track is a gem, as the group's artier tendencies occasionally get the better of them, but 154's best moments help make it at least the equal of Chairs Missing. It's difficult to believe that a band that evolved as quickly and altered its sound as restlessly as Wire did could be out of ideas after only three years and three albums, but such was the case according to its members, and with their (temporary, as it turned out) disbandment following this album, Wire's most fertile and influential period came to a close. [The original 1989 CD issue by Restless Retro features four bonus tracks from an experimental EP issued with some copies of the vinyl LP.]
Michael Jackson - Off the WallQuote:
Michael Jackson had recorded solo prior to the release of Off the Wall in 1979, but this was his breakthrough, the album that established him as an artist of astonishing talent and a bright star in his own right. This was a visionary album, a record that found a way to break disco wide open into a new world where the beat was undeniable, but not the primary focus — it was part of a colorful tapestry of lush ballads and strings, smooth soul and pop, soft rock, and alluring funk. Its roots hearken back to the Jacksons' huge mid-'70s hit "Dancing Machine," but this is an enormously fresh record, one that remains vibrant and giddily exciting years after its release. This is certainly due to Jackson's emergence as a blindingly gifted vocalist, equally skilled with overwrought ballads as "She's Out of My Life" as driving dancefloor shakers as "Working Day and Night" and "Get on the Floor," where his asides are as gripping as his delivery on the verses. It's also due to the brilliant songwriting, an intoxicating blend of strong melodies, rhythmic hooks, and indelible construction. Most of all, its success is due to the sound constructed by Jackson and producer Quincy Jones, a dazzling array of disco beats, funk guitars, clean mainstream pop, and unashamed (and therefore affecting) schmaltz that is utterly thrilling in its utter joy. This is highly professional, highly crafted music, and its details are evident, but the overall effect is nothing but pure pleasure. Jackson and Jones expanded this approach on the blockbuster Thriller, often with equally stunning results, but they never bettered it.