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Post by berkley on May 10, 2023 13:09:30 GMT -5
1983 wasn't a good year for me in pop music personally. Glancing through the wiki page, the only personal favourite I see from that year is Van Morrison's Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, which I still think is one of his best - in fact the last really great album he did, that I know of.
I liked Eno's Apollo record but don't rank it as one of his very best. I think Blue Oyster Cult's Revolution by Night was a good album but looking through the track list all I remember now is the single, Take Me Away, so as an album it hasn't left an impression on me. Nick Lowe, Ian Hunter, XTC and a few others put out excellent records that year but I didn't Know those albums at the time, just whatever I happened to hear from them on the radio. And other acts that I think highly of now, like The Fall or Cocteau Twins, I didn't hear of at all until years later.
But this was one of those years when I didn't have a lot of pocket money to buy records with, so that probably had something to do with it.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 11, 2023 9:28:38 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1983
#4 - Robert Cray - Bad Influence
Cray's second album showed he was a contender for best new blues-man on the scene. I didn't recognize it at the time, but I've since figured out that Cray straddles an interesting line between traditional blues and R&B that makes him pretty darn interesting, but that bugged me for a long time. The album starts out with two super strong cuts, "Phone Booth" a funky minor-key blues that would be covered by Albert King, and the title track that would be covered by Eric Clapton.
This is a super strong album and set the stage for Cray to truly break out a couple years later.
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Post by tartanphantom on May 11, 2023 9:56:34 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1983 #4 - Robert Cray - Bad InfluenceCray's second album showed he was a contender for best new blues-man on the scene. I didn't recognize it at the time, but I've since figured out that Cray straddles an interesting line between traditional blues and R&B that makes him pretty darn interesting, but that bugged me for a long time. The album starts out with two super strong cuts, "Phone Booth" a funky minor-key blues that would be covered by Albert King, and the title track that would be covered by Eric Clapton. This is a super strong album and set the stage for Cray to truly break out a couple years later. I know a lot of folks are kind of "meh" on Cray, but as a musician I greatly appreciate not only his technical skill, but also his voice, which I find fairly unique. Yes, the fusion of blues and southern soul elements is tricky ground to maneuver without sounding clichéd, but I've always thought that Cray's band pulled it off well.
I think my all-time favorite Cray album is still I Was Warned from 1992. It also contains one of my favorite songs by him, a slow soulful introspective smoker... with totally relatable lyrics. This is not your typical 12-bar blues, but is indeed a Memphis-style soul ballad reminiscent of Otis Redding, early Isaac Hayes, Darrell Banks or Al Green.
I mean c'mon, a 5-minute song with no guitar solo from a great guitar player? If you listen, the band as a whole is the star here, but to me the standout is Jim Pugh's haunting Hammond B3 performance, always present, but floating and swelling at just the right times, oozing melancholy atmosphere all over the damn place.
Listen to this late at night in a dimly lit room after a long hard day for best effect.
If this song doesn't make you reflect on all those past relationships where you blew it, then you're either dead or a former monk.
"The Price I Pay"
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 11, 2023 10:50:59 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1983 #4 - Robert Cray - Bad InfluenceCray's second album showed he was a contender for best new blues-man on the scene. I didn't recognize it at the time, but I've since figured out that Cray straddles an interesting line between traditional blues and R&B that makes him pretty darn interesting, but that bugged me for a long time. The album starts out with two super strong cuts, "Phone Booth" a funky minor-key blues that would be covered by Albert King, and the title track that would be covered by Eric Clapton. This is a super strong album and set the stage for Cray to truly break out a couple years later. I know a lot of folks are kind of "meh" on Cray, but as a musician I greatly appreciate not only his technical skill, but also his voice, which I find fairly unique. Yes, the fusion of blues and southern soul elements is tricky ground to maneuver, but I've always thought that Cray's band pulled it off well.
I think my all-time favorite Cray album is still I Was Warned from 1992. It also contains one of my favorite songs by him, a slow soulful introspective smoker... with totally relatable lyrics. This is not your typical 12-bar blues, but is indeed a Memphis-style soul ballad reminiscent of Otis Redding, early Isaac Hayes, Darrell Banks or Al Green.
I mean c'mon, a 5-minute song with no guitar solo from a great guitar player? If you listen, the band as a whole is the star here, but to me the standout is Jim Pugh's haunting Hammond B3 performance, always present, but floating and swelling at just the right times, oozing melancholy atmosphere all over the damn place.
Listen to this late at night in a dimly lit room after a long hard day for best effect.
If this song doesn't make you reflect on all those past relationships where you blew it, then you're either dead or a former monk.
"The Price I Pay"
I really think that the fusion of blues with R&B/soul is the reason it took me a long time to really appreciate Cray. I didn't understand what he was doing and I was mostly listening to stuff that was closer to blues-rock (Stevie Ray, B.B. King, etc). Then I ventured in to older blues forms from the 30s-50s and Cray seemed even weirder. It's just in the last 10-15 years that I figured out what was going on. Honestly, part of it was a short conversation I had with Phillip Walker when I was at a show he was giving and I had a chance to talk to him for a few minutes during an intermission. I'll have to give I Was Warned another listen or two. I don't recall being super impressed, but some albums need a longer deeper listen.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 12, 2023 9:23:16 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1983
#3 - Guy Clark - Better Days
Any Guy Clark is good Guy Clark and this is a very solid album. It has the closest thing that Clark ever had to a radio hit in "Homegrown Tomatoes," a lightweight, breezy tune about the virtues of that garden vegetable. It also contains the first recorded version of "The Randall Knife," a song that Clark had been doing in concerts for some time, that he would rerecord in 1995 and that would become one of his signature tunes. It's a haunting elegy for his father. Clark was definitely one of the best songwriters of his time...and this is a very good outing.
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Post by commond on May 13, 2023 17:59:19 GMT -5
More albums from '83...
Victrola's 1982-1983... excellent minimal wave, post-punk record from this Italian group. It's a shame they didn't record more.
Motorhead's Another Perfect Day... I've always ignored this record as it's more of a hard rock album than a metal LP, but that's foolish, since this rocks, and Motorhead was one of the best bands around in '83.
Marcos Valle's Marcos Valle... I went through a phase where I listened to a lot of Brazilian music, but it was almost exclusively from the 60s and 70s. This is the first 80s record I've listened to. You can tell Valle is trying to stay with the times by including synth elements, but I'm down with that. I love synth. When this boogied, it boogied hard.
Tim Maia's O descobridor dos sete mares... Same deal as above with more of a disco feel to it. Disco wasn't dead in '83, it was just being used by Brazilian artists who were trying to stay commercial. Another fun record with the big man belting out some cracking tunes.
Aquarium's Radio Afrika... excellent art rock album. This one is kind of underrated as it ought to be a more highly regarded record from '83. The Russian scene was strong at this time. Hell, Eastern Europe in general.
Noel Ellis' Noel Ellis... this was exactly what you'd expect from a reggae record but had me happily bobbing along.
Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers' Jonathan Sings!... I absolutely LOVE Jonathan Richman. Few artists having brought me as much joy as Richman with his bubbly and joyful tunes. Ridiculously catchy. Would definitely make my top 10 for the year.
Jerry's Kids' Is This My World?... loud and fast... exactly how I like my hardcore... punk.
Matia Bazar' Tango... interesting synth pop record. Didn't leave a huge impression, however I am very interested in the Italian scene from this era and that made it worth checking out.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 14, 2023 17:03:12 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1983
#2 - ZZ Top - Eliminator
There's probably a tinge of nostalgia in this album at this position. But that's okay. ZZ Top and this album seemed to be everywhere in 1983. Not least was on MTV. I'm not sure there was an older band that more brilliantly recognized the potential of the music video. Or one that seemed more incongruous. I don't think anyone would have expected the little ole boogie-woogie band from Texas would be super hip.
I've seen some people say that this is Tres Hombres with synthesizers. It's not Tres Hombres, which is one of the great blues-rock albums. But this is a very good album and it's just incredibly fun. The hits absolutely deserved to be hits and the surrounding songs are universally strong. Even without the synthsizers, the fuzzy guitars, the hot rod and the back-up girls this would have been an excellent album.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 9,627
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Post by Confessor on May 14, 2023 17:27:59 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1983 #2 - ZZ Top - EliminatorThere's probably a tinge of nostalgia in this album at this position. But that's okay. ZZ Top and this album seemed to be everywhere in 1983. Not least was on MTV. I'm not sure there was an older band that more brilliantly recognized the potential of the music video. Or one that seemed more incongruous. I don't think anyone would have expected the little ole boogie-woogie band from Texas would be super hip. I've seen some people say that this is Tres Hombres with synthesizers. It's not Tres Hombres, which is one of the great blues-rock albums. But this is a very good album and it's just incredibly fun. The hits absolutely deserved to be hits and the surrounding songs are universally strong. Even without the synthsizers, the fuzzy guitars, the hot rod and the back-up girls this would have been an excellent album. ZZ Top are a real guilty pleasure of mine. "Gimme All Your Lovin'" was the first thing of their's that I ever heard back in 1984, when I was 11 or 12. I liked it so much that I taped it off the radio (hey, pocket money was scarce back then). These days I also like their earlier stuff like "Tush" or "Le Grange", but if I'm honest, it's still songs like "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" that are my favourite.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 14, 2023 17:36:35 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1983 #2 - ZZ Top - EliminatorThere's probably a tinge of nostalgia in this album at this position. But that's okay. ZZ Top and this album seemed to be everywhere in 1983. Not least was on MTV. I'm not sure there was an older band that more brilliantly recognized the potential of the music video. Or one that seemed more incongruous. I don't think anyone would have expected the little ole boogie-woogie band from Texas would be super hip. I've seen some people say that this is Tres Hombres with synthesizers. It's not Tres Hombres, which is one of the great blues-rock albums. But this is a very good album and it's just incredibly fun. The hits absolutely deserved to be hits and the surrounding songs are universally strong. Even without the synthsizers, the fuzzy guitars, the hot rod and the back-up girls this would have been an excellent album. ZZ Top are a real guilty pleasure of mine. "Gimme All Your Lovin'" was the first thing of their's that I ever heard back in 1984, when I was 11 or 12. I liked it so much that I taped it off the radio (hey, pocket money was scarce back then). These days I also like their earlier stuff like "Tush" or "Le Grange", but if I'm honest, it's still songs like "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" that are my favourite. There's sincerely only a handful of groups/albums I loved back when I was in high school that I still listen to at this late date. And this is one of them. I do listen to Tres Hombre far more often, but I will crank up this one now and then. #1 is another album I bought back in 1983 and still listen to today.
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Post by tartanphantom on May 14, 2023 20:50:00 GMT -5
ZZ Top are a real guilty pleasure of mine. "Gimme All Your Lovin'" was the first thing of their's that I ever heard back in 1984, when I was 11 or 12. I liked it so much that I taped it off the radio (hey, pocket money was scarce back then). These days I also like their earlier stuff like "Tush" or "Le Grange", but if I'm honest, it's still songs like "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" that are my favourite. There's sincerely only a handful of groups/albums I loved back when I was in high school that I still listen to at this late date. And this is one of them. I do listen to Tres Hombre far more often, but I will crank up this one now and then. #1 is another album I bought back in 1983 and still listen to today.
Although I like practically all of their output, the perfect ZZ Top trifecta for me is Tres Hombres, Fandango! and Degüello, not necessarily in that order.
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Post by EdoBosnar on May 15, 2023 2:53:56 GMT -5
I recall a pretty recent(ish) similar discussion here, but on ZZ Top I still like all of the pre-Eliminator stuff quite a bit, while I can hardly listen to anything from Eliminator onward any more. However, back in 1983/84, I wore out my Eliminator cassette because I played it so much. Now the only track on it I still kind of like is "TV Dinners" - still like the video, too...
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 15, 2023 9:07:32 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1983
#1 - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Texas Flood
Do we start off with the importance? Do we start off with my history? Do we just wing it? I learned about this album from my best friend so shoutout to him for making my life bluesier starting in 1983. But this album has percolated down through my family. When my middle son was a baby one of the best ways to get him to stop fussing was to put on Stevie Ray. He particularly liked Pride & Joy.
When this was released in June of '83 the blues was, at best, an afterthought. And then Robert Cray started getting some attention (Bad Influence was released in August). All of a sudden the blues had a new lease on life. The album hit the top forty (unheard of for a blues album) and the rest was history. Stevie wouldn't put out another album this complete until 1989's "In Step." And then he was gone.
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Post by commond on May 16, 2023 9:08:46 GMT -5
!983 cont.
Fred Frith's Cheap at Half the Price.. fascinating record. Frith is an incredible musician. Seriously, take a look at his body of work. It ranges from avant-rock to contemporary classical. This was a particularly brilliant considering where music was at in 1983 straddling post-punk, minimal wave and art rock. If you're at all into post-punk then this a record worth listening to.
Richard Thompson's Hand of Kindness... I've got a lot of time for Richard Thompson. The production on this sounded a bit commercial, but there were a ton of catchy tunes and Thompson was hugely charismatic.
Marshall Crenshaw's Field Day... solid power pop. One of those records where the songs are enjoyable but nothing really stands out.
Hellhammer's Satanic Rites... early black metal record. Fairly tame by the standards of the genre, but a decent metal record.
Sad Lovers & Giants' Feeding the Flame... solid, albeit unremarkable, post punk record.
Pylon's Chomp... post punk record with a female vocalist, which made it stand out a bit more from other records in the genre.
King Sunny Adé and His African Beats' Synchro System... Toe-tappin' Nigerian juju. If you're open to this sort of music then this is a gem.
Ben Watt's North Marine Drive... jazz lounge folk. I don't remember too much about it. Should probably give it another listen.
Naked Eyes' Burning Bridges... one of those albums that has a single you instantly remember -- in this case, their cover of Always Something There to Remind Me -- but draw blanks on everything else because you never listened to the LP. Pretty decent synth pop. Not an LP you'd regret buying.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 16, 2023 14:28:26 GMT -5
Moving on to 1993. Yep...it's been 30 years.
Favorite albums of 1993
#10 - Jimmie Dale Gilmore – Spinning Around the Sun
Another excellent thoughtful album by Gilmore that's maybe a bit more radio friendly than most. Not that you're in any danger of hearing Gilmore on any commercial radio station. Gilmore or fellow Flatlander Butch Hancock wrote half the songs. Just a lovely album that has the misfortune of coming between 1991's "After Awhile" and 1996's "Braver Newer World" which were two of Gilmore's absolute best.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 17, 2023 9:31:12 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1993
#9 - Willie Nelson - Across the Borderline
Willie has recorded about a zillion albums. Some have been among the best ever. Some have been pretty dire. This one was just dandy. When you're that prolific, even if you're one of the great songwriters of the last half of the century, you're going to need some help. So this is a cover album from some other great songwriters (though Willie did co-write one off the album with a guy named Bob Dylan). Not a special album...but a solid listen.
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