1980

So after 3-4 years of rapid musical evolution, we hit the 1980s with a year of consolidation, and probably a slight step back.  Although considering how great 1979 was, this is probably inevitable.  Still, if ’77 was about the New Wave starting up, ’78 about it starting to really pick up momentum, and ’79 about it reaching its fullest potential, ’80 is where it starts to consolidate. 

For some genres, this consolidation is a bit of a retreat.  In both the US and the UK, punk is reformulating from the radically innovative sounds of the first wave into something better suited to a long development in the underground.  Most of the first-wave groups have moved beyond punk to some degree or another.  Sometimes they’ve done so radically (the Clash), but the Damned and Buzzcocks both are working much more nuanced art-pop territory at this point (although the Damned only have a live album this year, and the Buzzcocks have more completed their transformation into a post-punk band, albeit one without the doom of most post-punk).  The Ramones even make their first major attempt to reformulate their sound, by working with Phil Spector.  This produces some tracks that use the old Wall of Sound approach, including some that shamelessly  echo the old Spector songwriting style (with mostly mixed results).  On others, though, the biggest difference is the addition of lead guitar parts, often oddly with the Blue Öyster Cult guitar tone (also used by the Clash sporadically on Give ‘Em Enough Rope).  The Stiff Little Fingers do put out another straight-ahead punk record, but considering how quickly the other Brit-Punks evolved, it’s almost a disappointment, despite not being a real step down in quality from the debut.

Outside of the first wave, punk is really starting to diverge between the US and UK.  In the UK, the second wave of punk is dominated by a shambolic, consciously sloppy style embodied by such acts as the Mekons and the Fall.  Both of these groups have been around since ’78, but the Mekons only put out their first album this year, and the Fall put out their first great album this year.  In both cases, the conscious sloppiness masks some real sophistication musically and lyrically, making these the kind of bands that you listen to once and dismiss as tuneless noise, but you listen to a few dozen times and these become some of your favorites.  In the US, hardcore is starting to form up, with Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys keeping going with a more aggressive, less musically innovative version of the classic punk sound.  Elsewhere, though, American punk is as innovative as its British counterpart.  X is deepening its rockabilly/roots-punk sound, with their debut LP, which, if nothing else, has some fantastic song titles (personal favorite: “Your Phone’s Off The Hook But You’re Not”).  Also, the Minutemen make their first appearance in my collection.  At this point, they’re not great yet, but they’ll soon grow up to be one of the most innovative bands of the 80s.

The most radically new sound in 1980 is undoubtedly hip-hop.  If “Rapper’s Delight” could have been dismissed as a novelty last year, that’s much harder this year, where a clutch of excellent foundational singles are released, including especially Kurtis Blow’s “The Breaks” and Afrika Bambaata’s “Zulu Nation Throwdown.”  The beats at this point are still primitive by later standards, but still already distinctively hip-hop, with a more foregrounded beat than the funk & disco samples they’re built out of.  It’s also impressive how quickly the punk/New Wave artists start picking up on rap.  Both Blondie and the Clash put out rap tracks this year, although the latter’s “Magnificent Seven” is much more credible to my ears than Blondie’s quite gimmicky “Rapture.”  “Mag Seven” even got some NYC radio airplay, although chiefly in its surprisingly funky instrumental version. 

The Talking Heads don’t rap themselves, but are definitely influenced by hip-hop beats on their Remain In Light, a much more groove-oriented album than their last.  (including an amusing and surprisingly accurate attempt to approximate the Joy Division sound despite having only read about them in the music press).  I miss the song-based focus, but Talking Heads are definitely the leading lights of American New Wave this year, at the cutting edge of pop and experimental music, and fusing them both to great effect.  And American New Wave overall has a tremendous year this year, with all of the big bands putting out great music.  Blondie make downright surprising comeback, with four of my favorite of their singles.  “Call Me” and “Atomic” even better the disco formula of “Heart of Glass.”  (disco itself, incidentally, is basically absent from my collection by now, but I know it lurked out there in real life like some half-glimpsed monstrosity).  Devo also has a career year, and the Cars put out their most boundary-pushing album.  It’s interesting to note that, while the British New Wave splits into various autonomous sub-genres very quickly, the artier and poppier elements of American New Wave blend seamlessly into each other.  Bands like Blondie and the Cars are putting up big hits, but still sound of a piece with the more experimental elements like Talking Heads and Devo.  This year you even get some Americans starting to play with UK-style post-punk styles, especially Mission of Burma up in Boston and Pylon down in Athens.  Interestingly, though, Burma’s debut single (“Academy Fight Song”) foreshadows Athens’ biggest export, but we won’t get R.E.M.’s debut single until next year. 

As I mentioned above, the British New Wave is much more atomized than the American, and this year you can pretty clearly split the UK bands into the more trad bands and the post-punks.  Even bands that formerly bridged the gap, like Squeeze, now firmly fall in one camp or the other.  The trad camp, which has a solid year this year, is heavily indebted to the Mod Revival spurred by the Jam and the Who’s Quadrophenia film release.  The Jam themselves obviously fall in this camp, although if last year was Paul Weller’s Who-influenced masterpiece, this year it’s his Kinks/Revolver-era Beatles-influenced one.  Like the Revolver-era Beatles, this means that the Jam are incorporating a soul/funk sound into their mod rock, although this owes a lot more to ‘60s-vintage soul than the contemporary stuff.  Elvis Costello too is incorporating ‘60s soul into his sound, although it was there all along, so it’s more a question of foregrounding the soul elements vs. the garage-rock, country-rock, or ABBA-esque pop elements (the latter are almost entirely missing this time around though).  Joe Jackson, who last year sounded a lot like an Elvis follower, this year has started following a reggae/ska muse, which is interesting but doesn’t really work for him. 

It does, however, connect him to the Second-Wave ska bands, and that movement is probably hitting its peak this year.  The Specials and Madness both follow up their debuts with very strong sequels.  The Specials’ More Specials may even better their debut, with fewer covers and a more diverse musical palate.  One of my favorite records of the year, and probably the high-water mark of the Two-Tone movement, when it expanded its reach to all kinds of musical styles beyond ska & music hall (also a major influence on the Brit-poppers of the ‘90s).  Madness don’t expand their grasp nearly so far, but still probably better their debut, if only because of the more prominent organ grooves and (again) greater willingness to foreground their originals.  They also show a stronger Kinks influence, with their little slice-of-life vignettes lyrically.  Also this year, we get the third of the Big Three of Second Wave, with the (English) Beat’s debut.  The Beat are probably the most directly punk-influenced of the three, with a much more aggressive sound.  Also, “Mirror In The Bathroom” scans as a New Wave song more than a ska song, which is something you really wouldn’t say about the Specials’ singles (or Madness at this point).  Finally, although outside of the Big Three (largely because they never made an album anywhere near this good again), the Selecter put out their own ska record.  Unsurprisingly, given that they’re protégés of Specials leader Jerry Dammers, they sound pretty close to that sound, but more upbeat, and with female vocals.  Also, both the Specials and the Selecter share a fascination with James Bond this year, each releasing a tribute song.  Given that this is a year after Moonraker, it’s hardly the peak of the Bond franchise.  Still, ska-revival, mod-revival, and the 60’s vintage Bond films all go together quite nicely, so in another sense not so surprising.

If the Mod-Revival end of the British New Wave has a solid year this year, the news is less good on the post-punk side of things.  Joy Division do put out their 2^nd album, which I know some prefer to last year’s Unknown Pleasures.  Still, while Closer certainly sets a mood well (and even incorporates a touch of dub reggae on “Decades”), it’s missing some of the diversity of tempo & energy levels of Unknown Pleasures.  Magazine do lighten up a little, at least musically, sounding closer to the art-pop of the Buzzcocks than they have since the two bands split apart.  The Buzzcocks themselves, meanwhile, sound more abstract and arty than they have since the bands split.  Sadly, this is the end of the line for the Buzzcocks.

Elsewhere in post-punk, though, things are less exciting.  Wire have disbanded (for now), Public Image are silent this year, and Gang of Four release a placeholder EP.  Decent songs, but nothing different from their debut.  Plus half of them will be re-made for next year’s album.  The more goth post-punks are also still churning, but not really innovating.  I suppose the most interesting thing is the credible debut of a young post-punk band from Dublin, who sound like Public Image fronted by David Bowie at this point.  Even if they don’t sound radically innovative (and wholesale rip off “Public Image” on their debut single), the singer’s got a great voice and the guitarist has some tricks.  I’d keep an eye on this U2 band…

If the post-punks are having a down year, the prog-rockers who last year I dismissed as surpassed by the post-punks this year bounce back in a big way (or at least Yes and Rush do).  Both, moreover, do it basically the same way: by incorporating the New Wave.  Yes do this Borg-style, assimilating the Buggles and adding their technological and musical distinctiveness to their own.  In practice, this means somewhat more rhythmic keyboards and a slight reggae touch.  Not nearly as great a shift in sound as Relayer, but considerably fresher than Tormato.  Rush, meanwhile, are the only band of the whole prog-rock scene to actually hit their peak by incorporating New Wave.  Adding synth sounds and touches of reggae make a big difference, but I think the biggest key is that Neil Peart’s great leap forward as a lyricist.  No longer telling epics about space travel or allegories about the economic philosophies of bitter sociopaths, Peart discovers a real genius for more grounded but still high-minded lyrics, about things like self-determination (“Free Will”) and balancing commerce, technology, and personal expression in music (“Spirit of Radio”).  And the incorporation of synths really kinda recalls what the Who were doing back on Who’s Next  - synth parts layered over churning guitar rock to great effect. 

Prince also has his own great leap forward here, and as with Rush, by adding New Wave to his sound.  In fact, in Prince’s case, it’s almost fairer to say he becomes a full-on New Wave artist at this point, albeit one with a dry funk beat underneath him (that, for what it’s worth, definitely owes much more to Rick James than the Brit-funk New Wave).  But “When You Were Mine” is the best Cars song Ric Ocasek never wrote.  Prince becomes one of the major artists to watch right here on Dirty Mind.  And he only gets better from here…  Meanwhile, if Prince is adding New Wave to his funk, David Bowie is adding funk to his New Wave.  Scary Monsters is his first album since the Berlin records, and although he’s now sans Eno and writing songs with perhaps more commercial appeal, it’s almost as innovative as those, and I personally will take it over Lodger, at the least.  Bauhaus, incidentally, borrow heavily from Bowie’s Berlin stuff this year, but because they have a baritone vocalist, end up recalling Iggy Pop more.

Stevie Wonder also has a very good year, and also incorporates New Wave elements (although considering how much he defined the synth as a pop instrument, it might be more a case of his own influences filtered back).  Still, Hotter Than July is an actual song-based follow up to Songs In the Key of Life, and if it’s not as strong as his classic 1972-76 run, it’s still worthy, and quite diverse, incorporating reggae, country, and (as I suggested before) hints of New Wave.  Also, the last really solid album he’ll make, unfortunately.  John Lennon also has a comeback this year (and sadly the last album of his lifetime).  He doesn’t sound very contemporary, but his tracks on Double Fantasy are probably the best collection of songs he’s released since Imagine (and very much in that album’s style).  Yoko, however, is much more in tune with New Wave, and also releases some of the best pop-song material of her career.  I get the thematic core of the record (about marriage) and I dig how some of the songs comment on each other, but from a strictly musical position, it would be a better listen if they’d done a John side and a Yoko side, as they don’t exactly complement each other musically.  Still, if that were the case, narrower-minded Lennon fans would never even listen to the Yokosongs, so it is a way to force them to do that, at least (and at least in its original LP format). 

Elsewhere among the “old wave,” things are less encouraging, at least among the artists who previously responded extremely well to punk/New Wave.  Bruce Springsteen puts out his double-LP The River, but while all of the individual songs are good, the overall effect of all of these songs is a but overwhelming/deadening.  I realized while listening this afternoon that there are some really great songs on sides 3 & 4 that I’d never really taken notice of before, as I either don’t get around to finishing the album, or have stopped focusing on it at this point.  Still, at least Springsteen is doing interesting things, both recalling his old Born To Run style and presaging Nebraska, and even trying to write a Ramones song (“Hungry Heart,” which he decided to keep for himself; Stevie Wonder, by the way, did the same thing with “Superstition,” which was originally meant for Jeff Beck).

The Stones, by contrast, stumble pretty hard from Some Girls, having basically given up on the punk energy of that one.  There’s a hint of it on “Where The Boys Go,” but Mick’s mockney accent makes it sound too much like parody.  Elsewhere, they sound kinda on autopilot, whether on the traditionally Stonesy tracks or the disco ones.  “She’s So Cold” is a fun song, but a far cry from the ragged, about to fall off the rails vitality of “Street Fighting Man” or “Gimme Shelter.”  With its every note in exactly the right place, it recalls the studio perfection of ABBA more than the rough energy of classic Stones.

Neil Young also formerly was energized by the punks, but his year sounds like he’s going through the motions.  I was prepared back in ’77 to say that American Stars ‘n Bars showed that Neil’s album-a-year-pace would wear on him, but that one turned out to be an overlooked gem.  Hawks & Doves, however, definitely fits that tag.  Side One is forgettable old folk-rock songs, and Side Two is forgettable new country-rock songs.  About the only interesting thing about it is that Young, like Johnny Ramone, shows an unexpected pro-Reagan right-wing slant in his lyrics (well, not unexpected for Ramone, but still there on his pro-war and anti-liberal tracks on End of the Century).

What is exciting in the mainstream is in the world of metal, where pop-metal has its breakthrough.  Both Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne return, and unsurprisingly sound fairly close sonically.  What is surprising is that neither of them are working the old sludgy Sabbath sound, and instead have a much more polished sound, drawing much more heavily on Deep Purple and AC/DC than their own pasts.  Judas Priest, who also historically worked a Sabbathy sound, have also burnished their sound into something much more AC/DC-like, with their commercial high point British Steel (the one with “Breaking The Law” and “Living After Midnight”).  AC/DC themselves hit their high point as well, surprisingly after losing original vocalist Bon Scott; they’re probably more metal than they were earlier, when they more recalled a harder Rolling Stones.  On the less pop-metal and more punk-influenced side of things, Motörhead put out their generally acknowledged high point, Ace of Spades.  All this plus Iron Maiden’s debut make for a very solid metal year. 

Finally, surprisingly to me, a very good year for reggae, with Marley’s final album, plus solid records from Black Uhuru and Wailing Souls, and some very good miscellaneous singles.  At this point, reggae is probably the genre with the most swagger to spare, and both of the aforementioned groups have a mix of the sophisticated, Al Green-inspired arrangements of late Marley with the more processed effects laden rhythmic sensibility of dub.  So a good year for them, and it’ll be interesting to see how the British Second Wavers take notice of this (or if they do) in the years to come, to say nothing of the development of reggae itself into the 80s.

Song of the Year:  Either Rush’s “Spirit of the Radio” or the Talking Heads’ “Once In A Lifetime.”  The former is the best Rush ever got, with a Who-like construction of synths over rockin’ guitar, plus outstanding lyrics and a reggae breakdown which is surprisingly credible for Canadian prog-rockers.  One of a handful of songs that always lifts my mood.  On the other hand, “Once In A Lifetime” is so fantastically weird to have been a hit record.  Like “Heroes” (which Brian Eno also played a role in), it’s not so much played on instruments as a cascading wall of sounds.  But while “Heroes” was basically a futuristic soul song, “Once In A Lifetime” is essentially a futuristic gospel song, with the Rev. David Byrne preaching over this shimmering, rippling noise.

Album of the Year:  The Clash – Sandinista!  How do you follow up an album like London Calling?  By trying your hand at every genre you can think of.  Only the White Album compares to the Clash’s triple-lp in terms of its sprawl and genre boldness.  They’re not all winners (although the hit-miss ratio is at least as good as the Beatles’), but that’s not how you evaluate an album like this.  This is a world to get lost in. 

Artist Most Benefiting from Reevaluation:  The Cars.  I always knew they were a great pop band,  but I didn’t realize just how innovative and willing to experiment they were.  They could have been big stars if they’d kept making their debut over and over again, but they push deeper and deeper into experimental waters.  On this year’s Panorama, they sound practically post-punk, albeit closer to Devo and Suicide than the Brits.

Artist Most Diminished in Reevaluation:  Neil Young, I think.  I always knew that Hawks & Doves was a minor record, but 1) I didn’t realize just how consistent Neil’s streak was until this point (no duds except for the Stills collaboration Long May You Run) and 2) I didn’t realize just how jarring it was to go from Neil all of a sudden embracing the punks to this mediocre and reactionary country-rock.

Album List

 ABBA - Gold

AC/DC - AC/DC

AC/DC – Back In Black

B.B. King - B.B. King

Bauhaus – 1979-1983

Black Flag - The First Four Years

Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell

Black Uhuru - Sinsemilla

Blondie - Best Of Blondie

Blue Öyster Cult - Workshop Of The Telescopes

Bob Dylan - Vol. 3: Rare And Unreleased, 1974-1991

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend

Bruce Springsteen - 18 Tracks

Bruce Springsteen - The Essential Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen – The River

Buzzcocks - Parts 1-3

Cheap Trick - The Authorized Greatest Hits

Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young) - Carry On

David Bowie - Best Of Bowie

David Bowie - Changesbowie

David Bowie – Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables

Devo - Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology

Earth Wind & Fire -0 Faces

Elvis Costello - Best Of

Elvis Costello – Get Happy!!

Elvis Costello - Out Of Our Idiot

Elvis Costello – Taking Liberties

Fela Kuti - The Best Best Of Fela Kuti

Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac

Frank Sinatra - Sinatra Reprise: The Very Good Years

Gang Of Four - Yellow

Iron Maiden - Misc.

J.J. Cale - Very Best Of

Joe Jackson – Beat Crazy

John Lennon - Imagine Soundtrack

John Lennon &^ Yoko Ono – Double Fantasy

Joy Division - 8 Feb 1980 University of London Union

Joy Division - Closer

Joy Division - Heart & Soul - Rarities

Joy Division - Les Bains Douches: 18 December 1979 [Live]

Joy Division - Substance 1977-1980

Joy Division - University of London Union 2 February 1980

Judas Priest - Metal Works '73-'93

Madness – Absolutely

Magazine - Rays And Hail 1978-1981: The Best Of Magazine

Merle Haggard - Back to The Barrooms

Merle Haggard - HAG: The Best Of Merle Haggard

Minutemen - Georgeless e.p.

Mission Of Burma - Signals, Calls, And Marches

Motörhead - No Remorse

Neil Young – Hawks & Doves

Nick Lowe - Nutted By Reality

Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz

Parliament - Tear The Roof Off 1974-1980

Paul McCartney - Wingspan: History

Paul McCartney - Wingspan: Hits

Prince – Dirty Mind

Prince - The Hits

Pylon - Gyrate Plus

Queen - Greatest Hits

Roxy Music - The Best Of Roxy Music

Rush - Chronicles

Rush – Permanent Waves

Squeeze - Singles 45's And Under

Steely Dan - A Decade of Steely Dan

Stevie Wonder - At The Close Of A Century [Disc 3]

Stevie Wonder – Hotter Than July

Stiff Little Fingers - Nobody's Heroes

Sun Ra - Sleeping Beauty

Talking Heads – Remain In Light

Talking Heads - Sand In The Vaseline

Talking Heads - The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads

The Beat – I just Can’t Stop It

The Cars – Panorama

The Cars - The Cars Greatest Hits

The Clash - Clash On Broadway

The Clash - Clash On Broadway [Disc 3]

The Clash - Live: From Here to Eternity

The Clash - Sandinista!

The Clash - Super Black Market Clash

The Damned - Live At Shepperton

The Fall - 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong: 39 Golden Greats

The Fall - Grotesque (After The Gramme)

The Grateful Dead - 1980-10-06 Warfield Theater

The Grateful Dead - Dick's Picks, Vol. 21: Richmond Coliseum 11/1/85

The Jam - Compact Snap

The Jam – Sound Affects

The Kinks - Come Dancing With The Kinks

The Mekons - I Have Been to Heaven and Back..., Vol. 1

The Mekons - The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strnen

The Police - Every Breath You Take: The Singles

The Ramones - End Of The Century

The Ramones - Mania

The Rolling Stones – Emotional Rescue

The Rolling Stones - Forty Licks

The Selecter – Too Much Pressure

The Specials – More Specials

The Specials - The Singles Collection

The Who - The Ultimate Collection

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Playback IV: The Other Sides

Toots & The Maytals - Time Tough - The Anthology

U2 – Boy

U2 - The Best Of 1980-1990

V/A - 12 Classic 45s

V/A - Back In The Day Jamz

V/A - Children Of Nuggets I

V/A - Children Of Nuggets II

V/A - Children Of Nuggets III

V/A - Children Of Nuggets IV

V/A - Old School I

V/A - Old School II

V/A - Pure Funk

V/A - Russ's Punk Mix

V/A - Trojan Dub Massive Chapter I

Violent Femmes - Add It Up (1981-1993)

Wailing Souls - Fire House Rock

Waylon Jennings - Best Of Waylon Jennings

X - Beyond & Back: The X Anthology

Yes – Drama