Best of 2013, part 2

Welcome to the second part of our Best of 2013 blog entry, where we reveal ProgActive's Top 10 songs and instrumentals from the year ending tonight! Without further ado, let's get right to it...

10. BOARDS OF CANADA: Reach for the Dead (from Tomorrow's Harvest)
Following the 2005 masterpiece The Campfire Headphase, the next Boards of Canada album was waited for with eager anticipation. Unfortunately, for the most part Tomorrow's Harvest turned out to be nothing special. I was more than only slightly disappointed following eight years of silence. Luckily, I found at least one track on the album that works. The brilliant, atmospheric Reach for the Dead is great already on its own and even better when combined with the scenic video embedded above.

9. DREAM THEATER: Illumination Theory (from Dream Theater)
Yes, I know, this is a slightly silly choice for inclusion in the Top 10 but I cannot resist Dream Theater's passion for grandiose, overblown combinations of prog metal and classical music. Rarely have these two fit together as poorly as here, yet there is something endlessly endearing about the effort. It is hilarious and moving at the same time. To be fair, the classical sequence is actually quite beautiful. I think the maker of the video above has accidentally included the "hidden" bonus track at the end of the album. The actual Illumination Theory ends at 19:15.

8. DAVID BOWIE: Where Are We Now? (from The Next Day)
Besides Boards of Canada, another artist who had taken a long break in recording new material prior to this year was of course David Bowie. His previous studio album Reality came out as long ago as 2003 (I actually saw him perform live back then, during the Reality tour). Nearly a decade later, The Next Day came out last spring, even more out of the blue than the new Nine Inch Nails album did. The first single Where Are We Now? remains my favorite, although the closing track Heat is also very strong.

7. GOLDFRAPP: Jo (from Tales of Us)
The sixth studio album by Goldfrapp is a rather uneven affair, but still manages to achieve greatness. And not only once, but twice... Compared to Tales of Us, my favorite Goldfrapp album The Seventh Tree (2008) is very good all the way through but none of its individual songs can quite reach the heights that the best tracks on the two later albums have. Jo is a perfect example of how music can be fairly simple in its format, yet contain undeniable power.

6. HAKEN: Pareidolia (from The Mountain)
London based prog metal masters Haken are the first artist to appear on the list for a second time. Pareidolia was released as a promotional video, embedded above, already prior to the actual The Mountain album. It still remains by far the best prog metal song of the year. It is brimming with ideas, is impeccably played, and contains some of the year's weirdest time signatures. I cannot wait to see what this group can achieve in the future, after having found a new bassist that they are currently looking for.

5. DONNY WHO LOVED BOWLING: Thrombosis Sonata (from Headstone)
Donny Who Loved Bowling is an American two man experimental art rock group whose latest album Headstone contains this stunning instrumental. Thrombosis Sonata reminds me of the works of film composer Howard Shore - namely those he composed to the late seventies and early eighties films of David Cronenberg. From around the two minute mark onward, Thrombosis Sonata sounds like it came from the soundtrack of Videodrome, except that it is even better. Shore did not employ electric guitar in that period, but here it works wonders.

4. COLDPLAY: Atlas (from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack)
To be honest, I had already forgotten about Coldplay following the repeated disappointments that their previous recordings caused me over the last few years. And now this. An absolutely perfect pop song in every way, Atlas caused my jaw to drop back when I heard it the first time. It might just be the best song the British group has ever made. And just look at the gorgeous video that accompanies it. Perhaps they have rediscovered their songwriting inspiration, following the two mostly crappy albums they have made since their previous noteworthy album X&Y (2005).

3. GOLDFRAPP: Clay (from Tales of Us)
But, as it turns out, Atlas still isn't the best pop song of 2013. That honor goes to Goldfrapp, who is the second artist to appear on the list for a second time. In Clay, not only is the songwriting of the very highest order, but just listen to that string arrangement. The strings are the icing on the cake that complements the song itself and lifts it way above just about everything else that was released this year. Considering that music of this kind of quality still gets made, perhaps pop music scene is still salvageable.

2. STEVEN WILSON: Drive Home (from The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories))
OK, now is the time to face the facts. Ever since Steven Wilson released his third solo album under his own name, called The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories), no other artist stood a chance. Not only are the two best tracks on the album easily the best two songs of the entire year, but they are further enhanced by the brilliantly animated videos by Jess Cope. Drive Home, embedded above, is a stunning achievement, yet it is the weaker one of the two.

1. STEVEN WILSON: The Raven That Refused to Sing (from The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories))
Steven Wilson is the third artist to appear twice on the list. The unbelievable title track of his new album cannot be beaten to number one, which surely comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed this blog earlier this same year. You can read my thoughts about the song, written down on 9 February, right here. It might be worthwhile to also note the importance of the video: it actually adds and elaborates elements of the song's story that might otherwise be missed. Not only is this the greatest musical achievement of the year; it is one of the greatest ever.

Best of 2013, part 1

Since the year 2013 is now almost over, this should be a good time to take a short break from discussing the best achievements in modern progressive, art rock and pop music chronologically and instead take a look at the best achievements of this very year.

Even though the blog entry's header says "Best of", I should imagine that there are still many hidden gems left that I haven't come across yet. So, when I reach 2013 in my chronological series, perhaps the list will be longer. Let's assume that the following list is really only "Best of... so far".

For now, we will have to do with 16 best songs or instrumentals. All have been released during 2013. Following this very short introduction, let's discuss songs #11 - #16 first, and then reveal the contents of Top 10 tomorrow. In total, there will be 13 different artists performing 16 songs: three artists have been deemed distinguished enough to appear twice.

16. RIVERSIDE: Feel Like Falling (from Shrine of New Generation Slaves)
The Polish prog rock group Riverside has produced a steady output of good albums. Their latest is already their fifth. It came out already in mid-January, so by now it is almost a year old. There are several standouts: my favorites among them are We Got Used to Us, the peaceful Coda - and this song right here that displays the group's more rocking side well.

15. NINE INCH NAILS: Find My Way (from Hesitation Marks)
Trent Reznor's new incarnation of Nine Inch Nails didn't let itself be known to even exist until the new album was almost ready to be published. An old favorite, NIN didn't really satisfy me this time around but there are a few good songs in the new collection here and there. The best of them in my opinion is this one: more quiet than NIN usually is, yet full of underlying tension.

14. HAKEN: Somebody (from The Mountain)
Haken is a British group that has introduced fun into the progressive rock genre. The Mountain is their third album and contains many excellent tracks. This isn't even my number one favorite among them: it is in the Top 10... I felt that both deserved to be mentioned. Somebody's strength lies partly in its structure. The beautiful, quiet opening invites you in and immerses you with well made prog that steadily grows into a goosebump-inducing wall of sound.

13. BLACKFIELD: X-Ray (from Blackfield IV)
Blackfield wrote and performed several of the absolute best songs of the last decade. Since those times, Steven Wilson has no longer been able to actively participate and the former duo has gradually become Aviv Geffen's solo effort. Wilson guest stars on this latest release, but it is actually Vincent Cavanagh of Anathema who sings on this particular track. Wilson sings on Jupiter which is also one of the better songs on Blackfield IV.

12. EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY & DAVID WINGO: Alone Time (from Prince Avalanche soundtrack)
Prince Avalanche isn't a particularly interesting movie - I dozed off at 31 minutes and never resumed watching - but its soundtrack is pure gold. The Texan post rock group Explosions in the Sky has worked with composer David Wingo to produce a melodic and atmospheric background to the boring story of two road workers somewhere in rural Texas. Judging from Explosions' earlier works, a move to film music work sounds like an excellent idea.

11. ÓLAFUR ARNALDS: Sudden Throw (from For Now I Am Winter)
The young Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds was one of this year's big finds for me. His latest album For Now I Am Winter was released already in March, so its compositions may actually originate from wintertime. And they really have a certain kind of icy beauty about them. The opening track of the album, Sudden Throw begins very quietly but then grows in volume to an impressive although a strangely abrupt ending.

This is it for now, please visit ProgActive again tomorrow. This year's excellent Top 10 in music will be revealed some time in the early evening, Finnish time.

1986: January to June

In 1986, the first music release that captured my attention came out already in January, although it was towards the end of the month. Said release had three different titles: the vinyl version was called Album, the cd version Compact Disc, and the cassette version, of course, Cassette.

The release date of the fifth album by Public Image Ltd. was 27 January. By this point the band had in truth become John Lydon's solo project. In the studio, he was accompanied by several famous musicians like Steve Vai, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Ginger Baker. The end result was quite strong: there were several songs well worth embedding here, such as Rise or Fishing, but I ended up choosing the closing track Ease which you can listen to above. It serves as a great example of Lydon's outstanding development as a musician.

I have nothing in my diary for February, so let's discuss the first of this year's two albums whose release dates are unknown to me. We already discussed Ultravox in 1984; now, they have a new album out called U-vox. For the most part, it is nothing too special but there is one song on it that stands head and shoulders above the others. It is the best song by the group ever, and a very strong contender for Best short track of the year: All in One Day.

U-vox closes the group's golden era and is in fact their last release during the eighties. All in One Day serves as its last track which I suppose partially explains the grandiosity of its goosebump-inducing finale. This masterpiece was intended to close the entire album in a big way - and, as it happened, it also closed their recording career for a long time. The next Ultravox album wouldn't be out until 1993.

On 7 March, the action fantasy film Highlander premiered in the US. There were some truly enjoyable songs on its soundtrack, composed and performed by Queen. For me, the standouts were the film's opening track Princes of the Universe and particularly the beautiful Who Wants to Live Forever? I am not aware if there was a soundtrack available at the time but this was the first publication of these songs in any case, as a part of the film where they worked extremely well. I will not embed anything here but please do check these out if you feel so inclined.

Only ten days later, on 17 March, synth pop was finally transformed into a genuine art form when Depeche Mode released their first masterpiece Black Celebration, their fifth studio album overall. An impeccable recording without a single weak track, it immediately became a strong contender for the title of Album of the year. I have embedded my number one favorite song Stripped above, but there are plenty of other masterworks there as well, such as the other two single releases A Question of Lust and A Question of Time, or the harrowing closing track New Dress.

Stripped is an exceptionally striking example of a piece of music designed like a mathematical formula. Pay attention how each of the sound effects and instruments are turned on in a specific order at the beginning of the track, and are then later turned off in reverse order at the end. Stripped ends as it began, as if it could be played from end to beginning as well as beginning to end. Sound effects evoke the later birth of industrial music genre, although noisy aggression is replaced here with a catchy downbeat melody.

In April, it was time for French synthesizer wizard Jean-Michel Jarre to release his follow-up to 1984's Zoolook. His new album was called Rendez-vous. It seemed that Jarre was no longer quite as creative as he had been in the seventies, but even this new album did contain some highlights. Of the six instrumental parts, the first two are excellent and the last one also quite good, bringing back memories from the atmospheric Equinoxe parts 2 to 4 (1978).

Style-wise, Rendez-vous was a return to the keyboard driven compositions of Jarre's first three albums. Gone were the world music influences, samples and short vocal passages of Zoolook, which was perhaps just as well; in spite of Ethnicolor's greatness, they mostly hadn't worked too well on that album. Jarre would go on to publish a couple of more albums with individual tracks worth mentioning here, but later in the nineties his output became increasingly erratic and we will be following it less closely.

Two days before my 23rd birthday, on 19 May, another strong contender for Album of the year title came out. Peter Gabriel had finally given up on releasing only self titled recordings and called his fifth one So (in the US, this had happened one album earlier: over there, Gabriel's fourth was called Security). It continued Gabriel's tendency to succeed admirably on his odd-numbered albums and noticeably less so on his even-numbered ones. This trend would continue on his sixth album.

So is unquestionably a masterpiece, but a very different one from Gabriel's previous releases. It sounded like the former Genesis singer had taken a much more commercial approach with his material than before. The single hit Sledgehammer was a danceable pop song and Big Time, embedded above, displayed a similar sense of humor to it in its lyrics, overall tone and even comically animated music video. There were also more serious songs in the collection, none of them weak. The only track I skipped often was the duet with Kate Bush called Don't Give Up which became a bit of a bore over time.

Before jumping all the way to the end of June, let's discuss the year's other album whose exact release date is unknown to me. Let's just say that some time in 1986, The Enid released Salome, which is my favorite album in their output. I had been following them since the late seventies, but before now, their way of playing classical music with modern instruments had never really piqued my interest. Salome, on the other hand, is a stunning album that saw the group adapt a much more contemporary style.

The opening track O Salome, embedded above, is a good example of what the Enid sounded like at this point in their career. It is not the best track on the album; it is just the only one I could find in YouTube. Tracks 3 and 4, called The Change and The Jack respectively, are the ones that really take this work of art to new heights and successfully combine classical influences with modern art rock. Salome is an album of great beauty performed by skilled musicians and gets a strong recommendation from me.

Then it was summer, and on 30 June one of the greatest pop songs ever was released on a new album by Madonna. The album was called True Blue and the song is of course Live to Tell. Prior to this, I had considered Madonna only a meaningless pop idol, not exceptional in any way. This is something that I now had to swiftly reconsider. Even on this greatest decade of pop, there weren't many other songs that matched the greatness of the track embedded above.

This year, I had a summer job at the university where I was studying. In the summer evenings, I listened. In awe.

1985: July to December

We begin discussing the second half of 1985 with yet another reminder of the fact that, at this particular point in time, the best pop music ever was getting made. The American group Heart, best remembered for the singing Wilson sisters Ann and Nancy, released their self titled album on 6 July. In spite of it being self titled, it was far from their debut. Heart was already their eighth studio album, and a return to form following two less successful efforts.

These Dreams, embedded above, was the third single release (out of a whopping five) taken from the album, as late as in January 1986. In my opinion, it was easily the best. The others were a bit too mediocre and forgettable, but These Dreams displays exceptionally strong pop songwriting and is definitely one of the Unmissable tracks of the year. And, I might add, Heart's next studio album, released two years later, would be even better.

Also in July, the british new wave / goth outfit The Damned had their sixth studio album Phantasmagoria out. It saw them take yet another really long stride forward in their artistic development. The album's absolute masterpiece Sanctum Sanctorum is a simply stunning example of first class music making that clearly shows how far the group had by now progressed from their new wave roots. Please enjoy this awesome song embedded below.

August arrived, and it so happened that there was also another new release from a group that, like the Damned, had started their career as a new wave / punk outfit in the seventies but had by now moved on. The Finnish super group Eppu Normaali had been developing via regular rock and roll towards genuine art rock. They were not quite there yet, but you could already hear that the days of young rebellion were far behind them on their new album Kahdeksas ihme (in English, The Eighth Wonder) which, you guessed it, was their eighth.

The by now very famous Finnish group was paying special attention to meaningful lyrics and seemed to be repeatedly composing somewhat sad and melancholic rock songs about love either already lost or close to being so. The second track on the new album Voi kuinka me sinua kaivataan (in English, Oh How Much We Miss You) was a particularly good example of this new songwriting style. Eppu Normaali would go on to even improve upon it on their next album, out the following year.

Summer of 1985 was nearing its end. On 1 September, Dead Can Dance released their second full length album that started their golden era with a bang. When it came out, Spleen and Ideal was something completely different: art rock with strong ethnic influences from diverse cultures, yet strongly anchored in the unique style and sensibility of group members Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry.

The change from not too original goth rock of the duo's debut, out early the previous year, was amazing. Spleen and Ideal is a surprisingly accomplished recording with a voice completely its own. Starting with a couple of tracks reminiscent of medieval mass, it begins to get more accessible and finally concludes with Indoctrination (A Design for Living), perhaps my favorite track on the album. A better example of its overall soundscape is Enigma of the Absolute that seems to exist between these two extremes.

A couple of weeks later, on 16 September, the new album by Kate Bush was released. Hounds of Love continued Kate's flirtation with progressive rock influences but did so in a sharply divisive method: the first side of the vinyl release contained some more easily accessible songs and the B side allowed more room for artistic ambition.

The best known songs on the first side are radio hits Running Up That Hill and Cloudbusting. As good as those songs were, it was always the over 26-minute magnum opus The Ninth Wave on the B side that fascinated me. A single, continuing work only thematically, The Ninth Wave sounded like an intertwined collection of seven shorter songs, many of which were genuinely experimental. There were some sound effects thrown in, and some of Kate's vocal work was truly unique. Perhaps the best example of this is the third part, called Waking the Witch.

In October, one more brilliant pop song came out. The American singer Jennifer Rush was already well known due to her hit single The Power of Love that had first appeared on her previous album in 1984 and had been released as a single in June 1985. Now it was time to start enjoying her next album Movin' where I found one of its lesser known tracks very likable. It is called Automatic and represents the eighties power pop in its finest form. Do check it out.

On 29 October, two time Album of the year winner Rush released Power Windows, now sounding even more sterile and technical than they had on Grace Under Pressure. Although I once again grew to like many of the songs on the album over time, it was obvious that they wouldn't be able to win for a third time. Good production values are great to have, but I really started to miss the edgier, more raw sounding Rush of their earlier classics. From the get go, my favorite was the opening track The Big Money.

Four weeks later, on 27 November the American pop / rock group Mr. Mister released their second full length studio album Welcome to the Real World. It contained several well received singles and went on to become the group's most commercially successful album. The first single, the absolutely brilliant Broken Wings had actually come out ahead of the album, already on 25 September, but I thought we might as well discuss the entire album here, instead of discussing the single separately. Broken Wings has been embedded below: a stunning effort.

For me, the second single Kyrie was the first introduction to the band; it was out in December. Next year, Is it Love? followed. In addition to these three, Welcome to the Real World also contains a brilliant non-single Uniform of Youth, which I also recommend you to get acquainted with. When Mr. Mister disbanded a few years later, their drummer Pat Mastelotto became the new drummer for the new incarnation of prog legends King Crimson.

Finally, there is only one 1985 album release left to discuss. It is also coming from a group who had until this point been known as a pop group, but who had now started evolving into a genuine art rock ensemble and in doing so, virtually creating a genre of their own. The Colour of Spring by Talk Talk was first released in Germany and the Netherlands on an unknown date at the very end of 1985. In many other countries, release didn't follow until early 1986.

Probably the best known song on the new album is the catchy pop tune Life's What You Make it, and I would fully agree that it is a really good song. My number one favorite on The Colour of Spring has however always been its eight-minute closing track Time it's Time. Yet another Unmissable track for this year, it seemed to bridge the gap between the old Talk Talk the pop group, and the new truly strange one that would fully emerge on their next album in 1988. In fact, the song embedded below is more than just unmissable; it is the best short track of the year.

There are really only two candidates for Album of the year, and the winner is Marillion with their outstanding third studio album. Dead Can Dance is a close second and a good reminder that excellent art rock performers are emerging to present a challenging alternative to plain old prog. Of the short tracks, Broken Wings by Mr. Mister and Sanctum Sanctorum by The Damned were the runners-up. Too bad that Kate Bush's absolutely great The Ninth Wave happened to be released on the same year as Robert Fripp's stunning God Save the King. Had the year been less exceptional, it could have won Best long track.

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR:
Dead Can Dance: Spleen and Ideal
Marillion: Misplaced Childhood

UNMISSABLE TRACKS OF THE YEAR:
A-ha: Hunting High and Low
The Damned: Sanctum Sanctorum
Dead Can Dance: Enigma of the Absolute
Dead Can Dance: Indoctrination (A Design for Living)
Eppu Normaali: Voi kuinka me sinua kaivataan
Heart: These Dreams
Kate Bush: The Ninth Wave
Marillion: Pseudo Silk Kimono
Marillion: Bitter Suite
Marillion: Blind Curve
Mr. Mister: Broken Wings
New Order: Elegia
Robert Fripp: God Save the King
Suzanne Vega: Cracking
Talk Talk: Time it's Time
Tears for Fears: Shout
Tears for Fears: The Working Hour

Best albums of the year, 1967 to 1985:

1967: Pink Floyd: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
1968: -
1969: Procol Harum: A Salty Dog
1970: Genesis: Trespass
1971: Genesis: Nursery Cryme
1972: Yes: Close to the Edge
1973: Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon
1974: Mike Oldfield: Hergest Ridge
1975: Electric Light Orchestra: Face the Music
1976: Genesis: A Trick of the Tail
1977: Yes: Going for the One
1978: Genesis: And Then There Were Three
1979: Robert Fripp: Exposure
1980: Talking Heads: Remain in Light
1981: Camel: Nude
1982: Rush: Signals
1983: Ozzy Osbourne: Bark at the Moon
1984: Rush: Grace Under Pressure
1985: Marillion: Misplaced Childhood

Best short tracks (under approx. 12 minutes):

1967: Pink Floyd: Bike
1968: Pink Floyd: Julia Dream
1969: Pink Floyd: Cirrus Minor
1970: The Beatles: The Long and Winding Road
1971: Genesis: The Fountain of Salmacis
1972: Gentle Giant: Schooldays
1973: John Cale: Paris 1919
1974: Mike Oldfield: Mike Oldfield's Single
1975: The Tubes: Up from the Deep
1976: Gong: Chandra
1977: Yes: Going for the One
1978: Genesis: Down and Out
1979: Barclay James Harvest: Play to the World
1980: Saga: Don't Be Late
1981: John Foxx: The Garden
1982: Laurie Anderson: O Superman (For Massenet)
1983: Brian Eno: An Ending (Ascent)
1984: Laurie Anderson: Blue Lagoon
1985: Talk Talk: Time it's Time

Best long tracks (Approx. 12 minutes or over):

1970: King Crimson: Lizard
1971: Van der Graaf Generator: A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers
1972: Yes: Close to the Edge
1973: King Crimson: Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part 1
1974: King Crimson: Starless
1975: Mike Oldfield: Ommadawn, Part 1
1976: -
1977: Yes: Awaken
1978: Popol Vuh: Brüder des Schattens, Söhne des Lichts
1979: U.K: Carrying No Cross
1980: Mike Rutherford: Smallcreep's Day
1981: -
1982: Mike Oldfield: Taurus II
1983: Mike Oldfield: Crises
1984: Jean-Michel Jarre: Ethnicolor
1985: Robert Fripp: God Save the King

1985: January to June - The return of progressive rock

1985 saw the welcome return of progressive rock, although in a slightly different form compared to that of the seventies. Let's begin with a release that came out some time during the year. I have no idea when, but since January is once again otherwise empty it can be used as a placeholder. And since it seems to be impossible to find the song itself available anywhere, we will have to be content with an album cover.

God Save the King by Robert Fripp is otherwise a compilation album, except for the title track that opens it. It is a 13-minute, 13-second masterpiece that is essentially a remix of a track called The Zero of the Signified that appeared on an earlier album called God Save the Queen / Under Heavy Manners (1980). It has, however, been altered so much that in truth it is a completely new instrumental rock track. And what an incredible track it is!

The 1980 album may have been a disappointment following the masterful 1979 Album of the year winner Exposure, but here Fripp is working at the peak of his powers. The key theme here is resignation: the track sounds extremely pessimistic to begin with, and its tone gets worse and worse towards the end. It is a major downer, not to be played at all if the listener has a tendency to become depressed by the music he or she is listening to. Needless to say, we have already found the best long track of the year.

On 25 February, Tears for Fears released their peak album Songs from the Big Chair. It was the duo's second studio album following 1983's The Hurting, and soon became their biggest hit. By far the best known song on it is its opening track Shout which became an international success and has been embedded above. Easily the strongest pop / rock song of the year, Shout is not the only strong track on an otherwise mediocre album; far from it. There is one great song after another all the way to the end.

A perfect example is the second track The Working Hour which is arguably an even stronger piece of work than the opening. In fact, there is only one notable exception to the rule. The other single hit taken from the album, called Everybody Wants to Rule the World is an excruciating exercise in banality that sounds like it has been taken from another album performed by a vastly inferior group. Please avoid it if you can, and try to tolerate it if you can't.

Next, we have to jump over two months ahead in time. Depeche Mode, who had stunned me last year with the closing track of their latest album Some Great Reward, called Blasphemous Rumours, released a new single Shake the Disease on 29 April. It was a stand alone release: apart from a greatest hits collection, it wouldn't appear on any of the group's albums. It was yet another indication that great things would soon be coming from these British synth pop makers.

May saw release schedules getting noticeably more crowded following the exceptionally quiet late winter / early spring. There were three noteworthy new albums out; one from an already well known group, and two from new, promising talents. First, there was a new album out from New Order, called Low Life, on 13 May. Also a British synth pop group like Depeche Mode, they were no newcomers but it was new to me that they had started to sound pretty good, as exemplified by the moody instrumental track Elegia embedded below.

Dire Straits were already mentioned back when they released their previous album Love Over Gold. Now, they peaked with the excellent Brothers in Arms that is certainly worth mentioning although I won't embed anything. Many people probably remember this album for its best known track Money for Nothing but there are much better songs contained on it. Thoughtful, at times surprisingly quiet mellow rock at its best. If you like, I recommend you check out Why Worry, Your Latest Trick and The Man's Too Strong.

Finally, May also marked the release of the self titled debut album by New York folk rock singer Suzanne Vega. Here was really a talent to watch. Her collection of semi autobiographical songs clearly displayed that she had not yet matured as a songwriter, but on the other hand they were a breath of fresh hair: honest, in many places touching, and full of enjoyable melodies. I could have picked a number of songs for embedding, but perhaps the opening track Cracking serves best as an example of the album content.

The title of the blog is ProgActive, and the header of this entry promised the return of progressive rock. When discussing the last few years, that once great genre has not been represented by too many examples. This is because, immediately after the seventies were over, high quality prog was nowhere to be found. The most talented musicians that were active had turned their attention elsewhere. This was not really a surprise, considering how progressive rock had almost dominated the previous decade, but back when I actually lived the early eighties, I was desperate.

Would the good times ever return? Would I eventually run out of new albums to buy? Was the era of progressive rock really now over for good? These questions may seem silly now but at the time they seemed legitimate. So, it should be easy to imagine the relief that washed over me in late June, 1985, when a couple of albums encouraged me to believe that progressive rock would return. Which it did in all its glory. It did take some time, but it resurfaced and is as strong as ever today.

Mind you, this was not my perverted way to introduce a-ha, the highly talented Norwegian pop group. It's just that before we get to those two albums, we need to mention their hit pop album Hunting High and Low that came out on 1 June. Like I mentioned before, I think the eighties were the absolute greatest time for pop music and this album is one of the best examples of that. And I'm not talking about drivel like the mega hit Take on Me but songs like the title track, embedded above, or the excellent Living a Boy's Adventure Tale. Both of them succeed in transforming pop music into a true art form.

Following that, progressive rock returned in June 1985 in the form of neo prog. The first one of the two important new albums came out some time during the first half of the month and was called The Wake, by a group called IQ. It was that group's third album and the first one I noticed, due to excellent prog songs like the title track, The Magic Roundabout, Headlong - or the opening track Outer Limits that has been embedded below.

I am assuming that The Wake was released in early June because it rose to the UK album chart on 22 June. It wouldn't peak any higher than #72, but this was quite enough to reaffirm my belief that prog would be coming back in a big way. And as it happens, by this time another album had already come out in the very same genre. The third album by Marillion was called Misplaced Childhood, was released on 17 June, entered the UK album chart precisely one week after The Wake, and sounded like an immediate lock for Album of the year.

I discussed Marillion when they released their debut in 1983, but had already given up on them after spending my hard earned money on their next release Fugazi in 1984 - quite possibly the sorriest second album by any rock band who had shown promise when debuting. But now, this was again something else! Suddenly the band had matured in a way that would have been unimaginable beforehand, particularly following something like Fugazi. A theme album with long compositions and masterful songwriting. I was stunned and giddy in an extremely pleasant way.

So, even though my latest summer job was far from enjoyable, everything was right in the world once more. Great music was again being made, and even though this neo prog thing didn't quite match ye olde prog, it still sounded pretty damned fine, as you can hear from these two examples above. Perhaps I would still be able to find good albums to buy and collect in the future as well.

1984: September to December

On 1 September, David Bowie released his follow-up to the disappointing Let's Dance that had come out a couple of years earlier. His new album Tonight was not particularly memorable either, but it did contain two songs that immediately stood out. One of them was an enjoyable pop song called Blue Jean. The other was an instant classic called Loving the Alien.

This masterful song opens the album in a longer version that runs over seven minutes. In this case the additions are quite unnecessary. The shorter version heard on the official music video, embedded above, is by far the better one of these two. It seemed that Bowie had once again managed to recapture his inspiration for songwriting, and when it came to the lyrics, he actually had something to say.

However, as successful as these two songs were, the listener was still left with a sense of uncertainty considering that these two were the only really good songs on the new album. This feeling was to prove well founded a little later: Bowie's next album was going to be, at least according to many a fan's opinion, an all time low. It would be released some three years later and we will most certainly skip it. Which means that this is where we need to say goodbye to Mr. Bowie for nearly a decade.

When discussing the release of Ammonia Avenue early this same year, I already mentioned that the Alan Parsons Project was having an exceptionally productive phase in their career. Their next album Vulture Culture (a silly name, yes, but please bear with me) was recorded between May and July, so I suppose it must have come out some time in early autumn. Let's place it here then and listen to yet another beautiful, classic if perhaps a bit overlooked song in their discography.

The Same Old Sun, embedded above, is my number one favorite song from the group this year; even better than the excellent title track of Ammonia Avenue. By this point, it looked like the Alan Parsons Project could do no wrong, and I was expecting them to inevitably become the Electric Light Orchestra of the eighties. This was not to be. Following Vulture Culture, they went on to release only two more studio albums, neither of which was memorable in any way. So, with this beautiful song, we bid them farewell.

Meanwhile, the recording career of Depeche Mode was gathering speed. On 24 September, they released their fourth studio album Some Great Reward which, even though it still didn't feel like the group had hit the bull's eye, contained some masterful tunes. This is best exemplified by the horrendously sombre closing track Blashphemous Rumours, one of the bleakest and most pessimistic songs of the decade.

Most of the rest of the album was nowhere near the level that this absolutely stunning masterpiece achieved. Another single release Master and Servant sounded even downright ludicrous, and on the whole I felt that Some Great Reward was a small step backwards when compared to Construction Time Again. But there was no need to worry: only a couple of years later they would go on to release their true masterpiece that would really kick off their golden era.

I have never been a fan of U2, but the title track of their fourth studio album The Unforgettable Fire, out on 1 October, never fails to astonish. One of the absolute best melody driven rock tracks of the early eighties, it sounds almost as boring as U2 usually does, but in this case it doesn't matter: exceptionally strong songwriting overcomes that weakness easily. Perhaps this has something to do with my old favorite Brian Eno and a new talent (for me) Daniel Lanois who had now taken care of producing duties for U2 for the first time.

Two weeks later, on 15 October, a surprising success arrived in record stores. Julian Lennon, son of John, released a solo album that contained a couple of good songs and, more importantly, one unforgettable masterpiece. The title track of Valotte immediately electrified me: there has always been something about a man playing a piano and singing about the difficulty of human relationships that has affected me... John Cale's Close Watch - the 1982 version - immediately comes to mind as another fitting example.

An interesting piece of trivia about the video embedded above is that it was directed by legendary American film director Sam Peckinpah. The promotional videos that were made to accompany the songs picked from Valotte as single releases were to become his last filmed works before he died on 28 December of this same year. No over the top bloodletting in slow motion this time, but a peaceful and harmonious way to bring a great career to its closing.

Some time in November, it was time for the French electronic music composer Jean-Michel Jarre to release his first new album in over three years. For him, it marked an end to pure electronica: he expanded his soundscapes to contain world music, sound effects and even occasional vocal passages. By far the greatest masterpiece on the album is its opening track Ethnicolor, embedded below. You will be able to hear Laurie Anderson's voice among others.

Less synthesizers, more sampling and natural analog sounds. It sounded like Jarre's music had started evolving. Even though this track is eleven seconds shy of twelve minutes, we will now simply bend the rule and name it the best long track of the year. Otherwise we would have to award Mike Oldfield for the third year in a row, for The Lake which is excellent but hardly breaks any new ground. Ethnicolor is unique also on the album it opens: nothing else on it really feels like much of anything, following an opening this strong.

Finally, December brings us the most impressive opening to a major motion picture in a long time - when it comes to the music on the soundtrack. Even more surprising is its source. The American megastar pop group Toto was hardly interesting to me when it came to the kind of music they usually made. But when composing the soundtrack for David Lynch's flawed science fiction epic Dune, they displayed surprising talent, as can be heard from its opening below. The main title has been composed by David Paich - too bad he never chose to pursue a film composer's career.

Not only is this a fine piece of film music; Toto also succeeded in writing a couple of other memorable tracks to go with the film, such as the romantic last tracks Take My Hand and Final Dream.

Brian Eno also appeared on the Dune soundtrack. He composed such an immensely beautiful instrumental track that I have to embed it here as well, to finally bring our discussion of 1984 to its beautiful end. Please enjoy Prophecy Theme below. It is yet another collaboration between Eno, Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno, like last year's Apollo, and would probably have fit that collection equally well.

There were lots of unmissable tracks recorded this year, but only one real candidate to win Album of the year. All of the other great songs seemed to come from albums whose other tracks didn't live up to them. Grace Under Pressure is either good or great, beginning to end, and gives the Canadian power trio their second win in only three years.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Rush: Grace Under Pressure

UNMISSABLE TRACKS OF THE YEAR:
The Alan Parsons Project: Ammonia Avenue
The Alan Parsons Project: The Same Old Sun
Brian Eno: Prophecy Theme
Chicago: Hard Habit to Break
Chicago: Remember the Feeling
Dalbello: Gonna Get Close to You
David Bowie: Loving the Alien
David Gilmour: Near the End
David Gilmour: You Know I'm Right
Dead Can Dance: In Power We Entrust the Love Advocated
Deep Purple: Perfect Strangers
Deep Purple: Under the Gun
Depeche Mode: Blasphemous Rumours
Jean-Michel Jarre: Ethnicolor
John Cale: Caribbean Sunset
Julian Lennon: Valotte
Laurie Anderson: Blue Lagoon
Public Image Ltd: The Order of Death
Rush: Afterimage
Rush: Between the Wheels
Toto: Main Title from Dune
U2: The Unforgettable Fire
Ultravox: Dancing With Tears in My Eyes

Best albums of the year, 1967 to 1984:

1967: Pink Floyd: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
1968: -
1969: Procol Harum: A Salty Dog
1970: Genesis: Trespass
1971: Genesis: Nursery Cryme
1972: Yes: Close to the Edge
1973: Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon
1974: Mike Oldfield: Hergest Ridge
1975: Electric Light Orchestra: Face the Music
1976: Genesis: A Trick of the Tail
1977: Yes: Going for the One
1978: Genesis: And Then There Were Three
1979: Robert Fripp: Exposure
1980: Talking Heads: Remain in Light
1981: Camel: Nude
1982: Rush: Signals
1983: Ozzy Osbourne: Bark at the Moon
1984: Rush: Grace Under Pressure

Best short tracks (under approx. 12 minutes):

1967: Pink Floyd: Bike
1968: Pink Floyd: Julia Dream
1969: Pink Floyd: Cirrus Minor
1970: The Beatles: The Long and Winding Road
1971: Genesis: The Fountain of Salmacis
1972: Gentle Giant: Schooldays
1973: John Cale: Paris 1919
1974: Mike Oldfield: Mike Oldfield's Single
1975: The Tubes: Up from the Deep
1976: Gong: Chandra
1977: Yes: Going for the One
1978: Genesis: Down and Out
1979: Barclay James Harvest: Play to the World
1980: Saga: Don't Be Late
1981: John Foxx: The Garden
1982: Laurie Anderson: O Superman (For Massenet)
1983: Brian Eno: An Ending (Ascent)
1984: Laurie Anderson: Blue Lagoon

Best long tracks (Approx. 12 minutes or over):

1970: King Crimson: Lizard
1971: Van der Graaf Generator: A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers
1972: Yes: Close to the Edge
1973: King Crimson: Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part 1
1974: King Crimson: Starless
1975: Mike Oldfield: Ommadawn, Part 1
1976: -
1977: Yes: Awaken
1978: Popol Vuh: Brüder des Schattens, Söhne des Lichts
1979: U.K: Carrying No Cross
1980: Mike Rutherford: Smallcreep's Day
1981: -
1982: Mike Oldfield: Taurus II
1983: Mike Oldfield: Crises
1984: Jean-Michel Jarre: Ethnicolor

Summer of 1984

In the previous blog entry I mentioned that Laurie Anderson's incredible Blue Lagoon would be getting a run for its money, regardless of how invincible it had originally seemed when it came to winning the title of Best short track of the year. Well, here it is. A very close competitor. I don't know exactly when the album Caribbean Sunset by John Cale came out but I specifically remember listening to it in the summer, so let's guess June and discuss it now.

On the whole, Caribbean Sunset was not a particularly strong album. Even the front cover looked like Cale had aped Kauko Röyhkä's Onnenpäivä (1983) and was ready to begin resting on his laurels. But there was one exception: the absolutely masterful title track that Cale had put together in collaboration with my old favorite Brian Eno. It was unbelievable. You can pretty much forget about the rest of the album and listen to Caribbean Sunset the song only. The piano sequence at the end is perhaps the most stunning musical moment of the year.

When listening to the track embedded above, you can safely skip the first four minutes and 17 seconds. For some reason the title track is not available in YouTube without Model Beirut Recital that precedes it on the album. This is probably because it is hard to cut these two apart. Following the explosive sound effect that closes the former song, we segue seamlessly into the latter. Total bliss ensues.

At the height of midsummer, on 25 June Mike Oldfield closed his short period of renewed inspiration with Discovery which, although a pretty decent album, already displayed a new declining trend that was getting steeper. Discovery wasn't as good as Crises and it most certainly wasn't as good as Five Miles Out, but on the other hand there were no major failures on this new release either. What we had was a good if not great collection of songs that was pleasant to listen to but hardly made music history.

Discovery's highlights include songs like Tricks of the Light, Saved by a Bell and To France, the last of which has been embedded above. Even the album's long track, the 12-minute The Lake is definitely worth a listen. But this is where it all ends. Following this album, Mike Oldfield has not made a single good album and even his individual good tracks have been few and far between. We will nonetheless still be mentioning him a few times, whenever appropriate.

2 July saw the release of The Last in Line by Dio. The heavy metal group's new album was a one trick pony in much the same way as Holy Diver had been, but once again I couldn't help liking one particular song which this time was the title track. I was working my third consecutive summer at my all time favorite summer job, had bought my very first VCR only one week earlier, and remember taping this particular video, embedded above, for repeated watching - something I used to do a lot during the next ten to twelve years.

Exactly one week later, on 9 July it was time for Public Image Ltd. to succeed in making me understand that they really were a force to be reckoned with. I already mentioned the release of Flowers of Romance earlier: the new album called This is What You Want... This is What You Get was an even more enjoyable collection of slightly zany rock songs than its predecessor, best exemplified by the outstanding The Order of Death embedded below.

At some point during 1984, the female singer who was nicknamed "Canada's Peter Gabriel" released her new album. Whomanfoursays was already Lisa Dalbello's fourth full length studio release - her self titled debut had come out as early as 1977 - but it wasn't until now that I took notice. The single picked from the album called Gonna Get Close to You got plenty of radio play, and a second brilliant song from the same collection was the B side of that very same single: Guilty by Association.

I was never quite sure what the comparison to Peter Gabriel meant. Dalbello, who used only her last name on her music releases, had a very strong voice and liked to use it all the way from quiet tones to high pitched screams - something I can't remember Gabriel ever doing. However, she was a talented musician and her next album, due three years later, was going to be even better. Perhaps the comparison came from similar musical style and not the singing.

August arrived, and with it the recorded result of the sensational reformation of classic seventies heavy rock outfit Deep Purple. I mentioned them a couple of times already during that decade, even following singer Ian Gillan's departure when they made the surprisingly strong album Burn. Since then, Deep Purple had released a couple of less interesting albums and finally disbanded, only to have its members form separate groups such as Rainbow.

I remember well that it was a slight surprise at the time that the guys would leave their own pet projects in order to return together. However, it was a very successful return, resulting in Perfect Strangers. It gave me no reason to get excited about everything on it, but admittedly it did contain a couple of the year's best rock songs. The second track Under the Gun immediately comes to mind, but of course the true classic on the album is its title track. Please enjoy its humorous music video below.

And then, I finally get to introduce Dead Can Dance. The immensely talented duo of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry had already released their self titled first album on 27 February. I didn't mention it then because at that point they had yet to find their true voice. The goth influenced rock / pop that they displayed on their debut was in many places interesting but didn't really grab me. That would however change soon enough.

On 17 August, Dead Can Dance put out a four track EP called Garden of the Arcane Delights that began their development towards becoming the single most important art rock outfit of the eighties. I was immediately blown away by one particular track on this new collection, which has been since combined with the ten track debut album to form a fourteen track CD. In Power We Entrust the Love Advocated was an unpolished diamond that became yet another strong contender for Best short track of the year.

What a beautiful way to close this blog entry. At this point, Dead Can Dance still sounded a bit like a guitar rock outfit whose soundscape placed a strong emphasis on treble. Their very special brand of art rock would find its true form on their next full length album, out the following year.

1984: January to May

For the first time in quite a while, a year is best divided into three blog entries to be able to discuss everything worth discussing and avoid overlong entries. This isn't to say that 1984 was a sudden return to the glory days of the seventies, but it was a considerable improvement over the all time low of 1983 when I was hard pressed to be able to name Album of the year at all, and when only eight unmissable tracks were released as opposed to over 20 of earlier years.

I have nothing in my calendar for January, so let's once again begin with an album that was released at an unknown time during this particular year. The video above displays The Europeans performing Acid Rain, one of the best songs on their second full length studio album Recurring Dreams, which also was their last since the group disbanded the following year.

The well written, melody driven pop / rock songs of the British group went largely unnoticed at the time, but prog fans may recognize future Marillion vocalist Steve Hogarth singing on the video above. Acid Rain closes the album; another brilliant song called Don't Give Your Heart to Anybody precedes it and is equally recommendable for checking out.

February got under way with similar melody driven pop / soft rock. On the 7th, The Alan Parsons Project released the follow-up to their 1982 masterwork Eye in the Sky. As was to be expected, the new album Ammonia Avenue had no chance of matching the high expectations set by its predecessor, but by no means was it a failure either. I was particularly impressed by the title track, embedded above. Not only is it a beautiful song but it also has thought provoking lyrics.

At this point, the Alan Parsons Project enjoyed an exceptionally productive phase in their career. They would be releasing a second new studio album at the end of this very same year. And just like Ammonia Avenue, it would also contain one truly beautiful standout song that in my opinion is even better than this one. We will be coming back to it following the next blog entry, when discussing the year end. Both appear to be obvious choices to join the list of unmissable tracks of the year.

One week later, it was Valentine's Day. As if on cue, Laurie Anderson aped the Alan Parsons Project and released her follow-up to the 1982 masterwork Big Science. It was called Mister Heartbreak and even though it didn't quite live up to its predecessor on the whole, it did contain my all time favorite Laurie Anderson song, embedded above, that I felt even surpassed the magnificent O Superman.

Anderson was a close collaborator with Peter Gabriel who also appeared on the album. He did not sing, however, on Blue Lagoon which seemed to have filed an unbelievably strong claim to the title of the best short track of the year already this early in the year. The song is a breathtaking, monumental work of art - how could anything released later surpass it? We'll see how that goes; at least it will be getting one very close competitor a little later in the year.

On 5 March, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour released his second solo album About Face and by so doing most likely disappointed no one. Gilmour's debut had already been an almost impeccable collection of memorable songs, and so was this new album. At the time, I was most impressed by its closing track Near the End, embedded above, but must admit that there are plenty of other great tracks on offer as well. By this point, Gilmour's solo work was much better than Pink Floyd's.

On 12 April, yet another follow-up to a 1982 masterwork came out. The new album by Rush called Grace Under Pressure was initially a turn-off for me. It sounded like the group was trying to reimagine itself as a more techno oriented "modern" outfit with a more accomplished and less rocking sound. Even the group photo on the back cover of the album was distinctly uncool. It was only after repeated listenings that I came to appreciate the strength of the songwriting, perfectly exemplified by Distant Early Warning below.

Considering that the rest of the album was just about as good as this song, Grace Under Pressure gradually grew from initial disappointment to a strong contender to win the Album of the year title - already won by the hard rocking Canadians for the first time only two years earlier.

April also marked the release of the seventh studio album by the British futuristic pop group Ultravox who should finally be mentioned here for the first time. I hadn't been particularly impressed by their career so far, but by now had to admit that their artistic development was extremely rapid. Ultravox would be releasing their absolute masterwork a couple of years later, but already now, the title track of their new album Lament as well as the strangely moving song Dancing With Tears in My Eyes really captured my attention.

On 11 May, one of the less interesting Stephen King film adaptations called Firestarter had its US premiere. At best, the film itself could be called mediocre but its soundtrack contained some genuine highlights. Like last year, Tangerine Dream had once again scored a horror film and succeeded exceptionally well. The main title of the film has been embedded a little further down. Before we get to it, let's make an important statement.

Mid-eighties were the all time greatest period for pure pop music, and this is where it's starting to show. Since virtually no progressive rock of any true significance was made, we might as well touch all bases here and mention some pop classics that easily put to shame what is out there today. One of the first indications of this golden era of pop came out on 14 May and was called Chicago 17. It was as if the seventies jazz rock group had been neutered, yet as a pure pop album this was - and still remains - a landmark.

Regardless of how wimpy Chicago of 1984 may sound, the new album contains not one or two but three undying pop classics that I cannot help but place on the unmissable tracks of the year list. They are called Hard Habit to Break, Remember the Feeling and You're the Inspiration. I am too ashamed to embed them here but please check them out if you're interested in eighties power ballads sung at an exceptionally high pitch.

1983: August to December

On 22 August, a new talent emerged to the music scene that we will be coming back to several times during the next couple of decades. Or, let's take that back, they had actually emerged a couple of years earlier. Construction Time Again was not the first album by Depeche Mode - they had already released two - but it was the first one I noticed after I had heard the single release Everything Counts on the radio several times. The sound of the group had a fresh feel to it; their brand of electronic pop was something that was very much unlike what I had heard and grown to like during the seventies.

In addition to Everything Counts, another single release from the same album was Love in Itself that also became a favorite of mine. Both singles had very cynical lyrics which seemed to be a trade mark of sorts for the group. But, as good as these two songs were, my number one favorite was a much more optimistic song. It closed the album: And Then... has been embedded above.

Next, we will need to skip September altogether and jump directly to 3 October, when Genesis released yet another Phil Collins era album, this time without a separate title. In some ways, Genesis was actually a more tolerable release than Abacab because the pop songs it contained were not quite as bad as they had been on that previous album. And like then, the album once again contained a couple of genuine highlights that were quite good.

The opening track Mama became a moderate hit which seems a little surprising considering its extremely sombre subject matter and uncompromising art rock format. I am embedding the official video above, even though it contains the shortened version of the song. To enjoy Mama in all its power, you should really check out the album version that runs almost a minute and a half longer. The other excellent sequence on the album comprises of two similarly sinister sounding tracks called Home by the Sea (a song) and Second Home by the Sea (an instrumental). If you can, please do check them out as well.

Next, let's discuss a couple of releases that must have come out some time in the autumn but whose exact dates are unknown to me. The first one of them is Finnish. The eccentric sounding rock singer Kauko Röyhkä had already released three albums previously but they had received extremely poor reviews. It has been claimed that Kauko and his group Narttu were planning to quit if their fourth album were to suffer that same fate. For this reason, it only contained songs about love and childhood, and was even named Onnenpäivä (in English, Day of Happiness).

Onnenpäivä was recorded between 1 and 5 August, so it might have come out around October. No more bad reviews were in store: it became a revered modern classic of Finnish rock music. Some of its songs are perhaps a bit weaker, but you can listen to the album easily all the way through without really needing to skip anything. At the time, the single hit Nivelet (Joints) was my first introduction to the album. My initial favorite track Rakkauden valtakunta (Realm of Love) was the most beautifully powerful Finnish love song I had ever heard.

But, looking back, I think the true pinnacle is the title track that closes the album and has been embedded above. Most likely any non-Finnish speaking listener cannot enjoy its full power, which lies in the masterful combination of lyrics and composition. As you can hear, the music itself is very laconic, contradicting the masterfully written lyrics that have immense power. They combine teenage optimism with adult loss and regret in a way few other songs I have heard do.

The first album by Bon Jovi wasn't released until January 1984, but its first single and future opening track Runaway came out already in late 1983. You can say what you want about the group based on their later output: I agree that many of their hits redefine the term banality. But this first single I am always ready to defend. It is one of the absolutely essential straight rock tracks of the entire decade, and even though I am more inclined towards progressive rock, I do not look down on this type of rock and roll. Nor should you.

Next, we move on to November where three interesting albums came out in the space of only five days. The British pop group ABC had enjoyed noticeable success with last year's The Lexicon of Love. Even though it contained admittedly well made pop songs, I always thought the pinnacle of the group's career was the brilliant That Was Then But This is Now that opened their next album Beauty Stab, out on the 14th.

All right then, let's call a spade a spade. All of the 1983 music I have discussed so far has been good, but none of it has been on par with seventies music. Not even close. If it were up to this year's output so far, I wouldn't be able to name Album of the year. Nothing released by this point would have been worthy of that title - for the first time since 1968. But now, almost at the last minute, a new album release came out that was finally good enough to become Album of the year 1983. This took place only one day after ABC's album release: on 15 November.

The album in question has nothing whatsoever to do with prog. The best album of the year is the landmark heavy metal release Bark at the Moon by Ozzy Osbourne. In the original release, there is one weak track called Spiders but everything else is simply great. The former Black Sabbath singer succeeds in everything he attempts and manages to surprise me once again by making me enjoy a collection of songs that have absolutely nothing to do with everything I used to believe in. This is the second interesting heavy metal album of the year I referred to when discussing Dio's Holy Diver.

Three more days, and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame released his first, and still the best solo album I have heard. Walk into Light came out on 18 November and contained some exceptionally strong songwriting. I will not embed anything here but if you can and want to, please check out songs like Fly by Night, Trains, End Game and Looking for Eden to understand that this album was way, way better than anything that actual Jethro Tull released under that name during the entire decade.

This brings us to the end of 1983 and back to Tangerine Dream that opened our previous blog entry. 16 December marks the premiere of the second feature film by Michael Mann, a horror film called The Keep. You can say what you like about the film itself, but the brilliance of its soundtrack cannot be denied. It wasn't released as a recording until a very long time afterwards but here, embedded below, is the wonderfully ominous main title. Enjoy!

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Ozzy Osbourne: Bark at the Moon

UNMISSABLE TRACKS OF THE YEAR:
Brian Eno: An Ending (Ascent)
Depeche Mode: And Then...
Genesis: Mama
Kauko Röyhkä: Onnenpäivä
Kauko Röyhkä: Rakkauden valtakunta
Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Brothers and Sisters of Azania
Marillion: Script for a Jester's Tear
Mike Oldfield: Crises

Best albums of the year, 1967 to 1983:

1967: Pink Floyd: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
1968: -
1969: Procol Harum: A Salty Dog
1970: Genesis: Trespass
1971: Genesis: Nursery Cryme
1972: Yes: Close to the Edge
1973: Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon
1974: Mike Oldfield: Hergest Ridge
1975: Electric Light Orchestra: Face the Music
1976: Genesis: A Trick of the Tail
1977: Yes: Going for the One
1978: Genesis: And Then There Were Three
1979: Robert Fripp: Exposure
1980: Talking Heads: Remain in Light
1981: Camel: Nude
1982: Rush: Signals
1983: Ozzy Osbourne: Bark at the Moon

Best short tracks (under 12 minutes):

1967: Pink Floyd: Bike
1968: Pink Floyd: Julia Dream
1969: Pink Floyd: Cirrus Minor
1970: The Beatles: The Long and Winding Road
1971: Genesis: The Fountain of Salmacis
1972: Gentle Giant: Schooldays
1973: John Cale: Paris 1919
1974: Mike Oldfield: Mike Oldfield's Single
1975: The Tubes: Up from the Deep
1976: Gong: Chandra
1977: Yes: Going for the One
1978: Genesis: Down and Out
1979: Barclay James Harvest: Play to the World
1980: Saga: Don't Be Late
1981: John Foxx: The Garden
1982: Laurie Anderson: O Superman (For Massenet)
1983: Brian Eno: An Ending (Ascent)

Best long tracks (12 minutes or over):

1970: King Crimson: Lizard
1971: Van der Graaf Generator: A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers
1972: Yes: Close to the Edge
1973: King Crimson: Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part 1
1974: King Crimson: Starless
1975: Mike Oldfield: Ommadawn, Part 1
1976: -
1977: Yes: Awaken
1978: Popol Vuh: Brüder des Schattens, Söhne des Lichts
1979: U.K: Carrying No Cross
1980: Mike Rutherford: Smallcreep's Day
1981: -
1982: Mike Oldfield: Taurus II
1983: Mike Oldfield: Crises

1983: January to July

1983 turned out to be a strong year for heavy metal. There will be one interesting album representing that genre discussed both in this blog entry and the next. Another topic that will be touched upon in both entries is the seventies electronic music favorite Tangerine Dream. 1983 both begins and ends with their release. Here is the beginning.

Once again, I really don't know exactly when in 1983 Hyperborea came out, but since there is nothing else worth mentioning in January, let's place it there. This was the first truly decent album made by the West German trio in several years. I particularly liked the title track, embedded above, as well as the shorter Cinnamon Road. At this point, the group members were still Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke and Johannes Schmölling, who had replaced Peter Baumann after his departure.

It sounds like the group had finally acquired some genuine inspiration when composing. The other release we will discuss at the very end of 1983 seemed to confirm this at the time, but sadly, this new hope was to be relatively short-lived. Following this year, Tangerine Dream were to do some high quality film soundtrack work in 1984 and 1987, and we will definitely discuss those works when the time comes. Other than that, they were never to regain the magnificence of their seventies output.

On 18 February, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band released a new album called Somewhere in Afrika. The group had already been highly active during the seventies, and I had noticed their work, but although often quite good, it had never felt quite important enough to be mentioned here. Likewise, this new album was hardly groundbreaking: it was more like the group's output had already peaked and they were starting a slow descent towards mediocrity. It happens to everyone.

Yet there was one track on this album that I found really exciting, and it was one of my winter favorites. Brothers and Sisters of Azania, embedded above, successfully combines all the best elements of the album: its main theme, a nice eighties style synthesizer loop, and some African vocals that bring an enjoyably ethnic feel to the mix. It is a rather short song in just under three minutes, but very powerful and well made.

And then it was March, and a new talent in the progressive rock genre finally released their debut album. Marillion was already mentioned in the previous blog entry because of their interesting, 17-minute long single B side called Grendel. Now, they had completed Script for a Jester's Tear and introduced to the world this new thing called neo prog.

I'm not sure how to precisely define neo prog, but the song above should give you a general idea. It is like seventies symphonic prog but robbed of any real life, yet played so well and beautifully that you could not help liking it. Yet, while doing so, you always had the nagging feeling that Genesis and Yes did the same thing much better years ago. The soundscape is sterile in a way that couldn't even be technically achieved back then. And this is not to say that Script wasn't a good album: the title track was a masterpiece, I liked Chelsea Monday almost as much, and there were also other good tracks included.

Heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio has already sung twice in tracks embedded in this blog as a member of the group Rainbow. By 1983, he had already left that group and formed his own, called simply Dio. Their debut album Holy Diver, out in May, was nothing spectacular except for one truly great track called Don't Talk to Strangers. It served as a good reminder of Dio's songwriting skills that were still intact, even though years had passed and Rainbow was no longer a force to be reckoned with.

Another milestone for me followed: I turned 20 on 21 May. Six days after that, on 27 May it was time for Mike Oldfield to release yet another good eighties album. Following the example of last year's Five Miles Out, this year's Crises also featured one vinyl side length track on side A, whereas side B was filled with shorter songs. As good as Taurus II had been, the title track Crises was even better and still remains the best thing that Oldfield released during this decade. Enjoy it below: it is the first track on the album.

Four days later, on 31 May, it was time for Talking Heads to release the follow-up to their 1980 masterpiece Remain in Light. The new album, called Speaking in Tongues, was a decent collection of songs but didn't come close to the earlier album in any respect. I suppose the best known track must be Girlfriend is Better but my absolute favorite has always been Pull Up the Roots - the only new song that was every bit as good as anything on Remain in Light.

June arrived. I had already begun my second consecutive summer in my best summer job ever around 9 May if I remember correctly, and the new releases are ones that I associate with that. The slightly eccentric German electronic music outfit Kraftwerk released probably their finest song of the decade called Tour de France as a single. I remember listening to it over and over again while working. Summer music at its best: simple, yet ingenious. Once heard, easy to remember and extremely difficult to forget.

Finally, let's close this particular blog entry with one more release whose exact date I have absolutely no idea of. There is not going to be anything worth mentioning in July; next time we will continue from August. Apollo by my old seventies favorite Brian Eno should serve well as a placeholder for July 1983: I cannot swear this but I think I remember listening to it some time in the summer period, while at work, so maybe it was a summer release.

Since Music for Films (1978), Eno had mostly concentrated on creating ambient soundscapes, both on his own and with collaborators such as American composer Harold Budd. This was kind of interesting, but for the most part left me cold. Apollo, created with Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno, also continued in the same vein but also contained some "easier" tracks. The best known of them closes the Academy Award winning feature film Traffic (2000) and was already my favorite on the album back in 1983: An Ending (Ascent).

1982: July to December

I don't know exactly when in 1982 Glassworks by Philip Glass was released, but I remember listening to it during July and / or August when I was working my best summer job ever that I mentioned in the previous blog entry. Also, I am not aware of any other significant releases taking place in July, so let's use it as a placeholder for that month. The actual release may have taken place a bit earlier, but certainly not later than the second half of summer.

The importance of Glassworks is in that it brought the New York minimalist composer more widespread attention than before. He even received radio play in Finland. Glassworks offered an easy entry to the composer's style and also probably encouraged new listeners to seek out his other recorded works. I was certainly encouraged to do just that. Prior to Glassworks, I had never even heard of him. Closing, embedded above, is the last track of the album, like its title implies. Beautiful.

In August, an excellent album came from a truly surprising artist. Following last year's megahit Mistaken Identity and its single hit Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes had already now completed and published her next collection of songs, and it contained some truly exemplary pieces. The album as well as the first single taken from it was called Voyeur. In addition to the title track that opened the album, the B side opener Undertow was a really fine pop song. However, the three genuine masterpieces on the album ascended to new heights so far unknown for the singer.

First up was the second track Looker, co-written by Barry DeVorzon, who had recently written some fine music to motion pictures like The Warriors (1979) and Looker (1981). Obviously, Looker the song was based on a theme from the film. Its prolonged finale was already pure art rock and probably caused several jaws to drop. But even better were tracks four and five that didn't have a background in another medium.

Does it Make You Remember, embedded above, was the second single from the album, and Breakin' Away from Sanity yet another beautiful song backed only by a piano and... er, a children's choir. This may sound banal but works wonderfully. Suddenly, a female, adult pop singer was becoming a force to be reckoned with in the art rock scene. All three masterpieces on Voyeur sound very sad and pessimistic, which makes their appearance on a megahit's follow-up all the more weird. This was what they thought would be commercial? Well, I for one am glad that they did.

At the beginning of September, I began my studies in the local University. Another thing that I also did during September was get my driver's license, and for some reason I associate my driving lessons very strongly with the fourth album by Peter Gabriel. I must have listened to it before and after. Out on 8 September, 4 (known as Security in the US) was nowhere near as strong as 3, but started well. Both the opener The Rhythm of the Heat and San Jacinto, the latter embedded above, are in my opinion among the very best solo works of Mr. Gabriel.

It was good that I had time to listen to Peter Gabriel around the time I took driving lessons, because otherwise his album was completely overshadowed by another September release that came out only one day later. 9 September saw the release of Signals, the all time greatest album by Rush. Not a single weak track this time - just a great rock song after another. There is no way I can embed only one track, so here's the whole thing. If you can stop listening following Subdivisions, please go ahead...

Only four more days, and yet another extremely interesting album release. As I mentioned earlier, Kate Bush had caused me quite a disappointment with her third album Never for Ever in 1980, but the fourth one marked a clear return to form. The Dreaming, out on 13 September, was in some ways her best album yet. Granted, the best tracks of Kate's first two albums were still better than anything on offer here, but the number of really good songs per album was clearly on the rise.

Also, The Dreaming was such a challenging collection of songs that I saw it getting labelled as a progressive rock album, at least over here in Finland. So there, I had thought my favorite genre was dead and now it was rearing its complicated head once again. Of the ten tracks, my favorites were the strong opening Sat in Your Lap and, in particular the ninth track, the lovely Houdini that was almost like it had been hidden to its slot; close to the end but not quite there. Sat in Your Lap was released as a single a whopping 15 months earlier and was embedded then, so let's listen to Houdini now.

I was never a fan of Dire Straits, but their 20 September release of Love Over Gold contained some interesting moments. First, there was the really long opening track Telegraph Road that reminded me of long prog masterpieces although it wasn't quite as complicated as those. It was followed by Private Investigations that ran over seven minutes. These two filled the vinyl version's A side with a mood of their own that became more and more sombre towards the end. Lengthy instrumental sequences and many almost quiet moments.

Then it was October, and time for John Cale to release something interesting for the first time since Hedda Gabler (1977). The new album Music for a New Society was slightly uneven but contained a few memorable songs like Chinese Envoy, the stunning opener Taking Your Life in Your Hands and most importantly, a new version of the seventies hit I Keep a Close Watch, its title now abbreviated to a more simple Close Watch. No overdone string arrangements, only a man, a piano, and an unbelievably strong interpretation.

Normally, I don't like to embed live versions because of their inferiority but this time I will make an exception as the original studio version is once again nowhere to be found. It sounds much like the version embedded above, only more polished. It closes the A side of the vinyl release with remarkable force. An obvious unmissable track for this year.

Next, let's discuss another October release that I think must have gone largely unnoticed at the time. On 25 October, a new and so far unknown British group called Marillion managed to release their first single. It was called Market Square Heroes and was quite forgettable. However, on the 12 inch version of the single there was something really interesting on the B side: an over 17 minutes long progressive rock song called Grendel.

When you listen to the lengthy song, you will soon realize that it is a shameless carbon copy of Supper's Ready (1972) by Genesis, only with more lifeless production. So shameless in fact, that it is actually quite funny. But in any case Grendel does have a charm of its own, and the composition is new even though the structure and time signatures are the same. Marillion would turn out to become one of the harbingers of a new prog style called neo prog. It wasn't anywhere near as warm and soulful as genuine symphonic prog that was played in the seventies by Genesis, but I suppose it was an OK substitute for the time being.

And now, only one more 1982 album left to discuss. It might come as a surprise. The album that almost everyone wanted to get rid of, judging from its common appearance in stores that sold used CD and vinyl records in the eighties and even nineties. In my opinion, the second album by Phil Collins called Hello, I Must Be Going! has more merit than its hugely successful predecessor. Out on 1 November, it was overall much like Face Value: a schizophrenic mix of awful, whiney pop songs and genuinely strong, atmospheric tracks, some of them bordering on art rock.

Embedded above is one of the latter, Thru These Walls, which has an official music video. Perhaps even slightly disturbing story about human loneliness, it is one of two tracks on the album that just about matches its strong opening I Don't Care Anymore which, while aping In the Air Tonight, actually manages to improve on it. The third similar track is Do You Know, Do You Care? An album that contains three songs of this caliber is undeniably a success, and when you throw in also the less great but still good instrumental The West Side and ballad Why Can't it Wait 'Til Morning, you can pretty much forgive the other five songs.

Album of the year is not particularly hard to choose. Signals by Rush wins easily. Choosing the best individual under 12-minute song is way more difficult. Finally, I had to admit that while One Man's Poison by Rupert Hine is absolutely great, it just has to step down to take second place after Laurie Anderson's incredible O Superman.

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR:
The Alan Parsons Project: Eye in the Sky
Camel: The Single Factor
Kate Bush: The Dreaming
Rush: Signals

UNMISSABLE TRACKS OF THE YEAR:
The Alan Parsons Project: Old and Wise
Asia: Wildest Dreams
Camel: Manic
John Cale: Close Watch
John Cale: Taking Your Life in Your Hands
Kansas: Crossfire
Kate Bush: Houdini
Kim Carnes: Breakin' Away from Sanity
Kim Carnes: Does it Make You Remember
Kim Carnes: Looker
King Crimson: Requiem
Laurie Anderson: From the Air
Laurie Anderson: O Superman (For Massenet)
Mike Oldfield: Taurus II
Peter Gabriel: The Rhythm of the Heat
Peter Gabriel: San Jacinto
Phil Collins: Do You Know, Do You Care?
Phil Collins: I Don't Care Anymore
Phil Collins: Thru These Walls
Rupert Hine: One Man's Poison
Rush: Losing it
Rush: Subdivisions
Rush: The Weapon

Best albums of the year, 1967 to 1980:

1967: Pink Floyd: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
1968: -
1969: Procol Harum: A Salty Dog
1970: Genesis: Trespass
1971: Genesis: Nursery Cryme
1972: Yes: Close to the Edge
1973: Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon
1974: Mike Oldfield: Hergest Ridge
1975: Electric Light Orchestra: Face the Music
1976: Genesis: A Trick of the Tail
1977: Yes: Going for the One
1978: Genesis: And Then There Were Three
1979: Robert Fripp: Exposure
1980: Talking Heads: Remain in Light
1981: Camel: Nude
1982: Rush: Signals

Best short tracks (under 12 minutes):

1967: Pink Floyd: Bike
1968: Pink Floyd: Julia Dream
1969: Pink Floyd: Cirrus Minor
1970: The Beatles: The Long and Winding Road
1971: Genesis: The Fountain of Salmacis
1972: Gentle Giant: Schooldays
1973: John Cale: Paris 1919
1974: Mike Oldfield: Mike Oldfield's Single
1975: The Tubes: Up from the Deep
1976: Gong: Chandra
1977: Yes: Going for the One
1978: Genesis: Down and Out
1979: Barclay James Harvest: Play to the World
1980: Saga: Don't Be Late
1981: John Foxx: The Garden
1982: Laurie Anderson: O Superman (For Massenet)

Best long tracks (12 minutes or over):

1970: King Crimson: Lizard
1971: Van der Graaf Generator: A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers
1972: Yes: Close to the Edge
1973: King Crimson: Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part 1
1974: King Crimson: Starless
1975: Mike Oldfield: Ommadawn, Part 1
1976: -
1977: Yes: Awaken
1978: Popol Vuh: Brüder des Schattens, Söhne des Lichts
1979: U.K: Carrying No Cross
1980: Mike Rutherford: Smallcreep's Day
1981: -
1982: Mike Oldfield: Taurus II