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
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