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
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