By this time, Collins has of course fully and completely distanced himself from his progressive rock roots and lost most of his credibility as a serious artist at the same time. But there aren't many better pop songs out this year than his beautiful, even slightly moving Another Day in Paradise. It received some really heavy rotation on the satellite channels of the time; you simply couldn't watch their mixes of new music videos for long without hearing it. Which was perhaps a good thing.
I have been raving about the exceptionally high quality of pop songs released during the eighties. One of the very best of them all was released as late as 14 October, 1989; only five days after the Collins song. Style-wise, it already seemed to belong to early nineties. Just watch and listen to the video below. Sheer bliss.
The Sun Rising by the British pop group The Beloved was one of the most played songs on the satellite channels I already mentioned and one of my biggest autumn favorites. It was the first single release from the group's forthcoming first album that wouldn't however come out until March, 1990. This will give us an excellent reason to return to it then, since there will also be another great song (and a third very good one) on it.
Two days later, on 16 October Kate Bush released her new studio album The Sensual World which was also one of those new recordings that I caught hold of almost immediately. While it was yet another good album from Kate, it seemed to be downplaying the progressive rock influences that had made her previous two releases particularly interesting to me. The Sensual World was more a decidedly feminine art rock album. That said, let's embed the deliciously challenging Heads We're Dancing which is of course my favorite track on it.
Another four days later, yet another nineties voice entered the arena of rock music. The most archetypal angry young man of hard rock, Pennsylvanian Trent Reznor had formed a one man band called Nine Inch Nails and released his / the "group's" debut album Pretty Hate Machine on 20 October. The album seemed to instantly make him a moderate success, and it didn't take long for me to hear of him.
During the late winter, the video embedded below played on satellite channels a lot and even I took note though I wasn't particularly impressed at first. Head Like a Hole opens the album and was released as the second single taken from it. I have always preferred the more menacing tones of Terrible Lie but have to admit that this is also a great hard rock song. Also, I enjoyed the quieter Something I Can Never Have that will later work well on the soundtrack of the 1994 film Natural Born Killers.
November was a busy month. We will discuss three noteworthy album releases and then call it a decade - there will be nothing more coming out in December. First up is The Creatures, an offshoot of Siouxsie and the Banshees whose latest album Peepshow we already mentioned when discussing 1988. The Creatures consisted of only two members of the mother group: Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie. The duo had already released their first album Feast back in 1983.
Their second album release Boomerang, out on 6 November, was actually something I found out about only through satellite channels: even though the marvelous Standing There doesn't sound particularly commercial, it was played on Sky Channel often enough for me to take note. I wasn't the only one who was thoroughly impressed, since the album turned out to be a favorite among music critics. After listening to the video embedded below, I'm sure you will understand why.
The following week the American industrial metal group Ministry released their fourth album which is actually the one that really piqued my interest. I have already discussed their previous effort The Land of Rape and Honey - a fine metal album. The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, out on 14 November, saw their music start developing in impressive ways and I was immediately convinced that here was a group worth paying attention to.
Below, I have embedded Burning Inside which is a fine metal tune and I like it a lot. It was chosen, however, mostly because there is a music video available. There are other two tracks on the recording that are way better and display the development I mentioned more clearly. Breathe is a very, very strong song with an ominous melody and a rhythm like a sledgehammer. The other stunning track is the instrumental album closer Dream Song; talk about atmospheric!
So this is where the eighties end. There is only one more release left to mention, and then it's over. I was seriously considering whether I should be mentioning it at all, and originally decided against it. But finally I changed my mind: Whitesnake deserves to be mentioned one final time, even though their new album is only an obvious attempt to replicate the success of 1987, which mostly fails. The title is Slip of the Tongue; the release date, 18 November.
For the fans of the group's more mellow songs, there is the popular ballad Fool for Your Loving. For the fans of harder rock, there is no equivalent to Still of the Night but near the end of the album there are a couple of excellent rock songs. Judgement Night is the first one of my big favorites. I am however embedding the closing track Sailing Ships which is even better: a fine, melodic hard rock song.
It is easy to select The Real Thing by Faith No More as Album of the year; it is groundbreaking and very evenly good, with only a couple of weaker tracks on it. Selecting the Best long track is even easier: once again, there aren't any.
But selecting the Best short track is really, really hard. This year, there are many excellent candidates, none of whom clearly stand out. I would so much have liked to award The Sun Rising, Standing There, The Real Thing, Oh Father, Disappointed or even Run Silent Run Deep. But, all things considered, the most significant and beautiful new song this year is Seasons End by Marillion. This is the first win in the song categories for the group, promising good things for the new lineup.
ALBUMS OF THE YEAR:
Faith No More: The Real Thing
Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine
UNMISSABLE TRACKS OF THE YEAR:
Aerosmith: Janie's Got a Gun
Aerosmith: Love in an Elevator
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe: Birthright
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe: The Meeting
The Beloved: The Sun Rising
The Creatures: Standing There
Faith No More: The Real Thing
Faith No More: Zombie Eaters
Kate Bush: Heads We're Dancing
Madonna: Oh Father
Marillion: Seasons End
Marillion: The Space...
Nine Inch Nails: Head Like a Hole
Nine Inch Nails: Terrible Lie
Peter Gabriel: It is Accomplished
Public Image Ltd: Disappointed
Queen: The Miracle
Shakespear's Sister: Run Silent Run Deep
Simple Minds: Belfast Child
Best albums of the year, 1967 to 1989:
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
1986: Depeche Mode: Black Celebration
1987: Suzanne Vega: Solitude Standing
1988: Dead Can Dance: The Serpent's Egg
1989: Faith No More: The Real Thing
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
1986: Ultravox: All in One Day
1987: Suzanne Vega: Ironbound / Fancy Poultry
1988: Dead Can Dance: The Host of Seraphim
1989: Marillion: Seasons End
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
1986: The Enid: The Change
1987: -
1988: -
1989: -
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti