Radio 2 ballot.

[Steve Hague]

They voted The Joshua Tree as the best album of the 1980s, followed by
Brrothers in Arms. I agree. Help! I'm turning into a Radio 2 person.
Steve

[Chris J Dixon]

Post by Steve Hague
They voted The Joshua Tree as the best album of the 1980s, followed by
Brrothers in Arms. I agree. Help! I'm turning into a Radio 2 person.
Steve

The latter is one of my few albums that might even be considered
in such a list. The former, along with most others, is unknown to
me.

A quick look at my data shows that, in the pop genre I also have,
in no particular order:

Willy & the Poorboys
Life for Rent
Pearls
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simply the Best
Tracy Chapman
Easy Rider
Motown Chartbusters Vol 3
Pretty Woman
Born in the USA
On Every Street
Graceland
Maggie May
Eliminator

Chris

[Sid Nuncius]

Post by Steve Hague
They voted The Joshua Tree as the best album of the 1980s, followed by
Brrothers in Arms. I agree. Help! I'm turning into a Radio 2 person.

Now there's a challenge! I like BiA, but I've never been all that keen
on U2. Don't mind them most of the time, but can't say I'm bonkers
about them.

A quick skim through my collection gave me these from the 80s (in no
particular order), all of which I'd rate higher than either of the above
- but that's just my personal preference, of course. (And sorry about
there being two Paul Simon albums, but they're both outstanding, IMO.)

Eric Clapton – August
Cowboy Junkies – The Trinity Session
Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man
J.J. Cale – Shades
Joan Armatrading – Me Myself I
Ry Cooder – Bop Till You Drop
Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Rattlesnakes
Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing
Peter Gabriel – So
Paul Simon – Hearts And Bones
Paul Simon – Graceland
Joni Mitchell – Wild Things Run Fast
Edie Brickell – Shooting Rubber Bands At The Stars
David Bowie – Scary Monsters...

[Steve Hague]

Post by Steve Hague
They voted The Joshua Tree as the best album of the 1980s, followed by
Brrothers in Arms. I agree. Help! I'm turning into a Radio 2 person.

Now there's a challenge!  I like BiA, but I've never been all that keen
on U2.  Don't mind them most of the time, but can't say I'm bonkers
about them.
A quick skim through my collection gave me these from the 80s (in no
particular order), all of which I'd rate higher than either of the above
- but that's just my personal preference, of course.  (And sorry about
there being two Paul Simon albums, but they're both outstanding, IMO.)
Eric Clapton – August
Cowboy Junkies – The Trinity Session
Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man
J.J. Cale – Shades
Joan Armatrading – Me Myself I
Ry Cooder – Bop Till You Drop
Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Rattlesnakes
Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing
Peter Gabriel – So
Paul Simon – Hearts And Bones
Paul Simon – Graceland
Joni Mitchell – Wild Things Run Fast
Edie Brickell – Shooting Rubber Bands At The Stars
David Bowie – Scary Monsters...

I'm not familiar with all of those, but some of them are in my
collection. Not all of them have aged as well as TJT and BIA, but as you
say, it's subjective. I loved most of J.J. Cale's music, and Solitude
Standing was much played hereabouts. I wonder what happened to Suzanne
Vega? Another two women who produced an excellent album then disappeared
from my radar were Tracy Chapman (Joan Armatrading Mk2) and Tanita
Tikaram. I rather thought Joni Mitchell had run out of steam by WTRF,
although we bought it on the strength of her excellent earlier albums,
but it didn't get played nearly as much as say, The Hissing of Summer
Lawns. I was never a Bowie fan.

[Sid Nuncius]

Post by Steve Hague

Post by Steve Hague
They voted The Joshua Tree as the best album of the 1980s, followed
by Brrothers in Arms. I agree. Help! I'm turning into a Radio 2 person.

Now there's a challenge!  I like BiA, but I've never been all that
keen on U2.  Don't mind them most of the time, but can't say I'm
bonkers about them.
A quick skim through my collection gave me these from the 80s (in no
particular order), all of which I'd rate higher than either of the
above - but that's just my personal preference, of course.  (And sorry
about there being two Paul Simon albums, but they're both outstanding,
IMO.)
Eric Clapton – August
Cowboy Junkies – The Trinity Session
Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man
J.J. Cale – Shades
Joan Armatrading – Me Myself I
Ry Cooder – Bop Till You Drop
Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Rattlesnakes
Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing
Peter Gabriel – So
Paul Simon – Hearts And Bones
Paul Simon – Graceland
Joni Mitchell – Wild Things Run Fast
Edie Brickell – Shooting Rubber Bands At The Stars
David Bowie – Scary Monsters...

I'm not familiar with all of those, but some of them are in my
collection. Not all of them have aged as well as TJT and BIA, but as you
say, it's subjective. I loved most of J.J. Cale's music, and Solitude
Standing was much played hereabouts. I wonder what happened to Suzanne
Vega? Another two women who produced an excellent album then disappeared
from my radar were Tracy Chapman (Joan Armatrading Mk2) and Tanita
Tikaram. I rather thought Joni Mitchell had run out of steam by WTRF,
although we bought it on the strength of her excellent earlier albums,
but it didn't get played nearly as much as say, The Hissing of Summer
Lawns. I was never a Bowie fan.

I'm broadly in agreement with pretty well all of that.

Suzanne Vega is still making new music, some of it very good. I'd
recommend Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles, in spite of
the dreadful title. She also made acoustic versions of much of her work
in a 5-CD set called Close-Up (2012) and I often like these versions
better than the originals. (Marlene On The Wall and Luka are both
stunning, IMO.)

Agree about both Tracy Chapman and Tanita Tikaram, although I missed out
on TT at the time (apart from Twist In My Sobriety, which I loved). She
also made an acoustic retrospective in 2018, which I like very much.

Joni Mitchell. Yes, she's a bit tricky. Her first half-dozen albums
are woven into my musical bones, but I find that I like a some of her
later work that others don't really rate and vice versa. I don't get on
well with modern jazz, so she began to lose me around the time of
Hissing and Hejira (although I like them more now). I do like WTRF, and
she made a couple of albums in the 90s which I really rate: Night Ride
Home and Turbulent Indigo.

My list is heavily influenced by my taste, obviously, especially now.
I've always liked a well-crafted singer-songwriter album and that
persists as I've moved away from more rocky stuff - not exclusively by
any means, but it's a noticeable shift.

So if I had to choose "Best Album Of The 80s" it would probably be
either I'm Your Man or Graceland. YM will certainly V.

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

[]

Post by Sid Nuncius

Post by Steve Hague

Post by Sid Nuncius
A quick skim through my collection gave me these from the 80s (in no
particular order), all of which I'd rate higher than either of the
above - but that's just my personal preference, of course.  (And

[Snip list of acknowledged greats from the era. None of which I own (and
the majority of which artists I'm not that keen on, though acknowledging
their can't-be-challenged-as-classics status, but that's just _my_
tastes).]

Post by Sid Nuncius

Post by Steve Hague
I'm not familiar with all of those, but some of them are in my
collection.

(-: - that happens to us all sooner or later. [And worse, when you buy
an album you've already got - I have at least one or two such, though in
my defence the record company had put a different picture on the cover!]

[snip much very erudite discussion.]

Post by Sid Nuncius
So if I had to choose "Best Album Of The 80s" it would probably be
either I'm Your Man or Graceland. YM will certainly V.

I fear I never got into classic pop of the 70s onwards: never bought,
nor AFAICR felt any urge to buy, an issue of NME or similar
publications. I liked (and still do) mostly easy listening, light
classical, and comedy/novelty, and ABBA (who are acknowledged now, but
were considered deeply un-cool* by the pop cognoscenti for most of their
heyday).

* "Cool", in that sense, seems to have come back into wide use. I'm of
the - fairly brief? - time-period where its use itself was a sign of
un-coolness: probably the period when "Happy Days" was on UK TV, and
known to be 50s-oriented, when the use of the word in that sense was
"known" to be from the previous generation - "daddy-oh" (sp? Daddio?)

("Easy Listening" is also often said with a slightly
condescending/derogatory term, too.)

[Steve Hague]

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)
[]

Post by Sid Nuncius

Post by Steve Hague

Post by Sid Nuncius
A quick skim through my collection gave me these from the 80s (in no
particular order), all of which I'd rate higher than either of the
above - but that's just my personal preference, of course.  (And

[Snip list of acknowledged greats from the era. None of which I own (and
the majority of which artists I'm not that keen on, though acknowledging
their can't-be-challenged-as-classics status, but that's just _my_
tastes).]

Post by Sid Nuncius

Post by Steve Hague
I'm not familiar with all of those, but some of them are in my
collection.

(-: - that happens to us all sooner or later. [And worse, when you buy
an album you've already got - I have at least one or two such, though in
my defence the record company had put a different picture on the cover!]
[snip much very erudite discussion.]

Post by Sid Nuncius
So if I had to choose "Best Album Of The 80s" it would probably be
either I'm Your Man or Graceland.  YM will certainly V.

I fear I never got into classic pop of the 70s onwards: never bought,
nor AFAICR felt any urge to buy, an issue of NME or similar
publications. I liked (and still do) mostly easy listening, light
classical, and comedy/novelty, and ABBA (who are acknowledged now, but
were considered deeply un-cool* by the pop cognoscenti for most of their
heyday).
* "Cool", in that sense, seems to have come back into wide use. I'm of
the - fairly brief? - time-period where its use itself was a sign of
un-coolness: probably the period when "Happy Days" was on UK TV, and
known to be 50s-oriented, when the use of the word in that sense was
"known" to be from the previous generation - "daddy-oh" (sp? Daddio?)
("Easy Listening" is also often said with a slightly
condescending/derogatory term, too.)

There was a hierarchy of coolness when I was in my late teens, and if
you wanted to be seen as somewhere near the top you did not admit to
liking certain bands, The Doors and Led Zeppelin being two of them. You
could just about get away with early Pink Floyd. Having a Moody Blues
album would make you a laughing stock. Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart
and the Grateful Dead were all well within the boundaries of cool, as
were the Incredible String Band and Principal Edward's Magic Theatre. I
think I achieved semi coolness, though I kept my Led Zep and Doors
albums secret.

[Chris J Dixon]

Post by Steve Hague
There was a hierarchy of coolness when I was in my late teens, and if
you wanted to be seen as somewhere near the top you did not admit to
liking certain bands, The Doors and Led Zeppelin being two of them. You
could just about get away with early Pink Floyd. Having a Moody Blues
album would make you a laughing stock. Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart
and the Grateful Dead were all well within the boundaries of cool, as
were the Incredible String Band and Principal Edward's Magic Theatre. I
think I achieved semi coolness, though I kept my Led Zep and Doors
albums secret.

In a shared house in my college days, the only one of my LPs the
others ever put on was Leonard Cohen. The rest were far too
folky.

Chris

[Rosalind Mitchell]

Post by Steve Hague
There was a hierarchy of coolness when I was in my late teens, and if
you wanted to be seen as somewhere near the top you did not admit to
liking certain bands, The Doors and Led Zeppelin being two of them. You
could just about get away with early Pink Floyd. Having a Moody Blues
album would make you a laughing stock. Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart
and the Grateful Dead were all well within the boundaries of cool, as
were the Incredible String Band and Principal Edward's Magic Theatre. I
think I achieved semi coolness, though I kept my Led Zep and Doors
albums secret.

No love in the "best albums of the 80s" for Yazoo or the Eurythmics,
then? I'm not a fan of electronic noise-making machines but I never rule
anything out of bounds and I am willing to make exceptions for Vince
Thingy and Dave Stewart, supported as they were by the sublime voices of
Alison Moyet and Annie Lennox respectively.

Never a fan of Led Zep but you can prise my Doors albums from my cold,
dead hands.

R

[Sid Nuncius]

Post by Rosalind Mitchell
No love in the "best albums of the 80s" for Yazoo or the Eurythmics,
then? I'm not a fan of electronic noise-making machines but I never rule
anything out of bounds and I am willing to make exceptions for Vince
Thingy and Dave Stewart, supported as they were by the sublime voices of
Alison Moyet and Annie Lennox respectively.
Never a fan of Led Zep but you can  prise my Doors albums from my cold,
dead hands.

Interesting you say that, and I agree entirely about the personnel (it's
Vince Clarke, BTW). I considered Upstairs At Eric's and Savage (or Be
Yourself Tonight or We Too Are One) because I like Yazoo and
Eurythmics[1] very much, but as whole albums I'm not sure they really do
it for me now. I will (and do) happily listen to a lot of their singles
and selected album tracks, though. When The Day Goes Down is a real
favourite of mine, for example.

I liked Led Zep a lot; less so now. The only Doors album I ever really
loved was L.A. Woman, but again, there are plenty of individual tracks
I'll play with great pleasure.

[1]Saw them live in the mid-80s sometime. Absolutely brilliant.

[Penny]

On Sat, 10 Oct 2020 07:30:39 +0100, Steve Hague <***@gmail.com>
scrawled in the dust...

Post by Steve Hague
Another two women who produced an excellent album then disappeared
from my radar were Tracy Chapman (Joan Armatrading Mk2) and Tanita
Tikaram.

I'd forgotten about Tanita Tikaram, her brother still pops up in TV dramas
from time to time. She does have a facebook page and has been posting
weekly lockdown videos on her youtube channel
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-xbvA04CgxCj7-S_J8xOJg>

[Nick Odell]

Post by Penny
scrawled in the dust...

Post by Steve Hague
Another two women who produced an excellent album then disappeared
from my radar were Tracy Chapman (Joan Armatrading Mk2) and Tanita
Tikaram.

I'd forgotten about Tanita Tikaram, her brother still pops up in TV dramas
from time to time. She does have a facebook page and has been posting
weekly lockdown videos on her youtube channel
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-xbvA04CgxCj7-S_J8xOJg>

I went scratching through my memory to add to the list and quickly
discovered that a lot of what I thought were eighties albums were
actually works from the 70s or 90s! I endorse Tanita Tikaram and
sticking with the eighties, may I add:

Michelle Shocked - Short Sharp Shocked? Especially Anchorage
https://vimeo.com/99288663

Bruce Hornsby and the Range - Scenes from the Southside especially
The Valley Road

The Road Not Taken

- actually I think the whole album is excellent

I was listening to a lot of Oz-Rock and similar in those days so I
must add
Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust

Jim Camilleri/The Black Sorrows The Chosen Ones. It is a greatest hits
compilation so does it count? My special picks are Chained to the
Wheel

and Harley and Rose

(released 1990 but if the year 2000 was in the twentieth century I
reckon I can squeeze it in)

Finn Brothers/Split Enz/Crowded House - Time and Tide, Temple of Low
Men (Chosen track Don't Dream it's Over from the eponymous Crowded
House album

)

Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls - Under the Sun
Possibly Australia's greatest singer-songwriter - and that's not just
my view - this was IMO his breakthrough album and the track from it
has to be To Her Door

Finally from Down Under, Little River Band - Playing to Win, the title
track

Erme - I have told
umra how this became the theme song for Odell camping holidays,
haven't I?


Finally, finally, finally, I'm not sure if I ought to include this
because I wasn't aware of it at the time: in fact I only became aware
of it as a concept and an album a few weeks ago and whilst I think it
is brilliant, today I'm not sure if it was brave, foolhardy or cruel.
I wish I had heard it in 1987.

So. (I'm getting to the point: not long now...)
Years ago I bought a compilation album with this track by Polly Bolton
and it has haunted me ever since.

so
this has to be my chosen track from:

By Gloucester Docks I Sat Down And Wept by Ashley Hutchings
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kjazrhIeWYzMmLtFZfjAwe6Pr4HlkQQ_s

Nick

[Sid Nuncius]

Post by Nick Odell

Post by Penny
scrawled in the dust...

Post by Steve Hague
Another two women who produced an excellent album then disappeared
from my radar were Tracy Chapman (Joan Armatrading Mk2) and Tanita
Tikaram.

I'd forgotten about Tanita Tikaram, her brother still pops up in TV dramas
from time to time. She does have a facebook page and has been posting
weekly lockdown videos on her youtube channel
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-xbvA04CgxCj7-S_J8xOJg>

I went scratching through my memory to add to the list and quickly
discovered that a lot of what I thought were eighties albums were
actually works from the 70s or 90s! I endorse Tanita Tikaram and
Michelle Shocked - Short Sharp Shocked? Especially Anchorage
https://vimeo.com/99288663
Bruce Hornsby and the Range - Scenes from the Southside especially
The Valley Road http://youtu.be/KfKIq1Pmc8Q
The Road Not Taken http://youtu.be/C555rExz4ds
- actually I think the whole album is excellent
I was listening to a lot of Oz-Rock and similar in those days so I
must add
Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust
Jim Camilleri/The Black Sorrows The Chosen Ones. It is a greatest hits
compilation so does it count? My special picks are Chained to the
Wheel http://youtu.be/8YD5yAo4HQY
and Harley and Rose http://youtu.be/ZjIyDEjYpZI
(released 1990 but if the year 2000 was in the twentieth century I
reckon I can squeeze it in)
Finn Brothers/Split Enz/Crowded House - Time and Tide, Temple of Low
Men (Chosen track Don't Dream it's Over from the eponymous Crowded
House album http://youtu.be/J9gKyRmic20 )
Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls - Under the Sun
Possibly Australia's greatest singer-songwriter - and that's not just
my view - this was IMO his breakthrough album and the track from it
has to be To Her Door http://youtu.be/P6FF3-SWwsE
Finally from Down Under, Little River Band - Playing to Win, the title
track http://youtu.be/1_ad9TqnVEo Erme - I have told
umra how this became the theme song for Odell camping holidays,
haven't I?
Finally, finally, finally, I'm not sure if I ought to include this
because I wasn't aware of it at the time: in fact I only became aware
of it as a concept and an album a few weeks ago and whilst I think it
is brilliant, today I'm not sure if it was brave, foolhardy or cruel.
I wish I had heard it in 1987.
So. (I'm getting to the point: not long now...)
Years ago I bought a compilation album with this track by Polly Bolton
and it has haunted me ever since. http://youtu.be/0dq-KP0jh-w so
By Gloucester Docks I Sat Down And Wept by Ashley Hutchings
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kjazrhIeWYzMmLtFZfjAwe6Pr4HlkQQ_s

Thanks, Nick. That is truly lovely. I'll look into a bit more Bruce
Hornsby and Michelle Shocked, too. I only really know That's The Way It
Is and Anchorage and like both a lot. Looking forward to exploring more.

[Chris J Dixon]

Post by Sid Nuncius

Post by Nick Odell
Years ago I bought a compilation album with this track by Polly Bolton
and it has haunted me ever since. http://youtu.be/0dq-KP0jh-w so
By Gloucester Docks I Sat Down And Wept by Ashley Hutchings
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kjazrhIeWYzMmLtFZfjAwe6Pr4HlkQQ_s

Thanks, Nick. That is truly lovely.

Indeed, I have it on the original vinyl.

Chris

[Nick Odell]

Post by Chris J Dixon

Post by Sid Nuncius

Post by Nick Odell
Years ago I bought a compilation album with this track by Polly Bolton
and it has haunted me ever since. http://youtu.be/0dq-KP0jh-w so
By Gloucester Docks I Sat Down And Wept by Ashley Hutchings
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kjazrhIeWYzMmLtFZfjAwe6Pr4HlkQQ_s

Thanks, Nick. That is truly lovely.

Indeed, I have it on the original vinyl.

<Jealous>

I have no idea how I missed it the first time around. In those days we
were - depending on whether pre or post 1984 - trundling in on the A13
or barrelling down the M11 to all sorts of
Albion/Larkrise/Steeleye/Fairport assorted stuff yet it completely
passed me by.

Nick

[Nick Odell]

On Sat, 10 Oct 2020 23:02:01 -0300, Nick Odell
<***@themusicworkshop.plus.com> wrote:

<snip>

Nugger.
It's my own fault.

Post by Nick Odell
http://youtu.be/0dq-KP0jh-w

as an earworm, day and night, night and day since I mentioned it here
three days ago.

I suppose it could have been worse: it might have been that Smokey
Robinson hit from over in the other thread.

Oh no!

Here it comes!!!...

<snip>




Nick