Searching through old albums looking for 'new' music
I was in college for most of the 1980s. I did manage to get two degrees during that time, so from 1981 to 1988 I was “studying.” Truth is, I spent a lot of that time drinking beer and listening to music. In pursuit of the second interest, I was a serial member of the Columbia House Record Club.
For those too young to remember, Columbia House would allow you to purchase a dozen or so albums for a dollar or a penny or some ridiculously low sum with the agreement that you would buy another dozen albums over the course of the next three years at the regular price. The “club” would then send you a postcard every month with that month’s selection. You had 10 days or so to let them know whether you wanted that album, or they would send it to you automatically.
The key, I discovered, was to buy the 12 albums as quickly as you could afford, quit the club and sign up again. So, between that and frequent trips to Rocky Mountain Records and Tapes in Boulder, Colo., I accumulated a large record collection in the mid-’80s.
I purchased a turntable capable of plugging into my computer and turning those albums into MP3 files. The issue is that the turntable can only do this in real time. It would take me approximately two weeks — turning an album every 20 minutes — to do them all. The question becomes, which albums are worth the trouble?
A lot of the albums are what we remember from that era. There are multiple R.E.M. and Talking Heads albums. There’s Tom Petty, U2 and Bruce Springsteen. Most of that has since been repurchased on CD. But there’s a lot of forgotten albums in there that are worth another listen.
My tastes have obviously changed since 1988. There’s a lot more Blues and Roots/Americana than there used to be. But there’s some good stuff from the ’80s that deserves another life.
With that in mind I dug out a bunch and put them on regular rotation for a couple of weeks. Here is a half dozen that hold up pretty well. So, while the purpose of this website is to introduce people our age to new music. This is some stuff that’s become “new” by sitting in a stack for 30 years until it sounds like you’re listening to it for the first time.
BIG WORLD by Joe Jackson — None of Joe Jackson’s “Greatest Hits” are on Big World. That doesn’t make it a one of his weaker albums. In fact, Jackson didn’t produce a bad album in the 1980s. I bought them all. Jackson’s first six albums (not including the soundtrack to Mike’s Murder) were Look Sharp!, I’m the Man, Beat Crazy, Jumpin’ Jive, Night and Day and Body and Soul. They were all great and each was completely different than the one before. New Wave/Punk, Reggae, Jump Blues, Cole Porter-influenced Pop and Jazz-Latin.
Big World was the seventh. The album was a bit of a novelty. First, it was recorded live digitally direct to two-track. There was an audience present, but members were asked to remain silent until each song was completely finished so applause could be edited out. Second, the run time for the album was just over an hour. This made it an ideal length for the relatively new CD format. Most CDs are that length today. That meant the vinyl of the album was too long for a single disc and too short for two. The second disc is blank on the second side. This is what everyone talked about when it was released. They should have been talking about the music itself.
While Jackson’s changes in style were previously album to album. Here they’re song to song. I wouldn’t call Big World a “concept album,” but there is a common theme among many of the songs. It’s a big world. We’re all different but somehow the same. This is perhaps one of the most cerebral albums ever made. There’s political and social commentary, most of which is just as relevant today as it was in the days of Ronald Reagan. Listen to “Right and Wrong” or “Soul Kiss.” The references (commies, material girls) may be dated, but the themes are not.
I was 23 when Big World came out in 1986. Had I been 33 or 43, this album would never have been “forgotten” — at least not by me. It’s not that I didn’t like it the first time around. But I didn’t give it the real listen that it deserved. I even remember thinking “I should like this more than I do.” It only took 30 years or so, but now that I’ve dug this one out of the pile it will not get lost again.
Oh, and Joe Jackson’s next album? Will Power was an all instrumental modern Classical album complete with cellos and oboes. I bought that one too. Maybe I’ll dig that one back out when I’m 73.
DEAD MAN’S PARTY by Oingo Boingo — While Joe Jackson was cerebral, Dead Man’s Party is visceral. Songs about the inevitability of death and loneliness, but you can dance to it. This album has not been completely forgotten. Someone digs the title track up every Halloween. But we all forget how much we liked the rest of the album.
“Just Another Day,” “No One Lives Forever” and “Stay” are great party songs. There’s not an uplifting lyric among the three.
I'm so happy Dancing while the Grim Reaper Cuts cuts cuts but he can't get me I'm clever as can be And I'm very quick But don't forget We've only got so many tricks No one lives forever
And we danced our asses off.
The brains behind Oingo Boingo, Danny Elfman went on to become Oscar-nominated for film scores working primarily, but not exclusively, with Tim Burton. He also wrote the theme from The Simpsons.
BOOMTOWN by David + David — David Baerwald and David Ricketts produced only one album together, but it’s very good. The Davids painted a picture of the seamy underbelly of Los Angeles in the Reagan era. The opening track, “Welcome to the Boomtown,” was the subject of some controversy. This one is both cerebral and visceral, but in a different way from the danceable Oingo Boingo.
There’s a verse about a drug dealer.
Handsome Kevin got a little off track Took a year off of college And he never went back Now he smokes too much He's got a permanent hack Deals dope out of Denny's Keeps a table in the back
The Denny’s company was not thrilled with the reference to illegal activity going on in one of its restaurants and threatened to sue. A compromise was reached when the record company agreed to change the lyric sheets that came with each album to show that Dope was being dealt at a “Danny’s.” They did not, however, re-record the song. The dope is certainly being dealt at a Denny’s. Whichever David is doing the singing (they do not make it clear on the album notes) does not mumble.
JAMBOREE by Guadalcanal Diary — At a time when R.E.M. was essentially inventing the College Radio genre, record companies were scrambling to find other bands in the same vein. Like R.E.M., Guadalcanal Diary hailed from Georgia. The bands are similar, but not identical.
This was an album that I vaguely remember buying, and, prior to the last week or so, it hadn’t been played in at least 25 years. But, now that it’s been rediscovered, it won’t be another quarter century.
If you’re still listening to Fables of the Reconstruction by R.E.M. or the first two INXS albums, Jamboree is an album you should look up. If, like me you happen to have a copy collecting dust somewhere, dig it up and give it another listen.
BOSTON, MASS. by The Del Fuegos — Like the Guadalcanal Diary album, I really had no idea what to expect when I put The Del Fuegos on the turntable. There were a couple of albums pulled out of the pile and considered for this post that were rejected as, frankly, not very good.
This one, on the other hand, was very good. It didn’t take long to remember what the “hits” were off the album. The first song, “Don’t Run Wild,” and the third, “I Still Want You,” each got a fair amount of radio play. But there is a lot more to this than the two hits. There’s really not a bad song on the album and “Fade To Blue” and “Night On The Town” are excellent.
Boston, Mass., is, for some reason, out of print. The page on amazon.com has a picture of the CD case and only used copies are available. But you can find the album on Spotify. It’s worth a listen, especially if you liked the BoDeans or early- to mid-career Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
INTO THE WOODS by The Call — This one I remember and was one of the reasons for this post. This was a band that should have been a much bigger deal than it turned out to be. I’m not sure why The Call never hit it big. The band was called “the future of American music” by Peter Gabriel when he asked them to open for him on tour and worked with both Robbie Robertson and Garth Hudson of The Band. But they never really “made it.”
Singer and guitar player Michael Been called Into The Woods his favorite of the bands’ 10 albums. The Call had a reputation for producing albums that were angry and political. Into the Woods is really not an exception.
When I was quite young, I had learned to fear I was taught to listen but not to hear From my mother's arms I was cruelly torn And they whipped my ass on the day I was born Little brother died at the age of five They said, "He lost his soul, he was not baptized" But the river flows and the heavens cry And we'll all be drowned In the river, In the river
For my money, the bands that were similar, though not perfect comparisons, would The Smithereens and The Alarm. But the truth is, there really wasn’t another band like The Call. The sound was heavy, but percussion forward. Then lyrics were serious, but thoughtful.
If decide you’re going to look up only one of these albums, you should change your mind check out two of them. The first and last. Or maybe dig up your old record collection and listen to a few of them. But not the ones you remember. We all own copies of Born in the U.S.A. and The Joshua Tree. Find one that you think you recall liking, but you can’t remember why. That way it’s new music, even if it isn’t.
