Adam And The Ants: Prince Charming (1981)

My assessment is that this record is not as good as the first two Ants records, but it is not as bad as some critics would suggest. The cover images, both front and back, are ridiculous.

ABC: How to be a Zillionarie (1985)

It's clear that the guitar experiment was dead and the dance beats were back big time. Of the first three ABC records, I would rank this one as my least favourite, but I am sure those people who hated the second album were happy that the band came up with a sort of return-to-form effort. That's all I have to say.

AC/DC: '74 Jailbreak (1984)

 

From Wikipedia:

'74 Jailbreak is an EP by Australian rock band AC/DC, released in 1984. It is composed of five tracks that had previously been released only in Australia. Despite the EP's title, the song "Jailbreak" was actually recorded in 1976 and was originally released that year on the Australian version of the Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap album. The EP's four other tracks were originally released on the Australian version of the band's debut album, High Voltage, recorded in 1974 and released early the following year.

I have a Canadian pressing from 1984. 

AC/DC: Flick of the Switch (1983)

 

Despite the awful reviews, there are some good points to this LP. But, it's probably the low AC/DC point. 

AC/DC: For Those About to RockAC/DC: For Those About to Rock (1981)

It's clear that following up Back in Black, not to mention Highway to Hell, was vey difficult. S0, this record is sort of a disappointment but it's not terrible by any means. Some reviewers were really not happy with this effort. It's not nearly as bad as they suggest. 

AC/DC: Back in Black (1980)

Although I was aware of many AC/DC tunes before I heard this record, this was the first AC/DC record I ever bought. As everyone knows, this was at the first record with Brian Johnson, after the death of Bon Scott. The sad news is that my copy vanished, many years ago. Yes, I know where it went, but I have no idea if they still have it or if it is still in good shape. I picked up a nice used copy (for a really good prices) many years after that mistake. I have never seen this video. Also, let's not mention Celine Dion. 

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AC/DC: If You Want Blood You've Got it (1978)

Some sentences from Wikipedia:

If You Want Blood You've Got It (written as just If You Want Blood) is the first live album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, and their only live album with Bon Scott as lead vocalist.

Originally, a greatest hits package had been in the works called 12 of the Best but the project was scrapped in favour of a live album.

The album is often considered to be one of the greatest live albums of all time.

The album was listed at #2 on Classic Rock magazine's readers' poll of "50 Greatest Live Albums Ever." [source]

It is a cracker of an album.

AC/DC: Let there be Rock (1977)

I have a pressing that probably dates to the early 1980s, but you never know. The international release differs from the domestic Australian release, but I can't be bothered to enumerate the differences. I'd have to look them up anyway. This record is a firecracker.

ABC: Beauty Stab (1983)

ABC's second album was met with hostile reviews when it was released in 1983, with some reviewers suggesting that the band had sabotaged itself. I think it's fair to say that the public expects more of the same when it finds something it likes. Rather than Lexicon of Love II, they got Beauty Stab, a record that moved away from the synth sound to one that highlighted guitars. The single, That Was Then but This is Now, didn't really suggest that a change was afoot. Listen to the whole album, and you get a far different sense of what the band hoped to achieve. Very little of what made Lexicon of Love a fan favourite is present on the follow-up.

I wonder how those same reviewers would view the album 30 years on? I think that there is lots to like in this record. It's dark, edgy, but a far cry from the New Romantic sound of the first record. Bite the Hand is a good example.

ABC: Alphabet City (1987)

When I read the Wikipedia entry about the song When Smokey Sings I learned something:

"Smokey Robinson himself was on the pop charts with his single One Heartbeat at the same time as this tribute song, marking one of the only times to date that a singer simultaneously was the performing artist of one Top 40 hit, while the subject of another chart hit. For the week ending 3 October 1987, both songs were in the Top 10 simultaneously. In 1964, The Carefrees hit #39 with We Love You Beatles during a time when The Beatles had several hits simultaneously in the Top 40."

I guess that's an interesting bit of trivia.

AC/DC: Who Made Who (1986)

Who Made Who, is the soundtrack to Maximum Overdrive, a Stephen King movie that I have never seen. Who Made Who sounds like an album title that The Who forgot to use.

Side one:

Who Made Who

You Shook Me All Night Long (from Back in Black)

D.T. (instrumental)

Sink the Pink (from Fly on the Wall)

Ride On (from Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap)

Side two:

Hells Bells (from Back in Black)

Shake Your Foundations" (from Fly on the Wall)

Chase the Ace (instrumental)

For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) (from For Those About to Rock We Salute You)

That's it. It's worth owning if you are a fan. 

Adam and the Ants: Kings of the New Frontier (1980)

I think I used to regard Adam Ant (and Adam and the Ants) as a guilty pleasure. I am not embarrassed now. 

AC/DC: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)

This is a 1981 Canadian repressing of the original 1976 release. I hadn't heard it for ages, so I gave it a listen the other day, and, wow, does it ever bring back memories. It's part of the soundtrack of some of my early days. Here's a live version. By the way, Bon Scott's voice is much better than his replacement's voice.

AC/DC: High Voltage (1976)

AC/DC's Australian debut, released only in Australia and New Zealand, is also called High Voltage. Two of the tracks on this release -- She's Got Balls & Little Lover --  are taken from the debut. The rest of the tracks --

It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)
The Rock 'N' Roll Singer
The Jack 
Live Wire 
T.N.T. 
Can I Sit Next To You Girl 
High Voltage 

-- are culled from T.N.T, the band's second record, which was also limited to Australia and New Zealand. 

This is a fine record. The only track that does little for me is The Jack. It's not terrible, but it;s a little boring. Some of the reviews for this record were harsh and unjustified. I think the reviewers missed the point entirely.

ABC: That Was Then But This is Now/Vertigo (1983)

I have 12" singles. That Was Then But This is Now was released in advance of the second ABC album, Beauty Stab (1983). The sound is very similar to the first album, so there is really no departures or surprises. The flip side, Vertigo, is a delightful instrumental, which sounds somewhat unlike ABC.

ABC: The Lexicon of Love (1982)

There's a noticeable R&B feel to ABC's brand of new wave music. The Lexicon of Love is probably most well known for the songs Poison Arrow and The Look of Love (part one). I suppose one could classify this band as a new wave, synthesizer-infused, new romantic, pop, dance band. It's well-crafted, bubbly, happy music, despite the recurring theme of heartache on the record.

I picked this up used, somewhere; hence, the rather worn cover on my copy (pictured at left).

a-ha: Soundrel Days (1986)

Somewhat surprisingly, I have a second a-ha record. Scoundrel Days, released in 1986, does not come close to matching the success of the debut record. I have rarely listened to it, and don't have too much to say about it. Oddly, the Allmusic Guide seems to love the record:

"The opening two songs alone make for one of the best one-two opening punches around: the tense edge of the title track, featuring one of Morten Harket's soaring vocals during the chorus and a crisp, pristine punch in the music, and "The Swing of Things," a moody, elegant number with a beautiful synth/guitar arrangement (plus some fine drumming courtesy of studio pro Michael Sturgis) and utterly lovelorn lyrical sentiments that balance on the edge of being overheated without quite going over." [source]

There is no denying that the production is quite good, and the songs are not terrible. There is just little memorable for me here.  a-ha continued to release records right into the 2000s. I have never heard any of them. Pictured, above left, is my album cover, shot with my phone.

a-ha: Hunting High and Low (1985)

The labels synthpop, new wave, electronic, Euro-pop, and perhaps Top 40, apply to this Norwegian band, popular in the 1980s. Of course, the band is best known for the hit single, Take on Me. Somehow, I acquired a copy on vinyl of the band's first release, Hunting High and Low, containing said song.

By 1985, I think it is safe to say that music videos were still in their infancy, and a good video in many ways meant a great deal more than the song itself. The really catchy video for Take on Me probably helped to make the song more popular that it otherwise should have been. Still, the song probably qualifies as essential New Wave.

For the record, I was never a huge fan of this band, but the aforementioned track became an important song from that decade and my nostalgia for that period favorably disposes me to it. In case you have never seen the video:

The balance of the album, I think, is quite solid, for what it is. Let's not forget the other notable track from the album, The Sun Always Shines on TV.

My vinyl copy of this record is in great shape, and I wish I could remember where I got it, but I haven't a clue.

10,000 Maniacs: In My Tribe (1987)

My love for 10,000 Maniacs was fleeting and I know almost nothing about Natalie Merchant's solo career. I think she has a fantastic voice.

2001: A Space Odyssey, Original Soundtrack (1968)

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."

I think everyone knows the opening music for the fantastic film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. You know the one: that famous overture--Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 by Strauss--with those horns and those drums. You can hear it here. I am sure everyone also knows that parts of The Blue Danube by the other Strauss. They are both epic pieces. But, my favourite piece from this soundtrack is Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, 2 Mixed Choirs and Orchestra by György Ligeti and performed by The Bavarian Radio Orchestra. My three-year-old was frightened by the music, and asked me to turn it off.

2001 is one of my favourite films. I watched it three times in one weekend when I was in high school.

I really like records from this era. They are usually really heavy and the jackets are very study, unlike later releases.