damosuzuki said:

preach it! Great album, indeed.

The Fixx - Phantoms. Terrific album. Smart, off-kilter, edgy pop/rock that sounds very fresh 25 years later.

Thomas Dolby - The Flat Earth & The Golden Age of Wireless. Two of the finest albums of the early 80's. Innovative and intelligent pop covering lots of emotional territory. A shame Mr. Dolby is mostly known for his one big American hit.

Eurythmics - 1984. Dark, nightmarish, hypnotic music. Utterly original and compelling.

NoVideo said:

We need to start a club.

Yet another Donna Summer album that showcases Summer's versatility.



Donna Summer: The Queen Of Music...Not just one genre. As evident in this 1991 release.


[Edited 9/11/09 22:01pm]
[Edited 9/12/09 10:16am]

Moonbeam said:

Let's do it! This album deserves a much wider audience. Julia and Ministry of Love are so sublime.

I remember being completely captivated by this album when it first came out, i was 12 years old and had never heard anything else like it. It's a kindred spirit with Bowie's Low/Heroes period.

NoVideo said:

Here's my review:

Some albums add up to more than the sum of their parts. Some artists understand this and craft a cohesive album accordingly, and Eurythmics are one of those artists. Nowhere in their catalogue is this more apparent than on the unheralded but brilliant soundtrack 1984: For the Love of Big Brother. Having become pop stars rapidly with the previous two smash albums Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) and Touch, it would have been easy for them to crank up the synths are record another album in the same vein, pandering to their rapidly growing fanbase, but the only thing that they retained was the experimental aesthetic edge that made their previous albums such thoroughly enjoyable lessons. This soundtrack would prove to be a big risk for the band, and while it may not have been commercially wise, it certainly succeeded in legitimizing their legacy.

What makes this album work so well is that it was created with the clear understanding of the material for which it was providing a soundtrack. George Orwell's paranoid dystopia stands as a classic novel, gradually building the suspense over an extended period, slowly sinking its teeth into the reader's psyche. This album works in much the same way, utilizing its icy soundscapes and Annie's voice to capture the hollow horror depicted in the novel rather than to merely recite a pop melody. In fact, the album only contains three songs that could be deemed "conventional", but even those aren't exactly representative of the musical landscape in 1984. The first was the album’s main single and arguably the most “normal” song therein: the jittery, industrious synth pulse of “Sexcrime (1984)”, which summarizes the claustrophobic and controlling governmental control ubiquitous in Orwell’s nightmare vision. Much like Orwell’s novel, lyrics such as “leave a big hole in the wall just where you are looking in” allude to the terror rather than directly address it. Meanwhile, “For the Love of Big Brother” slowly sways through the speakers, coupling chilling lyrics with an even more chilling sound. Lines such as “faces seem like fingerprints, like skeletons of leaves upon the lawn” and “I still hear the sound of conversation in the hall, Look to see who’s coming but it’s nothing and there’s no one there at all” reveal that the group hasn’t lost any of its knack for making such bleak horror sound so inviting as first displayed on In the Garden. Lastly, the album’s heart and soul rests in the lilting ballad “Julia”, whose pleading piano, threatening bass line and a repeated, ancient and mournful synth refrain give the song a powerful and poignant palate for Annie Lennox’s dual vocals, one dejected and the other electronically treated, to convey both the mood and the story of the song by utilizing the advent of winter as the impetus for questioning our very existence. The result is masterful and “Julia” holds its own among the very best of Eurythmics’ catalogue.

If one thing sets apart 1984 from the rest of their surrounding material, it is the synthesis of Annie’s vocals into the mix of the songs rather than the traditional setup of Lennox’s vocals acting as the focal point. In this way, the album recalls their long-forgotten debut In the Garden, and perhaps this is why it didn’t garner the same level of commercial success. Nevertheless, this approach is no less affecting, which is especially evident in the opener, “I Did It Just the Same”. A gentle synth comes in an out of focus before Annie Lennox joins in with some gentle humming. Before long, however, a heavily sequenced and foreboding bass and loud percussion make the song positively bounce while Annie’s soulful scatting grows increasingly paranoid and insistent. Elsewhere, the shivering beauty of “Ministry of Love” (where the characters in the book and film go to be forcefully “re-educated”) permeates an aura of wonder and mystique and is punctuated by abrupt male vocals shouting “A-ha!” as Annie’s electronic voice repeats the title and eventually breaks out into rabid chants of “Giavanno, donna neva”. On “DoublePlusGood”, it is not Annie’s voice but rather a sample of a detached female reporter from the film reciting an array of statistics and “news” of impending victory in an unending war. The title refers to “Newspeak”, a contraction of the English language enforced by the regime to further simplify thought. While on paper this may sound like a bad idea, a soaring synth line and a rhythmic incantation of “plusgood, doubleplusgood” definitely keep the toes tapping. Particularly effective is the play on the word “attention”, first used to ask “your attention please”, then punctuated to “tension, tension” before initiating a countdown of from the number ten that never quite gets to one.

If the whole album sounds cold and detached from this description, it should. The only reprieve comes in the form of the minute and a half glow of “Winston’s Diary”, in which it is clear that Dave and Annie were truly creating a score for the film as opposed to a collection of pop songs. A lonely harmonica seems to represent the lonely pages of the illegal diary in question, as Winston’s thoughts are poured out as a sole sound in the distance. However, this moment of tranquility is quickly vanquished by the succeeding industrial chug of “Greetings from a Dead Man”, the title of which refers to a diary entry Winston writes as the realization of his horror begins to take shape.

As the door slams shut on “Room 101”, this powerful soundtrack leaves an indelible mark, expertly fomenting the machination and dehumanization described in the novel. Despite the dispute between Eurythmics and the director who claimed that this soundtrack was “foisted” upon him, there is no disputing its impact. Indeed, Dave’s star as a producer was growing by the minute, and this contribution as the soundtrack of a high-budget film paved the way for future opportunities to come. It seems clear that few other artists of the early 80s were capable of producing a soundtrack as fitting and memorable. However, times were changing. The brand of experimental synth pop that had catapulted Eurythmics into the stratosphere had gone out of fashion with the mainstream public. The duo was quick to seize upon the moment by redefining themselves as a stadium rock band with a penchant for Motown, and it seems appropriate that the culmination of their synthesized glory is framed by the notion of death. Nevertheless, 25 years later, For the Love of Big Brother remains a compelling and vital listen.

k.d. lang's All You Can Eat album.



It's this weird mix of Nu-Country and New Wave. It's indescribeable. The slide guitars and fiddles are still in effect, but they're arranged as if they're synths.

I love the economy of the lyrics too.

It's one of those albums which sounded really odd upon it's release, and still does - like Lovesexy.

Moonbeam said:

Great job!! Superbly written. I agree with every word. "1984" is truly one of the forgotten, hidden gems of the 80s.

"Greetings from a Dead Man" is just so forbidding... I always feel like something evil is chasing me and i'm running through dark streets and around hidden corners when i hear it, heh..

And such a great vibe overall to the album. Completely coherent and logical. It works as a concept album of sorts even if it had never been associated w/ the film (which it barely was anyway, as you noted.)

This is what I miss in Annie's solo work. As much as I love it, the dark edge that Dave Stewart helped provide is missing.

Madonna- Erotica




Madonna-I'm Breathless




Christina Aguilera- Stripped




Mariah Emotions





NKOTB Face the Music


[Edited 9/10/09 17:16pm]


Amanda Marshall


[Edited 9/10/09 17:19pm]

WetDream said:

i don't think so....they are all underated compared to thriller.

The Rainbow Children

Some of the best music ever made. Unheard of by the general public, and rejected by fans who either wouldn't get past "that voice", or wouldn't spend a minute to understand the depth of the lyrics

Moonbeam said:

agree on these for the most part 'cept i don't think room on fire is better than is this it. but it is def underrated
[Edited 9/10/09 17:53pm]

GirlBrother said:

&

her only 2 good albums

ThirdandFinal said:

Plenty of fans understand the lyrics just fine and still don't like the album much, myself included. There are 3 really good songs and a couple decent ones but to me it's overindulgent and largely boring. Prince sometimes thinks he's way deeper and more profound than he actually is, IMHO.

INSATIABLE said:

Some interesting & rarely seen choices - nothing I'd be an advocate for myself, but I really like your taste. I didn't like that entire Chapterhouse album, but there were some really solid songs on it, and they managed to make a fairly distinctive sounding record. I've never had much of a taste for Slowdive, but I really love some of Mojave 3's records. and I like that Medicine record as well - I don't think it's an unsung classic or anything, but people with a taste for that sound would be well-served to seek it out.
[Edited 9/10/09 18:06pm]

INSATIABLE said:

I've been trying to find this for a few months now.

Moonbeam said:

I got import copies of all the Associate CDs when Tower Records closed for like $3.00 a piece. I miss Tower but damn, i scored a huge box of CDs for cheap when they were down to their final days.

NoVideo said:

I picked up The Affectionate Punch a few months ago (original version, not the 1982 remixed version) and absolutely adore it.

These albums...

NoVideo said:

ThirdandFinal said:

The PERFECT display of Sly & Robbie's production...


I think the former is celebrated more for her flamboyant attitude and the latter was only known as a one-hit-wonder(Ain't Nothing Going On But The Rent). Both albums HIGHLY showcased how much of gifted artists they are.

And of course...

I think this album was not only underrated but overlooked, this should've been her comeback album but Epic didn't treat her right:

Considering the three masterpieces that preceded it:






Sandwiched between the Ziggy Era and The Thin White Duke:





A quiet beginning for one of the most successful groups of all time:





Before he sold out to Death Row:

Imago said:

This was his Lovesexy (the last of his classic era) imo. Or was Lovesexy Prince's Scary Momnsters I mean lol...I see them both in the same light

Invincible is by far the most underrated Album of all time, they ripped it to shreds, and if Michael would have lived to finish his last one they would have ripped that one up to because it is not the beloved thriller!

Moonbeam said:

CD or LP?