80s Classic Albums (Featuring: King Crimson)

[KevShmev]

KSHE-95 here in St. Louis does a Rock and Roll 500 every year during Memorial Day weekend, where they count down the top 500 hard rock/classic rock songs of all-time.  They mix it up every year, so it's not always the same, but number 1 is usually the usual suspects: Stairway to Heaven, Won't Get Fooled Again, Tom Sawyer, Free Bird, Hotel California, etc. But I remember one year when they put Lonely Is the Night at number 1! And another year they had Children of the Sun by Billy Thorpe at number 1.  So there ya go.

[King Postwhore]

 

In The Dark for Christ sakes!

[KevShmev]

I am sure most of know the two monster hits from this, "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," both of which are fabulous, as well as probably the third hit, "Head over Heels," but this album is much more than just the hits.  It's pretty dynamite the whole way through.  Songs like "Mother's Talk," "Listen" and "The Working Hour" are all pretty damn good as well.  Plus, the album just has this really nice cohesive feel; it flows extremely well, especially by 80s pop rock standards. The playing, too, is surprisingly good if you are someone who thinks of this as just another pop record from the 80s that had a few hits.  This is undoubtedly a classic album, and you gotta love that the recent 5.1 of it was done by Steven Wilson.  If you have never heard all of Songs from the Big Chair, do so right away.

[King Postwhore]

This will be played in my car today when we do our "honeydo" list today.

[Cyclopssss]

Head over heels is the track for me on that one.

[sneakyblueberry]

Fantastic album, used to spin the vinyl on a daily basis

[Calvin6s]

My Tears for Fears experience is a lot like my Duran Duran experience.  Like most people growing up, between my different friends I had quite an eclectic sampling of music they would expose me to.  New Wave was mainly from my 4th+ grade friend.  He was mainly into Duran Duran, but he was also into all types of New Wave, including Tears for Fears.

Like Duran Duran, I liked what my friend played me, but I just liked them.  If they came on the radio or he was playing his cassette tape, I enjoyed it.  But I didn't own the album myself.

Then a few albums and a few years later, I heard the songs that made me go from like to love.  With Duran Duran, it was Ordinary World (and Come Undone).  With Tears for Fears, it was Sowing the Seeds of Love.  So I had an early exposure, a late moment of being sold on them, then I worked my way backward through their catalog.  Of course the movie Real Genius had Everybody Wants to Rule the World and 007 had Duran Duran's A View to a Kill, so I had plenty of exposure beyond friends, radio and MTV ... going into movie soundtracks of my youth.  So when I hear these songs, a major rush of nostalgia grabs me and brings back a flood of memories.   So Tears for Fears Song from the Big Chair is more than just an album I love.  It feels like a piece of me.  A more rare piece that ventures outside of my metal centreverse.

[Zydar]

I have to check this album out. I love Everybody Wants To Rule The World, and I recall finding Shout enjoyable. Add in Sowing The Seeds Of Love and Mad World, and you have all four songs I have ever heard from this band

[Lowdz]

As a teen when it came out I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. I was metal, man.
I enjoyed the two big hits but only in a casual way. Similar with Duran Duran and INXS - I have their greatest hits albums but don't really ever play them unless I'm entertaining the ladies 
I can see that it's well done but it's not my thing.

[bl5150]

As a teen when it came out I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. I was metal, man.
I enjoyed the two big hits but only in a casual way. Similar with Duran Duran and INXS - I have their greatest hits albums but don't really ever play them unless I'm entertaining the ladies 
I can see that it's well done but it's not my thing.

[sneakyblueberry]

I have to check this album out. I love Everybody Wants To Rule The World, and I recall finding Shout enjoyable. Add in Sowing The Seeds Of Love and Mad World, and you have all four songs I have ever heard from this band

Broken/Head Over Heels, The Working Hour and Mother's Talk from this album are real gems, you gotta check it out

[wolfking]

Even though I'm a metal man, I bloody love this album.  One of the greatest albums of the 80's no doubt.  Not a weak track here to be honest, and IMO The Working Hour is by far the best track here.

[Lolzeez]

Pretty decent album,I still prefer New Order or Depeche Mode when it comes to Synth Pop though.

[hefdaddy42]

Pretty decent album,I still prefer New Order or Depeche Mode when it comes to Synth Pop though.

I wouldn't classify Tears For Fears as synth pop.

This is a fantastic album.

[wolfking]

Pretty decent album,I still prefer New Order or Depeche Mode when it comes to Synth Pop though.

I wouldn't classify Tears For Fears as synth pop.

This is a fantastic album.

This, not even in the same realm IMO.

[KevShmev]

Agreed. Tears for Fears isn't anything close to synth pop.

[Kotowboy]

Not into the band but just came here to say that their version of Mad World is far superior to the Gary

Jules version.

[Lolzeez]

Pretty decent album,I still prefer New Order or Depeche Mode when it comes to Synth Pop though.

I wouldn't classify Tears For Fears as synth pop.

This is a fantastic album.

This, not even in the same realm IMO.

Sure,Songs From The Big Chair is a bit more New Wave-y but are you telling me that you don't hear the Synh Pop in their debut?

[hefdaddy42]

Pretty decent album,I still prefer New Order or Depeche Mode when it comes to Synth Pop though.

I wouldn't classify Tears For Fears as synth pop.

This is a fantastic album.

This, not even in the same realm IMO.

Sure,Songs From The Big Chair is a bit more New Wave-y but are you telling me that you don't hear the Synh Pop in their debut?

I'm telling you that Tears For Fears is not a syth pop band.

[King Postwhore]

So sayeth Hef.


The End.

[Outcrier]

Pretty decent album,I still prefer New Order or Depeche Mode when it comes to Synth Pop though.

I wouldn't classify Tears For Fears as synth pop.

This is a fantastic album.

This, not even in the same realm IMO.

I don't see the problem with something being synth pop or no 

[King Postwhore]

They are not saying that. 

[sneakyblueberry]

New Wave maybe... probably.  But when I think of Synthpop I think of Kraftwerk, and TFF are not like Kraftwerk.  I like to think of it as Progressive Pop, but that may be quite fanciful of me.

[Phoenix87x]

I love tears for fears

Favorite song is Woman in chains off of the seeds of love.

[Outcrier]

Ironically, my two favorite TFF songs (Mad World and Pale Shelter) are from The Hurting, another classic of theirs but Songs from the Big Chair is more consistent overall.

[sneakyblueberry]

I love tears for fears

Favorite song is Woman in chains off of the seeds of love.

That's one song of theirs I really can't stand for some reason.  It's always rubbed me the bad kind of rub.

[wolfking]

Pretty decent album,I still prefer New Order or Depeche Mode when it comes to Synth Pop though.

I wouldn't classify Tears For Fears as synth pop.

This is a fantastic album.

This, not even in the same realm IMO.

I don't see the problem with something being synth pop or no 

I don't see a problem with something being synth pop either.  But as per the argument, Tears for Fears are not synth pop.

[bosk1]

I don't care how you classify this band, this is an outstanding album from start to finish.  Until very recently, I had not spun it in a long, long time (probably late '80s or early '90s, believe it or not).  I REALLY enjoyed reacquainting myself with the non-hits that I had completely forgotten.

[Calvin6s]

I REALLY enjoyed reacquainting myself with the non-hits that I had completely forgotten.

I've been doing that in general the past few years.  Trying to go back and see what music I overlooked.  Mainly music I liked, but didn't purchase back when.  I feel like that stupid genealogy commercial.  Each band is a leaf, and it leads to more leaves.  I've been into albums mentioned here recently like Kraftwerk because I've been getting into vintage synths lately and they frequently show up as pioneers for certain instruments.  Sometimes rediscovering the past is as rewarding as checking out the present.

And places like YouTube have definitely made the rediscovery process easier.  Heck, it is the first place I go to when Kev brings up a new album that I don't have in my collection (like Squier).

[KevShmev]

Very true.  YT, to me, is the equivalent of the radio and MTV back in the day, when you could hear music first before buying it, with it better now since anybody who allows it can have their music on YT.  I just laugh at artists who are weird about having their music on YT.  It is free advertisement for your music!!

Anyway, today's classic album was recommend by jammindude:



I will admit that I only know the hits from Get Lucky, but they are mostly all good.  "Working for the Weekend" and the title track easily stand out as the best of the lot.  Loverboy kind of falls in that category of bands that could rock, but had a very broad appeal; girls seemed to love them just as much as guys did.

[TAC]

I had both of the first two Loverboy albums.
Liked them both. Love Gangs In The Street.

[Calvin6s]

Loverboy - Notorious music video from 1987
That was the first and only real time in my life I even became aware of Loverboy.  I'm sure I heard their songs before and just didn't know it was them because the radio was on a lot in my youth. The only reason I even remember that video is because, well, I'm barely a teen and this video with tons of hot chicks are on.  Basically a long beer commercial from that era.

Working for the Weekend is the only song from that album I can be 100% sure I was aware of at the time.  It feels like it should be in that movie around the same time called Flashdance.  Was it?

[TAC]

Calvin, I absolutely have NO recollection of that song.

[King Postwhore]

Tim,  I figured you knew that song from MTV playing it a million times.  Man there was another song of that album called "Love Will Rise Again"   That song is my favorite Loverboy song.

Now the 1st 4 Loverboy albums I owned on album.  I bought the greatest hit's Big Ones on CD.  I should try to find the old CD's cheap.

[jammindude]

I just need to copy and paste my recommendation to Kev...

There are albums *from* the 80's and then there are albums that just scream "I am THE 80's album...and l will never EVER be mistaken for being from another time."

The greatest album from this latter category, is IMO......Get Lucky by Loverboy

Loverboy is truly a guilty pleasure in every way.   They were just way too cheesy to ever become something bigger than their basic framework.   But what they did, they did extremely well.    Their first 4 albums are some of the most kick ass corporate rock I've ever heard...but Get Lucky was just lightning in a bottle. 9 songs, 7 of them were radio staples when the album was released, the other two were surprisingly good once you got it home. 

This was like the girl named Cindy that you convinced to come over to your place because she was really hot.    When you got her home, everything went really fantastic.   And when you both woke up in the morning....neither one of you wanted to leave.    So you hung out together like that for a whole decade.   And you still wonder where that girl is.   How she's doing?   And maybe if you were just one of the guys or one of the special guys.    Hmmmmmm

I will add this:  I looked at the track listing again, and I will say that I now only remember 6 of these songs (not seven) being in regular rotation on rock radio when it was new.   This was a *very big* album.     Def Leppard's Hysteria gets the reputation of being the first rock album that was all singles, but I think Get Lucky beat it by six years.

Jump, Emotional and Watch Out are the songs that I did not hear on radio.  And even those songs are really good. (especially Emotional, which is downright awesome)

Working for the Weekend, When It's Over, Gangs in the Street, Lucky Ones, It's Your Life (only heard this one a couple times on the radio, but I did hear it), and Take Me to the Top...all on the radio, all bonafide classics.     This is a fantastic 80's album.