"Classic" album appreciation thread - the '80s

[TAC]

Fun fact:  I was actually going to post a completely different album, and realized it was released in 1978.  Which is odd given that the two singles I had in mind didn't get played in heavy rotation until a good 4 years later.  Weird.

Journey-Infinity

[Stadler]

this is me being neutral: I own most U2 albums and I think Edge does a great job of using his massive racks of effects units to his utmost advantage and I guess you have to be exact and exacting in order for that to work out well. So in that respect. I'm sure he's a good player. I've never seen him doing sweep picking or play 32nds but that would be out of place in U2's music and it wouldn't make sense with them IMHO.

Exactly, and I suspect most guitarists who are considered great "players" wouldn't have the restraint needed to play U2's music.  Sometimes, it's what you do not play more than what you do.  I hate this idea that you have to shred, being a great soloist and/or do all kind of crazy technical stuff to be great.  The Edge created his own sound and is largely responsible for the musical sound one of the biggest rock bands ever.  If that isn't greatness, I don't what it is.

I think he's WAY underrated, and I also think he's one of those guys that in his living room is probably a beast of a guitar player.  He's the musical director of that band though, and is a hard ass about the BAND.  I don't love everything that U2 has done, but what I do like I like a LOT, and having seen them live something like four or five times, Bono is one of the top five front men I've ever seen (have not seen Freddie, full disclosure). 

[TAC]

I saw them twice, in '87 and '92, and they were great both times.

[Stadler]

The Police - Synchronicity

Another band that I don't like everything, but what I do like I really like.   

I liked the Police a lot when they embraced their punkier roots (the first album is excellent except for the torture that is "Roxanne") and I really liked the last two records, when Sting unleashed the beast that is his voice (Omega Man, Secret Journey, Synchronicity I and II).

[King Postwhore]

I saw them twice, in '87 and '92, and they were great both times.

Amateur.  83 and 85 for me.

[TAC]

I saw them twice, in '87 and '92, and they were great both times.

Amateur.  83 and 85 for me.

That's because you're older!

[King Postwhore]

What, 6 months?

[TAC]

 

[Kwyjibo]

Synchronicity is a great record, in fact it is a very great record. My favorite Police record and I love all of them. Almost every song is great and, as Kev has said, even Mother works in the flow of the record. Synchronicity I and II, King Of Pain and Walking In Your Footsteps are my favorites. Every Breath You Take is a little bit overplayed but it's still a good song.

So sad they quit after that record. And as much as I like the first couple of Sting's solo efforts, he never reached the highs he had with Police.

[Dublagent66]

I had Synchronicity on cassette and CD.  Been quite a while since I heard it, but I'll never forget that it's a great album.

[pg1067]

The Police - Synchronicity

Songs:

-Synchronicity I
-Walking in Your Footsteps
-O My God
-Mother
-Miss Gradenko
-Synchronicity II
-Every Breath You Take
-King of Pain
-Wrapped Around Your Finger
-Tea in the Sahara
-Murder by Numbers

. . .

Second, it kinda felt like this album was preordained to be better than it actually is.  What I mean by that is this:  The album was definitely good.  I know I liked it.  But I never felt that it was great.  And I never knew anyhow who thought it was great.  But I remember it being wildly hyped before AND after its release as one of the greatest albums ever.

I saw this before I left the office yesterday but didn't have time to comment and did not read Bosk's entire post.  As I was thinking about this one, the bolded part was almost exactly what I was thinking.

This is yet another product of the MTV generation, and it was hugely hyped by MTV.  I was toward the tail-end of my "if it isn't metal, then it must suck" phase, but I had liked the Police a little before I adopted that philosophy.  I had seen the Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic video on MTV and went out and bought Ghost in the Machine.  I liked a couple other songs ok, but most of that album was just meh.  I also knew a couple of the earlier hits.  Synchonicity fell flat for me.  I didn't like any of the singles, and that was all I really knew.  My opinion of the album changed in the mid- to late 90s, and I bought the album around the time my wife was going through a Sting phase.  I dig King of Pain, and Synch I kicks ass.  Every Breath is ok, as is Wrapped.  But the rest of the album is pretty.

The Police intrigue me as a band.  One of the few 80s bands not to cash in on the recent nostalgia band market (although I just read that they did a reunion tour about 10 years ago).  At the time they disbanded after this album, they were massive, and that's incredibly unique.

[bosk1]

Fun fact:  I was actually going to post a completely different album, and realized it was released in 1978.  Which is odd given that the two singles I had in mind didn't get played in heavy rotation until a good 4 years later.  Weird.

Journey-Infinity

No.  Partly my fault, though.  I was a year off--the album I had in mind was 1979 (sorry for the typo).  And ONE of the songs I was thinking of was from their next album in 1982, which I am guessing caused a discovery of the band that got songs from that prior 1979 album played years later.  But I am fairly confident that even if I posted the band and album, you wouldn't have heard of it, so don't worry about it (it isn't your type of music, and Nicole Kidman isn't married to it).

[TAC]

Hmmm, I bet I would've heard of it. I'm going to think about this...

[Podaar]

But I am fairly confident that even if I posted the band and album, you wouldn't have heard of it, so don't worry about it (it isn't your type of music, and Nicole Kidman isn't married to it).

Cross-thread call back joke! 

[bosk1]

I'm like the MCU, baby.  It's aaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllll connected. 

[bosk1]

Metallica - ...And Justice for All

Songs:
-Blackened
-...And Justice for All
-Eye of the Beholder
-One
-The Shortest Straw
-Harvester of Sorrow
-The Frayed Ends of Sanity
-The Live is to Die
-Dyers Eve

Yeah, Metallica gets another one.  This album was truly a landmark.  This was the landmark time when thrash went from an obscure subgenre that those weird metal kids listened to into being out in the mainstream.  And with One leading the charge, it became apparent that thrash wasn't just about aggression, but could also be intensely artistic and creative. 

This album really had a lot going for it.  It was aggressive and in your face.  It was epic.  It was creative.  It was...almost progressive at times.  It kind of broke every preconceived notion about what a mainstream successful album was supposed to be.  And honestly, even the failed bid at a grammy probably did more for the album, the band, and the genre than if they had won.  Although the Black album was a bigger commercial success overall, THIS is the album that took Metallica to superstardom.  And well-deserved, IMO.

[The Walrus]

One and The Frayed Ends of Sanity are all I like on this album. I'm a KEA/RTL dude

[MirrorMask]

Long and difficult album to get through, with a weird sound. But rightously a classic and a memorable record.

Personal favorites: One (d'uh), Blackened, Harvester of Sorrow and Dyers Eve, amazing "forgotten" song.

[romdrums]

I wore the cassette out with this album.  It helped me get through many a bus ride home in 7th grade.  Justice was my gateway into more "metal" metal.  I had started listening to metal/hard rock with the hair bands like Winger, Skid Row, Motley Crue, etc. and I quickly graduated into Metallica, Queensryche, Anthrax, Prong, etc. One was huge, because it was Metallica's first video, and I remember they seemed so intimidating and mysterious.  Also, as a drummer, I remember One being the new standard by which your drumming skills were judged, so I worked hard to nail it as best I could.  Such a killer record.

[hefdaddy42]

My favorite Metallica album.

If it had been properly recorded and mixed (Dammit Lars!), I think it would be considered one of the greatest albums of all time.

[pg1067]

Metallica - ...And Justice for All

Songs:
-Blackened
-...And Justice for All
-Eye of the Beholder
-One
-The Shortest Straw
-Harvester of Sorrow
-The Frayed Ends of Sanity
-The Live is to Die
-Dyers Eve

Yeah, Metallica gets another one.  This album was truly a landmark.  This was the landmark time when thrash went from an obscure subgenre that those weird metal kids listened to into being out in the mainstream.  And with One leading the charge, it became apparent that thrash wasn't just about aggression, but could also be intensely artistic and creative. 

This album really had a lot going for it.  It was aggressive and in your face.  It was epic.  It was creative.  It was...almost progressive at times.  It kind of broke every preconceived notion about what a mainstream successful album was supposed to be.  And honestly, even the failed bid at a grammy probably did more for the album, the band, and the genre than if they had won.  Although the Black album was a bigger commercial success overall, THIS is the album that took Metallica to superstardom.  And well-deserved, IMO.

This is a very mixed bag album for me.  For starters, the absence of Cliff Burton was noticeable and significant.  Indeed, it almost sounded like there was no bass at all on the album.  I recall thinking at the time I first heard this something along the lines of, "well...it says there's a bass player in the band, but did they just decide to do an album without bass as some sort of odd tribute to Cliff?"  It would have benefited greatly if Fleming Rasmussen had been more involved, including through the mixing process.

You're right that it's very progressive, and I really wish that Metallica had explored that space a bit more rather than deciding that they had gone as far as they could go.  Some of the "prog" elements of some songs seemed to have no real connection with the song and demonstrated that James and Lars still lacked maturity as songwriters (probably at least in part because of Cliff's absence), and I think that would have improved over time.  At its best (Blackened, Shortest Straw and Dyers Eve), this album is great.  But some songs (the title track and Eye of the Beholder) are pretty weak, and a lot of the songs (including One) could stand to be shortened a bit.

If it had been properly recorded and mixed (Dammit Lars!), I think it would be considered one of the greatest albums of all time.

Put the adjective "metal" before "albums," and I agree completely.

[Grappler]

Two of my favorite albums of all time.

Number of the Beast - can't add much to the discussion.  Just a landmark album - the high points are legendary, with only 2-3 clunkers on the disc for me.

And Justice for All - BLACKENED!   

It's my long-time favorite Metallica album.  Absolutely furious and unrelenting, it kicks you in the face and never lets up.  The lack of bass doesn't bother me.  I really do think the guitar and drum frequencies just kind of blot it out on the album.  But whatever, the riffs on this record are what make it so awesome.  Can't provide enough praise for the disc. 

[Lowdz]

AJFA will be great once it’s finished.

[The Walrus]

AJFA will be great once it’s finished.

 

[bosk1]

Then unpause your cassette player and finish it, old man.  It's not THAT long an album. 

[Dublagent66]

Well, it’s obvious that Lars and James knew they couldn’t find an adequate replacement for Cliff that quickly (if at all).  So, they settled for Jason.  Not to say that Jason sucked as a bass player.  He made a pretty good name for himself in Flotsam and Jetsam.  Following in Cliff’s footsteps would’ve been difficult for anyone, but the circumstances that Jason was faced with, gave him virtually no chance to prove his worth.

Despite the bass being way too low in the mix and the doubling of James’ guitar parts, it’s still an awesome album and catapulted them into super stardom.  Not many bands at that time would’ve been able to accomplish that after the death of a band member.  I don’t think there are any weak tracks on AJFA and certainly none of them needed to be shortened.  I loved the album then and still do today.

Then unpause your cassette player and finish it, old man.  It's not THAT long an album. 

 

[KevShmev]

I rarely listen to ...AJFA, but it is really good. The Shortest Straw was always my favorite, but it's obvious why One and Blackened are Metallica classics.  While the sound is odd, with no bass and that clicking bass drum, it's almost part of the charm of the record now.

[Podaar]

The singles, One and Harvester, (although good) are my least favorite on this record. On some days, when I'm feeling my most aggressive, this is my favorite Metallica.

[bosk1]

Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell

Songs:
-Neon Knights
-Children of the Sea
-Lady Evil
-Heaven and Hell
-Wishing Well
-Die Young
-Walk Away
-Lonely Is the Word

I think The Mob Rules might be just as iconic.  But Heaven and Hell seems to have stood the test of time better as far as the songs.  Feel free to disagree.

To me, this is a very side 1-heavy album.  I can probably sing any of those first four songs from memory.  But I have a hard time remembering how the next four songs go without hearing them. 

I was a bit late to the party on this album, and picked it up some time in the mid-'80s.  But once I got it, I really enjoyed it.  The title song and Children of the Sea are my absolute favorites.  And, for that matter, if you mashed together the entire Dio, Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell discographies, those two would still be up near the top and might still be my top 2. 

[The Walrus]

I agree with you bosk - side 1's got the goods, for sure. Not too keen on the rest. Neon Knights is a top tier Sabbath track.

[bosk1]

I love Neon Knights.  I still feel a tinge of regret every time I think about that song, and recall how I got sick and lost my voice at the time QR had that contest where you could sing onstage with them.  My demo crushed it. 

[Podaar]

Children of the Sea, Heaven and Hell, Lonely is the Word (for just the guitar solos alone) are all god-tier, in my book. The rest is either good or at least okay.

[MirrorMask]

Love, love, love Dio with Sabbath and this album deserves is classic status. Yeah, not every single song is an unforgettable gem but as a whole, it's a great iconic album more than worthy of all the praises and accolades it got.

It sits in the middle of Dio's more than golden era - coming from the three Rainbow albums, onto this and then eventually Mob Rules and Holy Diver. Whoah.

Random trivia: I remember having read that Neon Knights was the last song written, once Geezer Butler returned to the fold after having silently and off-the-spotlight left the band in the aftermath of Ozzy's departure.

[Grappler]

Amazing album, but I was so very late to Dio-era Sabbath.  I was an Ozzy-or-die guy from my discovery of the band in the early 90's to the mid 00's. 

In 2004 or 2005, I was given a Sirius Satellite Radio as a gift and discovered the metal station, who at one point played Lady Evil a number of times.  I might have heard Children of the Sea as well.  I really dug it and found a copy of Heaven and Hell.  Absolutely fell in love with the album after that...and a few years later, Sabbath announced the Dio Years compilation and the reunion with Ronnie as Heaven and Hell. 

My allegiances switched after going all-in with the Dio-era (and eventually the Tony Martin albums as well), which is now my favorite era of Sabbath.  Heaven and Hell is my favorite of those discs.  It's another front-loaded album, but Die Young kicks total ass. 

[hefdaddy42]

Not a fan of Black Sabbath in general, or of Dio in particular, so this one is a no-go for me.