"Classic" album appreciation thread - the '80s

[Podaar]

Huh. I've never known Hef to be wrong before. 

Until now

[Stadler]

Walk Away is one of my favorite Sabbath tunes and is really what I love most about Tony's playing (not the ultra-heavy tuned-down eight steps sludge-fest that the later Dio-fronted material became, in my opinion). While the lyrics are a little corny, that track is a really well-crafted song.   

[pg1067]

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 "Dio era" had come and gone by the time I got into metal (my first exposure to Sabbath was probably either the video for Trashed or Ozzy's Speak of the Devil), so I probably got into H&H and Mob right around the same time.  Side 1 of H&H is a freakin' masterpiece.  I have to wonder what it must have been like, in early 1980, to be a fan of Sabbath and Rainbow and hear Neon Knights smack you right in the gut.  Children of the Sea is some of Iommi's best guitar work.  Lady Evil is probably one of the few "Dio era" tracks that would have worked for Ozzy.  The title track is one of those songs that, while relatively easy to play, is virtually impossible for anyone other than Dio, Iommi, Butler and Ward/Appice to perform properly.  Die Young is the standout track on side 2.  At some point, I had a 12" single of Die Young, and the b-side was a live version of Heaven and Hell, complete with the "little white face" section.  The rest of side two is comparatively weak but certainly not bad in any way.

Walk Away is one of my favorite Sabbath tunes and is really what I love most about Tony's playing (not the ultra-heavy tuned-down eight steps sludge-fest that the later Dio-fronted material became, in my opinion). While the lyrics are a little corny, that track is a really well-crafted song.   

Just curious:  are you talking about Mob Rules or Dehumanizer (and, if the former, which songs)?

[Stadler]

The "Dio era" had come and gone by the time I got into metal (my first exposure to Sabbath was probably either the video for Trashed or Ozzy's Speak of the Devil), so I probably got into H&H and Mob right around the same time.  Side 1 of H&H is a freakin' masterpiece.  I have to wonder what it must have been like, in early 1980, to be a fan of Sabbath and Rainbow and hear Neon Knights smack you right in the gut.  Children of the Sea is some of Iommi's best guitar work.  Lady Evil is probably one of the few "Dio era" tracks that would have worked for Ozzy.  The title track is one of those songs that, while relatively easy to play, is virtually impossible for anyone other than Dio, Iommi, Butler and Ward/Appice to perform properly.  Die Young is the standout track on side 2.  At some point, I had a 12" single of Die Young, and the b-side was a live version of Heaven and Hell, complete with the "little white face" section.  The rest of side two is comparatively weak but certainly not bad in any way.

Pretty sure that the live "Heaven And Hell" version there was recorded at the Hartford Civic Center, though I wasn't at that show (too young; my first concert wasn't until almost exactly two years later). 

Walk Away is one of my favorite Sabbath tunes and is really what I love most about Tony's playing (not the ultra-heavy tuned-down eight steps sludge-fest that the later Dio-fronted material became, in my opinion). While the lyrics are a little corny, that track is a really well-crafted song.   

Just curious:  are you talking about Mob Rules or Dehumanizer (and, if the former, which songs)?

Well, really "The Devil You Know".   But as you go from Heaven and Hell through TDYK, it gets heavier, and some of the what I call "proggier" elements that I loved about the latter Ozzy years (and are sprinkled in H&H) get less and less.

Though I will say I relistened to Dehumanizer (an album I do not like much) a couple months ago, and I liked it better than I remembered.  But I haven't listened to it since.   

[Lowdz]

Classic album this one.

Neon Nights

Children of the Sea

Heaven and Hell

Die Young

Lonely Is The Word

All top tier tracks.

[Podaar]

Though I will say I relistened to Dehumanizer (an album I do not like much) a couple months ago, and I liked it better than I remembered.  But I haven't listened to it since.   

Dehumanizer has one of my favorite Dio era BS tunes ever, I. Love the attitude.

[Max Kuehnau]

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.

I have gone on record saying that the Dio era is my favourite era of Sabbath and this album is why (although I love every Dio era album). I also love Born Again btw (because Gilly did an equally great job like when he was with Purple)

[bosk1]

Sorry I disappeared for awhile again.

The Cars - Heartbeat City

Songs:
-Hello Again
-Looking for Love
-Magic
-Drive
-Stranger Eyes
-You Might Think
-It's Not the Night
-Why Can't I Have You
-I Refuse
-Heartbeat City

Mutt Lange strikes again.  5 top 40 sings.  Of those, Drive and You Might Think both broke the top 10 (and it's somewhat unusual that they had two different lead vocalists on those two songs).  And while it didn't chart quite so high, the video for Magic seemed like it was played once every hour on MTV for the longest time (and, YES, we can clearly see the outline of the plexiglass Ric Ocasek is standing on!). 

This is such a fun pop album.  I know I spun it quite a bit back in the day, and this is another one where I think back and wonder why it isn't presently in my collection.

[Cool Chris]

To this day I love You Might Think. I remember my parents had the 45 of Drive and played it a lot. Which was always a conflict for me at the time. Should I like this song if my way uncool parents like it so much? Other than those two and Magic I can't speak to any of the others. 

[pg1067]

Sorry I disappeared for awhile again.

The Cars - Heartbeat City

This is mostly a big no for me.  The Cars' stuff that came before was cool but not really in my wheelhouse.  The level at which MTV shoved this down our throats turned me off of it almost completely.  I couldn't stand (and still don't care for) You Might Think and that stupid video (that everyone kept telling me was the greatest thing ever).  Drive was meh.  Magic is a cool song, but that's about it as far as songs that I recognize by name on this album.

Interesting career trajectory for this band.  Heartbeat City was their biggest album, but the follow up bombed, and that was it for them.  Right?  But they made it into the RRHOF?

[bosk1]

@Chris:  Yeah, those are definitely the three that I think most people can remember off the top of their heads.  I struggle to recall a good half of the album after not having listened to it in a couple of decades.  But Hello Again definitely sticks with me as the album opener.  And the title song was such a cool closer.  For such a "standard pop song," it really had an interesting "bigness" to it that made it feel really appropriate as an album closer. 

[Stadler]

I think the Cars are a WAYYYYYYYYYYY under-appreciated band.  I think they get categorized as a pop band for the couple of singles, but - and I get it, they're not prog - there's a sort of complexity to their music that rewards repeated listenings.   I think Elliot Easton was the perfect guitar player for that band, and (most of) his solos to this day hold up because of the neat structure to them.

Candy-O and Shake It Up are my favorites of their albums, but the only real weak one is Panarama (and even that has some moments that are worth it).  Door To Door is better than it should be, and while their "comeback" really misses Ben Orr (Ocasek's voice is better as a complement, not the only flavor in the spice drawer) it's pretty solid.  "Sad Song" and "Blue Tip" are excellent.

On this particular album, "Drive" is the favorite; I just love Ben Orr's voice on that.  I'll say again, he's really missed.   But even some of the deeper tracks are pretty good - Stranger Eyes and Why Can't I Have You spring to mind.   (Not on this album, but I'll also point out the sleeper track "All Mixed Up", which segues out of the far more well known "Moving In Stereo").

Did I say "Big Cars fan"?   

[Cool Chris]

couldn't stand (and still don't care for) You Might Think and that stupid video (that everyone kept telling me was the greatest thing ever). 

Interesting career trajectory for this band.  Heartbeat City was their biggest album, but the follow up bombed, and that was it for them.  Right?  But they made it into the RRHOF?

I loved that video. Ever since i said I never disagree with you about music all I seem to be doing is disagreeing with you about music.

And in looking at wikipedia, their debut went 6× Platinum, the follow up 4x Platinum (which is what this album did as well).

[hefdaddy42]

I liked the hits, but never enough to dive any deeper into this band.

[Podaar]

I liked the hits, but never enough to dive any deeper into this band.

+1

The Cars hits have a fond place in my heart because they were all over the radio in my early twenties. Every bar with a live act had bands covering Cars songs so I have great memories of drinking, dancing, flirting, and carrying on with young beautiful women. 

[Max Kuehnau]

I liked the hits, but never enough to dive any deeper into this band.

+1

The Cars hits have a fond place in my heart because they were all over the radio in my early twenties. Every bar with a live act had bands covering Cars songs so I have great memories of drinking, dancing, flirting, and carrying on with young beautiful women. 

possibly driving them home after asking too (that joke was too predictable, sorry)

[pg1067]

couldn't stand (and still don't care for) You Might Think and that stupid video (that everyone kept telling me was the greatest thing ever). 

Interesting career trajectory for this band.  Heartbeat City was their biggest album, but the follow up bombed, and that was it for them.  Right?  But they made it into the RRHOF?

I loved that video. Ever since i said I never disagree with you about music all I seem to be doing is disagreeing with you about music.

And in looking at wikipedia, their debut went 6× Platinum, the follow up 4x Platinum (which is what this album did as well).

A little surprised that the debut sold more than Heartbeat City (6x to 4x), but I verified that at the RIAA site.

[Dublagent66]

I liked the hits, but never enough to dive any deeper into this band.

Pretty much this.

[KevShmev]

What's funny about the Cars is that nearly every person I have seen online over the years who said they saw them live pretty much has said the same thing: they were boring as heck and just not a good live band.

Aside from that, I loved the hits from this album at the time, and those videos were magic, pun intended.  You Might Think was my favorite at the time, but I think Drive and Magic have both held up a lot better.  I did the title cut a lot as well.

[Stadler]

What's funny about the Cars is that nearly every person I have seen online over the years who said they saw them live pretty much has said the same thing: they were boring as heck and just not a good live band.

I saw them on this tour (the Heartbeat City tour).  Wang Chung opened - I've seen a lot of shitty opening acts, but this is a name band with a decent singer, and they SUCKED, hard.  The Cars came out, played for just shy of an hour and a half, and I think Ric Ocasek said three words total in between each of the songs, and Ben Orr said, maybe, four.    They were good in the sense that they were able to recreate the songs, and the setlist was pretty good, but "boring" is being polite.  Just very flat and almost zero energy. 

[bosk1]

Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet

Songs:
-Let It Rock
-You Give Love a Bad Name
-Livin' on a Prayer
-Social Disease
-Wanted Dead or Alive
-Raise Your Hands
-Without Love
-I'd Die for You
-Never Say Goodbye
-Wild in the Streets

I went through a phase were I was looking for new music and bought their debut on a whim.  I liked it a lot more than I thought I might.  I followed that up with 7800, and loved that as well.  So when this one came out, it was an automatic purchase upon release.

I know a lot of people balked at the "bubble gum pop rock" that this band made popular.  But the thing is, they just did it SO well.  Not only the singles, but most of the deep cuts are sing-along-able and very memorable.  And Ritchie Sambora was a master at putting together solos that were melodic and stuck in your head.  I feel like I have outgrown this band and moved on from what they do.  But I cannot deny the place this album holds as an '80s music monolith.

Found something on the wikipedia page that is not quite accurate:

The cover consists of a wet black garbage bag with the words "Slippery When Wet" traced in the water ("So simple," observed Sambora, "and not very impressive"). The album originally was to feature a busty woman in a wet yellow T-shirt with the album name on the front of the shirt. This was swapped for the plastic bag cover just prior to release. The reasons given for the switch were record execs' fears that dominant record store chains at the time would have refused to carry the album with a sexist cover, and Jon Bon Jovi's dislike of the bright pink border around the photograph the band submitted.  "Our label freaked out a bit when they saw what we'd done," recalled Sambora. "They thought it would be banned by American stores, so we had to come up with something else – fast."

Okay, this is MOSTLY true.  But copies with the original artwork were in fact pressed and distributed, and I know this because I had one. 

[Stadler]

I saw Bon Jovi as an opening act, and they were good, even if the music itself never really connected with me.   I'm of two minds about Bon Jovi, particularly because of my feelings on Jon himself.   I don't think any band gets that big without someone like Jon in charge - I don't think you tour stadia just on "art" alone, even if you're the Grateful Dead - and so there's a respect there, because if it was easy everyone would do it, but some of the "I'm the CEO of my corporation" stuff is off-putting to me.

Having said that, the solo in "Wanted Dead Or Alive" is in my top three favorite solos of all time. It's pretty much perfect in every way.   

[pg1067]

Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet

This is the only Bon Jovi album I own or ever have owned.  I think I bought it when my wife and I were on a vacation and we wanted to have music in the rental car, and this was something we could both agree on.

Livin' on a Prayer is an excellent song.  Bad Name is pretty good (it's also a song that my son could NAIL as a singer in Rock Band around 5-7 years ago).  I either don't care for or don't know well the remaining 8 songs.

At the behest of a girl I was dating at the time, I went to see Bon Jovi on the tour for the next album after this one.  Skid Row opened, and I enjoyed the show a lot more than I cared to admit at the time.

[hefdaddy42]

Good album, but I am of the opinion that New Jersey is better.

[bosk1]

Good album, but I am of the opinion that New Jersey is better.

I wouldn't disagree with you.  But I think Slippery is more emblematic of the era.

[TAC]

Right. Slippery put that era on its back. Not sure the era has the impact it had without Slippery.

[hefdaddy42]

Good album, but I am of the opinion that New Jersey is better.

I wouldn't disagree with you.  But I think Slippery is more emblematic of the era.

I wouldn't disagree with you.

[Dublagent66]

I saw Bon Jovi as an opening act, and they were good, even if the music itself never really connected with me.   I'm of two minds about Bon Jovi, particularly because of my feelings on Jon himself.   I don't think any band gets that big without someone like Jon in charge - I don't think you tour stadia just on "art" alone, even if you're the Grateful Dead - and so there's a respect there, because if it was easy everyone would do it, but some of the "I'm the CEO of my corporation" stuff is off-putting to me.

Having said that, the solo in "Wanted Dead Or Alive" is in my top three favorite solos of all time. It's pretty much perfect in every way.

I saw them once as an opening act for Ratt in 1985.  That was obviously before they hit the bigtime, but I always thought they were good.  Liked a lot of the radio hits, but was never compelled to buy any of their albums.  I guess I was just too distracted by a bunch of other bands that connected with me better.

[TAC]

I saw Bon Jovi open for Scorps in 1984. I thought they were fantastic and I bought their tape the next day.

I absolutely remember the Ratt/BJ tour, and while I would've loved to have seen BJ again, I thought Ratt blew big chunks.

Bon Jovi were a great live band. I also saw the SWW tour a few times as well as the NJ tour a couple of times. Last time I saw them was the Keep The Faith tour.

[bl5150]

Was actually pretty "hard rock" for the time and Richie Sambora was on fire on this album.  Tico under rated also - one of the better rock drummers around at the time.

Made my DTF Top 50 - certainly one of the more influential albums of my time.   And the New Jersey tour (either that or Joe Satriani in the same year?) was my first concert.

[KevShmev]

I had this on cassette back in the day and listened to it a lot.  There are only a few songs that I revisit nowadays, but I will give it its due for how important it was for me at the time.  Back in 7th grade, everyone, guys and gals, loved this band and this album.

I still totally dig the into to Let It Rock, which is pretty rad.  They explored that kind of extended intro format again on Lay Your Hands on Me on the next album, which is also really good.

[Kwyjibo]

Good record and very important to the whole hair metal/hard rock scene. Livin' On A Prayer and Wanted Dead Or Alive are killer songs, the rest is good too.

I know a lot of people balked at the "bubble gum pop rock" that this band made popular.  But the thing is, they just did it SO well.  Not only the singles, but most of the deep cuts are sing-along-able and very memorable.  And Ritchie Sambora was a master at putting together solos that were melodic and stuck in your head.

Yeah, this is definitely mainstream rock but very well done and they really brought it live. I lost interest after Keep The Faith when their formula wore thin, at least for me, and their hit singles became more annoying (It's My Life) than interesting.

PS: Bon Jovi back then was one of those bands that were rocking but also appealing to the girls. Important factor for teenage me. 

[MoraWintersoul]

Not only the singles, but most of the deep cuts are sing-along-able and very memorable.  And Ritchie Sambora was a master at putting together solos that were melodic and stuck in your head.   

This is the purest truth. There were a million bands back then with poofy hair and cute frontmen and videos on MTV. I know, because I saw them all late at night on VH1 Rocks 20 years later  but Bon Jovi and Europe stood the test of time imo, and that's it.

[Max Kuehnau]

Slippery and Keep The Faith are my personal favourites by Bon Jovi (that being said, I'm not too familar with them to make any valid statement, but I also like their first album and New Jersey quite a bit), just great songs, full stop.

[Dublagent66]

I absolutely remember the Ratt/BJ tour, and while I would've loved to have seen BJ again, I thought Ratt blew big chunks.

You're right Tim.  Ratt was never a good live band cause they were always blowing chunks after partying too hard.