Category Archives: Lists

In Memoriam: movingtheriver salutes the fallen of 2025

Posted on by

Anthony Jackson

Jack DeJohnette

Al Foster (drummer with Miles Davis/Sonny Rollins/Herbie Hancock etc.)

Chris Hill (DJ and member of the so-called ‘Funk Mafia’)

David ‘Syd’ Lawrence (cricketer)

Wayne Larkins (cricketer)

Bertrand Blier (film director/writer)

Dave Bargeron (trombonist with Jaco Pastorius Big Band, Carla Bley, George Russell, Steely Dan etc.)

Jamie Muir (King Crimson percussionist)

Alf Clausen (‘Moonlighting’/’Fame’/’Ferris Bueller’/’Naked Gun’ soundtrack composer)

Michal Urbaniak (violinist with Miles Davis/Lenny White/Jaco Pastorius etc.)

Antony Price (designer for Bryan Ferry, Robert Palmer, David Bowie etc.)

Luis Jardim (Seal/Annie Lennox/FGTH/Grace Jones/George Michael percussionist and, according to Steve Lipson, he also played bass on ‘Slave To The Rhythm’…)

Hermeto Pascoal

Damien Thomas (‘Twins Of Evil’/’Tenko’/’Shogun’/’Pirates’ actor and movingtheriver’s uncle)

Jellybean Johnson (drummer and guitarist with The Time/The Family/Janet Jackson etc.)

Nicky Katt (‘Dazed And Confused’/’Insomnia’ actor)

Roy Ayers

Tony Roberts (‘Annie Hall’/’Play It Again Sam’/’Hannah And Her Sisters’/’Serpico’ actor)

Andy Bey

Tony Slattery

Rob Reiner

Richard Darbyshire (Living In A Box co-founder/vocalist/songwriter)

Clem Burke

Chris Rea

Diane Keaton

Martin Parr (photographer)

Patricia Routledge

Sheila Jordan

Peter Jason (‘They Live’/’Prince Of Darkness’/’In The Mouth Of Madness’ actor)

Brigitte Bardot

Dave Ball (Soft Cell keyboardist/co-founder)

James Prime (keyboardist with Deacon Blue/John Martyn)

Robin Smith (cricketer)

Joan Plowright

Lalo Schifrin

Sly Stone

Rick Buckler (Jam drummer)

David Thomas (Pere Ubu frontman)

Sam Moore (Sam & Dave)

Mike Ratledge (Soft Machine co-founder)

Diane Ladd

Pauline Collins

Eddie Palmieri

D’Angelo

Biddy Baxter (‘Blue Peter’ editor)

Chuck Mangione

Steve Cropper

George Wendt (Norm in ‘Cheers’)

David Lynch

Gene Hackman

Brian Wilson

Andy Peebles (radio presenter and writer, the last Brit to interview John Lennon)

Terence Stamp

Chris Jasper (Isley-Jasper-Isley keyboardist/songwriter and solo artist)

Phil Upchurch

Alex Wheatle (writer, activist and London legend)

Roberta Flack

Prunella Scales

Claudia Cardinale

Marilyn Mazur (percussionst/vocalist with Miles Davis/Jan Garbarek)

Flaco Jimenez (accordionist with Ry Cooder/Bob Dylan)

Drew Zingg (guitarist with Donald Fagen/Boz Scaggs/David Sanborn/Marcus Miller)

Barry McIlheney (Smash Hits/Q/Empire writer)

Simon House (Bowie/Thomas Dolby/Japan/Hawkwind violinist)

Rick Derringer

Dill Katz (bassist with Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia/District Six/Ian Carr’s Nucleus)

Henry Jaglom (film director)

John Robertson (footballer)

Ed Williams (‘Ted Olson’ in ‘Police Squad’ and the ‘Naked Gun’ movies)

Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird (cricket umpire)

Roy Estrada (Little Feat/Mothers Of Invention bassist)

Wishing all movingtheriver.com readers a happy and healthy 2026, with loads of cash.

Essential 1980s Jazz/Rock Albums (Part 2)

Posted on by

Continuing our look at some of the finest jazz/rock albums of the 1980s. You can find part 1 here.

Jaco Pastorius: Twins (1982)
A classic double album (an edited version was released as Invitation) recorded live in Japan just after the bass pioneer left Weather Report. Jaco’s brand of fusion took in jazz, Cuban, soul and R’n’B – no guitars here, but brilliant bass playing and powerful solos from Toots Thielemans, Lew Soloff, Jon Faddis and Bob Mintzer.

Frank Gambale: Live! (1989)
The Australian guitarist’s outrageous live debut was recorded at the Baked Potato in LA, and it finally showed just what he’s capable of – electrifying, original solos. His compositions are memorable too and there’s fantastic Latin/fusion drumming from Joey Heredia.

Steve Khan: Casa Loco (1983)
An album which still amazes musicians the world over. Arguably guitarist Khan, bassist Anthony Jackson, drummer Steve Jordan and percussionist Manolo Badrena have never done better work – that’s saying something considering who they’ve all played with.

Bill Bruford’s Earthworks: Dig? (1989)
Both of Bruford’s 1980s Earthworks albums were really good but this gets the nod due to Django Bates being given free reign, contributing superb keyboard solos, a cool reimagining of Petula Clark’s ‘Downtown’ and classic composition ‘Dancing On Frith Street’.

Paquito D’Rivera: Why Not! (1984)
An underrated album from the Cuban alto sax and clarinet star, also featuring Claudio Roditi on trumpet, Michel Camilo on keys and a wonderful performance from drummer Dave Weckl on the opening ‘Gdansk’.

Lyle Mays: Street Dreams (1988)
The Metheny Group keyboard player chucks in everything he knows on this big-budget project – ambient post-jazz, widescreen fuzak, big-band swing and Fagen-style fusion, and it’s all good. Some, like this writer, may also prefer the more red-blooded guitar playing of Bill Frisell to Metheny.

Pat Metheny Group: American Garage (1980)
No one is too sure if this came out in late 1979 or early 1980 but it’s this writer’s favourite Metheny album, though the guitarist himself seems to have almost disowned it. He loosens up and opens himself up to some rock and Steely Dan influences, driven along by Danny Gottlieb’s superb drums.

Level 42: A Physical Presence (1985)
A lot of it’s not strictly ‘fusion’, of course, but any album featuring such brilliant live versions of ‘Mr Pink’, ‘Foundation And Empire’ and ‘88’ has to make this list.

Mark King: Influences (1984)
The Level 42 mainman amazes with his 18-minute fusion classic ‘The Essential’, plus an eerily assured tribute to early Return To Forever called ‘There Is A Dog’. Plus he played almost everything on it.

John Patitucci: On The Corner (1989)
Both of the bassist’s 1980s solo albums were good but this gets the nod courtesy of the sheer variety of grooves from drummers Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl and Alex Acuna, and the leader’s exciting solos and excellent compositions, all memorable.

John Abercrombie: Getting There (1988)
A rare excursion into jazz/rock for ECM Records, the guitarist’s most dynamic ‘80s album featured Michael Brecker on sax, a hefty ‘rock’ mix courtesy of James Farber and arguably drummer Peter Erskine’s heaviest recorded performance to date.

Joni Mitchell: Wild Things Run Fast (1983)
She littered the album with influences from the Police but the main driver was the brilliant jazz/rock musicianship of bassist Larry Klein, drummers Colaiuta and John Guerin, saxist Wayne Shorter and keys player Russell Ferrante. ‘Moon At The Window’, ‘Be Cool’, ‘Ladies Man’ and ‘You’re So Square’ smuggled fusion into the album charts.

Miles Davis: Star People (1983)
Blues, blazing jazz/rock, chromatic funk and general weirdness combine for arguably Miles’s most exciting album of the decade, featuring all-time great guitar from Mike Stern and John Scofield.

John Martyn: Glorious Fool (1981)
John’s music was now bringing in influences from Weather Report, Latin music and spiritual jazz, and Phil Collins, keyboard player Max Middleton, percussionist Danny Cummings and bassist Alan Thompson made for a fantastic rhythm section.

Bruford: Gradually Going Tornado (1980)
Any album featuring ‘Gothic 17’, ‘Land’s End’, ‘Joe Frazier’ and ‘Palewell Park’ has to be on this list. Epochal work from bassist Jeff Berlin, keys man Dave Stewart and the drummer himself.

Bubbling under:
Terje Rypdal: The Singles Collection (1988)
Power Tools: Strange Meeting (1987)
Stanley Clarke: If This Bass Could Only Talk (1988)
Terri Lyne Carrington: Real Life Story (1989)
Chick Corea Elektric Band: Eye Of The Beholder (1988)
Bill Frisell: Before We Were Born (1989)
Loose Tubes (1984)
Players (Jeff Berlin, Scott Henderson, Steve Smith, T Lavitz) (1986)

(PS. If you like the sound of any of these albums, please consider buying them in physical formats to best support the artists.)

Essential 1980s Jazz/Rock Albums (Part 1)

Posted on by

1980s jazz/rock generally gets the side-eye these days.

But it wasn’t all the Chick Corea Elektric Band prancing around the stage in tracksuits or pitiful WAVE-style smooth jazz.

The 1970s jazz/rock pioneers were mostly going strong and if some were too tempted by synths and drum machines, the best music was made by sticking pretty rigorously to the tried-and-tested real drums/bass/guitar/keys lineup favoured by Miles, Weather Report, Return To Forever et al.

So here’s a selection of 1980s jazz/rock albums that have consistently gripped movingtheriver, most of which he queued up to buy at the HMV or Virgin Megastore, or found in an Our Price bargain bin. (These are not proggy or funky. So no Herbie, Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn or David Torn, but there are elements of R’n’B/Latin/soul/whatever mixed in with the jazz).

Bireli Lagrene: Foreign Affairs (1988)
Just 21 years old when he recorded it with producer Steve Khan, the French guitarist’s second Blue Note album is a cohesive gem and massive improvement on the debut, with terrific contributions from keyboardist Koono and drummer Dennis Chambers.

Ornette Coleman: Virgin Beauty (1988)
One of the most ‘accessible’ albums of the master’s career, with memorable melodies, a brilliantly expressive bassist (Al McDowell) and some decidedly odd guest appearances from Jerry Garcia.

Tribal Tech (Scott Henderson/Gary Willis): Nomad (1988)
Recorded in April 1988 but not released until early 1990, guitarists were rightly wowed by Henderson’s brilliance, a mixture of Michael Brecker, Allan Holdsworth and Stevie Ray Vaughan, while the rhythm section is groovy and propulsive and both Henderson and Willis’s compositions are excellent. And ‘Tunnel Vision’ may feature the perfect guitar solo…

John McLaughlin: Mahavishnu (1984)
OK there are some question marks in the keyboard and sax departments, and a few mediocre tracks, but Billy Cobham has rarely sounded better and John contributes three or four classic compositions and a few brilliant solos to this reunion album of sorts.

Marc Johnson’s Bass Desires: Second Sight (1987)
Wonderful interplay between guitarists John Scofield and Bill Frisell, plus some classic compositions including Scofield’s surf-rock-meets-jazz ‘Twister’, Frisell’s Monk-like ‘1951’ and Johnson’s moving ‘Hymn For Her’.

Larry Carlton: Last Nite (1987)
Guitarists of all stripes were blown away by Carlton’s playing in the 1980s, and here’s the best evidence, captured live at LA’s Baked Potato club with Alex Acuna, Abe Laboriel and JR Robinson.

Human Chain: Cashin’ In (1988)
This Brit jazz/rock classic, released on EG Records, had elements of the Canterbury sound, West Coast cool jazz, English folk music and 1980s Weather Report, featuring Django Bates’ fantastic keys and French horn and some weirdly impressive guitar and fretless bass from Stuart Hall (who he?). Also injects a healthy dose of much-needed humour to the ’80s jazz world.

Hiram Bullock: Give It What U Got (1988)
All the fun of the fair from this gifted but troubled guitarist: raunchy funk/rock, instrumental Steely Dan, Brecker Brothers horns, classic fusion and an Al Jarreau guest appearance on a Sam Cooke tune, but all shot through with jazz chords and Hiram’s lyrical playing.

Ronald Shannon Jackson: Mandance (1982)
Ornette-style harmolodics and Mingus-like ensemble work meet NYC punk-jazz on the drummer’s intriguing and powerful album, recorded live in the studio, featuring future Living Colour axeman Vernon Reid.

Weather Report: Sportin’ Life (1985)
It was a toss-up between this and Night Passage, both classics, but this gets the nod courtesy of the newly-minted rhythm section of Omar Hakim and Victor Bailey, plus a few classic Wayne Shorter tunes including ‘Face On The Barroom Floor’ which reportedly Joni Mitchell was particularly smitten by.

Wayne Shorter: Atlantis (1985)
Wayne again, fronting this fascinating, complex song-cycle featuring Alex Acuna on drums and Joni’s husband Larry Klein on bass. Takes some time to digest, but like a good wine gets better every year.

Allan Holdsworth: Secrets (1989)
A toss-up between this and Metal Fatigue, this gets in because of his delicious guitar tone and the inspired contributions of drummer Vinnie Colaiuta – ‘City Nights’, ‘Spokes’, ‘Peril Premonition’ and ‘Joshua’ are musical landmarks. Fiery, exciting, unmissable.

Steps Ahead: Modern Times (1984)
Messrs Brecker, Erskine, Mainieri, Gomez and Bernhardt were embracing some new technology but they never let it overshadow the mostly excellent compositions with telling solos, particularly from Brecker.

John Scofield: Still Warm (1985)
Take your pick between this, Blue Matter and Loud Jazz, all fantastic pieces of work, but Still Warm gets the nod courtesy of its dynamite rhythm section (Darryl Jones and Omar Hakim) and arguably John’s best writing of the ’80s.

Mike Stern: Upside Downside (1986)
Produced by Hiram Bullock and featuring a crack band including Dave Weckl on drums, it showcases Stern’s finest/fieriest playing on record to date and also one of Jaco Pastorius’s last notable appearances. Still the best Stern solo album and quite extreme in its own way.

(If you’re new to any of these albums and they float your boat, please consider buying physical copies to support the artists.)

1980s Jazz, Fusion, Soul and Funk Acts I Should Like But Don’t

Posted on by

We’ve looked before at the celebrated 1980s rock and pop acts whose output somehow leaves this writer cold.

But how about the decade’s jazz, soul and fusion artists who always seem to get the props but inexplicably fail to float movingtheriver’s boat?

Rick James
Frequently mentioned in dispatches as a funk pioneer and influence on Prince etc. (and also mentor of Teena Marie?) but for this listener his music is generally coarse and one-dimensional, and his voice nothing to write home about.

Bill Connors
The guitarist made some excellent music for ECM Records in the 1970s both as solo artist and sideman (Jan Garbarek/Stanley Clarke/Return To Forever/Julian Priester etc.) but his 1980s work disappoints. He apparently developed a fixation on Allan Holdsworth’s sound/technique which hampered his progress. Somewhat regrouped in the 1990s and new millennium though.

Kazumi Watanabe
The guitarist employed some fantastic musicians (Jeff Berlin, Steve Jordan, Marcus Miller, Bill Bruford) in the 1980s but, outside of one or two half-decent riffs, seemingly failed to generate much memorable music.

Stanley Jordan
Bassist Anthony Jackson called him a ‘genius’, and he should know, but technical feats notwithstanding (he famously played the guitar exclusively by ‘tapping’ the strings with the fingers of both hands), he seemingly failed to develop his music beyond smoochy smooth jazz during the 1980s.

Chick Corea
Obviously a genius-level musical brain and maker of some memorable material in the 1970s but generally his ‘80s music and stage presentation was a bit embarrassing (though I have a penchant for the Light Years and Eye Of The Beholder albums). A great mentor though (Dave Weckl, John Patitucci, Frank Gambale, Scott Henderson etc.).

Al Di Meola
See above.

Howard Hewett
Owner of some fantastic pipes and a stellar career co-fronting Shalamar, but for this writer his solo career generally seems like over-produced, underwhelming mush, and he doesn’t seem much of a songwriter. (He did an unforgettable take on Marvin Gaye in the 1990s though.)

Narada Michael Walden
One of the great drummers (Jeff Beck, Weather Report, McLaughlin etc.) and producers (Whitney, Aretha etc.) ended the 1980s with a half-decent album (Divine Emotions) but, to these ears, the rest of the decade’s solo career was unmemorable disco/funk…

Brand X
Often touted as a kind of British Weather Report – fugedaboudit. Their musicianship was competent at best and their compositions somehow didn’t stick in the brain, despite the occasional drumming contributions of a Mr P Collins. Bill Bruford did it much better with a far superior bunch of players (Jeff Berlin, Allan Holdsworth, Jon Clark, Dave Stewart). See also: Pierre Moerlen’s Gong.

Pat Metheny
This writer dug his stereo-chorus sound and musical approach at the dawn of the decade (80/81, American Garage, Travels) but, as the 1980s went on, he seemed to embrace a mushy new-age sensibility and indistinct jazz guitar sound that generally underwhelmed. And his stage presentation is one of the least savoury in music history… (Gary Giddins: ‘intoning plush melodies with excessive sobriety, as though the notes were transmitted directly from God…’). Liked his collaborations with Ornette Coleman and Bowie though.

Jean-Luc Ponty
Valued sideman for ’70s behemoths (Zappa, McLaughlin) but his solo career has generally disappointed this writer (but generally not other jazz/rock fans, who inexplicably seem to love his stuff…), outside of the fact that he doesn’t seem to possess a particularly pleasant violin tone with an annoying penchant for the phaser pedal. He employed some superb players in the ‘80s (Scott Henderson, Rayford Griffin, Baron Browne etc.) but never convinced that he’s much of a composer. Always quite liked this though…

1980s Rock/Pop Acts I Should Like But Don’t

Posted on by

Everyone knows a few: those acts that got great reviews, named some of your favourite bands as influences and sold a few records in the process, but there was just something about their music that you couldn’t hack.

Maybe it was their vocals, their outlook, their politics, their songwriting, or a mixture of all four.

Well I know some too. Here’s a totally subjective, wildly judgemental – no offence intended – list of 1980s pop and rock artists who leave me cold, despite most being critical and commercial successes. Believe me, I’ve tried. Like they could care less…

King’s X
My muso mates waxed lyrical about their tricky riffs and tight musicianship but I’ve never got beyond the guy’s not very good singing, their weirdly unmemorable songs and rather naff pomp-rock tendencies.

World Party
Perpetually spoken about in hushed tones of reverence when I was at college but their music singularly failed to grab, despite the Beatles/XTC/Prince influences, possibly due to Karl Wallinger’s rather wimpy voice. See also: Crowded House, REM, Waterboys

The Blow Monkeys
Somehow got filed under the ‘sophistipop’ banner courtesy of their flirtation with ‘slinky’ grooves and soul influences, but for me Dr Robert’s absurd voice and the lack of songwriting imagination never got them past first base. See also: Kane Gang, Simply Red, Johnny Hates Jazz, Black, The Big Dish.

Marillion
Decade-ending Season’s End had some brilliant moments but for me most of the Fish era was a succession of quite badly-played/badly-sung rip-offs of Gabriel-era Genesis. It Bites did it better and added some much-needed pizzazz and groove. See also: IQ, Jadis, Tony Banks/Chris Squire/Mike Rutherford solo albums…

Deacon Blue
I liked the soppier/poppier elements of their debut album Raintown but the game was up when the truly irritating ‘Wages Day’ and ‘Real Gone Kid’ swept the airwaves at the end of the decade. They took Prefab Sprout’s basic concept to the bank whilst shaving off the weird edges.

Paul McCartney
Sheer melodic brilliance time and time again of course, but for me his 1980s work generally flatters to deceive, outside of a few random favourites (‘Pipes Of Peace’, ‘Once Upon A Long Ago’). Yes, even the album he did with Elvis Costello (of whom more below…).

The Style Council
Only a musical moron would deny the power of ‘You’re The Best Thing’ and ‘Walls Come Tumbling Down’ and you have to admire Paul Weller’s songcraft, politics, guitar playing and ability to laugh at himself, but generally it was hard to shake off the naffness. Mick Talbot must take a lot of the blame…

Mick Jagger
He employed some of my favourite producers and musicians (Jeff Beck, Sakamoto, Bill Laswell, Herbie Hancock, Doug Wimbish, Simon Phillips etc. etc.) but failed to produce even one memorable or interesting single or album track during the 1980s. See also: Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Nick Heyward, Jerry Harrison

Pages
This yacht rock supergroup had a great singer (Richard Page) and sh*t-hot musicians (Vinnie Colaiuta, Jay Graydon, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Lukather etc.) but the songs weren’t strong or memorable enough. See also: most of Toto, Mr Mister

Elvis Costello
Weirdly his ‘Less Than Zero’ was one of the first singles I loved as a kid, but his desperation to be a serious ’80s ‘artist’ fell on deaf ears despite the fact that he obviously knew a lot of chords and retained some of that new-wave angst (but even I couldn’t resist his fine run of 1990s form, from the superb ‘London’s Brilliant Parade’ to Bacharach). See also: The Cars, The The, Squeeze.

Van Morrison
To my ears his 1980s music is like Joni Mitchell and John Martyn without the melodic/harmonic/lyrical depth, apart from the sublime ‘Rave On John Donne’. People tell me he always uses great bands though, but they often barely register…

Todd Rundgren
I’m more of a fan of his 1980s producing work (Pursuit Of Happiness, XTC etc) than his solo music. Never bought into this whole ‘he’s a genius’ thing, save the wonderful ‘The Verb To Love’ – but that’s from the 1970s, innit…? See also: Lenny Kravitz.

Depeche Mode
Yes they’ve got a few pop hooks, the Mute Records cred and ‘edgy’ image but never been able to shake off an ineffable naffness for me. And despite being ‘synth pioneers’, they didn’t seem to push the sonic envelope much in the 1980s at all. ‘Everything Counts’ was superb though and I got on board later with Ultra. See also: Kraftwerk, New Musik, Visage, Ultravox, New Order, Howard Jones

Pink Floyd
If you want to put me to sleep, put on any of Pink Floyd’s 1980s work. Bring back Syd. See also: Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd solo projects, except Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports, which is brilliant…

Bad Brains
Dub/thrash/funk pioneers and a huge influence on bands I really like such as Living Colour, Fishbone and 24-7 Spyz, but their music seems a little amateurish to me and, again, their singer was not blessed with a great set of pipes (unlike the singers of bands above).

Housemartins
Fondly remembered until you actually hear those singles again – ‘Build’, ‘Happy Hour’, ‘Caravan Of Love’. Annoying, a bit puny, and apparently the more irritating side of the C-86 generation.

The Jesus and Mary Chain
Bowie summed them up well for me: ‘I tried the Jesus and Mary Chain but I just couldn’t believe it. It’s awful! It was so sophomoric – like the Velvets without Lou. I just know that they’re kids from Croydon! I just can’t buy it…’

The Best Album Titles Of The 1980s

Posted on by

We’ve looked at some of the worst album titles of the 1980s – now it’s time for the best.

But what made a memorable/interesting title? Certainly a few themes emerge from the list below.

Some issue instructions to the listener, some pose questions. Most feature common words uncommonly used. A pun can help. A couple are named after books. And a concept doesn’t hurt, especially if accompanied by good album artwork/design. Release the bats…

Adventures In the Land Of The Good Groove (Nile Rodgers)

What’s Bootsy Doin’? (Bootsy Collins)

No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith (Motorhead)

Climate Of Hunter (Scott Walker)

Rum, Sodomy & The Lash (The Pogues)

Bostin’ Steve Austin (We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Gonna Use It)

From Langley Park To Memphis (Prefab Sprout)

Are You Glad To Be In America? (James Blood Ulmer)

America – Do You Remember The Love? (James Blood Ulmer)

Metal Fatigue (Allan Holdsworth)

Shockadelica (Jesse Johnson)

Back In The DHSS (Half Man Half Biscuit)

The Slide Area (Ry Cooder)

As The Veneer Of Democracy Starts To Fade (Mark Stewart)

Be Yourself Tonight (Eurythmics)

Sulk (Associates)

Love Stinks (J Geils Band)

Jazz From Hell (Frank Zappa)

Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar (Frank Zappa)

Broadway The Hard Way (Frank Zappa)

Aliens Ate My Buick (Thomas Dolby)

The Golden Age Of Wireless (Thomas Dolby)

Exit Stage Left (Rush)

Some Of My Best Jokes Are Friends (George Clinton)

R’n’B Skeletons In The Closet (George Clinton)

There Goes The Neighbourhood (Joe Walsh)

You Bought It – You Name It (Joe Walsh)

Friendly As A Hand Grenade (Tackhead)

Stop Making Sense (Talking Heads)

Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret (Soft Cell)

Frankenchrist (Dead Kennedys)

This Is What You Want…This Is What You Get (PiL)

Album (PiL)

Twang Bar King (Adrian Belew)

Big Science (Laurie Anderson)

Building The Perfect Beast (Don Henley)

Freaky Styley (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

The Pursuit Of Accidents (Level 42)

The Big Lad In The Windmill (It Bites)

Searching For The Young Soul Rebels (Dexys Midnight Runners)

The Affectionate Punch (Associates)

Empires And Dance (Simple Minds)

For How Much Longer Will We Tolerate Mass Murder (The Pop Group)

Return Of The Giant Slits (Slits)

Your Cassette Pet (Bow Wow Wow)

See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy! (Bow Wow Wow)

Cupid & Psyche ‘85 (Scritti Politti)

My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts (David Byrne/Brian Eno)

Eat ‘Em And Smile (David Lee Roth)

Other good ‘uns? Let us know below…

The Worst Album Titles Of The 1980s

Posted on by

It was one of the many issues that probably had managers and marketing people tearing their hair out during the 1980s.

What to name your album? It might be a low-risk strategy to name it after the first single – even better if that song is a big hit – or, if you were feeling clever, after a ‘pivotal’ album track.

But oftentimes 1980s acts went out on a limb, looking for a ‘poetic’ title, something ‘novel’, something… You get the picture.

Here’s a selection (to be regularly updated) of 1980s album titles that went off-piste. Some are pretentious, some weird, some have needless word repetition (hello Sting), some fudge punctuation or foreign words in an infuriating way, some are rubbish puns, some are desperate to shock, some are way too high-falutin’, some throw concepts together in a seemingly random way. But the reaction to most is: eh?

Of course a bad title didn’t stop some of these being great albums, though, tellingly, very few were big hits…

Talking With The Taxman About Poetry (Billy Bragg)

Three Hearts In The Happy Ending Machine (Daryl Hall)

The Secret Value Of Daydreaming (Julian Lennon)

Steve McQueen (Prefab Sprout)

Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars (Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians)

The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Mother’s Milk (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls (Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays)

Into The Dragon (Bomb The Bass)

Angst In My Pants (Sparks)

Tennis (Chris Rea)

Love Over Gold (Dire Straits)

North Of A Miracle (Nick Heyward)

Misplaced Childhood (Marillion)

Script For A Jester’s Tear (Marillion)

Boys & Girls (Bryan Ferry)

Journeys To Glory (Spandau Ballet)

Through The Barricades (Spandau Ballet)

Seven And The Ragged Tiger (Duran Duran)

Big Thing (Duran Duran)

Modern Romans (The Call)

The Secret Of Association (Paul Young)

Shabooh Shoobah (INXS)

Remain In Light (Talking Heads)

If This Bass Could Only Talk (Stanley Clarke)

Blood & Chocolate (Elvis Costello)

A Salt With A Deadly Pepa (Salt’n’Pepa)

Splendido Hotel (Al Di Meola)

Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun (Dead Can Dance)

The Moon Looked Down And Laughed (Virgin Prunes)

Architecture & Morality (OMD)

The Dream Of The Blue Turtles (Sting)

In-No-Sense? Nonsense! (Art Of Noise)

In Square Circle (Stevie Wonder)

Lawyers In Love (Jackson Browne)

The Story Of A Young Heart (A Flock Of Seagulls)

The One Giveth, The Count Taketh Away (Bootsy Collins)

You Shouldn’t-Nuf Bit Fish (George Clinton)

All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (Pete Townshend)

Difficult Shapes And Passive Rhythms Some People Think It’s Fun To Entertain (China Crisis)

Working With Fire And Steel (China Crisis)

Franks Wild Years (Tom Waits)

So Red The Rose (Arcadia)

Café Bleu (The Style Council)

The F**king C*nts Treat Us Like Pricks (Flux Of Pink)

Chalk Mark In A Rainstorm (Joni Mitchell)

I, Assassin (Gary Numan)

Civilised Evil (Jean-Luc Ponty)

Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D’Arby

Children (The Mission)

Casa Loco (Steve Khan)

The First Of A Million Kisses (Fairground Attraction)

Bebop Moptop (Danny Wilson)

 

More crap 1980s album titles? Of course. Let us know in the comments below (particularly looking for more in the metal, Goth and prog genres).

10 Classic 1980s Singles Featuring Brushes

Posted on by

Some brushes, yesterday

When you think of 1980s pop music, which drum sounds come to mind?

They’re probably pretty loud and the infamous gated snare possibly looms large: ‘Let’s Dance’, ‘In The Air Tonight’, ‘Hey Mickey’, ‘Uptown Girl’, ‘A Town Called Malice’, ‘Born In The USA’.

But there’s a whole alternative world of 1980s hits where the drummer played very quietly, with brushes rather than sticks. Stuff like Buddy Holly’s ‘Raining In My Heart’, The Beatles’ ‘When I’m 64’ and Lou Reed’s ‘Walk On The Wild Side’ probably laid down the gauntlet, but you can’t imagine any producers or focus groups demanding that the drummer play brushes to create a hit (and when was the last hit that featured brushes?).

Here are some classic 1980s singles that somehow got away with it (all chart placings from the UK).

10. Echo & the Bunnymen: ‘Killing Moon’
Powered by Pete de Freitas’s subtle and unexpected brushwork, the classic single got all the way to #9 in early 1984.

9. George Michael: ‘Kissing A Fool’
The seventh and final single from Faith, written back in 1984, reached the top 20 and was initially mooted to be the title track of that 1987 album. Session player Ian Thomas, soon to play with everyone from Robbie Williams to Scott Walker, overdubbed some brushes on the snare after first recording a pass with sticks.

8. The Cure: ‘The Lovecats’
This stand-alone single was also the band’s first top ten hit, peaking at #7 in October 1983. Drummer Andy Anderson began his career with Hawkwind’s Nik Turner and Steve Hillage, then ended up on Robert Smith and Steve Severin’s The Glove side project. He found himself recording this song in Paris then joined the band for a year, playing on 1984 album The Top and playing brushes on another B-side, ‘Speak My Language’. He then toured with Iggy Pop throughout 1987. Anderson died in 2019.

7. Alison Moyet: ‘That Ole Devil Called Love’
This stand-alone single reached a heady #2 during March 1985, produced by ’18 With A Bullet’ singer Pete Wingfield. But who’s the drummer? Answers on a postcard please.

6. Robert Wyatt: ‘Shipbuilding’
Not much is known about drummer Martin Hughes, but he did a nice job on this classic single which reached #35 in April 1983.

5. Chris Rea: ‘Driving Home For Christmas’
Written in 1978, it was originally intended for Van Morrison. Rea first recorded it as a B-side to the 1986 single ‘Hello Friend’, with drummer Dave Mattacks playing almost with a country feel. But the most famous version features on Rea’s 1988 New Light Through Old Windows compilation album with drums by Martin Ditcham, best known for his percussion work.

4. Chris Isaak: ‘Wicked Game’
Kenney Dale Johnson played some very subtle drums on this classic single released in July 1989, going on to become a huge sleeper hit in the US and UK.

3. Elton John: ‘Blue Eyes’
Recorded at AIR Studios in Montserrat, this touching ballad was the lead-off single from John’s Jump Up! album, reaching the top ten in 1982. The very slow 6/8 groove was beautifully marshalled by Jeff Porcaro. See also Toto’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and Ray Charles’ ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’ for some classic Porcaro brushwork.

2. Fairground Attraction: ‘Perfect’
It reached UK #1 in May 1988 – is it the only chart-topper to feature a drummer playing brushes? London jazzer Roy Dodds did the honours on this.

1. Rain Tree Crow: ‘Blackwater’
Cheating a bit here. It wasn’t released until 1991 but was recorded in December 1989 at Chateau Miraval in Southern France. It was the reformed Japan’s only single, reaching #62. In the band biography ‘Cries And Whispers’, drummer Steve Jansen makes the remarkable claim that his whole performance was pieced together using samples. Weird…

Any other 1980s hits that feature brushes? Drop us a line below.

Nine Memorable 1980s Pop Parodies

Posted on by

The HeeBee GeeBees

One adjective you couldn’t use about 1980s pop is ‘boring’. The music had way too much character and the artists too much physical presence for that.

But 1980s music culture was easy to lampoon. And there was so much mainstream TV to do the lampooning, from ‘Not The Nine O’Clock News’ and ‘The Goodies’ to ‘The Kenny Everett Video Show’ and ‘Spitting Image’.

And across the pond, of course, there was ‘Saturday Night Live’. Then there were the radio spoofs and specially-constructed ‘bands’ like The Hee Bee Gee Bees. All in all it was a golden era for satire.

So here we round up some classic spoofs of 1980s music, with a few recurring subjects…

9. Not The Nine O’Clock News: ‘Happy Crappy Nappy Song’
Inane pop pretenders or joyous post-punk tunesmiths? If you thought Altered Images were the former, Pamela Stephenson and pals pretty much nailed the Glaswegian band’s shtick right here.

8. Stevie Nicks: ‘What The Hell Is She Saying?’
Who the hell is responsible for this classic?

 

7. Not The Nine O’Clock News: ‘Nice Video, Shame About The Song’
It’s the naughty gang again, this time brilliantly skewering early ‘80s pop videos, particularly the work of pioneers Russell ‘Vienna’ Mulcahy and David ‘Ashes To Ashes’ Mallet.

 

6. The Hee Bee Gee Bees: ‘Quite Ahead Of My Time’
Angus Deayton, Phil Pope and Michael Fenton Stevens brilliantly lampoon David Bowie’s 1976-1980 era, with nods to ‘Golden Years’, ‘Ashes To Ashes’, ‘African Night Flight’, ‘Fashion’, ‘It’s No Game’ and even ‘The Secret Life Of Arabia’. There’s also a touch of Eno and Bowie’s ‘point to some chord signs with a baton and get the band to play them’ Berlin-era modus operandi about the music here.

 

5. Spitting Image: ‘We’re Scared Of Bob’
Lyrically and musically spot-on, and also highlights the use of minor celebs in ‘We Are The World’ and ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’.

 

4. The Kenny Everett Video Show: The Bee Gees
Ten years before Clive Anderson’s disastrous TV interview, Kenny nails the inescapable naffness of the Brothers Gibb.

 

3. The Hee Bee Gee Bees: ‘Too Depressed To Commit Suicide’
The first of two Police pastiches, Messrs. Deayton, Pope and Fenton Stevens (apparently with amusing lyrical input by Richard Curtis too) offer a great distillation of their sound, somewhere between ‘Walking On The Moon’ and ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’. Also check out the delicious piss-taking of Stewart Copeland’s penchant for adding ‘delays’ (echoes) to his drums.

 

2. Weird Al Yankovic: ‘Velvet Elvis’
Not as good as the previous track – his voice is pretty poor – but musically it’s pretty damn sharp.

 

1. Saturday Night Live: Frank Sinatra and Stevie Wonder
Just a timeless classic…

Any classic ’80s parodies missing here? Leave a comment below.

Eight 1980s Stock, Aitken & Waterman Tracks That Aren’t Crap

Posted on by

Joe Meek isn’t often compared to Stock, Aitken and Waterman but here’s an associate of the former speaking after his untimely death: ‘He was being ganged up on by the establishment. Nobody with any power in the business liked him because he was independent and successful.’

The same could be said for Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. The always-deeply-unfashionable songwriting/production/mixing/A&R team, who had over 100 UK Top 40 hits and sold over 40 million singles in the UK (35 million worldwide in 1987 alone),  found their feet in the hi-NRG scene, then detoured into classy soul before emerging with a late-‘80s formula that combined both approaches and made superstars out of Kylie, Jason and Rick Astley.

Everyone from Sigue Sigue Sputnik to Donna Summer sought SAW’s hit-making fairy dust. But many ’80s pop fans hated them. You could argue that was more down to the procedural limitations of their later work – ie. refusal to use a real rhythm section – and formulaic productions than the songwriting (reportedly mostly by Stock, with the other two supplying lyric ideas and Waterman the final mix and marketing) which often adroitely mined Motown and Philly soul and featured some of the weirdest harmonic modulations this side of Nik Kershaw.

But have their best tracks stood the test of time? Here are eight SAW singles that are not routinely turned off by movingtheriver when they come on the radio:

8. Dead Or Alive: ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’
Waterman boasted about making difficult records early in the trio’s career and this is one of their weirdest. Apparently their trick was to remove most of the bass from the mix and boost the cowbells, handclaps and sequencers to ‘trigger’ the interactive light shows, especially at ‘gay’ venues. It’s also interesting how long they wait before unleashing the first chorus…

7. Princess: ‘Say I’m Your Number One’
South London soul singer Princess – born Desiree Heslop – was a member of Osibisa before going solo in 1985. This tasty single, with its bizarre but brilliant harmonic hike into the chorus, settled at #7 as well as going top 20 in the US R&B charts.

6. Brother Beyond: ‘The Harder I Try’
Weirdly, this fine Motown pastiche was the FIFTH single released from their second album, but still made #2 in the UK.

5. The Three Degrees: ‘The Heaven I Need’
Yes it’s somewhat of a rip-off of Mai Tai’s ‘History’ (or is it? Which came out first?!) but this was the Prince Charles-approved trio’s groovy comeback after a five-year hiatus. Not much of a success though: it limped to #42.

4. Sonia: ‘You’ll Never Stop Me From Loving You’
Bear with me here. Under the house-by-numbers groove lurks a cool take on Philly soul, the verses reminiscent of both ‘Stop Look Listen’ and ‘Betcha By Golly Wow’. 18-year-old Scouser Sonia Evans was a complete unknown when she recorded this. Maybe people assumed it was Kylie. Interestingly it was SAW’s final #1 single in the UK, though they’d already had SEVEN during 1989!

3. Rick Astley: ‘Whenever You Need Somebody’
Just a brilliantly weird sequence of melodic hooks, and another strange key change going into the chorus. Astley’s vocal phrasing is a treat too.

2. Donna Summer: ‘Love’s About To Change My Heart’
Reportedly, this is SAW’s favourite of their singles and Summer’s beautiful vocal is surely a big reason why. It completely bombed in her homeland but made the UK top 20.

1. Brilliant: ‘Love Is War’
Killing Joke’s Youth and future KLF man Jimmy Cauty were involved with this great bit of post-Cupid & Psyche pop/soul, but it still stiffed in the UK.

Any other good SAW tracks? Deep cuts from Kylie albums? It’s unlikely but you never know (and no, ‘Roadblock’ is NOT a great single…).

Further reading: ‘Good Vibrations: The History Of Record Production’ by Mark Cunningham