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Posted

D'Arcy played bass. This looks like someone replacing Billy on guitar.

 

Posted

Snowy White's White Flames... Snowy White was a former member of Thin Lizzy and a backing guitarist for Pink Floyd. This was his solo debut and featured a UK top 10 hit, Bird of Paradise. Loved the mix of Snowy's guitar work and the 80s pop production, but Snowy's vocals aren't the greatest. Some great solos, though.

Yellowman's Zungguzungguguzungguzeng... or how I learned to love dub? If there's one genre I've come around on during this 1983 odyssey it's been dub. Couldn't stand it in the beginning, now I find myself involuntarily bopping along to it. 

The Church's Seance... The Church are one of the finest bands to ever come out of Australia and they're still making records 40 years later in 2023. They're one of those rare bands whose entire discography is worth listening to. This was during their early jangle pop phase and is one of those records that is overlooked at times as it came out right before some of their more critically acclaimed albums, but it's a fantastic LP from a timeless band. Top of the pops. 

Manowar's Into Glory Ride... this was quite the production. I give these guys credit for this level of heavy metal cosplay. However, for the band that has the Guinness record for the loudest performance, you'd think this would be a little louder. 

The Mob's Let the Tribe Increase... this was an interesting LP. It was a mix of straight up anarcho-punk and darker post-punk. Pretty bleak. Don't listen to it if you're depressed. The vocals are a bit whiny at times, but I quite liked the guitarwork. 

Lifetones' For a Reason... this was a post-punk dub record back when every post-punk act in the UK was dabbling in dub. I liked the instrumental tracks more than the whiny Brit on vocals tracks. 

Saxon's Power and Glory... I love how you can guess a Saxon record by the opening riff. I love Saxon. Who doesn't love Saxon? If there's a perfect bridge between hard rock and metal it may be Saxon.

Witchfinder General's Friends of Hell... I lost all my music data when my computer crashed last year, including all the info on metal albums I'd listened to. The good news? I can just listen to them again. Witchfinder General kick ass. They're spiritual heirs to Black Sabbath and put out doom metal records before doom metal grew monstrously heavy. Awesome stuff.

Jaguar's Power Games... NWOHBM will always be my first love when it comes to metal even if thrash is my favorite sub-genre. I love me some Jaguar. This was right at the tail end of NWOHBM (sniff), and had a speed metal feel to it. Kick ass. 

Bi Kyo Ran's Parallax... Bi Kyo Ran are a Japanese prog-rock group that were hugely influenced by King Crimson. They started out as a King Crimson cover band and guitarist Kunio Suma emulated Robert Fripp's guitar sound. Fans of King Crimson will hear the influences here more than I did. For my part, I thought it was engrossing prog. 

  • Like 3
Posted

Dub was what finally got me into reggae, actually; specifically King Tubby. The slowness, spaciness and sheer bass of it was right in my happy spot. 

Into Glory Ride is the slowest Manowar but probably the most majestic. They got into the "loudest band" true silliness (and eventual total awfulness) after Ross the Boss made his exit, though I suppose they were already in the thick of it on Fighting the World. Those first four though? Actual glory. I will stand up for those albums at the drop of a hat. 

Man, the Mob... I love anarcho, peace-punk stuff. But that album is indeed the most depressing shit ever. Makes you want to go listen to the Amebix EPs as a mood elevator in comparison! 

The Power and the Glory was kind of the end of an era for Saxon. After this Crusader would hit and they'd start the downhill trend. It's all in the eye of the beholder though. There are Accept albums that the majority of people don't rate that I think are absolutely killer, and they're a very similar band in that fashion. 

Friends of Hell is THE SHIT. Anybody who tells you they were a one-album band need to be force-fed this album on repeat for a couple days. "Music" is a goddamn anthem.

Power Games heads off one of the thumb drives full of music I keep in my car so that about says it for my feelings there.

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Posted (edited)

Oh and I am going straight for that Bi Kyo Ran!

EDIT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RUFcFzPfb0&ab_channel=ProgLine Yes indeed. Right up my alley. 

Whoa, the guy indeed nailed that "endless sustain" tone that Robert Fripp had/has. First song has a very '80s Crim feel which was kinda New Wave-y, especially with Adrian Belew from Talking Heads on vocals and them indulging in modern synth instead of archaic Moog and such. I wonder what Fripp thought about them because I'm sure they were brought to his attention, considering his, errr, strong personality. 

I also dig the artwork with the contrast between Japanese classicalism above what appears to be a junkyard of trashed modernity. There is definitely some Japanese folk character in the singing... mainly because they're singing in Japanese, I know, but still. 

Edited by Curt McGirt
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Posted

The Blood's False Gestures for a Devious Public... this is unlike any other UK Oi! or street punk album from '83 as it's mostly punk vocals over the top of metal riffs. Crossover wasn't really a thing yet and crust punk hadn't fully emerged. This seemed like a bunch of dudes who liked a bit of everything from metal to hardcore. I quite liked it. Sounded fresh.

EPO's Vitamin E・P・O... City pop record but far from my favorite. It was a bit too idol kayo for my tastes. A lot of people love Eriko Sato though. Maybe I'm too cynical for her nonstop doopy doopy doos. 

John Terlazzo's Honor Among Thieves...Terlazzo was an American poet who released this Cohen-esque folk album in the early 80s that was rediscovered years later by folks who are into collecting psychedelic folk pop oddities. It's a pretty good record. Definitely recommended if you like folky singer-songwriter stuff and want to branch out past the 60s and 70s. 

Metgumbnerbone's Ligeliahorn... this is... noise. When would you listen to this? When you're stoned? What prompts people to create this type of noise? Perplexing.

Omega Tribe's No Love Lost... this was melodic anarcho-punk. It kind of verged on pop punk at times. The problem was the vocalists. There were two of them, a man and a woman, and it was a serious contest as to who was the more annoying of the two.

George Strait's Right or Wrong... now here's something you see a lot in '83: a recommended country album. Most of the country recs from this year are the leftover scraps from the Outlaw Country movement, but this was more of a neo-traditionalist country album and mighty fine if you ask me. 

Lee Perry's Megaton Dub 1... I've fully immersed myself in dub culture. I will never slander it again. At least not when records like this exist. 

Kaka de Luxe's Las canciones malditas... how good was the Spanish music scene in 1983? So many fantastic records. This was a garage punk/punk blues record and another cracker from Spain. 

Muhal Richard Abrams' Rejoicing With the Light... Jesus Christ, what a racket. Most of the jazz from 1983 is avant-garde, which is always hit and miss for me. I'm very much a bop fan when it comes to jazz, though I will branch out and listen to free jazz and jazz fusion from time to time. This was okay but kept blasting me with jarring sounds. That's kind of the point but it doesn't make it pleasant. 

Platinum Blonde's Standing in the Dark... this Canadian group went an interesting route, mixing New Wave with AOR. Interesting.

Snatch's Snatch... this was cool. If you like the Slits or New York Dolls, you should check this out. It's stripped back punk from two American girls who moved to the UK in 1974 and were on the ground during the UK punk explosion. This is a compilation of their recordings, if I'm not mistaken. John Peel was a big fan. 

Doe Maar's 4 US... this was pop reggae from the Netherlands. Kind of like a Dutch version of Madness or The Police. The record cover was better than the music, IMO.

Jane Birkin's Baby Alone in Babylone...Jane Birkin was famous for being the lover of Serge Gainsbourg whom she collaborated with on several records. Gainsbourg continued to write for Birkin even after they broke up. This was the first LP they released after their break up. It's quite soft chanson, but rather haunting at times. 

Kraut's An Adjustment to Society... this was some barreling hardcore punk from the East Coast. I could barely hear the vocals in the mix but somehow that made it even better. 

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Posted

Yeah, you hit it on the nose with the Blood and Kraut. The Blood were a real surprise, almost a shock when I found out about them in the last couple years. To me they're like a wilder version of the Damned. Hypermelodic and tuneful, but fast as hell and anthemic, they always got called Oi but were so much smarter, faster and just plain better than 90% of the actual Oi bands. Their two EPs (also from '83) are probably even better than the album. "Megalomania" is fucking ON FIRE. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_9Ji06ppJQ&ab_channel=michabax

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Uv867-GWA

The Kraut record... it's untouchable. They were almost an anomaly in NYC, sounding more like a California band in the vein of Channel 3. 

Posted (edited)

Sitting in my test engineers truck today, the "icon at 11" on the local radio station is Cyndi Lauper. Heard Girls and Time after Time. Waiting to hear She Bop. 

Edit: it was next. 

Edited by odessasteps
Posted
On 12/29/2023 at 5:58 PM, ohtani's jacket said:

Plan 9's Dealing With the Dead... this was AWESOME. It was retro-sounding psychedelic garage rock, and it was amazing! Of all the throwback albums from '83, this was the best!

listened to this the other day. had never heard of the band. i agree,  it was indeed awesome. i wholeheartedly endorse @ohtani's jacket's recommendation of this album.

On 1/6/2024 at 6:03 PM, ohtani's jacket said:

Snatch's Snatch... this was cool. If you like the Slits or New York Dolls, you should check this out. It's stripped back punk from two American girls who moved to the UK in 1974 and were on the ground during the UK punk explosion. This is a compilation of their recordings, if I'm not mistaken. John Peel was a big fan. 

also checked this one out. it wasn't quite what i was expecting (apparently i didn't take the "stripped back" part of your description as seriously as i should have) but i enjoyed it. retained a lot of that 'in your face' attitude but without the punk music sound. it definitely earned itself another listen. 

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Posted (edited)
On 1/11/2024 at 9:31 AM, Dolfan in NYC said:

well that's a hell of an endorsement. 

He never got to hear my drunk-ass, high school garage band's version, that's all.

I will say, as a Sabbath nut (shocking, I know) I actually do like this quite a bit. This has been out for probably a year(ish)?

Also @ohtani's jacketand @Curt McGirtif you haven't heard the new Saxon yet (I rarely venture this way so this may be old news) I highly recommend - I'd put the single up there against the new Priest, I think. Sonically it's kind of interesting to hear them with that real modern, sort of extra dry type production (I'm not articulating that well AT ALL, but I think the aforementioned new Priest, the last 2 Anthraxes, the last 3 Testaments, or the last two Metallicas are also really good examples of what I am trying to convey).

Edit: though, in contrast to your Hetfields and Halfords, this seems to be a more natural vocal at least to my ears, YMMV

https://youtu.be/UvJ1T_tGSBc?si=s99hA2sp_Rl85JGT

Edited by Zakk_Sabbath
Posted

Eh, the Saxon is... okay. Nothing special to me. I have to say, their "comeback" (like they ever went away) with Unleash the Beast yonks ago was pretty good. Saxon, like Accept/UDO (I will accept [heh] these as one entity for my own purposes) or Running Wild for example, is one of those bands where they've got a zillion albums and every once in awhile something real good comes out that you can cherry pick, that typically nobody else likes. I will say that Biff sounds like he hasn't aged a day! 

Posted

I don't order from Amazon after they fucked up two separate Big Black orders. One time I got a copy of Funkadelic's Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow though, and I kept that motherfucker. 

Then I found Discogs and now all my money goes to them and a handful of labels

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Posted

Speaking of Amazon, I was shocked yesterday to see someone thing we discussed recently, Hooked on Classics, going for like $40 on vinyl and CD.

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Posted (edited)

6:66 wasn't any good, btw, was it? I actually like some of the seventh record but I think on 6 he was still on his industrial shit. 

EDIT: There's a new copy of Thin Lizzy's Life/Live on blue 2LP going for $70 somewhere, as a friend pointed out yesterday (only four easy payments of $17.99!). Absolutely ridiculous. 7'' EPs are going for $10-12 now. I can't wait for this bubble to burst. Though, that's if anything DOES go back to the prices of even two or three years ago considering inflation. Once the genie's out of the bottle you probably can't put it back in.

Edited by Curt McGirt
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Posted

Teresa Teng's Dàndàn yōuqíng... Teresa Teng was a Taiwanese singer known as "The Eternal Queen of Asia Pop." She laid the foundations for modern popular Chinese music. This record has songs based on old Chinese poems and incorporates a lot of classical Chinese music, which makes it a huge departure from the rest of 1983 pop music. It sounds a bit old-fashioned (traditional might be a nicer word.) Teng has a beautiful voice, though. 

Akina Nakamori's Fantasy... another early effort from Japanese pop queen Akina Nakamori. If you close your eyes, you'll be transported right back to 1983 Japan. I particularly liked the upbeat numbers with the horns that sounded like they could be anime opening themes. 

Congresso's Ha Llegado Carta... this was cool. Some progressive rock from Chile. I'm not overly familiar with Congresso, but it seems they incorporated some ethnic sounds into this record along with a bit of jazz fusion. The instrumental tracks were great.

TSA's TSA... this was a Polish hard rock album. One of the better hard rock albums of the year in what was a sorry year for hard rock albums. 

Chris Rea's Water Signs... apparently, Rea was ready to throw in the towel and quit the music business when this record was released. His label wouldn't fund the record and he had to release it as an album full of demos. The record sold particularly well in Ireland, which led to an extensive tour there that saved Rea's career. The cool thing about the record is that because it's demos Rea plays most of the instruments. I like Rea's voice and enjoyed the non-existent production on the record. 

Disciplina kičme's Sviđa mi se da ti ne bude prijatno... wow, this packed a punch. This was a bass/drum duo from Belgrade that played extremely noisy post-punk. This kicked ass. 

Exciter's Heavy Metal Maniac... I really like this speed metal record from Canadian band Exciter. Great album cover as well. There's an interview with the band at the end of the record where talking about Metal with Canadian accents which I find amusing for stupid reasons. 

The Celibate Rifles' Sideroxylon... The Celibate Rifles is a stupid name for a band. I really dislike that name. It's almost enough to make me not listen to the record. Fortunately I did because this is some kick ass Australian punk music. These guys were still kicking around when I was a teenager, but I have no recollection of them. That won't stop me from declaring them Australia's greatest punk band, though. 

Tokyo Blade's Tokyo Blade... I never really got why Tokyo Blade called themselves Tokyo Blade. I guess it sounded exotic to a bunch of lads from Salisbury. Anyway, this rules as many of you will already know. It's everything you love about NWOBHM from the scorching riffs to the soaring vocals and guitar solos. Love it.

Savatage's Sirens... I'm not a power metal guy by and large, but there are a few bands that I listen to and Savatage are one of them. This album kicks ass. The guitarwork and the vocals are as good as any metal album from '83 and it's probably the creepiest record to boot. 

Chaos U.K.'s Chaos U.K... okay, this was another version of a harder form of UK82 and UK street punk and it was very, very good. They kept a blistering pace on the best tracks. I'm totally down with this type of UK82. 

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