A Lifetime-Plus of Music

     Today we have the last album from the fun-loving and high-energy decade that was the 1980s.  I started the ‘80s as a clueless pre-teen, and left the ‘80s as a newly employed and slightly less clueless college graduate, with no idea how much change was really coming my way.  For this last album, we actually kick off the 1990s with the biggest selling album of 1990, “Rhythm Nation 1814” by Janet Jackson.  This album had such a run of success that it became the first album to have #1 singles in three different years, 1989-1991.  Produced as a concept album with interludes and introductions of songs interspersed with the music, the album featured Jackson’s increased interest in issues of social relevance.

     To start, you have to acknowledge that the creation of this album, just like “Control”, is as much attributable to producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis as it is Janet Jackson.  They cowrote all of the songs with or without Jackson, and are fully responsible for the tight blend of R&B, funk, soul and dance music that dominated the dance clubs for the entire run of this album.  Following the initial interlude, the title track delivers perhaps the funkiest and most intense groove of the album.  It centers around dance, but the tone of the music and lyrics appropriately set the stage for messages of a stronger and more substantive tone.  This theme continues with “State of the World” and “The Knowledge”, with a very effective blend of dance funk and a sincere desire for an improved social state.

     “Miss You Much” was the first of eight singles released from the album, and it was a massive hit to signal the release of this record.  One of the most distinctive songs on this album, it was a great choice to pick as the first of many hits.  Next comes the first love song of many on the album, but thankfully “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” is more interesting and alluring than the string of soft ballads that close the record.  The same can’t be said for “Livin’ In A World (They Didn’t Make)”, the first song that I could have done without on this album.

     “Alright” is another up-tempo dance track, and it is followed by my all-time favorite Janet Jackson song, “Escapade”.  Something about the melody has always completely captured my attention, and the thumping beat is the perfect contrast to Janet’s incredibly sweet, hopeful and infectious vocals on this song.  The chorus has a great hook, and as the story goes, this is a great celebration of spontaneous happiness.

     “Black Cat” is the designated guitar-rocker of the album, somewhat reminiscent of “Dirty Diana” by her brother Michael.  I had erroneously assumed there was a big-name cameo guitar appearance on this song, but in researching, at least I learned that the one and only Herb Alpert played trumpet and horns somewhere on this record, so that’s good enough for me.

     As I noted, the last three ballads really slow things down, and while the songs aren’t unlistenable, they definitely soften (kill?) the vibe of this dance spectacular.  I would have preferred they close things out with one last funk-tastic dance tune, but alas, it wasn’t to be.  And with that, we say goodbye to the 1980s, even as this album’s reach extends well into the next decade.

     You may recall that I gave my son ten slots to pick albums I had otherwise left off of my initial list.  Today we have his next selection, “The Sensual World” by Kate Bush.  I think from discussions that he picked Kate Bush to challenge me, trying to expand my horizons, while overlooking I had already included her 1985 album, “Hounds of Love”.  That said, I’m glad he picked it, and I did enjoy it.

     There are some similarities between “The Sensual World” and yesterday’s album, “Disintegration” by The Cure.  Both are filled with big, expansive, ethereal sounds on the dark side of the spectrum.  This release by Kate Bush is more synth-heavy and thus, doesn’t hit with quite the force of The Cure, but it is a similar vibe.  The first two songs on the record are my favorite, with the title track followed by “Love and Anger”.  Both of these tracks are among the three singles released from this album, and they are representative of the relative smooth opening of this record.

     As the album carries on, the songs grow a bit more experimental and unique in nature, but not to the point of excess.  There is a funky groove that opens “Between a Man and a Woman”, and “Rocket’s Tail” is a rush of layered vocals, with a very retro and angelic choir feel, even if it is a bit unbalanced and jarring.  The song eventually explodes with a powerful drum rhythm and driving beat, rocking with unusual power as Bush lays her heart out with desperate urgency.

     I like when I’m tasked to listen to new music, it provides balance to the consistent security of music I know, and I’m grateful to my son as well as this entire process for pushing me into a place I never would have gone on my own.

     As we approach the end of the 1980s, we have one more stunning and spectacular albums from one of the decade’s defining acts, Robert Smith and his band The Cure.  Today’s album is “Disintegration”, which is the #116 rated album on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.  Returning to their darker roots, the overall sound of this record is hauntingly beautiful.  It really is that good.

    The record opens with the long-building “Plainsong”.  The beautiful blend of keyboards and guitars, eventually joined by Smith’s one-of-a-kind vocals, sets the stage for this entire record.  I can’t wait to put this one on back home on my sound system, this music will penetrate and fill any room.  The magic continues with the long but fully deserving “Pictures of You”, which is probably my favorite among all of this outstanding album.  Next comes “Closedown”, which is similar in sound, style and pattern to “Plainsong” with its long and spiritual buildup.

     “Lovesong” is the most recognizable single from the record, and it is more compact than most of the tracks on this record.  That said, even as an up-tempo song, it is still a song of farewell and sadness, perfectly in step with the rest of the record.  I really don’t know what else to say, but each song that comes after is just as beautiful, just as dark, just as haunting, and just as consuming.  “Last Dance” has that same incredibly powerful buildup, and then comes “Lullaby”, which was the first single released off of “Disintegration”.  It has a slightly funkier opening groove, but the keyboard melody that fills in just in front of the vocals are so rich and gorgeous. Just when you think it can’t get better, “Fascination Street” takes over, and there is no denying the intense power of this tune.

     Listening to this album today is absolutely one of my favorite experiences of this entire blog, and I’m grateful to add this one into the regular rotation going forward.  There is just so much good music to be found out there, you just have to know where to look.

     The next version of Jeff Lynne-produced solo music for one of his friends, all of which sounds strikingly similar, is “Full Moon Fever” from Tom Petty.  As I noted with “Cloud Nine” from George Harrison as well as “Mystery Girl” by Roy Orbison, Lynne produced an album for nearly all of his Traveling Wilburys bandmates.  They all have that lush E.L.O. sounding backing vocals, and even the melodies and guitar pieces trend in a similar fashion.  That said, it was a successful formula, and this first album Tom Petty recorded without his band the Heartbreakers was a big hit, as he added some smoothness and softened the hard edges from his earlier days.  For the first time, I felt like this record was a success because of Tom Petty’s vocals, not in spite of them.

     “Free Fallin’” opens the record, and it was the warmth and hook of this song that prompted me to buy “Full Moon Fever” as one of my first compact discs.  I always loved this song and its southern California imagery, even with its self-disappointed confessional of being inadequate for another. 

     If you didn’t know, I’m also a big college football fan, and one of my favorite traditions is at the University of Florida, which shares Gainesville, Florida as a hometown with Petty.  Between the 3^rd and 4^th quarter, they play “I Won’t Back Down”, and it has turned into a major sing-along, particularly since Petty’s death.  I have always liked this song, and even though I’m not a Gator fan and loved watching my UCF Knights beat them for the first time last year, it is an awesome spectacle to watch 85,000 fans sing anything in tandem, much less this perfectly selected and unique fan track.

     “Love is A Long Road” has more of an early ‘80s feel with its synthesizer opening, but the vocal performance is classic Petty, and this is one of two songs on this album that feel like they could have easily worked with the Heartbreakers as well.  The hits keep coming with the melancholy ballad “A Face in the Crowd”.  I love this sad song, and it is one of the best collaborations ever between Petty and Lynne.  Side one ends with the other Heartbreaker-esque track, the rocker “Runnin’ Down a Dream”.  Now that I look at the songwriting credits, it all makes sense, as the two songs I noted as Heartbreaker-like were also co-written by his guitarist from that band, Mike Campbell.  Every now and then, I actually get something right!

     Side two doesn’t contain any of the big hits like side one, but there are some songs I really like.  “Feel A Whole Lot Better” taps into his Byrds influence with the guitar and vocals sound.  “Yer So Bad” is a soft country rocker, and “Zombie Zoo” is a perfectly odd ending to this great album.

     Particularly when you consider his Florida roots, I really wish I had seen Tom Petty live, with or without the Heartbreakers.  I never appreciated his music (other than this album) fully during his peak or prime, but I have really grown to enjoy his entire catalog with time.

     When it comes to 1980’s pop music icons, one of the last, but certainly not least, artists we discuss is none other than Madonna Louise Ciccone.  Bursting on to the scene in the middle of the decade, her combination of singing, dancing and sexual provocation made her one of the biggest stars in the industry.  In 1989, she took a step forward with an album that was not only commercially successful but critically acclaimed, with the release of “Like a Prayer”.  This record, which features several uncredited collaborations with Prince, was rated as album #331 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

     This record was a conscious attempt by Madonna to elevate from the simpler pop sounds of her first three records, and she fully succeeded.  Addressing her own relationships with her mother, father, soon-to-be ex-husband Sean Penn, as well as her Catholic faith, I think this is a really strong album and I enjoyed it more than I thought I might.  The title track, which was the first single released on the record, was a huge controversy at the time for the music video which blended religious and sexual imagery.  Ultimately it was condemned by the Vatican, and she lost multiple endorsement deals as a result.  That said, it is a beautifully powerful song and is one of several songs Prince plays guitar on without credit.

     “Express Yourself” was the second song and second single released, but it remains my favorite Madonna song by far.  A nice mix of uplifting lyrics and a driving upbeat melody, this song is a great song to run or workout to, which served me well as I completed my run this evening.  More than twenty years later, many people claimed “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga borrowed a little too closely from “Express Yourself”.  I don’t know if I see that, but I do know I absolutely love both songs, and there is a great mash-up to be found that combines the two.

     Next comes “Love Song”, which is the most direct collaboration between Prince & Madonna, both in songwriting and vocal performance.  Somehow this song was never even released as a single, but it is a magnificent hidden gem and definitely one of the best songs on the album, as well as a great capture of two of the biggest artists in the world working together.  Just don’t ask Madonna to go back to Minneapolis again, even as a Detroit girl she supposedly hated it there at Paisley Park.

     “Till Death Do Us Part” took on her struggles with marriage, and the happy dance melody defied the dark state of her personal life at the time.  “Promise to Try” is a sincere and beautiful devotional to her mother, who she lost way too young from breast cancer when Madonna was only five years old.  Her mom also shared her iconic first name, one of many new things I learned today.  “Cherish” was the other big hit single from the record, and is just really well-crafted pop song with a great hook.

     The rest of the album is less heralded, but I enjoyed it all.  “Oh Father”, “Dear Jessie”, “Keep It Together” and “Act of Contrition” are all insightful songs that raised the bar for Madonna as an artist. Not surprisingly, Prince also does some great work here and his broad reach never fails to amaze me, and her producer and co-creator Patrick Leonard also deserves high praise for this strong performance. Her career continues on to this day, but I agree with Rolling Stone that this record represented her most consistently strong release of her long and remarkable career.

     A bit of a step back in time, as we celebrate the commercial resurgence of singer-guitarist Bonnie Raitt.  I initially selected the album from 1989, “Nick of Time”, as it is #492 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, but I’m adding in her follow-up “Luck of the Draw”, which came out in 1991, as I think these two albums served in tandem to re-establish Raitt as a superstar with massive chart success and blues-rock credibility.  I also chose to add in “Luck of the Draw” to specifically discuss the two biggest hits from that record.  There are certainly elements of easy listening moments within this music as well, but her unique vocal style and her excellent slide guitar work make even the most uneventful songs appealing to enjoy.  Raitt has collaborated with so many musicians over the years, including my beloved Neville Brothers, and her work with producer Don Was on these two records is top notch.

     “Nick of Time” has the larger number of memorable songs, as the title track, “Thing Called Love”, “Love Letter” and “Have a Heart” were all big hits.  Raitt brings a unique presence to the crafting of these songs, even if she did not write the majority of them.  She is the perfect blend of bad-ass guitar hero with subtle and sultry songstress, and her natural warmth makes these albums a legacy of success.  On both records, all of the songs are well done and reserved, and the music is great to put on as you work or put your mind into other tasks in parallel.

     As I mentioned, I had to talk specifically about the two big hits from “Luck of the Draw”.  First, “Something to Talk About”, even with the extremely heavy radio rotation, remains my guilty pleasure among all of these two albums.  The alluring melody and flirting recognition of growing love is a great story, and the guitar work and melody line on this song are phenomenal.  I have to also shine a light on her memorable ballad, “I Can’t Make You Love Me”.  This song was originally not much of an attention getter for me, but it became one of the staples my son sang frequently in his college career, so thus I looked at it with new eyes and appreciation, particularly the sad sensation of realizing, as she sang, “I can’t make your heart feel something it won’t”.  The song now is a much deeper part of me, both for my fond memories and the impression the lyrics made.

     For all of the success of these albums, Bonnie Raitt has probably recorded and performed many songs that stretch the imagination much further than these two records, but I think she found a very ideal balance in recording commercially successful music without compromising her roots, her legacy, or her integrity as an artist that is reflected by the deep respect shown her by the music industry at large.

     “Let’s give them something to talk about, a little mystery to figure out…”

     One of the best experiences of this blog is when I start with an album I expect to moderately enjoy, and it turns into one of my absolute favorites.  Today we have another highly influential hip-hop album from the late ‘80s, “3 Feet High and Rising” by De La Soul.  I was always familiar with their big hit “Me Myself and I”, and it was always in my hip-hop mix, but I never realized until listening to this album again what a brilliant and innovative record they created here.  This record is rated #103 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.  Interestingly enough, it is not available on my preferred streaming service, but I was able to find it elsewhere to enjoy and you can too.

     What makes this record as enjoyable to me as the recent releases from Public Enemy, N.W.A. and Eric B. and Rakim?  It is their stylistic approach and entertaining setup for the record.  Built around the framework of an ongoing game show, the music here is subtle, jazz-based and the rhythm tracks emit the feel of more live drums and instruments with a less electronic vibe.  There is a flavor of psychedelia embedded in the sound, as well as a dry and subtle sense of humor that is pervasive throughout.  The rapping is smooth and low-key, but never dull.  As I was reminded by my son, De La Soul set the stage for other acts of this style, most notably A Tribe Called Quest, who were emerging in parallel on the same label.  In fact, Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest makes several appearances on this album.

     Perhaps my favorite track on the album is “Eye Know”, set to the backdrop of “Peg” by Steely Dan.  It is such a happy groove, and this is music I could listen to seamlessly throughout the day.  Another perfectly absurd and funky tune is “Potholes in My Lawn”.  “Plug Tunin’ (Last Chance to Comprehend)” is another insanely hip beat that stands up against any hip-hop song I have heard so far on this journey.  When you take all of these great songs (the album is more than an hour of music) and add in the obvious smash of “Me Myself and I”, which is based on a Parliament Funkadelic riff, this album is a masterpiece.  I’m very surprised this record, isn’t on the hip-hop Top 10 list I reference for this blog, but either way, this record is a gift and I couldn’t have enjoyed it any more.

     As I have discussed before, the Neville Brothers remain one of the most influential bands in my entire life.  I have seen them more times in concert than any other act, and although they are sadly a part of our musical past, with Art and Charles Neville having moved on to that musical jambalaya in the sky, I still love them to this day.  For me, the Neville Brothers started, and always primarily served as a live music experience.  Producers and record labels tried to artificially capture their amazing live sound and reshape it into some commercially marketable form that rarely worked.  There are one or two other studio records they released that are worthy of some discussion, but the only one that was consistently great enough for me to include on this list was their 1989 release, “Yellow Moon”.  Teaming up with the team of Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, who had such success with artists like U2 and many others, while not true to their live sound, this album is a beautiful collection of songs that filled the Nevilles catalog in the 1980s and beyond.

     The record opens with one of their ‘80s staples, “My Blood”, sung by Cyril Neville, and it is a passionate appeal for worldwide freedom and equality.  The title track comes next, and it is one of the very best songs they ever made.  Written and sung by Aaron Neville, there is a beautiful interplay with his unmatched vocals and brother Charles Neville on the saxophone.  I just love this song so much, and I hope you will as well.  Art takes the lead next on “Fire and Brimstone”, and the bass line on this song is just insane.  As I researched to see who was on bass at this juncture, it made me smile to see the name Tony Hall, who now plays with the next generation Nevilles as one of TWO bass players in the funk band Dumpstaphunk.

     Next comes Aaron’s take on the Sam Cooke social justice classic, “A Change Is Gonna Come”.  I think this is the 4^th version of this song we have covered since the beginning of the blog, and it never loses its power.  I will confess that for many years, this was the only version I knew of this song, even though I did know it was originally a Sam Cooke song.  Whether it was Cooke, Aretha, Otis Redding or Aaron Neville or any other African American who grew up in the 20^th century and were subject to the disgusting and pitiful treatment they were offered by a country that completely failed in its basic principles for most of its existence, this song is still unfortunately fully relevant and applicable in 2022.

     The overt and passionate appeal for fairness and equality continues with “Sister Rosa”, Cyril’s heartfelt tribute to Rosa Parks.  Her courage serves as an inspiration to this day, and you can even hear the Nevilles blend a little hip-hop groove into this significant song.  Not ducking social consciousness for one track, Aaron covers the first of two Bob Dylan tracks, the anti-war anthem, “With God On Our Side”.

     Side two opens with a long-time Neville live track that finally made it to the studio, “Wake Up”, where Cyril takes on the terrifying shadow cast by nuclear weapon stockpiles.  The mood shifts back to the funky with Aaron’s song “Voodoo”, which was another live staple that starts with an amazing blend of bass and percussion.  Like the title track, the subtle and infectious appeal of this song, also augmented by Charles on sax, is undeniable.  Aaron then drops the second Dylan track, with more of a blues twist, “The Ballad of Hollis Brown”.

     The emotional power of the Christian hymn “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” absolutely shakes me and almost always moves me to tears.  The cycle of life is one we all wrestle with from birth to death, and taking turns, Art, Aaron and Cyril all sing this song with a compelling pull, each citing a personal moment of loss within their wonderful family to which we can all relate.  It is remarkable how different these three brothers sound, but each of them is among my very favorite vocalists from any genre.

     “Healing Chant” is a Charles Neville saxophone instrumental piece for which he received a Grammy Award, and the album ends with an upbeat celebration of the Mardi Gras Indian culture that is pervasive to the music of New Orleans and the Neville family.  This album is not what exactly what you would see or hear in a live Nevilles show, but it is their very best collection of studio-recorded work and remains as a timeless legacy to this underappreciated and unbelievably talented musical family.  The fact that neither the Neville Brothers or Art’s other band The Meters is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a complete joke and absolute travesty.

     One of the biggest musical trends of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s was the emergence of new jack swing, blending the powerful, yet essentially separate worlds of melodic R&B and the drum-beat rap and funky intensity of hip-hop.  No artist was bigger in this domain than Bobby Brown, first as one of the members of New Edition, and on “Don’t’ Be Cruel”, his massive commercial success as a solo artist.  Released in mid-1988, this humongous record was the number one selling album of 1989.

    Even as a rocker who was warming up to hip-hop and a variety of styles of music, I would have never pegged me to be a big fan of this record.  That being said… I loved it.  It has several great songs, some that we all know, plus a couple of less celebrated gems I found listening to this record.  Even so, at the time of its release, this record was all about one song for me, and specifically, one music video.  As probably the worst single dancer on the planet, to this day, I remain mesmerized by the video “Every Little Step”.  It is remarkably simple from a production standpoint, as it is just Bobby and these two crazy dancers absolutely crushing it, along with three female dances they are theoretically pursuing and performing for, on a simple soundstage occupied only by the white lettering of “EVERY LITTLE STEP”.  I remember my friends Matt, Shane and I only dreaming we could move the way these guys blow this number up.  And yes, I truly love the song as well, video or not, and it has been a staple of any dance or party mix-tape / CD / playlist I have created since then.

     This is far from a one song album, as the title track, as well as “My Prerogative”, are both fantastic as well, even though I always thought it was weird that any singer or songwriter would build a song around the word “prerogative”.  The duo of Babyface and L.A. Reid, along with Brown and a few others, handled most of the songwriting and production here, and they did a great job.  My other favorite on this album is the song “Roni”, and although it was also released as a single, I don’t recall it as a big hit at the time.  It has such a funky and alluring groove, and I don’t know how anybody could resist this anymore than most girls could resist the charms of Brown at the time.

     Musically, the rest of the album has its ups and downs, including the obligatory over-the-top cheesy ballads, but it is a fantastic signature piece from beginning to end.  By the way, I do not include “Rock Wit’cha” on the cheesy list… I love this song too.  Ultimately, Bobby’s charm won him the ultimate prize in Whitney Houston, but sadly they fed off of each other’s worst tendencies, and what followed was a life of devastation, tragedy and loss.  As music fans, we have the luxury of ignoring these realities and immersing ourselves in the fantasy world of their image and music when they were on top, and I certainly seized that escape fully in “Don’t Be Cruel”.

     Watch that video… you won’t be disappointed.

     As I continue my search for the “perfect” R.E.M. album, we get a little closer to that ideal state with 1988’s “Green”.  I would sum up this album by saying that it is a battle between the rocking, up-tempo tracks and the slower, softer acoustic tracks.  While R.E.M. has created some beautifully soft music over the years, the rockers definitely win the day on this album.

     The first three singles released from this album are all really strong tracks.  “Pop Song 89” opens the album, and is one of my two favorites here.  It has that driving force and curious but thoughtful lyrics from Michael Stipe that signify a good R.E.M. track, and the same can be said for “Stand”, another rocker on the lighter side of their catalog.  I love both of these songs and they have only grown on me over the years. 

     The third big hit on this album is “Orange Crush”.  It is a damning song about the usage of Agent Orange for chemical warfare in Vietnam, where Stipe’s father served.  It is a darker and angrier tune, but still very powerful in its melody and delivery.  The fourth single, “Get Up”, wasn’t quite as well received and understandably so, but I still prefer it to most of the mandolin-based ballads I will touch on next.

       There are multiple tracks like “You Are The Everything”, filled with mandolins and airy sounds, that you want to like, but there just isn’t a catchy hook and they sit there, with the end result being me just looking forward to the next song.  I would put “The Wrong Child” in the same category.  “Hairshirt” has a more compelling melody, but it definitely falls into the category of, “What in the hell is talking about?”

     Of the other tracks, I liked “World Leader Pretend” and “Turn You Inside Out”.  Both have great guitar work from Peter Buck and Michael Mills always adds to the illuminating sound with his bass and his high-tenor backing vocals.  They keep getting closer and closer to a truly great album, with several more classic songs that fill the catalog with great tracks across their run of albums.

Before I wrap up today’s blog, I’d like to give a shout-out to my friend Scott, who has been one of my biggest supporters during this entire process. He’s going through one of those tough moments we all have to face at some point in our lives, and as a way of letting him know I’m thinking of him, I’d like to dedicate an R.E.M. song from another album, “Everybody Hurts”. We love you Scott, thanks for being one of the very best…