Quote:
Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger
The Human League - Dare
You have to admire Phil Oakey. He replaced two musos like Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh with a couple of teenage girls he met in a nightclub.
Let me repeat that...
HE REPLACED TWO MUSOS LIKE MARTYN WARE AND IAN CRAIG MARSH WITH A COUPLE OF TEENAGE GIRLS HE MET IN A NIGHTCLUB. and ended up making their best ever album turning his back on experimental electronica designed to impress art students and made one of the greatest pop albums ever written.
Well done that man.
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^ Is basically what I was going to say.
So then, the other four...
The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night
The soundtrack to a great movie here makes for probably my favourite out-and-out pop album of all time. For me, songs like When I Get Home, I Should Have Known Better, You Can't Do That, Can't Buy Me Love, Tell Me Why, and maybe the rest of the album are just totally unforgettable for all the vocal harmonies, infectious hooks and terrific melodies. So, yeah, good stuff then.
YouTube - The Beatles - I Should Have Known Better
Scritti Politti - Cupid & Psyche 85
Take the Human League's experiments on Dare of recording everything on synth, add Green Gartside sacking his entire band and replacing with funky session men from New York, and this masterpiece is what you get. It's one of the examples of how synth-heavy the pop production methods of the 80s can actually enhance music if placed in the right hands. While this album didn't quite write the book for the 'new pop' of the 80s, it definitely took the whole thing that little bit further forward, which is just fine really.
YouTube - Scritti Politti - Absolute (Original Extended Vers. - Bigar Edit)
The Desert Rose Band - The Desert Rose Band
The first and by far best album from Chris Hillman (a founding member of the Byrds for those who don't know) and Herb Pedersen's 80s C&W outfit, which melds that laid back vibe that only a top-drawer country album seems to be able to pull off with some sublime pop hooks and melodies with fantastic results. That and the fact that the chorus for One That Got Away is one of the best I've heard make this a real winner for me.
YouTube - One Step Forward - Desert Rose Band
Prince - The Gold Experience
It has the Most Beautiful Girl In the World on it. Nuff said.