Urban75 Album of the Year 1983

[ska invita]

This will almost certainly be my number one pick, possibly the most technically brilliant dub record ever made

Black Uhuru - The Dub Factor

Explore songs, recommendations, and other album details for The Dub Factor by Black Uhuru. Compare different versions and buy them all on Discogs.

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[ska invita]

Two Shaka LPs, the vocal one is filled with anthems and is truly great

Jah Shaka - Revelation Songs

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1983 Vinyl release of "Revelation Songs" on Discogs.

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The dub lp half mixed by mad professor is alright but pretty background run of the mill

Jah Shaka - Brimstone & Fire

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1983 Vinyl release of "Brimstone & Fire" on Discogs.

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[ska invita]

Four dub-reggae LP's from on u....I only know the head charge one which is wild and abstract

African Head Charge - Drastic Season

Explore songs, recommendations, and other album details for Drastic Season by African Head Charge. Compare different versions and buy them all on Discogs.

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Singers & Players - Staggering Heights

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Playgroup - Epic Sound Battles Chapter Two

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New Age Steppers - Foundation Steppers

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1983 Vinyl release of "Foundation Steppers" on Discogs.

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[ska invita]

This is such a great vibe, Aswad Live and Direct, recorded at nh carnival... It's the crowd noise that makes it...

 

[Spandex]

Four dub-reggae LP's from on u....I only know the head charge one which is wild and abstract

Definitely check out the Singers & Players album. It's excellent. Bim Sherman's silky smooth vocals, Prince Far I's ramblings, Mikey Dred and Ashanti Roy, all over On-U reggae rhythm tracks.

 

[ska invita]

Four dub-reggae LP's from on u....I only know the head charge one which is wild and abstract

African Head Charge - Drastic Season

Explore songs, recommendations, and other album details for Drastic Season by African Head Charge. Compare different versions and buy them all on Discogs.

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Singers & Players - Staggering Heights

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1983 Vinyl release of "Staggering Heights" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Playgroup - Epic Sound Battles Chapter Two

Explore songs, recommendations, and other album details for Epic Sound Battles Chapter Two by Playgroup. Compare different versions and buy them all on Discogs.

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New Age Steppers - Foundation Steppers

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1983 Vinyl release of "Foundation Steppers" on Discogs.

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Have had a lovely Sunday going through these. Head charge and New Age Steppers not doing it for me, Singers and Prayers was brilliant, really strong productions and sound, only for me slightly let down by vocal content which I wasn't clicking with at points.
Favourite was the Playgroup album which is a bit like Miles Davis Tutu meets Orb meets Adrian Sherwood.
Really love this, kind of experimental and improvisational playing about (hence the name Playgroup no doubt) but never exhausting or noisy or ponderous, in fact the opposite, always playful and fun! Went and checked volume 1 to, both online here

 

[ska invita]

Talking of Miles Davis there is this but not heard it yet

 

[andysays]

Just discovered that RYM does a separate chart for Film Soundtracks and there's some interesting stuff released this year.

As well as Koyaanisqatsi and Wild Style which have already been mentioned, I'll be re-listening to these



Halloween by John Carpenter (film released in 1978, but soundtrack in 1983)



Rumble Fish by Stewart Copeland



Videodrome by Howard Shore



Johnny Yes No by Cabaret Voltaire, and finally



Copkiller* by Ennio Morricone

*aka Order of Death, starring Harvey Keitel and John Lydon

 

[ska invita]

The P-Funk All Stars - Urban Dancefloor Guerillas

Loving this, wasn't aware of this alias

 

[Spandex]

Ministry - With Sympathy

Before the industrial metal and industrial quantities of drugs, Ministry were a synthpop act, sounding more like the Human League or The Thompson Twins than the apocalyptic noise they went on to make.

Al Jourgensen says of his debut album: ”It was revolting, disgusting and it traumatised me for years. Actually I think without that record I wouldn’t be as much of a fucking maniac douchebag as I am today. I completely rebelled against it. I was sick to my stomach on a daily basis. I threw up more on that record – times ten – than any other. It was absolutely an abortion period of my life. I fucking hated myself, the world, and everything around me because of that record.”

I like it

 

[ska invita]

He's really sold it there!!

 

[Indeliblelink]

Mutiny were former members of Parliament / Funkadelic
Mutiny - A Night Out With the Boys

Spoiler

 

[AverageJoe]

Ministry - With Sympathy

Before the industrial metal and industrial quantities of drugs, Ministry were a synthpop act, sounding more like the Human League or The Thompson Twins than the apocalyptic noise they went on to make.

Al Jourgensen says of his debut album: ”It was revolting, disgusting and it traumatised me for years. Actually I think without that record I wouldn’t be as much of a fucking maniac douchebag as I am today. I completely rebelled against it. I was sick to my stomach on a daily basis. I threw up more on that record – times ten – than any other. It was absolutely an abortion period of my life. I fucking hated myself, the world, and everything around me because of that record.”

I like it

Interestingly the other members of the band refute he hated it, more that it "didn't sound like it did on the record than it did live".

Apparently there was pressure from the record label to make it poppy and Al went for it.

Now look at him. I fucking love Ministry, but I'm not voting for that.




And to be fair, the main single from that album... Well, Jorgensen can't decry from the dress sense and the funk of it all, but if you listen, theres actually the Seeds of the harder Ministry stuff in that song. From his shouts of what, and the repetive drone synth stabs in the same key etc. It was coming together and he was playing the game.

---

 

[ska invita]

Mutiny were former members of Parliament / Funkadelic
Mutiny - A Night Out With the Boys

Spoiler

[/spoil

That's interesting... Hadn't heard of these mutineers ... It sounds good but it's a notch down from the real thing, and the fact they were even part of the actual mother ship helps put in to relief just how good George Clinton is.

Sometimes with great music it's easy to get complacent when people make it look easy. .. Some might even dismiss it as simple.... imo Mutiny just show up how incredible Parliament really are. I listened to that p funk all stars 83 thing today and it really thumped.

 

[ska invita]

Mutiny were former members of Parliament / Funkadelic
Mutiny - A Night Out With the Boys

Spoiler

[/spoil

That's interesting... Hadn't heard of these mutineers ... It sounds good but it's a notch down from the real thing, and the fact they were even part of the actual mother ship helps put in to relief just how good George Clinton is.

Sometimes with great music it's easy to get complacent when people make it look easy. .. Some might even dismiss it as simple.... imo Mutiny just show up how incredible Parliament really are. I listened to that p funk all stars thing today and it really thumped.

 

[CNT36]

You can all vote for The Day the Country Died now.

 

[krtek a houby]

Zapp lll released

 

[Knotted]

Mad World is such a great song.

 

[Knotted]

You just might stop to check the Violent Femmes' self-titled debut out:

I don't know if you're interested in theory/analysis but here's something saying something about Blister in the Sun

 

[Joe Chi Min]

A week today, I hope to be dancing to this being performed live in a field, health-permitting. Hoping for some sun or it will feel wrong....



Valle dropping the perfect soundtrack to chill by the pool/beach/garden barbecue/wherever

Marcos Valle - Marcos Valle

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I heard this in a club just before covid and it took me 3 years to find the name.

 

[Joe Chi Min]

Anyway, back to the good stuff. And '83 seems chock-full of it, to me.

Here's Aretha in her finest form, with Luther Vandross doing the production in his finest form, IMO. This, and the album they made the year before are the best things they ever did. Amazing.

Aretha Franklin - Get It Right

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The hook is ridiculous, and that bass is so dirty it makes me need a shower.

 

[Spandex]

Micrart Group - Line Compilation

A holy grail of the 80s minimal synth cassette underground, with tracks from three bands featuring Peter Bonne (later in Belgian EBM act A Split Second): Linear Movement, Autumn and Twilight Ritual. Although I doubt many people have heard of or ever seen this cassette, all three bands were rediscovered in the 2010s and had the tracks on here added to unreleased material to release full albums. It's all excellent.

 

[Spandex]

Bauhaus - Burning from the Inside

I've always really liked this album of theirs. Released a week after the band split up and recorded while lead vocalist Peter Murphy had pneumonia it's a strange mix of Bauhaus doing Bauhaus and also moving in different directions. With Murphy forced to take a back seat there's more of Daniel Ash's guitar strumming, while Ash and David J get more of a go at singing, pointing to the direction they'd go after the split with Tones on Tail and then Love & Rockets. It's got big hit (for them - they were on TOTP) She's in Parties, the title track, a 9 minute goth-funk jam, a couple of old style stompers, a goth-piano ballad and some Ash driven guitar tracks, finishing with the lovely Hope, which would have been the perfect full stop on the band, if they hadn't reunited and released a tepid comeback album in 2008.

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

OOooo.... the year I was born (so I can't help).... excited to play all this stuff.

 

[ska invita]

LUSH Malian kora album, considered one of the best ever ... its a dream

(supposedly the original has more reverb on it somehow and sounds better but thats not online)

Djeli Moussa Diawara - Djeli Moussa Diawara

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Yasimka seems to be a later title for rereleases

 

[ska invita]

Talking of Miles Davis there is this but not heard it yet

This album is alright fusion but a bit ploddy in places
There's a stand out track for me at least in this, which is like a kicked back boombap jazz track in guru jazzmataz or Ronny Jordan vein as would come a decade later...even uses sleigh bells which a lot of later new jack swing tunes used. Ahead of the curve

U n I

 

[mojo pixy]

Bit of a metal year:

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May I add



1983 was the exact year when metal started getting really good

 

[maomao]

May I add



1983 was the exact year when metal started getting really good

I mentioned in another post. I really think of that as a punk rather than a metal album though it was more of a 'kids just pissing about' album (and a classic of the genre). They sound like a whole other band by Join The Army.

 

[mojo pixy]

Oh but then again...





(actually its pretty good but I don't expect to take many with me here!)

 

[mojo pixy]

I mentioned in another post. I really think of that as a punk rather than a metal album though it was more of a 'kids just pissing about' album (and a classic of the genre). They sound like a whole other band by Join The Army.

Yes JTA definitely more metal than punk, the first album was pretty much perfect metal/punk 'crossover' that dozens of new bands spent the rest of the 80s trying to equal. Really seminal stuff IMO.