Urban75 Album of the Year 1984

[hitmouse]

Does anyone have any strong opinions on when GISM released Detestation? Wikipedia says July 12 1984, Discogs reckons 1983. I don't think it got a mention in the 1983 thread, so I reckon I'm going with wikipedia and calling it an 84 album.

And another one - wikipedia reckons the Crucifucks self-titled album was 1985, Discogs says 1984. Can anyone remember listening to the first Crucifucks album in 1984? Or can anyone remember not listening to it because it wasn't out yet?

 

[hitmouse]

And is Hatful of Hollow banned cos compilation?

 

[Idris2002]

And is Hatful of Hollow banned cos compilation?

It's a better album than the actual Smiths debut album.

 

[belboid]

And is Hatful of Hollow banned cos compilation?

It most certainly is!

 

[belboid]

Ohh, go on, I'll mention this. It would probably have been in my top 3 back in '84.

 

[hitmouse]

Never got around to listening to Family Man or Slip It In, but My War is solid enough.

 

[hitmouse]

Having never got around to listening to Devo's Shout, am I missing anything much?

 

[hitmouse]

Ah, looking through other stuff that's not been mentioned yet, I see 1984 saw albums from both the Human League and Heaven 17. I know a few songs off Hysteria, don't think I know anything about anything from How Men Are though.

 

[hitmouse]

One of the all-time great Cardiff oi albums:

A lot of oi just sounds like basic punk made about 20-30% more boring, but this works imo. Always on the verge of self-parody but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

It most certainly is!

The re recorded tracks are a bit duff though.

 

[hitmouse]

It feels very formulaic to me. Metallica broke free in 1984. I'm not sure I love it, but it at least doesn't sound like loud, fast Rainbow.

Today in albums from 1984 I've never listened to before, I'm giving Ride the Lightning a go. It's alright, I think I like it better than Kill 'Em All, but does the Metallica singing man ever stop doing that thing with his voice? It's not awful but it definitely feels like Metallica walked so Municipal Waste could run.

 

[AverageJoe]

Today in albums from 1984 I've never listened to before, I'm giving Ride the Lightning a go. It's alright, I think I like it better than Kill 'Em All, but does the Metallica singing man ever stop doing that thing with his voice? It's not awful but it definitely feels like Metallica walked so Municipal Waste could run.

I fucking love Mucipal Waste.



Almost as much as I love Red Fang

 

[Fez909]

Thelma Houston released an album this year which isn't brilliant but has flashes of brilliance, including one of the best boogie tracks ever. It definitely qualifies as heat

https://www.discogs.com/master/157718-Thelma-Houston-Qualifying-Heat

 

[Knotted]

OK I've come round to that Iron Maiden album. It's actually a lot better than the Metallica one albeit more conservative.

 

[hitmouse]

Never really got around to listening to the Meat Puppets before now, but turns out that the album with all the Nirvana cover songs on is alright - dunno if I'll fall wildly in love with it but it's pretty decent:

 

[Indeliblelink]

Nice bit of pre-Phuture acid house/techno on Mark Lane's Who's Really Listening album.

Rest of it is minimal synth/wave.

 

[chilango]

 

[Knotted]

Skeleton Crew ie. Fred Frith and Tom Cora released two albums. Great musicians, lots of wild ideas but terrible singers.

 

[The39thStep]

Mark Springer - Piano . First solo album for the Rip Rig and Panic pianist. An album of piano improvisations and whilst not as good imo as his next album Swans and Turtles its worth a listen.

 

[krtek a houby]

Nice bit of pre-Phuture acid house/techno on Mark Lane's Who's Really Listening album.

Rest of it is minimal synth/wave.

Kraftwerk vibes

 

[Idris2002]

What do we think of . . . Roger Waters' The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, which was from 1984?

This is after he fell out with Floyd, and he apparently he didn't want that, or his time in PF referred to on any promo material.

As the ideas man he thought he could make it on his own . . . TPACOH went on to bomb, and in spectacular fashion.

But you know what? I don't think it's that bad.

 

[hitmouse]

Maybe not up there with the Crucifucks or Die Kreuzen albums, but Give Thanks by Articles of Faith is a very solid hardcore record:

Big year for Midwest bands.

 

[stavros]

It's perhaps worth stating, lest anyone wants to vote for it, that the Cure's "The Top" from 1984 is shite. I say that as someone who really likes the Cure.

 

[ska invita]

Manuel Göttsching ‎– E2-E4

I've just read that this was actually recorded in 1981 (and released in 1984) - it would be a masterpiece if it was released today, but that it was 1981 is just mindblowing to me....such a landmark record, miles ahead of every thing else going on at the time

nice write up/interview here

The story of E2-E4 – Manuel Göttsching's accidental masterpiece - Loud And Quiet

“I feel like an inventor," says Manuel Göttsching reflecting on E2-E4. "I like to see myself as someone who invents music, and this was perfect.”

www.loudandquiet.com

mentions the he put out a few collections of simliar improv sessions from this era as The Private Tapes series in 1996 .... but theyre not even close to E2E4 from a very quick flick (i might be missing something golden tbf) and sound like what you might imagine a berlin guitar player doodling over some ambient synths would sound like....whereas E2E4....lightening in a bottle <<<I guess thats the magic of improv, if it comes off right its something no amount of preplanning or hardwork would ever be able to replicate

ETA i posted this elsewhere but Mad Proffessor did a remix of it this year - perfect IMO

 

[Knotted]

I'll compile the list on Monday, if you all want to get your lists ready. Monday morning deadline.

 

[Knotted]

Well I've just found something that's at least good and at best life changingly transcendent. It's going to have to sit with me for a bit before I decide.

Anyway its the Vienna Art Orchestra which is a sizeable collaboration of jazz musicians who did these jazz interpretations of Eric Satie's work. It's all suitably austere, gently bending it into its own thing. Fantastic textures, beautiful clarity, singer Lauren Newton has some peculiar moments - voice as a musical instrument. File firmly under third stream. You should listen to it, it's probably your new favourite album of 1984.

 

[stavros]

I've just sent my list.

 

[Knotted]

This is also very good. Chick Corea - Children's Songs. Another minimalist third stream album this time inspired by Bartók's Mikrokosmos song cycle.

 

[Knotted]

This from Hermeto Pascoal (& Grupo) is fantastically eccentric. Like nothing else except Hermeto Pascoal. Lagoa da Canoa, município de Arapiraca

 

[Knotted]

Really great juju album from Ebenezer Obey, one of the big names of Nigerian music in this time, some really nice guitar playing on this record with some subtle synth squelches in the mix

https://www.discogs.com/release/1199082-Chief-Commander-Ebenezer-Obey-His-Inter-Reformers-Band-Solution

This is Side A...the 4 tracks just run into each other without stopping playing...quite unusual in that regard

I too think I prefer this to the King Sunny Adé releases this year. I also really like this.
Chief Twins Seven Seven And The Black Ghost International - Eno Super 1 '84



It's a bit more afrobeat with a bit of Fela Kuti type energy.