1986 was a golden year for Prince. In addition to Parade, he recorded a bunch of material for the aborted Dream Factory and Crystal Ball projects that got whittled down to Sign o' the Times. As such, it has an embarrassment of riches from an outtake perspective.
The colossal Crystal Ball is my favorite, but also wonderful are the hollow piano melancholy of Power Fantastic, the explosive funk of Data Bank, the visceral pop/rock of Yo Mister later given to Patti Labelle, the incendiary rock fury of Witness 4 the Prosecution, the heavenly euphoria of Crucial, the revealing loneliness of Wally, the humorous pastiche of Movie Star, the childlike fantasty of A Place in Heaven that fans of "Starfish and Coffee" should check out, the salacious funk of Emotional Pump offered to Joni Mitchell, and the appropriately driving Train, among others.
On the synthpop front, I really enjoy a-ha's I've Been Losing You and Manhattan Skyline. And while not obscure, I think A Question of Lust is by far the best song on Depeche Mode's Black Celebration. Another wonderful song overshadowed by others is New Order's dramatic 1963. Kraftwerk's The Telephone Call carries forth the winsome heart of "Computer Love". My favorite synthpop song of 1986, however, belongs to Erasure with Oh L'amour. Heartbreak on the dancefloor never sounded as wonderful as this!
Some other gems I can recommend are Valerie Dore's italo disco rave-up Bow and Arrow, her most driving song yet. Meanwhile, The Sweetest Chill may just be the most alluring song by Siouxsie and the Banshees, up there with "Melt!". 1986 also saw the release of Mylène Farmer's debut album. The whole thing is good, but my favorite that wasn't a single from a prior year is Au bout de la nuit, which combines the dark spirit of goth with delicate, sacrosanct beauty. And finally, while the singles from Eurythmics' Revenge are getting some poll love, my favorite from the album is the powerful closer, I Remember You. This enchanted ballad doesn't just pull at the heartstrings, it caresses them with its plaintive strings, gorgeous synths, and that glorious chorus recalling a defining coming-of-age moment that led the two characters in the song to take divergent paths at those particular crossroads. Elegant, majestic, and glorious.
Depeche Mode's Black Celebration is IMO the greatest album of the year and honestly the my second favorite album of the 80s (only behind Depeche Mode's Music For The Masses). I know I am biased but even though they are appreciated, the deserve more credit then they are given. Everything about this album is near perfect. The production is great, the flow between songs is great, the song writing is haunting while still catchy enough to be a hit, and there is a great balance of faster but dark dance songs like "Black Celebration", "A Question Of Time", and "New Dress" as well as slower more ballady songs like "A Question Of Lust" and "Stripped". In fact "Sometimes" might just be my favorite produced song of the 80s because the echo and reverb and other techniques make it a great short little song. And on top of it all, the band is just on top of their game and really defined their sound and style with this album.
The year was good for synthpop in general with two of my other favorite albums being New Order's Brotherhood and Dead Or Alive's Mad, Bad, and Dangerous To Know. While it isn't New Order's best work, the album is greatly put together and produced the wonderful "Bizarre Love Triangle". While I have some criticisms on the mixing of the song, the song is undeniably one of synthpop's greatest anthems. As for Dead or Alive, they often get criticized for being on the cheesy side of things and being a one-hit-wonder but people should try this album as it is just a genuinely great dance album. It is definitely an acquired taste though.
The Smiths definitely lead the year in terms of guitar led new wave with The Queen Is Dead. I am not the biggest fan of the band but this album deserves respect. I am not sure what to say here that has not already been said. Also one of my favorite artists, Peter Murphy made his solo debut with the decent new wave/alternative rock album Should The World Fail To Fall Apart.
And while it definitely was very underground and hidden in 1986, there were some punk albums I really like. I always have a little bias towards punk. The Ramones released Animal Boy and while it is far from their best album, "Bonzo Goes To Bitburg" and "Somebody Put Something In My Drink" are some of the best punk songs of the year and some of the band's best songs from the 80s. The Dead Kennedys wrapped up their run with Bedtime For Democracy. The album is a personal favorite of mine in therms of their discography as it is clear they put it all in their final album. Before they were famous, The Offspring began recording their first demo albums around this time frame. The 6 Songs Demo from 1986 is surprisingly well put together with many of their later songs teased and the song "Blackball" is a punk banger. Also the silly but fun east bay punk band, The Lookouts, made their debut on a compilation with the fun loving song "California".
There are a few other albums from other genre's I recommend like Metallica's Master of Puppets and Beastie Boys' Licensed To Ill. Both are popular so I don't feel the need to go into too much detail here.
Listyguy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 02, 2019 12:43 am
Here's a few recommendations from outside of the AM list. I've seen a few of them on lists already, which is awesome!
Game Theory - The Big Shot Chronicles
Another year, another Game Theory gem. This is probably their album with the most pop sensibility.
Henry Flynt - You Are My Everlovin / Celestial Power
"You Are My Everlovin" is a brilliant piece of music.
Siekiera - Nowa Aleksandria
Oh yeah, another post-punk album. But this time the band is Polish!
These are the top songs I voted for that nobody else has (yet)...
World Party - Ship Of Fools
Karl Wallinger created World Party after leaving the Waterboys, and this has the Waterboys' "big music" thing going on, but poppier, and with some great political lyrics.
The Damned - Eloise
A fantastic OTT cover of Barry Ryan's 1968 hit.
The Bangles - If She Knew What She Wants
Everybody knows The Bangles are ace. This is one of their super top songs. So, everybody should be voting for this. Simples.
Katrina & The Waves - Sun Street
Okay, this is Walking On Sunshine Part II, but that can only be a good thing!
Pet Shop Boys - Jack The Lad
This is the B-side to Suburbia. It is quite the antithesis of the Pet Shop Boys sound of the time - a subdued ballad. I've always thought it's a gorgeous song.
Hot Mikado - The Mikado Song
From 1986's Hot Mikado, the jazzed-up version of Gilbert & Sullivan's 1885 comic opera. It's fabulous. It's even got a tap dance break in it!
Ray Davies - Quiet Life
From the Absolute Beginners film. Ray Davies at his whimsical best.
It's Immaterial - Driving Away From Home
I thought this would be on lots of people's list. Maybe it's seen as too novelty, but I kind of like novelty, or maybe people don't know it, or maybe people don't like it... I'm sure it's one of those!
Nanci Griffith - The Wing And The Wheel
Simply a beautiful song.
Bill Drummond - Julian Cope Is Dead
After setting up Zoo Records and producing Echo & The Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes records, and before the onslaught of the KLF and burning a million pounds,... obviously Bill Drummond recorded folk record (in his heavy Scottish accent)! The whole album is bizarrely fab, but I particularly like this nutty song.
The Smiths - Frankly, Mr. Shankly
Talking of nutty songs, here's Morrissey! "Oh, I didn't realise that you wrote poetry
I didn't realise you wrote such bloody awful poetry"
"Frankly, Mr. Shankly, since you ask
You are a flatulent pain in the ass"
It's just funny!
(Only one other has voted for the following two)
...and Julian Cope is far from dead, he was releasing the magnificent World Shut Your Mouth
...and Furniture's Brilliant Mind is pure 80s... well, brilliance.
But I was caught, like a fleeting thought,
Stuck inside Leonard Cohen's mind