The 80’s

Some of you were still burbling sperm and eggs in waiting, but there are others of us who were full into careers, having families or just slogging through life. Between 1980 and '84, I was the property of the US Air Force and then began my career in Law Enforcement.... 20 freakin' years now, ya'll.

Anyway, this was a transitional period for many. Prog rock was changing, I heard the first Asia album as I was slipping into bed one night, I thought UK was the last hurrah. Hmmm, Wetton and Howe on a real "single"... oh my! Billy Idol brought punk to the top forty, Michael Jackson had his first plastic surgery, Disco was dying, but not fast enough.... Hairy times.

Question is.... What were you listening to that actual meant something? I had the Call, The Cure, The Stranglers and David Bowie on continuous rotation. Later that decade, Concrete Blonde and Nirvana.... But I hung onto Yes, and discovered Allan Holdsworth had a solo career. Marillion was in there somewhere, but I never really jumped on that ship... Genesis became a pop band, ELP morphed into a dinosaur without a sense of humor. Jazz became so smooth it could relieve constipation and speed metal reared it's ugly head (IMO). I got into blues, Robert Johnson, Buddy Guy... Then Stevie Ray exploded. Eric Johnson's Tones made it's debut, quite a relief to me.

The 80's were a quagmire and a gold mine, depending on your perspective, of course. I found diamonds in the rough and needles in haystacks. Many memeories and many influences. What are yours?

danbo wrote: '...and then began my career in Law Enforcement.... '

I ain't saying nuffing, copper!  

Seriously, say 'the eighties' to me and i think big hair, shoulderpads and puffskirts - and vaccuus music to fill the vaccuus heads of the disco trendies, made for the most part by synthplayers who were more interested in the electronics than the music they were playing. I was still discovering what I'd missed in the late sixties/early seventies - really early (barely post-Syd) Floyd, Syd's own solo recordings, there were even Beatles albums I hadn't heard till I was twenty! I turned twenty-one in 1982 and couldn't bear what was being played on the radio; I thought Bowie had 'gone off' a bit when he couldn't reach the high notes anymore without sounding like Anthony Newley - And that's when I really got into the old Genesis/Yes/Crimson thing - and what a treasure trove that was!!!

The eighties was a dire decade for Prog overall BUT there were some good albums:

IQ - The Wake/Tales From The Lush Attic

Rush - Power Windows

Marillion - Misplaced Childhood

Eloy - Time To Turn/Planets

After that I'm struggling to think of others.

I didn't like what Genesis,ELP and Yes were doing at the time so I started listening to electronic music and discovered Tangerine Dream,Vangelis and Jarre etc.I also got interested in Mike Oldfield's music and became a bit of a fan.

Beginning of 80's, I discovered Pat Metheny and Allan Holdsworth but as the solo artist. Bt the end of the 80's I discovered  the ever-expanding, rich recording catalogue of Jonas Hellberg. Most other jazz rock fusion was pretty tired especially coming out of N America (yes I agree,  collapsed into smooth jazz). Therefore spent more time making some great discoveries in European jazz/jazz rock: Norwegians Terj Rypdal, Jan Garbarek for instance - so I'm now a massive fan of Scandanavian rock and nu.jazz

Quickly found metal rock had become very tedious - it was  especially trying to hear any variety on record, as played by British radio. However, discovered Steve Vai on that outrageous album "Passion & Warfare" - and too did some catching up on the Zappa back catalogue. Discovered Gary Lucas and also discovered great musicians like Gary Lucas will actually correspond !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BTW The Stranglers appeared in the mid 70's in the UK as a punk band (my favourite  too), and it wasn't until they changed labels (Liberty to Epic) was there a major musical change as well.

And in the late 80's I stopped buying vinyl (so much was pressed up badly and sounded bad on the turntable - and anything longer than 15 minutes a side, was likely to be aurally compressed, so lacking top and bottom end; so too often cymbals sounded wrong). At that time I compiled a personal list of albums I wanted to get as CD versions. Eventually the list numbered about a 100 records, so with my rather odd and demanding tastes I expected that it would be unlikely I would find CD versions. But to my amazement only one record is outstanding:  Jan Hammer Group: Oh Yeah! *with everything else gathered in over 5 years ago. However, I would dearly love to hear Soft Machine's first album remastered properly.

*Please let me know if it ever gets issued!!!

However, in summary I think the 80's was the low point in a century of popular music, with relatively few major albums to come and sytand the test of time from that period. Even with the Spice Girls and other manufactured boys and girls groups (and what the f*** does Simon Cowell really know), at least we have seen a resurgence of music in the 90's. On the rock side, grunge and Jeff Buckley were personal highlights at the start of the decade, along with an explosion of largely non-Brit prog bands and the nu.jazz/nu.fusion movement in Europe.

My son was born in 78.. so the 80s are much a blur to me outside nursury, afterschool programs, kung fu lessons, guitar lessons, softball in Central Park... I was still listening to 70s prog.. except ELP... I know that doesn't sound like me at all... but listening to Greg sing.. just made me cry to much.. so I didn't listen at all.  I did get Greg & Keith's solo stuff and ELPowell, and all the Asia albums. Even Three... the glutton for punishment that I am.

The bands I did listen to somewhat... AC/DC... heck I traveled with them some before and after my son was born.  Cliff Williams said that I probably have the only kid alive that could sleep thru AC/DC.. while being on the side of the stage...

Other than Pink Floyd, I liked those bands that usually came and went... like The Adventures, Strange Advance, The Korgies, Ice House (their first album before they came back too poppy) Ultravox, etc.  I also liked Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears, Bruce Hornsby.  I liked a couple of things by Flock of Seagulls and the B-52s.  I also seriously dated a guitar tech for Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe.. but I had a problem listening to them.

I also liked some new age stuff.. like Andreas Vollenweider, Kitaro, Clannad...

I moved to the big city of London for the eighties, and discovered the excellent second hand record shops of Notting Hill Gate and Shepherds Bush.

I therefore spent my time buying loads of 70's albums and discovering the many great bands I had missed. I guess I spent the 80's catching up on 70's music!

There still are loads of back street 2nd hand record shops - I especially like the specialist shops that sell tons of drum 'n' bass, as they usually have a few "rock" boxes stuck in a dark corner. I've picked up many a bargain 1st press from these shops - there's a good one in Camden, at the top end of the market. Vinyl still rules!

I started with prog' in 1976 when I was 12, so I got my first job around 1979 - 1980 ans spént all the 80's buying music from the 70's.

Especially because I started University in 1980 and we had a very active group of progheads (something not common at school) that helped me with my interest in prog'.

Iván

in the mid 80's I was a huge prog fan: I was looking for every prog name available. So, I bought:

Pendragon, Pallas, Marillion, Fixx, Asia, Saga, IQ, Twelfth night, It bites, Anthony Phillips, Mike Oldfield, Eloy, Camel, Anyone's daughter.

But my tastes always have been eclectic: I also enjoyed:

Mark Isham, Uzeb, Enya, Vangelis, Yanni, Suzanne Cianni, Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, , Tangerine dream, Sting, Police.