My discoveries per year

[dihansse]

And from 1975:

An album I already own/know:

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Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
The elegy to Pink Floyd's crazy diamond, Syd Barrett, is still one of my all-time favorite track and the title track is not far from that. I had previously underestimed those two middle songs Welcome To The Machine and Have A Cigar so the album is now more firmly at the first rank of the year. One of the 10 best ever albums ever.

An album on my wishlist:

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Numbers by Cat Stevens
Not even close to the previous best albums but not bad either. I think I already mentioned that I was a late-bloomer in pop/rock music as I only started to appreciate it round my 12 years and Banapple Gas was one of the first hits which were heavily played on my favorite pop television show at the time, so there's also a bit of nostalgy involved here, but I never heard the full album. Finally good for the 33rd rank.

[dihansse]

These are two albums of 1976 I listened to:

An album I already own/know:

Hotel California by Eagles
If it weren't for some filler in the middle section of the album (especially Pretty Maids All In A Row sucks), this would be a true classic. Of course because of the title track of which I still can't get enough although it's still played many times on radio as well, but don't forget New Kid In Town and especially also The Last Resort. The ranking of the album increases from the 10th to the 7th.

An album on my wishlist:

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Contraband by Golden Earring
This Dutch band is mainly known from Radar Love but they have many other epic songs on their repertoire and Mad Love is Comin' is one of them. Bombays is just a very good rock song and also the rest of the album is not bad so good for the 20th rank.

[dihansse]

Two albums of 1977 I listened to:

An album I already own:

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Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex...ex Pistols
This album hasn't aged at all. The energy is still raw and pure and for artists who couldn't play, the songs are surprisingly well-written. There are four classics here but even the weaker songs are of outstanding quality. Still one of the quintessential punk albums or simply rock albums ever. It remains firmly at the 4th rank in this very pivotal year in rock music.

An album on my wishlist:

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The Boomtown Rats by The Boomtown Rats
The first and punkiest albums of The Rats although especially near the end, the songs are fairly straightforward rock songs. Joey's On The Street Again is even very similar to a Bruce Springsteen track. It enters at the 35th rank.

[dihansse]

These are the two albums of 1978 I listened to:

An album I already own:

More Songs About Buildings And Food by Talking Heads
In fact this sophomore album of Talking Heads is really really good. There is even one of their best tracks here: Found A Job. But there's also Thank You For Sending Me An Angel, With Our Love, The Good Thing, Artists Only And Take Me To The River and then that other brilliant track, The Big Country is there for a perfect ending. So no wonder this album immediately jumps to the first place of the year (coming from the 5th rank. There's only this strange thing: it jumped over Fear of Music and that is not really how it should be: so I already know what album I will listen to for 1979.

Then an album on my wishlist:

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Obscure Alternatives by Japan
I like their later albums better (especially Gentlemen Take Polaroids) and especially the snotty tracks they do on most of this album as a follow-up of Adolescent Sex of the same year. The big exception is The Tenant which is also the highlight of the album: a very moody piano/sax/electronic track and since also the title track and Deviation are ok songs, this album lands at the lower parts of my year chart at rank 37.

[dihansse]

These are my 2 choices for 1979 albums:

An album I already own:

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Fear Of Music by Talking Heads
These few years were absolutely dominated by Talking Heads and Fear Of Music was a fine example of that. And was it better than the predecessor, More Songs About Buildings An Food: of course it was: it's just filled with songs which both sound fresh and experimental and it already starts with that fine example: I Zimbra which at first view is just an atmospheric piece of work but in hindsight is a wonder of perfect songwriting. And it goes on and on: Life During Wartime and the slow Heaven are amongst their best tracks but nearly all the other ones are perfect as well. It jumps over Overkill to the first rank of 1979 and of course also jumps over its predecessor in my seventies chart: this one at rank 9 and More songs at 22. And then Remain In Light still had to be released...

An album on my wishlist:

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Cool For Cats by Squeeze
This is by no means a perfect album: there are to many dated tracks like The Knack here. But in a way it's a bit of a classic especially because of Cool For Cats and Up The Junction. All in all a very fine Squeeze album who proved they could outgrow the moniker pub rock. Good for the 27th rank of the year.

[dihansse]

Two albums of 1980 I listened to:

An album I already own:

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Remain In Light by Talking Heads
So after More Songs and Fear Of Music, I just had to also cover their best album. This is a true classic in all senses of the word. The album forms some kind of unity especially because of the focus on African rhythms which at the same time are completely steeped in western rock (unlike My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, Byrne's collaboration with Brian Eno). And it absolutely works with already the first four track being absolute killers from the hit Once In a A Lifetime to the tracks which were not (at least not in Belgium) like Born Under The Punches. It is impossible to sit still while listening to this album but also the way the songs are crafted is incredible. Maybe the only track which is not completely of the same standard is the closer, the Overload, but in a way it is also just the perfect ending. It remains very firms at the first rank of the year.

An album on my wishlist:

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True Colours by Split Enz
The songwriting on this album is immaculate and in fact I knew more songs than I thought with both I Got You and I Hope I never which are also the best tracks. A great pre-Crowded House album which deserves its 18th rank of the year.

[dihansse]

And here are two albums from 1981 I listened to:

An album I already own:

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October by U2
With also Boy and War this is the period of the first classic U2 albums, in fact the period I love most because they sound so fresh and brash. This is their catholic album best exemplified by Gloria which is to me also one of their best songs. But from Rejoice (another very religious one) to Tomorrow to October, there is so much more here. So the album stays put at the 6th rank of 1981.

An album on my wishlist:

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Trust by Elvis Costello And The Attractions
I already own Girls! Girls! Girls! for a long time so I'm familiar with a lot of the tracks on this album and the good thing, the ones I don't know are as good as the ones I already know although Clubland and Big Sister's Clothes stick out a bit (on the good side). I love this guy and this is one of his better albums with not a weak song in sight. So a fine album which enters at the 12th rank.

[dihansse]

These are two albums of 1982 I listened to:

An album I already own:

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Love Over Gold by Dire Straits
Dire Straits were trying to move forward and this is their most ambitious project yet with only 5 tracks on the album and the fantastic Telegraph road even over 14 minutes long. The hit on the album was Private Investigations (also nearly 7 minutes so a bit long for a hit but it was one here) but nearly everything here is close to perfection: first rank of the year and of the best albums ever.

An album on my wishlist:

...If I Die, I Die by Virgin Prunes
In 1983 there was that festival in Belgium, Futurama which featured many bands like the Virgin Prunes but I suppose the Prunes were the quintessential band at it. I must admit I didn't go but some of my friends did and I was a bit jealous for not seeing it. In any case, Virgin Prunes is a goth Irish band with a fairly insane singer, Gavin Friday, as you'll hear on tracks like Theme For Thought. They had a semi-hit in Belgium, Baby Turns Blue, and it's still a fantastic song. Btw, funny that I had to ask Youtube permission to listen to the last song, Yeo, which might be unsuitable for young listeners which I don't understand because it has no lyrics. Although a bit uneven still a fantastic album which lands at the 33th rank.

[dihansse]

Inbetween rounding up the current year I found some time to listen to two albums of 1983:

An album I already own:

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Soul Mining by The The
The title of this album says it all: there's some real soul mining done here and omg it results in some songs made straight in heaven. This Is the Day and Uncertain Smile are just perfect and that piano just sounds like well heaven. I'm cheating a bit here because that other Perfect track Perfect is to me also an integral part of the album although it's an extra but it blends perfectly with the rest of the album. Did I already tell you this album is Perfect, or at least nearly perfect, and of the best ever albums ever. It remains at the first rank of the year but rises some places on my best ever albums list.

An album on my wishlist:

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Before Hollywood by The Go-Betweens
Many people quote this album in the list of the band's best albums from around that time (Spring Hill Fair, Tallulah and and 16 Lovers Lane) and I suppose they're right but to me, apart from 16 Lovers Lane, their album sound a bit like they perform the same trick every track and that's the same for this one. So all in all a good album ok for the 24th rank of the year but nothing more.

[Repo]