Playing on my CD player these days
As I prepare for my week long trip to Las Vegas this week, I find myself rummaging through my CD collection, looking for tunes to listen to on the plane ride across the country. Sometimes I just get in the mood to listen to various types of music, with no theme or genre. It's no big secret that I absolutely love the music of the 1980s, with the exception of those hair bands. And then there is music beyond the 1980s, particularly the 1990s and some of the 2000s, some of which was depressing and some of which was actually pretty good.
I recently went through some of my CDs I've amassed over the past 16 years and to be quite honest, about 80% of them are discs that I still enjoy. The other 20%...I don't know, but sometimes I ask myself "what was I thinking"?
So anyway, besides the obvious (ha ha!), here's a list (in no particular order) of albums I enjoy listening to:
1. Phil Collins - No Jacket Required...I had been a Phil Collins/Genesis fan since 1981 and I couldn't be more a proud fan of his when this phenomenal album was first released in February 1985. Chock full of hits, this was one of the albums that was a "must have" if you were a pop music fan of the 1980s.
2. Madonna - Confessions On A Dance Floor (Special Edition)...Yes, I was a big Madonna fan, especially her 1980s era of music. However, I thought her 1990s output sucked with the exception of her fabulous 1998 Ray Of Light album. Confessions On A Dance Floor is simply one of her better efforts in the last 8 years. I really wanted to see her perform live this summer, but with her concerts lasting a very short 90 minutes and at $350.00 per ticket face value, I think I'll wait until a DVD of one of her shows is released.
3. Asia - Anthologia...With the recent news that all 4 original members intend to reunite with a new album and tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of the release of their 1982 debut album Asia, that got me in the mood to listen to the complete Geffen Records released recordings of this phenomenal, yet underrated supergroup, comprising of past members of Yes, The Buggles, Emerson Lake & Palmer and King Crimson. Anthologia covers all of their albums and b-sides from 1982-1990 all in a convenient 2-CD collection.
4. Simply Red - Home...I admit that I was never a Simply Red fan until I heard this album. Home is loaded with lots of blue-eyed soul. Mick Hucknall does a wonderful job in covering The Stylistics "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street".
5. Kylie Minogue - Greatest Hits...This 1992 collection puts all her hits from 1988-1992 in order of release. Kylie was much more popular throughout the world outside of the U.S. during that time period, which is a shame because in my opinion, her music was much better then than it is now.
6. Michael McDonald - Motown...Signed to the Motown label in 2003, it was only natural that the former member of the Doobie Brothers decided to pay tribute to the label's greatest songs with a fantastic collection of soulful classics, especially his take on one of my all-time favorite Motown hits, the Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
7. Genesis - Invisible Touch...Critics called it a "sell-out" of one of the most innovative rock bands. I called it a masterpiece. Yeah, some might argue that it was just simply a Phil Collins solo album, with Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford backing him up, but I thought it was a great collective effort and one that kept up with the times (it was 1986 after all) instead of trying to sound like it was still the 1970s. Musically, it was their strongest album and if they had the full technology of the compact disc as the norm instead of the dreaded wax LP, it could have been much longer than the one-time standard of 45 minutes on 1 album. Tony Banks had once responded in an interview in regards to the die hard fans moaning when a "radio" song is played live, "Just because a song is popular doesn't mean it's a bad song".
I recently went through some of my CDs I've amassed over the past 16 years and to be quite honest, about 80% of them are discs that I still enjoy. The other 20%...I don't know, but sometimes I ask myself "what was I thinking"?
So anyway, besides the obvious (ha ha!), here's a list (in no particular order) of albums I enjoy listening to:
1. Phil Collins - No Jacket Required...I had been a Phil Collins/Genesis fan since 1981 and I couldn't be more a proud fan of his when this phenomenal album was first released in February 1985. Chock full of hits, this was one of the albums that was a "must have" if you were a pop music fan of the 1980s.
2. Madonna - Confessions On A Dance Floor (Special Edition)...Yes, I was a big Madonna fan, especially her 1980s era of music. However, I thought her 1990s output sucked with the exception of her fabulous 1998 Ray Of Light album. Confessions On A Dance Floor is simply one of her better efforts in the last 8 years. I really wanted to see her perform live this summer, but with her concerts lasting a very short 90 minutes and at $350.00 per ticket face value, I think I'll wait until a DVD of one of her shows is released.
3. Asia - Anthologia...With the recent news that all 4 original members intend to reunite with a new album and tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of the release of their 1982 debut album Asia, that got me in the mood to listen to the complete Geffen Records released recordings of this phenomenal, yet underrated supergroup, comprising of past members of Yes, The Buggles, Emerson Lake & Palmer and King Crimson. Anthologia covers all of their albums and b-sides from 1982-1990 all in a convenient 2-CD collection.
4. Simply Red - Home...I admit that I was never a Simply Red fan until I heard this album. Home is loaded with lots of blue-eyed soul. Mick Hucknall does a wonderful job in covering The Stylistics "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street".
5. Kylie Minogue - Greatest Hits...This 1992 collection puts all her hits from 1988-1992 in order of release. Kylie was much more popular throughout the world outside of the U.S. during that time period, which is a shame because in my opinion, her music was much better then than it is now.
6. Michael McDonald - Motown...Signed to the Motown label in 2003, it was only natural that the former member of the Doobie Brothers decided to pay tribute to the label's greatest songs with a fantastic collection of soulful classics, especially his take on one of my all-time favorite Motown hits, the Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
7. Genesis - Invisible Touch...Critics called it a "sell-out" of one of the most innovative rock bands. I called it a masterpiece. Yeah, some might argue that it was just simply a Phil Collins solo album, with Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford backing him up, but I thought it was a great collective effort and one that kept up with the times (it was 1986 after all) instead of trying to sound like it was still the 1970s. Musically, it was their strongest album and if they had the full technology of the compact disc as the norm instead of the dreaded wax LP, it could have been much longer than the one-time standard of 45 minutes on 1 album. Tony Banks had once responded in an interview in regards to the die hard fans moaning when a "radio" song is played live, "Just because a song is popular doesn't mean it's a bad song".
8. Donna Summer - Another Place And Time...This 1989 release was undoubtedly Donna's best album of the 1980s, bringing her back to the Euro dance sound that made her popular. Yes, the album sounds dated with its 1980s synth sound, slick production from the British hitmaking team of Stock Aitken Waterman and the Linn drum machine. But you have to admit, it's a fun album to listen to as the songs and melodies of each track gets stuck in your head and you find yourself humming along to one or more of the catchy tunes, especially her top 10 hit "This Time I Know It's For Real".
posted by Mel at 11:05 PM
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