Posted on 01/27/2006 3:43:24 PM PST by qam1
Van Hagar and others........
I recently wrote an article lauding the musical output of 1976 and pining for the days of soaring guitar solos, charter planes and impossibly tight bell bottoms. I've always been intrigued by the music and pop culture of different time periods, and the 70's were a decade rich in musical quality.
I received some interesting feedback on the article and so I've boldly decided to move ahead to 1986 and look at the state of music twenty years ago.
It was a time of big hair, big earrings and big government. The 80's were a decade of decadence and they were in full swing in '86. Hair metal was nearing its pinnacle, and pop music from the likes of Bananarama sounded as plastic as the cheap jewelry band members wore. Madonna was telling Papa not to preach, Robert Palmer was addicted to love and things got slippery when wet.
The class of '86 wasn't the best the decade had to offer. Maybe people were busy watching movies. Top Gun, Crocodile Dundee, Platoon, Karate Kid II, Back to School, Aliens, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off were all released in '86. Perhaps people were just taking time to make babies (possibly while at the movies). Mischa Barton, Amanda Bynes, the Olsen Twins, and Lindsay Lohan were all born that year. Anyway the times were as fast as the cars and women. It was 1986 and these are the top 5 albums from an eclectic year.
Metallica- Master of Puppets- Forget their anti-Napster protests and their decade long decline. In 1986 Metallica was loud, hard and fast. This was their last album with the original lineup and it was their best. The speed and fury of the record is matched by its melodic tones and precision. James Hetfield's insightful lyrics and the band's musicianship (especially bassist Cliff Burton) meld this 8 song set into a thrash metal work of art.
The Smiths- The Queen Is Dead- I don't think that I'm dour enough to fully appreciate The Smiths or Morissey, but hey this album did something for a lot of people. The songs are infectious with tunes like "Cemetery Gates", and "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side". So let me grab my Members Only jacket and we can get out of here.
Beastie Boys- Licensed to Ill- Three Jewish kids in matching track suits brought rap to main stream America. I guess that's the American Dream. On this Rick Rubin produced disc, rap beats, metal riffs and crass humor get thrown together to make a raucous album that became the best selling rap effort of the decade. There was plenty of backlash from conservative groups and rap purists alike, but this album stands the test of time and is listenable to this day. Sadly this record allowed for later atrocities by the likes of Limp Bizkit.
Peter Gabriel- So- Finally an accesable Peter Gabriel album. At last he came down off his prog-rock high horse to give us an album of enjoyable yet intelligent music. When I hear "In Your Eyes" I can picture myself driving around in a red '86 Le Baron convertible, wearing a pair of Aviators and a pastel Polo shirt with the collar popped. Of course I would have been 2 at the time, but you get my point. With hits like "Sledgehammer" this album is quintessential '80's.
Bon Jovi- Slippery When Wet- Yes, Bon Jovi made the list. Deal with it. While Guns 'N Roses would put the bite back into metal the following year, for anyone that appreciates a good pair of lavender leather pants this record is a mile stone. From huge ballads like "Never Say Goodbye" to monster hits like "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' on A Prayer", and "Wanted Dead or Alive" this album bleeds '80's rock. If you bought this album, your money probably isn't the only thing you're missing. Like Bon Jovi himself said "You lost more than that in my back seat".
Other notable releases of 1986 include: AC/DC- Who Made Who?, Boston- Third Stage, Genesis- Invisible Touch, The Firm- Mean Business, Great White- Shot in the Dark, Guns N' Roses- Live Like A Suicide EP, Iron Maiden- Somewhere in Time, Janet Jackson- Control, Judas Priest- Turbo, Madonna- True Blue, Poison- Look What the Cat Dragged In, Run DMC- Raising Hell, Slayer- Reign in Blood, and Stryper's seminal To Hell With the Devil.
There were some notable blunders in '86 as well. You have to remember a lot of people were on drugs then. Bananarama were allowed in a recording studio, Eric Clapton had a down album with August, and Europe released the abomination that was The Final Countdown. Undoubtedly the year's biggest tragedy was the birth of Van Hagar. After the incendiary David Lee Roth quit/was fired from Van Halen, he was replaced by the incompetent Sammy Hagar. His earnest lyrics and bad haircut took the showmanship out of their songs and the wind out of their sails. Don't be fooled by anyone claiming the Hagar years were good. Hagar was a hack.
So that's 1986. It clearly lacks the quality of 1976, and was outclassed from top to bottom but at least it's not next week's subject...1996
More like 98 percent.
'Enter Sandman' was one of twelve tracks... therefore I assert that exactly 91.7 percent of that album was crap. They haven't produced a thing worthy of note since... so do with the numbers as you will.
My album rankings would fall as such:
1. Ride the Lightning
2. Master of Puppets
3. Kill 'Em All
4. Garage Days Re-Revisited (covers... but KICK ASS covers)
5. And Justice For All ('One' was the very beginning of the end)
I remember going to my third Metallica concert in 1991 and thinking 'I am DONE with these guys AND their prom ballads.' I haven't bought an album since.
That said... pre-1991 Metallica... oh yeah, thing of beauty.
Good analysis.
In your opinion, which instrumental is better - "Orion" or "The Call of Ktulu?"
Orion. Hands down. That bass just sitting there at the beginning... then the drums come in from a vanishing point, then 'tap tap tap tap TAP TAP' and ALL of the guitars come in... WHAAAA... then Hammett just WAILING in the middle. Oh yeah.
Don't leave 'To Live Is To Die' out of that short list. It's better than 'Call of Ktulu' in my humble opinion.
Of course, this is ALL from memory... I really need to replace my twenty year old cassette tapes of these guys with CDs and start listening to the old albums again. They were my favorite musicians by an order of magnitude for a number of years.
Wrong. We'll just agree to disagree on that.
4. Garage Days Re-Revisited (covers... but KICK ASS covers)
"Whiskey in a Jar", "Tuesday's Gone" and "Turn the Page" they covered were great.
Lars Ullrich and the whole Napster thing p!ssed off alot of Metallica fans.
But I digress.
I've seen them twice in concert and they are definitely in my top five favorite concerts I've seen.
I need to add one more to that list; "Stone Cold Crazy" by Queen.
You're thinking of Garage, Inc. which was a later release after the crap heap that is Load/Reload/S&M. Garage Days was an EP with five tracks that was released in 1987, just after Jason Newsted joined the band. It was produced by the band, and sounded like it. It seemed to me at the time as if it was a practice session for the new bassist. That said, it was an amazing album with an unbelievable sound.
Garage, Inc. contained studio rerecorded versions of those same songs. Nonetheless, some of the songs added, including those you mentioned, were really, really well covered.
I have yet to meet Metallica fan from that era who was anything less that completely disappointed with the self titled album.
Most of the folks I know who defend that album discovered Metallica for the first time when it came out. Your mileage may vary.
Disregard half of what I just said... I speak in absolutes before I get my coffee in the morning. Everyone has an opinion that deserves to be correct.
The author either wilfully neglected or is not aware of all the excellent punk, wave, rasta and other non mainstream music which was kicking butt big time during the mid 80s. I still have all my teeth in spite of spending far too much time in the pits of various punk shows!
We share the same 1986! Oi, oi, oi!
Their two disk "Garage" CD of cover tunes has really grown on me. Both old remastered stuff from the earliest days as well as some new ones. Even the overplayed Whisky In a Jar was well done.
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