YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 116 (Nineteen Eighty Four)
(Originally finalized on December 31, 2024)
Preface: At the risk of showing my age (although given the subject of this music log, you're more likely to be surprised by how young I am, than by how old I am), I've spent some time over the past year studying what was going on in the music scene during the year of my birth - the auspicious year (thanks to George Orwell) of Nineteen Eighty Four. The '80s weren't my favorite decade for music, so finding songs I like that were released in that year is a little tough, but I took it as a creative challenge. Could you imagine if I'd been born in, say, 1970? There'd be way too many great songs to pick just seven!
Monday: Stevie Ray Vaughan - Voodoo Child (Slight Return) [Couldn't Stand The Weather, 1984]
Comments: It should come as no surprise that blues guitar virtuoso Stevie Ray Vaughan is one of my favorite mainstream artists that was predominantly active in the '80s. SRV released his second studio album in 1984, which contains the slow blues Tin Pan Alley, as well as his celebrated cover of one of Jimi Hendrix's greatest rock epics - Voodoo Child (Slight Return). Personally, as far as Stevie's Hendrix covers go, I think Little Wing was the one that improved upon the original (even earning itself a Grammy Award), but though it was recorded the same year, the public didn't get to hear it until Stevie's posthumous release from 1991, The Sky Is Crying.
Tuesday: Van Halen - Panama [MCMLXXXIV, 1984]
Comments: I'd be remiss if I didn't include a song by Van Halen this week, considering that they have an album that is actually titled after the year! And it's a pretty decent album... for the '80s. My pick for best track would actually be Hot For Teacher, but since I included it on my School Days theme, we'll go with Panama instead. I like it better than Jump and I'll Wait, which go too heavy on the synthesizers. After this album, singer David Lee Roth would leave the band, to be replaced by Sammy Hagar, who scored a hit during this year with I Can't Drive 55 (featured on my Big Numbers theme).
Wednesday: Great White - Stick It [Great White, 1984]
Comments: If you've been following my music log, then you've heard Great White before. They're one of the few bands of the hair metal period that stands out, in my opinion, with a sound that's very consistent with '70s rock. Stick It is the big hit from their self-titled debut from 1984. With its stand-offish, "I've had enough" attitude, it's like a straight-faced version of the sentiment Jack Black parodied in School of Rock when he came up with the song "Step Off".
Thursday: The Scorpions - Still Loving You [Love At First Sting, 1984]
Comments: As far as prominent rock songs from 1984 go, you can't get much bigger than German rock band The Scorpions' smash hit Rock You Like A Hurricane. But since I already featured that song during my rock and roll splinter theme, I'm going to go a little bit deeper and dig out another great song from the same album. For an '80s power ballad, it manages to be more soulful than cheesy, with great vocals and a good guitar part. That's enough to earn my appreciation.
Friday: Dio - Evil Eyes [The Last In Line, 1984]
Comments: As has been established in the second iteration of my Band Connections theme dedicated to proto-metal, after playing with Deep Purple's guitarist in Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, and a stint as Ozzy's replacement in Black Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio went on to become one of the pre-eminent heavy metal crooners of the '80s. Considered for my theme dedicated to songs about eyes (but ultimately rejected for being too heavy), here's a track from Dio's sophomore album - an album from which the title track was featured in my theme about Lines.
Saturday: Metallica - The Call of Ktulu [Ride The Lightning, 1984]
Comments: I used to be more antagonistic toward "heavy metal" (as a distinct category from "hard rock") in my younger years, but my opinion has softened in middle age. It's still not my preferred genre - I like the blend of instruments in classic rock (and guitar-based blues) the best. Metal music is often too fast and too heavy - there's no space to breathe. And the vocals tend to be less melodic, and more anger-driven. I identify with sadness more than anger. That said, I've learned to appreciate the instrumentality of metal music, and I recognize that there are times in one's life when hard-driving music can be just the catharsis you need (I've been there). One of my favorite songs recorded by Metallica is Fade To Black, but since I shared it during my Paint It Black theme, here's another song I like - and the closing track - from the same album. This song represents the sophisticated tastes of a band that wanted to avoid the devil-worshipping clichés of the heavy metal genre - instead turning to a deeper, more cosmic horror. As a fellow fan of H.P. Lovecraft, I appreciate that.
Sunday: Iron Maiden - 2 Minutes to Midnight [Powerslave, 1984]
Comments: Since I'm posting this theme on New Year's Eve, we're going to finish with a song that perfectly suits the holiday's festivities (and would have been a good candidate for my Counting Numbers theme). Debuting in 1980, and successfully avoiding the "hair metal" trend (which was a different kind of beast, having more in common with glam rock), I consider Iron Maiden to be the bridge (and an easily accessible in-road) between the hard rock of the '70s and the new frontiers of heavy metal in the '80s. This song hails from the band's fifth studio album, and third with iconic lead singer Bruce Dickinson (who joined for The Number of the Beast), and thus features a band in the midst of their heyday.
Honorable Mention: Bon Jovi - Runaway [Bon Jovi, 1984]
Comments: It's hard to take a band seriously when they're exhibiting some of the worst excesses of '80s fashion - as can be seen in the music video (although your mileage may vary) - but just listening to the music, I can't deny that this band that was responsible for marketing hair metal to the masses has some solid hits. Jon Bon Jovi shopped this song around for a couple years before it appeared as the opening track on the band's debut album. It was also released as their debut single, which means that it qualifies for a first impression!
At the risk of making it seem like there was an abundance of good music coming out in 1984 (in reality, I'm lukewarm about most of it), I want to take a moment to mention a few more songs and albums before we conclude this theme - since I did so much research into the subject. On the pop scene, this year saw the release of Prince's Purple Rain, and Madonna's Like A Virgin, while Tina Turner made a splash with What's Love Got To Do With It? Wham! came out with Last Christmas (a song that's had a recent resurgence in popularity), while the soundtracks to two movies I remember watching as a kid gave us the main themes to Ghostbusters and The Never Ending Story. In hair metal, Twisted Sister released their hit We're Not Gonna Take It. Meanwhile, U2 released Pride (In The Name Of Love), and REO Speedwagon scored massive success with Can't Fight This Feeling (reflecting their softer, more pop-oriented '80s sound). And Bruce Springsteen released Born in the U.S.A. (though arguably not as captivating as Born To Run from nine years prior).
In picking out songs for this theme, I tried to stick to music that felt contemporary, instead of resorting to the last gasps of artists that were bigger in the '70s. Deep Purple put out a great reunion album in 1984, but I'm holding on to that for a possible future theme. Johnny Winter had a resurgence of sorts in the mid-'80s - his album Guitar Slinger is worth hearing. Having recorded their last album together the previous year, David Gilmour and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd both released a solo album in 1984 (About Face, and The Pros and Cons of Hitch-Hiking, respectively), but neither is among their greatest works. Finally, two former Eagles were also active in this year. I prefer Smuggler's Blues from Glenn Frey's solo album The Allnighter, but Don Henley made a bigger splash with The Boys of Summer from Building The Perfect Beast.