Friday 80s Flashback for March 17, 2017

[Human's Lib is 33!] -- Howard Jones' debut album, Human's Lib (1984), was the first compact disc I ever purchased. In fact, I purchased it before I even owned a CD player. You see, I was saving up for the player, and I just wanted to ensure that I had something on hand when I finally connected it to my stereo system. Anyway, Human's Lib was released in the UK on March 17, 1984, and entered the UK Album Charts in the #1 spot. It hit the US in June of that same year. Human's Lib spent a total of 57 weeks on the UK charts and has been certified 2× Platinum. It also went Gold in many European countries and the US. All four singles from this album reached the UK top 20, the first two of which even reached the US top 50. None of that is surprising as this album is so full of 80s pop goodness that just about every track could be considered a true gem. But ... I can choose only three to share with you this week. So which tunes made the cut this week? Read and hear more after the jump.

Friday 80s Flashback for March 10, 2017

[30 Years of The Joshua Tree] -- U2's fifth studio album, The Joshua Tree, was released on March 9, 1987. As you might have gleaned from my Flashback's theme, that record is 30 years old this week! I was in my freshman year at Penn State when this record landed. Before college, I knew all the songs on The Unforgettable Fire (1984), the only U2 record I owned, and the singles off War (1983). But that was it. I had about a four year gap in my U2 knowledge. But a guy down the hall in my dormitory (Holmes Hall) was a huge fan of U2, and his record collection introduced me to the rest of this band's history. Not only that, his enthusiasm for U2 was contagious. So, when The Joshua Tree was announced (by posters and flyers as this was pre-Internet), we began a countdown and waited for its release. He bought a copy on the day the record dropped. We took it back to his room and listened to it, start to finish, twice. Right then, we knew this record was going to propel U2 to the next level of stardom. Of the six singles -- six! -- released from this record, only two failed to chart. Of the charting songs, two peaked at #1, one peaked at #13, and one squeaked into the the #44 slot, all of which on the Billboard Hot 100. And the accolades don't end there. Readers made The Joshua Tree #1 in Rolling Stone's annual Music Awards poll. Critics made it Rolling Stone's #2 album of the year. And it scored two Grammy Awards: (1) Album of the Year and (2) Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. For this week's Flashback, lets look at some tracks that don't usually get radio play, but probably should. Read and hear more after the jump.