Friday 80s Flashback for September 27, 2024

[Some Young Reward] -- When I saw that these two albums were both released 40 years ago this week, I wondered how I was going to pick one over the other. Instead, I decided this week deserved a two-fer. 

First up, released on September 24, 1984, is Depeche Mode's fourth studio album, Some Great Reward.  And, later in that same week, on September 27, 1984, Alphaville released their studio debut album, Forever Young. Let's revisit them in order of release.

Some Great Reward garnered commercial success and critical praise upon release. Oh, there were some negative reviews, too, such as NME critic David Quantick's "Modeahead? Uh-Uh…" (reprinted here along with other bits of press for the record). While reaching #5 and #1 on the UK Albums (OCC) and UK Independent Albums charts, Some Great Reward also peaked at #51 on the US Billboard 200. While that might not seem like much of an accomplishment in the US market, keep in mind that this album marked Depeche Mode's first real chart success in the US: the single "People Are People" peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.  "People Are People" was also a Top 20 hit in Canada, and it enjoyed worldwide chart success as well. Of course, that single's success might have been helped by also appearing as the title track of Depeche Mode's July 1984 compilation album. The second single, "Master and Servant," and the double A-side, "Blasphemous Rumours" / "Somebody", also charted well. 

Please note: "Blasphemous Rumours" / "Somebody" might be my favorite one-two punch of the 1980s -- as nihilistic an interpretation of divine justice as you can find, and it was (commercially) married with a gut-punchingly sincere ballad. 

Forever Young was the 1984 debut from German synth band Alphaville. And for four singers without musical training, and using the cheapest synths and drum machines available, they released a serviceable, and kind of danceable, disc. This album is known for the singles "Big in Japan", with a music video that looks like someone filmed a collaboration between a theater student and an art school graduate, and "Forever Young". The other two singles – "Jet Set" and "Sounds Like a Melody" – are not as well known, but they performed pretty well in Europe. I'm still surprised "To Germany with Love" and "Fallen Angel" weren't singles; they were definitely among the more upbeat songs, and "To Germany" had a great, faux slap-bass riff. Sigh. Although Forever Young languished in the basement of the Billboard 200 (stalling at #180), and didn't chart at all in the UK, it did very well across Europe. And that success was enough to get their singles into clubs and earn the band a follow-up album.  

YouTube playlists for both albums are embedded below. Let us know your fave tracks from both, or either, record. 

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Depeche Mode: "Some Great Reward (September 24, 1984)

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Alphaville: Forever Young (September 27, 1984)

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And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

I'll see you in seven!

Friday 80s Flashback for September 20, 2024

[Fighting Tooth and Nail] -- Dokken was nearly relegated to the one-release discard bin after the band's debut failed to meet record company expectations. But in the struggle between band management and label execs, Dokken earned a second chance, and the result is a classic of early 1980s metal: Tooth and Nail.  Released 40 years ago this month, Dokken's second studio album peaked at #49 on the Billboard 200 and also reached platinum sales. It was a springboard for three relatively successful singles. 

"Into the Fire" was the first single, and it peaked at #21 on the Mainstream Rock (US) chart. Next up was "Just Got Lucky," one of my favorite Dokken tracks, which made it as high as #27 on that same Mainstream Rock (US) chart. Their third single, which would become one of their signature power ballads, was "Alone Again" and it reached commercial success on two charts: #20 on Mainstream Rock (US) and #64 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Dokken is often categorized as hair metal (or pop or glam metal). Vocalist and namesake Don Dokken decries such a label, insisting he and the band were "more on the metal side than the pop side" of that musical equation, and he is reluctant to be compared with Mötley Crüe or Poison (lasvegassun.com; August 2004). But noone is going to mistake Dokken for, say, Metallica or Accept. So, while guitarist George Lynch lends the band some muscle and aggression (such as with the title track, "Tooth and Nail"), their songs still have pop hallmarks, particularly vocally (reference the aforementioned "Just Got Lucky" and "Alone Again"). And this album, taken as a whole, definitely makes the case for Dokken to be considered more generally on the melodic side of heavy metal. 

Flashback: Tooth and Nail (September 14, 1984)

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And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

I'll see you in seven!

Friday 80s Flashback for September 13, 2024

[No More Love on the Run] -- Forty years ago this week, Billy Ocean released his fifth studio album, Suddenly. This was Ocean's breakout album as the three singles -- "Caribbean Queen," "Loverboy," and the title track (a quintessential 1980s ballad, "Suddenly") -- charted at the #1, #7, and #4 slots on the US Billboard Hot 100, not to mention how well they did globally. Suddenly peaked at #9 in both the US (Billboard 200) and the UK (UK Albums) as well as within the top 40 in many other countries. 

After this album, Billy Ocean was firmly established as a pop star as well as an R&B artist. I mean, at least in terms of sales: Suddenly went double platinum in the US, gold in the UK, and an astounding triple platinum in Canada. And Ocean got to play to sellout crowds around the world. 

What's your memory of this record? 

Flashback: Suddenly (September 12, 1984)

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And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

I'll see you in seven!

Friday 80s Flashback for September 6, 2024

[Time and Rime] -- Coming out hot with Iron Maiden's Powerslave as the first Flashback of September 2024! Released 40 years ago this week – on September 3, 1984 – Powerslave was the fifth studio album by this English heavy metal band. Many of the songs on this record had history/event themes, including the two songs released as singles: "2 Minutes to Midnight" (which references the Doomsday Clock) and "Aces High" (about a British fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain). This album also features an almost 14-minute adaptation of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (a 600+ line poem, read here by Ian McKellen, originally published in 1798). It remained Iron Maiden's longest recorded track until 2015. 

While neither single charted in the US, they were both top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart. Still, aided by rigorous touring and a pair of MTV videos, Powerslave managed to peak at #21 on the US Billboard 200, #2 on the UK album chart, and in the upper echelon of several other charts around the world. 

This was probably the highest that Iron Maiden soared in the 1980s. 

Flashback: "Powerslave (September 3, 1984)

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And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

I'll see you in seven!