[Another Four From October 1984] -- Well, guess what? There were so many great, or at least memorable, albums released the first week of October 1984, I decided to feature four more records from that week. And they all seem to have been released on October 1, 1984! Hopefully, at least one is to your liking. This week we have:
- Joan Jett: Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth
- Chaka Khan: I Feel for You
- The Ramones: Too Tough to Die
- Philip Bailey: Chinese Wall
Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth – For Joan Jett's third outing with the Blackhearts, and her fourth studio album overall, she pretty much stuck to what she knew, or maybe liked, best. A quarter of the tracks are covers, including "Cherry Bomb," a song she previously recorded with The Runaways. And while this album didn't really have any hit singles, it still managed to peak at #67 on the Billboard 200. I kind of dig "Hold Me," "Long Time," and "Someday."
I Feel for You – This was Chaka Khan's fifth solo album, and she showed she had no trouble keeping up with the times. She embraces high tech production as well as the electro-funk that Prince had popularized. In fact, she takes Prince's 1979 track, "I Feel for You," and updates it for the 1980s, making it a #1 hit. This is a fun album that peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200, her highest charting since 1978.
Too Tough to Die – The eighth studio album from The Ramones may not have been a commercial hit – it was the band's lowest peaking record, never getting past #171 on the Billboard 200 – it was generally well-received. Retrospectively, an AOTY user calls Too Tough to Die the band's "last great album," and AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine agreed, calling it "the best the Ramones had made since the end of the '70s. It was also the last great record they would ever make." At the time, Kurt Loder praised it as "a return to fighting trim." My preferred tracks are "I'm Not Afraid of Life" and "Chasing the Night."
Chinese Wall – Maybe all you know about Philip Bailey is that he was in Earth, Wind and Fire and that he had a huge hit with Phil Collins. And those are true facts. But Bailey has a catalog totaling 11 solo albums. Of these records, Chinese Wall, Bailey's third solo album, was his best performing record. It peaked at #29 on UK Albums, #22 on the US Billboard 200, and #10 on US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, as well as within the top 40 of several charts around the world. Oh, and the mega hit "Easy Lover" is ... easily ... one of my favorite tracks from 1984.
YouTube playlists for all four albums are embedded below. Let us know your fave tracks!
Flashback #1: Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth (October 1, 1984)
Flashback #2: I Feel for You (October 1, 1984)
Flashback #3: Too Tough to Die (October 1, 1984)
Flashback #4: Chinese Wall (October 1, 1984)
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!
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