[Centerfield Rising] -- For the second full week of this month, we have two albums that are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their release date. Both records, as best I can determine, were released on January 14, 1985. One record is pop rock (or Americana rock) while the other is a classic of post-hardcore.
Centerfield – John Fogerty had found immense success with Creedence Clearwater Revival. But was kind of floundering after becoming a solo artist in 1973. But that all changed with the release of his third solo studio LP, Centerfield. Released 40 years ago this week, Centerfield went to #1 on the Billboard 200, Fogerty's only solo #1 record. And the album spawned three singles on the US Billboard Hot 100. One of those singles, "The Old Man Down the Road," peaked at #10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (making it Fogerty's only top ten single as a solo artist) and #1 on the US Billboard Top Rock Tracks. Centerfield is unique for two more points. First, Fogerty played all the instruments on this album himself. Second, it was at the center of a rare case of self-plagiarism; yup, John Fogerty was sued for sounding like John Fogerty.
New Day Rising – Similar to John Fogerty, Hüsker Dü released their third studio album on January 14, 1985. And that's pretty much where any similarities between Fogerty and the Hüskers end. New Day Rising was raw and, compared with Centerfield, blisteringly powerful. Sure, New Day Rising wasn't exactly pop rock, but it was a bit of a shift away from the hardcore punk of Hüsker Dü's debut album. Some of the songs here are melodic and have catchy hooks, but they are also vicious and relentless. No surprise that you won't find any hit singles here, not that hits should be the final arbiter of quality. And New Day Rising did chart, albeit at #10 on the UK Indie Chart. It's an absolute rough gem of the underground rock movement. If you want to read more, Patrick Smith does a great job covering the history of and individual tracks on the album he calls the "very apex" of Hüsker Dü's career, a record that has songs "as melodically solid as any top-40 hits of the time, but all whipped up in a great Minnesota blizzard."
So, which of these albums made it to your own turntable or tape deck in 1985?
Flashback #1: Centerfield (January 14, 1985)
Flashback #2: New Day Rising (January 14, 1985)
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.
See you in seven!
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