Rio
Duran Duran
1982
Tracks
1. Rio
2. My Own Way
3. Lonely In Your Nightmare
4. Hungry Like The Wolf
5. Hold Back The Rain
6. New Religion
7. Last Chance On The Stairway
8. Save A Prayer
9. Chauffeur
I have lost track of how many times I have said this on this blog, but once again, I am on the verge of nervous breakdown for how much I have to get done. So, naturally, I am prioritizing this blog over my other assignments, because sanity is a fleeting thing.
How can this music not make you happy? It was nice to hear something relatively upbeat for once; I feel like the recent goal of these albums have been to make me have a breakdown (as though I need any nudging). The best songs on this album are the ones that everyone knows, but the entire album is extremely fun.
So a nice break from heavy metal. Back to reality...
RATING: 4/5
Number of the Beast
Iron Maiden
1982
Tracks
1. Invaders
2. Children Of The Damned
3. Prisoner
4. 22 Acacia Avenue
5. The Number Of The Beast
6. Run To The Hills
7. Gangland
8. Total Eclipse
9. Hallowed Be Thy Name
I am changing my icon to be a snail, as I feel like it really reflects my pace through this project. I apologize for only averaging one album a week. I am hoping I can increase my pace this summer (maybe to one a day even, although my eyes might be bigger than my stomach...ears). Truth be told, the List has not been offering the strongest motivations lately (excepting Nebraska of course).
Oh, heavy metal. I am a heavy metal racist; I can't seem to tell the different bands and albums apart. Some I don't mind as much as others, although I think that reflects more the type of mood I am in than the quality of the music. There's nothing distinctly intellectual in my distaste for this genre; viscerally, I just don't like it. If you do, I envy you, as this List is probably a lot easier to get through.
Up next: Duran Duran! This might out-eighties anything we have seen so far.
RATING: 2/5
Sulk
Associates
1982
Tracks
1. Arrogance Gave Him Up
2. No
3. Bap De La Bap
4. Gloomy Sunday
5. Nude Spoons
6. Skipping
7. It's Better This Way
8. Party Fears Two
9. Club Country
10. nothinginsomethingparticular
After the greatness that was Nebraska, we get kind of a meh album here. It wasn't particularly bad, it just didn't really seem remarkable in any way. It seems so non descript compared to the other albums on this list; I am curious why it was included.
That said, after the recent string of terrible albums, "not bad" is actually refreshing. It was music I could write to without getting overly distracted, so there is some value in that. I could clearly see some of the influences behind the album (Bowie perhaps?), but unfortunately, it didn't have a distinct voice of its own.
Apparently, the band would urinate in their guitars while they were recording this. Artists are such sensitive souls.
RATING: 3/5
