There was plenty of great music during the 1980s. My head says it was largely electronic, techno with drum beats, synths and keyboards all prevailing rather than blistering guitar solos and old-time rock and roll. But when I stop, look and listen, the guitars, rock and roll, and much more were all there.
We had plenty of variation on the techno beat too. Dance music was definitely in, though, one way or another. Thankfully, the fever for pure disco, at a height in the 1970s, was on its way out.
Some artists continued their success from the 1970s into the new decade. We also had lots of emerging artists with new music and big hits. Their albums in the 1980s added some big ticks to the list of their achievements from positive critics reviews, strong sales, and a cluster of nominations and awards.
Some albums were crazily overrated in the 1980s
At times a few of those apparent successes flattered to deceive, overrated to a great extent in terms of critical reviews or sales, and charted high on the Billboard 200. That doesn’t mean they were bad albums by any means. Some just weren’t as good as they were made out to be. Or were they a pale shadow of previous hits? They often had a really strong song or two on them, which at times carried the album.
So after previously looking at a list of underrated albums from the 1980s, it’s time to turn the focus the other way. See if you agree or disagree with this list of five albums that have been overrated during that decade, in my view anyway.
Genesis - Invisible Touch
Genesis as a definition means the origin or founding of something. Genesis as a band transformed significantly from their origin and beginning. They did so in several steps, one of the biggest being Peter Gabriel’s departure and the stepping out of Phil Collins from behind the drum kit to lead singer at the mic. Although that happened in the mid-1970s, the impact was particularly significant on their Invisible Touch album.
Released in June 1986, Invisible Touch was their thirteenth studio album, unlucky for some perhaps. It came after a long period of touring as Genesis and then a break allowing the band members to pursue their own successful solo careers. This was a successful album commercially. One of their biggest sellers, multiple platinum awards, number one in the UK charts and number three in the US. Invisible Touch broke records by having five highly successful singles released from it, including the title track.
The problem is that it’s one of the key points in the Genesis evolution where they and their music seem to transform into Phil Collins and his band. The songs on the album, as evidenced by those singles, were very suited to his singing and musical style. They were pop tunes more than rock songs. The synths and electronic beats added to that different feeling the album gives off.
Now that’s fine in its own way. It’s hard to argue with the album’s huge commercial success. But it all feels odd as a Genesis record. So much of what made them great in their past had been lost and wasn’t there anymore. For many Genesis fans, this isn't a high point by any means for the band. Invisible Touch is definitely overrated as a Genesis album in terms of the success it had.
Laurie Anderson - Big Science
Here’s an unusual album. Laurie Anderson’s Big Science is perhaps one of those where music critics and reviewers tell us how great it is, declare it as art and everyone nods and agrees. In the US over 125,000 followed that lead and bought the album. The now-defunct Pitchfork magazine back in 2018 listed Big Science at number 22 in their 200 Best Albums of the 1980s.
Anderson is known for experimental music, unusual sounds, and performance art. She has just been recognised again with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award so her work is still valued today. Back in April 1982 though her album Big Science was released. It’s a condensed set of highlights from Anderson’s eight-hour-long production United States Live, a live show featuring her in many performance art activities. If you are already wondering how that might transfer to a disc, there perhaps lies some of the issue.
Big Science, however highly rated is a tough listen. Full of unusual sounds and spoken word the various tracks are hard to take to. Even as a proud Scotsman, I reckon the bagpipes on “Sweaters” have a strangulated tone about them. And if you want full-on weird mode, try the closing track “Walk The Dog”.
Having said all that, a quirk of the album, and a delightful, though still unusual track in “Oh Superman!” with its rhythmic pulse beat is perhaps her best-known one. Over here in the UK, it was a massive hit as a single, reaching number two in the charts. I really liked it back then and it’s still captivating now.
But one hit does not make an album. That song apart, I don’t know what to make of Big Science. Other than to be sure the critics, and those trying to convince of its art worthiness, are way too praiseworthy in their rating.
Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin
The Ultimate Sin is another popular album on the sales front and a good reminder that guitars and rock are here to stay. Multiple platinum, number six in the US album charts, and number eight in Ozzy Osbourne’s UK homeland. It’s a bit too normal and ordinary for an Ozzy record though.
The circumstances leading up to and surrounding the recording of The Ultimate Sin certainly weren’t helpful. Osbourne was just out of a spell in rehab at the Betty Ford Clinic. There were money and contractual disputes with guitarist Jake E. Lee who has written a lot of content for the album and with bass player Bob Daisley co-writer on many of the songs with Lee. They got through all that, with some comings and goings in band membership, and the album was finally released in January 1986.
A high point on The Ultimate Sin is “Shot In The Dark”. It rocks along with decent guitar riffs and a good chorus and vocal performance from Osborne. But while good, it feels a bit restrained and playing within the lines. It needs more power and passion really.
That then applies to the rest of the album. If “Shot In The Dark” is the peak, the rest flatlines in terms of similarity and excitement. It's all a bit going through the motions and at a fairly innocuous level. Not poor songs, just not in the great category either. Osbourne is at his best when you don’t know what he’ll do next. Earlier solo albums, and those with Black Sabbath, pushed the boundaries at times. There’s not that much pushing going in here.
Stevie Nicks - Other Side Of The Mirror
Stevie Nicks’ work with Fleetwood Mac is almost enough in itself to provide a hugely significant track record. Her solo work was amazingly well received too. Rolling Stone christened Nicks as The Reigning Queen Of Rock And Roll after her first solo album. They also placed her in the top 100 of both their lists of the greatest singers and greatest songwriters of all time. High expectations come from that though.
Other Side Of The Mirror, her fourth studio album, was released in May 1989. It’s perhaps where those expectations and standards slipped a little. Maybe she took on too much with her aim of basing the album loosely around a theme of Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, the Lewis Carroll book. The album isn’t quite an ‘off with her head’ moment, but it’s not as good as her previous work and the platinum sales and number ten on the US charts and the gold/number three in the UK seem somewhat over the top.
The album has the opener, “Rooms On Fire,” as a top song and first single. It’s straight into a Fleetwood Mac-like rhythm. Nicks’ very recognisable voice stands out, with a great chorus line too. Off to a good start.
A duet with Bruce Hornsby on “Two Kinds Of Love” falls a bit flat though. The two voices don’t seem to pair up well for the song and jar rather than compliment each other. On “Oh My Love” her voice seems to be at times under rather than over the electronic beat and keyboards. And talking of an odd backing, the keyboards on the closing track “I Still Miss Someone (Blue Eyes) do seem to plod throughout, while the occasional whistling inserts feel very dated.
Maybe the album is another example of time has moved on, it does have a very eighties feel and sound which hasn’t carried well. It was Nicks’ last top-ten album album hit for over 10 years. “Rooms On Fire” reached number 16 in the charts, she had no further single success in the top 50. Looks like the writing was on the wall with this one, despite its hefty sales and awards.
The Rolling Stones - Steel Wheels
The Rolling Stones bounced back to form in 2023 with Hackney Diamonds. Way back in the 1980s, the album trail wasn’t looking so good for them. That may well be why this particular album, Steel Wheels, got more praise than it deserved when released in August 1989. It followed what was acknowledged to be a couple of poor albums, Undercover (1983) and Dirty Work (1986).
The other factor affecting the band significantly back then was the ongoing arguments and disagreements between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Part of the reason for those two disappointing albums. They eventually kissed and made up to a great extent, meeting up in Barbados with a focus on writing songs for Steel Wheels.
That worked in part, it was a decent range of new material for the album. The usual mix of up-tempo rock and slower-paced ballads. But when you look at the track listing as a whole it doesn’t quite stack up enough to be a great album. It's definitely front-loaded with the best songs early on and the quality tailing the further down you go.
Openers “Sad, Sad, Sad” and “Mixed Emotions” are the better tracks, with the latter of the two being the only one of four singles from the album to make the top ten in the US charts. Even then both songs have a very similar setup and arrangement. Other tracks follow a similar pattern. “Continental Drift” does stand out as quite different, a bit more experimental with a North African feel and instrumentation. Not necessarily different in a positive way though.
Steel Wheels was pretty successful, number 2 and gold in the UK, number three and double platinum in the US. Reviews on the whole were favourable, but after a couple of dud albums were the critics just pleased to see a more positive output? Perhaps some sympathy for the lead duo after their fallout. It’s nowhere near their best and probably low down on even a ranking of their average albums.