The 1980s might be better known for New Wave and hair bands, but there were many albums that deserved more notice. And I mean no disrespect to New Wave there. There were a ton of great albums by bands from that subgenre as well.
But even if you grew up in the '80s there might have been bands or albums you missed. From the beginning of the decade to the end, there were so many changes in how music sounded and how it was recorded, and what record companies wanted you to hear.
So what follows are three albums that were worth listening to then and still sound great today. Heck, some of these bands still tour so maybe you should check them out.
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers - Conscious Party
Ziggy Marley might mostly be known for two things. One is that he is the son of Bob Marley. The other is his song, "Family Time," which, of course, is family-friendly and easy to listen to. Of course, most of Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers' music was nice to hear because that's the point of reggae, right? It's fantastically sonically, but then it can have lyrics that run deep and burn true.
Conscious Party was released in 1988 and was Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers' (the band was greatly made up of Marley family members) third album. It won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album, but in 2009 VH1 rated Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers a one-hit wonder because of the song "Tomorrow People." VH1 has zero idea of what they were talking about.
"Tomorrow People" is an excellent song, but it is also just won of many great songs on the record. Plus, "Tumbling Down" also charted on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks, Hot R&B Singles, and others. But there are songs even better on the album that these two. "Lee and Molly," a song about an interracial relationship, will get stuck in your head for days with its bump bump sound in the chorus. "New Love" is catchy as heck, too. And the finisher, "Dreams of Home," is a beautiful song about the need to find your soul.
The Cult - Electric
The Cult are lots of things to different people. They've developed into more of a true heavy metal sound over the years but never fully lost their goth-rock roots. Electric, though, is a hard rock album that started off as something entirely different and then the band re-did the whole recording and made it into one of the most perfect records you'll ever hear.
When the band first went into the studio to record their third studio album, they were going to make a record called Peace and, in fact, recorded the whole album. Peace doesn't sound bad, but it also isn't the brilliance that Electric would be. While Peace was much more of an experiment in sounds and more earthy, Electric would not be. The band didn't like the finished product of Peace and decided to find a new producer to re-record the album and the new producer ended up being Rick Rubin.
Rubin had never produced a rock record before, but he had helped the Beastie Boys become the greatness they were and still are. Rubin decided to strip the sound down to the basics: Vocals, guitar, bass and drums. But he had the genius idea of make the kick drum four times louder than normal, something he had learned with the Beasties.
The finished product was one banger after the next with a guitar solo in each song. The concept almost sounds egotistical but because the band is so streamlined it works perfectly. If rock and roll at his finest needs the music to feel like it has a swagger, this album is the epitome of that. Is it retro and does it recall the music of AC/DC? Yep. And you are lucky for it.
Fishbone - Truth and Soul
If you have never listened to Fishbone before, there is a lot to prepare for. Many of their songs are unreal and several of their albums are fantastic. But the band does wear their influences where you can hear them and they aren't going to stick around much on one genre. Heck, there are many tunes that have different genres at work within a few minutes timeframe.
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But this is part of what makes Truth and Soul so excellent. Fishbone pounces from one sound to the next and strikes each chord perfectly. Their second full-length studio album was also an intentional attempt to move away from a frat boy-type aura to one where the band were adults making eclectic music.
Truth and Soul also has a lot more social commentary, which the group does extremely well but in their own unique way, "Freddie's Dead" starts the album and is much more heavy rock than the Curtis Mayfield original. "Ma and Pa" was the second single from the record (after "Freddie's Dead") and is about the breakup of a family. "Mighty Long Way" is about progress wrapped in the music of pure fun. "Subliminal Fascism" is about just what the title suggests but is one minute of punk. And "Change" is about hope and one of the most beautiful songs Fishbone has ever done.
There aren't too many bands like Fishbone anymore. Most people you have any chance of hearing on the radio seem to have to fit into some record companies little box. With Fishbone, there's no box and we are better off for that.