Best Albums of 1980, Ranked

Hey, welcome to Past Times at 80s High. Another episode for you today of uh we are calling the Decades series, and we are doing our favorite albums from the year 1980. Uh so but what we're gonna start out with for each of these um shows is we're gonna do a little bit of a uh news background uh just to remind people of a few things that happened that year. So, Kev, I'm gonna hand that one over to you to start out.

Well, one of the uh uh news events in the music world from 1980 that stuck in my young mind was on January 16th, uh Paul McCartney was arrested in Tokyo for the possession of half a pound of marijuana. And we kind of laugh at that today because most places marijuana is legalized. But even back then, as a young lad, I remember thinking, couldn't he have paid somebody to carry the pound, half a pound of weed? Also, did you really need a half a pound? I mean, how much was he smoking at that time? I don't know how long the Japanese tour was supposed to last, but seems like half a pound might have been an extravagant amount just to carry on your person for the flight.

Maybe he was sharing. I don't know. Well, he could have been. I mean, he's he's a very nice individual from what I hear. Like you said, though, maybe a roadie. Maybe hide in the base cab like everybody else did. I don't know. Awesome.

All right, Mark, to you. Okay, well, I uh my memory is John Bonham dying on September 25th. Uh, at only 32 years old. Apparently he drank about 40 shots of vodka and died of pulmonary edema. And uh that was so tragic on so many levels because arguab arguably the best band, the best hard rock band in history is Led Zeppelin. Oh man, yeah. And he just had an incredible way of drumming. He he uh he kept the he was just behind the beat, and you know, this is what ended Led Zeppelin, and it they just didn't want to keep going without him, and apparently there wasn't another drummer that could do the same thing he did, but yeah, sad day.

Sad day, and pretty cool. I mean, how they held that. You know what I mean? Just nowadays they replace him with the drum tech the next day, so or a drum machine, right? Yeah, exactly.

And the two people that have infamously filled in for John, his son and Phil Collin, both um arguably failed miserably.

Well, yeah, yeah, and they was that was just festivals and such.

Right, right, yeah, right.

Atlantic Reunion and Well, one of my favorites of that year is, you know, Pete we all know Peter Chris left Kiss, and then Eric Kai replaces him and performs at the Palladium, which this is on July 25th, 1980, and it was just I think what's so great about it is that show they actually had a a fucking rockabilly band open up that was booed off the stage completely, and then Eric Carr comes out, and you know, everyone sees the double kick and just he kicked ass, and the KISS fans just welcome him, welcomed him with open arms, and you know that's pretty big when you're replacing Peter Chris, probably at that point, arguably one of the biggest bands in the world. So, well, you know, a couple years prior at least, but he was welcome and welcomed, and that was just a great story to me and to you, Donnie.

So, closing out the year, it was December 8th, 1980, was the um unfortunate murder of John Lennon. It happened in New York City. Uh, Mark David Chapman was the I guess you can't call him an assassin unless you want to dip into the conspiracy theories because he had the catcher in the rye in his pocket, and everybody remembers the the movie. Um I can't remember it off the top of my head where they all the assassins had a copy of Catcher in the Rye in their pockets, and uh some believe the MK Ultra program had a connection to all of them, but that's for another podcast for another day.

Absolutely. All right, Donnie. So we are gonna start our albums now. So number 10 to you.

Cool, and with these decades and all the albums, it's not necessarily for me, it's not always the my favorite album, or it's what kind of had resonance to me at the time in 1980. How did the music make me feel kind of thing? Absolutely um, but not necessarily what I would say is my favorite. But to start it off, for me at number 10 is dee dee dee dee deech dee ch deech devo would be Devo, freedom of choice, uh with classic like whip it. Yeah. Um, you know, it's it's like I wouldn't go out and buy that album, but it was everywhere in 1980. Oh, and I just remember it hearing it on the radio over and over again. And it it's a catchy tune. What do you call it? I mean, it's not what I would go out and listen to, but you hear it and it's just got a catchy tune to it. Absolutely. What would you call those things on their heads?

I don't Is there a technical name for that? I think they were.

I think they were actually and shoveling. Yeah, the look did nothing for me. Right, right. Really the sound of the music did nothing for me, but it was just a catchy tune, and it reminds me very precisely of 1980.

Yeah, and they were just they were interesting almost because they were funny when you saw the video on MTV, you know?

Oh, absolutely. But but talented, talented musicians as well. I mean, they were definitely a you know part of that new wave style. But like, if you ever look at what Mark's Mark Mothersbaugh has done since then, it's like everything from the rug rats to half the movies that you've seen, Mothersbaugh did the the soundtracks, right?

Yeah, definitely talented.

All right, Kev, to you. To me. So my number 10 from 1980, and I I'm gonna hear all four of you are gonna go, oh, when I say this. I'm kidding. Just like that by Toots and the May Tals. Now, most people aren't even aware. Um I'm one of those people. Most people are, you know, most people like myself at one time, reggae did not go beyond Bob Marley?

Yes.

All right, thank you. I thought you were just pausing like you usually do.

Dramatic pause.

You did take one of those gummies, did you? Kevin's forgotten his name. Just thought, don't throw up or anything. Oh shit.

Um, most people's knowledge of reggae doesn't go too far beyond Bob Marley or maybe Peter Tosh. Um, but Toots and the Mayals were an absolutely incredible band. They did things musically within within the form of reggae that that is mind-blowing. It's not off this album, but anybody that questions that I would recommend you go find Toots and the Maytals version of Louie Louie. Yeah, something happens musically in that, and I can't figure out what it is, but it's like crazy what happens later in that song. Um but a an amazing, amaz, amazing reggae band, and uh they deserve a lot more recognition than they ever got.

Awesome. Awesome. All right, Mark, number 10 to you.

Well, my number 10 is uh the debut album of Lover Boy. Um there were a couple big hits on that one. Obviously, Turn Me Loose was an a song that basically, I mean, the man just he, you know, he who had nothing to do with any relationships, he didn't want anything to do with it, and you know, he just banged whoever he wanted to, and uh, you know, that sounded pretty good to me, but it didn't quite work out that way. And uh while the kid is hot tonight is another one I remember.

Yeah, that's a great tune.

It's just their music was different. I mean, it just was really different. I don't have a ton to say about that record. So on to you, AJ.

Well, that's an easy one because you just said everything I'm going to, because that is my pick as well. Um, turn me loose, obviously, all over the place. And what do I have on my notes here? The kid is hot tonight. And I always did like uh teenage overdose. Um, but you know, one foot in hell, one foot in hell, it was pretty interesting.

I got some stories about that too, but we won't get into that today.

Perfect. But that's yeah, that's my number 10. We'll just jump right to number nine because you pretty much stole my thunder there, brother.

All right, so for me, for number nine, I know you like KISS, and there's so much KISS stories out there, and this one I just came across and was like, Oh, that's very interesting. So, Gene Simmons of KISS was dating this singer at the time, and they were playing a song, and she was getting ready to record a song, and she didn't like it. And Gene said, You need to play this song, yes, and that song was Upside Down by Diana Ross with her album Diana. Upside Down. So Gene encouraged her to put that on the album. It ended up being her number one hit, and almost her top hit of all time.

He was very influential with a lot of different bands, yeah. Absolutely.

Yeah, and he was just dating her, which I thought was pretty cool, but I think he might have been loosely a producer as well. But yep, yep.

He produced a lot, actually. Nice pick. All right, Kevin to you.

Number nine. Number nine.

Number nine? Number nine. Number nine.

I'm going with one of my favorites. I'm going with Love Stinks.

Yes, Jayles Band.

Just Can't Wait, Come Back, Night Time, and of course, the title track, Love Stinks.

Absolutely.

When I think about it, I can remember the video where the drummer is playing drums with two fish. Yeah. Which is just a great band.

Salmon, I believe. Were they salmon? I have no idea. I just didn't boat. Possibly brown troll.

But he didn't drop any of them. Uh, but yeah, definitely just a great album. Uh, and we've talked about this before. It was a band that was transitioning from a blues band to more of a pop band. And this one's kind of leans a little bit more to the blues than the than the pop, but the pop is definitely there.

Yeah. Nice. Great pick. All right. Number nine to you, brother.

I got Judas Priest, British Steel. Yes, sir. Uh, that's their iconic record as well. You have songs like Metal Gods Breaking the Law, Grinder, not sure what that means. I don't not sure what Grinder would be about, but um, I have some ideas. But then I really did appreciate them doing a song that even I could sing while I play. And that would be Living After Midnight. Yes. Um playing and singing, playing guitar and singing is difficult for some people, but in this song, your mouth your mouth and your hands are doing the same thing. So so I did I did appreciate that. And we also played that with our our band White Lightning back in the 80s, the early 80s. So a little sentimental value to that one. So of course you know, I don't know as much about that record as a lot of people do, but great, great rock and album.

Yeah, yeah. Oh man. All right, so my number nine is something that I'm picking, and this has grown on me over the years, and I think it's really, really deserving. And three women or three girls at Ridgemont High cultivated her look. Oh, and that would be Pat Benatar, Crimes of Passion. Nice. The two hits off that album are obviously Hit Me With Your Best Shot and Hell Is for Children. That's a great song. It's an amazing, like heartfelt, deep, deep song, man. And I don't know, I don't have a lot to say about this album other than the fact that it blew up, was absolutely phenomenal all over the place. And that's my number nine pick.

AJ, I I hate to jump in here, but I think legally um we have to mention Neil Gerardo Gerardo at this point because now it is Pat Benatar and Neil and he was inducted with her as well.

Absolutely. So as it should have been.

And I say that jokingly, because he is he was, I believe, part of a lot of the songwriting there, and an amazing guitarist, and and and all of that, and did not get his recognition. But they're very careful now as they market that he is included in the city.

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Of course. So now oh, wait, number eight to you, right, Don?

Yes, I am on eight. So this is uh this band has a song on it that has the word doo-doo in it, and it's the police zenyata mundana. Ah, yes, which is doo-doo-doo, uh, which again, it's not a song that I would go out and download on my phone nowadays, and don't stand so close to me is kind of a cool tune, but I again I wouldn't download it on my phone. But in 1980, it was like you couldn't go anywhere without hearing that song. No way, yeah. And that's in the day of you know playing radio songs that you know one time in 24 hours, not like a continuous loop that they're on now, but no shit. Um, but yeah, I I like I like the tunes, but I wouldn't again, I wouldn't go out and buy them, but for some reason they were catchy, right? And that's kind of the what was going on in the 80s, yeah. Where there was just music that was like, well, that's interesting. It's got a beat, I can dance to it. Uh yeah, whatever. Oh, they were, I mean, all over the place, dude.

Copeland is is just an amazing drummer to begin with. Some of the stuff that he does is is mind mind bottling. It is mind-bottling. It bottles the mind. Yeah, and and then Andy Summers is just kind of gets lost. The dude's guitar style is so different than anybody else's. I mean, he's got kind of a reggae thing happening and and and some you know some some nice technical stuff that he does. Um, but great, great band.

All right, so eight to you, Kev.

For number eight, I'm gonna pick something. I might not be able to pronounce this properly because it's a it's a British thing. Uh, I believe it's Argy Bargie by the squeeze. Yeah. Which I think is just beginning to end of a phenomenal band. They they had so many albums with so many great songs. And you know, like Donnie was talking about with the police, and it was on the radio. And you know, there's if there's any younger listeners out there, they they don't realize that you had two choices. You ponied you ponied up the $7.99 for the album, or you waited until it came on the radio, yeah, and you would sit there with your finger on play and record the two top ripples. On the tape player. Right, you're just waiting after you come back from break, or a song ends, and you're trying to get it so you can maybe edit it out later, which never happened. And then just as a song starts, you get the timing right, your sister flies open the door and starts yelling something and ruins the recording. You just didn't, you know, you you were forced to listen to whatever the DJ was playing. Right. Um fortunately, even the worst music back then is light years better than what we've got.

No shit. And back then, making a making a um, you know, like a tape for your girlfriend. Yeah, the mixtape. The mixtape meant something. Oh, absolutely. David put some effort into this, you know. Now it'd be like, yeah, whatever, get away.

These are the words that I want to say to you. Just I they put my feelings down to music, and I just wanted you to hear about how anyway.

And some of the uh technology, you know, nowadays they would not appreciate. But back then, technology when they put the orange record button in the middle of the play button, right? So you can push it with a team finger.

Genius.

You know, engineering marks.

I hope that guy got like taken care of for life. I hope he's somewhere tropical right now in a 40 million dollar home, going, Yeah, you know how you can just push one button to record? That was me.

Or now you can just say, hey, you know, whatever. Hey Siri. Right. Hey Siri or Alexa, can you back that up and you know record that and send it to all my uh you know cloud services?

I hate it.

All right, Mark. Number eight to you.

Okay, I have uh the Kiss Record Unmasked. Uh it's certainly not their heaviest album out there of all time. And it was during a it's it, you know, how do I say it? It was just it was a transitional time of the band. They were going through little, I don't know, just changes. They were trying to go along with what was big out there, and they tried disco and this one was although there are a couple songs on it that reek of disco like easy as it seems. Yeah. But this is not a bad record. Ace did three songs on it, and you know, besides his uh his incredible gift to write lyrics, uh other than that, I mean, it's it's not a bad record. Uh, it it's different. You know, I like the song uh What Makes the World Go Round by Paul. She's so European. Yes. And one day, have you ever taken Five Dexatrim and listened to a record? I I was mesmerized by You're All That I Want That Day. And yeah, I don't think I did that much after that, but it was just back in the day when I would just take anything.

Uh that's a great, great song to All That I Want for sure.

Is there a guide of what albums you should listen to on Five Dexatrim?

I don't even sell that anymore. I mean, hell awesome pick though, Mark. So number eight to me, and this song, I mean, I'm sorry, this album for me has a special spot just because of one song, and I'm picking it solely for that, and that is Scorpions, Animal Magnetism. All right. Uh, the song The Zoo has a special place to me from Mark to my left and our late brother David. Um, they always did this song, and I always loved listening to it, and that's all I'm gonna say about that album because maybe someone else will have it after. So, number seven of you, Donald.

So my number seven just goes back to your number eight is Pat Benatar.

Um that was my number nine, but anyway. Oh, sorry.

Crimes of Passion. Uh Hell is for Children, I think's a badass song. Oh, awesome song. That spoke to a lot of people, didn't it? So Amen. That was nice.

Seven. All right. So seven to you then, Kev.

Seven to me is an artist that I really he comes into that that overplayed zone now, but he was huge at that time. I had this album, probably one of the first, you know, vinyl albums that I that I bought myself. And that's Billy Joel's Glass Houses. It it was ever present at that time. Just great tunes. I mean, the man know how to write a song.

One of the best songwriters.

Yeah, and he had some great attitude. Um, you know, remember how I found you there alone in your electric chair, and I told you dirty jokes until you smiled. I mean, yeah, what he's a good lyricist and songwriter. As a as a elementary school, that was that was fantastic. Don't ask me why. Sometimes a fantasy still rock and roll to me. I mean, come on, you couldn't you couldn't go through 24 hours without hearing that three times.

It's still timeless. Oh, absolutely. Oh, yeah. A lot of this stuff is, and I think that's what's important about it, and the longevity of it just shows how fucking great it was.

And it's funny because you you know, we were at talking about Rockabilly earlier, and if you look at it's still rock and roll to me, that is the same format that's the same song structure of a 50s song that Rockabilly used that same format and just kind of turned up the distortion a little bit. And so it all kind of ties back to what's Chuck Berry. It's all Chuck Barry.

It's all Chuck Berry. All right. So number seven to you, Mark.

Speaking of timeless, uh, this is a band that went through a lead singer change that we all know about. Bon Scott, personally my favorite singer of this band. Although you can actually add Axl Rose to it because he played sitting in a wheelchair for them, if you remember that. But uh this is ACDC back in black. Brian Johnson had I mean, I do believe they were beginning to record this before Bon Scott had passed away. Um and it's timeless. I mean, and a lot of it is complete fatigue, song fatigue. I mean, you shook me all night long. If I hear that again, I'd I if I don't hear it again, I can still recite every lyric and every chord and whatever. But I mean, how many hits on this? I mean, it starts off with hell's bells. I mean, I I don't know how you want to take that song. It doesn't sound, you know, he's into evil and all that, like you know, of course, Dr. Doofin Schmortz from I mean, I don't know which which evil he's into, but you're f uh into evil, you're a friend of mine. But they used to play that at the Patriots games. They're all all over the league, the NFL. Every time the defense had to make some plays. And I mean, shoot the thrill. What do you do for the money, honey? You know, the title track, have a drink on me, noise pollution, just iconic, just so iconic, and it it's it's timeless today. It just sounds like it fits right in because how could it not? They play it over and over again.

Because it's the basis of all of it at some point. But you know, it's funny you talk about fatigue with that album, but that one almost goes beyond because when I listen to the album as a whole, you kind of because I mean we just flipped the tape over for like a whole weekend.

Sorry to interrupt, but I was just curious about what your thought on the vagina was, you know, as a whole.

I can't no, no, I'm I'm done.

I can't do anything.

Well, good, because I'm sure that I won't be the last one here, but my number seven is also back in black. Um, Mark, of course, just spoke about every song on the record. Um one thing that I will say is sorry, you know, Bon Scott passing away, God rest his soul, doing Bon Scott stuff, and Brian Johnson to come in and fill those shoes and then sing on one of the biggest albums of all fucking time is just you know pretty astounding. And he pulled it off big time, too. He pulled it off. They're still massive to this day. They're touring this summer and selling out stadiums, so I will leave it at that just in case.

All right, that's number six to you, Dongo. Number six to me is a song more than the album. Um, it's Bob Seeger is the artist, and the album was Against the Wind. I love the song Running Against the Wind. It's a beautiful song, beautiful ballad. Um, but I love Bob Seeger too, he rocks. Um some other song on there is Betty Lou's going out tonight. You know, that's just your classic, like Roadhouse blues kind of song. Oh yeah. Um just a lot of fun. His music was fun. So definitely. All right, Kevin, six to you.

Well, number six is another icon. Um, probably not his most commercial success, except for one song, and that is Paul Simon's One Trick Pony attached to a movie um uh of the same name, but late in the evening was, I mean, again, a massive hit, and love that song and the whole album. But the one that hit me on that one, most people don't know, it's called Ace in the Hole. It was actually recorded live with Richard T singing, who's got a very bassy voice that that counters um what Paul Simon does, and it's just a great badass blues song played by uh Paul Simon. And you could arguably say that this is where he started beginning to uh whether it was experience and expose other uh forms of music or exploit them, depending on how you look at it. Like he got a lot of a lot of credit and flack for um Graceland later on, uh, using Ladysmith Black Mombazo and giving those people a career that they never would have had, but a lot of people, I believe, today would call that cultural appropriation. Oh, geez.

Yeah, right. Oh, good. Nice pick, though. Thank you. Mark number six to you. Scorpions Animal Magnetism. Um good. I beat you to one for a chip. Well, yeah, you did.

I mean, there is a song called Fallen in Love on that, uh, which happens every day. And you know, that that's true. Uncle Ray used to say I could fall with a hundred and women, Mark. But uh the obvious song, as AJ brought up, which has a lot of sentimental value to both of us, is the zoo. Little quick story. We were coming back from when we we did the uh urn drop up in uh uh the cemetery in Littleton, and um we're coming down, coming down the highway, and David wanted I mean David, uh AJ wanted to play some of David's songs, and um the zoo comes on, and I'm thinking, oh, we put on a scorpion song, and it was from a show that we did at Guildford High School, and I'm like, Oh, cool, huh? So is that you, you idiot? And I'm like, no kidding, huh? It's like, I mean, we sounded okay. I didn't sound that bad. I mean, but let me tell you something was a little rough around the edge. Yes, let me tell something to that little whipper snapper Mark White back then. I can play circles all around you all day, all night.

Which I can. Awesome.

That song's riff is just I don't think we were playing it right.

I don't think we were playing it right. Who cares?

Who cares you're playing? It's just anything close.

I was like 19 and I was the oldest one in the band, but yeah, I just it was a lot of fun, man. Go ahead, Kev. Absolutely.

No, that was it.

That's a fantastic riff. One thing that I did forget to say when I brought the album up was um their album covers, just how controversial they were. And this one, of course, has the woman on her knees with the guy facing her. You see the back of his jeans, and for some reason there's a dog there. And exactly. All right, so six to me. This is an album from a band that I hated back in the day. Hated, and now I just I can't even express how much I love them. And that is Motorhead Ace of Spades. Ah, yes. Just I mean, it's so kick-ass. Literally, my hair is literally standing up right now, as people around me can see. Just the title track itself. Uh, we are the road crew. Oh uh God, why'd the name just leave me fucking the reptile one? Love me like a reptile. Just I mean, there's some incredible stuff on it. We are the road crew, though. Just the way he sings that chorus. Um we are the road crew.

Just I don't know. That song was a regular on uh uh the headbanger's ball every week.

Oh, loves it with our singing up in the air, which all that's how Mark had his microphone set up at first for podcasting. What? Just like Lemmy, but anyway, all right. So number five to you, Donald.

Number five to me. It's gonna be Van Halen, Women and Children First. Um you know, Van Halen kicks ass. Eddie Van Halen's one of my favorite guitar players, um, other than someone else who might be on this list before. Um, but the first two tracks are amazing. Um, the rest of the album kind of didn't hold up as as well as the first two, but it's still pretty rocking nonetheless.

Oh man. All right. So that's five to you, Kev.

And the cradle will rock. So here's my commercial pick from 1980, because I remember going to Royals Pizza on Friday nights, and we'd always get a large pepperoni pizza, and for some unknown reason, my father would always get me a root beer, which is why I probably still don't care for root beer today.

Right.

Um, but it was everywhere, it was on the jute box, and you could go in and pick songs and play it on the jute box, or you could wait a minute and somebody else would pay for it. Somebody else would just pick a song off it. But Ario Speedwagon, high infidelity, and you can call it corporate rock, you can call it whatever else. I I saw them a few years after this came out, and Gary Richrath is one killer fucking guitarist. That guy was incredible, great songwriting, great music. I mean, again, everything from don't let him go, tough guys, out of season, shaking it loose, and again, like we were talking about before, all those songs are structured very much the same as the music from the 50s. No, just done with a different flair.

Another timeless band. Absolutely, yeah. Okay. Five to you, Mark.

Okay, I went with Molly Hatchett's beating the odds. Yeah. Jimmy Farrer, I believe, was the lead singer for two records. This is the one that I think was a more of a commercial success. He replaced Danny Joe Brown, um, who came back to the band after a couple records. But I I remember seeing on the uh I I hadn't bought the record. I had bought the record anyway, but he was on Dick Clark on the American bandstand, or they were, I should say. And the way they just three guitar players, they're coming in and out of leads, taking turns. Um, you know, the beating the odds is a great riff, and then the Rambler is a very emotional song about a man who temporarily leaves his wife and then realizes you know what, she was the right one all along. And it's brought me, it's brought tears to my eyes listening to it. So, I mean, I it's basically those two songs, but I that's why I picked this record. So thank you.

That's a great pick. All right. My number five has also been chosen, and that's Judas Priest, British Steel. Um we talked about the hits on it. Obviously, Breaking the Law, Living After Midnight, Breaking the Law. I probably never ever need to hear again in my life. But you didn't mention metal gods. I and I believe you did. I did. Oh, you did, okay. Quite briefly. Well, anyway, that's one of the greatest metal songs ever. This album, you know, everyone talks about Black Sabbath, which I believe is truly the start of heavy metal, but Priest was a damn close second, and that's all I'll say about it. All right. So we are at number four already, Donald.

Number four to me is gonna be Rush Permanent Waves. Nice. Um, I love Spirit of Radio, Free Will, those were kind of like the the big hits off of that album. Uh, you know, Progressive Rock was kind of like, you know, in the 80s. You had the Progressive Rock lane, you had the hair metal in the later 80s. Uh, but these guys, I mean, they this was their seventh studio album at the time, and they just kept on rocking, you know.

One of the most talented bands in history, without a doubt.

You said it right. Kicking kicking butt on the drums, yeah.

Yeah, all three were great musicians. Yep. All right, so that's number four to you, Kev.

Number four to me is is no surprise to anybody for me. I'm I'm picking um the clashes Sandinista. It was um an album that kind of got out of control for them, ended up being what was it, six, six, three records, six sides. Right. Uh, and there's just some great stuff on that. Charlie Don't Surf. Um, you got the call-up, you've got one of my one of my favorites. They actually let the bass players sing, and nobody knows why on Guns of Brixton, but I absolutely love Paul Simmons on singing on that song. It's very it's it's like when the Stones let Keith Richards sing. It's like exactly it's not a great idea, but it comes through, it's a nice change, and and and it's kind of fun. Um, but definitely some great, great songs on that police on my back, lightning strikes, not once but twice. Um, just a fantastic album packed with musical styles and and variations.

I was kind of hoping London Column was released in 1980. I really wanted to pick that one, but yeah, it just didn't make the cut. 79. But great pick, though. Close. Okay, Mark, four to you. Okay, it's uh Women and Children First by Van Halen again. You have everyone everybody wants some in the cradle rock. Well, reverse that in order. And the title track actually, there is no title track, but it's actually um this could be magic, you know. They we better save the women and children first. And you know, it's a great record. Eddie Van Halen is is just he's worth a listen to anything he plays, absolutely, and God rest his soul too.

Yes, except the one with Gary Sharon. Just kidding.

Oh, all right, that was yeah. So number four to me, and my number four is my favorite band of all time, and that is Kiss, and it's unmasked, a massive pop slash power pop album. Just I love this album, you know, it's very polarizing for a Kiss album, but just I I don't think there's a bad song on it, and I'm sure most of the Kiss bass out there is laughing at me, but I just love it. Starts out with Is That You, which is actually a cover tune, and just keeps going with you know, candy power pop and I love everything about it. Naked City being one of my favorite songs. Like Mark had already said, Ace has three tunes on it, you know, which uh he started getting a lot more, you know, uh play once his solo album came out in 1978. You got Dynasty and then this album, and that was it. Yeah, that was it, exactly.

Well, I actually elder, but yeah, exactly.

But as far as this album, I just love it, and that's all I'll say about it. And we'll move up to number three to Donald.

My number three is a repeat, but it still is an awesome to say again, is Ario Speed Wagon, High Infidelity. That's like that's 80s sound to me, the anthem rock, if that's what you want to classify them as. Uh Keep on Loving You, Takin on the Run. Just awesome hits. Incredible album. Um, kind of remember being in school chasing after the girls' songs at the dances.

They were definitely on your mixtape. Right. Sure. All right, three to you, Kev.

Three to me is one of my probably my favorite guitarist at this point uh in my life. It would be uh making movies by dire straits. Mark Knopfler is such a fantastic guitarist. I got to see him down the waterfront in Boston a couple years back. Um, he's shorter and rounder and balder than he used to be, um, but still kicks ass on the guitar.

He's awesome.

He is just phenomenal. If you ever get the chance, neck and neck he did with Chet Atkins, is just some of the finest guitar picking you'll ever hear. But uh that album had great ones Tunnel of Love, Romeo and Juliet, who's been that's been covered by so many people. Skate away, espresso love, hand in hand, solid rock. I mean, just a phenomenal album. And and to to listen to it today, it it doesn't sound really dated at all to me. It still sounds very much relevant.

Nice, awesome pick. And what's funny is I don't know why, if I was looking at something else online, but that one passed me by. I never even saw it in the list of the year. So I mean, I'm sure I missed a bunch of them, but awesome. That was number three, correct? So number three to you, Mark.

Well, it's been picked as well, but I picked Rush Permanent Waves. Um, the first song is Spirit of Radio, and that it I mean, when you when I think of Rush, I think of that song comes out with a hammer on lead, and then you know, three of the best musicians in the world, and they're all together on one stage, and this is a sixth-song record. A lot of the songs are I mean, you got uh you know, you got Jacob's Ladder with uh Free Will, which you know it's a another song that you still hear to this day. Both of them, and um, you know, Donnie talked about it before, and you know, maybe not my favorite rush record, but it's worth mentioning in this list because it's a great record. That's that's not saying much that it's not my favorite record. Exactly. It's just my not my favorite of a bunch of great records.

For my favorite records of Rush. So you can't really fit that many songs on an album when there's only one or six of them. Pretty much, yeah. Yeah, but so I have a feeling this is gonna happen throughout the rest of our lists here, but mine's also a repeat at number three, and that's Van Halen, Women and Children First. So I won't go too into detail other than the fact that I will always say this a million times. You folks will hear me say it. But Van Halen, that's probably one of the best runs, if not the best run of four albums in a row from their debut, you know, through uh Fair Warning, right? But this album to me, I find it I don't I don't know. I like it better than Fair Warning. Um, I think it's one of their best for sure. I mean, a few songs you guys I don't think mentioned. I said this before and I was wrong, but take Take Your Whiskey Home and in a simple rhyme, just fucking incredible. And I will go number two to you, Kungo.

Thank you. Number two for me is gonna be ACDC Back and Black. Um, just an iconic album of the decade, the start the decade, um, with every song on that album being awesome. I'm one who can not get overspent on a tune. Like if I hear it on the radio, I'll crank it up. And I get it. Shot at uh you shook me all night long.

That one was right. You shook me all night long.

I was thinking something else. But I mean, that you know, you hear it everywhere, and it still gets you tapping your foot and singing along. So that's a good mark of a good tune.

Yeah, of course. Now there's the one song, that one heavy song they would play at the do you remember the music hall down in Concord? Yeah. Uh that's the one heavy song. It was all crap, and they'd play that one. It's like, oh, this is supposed to get us in a good mood.

Yeah, the same one every time.

Every time, right?

Fun fact uh, while they were in the studio, uh, the studio down the hallway was talking heads, and they were recording an album. I don't believe anybody's stealing that one. Remain in the light, I think was it. Yeah, yeah.

Which is kind of interesting when you you think about again, you think about just the difference in that. I was reading about somebody, and I Well, did they hang out? Probably not. I'm gonna I'm gonna guess no on that one. But I was trying to think if somebody was I was reading about a producer that was flying back and forth from LA to New York. He was producing The Grateful Dead, and I can't remember what the other band was, but it was like, what?

Why why why would the same producer be doing I can't remember who it was, whether it was uh uh you know maybe that's where Seals and Cross Pound of Marijuana was left from The Grateful Dead, and Paul McCartney was like, hey guys, you forgot this, and he got arrested.

Actually, the the one from that era that that I've read in several different places, like everybody imagines the heavy metal bands were the ones that were doing all the drugs or or all that. I've read from several different bands that they all wanted to go in the studio after Fleetwood Mac. Yeah, because Fleetwood Mac had so much fucking money at that time that they would just lose mountains of cocaine or just leave them. Leave it on the case. Basically, you you would make your money back going into the studio after Fleetwood Mac just by saving on what you would have spent on Blow. So it worked out pretty good. It's like, you know, a little bonus. Free free gift. So we are at number two to you, Kevin. Dose. So my number two pick is a band that I would not have admitted to liking in nineteen eighty, and it is my number two pick because as we all have kind of mentioned in in discussing this, nineteen eighty had some great songs, but there weren't too many albums that turned in more than one or two great songs.

Agreed.

Um, very again transitional from style to style, and some bands were forming what they would become. You can see the groundwork of what some of the bands would turn into. Um, but this is a solid effort. You've got Mirror in the Bathroom, Hands Off, She's Mine, Two Swords, Twist and Crawl, Um Can't Get Used to Losing You The Cover, Uh, Best Friend. Um I'm talking, of course, about either the beat or the English beat, depending on which side of the pond you grew up on. Uh, the album is I Just Can't Stop It. And it is 1,000% listenable to me today. Um from beginning to end. What is the band again? The beat. Or the beat or the English beat. Oh, okay.

Depending on never heard of them. So I thought you were talking about the beat itself that the band plays.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's that is the that is the band. And they were part of the like the specials, the ska offshoot from punk and reggae and and ska all kind of live together in the same area.

Nice. Awesome. It's funny though. I'm glad Mark said that because I didn't want to say it first. I'm like, who's the fucking band you're talking about? All right. That's number two to you, Mark. So go ahead and take my pick.

Okay, well, and this record, the the iconic, I use that word a lot, the man with the cross. Um, if you went down to Hampton Beach, every other shirt was an Ozzy Osborne Blizzard of Oz shirt. Correct. And what a great record. Probably one of the top five league guitar players that have ever lived, who did not live long enough, unfortunately, was Randy Rhodes. Incredible. And this uh this record starts off with I don't know. They're basically trying to, you know, what are we supposed to do, Ozzy? What do we do? You know, we're all doomed. I mean, at least that's what you've been telling us for 10 years. What am I supposed to do? And he says, I don't know. And uh the lead on that that rec that song, I mean, you know, obviously the most fatigued song in again top five is uh Crazy Train. If I hear that song one more time, it'll be one time too many, but it's a great tune, obviously. Um, Revelation Mother Earth. Yeah, uh just a song about let my mother live in that you know what we do to the planet. I won't really get into my views on that. I don't yeah, okay. We we don't need to be putting poison into the earth, okay? Exactly. That's all. Thank you.

All right, truth. Well, like I said, I knew it for sure, and I won't bring up my number one right now, but I know that's getting robbed from my thunder, too. So my number two is Blizzard of Oz as well. I mean, this this album had a special place to me, although it was later in the 80s when I really sat down and and took it all in over and over. Um, what I will say is, I mean, just the songwriting on this album by D Bob Daisley and Lee Kurzlake was just friggin' incredible. And for Ozzy to come out a Sabbath and go into a solo career and kick off with this was just incredible. But um, one of my uh Mr. Crowley, that song to me is one of my favorites of all time. Uh, Revelation, Mother Earth as well. But just the lyrics in Mr. Crowley and the fact that Bob Daisley and Lee Kurzlake were just shunned so badly on the royalties and everything about it just was very upsetting to me, and I'm sure that's thank you to Miss Sharon Osborne. But I mean they they actually rewrote the I'm sorry, they re-recorded the album without their you know bass and drums on it just to to get them out completely, but wow, but still, I mean it's an icon album for sure. Number two to you, Donnie, which coaches.

She's my number one, so yeah, so I'm on number one. Uh oh yeah, yeah. Because I started it off and it's gonna just fall right into Aussie Blizzard of Oz. It's a Blizzard of Oz cast. I won't, I won't, uh, I won't go too much into it. But I mean, it's like you in 1980, I probably wasn't spinning Ozzy, but when the Randy Rhodes tribute album came out, which was pretty much predominantly Blizzard of Oz, um that that got me back into that, you know, drew me that way and made me the biggest fan of uh Randy Rhodes. He's he's the best guitar player in my opinion for rock and roll. Incredible, yeah.

Incredible. He played on Quiet Riot for Quiet Riot, too. So I mean yes.

Their first like albums in like Japan or China, right? They never released them over here.

Yeah, so when Quiet Riot came out with their their big album, there was the song Thunderbird. Uh, you know, your typical ballad, but it was always kind of special to me because they had dedicated that to um the memory of Randy Rhodes.

Awesome. Nice.

All right, so Kevin, that's number one to you. So um my number one pick, I believe, has been at least twice, if not three times, and I was pretty sure that was gonna happen. Yeah, uh, but it was one of those albums that to me, you know, again, with a little scarcity and and start to finish great albums, but British Steel was. I mean, I've always been a huge Judas Priest fan through most of their phases. Um, and that was just a fantastic album. And the fact that the cover horrified my father because he was always scared of razor blades. He thought when we were little we would cut ourselves with those. So I love those were the worst ones.

Oh, absolutely. Double-edged. Oh yes.

But I but I always love the fact that it made my father uncomfortable that was like as as a you know, 10, 12, 13-year-old or whatever else. Uh United, another great song off that that nobody mentioned, United We Stand. I mean, that's that's talk about the the anthem. I mean, that was if you look up anthem, there's that out in that song. Um I don't know. I think we've covered pretty much everything else, metal gods. Um yeah, the sound of that was was uh uh uh pool cues and and forks and knives being dropped. That's how they got that that sound, which is very, very cool.

The rock star was based on that band, right? The movie The Rockstar Ripper Owens.

Yes, yes, yes, Tim Ripper Owens. Ripper Owens. Is that the guy that replaced Halford for a short period?

Yeah, yeah. That's the story of the movie.

And you know, you talk about all these people that that that that can't do the vocals anymore, but Halford Halford is still there.

Yes, the Ripper Owens is still there. Unbelievable.

I haven't heard anything that he's done since then, but but I mean good lord. All right, Mark, go ahead and take my number one.

Yeah, all right. Well, obviously, AJ knows my number one. Um, it's Black Sabbath, Heaven, Hell. You know, the first four songs are incredible. You have Lady Evil, which uh Ronnie James Dio was singing very um warmly about a woman that lived in Laconia who used to say, and don't forget it it's a dream evil. That's what that song's about. But I mean the title track is incredible. You have children of the sea, but my favorite song on the whole record, probably my favorite song at you know, my favorite open on any record I've ever heard is Neon Nights. I mean, listen to these lyrics, these lyrics basically are about us here. Cry out to Legions of the Brave, time again to save us from the jackals of the street. Riot out Protectors of the Realm, Captains at the Helm, say sail across the sea of light. I mean, it just gets right to the point. The whole album does, in my opinion. Yes. And I love the album cover, it's one of my favorite. Oh, the the angels having a cigarette, you know, which is kind of funny because that's basically what most of the women that went to these prayer meetings would do. They'd all be smoke, chimney smoking, talking about Christ and everything. You know, I mean, I'm not gonna disparage them, their hearts were in the right place, their lungs weren't, but so but yeah, I'm gonna let AJ finish on this. I don't want to take everything away from him. So thank you.

I appreciate it, but same thing. I mean, just like I said, with Ozzy going solo on Blizzard, same thing here with Dio filling Ozzy's shoes and Sabbath. He had a really hard time with the, you know, starting out with that. But you want to talk about coming in and just kicking ass. I mean, everything about this album. I mean, when there's a fucking guitar riff that the entire arena or stadium is singing when it kicks off, you know that's just an amazing riff. And of course, Tony Iomi is the riff master. But uh, Mark already talked about the songs. I mean, the title track is one of the greatest songs ever written, in my opinion. But just to think about um children children of the sea being the very first song that Tony Iomi and Ronnie James Dio wrote together, and hearing that beautiful voice kicking into the downturn evil. Yeah, what the greatest voice in heavy metal history, in my opinion. Halford's right up there, I agree, but just Ronnie James Dio is number one in my book, and just a fucking great album and great episode, guys. That was a lot of fun, I think. So I thank you all, Kevin. Thank you for hosting and having the incredible food.

Thanks. Uh thanks, guys, for being here and had fun. Awesome. Great time again, AJ.

Thank you.

Of course. Had a blast, and thank you for listening to the show, and we'll talk to you the next episode.

Awesome. Thank you out there. Hopefully, you're getting into a little bit of pastimes at 80s high and seeing what we're all about. And we hope to see you again real soon.

And we out of the