Post by torcan on Oct 26, 2014 13:30:14 GMT -5
Another critique from my favorite year ever for music:
40: CHURCH OF THE POISONED MIND – CULTURE CLUB (debut) - Great song - my favorite of the Culture Club hits
39: MIRROR MAN – THE HUMAN LEAGUE (debut) - really liked it at the time but hadn't heard it in years
38: HOW MANY TIMES CAN WE SAY GOODBYE – DIONNE WARWICK & LUTHER VANDROSS (debut) - Luther's first hit, a couple of years before he became a superstar
37: HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU – LAURA BRANIGAN (27) - I like Michael's 1989 version better
36: AUTOMATIC MAN – MICHAEL SEMBELLO (debut) - Didn't really care for this that much
35: QUEEN OF THE BROKEN HEARTS - LOVERBOY (debut) - Decent song
34: TENDER IS THE NIGHT – JACKSON BROWNE (39) - I really liked the video for this
33: SEND HER MY LOVE – JOURNEY (38) - The third of four hits from "Frontiers"
32: PROMISES, PROMISES – NAKED EYES (22) - I liked "Always Something There to Remind Me" a bit better
31: CAN’T SHAKE LOOSE – AGNETHA FALTSKOG (33) - Not much to say about this one
30: SAY IT ISN’T SO – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (debut) - Really like this but was surprised at its high debut - this was its first week on the entire Hot 100
29: FOOLIN’ - DEF LEPPARD (31) - The third and final single from "Pyromania"
28: DR. HECKYLL & MR. JIVE – MEN AT WORK (28) - Third single from "Cargo" - I liked the first two much better
27: CRUMBLIN’ DOWN – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (34) - I really like this. After several soft-rock hits, Mellencamp ups the tempo on this
26: BIG LOG – ROBERT PLANT (20) - It's OK. I only have it because the 45 had a picture sleeve. I've also got the promo 45 with a short edit on it
25: LOVE IS A STRANGER – EURYTHMICS (29) - I like this a lot better than their first hit!
24: THIS TIME – BRYAN ADAMS (25) - Third single from "Cuts Like a Knife". Great breakthough album for Byran
23: P.Y.T. (PRETTY YOUNG THING) – MICHAEL JACKSON (32) - Ahh - the sixth single from the biggest album on all time. This one's probably the weakest of the singles, but I'm glad it kept the top 10 streak going!
22: (SHE’S) SEXY + 17 – THE STRAY CATS (14) - Not as good as "Stray Cat Strut" from earlier in the year
21: TELL HER ABOUT IT – BILLY JOEL (13) - Great song - one of Joel's best
20: LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD – PAT BENATAR (26) - I like Benatar but never really got the huge appeal of this song
19: HEART AND SOUL – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (23) - Didn't care a lot for this one, but his best singles were yet to come
18: THE SAFETY DANCE – MEN WITHOUT HATS (11) - Good song - I like the 12-inch single version the best. S---A---F---E---T---Y, etc.
17: TONIGHT I CELEBRATE MY LOVE – PEABO BRYSON & ROBERTA FLACK (17) - Good song - I remember that it took me quite a while to get into this back then. It also took this song quite a while to climb to its peak position. I guess it's one of those songs that creeps up on you!
16: MODERN LOVE – DAVID BOWIE (18) - Never really a huge Bowie fan but I like this one
15: IF ANYONE FALLS – STEVIE NICKS (16) - Great song. Always liked it
14: CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE – QUIET RIOT (21) - The album this was from hit No. 1. One of my favorites of the year
13: BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE – TALKING HEADS (9) - Didn't really care for this. Oddly, it peaked at No. 9 but only had one week in the top 10 - a rarity for the time
12: SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER – THE MOTELS (12) - Great song - I like it better than "Only the Lonely"
11: SAY SAY SAY – PAUL McCARTNEY & MICHAEL JACKSON (19) - As much of a Michael fan as I was back then, I always thought this song was kind of weak
10: UPTOWN GIRL – BILLY JOEL (15) - It's OK, but I like others from "An Innocent Man" a lot better
9: TELEFONE (LONG DISTANCE LOVE AFFAIR) – SHEENA EASTON (10) - Not much to say about this
8: DELIRIOUS - PRINCE (8) - Prince was hot back then, but this song did NOT make my own year-end Top 100 list
7: KING OF PAIN – THE POLICE (7) - Good stuff
6: MAKING LOVE OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL – AIR SUPPLY (2) - One of my top 5 favorites of 1983. I love the Jim Steinman production on it. He was supposed to produce the group's next album, but unfortunately that never came to be
5: ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER – THE FIXX (6) - Catchy!
4: TRUE – SPANDAU BALLET (4) - Great song. One of my favorites from fall 1983
3: ALL NIGHT LONG (ALL NIGHT) – LIONEL RICHIE (5) - Lionel was just starting to enjoy his biggest success. Great song and great album
2: TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART – BONNIE TYLER (1) - One of my favorite songs of all time
1: ISLANDS IN THE STREAM – KENNY ROGERS DUET WITH DOLLY PARTON (3) - Really like it - you could tell this was heading to No. 1.
I love reminiscing about the music of the early '80s. 1983 was my favorite year with 1980 close behind. It's rare to find a bad song on the countdown. With today's charts, it's rare to find a good one...
40: CHURCH OF THE POISONED MIND – CULTURE CLUB (debut) - Great song - my favorite of the Culture Club hits
39: MIRROR MAN – THE HUMAN LEAGUE (debut) - really liked it at the time but hadn't heard it in years
38: HOW MANY TIMES CAN WE SAY GOODBYE – DIONNE WARWICK & LUTHER VANDROSS (debut) - Luther's first hit, a couple of years before he became a superstar
37: HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU – LAURA BRANIGAN (27) - I like Michael's 1989 version better
36: AUTOMATIC MAN – MICHAEL SEMBELLO (debut) - Didn't really care for this that much
35: QUEEN OF THE BROKEN HEARTS - LOVERBOY (debut) - Decent song
34: TENDER IS THE NIGHT – JACKSON BROWNE (39) - I really liked the video for this
33: SEND HER MY LOVE – JOURNEY (38) - The third of four hits from "Frontiers"
32: PROMISES, PROMISES – NAKED EYES (22) - I liked "Always Something There to Remind Me" a bit better
31: CAN’T SHAKE LOOSE – AGNETHA FALTSKOG (33) - Not much to say about this one
30: SAY IT ISN’T SO – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (debut) - Really like this but was surprised at its high debut - this was its first week on the entire Hot 100
29: FOOLIN’ - DEF LEPPARD (31) - The third and final single from "Pyromania"
28: DR. HECKYLL & MR. JIVE – MEN AT WORK (28) - Third single from "Cargo" - I liked the first two much better
27: CRUMBLIN’ DOWN – JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP (34) - I really like this. After several soft-rock hits, Mellencamp ups the tempo on this
26: BIG LOG – ROBERT PLANT (20) - It's OK. I only have it because the 45 had a picture sleeve. I've also got the promo 45 with a short edit on it
25: LOVE IS A STRANGER – EURYTHMICS (29) - I like this a lot better than their first hit!
24: THIS TIME – BRYAN ADAMS (25) - Third single from "Cuts Like a Knife". Great breakthough album for Byran
23: P.Y.T. (PRETTY YOUNG THING) – MICHAEL JACKSON (32) - Ahh - the sixth single from the biggest album on all time. This one's probably the weakest of the singles, but I'm glad it kept the top 10 streak going!
22: (SHE’S) SEXY + 17 – THE STRAY CATS (14) - Not as good as "Stray Cat Strut" from earlier in the year
21: TELL HER ABOUT IT – BILLY JOEL (13) - Great song - one of Joel's best
20: LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD – PAT BENATAR (26) - I like Benatar but never really got the huge appeal of this song
19: HEART AND SOUL – HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (23) - Didn't care a lot for this one, but his best singles were yet to come
18: THE SAFETY DANCE – MEN WITHOUT HATS (11) - Good song - I like the 12-inch single version the best. S---A---F---E---T---Y, etc.
17: TONIGHT I CELEBRATE MY LOVE – PEABO BRYSON & ROBERTA FLACK (17) - Good song - I remember that it took me quite a while to get into this back then. It also took this song quite a while to climb to its peak position. I guess it's one of those songs that creeps up on you!
16: MODERN LOVE – DAVID BOWIE (18) - Never really a huge Bowie fan but I like this one
15: IF ANYONE FALLS – STEVIE NICKS (16) - Great song. Always liked it
14: CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE – QUIET RIOT (21) - The album this was from hit No. 1. One of my favorites of the year
13: BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE – TALKING HEADS (9) - Didn't really care for this. Oddly, it peaked at No. 9 but only had one week in the top 10 - a rarity for the time
12: SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER – THE MOTELS (12) - Great song - I like it better than "Only the Lonely"
11: SAY SAY SAY – PAUL McCARTNEY & MICHAEL JACKSON (19) - As much of a Michael fan as I was back then, I always thought this song was kind of weak
10: UPTOWN GIRL – BILLY JOEL (15) - It's OK, but I like others from "An Innocent Man" a lot better
9: TELEFONE (LONG DISTANCE LOVE AFFAIR) – SHEENA EASTON (10) - Not much to say about this
8: DELIRIOUS - PRINCE (8) - Prince was hot back then, but this song did NOT make my own year-end Top 100 list
7: KING OF PAIN – THE POLICE (7) - Good stuff
6: MAKING LOVE OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL – AIR SUPPLY (2) - One of my top 5 favorites of 1983. I love the Jim Steinman production on it. He was supposed to produce the group's next album, but unfortunately that never came to be
5: ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER – THE FIXX (6) - Catchy!
4: TRUE – SPANDAU BALLET (4) - Great song. One of my favorites from fall 1983
3: ALL NIGHT LONG (ALL NIGHT) – LIONEL RICHIE (5) - Lionel was just starting to enjoy his biggest success. Great song and great album
2: TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART – BONNIE TYLER (1) - One of my favorite songs of all time
1: ISLANDS IN THE STREAM – KENNY ROGERS DUET WITH DOLLY PARTON (3) - Really like it - you could tell this was heading to No. 1.
I love reminiscing about the music of the early '80s. 1983 was my favorite year with 1980 close behind. It's rare to find a bad song on the countdown. With today's charts, it's rare to find a good one...