4 Stellar 1983 Albums That Provided Huge Career Boosts to Artists Who Needed Them

Careers rarely move upward in linear fashion. More often than not, even the most successful musicians undergo stretches where it’s just not working like it did when it seemed like they could do no wrong.

The best artists find ways of overcoming those slumps. These four outstanding albums from 1983 served just that purpose for the artists in question.

‘Too Low For Zero’ by Elton John

Elton John owned pop music in the early 70s. The second half of the decade wasn’t nearly as kind to him. Nor, to be honest, were the first few years of the 80s. John decided to dance with whoever brought him on Too Low For Zero. By that, we mean he rehired the bulk of the backing band who helped elevate his early 70s albums and singles. And he also once again wrote exclusively with Bernie Taupin after the two had been semi-estranged for several years. Too Low For Zero structurally resembles those 70s classics. The hit singles (“I Guess Why They Call It The Blues” and “I’m Still Standing”) are impeccable. And a deeper dive into the album reveals excellent tracks all the way through.

‘Eliminator’ by ZZ Top

ZZ Top couldn’t have expected to be anything more than a very good niche band if they had stayed in the blues-rock lane where they thrived in the 70s. Music simply changed too drastically to expect such a strategy to work, at least not if they wanted 80s radio relevance. Luckily, Billy Gibbons, the group’s lead singer and guitarist, had been listening to the synth-pop that was working its way over from England. Taking those synthetic sounds and marrying them to the crunching rhythms in which the band specialized made for a thrilling formula. This album features banger after banger, many of which were accompanied by clever videos. Eliminator turned ZZ Top into unlikely pop stars more than a decade into their career.

‘Swordfishtrombones’ by Tom Waits

Based on the first several albums of his career, it seemed like we knew what we could expect from Tom Waits. He’d sing some low-key blues with standup bass accompanying his piano, mix it up with some tearjerking barroom ballads, and call it an album. But Kathleen Brennan, whom Waits had recently married, opened up his ears to avant-garde artists that helped inform his new sound. His quirky lyrics were enlivened by homemade percussion and twisted rhythms. Swordfishtrombones not only attracted new critics who’d long been immune to Waits’ artistic charms, but it also essentially set the tone for the thrilling music that Waits has been making ever since.

‘90125’ by Yes

Yes had essentially gone up in smoke at the end of the 70s. Their always fragile personal rapport had shattered. And their prog rock style had fallen way behind upstart genres like punk and New Wave. Trevor Rabin entered the band’s orbit with a bunch of songwriting ideas, one of them a groove that turned into the band’s massive comeback hit “Owner Of A Lonely Heart”. Once execs heard that song, the Yes offshoot that was calling itself Cinema was convinced to return to the mothership brand. Lead singer Jon Anderson was coaxed back as well. They titled the album 90125. Suddenly, the hook-laden style of prog they were peddling caught fire and rocketed the Brit veterans back to relevance.

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