To get the full idea of what was going on in music in a particular year, you shouldn’t focus only on the top of the charts. There are some years when deserving songs don’t make it out of the depths for whatever reason.
Good ol’ 1988 was such a year. These four songs will prove our point. None of them sniffed the Top 40, but they’re all exceedingly cool.
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“Englishman In New York” by Sting
Sting initially thought he’d be following up his solo debut, The Dream Of The Blue Turtles, with an album by The Police. But the old bad blood surfaced during attempted sessions in 1986, so the trio separated for good this time around. That allowed Sting to concentrate on his solo career, specifically his second album, …Nothing Like The Sun, released in 1987. As he did on the first solo record, he introduced it with a groove-heavy single, in this case “We’ll Be Together”. But the rest of the record allowed him to indulge the jazzier tendencies he’d cultivated on Turtles. “Englishman In New York”, featuring lovely saxophone work from Branford Marsalis, is a low-key charmer. But it peaked at just No. 84 in 1988.
“Ship Of Fools” by Robert Plant
The big news on Now And Zen, Robert Plant’s fourth solo album, was the contribution he received from none other than Jimmy Page. Page plays guitar on the album’s first two singles. The second of those, “Tall Cool One”, turned into Plant’s biggest ever solo single, in part because it purposely rehashed famous moments from the Zeppelin catalog. But “Ship Of Fools”, the third single, returned Plant to the atmospheric tone that characterized much of his 80s solo work. On the lovely ballad, which he wrote with collaborator Phil Johnstone, Doug Boyle comes through with the haunting guitar part. And Plant does some of his most evocative singing. But it all added up to just a No. 83 chart peak.
“What’s The Matter Here” by 10,000 Maniacs
10,000 Maniacs released two albums at the start of their career that helped build their indie cred. On their third record, In My Tribe, they teamed up with legendary producer Peter Asher. But the first two singles from the record mostly went unheard. That’s when the sauntering “Like The Weather” introduced the band and lead singer Natalie Merchant to the world. That song made it all the way to the Top 10 and put the spotlight on the band’s next single. So how come that single failed? Not due to the quality. “What’s The Matter Here?” is a moving song about child abuse written by Merchant and Robert Buck. But maybe the public wasn’t ready for the harsh subject, as the track topped out at No. 80.
“It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” by R.E.M.
It’s considered one of the most legendary songs in the history of R.E.M. But at the time it was released, the band was still mostly persona non grata on the pop charts. “The One I Love”, the first single off their 1987 album Document, finally busted into the Top 10 for the band. That song offered more of a minimalist, straightforward rock vibe, making it a good fit for radio. Programmers, however, were at a loss with “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”. Even though the chorus is as catchy as heck, the crazed lyrics left a lot of people baffled. The irreverence of it all should have earned it a better spot than No. 69 on the pop charts.
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