November 1985 featured some fascinating new albums for fans to hear. In some cases, new bands staked out their territory. A few veterans also arrived with music to try to compare with their imposing legacies.
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The common ground is that we’re still talking about these albums 40 years after they were first released. Let’s take a look back at the best albums that month in 1985 had to offer.
‘Riptide’ by Robert Palmer
Don’t get too carried away with “Addicted To Love” when judging this LP. It served its purpose and gave Palmer the smash pop hit he’d long deserved. The rest of the record rises to the level of many other excellent albums in his catalog that didn’t get the same recognition. Synths are prevalent, but Palmer deploys them in an innovative fashion. They make for a luxurious bed on the title track, a cover of an American Songbook standard. And they provide a propulsive boost on Palmer’s grunting take on Cherrelle’s “I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On”.
‘Rock A Little’ by Stevie Nicks
Nicks shuffled through producers and collaborators while making this, her third solo album. Luckily, the force of her performing personality was such that it helped pull everything together. “I Can’t Wait” and “Talk To Me” served as the sure-shot singles, each displaying Nicks at her most engagingly urgent. Mike Campbell helped spread a little Heartbreakers’ magic on the excellent “Imperial Hotel”. Touching ballads “I Sing For The Things” and “Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You?” offer plenty of balance.
‘Radio’ by LL Cool J
Even though we now know what a legend he was poised to be, it’s still bracing to hear Radio and realize that LL Cool J was still a teenager when he laid down these songs with producer Rick Rubin. He was already ridiculously assured on the mike, and, as a writer, he was leaving behind older MCs with the deft wordplay and inventive rhyme approach. Songs like “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” and “Rock The Bells”, full of L’s fierce spitting amidst the thunderclap beats, instantly became classics. And the entire album mostly avoids the filler common in the hip-hop LPs of the time.
‘Ice On Fire’ by Elton John
John shed the rhythm section from his classic 70s albums and his early 80s comeback for this album. To forge a new path, he leaned much heavier than previously on synthetic rhythms, as was common at the time. As a result, some of Ice On Fire sounds a little dated today. But the high points help overcome all that. Hit single “Nikita” features some breathtakingly lovely music. “Wrap Her Up” allows John and George Michael plenty of vamping room. And closing ballad “Shoot Down The Moon” harnesses some trademark John/Bernie Taupin drama.
‘Your Love’ by The Outfield
This British trio offered a power-popping approach that was somewhat novel at that point on the American pop music scene. Which perhaps explains why they were far more popular in the US than the UK. They emerged with a solid formula, as songwriter John Spinks came through with razor-sharp hooks that were sung to the hilt by Tony Lewis. The LP gets a tad samey-sounding when listened to as a whole. But how can you deny the candy-coated catchiness of songs like “All The Love”, “Say It Isn’t So”, and, of course, “Your Love”?
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