It’s always a blast to go digging back to a particular point in time to see what was going on then in the music world. In October 1979, dozens of albums were released, many coming from big names, others from artists just starting up their careers and hoping to make an impact.
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Now, with the hindsight of time, we can tell which of those many LPs showed the staying power that eluded some of the others. Let’s take a look at five wonderful albums released 45 years ago this month.
Damn the Torpedoes by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Their first two albums were quite good, but Petty and his crack band took a major leap on their third record. Producer Jimmy Iovine’s involvement proved to be a big catalyst. For one, he insisted Petty look back to his earlier songwriting days for material. That strategy lent the album variety, via the rollicking “Don’t Do Me Like That” and the evocative “Louisiana Rain.” Iovine also insisted on sonic perfection, which sometimes drove the band to distraction. But when you hear crackling rockers like “Here Comes My Girl” and “Refugee,” you know it was all worth it.
Prince by Prince
Don’t think for a second that we’re listing this one because of its historical value as the very first album in a career that would dominate several different genres of music for the next decade on its way to legendary status. Prince’s self-titled debut deserves recognition as a wonderful record without any context, probably one of the 10 best in his career. He easily jumps from R&B to new wave to slow jams, wielding his falsetto like a lethal weapon. And if he had been further into his career and already established himself on the charts, “I Wanna Be Your Lover” likely would have been a smash single.
Tusk by Fleetwood Mac
In the same way that Heaven’s Gate became the poster child for indulgent, auteurist moviemaking, Tusk played that role in the rock and roll world. After Rumours established the rock band as dysfunctional family vibe, the Mac simply plowed ahead and threw everything at the wall on the follow-up. While not everything is a barnburner, there are more high points than not. The effortless elegance of Christine McVie on album-opener “Over and Over,” Stevie Nicks’ moving ode to “Sara,” and Lindsey Buckingham’s daring to bring marching band pomp to the title track, all hit home effectively enough to make up for the occasional lag.
Regatta de Blanc by The Police
Of course, The Police avoided the sophomore slump. After all, this is a band that never released a clunker during their time together. Perhaps because it was out just a year after their debut, Regatta de Blanc features more songs than usual written by others than Sting, with Stewart Copeland either writing or co-writing more than half the tracks. The band’s three-headed potency comes to the fore again and again, led by the instrumental title track and the forceful but precise “Message in a Bottle.” When they slow things down a bit on tracks like “Walking on the Moon” and “The Bed’s Too Big Without You,” they’re just as engaging.
One Step Beyond… by Madness
It took them awhile to make a big dent in America, with the smash ’80s single “Our House” finally doing the trick. By that time, these anarchic Brits were already enchanting their home country, with this, their debut LP, serving as the catalyst. They were known for their embrace of ska; the title track, an exhilarating cover of a ’60s song by Prince Buster, is the most notable evidence of that. But they also displayed sharp pop sense on tracks like “My Girl.” With multiple writers and singers, you never know what to expect from song to song, and that’s part of the thrill of this classic album.
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