What was going on in the pop culture world in September 1985? Martin Scorsese released his lean-and-mean comic thriller After Hours in theaters. On TV screens, viewers were hanging out on the lanai with The Golden Girls for the first time.
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And in record stores, folks were treated to some outstanding new releases. We’ve highlighted five of the albums released 40 years ago this month in September 1985 that haven’t lost their touch.
‘Rain Dogs’ by Tom Waits
Croaking and wheezing his way through 19 songs stuffed onto two sides of a single LP, Tom Waits achieved immortality. Who could have guessed that his after-hours narratives filled with bohemians, bums, and all manners of damaged humanity would sound better amidst clanking percussion and Marc Ribot’s knotty guitar than they did alongside his saloon piano? (And, mind you, they sounded pretty good then.) Waits delivers chaotic transcendence on songs like “Singapore” and the title track. Then he pump-fakes you with the sentimentality of beauties like “Downbound Train” and “Time” just so you don’t get too comfy.
‘Be My Enemy’ by The Waterboys
They generally operated below the radar, at least in the US. But The Waterboys could hang with U2, Simple Minds, or anybody else you might name when it came to mid-80s anthemic rock. Mike Scott threw everything at the wall as a songwriter. He and his bandmates, Anthony Thistlethwaite and Karl Wallinger (who would leave and form World Party after this album), brought it all to bear with their signature “Big Music” approach. It’s impossible not to get swept away in the grandeur of tracks like “The Whole Of The Moon” and “Be My Enemy”. An undeniable 80s classic that too few people know.
‘Soul To Soul’ by Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
Some might view Vaughan’s albums as somewhat interchangeable. After all, he brought his musical integrity and incendiary talent to everything he touched. Still, Soul To Soul is an undeniable highlight for both him and his esteemed backing band Double Trouble. It should go without saying that Vaughan’s guitar work is brilliant throughout. But put that aside and focus on the work he does interpreting these songs. He does particularly well on a pair of slashing Doyle Bramhall rockers (“Lookin’ Out The Window” and “Change It”). And his loving caress of the slow burners, like his original “Ain’t Gone ‘N’ Give Up On Love”, truly shines on this record.
‘Hounds Of Love’ by Kate Bush
Is it Kate Bush’s masterwork? Well, you’d find a lot of folks who’d be willing to agree with that assessment. Side One presents her at her most accessible and alluring. You get the classic “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” as one of the great opening songs in pop history. And the quality level doesn’t drop much with “Hounds Of Love” and “The Big Sky”. Side Two goes the more esoteric route, although Bush’s ethereal vocal is never too far away so that it can orient you. She also treats us to one of her prettiest melodies via the song “And Dream Of Sheep”, and then delivers a stirring closer in “Cloudbusting”.
‘In Square Circle’ by Stevie Wonder
Wonder took time away from music in the early 80s to focus on social issues. As a result, In Square Circle was his first proper studio album in five years. Anticipation was unsurprisingly high, and the LP mostly delivered the goods. The non-singles, while all capable, don’t stand out as a whole as much as they tended to back in Wonder’s unstoppable run of 70s masterpieces. But the radio songs rise to the level of his best. “Part-Time Lover” and “Go Home” come through with a funky urgency. And “Overjoyed” luxuriates in a manner similar to some of his classic slow stuff from the peak years.
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