TJR presents... 1981 Albums’ Choice Cuts
The Jukebox Rebel |
67 videos |
Updated 2 years ago
Featuring the top rebel-approved (6.5+) cut from each of the 1981 albums of the year @ TJR:
www.thejukeboxrebel.com/album-chart-of-1981
runtime: 5h 13m
WHA’PPEN BIRMINGHAM?
In comparison to recent years, it's not the strongest year for Jamaican Reggae, and the death of Bob Marley in May, aged 36, is a monumental loss to the world in general. Birmingham, England, is a hotbed of vitality in the genre however; a number of groups exist underground, but The Beat and UB40 rise as the standard bearers, each delivering career-best classics as working class discontent and race riots scar Britain in 1981. 2-Tone is on the wane already, but Madness continue to evolve and are looking good to outlast the fashion.
An April mini-album from The Fall maintains their bright start, keeping the skinny rats happy, whilst New Order's opening album statement takes a brilliant first step in overcoming the great loss of Ian Curtis, even if the critics don't agree. Echo and The Bunnymen's potential for awesome drama is there for all to hear, and their ever-growing cult is on the march. Down in that there London, Siouxsie and The Banshees phase II emerge with a new air of authority, whilst Public Image Ltd. release one of the most startling records of the year.
Just as it did with the VU 14 years earlier, New York spawns a cutting edge debut like no other via Glenn Branca's symphonic ensemble of guitarists, tearing up the rule book. It's influence will ripple down slowly over the decades. Other terrific debuts appear Stateside from The Gun Club, X and Black Flag, all of whom hail from the Los Angeles area. Brilliantly, each of the three offer greatly differing signposts for the world beyond 70s Punk.
A thriving soukous scene is emerging in Paris and Brussels, and fine albums from Kanda Bongo Man and Zaïko Langa-Langa lay testament to this. 6 African LPs make my Top 30 all told, from artists originating in the D.R. Congo (3), Congo-Brazzaville (1), Nigeria (1) and Ghana (1).
Commercially, 1981 was a big year for synthesizer-based pop groups, and there's rebel affection for the work of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Kraftwerk, The Human League, Soft Cell and Heaven 17, all of whom find a place in my favourite 40 albums of the year. Beyond the pop, the Brian Eno / David Byrne collaboration blazes a trail for sample-heavy sonically-varied electronica; dubby, trippy, danceable and worldly.
The Jukebox Rebel
10-Sep-2019
