#albumsfrom40yearsago
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

I didn't think much of a-ha's debut when I gave it a listen last year, but I have really enjoyed this second album - mostly. I may have to give the debut another chance some time. Just not yet....

a-ha: 'Scoundrel Days' (1986)
October 26, 2026 at 1:11 AM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

This is far from the best Saxon album I've heard - at times they do seem to be going through the motions - but it's entertaining enough.

Not much more to add, really....

Saxon: 'Rock the Nations' (1986)
October 28, 2026 at 12:57 AM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

Belatedly, it's time to check out some Oct '86 albums, starting with... bloody hell, that's a unique cover!

I loved the classic 'Centerfield', but this is not as highly rated. Not sure why - I think it's really good.

John Fogerty: 'Eye of the Zombie' (1986)
October 25, 2026 at 5:37 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

The early OMD singles and albums were really interesting blends of pop sensibility and electronica, but this album has lost much of what made them special, I'm afraid. Shame.

Orchestral Manouvres in the Dark: 'The Pacific Age' (1986)
October 14, 2026 at 2:22 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

Finally, the last of the Sept '86 albums. I've seen Sparks live many, many times. There are so many albums in their catalogue that I love.

This is not one of them. Dull, dated electro-pop, a terrible mis-step.

Sparks: 'Music You Can Dance To' (1986)
October 14, 2026 at 6:07 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

My general view on jangly guitar pop is that it should have ended with The Byrds, so I was fully expecting to loathe this Felt album. Yet, in spite of Lawrence's mannered vocals, something about it appeals.

Felt: 'Forever Breathes the Lonely Word' (1986)
October 14, 2026 at 1:20 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

Although I never bought a Fall album, I had several on (badly copied!) cassettes, including this, and actually got to see the band live around this time (it was shambolicly awful, sadly). Fun to hear this again, though.

The Fall: 'Bend Sinister' (1986)
October 12, 2026 at 11:26 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

Given how much I've loved discovering all those classic Chicago albums from the early 70s, I've been reluctant to try the far less regarded 80s albums. But you know what? This is ok. Firmly of its time, but far better than I had feared.

'Chicago 18' (1986)
October 12, 2026 at 9:35 AM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

A puzzler, this. It says it's an Iggy album, but it sounds more like a Bowie album - or rather, something from one of Iggy's many imitators. I prefer my Iggy with rough guitars, and less keys.

Iggy Pop: 'Blah Blah Blah' (1986)
October 11, 2026 at 5:18 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

I adore Magnum's debut from 1978... which is why I'm finding this horrible later album virtually unlistenable. Everything that made that debut great (albeit out of its time) has been ditched. Painful.

Magnum: 'Vigilante' (1978)
October 11, 2026 at 12:28 AM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

I quite enjoyed their 1985 album, but this? Dull, uninspired, plodding glam/hair/whatever-the-hell-it-is metal.

Moving on....

RATT: 'Dancing Undercover' (1986)
October 8, 2026 at 3:38 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

Compare this to that drivel by Ratt I heard yesterday.... This is magnificently heavy and inventive. Had I been 10 years younger at the time, this may well have been my music. As it is, it's a new joy for me.

Megadeth: 'Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?' (1986)
October 9, 2026 at 4:41 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

Yes, I know that it's a Sept '86 album, but I've fallen behind in my 'project' to listen to old albums. This one's an old, old friend, though, one that I can't believe I've failed to replace over the years.

Billy Bragg: 'Talking to the Taxman About Poetry' (1986)
October 7, 2026 at 5:18 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

Well now, this is a right ol' curate's egg of an album. Basically, the heavier it gets, the better. 'Cos the ballads are absolutely horrible AOR slop.

I can see why it might have confused long-term Boston fans.

Great cover, though.

Boston: 'Third Stage' (1986)
October 7, 2026 at 11:30 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

Still catching up with September '86 albums for a few days of October... including this.

Smooth.

More? Okay; smoothly classy, but I found myself losing interest more than once.

This Mortal Coil: 'Filigree & Shadow' (1986)
October 1, 2026 at 9:04 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

As the saying goes, I don't believe it! I may just have found a Meat Loaf album I don't loathe and despise. Yes, really.

Which begs the question: was it really the Steinman connection that I've hated all along? Hmmm.

Meat Loaf: 'Blind Before I Stop' (1986)
September 29, 2026 at 10:20 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

I wasn't a fan of The Cars, and hearing this second solo album from their front man hasn't changed anything. Not really my thing.

Ric Ocasek: 'This Side of Paradise' (1986)
September 21, 2026 at 9:50 AM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

First music I've heard from Love and Rockets, and I've rather enjoyed it. Not quite what I expected from a Bauhaus offshoot, its blend of rock and pop is rather impressive. I'll be investigating them further.

Love and Rockets: 'Express' (1986)
September 20, 2026 at 2:39 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

I used to own this on cassette. I disliked its muddy production, which I assumed was down to the cassette format. Streaming it now, though, it sounds just as bad. Despite this, it's a fine album.

Elvis Costello and the Attractions: 'Blood & Chocolate' (1986)
September 20, 2026 at 12:40 AM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

No. Just... no.

Cyndi Lauper: 'True Colors' (1986)
September 19, 2026 at 10:04 AM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

Much as I love the Heads, there's one studio album I've never owned - and this is it. Quite simply, it's not very good. Then again, is it really a Heads album, or a film soundtrack, or a David Byrne solo with the Heads?🤪

Talking Heads: 'True Stories' (1986)
September 19, 2026 at 12:24 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

To this point, I'd enjoyed everything The Human League had produced, but this... so dull. I had hoped that listening 40 years later would allow reappraisal; alas, it sounds as dull as ever. The Jam/Lewis tie-up simply did not work.

The Human League: 'Crash' (1986)
September 18, 2026 at 7:38 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

Not heard this B-52s album before. Reputedly one of their weakest albums, I've really enjoyed it. Yes, it's more subdued than their classics, but it's still enormous fun.

The B-52s: 'Bouncing Off The Satellites' (1986)
September 17, 2026 at 11:28 PM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

Maybe it was streaming this immediately after enduring the tuneless cacophony of Skinny Puppy, but I really enjoyed this smooth and classy album from TT; much to my surprise, as I'd never given her solo work any attention.

Tina Turner: 'Break Every Rule' (1986)
September 16, 2026 at 12:43 AM
#albumsfrom40yearsago
#NowPlaying

My ears are still bleeding.... I have no idea what was going on here, other than a right ol' racket, as my late grandfather used to complain when us youngsters were watching 'Top of the Pops' in the early 70s.

Skinny Puppy: 'Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse' (1986)
September 15, 2026 at 11:29 PM