Yes, there was a lot of great stuff that was written and performed in that decade, but most of it was below the radar of commercial radio. DS, TP, Talking Heads and Smithereens being the exceptions.Suffice to say, in hindsight, most recordings from this time period are heavily dated in their sound due to too many factors not having been hashed out between analog-midi-digital. At the time what were considered the best and most expensive A/D converters have today been surpassed in quality by low budget basement podcast gear. A lot of people look back at the 80's as a bad decade for music in general, but I honestly find that if you get past the digital sterilization of it and it's overall "lifeless"sound quality, and focus just on the songwriting and performing, some incredible work came out of that decade. Brothers In Arms, from start to finish is one of those works, and is IMO one of the few albums from that era that has stood the test of time. It still sounds really great....and fresh!
True. (Add the King Crimson trio of Discipline/Beat/Three Of A Perfect Pair that got me through the decade! )Yes, there was a lot of great stuff that was written and performed in that decade, but most of it was below the radar of commercial radio. DS, TP, Talking Heads and Smithereens being the exceptions.
Most of the bad sound of the 80's can be simply chalked up to poor taste. Cannon snares, SPX90s, DynoMyPiano. Who thought that stuff sounded good? Especially when you already had the AMT plate right there in the studio. Linn drums made even David Bowie backed by SRV sound bad.
Sure, but that falls outside the 'commercial radio' disclaimer. As does Replacements, RHCP, REM, dBs, etc. Outside of a handful of bands, and a handful of radio stations (WHFS, WQBK, etc.), commercial radio was a vast wasteland in the 1980's.True. (Add the King Crimson trio of Discipline/Beat/Three Of A Perfect Pair that got me through the decade! )
I feel that everything Dire straits did, and Mark Knopfler's solo work, is the same way. Recently acquired at 24/192 5.1 remix of the 20th anniversary release of Brothers in Arms, and if you have the right equipment to play it on, it's truly amazing.Brothers In Arms, from start to finish is one of those works, and is IMO one of the few albums from that era that has stood the test of time. It still sounds really great....and fresh!
So true. The 80's were a fantastic decade musically if you look outside the top 40 and radio hits.Yes, there was a lot of great stuff that was written and performed in that decade, but most of it was below the radar of commercial radio. DS, TP, Talking Heads and Smithereens being the exceptions.
Most of the bad sound of the 80's can be simply chalked up to poor taste. Cannon snares, SPX90s, DynoMyPiano. Who thought that stuff sounded good? Especially when you already had the AMT plate right there in the studio. Linn drums made even David Bowie backed by SRV sound bad.
And it's not just the sounds. The drum machines of the day removed any sort of swing from the music.And I vividly remember thinking the pop drum, synth, guitar and reverb sounds were awful back then - certainly not just in hindsight.
Ánd they sort of set the "standard" we're still having to live with today, that on an uptempo dance-ey or rock track, the snare has to be as loud as the lead vocalAnd it's not just the sounds. The drum machines of the day removed any sort of swing from the music.
The 80s and 90s were my favorite era in underground music. Since pop radio was so horrible, I think the amazing volume and variety of underground music was put forth as a reaction to it, as well as the political happenings of the time.Yes, there was a lot of great stuff that was written and performed in that decade, but most of it was below the radar of commercial radio. DS, TP, Talking Heads and Smithereens being the exceptions.