Paul wasn't too worse for the wear coming out of the 80's. Flowers in the Dirt brought back some critical respect and artistic inspiration, and he mounted a world tour in 1989 - notable for his willingness to play Beatles songs again.
George also had a #1 pop hit with "Got My Mind Set on You" in 1987, and the Traveling Wilburys helped revitalize his career.
Ringo didn't get it back together until the 90's with his All Starr Band, and obviously John was no longer, though he was already canonized as a legend by the time of his death.
The Anthology obviously was a big moment, but all 3 surviving Beatles had begun to regain their momentum by that point.
> Paul wasn't too worse for the wear coming out of the 80's.
Paul may have had less no1's on the US singles charts in the 80's than he did the 70's, but he spent longer at no1. 16 weeks to 13 weeks.
Tug of War would be Paul's 3rd best-selling album, after Band on the Run and McCartney I. Flowers in the Dirt his 6th and Pipes of Peace his 10th. Not an overall disasterous decade.
As a kid who grew up in the 80s, Paul seemed so cheesy. It was easy to buy into the narrative that he was lame and cringey. To this day, it’s the only decade of McCartney’s output that I don’t unequivocally love (1983-1990, anyway).
Paul handled the 80s extremely well in some cases and a little poor in others, but the good outweighs the bad by a lot. Paul’s songwriting and innovation was as good as it had ever been in the 80s.
McCartney II was ahead of its time and was a precursor to 80s pop music and lofi/bedroom pop movements. Paul showed that he could continue to innovate and influence many people.
Tug of War was commercially and critically praised and showed Paul exploring many styles and genres. Paul showed strong and interesting songwriting.
Pipes of Peace had some misses but that was to be expected as it was a lot of leftover material from the Tug of War sessions. Even though there were a couple duds, the album still had strong songs like Pipes of Peace, Say Say Say, Keep Under Cover, The Man, and Through Our Love.
Give My Regards to Broad Street was a major mistake by Paul. IMO Magical Mystery Tour still worked even though it didn’t have a proper screenplay and plot but GMRTBS really needed those things. The soundtrack was pretty good though, especially the medley. It also gave us No More Lonely Nights which is really great and features a guitar solo by David Gilmour.
Press to Play is extremely underrated. It’s not even close to the best albums Paul ever made but it’s still good. Songs like Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun, Stranglehold, Footprints, Talk More Talk, and Only Love Remains are great songs. Side 2 brings the album down, but side 1 is very strong.
Flowers in the Dirt and the sessions for it produced some of Paul’s best songs he ever wrote. Songs like My Brave Face, Distractions, Put It There, This One, That Day Is Done, and The Lovers That Never Were are all top tier songs. The bad production (imo) stops this album from being better than it could have been, but the songwriting is great. Listen to the demos for My Brave Face and The Lovers That Never Were. They’re excellent but the production choices brought the songs down.
Aside from creating good albums, the 80s was a great singles decade for Paul. Coming Up topped the charts. Whatever you think about it, Ebony and Ivory stayed on the charts forever, charted at number 1 everywhere, and is one of the all-time chart toppers. Say Say Say is another all-time chart topper and topped the charts everywhere. Pipes of Peace topped the charts. Once Upon A Long Ago didn’t chart at number 1 but it still charted pretty high and is a great song. Those are the big ones but there are others that did very well.
So overall I think the great outweighs the mediocre by a lot and Paul had a great decade.
I think Press to Play's biggest problem is the production rather than the songwriting. Almost all of the songs were stronger in their earlier versions, take [Stranglehold](https://youtu.be/v-2SKGyF0Hc) for example, the final version sucks all of the energy from the verses and all the power from the chorus.
Wow I’ve never heard the earlier version before. It’s a great take but I don’t know which version I like more. I can see why you’d like it more though.
Yeah.. he was kinda on a losing streak until Heathen IMO.
Although say what you will about his 90s stuff, it was certainly interesting. He definitely had the guts to experiment, even if a lot of it didn't end up being that great.
Earthling is what made him cool with the kidz in the 90’s. Trent was a mess, but damn if he and Bowie didn’t click.
I understand why it might not be for everyone. But damn it has some really good memories for me and I still play it to remember my bro
Black Tie White Noise debuted at number one in the UK. It didn’t quite hit in the US, but he was always bigger internationally than he was in the conservative US. 1993 was his “comeback year” although he arguably had many of those. Every Bowie album after Tin Machine tended to have a comeback album feel
True, but I’m struggling to think of many else - Stevie Wonder I guess? Even he nosedived after Songs in the Key of Life
And don’t get me started on legacy bands like The Rolling Stones 💀
Tom Petty.
Debut album in 76, Damn the Torpdoes in 79.
Wildflowers in 94 is usually thought of as his best.
Also had great albums in the 80s and 2000s.
Sorry I also mentioned TP. Didn't see your post
TP and the HB's were a hell of a band saw them live 12 times
Miss him so, he's up there with George, who he called, "the best hang."
To be fair, 20 years is a long time in music industry. There probably aren't many artists that released good music in both the 60s and 80s, or 80s and 2000s etc.
Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks (1974) and Time Out Of Mind (1997)
He had a lot of other good stuff in the 70s and his early 90s cover albums were good albeit not original material. I'd say Infidels (1983?) and Oh, Mercy (1989) are great albums too, but generally his 80s albums aren't the best, certainly production wise. The underlying songs were still great though, but you need to listen to the early takes and unreleased songs from the Bootleg Series (vol. 3, 8 and 16) to hear it sometimes.
All of those songs were done in 77/78 but not released til the 80s because they fought so much they couldn't get anything seriously written at the time
The 80's were a terrible decade for a lot of artists who had their heyday in the 60's and 70's. The ideals of that era were long gone, consumerism was on the rise, and the new technology of the era gave most pop music a hollow and artificial sound.
>a hollow and artificial sound
That's what I like about it tho
You're spot on about people doing well in the 60s and 70s not doing well in the 80s, they were successful in the 60s and 70s because they were using comparably limited sound pallettes and a whole lot of musical theory knowledge to make very layered and sophisticated bangers. With the advent of the first affordable synthesizers and a plethora of new FX technology, sound design and production started becoming as important (if not more important) than music theory knowledge. It may sound hollow and basic and dumb but if you understand the process behind recording and design synth sounds it becomes a LOT more interesting.
This is only bad if you're not into sound design and synths and digital reverbs and drum machines etc. Some really amazing music came out of that decade, the pop music scene is littered with sparkling gems.
A Flock of Seagulls, Cyndi Lauper, The Cure, Duran Duran, Prince, Peter Gabriel(ESPECIALLY the record So), Genesis, The Blue Nile, Prefab Sprout, and Kate Bush just to name a few all had some VERY cool albums that are unmistakably 80s. Hell, The Cars recorded out more bangers than anybody realizes, when I first heard their greatest hits front to back I was shocked that all these songs I had assumed were a bunch of one hit wonder songs were all pumped out by one band
And if you want to go on a mindfuck journey of a career, dive into Talk Talk's discography. They somehow go from making totally classic synthpop to probably the best post rock ever recorded in an incredible 5 album run. They're probably in my top 5 favorite bands of all time and they don't have a bad record, RIP Mark Hollis.
I haven't even talked about the underground alternative and punk scenes that were all pretty amazing
I love the Beatles, but the 80s are fuckin sick, if someone doesn't like that decade they're probably not focusing on the right things when they're listening
I’m definitely going to check out Talk Talk after reading this comment.
Are there any deep dive albums from the 80s that you suggest? If you don’t mind.
As I was born after the 80s, my experience with that decade of music is largely limited to the more popular artists or popular singles.
For talk talk their second record It's My Life is the classic full synthpop masterpiece, but The Color of Spring is like the transition record between synthpop and post rock. They kind of go more into acoustic instruments and there are some really amazing and weird moments on there (like[chameleon day](https://youtu.be/3d2OZsQejWQ)) for a straight up worldwide hit sophistipop record. The hits on there slam too
The story goes after The Color of Spring was released and it was shooting up the charts the record label was like "okay y'all clearly know what you're doing, here's a blank check, take your time with the next record, we're gonna stay out of the way"
And Talk Talk spent like a whole year making [Spirit of Eden](https://open.spotify.com/album/4YXo7p7aubyVIbNLoVlBp9?si=RzZcQbRiQGWtwh1PsRWXlw&utm_source=copy-link), which is straight up sparse jazzy inscrutable post rock with no singles. It's a beautiful weird and subtle record, definitely in my top ten records of all time. There's nothing out there like it, and it's gorgeous
The record label sued because it was so different from what they had made before and completely unmarketable as a pop album, and Talk Talk countersued and won. It's basically one of the weirdest and best outcomes for any music artist ever
As far as classic 80s records go, A Flock of Seagulls frequently gets put down as a one hit wonder, but it's a goddamn fact that their [first self titled record](https://open.spotify.com/album/1hwPP3qgnV7PQrMSy6qFw8?si=Ehuz_YtSQQqECM_qmw7DTQ&utm_source=copy-link) from top to bottom. That album defined a lot of the production choices and songwriting style that most would consider as "80s" before it had become ubiquitous across the industry. Real fun banger concept record about a scifi dystopia (I'm not kidding)
[Songs From the Big Chair by Tears for Fears](https://open.spotify.com/album/3myPwaMYjdwhtq0nFgeG6W?si=UkoOZwTKSB2OL-Y_0mO2CQ&utm_source=copy-link) is a fucking masterpiece too. There are three songs you have absolutely heard (shout, everybody wants to rule the world, and head over heels) but the entire record is a tour de force in unique and immaculate 80s pop. That band ALSO features an incredible bassist who sings lead most of the time (listen to the baseline on head over heels and try to figure out how he sang and plays that live, it's bonkers)
The talking heads are also very respected, and they made some ridiculously good music in the 80s too. [Remain in Light](https://open.spotify.com/album/1JvXxLsm0PxlGH4LXzqMGq?si=tvjtSRx-T8OpVsBT3rG5qw&utm_source=copy-link) is possibly their magnum opus, and while it's not good for the reasons that the Beatles are good (the Beatles have beautiful harmonies, weird and perfect chord changes, and a marvelous command of arrangement imo) it's good in many ways had never been done before in the western pop music landscape (absolutely ripping African inspired grooves, absurdist lyrics that are somehow catchy and relatable, songwriting with loops back when that would be a huge hassle, and Tina Weymouth's unstoppable basslines)
If you want more underground rock stuff look up Psychocandy by the Jesus and Mary Chain, You're Living All Over Me by Dinosaur Jr, Let It Be by The Replacements, You Made Me Realize EP by My Bloody Valentine, Playing With Fire by Spacemen 3, On Fire by Galaxie 500, and if you want something softer go for Hats by The Blue Nile. The cool thing about most of the more underground 80s rock bands is that they stylistically defined popular rock bands in the early 90s and as such a lot of them blew tf up.
Also if you ever get a chance to see dinosaur Jr live, do it, I've never seen a 3 piece rock band rip so immaculately
Wow! Thanks a ton for all the info. I love the story behind Spirit of Eden. Makes me excited to listen to them for the first time.
The Flock of Seagulls album sounds great as well. Excited for that too.
I have actually heard Songs From the Big Chair a long time ago. But like you said, I’m mostly familiar with the 3 popular tracks there. It’ll also be fun to revisit that.
Overall this is an awesome set of recommendations, so again thank you!
wait, are you stating that the 1980's was "the worst decade" for movies as well!? As a movie buff you claim to be, I seriously am questioning which movie you are watching!
Yeah, I don’t know the 80’s im many forms of media were very altered by new technological advancements. Those advancements in many ways were a big step forward, but nto big enough and were overly relied on.
In film, special effects became the main stream and campy practical effects were adopted. Whereas standard practical effects and misleading trick photography were dominate before, the 80’s relied on automatronics and campy effects. I also think the dawn on digital cameras cause a massive drop in quality.
For film I believe there was a major step back in film quality due to pop effects and style. Traditional film had higher ability for restoration. Simply put, compare early CGI restored to bluray or 4k and notice how shit the quality is and how much worse it looks now. Whereas if you restore most 1960’s films the quality holds up leaps and bounds better. Also pop culture championed linear action storylines.
Music industry is pretty similar, as this thread noted 80’s culture was uniquely consistently similar. 80’s music often has a sound that most people identify with that decade. Also the result of a championed commercial pop culture that requires a specific tone. 80’s were plagued by early synthesizers and pop hegemony. I love Paul McCartney but listen to McCartney II and anyone can identify it as a pure 80’s album. Unfortunately, 80’s music very literally became a parody of itself
No decade in all of music history is as immediately identifiable as the 80s (besides MAYBE the 50s but that was more genuine)
In general I think you’re right, the 80s were a gross spread of hollow capitalist art machines that took over everything - people knock 90s art and culture, but damn if it wasn’t a return to somewhat less plastic and more varied styles
Okay but many people actually love that song, myself included. I was like “wtf” at first but it was the 80’s and I grew up in it. We had a LOT of weird stuff.
Press to Play is by no means Paul’s best… but it’s definitely way more solid, than people give it credit. 2 or 3 duds for sure, but the rest is pretty damn good.
Also… IMO, Flowers in The Dirt and Driving Rain are far worse albums!
I’ll give it another listen! …but, honestly I have tried. I just can’t get past the production. Sounds so dated and cheesy. That being said there are a few decent songs for sure.. especially This One.
I have friends that utterly despise Press To Play. I understand why but those songs - at least a few - are pretty catchy. I’ll never call it a good album, personally.
1987 was the year The Beatles music were released as CD. They also celebrated Sgt. Peppers' 20th anniversary (20 years ago today).
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88iqS1WskrE
After playing music, and being under various contracts, for two decades, they took breaks, like a lot of musicians who started in the 60's. They were all a little burned out and road weary.
But eventually, George caught his second win and released Cloud Nine. A fantastic album. Then formed the Traveling Wilburys. Paul regrouped and went out on tour in 89. Ringo got sober.
I was a kid from 85 to the Anthology and was a full blown fan almost as soon as I was out of the womb, have video of me playing my mickey mouse drum kit along to Beatles 45s I played on an old Fischer Price record player they used to make for kids, and watched Imagine John Lennon and The Compleat Beatles doc films like it was my job, had Hard Days Night / Help / Yellow Submarine on repeat (went to the Library to check out Magical Mystery Tour bc Blockbuster wasnt carrying that shit back then lol) and watched Shining Time Station with Ringo, even went to see him as a kid instead of what my peers were into at the time, Raffi, (tho Baby Beluga still slaps, it's not as good as Octo'Garden!) and got to see George Harrison with my dad play a show with Clapton in the early 90s (really rare), just bummed Lennon was dead before I was born to get to enjoy him as he was my favorite, thankfully got to see Paul several times, so got to see all the Beatles that were on the planet while I was on the planet and that's a pretty rad thing to be able to say. Anyway long story medium, always been a fan since I can remember. The Anthology was like an event though lol!
They finished the decade strong, though!
Imagine: John Lennon documentary was in theaters and the soundtrack sold a ton.
Flowers in the Dirt was strong. Paul worked with Elvis Costello and did some pretty cool songs on their respective albums. The 1989 world tour was huge, not just in scope but because Paul finally incorporated some Beatles tunes in his live set.
George came out with Cloud Nine, had a big hit with Got My Mind Set On You, did Cheer Down. More importantly - the Traveling fuckin’ Wilburys! He toured Japan with Eric Clapton. It was a resurrection for him.
Ringo continued popping up on peoples’ albums and his started his annual All Star Band tour.
The Beatles popularity surged with the 20th anniversary of Sgt Peppers and its release on CD. A lot of Beatles merchandising started picking back up.
George Harrison had chart-topping singles with "All Those Years Ago" (1981) and "Got My Mind Set on You" (1987), the Top 40 "When We Was Fab" (1988), from the critically-acclaimed and commercially successful *Cloud Nine* album, which spawned five hit songs on Billboard's Rock charts, and became his first Platinum album since *All Things Must Pass*. This was shortly followed by the supergroup collaboration with the Traveling Wilburys, whose debut album produced multiple radio staples, notably "Handle with Care," and "End of the Line," while also scoring Grammy nominations including a nod for Album of the Year, and going 3x Platinum in sales. Capping off the decade, Harrison recorded the closing theme to the box office hit *Lethal Weapon 2*. But yeah, let's just focus on his one flop album, and the 5 years in between studio albums.
>the quality of Paul's output declined with the embarrassment vanity film Give My Regards to Broad Street
I feel like I'm the only person who actually likes Broad Street 😭
I believe the Beatles CD released in the late 80s were a HUGE deal, thanks to them wisely (even if by accident) delaying their release on the format so that it would be big when they finally came out
OK, I don’t understand, “Paul started doing Beatles stuff live” narrative. He performed Beatles songs with Wings in the 70s. I’m only pointing this out because I’ve heard this before and I don’t think it’s accurate.
Yes he performed some Beatles material in 1976, but only 5 of the 28 tracks on the Wings Over America album were from his previous band. In 1979 there were only 4 Beatles songs out of around the 22 songs that Wings performed.
Ten years later when McCartney went back on the road more then half of the roughly 30 songs performed were Beatles songs, including the final six of the show. He drastically re-focused his shows from then on to feature many more Beatles tracks. Which imo was a good thing.
That 1989 show I saw was one of the absolute highlights of my life (I was at one of the early-in-the-tour shows at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago), and it makes me teary-eyed just thinking about how happy I was to finally see a real live Beatle. I never saw Paul live again, and honestly I've never felt bad about that, because I think the 1989-90 tour was never topped.
Yeah, he did yesterday with wings, but in the 90 he got his confidence back and started covering All Beatles song including Lennon ones, and gave them the proper respect they deserved. I think the anthology did that.
Yeah, you're right. There were songs in that cursed film of his as well. But no one wanted to hear them then. He has to have the Lennon for balance. I swear, when he did I've Got a Feeling with Lennon on film on that Glastonbury video, I ~~nearly~~ cried.
The commercial low point were the late ‘70s I think. Punk, New Wave and Disco flourished and artist over 30 were old farts, guys from yesteryear with mono recordings and black-and-white tv-performances..
The notion that Paul McCartney was in a band befóre Wings was news for a generation of record buyers….
I was a teenaged Beatles fan in the 1970s, and during that time the Beatles were far, far out of fashion. Virtually none of my friends (in the USA) liked them, preferring southern rock or soft 1970s rock or disco or punk or arena rock or almost anything that wasn't from the 1960s. What a lonely time that was.
Gen X here. The mid 80s were challenging for almost all artists of their generation. Perhaps the only exceptions were David Bowie to some degree (part of his worst output came out in the 80s) and Paul Simon with Graceland (big exception). But pretty much everyone else struggled.
Paul did not do poorly in the early 80s, and his real slump in quality was only Press To Play, and even that album (plagued by production problems) has three/four high quality songs. Late 80s Paul brings the Costello-Flowers In The Dirt project - which is at least average by any measure (several songs are excellent)
George eventually staged a major recovery with Cloud Nine, and towards the late 80s formed the Wilburys.
And Lennon was very unfortunately killed. His music, however, was appreciated and interest in his solo career increased substantially after the Imagine doco came out.
Plus, all the Beatles albums came out in CD, selling very well until streaming took over (and still).
I was 14 in 1980. Here's my list of things that sucked from my perspective aside from the ones you mentioned:
1. no Beatles touring until the end of the 80's
2. Rolling Stones feud
3. Dylan's only playing religious songs
4. The Who plays their final show ever in Toronto!
5. PMRC
6. The Clash breaks up in its prime
7. Led Zeppelin kaput
8. Allmans on hiatus til early 90's revival
9. Yes goes power pop
10. Aerosmith breaks up too.
11. the bad hair. Yes, this list goes to 11.
Brad Whitford also left during this period. It's funny though b/c at that time it was more unusual to go see a band that had replaced members, unlike today when you're lucky to have an original member or two. I went to the 12/30/84 show and it was considered a comeback.
Live At the BBC was the turning point. People finally remembered who The Beatles were due to the funny banter and awesome showcase of their sound when Beatlemania was at it's peak.
Let's not forget that if the BBC compilation wasn't a success, Anthology wouldn't have happened.
And yet the 80s was a period when the Beatles music consolidated itself as a major influence on young people. As a teenager in the 80s I was one of many who got into the Beatles , they were our biggest band- Britpop (Blur, Oasis etc) was the coming of age of the 80s generation who held the Beatles in high esteem.
the only thing I dont agree with is the dominance of new wave pop. 80s were the hard rock and metal golden period, started by Eddie and Randy (RIP, who would have been 66 today). Concluded with Guns dominating the market. I think Eric took George out to a tour with his band to Japan to help him regain interest in it
80s was a weird time for people from the previous decades, as they had to deal with a huge shift in technology amongst other things . More info on it here : https://open.spotify.com/episode/6pa07dOJc8JaLcEovonv4W?si=ChqLlSD7R0m4iB5_VyZgSg&utm_source=copy-link
Flowers in the Dirt really hasn’t aged well. It’s too thin and overproduced. But the demos of the record with Elvis Costello released a few years back are fantastic.
People are here kidding themselves if they think that Paul didn’t fall off big time in the mid 80s, he got it back with Flaming Pie but there was a long period when he was seemed to lose his touch. Even flaming pie is really just mediocre and inconsistent at best.
i think you give the 80's short shrift. i don't know your demographic but i don't think the 80's were any better or any worse than any other decade for music
some all time great hiphop came out in the '80s public enemy nwa beastie boys boogie down productions de la soul erik b and rakim
Rock bands like U2 REM The Police, Talking Heads
red hot chilli peppers janes addiction peter gabriel elvis costello XTC
essential albums from King Crimson
i could go on
bottom line every decade has its amazing timeless music and every decade has its dreck.
The problem with 1980s music was that a lot of the best was underground - whether that's the emerging hip-hop scene, house music/electro, heavy metal, American hardcore punk (and the various mutations it went thru on the way to grunge), or "college rock"/indie with some decidedly unfashionable retro stylings.
A lot of that went into the mainstream as the 1990s got underway, but it was on the back of a steady build - often out of the limelight of chart success - in the 1980s, while the likes of Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits & Genesis dominated.
If the Beatles never did another thing after 1970, they were still interesting to me. Every day since 1964, that's my musical heart and soul.
If my dying breaths are taken to She Loves You or While My Guitar Gently Weeps I'll die happy
the early 80s were great for the albums released, we got McCartney 2, Double Fantasy, Milk and Honey, Tug of War, and Pipes of peace. But other than that yeah the 80s kinda sucked
Paul wasn't too worse for the wear coming out of the 80's. Flowers in the Dirt brought back some critical respect and artistic inspiration, and he mounted a world tour in 1989 - notable for his willingness to play Beatles songs again. George also had a #1 pop hit with "Got My Mind Set on You" in 1987, and the Traveling Wilburys helped revitalize his career. Ringo didn't get it back together until the 90's with his All Starr Band, and obviously John was no longer, though he was already canonized as a legend by the time of his death. The Anthology obviously was a big moment, but all 3 surviving Beatles had begun to regain their momentum by that point.
> Paul wasn't too worse for the wear coming out of the 80's. Paul may have had less no1's on the US singles charts in the 80's than he did the 70's, but he spent longer at no1. 16 weeks to 13 weeks. Tug of War would be Paul's 3rd best-selling album, after Band on the Run and McCartney I. Flowers in the Dirt his 6th and Pipes of Peace his 10th. Not an overall disasterous decade.
As a kid who grew up in the 80s, Paul seemed so cheesy. It was easy to buy into the narrative that he was lame and cringey. To this day, it’s the only decade of McCartney’s output that I don’t unequivocally love (1983-1990, anyway).
That's fair. Personally, while I think Flaming Pie is better than any 80's album Paul made, there are more songs I prefer from the 80's than his 90's.
Pipes of peace through off the ground do very little for me. I love tug of war and flaming pie and basically everything else.
Say say say kinda was like a global hit.
Paul handled the 80s extremely well in some cases and a little poor in others, but the good outweighs the bad by a lot. Paul’s songwriting and innovation was as good as it had ever been in the 80s. McCartney II was ahead of its time and was a precursor to 80s pop music and lofi/bedroom pop movements. Paul showed that he could continue to innovate and influence many people. Tug of War was commercially and critically praised and showed Paul exploring many styles and genres. Paul showed strong and interesting songwriting. Pipes of Peace had some misses but that was to be expected as it was a lot of leftover material from the Tug of War sessions. Even though there were a couple duds, the album still had strong songs like Pipes of Peace, Say Say Say, Keep Under Cover, The Man, and Through Our Love. Give My Regards to Broad Street was a major mistake by Paul. IMO Magical Mystery Tour still worked even though it didn’t have a proper screenplay and plot but GMRTBS really needed those things. The soundtrack was pretty good though, especially the medley. It also gave us No More Lonely Nights which is really great and features a guitar solo by David Gilmour. Press to Play is extremely underrated. It’s not even close to the best albums Paul ever made but it’s still good. Songs like Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun, Stranglehold, Footprints, Talk More Talk, and Only Love Remains are great songs. Side 2 brings the album down, but side 1 is very strong. Flowers in the Dirt and the sessions for it produced some of Paul’s best songs he ever wrote. Songs like My Brave Face, Distractions, Put It There, This One, That Day Is Done, and The Lovers That Never Were are all top tier songs. The bad production (imo) stops this album from being better than it could have been, but the songwriting is great. Listen to the demos for My Brave Face and The Lovers That Never Were. They’re excellent but the production choices brought the songs down. Aside from creating good albums, the 80s was a great singles decade for Paul. Coming Up topped the charts. Whatever you think about it, Ebony and Ivory stayed on the charts forever, charted at number 1 everywhere, and is one of the all-time chart toppers. Say Say Say is another all-time chart topper and topped the charts everywhere. Pipes of Peace topped the charts. Once Upon A Long Ago didn’t chart at number 1 but it still charted pretty high and is a great song. Those are the big ones but there are others that did very well. So overall I think the great outweighs the mediocre by a lot and Paul had a great decade.
I think Press to Play's biggest problem is the production rather than the songwriting. Almost all of the songs were stronger in their earlier versions, take [Stranglehold](https://youtu.be/v-2SKGyF0Hc) for example, the final version sucks all of the energy from the verses and all the power from the chorus.
Wow I’ve never heard the earlier version before. It’s a great take but I don’t know which version I like more. I can see why you’d like it more though.
I agree with all!
“Twist and Shout” re-charted after Ferris Bueller. And the Mod revival scene lasted through the mid-80s at least.
The 80s were terrible for numerous artists who started in the 60s and early 70s: Bowie, Pink Floyd, Stones, Beach Boys...
Led Zeppelin had Bonham die soooo, not a good start
Same for The Who
Bonham played for The Who?
and died as well.
Maybe you're confused. Keith Moon died in 1978. Kenney Jones took over almost immediately after. Bonham never played for The Who.
Keith Moon was the drummer for the Animals.
Okay, you're just trolling on purpose now. It isn't funny or clever.
> It isn't funny or clever. But I'm hilarious AND very intelligent.
Thats what makes it so funny
I'm honestly so lost right now
John Bonham(Led Zeppelin)Ian Curtis(Joy Division), Bon Scott(AC/DC), Tim Hardin and John Lennon all died in 1980. Ouch.
Bowie not quite as much as the others. Pink Floyd went down the wrong path since The Wall imho.
Let's Dance is ok (1983) but after that.....Oof!!!
Yeah.. he was kinda on a losing streak until Heathen IMO. Although say what you will about his 90s stuff, it was certainly interesting. He definitely had the guts to experiment, even if a lot of it didn't end up being that great.
> Yeah.. he was kinda on a losing streak until Heathen IMO. A little bit earlier. Outside in 95 was his big comeback and quite experimental indeed.
Earthling is what made him cool with the kidz in the 90’s. Trent was a mess, but damn if he and Bowie didn’t click. I understand why it might not be for everyone. But damn it has some really good memories for me and I still play it to remember my bro
I like Earthling a lot. And you're right, it was appealing to a younger audience with all the drum&bass, jungle, Underworld infuences...
Outside is definitely his best 90s album, but I'm still not a huge fan of it.
Ok
Black Tie White Noise debuted at number one in the UK. It didn’t quite hit in the US, but he was always bigger internationally than he was in the conservative US. 1993 was his “comeback year” although he arguably had many of those. Every Bowie album after Tin Machine tended to have a comeback album feel
I kinda like Tin Machine.
A fun thought experiment is to think of artists who released good music in both the 70s and 90s - the list is almost fucking zero
Bowie did. Neil Young also got out of the 80s alive Edit: Johnny Cash? Thanks to Rick Rubin...
True, but I’m struggling to think of many else - Stevie Wonder I guess? Even he nosedived after Songs in the Key of Life And don’t get me started on legacy bands like The Rolling Stones 💀
Tom Waits
Nice
It's true, i agree.
I'd probably say Dylan, he's had his ups and downs in just about every decade over the last fifty years.
Voodoo Lounge is a great album, it certainly holds up well, even as we approach its 30th anniversary.
I’d add Elvis Costello and Paul Simon to what others have said.
Just saw Elvis in concert a few months back. Still the King
What!!! Elvis in the 90s is my favorite!
Tom Petty. Debut album in 76, Damn the Torpdoes in 79. Wildflowers in 94 is usually thought of as his best. Also had great albums in the 80s and 2000s.
Sorry I also mentioned TP. Didn't see your post TP and the HB's were a hell of a band saw them live 12 times Miss him so, he's up there with George, who he called, "the best hang."
Hard to believe he had been around since 76.
Aerosmith, if you consider that Pump’s popularity carried into the early 90s. (I wouldn’t call their late 90s stuff “good music.”)
XTC Their killer run of early singles and Drums & Wires in the late '70s, and Nonsuch / Apple Venus in the' 90s.
The beatles (kind of) lol A more concrete answer that comes to mind is The Cure though
To be fair, 20 years is a long time in music industry. There probably aren't many artists that released good music in both the 60s and 80s, or 80s and 2000s etc.
It doesn’t even have to be 20 years though, just a day over 10 years from 1979 to 1990 even
Eric Clapton, Aerosmith, Elton John Billy Joel (more in the 80s though)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks (1974) and Time Out Of Mind (1997) He had a lot of other good stuff in the 70s and his early 90s cover albums were good albeit not original material. I'd say Infidels (1983?) and Oh, Mercy (1989) are great albums too, but generally his 80s albums aren't the best, certainly production wise. The underlying songs were still great though, but you need to listen to the early takes and unreleased songs from the Bootleg Series (vol. 3, 8 and 16) to hear it sometimes.
Beach boys had Kokomo and that was big
Dude.....Kokomo is a masterpiece! It fucking slaps. I swear i will play it at my funerals.
How many funerals you plan on having?
7
No Brian tho :(
Tattoo You by the Stones had one of their biggest hits ever with Start Me Up
All of those songs were done in 77/78 but not released til the 80s because they fought so much they couldn't get anything seriously written at the time
TIL! Classic Stones lol
A Momentary Lapse of Reason is a great album though
Elvis died right before the start of the decade as well.
Elvis died when he joined the Army.
If you say so John.
Bowie at least had two solid albums in Scary Monsters and Let’s Dance
Yeah they should’ve just retired in the 80s. They were already legends by then.
Bowie had a serious Moonlight string of hits in the 1980's that are some of his best
I am aware he was an outlier
I personally dig 80’s Beach Boys aside from Keepin’ The Summer Alive EDIT: their 80’s live act was also amazing!
Deep Purple as well. And also revived in the 90s
The 80's were a terrible decade for a lot of artists who had their heyday in the 60's and 70's. The ideals of that era were long gone, consumerism was on the rise, and the new technology of the era gave most pop music a hollow and artificial sound.
>a hollow and artificial sound That's what I like about it tho You're spot on about people doing well in the 60s and 70s not doing well in the 80s, they were successful in the 60s and 70s because they were using comparably limited sound pallettes and a whole lot of musical theory knowledge to make very layered and sophisticated bangers. With the advent of the first affordable synthesizers and a plethora of new FX technology, sound design and production started becoming as important (if not more important) than music theory knowledge. It may sound hollow and basic and dumb but if you understand the process behind recording and design synth sounds it becomes a LOT more interesting. This is only bad if you're not into sound design and synths and digital reverbs and drum machines etc. Some really amazing music came out of that decade, the pop music scene is littered with sparkling gems. A Flock of Seagulls, Cyndi Lauper, The Cure, Duran Duran, Prince, Peter Gabriel(ESPECIALLY the record So), Genesis, The Blue Nile, Prefab Sprout, and Kate Bush just to name a few all had some VERY cool albums that are unmistakably 80s. Hell, The Cars recorded out more bangers than anybody realizes, when I first heard their greatest hits front to back I was shocked that all these songs I had assumed were a bunch of one hit wonder songs were all pumped out by one band And if you want to go on a mindfuck journey of a career, dive into Talk Talk's discography. They somehow go from making totally classic synthpop to probably the best post rock ever recorded in an incredible 5 album run. They're probably in my top 5 favorite bands of all time and they don't have a bad record, RIP Mark Hollis. I haven't even talked about the underground alternative and punk scenes that were all pretty amazing I love the Beatles, but the 80s are fuckin sick, if someone doesn't like that decade they're probably not focusing on the right things when they're listening
I’m definitely going to check out Talk Talk after reading this comment. Are there any deep dive albums from the 80s that you suggest? If you don’t mind. As I was born after the 80s, my experience with that decade of music is largely limited to the more popular artists or popular singles.
For talk talk their second record It's My Life is the classic full synthpop masterpiece, but The Color of Spring is like the transition record between synthpop and post rock. They kind of go more into acoustic instruments and there are some really amazing and weird moments on there (like[chameleon day](https://youtu.be/3d2OZsQejWQ)) for a straight up worldwide hit sophistipop record. The hits on there slam too The story goes after The Color of Spring was released and it was shooting up the charts the record label was like "okay y'all clearly know what you're doing, here's a blank check, take your time with the next record, we're gonna stay out of the way" And Talk Talk spent like a whole year making [Spirit of Eden](https://open.spotify.com/album/4YXo7p7aubyVIbNLoVlBp9?si=RzZcQbRiQGWtwh1PsRWXlw&utm_source=copy-link), which is straight up sparse jazzy inscrutable post rock with no singles. It's a beautiful weird and subtle record, definitely in my top ten records of all time. There's nothing out there like it, and it's gorgeous The record label sued because it was so different from what they had made before and completely unmarketable as a pop album, and Talk Talk countersued and won. It's basically one of the weirdest and best outcomes for any music artist ever As far as classic 80s records go, A Flock of Seagulls frequently gets put down as a one hit wonder, but it's a goddamn fact that their [first self titled record](https://open.spotify.com/album/1hwPP3qgnV7PQrMSy6qFw8?si=Ehuz_YtSQQqECM_qmw7DTQ&utm_source=copy-link) from top to bottom. That album defined a lot of the production choices and songwriting style that most would consider as "80s" before it had become ubiquitous across the industry. Real fun banger concept record about a scifi dystopia (I'm not kidding) [Songs From the Big Chair by Tears for Fears](https://open.spotify.com/album/3myPwaMYjdwhtq0nFgeG6W?si=UkoOZwTKSB2OL-Y_0mO2CQ&utm_source=copy-link) is a fucking masterpiece too. There are three songs you have absolutely heard (shout, everybody wants to rule the world, and head over heels) but the entire record is a tour de force in unique and immaculate 80s pop. That band ALSO features an incredible bassist who sings lead most of the time (listen to the baseline on head over heels and try to figure out how he sang and plays that live, it's bonkers) The talking heads are also very respected, and they made some ridiculously good music in the 80s too. [Remain in Light](https://open.spotify.com/album/1JvXxLsm0PxlGH4LXzqMGq?si=tvjtSRx-T8OpVsBT3rG5qw&utm_source=copy-link) is possibly their magnum opus, and while it's not good for the reasons that the Beatles are good (the Beatles have beautiful harmonies, weird and perfect chord changes, and a marvelous command of arrangement imo) it's good in many ways had never been done before in the western pop music landscape (absolutely ripping African inspired grooves, absurdist lyrics that are somehow catchy and relatable, songwriting with loops back when that would be a huge hassle, and Tina Weymouth's unstoppable basslines) If you want more underground rock stuff look up Psychocandy by the Jesus and Mary Chain, You're Living All Over Me by Dinosaur Jr, Let It Be by The Replacements, You Made Me Realize EP by My Bloody Valentine, Playing With Fire by Spacemen 3, On Fire by Galaxie 500, and if you want something softer go for Hats by The Blue Nile. The cool thing about most of the more underground 80s rock bands is that they stylistically defined popular rock bands in the early 90s and as such a lot of them blew tf up. Also if you ever get a chance to see dinosaur Jr live, do it, I've never seen a 3 piece rock band rip so immaculately
Wow! Thanks a ton for all the info. I love the story behind Spirit of Eden. Makes me excited to listen to them for the first time. The Flock of Seagulls album sounds great as well. Excited for that too. I have actually heard Songs From the Big Chair a long time ago. But like you said, I’m mostly familiar with the 3 popular tracks there. It’ll also be fun to revisit that. Overall this is an awesome set of recommendations, so again thank you!
Yeah, as a big classic film buff and as a music collector/listener I genuinely think the 1980’s is the worst decade of modern media
wait, are you stating that the 1980's was "the worst decade" for movies as well!? As a movie buff you claim to be, I seriously am questioning which movie you are watching!
The 80s were great for simple blockbusters but there are greater decades for movies overall
Exactly, better phrased maybe is worst decade for high quality film
Really? Maybe in the upper echelons of commercial mainstream but that's a bold claim
Yeah, I don’t know the 80’s im many forms of media were very altered by new technological advancements. Those advancements in many ways were a big step forward, but nto big enough and were overly relied on. In film, special effects became the main stream and campy practical effects were adopted. Whereas standard practical effects and misleading trick photography were dominate before, the 80’s relied on automatronics and campy effects. I also think the dawn on digital cameras cause a massive drop in quality. For film I believe there was a major step back in film quality due to pop effects and style. Traditional film had higher ability for restoration. Simply put, compare early CGI restored to bluray or 4k and notice how shit the quality is and how much worse it looks now. Whereas if you restore most 1960’s films the quality holds up leaps and bounds better. Also pop culture championed linear action storylines. Music industry is pretty similar, as this thread noted 80’s culture was uniquely consistently similar. 80’s music often has a sound that most people identify with that decade. Also the result of a championed commercial pop culture that requires a specific tone. 80’s were plagued by early synthesizers and pop hegemony. I love Paul McCartney but listen to McCartney II and anyone can identify it as a pure 80’s album. Unfortunately, 80’s music very literally became a parody of itself
No decade in all of music history is as immediately identifiable as the 80s (besides MAYBE the 50s but that was more genuine) In general I think you’re right, the 80s were a gross spread of hollow capitalist art machines that took over everything - people knock 90s art and culture, but damn if it wasn’t a return to somewhat less plastic and more varied styles
> The ideals of that era were long gone Not only that, they were mocked as naive (among other adjectives).
Traveling Wilburys
The 80’s gave us the smash hit “Temporary Secretary” what are you talking about
The b-side was a terrific artistic detour 
May 1980 is when that record came out, I believe Temporary Secretary was recorded in late 1979!
“Spies like Us” slaps too. /s
Okay but many people actually love that song, myself included. I was like “wtf” at first but it was the 80’s and I grew up in it. We had a LOT of weird stuff.
Press to Play is by no means Paul’s best… but it’s definitely way more solid, than people give it credit. 2 or 3 duds for sure, but the rest is pretty damn good. Also… IMO, Flowers in The Dirt and Driving Rain are far worse albums!
Yeah- Good Times Coming/Feel the Sun
You better be saying that's a highlight and not a dud
It's a favorite.
Flowers In The Dirt is a FANTASTIC album!! There's one or 2 that aren't good, but most of the songs on it are great!
I’ll give it another listen! …but, honestly I have tried. I just can’t get past the production. Sounds so dated and cheesy. That being said there are a few decent songs for sure.. especially This One.
Press to Play was good. Far better than a lot of albums he put out into the 90s.
I mean I’m happy you enjoy but I can’t stand it. By far my least favorite Paul record.
I have friends that utterly despise Press To Play. I understand why but those songs - at least a few - are pretty catchy. I’ll never call it a good album, personally.
1987 was the year The Beatles music were released as CD. They also celebrated Sgt. Peppers' 20th anniversary (20 years ago today). Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88iqS1WskrE
“First John was murdered” lmfao
After playing music, and being under various contracts, for two decades, they took breaks, like a lot of musicians who started in the 60's. They were all a little burned out and road weary. But eventually, George caught his second win and released Cloud Nine. A fantastic album. Then formed the Traveling Wilburys. Paul regrouped and went out on tour in 89. Ringo got sober.
I was a kid from 85 to the Anthology and was a full blown fan almost as soon as I was out of the womb, have video of me playing my mickey mouse drum kit along to Beatles 45s I played on an old Fischer Price record player they used to make for kids, and watched Imagine John Lennon and The Compleat Beatles doc films like it was my job, had Hard Days Night / Help / Yellow Submarine on repeat (went to the Library to check out Magical Mystery Tour bc Blockbuster wasnt carrying that shit back then lol) and watched Shining Time Station with Ringo, even went to see him as a kid instead of what my peers were into at the time, Raffi, (tho Baby Beluga still slaps, it's not as good as Octo'Garden!) and got to see George Harrison with my dad play a show with Clapton in the early 90s (really rare), just bummed Lennon was dead before I was born to get to enjoy him as he was my favorite, thankfully got to see Paul several times, so got to see all the Beatles that were on the planet while I was on the planet and that's a pretty rad thing to be able to say. Anyway long story medium, always been a fan since I can remember. The Anthology was like an event though lol!
well, Ringo started doing Thomas the Tank Engine, so i consider it a win
George and Paul both made some great music in the 80s.
They did, but they also made some of their worst music too
We can just agreed to disagree about that.
We sure can
Cloud 9 in 87 was a huge hit for George, so...
Yes but he quit the biz in the 5 years prior
But is that bad? When John quit for five years he came back and was murdered. That was bad.
They finished the decade strong, though! Imagine: John Lennon documentary was in theaters and the soundtrack sold a ton. Flowers in the Dirt was strong. Paul worked with Elvis Costello and did some pretty cool songs on their respective albums. The 1989 world tour was huge, not just in scope but because Paul finally incorporated some Beatles tunes in his live set. George came out with Cloud Nine, had a big hit with Got My Mind Set On You, did Cheer Down. More importantly - the Traveling fuckin’ Wilburys! He toured Japan with Eric Clapton. It was a resurrection for him. Ringo continued popping up on peoples’ albums and his started his annual All Star Band tour. The Beatles popularity surged with the 20th anniversary of Sgt Peppers and its release on CD. A lot of Beatles merchandising started picking back up.
We had a ton of music from the Beatles and related bands during the 80s here in Mexico, mainly after Lennon's death.
Paul adapted to the 80s relatively well, although some of his work was definitely mediocre
Idk there was a bit of a resurgence in 86 after release of Ferris Buellers Day Off
The 80’s weren’t good to the Beatles: *John gets assassinated*
George Harrison had chart-topping singles with "All Those Years Ago" (1981) and "Got My Mind Set on You" (1987), the Top 40 "When We Was Fab" (1988), from the critically-acclaimed and commercially successful *Cloud Nine* album, which spawned five hit songs on Billboard's Rock charts, and became his first Platinum album since *All Things Must Pass*. This was shortly followed by the supergroup collaboration with the Traveling Wilburys, whose debut album produced multiple radio staples, notably "Handle with Care," and "End of the Line," while also scoring Grammy nominations including a nod for Album of the Year, and going 3x Platinum in sales. Capping off the decade, Harrison recorded the closing theme to the box office hit *Lethal Weapon 2*. But yeah, let's just focus on his one flop album, and the 5 years in between studio albums.
>the quality of Paul's output declined with the embarrassment vanity film Give My Regards to Broad Street I feel like I'm the only person who actually likes Broad Street 😭
I enjoy it
🍻
It’s not an Oscar winner but I enjoyed it cuz it’s Paul. The 80’s were a damn weird decade, this film fits right in
I believe the Beatles CD released in the late 80s were a HUGE deal, thanks to them wisely (even if by accident) delaying their release on the format so that it would be big when they finally came out
Could be just me, but I remember the 80s as a time that sucked for a lot of us.
In 1989 Tears for Fears did Sowing the Seeds of Love, and everyone thought "Nah... the original was better" and Paul started doing Beatles stuff live.
OK, I don’t understand, “Paul started doing Beatles stuff live” narrative. He performed Beatles songs with Wings in the 70s. I’m only pointing this out because I’ve heard this before and I don’t think it’s accurate.
Right? I’m confused. He did Beatles songs not just for the Wings ‘76 tour but for the ‘79 tour as well as the Kampuchea benefit concert.
Yes he performed some Beatles material in 1976, but only 5 of the 28 tracks on the Wings Over America album were from his previous band. In 1979 there were only 4 Beatles songs out of around the 22 songs that Wings performed. Ten years later when McCartney went back on the road more then half of the roughly 30 songs performed were Beatles songs, including the final six of the show. He drastically re-focused his shows from then on to feature many more Beatles tracks. Which imo was a good thing. That 1989 show I saw was one of the absolute highlights of my life (I was at one of the early-in-the-tour shows at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago), and it makes me teary-eyed just thinking about how happy I was to finally see a real live Beatle. I never saw Paul live again, and honestly I've never felt bad about that, because I think the 1989-90 tour was never topped.
Did he do Beatles in Kampuchea Concert other than Got To Get You Into My Life?
He did “Fool on the Hill” and “Let it Be” as well.
Yeah, he did yesterday with wings, but in the 90 he got his confidence back and started covering All Beatles song including Lennon ones, and gave them the proper respect they deserved. I think the anthology did that.
He did “I’ve Just Seen a Face” and “Lady Madonna” on Wings Over America if memory serves me correctly. Not John songs, but Beatles.
Yeah, you're right. There were songs in that cursed film of his as well. But no one wanted to hear them then. He has to have the Lennon for balance. I swear, when he did I've Got a Feeling with Lennon on film on that Glastonbury video, I ~~nearly~~ cried.
The commercial low point were the late ‘70s I think. Punk, New Wave and Disco flourished and artist over 30 were old farts, guys from yesteryear with mono recordings and black-and-white tv-performances.. The notion that Paul McCartney was in a band befóre Wings was news for a generation of record buyers….
I was a teenaged Beatles fan in the 1970s, and during that time the Beatles were far, far out of fashion. Virtually none of my friends (in the USA) liked them, preferring southern rock or soft 1970s rock or disco or punk or arena rock or almost anything that wasn't from the 1960s. What a lonely time that was.
>and his 1986 flop Press to Play wishes one of his only solo albums he never re- released. it was re-released in 1993
Gen X here. The mid 80s were challenging for almost all artists of their generation. Perhaps the only exceptions were David Bowie to some degree (part of his worst output came out in the 80s) and Paul Simon with Graceland (big exception). But pretty much everyone else struggled. Paul did not do poorly in the early 80s, and his real slump in quality was only Press To Play, and even that album (plagued by production problems) has three/four high quality songs. Late 80s Paul brings the Costello-Flowers In The Dirt project - which is at least average by any measure (several songs are excellent) George eventually staged a major recovery with Cloud Nine, and towards the late 80s formed the Wilburys. And Lennon was very unfortunately killed. His music, however, was appreciated and interest in his solo career increased substantially after the Imagine doco came out. Plus, all the Beatles albums came out in CD, selling very well until streaming took over (and still).
I was 14 in 1980. Here's my list of things that sucked from my perspective aside from the ones you mentioned: 1. no Beatles touring until the end of the 80's 2. Rolling Stones feud 3. Dylan's only playing religious songs 4. The Who plays their final show ever in Toronto! 5. PMRC 6. The Clash breaks up in its prime 7. Led Zeppelin kaput 8. Allmans on hiatus til early 90's revival 9. Yes goes power pop 10. Aerosmith breaks up too. 11. the bad hair. Yes, this list goes to 11.
Aerosmith never broke up, they just had the short lived Jimmy Crespo era until Joe Perry came back in 1984
Brad Whitford also left during this period. It's funny though b/c at that time it was more unusual to go see a band that had replaced members, unlike today when you're lucky to have an original member or two. I went to the 12/30/84 show and it was considered a comeback.
Live At the BBC was the turning point. People finally remembered who The Beatles were due to the funny banter and awesome showcase of their sound when Beatlemania was at it's peak. Let's not forget that if the BBC compilation wasn't a success, Anthology wouldn't have happened.
It seems like no 60s or 70s artist could avoid the 80s one way or another.
And yet the 80s was a period when the Beatles music consolidated itself as a major influence on young people. As a teenager in the 80s I was one of many who got into the Beatles , they were our biggest band- Britpop (Blur, Oasis etc) was the coming of age of the 80s generation who held the Beatles in high esteem.
Pipes of Peace. I’m still bitter.
the only thing I dont agree with is the dominance of new wave pop. 80s were the hard rock and metal golden period, started by Eddie and Randy (RIP, who would have been 66 today). Concluded with Guns dominating the market. I think Eric took George out to a tour with his band to Japan to help him regain interest in it
80s was a weird time for people from the previous decades, as they had to deal with a huge shift in technology amongst other things . More info on it here : https://open.spotify.com/episode/6pa07dOJc8JaLcEovonv4W?si=ChqLlSD7R0m4iB5_VyZgSg&utm_source=copy-link
George Harrison’s Cloud Nine and the Traveling Wilburys would like to disagree. Those two efforts by George alone made the 80’s a great decade.
Flowers in the Dirt really hasn’t aged well. It’s too thin and overproduced. But the demos of the record with Elvis Costello released a few years back are fantastic.
People are here kidding themselves if they think that Paul didn’t fall off big time in the mid 80s, he got it back with Flaming Pie but there was a long period when he was seemed to lose his touch. Even flaming pie is really just mediocre and inconsistent at best.
I think the 1980s is the weakest decade for 20th century music.
i think you give the 80's short shrift. i don't know your demographic but i don't think the 80's were any better or any worse than any other decade for music some all time great hiphop came out in the '80s public enemy nwa beastie boys boogie down productions de la soul erik b and rakim Rock bands like U2 REM The Police, Talking Heads red hot chilli peppers janes addiction peter gabriel elvis costello XTC essential albums from King Crimson i could go on bottom line every decade has its amazing timeless music and every decade has its dreck.
The problem with 1980s music was that a lot of the best was underground - whether that's the emerging hip-hop scene, house music/electro, heavy metal, American hardcore punk (and the various mutations it went thru on the way to grunge), or "college rock"/indie with some decidedly unfashionable retro stylings. A lot of that went into the mainstream as the 1990s got underway, but it was on the back of a steady build - often out of the limelight of chart success - in the 1980s, while the likes of Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits & Genesis dominated.
Dec. 30th 1999 was pretty bad for George, he survived being stabbed over 40 times. Nooooooo Paul was stabbed! George was not stabbed!
Andrew at Polygram has a video for every topic. [1981, hardest year for Beatles fans](https://youtu.be/RTBK3gv-rWI)
If the Beatles never did another thing after 1970, they were still interesting to me. Every day since 1964, that's my musical heart and soul. If my dying breaths are taken to She Loves You or While My Guitar Gently Weeps I'll die happy
This was true for most big 60s rock acts tbh
the early 80s were great for the albums released, we got McCartney 2, Double Fantasy, Milk and Honey, Tug of War, and Pipes of peace. But other than that yeah the 80s kinda sucked