There's not a whole lot good to recall about the early 1980's for the rock fan. Indeed, few eras were drearier, few eras held less promise for the future. Punk, new wave, power pop, ska, and the other rock revolutions from the late 70's had passed their peak and were in decline. MTV had helped to end the reign of most of the remaining 60's and 70's survivors, even radio stations were abandoning rock in droves.
There's not a whole lot good to recall about the early 1980's for the rock fan. Indeed, few eras were drearier, few eras held less promise for the future. Punk, new wave, power pop, ska, and the other rock revolutions from the late 70's had passed their peak and were in decline. MTV had helped to end the reign of most of the remaining 60's and 70's survivors, even radio stations were abandoning rock in droves.…
Article comments
26 - SphinxMontreal
DFC SKI,
I am not saying that all these bands are great Hall of Fame bands, however, they did have a following and they did exist. This is in contrast to other time periods, where even this mediocre corporate rock did not exist.
Rolling Stones' Emotional Rescue was a great album and so was Pink Floyd's The Wall, both released a year or so prior to 1981.
The negative 81-83 statement about rock music is totally absurd, since it was probably one of the best times for rock. Just look at the crap that has perpetually come around since that time period. Give me Journey and Loverboy any day over today's talentless clowns.
27 - Mario Becerra
I loved SFC Ski's list because it was very diverse and thanfully did not exclude metal. It also brought back some great memories of when I was in high school and my bibles were Creem and Kerrang magazines. Creem was covering everything from punk to funk, new wave to metal, jazz to country while Kerrang introduced me to the NWOBHM and other European bands. SFC Ski's list shows how many different styles were prevalent at the time. So for me, 1981-1983 brings back some great musical memories and possibly my favorite period overall.
28 - Douglas Mays
HW, you got it. I was thinkin' of El Paso's RP's. Oh, Top Jimmy and the.... I should try consumming coffee before reading posts...
But that is good of you to know the difference...
best,
plg
29 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
nice one, plenty of things to uncover here. Personally i think the UK music scene in the 80's was as interesting as it's ever been. The Pogues, The Proclaimers, Billy Bragg, Kirsty MacColl... anyone who digs this kinda roots-rock stuff would dig any of those ,i'd wager.
30 - Eric Olsen
excellent point Duker, they do fit in entirely, and there were a ton of them doing gritty, organic stuff - even the Wonder Stuff was basically a roots rock outfit
31 - godoggo
OK more thoughts: I saw Lone Justice on TV, though unfortunately not live, when they were an X-like cowpunk band and liked them a lot. I remember an Interview where Rank and File heaped scorn on them for going mersh, and predicted that they would be "huge," which they apparently considered a bad thing (more evidence:Blackbird).
Another band worth mentioning: the Panther Burns, whom I saw opening up for the Cramps one Halloween.
I think of Stevie Ray, whom I luvluvluv, as roots rock, although I've never seen the label applied to him, presumably because he was just too big in every way.
32 - HW Saxton
Hey godoggo, I mentioned Panther Burns
earlier in this thread. I also mentioned
"Blackbird"! I'm glad to see that your
your opinion of them basically echoed
mine. IE: I thought they were AWFUL.Drum
machine?! Whatinthefugweretheythinking?
Did you see Panther Burns play with The
Cramps at Devonshire Downs out in the
S.F. Valley in about 1981? I'm curious
because I was at that particular show.
If so,it's a small world isn't it?
33 - godoggo
Yep, that was the show. I got one of there records, made with a drum corps apparently, didn't care for it much actually. They did have a pretty proficient blues guitarist though. I suspect they made better records. Cripes I'm really trying to avoid getting into an endless rap about stuff I did in high school.
What were they thinking? I actually think they were afraid of getting too popular.
34 - HW Saxton
The original Panther Burns line up had
Alex Chilton(he started the band)playing
guitar and Jim Duckworth on the guitar
as well.Duckworth is probably who you're
thinking of. He is very talented player
who also recorded and toured with The
Gun Club for a while and also played w/
Charlie Pickett. He quit the music scene
some years back to concentrate on work
(he has a good job with UPS in Memphis)
and now just plays Jazz guitar on the
weekends. And believe it or not that 1st
Panther Burns LP: "Behind The Magnolia
Curtain" is as good as they get LOL.
But they put a lot of effort into being
that sloppy,atonal & deranged sounding.
I personally like that LP quite a bit,
but I'll admit they are most definitely
an acquired taste,not unlike The Cramps.
35 - Skeletons and Morells, roots rock czars
Let's not forget Lou Whitney and D.Clinton Thompson of the Skeletons and Morells and their groundbreaking work with Syd Straw, Jonathan Richman, Dave Alvin, Robbie Fulks and Rudy Grayzell. Their own classic, 1982's Shake and Push by the Morells sets a very high standard.