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Song of the Day #6,685: ‘Give Back My Heart’ – Lyle Lovett

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1987…

#7 – Pontiac – Lyle Lovett

I discovered Lyle Lovett in the early 90s and immediately fell for his unique blend of country, blues, swing, and jazz. His songs are equal parts wit and wisdom, toe-tapping and introspective.

My favorite Lovett albums are three he released between 1989 and 1996: Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, Joshua Judges Ruth, and The Road to Ensenada. But 1987’s Pontiac contains the seeds of everything that makes those albums wonderful, and is a brilliant collection in its own right.

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Song of the Day #6,684: ‘Tunnel of Love’ – Bruce Springsteen

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1987…

#8 – Tunnel of Love – Bruce Springsteen

Three years after the smash Born in the U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen set aside his everyman rocker persona and released his most personal album yet. Even the cover photo, of Bruce in a dark suit and bolo tie, pointed toward a more contemplative and internal collection (contrasted with the dirt and sweat of Born in the U.S.A.‘s jeans-clad heartland anthems).

Tunnel of Love is a breakup album about a marriage that wasn’t over yet. Springsteen and actress Julianne Phillips divorced a year later, and he was living with Patti Scialfa (to whom he is still married) even before the papers were signed. The pain and regret of that period is present in almost every note of this record.

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Song of the Day #6,683: ‘The Ballad of Dorothy Parker’ – Prince

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1987…

#9 – Sign O’ the Times – Prince

If I tried to be totally objective, this album would be in the top five of this list, and possibly even at #1. It’s the magnum opus of one of music’s most startlingly original and creative talents — a funk, R&B and art pop masterpiece.

I’m not denying any of that by putting it at #9. It’s just that Prince isn’t a personal favorite of mine. I appreciate the hell out of his work, and love a lot of it, but I’ve never felt the personal connection I do with some other artists.

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Song of the Day #6,682: ‘The Lazarus Heart’ – Sting

Now that the Decades series has its own dedicated landing page, I’m excited to add new installments and get closer to my goal of writing about 40 years of memorable albums (with additional decades to come).

Over the next several weeks I’ll turn my attention to the albums of 1987, a year that turns out to be even stronger than the last one I tackled, 1977.

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Song of the Day #6,681: ‘Amanda’ – Boston

The #1 song the week of November 8, 1986, belonged to Boston. ‘Amanda’ was the band’s first single in six years, and it kicked off the promotion of their third album, Third Stage, with a bang.

While Third Stage didn’t ultimately reach the heights of the band’s first two smash albums, it did go 4X Platinum, and ‘Amanda’ became Boston’s only #1 hit. That’s right, ‘More Than a Feeling,’ ‘Peace of Mind,’ ‘Don’t Look Back,’ and other popular Boston songs never managed to top the Hot 100.

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