Continuing my look at the albums of 1986…
My biggest blindspot for any musical year is invariably the R&B releases. It’s just not a genre I enjoy enough to dive in very deep.
The biggest R&B/soul release of 1986 was Anita Baker’s Rapture. This was the singer-songwriter’s sophomore effort, following a modestly received debut a few years earlier. It rode the success of top ten single ‘Sweet Love’ to 5X Platinum status, easily becoming the biggest success of her career.
Continuing my look at the albums of 1986…
In the early 80s, Duran Duran released Rio and Seven and the Ragged Tiger, their two most successful albums. A world tour followed, after which the band members started getting pulled in different directions, taking on solo work and side projects.
By the time 1986 rolled around, the quintet had become a trio, following the departures of drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor. (Incidentally, none of the three Taylors in Duran Duran — Roger, Andy, and bassist John — are related).
Continuing my look at the albums of 1986…
It would be malpractice to write about the music of 1986 and not mention the Beastie Boys’ debut release Licensed to Ill. This is one of the best-selling rap albums of all time and one of the most successful debuts. It was the first rap album to top the Billboard 200 and the second to go Platinum.
It is also critically acclaimed, praised for its punk rock sensibility, its creative use of classic rock samples, and the chemistry of its three leads.
Continuing my look at the albums of 1986…
I was prepared to put English rock band XTC’s Skylarking on my list of the best 1986 albums, remembering my fondness for it during college. But when I listened to it for the first time in years, maybe the first time in decades, it didn’t grab me the way it used to.
‘Dear God’ still hits hard, but much of the rest is a bit too much. Too strident, too weirdly psychedelic.
Continuing my look at the albums of 1986…
When I wrote the Decades posts about 1984, my happiest discovery was The Bangles’ debut album All Over the Place. So I shouldn’t be surprised that their follow-up, Different Light, holds the same designation for 1986.
This was the band’s triple-Platinum breakthrough, the album that featured #1 hit ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’ and #2 hit ‘Manic Monday.’ It was more polished and poppy than the debut, more designed for commercial airplay, but still unpredictable and energetic.
Meet Me In Montauk 