Tag Archives: Decades

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Song of the Day #3,792: ‘You’re My Home’ – Billy Joel

Billy Joel’s compilation of live performances, Songs in the Attic, is my third favorite album released in 1981. It might have cracked the top two but I subtracted a few points because it’s a greatest hits collection of sorts.

Joel was riding a commercial high after the releases of The Stranger, 52nd Street and Glass Houses, and saw an opportunity to introduce his new fans to the music he had recorded prior to breaking into the mainstream. Rather than release the original recordings, which were performed with session musicians, he preferred to put them in new context with the backing of his talented touring band.

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Song of the Day #3,791: ‘Who’s Crying Now’ – Journey

Before I begin, Happy 18th Birthday to my nephew Daniel! If you haven’t had a chance to listen to his recent EP, Daniel Gallup, you can do so through my blog right here.

My #4 album of 1981 is the only one on this list that I actually listened to in 1981. In fact, I’m pretty sure Journey’s Escape was the first album I ever owned. It was also the first (and last) album I ever experienced in the form of an arcade game.

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Song of the Day #3,790: ‘You Know What I Mean’ – Phil Collins

Welcome to the latest edition of my Decades series, wherein I feature celebrated albums from a single year across several decades. So far I’ve covered 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 1972, 1982, 1992, 2002, and (most recently) 1971. That brings me to the year I’ll focus on over the new few weeks: 1981.

The first year of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. The year of the first test tube baby. The year Raiders of the Lost Ark came out. The year I turned nine. Of the five albums I’ll count down first — my personal favorites from 1981 — I listened to only one at the time. The rest I’ve discovered since.

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Song of the Day #3,710: ‘Northern Sky’ – Nick Drake

Nick Drake is like one of those classical painters who died penniless before their work became widely known. The three albums he recorded before his suicide at age 26 sold fewer than 10,000 copies combined. But after his death, mostly in the last two decades, all three have reached Gold status.

1971’s Bryter Later was his second album and many critics consider it his best. I’m familiar with only his final album, the wonderful Pink Moon, but a single listen to this one had me swooning.

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Song of the Day #3,709: ‘Get it On (Bang a Gong)’ – T. Rex

Of all the albums I sampled to prepare for my look at the music of 1971, none hooked me as quickly or completely as T. Rex’s Electric Warrior.

My knowledge of T. Rex pretty much began and ended with today’s SOTD, ‘Get it On (Bang a Gong),’ the band’s only U.S. hit. It’s a great song, but one of many on an album that maintains that infectious glam rock groove throughout.

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