Ah, the '80s: a time of excess, the world a neon wonderland where money flowed like champagne and cocaine flowed like money. Oh, and music videos were at the height of their influence, with MTV still playing them and all; as for me, MuchMusic was a raging addiction not unlike those Wall Street power junkies and their powder. By 1986, my consumption of the stuff was up to a solid four hours a day give or take, as I soaked in all that I could. I was an impressionable 10 year old kid with a proxy membership to Columbia House through my older siblings and, between that and regular trips to K-Mart and Zellers County Fair, my cassette collection was growing nicely.
1986 was a year of ups and downs for me; I was excelling at school and living a young and carefree life, but I was also in for the worst injury of my life to date. On December 1st, a snowmobiling mishap (I was riding on back) ended up with both bones of my right ankle snapped. All told, I was bedridden for about a week and a half and wore a cast for about two months. So, as 1986 drew to a close, I had plenty of time to satisfy my budding music addiction and, while I can't say I owned all of what constitutes the top ten below, it's safe to assume that a lot of my current musical tendencies were shaped in part by a fateful, frigid month spent mostly in bed.
Having already tipped the hat to 1996 and 1991 in earlier posts, I had intended on going back a bit further; when I saw a tweet celebrating the 30th anniversary of Paul Simon's Graceland I remembered, "oh yeah, 1986!" So, without further ado (and with 30 extra years of deliberation), here are my picks for the best albums celebrating 30 years of existence this year:
Night Songs
Released: August 2, 1986
In the early '80s, a phenomenon swept across the land of hard rock by the name Mötley Crüe. As a result, the "hair metal" genre was born. It wouldn't truly dominate until the late '80s, thanks in part to Night Songs and its hits Shake Me and Nobody's Fool. In fact, 1986 would end up being the year the genre really broke through; there's more evidence of this to follow.
The Queen is Dead
Released: June 16, 1986
Hitting the market just in time for summer, The Smiths' third record was a sunny romp tailor made for adolescents... wait, I think I confused The Queen is Dead for the first New Kids On the Block album. Oh, right: this is the record that's dark, lush, majestic and generally considered one of the greatest albums of all time. That said, it didn't stand a chance of connecting with the 10 year old me, and has in truth only found my favour in recent years. Goes to show, kids, it's never too late to right the wrongs of youth.
Mechanical Resonance
Released: December 8, 1986
One could argue that Tesla came around at exactly the right, and wrong, time. Audiences were more susceptible to the band's sound, having been broken in by all the hair metal bands making it big. Thing is, Tesla was always more rooted in classic rock than their peers, and as a result have crafted a body of work that holds up better than most bands of the era. Their debut proved them a formidable talent, and set the table for their true breakthrough three years later on The Great Radio Controversy.
Life's Rich Pageant
Released: July 28, 1986
By the time R.E.M. put out their fourth album, they were well respected on the college radio circuit (for you millennials, "college radio" was what we called "indie" in the '80s). However, they'd yet to break into the mainstream consciousness. That wouldn't truly happen until '87 when they released a little tune called The One I Love, but there are hints of that hit-making potential on Life's Rich Pageant, most notably on singles Fall On Me and Superman.
Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
Released: September 9, 1986
Still stinging from his firing from Metallica, Dave Mustaine set out to become bigger than his former employers. What many casual observers don't recall is that, for a while, he almost did it. Megadeth's second album displayed considerable chops and intelligent, politically charged lyrics that were right up metalheads' alley. That the band was marred by drug issues during the recording didn't dull its effect, and Peace Sells helped 1986 become a milestone year for metal. But, more on that later...
So
Released: May 19, 1986
I went nuts for this record when I was a kid. Like, unhealthy levels of batshit insane. At first, it was all because of the mind-blowing Sledgehammer video (even now a marvel of the music video format IMO), but eventually I found myself singing along to Big Time, then Red Rain, then In Your Eyes, then Don't Give Up. If I had any maturity beyond my years as far as musical tastes were concerned, the main reason for it is So.
Slippery When Wet
Released: August 8, 1986
I know, I know. Bon Jovi really went to shit. That said, you don't get a career pushing 40 and fourteen albums deep without doing something right. They may be an afterthought for all but the diehards now, but there was a time when Bon Jovi were undisputed kings. By my watch, that time was about 4 to 6 months after Slippery When Wet came out. I don't care who you are, if You Give Love a Bad Name, Livin' On a Prayer or Wanted Dead or Alive start to play, you're belting it out, at least in your head. I get it, it's involuntary.
Reign in Blood
Released: October 7, 1986
Speaking of bands coasting for three decades off the legacy of their best record... seriously though, Slayer may have gone on to a long and storied career and become renowned as one of the absolute titans of metal, but rest assured that none of that happens without Reign in Blood. Visceral, brutal, relentless, whatever metal adjective you care to throw at it, it is that and then some. In terms of overall construction and execution, Reign in Blood just might be the greatest metal album of all time. Well, except for one...
Licensed to Ill
Released: November 15, 1986
When Aerosmith's career got a second wind courtesy Run-DMC, who knew it was about to open the door to this? With the combination of frat boy humour, hard hip-hop beats and rock guitars, Licensed to Ill brought rap out of the streets and into the suburbs. In fact, Licensed to Ill brought rap so far into the mainstream that I'm not sure the genre is as prominent a force as it is today without it.
Master of Puppets
Released: March 3, 1986
Sure, they went on to release one of the best selling albums of all time. Sure, they brought metal mainstream in a way no other band could ever have aspired to. Sure, their success has steered them to some questionable places. And sure, without the "black album" I may never have even listened to their older stuff. However, if I hold any shred of fandom for Metallica today (and I do), it's primarily because of Master of Puppets. Taking all of the best elements from Kill 'Em All and Ride the Lightning and making them better, pound for pound Master of Puppets just isn't my pick for best record of 1986, and not just my pick for Metallica's best album. It is my pick for metal's greatest album ever.
So, who did I snub? You want to champion Poison and/or Wang Chung? Fill yer boots in the comments. As always, if there's something you want to see me tackle in this column, let me know!
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