1986: The Year In Music

1986 – Space Shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after lift-off from Cape Canaveral, killing all 7 crew members. The Chernobyl nuclear power station explosion sees 31 die and radioactive contamination across Western Europe. The World Health Organization announces first global effort to combat AIDS. Yikes … hopefully the music can raise our spirits!

I’ll be looking at the popular and highest-rated songs / albums of the year, giving my opinions on their musicality and longevity as well as an overall verdict for the year as a whole.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Billboard Top 10 (Popular) Singles

Source: Wikipedia

10 – Addicted to Love (Robert Palmer)

“Addicted to Love” is quite a simple Rock song, but I really like it.

Robert Palmer’s vocals are great, and the general sleeze of the track works in its favour.

9 – Kyrie (Mr. Mister)

We’ve now entered the age of 80’s Pop where it starts to get a bit cheesy.

“Kyrie” is the better of the two Mr. Mister songs in this top ten, but I need to be in a certain mood to properly enjoy it.

8 – Burning Heart (Survivor)

“Burning Heart” is the other of the two songs Survivor wrote for the Rocky series, and while it isn’t as iconic as “Eye of the Tiger” I think it still has a great energy.

7 – Party All the Time (Eddie Murphy)

Eddie Murphey is a legendary comedian. A Pop star, however, he is not.

“Party All the Time” shows its age with bloated synths and lazy lyrics, but at least it’s trying to be fun.

6 – How Will I Know (Whitney Houston)

Whitney Houston was the breakout star of 1986 – loads of songs from her debut album, like “Saving All My Love for You” and “Greatest Love of All”, are remembered as classics.

The best of the bunch is “How Will I Know”, a vibrant track that makes you want to dance along.

5 – Broken Wings (Mr. Mister)

Proper 80’s cheese.

I don’t listen to “Broken Wings” all that often, but it’s fine.

4 – On My Own (Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald)

A standard 80’s ballad. Not much more to say.

3 – I Miss You (Klymaxx)

Klymaxx was a pioneering all-female group from the 80’s, but I can’t say I’d heard of them before making this retrospective.

“I Miss You” is quite boring musically, but it has a certain charm.

2 – Say You, Say Me (Lionel Richie)

Lionel Richie seemed quite comfortable making standard love ballads by this point in his career.

“Say You, Say Me” doesn’t have much going on, but it’s admittedly catchy.

1 – That’s What Friends Are For (Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder)

For a song with such a star-studded cast of singers, I expected “That’s What Friends Are For” to be more exciting.

It’s a nice ballad, I’ll give the song that, but it seems like wasted potential.

FAVOURITE – “How Will I Know” (Whitney Houston)

LEAST FAVOURITE – “Party All the Time” (Eddie Murphey)

Top-Rated Songs

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

10 – Graceland (Paul Simon)

The title track from Paul Simon’s seminal album is a great one.

It’s bouncy and joyous, and I love the African influences across this track and the whole album.

9 – Kiss (Prince And The Revolution)

You can always count on Prince to provide the goods.

“Kiss” is arguably his most fun song, with a brazen sexuality and some really funky synth and guitar work.

8 – Bizarre Love Triangle (New Order)

New Order were one of the prime electronic bands of the 80’s, and “Bizarre Love Triangle” was one of their best.

I love the stabbing synths in the verses and how the chorus opens up.

7 – Cemetry Gates (The Smiths)

I hope you like The Smiths, because we’re about to get a lot of them in quick succession.

All in all, and despite the song being called “Cemetry Gates”, this is a cheerier Smiths song than most others.

6 – The Queen Is Dead (Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty (Medley)) (The Smiths)

“The Queen Is Dead” is more hard-hitting than most Smiths songs, both in its music and its subject matter.

The band members go all-out ensuring this was an album opener to remember.

5 – I Know It’s Over (The Smiths)

“I Know It’s Over” has a nice swing to it, and yet Morrissey’s sombre lyrics are there all the same. That juxtaposition works really well.

4 – The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (The Smiths)

Probably the most commercial, widely accessible song from “The Queen is Dead”.

It’s bouncy and nostalgic, a bit like “This Charming Man”.

3 – Bigmouth Strikes Again (The Smiths)

One of my personal favourite Smiths songs, “Bigmouth Strikes Again” has gorgeous guitar and even more sublime vocal harmonies.

2 – Master Of Puppets (Metallica)

“Master Of Puppets”, like “Running Up That Hill” the year before, is more known these days for its use in “Stranger Things”. And like that Kate Bush classic, the Metallica song will outlive that Netflix show tenfold.

It’s one of the great metal songs, with a punchy chorus and some gnarly guitar solos that get my adrenaline pumping.

1 – There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (The Smiths)

I always go back and forth on whether this or “How Soon Is Now?” is my favourite Smiths song, but for now all I know is that “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” is an incredible track.

It’s packed to the brim with emotive storytelling, and the instrumentation is divine.

BEST SONG OF 1986 – “Master Of Puppets” (Metallica)

The Smiths had six of the ten best songs of the year, but still didn’t claim the “Best Song” award … That’s gotta hurt.

Top-Rated Albums

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

5 – Skylarking (XTC)

XTC are a Pop band by nature, but it’s some of the most colourful and intelligent Pop you’ll ever hear.

Favourites are “Grass”, “Earn Enough For Us” and the brilliant closer “Dear God”.

4 – So (Peter Gabriel)

I used to consider “So” my favourite album of 1986, but that’s because I completely forgot about two other incredible albums (which I’ll talk about shortly).

The two stand-outs are definitely “Sledgehammer” and “In Your Eyes” – two of the best songs of the year – but other tracks like “Red Rain” and “Don’t Give Up” are great too.

3 – Graceland (Paul Simon)

I’ll always be a little salty towards “Graceland” – people credit Paul Simon with introducing African Polyrhythms to popular music, but Talking Heads did it six years earlier with “Remain in Light”!

The title track as well as “You Can Call Me Al” are the best on the record, but I do admittedly enjoy the African-inspired tracks like “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” and “Under African Skies”.

2 – Master Of Puppets (Metallica)

The title track is well worth the price of admission, but the rest of “Master Of Puppets” is awesome too.

The opener “Battery” is nuts, and Cliff Burton’s bass performance on “Orion” is excellent.

1 – The Queen Is Dead (The Smiths)

Considering half the bloody album made it onto the high-rated songs, I would’ve eaten my hat if “The Queen Is Dead” didn’t at least finish in the top two.

It’s the most consistently jaw-dropping album of the year, and individual highlights such as “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” and “Bigmouth Strikes Again” ensure my attention is firmly hooked the whole time.

BEST ALBUM OF 1986 – “The Queen Is Dead” (The Smiths)

Final Thoughts

1986’s popular hits were a bit blah, but I enjoyed the high-rated songs and albums.

Overall Grade: B-

Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: