Category: 1983

Categories
1983 B Big Country Non-Soundtrack Music

Big Country – The Crossing

Big Country - The CrossingAs legend has it, this band’s unique sound (heard vividly on their sole big hit “In A Big Country”) came from the two lead guitars playing the same note simultaneously, evoking a bagpipe effect befitting the band’s proud Scottish origins. It was certainly a unique sound, and though Big Country has retained a cult following ever since then, this album contains the single that people probably remember most from the radio. “Fields Of Fire”, a lesser-known single, is also worth a listen – overall, it’s a very unique sound. Whether you’re in an 80s pop nostalgia mood, or you just really liked this very interesting sound, I think you’ll probably like Big Country.

Rating: 3 out of 4

  1. In A Big Country (4:45)
  2. Inwards (4:38)
  3. Chance (4:25)
  4. 1,000 Stars (3:54)
  5. The Storm (6:21)
  6. Harvest Home (4:21)
  7. Lost Patrol (4:53)
  8. Order this CD in the Store Close Action (4:17)
  9. Fields of Fire (3:32)
  10. Porrohman (7:53)

Released by: Polygram
Release date: 1983
Total running time: 48:59

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Categories
1983 1991 D Doctor Who Soundtracks Television

Doctor Who: Earthshock

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2 min read

This is a CD reissue of a 1983 album simply titled Doctor Who – The Music, which was the first such soundtrack of the show’s customarily abstract electronic music. The majority of the music from that original album hails from the popular 1981-83 period including such pivotal episodes as The Keeper Of Traken and Earthshock, though additional material added to the disc represents the early 70s (particularly two original and very, very abstract musique concrete pieces created by Delia Derbyshire, the producer of the original Doctor Who theme). I do have a complaint about the album – it’s the intertwining of sound effects with the music. If I wanted to hear the TARDIS 3 out of 4materializing, I’d dig out 30 Years At The Radiophonic Workshop or watch the show itself. The attempt at creating atmosphere manages simply to be distracting. Other than that, I heartily recommend this for Doctor Who fans, but with the abstract nature of some of the music, it may appeal only to dyed-in-the-wool Who fans.

Order this CD

  1. Doctor Who theme – 1963-1979 version (2:39)
  2. The Sea-Devils (5:19)
  3. Meglos (1:42)
  4. The World of Doctor Who including the Master’s theme (2:40)
  5. Blue Veils and Golden Sands / from Inferno (3:28)
  6. Nyssa’s Theme (0:43)
  7. Kassia’s Wedding Music (0:49)
  8. The Threat of Melkur (0:55)
  9. Exploring the Lab (1:48)
  10. Nyssa is Hypnotised (1:00)
  11. The Leisure Hive (5:35)
  12. The Delian Mode / from Inferno (5:35)
  13. Omega Field Force (1:54)
  14. Ergon Threat (1:03)
  15. The Termination of the Doctor (2:10)
  16. Banqueting Music / from Warrior’s Gate (1:31)
  17. TSS Machine Attacked / from Kinda (1:07)
  18. Janissary Band / from Snakedance (0:18)
  19. Subterranean Caves (2:36)
  20. Requiem (0:39)
  21. March of the Cybermen (5:13)
  22. Doctor Who theme – reprise (1:52)

Released by: Silva Screen
Release date: 1991 (originally released in 1983)
Total running time: 50:36

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Categories
1983 Dave Edmunds E Non-Soundtrack Music

Dave Edmunds – Information

Dave Edmunds - InformationIf this album is famous for anything, it’s probably famous for being oft-mistaken for ELO. Jeff Lynne of ELO fame produced the first two singles from an album that sounds like Dave Edmunds’ attempt to refashion himself as a synth-pop-rocker after years of a perfectly satisfactory career as an old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roller. The Lynne-produced “Information” and “Slipping Away” (the latter of which Lynne also wrote) sounded almost exactly like ELO’s 1983 Secret Messages album, with the trademark harmonies, keyboard and guitar work in just the right amounts. Edmunds produced the rest of the album, and it’s still good stuff, even with the unusually synth-heavy tone of the whole thing. Among the best on this album rating: 3 out of 4are “What Have I Got To Do To Win?” (my favorite, an experiment in synth-heavy blues rock) and “Don’t Call Me Tonight”, and Edmunds even makes a concession to pure rock – and heavy blues rock at that – with “Wait”. It’s not for nothing that Edmunds earned himself a reputation as one of Britain’s best rockers.

Order this CD

  1. Slipping Away (4:19)
  2. Don’t You Double (3:13)
  3. I Want You So Bad (2:36)
  4. Wait (4:10)
  5. The Watch On My Wrist (2:07)
  6. The Shape I’m In (2:26)
  7. Information (3:52)
  8. Feel So Right (3:29)
  9. What Have I Got To Do To Win? (3:16)
  10. Don’t Call Me Tonight (2:26)
  11. Have A Heart (2:55)

Released by: Columbia
Release date: 1983
Total running time: 34:49

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