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| Articles: 1980 Articles |
3-D - 1980 3-D
 | | Like a bolt out of the blue, New York based power pop band 3-D released two albums just months apart in 1980 and disappeared almost as quickly. |
707 - 1980 707
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Billboard magazine's review of the debut was 'well-executed mainstream rock with slight new wave influences'. More like pomp with a commercial slant I'd say.
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Adams, Bryan - 1980 Bryan Adams
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Mention Adams' scorching 1984 AOR classic 'Reckless' and most of our readership go weak in the knees, but it might be a surprise to some this reviewer finds Bryan Adams first two records the more interesting of his work as an artist steeped in Canadian pop while still trying to find his own voice.
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Airplay - 1980 Airplay
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Here's another album that is laid like a wreath at the altar of west-coast worshippers. A totally underated slice of L.A sunshine music by some of the best 'cats' in the business.
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Alibi - 1980 Friends
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Once again, not a blockbuster album by any stretch, but a nice little record worthy of a spin on the old turntable once or twice a year. Never on CD, it's worth picking up cheaply on LP for anyone interested in the early days of British AOR.
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Ambrosia - 1980 One Eighty
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Among all of Ambrosia's efforts,'One Eighty' is the pick of the bunch for me. The others are all good too, but it captures the band at different moments of their career. I feel that during the 1979-1980 period, Ambrosia were at their peak.
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American Noise - 1980 American Noise
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Archetypal AOR from the early eighties era, for which this band had its roots in the active Cleveland scene of the late 70's.
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Amulet - 1980 Amulet
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This is a storming album despite the production. It's obvious everyone here had been listening closely to Van Halen and 'Just Like A Woman' could be off either 'Van Halen' or 'II'.
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Angel Witch - 1980 Angel Witch
 | | A cornerstone of the denim-clad NWOBHM movement and certainly one of my favourites of the air guitar era. |
Angels, The (As Angel City) - 1980 Face To Face (US Compilation)
 | | Into 2012, The Angels are reactivated, and will have a new studio album later in the year. In the meantime, get this much sought after compilation of their classic older material, and see/hear where it all started.. |
Anyone's Daughter - 1980 Anyone's Daughter
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A long standing German prog rock act who formed in 1972 but didn't release their first album 'Adonis' until 1979. However, for their self titled album the following year, the band instead tried their hand at a more commercial direction.
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Arkangel - 1980 Warrior
 | | 'Warrior' housed in a gorgeous sleeve incorporates an arsenal of medieval instrumentation but this is not a traditional album by any means. However, it is worth every effort to track down no matter what the cost. |
Artful Dodger - 1980 Rave On
 | | Despite releasing three albums for CBS, the label dropped the band, however Artful Dodger floundered until signing with Ariola for their final LP 'Rave On'. It would be their last, but what a cool album it is, dropping the occasional hard rock tendencies of their early albums in favor of a pure power pop outing that's simply magic. |
Asia (USA) - 1980 Armed To The Teeth
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South Dakota's very own Asia, the American band with the pre-cursor name to the UK band who stole their thunder. This is Asia (USA)'s second album 'Armed To The Teeth'
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Aviator (UK) - 1980 Turbulence
 | | This is the second and final album from British prog rockers Aviator. |
Axe - 1980 Living On The Edge
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'Living On The Edge' is a super album, their second and last for MCA.
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Babys, The - 1980 On The Edge
 | | By 1980 the band had moved away their pop orchestrated origins to a harder edged radio rock format. They released two albums during this year: 'Union Jacks' in January and this one 'On The Edge' in October. It would be the bands final album before calling it quits at the end of the year. |
Babys, The - 1980 Union Jacks
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This is arguably the finest Babys album, although 'Head First' and 'On The Edge' run it very close indeed.
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Ballard, Russ - 1980 Into The Fire
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'Into The Fire' is still widely known as Ballard's key moment individually however. In the end it is every much a product of late 70's England.
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Beck, Jeff - 1980 There And Back
 | | Unbelievably this is to the best of my knowledge the first time a Jeff Beck album has featured here at Glory Daze. For a musician as legendary as Beck it's almost impossible to know where to begin, considering his exploits with The Yardbirds, The Jeff Beck Group, Beck, Bogert and Appice and his solo career. |
Beggars Opera - 1980 Lifeline
 | | Scottish band Beggars Opera released seven interesting prog-related albums between 1970 and 1980. This is 'Lifeline', the last of that bunch, which has equal doses of Manfred Mann, Lake and late period Lucifer's Friend in the mix. |
Biz, The - 1980 A Matter Of Time
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The Biz were a Canadian outfit who released this very rare one-off effort back in 1978. The band were from the same era as similar outfits such as Zon, Styx and even Legs Diamond, and accordingly, manage to include all these reference points within the confines of their complex pompous sound.
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Black Rose - 1980 Black Rose
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Black Rose was a project spawned out of Cher's dalliance with then main-squeeze, guitarist Les Dudek. As time has elapsed it has become a forgotten album no doubt because of Cher's subsequent massive commercial success in the late 1980's. Overall a good album worthy of investigation - if only to hear Cher perform AOR with a tougher edge than her later bombastic (and slightly clinical) releases.
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Black Sabbath - 1980 Heaven And Hell
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With this celebrated version of Black Sabbath reunited for the second time, albeit under the name Heaven And Hell, what better time to revisit the landmark recording itself that gave Sabbath a new life when they seemed all but a lost cause.
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Blackfoot - 1980 Tomcattin'
 | | One of a handful of southern rock bands that flew the flag for the Confederate during the 70's and 80's were Jacksonville based Blackfoot. |
Blackjack (USA) - 1980 Worlds Apart
 | | This is a long-lost AOR selection that deserves another look thirty odd years after its release. |
Blue Oyster Cult - 1980 Cultosaurus Erectus
 | | The result is a highly accomplished hard rock album with all the idiosyncrasies one had come to expect from the offbeat rockers. |
Blue Peter - 1980 Radio Silence
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Canada's Blue Peter arrived amid a mid 70's Toronto music scene with punk pretensions, which mellowed over several albums to a melodic new wave sound. 1980's 'Radio Silence' is a near perfect mix of art school rock (both the American and British versions) as well 'skinny tie' power pop that I've ever heard. Think Roxy Music, Cheap Trick and Talking Heads wrapped up in a nice tight little package..
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Bogart - 1980 Brandnew
 | | Bogart were a pop duo from Germany, releasing two albums in the 1980-1981 time frame. This lot were caught between two musical eras, fusing them wasn't probably a good idea. |
Bondarz Superstarz - 1980 Break A Leg
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Allen Bondar is a musical maverick of sorts. He would be part of a new shortlived project that would rear its head at the start of the 80's decade. Called Bondarz Superstarz, the trio would create a diverse and at times bombastic LP calling on many musical styles crossing pomp, prog, funk, disco and whatever else was being bandied about at the time.
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Brooklyn Dreams - 1980 Won't Let Go
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'Won't Let Go' was Brooklyn Dreams final album and decidedly with Casablanca's about face from Disco to pop styles, the record was a more 'rockier' affair than previous releases.
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Budgie - 1980 Power Supply
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It appears someone in the band had been listening to AC/DC's 'Let There Be Rock' and 'Powerage', as the material closely resembles those all time favourites, with same riff approach and aggressive, raw production.
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Bus Boys - 1980 Minimum Wage Rock N Roll
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Formed in the late seventies as teenagers, the Bus Boys were signed by major label Arista, giving black artists some hope in the rock stakes.
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Carlton, Larry - 1980 Strikes Twice
 | | Exploring some of Carlton's albums has been a treat and some of the more melodic albums such as 'Strikes Twice' really should be heard. This truly is a guitar genius at work. |
Carmen, Eric - 1980 Tonight You're Mine
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It was hard to believe the man partly responsible for the power pop magic that was The Raspberries seemed to have lost his edge and in turn much of his rock fan base. Fortunately Carmen saw the hand writing on the wall with declining record sales and returned to the sound that made him famous on this, his fourth solo album.
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Cassidy, Shaun - 1980 Wasp
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A stroke of genius if you think about it, a former teen idol teaming up with a pop music visionary and one of the most musically adept bands of the time, the results had to be good and 'Wasp' holds up as one of the more interesting albums of the 80's.
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Cats - 1980 Cats
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This is one of those bands that couldn't figure out what or who they wanted to be and suffered for it ten fold. Striking cover art, strikingly bad album. Avoid.
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Cheap Trick - 1980 All Shook Up
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Considering the Beatles were a major influence on the band, it seemed fitting to have George Martin at the helm production wise. While this didn't result in huge album sales, the overall consistency represented on 'All Shook Up' is nothing short of a power pop classic!!
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Cheek - 1980 Cheek [ep]
 | | Cheek represent extremely obscure power-pop emanating from Sydney Australia during the late 70's and early 80's. |
Chicago - 1980 Chicago XIV
 | | A recommended listen and while far from their peak, some fine moments for those willing to give the record a chance. |
Cold Chisel - 1980 East
 | | If you were a part of the Aussie rock music culture during the late 70's and early 80's, then you'd be hard-pressed not to have missed these boys from Adelaide. |
Couchois - 1980 Nasty Hardware
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These boys were something special, and this follow up saw the emphasis placed squarely on commercial melodies that veer from Player to The Eagles in the blink of an eye, with not a wasted track.
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Critical Mass - 1980 It's What's Inside That Counts
 | | From 1980, Critical Mass were a Miami based punk meets power pop outfit who had their heart set on pre-punk Britain and their feet trodden on shattered pop candy glass! |
Crossrode - 1980 Crossrode
 | | Crossrode are a band from the late 70's early 80's southern rock scene, with a style not dissimilar to genre faves Lynyrd Skynyrd. |
Cruiser - 1980 Rollin With The Times
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The conservative amongst you should give this album a wide berth as it's unlikely to be your particular cup of Earl Grey. However those of you with a taste for the eccentric will find it refreshingly different..
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Dakota - 1980 Dakota
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The debut album from the much loved (well from GLORY DAZE's perspective anyway).. Dakota.
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Davies, Dave - 1980 AFL1-3603
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The man who gave us the monumental power chords of 'You Really Got Me', and defined the sound of British rock legends The Kinks for three decades, guitarist Dave Davies released his first solo album 'AFL1-3603' in 1980, the title taken from the LP's catalog number.
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Davis, Paul - 1980 Paul Davis
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Davis was making inroads into a genre that he wasn't entirely at home with, but at least, he was earning a living. By 1980, Paul had released a new album, simply a self titled affair, which was more 'middle-of-the-road', bordering on West Coast.
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Def Leppard - 1980 On Through The Night
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This is the least remembered Leppard album by fans and band alike. It was one of countless classic metal and hard rock albums that hit shelves in 1980, a breakthrough year for British metal.
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DeSario, Teri - 1980 Caught
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If there had been any justice in the world Teri De Sario would have endured the same success as Pat Benatar et al and not ended up as just another casualty in the AOR wasteland.
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DFK Band - 1980 Dudek Finnigan Krueger Band
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As a one-off this is unbeatable and it begs the thought of what might have transpired in later years.
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Doc Holliday - 1980 Doc Holliday
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One of the South's best rock bands, following on in the great tradition of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Allman Brothers.
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Dupree, Robbie - 1980 Robbie Dupree
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A staple in the West Coast scene is singer/songwriter Robbie Dupree (real surname Dupuis), an artist who's history goes way back into time.
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Elephant - 1980 On My Feet Again
 | | Traversing the wonderful world of late 70s European AOR brings us back to Germany and Elephant; a band who released four albums in a productive five year period. |
Face Dancer - 1980 About Face
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Admittedly, the material on the album isn't among the favorite of the band-members. It's not to say that it was a write-off, but when the environment isn't the best, you can't be expected to deliver in kind.
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Fandango - 1980 Cadillac
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This album is great hard edged radio rock, though not AOR in the purest sense. Their sound has more to do with bands from the mid seventies like fellow New Yorkers Blue Oyster Cult, combining funky elements in that quaint style associated with bands from that era.
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FCC - 1980 Do You Believe In Magic
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West Coast does not exist in much purer form than 'Do You Believe In Magic'. If you can locate a copy of this then there is plenty of melodic joy to be derived from it.
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Firefall - 1980 Clouds Across The Sun
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The period 1976-1979 was a good and productive time for Colorado based Firefall. The band, a logical extension of such acts like The Eagles and America, turned out a number of well-performed albums.
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Fly By Night - 1980 Zoo Road
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With a handle like this, one could be forgiven for thinking this lot were a Rush cover band. Not quite. They are caught somewhere between Canadians Cinema Face and Lynx, and their one-off album 'Zoo Road' has been considered a closet classic by cult AORsters and pomp fans for years.
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Francour, Chuck - 1980 Under The Boulevard Lights
 | | Under The Boulevard Lights' upon deeper inspection doesn't hold the initial promise of the title track, the lack of keyboards, Francour's gritty vocal and the overall boogie/rock n roll angle didn't quite do it for me. |
G-Force (Gary Moore) - 1980 G-Force
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At the end of the Thin Lizzy 'Black Rose' album and tour in 1979, Irish guitarist Gary Moore holed up in Los Angeles, and at the time decided to head out on his own musical career venture. First stop was to set up the band G-Force..
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Gambler - 1980 Love And Other Crimes
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Gambler.. another long lost band from the dusty files of seventies AOR/hard rock. Originating from the Chicago area, and operating in the same zone as local area bands such as Trillion, Jet and Off Broadway.
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Gamma - 1980 Gamma II
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Dont'cha just love the cover? The sharkfin in the backyard cutting through the garden hose zeroing in on the sunbathing lady.. Classic stuff. As is the band and the music.
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Gomez, Ray - 1980 Volume
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A much heralded album from a guitarist not well-known in the mainstream, but who has reaped acclaim on a level similar to Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton in his field.
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Goudreau, Barry - 1980 Barry Goudreau
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At the time, the thought of a solo album was a good move for Goudreau to make. Unfortunately, the quality of the songs didn't quite hit the mark. Unlike four years later when Orion The Hunter was released.
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Grand Prix - 1980 Grand Prix
 | | Though this album appeared in 1980 throughout the UK, the music was most definitely in the mould of North American arena rock, with loads of keyboard and guitar interplay and an emphasis on harmonies, and far removed from the raw, indie based material appearing out of the NWOBHM movement. |
Hall, Daryl - 1980 Sacred Songs
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'Sacred Songs' was the experimental solo album from Hall & Oates member Daryl Hall, featuring King Crimson mainman Robert Fripp..
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Hansen, Randy - 1980 Randy Hansen
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Over the years Randy has acquired himself a reputation as a Jimi Hendrix clone, and in some ways this is quite justified. However, in saying that, his debut album released nearly two decades ago is one full of strong songs that are appealing enough to AOR'sters and melodic rock fans.
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Harlequin (Canada) - 1980 Love Crimes
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Bit of a lightweight album from our Canadian friends Harlequin, with just enough rough edges and musical colour to make this an interesting proposition nonetheless for melodic rock fans.
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Heart - 1980 Bebe Le Strange
 | | Somewhere in between the classic early years and the big self-titled 'comeback' album from 1985, Heart were overlooked by many. A great shame, as during those 'wilderness' years, the band released some fine albums. The best of the bunch is undoubtedly 'Bebe Le Strange'. |
Hegel - 1980 Hegel
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Rob Hegel's solo album fell by the wayside for whatever reason. We think its time to take a second look at this forgotten gem.
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Heroes - 1980 Border Raiders
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Hailing from the United Kingdom, Heroes was the brainchild of one Chris Bradford who wrote all ten songs on this forgotten classic.
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Highwind - 1980 Highwind
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I first heard about this band via a review in Sounds magazine way back in 1982. The review compared the Kentucky based Highwind favourably to Le Roux circa their 'Up' period.
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Hollander - 1980 Side Kicks
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Occasionally on my travels I will come across a little gem of an album that thoroughly deserves a moment in the sun here at GLORY-DAZE. Dutch band Hollander is one of those little gems, and we have to wind the clock right back to 1979 to discover what made this band tick, and to grieve as to why they didn't hang around longer.
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Holmes, Rupert - 1980 Adventure
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In 1979 Holmes hit the top with the classic 'Escape (The Pina Colada Song)', an all time AM soft rock classic. Following up with 'Adventure' in 1980, the AOR aspect had worked its way comprehensively into Holmes sound, resulting in a quite superb outing.
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Hotel - 1980 Half Moon Silver
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'Half Moon Silver' is a vast improvement over its debut predecessor. Yes indeed, you can definitely place a reservation in your record collection under 'AOR' for this particular gem!
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Huey Lewis And The News - 1980 Huey Lewis And The News
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The album went unrecognised and is barely mentioned to this day. It's an angry debut half the time, the bands sound becoming smoother over the course of the next three years.
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In Transit - 1980 In Transit
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In Transit's style isn't that bad, in a similar territory to Airborne, Fandango and Fortress on their rockier moments, and meeting Firefall and Atlanta Rhythm Section on a stretch of road somewhere between Denver and Atlanta on their more subdued moments.
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Ironhorse (Canada) - 1980 Everything Is Grey
 | | 'Everything Is Grey' was a masterstroke as it sounds more like a band effort although the question most Bachman fans ask 'where's the guitar?' |
Jackson Highway - 1980 Jackson Highway
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What I like about this album is its mixture of Southern rock and AOR tendencies. Jackson Highway never, ever goes off on a triple guitar jam for no reason. The songs are memorable and melodic and while the subject matter is typical Southern rock fare.
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Jaugernaut - 1980 Jaugernaut
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Jaugernaut's particular brand of commercial pomp sits comfortably alongside such lofty peers as Styx (circa 'The Grand Illusion' era), and Trillion.
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Jenson Interceptor - 1980 Jenson Interceptor
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Cool name, but with a name that sort of resembles a fast car, you'd be disappointed the music gets left behind in the exhaust fumes!
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Jethro Tull - 1980 A
 | | Long derided by fans as being an 'A-bomination', that is a little bit unfair on Ian Anderson who migrated Jethro Tull from a folky/prog rock outfit to a pure art-rock band with this album 'A'. |
Joel, Billy - 1980 Glass Houses
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While hardly an AOR magnate, Billy Joel did in fact have some inspired melodic rock moments in his long career, and this is without question his heaviest album in a hard rock setting but also a melodic one also.
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Journey - 1980 Departure
 | | Still salivating over the two prior Perry albums, 'Departure' came as a huge (excuse the pun) 'departure' because of the raw/live sound it conveyed. |
Journey - 1980 Dream After Dream
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An unusual release in Journey's discography is the rare 1980 Japanese soundtrack 'Dream After Dream'.
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Judas Priest - 1980 British Steel
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1980 was a boon year for heavy metal, commencing the 80's decade with an incredible array of albums. However, it was Judas Priest that landed the big fish with 'British Steel', which would anchor the metal movement from this year onward, to what it is now.
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Keystone - 1980 Keystone [ep]
 | | Keystone.. a pomp based outfit steeped in the grandest tradition of 70's pomp, but with only a four track EP to show for it, and one that goes for silly money on EvilBay.. |
Kiss - 1980 Unmasked
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'Unmasked', along with 'Asylum', is perhaps Kiss' most forgotten album.
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Korgis, The - 1980 Dumb Waiters
 | | Having made their presence felt on the British charts during the prior 1979 year, The Korgis would go on to bigger success with the release of this their second LP 'Dumb Waiters'. |
Kortchmar, Danny - 1980 Innuendo
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Kortchmar has only two solo albums to his name, 1973's 'Kooch' and this excellent album, his last solo effort to date. It saw Kortchmar attempting a heavier style of rock, which in his own words was an attempt to distance himself from the soft rock scene he had become identified with.
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Krokus - 1980 Metal Rendezvous
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From Switzerland, these guys changed horses like some guys change their cars. Krokus started life out as a prog based outfit during the mid-seventies, then diverting to a metal sound, with more than a headshake to the heroes of the time AC/DC.
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Laine, Denny - 1980 Japanese Tears
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Founding member of The Moody Blues and the only musician in Wings to survive their entire catalog and Paul McCartney, Denny Laine is often forgotten for his contribution to rock music which is really too bad considering his background.
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Lancee - 1980 Models
 | | Apparently dubbed 'the Dutch Peter Frampton' by Holland's music press, Lancee are a good example of how the Dutch at one time excelled at the AOR meets prog sound. |
Larsen Feiten Band - 1980 Larsen Feiten Band
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Given the magnitude of this West Coast classic I'm surprised it hasn't made an appearance at Glory Daze yet, but if Nielsen-Pearson is your cup of tea, then this is nirvana.
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Laurie And The Sighs - 1980 Laurie And The Sighs
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More appropriately, Laurie Beechman and her band The Sighs. Released in 1980, Laurie had generated a bit of interest among the Atlantic Records executives, who were more than impressed with her vocal skills and looking for a counterfoil to Chrysalis Records big signing Pat Benatar.
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Lazy Racer - 1980 Formula II
 | | This is part two and the final instalment of hybrid British/American band Lazy Racer. |
Le Roux - 1980 Up
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Radical change in direction from Louisana's finest, Le Roux, with this their third album. The previous two albums were reasonably non-descript efforts, showcasing their traditional bayou based sound. On 'Up' they moved into full-on AOR territory with some fantastic rockin' songs.
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Lifer - 1980 Lifer
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In the great tradition of Rathskeller and Roadmaster, Indiana band Lifer, makes an appearance on these hallowed pages twenty eight years after releasing this very rare one-off self titled album. What other musical secrets does the Hoosier state have to offer up I wonder?
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Limelight - 1980 Limelight
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Often compared to Rush, Limelight focused on the mid-70's sound of British heavies Stray and Budgie.
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