1981: One of Rock’s Best Years

For the past week or so, I started re-listening to albums from the early 1980s.  They are all rock albums, so the names of the groups and performers will be familiar to most. It started with REO Speedwagon’s Hi Infidelity. This was more of a power of suggestion record because writer friend, Matt Wardlaw, did an interview with Kevin Cronin in 2017.  Cronin commented on the record track by track, and as I was reading the piece, I realized I had never listened to the entire record. Well, I quickly remedied that by streaming it and found it was an interesting collection of songs that, at times, really varied in style.  Now, I know the record was released in November 1980, but it really became a monster in 1981, with two powerhouse singles (“Keep On Loving You” and “Take It On The Run.”)  However, because REO Speedwagon got played on AOR stations (as well as pop radio), there were album cuts that did pretty well. “Tough Guys,” “Follow My Heart,” and “Don’t Let Him Go,” all got medium to heavy rotations on AOR stations around the country.  While REO Speedwagon had a lot of commercial success with this record, critics of that era were more than a little “meh” about the album. But time does things to artifacts from the past. Sometimes, time is unkind to once glorified works, while other times the opposite occurs.  AllMusic’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine is one such person for whom REO’s Hi Infidelity is a giant of a record.  He writes in his assessment of the album: “…there’s a real strain of pathos that runs through these songs” and likens the album to Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks — albeit for arena rock.  Now, did I have a similar reaction?  Not quite. But there’s no doubting how well these songs were put together. 

Hi Infidelity started a bit of a deep dive into rock music from 1981, and from there I realized there were a number of iconic albums that came out that year that, well, have never gone away. By that I mean, many are now mainstays of classic rock radio and have been seared into the public’s collective consciousness as evidence of their eminence.  Does it sound a little too high-minded for rock music to use words like “eminence?” Maybe, but once you start to see this list, it could change your mind. 

I put this record first because, duh, it’s Rush!  Moving Pictures came out on February 12, 1981, and it’s Rush’s most commercially successful record of their career. Just looking at the track listing, and you see five out of seven songs that are still played on the radio. “Tom Sawyer,” “Red Barchetta,” “YYZ,” “Limelight,” and “Vital Signs” got a lot of play back in the day — and still do today.  Even magazines like Rolling Stone, who used to take great pleasure in slagging Rush, have changed their tune and started praising the band for Moving Pictures. It’s a compact record, clocking in at slightly over 40 minutes, but it packs a wallop.    

Upon its release on July 17, 1981, Escape took off!  “Who’s Crying Now” went to the top of the pop and mainstream rock charts — and seemed to be on every radio station I tuned to back in the day. The album’s staying power is a testament to how an influential magazine like Rolling Stone had zero effect on the record’s sales, airplay, ticket sales, or the album’s enduring popularity. To wit, Deborah Frost wrote in her two-star (out of five) review of the album:  

“The funny part is that Journey’s current success doesn’t have much to do with the hard-rock pose they’ve been trying to fool us with for nearly eight years now. Instead, Escape is a triumph of professionalism, a veritable march of the well-versed schmaltz stirrers.

That could very well be the case for the kind of snobbery that existed at Rolling Stone, but six out of 10 tracks that got a lot of play on the radio tells you that “the schmaltz” Journey was stirring was just the kind of cocktail people wanted at the time.  

Styx deserves a lot of criticism when it comes to schmaltz — and a lot of that is Dennis De Young’s doing.  He was always the guy who wrote songs that seemed sentimental and, yes, schmaltzy.  However, with Paradise Theater, released January 19, 1981, De Young took over the creative direction of the band with a loose concept album about the rise and fall of the Paradise Theater in Chicago — a building that was a pretty impressive movie theater but reportedly had lousy acoustics. For De Young, the theater was a metaphor for the U.S. and the stagflation era of the Jimmy Carter administration.  As De Young saw it, America’s better days were gone and maybe better times would come when “we” (presumably the entire country?) “challenge the schemers who cheat all the rules.” Middle-class dreams…that’s what De Young was dreaming — and he hoped his audience shared the same one. “Rockin’ The Paradise,” “Too Much Time On My Hands,” “The Best of Times,” “Nothing Ever Goes As Planned” were all singles from the record.  However, “Snowblind” and “Half-Penny, Two-Penny” got some play on AOR/rock stations. And like the other records on this list, the songs (mostly the first three singles) have stayed on the air. Now, is it a great album? It has its moments — but it often misses the mark by being too loose with the concept.  

Probably my favorite record by The Police. With Ghost in the Machine, Sting, like Dennis De Young, had taken over the musical direction of the band and crafted a dark new wave classic. Released on October 2, 1981, the record had a massive hit with “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” followed by “Invisible Sun” and “Spirits in the Material World.” Not only a commercial success but a critical one as well. Sting may have an ego the size of our solar system, but there’s no doubting his vision for this record was the right one. However, that being said, I should make note that without Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers, the songs would have been more tepid affairs. Of course, without Jean Alain Roussel’s keyboard work on “Every Little Thing…” that song wouldn’t have been half as great as it is. For me, though, the deep tracks that stand out are “Demolition Man, “Secret Journey,” and “Darkness.” But overall, this is a record anyone can listen to without skipping any tracks. 

Sure, this album sounds like warmed-over Led Zeppelin, but Billy Squier’s Don’t Say No is pound for pound better than what Zep was doing on In Through The Out Door.  Released on April 13, 1981, the record shot to the top of the rock charts due in no small part to “The Stroke.” However, most of the other tracks on the record are just as good (if not better) than its lead radio-friendly single. “In The Dark,” “My Kinda Lover,” “Lonely Is The Night” are certainly the hits, but really the entire album lacks any duds — save perhaps “I Need You.” But hey, you can’t win ’em all.  I wasn’t much of a Billy Squire fan, but re-listening to this record all these years later, it’s clear he crafted a great rock album — and one never again to be duplicated in this career.   

When The Pretenders released their second full album on August 15, 1981, it came shortly after the release of Extended Play on March 30, 1981. And it’s a strange move by their record label (Sire) because two of the biggest songs by the band from that period were on both records. “Talk of the Town” and “Message of Love” are still prominent tunes on any classic rock playlist, but dig deeper into Pretenders II and you’ll find some solid rockers like “The Adultress” the shriekingly good “Bad Boys Get Spanked,” “The English Roses” and “Louie Louie.”  At the time, critics of the band heard the dreaded sophomore slump in this collection of songs. But they are much more mature tunes that signal the band wasn’t interested in creating the same kind of music that propelled them to stardom. This was also the last record with the original line up, and with it the end of a sound that was getting better with each album. 

By 1981, AC/DC had been around long enough to know not to mess with their Classic Coke formula — even though they had a new(ish) singer at this point. Coming a year after their massively popular Back in Black, For Those About To Rock… was released on November 23, 1981 — and quickly went to number one. Riding a wave a popularity the band hadn’t experienced in their former incarnation, they weren’t about to kill the golden goose by trying something different. Nope. From start to finish, the record is another collection of powerfully rockin’ songs from a band who likes to party — and for fans who do, too.  

Like AC/DC, Tom Petty rarely messed with his formula for success. With Hard Promises, released on May 5, 1981, Petty & The Heartbreakers put out a record that had two massive hits with “The Waiting” and “A Woman in Love (It’s Not Me),” and stacked the rest of the album with some tasty deep cuts like “Nightwatchman,” “Kings Road,” “Letting You Go.” And then there’s the duet with Stevie Nicks (“Insider”) that’s certainly not as strong as “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” but it’s a preview of what the band could have sounded like if Nicks had her way and joined The Heartbreakers back in the ’80s.

Before May 15, 1981 I thought The Moody Blues were no more.  The previous album, Octave, was a stiff — and there was turmoil in the band with Mike Pinder leaving the group after its release. Could the band carry on without such an integral member? Of course they could — and do so with one of their best records of the decade. With the addition of Patrick Moraz, the band’s sound on Long Distance Voyager got refreshed with more layered synths that updated The Moodies for the ’80s. But updating keyboard sounds to fit a decade only goes so far. Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Ray Thomas, and Graeme Edge all contributed solid songs to create a record that was diverse in terms of style, but also cohesive in terms of maintaining the band’s core sound.  “The Voice,” “Gemini Dream” and “Talking Out Of Turn” are, of course, the singles, but cuts like “22,000 Days,” “In My World,” and “Veteran Cosmic Rocker” showcase the band’s individual personalities — in both style and substance.     

When Phil Collins “took a break” from Genesis, he couldn’t sit still. These songs came after his divorce from his first wife in 1979. By the time the album came out on February 13, 1981, Collins’ fame as the lead singer of Genesis wasn’t quite as well known as it would be after this record.  “In the Air Tonight” is undeniably a hit out of the proverbial box, and its stature as a classic song (rock, pop, whatever) is not in question. What often gets overlooked, however, are the rest of the songs on Face Value. “This Must Be Love,” “Behind The Lines,” have that pop feel that Collins is known for, but then you get the spare “The Roof Is Leaking,” the raga-like “Drone,” the expansive world music of “Hand in Hand,” and  the pop sheen of “I Missed Again.” Really there’s not a misstep on this record in terms of song selection or musical execution.  

1981 was a busy year for Phil Collins. Not only did he release a solo record, but Genesis was also in the studio to record their 11th album, Abacab. Released on September 24, 1981 (in the U.S.) the band found themselves evolving away from their progressive rock origins into more mainstream rock and pop. The title track and “No Reply At All” certainly offer the listener a study in contrasts — with the former being tailored for AOR radio and the latter for more adult contemporary playlists. “Me and Sarah Jane” has a throwback quality to it, but the band moves back into pop territory with “Keep It Dark.” Where things show the tug between prog and pop are songs like “Dodo/Lurker,” ” Who Dunnit?” and “Man on the Corner.” The band would find greater (and then greatest) commercial success with their self-titled record in 1983 and then in 1986 with Invisible Touch.  However, Abacab and Duke (1980) were important transitional records that pointed the trio toward their pot of gold at the end of the pop rainbow. 

Just in time for the 4th of July weekend, Foreigner released their 4th record, 4 on July 2, 1981. Selling over seven million copies, the band really found their footing with a string of hits that ran the gamut of AOR to AC. The lead single “Urgent” got some help from Thomas “She Blinded Me With Science” Dolby, “Juke Box Hero” is pure mainstream rock gold, and “Waiting For a Girl Like You” was tailor-made for high school slow dances. Five out of the 10 songs show the band at peak performance — and that’s kind of what saved them from the lesser songs that comprise most of the “back nine.” There’s really nothing controversial about 4 — musically speaking, that is.  However, there is an amusing backstory on the original cover that I read about on the album’s wiki page wherein the artwork (pictured below) was thought of as too gay (or “too homosexual”) for the suburban mall crowd. 

The last great record by The Rolling Stones. Tattoo You, released on August 24, 1981, was incredibly popular with the public and very strongly received by critics, too. There’s a reason why the record was so strong:  it was put together from outtakes and song fragments the band had been working in since the 1970s. Granted, mining old songs (even scraps of song ideas) doesn’t always produce musical gold — but for the Stones it did. Side one (i.e., the first six tracks) are a parade that showcases the Stones at their best. The songs have that raw sound, but there’s also a pop/rock professionalism that goes with “Start Me Up,” “Hang Fire,” “Little T&A,” and “Neighbours.” Side two (i.e., tracks seven through 11) are deeper cut oriented — and standouts include “No Use Crying” and “Worried About You.” While I really like some of what the group was doing a couple of years later on Undercover, there’s no ignoring how adept The Rolling Stones were at keeping themselves relevant in the new decade.  

This is the record that almost broke up U2.  But on October 12, 1981, an album that could have signaled the end, was anything but.  The story of Bono getting his briefcase of lyrics stolen after a show in Portland, Oregon in March 1981 is, for most U2 fans, well known. However, it wasn’t stolen lyrics that almost broke up the band. Rather it was their devotion to a Christian group known as “Shalom Fellowship” that led the band to a spiritual crisis over being rock musicians and devoted Christians. A lot of October shows this struggle with songs like “Gloria,” “I Fall Down,” “Rejoice,” “Tomorrow” and, well, most of the rest of the record. The tension between wanting to be an artist and craving spiritual redemption never stopped playing out in U2’s music and stage performances, and that’s a large part of their appeal. Yes, Bono has a Jesus complex, but his un-ironic desire to save humanity from the worst of its impulses is certainly inspiring — and, at times, tiring.  However, without the rushed and inspired quality of October, U2 probably wouldn’t have had the chops to tackle War without sounding completely pompous. 

Yes, Pat Benatar released Precious Time in 1981, but at this point in her career, she kind of got a case of the sophomore slump on her third album.  The Go-Go’s, however, was a group of SoCal gals who were fun, bubbly, and ready for prime time. The single, “We Got The Beat” was released in 1980, but by the time Beauty and the Beat came out on July 8, 1981, the music buying public was ready for some New Wave summer jams. And boy, did this record deliver! It’s not quite a rock record, but it’s not completely pop album, either. “Our Lips Are Sealed” is certainly the second most known song on the record, but if you give the entire album a spin, you’ll find their four on the floor, 1960s beach vibe inspired rock infectious. Beauty and the Beat went to number one on the Billboard album chart and stayed there for about six weeks. The critics loved the record, too. Rolling Stone gave it a solid four stars, and the now defunct Village Voice was less kind by assigning the group the letter grade of B+ — because the songs were a little too “hook-heavy.” But hey, that’s what the Go-Go’s excel in.  Just listen to “How Much More,” “Tonite,” and “Lust To Love” and you’ll hear a band who knows how to hook listeners like Brill Building songwriters.