by clarence » Sat Oct 11, 2008 7:34 pm
Strange Times has been my all-time favorite album since it was first released well over 20 years ago. Glad to hear you got the 2 disc version with all 6 of the songs from the bonus LP included with the US pressing. Others of the era right behind it would be (in no particular order): U2's 'Boy', Echo & The Bunnymen's 'Ocean Rain', The Church's 'Heyday', Simple Minds' 'New Gold Dream', ABC's 'The Lexicon Of Love', The Clash's 'London Calling' (and about 2/3 of 'Sandinista!'), The Jam's 'Setting Sons', The English Beat's 'I Just Can't Stop It', Gang Of Four's 'Solid Gold', XTC's 'Black Sea', The Cure's 'Concert', New Order's '1981-1982 EP', Siouxsie & The Banshees' 'Hyaena', Joy Division's 'Unknown Pleasures', Buzzcocks' 'A Different Kind Of Tension', The Stone Roses debut, The Psychedelic Furs' 'Forever Now' and Killing Joke's 'Night Time'. All pretty much perfect in my book in both the songs individually and the cohesion & flow of the whole effort. IMHO, I think the Chameleons and Killing Joke were the two greatest UK bands of the '80s to never make it big. In the US, I always felt Abecedarians should have been much bigger. Then Nirvana's 'Nevermind' went #1 and everything changed, mostly but not entirely for the worse I think.