Turner, Tina - 1984 - Private Dancer

In 1984, a 45-year-old Tina Turner made one of the most amazing comebacks in the history of American popular music. A few years earlier, it was hard to imagine the veteran soul/rock belter reinventing herself and returning to the top of the pop charts, but she did exactly that with the outstanding Private Dancer. And Turner did so without sacrificing her musical integrity. To be sure, this pop/rock/R&B pearl is decidedly slicker than such raw, earthy, hard-edged Ike & Tina classics as "Proud Mary," "Sexy Ida," and "I Wanna Take You Higher." But she still has a tough, throaty, passionate delivery that serves her beautifully on everything from the melancholy, reggae-influenced "What's Love Got to Do With It" to the gutsy "Better Be Good to Me" to heartfelt remakes of the Beatles' "Help," Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," and David Bowie's "1984." A reflection on the emptiness of a stripper's life, the dusky title song is as poignant as it is depressing. Without question, this was Turner's finest hour as a solo artist.

1 I Might Have Been Queen Hine, Obstoj, West-Oram 4:10
2 What's Love Got to Do with It Britten, Lyle 3:49
3 Show Some Respect Britten, Shifrin 3:18
4 I Can't Stand the Rain Bryant, Miller, Peebles 3:41
5 Private Dancer Knopfler 7:11
6 Let's Stay Together Green, Jackson, Mitchell 5:16
7 Better Be Good to Me Chapman, Chinn, Knight 5:10
8 Steel Claw Brady 3:48
9 Help! Lennon, McCartney 4:30
10 1984 Bowie 3:09

¡Aquí!

Van Morrison - 1970 - Moondance

The yang to Astral Weeks' yin, the brilliant Moondance is every bit as much a classic as its predecessor; Van Morrison's first commercially successful solo effort, it retains the previous album's deeply spiritual thrust but transcends its bleak, cathartic intensity to instead explore themes of renewal and redemption. Light, soulful, and jazzy, Moondance opens with the sweetly nostalgic "And It Stoned Me," the song's pastoral imagery establishing the dominant lyrical motif recurring throughout the album -- virtually every track exults in natural wonder, whether it's the nocturnal magic celebrated by the title cut or the unlimited promise offered in "Brand New Day." At the heart of the record is "Caravan," an incantatory ode to the power of radio; equally stirring is the majestic "Into the Mystic," a song of such elemental beauty and grace as to stand as arguably the quintessential Morrison moment.

1 And It Stoned Me Morrison 4:30
2 Moondance Morrison 4:35
3 Crazy Love Morrison 2:34
4 Caravan Morrison 4:57
5 Into the Mystic Morrison 3:25
6 Come Running Morrison 2:30
7 These Dreams of You Morrison 3:50
8 Brand New Day Morrison 5:09
9 Everyone Morrison 3:31
10 Glad Tidings Morrison 3:13

¡Aquí!

VA - 1986 - Sounds From True Stories

This soundtrack to the Talking Heads film True Stories was the second release in a planned trilogy, the last of which -- the film's actors covering the Talking Heads songs from the album -- never surfaced. Fortunately, this second volume did, a selection of background music and non-David Byrne tunes written for the film. Of the Byrne-penned selections, only a few borrow from Heads songs, and the original compositions, perched somewhere between Penguin Cafe Orchestra and a general Americana feel, are pleasant. Meredith Monk's "Road Song" does Byrne one better in this department, and Carl Finch's incredibly silly "Mall Muzak" suite pokes cockeyed fun. The only proper songs here are Terry Allen's "Cocktail Desperado" and Steve Jordan's Tex-Mex "Soy de Texas," both romping good fun.

1 Cocktail Desperado
2 Road Song
3 Freeway Son
4 Brownie's Theme
5 Mall Muzak
6 Dinner Music
7 Disco Hits
8 City of Steel
9 Love Theme from "True Storeis"
10 Festa Para Um Rei Negro
11 Buster's Theme
12 Soy de Tejas
13 I Love Metal Buildings
14 Glass Operator

¡Aquí!

ABBA - 1981 - The Visitors

ABBA's final album was recorded during a period of major personal shakeups, principally in the decision by Benny Andersson and Frida to follow the same route to divorce that had already been taken by Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog. Both male members of the group would soon remarry, but at the time, despite all of these changes in their circumstances, The Visitors was never intended as ABBA's swan song -- they were to go on recording together. That may explain why, rather than a threadbare, thrown-together feel, The Visitors is a beautifully made, very sophisticated album, filled with serious but never downbeat songs, all beautifully sung and showing off some of the bold songwriting efforts. The title track is a topical song about Soviet dissidents that also manages to be very catchy, while "I Let the Music Speak" sounds like a Broadway number (and a very good one, at that) in search of a musical to be part of, and "When All Is Said and Done" is a serious, achingly beautiful ballad with a lot to say about their personal situations -- even "Two for the Price of One," a lighthearted song sung by Björn Ulvaeus about answering a personal advertisement, offered several catchy hooks and beautiful backup singing. "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room" ended the original album on a hauntingly ethereal note, but not as any kind of larger statement about the quartet's fate. The intention was to keep working together, but Andersson and Ulvaeus' growing involvement with their stage project, Chess, prevented any further work together by the group beyond three songs, "The Day Before You Came," "Cassandra," and "Under Attack" -- they're all present as bonus tracks on the 2001 remastered edition (in gatefold packaging), along with the orphaned B-side "Should I Laugh or Cry" from the same sessions as The Visitors, and only add to the appeal of the original album.

1 The Visitors Andersson, Ulvaeus 5:45
2 Head Over Heels Andersson, Ulvaeus 3:46
3 When All Is Said and Done Andersson, Ulvaeus 3:17
4 Soldiers Andersson, Ulvaeus 4:37
5 I Let the Music Speak Andersson, Ulvaeus 5:18
6 One of Us Andersson, Faltskog, Lyngstad… 3:54
7 Two for the Price of One Andersson, Ulvaeus 3:35
8 Slipping Through My Fingers Andersson, Ulvaeus 4:02
9 Like an Angel Passing Through My Room Andersson, Ulvaeus 3:34

¡Aquí!