I’ll start it off with my personal favourite from that year:
1. Swans—Children Of God
LOCK THREAD: BEGINNING AND END OF TIME
i know its a cliche for me, but its been a while
2. One thousand Years of Trouble : Age of Chance
3. The JAMs—1987 (What the Fuck is Going On?)
3. Public Enemy—Yo Bum Rush the show
5. Pet Shop Boys—Actually.
My God 1987 was awesome.
6. Schooly D—Saturday Night! The Album
7. Culturcide—Tacky Souvenirs Of Pre-Revolutionary America
8. Happy Mondays—Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)
9. Prince—Sign o’ the Times (can’t do CND symbolb)
Re. Squirrel & G-Man: original pressing with “Desmond” track.
10. “The Sonic Youth”—Sister
I love that it says The Sonic Youth on that ablum. My favourite SY record.
was it genuinely a great year, or is this just indicative of our respecive ages ? i personally believe it was a great year, but then i would i guess.
It’s tricky, that’s true. I was 18 for most of that year so obv there’s a nostalgia bias. But the 10 albums listed up there are pretty undeniable in any year.
11. actually—pet shop boys
xpost—agree—this list is basically my listening for 1987 summised,
I already listed Akshully bud.
ha ! i missed that and read the declaration only.
Yep, I was 23 and lived through it and it was glorious. Gave AR Kane’s “Lollita” E.P. a spin the other evening and was still dazzled in wonderment, thinking “no one is doing stuff even remotely like this now.” And the Monitor chaps in Melody Maker were writing their best stuff (esp. Reynolds).
Let’s see if we can’t make it up to 20 at least:
11. LL Cool J—Bigger And Deffer (Cut Creator the Jimmy Page of hip hop!)
12. Eric B & Rakim—Paid In Full.
13. Laibach—Opus Dei.
14. The Smiths—Strangeways, Here We Come.
15. Salt ‘n Pepa—Hot, Cool & Vicious.
16. 3 Mustaphas 3—Shopping.
Oi, one at a time, greedy guts! ;-)
(blimey—3 Mustaphas 3)
17. Butthole Surfers—Locust Abortion Technician
18. Wire—The Ideal Copy
19. McCarthy—I Am a Wallet
Oh! and 20. The Wedding Present—George Best
21. Big Black—Songs About Fucking
and we haven’t included 22. Lee Perry—Time Boom X De Devil Dead
23. The Triffids—Calenture
24. The Sisters Of Mercy—Floodland
Wouldn’t have put them in a 20, but they warrant inclusion in a 30:
25. Microdisney—Crooked Mile.
26. Madhouse—Madhouse.
27. Yello—One Second.
28. Bhundu Boys—Tsvimbodzemoto.
29. Tom Waits—Frank’s Wild Years.
30. Sly & Robbie—Rhythm Killers.
31. The Jesus & Mary Chain—Darklands
I kinda like Darklands, but it is essentially Psychocandy without the good bits.
32. REM—Document.
33. Husker Du—Warehouse: Songs And Stories
34. Julian Cope—My Nation Underground
35. Celtic Frost—Into the Pandemonium
Hmm, JC kind of lost me between Fried and Peggy Suicide.
36. The Young Gods—The Young Gods (MM’s Album Of The Year!)
37. Salif Keita—Soro.
I don’t think My Nation Underground is Top 10 stuff, but at least half of it is worth the inclusion. Peggy Suicide is the same, its highs are fantastic but when it drags it draaaaaaaaags.
38. Ornette Coleman—In All Languages
38. Coil—Horse Rotorvator (there was a promo cassette in 1986, but the album proper was released in 1987) (quite possibly my favourite album ever, but I’d hate to have to choose just one)
I’m very fond of
40. Wet Wet Wet—Popped In Souled Out
although last week I was thinking of starting a thread about Bands Who Are Way Inferior to the Bands They Copped Their Name From with WWW and Deacon Blue at the front of my mind.
41. Mark Stewart—Mark Stewart (third and best Maffia album and OFFICIAL BEGINNING OF TRIP HOP)
Although most of us didn’t hear it until 1988:
42. Prince—The Black Album.
43. Pixies—Come On Pilgrim (if it counts)
Best Pixies album by far.
44. Arthur Russell—World Of Echo
45. 10,000 Maniacs—In My Tribe.
46. Pussy Galore—Right Now!
47. Boogie Down Productions—Criminal Minded
48. George Michael—Faith
49. Najma (Akhtar)—Qareeb
God, that’s a wonderful album; I must dig that out and play it.
50. Well-Known ILX Regular—The Poison Boyfriend
51. Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death—Dead Kennedys
(ok it was a comp but I didn’t have half of the stuff on it beforehand)
Speaking of which:
52. No More Cocoons—Jello Biafra
Another compilation
53 Big Black—The Rich Man’s Eight Track Tape
54. The Pastels—Up For a Bit with The Pastels
55. Various Artists—Best Of House Megamix.
56. Lloyd Cole & the Commotions—Mainstream
Probly my favourite Commotions album.
(Actually, all of those Serious Records “Best Of House” and “Upfront” comps were good... I used to gobble them up...)
The guy whose house we stayed in over the weekend had a beautiful-looking 10 disc Best of House set.
House music was *great* in 1987. While it was still a “Northern” Thing. :-)
i love this thread so much.
kids of today have no fucking idea how good it was.
Ah well, we may as well have:
57. Various—The House Sound Of Chicago Volume 2 (double album in blue sleeve, with “Washing Machine” and many other classics; worth including here on the basis of the Boris Badenough track alone).
And two great PWL classics:
58. Mel & Kim—F.L.M.
59. Nitzer Ebb—That Total Age
And as a Scot I am duty bound to include:
60. Proclaimers—This Is The Story
oooh. the parser stripped out my pretend ‘/oldmanrant’ tag at the end of my last posting.
61. Hugo Largo—Drum
62. The House Sound Of Chicago—Vol. III—Acid Tracks.
http://www.discogs.com/release/366788
This was my favourite of the London/FFRR series, and my second encounter with acid house (Tyree’s “Acid Over”, just behind the WTF?! moment of Adonis & The Endless Poker’s “The Poke”).
early ’88 IIRC?
63. Alexander O’Neal—Hearsay (Terence Trent who?)
64. Dinosaur (pre-“Jr”)—You’re Living All Over Me
65. Loop—Heaven’s End
am i too late for another entry for 87 :
Win : Uh! Tears Baby (A Trash Icon)
and if you have a spare cd copy of this, please get in touch !
And “My nation underground” was late 88, not 87. Substitute “Saint Julian” for a better album.
And bloody hell Mark I was about to say the Win album, and I’m looking for a copy too...
Yeah, I thought early 88—but Discogs Says No. I am itching to go home and check this.
...
Aha! My Filofax says 88! Discogs has misled me!
(Also, the Madhouse album mentioned above is 8, not Madhouse. These things matter.)
(The above was an xpost on House Sound of Chicago III.)
Sorry Mark I’ve only got the one copy! (Win xpost)
68 (?). Spacemen 3—The Perfect Prescription
69. “Ecstasy”—My Bloody Valentine.
70. Gun Club—Mother Juno
(...and I’m still waiting for someone to nominate Terence Trent D’Arby Introducing The Hardline..., Sinead O’Connor The Lion & The Cobra and Suzanne Vega Solitude Standing, all of which had their moments....
Marcello. you lucky lucky man. a cd-r would suffice if you ever feel the urge.
71. Poem of the river—Felt. Why did I not think of this first? Duh!
I thought about TTD but I’m a Neither Fish Nor Flesh man.
Same here. Agree about Sinead and Suzanne though, hence:
74. Pastels—Up For A Bit With...
I nommed that one upthread.
75. Biff Bang Pow—The girl who runs the beat hotel.
So you did (xpost).
75. Jill Jones—Jill Jones (the most sorely underrated of all Paisley Park side-projects)
76. Railway Children—Reunion wilderness (recently rediscovered, a bit of a gem)
77. Negativland—Escape from noise (or was this ’88?)
I’m pretty sure it was ’88.
78. Dan—An Attitude Hits (one for the indie connoisseurs).
xpost: Jill Jones! I nearly nommed that album, but decided it had too many headache-inducing, mixed-up-too-high, Paisley Patent Thwacks. (You know the ones I mean?) Still, “Mia Bocca”, fab!
(FWIW, my favourite underrated Paisley Park side-project is Mavis Staples Time Waits For No One.)
I think ’86 was a better year. ’87 was great while it happened, but later on it signified some kind of turning point for me—Sonic Youth, Swans, Live Skull, and Butthole Surfers past their primes, Big Black and Scratch Acid call it quits, the nascent shadow of grunge appears in the likes of Drunks with Guns and The Melvins. But still, a lot of wild stuff that year:
Gore—Mean Man’s Dream
V/A—Smack My Crack (Giorno Poetry Systems comp w/ the Buttholes classic “Boiled Dove”)
Einstürzende Neubauten—Fünf auf der nach oben offenen Richterskala
Scratch Acid—Beserker
Jandek—Blue Corpse
Sun City Girls—Horse Cock Phepner
Scientists—Human Jukebox
Diamanda Galas—The Saint of the Pit
Drunks with Guns—s/t
Skin—Blood, Women, Roses
79. Love & Rockets—Earth, Sun, Moon
Saint Of The Pit came out Oct ’86. Agree fervently about Gore and Neubauten.
80. Level 42—Running In The Family (possibly mark s’ number one of all eighties albums)
Interesting that we’ve got this far with no mention of Th* J*sh** Tr** or B*d...
The only album released in 1987 was
DEF LEPPARD—HYSTERIA
And that as well!
Sonic Youth, Swans, Live Skull, and Butthole Surfers past their primes
This is, like, crazy talk mistah.
All pretty much at their peak from where I’m sitting.
Saint Of The Pit came out Oct ’86. Agree fervently about Gore and Neubauten.
Hmmm, maybe I’m thinking of the US release date for Saint of the Pit? That Gore album is so fk’n heavy, barely noted at the time and nearly forgotten today. I used to play it a side at a time on my radio show.
Sonic Youth, Swans, Live Skull, and Butthole Surfers past their primes
This is, like, crazy talk mistah.
— My Mind is Opener than Yours (noodlevagu...), November 29th, 2006.
That’s because I am crazy! I was into these bands heavily from ’85—’87, and nothing they did after moved me as much as their earlier work. To me their best albums respectively are Evol, Public Castration Is A Good Idea, Cloud One, and Rembrandt Pussyhorse, but clearly these are not the consensus faves. What can I say, I’m an oddball.
The, um, only other album released in 1987 is
Glenn Branca—Symphony no 6 (Devil Choirs at the Gates of Heaven)
Fred Frith/Rene Lussier—Nous Autres
I got ‘uh! tears baby’ on vinyl for £1.99 from the Oxfam record shop in Stockbridge which, if i remember correctly, is £1 more than fopp sold it for in the late 80s/early 90s.
I’ve pontificated long and elsewhere about why I think Children of God is Swans’ perfect album. I reckon Evol and Sister are more or less tied as ver Youth’s best work but I like the songs on Sister better. I reckon LAT shades out Rembrandt for the Buttholes. I don’t know Live Skull, as far as I know. What’s inneresting about 87 is that all of those bands were in the process of opening out their music, and whilst arguably that meant diluting it in the long term I reckon in 87 they all found a perfect moment of creative tension.
It’s a 9-minute composition not an album but it’s like the best thing ever so
Iannis Xenakis—Xas
I will grant you that Children of God is a great, great album, the Buttholes live from ’88—’91 were unbelievable, and Zedek-era Live Skull is not without its merits. But Hairway To Steven was the beginning of Buttholes on auto-pilot in the studio, Sister has a fantastic leadoff track but overall is no match for the fetid dreamworld of EVOL (songs? if I want songs I’ll listen to the Buzzcocks), and I have no use whatsoever for Daydream Nation (I know that last bit is rock crit heresy).
Also, filler on Rembrandy Pussyhorse >> filler on Locust Abortion Technician. Aside from “Sweat Loaf”, “Graveyard” (which appears twice), “Human Cannonball”, and “22 Going On 23”, Locust Abortion Techncian doesn’t have much going on, at least compared to the weird mysteries of “Strangers Die Everyday”, “Whirling Hall Of Knives”, and “Mark Says Alright”. I guess RP also has an unfair advantage for me since the cassette (and now CD) had the Cream Corn From the Socket of Davis EP tacked on, so I always think of that as part of the album.
For me, Sister is all about “Pacific Coast Highway”. The opening and closing sequences where the guitars chime and clash like Chinese Lion Dance music are wondrous.
81 (?) Dukes of Stratosphear—Psonic Psunspot
82. The Go-Betweens, Tallulah
83. New Order, Substance
84. Bruce Springsteen—Tunnel Of Love
85. Jennifer Warnes—Famous Blue Raincoat
86. Legendary Pink Dots—Any Day Now
87. The Hafler Trio—A Thirsty Fish
88. The Fall—The Frenz Experiment
Oh, we’re numbering them then, aren’t we?
89. Gore—Mean Man’s Dream
90. V/A—Smack My Crack
91. Einstürzende Neubauten—Fünf auf der nach oben offenen Richterskala
92. Scratch Acid—Beserker
93. Jandek—Blue Corpse
94. Sun City Girls—Horse Cock Phepner
95. Scientists—Human Jukebox
96. Diamanda Galas—The Saint of the Pit
97. Drunks with Guns—s/t
98. Skin—Blood, Women, Roses
99. Halo of Flies—Four From the Bottom
Frenz Experiment was released in early ’88 and Saint Of The Pit in Oct ’06 AS YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN TOLD
I WILL NOT LISTEN
If I can call you Principal Carlin, this thread really will be like 1987.
My office at nine tomorrow morning sharp, with a potato peeler.
100. Marianne Faithfull—Strange Weather
101. 10,000 Maniacs—In my tribe
102. Danny Wilson—Meet...
Didn’t Guns N’Roses release an album that year?
I loved Alan Rankine’s single ’The Sandman’ but never heard the album it came from.
Yes, GNR put out Appetite For Destruction. But since neither Chuck nor Alex In NYC are on the sandbox it remains unnominated...
We’ve already had In My Tribe but indeed no AFD.
GNR reminded me of this lil’ devil..
102. The Cult—Electric
Appetite for Destruction
by Robert Christgau
It’s a mug’s game
to deny the technical facility
claimed by one-upping crits
and young victims
of testosterone poisoning —
not only does Axl
cruise
where other “hard rock” singers
strive,
but he has a knack for
believability,
which in this genre
is the most technical matter
of all.
When he melds scream and croon
on the big-beat ballad,
you understand why
some confused young thing
in an uplift bra
is sure
it’s love
sweet love.
But Axl is a sucker for dark romantic
abstractions —
he doesn’t love Night Train, he loves
alcoholism.
And once that
sweet child o’ his
proves her devotion
by sucking his cock
for the portacam,
the evil slut
is ready for
“See me
hit you
you fall
down.”
Another entry in teh Xgau Poetry Series.
103 David Sylvian: Secrets of the Beehive
104 Throwing Muses: The Fat Skier
102. The Cult—Electric
The beginning of the end for me but still great in parts. I like how Astbury refuses to pronounce the final word of every line on the entire record: (e.g. Love Removal Macheeeyaaayeehaaa, Wild Flowaaayeeehaaa and Li’l Devayeahaaaaa)
No love for Never Let Me Down?
A little.
xxpost
Don’t forget “baybeee, baybeee, baybeee.....(repeat ad infinitum)”
105. Fishbone In Your Face
Oh, if we need to number them:
106 Hysteria
107 Symphony No 6
108 Nous Autres
109 Xas
110 REDD KROSS—NEUROTICA
111 The Frantics—Boot to the Head
I can’t believe Hysteria wasn’t mentioned earlier, not even by me!
Famous Blue Raincoat might be the worst album I ever paid for (even if it was only 33 cents).
Union Carbide Productions, In The Air Tonight
Sonny Sharrock, Guitar
Uncle Sam, Heaven Or Hollywood
Steaming Coils, Never Creak
(That last one should please Brad Laner, if he still posts here.)
116. Michael Jackson, Bad (FFS, people)
sandbox is 87.6% less poptimistic than real ilm
A terrible vintage when compared to the golden age of 1080–84. But it did at least include “Psonic Sunspot” and
117. “Romancing In The Dark”—Freiheit
118. The Leather Nun—Steel Construction
jaymc:
80. Level 42—Running In The Family (possibly mark s’ number one of all eighties albums)
— Marcello Carlin
Interesting that we’ve got this far with no mention of Th* J*sh** Tr** or B*d...
— Marcello Carlin
A terrible vintage when compared to the golden age of 1080–84.
Geir bigs up the Gregorian Chants!
119 Squirrel Bait—Skag Heaven
120 Minutemen—Ballot Result
121 Yo La Tengo—New Wave Hot Dogs
122 Game Theory—Lolita Nation
123 The Mekons—Honky Tonkin’
124 Big Dipper—Heavens
125 The Chills—Brave Words
126 Killdozer—Little Baby Buntin’
127 American Music Club—Engine
128 Happy Flowers—My Skin Covers My Body
129 Laughing Hyenas—Merry Go Round
130 The Wailing Ultimate
Guess I was listening to a lot of college radio back then.
most of my faves are listed above, however there are these albums to note:
[highlight of each week was buying Melody Maker and Sounds on wednesday morning]
131 Dead Can Dance—Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
132 Lowlife—Dimeundo
133 The Replacements—Pleased to Meet Me
134 That Petrol Emotion—Babble [purchased on my 17th birthday, on the day of it’s release]
135 Marillion—Clutching at Straws
136 Depeche Mode—Music for the Masses
137 Sinead O’Connor—The Lion & The Cobra [as hinted by mike]
138 The Cure—Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
139 Jane Siberry—The Walking
140 Celtic Frost—Into the Pandemonium
141 Skinny Puppy—Cleanse Fold and Manipulate
142 Rush—Hold Your Fire
143 Faith No More—Introduce Yourself
144 The Durutti Column—The Guitar And Other Machines
145 The Shamen—Drop
146 Xmal Deutschland—Viva
147 The Blue Aeroplanes—Spitting Out Miracles
148 Thrashing Doves—Bedrock Vice
149 Slab!—Descension
150 David Torn—Cloud About Mercury
151—lonely as the eyesore—4ad comp
http://www.4ad.com/year/1987/releases/lonely-is-an-eyesore-3/
video—Frontier by Dead Can Dance
I’m a little curious about HYF. “Force Ten,” “Time Stands Still,” and “Turn the Page” are really good but “Mission” is a little too mushy for me. How are the album tracks?
Angel Dust is the only FNM album I have. I should get some more.
152 Frankie Ruiz—Voy Pa Encima
A terrible vintage when compared to the golden age of 1080–84.
Geir bigs up the Gregorian Chants!
;)
how did ILM get through 136 before getting music for the masses up there? glad to see jane siberry too.
i’m happy to vouch for suzanne vega, solitude standing as well as the grapes of wrath, treehouse.
153 Verlaines, Bird-dog.
i was released in 1987, not sure if that counts
Are you an album?
i was released in 1987
What was your sentence, and for what kind of crime?
15 years’ hard labour, faulty rear light on bicycle.
Kinda surprised no one’s mentioned Gluey Porch Treatments by The Melvins. I’m not a big Melvins fans but it’s often bandied about as a sludge masterpiece.
154. MC Shy-D—Gotta Be Tough
155. Gregory D & Mannie Fresh—Bustdown
156. Gucci Crew II—So Def, So Fresh, So Stupid
157. Ice T—Rhyme Pays
158. MC A.D.E.—Just Sumthin’ to Do
159. NWA & The Posse
160. Motherfucking Basia Bitch—Motherfucking Time & Motherfucking Tide
Interesting that we’ve got this far with no mention of Th* J*sh** Tr** or B*d
Ah, I see. I’d done a ctrl-F on “bad” and “jackson.”
161. SWA—XCIII
162. Ut—In Gut’s House
163. Live Skull—Dusted
164. David Thomas and the Wooden Birds—Blame the Messenger
there’s debate, even when I interviewed the group, as if 2 Live Crew’s 2nd album was 87 or 88...so, uh, ???
Either way, it was the first to sampple the Amen break
165. The WOlfhounds—Unseen Ripples From A Pebble
166. Pulp—Freaks
167. Gore—Peel Sessions
Unreleased, rare as fuck, here it is:
168. the smiths—the world won’t listen (it’s not a proper album i know but it was my first lp by them and is still my fave smiths album and my fave album of 1987)