OCTOBER 1, 1992 MARKED THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WORLDWIDE INTRODUCTION OF THE COMPACT DISC. THIS STUNNING INNOVATION COMBINED DIGITAL AUDIO AND LASER OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY FOR THE MOST ASTONISHING ADVANCE IN THE HISTORY OF MODERN SOUND, RESULTING IN MUSICAL REPRODUCTION OF UNPRECEDENTED DEPTH AND CLARITY. THE ADVENT OF THE CD IS BEING COMMEMORATED BY SONY AND BILLBOARD WITH THIS ‘DECADE OF MUSIC’ COLLECTION. THIS LIMITED EDITION THREE CD SET SALUTES SOME OF THE BIGGEST HITS AND FINEST RECORDINGS FROM THIS EPOCH MAKING DIGITAL DECADE, AS COMPILED FROM THE CHARTS OF BILLBOARD MAGAZINE THE WORLD’S LEADING MUSIC PUBLICATION.
This 3-CD set from 1992 celebrates a decade of music CDs. Sadly, 30 years later, CDs are being outsold by vinyl and streaming services are the preferred mode for accessing music. These three discs do provide a window into what was considered the “Best” digital recordings of the decade with a mix of classical and pop. Having listened to these three CDs, I can safely say they sound great although the choice of music is…questionable. Do you remember this music? Any favorites here? Are you a fan of music CDs? GRADE: Sound: A; Musical choices…B
DECADE OF MUSIC VOLUME 1 TRACK LIST:
| 1 | The Academy Of St. Martin-in-the-Fields– | Symphony No. 25 In G Minor, K, 183, 1st Movement From “Amadeus”Conductor – Neville Marriner*Conductor – Neville Marriner* | 7:47 |
| 2 | The London Philharmonic Orchestra*– | O, Mio Babbino Caro From “Gianni Schicchi”Conductor – John PritchardSoprano Vocals – Kiri Te KanawaConductor – John PritchardSoprano Vocals – Kiri Te Kanawa | 2:20 |
| 3 | Atlanta Symphony Orchestra– | Fanfare For The Common ManConductor – Louis LaneConductor – Louis Lane | 3:16 |
| 4 | Glenn Miller Orchestra*– | In The Mood | 3:37 |
| 5 | Dave Grusin– | Fascinating Rhythm | 5:01 |
| 6 | Grover Washington, Jr.– | Shivaree Ride | 4:41 |
| 7 | Flim & The BB’s– | Tricycle | 4:34 |
| 8 | Tuck & Patti– | Dream | 4:54 |
| 9 | Yanni (2)– | Reflections Of Passion | 4:32 |
DECADE OF MUSIC VOLUME 2 TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Hammer*– | U Can’t Touch This | 4:16 |
| 2 | Tone-Lōc*– | Wild Thing | 4:23 |
| 3 | Herbie Hancock– | Rockit | 5:25 |
| 4 | Marvin Gaye– | Sexual Healing | 3:59 |
| 5 | Toto– | Rosanna | 5:31 |
| 6 | Stevie Ray Vaughan– | Crossfire | 4:08 |
| 7 | Warrant– | Heaven | 3:55 |
| 8 | Bonnie Raitt– | Nick Of Time | 3:52 |
| 9 | Genesis– | Invisible Touch | 3:26 |
DECADE OF MUSIC VOLUME 3 TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Al Jarreau– | Mornin’ | 4:13 |
| 2 | Bobby McFerrin– | Don’t Worry, Be Happy | 4:49 |
| 3 | Harry Connick, Jr.– | Recipe For Love | 2:34 |
| 4 | Linda Ronstadt & The Nelson Riddle Orchestra*– | What’s New | 3:51 |
| 5 | Bruce Hornsby And The Range– | The Way It Is | 4:56 |
| 6 | Willie Nelson– | Always On My Mind | 3:31 |
| 7 | Randy Travis– | I Told You So | 3:39 |
| 8 | Bangles– | Eternal Flame | 3:55 |
| 9 | Whitney Houston– | I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) | 4:50 |
Strange selection …
Of course I know many of these songs – but favourites?
Maybe “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” – I got a t-shirt with that inscription …
Wolf, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” was a surprise hit. Now, with Trump about to return to power, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” may return on T-shirts soon.
T-shirts notwithstanding, the only real flat spot in that circle of music is Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
Bob, a lot of people live with the philosophy of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”
A lot of people are fools!
Bob, as The Main Ingredient sang, “Everybody Plays the Fool” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPeHHpXOOds
Glenn Miller?
The local Wal-Mart has expanded its display of vinyl. Maybe I should have kept all the LPs that I ditched a few years ago. Meanwhile, the CD, DVD, and Blu-ray racks shrink.
Fred, streaming services are ruling music and video. I remember when Best Buy did away with their CD section. At one time, CDs filled about 25% of Best Buy. Soon, Walmart and Target and other retailers will stop selling music CDs. DVDs and Blu-rays will be next.
Yanni? Seriously, fucking Yanni?
Odd selections indeed. “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” was co-opted by GHW Bush for his unofficial “Brainwash the Masses” election campaign. If I never hear it again, that’s fine with me.
Jeff, like you, I’m baffled by some of the choices on these three CDs. “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” is one example, Yanni is another. But, on the Plus Side, there’s some great sounding songs like “Sexual Healing” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
While streaming is how most folks listen to music there has been a small resurgence of interest in not just vinyl but now CDs as well among teens and adults under 30. There’s an even larger surge with Blu-rays. It’s a niche market but it is there and growing. Whenever I visit my favorite record store I see mostly young people including kids buying CDs and vinyl. I personally love CDs and probably bought more this year than in ages.
As for the tracks here-yikes! On the other hand, I was working in record stores in 1992 and that’s a fairly accurate snapshot of a lot of the crap yuppies were buying at the time
Byron, you’re right about the songs popular in the 1982-1992 time frame. SONY and Billboard came up with this idea to celebrate the music CD. Hopefully, a new generation will keep it alive.
What a weird selection. At first, I thought the compilation would be of records that were initially written, recorded, and released on CD during the first decade of CD technology (1982-1992), but instead we get this odd mish-mash of classical, big band, hip-hop, and pop. Very strange—and nothing that actually grabs my attention. As for the current popularity of vinyl, let the hip & trendy kids have it. As I often say, if you can remember having to tape a penny to the needle arm of your record player to stop the record from skipping, you don’t need to listen to vinyl ever again.
Deb, I’m with you on vinyl. I always seemed to buy vinyl albums that made hissing sounds that drove me crazy. Much of that went away with music CDs. I agree with you on the perplexing choices of music on these three discs. I have to say, all the songs ready sound great. SONY must have amped up the quality to get this high-end sound.
It’s true. I had a lot of trouble with vinyl skiing. I remember buying Jimmy Buffett’s breakthrough album, CHANGES IN LATITUDES, CHANGES IN ATTITUDES (the one with “Margaritavile”) and having to exchange it twice because both the original album and the replacement skipped…on the same song!
Jeff, I returned over twice as many vinyl albums than CD albums. Skips, hissing, crackle, etc. They are much less a problem with CDs.
I’ve always hated surface noise on vinyl. Bad remastering doesn’t help CD (much less no physical media) playback, but it would be nice if laser styli would become the affordable industry standard for vinyl playback, so the records wouldn’t be a bit more destroyed with every play…bad enough getting them out of their sleeves.
Todd, bad mastering on CD is almost as bad as surface noice on vinyl. There’s no perfect medium for recorded music…yet. Maybe this a problem AI can solve.
It could help, but I foresee a Lot of misapplication.