Back to the 1980s with this 2-CD set of “hits” from that decade. Unlike some of the 1980s compilations I’ve shared with you in the past, these two discs actually include songs most of us have heard by groups we recognize. Once again, I’m guessing the choices are guided by record sales from those years. Do you see any songs you like here? GRADE: B+
PURE 80’s TRACK LIST:
1. Video Killed The Radio Star – The Buggles
2. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) – Eurythmics
3. Everybody Have Fun Tonight – Wang Chung
4. One Thing Leads To Another – The Fixx
5. Hungry Like The Wolf – Duran Duran
6. Karma Chameleon – Culture Club
7. Something About You – Level 42
8. Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Tears For Fears
9. Tainted Love – Soft Cell
10. Obsession – Animotion
11. Higher Love – Steve Winwood
12. Addicted To Love – Robert Palmer
13. Relax – Frankie Goes To Hollywood
14. Come On Eileen – Dexy’s Midnight Runners
15. Rock This Town – Stray Cats
16. Centerfold – J. Geils Band
17. Jessie’s Girl – Rick Springfield
18. Our House – Madness
19. Hold Me Now – Thompson Twins
20. Tempted – Squeeze
MORE PURE 80’s TRACK LIST:
1. Would I Lie To You? – Eurythmics
2. Walk Like An Egyptian – Bangles
3. Walking On Sunshine – Katrina And The Waves
4. Maneater – Hall & Oates
5. The Power of Love – Huey Lewis And The News
6. Jeopardy – Greg Kihn Band
7. I’ve Done Everything For You – Rick Springfield
8. I Know There’s Something Going On – Frida
9. Love Is A Battlefield – Pat Benatar
10. Heaven is A Place On Earth – Belinda Carlisle
11. Rio – Duran Duran
12. In A Big Country – Big Country
13. The Look Of Love (Part One) – ABC
14. Rock Me Amadeus – Falco
15. The Safety Dance – Men Without Hats
16. Shout – Tears For Fears
17. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me – Culture Club
18. Hands To Heaven – Breathe
. I have heard all of these. And I like more than I dislike. Although not a lot I really love. Favorites would be the Eurythmics. Big Country and Tears For Fears. It is missing some of the big names from this period such as U2, Talking Heads, Springsteen, Tom Petty, Police, Psychedelic Furs and R.E.M. I could do without Men Without Hats, Pat Benatar, Huey Lewis and Rick Springfield. And I really like the J. Geils Band but Centerfold is far removed from their basic R and B style rock. I know a lot of the really big names rarely show up on these kind of collections probably due to costs.
Steve, I suspect you’re right about the reasons Big Name artists and groups rarely make it on these compilation CDs. Too pricey.
Lots of pleasant stuff here, I was humming along while reading the titles. But then I decided to see how much of it I actually own, and it turns out not much. The Buggles, Eurythmics, Steve Winwood, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Bangles, Frida, ABC. 8 tracks out of 38.
Jeff, you can find these compilation CDs online for inexpensive prices. Some of them offer good value.
An OK collection, miles better than the last 80s collection featured here. Mostly pretty good songs and nothing really terrible unless it’s from one of the few bands I’ve never heard of like Level 42.
Michael, these compilation CDs vary wildly in quality. The “PURE” series features better songs and more recognizable groups/artists than most. Deb is a fan of the 4-CD set of PURE DISCO.
These are somewhat odd collections: a lot of what I think of as 1980s new-wave-alternative music (if you have SiriusXM, it’s the kind of thing you’d now hear on Channel 33, Classic Alternative): ABC, Duran Duran, the Eurythmics, the Fixx, Wang Chung, Culture Club, alongside much more mainstream acts like Pat Benatar, Rick Springfield, and Huey Lewis & the News. As a whole, I really like a portion of the songs on both discs. Favorites include In A Big Country, Rock Me Amadeus, The Look of Love (not the Bacharach song), Tempted, and Heaven Is A Place on Earth. For those who might be unaware, Frida was a member of ABBA and Phil Collins both produced and played drums on I Know There’s Something Going On—a fact that is readily apparent in the first few bars of the song.
Deb, I know you’re a fan of the 4-CD PURE DISCO set. The “PURE” music CDs offer higher quality than most of the compilation music CDs out there. Diane and I just canceled our Sirius/XM Radio service. We usually listened to Sirius/XM Radio in our Nissan Rogue and Altima. But we rarely leave the house now. When we do drive anywhere, it’s a short trip to the grocery store (we rarely hear a whole song). It’s back to regular radio and playing CDs in our vehicles.
Yes—I very much enjoy the Pure Disco compilations, although being the only “Disco Dolly” in the House, I have to wait for everyone to be gone before I start blasting “It Only Takes A Minute” by Tavares. During the quarantine, that means it happens rarely.
We also have a couple of Pure Moods CDs which have a lot of that ethereal stuff, like Enya and Enigma, from the late 80s/early 90s. I like to play CDs like that for background music during dinner.
Deb, I’ve enjoyed all the “PURE” compilation CDs I own…probably a dozen or so. When I’m sorting books in the basement, it’s the perfect music!
Yes, the is way better than the last ’80s compilation, but there are few things I would say I really “like” as opposed to, say, “that’s OK” – Katrina & the Waves, Steve Winwood, Huey Lewis, a couple of others. Unlike Deb, I’d rank “Rock Me Amadeus” with the worst songs ever to hit #1.
Bring back the ’60s and ’70s next time.
Jeff, I’m sure it would be no surprise for you to learn I have dozens of compilation CDs with 60s and 70s music on them. I just listened to a wonderful CD yesterday that collected 20 songs from 1964-1965. It’s part of THE HEART OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL series from TIME/LIFE. Highly recommended!
Not a bad sample from a decade in which a lot of the male vocal groups and artists in or tending toward MOR (Mister Mister, A-ha, Thompson Twins, Spandau Ballet, Howard Jones . . .) kind of sounded the same. I prefer them to those today who sound as if they barely have the energy or desire to warble.
Fred, I know exactly what you mean. I find it hard to listen to contemporary pop music, too.
Contemporary pop and r and b suffers from a lack of good songwriting. Too many over produced slick but empty and easily forgettable music. Music meant a lot more to my generation than it does to the last couple generations. It’s just background music you can listen or dance to at a party or club. There is still good music out there but you have to know where to find it. Certainly not on your current top 40 stations. My radio listening varies from Little Steven’s Underground Garage and the Springsteen and Petty stations on Sirius.
Just bought the new Lucinda Williams cd and liking it very much. Highly recommended.
Steve, you are certainly right about the lack of good songwriting today. Too much homogenized pop music! I’ll check out Lucinda Williams’s new CD. Thanks for the recommendation! Bob Dylan has a couple of new songs out now, too.
I don’t recognize all of these songs by title, but would probably know them if I heard them. I liked a lot of the ones I recognized.
The 80’s was probably the last time period I listened to rock music. I turned mostly to Country in the 90’s.
60’s and 70’s are still my favorite, though I like show tunes and Gilbert & Sullivan.
Maggie, I have some Gilbert & Sullivan in my Listen To Real Soon stack. You’ll see a review in the months ahead.
I know these songs really well because my kids listened to them non-stop. I missed the records of the late seventies and early eighties but from the mid eighties through late nineties it is my second golden age. After that…nothing. I think if you had kids in this era and got to know them, you would like them more. They have as much nostalgia for me as the sixties.
Patti, I listen to 1960s music every week. So many memories!
Lots here to like, and a few I don’t know. i’ve long been fond of the Tears for Fears song.
Rick, I like Tears for Fears, too. They performed a concert at Artwork here about five years ago. I’m not sure if this touring group included the original members.
With the exception of Tainted Love, I gotta go with Steve Winwood and Robert Palmer.
Although I did like some of the ’80s stuff, most of these selections would cause me to change the dial. Because – sadly – I am familiar with most of these selections.
Beth, I’ll be featuring some 1970s music in the months ahead.
I’m not a fan of the 80s music, ok there were some performers/groups who continued from the 70s and even 60s, but the new ones?
my favourite here is obviously “Give me a higher love” by my favourite singer/guitarist/organist Steve Winwood. I also really like the groups he was a member of: Spencer Davis, Blind Faith, Traffic and (for a short time) Stomu Yamashta’s “Go”.
Actually I like him so much that I did a trip to Texas later to follow him from Houston to Austin to Dallas – also had the chance to go to Galveston, a fantastic two weeks!
PS:
“His song “Higher Love” was a posthumous hit many years later for Whitney Houston Whitney Houston.
Wolf, I was a fan of 1980s Heavy Metal groups: Def Leopard, AC/DC, Scorpions, Led Zeppelin, etc.
George, wow!
Weren’t you a bit old for that kind of music? 🙂 🙂
What did your wife say?
Wolf, I played my Heavy Metal music when my wife was out of the house!
A good 90% of eighties music sucked!
Bob, the 1970s music was better than the 1980s music.