Closer - Joy Division

Joy Division’s second and final album “Closer” was posthumously released on July 18th, 1980, two months after the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. Produced by Martin Hannett, who also produced the band’s debut album “Unknown Pleasures”, its sound has been described as being lusher and more sombre than its predecessor, with more use of synthesizers and studio effects. Many of its songs have a despairing, funeral feel, with its cover art appearing to reflect this, although it was chosen by English graphic designer Peter Saville before he had heard any of the music; both the photo and the bleakness of the music and lyrics amplified the already strong mystique surrounding the album after Curtis’s suicide.

The opening track, “Atrocity Exhibition”, shares its name with “The Atrocity Exhibition” by British author J.G. Ballard, one of Curtis’s favourite books. Several of the songs on “Closer” are dominated by a down-tempo vibe and droning synthesisers, such as the albums’ final two tracks “The Eternal” and “Decades”. The band’s reverberating combination of minor-key lines and Curtis’s tremorous bass voice are grim enough on their own, and the lyrics reveal references to blacker-than-black stories by Ballard and Polish novelist Joseph Conrad. Keyboards are featured predominately on four of the album’s nine tracks, a trend that would follow the remaining members of the band into its later incarnation, New Order. The confessional “Isolation”, “A Means to an End”and “Heart and Soul” paint a picture of ever-growing bleakness; broken dreams and lost love. This peaks with “Twenty Four Hours”, a song of dreams lost to destiny, leading right into a pair of slow, gentle, requiem-like songs; “The Eternal” and “Decades”. The lyrics to “The Eternal” suggest Curtis might have been envisioning his funeral, while “Decades” suggests someone looking back over a life that ended all too soon, a tragedy which befell Curtis a mere two months before this album’s release.
“Closer” is desolate yet hauntingly beautiful. Arguments will more than likely continue until the end of time as to whether it was Joy Division, Bauhaus, or even Siouxsie and the Banshees who first turned punk on its head and in doing so created goth, but by 1980 the movement was clearly visible and “Closer” may just be the first great goth record.

1. “Atrocity Exhibition”
2. “Isolation”
3. “Passover”
4. “Colony”
5. “A Means to an End”
6. “Heart and Soul”
7. “Twenty Four Hours”
8. “The Eternal”
9. “Decades”

Sign ☮' the Times - Prince

“Sign O’ The Times”, released on March 31st, 1987, was Prince’s first solo album following his departure from The Revolution. Originally put together as a three-LP album entitled “Crystal Ball”, the musician was forced by his record company to pare it down pre-release, the result of this being a double album that quickly became widely regarded as Prince’s masterpiece. Though selling modestly, somewhat akin to “Parade”, “Sign O’ The Times” was almost universally applauded by critics and fans and has since been frequently identified as Prince’s finest album, and a standard of comparison for all of his albums to follow.

“Sign O’ The Times” wasn’t exactly the historic merger of rock and R&B that the world had been expecting. Instead, it plays like the ultimate mix-tape as Prince jumps from genre to genre, from the grinding, house music-inspired funk prototype rap of “Housequake” to the sweet pop fare of “Starfish And Coffee”. Yet the man’s singular outlook can constantly be identified and as varied as the music gets, that outlook works as a uniting factor. Thematically, “Sign O’ The Times” covers the depressing state of the world in the title track, party funk in “Housequake”, sexual lust in “It”, and spiritual enlightenment in “The Cross”. “Sign O’ The Times” was regarded as ‘less polished’ than Prince’s earlier efforts. However, the double album was also Prince’s most diverse release to date, featuring such a wide array of musical styles; rock, pop, soul and funk, with dance, electronic, and jazz also thrown in for good measure. The album marked a return to Prince’s self-contained recording process, with the artist performing and arranging almost all of the music single-handedly. As a result, many of the tracks have a sparser, more funk-oriented, sometimes more electronic feel than Prince’s previous recordings with The Revolution. In addition to the album’s eclecticism, many have labelled the record as one of Prince’s most adventurous, with minimalist, experimental arrangements on songs like “Housequake”, “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker”, and “Forever in My Life”.

Widely heralded as ground breaking at the time of its release, some of the 80s-style synthesisers sound a little dated. Yet it is clearly the sound of a performer at the height of his career. On songs like the title track, “If I Was Your Girlfriend” and “The Cross”, Prince proves why the hype was justified and made an album that reflected his evolving musical vision rather than the Revolution’s signature sound, though that sound does still rear its head occasionally on “Sign O’ The Times”, particularly on “Play In The Sunshine”. “Sign O’ The Times” is undoubtedly among the apexes of Prince’s career. Every track has a unique charm and even the less obvious ones are growers. It has been said many times that “Sign O’ The Times” would have made a fantastic single album but those that take the time to properly listen will discover a truly amazing double album.

Track Listing:

Disc 1:

1. “Sign O’ the Times”

2. “Play In the Sunshine”

3. “Housequake”

4. “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker”

5. “It”

6. “Starfish and Coffee”

7. “Slow Love”

8. “Hot Thing”

9. “Forever In My Life”

Disc 2:

1. “You Got The Look”

2. “If I Was Your Girlfriend”

3. “Strange Relationship”

4 . “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man”

5 “The Cross”

6. “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night”

7. “Adore”

Faith - George Michael

You gotta have it....

Infected - The The

1986’s “Infected”, the second official The The album, is the sound of Matt Johnson coming into his own. Johnson is the only consistent member of The The and from 1983 to1988 (and again from 2002 to the present day), he was the only official member of The The. In 1986, The The still only consisted of Johnson, supplemented with session musicians who were purely there as hired hands. “Infected” spawned four singles in the UK, most notably “Heartland” which made the UK Top 30. It is rumoured that the album used sixty seven different musicians and three producers. Many of the tracks carried on with Johnson’s main issues of feeling alienated from society and the sadness this generates in young males. Released at the height of Margaret Thatcher-era money-grubbing and paranoia, the album is a musical rant against the various personal and political injustices Johnson felt permeated the world around him, at a time when he was becoming more and more aware of current affairs and the culture clash between the West and Islam. Upon its release, music magazine NME claimed “Johnson has freeze-framed a whole nation at a moment in time”, and that stands true today.
“Infected” is a combination of the full-on development of Johnson’s claustrophobic, paranoid loathing, with a beat you can dance to and lyrics that, while disturbing, are never delivered solely for shock value. The album as a whole paints a picture of Middle America in its ugliest form. From the opening strains of the album, one is taken on a journey of discovery until all the tracks stick in the mind and heart. Every possible hot topic is covered; politics (“Heartland”, “Sweet Bird of Truth”), sex (“Out Of The Blue (Into the Fire)”), and religion (“The Mercy Beat”). “Heartland”, with its strumming guitar, blues piano and string orchestra with harmonica, is sung by a Brit who is seeing England’s culture slowly being replaced by Americanisms. The weapons of choice? Pizza Hut, Pepsi, Levis.... “Sweet Bird of Truth” was released just prior to the Reagan Libyan bombings, affecting sales when record shops refused to promote it. It is the tale of an American fighter pilot trying to save his plane from crash-landing over Arabia, and is obviously still massively relevant today. “The Mercy Beat” needs no analysis. It’s a “get in the car, get out of town and blare this as you drive” song, a great way to end any album!
By no means was Johnson’s social commentary unintentional; “Infected” heaves with lyrical rage, even if the danceable music belies this. Sometimes the criticism is broadly political (“Sweet Bird of Truth”), while other times it is personal, as on “Twilight of a Champion”. Even “Slow Train to Dawn”, a dialogue between troubled lovers, contains hints of this larger dissatisfaction with modern life; “I’m just another western guy with desires I cannot satisfy”. This track is also noteworthy for its vocal appearance by Swedish singer-songwriter and rapper Neneh Cherry, who at that point had honed her skills in bands such as The Slits and Rip Rig And Panic, but was two years away from wowing the world with her massive global hit “Buffalo Stance”.

1. “Infected”
2. “Out of the Blue (Into the Fire)”
3. “Heartland”
4. “Angels of Deception”
5. “Sweet Bird of Truth”
6. “Slow Train to Dawn”
7. “Twilight of a Champion”
8. “The Mercy Beat”

Peter Gabriel - So

Peter Gabriel, had slugged it out in Genesis from 1967 to 1975, but the true measure of the man was only to be seen in his solo offerings and So, his fifth studio album is one of the best.

Released in 1986 it immediately exploded upon the release of Sledgehammer. This bass driven, soul laden hit sent people flocking the their record stores. Stax Records musicians, The Memphis Horns supplied the trumpet section on the single. But what it is most remembered for is its video. Animated by Nick Parks of Wallace and Grommit fame. Its bizarre imagery was nothing but fun from beginning to end. It's stop motion filming was not easy. At one point Gabriel had to remain still, lying under a sheet of glass for 16 hours! But lets face it, it was worth it.

The Album opens with Red Rain, a song which may or may not be about nuclear fallout or acid rain. What it was originally written for was a movie Gabriel had come up with where villagers are punished for their wrong doings by a blood red rain. What ever it's about, really doesn't matter it is simply a fantastic track amongst and album of fantastic tracks. The rain sounding sound in the background of the song is actually Staurt Copeland from The Police messing around on high hats.

Kate Bush makes a welcomed appearance on the album, on Don't Give Up. The emotional Duet spent 11 weeks in the charts in the UK. Two videos were made for the song by Godley and Creme. The First, shows Gabriel and Bush in an embrace. The Second is far more depressing and shows people in different stages of despair with Bush and Gabriell's faces superimposed over it, its very eighties UK. The first although simpler is far better!

Big Time, was another massive hit off the album. The cool bass line in the song was actually made when bass player Tony Levin and drummer Gerry Marotta played the Bass with a set of drum sticks. This led to the invention of the Funk Fingers. Miniature drum sticks that attach to a bass guitarists hands to achieve the same rhythmic sound. Once again Stuart Copeland from the Police is in the drummers chair.

Gabriel shows his darker more experimental side on We do What We're Told (Milgram's 37).
The Title of this track refers to the experiments carried out by Stanley Milgram where he studied populations obedience by getting people to electrocute each other to the point where one person could potentially die.

The last big hit from the album is In Your Eyes. Best remembered for its use in Say Anything. A Cameron Crowe film which starred a young John Cusak. Cusak serenades his girlfriend holding a stereo over his head, while this song is playing. It is often seen as one of the most romantic moments ever put on the big screen. The song helps!

Despite its huge singles, So has Peter Gabriel in as reflective a mood as ever with tracks like That Voice Again and Mercy Street continuing what previous albums had offered up by Gabriel. That said it is one of the defining records of the the 80's, and one you can listen to without wanting to take an actual sledgehammer to it.

Track Listing

1. "Red Rain" – 5:39
2. "Sledgehammer" – 5:12
3. "Don't Give Up" (with Kate Bush) – 6:33
4. "That Voice Again" (Gabriel, David Rhodes) – 4:53
5. "In Your Eyes" – 5:27
6. "Mercy Street" – 6:22
7. "Big Time" – 4:28
8. "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" – 3:22
9. "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)" (Laurie Anderson, Gabriel) – 4:25¹

Island Life - Grace Jones

A compilation as a Critical Junction?
Island Life by Grace Jones is a little more than a compilation, it's a chronicle of her development as a singer, flirting with different styles and experimenting with cover versions as well as her own original tracks. The album takes its title from Island Records, and contains a chronological sampling of the work she produced deuring her tenure with the record company from '77 - '85. Although it doesn't feature anything from her album Muse tracks are taken from Portfolio, Fame, Warm Leatherette, Nightclubbing, Living My Life, and Slave to the Rhythm.

Jones is as much known for her modelling as her singing and the album cover by Jean-Paul Goude is a fitting example of her iconic style, Jones was a muse of the graphic designer/photographer and the picture was created in 1978. It is an anatomically impossible position and was created using a cut and paste technique. (God bless the days before photoshop)
Kicking off with the Piaf cover La Vie En Rose Jones displays her 2 1/2 octave vocal range and she continues with the disco theme that gave her Diva status in Gay clubs everywhere on the tracks, I Need A Man and Do or Die. The sound shifts to a more New Wave experimental groove on The Pretenders Private Life and her excellent Roxy Music cover, Love Is The Drug. A more scaled down Torch Song sound can be heard on I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango) and the accordion appears again reminiscent of the production on la Vie En Rose. Pull Up To The Bumper co written by Jones, gave her a hit single twice, firstly as a single release of her 1981 album Nightclubbing, and again in 1985 as Island Life climbed the album charts. Walking In The Rain is more spoken than sung, with a laid back funky groove laid down underneath that spells out early Lounge., The last two tracks on the album My Jamaican Guy and Slave To The Rhythm continue the funky theme while adding a decent splash of R&B.
Electric Picnicers will get to experience Grace Jones live in Stradbally this weekend, in the meantime, as a Critical Junction this Thursday on Live Drive Heeeeeere's Grace!

Track Listing
1. La Vie En Rose
2. I Need A Man
3. Do Or Die
4. Private Life
5. Love Is The Drug
6. I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)
7. Pull Up To The Bumper
8. Walking In The Rain
9. My Jamaican Guy
10. Slave To The Rhythm

Louder Than Bomnbs - The Smiths

Ok, so Smiths fans will be shaking their heads at us this week, at the very idea of us putting a compilation album up as a critical junction, but, and this is a genuine but, the songs on this album, albeit compiled, are truly magical and this also means we can play way more tracks on the show, so without further half hearted apologies which the previous 67 odd words are actually supposed to be, we will get down to the nitty gritty.

Originally released in the US as a counterpart to the UK album The World Won't Listen, Louder Than Bombs consisted of all the singles and pretty much all the b-sides that had not been available in the US to the point, however since the album conatined Sheila Take a Bow and so many B-Sides that fans of the band started buying it as an import. The Smiths record label Rough Trade, were not about to loose some easy cash, decided to release it in the UK.

The album cover was designed by Morrissey and has a photo of Shelagh Delaney, a Manchester playwright whose début play inspired Morrissey greatly.

The music on this compilation is actually pretty breathtaking From Sheila Take a bow, Panic, Ask, the sublime Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now to the aching Asleep the album is not only a document of how essential The Smiths are to British musical history but to the fact that they practically single handedly save 1980's music in the UK from being a void of plastic disposable pop rubbish.

Track Listing

1. "Is It Really So Strange?" - 2:42 (John Peel session)
2. "Sheila Take a Bow" - 3:02
3. "Shoplifters of the World Unite" - 2:58
4. "Sweet and Tender Hooligan" - 3:33 (John Peel session)
5. "Half a Person" 3:36
6. "London" 2:08#
7. "Panic" - 2:20
8. "Girl Afraid" - 2:49
9. "Shakespeare's Sister" - 2:08
10. "William, It Was Really Nothing" - 2:11
11. "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" (alternate mix)* - 3:33
12. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" - 3:34
13. "Ask" - 3:12
14. "Golden Lights" - 2:43
15. "Oscillate Wildly" - 3:25
16. "These Things Take Time"* - 2:23
17. "Rubber Ring" - 3:48
18. "Back to the Old House"* - 3:04
19. "Hand in Glove" (single version) - 3:15
20. "Stretch Out and Wait"* - 2:46
21. " Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" - 1:52
22. "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" (John Peel session) 3:40
23. "Unloveable" - 3:56
24. "Asleep" - 4:11

Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush

Hounds of Love, Kate Bush's 1985 album was her most commercially successful to date. That is not to say it isn't packed full of kate's eccentricities but it has also some of her finest pop moments to boot.

The album was produced by Bush in her own 24 track studio. She split the album into two parts. The first half had her accessible pop tracks the second showing her more adventurous side.

The first single to be released was Running Up That Hill. Apparently Kate is singing about men and women and how we can never really understand each other (I think she is on to something). The song was originally just titled Deal With God, but Kate was warned that if the title remained it wouldn't be played in any religious countries, like Ireland! The video was a dance number that even had a weird pre curser to being John Malcovich where Kate Bush gets swept down a corridor by a stream of people wearing Kate Bush masks, even weirder still MTV never played it, preferring a live performance of the song to the video.

The second single taken from the album was the wonderful Cloudbusting. Written about the relationship between a father and son in this case controversial psychologist Wilhelm reich's arrest as seen through the eyes of his son.

Hounds of Love was the third single and was yet another commercial and critical success for Kate. It is actually my favorite from the album too.

The second side of Hounds of Love is a concept suite of songs called the Ninth Wave. It seems to be about a young woman who is terminally ill, and has repeated hallucinations. The critical success of hounds of love was further proof of the huge talent that is Kate Bush. The singles released from the album are still mainstream radio staples which is testament to the craft and originality of the album.

Track Listsing

1. "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" – 5:03
2. "Hounds of Love" – 3:02
3. "The Big Sky" – 4:41
4. "Mother Stands for Comfort" – 3:07
5. "Cloudbusting" – 5:10

The Ninth Wave

6. "And Dream of Sheep" – 2:45
7. "Under Ice" – 2:21
8. "Waking the Witch" – 4:18
9. "Watching You Without Me" – 4:06
10. "Jig of Life" – 4:04
11. "Hello Earth" – 6:13
12. "The Morning Fog" – 2:34

Watermark - Enya

For the St Patrick Says week that is in it we're featuring an album from home from perhaps one of the most enigmatic Irish artists, Enya.
Watermark was released in 1988 and quickly won critical acclaim. The unusual fusion of celtic music and synthesised technological layering gives Enya her signature sound.
Album tracks have featured in numerous advertisements and Films, Exile features on both LA Story and Green Card
Singing in Gaelige, Latin and English, Irelands best selling solo artist created a mysterious and spiritual multi million selling new age classic. Watermark is this Thursdays critical Junction!

Track Listings
1. Watermark
2. Cursum Peficio
3. On Your Shore
4. Storms In Africa
5. Exile
6. Mis Clare Remembers '59
7. Orinoco Flow
8. Evening Falls
9. River
10. The Long Ships
11. Na Lacha Geal M'oige
12. Storms In Africa II

Appetite For Destruction - Guns N' Roses

With 27 million sales worldwide, the most sucessful debut of the eighties, Appetite For Destruction introduced the world to LA hard rockers Guns 'N Roses.
Axl, Slash, and the band went on to raise hell and a lot of controversy, but never surpassed the almighty punch of this album.
Welcome To The Jungle, the first single, languished until record company boss David Geffen convinced MTV to give it more air time and even though it got scant play, rock fans took note and it was soon charting. Sweet Child Of Mine (a poem by Axl Rose for his future wife) followed and by the time the band released Paradise City, they were touring to sold out stadiums.
The original cover features a tattoo Axl had designed, of a cross and skulls, each skull representing a member of the band. This artwork was actually a compromise, the original artwork featuring a robot rapist about to be avenged by a dagger toothed monster created too much controversy and was instead used on the liner sleeve.

Track listing
1. Welcome To The Jungle
2. It's So Easy
3. Nightrain
4. Out Ta Get Me
5. Mr. Brownstone
6. Paradise City
7. My Michelle
8. Think About You
9. Sweet Child O' Mine
10. You're Crazy
11. Anything Goes
12. Rocket Queen

The Lion And The Cobra - Sinéad O'Connor

What a debut.
The Lion And The Cobra introduced the world to Sinéad O Connor. A fiesty troubled and highly original 20 year old, who, unhappy with the original record company production of the album (she thought it was too celtic) went ahead (7 months pregnant) and produced it herself. This early declaration of self belief is something that seems to have stayed with her her whole career, this lady has GUTS.
Their were two versions of the Album Cover produced, the angry pose used here and the softer image used for a more conservative American market.
The Lion And The Cobra burst out of the Irish recession gloom in 1987 with an anti establishment attitude prompting Rolling Stone to declare it was like "a banshee wailing across the bog" at best a trite little piece of copy they made up for by comparing her to Laurie Anderson and Kate Bush.
Post Punk Pop Glam Rock, heavily influenced by Prince (with whom she would later successfully collaborate) the album is at times intense, at times almost wistful.
Troy juxtaposes Dublin in a rainstorm with a burning Troy, starting off gentle, mystical and romantic, and building to a fire-spitting crescendo. Mandinka is perfect Pop Rock with its "crunching" chords and hooks. There's a hip hop feel to I Want Your (Hands On Me) and Enya guest vocals on Never Get Old.
The Album gets it's name from the the Ninety First Psalm, and religion (a favourite O'Connor topic) is a regular theme, in Just Like You Said It Would be "I will walk in the garden/and feel religion within" and Jerusalem "and the priest just said it got burned"
Throughout, The Lion And The Cobra is a tour force for a young woman finding her voice, and what a voice.

Track listing
1. Jackie
2. Mandinka
3. Jerusalem
4. Just Like U Said It Would B
5. Never Get Old
6. Troy
7. I Want Your (Hands On Me)
8. Drink Before The War
9. Just Call Me Joe

Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman

In 1988 a clear and distinctive voice gained well deserved critical acclaim when a gutsy and politicised Tracy Chapman released her eponymous debut album. Heralding in a new era of highly original female singer songwriters that included Sarah Mc Lachlan and Tori Amos.
From the simple unblinking clarity of Why "Why are all the missiles called peacekeepers when they're aimed to kill" to the almost painful tenderness of Baby Can I hold You, Tracy Chapman provided the Bush Sr. era with a radical, brave and confrontational voice, wrapped up in simple and clean production.
The stand out single is Fast Car. Chapmans biggest hit to date it took on social class and poverty in modern day America with unapologetic confidence. Similar themes are tackled with the album opener Talkin' About A Revolution "They're standing in the welfare lines, crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation"
In Across The Lines the black/white divisions "kill the dream of America" and the haunting acapella Behind The Wall lays bare the realities of domestic violence "Last night I heard the screaming,Then a silence that chilled my soul, I prayed that I was dreaming, When I saw the ambulance in the road"
These are protest songs, and Chapmans melodic ability and distinctive voice took them to the airwaves and the charts.
This is a timeless album, tackling themes that unfortunately almost 20 years later, are even more relevant today.

Track Listing
1. Talkin' Bout A Revolution
2. Fast Car
3. Across The Lines
4. Behind The Wall
5. Baby Can I Hold You
6. Mountains O' Things
7. She's Got Her Ticket
8. Why?
9. For My Lover
10. If Not Now
11. For You

Like A Prayer - Madonna

This weeks Critical Junction sprinkles a bit of perfect pop sunshine into November rain with 1989's Like A Prayer. Madonna's fourth studio release, she fuses rock, dance, funk and soul and delivers her most mature lyrics yet.

The original album release featured a special edition run that was Patchouli scented, Madonnas favourite smell (oh dear) and an AIDS info pamphlet which is still included today.
The stand out track is the eponymous Like A Prayer building from a get your groove on chorus to an all out preacherman gospel belter. The religious content of the track carried over to its controversial video in which Maddy witnesses a murder, snogs a saint, dances around burning crosses and even catches herself some stigmata. Eighties survivors will know this was stir causing stuff.
Personal experience is laid bare in Till Death Do Us Part, dealing with the end of her marriage to Sean Penn, Oh Father reveals a difficult relationship with her Dad that's somewhat softened with the closing lyrics "Maybe someday,When I look back I'll be able to say, You didn't mean to be cruel, Somebody hurt you too"
Her Mother features in Promise To Try and Madonna even dedicated the album to "my mother who taught me to pray"
There's plenty of classic pop fun too, Cherish, Express Yourself and Keep It Together will all have the fingers and feet tapping, and even a duet with Prince, Love Song.
Rolling Stone said it was "as close to art as Pop music gets" Decide for yourself on Thursday Morning.

Track Listing
1. Like A Prayer
2. Express Yourself
3. Love Song
4. Till Death Do Us Part
5. Promise To Try
6. Cherish
7. Dear Jessie
8. Oh Father
9. Keep It Together
10. Spanish Eyes
11. Act Of Contrition

The Joshua Tree - U2

U2 formed in 1976 when Larry Mullen pinned a notice to his secondary school notice board seeking fellow musicians in the hopes of putting a band together. Starting out as ”The Larry Mullen Adventure” (that name lasted a day), they went through a few more name and line-up changes until band members Mullen, Bono (Paul Hewson), The Edge (Dave Evans) and Adam Clayton Jr. settled on the name U2, so chosen for its ambiguity, as well as the fact that it was the name the four members disliked the least. By the mid-1980s, the band had become a top international act, noted for their stadium anthems, Bono's impassioned lyrics, and The Edge's much-copied layered guitar sound. However, their success as a live act was notably greater than their success as a record-selling band. Or at least that was the case until the release of their 1987 album, “The Joshua Tree”, brought them mega-stardom.

U2 had only just finished touring their previous album, 1984’s “The Unforgettable Fire”, when they set to work on their follow-up. They had no new songs written either; they would just get together at bass player Adam Clayton’s house, and wait to see what happened. The band rehearsals and jamming sessions that started off each day culminated in U2’s fifth studio album, released on March 9, 1987. The Joshua Tree – named as a “tribute” to, rather than a “metaphor” for, America - is considered by many to be the band’s best album and one of the best rock albums of all time. Collaborating a second time with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who the band had first worked with on The Unforgettable Fire, it went straight to No.1 in the UK charts and became the fastest selling album in British chart history. It also spent nine weeks at the top of the US chart. The Album won the band their first two Grammy Awards and they have since gone on to win a total of twenty-two, more than any other rock band.

Sadly, the original tree featured on the cover photos died around the year 2000…....

According to Bono in a 2001 BBC TV documentary, the track order for “The Joshua Tree” was the brainchild of Scottish singer Kirsty MacColl. She put her favorite song first, then her second favorite, and so on.

Track listing
1. Where The Streets Have No Name
2. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
3. With Or Without You
4. Bullet The Blue Sky
5. Running To Stand Still
6. Red Hill Mining Town
7. In God's Country
8. Trip Through Your Wires
9. One Tree Hill
10. Exit
11. Mothers Of The Disappeared

Black In Black - AC/DC

This band that has probably inspired the highest number of tribute acts ever. AC/DC were formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by the Young brothers Angus and Malcolm. They got the idea for the band’s name after seeing the acronym “AC/DC” on the back of their sister’s sewing machine. The term means “alternating current/ direct current”, i.e., that an electrical device can use either type of power, and the brothers felt that this perfectly symbolised the band’s raw energy and power-driven performances.

“Back In Black”, released on July 25th, 1980, was AC/DC’s seventh studio album and their first with present vocalist Brian Johnson. Previous singer and co-songwriter Ronald Belford “Bon” Scott died on February 19th, 1980 after a night of heavy alcohol consumption. The band briefly considered disbanding after the tragedy but eventually decided to carry on. Angus and Malcolm had commenced pre-production for the album before Bon Scott’s death, and Scott had even written lyrics for potential new songs, but the decision was made by the Youngs to start the album from scratch on hiring Johnson. Producer Robert “Mutt” Lange (probably now better known as Mr. Shania Twain), who had worked with the band on their previous album “Highway To Hell”, agreed to work with them once again on this one.

“Back In Black” is AC/DC’s biggest selling album, having sold over 40 million units worldwide. Angus Young has said in interviews that the album’s all-black cover was a sign of mourning for Bon Scott. It also spawned some of the band’s most popular hits including “Hells Bells”, “You Shook Me All Night Long” and the title track, “Back In Black”. Despite it being AC/DC’s most successful album, “Back In Black” was not their highest charting album. That honour went to their next album “For Those About To Rock, We Salute You”, which hit no.1 in the US in 1982.
On October 1st 2004, one of Melbourne’s central thoroughfares, Corporation Lane, was renamed in honour of the band. However, as the City of Melbourne forbids the use of the slash character in street names, the four letters were combined and it is named ACDC Lane.

“Back In Black” track listing:
1. "Hells Bells"
2. "Shoot To Thrill"
3. "What Do You Do For Money Honey"
4. "Givin' The Dog A Bone"
5. "Let Me Put My Love Into You"
6. "Back In Black"
7. "You Shook Me All Night Long"
8. "Have A Drink On Me"
9. "Shake A Leg"
10. "Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution"

Born In The USA - Bruce Springsteen

Released in 1984, Born In The USA is Bruce Springsteens 7th studio album. And, even though it is the first time he used synthesisers, it ROCKS!
The anthem like title track Born in the USA is often, mistaken as a Pro US track, but a closer look at the lyrics reveals a scathing account of the experience of returning Vietnam Vets.

"Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
'Til you spend half your life just covering up"

Dancing In The Dark was one of Springsteens all time biggest hits, only kept of the number one spot by Princes When Doves Cry from previous Critical Junction Purple Rain. The video featured Courtney Cox in her first screen role and was directed by none other than Brian De Palma.

And the hit's just keep on coming, Cover Me (originally intended as a Donna Summer track) Glory Days (a highschool jocks wistful look back at the so called good ole days) My Hometown, I'm On Fire, No Surrender....Heck, let's just play the whole Album.
Altogether now "Wanna Change, My Clothes, My Hair, My Face"

Track listing
1. Born In The USA
2. Cover Me
3. Darlington County
4. Working On The Highway
5. Downbound Train
6. I'm On Fire
7. No Surrender
8. Bobby Jean
9. I'm Goin' Down
10. Glory Days
11. Dancing In The Dark
12. My Hometown

Thriller - Michael Jackson

This Album, from 1983 needs little introduction, it sounds fresh and original today. With over 60 million copies sold worldwide, if you don't own it you know someone who does. Following up on the very successful Off The Wall Jackson again teamed up with producer Quincy Jones and together they delivered Thriller. 7 of it's 9 tracks charted in the Top Ten in the US and it's still selling. We'll be featuring many of these old familiars on Thursdays Livedrive
Track listing
1. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
2. Baby Be Mine
3. Girl Is Mine, The - (with Paul McCartney)
4. Thriller
5. Beat It
6. Billie Jean
7. Human Nature
8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
9. Lady In My Life, The

Doolittle - The Pixies

Released in 1989 this was the second studio Album from Boston alternative rock gods The Pixies and followed their magnificent but commercially unsuccessful Surfer Rosa. The album helped launch producer Gil Norton who has since worked with Foo Fighters, Maximo Park, Ben Kweller among many others

Doolittle was critically acclaimed, although it didn't sell very well and its real impact wasn't felt until after the Pixies disbanded. It laid the foundations to American grunge clearly establishing the quite-loud dynamic that was copied by Nirvana. PJ Harvey has a special fondness for Doolittle describing the songwriting as "amazing".

The album is filled with surrealist imagery, the opening track Debaser is based on a film by Slavador Dali and Luis Brunel. The biggest hit from the album was Here Comes Your Man which reached Number 3 in the US Modern Rock Charts. Essentially a pop song, believe it or not its about Hobos who die on a train during an earthquake in California. A song about God and garbage is one of their most popular. Monkey Gone to Heaven is environmentalism put to steaming grunge guitars and some screaming outros about the number of the beast. Its fantastic stuff!!

Doolittle is one of the quintessential alternative rock albums of the 1980's and has inspired a generation of musicians its sound is now the back bone of the new crop of Bands such as Maximo Park and a deluge of others. Thankfully the Pixies have reformed to show these whipper snappers how it should be done.

Track Listing
1. Debaser
2. Tame
3. Wave Of Mutilation
4. I Bleed
5. Here Comes Your Man
6. Dead
7. Monkey Gone To Heaven
8. Mr. Grieves
9. Crackity Jones
10. La La Love You
11. No. 13 Baby
12. There Goes My Gun
13. Hey
14. Silver
15. Gouge Away

Eliminator - ZZ Top

In 1983 Texan Boogie Boys ZZ Top released Eliminator, fixed themselves up with some MTV friendly videos and became mega stars of the moment. Take a few astonishing beards, mix a little Blues Pop with a synthesizer and a drum machine, add an air guitar and baby you've got your self a hit record!
This album produced the peerless trilogy of hits, Gimme all Your Lovin, Sharp Dressed Man and Legs and they will all be featured on this Thursdays Critical Junction, we'll bow to your tastes to choose the fourth track.

Often imitated but never matched and sounding fresh, fun and even a little funky today, you can't help but like this!

Track listing
1. Gimme All Your Lovin
2. Got Me Under Pressure
3. Sharp Dressed Man
4. I Need You Tonight
5. I Got The Six
6. Legs
7. Thug
8. T. V. Dinners
9. Dirty Dog
10. If I Could Only Flag Her Down
11. Bad Girl

Graceland - Paul Simon

"This is the story of how we begin to remember"....in 1986 with Apartheid still a South African reality Paul Simon fused his skills for lyrics and melody with the Mbaqanga music of South Africa and American Roots and brought it all together in the enormously successful Graceland.
The Album showcases the talents of Black South Africans such as Ladysmith Black Mambozo, introducing them to global audiences and also features vocals from Linda Ronstadt (Under African Skies) The Evelry Brothers (Graceland) and Los Lobos (All Around The World or The Myth Of Fingerprints). Graceland quickly gained recognition as an instant classic. It won't be hard to pick tracks to play from this album on Thursday and expect to hear more than four...."there are angels in the architecture"

Track listing
1. Boy In The Bubble, The
2. Graceland
3. I Know What I Know
4. Gumboots
5. Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
6. You Can Call Me Al
7. Under African Skies
8. Homeless
9. Crazy Love' Vol. II
10. That Was Your Mother
11. All Around The World Or The Myth Of Fingerprints

Purple Rain - Prince And The Revolution

A Terrible Movie, a legendary soundtrack. Princes 1984 album Purple Rain broke records and broke Prince onto the international stage. The Album is a mix of Funk, Pop, Blues and Rock and apparently the title track Purple Rain was Princes attempt at Country Rock. To capture and corner the Pop market, the lyrics are a tad clearer then previous offerings from The Artist though the cheeky lyrics in Darling Nikki got the ball rolling on Parental Advisory Stickers! (we won't be playing it on the show)

Rolling Stone ranked this No.2 in the top 100 albums of the 1980s, It's a fantastic Album. Prince is hugely popular on the Live Drive and this Critical Junction is definitely worth tuning in for.

Track listing
1. Let's Go Crazy
2. Take Me With You
3. Beautiful Ones, The
4. Computer Blue
5. Darling Nikki
6. When Doves Cry
7. I Would Die 4 U
8. Baby I'm A Star
9. Purple Rain

Lisenced To Ill - The Beastie Boys

Licensed To Ill is one of the most important, influential, and relevant rap/rock releases ever, it opened rap music up to a rock audience and became the first Number One Hip Hop album in history

The New York threesome The Beastie Boys (Ad Rock, Mike D, and MCA) with the help of super-producer Rick Rubin revolutionized the industry with the 1986 release of Licensed to Ill on Def Jam.

The tongue in cheek Mock Rap lyrics combined with strong beats and samples and heavy guitar riffs provided the Boys with a place in Rock and Roll history.

We open the show with the most appropriate of beginnings, the Motorhead inspired "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" At 8 we play the ultimate adolescent anthem "Fight For Your Right". "Rhymin And Stealin" which samples Led Zeppelins "When The Levee Breaks" sees in 9 o'clock. We close the show at 10 with something funky "Brass Monkey"

Track listing
1. Rhymin' And Stealin'
2. New Style
3. She's Crafty
4. Posse In Effect
5. Slow Ride
6. Girls
7. Fight For Your Right
8. No Sleep Till Brooklyn
9. Paul Revere
10. Hold It Now, Hit It
11. Brass Monkey
12. Slow And Low
13. Time To Get Ill