40 Year Itch: Those We Missed August 1979

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Those We Missed August 1979

Led Zeppelin : Fool in the Rain

The biggest album we missed in August is the In Through The Out Door, the final album Led Zeppelin released before drummer John Bonham's unexpected death meant the party was over. Synthesizers were in play and Bonham's drumming was as funky as ever, but the band couldn't muster enough power to go out on a great note. That said, it did top the Creem Readers poll for best album

CREEM Readers Poll Top 20 Albums

1. In Through The Out Door (Led Zeppelin)
2. Candy-O (The Cars)
3. Dream Police (Cheap Trick)
4. Live At Budokan (Cheap Trick)
5. Rust Never Sleeps (Neil Young + Crazy Horse)
6. Squeezing Out Sparks (Graham Parker + the Rumour)
7. The Kids Are Alright (The Who)
8. Van Halen II (Van Halen)
9. Low Budget (The Kinks)
10. Get The Knack (The Knack)
11. The Clash
12. Dynasty (Kiss)
13. Fear Of Music (Talking Heads)
14. Armed Forces (Elvis Costello)
15. Labour Of Lust (Nick Lowe)
16. Highway To Hell (AC/DC)
17. B-52's
18. Breakfast In America (Supertramp)
19. Night In The Ruts (Aerosmith)
20. Look Sharp! (Joe Jackson)
21. Eat To The Beat (Blondie)
22. The Long Run (The Eagles)
23. Tusk (Fleetwood Mac)
24. Damn The Torpedoes (Tom Petty + the Heartbreakers)
25. You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic (Ian Hunter)

Pat Benatar : Heartbreaker

[Purchase]

To my ears Pat Benatar has always come across as a hired hand. She's a commercial jingle singer whose debut album peaked at U.S.#12 and featured covers of songs by Smokie, Nick Gilder, the Alan Parson Project, Sweet and John Mellencamp.

Randy Newman : The Story of a Rock and Roll Band

[Purchase]

What if Randy Newman told a joke and nobody laughed? That's kind of what happened with Born Again, despite the fun ELO tribute. Still got a B+ out of Robert Christgau.

P-Model : Art Mania

[Purchase]

Japanese new wave album produced by Plastics keyboardist Masahida Sakuma. What? We haven't mentioned The Plastics yet? I love the Plastics. They take the New Wave to their very quirkiest extreme (yes, beyond even The B-52's) Check out "Copy", their debut single also released in 1979 below.