80s music
The 80s were chockful of New Wave power ballads, synthesizers, drum machines, and no shortage of Madonna and Michael Jackson.
'Sleeping With the Past'
For Elton John, the 1980s was a decade that resulted in several albums, with varying tone, consistency, and quality across the albums and often within them. For his 1989 album "Sleeping With The Past", he and lyricist Bernie Taupin decided to make an album consistent in tone and quality, based on the classic soul and R&B Records they both loved. To start with, Elton hired a new rhythm section of Romeo Williams on bass and Johnathan "Sugarfoot" Moffet on drums, veterans of various soul records recruited by guitarist Davey Johnstone specifically for their R&B backgrounds. Also new to the band was keyboard player Guy Babylon, a Johnstone recruit who would be a key figure in the Elton story until his death in 2009. The album was recorded at Puk Studios in Denmark over a period of 6 months, under producer Chris Thomas.
By Sean Callaghan6 years ago in Beat
'Reg Strikes Back'
Coming off the career nadir of Leather Jackets in 1986 and a victorious lawsuit against British tabloid The Sun in 1987 for false and scandolous rumors against him, Elton John sought a new start with 1988's Reg Strikes Back. Chris Thomas who produced Elton's work earlier in the 80s returned as producer. It was recorded at AIR Studios and Westside Studios in London England and Circle Seven Recording and The Record Plant in Los Angeles California.
By Sean Callaghan6 years ago in Beat
'Ice on Fire'
Elton John's 1985 album, Ice on Fire marked the return of Elton's original Producer Gus Dudgeon behind the desk but ironically also saw the dismissal of Elton's original rhythm section of Dee Murray on bass and Nigel Olsson on drums, replaced with ex-Pilot bassist David Paton and drummer Charlie Morgan. Also on board was keyboardist and additional guitarist Fred Mandel. Davey Johnstone on guitars once again remained on board. The album was recorded at Sol Studios in Cookham, Berkshire England.
By Sean Callaghan6 years ago in Beat
1980: The Year the Music Died
Musicians come and go; that's how the industry works. But most of the time, the artist simply loses popularity, and fades away from a stint at the top, being the most talked-about sensation in months. But, some careers don't end up like that. It's saddening how the best and most promising faces in music meet their tragic end, all but too soon. Here are a few of the biggest losses to music in 1980.
By Greg Jarvis6 years ago in Beat
'Breaking Hearts'
After the success of Too Low for Zero, Elton John decided to keep basically the same production team for its follow-up album, Breaking Hearts. The classic band of Davey Johnstone on guitars and vocals, Dee Murray on bass and vocals, and Nigel Olsson on drums and vocals, returned as did producer Chris Thomas. Bernie Taupin was now firmly back as Elton's full time lyricist. The album (like its predecessor) was recorded at AIR Studios in Montseratt. The engineer on the album was Renate Blauel, to whom Elton would later be briefly married.
By Sean Callaghan6 years ago in Beat
'Too Low for Zero'
After years of relatively lackluster albums, Elton John decided to go back to basics with 1983's Too Low for Zero. Chris Thomas, who had produced Elton's last few albums, would return, however, for the first time since Blue Moves, Bernie Taupin would write all lyrics for the album, and all instrumental tracks would feature the classic core band of Davey Johnstone on guitar and vocals, Dee Murray on bass and vocals, and Nigel Olsson on drums and vocals. As was the case with many of Elton's albums, things came together quickly. Bernie's lyrics were set to music and the entire album was recorded within two weeks at AIR Studios in Monserrat and Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles.
By Sean Callaghan6 years ago in Beat
Popularity of Reggae in Japan Leaves Scene Trying to Stay on Message
Photo by Mattias Hallberg The undeniable link Japan has held with Reggae for the last several decades may seem quite unlikely to those of us who haven't noticed. So trying to figure out how the lineage actually emerged probably requires a full subscription to the musical version of Ancestry.com. On the contrary, a simple search on Japan, and the genre's godfather returns a clear delineation of when, where and how it all began.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Beat
James Reyne - Interview
This interview was done when James Reyne seemed to be on the verge of international success. At the time of the interview I had worked with James Reyne in a music publishing capacity and I also knew him socially so it was a casual and yet frank interview. It appeared as the cover story of InPress on 27 July 1988.
By Andrew Watt6 years ago in Beat
'Jump Up!'
Elton John's sixteenth studio album, Jump Up!, was released on April 9, 1982. It was the first Elton John album to be fully produced by Chris Thomas, the Abbey Road technician who worked on the Beatles' White Album and was responsible for supervising the mixing of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. Thomas would produce most of Elton's work through the better part of the next two decades, all the while working as well with acts including Roxy Music, Pete Townshend and The Pretenders—not to mention David Gilmour and Paul McCartney of the aforementioned Floyd and Beatles respectively. The album also saw five tracks that featured lyrics by Bernie Taupin, the most he had contributed since Blue Moves in 1976 (The next Elton John album, Too Low for Zero, would feature only songs with Taupin lyrics.).
By Sean Callaghan6 years ago in Beat
