Opus 80|A Musical Opus from the 1980s

Music is an amazing thing; it has the power to change your mood (either for better or worse), and a good quality set of speakers can make a really welcomed enhancement to your home. A top quality set of speakers is no longer just for the the audiophiles out there; good speakers can be a great addition to a room even if you know little about them, and sometimes there’s nothing better than a set of good wall speakers.

Over the last few years, sound systems have advanced a lot technologically, from the features they have to their ability to faithfully replicate the recorded audio they play back. However, you may own the best sound system and amplifier on the market, but if you have a poor set of speakers, the audio quality will also be poor. You need to choose carefully when buying speakers, which means carefully comparing the features of the different sets of speakers.

Music from the eighties had a unique sound, that seems to be missing from so much of the music today. I know I sound like an old codger when I start writing stuff like that, but I do believe it’s true. At least the artists of the seventies and eighties seem to be trying to come up with a unique sound for their bands to distinguish them from the rest of the crowd. Where as today, the number of artists trying to do that seem far and few in between.

That’s not to say that there aren’t any, it just seems like so many all sound the same. All the hip hop dance floor stuff seems to be the music of choice by so many people today. When I think back to the eighties, I think about the unique sounds of bands like Journey (Steve Perrys voice), Abba, the Eagles, the Beach Boys (maybe a little pre-1980),Led Zeppelin, The Who and Queen. There are of course dozens of others. But the point is, has anyone in the current age of musicians really grabbed the torch and broken free from the mold.

Not too many I suspect, but maybe I’m being just a little too harsh on the current generation of musicians. I know there were plenty of derivative bands from the eighties, and plenty of one hit wonders, that were never able to make a go of it in the business either commercially or artistically. Which actually brings about another point I have to wonder about.

Music distribution has certainly changed this days for artists, with the world of the internet leveling the field somewhat. Really, if your band is good, then you should be able to get plenty of recognition by distributing your music online, and making use of musician friendly websites like MySpace to build up a group of followers. Decades ago, in the pre internet age, it was very risky for a band to try and be different. Cutting a record was expensive, as was the marketing and promotion that went along with it.

With the internet providing such a low cost entry barrier, and digital technology allowing just about anyone with a microphone to create a CD, you’d think there would be far more diversity in the music business today. Or perhaps, maybe there is. Maybe I’m just stuck in the eighties haven’t given the artists of today a chance. If you’ve found some great artists via the internet, I’d love to hear about it. Just leave some comments below, with links to your favorite current bands.

If there ever was a band that created their own niche, and succeeded in creating their own sound, it was Queen.  Theatrical to be sure, and definitely not a band to shy away from the big production numbers.   This was a band that was both classic and iconic as the years have proved them to be.  I’m not sure why, but for some reason I always assumed that Queen was an American band.  I was surprised to learn only recently, even after having listened to their music for years (decades ?), that their actually from the UK.  Yes, Queen is a British band.  I suppose, that since I wasn’t one of this to listen to a lot of rock and roll celebrity interviews, I never picked up on their English accents.  As with most singers, their native accent rarely comes across in their singing.

One of my fondest memories of Queen, was being at a high school buddies place when he had just got the latest Queen album Jazz that featured the song “Fat Bottom Girls”.  Of course, the best part of the album was the poster of 65 naked women on rented bicycles at Wimbledon stadium in England.  Remember, these are teen age boys were talking about here.  It was a bizzare little twist for an 80s album that at least covered two out of three from the phrase “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll”.   Those girls definitely looked like they were on some sports nutrition supplements, in that they were very healthy, and expert bicycle riders as well.  Or at the very least, they had been dabbling in some Maximuscle Promax Diet to prepare for their big rock and roll race day.  My personal choice for that day would have been PhD Pharma Blend, but who am I to argue with the ladies.

It’s pretty much impossible to talk about Queen the band, without mentioning two of their most enduring songs.  Those would have to be Bohemian Rhapsody, and We Will Rock You.  Bohemian Rhapsody continues to be one of my favorites, and is a song I never get tired of hearing.  I do like songs that tell a story, and even if it is as disjointed as the tale told here.  It would have taken quite a bit of audicity in the early stages of pitching this song, to convince the producers that it should be on a rock bands album.  I mean really what do these guys know about four part opera?  Apparently enough to make one of the most enduring rock songs of all time.  I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not, but every time I hear that song I get Wayne and Garth stuck in my head right around the four minute mark.

I must admit, that over the years I have developed an affinity for piano playing rock stars.  I just like listening to piano music for some reason.  Could be the fact that my father taught himself piano, and played quite a bit in my younger days.  We still have that piano as a matter of fact, and all my kids have learned to play on it.  Kinda cool, but I do digress.

Bands and artists that feature piano players prominently like Billy Joel, Elton John, Marc Cohn, Bruce Hornsby and Five For Fighting have always been favorites of mine.  Of them all, Billy Joel would be my first choice for a private front row contest, if I was ever given such a wonderful choice.  I saw him perform live back in Detroit back in the eighties, and even back then I was impressed by the range and size of both his songs and his fans.  He played for what seemed like hours.  And, there were grandparents with their grand-kids amongst the fans.

His concerts in Russia back when travel into that country by westerners was largely unheard of was ground breaking.  I believe, he was the first western artist ever to perform behind the iron curtain.  And in spite of that little fit he had where he flipped a piano on stage, it was one of the most amazing concert experiences to be captured on film.

Billy Joels versatility as an artist has always impressed by as well.  I should make that statement a little broader in scope, to include his band members as well.  There all incredibly accomplished musicians.  I remember seen a documentary on him on VH1 as part of the series “Story Tellers”.  I think his bio had to be broked into two episodes.  But the one piece that sticks in my mind, was where they picked out a song that was from about ten years before there time, and very atypical compared to what they normally play, but they just started playing it flawlessly.  I think it was something by Creem.

There are very few artists that can put out an album where every single song is hit worthy.  Piano Man was of course just such an effort.  And to carry that thought a little further.  When he released a greatest hits double CD, every single song on that was amazingly wonderful as well.  His journeys down alternate music paths, have been equally successful as well.  The jazzier stuff he did with the likes of Ray Charles ranks among his best work I think.  Mulberry Street is a terrific piece.

In summary, I must say Billy Joel is one of the few musicians from the eighties that stayed relevant and continued produce wonderful music, and exploring alternate musical paths long past the swan song of his contemporaries.