In the Rock of Life series I will be recounting my music listening history throughout the years. Each year, starting with 1982, I will describe what I was listening to at the time and then pick my “Album of the Year”. Some (arbitrary) rules: the album will have been released in that year, although some could be from late in the prior year. It must be an album I actually listened to back then, not an album I discovered later. It can’t be a “greatest hits” album.
1984 I was a junior in college (after dropping out for 3 semesters to "find myself" - I found myself flipping burgers and didn't like that so much), and in addition to those you listed, the albums that really stick out from that year are:
"Bananarama" - had both "Cruel Summer" and "Robert DeNiro's Waiting"
"All Over the Place" by the Bangles. "Going Down to Liverpool" was all over MTV
"Suddenly" by Billy Ocean. It wasn't reggae, it wasn't disco, it wasn't New Wave, but it was perfect for either dancing or just listening
"Reckless" by Bryan Adams - Kind of an old-school '70s mainstream rock vibe that stood out from the MTV and hair metal bands
"I Feel for You" by Chaka Khan - The former Rufus lead singer dipped her toe into hip ho with her breakout song, and then the ballad "Through the Fire"
"Perfect Strangers" - Deep Purple's classic lineup reunited for an album and tour, and scored with the title track and "Knocking at Your Back Door"
"EB 84" by the Everly Brothers - Phil and Don, at the persistent urging of Paul McCartney, reunited, and scored their last hit with the McCartney penned "On the Wings of A Nightingale"
"NIghtflight" - Fenton Robinson. First blues album I ever got, and I almost wore it smooth. HIs jazzy guitar and smooth as bourbon vocals were impossible to not like.
"General Public" - the two lead singers from The English Beat reunite, and once again dominate MTV with "Tenderness" a major hit.
"Two Steps From the Move" - by Hanoi Rocks. Finnish glam band was on the verge of breaking through when their drummer died in a car crash shortly after this was released. Their rollicking cover of CCR's "Up Around the Bend" still stands the test of time
"Volume One" by The Honeydrippers. Robert Plant's post-Zep one-off tribute to classic R&B, with mates Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page on guitars. Their remake of "Sea of Love" scored far bigger than Phil Phillips' 1959 original
"Milk and Honey" - John Lennon & Yoko Ono. John's unknowing farewell, as he was assassinated a few hours after they finished the final mixdown. "Nobody Told Me" was as good as anything he ever wrote or sang.
"How Will the Wolf Survive" by Los Lobos. They took their LA Latin rock to the charts with "Don't Worry Baby" and a whole passes of other great tracks.
"Learning to Crawl" by The Pretenders. After guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Peter Farndon both died of drug overdoses, Chrissie Hynde had to rebuild the band, but the songs - "Middle of the Road," "Back on the Chain Gang," "My City Was Gone" and "2000 Miles" - made it the strongest Pretenders album ever.
"Purple Rain" - Prince. The album that elevated him into superstardom. "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry" owned the charts.
"Friendship" - Ray Charles. His last great album, this collection of duets with country stars yielded two classics, the rowdy "Two Old Cats LIke Us" with Hank Williams Jr. and "Seven Spanish Angels" with Willie Nelson.
"Couldn't Stand the Weather" - Stevie Ray Vaughan. Melding Hendrix-like guitar wizardry with south Texas blues, Stevie Ray Vaughan exploded on the national scene with hits "Scuttle Buttin'", "Things I Used to Do" (a remake of an old Guitar Slim hit), a cover of Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" and "Cold Shot"
"Footloose" - Following in the "Saturday Night Fever" model of film soundtracks, of lining up pop acts to record songs for a film, this one featured Kenny Loggins on the title track, Deniece Williams with "Let's Hear It for the Boy," Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero", and Ann Wilson and Mike Reno's duet "Almost Paradise"
For me, album of the year for '84 comes down to The Pretenders, The Cars, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Van Halen and Footloose soundtrack, and push comes to shove, I think I'd side with "Learning to Crawl" by the Pretenders. Top to bottom, it was the most complete, with the fewest weak songs.
Got to see Dokken at the tiny Backdoor at SDSU circa '85 ... ears still ringing ... ;)
1984 I was a junior in college (after dropping out for 3 semesters to "find myself" - I found myself flipping burgers and didn't like that so much), and in addition to those you listed, the albums that really stick out from that year are:
"Bananarama" - had both "Cruel Summer" and "Robert DeNiro's Waiting"
"All Over the Place" by the Bangles. "Going Down to Liverpool" was all over MTV
"Suddenly" by Billy Ocean. It wasn't reggae, it wasn't disco, it wasn't New Wave, but it was perfect for either dancing or just listening
"Reckless" by Bryan Adams - Kind of an old-school '70s mainstream rock vibe that stood out from the MTV and hair metal bands
"I Feel for You" by Chaka Khan - The former Rufus lead singer dipped her toe into hip ho with her breakout song, and then the ballad "Through the Fire"
"Perfect Strangers" - Deep Purple's classic lineup reunited for an album and tour, and scored with the title track and "Knocking at Your Back Door"
"EB 84" by the Everly Brothers - Phil and Don, at the persistent urging of Paul McCartney, reunited, and scored their last hit with the McCartney penned "On the Wings of A Nightingale"
"NIghtflight" - Fenton Robinson. First blues album I ever got, and I almost wore it smooth. HIs jazzy guitar and smooth as bourbon vocals were impossible to not like.
"General Public" - the two lead singers from The English Beat reunite, and once again dominate MTV with "Tenderness" a major hit.
"Two Steps From the Move" - by Hanoi Rocks. Finnish glam band was on the verge of breaking through when their drummer died in a car crash shortly after this was released. Their rollicking cover of CCR's "Up Around the Bend" still stands the test of time
"Volume One" by The Honeydrippers. Robert Plant's post-Zep one-off tribute to classic R&B, with mates Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page on guitars. Their remake of "Sea of Love" scored far bigger than Phil Phillips' 1959 original
"Milk and Honey" - John Lennon & Yoko Ono. John's unknowing farewell, as he was assassinated a few hours after they finished the final mixdown. "Nobody Told Me" was as good as anything he ever wrote or sang.
"How Will the Wolf Survive" by Los Lobos. They took their LA Latin rock to the charts with "Don't Worry Baby" and a whole passes of other great tracks.
"Learning to Crawl" by The Pretenders. After guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Peter Farndon both died of drug overdoses, Chrissie Hynde had to rebuild the band, but the songs - "Middle of the Road," "Back on the Chain Gang," "My City Was Gone" and "2000 Miles" - made it the strongest Pretenders album ever.
"Purple Rain" - Prince. The album that elevated him into superstardom. "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry" owned the charts.
"Friendship" - Ray Charles. His last great album, this collection of duets with country stars yielded two classics, the rowdy "Two Old Cats LIke Us" with Hank Williams Jr. and "Seven Spanish Angels" with Willie Nelson.
"Couldn't Stand the Weather" - Stevie Ray Vaughan. Melding Hendrix-like guitar wizardry with south Texas blues, Stevie Ray Vaughan exploded on the national scene with hits "Scuttle Buttin'", "Things I Used to Do" (a remake of an old Guitar Slim hit), a cover of Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" and "Cold Shot"
"Footloose" - Following in the "Saturday Night Fever" model of film soundtracks, of lining up pop acts to record songs for a film, this one featured Kenny Loggins on the title track, Deniece Williams with "Let's Hear It for the Boy," Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero", and Ann Wilson and Mike Reno's duet "Almost Paradise"
For me, album of the year for '84 comes down to The Pretenders, The Cars, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Van Halen and Footloose soundtrack, and push comes to shove, I think I'd side with "Learning to Crawl" by the Pretenders. Top to bottom, it was the most complete, with the fewest weak songs.