Though probably nobody fully appreciated it at the time - perhaps least of all the band! - Depeche Mode's debut is at once both a conservative, functional pop record and a groundbreaking release. While various synth pioneers had come before - Gary Numan, early Human League, late-'70s Euro-disco, and above all Kraftwerk all had clear influence on Speak & Spell - Depeche became the undisputed founder of straight-up synth pop with the album's 11 songs, light, hooky, and danceable numbers about love, life, and clubs. For all the claims about "dated" '80s sounds from rock purists, it should be noted that the basic guitar/bass/drums lineup of rock is almost 25 years older than the catchy keyboard lines and electronic drums making the music here…

Recorded at Atlantic Studios, New York, New York. Street Tough is a studio album by Ben E. King, his final album released directly with Atlantic Records. It was released in 1981. King worked with his son, Ben Jr., on some of the tracks.

Les Chants Magnétiques (Magnetic Fields) was the third of Jean Michel Jarre's albums in a row to update Tangerine Dream's atmospheric sequencer trance for a synth pop and mainstream crossover audience. The side-long "Les Chants Magnetiques, Pt. 1" is the capstone of the album, while "Pt. 2" through "Pt. 5" move through driving electronic pop and several passages more indebted to Jarre's past in the musique concrète scene. It's often just as melodic and inventive as Oxygène, though not as consistently creative.

La-La Land Records, Columbia Pictures and Asylum Records proudly present a remastered 2-CD limited edition re-issue of renowned composer Elmer Bernstein’s (GHOSTBUSTERS, TRUE GRIT, STRIPES) original motion picture score to the 1981 big screen, cult classic animated fantasy/action epic HEAVY METAL, produced by Ivan Reitman and directed by Gerald Potterton. A highly ambitious feature film animated adaptation of the legendary comic magazine HEAVY METAL required a musical underscore worthy of launching the entire enterprise into the stratosphere and the late, great Elmer Bernstein proved more than up to the challenge, delivering a rousing orchestral score that expertly drives the movie’s varied scenarios, moods and characters to wonderous heights. In total, the score remains a signature effort from one of the most uniquely American composers ever to come out of Hollywood. Produced by Neil S. Bulk and mastered by Doug Schwartz, this deluxe remastered release features the Score Presentation on Disc One, sourced from the composer’s own ¼” stereo tapes, while Disc Two unleashes the Original 1981 Score Album, which offers a different mix, and is also making its world premiere CD debut here, sourced from the original album masters.

This two-fer from the Australian Raven label is a part of a series of Delbert McClinton reissues. All of them come with new liner notes, session photos, and bonus tracks. These two albums, from 1980 and 1981, respectively, represent a renaissance for McClinton of sorts. While he never had a fallow period creatively, The Jealous Kind allowed him a renewed commercial viability even if it was short-lived. Both records were issued by the Muscle Shoals Sound imprint of Capitol Records and were produced by Barry Beckett with the Muscle Shoals rhythm section and horns. While the first disc is centered around diversity in its song choices – by everyone from Larry Henley to Bobby Charles to Van Morrison to Al Green to Jerry Williams – and took radical approaches to reinterpreting the material through soul, blues, funk, rock, and country, the latter chose hard-driving Southern-fried funk and R&B and a relatively close-to-the-vest approach in terms of material – most notably covers of "In the Midnight Hour" and Naomi Neville's "Lipstick Traces (On a Cigarette)".

Three classic albums: The World Starts Tonight (1977), Natural Force (1978) and Goodbye to the Island (1981).
Recognized for her distinctly raspy voice and soulful pop repertoire, Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler had her first worldwide hit in 1978 with "It's a Heartache" from her second album, Natural Force. Characteristic of her work in the '70s, it blended elements of country, rock, and pop.

Van Halen Taps into a Mean Streak on Fair Warning: The Darkest and Fiercest Album of the Band's Career
Double-Platinum 1981 Record Sounds Unrelenting on Mobile Fidelity's Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACD: Audiophile Reissue Plays with Stunning Dynamics. The song titles on Van Halen's aptly titled Fair Warning don't lie. The likes of "Unchained," "Mean Street," "Push Comes to Shove," "One Foot Out the Door," and more indicate the mood the band channels on its double-platinum 1981 record — the nastiest, darkest, and fiercest album of the group's storied career. For the fourth time in four years, Van Halen throws down the gauntlet to all challengers and emerges victorious.

The Red and the Black is the debut album by American musician Jerry Harrison, who rose to prominence as a member of the Modern Lovers and Talking Heads. It was released in 1981 by Sire Records. The track "Slink" was performed live by Talking Heads in 1982.

It wasn't surprising that the Buggles' second release, Adventures in Modern Recording, didn't meet the expectations that 1980's internationally successful The Age of Plastic set. Both Horn and Downes had been working on several outside projects, including Yes' 1980 release Drama, which severely limited their time, and for the most part, Adventures was a Trevor Horn solo project; Geoff Downes only appears on three tracks. However, many of the criticisms leveled against this outing were unfounded and there is still much to like; several songs, such as the infectious title track, equal The Age of Plastic. Both "Adventures in Modern Recording" and "Inner City," with its lush arrangement and engrossing melody, show off Horn's remarkable production savvy. Horn and Downes collaborations like the sultry "Vermillion Sands" and "I Am a Camera" – a melancholy, stripped-down version of "Into the Lens," which appeared on Drama – are top-notch.

Why mess with a great formula if there's no need to change? The Pretenders espoused this winning philosophy on the magnetic Pretenders II, a spectacular sophomore record that lived up to the promises of its breakthrough debut and replicated the 1979 effort's distinctive, can't-miss musical and lyrical flair. Part pop, part new-wave punk, part R&B, part soul, and 100% pure melodic rock n' roll, Pretenders II continued to send the quartet on its quick rise to the top and still serves as an admitted inspiration for bands ranging from Kings of Leon to Garbage. The key to the record's enduring appeal lies in the chemistry between iconic frontwoman Chrissie Hynde and inventive guitarist James Honeyman-Scott. Akin to legendary pairings like Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, or Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the male-female duo operates as an inseparable team, with one member rousing the other and driving them to greater heights.

The Best of Blondie (released in Germany and the Netherlands as Blondie's Hits) is the first compilation album by the band Blondie. Released in October 1981, the album peaked at #4 in the UK, #30 in the US, and became their only #1 album in Australia. The album was issued in several versions with different track inclusion and running order which varied slightly between North American and international editions of The Best of Blondie, highlighting the popularity of particular songs in different countries. The US and Canadian editions included "One Way or Another", which was not issued as a single in Europe. The international version of the album included three songs that were not on the US release: "Denis", "Picture This" and "Union City Blue".

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the British rock band Queen, released worldwide on 26 October 1981. The album consisted of Queen's best-selling singles since their first chart appearance in 1974 with "Seven Seas of Rhye", up to their 1980 hit "Flash" (though in some countries "Under Pressure", the band's 1981 chart-topper with David Bowie, was included). There was no universal track listing or cover art for the album, and each territory's tracks were dependent on what singles had been released there and which were successful.

Phil Collins - Face Value (1981). Phil Collins' first solo album, 1981's Face Value, was a long time coming, but it proved worth the wait, both for the Genesis drummer/vocalist himself and fans of thoughtful, emotionally charged pop. He'd been wrestling with the idea of doing a solo record for years, finding great inspiration in the pain caused by an impending divorce and craving artistic independence after years of collaboration. Many of the songs ended up on Genesis' 1980 album Duke - and "Against All Odds" was pocketed for later use - but he kept enough to make an album that stands as a classic moment of '80s pop/rock. Collins produced the album himself and played keyboards and drums, calling in friends and the Earth, Wind & Fire horns to fill out the songs…

Pages was an American pop rock band active during the late 1970s and the early 1980s. Richard Page and Steve George had been working together for years in and around Southern California and had done sessions, backing vocals, written songs, for such as Michael Jackson, Kenny Loggins, Patti LaBelle, Rick Springfield, The Pointer Sisters, Donna Summer etc. Before the well knowed Mr. Mister, they recorded 3 albums for Epic and Capitol Records under the name Pages. The band consisted of Richard Page and Steve George on vocals and keyboards supported by various studio musicians, some of whom from time to time were considered part of the band.

Originally released in the early 80's on cassette only, this timeless and legendary album is finally available on CD! Re-mastered and re-edited by Klaus Wiese himself, this masterpiece rediscovers one of the finest moments in Wiese's discography and his entire music career.