Count Three and Pray
Artist: Berlin
Community Score: 9.43

A major change of direction for Berlin, Count Three and Pray was an artistic triumph but a commercial disappointment. After making a name for itself playing very European-sounding synth pop, the L.A. trio recruited producer Bob Ezrin (known for his work with Alice Cooper and others) and unveiled a more hard-edged, guitar-oriented sound. From the... Read More

3 Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine
Artist: Daryl Hall

Arriving just at the end of Hall & Oates' phenomenal streak of success in the early '80s, 3 Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine, Daryl Hall's second solo album, was viewed as the first overture in a solo career but, in retrospect, its kinship with his first solo effort, 1980's Sacred Songs, is apparent. There is some indication that Hall had to... Read More

The Secret of Association
Artist: Paul Young

In 1984, Paul Young scored a couple of medium-sized U.S. hits with "Come Back and Stay" and "Love of the Common People" from his album No Parlez. In 1985, however, with his stellar album The Secret of Association, the British singer gained his highest level of commercial success with several hit singles, most notable his chart-topping cover of... Read More

Welcome Home
Artist: 'Til Tuesday
Community Score: 5.00

It took a lot of guts and integrity for 'Til Tuesday to record Welcome Home. Hitting big with 1985's Voices Carry, Tuesday became known for a sleek, high-tech style of new wave, and it would have been easy enough for the Boston band to come out with a similar album for a follow-up. But instead of playing it safe, Tuesday gambled with inspiration... Read More

Songs from the Big Chair
Artist: Tears for Fears
Community Score: 8.12

If The Hurting was mental anguish, Songs From the Big Chair marks the progression towards emotional healing, a particularly bold sort of catharsis culled from Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith's shared attraction to primal scream therapy. The album also heralded a dramatic maturation in the band's music, away from the synth-pop brand with which it... Read More

Elvis' Gold Records, Vol. 5
Artist: Elvis Presley
Community Score: 9.67

Sixteen years after Elvis' Gold Records, Vol. 4 and seven years after his death came volume five in the series, courtesy of Joan Deary, the first RCA executive to take a sensible, intelligent approach to handling the Elvis Presley library. The original ten-song LP has been expanded to a 16-song CD. Later country chart hits like "Moody Blue" work... Read More

Can't Hold Back
Artist: Eddie Money
Community Score: 9.67

After Where's the Party's lack of recognition and poor sales, Eddie Money more than compensated for it with 1986's Can't Hold Back, an album which netted him three Top 40 hits and eventually gained platinum status. With some vocal help from Ronnie Spector and some exuberant sax work, "Take Me Home Tonight" emerged as Money's highest-charting... Read More

She's So Unusual - BONUS TRACKS
Artist: Cyndi Lauper

One of the great new wave/early MTV records, She's So Unusual is a giddy mix of self-confidence, effervescent popcraft, unabashed sentimentality, subversiveness, and clever humor. In short, it's a multifaceted portrait of a multifaceted talent, an artist that's far more clever than her thin, deliberately girly voice would indicate. Then again,... Read More

Deep in the Heart of Nowhere
Artist: Bob Geldof

A year removed from his work organizing the Live Aid concerts to raise money and awareness concerning famine in Africa, ex-Boomtown Rat lead singer Bob Geldof released his solo debut. Deep in the Heart of Nowhere features a host of name performers ranging from Midge Ure (Ultravox) to Brian Setzer (Stray Cats) to Eric Clapton lending a hand. The... Read More

Hero
Artist: Clarence Clemons & the Red Bank Rockers

Narada Michael Walden produces most of this album by Mokshagun Clarence Clemons, known to the world as the Big Guy. His unmistakable saxophone that lifted many a Bruce Springsteen tune sounds like it was lifted right out of a Phil Spector session on Hero. "You're a Friend of Mine" by Jeffrey Cohen and Narada has Jackson Browne dueting on the... Read More