Eddy Grant - Killer On The Rampage (1983) - Lp

Side A
A1.  Electric Avenue   (3:47)  
A2.  I Don't Wanna Dance   (3:39)  
A3.  It's All In You   (4:26)  
A4.  War Party   (3:54)  
A5.  Funky Rock 'N' Roll   (4:27) 

Side B
B1.  Too Young To Fall   (4:31)  
B2.  Latin Love Affair   (4:17)  
B3.  Another Revolutionary   (5:16)  
B4.  Drop Baby Drop   (3:32)  
B5.  Killer On The Rampage   (3:29)

Release: 1982
Label:  RCA Records
Genre:  Reggae Fusion
Format:  LP
Catalog#  PL-44037

€ 10,00

The Whispers - Imagination (1981) - Lp

Side A
A1.  Imagination   (6:13)
A2.  It's A Love Thing   (5:09)
A3.  Say You (Would Love For Me Too)   (5:00)
A4.  Continental Shuffle   (4:31)

Side B
B1.  I Can Make It Better   (7:13)
B2.  Girl I Need You   (4:17)
B3.  Up On Soul Train   (5:17)
B4.  Fantasy   (4:20)

Release:  1980
Label:  Solar Records
Genre:  Soul, Disco
Format:  LP
Catalog#  BZL1-3578

Vinyl:  Good
Cover:  Good

€ 10,00

Village People - Cruisin´ (1979) - Lp

Side A
A1.  Y.M.C.A.  (4:47)  
A2.  Medley: The Women / I'm A Cruiser  (12:57) 

Side B
B1.  Hot Cop  (6:20)  
B2.  My Roommate  (5:20)  
B3.  Ups And Downs  (6:21)

Release:  1978
Label:   Philips Records
Genre:  Disco
Format:  LP
Catalog#   6410968

Vinyl:  Good
Cover:  Good

€ 10,00

The Babys - Union Jacks (1980) - Lp

By 1980, the Babys had transformed from a journeyman British rock outfit to an Anglo-American band. These lineup changes were reflected in the sound of their 1980 release, Union Jacks, which represented another stylistic turnabout for the chameleon-like Babys. On this album, the group teamed up with Keith Olsen, the producer behind hit albums for Fleetwood Mac and Pat Benatar, to create a new sound that downplayed the cinematic orchestrations of their past for a punchy, radio-ready sound flavored with new wave-styled synthesizer accents.
The resulting album is the top favorite of the Babys catalog for many of the group's fans but isn't quite as a strong a release as its cult reputation might suggest. The carefully arranged "Back on My Feet Again" and the minor hit "Midnight Rendezvous" effectively mix rock riffs with a new wave style, but the new sound doesn't work quite as well on other songs.
The most notable example of this problem is "Jesus, Are You There?," where the kitschy, shrill tone of the synthesizers provides an awkward musical contrast for the deadly serious lyrics. Other songs feel like they were rushed out a bit too quickly: The title track, sort of a new wave rock opera, is too disjointed to pack a punch, and "Turn Around in Tokyo" comes off as nondescript filler. In the end, Union Jacks is too inconsistent to win the Babys any new fans but is likely to please those who enjoy slick '80s AOR records.

Side A
A1.  Back On My Feet Again   (3:18)  
A2.  True Love True Confession   (4:07)  
A3.  Midnight Rendezvous   (3:36)  
A4.  Union Jack   (5:42) 

Side B
B1.  In Your Eyes   (4:05)  
B2.  Anytime   (3:21)  
B3.  Jesus, Are You There?   (3:34)  
B4.  Turn Around In Tokyo   (3:53)  
B5.  Love Is Just A Mystery  (3:32)

Release: January 1980
Label:  Chrysalis Records
Genre:  Rock
Format:  LP
Catalog#   511267

order / bestellen € 10,00

The Cars - Shake It Up (1981) - Lp

The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the new wave scene in the late 1970s. The band originated in Boston, Massachusetts in 1976, with singer, rhythm guitarist and songwriter Ric Ocasek, singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, lead guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson.
Shake It Up is their fourth studio album, released in 1981. It was the last album by the Cars to be produced by Roy Thomas Baker.
By augmenting their sound with more synthesizers, electronics, and drum machines, the Cars' fourth release, Shake It Up, helped bridge their hard rock-based early work (1978's The Cars) with the futuristic-pop direction of 1984's Heartbeat City. The band's sound may have been evolving with each succeeding album, but Ric Ocasek was still writing compelling new wave compositions despite all the change, many of which would ultimately become rock & roll standards. The up-tempo title track remains a party favorite to this day (reaching number four on the singles charts), while the melancholic "Since You're Gone" remains one of Ocasek's best-ever tales of heartbreak. Intriguing videos were made for both songs, officially introducing the band to the MTV age. Like its predecessor, 1980's Panorama, filler is present ("This Could Be Love," "Maybe Baby"), but many lesser-known album tracks prove to be highlights: the almost entirely synth-oriented tracks "Think It Over" and "A Dream Away," the rocking "Cruiser," plus the more pop-oriented "I'm Not the One" and "Victim of Love." Although Shake It Up was another resounding commercial success, their next album would be the one that made the Cars one of rock's quintessential acts of the '80s.

Side A
A1.  Since You're Gone   (3:30)
A2.  Shake It Up   (3:32)
A3.  I'm Not the One   (4:12)
A4.  Victim of Love   (4:24)
A5.  Cruiser    (4:54)

Side B
B1.  A Dream Away    (5:44)
B2.  This Could Be Love    (4:26)
B3.  Think it Over    (4:56)
B4.  Maybe Baby    (5:04)

Release:  1981
Label:  Elektra Records
Genre:  Rock, New Wave
Format:  LP
Catalog#  ELK 52330

order / bestellen € 10,00

Lou Rawls - Shades Of Blue (1980) - Lp

Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American recording artist, voice actor, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his singing ability: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game". Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his song "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine". He worked as a television, motion picture, and voice actor. He was also a three-time Grammy-winner, all for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
"Shades Of Blue" was a cocktail lounge jazz album and suffered from the many flaws that plagued Lou's 1960s Capitol releases.
“Shades Of Blue” was produced by Joel Dorn (producer of Roberta Flack and Bette Midler) and features Rawls' gorgeous readings of the Righteous Brothers' 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling', Willie Dixon's 'Hoochie Coochie Man' and Aretha Franklin's 'Think' (from the original Blues Brothers film). Backing vocalists include Jocelyn Brown, Cissy Houston and the first recorded appearance of Whitney Houston.

Side A
A1.  Did You Ever Love A Woman  (3:30)
A2.  Cottage For Sale  (4:00)
A3.  Be Anything (But Be Mine)  (3:45)
A4.  You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'  (5:19)

Side B
B1.  I Go Crazy  (3:45)
B2.  Think  (3:30)
B3.  I´m Your Hoochie Coochie Man  (7:50)
B4.  Baby What You Want Me To Do  (3:34)

Release: 1980
Label:  PIR Records
Genre:  Soul, Blues
Format:  LP
Catalog#  PIR 84572

order / bestellen € 10,00

David Bowie - Low (1977) - Lp

Low is the eleventh studio album by British musician David Bowie, co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti. Widely regarded as one of Bowie's most influential releases, Low was the first of the "Berlin Trilogy", a series of collaborations with Brian Eno (though the album was mainly recorded in France and only mixed in West Berlin). The experimental, avant-garde style would be further explored on "Heroes" and Lodger.
The genesis of Low lies in both the foundations laid by Bowie's previous album Station to Station, and music he intended for the soundtrack to The Man Who Fell to Earth. When Bowie presented his material for the film to Nicolas Roeg, the director decided that it would not be suitable. Roeg preferred a more folksy sound, although John Phillips (the chosen composer for the soundtrack) described Bowie's contributions as "haunting and beautiful".
Elements from these pieces were incorporated into Low instead. The album's cover, like Station to Station, is a still from the movie: the photographic image, under the album's title, formed a deliberate pun on the phrase "low profile".
The album was co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, with contributions from Brian Eno. As a recovering cocaine addict, Bowie's songwriting on Low dealt with difficult issues: "There's oodles of pain in the Low album. That was my first attempt to kick cocaine, so that was an awful lot of pain. And I moved to Berlin to do it. I moved out of the coke centre of the world [i.e., Los Angeles, where Station to Station was recorded] into the smack centre of the world. Thankfully, I didn't have a feeling for smack, so it wasn't a threat". Visconti contended that the title was partly a reference to Bowie's "low" moods during the album's writing and recording.
Side one of the album contained short, direct song-fragments; side two comprised longer, mostly instrumental tracks. On these tracks help was lent by ex-Roxy Music keyboardist and conceptualist Brian Eno, who brought along his EMS 'suitcase' AKS synthesiser (Bowie was later given this particular synthesiser as a birthday present after a friend obtained it in an auction).
Often incorrectly given credit as Lows producer, Eno was responsible for a good deal of the direction and composition of the second side of the album and wrote the theme and instrumentation for "Warszawa" while Bowie was in Paris attending court hearings against his former manager. Eno in turn was helped by producer Tony Visconti's four-year-old son who sat next to Eno playing A, B, C in a constant loop at the studio piano. This phrase became the "Warszawa" theme. On Bowie's return Eno played him the work which impressed Bowie who then composed the vaguely Eastern European-sounding lyrics.
Although the music was influenced by German bands such as Kraftwerk and Neu!, Low has been acclaimed for its originality and is considered ahead of its time, not least for its cavernous treated drum sound created by producer Visconti using an Eventide Harmonizer.

Side A
A1.  Speed of Life  (2:46)
A2.  Breaking Glass  (1:52)
A3.  What in the World  (2:23)
A4.  Sound and Vision  (3:05)
A5.  Always Crashing in the Same Car  (3:33)
A6.  Be My Wife  (2:58)
A7.  A New Career in a New Town  (2:53)

Side B
B1.  Warszawa  (6:23)
B2.  Art Decade  (3:46)
B3.  Weeping Wall  (3:28)
B4.  Subterraneans  (5:39)

Release: 14 January 1977
Label:  RCA Records
Genre:  Art Rock, Kraut Rock
Format:  LP
Catalog#  PL 12030

order / bestellen € 10,00

John Fogerty - Centerfield (1985) - Lp

John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American musician, songwriter, and guitarist, early in his career best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist for the band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) and later as a successful solo recording artist.
Centerfield is the third solo studio album by musician John Fogerty. Released in 1985, it spawned the hit singles "The Old Man Down the Road", "Rock and Roll Girls" and the title track "Centerfield". This was Fogerty's first album in nine years; After Asylum Records rejected his Hoodoo album, he decided to take a long break from the music business because of legal battles with his record company.
In the meantime, Fogerty's recording contract with Asylum Records was reassigned to co-owned Warner Bros. Records so this album was the first released on the Warner Bros. label.
Fogerty played all the instruments on this album himself, thanks to overdubbing. The image on the cover shows an old-fashioned, "beat-up glove", as referenced in the title song, and text similar to a logo of a baseball team, setting the mood for the track.

Side A
A1.  The Old Man Down The Road   (3:32)  
A2.  Rock And Roll Girls   (3:26)  
A3.  Big Train (From Memphis)   (2:58)  
A4.  I Saw It On T.V.   (4:19)  
A5.  Mr. Greed   (4:05) 

Side B
B1.  Searchlight   (4:29)  
B2.  Centerfield   (3:50)  
B3.  I Can't Help Myself   (3:11)  
B4.  Vanz Kant Danz   (5:30)

Release:  1985
Label:  Bellaphon Records
Genre:  Country Rock, Swamp Rock
Format:  LP
Catalog#  26007085

order / bestellen € 10,00

Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Armed Forces (1979) - Lp

After releasing and touring the intense This Year's Model, Elvis Costello quickly returned to the studio with the Attractions to record his third album, Armed Forces.
In contrast to the stripped-down pop and rock of his first two albums, Armed Forces boasted a detailed and textured pop production, but it was hardly lavish. However, the more spacious arrangements complete with ringing pianos, echoing reverb, layered guitars, and harmonies accent Costello's melodies, making the record more accessible than his first two albums. Perversely, while the sound of Costello's music was becoming more open and welcoming, his songs became more insular and paranoid, even though he cloaked his emotions well.
Many of the songs on Armed Forces use politics as a metaphor for personal relationships, particularly fascism, which explains its working title, Emotional Fascism.
Occasionally, the lyrics are forced, but the music never is the album demonstrates the depth of Costello's compositional talents and how he can move from the hook-laden pop of "Accidents Will Happen" to the paranoid "Goon Squad" with ease. Some of the songs, like the light reggae of "Two Little Hitlers" and the impassioned "Party Girl," build on his strengths, while others like the layered "Oliver's Army" take Costello into new territories. It's a dense but accessible pop record and ranks as his third masterpiece in a row.

Side A
A1.  Accidents Will Happen   (3:00)  
A2.  Senior Service   (2:17)  
A3.  Oliver's Army   (2:57)  
A4.  Big Boys   (2:55)  
A5.  Green Shirt   (2:42)  
A6.  Party Girl   (3:20) 

Side B
B1.  Goon Squad   (3:15)  
B2.  Busy Bodies   (3:33)  
B3.  Sunday's Best   (3:23)  
B4.  Moods For Moderns   (2:49)  
B5.  Chemistry Class   (2:55)  
B6.  Two Little Hitlers  (3:10)

Release:  1979
Label:  Radar Records
Format:  LP
Genre: New Wave, Post-Punk
Catalog#   RAD 56597

order / bestellen € 10,00

Al Stewart - Year Of The Cat (1976) - Lp

Al Stewart had found his voice on Past, Present & Future and found his sound on Modern Times. He then perfected it all on 1976's Year of the Cat, arguably his masterpiece.
Its sales helped by the hit single "Year of the Cat", "one of those 'mysterious woman' songs, co-written by Peter Wood.
The other single from the album was "On the Border". Stewart wrote "Lord Grenville" about the Elizabethan sailor and explorer Sir Richard Grenville (1542–1591).
There is no overarching theme here, as there was on its two immediate predecessors, but the impossible lushness of Alan Parsons' production and Stewart's evocative Continental narratives give the record a welcome feeling of cohesion that keeps the record enchanting as it moves from "Lord Grenville" to "Midas Shadow" to "Broadway Hotel," before it ends with the haunting title track. Along the way, Stewart doesn't dwell too deeply in any area, preferring to trace out mysteries with his evocative lyrical imagery and a spinning array of self-consciously sophisticated music, songs that evoke American and European folk and pop with a deliberate grace.
This could be unbearably precious if it didn't work so well. Stewart is detached from his music, but only in the sense that he gives this album a stylish elegance, and Parsons is his perfect foil, giving the music a rich, panoramic sweep that mimics Stewart's globe-trotting songs.
The result is a tremendous example of how good self-conscious progressive pop can be, given the right producer and songwriter and if you're a fan of either prog or pop and haven't given Al Stewart much thought, prepare to be enchanted.

Side A
A1. Lord Grenville  (5:02)
A2. On the Border  (3:23)
A3. Midas Shadow  (3:16)
A4. Sand in Your Shoes  (3:04)
A5. If it Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It  (4:30)

Side B
B1. Flying Sorcery  (4:22)
B2. Broadway Hotel  (3:58)
B3. One Stage Before  (4:41)
B4. Year of the Cat  (6:37)

Release:  1976
Label:  RCA Records
Genre:  Soft Rock, Contemporary Pop
Format:  LP
Catalog#  RS 1082

order / bestellen € 10,00

Abba - Gracias Por La Musica (1980) - Lp

Gracias Por La Música is a 1980 album by Swedish pop group ABBA. Gracias Por La Música was originally released due to the unexpected surge in popularity for the group in Latin American countries such as Mexico and Argentina after the release of the Spanish-language versions of "Chiquitita" and "I Have a Dream" in 1979.
These tracks were both released as singles and went on to become big hits. Encouraged by this success, the band therefore decided to record another eight tracks in Spanish and release a full-length album especially for the Latin American market.
The songs selected were familiar hits, plus tracks that were thought to have a Latin flavour, such as "Move On" and "Hasta Mañana".
The couple Buddy and Mary McCluskey, both working at RCA Records in Argentina at the time, were again called in to translate the lyrics. During the recording sessions which took place in January 1980 in the Polar Music studios the lead vocalists Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad were helped with the pronunciation by Swedish/Spanish journalist Ana Martinez.
Neither Benny Andersson nor Björn Ulvaeus played an active role in the creation of the eight new Spanish tracks, leaving the production in the hands of the group's sound engineer Michael B. Tretow, who recorded the new Spanish vocal overdubs onto existing backing tracks at his home studio.
The absence of Andersson and Ulvaeus is most apparent on "Al Andar" (the Spanish version of "Move On") where the original opening speech from Ulvaeus was replaced by a more conventional opening verse sung by Agnetha.

Side A
A1.  Gracias Por La Musica (Thank You For The Music)  (3:48)  
A2.  Reina Danzante (Dancing Queen)  (3:50)  
A3.  Al Andar (Move On)  (4:05)  
A4.  Dame! Dame! Dame! (Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!)  (4:45)  
A5.  Fernando  (4:15) 

Side B
B1.  Estoy Soñando (I Have A Dream)  (4:44)  
B2.  Mamma Mia  (3:32)  
B3.  Hasta Mañana  (3:05)  
B4.  Conociendome, Conociendote (Knowing Me, Knowing You)  (4:02)  
B5.  Chiquitita  (5:26)

Release:  1980
Label:  Septima Records
Genre:  Europop
Format:  LP
Catalog#  SRLM 1

order / bestellen € 10,00