Author: T.A. Inskeep

Soul 

The Big Bang: Guy and Bobby Brown’s Don’t Be Cruel at 35 

June 27, 2023June 27, 2023 T.A. Inskeep 0 Comments 1988, 35th Anniversary, Aaron Hall, Bobby Brown, Don't Be Cruel, Every Little Step, Groove Me, Guy, New Jack Swing, Roni, Teddy Riley

A pair of albums covered in Teddy Riley’s fingerprints helped New Jack Swing explode in 1988

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Alternative Rock Rock 

Killing Surf City: The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Barbed Wire Kisses at 35

May 1, 2023May 1, 2023 T.A. Inskeep 1 Comment 1988, 35th Anniversary, Barbed Wire Kisses, Jim Reid, New Order, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Smiths, William Reid

The JMC’s 1988 b-sides-and-more comp is in some ways the perfect encapsulation of the band

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Hard Rock Rock 

Heaven Knows: Now and Zen and Kingdom Come at 35

February 28, 2023February 28, 2023 T.A. Inskeep 0 Comments 1988, 35th Anniversary, Germany, Get It On, Heaven Knows, Jimmy Page, Kingdom Come, Led Zeppelin, Now and Zen, Robert Plant, Tall Cool One

Robert Plant’s fourth solo album and Kingdom Come’s debut came out in tandem. Really.

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Music Journalism Pop Rock 

Pop Top 40: Top LPs & Tapes for Week Ending January 27, 1973

January 30, 2023January 30, 2023 T.A. Inskeep 1 Comment Al Green, Carly Simon, Carole King, Curtis Mayfield, Helen Reddy, James Taylor, Jethro Tull, Joni Mitchell, Los Babys, Neil Diamond, Pop Top 40, Rolling Stones, Slade, Stevie Wonder, The Moody Blues

50 years ago, soft rock was dominating the chart

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New Wave Pop Rock 

I Guess It’s Just a Feeling: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) at 40

January 22, 2023January 22, 2023 T.A. Inskeep 0 Comments 1983, 40th Anniversary, Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart, David A. Stewart, Eurythmics, New Wave, Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), Who's That Girl

Eurythmics’ pop breakthrough is sneakily subversive

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Music Journalism Radio Retail Rock 

Pop Top 40: Top [Album Rock] Tracks for the Week Ending December 25, 1982

December 29, 2022December 30, 2022 T.A. Inskeep 4 Comments ” Golden Earring, Adam Ant, AOR, Billboard, Dexys Midnight Runners, Duran Duran, Hall and Oates, J. Geils Band, Led Zeppelin, Men At Work, Night Ranger, Pat Benatar, Phil Collins, Pop Top 40, Rush, Saga, Sammy Hagar, Supertramp, The Fixx, The Pretenders, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

On the cusp of ‘83, AOR grapples with New Wave in real time

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Holiday Pop 

Special Indeed: A Very Special Christmas at 35

December 23, 2022December 23, 2022 T.A. Inskeep 0 Comments 1987, 35th Anniversary, A Very Christmas, A&M Records, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Christmas, John Mellencamp, Madonna, Patti Smith, Run DMC, Stevie Nicks, Sting, The Eurythmics, Tom Petty, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, U2, Whitney Houston

The greatest modern-era Christmas compilation was released in 1987; here’s why it’s so memorable

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Pop 

More, More, More: Spiceworld 25

December 1, 2022 T.A. Inskeep 0 Comments 1997, Baby Spice, Ginger Spice, Posh Spice, Scary Spice, Spiceworld, Spiceworld 25, Sporty Spice, The Spice Girls

On their sophomore album, the Spice Girls went bigger, and a new deluxe anniversary edition piles on even more

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New Wave Pop Rock Soul 

Firing On All Cylinders: Hall & Oates’ H2O at 40

October 25, 2022October 25, 2022 T.A. Inskeep 0 Comments 1982, Daryl Hall, Family Man, GE Smith, H2O, John Oates, Maneater, Men At Work, One On One, Phil Collins, Stray Cats, The Supremes

The album the acclaimed duo released at the zenith of their Imperial Phase is their artistic peak, too

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Pop Rock 

Easy For Her to Say: Linda Ronstadt’s Get Closer at 40

September 25, 2022September 25, 2022 T.A. Inskeep 0 Comments 1982, 40th Anniversary, Asylum Records, Billy Joe Shaver, Get Closer, Ike and Tina Turner, Jimmy Webb, Linda Ronstadt, Lindsey Buckingham, Peter Asher, The Exciters

The final mainstream pop album the iconic singer would make for seven years is a gleefully mixed bag 

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Dance Pop 

Remix/Remodel: Assessing Madonna’s Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones

August 29, 2022August 29, 2022 T.A. Inskeep 9 Comments Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones, Give Me All Your Luvin, holiday, Jump, Like A Virgin, LMFAO, Lucky Star, Madonna, Rhino, Shep Pettibone

The (former) Queen of Pop celebrates a record-setting tenure on the dance charts with a new, occasionally questionable compilation

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Pop Remembrance 

It Was A Landslide: Olivia Newton-John, RIP

August 10, 2022August 10, 2022 T.A. Inskeep 0 Comments Billboard, Grease, Heart Attack, Hopelessly Devoted to You, Olivia Newton-John, Physical, RIP, Sandy, Twist Of Fate, VH-1, Xanadu

The British-Australian Dame with a remarkable career has died at 73

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Music Journalism Pop 

Pop Top 40: Hot 100 Week Ending August 29, 1981

August 27, 2021August 27, 2021 T.A. Inskeep 0 Comments Diana Ross, Journey, Juice Newton, Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes, Lionel Richie, Lulu, Pop Top 40, Stevie Nicks, The Commodores, The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty

The month of MTV’s birth, the biggest singles in the U.S. didn’t exactly reflect the new cable channel

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New Wave Pop 

It’s All in the Draw of the Cards: Mistaken Identity at 40

August 12, 2021August 12, 2021 T.A. Inskeep 3 Comments 1981, 40th Anniversary, Bette Davis Eyes, Draw of the Card, EMI, EMI America, Kim Carnes, Mistaken Identity, SiriusXM, Voyeur, Waddy Watchel

Looking back at Kim Carnes’s fluky #1 album, and her brief hit-making career

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Dance Pop 

A Future Love Paradise: Seal at 30

July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 T.A. Inskeep 3 Comments 1991, 30th Anniversary, Acid House, Adamski, Crazy, Future Love Paradise, George Michael, Killer, Seal, Sire, Trevor Horn, Violet

His debut is still a stunner three decades later, and still the best Seal album

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