Album Year: 1985

Rain Dogs

Rain Dogs is the 9th album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in September 1985 on Island Records. A loose concept album about “the urban dispossessed” of New York City, Rain Dogs is generally considered the middle album of a trilogy that includes Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years. The album, which includes appearances by guitarists … Read more

King of Rock

Take the title of Run-D.M.C.’s King of Rock somewhat literally. True, the trailblazing rap crew hardly abandoned hip-hop on their second album, but they did follow through on the blueprint of their debut, emphasizing the rock leanings that formed the subtext of Run-D.M.C. Nearly every cut surges forward on thundering drum machines and simple power … Read more

Under Lock and Key

Under Lock and Key is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Dokken, released on November 22, 1985, through Elektra Records. The album reached No. 32 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained on that chart for 67 weeks. Two singles also charted: “The Hunter” and “In My Dreams”, both reaching No. 25 … Read more

Possessed

Possessed is the fourth album by the English heavy metal band Venom and the last before the departure of guitarist Jeffrey Dunn. At the time of its release, it had received mixed reviews, even from the critics who had liked Venom’s earlier albums, and it was thought of as being in another league compared to … Read more

All for Love

By Spring 1985, New Edition was one of the biggest pop acts in the world after the success of their self-titled second album released the year before. However, the group was now in mortgage to MCA Records, as a result of having borrowed money from the label to disentangle themselves from a stifling production deal … Read more

So Red the Rose

Arcadia was the arty quarter of Duran Duran’s side project. Members Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes were left to complete it after Roger Taylor left the group. They still strove to create the “western evocative of east” blueprinted by Japan’s Tin Drum. They didn’t achieve it with this, but it’s certainly the best album … Read more

Cut the Crap

Combat Rock is the fifth studio album by the English punk rock band The Clash. It was released on 14 May 1982 through CBS Records. In the United Kingdom, the album charted at number 2, spending 23 weeks in the UK charts and peaked at number 7 in the United States, spending 61 weeks on … Read more