Dio (Rainbow, Black Sabbath) - Holy Diver [Japanese Ed.] (1983)

Year: May 25, 1983 (CD Dec 21, 1989)
Label: Mercury Records (Japan), PPD-3070
Style: Heavy Metal, Hard Rock
Country: Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S. (July 10, 1942 - May 16, 2010)
Time: 41:32
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 269 Mb

The first track, 'Stand Up and Shout', is reminiscent of 'Turn Up the Night' from Sabbath's 'Mob Rules'. Fast, hard-hitting and a great introduction. I reall enjoy this one.
Then comes the title track. Listening to it now, properly and with my full attention (and great headphones!), I realise that it's actually a good track. I still don't really feel anything with it, but I certainly enjoy it more than I thought. It still feels like a weak point of the album to me. I imagine hearing it 40 years ago upon release would have had a greater impact.
'Gypsy' - this is more like it. Lovely soaring riffs above heavy, punchy riffs - with some banshee-like vocals from Dio.
Some more fantastic vocals on 'Caught in the Middle', and I love the driving bass throughout. The chorus on this track is a highlight of the album for me. The way the guitars climb, then repeat with Dio giving it his all over the top makes the hairs stand up on my arms.
 'Don't Talk to Strangers' - the intro to this reminded me of Tony Iommi's thinking behind 'Master of Reality'. By putting some quieter songs on the album, it made the heavier tracks feel heavier. I felt that on this song thanks to the intro. Not only that, but it makes for a nice respite between the metal. When the song kicks in, it makes me think of Iron Maiden. (I should mention I'm not into Maiden, I only know their hits. It feels like they've based all their songs off this track!).
'Straight Through the Heart' - monstrous intro! That riff is absolutely killer and the vocals are top-notch.
Another moment of rest during the intro of 'Invisible'. At first this one fools you into thinking a cheesy 80s ballad is coming, but that's not the case. The riffs are back, and stomping their way through the stories Dio sings to us here.
 'Rainbow in the Dark' - I see this is one of Dio's most famous tracks, and I can understand why! The keys on the intro / chorus feel very 80s and that makes me think I've heard it before, but it's such a generic 80s sound it could have been from any song from the decade. I like it though, it's not over-the-top and only dates the song slightly. Riff-wise, I love this and it easily features one of Dios best vocals on the album.
I feel like 'Shame on the Night' works really well as an album-closer. The vocals are ridiculously strong on this one, the instrumental break and breakdown are excellent and the epic backing vocals towards the outro give it a medievel feeling.
(reddit.com/r/LetsTalkMusic/comments/18t8dn1/dios_holy_diver_album_is_fantastic_but/)

Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog. D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).

01. Stand Up And Shout (03:18)
02. Holy Diver (05:51)
03. Gypsy (03:38)
04. Caught In The Middle (04:17)
05. Don't Talk To Strangers (04:53)
06. Straight Through The Heart (04:34)
07. Invisible (05:25)
08. Rainbow In The Dark (04:14)
09. Shame On The Night (05:19)

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Pink Floyd - The Final Cut [Japanese Ed. 1st press] (1983)

Year: 21 March 1983 (CD 1983)
Label: CBS/Sony Inc. (Japan), 35DP 53
Style: Art Rock, Progressive Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 43:31
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 243 Mb

Rich pop stars often act in predictable ways. They buy large houses in the country, read the wrong daily newspapers, and vote Tory. Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters can be accused of a lot of things, but never of doing what’s expected. So Pink Floyd’s The Final Cut, the follow-up to the multimedia extravaganza The Wall, turns out to be a mini-epic written by Waters, subtitled “a requiem for the post war dream,” and includes the most vicious attack on Mrs Thatcher that the pop world has mounted. When Waters gets going he makes all that “stand down Margaret” stuff sound positively tame.
The lyrics are the most startling part of an otherwise messy, overblown, and awkward album that includes a few strong songs, some brilliant recording work (with whispers, footsteps or other effects mixed into songs with brilliant separation and clarity), and patches that sound like outtakes from The Wall.
The opening anthem, with its chorus “What have we done, Maggie, what have we done to England?” echoes the final song in The Wall and makes it sound as if he’s about to embark on a detailed analysis of the collapse of the welfare state. Instead, he returns to various well-worn Waters themes, from the second world war and the death of his own father (to whom the album is dedicated), to stories of war heroes becoming teachers, or songs of personal madness, interspersed with references to the Falklands and the blistering attacks on Thatcher.
The most vicious, The Fletcher Memorial Home (another reference to his father) imagines Thatcher, along with Haig, Begin and others, in a “home for incurable tyrants and kings.” The album ends, as you might have guessed, with a nuclear holocaust. The songs are mostly quiet, often with orchestral backing interrupted by David Gilmour guitar attacks. Floyd enthusiasts should note that the band are now a three-piece (Richard Wright has escaped over The Wall), and despite the title it’s not necessarily their final album.
(theguardian.com/music/2023/mar/17/pink-floyd-the-final-cut-reviewed-1983)

01. The Post War Dream (03:03)
02. Your Possible Pasts (04:30)
03. One Of The Few (01:13)
04. The Hero's Return (03:00)
05. The Gunners Dream (05:08)
06. Paranoid Eyes (03:44)
07. Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert (01:16)
08. The Fletcher Memorial Home (04:15)
09. Southampton Dock (02:12)
10. The Final Cut (04:45)
11. Not Now John (05:03)
12. Two Suns In The Sunset (05:20)

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Eurythmics - Touch (1983)

Year: 14 November 1983 (CD Apr 1984)
Label: RCA Records (West Germany), PD 70109
Style: Synth-Pop, Pop
Country: London, England
Time: 45:36
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 267 Mb

Touch is the third studio album by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 14 November 1983 by RCA Records. It became the duo's first number-one album on the UK Albums Chart, and also peaked at number seven on the US Billboard 200. It has since been certified Platinum in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The album spawned the singles "Who's That Girl?", "Right by Your Side" and "Here Comes the Rain Again", all of which reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.
The album was listed 500th on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2003, and again on a revised list in 2012, at number 492.
By the time Touch was released, Eurythmics had achieved international success with their single "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and the album of the same name. Preceded by the single "Who's That Girl?", Touch was recorded and mixed in about three weeks at Eurythmics' own London studio facility, The Church.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_(Eurythmics_album))

Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog. D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).

01. Here Comes The Rain Again (04:54)
02. Regrets (04:43)
03. Right By Your Side (04:04)
04. Cool Blue (04:48)
05. Who's That Girl (04:46)
06. The First Cut (04:45)
07. Aqua (04:37)
08. No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts) (05:21)
09. Paint A Rumour (07:35)

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Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) - The Principle Of Moments [Japanese Ed.] (1983)

Year: 15 July 1983 (CD Mar 25, 1988)
Label: Warner-Pioneer (Japan), 32XD-935
Style: Rock, Arena Rock
Country: West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England (20 August 1948)
Time: 38:51
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 265 Mb

Charts: UK #7, AUS #10, CAN #6, GER #51, NLD #3, NZ #1, SWE #41, US #8. UK, AUS & CAN: Gold; US & NZ: Platinum.
The album follows close on the heels of Plant’s debut, Pictures At Eleven and employs the same musicians and production team. Recorded in Wales, the production was polished and clinical while maintaining enough rock edge to keep it original and interesting. Plant had declined to tour following his debut because he didn’t want to perform any Led Zeppelin songs live and didn’t yet have enough original solo material to justify a tour. With the release of this second album, Plant’s second life as a major recording artist took was fully spawned.
The Principle of Moments was the first release on Plant’s independent label Es Paranza Records, after the folding of Led Zeppelin’s label Swan Song, which was also the label from Plant’s debut. Swan Song ceased operations due to the failing health of Zeppelin manager Peter Grant. When Swan Song’s offices were cleared out in 1983, early demos from Iron Maiden, Heart and other popular bands were found.
The sound of The Principle of Moments fuses new wave rock with some elements of reggae and abstract motifs and is percussion heavy with sharp, high-pitched guitars, led by guitarist Robbie Blunt and drummer Phil Collins. While not as dynamic as in the heart of the Zeppelin years, Plant’s vocals are melodic and refined. The album’s title comes from the scientific Varignon’s Theorem, which states that the moment of any force is equal to the algebraic sum of the moments of the components of that force. With the experimental tracks on this album, Plant seems to be declaring his independence from the Zeppelin sound and celebrating his own “moment” in time.
(full version: classicrockreview.com/2013/05/1983-robert-plant-tpom/)

01. Other Arms (04:20)
02. In The Mood (05:21)
03. Messin' With The Mekon (04:38)
04. Wreckless Love (05:14)
05. Thru' With The Two Step (05:31)
06. Horizontal Departure (04:21)
07. Stranger Here...Than Over There (04:19)
08. Big Log (05:03)

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Jon (Yes) and Vangelis (Aphrodite's Child) - Private Collection (1983)

Year: May 1983 (CD 1983)
Label: Polydor Records (Germany), 813174-2
Style: Electronic, Art Rock, Modern Classical
Country: Greece / United Kingdom
Time: 47:38
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 257 Mb

Charts: UK #22, AUS #31, AUT #18, CAN #78, GER #27, NL #15, NZ #45, SPA #10, SWE #24, US #148.
Jon & Vangelis' first two albums really seemed to be building up to this point. With Private Collection, the two artists (Jon Anderson of Yes fame and Vangelis) have created what feels just a bit like a classical work. Truly the nearly 23-minute "Horizon" really feels a lot like a modern symphony. It is definitely the culmination of their work together, their most ambitious effort. The shorter cuts on the album all have their moments and surely hold up to anything from the previous releases, but "Horizon" stands far above them all. It combines the best elements of Anderson's work in Yes with the electronically classically tinged stylings of Vangelis to produce a work that is near masterpiece in its quality. It is a life-affirming, positive piece. Among the other highlights of the disc are "Deborah" and "He Is Sailing." If you only buy one Jon & Vangelis album, choose the best-of collection. However, if you opt for a second disc, this is the one.
(allmusic.com/album/private-collection-mw0000650325)

01. Italian Song (02:54)

02. And When the Night Comes (04:37)

03. Deborah (04:56)

04. Polonaise (05:26)

05. He Is Sailing (06:49)

06. Horizon (22:53)

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Steve Hillage - For To Next / And Not Or [2LP on 1CD] (1983)

Year: March 1983 (CD 2007)
Label: Virgin Records (Europe), CDVR 2244, 00946-373463-2-7
Style: Progressive Rock, Electronic, Instrumental
Country: Chingford, Essex, England (2 August 1951)
Time: 79:05
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 520 Mb

For To Next is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock musician Steve Hillage, released by Virgin Records in March 1983. It was released simultaneously with the instrumental companion album And Not Or. The two albums have been released as a double album and on a single CD.
For To Next and And Not Or are the last studio albums issued under Hillage's own name. The titles were derived from the BASIC programming language and reflect the pair's move into computer-based music production, this being mainly synthetic except for Hillage's guitar.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_To_Next)

01. These Uncharted Lands (05:38)
02. Kamikaze Eyes (04:50)
03. Alone (05:21)
04. Anthems For The Blind (04:30)
05. Bright Future (05:08)
06. Frame By Frame (05:52)
07. Waiting (05:24)
08. Glory (06:28)
09. Before The Storm (07:06)
10. Red Admiral (06:11)
11. Serotonin (05:37)
12. And Not Or (06:27)
13. Knights Templar (04:32)
14. Still Golden (05:54)

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David Bowie - Let's Dance [USA/Japan Ed.] (1983)

Year: 14 April 1983 (CD January 1984)
Label: EMI America (USA-Japan), CDP 7 46002 2
Style: Pop, Pop Rock
Country: New York City, U.S. (8 January 1947 - 10 January 2016)
Time: 39:48
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 254 Mb

Charts: UK #1, AUS #1, AUT #2, GER #2, NL #1, NOR #1, NZ #1, SWE #1, SWI #17, US #4. UK, NL & US: Platinum; CAN: 5x Platinum.

14 April 1983: At first hearing it may seem a little commercial but with continued listening the quality of the arrangements and singing make it sound more and more like a classic.
David Bowie’s Let’s Dance should prove to be the most commercial album he’s made yet, and justify the undisclosed, allegedly enormous sum that EMI, his new record company, paid for him. There must be considerable depression over at RCA, his former company.
Bowie told me that RCA had been unhappy with his last three, impressively experimental albums, Lodger, Low and even Scary Monsters, and that the company had offered to get him a flat in Philadelphia in the hope that he’d record another album like Young Americans. Instead, he’s made an even more fashion-conscious move: not back to a black Philly sound but to a contemporary black New York funk style, with help from his co-producer, Chic’s Nile Rodgers.
The album is highly impressive, yet mildly disappointing. This is partly because he is now working within an instantly recognisable, accessible field, as opposed to experimenting with Fripp or Eno, and partly because his brilliant single, Let’s Dance/Cat People, contributes the best two tracks on the album.
At first hearing it may seem like Bowie is playing a little commercial and safe (even if this is a new musical direction for him), but with continued listening the sheer quality of the playing, the arrangements, and – most of all – his skill as a singer, make it sound more and more like a classic.
Many of the songs mix a sparse, attacking, cool New York dance backing with melodies that have catchy, poppish hook lines. Modern Love, the plinky-plonk China Girl (a new treatment of the song he wrote with Iggy Pop) and Criminal World could all be good but common-place in lesser hands.
Bowie is in magnificent, confident voice and can transform the potentially trivial to the epic. One moment cool and rhythmic, then the growling grand balladeer and crooner, he emerges as a vocalist to last. That Christmas song he recorded with Bing Crosby was perhaps more important than it seemed at the time.
(theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/14/david-bowie-lets-dance-reviewed-1983)

Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog. D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).

01. Modern Love (04:47)
02. China Girl (05:33)
03. Let's Dance (07:36)
04. Without You (03:09)
05. Ricochet (05:13)
06. Criminal World (04:24)
07. Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (05:10)
08. Shake It (03:51)

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