Music Direct__Catalog_Web 2016 | Page 190

STEVIE WONDER JUDAS PRIEST Stevie Wonder established an incredible precedent between 1971 and 1976, releasing a slew of genre-blurring albums that include Talking Book, Music of My Mind, and Fulfillingness’ First Finale. Wonder not only restores faith in love, he includes smart political commentary, personal-is-political messages, and empowering statements on records on which he served as producer and primary performer. Add 1980’s reggae-splashed Hotter Than July to this batch, and you’ll understand why Wonder is an absolute genius. You’ve got another thing comin’! Distinguished by magnesium-burn guitars, leather-tough percussion, molten-hot melodies, and the piercing falsetto of operatic vocalist Rob Halford, Judas Priest defines British heavy metal on 1978’s Stained Class, the follow-up Killing Machine (a.k.a. Hell Bent for Leather), and 1980’s Screaming for Vengeance. In the same way these platinum albums remain incalculably influential touchstones on which precision-based speed, mainstream accessibility, and hard-edged rebelliousness meet in triangular equilibrium, the Silver Label LPs redefine the music’s power and reach. Talking Book Music of My Mind Fulfillingness’ First Finale Hotter Than July Screaming for Vengeance Killing Machine Stained Class MORE FROM The Seeds of Love Songs from the Big Chair Into the Labyrinth Spiritchaser TEARS FOR FEARS DEAD CAN DANCE Named after primal-scream theories, Tears for Fears turned raw feelings into self-expressive songs etched with tenderness and directness, earnestness and melancholy. The synthpop duo spins perfectionism into platinum on Songs from the Big Chair and The Seeds of Love, distinguished with sumptuous production that reportedly cost more than a million pounds to realize. Just as Dead Can Dance are utterly distinctive, so too, are the world-fusion group’s Into the Labyrinth and Spiritchaser. Intimate, textured, and deeply spiritual, they are some the most gorgeous LPs you will ever hear. Anchored by glossolalia vocals and kaleidoscopic arrangements, exotic soundscapes mesmerize at every turn. Think of them as ethereal portals to lost cultures. Floodland First and Last and Always Cargo Business as Usual THE SISTERS OF MERCY MEN AT WORK Towering, epic, grand: Floodland combines evocative spirituality, delicate accents, and anthemic riffs with funky drum-machine beats and visceral tension to yield music that dares listeners not to dance. Helmed by Meat Loaf producer Jim Steinman, the monumental production relishes in splendid dynamic contrasts and moody atmospherics. The 1987 LP and the band’s 1985 debut, First and Last and Always, remain goth-rock milestones. They came from the land down under. And they conquered the charts with their Business as Usual debut that stayed for 15 consecutive weeks at the pole position on the Billboard Top 100. Then they proved they weren’t a fad with a hit, fun-loving follow-up, Cargo. They were Men at Work, a quirky bunch led by Colin Hay, whose humor, style, and singing on these two LPs helped the quintet become a consummate 1980s new-wave act. 186 SILVER LABEL YAZ 10,000 MANIACS TRAIN ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN BETTE MIDLER BETTE MIDLER Upstairs at Eric’s In My Tribe Drops of Jupiter Heaven Up Here The Divine Miss M The Rose RICKY NELSON BOBBY DARIN KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND THE ENGLISH BEAT RASPBERRIES Ricky Sings Again Love Swings KC and the Sunshine Band Special Beat Service Raspberries’ Best MOBILE FIDELITY T-SHIRTS • Ultra-soft and extremely comfortable T-Shirts • Several color and size options • Retro and legendary script logo designs available 187