MV : "Back to you" by Jacob Bellens

This is great pop!

Tiffany

Tiffany's debut from 1987, and a lovely pop album it was too. I never really got into Tiffany at the time, though if i had realised back then that we were almost born on the same day maybe i would (lets face it there are far dafter reasons to like a singer). Many years later Tiffany is still releasing records and i am writing this nonsense. So thats all turned out well then.

The hits are here, "I think we're alone now" and so on. They are fine if verging on cheese sometimes and over familiarity makes it hard to be objective sometimes. The best song is "Danny" which is a perfect slice of pop with some lovely melodies overlaid with Tiffany's great voice. Its unashamedly bubblegum pop but with a bit of a country underpinning and that gives the album some staying power.

MV : "The words" by Dragonborn feat. Jacob Bellens

Not a new song but we're only just now seeing "Dicte" over here of which this is the theme.

Marvin Gaye - what's going on

Well one of the masterpieces of soul music released in 1971, one of the great albums of the 1970s blah blah. But is it any good? The album was a reflection of all that was going wrong with America after the 60s such as police brutality, poverty and despair (so much has changed right?)

The problem with "historic" albums is that they carry so much weight and baggage its hard to assess them in their own right. Are you liking this song because you generally like it or because you are afraid of being uncool if you don't? Happily this album is full of good tunes though the history and contextual impact outweigh anything else. In the early 1970s this was Earth-shattering, nowadays its simply very good. Enjoy the pop beauty of "Mercy mercy me" and "What's happening brother" and the slinky groove of "Right on" and the world might seem a better place.

MV : "Giving up" by Haerts

Poppy!

Holly Knight

Multi Grammy award winning Holly Knight is best known for her songwriting, writing mega hits like "Love is a battlefield". However she was also in a couple of bands too in the 1980s: Spider and Device and also released this solo album. Its a fine collection of songs, including a rendition of "Battlefield", though "Sexy boy" is the most fun song, a very catchy and enjoyable slice of late 80s pop.

Duran Duran - paper gods

So the new Duran Duran album (now I'm not one to name drop even if its a bit tenuous, so i won't mention that the Taylors used to live next door to my Nan) and its a very fine record. However the opener and title track is terrible, an overblown dirge which sounds like an unreleased B-side from the late 80s which should have stayed buried in the vaults. Once you get past that however you are hit by a string of excellent dance-pop treats including the blistering single "Pressure off". The trademark big pop sound of Duran Duran augmented with some (fairly) hip and modern rhythms and beats.

"What are the chances" is a change of pace and another highlight, a great ballad. Echoes of my favourite DD track "Ordinary world" in it perhaps. So overall a great album, except the opener, but maybe they just included that for the LULZ?

MV : "Gone but not forgotten" by Kristine Sparkle

Great 70s sounds.

MV : "Baker Street" by Undercover

Officially the third best version of this song.

MV : "Das omen" by Mysterious Art

Mysterious 80s.

MV : "Love is" by Adam Cohen

Son of Leonard and a great artist too.

MV : "Run back" by Carl Douglas

Carl's other hit, love this track!

Wendy and Lisa

Part of Prince & The Revolution throughout the iconic early 80s Wendy and Lisa split from the Symbol One in 1986 to pursue their own 80s funk pop trajectory, and they have had a lot of success too especially with soundtracks with this album being the start of a journey that has included Emmys and many great tunes.

Its an assured and power packed debut, the highlight is the single "Waterfall" with its chunky funky melody and sweet atmospheric breaks but the album has plenty of other high points too, the irrepressible "Side show" and the epic ballad groove of "The life" for example.

Sequal

The only album from female duo Sequal is an excellent yet ultimately unsucessful slice of late 80s latin freestyle dance pop. The reason for their lack of chart success is because while songs like "Tell him i called" had an impression production coupled to a professional vocal performance they lacked the pop immediacy of some other (more successful) groups.

However failure in the pop charts didn't mean they didn't have success in the dance charts with some solid beats. Highlight is "Brand new love" a great track and performance that really can be savoured with its superb melody and chorus.

MV : "Believe in me" by The Pierces

Kinda epic.

MV : "End of night (Vince Clarke Remix)" by Dido

Funky smash.

MV : "Comic bakery (Larger Than Pop Remix)" by Press Play On Tape

Yes it sounds like the Backstreet Boys and is a love song to the C64, no really!

Princess

Stock, Aitkin and Waterman brings to mind late 80s and early 90s plastic pop horrors, but actually there were some good artists and good records released by SAW of which Princess may have been the best of all. Her first album, released in 1986, contains a number of superb pop hits full of tasty electro-pop and R&B. "Say i'm your number one" being her big hit, a top 10 which should have topped the charts. Atmospheric and intelligent as well as very catchy. "Just a tease" is another great track with some slinky bass beat and a teasing melody.

Laura Branigan - self-control

Released in 1984 this was Laura Branigan's third album and was her biggest success yielding 2 top 20 hits including the superb title track, a classic slice of mid-80s pop with tasty synths, plenty of drama and baffling lyrics.

That is by far the best song off the album though which struggles to raise above average or filler for most of the time, though "Ti amo" has some lovely melodies and "The lucky one" has some great big pop feel. Overall the good songs make it worth it but don't expect a classic.

Debbie Gibson - out of the blue

The 80s idol's first album from 1987, derided by some at the time as being uncool and teen girl pap and lauded nowadays by... well no one really as far as i can see. So how does this album stack up? Actually its very good indeed, its slick and commercial of course but very well done. There are some lovely pop melodies and hooks to make even the hardest heart (secretly) sing.

Of course songs like "Foolish beat" and "Play the field" are all very innocent and teen sweet but whats wrong with that? Everything need not be a harsh gritty vindaloo, sometimes you just want a nice mild korma.