This surely has to be Joel's most 80s sounding album, production-wise; the guitars on A Matter of Trust sound so thin and there is a fair bit of synthesizer in Running On Ice. A little bit of Cyndi Lauper is always welcome. And some Ray Charles, though he is more timeless than 80s, I guess. And Liberty DeVitto's drums still sounds aggressive, so maybe I'm just full of it and don't really know what I'm talking about?
Highlights: A Matter of Trust, Modern Woman, Code of Silence
6.5/10
Briefcase Full of Blues - The Blues Brothers
This is a live album from that legendary rhythm and blues act, The Blues Brothers. Must have been recorded before Jake went to jail? He sounds half in the bag, which only adds to how polished and downright solid the band sound.
Highlights: Messin' with the Kid, I Don't Know, Flip Flop and Fly
6/10
Bring Ya to the Brink - Cyndi Lauper
Back to 2008? And more Cyndi Lauper? And she's doing full on dance music? I've always kind of dug this album; it isn't her best work or anything, and vocally she kind of phoned it in, in my opinion, but it still works. Because Cyndi Lauper is super cool and can do whatever she wants.
Highlights: Into the Nightlife, Same Ol' Story, Give it Up, Grab a Hold
7/10
BRING YOUR BOARD!! - ELLEGARDEN
It's 7am on a snowy Wednesday morning and I'm eating budget pizza purely because of this album. Surf's up, mofos! This may not be the greatest album on the planet, but I'll be darned if it isn't trying. The first half is probably the best 15 minutes you could ever have, outside of Jet Li beating up some fools.
Highlights: Surfrider Association, No. 13, ジターバグ, Insane
9/10
Bringing Down the Horse - The Wallflowers
This feels so quiet after that! I don't think I have listened to this album in at least 20 years; it was totally my jam in '98 and I remember busking a few songs from it back in the day, but over time I forgot how good it was? At least, how good some of the songs are. Like, it is all just harmless radio-friendly pop-rock like Matchbox 20, but with less emotion. I'd really like to hear Bob Dylan sing Josephine.
Highlights: 6th Avenue Heartache, Bleeders, Angel on My Bike
6.5/10
Broadcast - Cutting Crew
As expected, this is purely the hit single (I Just) Died in Your Arms. Classic 80s.
7/10
Broadcast to the World - Zebrahead
I'm fairly sure this was the first album with this lineup - which seems to be the only Zebrahead lineup I like. And this is that lineup's weakest album. It's... fine? A few stand-out songs, but nothing that ever reaches the heights of their next couple of albums. I have the Japanese release, and the bonus songs from that are possibly better than anything on the actual album!
Highlights: Broadcast to the World, Postcards From Hell, Here's to You, Down in Flames
6.5/10
"Albums" listened to so far: 249