The term “New Wave” is open to many interpretations, but a simple description might be this: a more pop-oriented version of punk rock, with its anarchic edges smoothed and replaced by synthesizers and hooks. Musical artists of all stripes who weren’t quite raw enough to sound like the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Ramones, or the Damned were undoubtedly pleased to see the genre transform to a more radio-friendly, pop-oriented, and often danceable new version of punk. Artists who attempted this genre shift achieved it with varying degrees of success. While a few tried it once or twice before returning to their original genres, several persevered for the remainder of their careers.
We’re going to look at 20 of these albums. Actually, 23. In three cases, we’ll examine the artists’ foray into New Wave, as well as similar attempts by one of their solo counterparts. As always with these types of lists, caveats abound. First of all, since New Wave is open to a slew of interpretations, we wouldn’t be surprised if readers challenge some of these entries. That’s fine. Music, like all art, is subjective, and we won’t be offended if you disagree (as long as you aren’t offended by our choices).
Also, we almost certainly left out a few crucial entries – a LOT of artists jumped on the new wave bandwagon, and we likely either forgot about them, didn’t know they existed, or realized that we had to stop somewhere. So break out your neons and pastels and get that cheesy synthesizer out of storage. It’s time to rock.
Fleetwood Mac – Tusk (1979) / Lindsey Buckingham – Go Insane (1984)
Following the monster success of Rumours (1977), Fleetwood Mac guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham was determined to create a different kind of record. Spurred on by his love for bands like Talking Heads, he helped conceive the sprawling double album Tusk in 1979. It should be noted that the contributions of his fellow songwriters Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks stuck mainly to the sounds of the previous album, particularly luminous singles like “Sara” and “Think About Me”. Still, Buckingham went a little bit mad, substituting snare drums with Kleenex boxes, taping microphones to the floor and singing into them in push-up position, and using raw demos as finished products.
This resulted in some weird but catchy tunes like “The Ledge”, “What Makes You Think You’re the One”, and “Not That Funny”, New Wave earworms that sound more like Nick Lowe or Jonathan Richman than anything on Rumours. Predictably, Tusk didn’t sell nearly as well as its predecessor, but it’s an ambitious, delightful record that’s become something of a cult classic.
Buckingham kept mining New Wave on subsequent solo albums, never more so than on Go Insane, where he eschewed acoustic drums in favor of drum machines and made good use of the Fairlight CMI sampling synthesizer (a favorite of artists ranging from Stevie Wonder to Devo to Peter Gabriel). With initial production work courtesy of Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, the Cars), the result is nothing short of a pop gem, albeit one that sounds instantly dated. Highlights include the up-tempo dancefloor frenzy of “I Want You”, and catchy singles like “Slow Dancing” and the title track, which performed respectably on the pop charts. – Chris Ingalls
Wings – Back to the Egg (1979) / Paul McCartney – McCartney II (1980)
While Paul McCartney’s early self-titled solo album has become a legendary example of do-it-yourself pop and thus has a new wave vibe all its own (at least conceptually, if not musically), his full immersion into skinny-tie rock can be more directly traced to Back to the Egg, his last album with Wings. Back to the Egg was supposed to be a back-to-basics rock album, and it had traces of new wave, particularly in its first single, “Getting Closer”.
A driving rocker, “Getting Closer” peaked at #20 on Billboard’s Top 40, which did not bode well for the overall success of the album. The follow-up single, an oddball ballad called “Arrow Through Me”, did worse on the chart, and McCartney’s pot bust in Japan scuttled further promotion for “Back to the Egg”, ultimately marking the end of Wings.
For the real new wave McCartney, check out McCartney II. Recorded in the summer of 1979, after the release of Back to the Egg, this second eponymous album finds McCartney playing all the instruments himself, with a focus on synthesizers and electronics. The lead-off track, “Coming Up”, is a prime piece of technopop that John Lennon allegedly loved (though it should be noted that the version that hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 was a live recording from 1979).
“Coming Up” is followed by “Temporary Secretary”, one of the most polarizing tunes in McCartney’s discography. It’s a love-it-or-hate-it blast of synthpop that has attracted a cult following and has made it onto McCartney’s concert setlists in recent years. “Temporary Secretary” alone guarantees that McCartney II is on this list. However, “Nobody Knows”, which sounds like one of Lindsey Buckingham’s quirky Tusk tunes, and the instrumental “Front Parlor” find McCartney having weird home studio fun as well. – Rich Wilhelm
Carlene Carter – Musical Shapes (1980)
As the daughter of June Carter Cash and the granddaughter of Maybelle Carter, Carlene Carter is country music royalty. Carter has made it clear, though, from her 1978 self-titled debut album through to 2014’s Carter Girl, that she plays and sings country music her way.
Take, for example, Carter’s third album, Musical Shapes. Produced by Nick Lowe (Carter’s husband at the time) and with Lowe’s band, Rockpile, playing behind her, Carter delivers a potent rockabilly-infused record that includes many of her own songs.
Rockpile do not appear on the two most curious tracks of the album. Carter’s cover of June Carter Cash’s “Ring of Fire” (made famous by Johnny) can be described as living at the intersection where country, disco, and techno meet. It’s a bit over-the-top, but it’s also tons of fun. “So Proud”, the other track without Rockpile, is a power ballad that could have fit on one of Cher’s big late 1980s albums.
Make no mistake: Musical Shapes is a fine country album, though we’d probably label it “Americana” today. But Carter’s sharp songwriting, Lowe’s production, Rockpile’s playing, and even the cover art by famed graphic designer Barney Bubbles all contribute to a vibe that can easily be described as “new wavy”. – Rich Wilhelm
Shaun Cassidy – Wasp (1980)
Shaun Cassidy burst onto the pop music scene with his self-titled debut album, released in Europe and Australia in 1976, and in the US the following year. Cassidy, the son of actors and singers Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones, had a meteoric rise with hit singles and albums, as well as a starring role in The Hardy Boys Mysteries TV show, all of which made him a teen heartthrob. By 1980, though, Cassidy’s star had begun to fade, and he decided to shake things up, recruiting Todd Rundgren to produce his fifth album, Wasp. Rundgren, in turn, brought his band Utopia into the studio to play on the record.
Wasp opens with Cassidy singing a faithful, but still unhinged, cover of David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel”. He follows through with a record that combines cover songs with Rundgren originals. Cassidy shares one songwriting credit with Rundgren and Utopia members on “Cool Fire”.
While Wasp is no classic, it’s an easy album to root for, as Cassidy takes on a hodgepodge of tunes that include Talking Heads’ “The Book I Read”, Pete Townshend’s “So Sad About Us”, and Ian Hunter’s “Once Bitten Twice Shy”. Cassidy adds a bit too much musical theater to “The Book I Read”, but it’s still fun to hear him sing it. His synth-drenched remake of the Four Tops “Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over)” is a bop. A weird bop, but a bop just the same.
As a career restart, Wasp was a failure, but what a glorious one it was! Don’t worry about Shaun Cassidy, who has handily survived being a teen idol by becoming a successful television producer. – Rich Wilhelm
Alice Cooper – Flush the Fashion (1980)
Talk about your 1980s makeover! Alice Cooper was coming off his 1978 confessional album, From the Inside (co-written with lyricist Bernie Taupin, on hiatus from usual partner Elton John). Years into being an avatar of “shock rock”, Alice Cooper (aka “Alice Cooper ‘80” per the album cover) may not have known what to do next, so he called Cars producer Roy Thomas Baker and decided to give new wave a spin. Cooper borrows another of Elton’s longtime collaborators, Davey Johnstone, who splatters lead guitar all over the synths and is listed as one of the co-writers on several songs.
Flush the Fashion is most well-known for the woozy electronics of “Clones (We’re All)”, a cover written by David Carron. Released as a single in April 1980, “Clones (We’re All)” scraped its way to #40 on Billboard’s Top 40 singles chart, and then dropped off immediately, doing little to help the commercial success of the album.
No matter, at least from today’s vantage point. Flush the Fashion was poorly reviewed and didn’t sell. Still, it’s a 28-minute blast, one short, punchy song after another, including “Model Citizen”, on which Alice reveals, “I’m a friend of Sammy Davis (casually).” Flush the Fashion is clearly not the most brilliant album Alice Cooper’s ever made, but it is one of the most fun and funny, and when it comes to new wave, fun and funny will take you a long way. – Rich Wilhelm
Daryl Hall – Sacred Songs (recorded 1977; released 1980) / Daryl Hall & John Oates – Voices (1980)
It feels impossible to talk about Daryl Hall & John Oates’ breakthrough 1980 album without talking about Hall’s solo album, Sacred Songs, released in May 1980, just a few months before Voices, but recorded back in 1977. Hall, taking a creative break from his primary partnership, hit the studio with Robert Fripp, of King Crimson and “Frippertronics” fame. The resulting album, Sacred Songs, was deemed uncommercial by RCA Records and stuffed in a vault, not to be released until 1980.
RCA wasn’t entirely wrong: Sacred Songs is an odd album, featuring the nearly eight-minute “Babs and Babs”, a strange tale that eventually devolves into a Frippish soundscape; an instrumental Fripp piece called “Urban Landscape;” and the guitar and vocal freakout, “NYNYC”. At the same time, the record also contains some of Hall’s trademark haunting ballads and at least two skewed pop songs that seem to contain metadata about the songwriting process, including the title track and “Something in 4/4 Time”.
It’s those last two songs that appear to have influenced the more commercially successful Voices album. The album includes two tortured love songs, “Everytime You Go Away”, later covered successfully by Paul Young, and a hit cover of “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”, neither of which is particularly new wavy.
However, both the massive hits, the sleek “Kiss on My List” and the bouncy “You Make My Dreams”, hint at new wave. More importantly, the rest of the album is comprised of nervy power pop tunes like “Big Kids” and “United State” that harken back to the twisted pop of Sacred Songs and earn Voices its place here. Yes, even John Oates gets in on the new wave fun with the synth-and-sax-enhanced bop, “Africa”. – Rich Wilhelm
J. Geils Band – Love Stinks (1980)
Under the influence of keyboard player and co-songwriter Seth Justman, the Boston blues/R&B sensations led by frontman Peter Wolf gave their gritty funk a makeover. They introduced an arsenal of synthesizers for their ninth studio album. While the follow-up, Freeze Frame (1981) is more overtly New Wave, Love Stinks works much better because it combines their bluesy roots with New Wave far more seamlessly.
Opening track “Just Can’t Wait” is a power-pop masterpiece, as Justman’s synths meld perfectly with J. Geils’ deft guitar work. The infamous title track combines sizzling keyboards with a shameless crib of the Troggs’ riff from “Wild Thing”. And they even made room for a good old-fashioned party anthem with their cover of the Strangeloves’ “Night Time”, as well as a weird but hilarious novelty song, “No Anchovies, Please”. A tremendous party album from a band known for their party albums. – Chris Ingalls
Billy Joel – Glass Houses (1980)
After four albums that earned him some critical acclaim and an equal amount of derision, Billy Joel hit the big time with his 1977 album, The Stranger, a cinematic piano-based pop-rock album filled with massive hits (“Just the Way You Are”) and significant deep cuts (“Vienna”). Joel followed up The Stranger” with 52nd Street, on which Joel wove threads of Latin music and jazz into his songs. Both albums earned Joel a degree of critical respect and a collection of Grammy Awards, but after so much ambition, Billy Joel just wanted to rock out.
That’s what he did on Glass Houses. Opening with the breaking glass intro of “You May Be Right”, Glass Houses remains Billy Joel’s most straightforward rock album and his most fun. In addition to “You May Be Right”, the following three tracks on the album—ode to phone sex, “Sometimes a Fantasy”; Paul McCartney/Paul Simon homage, “Don’t Ask Me Why”; and statement-of-purpose, “It’s Still Rock’n’Roll to Me” all hit the Billboard’s Top 40 singles charts. But the fun doesn’t end with the singles.
“Sleeping with the Television On” is a snappy power pop tune. “Close to the Borderline” features a crunchy guitar duel courtesy of Russell Javors and David Brown, which sounds great with headphones, and a trio of ballads feels heartfelt and self-effacing. And while simultaneously playing piano and synth toward the end of everybody’s secret favorite Billy Joel song, “All for Leyna”, the Piano-Turned-Synth Man reaches new wave nirvana, whatever that is. – Rich Wilhelm
Robert Palmer – Clues (1980)
After leaving the British soul band Vinegar Joe in 1974, singer Robert Palmer was signed to a solo record deal with Island Records. He proceeded to crank out critically acclaimed albums that blended reggae, soul, and impeccably designed adult contemporary pop. In 1980, he shifted gears with Clues, which introduced twitchy keyboard work and a decidedly New Wave feel but sacrificed none of the soul or songwriting smarts that were in abundance on his five previous solo albums.
The irrepressible “Looking for Clues” bounces around with hooks and sly vocal work (and a goofy accompanying music video that was in heavy rotation in MTV’s early days), heavier guitars beef up the overall sound on “Sulky Girl” and “What Do You Care”, and the low-key single “Johnny and Mary” is easily one of the greatest songs Palmer ever wrote. Adding to Palmer’s New Wave bona fides is the presence of Gary Numan, who plays keyboards on two songs, including one of his own compositions, the simmering, atmospheric “I Dream of Wires”. – Chris Ingalls
Queen – The Game (1980)
While its follow-up, the funky Hot Space (1982), is much more modern in its execution, Queen’s eighth album is the one where the British foursome kicked down the doors of New Wave, thanks in large part to the ample use of synthesizers (an instrument they deliberately avoided up to that point). Sure, this is the album that includes chart-topping forays into rockabilly (“Crazy Little Thing Called Love”) and disco (“Another One Bites the Dust”).
However, it also features drummer Roger Taylor’s synth-drenched foot stomper “Rock It (Prime Jive)”, bassist John Deacon’s glorious power-pop single “Need Your Loving Tonight”, and Brian May’s funk rock guitar workout “Dragon Attack”. Maybe not textbook New Wave across the board, but The Game sees Queen hanging up their progressive rock capes and embracing something far more immediate. – Chris Ingalls
Linda Ronstadt – Mad Love (1980)
For someone associated with the 1970s southern California music scene, Linda Ronstadt always seemed creatively restless, eager to follow her muse. While this was a trait that had marked her progression from early in her career, it became strikingly apparent on her new wave gambit, Mad Love.
Being an album highlighting the “new” sound, it’s natural that three Elvis Costello songs are featured on Mad Love, and “Party Girl”, “Girls Talk”, and “Talking in the Dark” are all just fine. However, the real excitement begins with the opening title track, written by Mark Goldenberg, a member of the Los Angeles power pop band the Cretones. Ronstandt sings two other Goldenberg songs here—“Cost of Love” and “Justine”—and Goldenberg plays some punchy guitar throughout the album.
Ronstadt also rocks out with “How Do I Make You”, an early hit by Billy Steinberg, who’d write a succession of massive hits over the next several decades. As was her custom, Ronstadt included a few older songs on the album, “I Can’t Let Go” (originally recorded by Evie Sands and later by the Hollies) and “Hurt So Bad” (Little Anthony and the Imperials), both of which were transformed into punchy hit singles.
While Ronstadt included a few tracks on her 1982 follow-up album, Get Close, she mostly left new wave behind, in search of Nelson Riddle and mariachi music. That’s OK, though. Ronstadt has a restless spirit and, anyway, we’ll always have Mad Love. – Chris Ingalls
Genesis – Abacab (1981)
Progressive rock titans Genesis began paring down their sound in the mid-1970s when vocalist Peter Gabriel jumped ship (replaced by existing drummer Phil Collins) and even more so after the departure of guitarist Steve Hackett (at which point bassist Mike Rutherford pulled double duty). Their first album as a trio was the aptly titled And Then There Were Three (1978), featuring Collins, Rutherford, and keyboard player Tony Banks. While that album and its follow-up, Duke (1980), still featured plenty of prog overtones, there was also a decidedly pop edge to their new lineup.
However, on Abacab, synthesizers were more overt and New Wave-centric, incorporating a smattering of horns to add a more soulful edge. While the second half of the title track tends to plod aimlessly like a prog classic in search of a good idea, the first half is full of tight, three-piece instrumentation, Collins’ urgent vocals, and plenty of catchy keyboard flourishes.
Deep cuts like the moody, surreal “Keep It Dark” and “Dodo/Lurker” nicely bridge New Wave with classic rock, and while the quirky, robotic “Who Dunnit?” seems like a weird outtake that somehow managed to sneak onto the record, Collins’ “Man on the Corner” is ballad-mode Genesis at its absolute best. – Chris Ingalls
Ian Hunter – Short Back ’n’ Sides (1981)
Ian Hunter’s solo career after leaving Mott the Hoople embraced hard rock, glam, and soul, but it was his fifth album, Short Back ‘n’ Sides, that brought him into the New Wave fray, aided by the production and guitar work of the Clash’s Mick Jones (frequent Hunter collaborator Mick Ronson co-produced). The record’s compact, immediate feel is often reminiscent of the Clash, and the fact that Hunter’s voice is fairly similar to Joe Strummer’s certainly doesn’t hurt. Modern touches bring a contemporary feel to the anthemic opener “Central Park n’West” and the Bo Diddley-fied “Lisa Likes Rock n’ Roll”.
While tracks like “Noises” and “Rain” have a more daring, experimental feel, Hunter still pulls old-school rock and soul out of his pocket with terrific numbers like “I Need Your Love” and the gorgeous album closer “Keep on Burnin’”. Hunter was still as vital as ever in 1981. – Chris Ingalls
John Hiatt – All of a Sudden (1982)
Anyone who fell in love with John Hiatt’s critical breakout album, Bring the Family (1987), and then decided to dig into his discography might have been shocked when their needle dropped on All of a Sudden. Instead of the rootsy sound concocted by Hiatt, Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Keltner, the listener would be greeted with the opening to “I Look for Love”, which sounds like Gary Numan, only with more synths. The electronics settle down as Hiatt begins to sing, only to return anytime Hiatt shuts his mouth. And that’s pretty much the way for much of All of a Sudden.
From the beginning of his career, Hiatt was a formidable songwriter. Still, it took him a while to find his footing as a recording artist, experimenting with various production techniques from one album to the next. Tony Visconti, who had produced David Bowie, was on board for All of a Sudden, and bringing a Bowie vibe was clearly on the agenda.
Despite the approach being light years from where Hiatt finally found acclaim with Bring the Family, All of a Sudden is one of the oddball winners in this new wave sweepstakes. Hiatt has always been too good a songwriter to write an entire album of bad tunes, and there are gems to be found on All of a Sudden, buried underneath the synths. However, why scrape the synths away? They’re fun! – Rich Wilhelm
Rush – Signals (1982)
By 1982, synthesizers were nothing new for the Canadian progressive rock trio of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. Permanent Waves (1980) combined keyboards with a more radio-friendly sound, and the unimpeachable classic Moving Pictures (1981) brought even more success as they expertly straddled the lines between pop and prog. However, Signals was the point where the keyboards, courtesy of bassist/vocalist Lee, began to overpower Lifeson’s guitar. Purists may scoff, but this new sound perfected the balance.
With singles like “Subdivisions” and “New World Man” (the latter being their only song to crack the US Top 40), the keyboard textures and slimmed-down sound not only worked in 1982, but they still hold up spectacularly well in 2025. Other highlights include the driving, powerful “Analog Kid”, the reggae-tinged “The Weapon”, and the sublime “Losing It” (featuring future k.d. lang collaborator Ben Mink on violin). Signals isn’t necessarily typical Rush, but it pulls off the rare feat of sounding very much of its time while remaining highly enjoyable more than 40 years later. – Chris Ingalls
The Pointer Sisters – Break Out (1983)
The Pointer Sisters have a fascinating discography. Their 1973 debut album opened with “Yes We Can Can”, a song by the great Allen Toussaint. Their follow-up record included both Dizzy Gillespie’s “Salt Peanuts” and an Anita and Bonnie Pointer original, “Fairytale”, that won a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group in 1974. Along the way, they covered Bruce Springsteen (“Fire’) and Steely Dan (“Dirty Work”). With this kind of variety in their recent past, it isn’t as surprising as one might think that the Pointer Sisters struck platinum in 1984 with Break Out, an album that deftly split the difference between dance pop and new wave.
The Break Out hit parade started with “Automatic”, which peaked at #5 on the Hot 100 in early 1984. In a year of big, shiny pop hits by the likes of Cyndi Lauper, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, and Tina Turner, “Automatic” is one of the biggest and shiniest, a synthpop masterpiece that must have sounded great on the hottest dance floors of 1984.
“Automatic” was followed by three more Top Ten hits from Break Out. “Jump (For My Love)” had its parenthetical title added after Van Halen scored with their own “Jump”. “I’m So Excited”, originally from their previous album, was appended to a new pressing of Break Out and climbed the charts a second time. Finally, the jittery “Neutron Dance” found the Pointer Sisters sashaying their way into 1985. It’s a fantastic run of singles and, aside from a pair of relatively conventional ballads, the whole album continues the vibe of those fabulous hits. – Rich Wilhelm
Yes – 90125 (1983)
Calling Yes’ 11th studio album New Wave is a bit of a stretch. It’s more like synthpop with heavy doses of progressive rock, but context is everything. After making one album with future super-producer Trevor Horn in 1980 (Drama), original vocalist Jon Anderson was back on board, bringing along original keyboard player Tony Kaye, new guitarist Trevor Rabin, and longstanding bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White. The blending of band members old and new brought modern sensibilities while retaining much of Yes’ original essence, all against the backdrop of the MTV New Wave era.
The opening track and monster hit, “Owner of a Lonely Heart”, combined pop smarts with funk samples (still a novelty in 1983), as well as a searing, effects-laden Rabin guitar solo. Elsewhere, there’s the vocal harmony showcase “Leave It”, the bluesy pop sheen of “Hold On”, and even some prog rock throwbacks like “Changes” and “Hearts”. Yes didn’t completely abandon their prog roots on 90125, but they were fully immersed in the sounds of the time. – Chris Ingalls
Neil Young – Trans (1983)
Neil Young always excelled at confounding expectations and pissing off record company executives, never more so than in the early 1980s, releasing albums in a variety of genres that often sounded very little like early, “classic” Neil. After the bruising, proto-grunge of Re*Ac*Tor (1981), Young signed with Geffen Records, where he was guaranteed $1 million per album and complete creative control.
As a result, Young did a complete 180 with his first Geffen record, Trans, which was extremely heavy on keyboards and samplers, inspired by his young son Ben, who was born with cerebral palsy and unable to speak. With Young’s voice filtered through a vocoder, the distorted vocals were Young’s attempt to communicate with his son.
The result is an album that evokes the sounds of Devo, Daft Punk, and Kraftwerk. This bold move angered and confused fans, but has its share of staunch defenders and is regarded by many as a daring classic (two songs, “Little Thing Called Love” and “Hold on to Your Love”, were recorded during a separate session in Honolulu and are slightly more conventional Young tracks).
Young even throws in an odd remake of his Buffalo Springfield classic “Mr. Soul”, described by Stereogum in a 2013 reappraisal as “Thomas Dolby off the meds.” The robotic arrangements aren’t without their emotional heft, however. “Transformer Man”, in particular, is one of Young’s most moving compositions. – Chris Ingalls
ZZ Top – Eliminator (1983)
One of the most obvious entries on this list sees the gritty Texas blues trio ZZ Top embracing the 1980s as if their lives depended on it. Their previous album, El Loco (1981), was undoubtedly a dip into the waters of New Wave, thanks to compact rockers like “Tube Snake Boogie” and the synth-heavy “Groovy Little Hippie Pad”.
However, if El Loco was something of a tentative dip, Eliminator was a full-on cannonball. If it was a gamble, it paid off in spades. Eliminator eventually sold more than ten million copies, mainly on the strength of white-hot pop/rock/boogie/new wave singles like “Gimme All Your Lovin’”, “Sharp Dressed Man”, and “Legs”.
What’s more, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard took full advantage of MTV, as all the singles were made into classic music videos that combined their scruffy, down-home Texas charm with supermodels, souped-up classic cars, and plenty of contemporary touches. Even a brief listen to Eliminator will instantly take you back to 1983, but best of all, it still sounds great. – Chris Ingalls
Robert Plant – Shaken’n’Stirred (1985)
Following the death of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham in 1980, Robert Plant launched a fascinating solo career. His debut, Pictures at Eleven (1982), leaned into a sleeker 1980s sound, while his follow-up, The Principle of Moments, was more atmospheric. Both albums included the ever-more-ubiquitous Phil Collins on drums.
After a detour into the Top 40 with the Honeydrippers’ “Sea of Love” single, Plant plunged headlong into his most experimental album to date, 1985’s Shaken’n’Stirred. The album was filled with herky-jerky rhythms, odd blasts of percussion and keyboards, and cryptic lyrics (cryptic song titles as well: “Hip to Hoo”, “Kallalou Kallalou”, “Doo Doo a Do Do”, and the possible in-joke pun, “Easily Lead”). Two songs, “Little By Little” and the closing track, “Sixes and Sevens”, could have slotted comfortably into The Principle of Moments, but otherwise, Plant was striking out in new territory.
Plant launched a Shaken’n’Stirred tour, with Led Zeppelin-free setlists. He couldn’t escape his previous band, though. Amid Plant’s tour, Led Zeppelin reunited (with Phil Collins and Tony Thompson on drums) to play Live Aid in Philadelphia. Zep’s Live Aid set is universally considered to be one of their worst performances as a band, and one of the worst sets from Live Aid. The Led Zeppelin set did nothing to move any units of Shaken’n’Stirred, and the record was soon forgotten, though it could be seen as a template for Plant’s next, far more successful stab at modern rock, Now and Zen, released in 1988. – Rich Wilhelm
20 of the Best New Wave Albums by Rock/Pop Artists
