my Top 39 among Albums Released 1979

-79 seems to me a bit superficial, strange year in music history. Of course many splendid songs were made, in creative styles. But to find whole concepts fantastic enough (in my ears) became a quite sluggish, still unfulfilled process.

From Breakfast To Breakfast

including a favourite track from each

1. BREAKFAST IN AMERICA

Supertramp

Take The Long Way Home

2. DISCOVERY

Electric Light Orchestra

Confusion

3. ARMED FORCES

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Green Shirt

4. REALITY EFFECT*

The Tourists

= Stewart & Lennox early band
where Peet Coombes was great composer

The Loneliest Man in The World

* in fact released -80
though "The Tourists" -79
probably would feel as good as this

5. THE FINE ART OF SURFACING

Boomtown Rats

(Tell Me Why) I Don't Like Mondays

6. LONDON CALLING

Clash

The Card Cheat

7. THE RAVEN

Stranglers

Duchess

8. THE AGE OF PLASTIC

Buggles

Elstree

[Released rather in January -80] 

9. pH7

Peter Hammill

Faculty X

10. MANIFESTO

Roxy Music

Dance Away

11. FEAR OF MUSIC

Talking Heads

Mind

12. THE WALL

Pink Floyd

Comfortably Numb

13. LABOUR OF LUST

Nick Lowe

Switchboard Susan

14. REPEAT WHEN NECESSARY

Dave Edmunds

Girls Talk

15. EVE

Alan Parsons' Project

Winding Me Up

16. A CURIOUS FEELING

Tony Banks

After The Lie

17. I CAN SEE YOUR HOUSE FROM HERE

Camel

Eye of The Storm

18. SPLIT VISION

Björn Skifs

Let Music Live

19. EVOLUTION

Journey

Too Late

20. REPRODUCTION

Human League

Empire State Human

21. KORGIS

Korgis

Dirty Postcards


22. TUSK
Fleetwood Mac

What Makes You Think You're The One?

23. THE BELLS

Lou Reed

City Lights [around Chaplin]

24. DREAM POLICE

Cheap Trick

Way of The World

25. VOULEZ-VOUS

ABBA

Angel Eyes

26. LOVEDRIVE

Scorpions

Always Somewhere

27. HONEST LULLABY

Joan Baez

Let Your Love Flow

28. SPECTRAL MORNINGS

Steve Hackett

The Virgin and The Gypsy

29. STORMWATCH
Jethro Tull

Home

30. DRUMS & WIRES

Xtc

Helicopter

31. GET THE KNACK

The Knack

Lucinda

32. ONE STEP BEYOND

Madness

Bed and Breakfast Man

33. LOOK SHARP!

Joe Jackson

Sunday Papers

34. E LA LUNA BUSSO'

Loredana Bertè

Folle Citta'

35. OCEANS OF FANTASY

Boney M

Bahama Mama

36. ANGEL STATION

Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Belle of The Earth

37. NUMBER ONE IN HEAVEN

Sparks

My Other Voice

38. BACK TO THE EGG

Paul McCartney with Wings

So Glad to See You

39. FATE FOR BREAKFAST

Art Garfunkel

Beyond The Tears

0W0