Afterburner is the ninth studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in 1985. Afterburner was a financial success, going several times platinum and launching several hit singles, the most successful of which was "Sleeping Bag" which peaked at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, it was the band's second album to be certified by the British Phonographic Industry, attaining Gold in 1985. In 1990, it was certified Platinum in the UK.

Chris Isaak's debut album, Silvertone, named after his three-piece backup group, sets the pattern for his subsequent albums in its meticulously constructed retro sound. Isaak enters a time machine and emerges around 1960, when Roy Orbison is ruling the charts with his melodramatic ballads and Elvis Presley has just returned from the Army. Of course, what passed for a style 25 years before is in Isaak's hands stylization, and when he wails in an Orbison falsetto of romantic desperation, then does a flat, Presley-like recitation in the album-closing "Western Stars," it all seems over the top. But he is just about sincere enough to pull it off, and James Calvin Wilsey is a strong enough guitarist to keep the arrangements on track. So, to the extent that you can resist the "Is this guy kidding?" impression, the music is appealing.

I continue to find the whole of Perahia's recording stimulating and fresh. I said in my first review that the freshness of a still quite youthful player is there. With never a hint of gratuitous agitation, the sense of an invigorating energy being released in the act of performance comes across strongly; and I'm sure Beethoven would have loved it. As Perahia with the wind his sails carries you along—in the finale of the Appassionata above all—his virtuosity is special, electrifying in effect, transcendental, brilliantly illuminating.

Originally released in 1985, Island Life compiles highlights from Grace Jones' 1977 debut through 1985’s Slave to the Rhythm. It’s a concise overview that features four Top Ten U.S. club hits (“I Need a Man,” “Do or Die,” “Pull Up to the Bumper,” “Slave to the Rhythm”), as well as an additional smattering of choice cuts from her late-‘70s collaborations with Tom Moulton and her stellar ‘80s work with Sly & Robbie. It’s a decent introduction for casual fans but lacks crucial material like “Warm Leatherette” and “Nipple to the Bottle.” A later edition, dubbed Island Life 2, adds "Pars," "Feel Up," and two remixes of "Sex Drive."

These works by Scarlatti, Cavali, Gesualdo and Clément form a posy in honour of the Virgin, a reflection and echo of the abundant wealth of Western polyphony. The pieces recorded here share an undoubted Roman Catholic identity. They are, as it were, witnesses, each in its own way, of the ever-renewed adventure of discovery of choral singing, and they illustrate the idea of a Marian liturgy that is both a source of beauty and emotion and a spiritual guide to the faithful.

For fans waiting for a follow-up to the massive success of 90125, 9012Live: The Solos proved to be a disappointment. This brief album consists of solo turns by each bandmember, along with two 90125 tracks scarcely changed from the studio versions. "Solly's Beard" provides a pleasant, if somewhat incoherent showcase for Trevor Rabin's guitar work, and Jon Anderson takes an uneventful walk down memory lane with "Soon." The highlight of the album is the duet "Whitefish," and with Chris Squire and Alan White galloping through a spirited medley of "The Fish," "Sound Chaser," and "Tempus Fugit." While it's an okay tour souvenir, 9012Live: The Solos can hardly claim to be a proper album.

Stereotomy is the ninth studio album by The Alan Parsons Project, released in 1985. Although sometimes considered better musically than its predecessor, Vulture Culture, it was not as successful commercially, perhaps due to many fewer vocals from Eric Woolfson (he only appears on a small section of the title track). The album is structured differently from earlier Project albums, containing three lengthy tracks - ""Stereotomy" at well over seven minutes, "Light of the World" at well over six minutes, and the instrumental "Where's the Walrus?" running just over seven and a half minutes (making it the longest instrumental the Project ever made) and two minute-long songs at the end.

Vulture Culture is the eighth studio album by the Alan Parsons Project, released in 1985 via the Arista label. Vulture Culture's theme is another in which the fallacy of humankind is front and center. This time Parsons' message concerns the fact that everyone lives in a parasitic society, where it's every man for himself. Those who can't fend for themselves simply won't survive in a world where the kindness of the human spirit is rapidly deteriorating. On this album, though, the songs are weaker and are less effective in bringing out the album's complex idea. As it does have its moments, Vulture Culture lacks in cohesiveness and strength both lyrically and, to a lesser extent, musically. "Let's Talk About Me" addresses the theme in its words, but the choppy rhythm takes away the attractiveness that could have been. The instrumental "Hawkeye" adds life and contrast to the album at just the right time. The most appealing song, "Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)" with vocalist Chris Rainbow at the helm, combines simplicity with a timeless chorus making for a truly beautiful ballad. Even though Parsons' theme is revealed, it's done so with less clarity and doesn't quite hit home. Without the usual balance of absorbing lyrics and well-maintained music, Vulture Culture remains one of this band's less prolific albums.

Recorded and mixed at Abbey Road Studios, London between May and July 1984. An analog multitrack recording mixed to Sony 1610 digital format. Expanded edition mastered at DNA Mastering, Studio City, California. Vulture Sculpture made at The Great Frog.

Fables of the Reconstruction (or Reconstruction of the Fables) is the third studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released on June 10, 1985, through I.R.S. Records. It was the band's first album recorded outside of the U.S., with sessions taking place at Livingston Studios in London with producer Joe Boyd. The record displays a darker, murkier sound and lyrics drawing from Southern Gothic themes and characters. Additionally, more varied instrumentation is utilized, including string and brass arrangements and banjo. Critical reception to Fables of the Reconstruction was positive, with many reviews noting its folk elements and murky tone. Retrospectively, it has also been viewed as a transitional album, retaining the sound and obscure themes of the band's early work while hinting at the experimentation with acoustic instrumentation that would be present on their later albums.

The Wall is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released 30 November 1979 on Harvest and Columbia Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rockstar whose eventual self-imposed isolation from society is symbolized by a wall. The album was a commercial success, topping the US charts for 15 weeks, and reaching number three in the UK. It initially received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom found it overblown and pretentious, but later came to be considered one of the greatest albums of all time. The Wall was adapted into a 1982 feature film of the same name and remains one of the best-known concept albums. The album has sold more than 24 million copies, is the second best-selling in the band's catalog, and is one of the best-selling of all time. In 2000 it was voted number 30 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. In 2003, Rolling Stone listed The Wall at number 87 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

In 1985, Lucia Hwong showed a great deal of promise on her debut album House of Sleeping Beauties, which acknowledges the composer/arranger's Asian heritage but isn't traditional Asian music. Rather, this LP finds Hwong (a Chinese-American from Los Angeles) combining Asian music (Chinese and otherwise) with new age and ambient elements. Creatively, House of Sleeping Beauties was a step forward for both Asian music and new age. It demonstrates that Asian music doesn't have to live in the past, and it is more interesting and stimulating than a lot of the new age releases that came out in the mid-'80s. Much of the new age from that period was not meant to be stimulating; the whole idea was to offer calm, soothing, peaceful music that would help listeners to unplug and chill out…

Even though EMI has reissued some interesting old recordings in its "encore" series, there are some that seem to have been brought out of storage a bit past their prime and that may be disappointing because of their weak audio reproduction. Cécile Ousset's flashy readings of Franz Liszt's Sonata in B minor, S. 178, and the Paganini Studies, S. 141, date from 1984, and as one might expect, they sound like early digital recordings in their lack of presence, chilly ambience, and shallow dimensions. Something of a rarity, Ousset's animated and energetic interpretations may rescue this CD for fans who have never heard her play Liszt before; or the budget price may at least make it acceptable for others.

Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour were well advised to choose a more traditional constellation for the recordings and so, real drummers, percussionists, acoustic pianos, acoustic or semi-acoustic guitars were used, though Grusin didn't want to give up his keyboards completely. Fortunately he held back with them, and so we have to do with a relatively typical west coast jazz fusion disc from the eighties, but quite above average.
The interest for Latin influences is remarkable. Not only were compositions by Ivan Lins chosen, but on Harlequin (Arlequim Desconhecido), the opener, the composer is used as a singer, also on the song Before It's Too Late (Antes Que Seja Tarde), thus bringing him closer to the American and international audience. And he sings in his native language, Portuguese…

Supergroups have been common in the realm of hard rock for decades – some have worked wonders (Cream), while some, well, stunk (too many to mention). One of the more obscure ones to surface was the '80s outfit Phenomena, who debuted in 1985 with a self-titled release, and featured contributions from the likes of Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Don Airey (Ozzy Osbourne), and a trio of ex-Whitesnake members – Mel Galley, Neil Murray, and Cozy Powell. Those expecting tough, rip-roaring heavy metal may be a bit disappointed by the album (which features a cover shot of a young girl quite reminiscent of Linda Blair circa The Exorcist). Keep in mind – the mid-'80s was the era of polished, keyboard-heavy, melodic rock, and Phenomena fit in with the musical climate, especially on such tracks as the album-opening "Kiss of Fire" and "Still the Night." If GTR could have scored a hit or two around this time, with the right push, there's no reason why Phenomena couldn't have also.