Couldn’t express my love for Spirit of Eden in one tweet and I didn’t want to indulge in a prolonged thread about what this masterpiece means to me. No album has reached or searched my soul so deeply. Hopefully the words on the next 3 images can explain how. #5albums80s2

#5DebutAlbumsSF3 I had Small Talk at 125th and Lenox down as Scott-Heron’s debut so I didn’t vote Pieces of a Man first time round. I’ll sure as hell vote for this powerfully soulful masterpiece this time.

1. Reggatta De Blanc 2. Driven To Tears 3. Bring On The Night 4. Next To You (Live in Boston) 5. Deathwish 6. Voices Inside My Head 7. The Bed’s Too Big Without You 8. Invisible Sun 9. Fall Out (Live in Boston) 10. Masoko Tanga

1. Both Ends Burning 2. In Every Dream Home a Heartache 3. Out of The Blue 4. If There is Something 5. Oh Yeah 6. Virginia Plain 7. A Song For Europe 8. Avalon 9. Grey Lagoons 10. Same Old Scene

#5DebutAlbumsSF2 If there was a F1 Constructors championship for cities represented by 2 debut artistes, Athens, Georgia would definitely be in with a shout. By some twist of fate, I discovered Murmur on the back of Out of Time (where Michael Stipe & Kate Pierson duetted).

#5DebutAlbumsSF2 Due to a pigeon knocking off my bird feeder, a rat patiently feeds off the scraps I haven’t swept up from dusk until dawn. Hasn’t impacted my enjoyment of Rattus Norvegicus though. And I thank the late great Keith Floyd for introducing me to the sublime Peaches.

#5DebutAlbumsSF2 Foxbase Alpha includes an extract from the film The Reckoning at the beginning of Nothing Can Stop Us. The last line of that particular film is ‘if I can get away with that I can get away with anything’. And I for one am glad that Saint Etienne did.

#5DebutAlbumsSF2 Röyksopp’s Melody A.M. is almost a perfect album. The first 7 tracks just wow, yet the album mix of Remind Me underwhelms compared to the single mix. And the last 2 tracks just tail off somewhat. Still one hell of an album though.

#5DebutAlbumsSF1 Bill Withers’s folk roots blossom through this Sussex Records debut release, a label that released his strongest material. When Withers joined CBS, Withers lost some of that spirit that made his earlier stuff so captivating. Just As I Am was Just As He Was.

#5DebutAlbumsSF1 David Berman supposedly toiled over Purple Mountains in a way that would make the meticulous Donald Fagen blush. But that toil produced the deeply moving Snow is Falling in Manhattan. I’d say it was totally worth it, but Berman’s passing might suggest otherwise.

#5DebutAlbumsSF1 Pain in My Heart’s highlights are Otis’s self-penned songs. Covering Sam Cooke’s songs was a tall order back when Cooke was alive. But Otis would eventually make Shake and A Change is Gonna Come his own later on. Both he and Cooke were lost way too soon.

#5DebutAlbums2026 Zeonpasa were unknown to me until recently, but given my interest in Korean culture I had to delve into their debut. Wikipedia refers to them as a Progressive Rock band but Psyche of Eons is way too raucous to be saddled with that label. Raucous & impressive.

#5debutalbums2026 If Jetstream Pony were a wine, I would detect hints of The House of Love, Pixies and perhaps a smidgeon of Saint Etienne. Either way, it’s distracted me from today’s searing heat. And that’s no mean feat.

#5DebutAlbums9599 The cover for England Made Me is perhaps ironic given that it was arguably Wales that made Adrian Street. Posing with his miner dad, Street was possibly the David Bowie of wrestling. Gave Savile a good going over too. As for the album itself? Pleasant enough.

#5DebutAlbums9599 I was put off listening to Relish for years as One Of Us was played to death on the radio station of choice at my workplace. My loss, as Joan Osborne’s easy going soulful style oozes through every track. Hell, it was good enough for Prince at the time.

#5DebutAlbums9599 Mark Hollis shook off the shackles of his pop past save for naming his 1st track after Talk Talk’s last foray into pop. Here, the instruments are discreet, allowing Hollis’s voice to dictate. A debut that turned out to be a swan song. And a thing of beauty.

#5DebutAlbums9599 Medicine 4 My Pain saw Lynden David Hall’s composure & maturity ooze through every track. The acoustic Do Angels Cry is a particular highlight. Hall’s passing at the tender age of 31 was without fanfare, but not without a legacy thanks to this impressive debut.

#5DebutAlbums9599 During a period when Drum & Bass hit the mainstream, Photek’s Modus Operandi was the most complex and intriguing debut from that genre for my money. One of my better 2nd hand purchases back in the day.

#5debutalbums7579 The Slits added a touch of funk to go with their punk. Add the unique vocal stylings of Ari Up and you’ve got an extraordinary debut. An added bonus is one of my favourite Motown covers with I Heard It Through The Grapevine. As breathtaking as their LP cover 😮

#5debutalbums7579 The Crack delivered a punk anthem in Babylon’s Burning and a varied collection of songs that suggested that The Ruts could have survived punk’s implosion. Sadly, with Malcolm Owen’s passing we never got to find out.

#5debutalbums7579 A noteworthy entry for a few things I discovered recently. Ride Like The Wind was dedicated to Lowell George and Christopher Cross was born in San Antonio. Then there’s this clip. Which creases me up for reasons I can’t quite fathom. youtu.be/BKw6jZV0vag