1992, The Year in Review, P5

Just a few albums wrap up my 1992 Year in Review playlist. Let’s get to them.

Other Notable Albums of 1992

As always, you can jump to the playlist at the bottom of each post to listen while you read.

Within each tier (Top 6, Next 6, etc.), all albums are listed roughly chronologically (all release dates from Wikipedia, unless otherwise noted). Note: Entries for this post may have been written alongside the Artist Spotlight posts for the respective artists and might therefore contain some similar material.

Lou Reed
Magic and Loss

Released 1992/01/14

Yes, I know it’s not consistent. There are a few songs that drag, and Lou Reed’s musings on death and disease are sometimes more direct than insightful (a lyrical tendency throughout his career). But he connects enough of the time to make Magic and Loss worth many listens.

Singer Little Jimmy Scott contributes beautifully on “Power and Glory,” his angelic voice forming a compelling contrast to Reed’s gruff mutterings as they voice the same lines about what they want out of life: “I wanted all of it / Not just some of it.” Elsewhere, flowing and swelling orchestral synthesizer chords give “Sword of Damocles” a hypnotic urgency as Reed recounts the paradox of chemotherapy, poisoning oneself to live. “Dreamin’” explores similar territory, in a quieter vein. The morbid spoken word piece “Harry’s Circumcision” enjoys its own grotesque irony, and so do I.

Reed seemed to be enjoying a genuine rebirth at the time, after New York (1989) and his Warhol tribute collaboration with John Cale. Magic and Loss continues the streak.

Listen to more Lou Reed.

Arrested Development
3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of…

Released 1992/03/24

Arrested Development’s 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of… was highly revered by many critics when it came out and now seems to have been largely forgotten; its true value, of course, lies somewhere in between.

Back in the day, I loved the hit “Tennessee” and picked the album up. I found it relatively weak past the that one brilliant track. Listening now, I mostly agree with my initial assessment. Still, an album (like anything or anyone else) should be appreciated for its strengths, loved (if it’s loved at all) despite its flaws. And there’s at least a good album-side or so of intriguing material here. Presenting himself as a wholesome alternative to the bevy of gangsta rappers dominating the scene, rapper Speech tackles such socially conscious topics as motherhood, homelessness, loss of family members, marriage, and spirituality.

Lead single “Tennessee,” written after the death of Speech’s grandmother and older brother, is brilliant, lyrically and musically, showing one man’s spiritual soul-searching in the face of adversity, with an ensemble musical cast masterfully trading the limelight back and forth, creating a genuine sensation of community.

On the other hand, follow-up single “People Everyday” is a real drag. The lyrics’ message is good, sure: Just say no to gangstas. But Lord knows how this song reached the top 10 with no discernable hook or melody or charisma aside from what they borrowed from Sly Stone. (Granted, the source material is great.)

Thankfully, “Mr. Wendal” is super-catchy. But it makes me want to listen to De La Soul’s “Eye Know” just as often as press repeat. Who knew completely different samples from the same song (again, Sly Stone)—one a vocal wail, the other a drum riff—could render the two different songs that use them so similar? Regardless, the song is hard not to like. Ditto for a handful of other solid offerings here. 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of… may not have sparked the musical revolution some critics felt it would, but its strengths are plenty.

Cesária Évora
Miss Perfumado

Released 1992/06

After a lifetime of poverty and struggle, Cape Verdean morna singer Cesária Évora scored a well-deserved success with Miss Perfumado. Her lush, beautiful voice is an enchanting experience, and a better variety of tempos and moods makes Miss Perfumado a more compelling listen than her previous effort, the quite fine Mar Azul (1991). Mournful and captivating, Évora is not to be missed.

Prince & The New Power Generation
O(+> [“Love Symbol” album]

Released 1992/10/13

Before there was Slim Shady, there was “My Name is Prince.” And Prince was funky. More, he was one sexy motherfucker.

Prince’s most essential material all came out in the ‘80s. But this album—given a symbol as its title, often known as the Love Symbol album—proved that Prince still knew how to throw down a tasty jam.

However, …

Concept albums are a tricky thing. Sometimes the challenge of sticking to a story leads an artist to venture into unforeseen, intriguing territory; other times that challenge leads to God-awful story-connectors like the bad-Queen-on-a-worse-day “3 Chains o’ Gold.”

And even an ‘80s holdout like Prince falls victim to the early-’90s trend of overlong albums, it seems. Here’s a condensed, LP-length version:

• Side One: My Name Is Prince, Sexy M.F., Love 2 the 9’s, The Morning Papers.
• Side Two: The Max, Blue Light, I Wanna Melt with U, Arrogance, The Flow, 7.

Heck, in shortened form, this album almost rivals those from his peak. Feel free to add “The Continental” and “The Sacrifice of Victor” as CD bonus tracks (inserted in their original sequence).

Listen to more Prince.

Here’s the 1992: The Year in Review playlist for you—three tracks per album.

I’ve been building the playlist as I go, adding to it as I completed different tiers of commentary. With this last installment, the playlist is now complete.

Enjoy!

More 1992, The Year in Review

More Years in Review of the 1990s…

Cover Art Citations:

• Magic and Loss: By The cover art can be obtained from Sire Records., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5482892
• 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of…: By Derived from a digital capture (photo/scan) of the album cover (creator of this digital version is irrelevant as the copyright in all equivalent images is still held by the same party). Copyright held by the record company or the artist. Claimed as fair use regardless., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=197098
• Miss Perfumado: Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11694643
• O(+> [“Love Symbol album”]: By users collection, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21050242