Updating the NOW's-Now Yearbook 80 on vinyl

 

This is from a series that started last year by NOW, the people behind the legendary Now That's What I Call Music series of chart hits compilations started in late 1983 but who have over decades moved into genre and other themed collections taking their cue from either seasons or as recently even PRIDE with a LGBT+ themed set.

The aim of this series is to compile the hits of a year and in the four cd set versions there comes out shortly afterwards a Extra 3 cd set that mops up anything missed off.

There has been a three lp selection from each main set issued which in the main I hadn't bothered with as I do own the original Ronco or K Tel lps that came out as much as Mr Hifi Bore goes on about thin sound and edited versions I keep for songs I don't have and just want a reminder of what they sound like having good single artist records and cds of anything I was really partial too.

There wasn't as far as I cam remember way back then a year compilation that at least was attempted with Super '81 Vol 1 & 2 and a similar set in 1982 on Ronco which did use full length versions which sounded pretty good  and after that we had the NOW lps plus from 1984 the HITS ones which take care of matters on record.

Given the lack of a vinyl 1980 hit set, I did relent and buy the 47 track lp version which comes on three silver coloured vinyl slabs not least cos I could get this for Thirty Pounds delivered which at just under a tenner per disc is close to what we paid around 1989/90 for a new single lp and arguably today is more affordable than back then.

 

Music in 1980 on the chart was a lot more varied than today (we'll side step any talk about the quality) and this set truncated of necessity on lp shows this mixing in things like disco based material such as Funky Town by Lipps Inc and the hard to forget Dance Yourself Dizzy  by the Liquid Gold with classy soul and funk such as Upside Down by the brilliant Diana Ross, Celebration by Kool and The Gang and With You I'm Born Again with other sounds.

Reggae and Ska are well represented with Baggy Trousers, Too Much Too Soon with evergreen pop such as The Winner Takes It All, Don't Stand So Close To Me and Brass In Pocket and Rock with Emotional Rescue and All Night Long.

The year brought in the synthesizer based sounds that were to dominate the next two years with such gems as I Die You Die by Gary Numan, and To Cut A Long Story Short plus the start of Ant Mania with Dog Eat Dog and gems like Blondie's Atomic and Geno by Dexy's Midnight Runners.

Strangely no edition has anything by Cliff Richard who had been "on fire" for a few years with great pop songs such as Carrie.

The year as some of us sadly recall only too well ended with John Lennon's death and his current hit of that time (Just Like) Starting Over for Geffen Records is rightly included. 

Given the current controversy over sources on vinyl releases these I am confident were from digital copies as trying to pull 47 tracks from original tape sources would be expensive apart from some labels just point blank refusing to let them out of their storage and the vinyl is not 180 gram (but that imho is just unnecessary owning many excellent sounding originals on thinner vinyl).

The only thing that matters is how it sounds.

Is this set worth it?

If holding the past in your hand together with your other favourite compilations you bought on vinyl, reliving the excitement you had back then plonking the stylus down, playing records then I'd say it is.