In this episode of Thirty Years On…

She’s Having a Baby soundtrack, released 2 February. John Hughes once again shines with a brilliant mix for his movie about growing up and realizing you need to be an adult, even and especially when you don’t want to be one. Side one features the men (Dave Wakeling, XTC, Love and Rockets), and Side two features the women (Kate Bush, Kirsty MacColl, Everything But the Girl). It’s a solid mix and still one of my favorite soundtracks of his.

The Cure, “Hot Hot Hot!!!” single, released 9 February. The last single from 1987’s sugary, upbeat Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me album, it features the lighter, sillier side of the Cure… and Robert Smith with short hair! They’d do a complete one-eighty a little over a year later with the dark and amazing Disintegration.

The Church, Starfish, released 16 February. You knew this would come eventually, right? Heh. Still, I’ll admit THIS SONG didn’t completely resonate with me right away. It was lovely and reminiscent of their reverb-drenched jangle of previous albums, and it only grew on me a month or so later when I’d hear it constantly on 120 Minutes and occasionally when MTV played it during the day. Anyway…this is their strongest and most commercially accessible album, but this was also their make-or-break album and was quite a laborious and tense recording project. On the plus side it would give them a template for their next few albums into the mid-90s, providing much airplay and sales for them, until they retreated back to their semi-psychedelic indie roots. This remains one of their best albums, highly suggested.

Morrissey, “Suedehead” single, released 27 February. Moz finally appears from the ashes of the Smiths after their acrimonious breakup months previous, with a lovely single from his forthcoming solo debut. It feels like the breeziness of the Smiths, as he’s working with their producer here (Stephen Street) and would continue to do so until the early 90s.

The Sisters of Mercy, “Dominion” single, released 29 February. The second single from the classic 1987 album Floodland (one of my favorite albums of that year), this continues his work with the always epic Jim Steinman; somehow he manages to create an intense and driven song using just three chords!

Robert Plant, Now and Zen, released 29 February. After a handful of great but meandering solo albums, Plant nails it here with a solid record full of wonderful, catchy tracks. I’ll even forgive him for that painful last line in the chorus of “Heaven Knows”…

The Fall, The Frenz Experiment, released 29 February. RIP Mark E Smith, who recently passed away at 60. This was one of their sort-of-breakthrough albums of the late 80s, which saw them finally catch on with a lot of US fans via college radio and 120 Minutes. Still confrontational, still abrasive, but always a fun listen.

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Coming up soon: Various March 1988 releases!