Those people at Now What You Call Music must be getting busy as after resuming the Now Yearbook series with the 1992 volume and regiving us Now15 they've decided to start a new 80's series.
Compilations of 12" mixes aren't exactly new and Now have given us three 80's sets in the recent past but what makes this series of value is that each set has the hit 12" mixes of one year which as with the Yearbook series I find helps get you into a year and its memories better than a random all 80's set.
Thus this fits well with your Now Yearbooks for giving you the longer more extended side of the hits of the year and in this sets case adds such unforgettable hits as D.I.S.C.O by Ottowan in it's extended for that the 1980 Yearbook left off, the delectable Taste Of Bitter Love by Gladys Knight & The Pips, Blondie's pounding Call Me and the S.O.S. band's Take Your Time (and do it right) among many others.
Overall musically speaking this draws mainly from soul, funk and disco which remained big in this year at least in the UK but brings in those early New Wave synthesizer sounds from the likes of OMD and Spandau Ballet.
1981 was one of the best years for pop music in the UK mixing, soul, funk, synth pop and reggae and that is well represented in the 1981 set from the delights of Japan's Quiet Life, the mixture of new wave and rap in Wordy Rappinghood by the Talking Heads spin off Tom Tom Club, Ottowan's Hands Up showing that in the UK at least disc wasn't dead, quality soul from the Jones Girls with Nights Over Egypt and Physical by Olivia Newton-John.
My only criticism is they've reverted to a folded card sleeve with panels packaging with no write up where this would of been better served up in the Yearbook style with a short write up on each song with pictures but overall these are a great set and series to collect if like me you did buy those 12" singles back in the day.
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