Critics Roundup 1979

It took ex-Flamin’ Groovies vocalist Roy Loney to instill unabashed exuberance into the year’s vinyl biscuits, mixing voodoo, rhythm, humour, sex, and rock’n’roll in pure and equal measures. Inexplicably, a major label failed to pick up ‘Out After Dark’; it remains an indie import.

Ry Cooder’s ‘Bop Till You Drop’ featured the finest single recordings of 1979 in the sublime ‘I Can’t Win’, where backing vocalists Herman Johnson and Bobby King stepped out to unleash truly timeless, gospel-steeped soul.

Only Linton K. Johnson rivalled it, through the eloquent understatement of his conscience-chilling poetry, underpinned by taut, sensual reggae.

‘Drums And Wires’ marked further development for the ever-brilliant XTC, with Colin Moulding’s growth as a vocalist/lyricist, and the relentless quirkiness of Andy Partridge’s own internal world. Far less immediate sounding than its predecessors and lacking a truly classic single, the rewards of ‘Drums And Wires’ require repeated listenings before manifesting themselves. Ironically, it yielded up XTC’s first major chart hit.

And then there was Dusty Springfield, whose magnificent string of sixties hit singles were anthologised by Philips onto what may well be the year’s finest album. At the very least it thoroughly overshadowed the efforts of her current come-back campaign.