Paul McCartney “Flowers in the Dirt”
1989’s “Flowers in the Dirt” was supported by Paul McCartney’s first tour since Wings and had a lot of press around it. It features four songs co-written with Elvis Costello. It was all there in the sticker on the cover of the album “a return to form”. All signs point towards creative rebirth. What could go wrong?
Eric Clapton “Journeyman”
Is Eric Clapton god, as Londoners of the 60s claimed? Is he the world’s greatest guitarist? Is he a good songwriter? Can he even sing? Honestly, I have no clue. Without question, though, his most underrated talent is his fashion sense. In 1989, Clapton wore tortoise shell glasses and carried himself like the love child of Sting and Indiana Jones. Shit, he looked good. And I don’t mean “cool.” I mean “good.” BMW advertisement good. 1989 was also the year Clapton released his eleventh solo album, “Journeyman.”
Van Morrison “A Sense of Wonder”
Aside from a short divorce-inspired break between 1974’s “Veedon Fleece” and 1977’s “A Period of Transition,” Van Morrison had been plowing out an album a year since 1965. But, by 1984, on “A Sense of Wonder” we find Van noodling in instrumentals, snoozing through transcendental musings, and making professional Soul songs that try to access the Mystic through the back door of a synthesizer.