American Songwriter has put forward four albums from the 1980s by major artists that it argues have been unfairly overlooked, despite being made by musicians already established as icons in earlier decades. The piece pushes back on the common view that many 1960s and 1970s stars struggled creatively once they hit the 80s, arguing several of these releases actually hold up well but suffered from poor timing, reputational baggage or unfair comparisons to earlier work.

The four albums highlighted are Paul McCartney's experimental, synth-driven "McCartney II" (1980); The Rolling Stones' "Emotional Rescue" (1980), shaped by tension between Mick Jagger's pop instincts and Keith Richards' bluesier leanings; Paul Simon's "Hearts And Bones" (1983), originally intended as an Art Garfunkel reunion album before Simon turned it solo; and Bob Dylan's divisive, MTV-era-styled "Empire Burlesque" (1985). Each is praised for containing standout songs that the article says rank among the artists' best, despite the albums' mixed reputations at release.