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Thursday, April 30, 2015

769. Accept / Metal Heart. 1985. 3.5/5

Accept as a band had begun to make moves into the known quantity, firstly with their album “Restless and Wild” and then with the follow up to that album “Balls to the Wall”. Their penchant for AC/DC-like rhythms and vocal stylings had begun to catch on once they pushed outside the envelope and develop their own version of this music. Those two albums had both built on that success, with songs such as “Fast as a Shark” and “Balls to the Wall” drawing new fans into those albums. That success had put them in front of bugger crowds, none more so than support Iron Maiden on their World Slavey Tour.
After five albums where their music had become stronger and more accessible with each release, the band decided to make a move that they hoped would push them into even bigger markets, in particular the US. To do so, for their new album, they hired producer Dieter Dierks to come on board and helm the album. The band had used Dierks Studio before to record albums, but until this time Dierks himself had been unavailable to produce. This was mainly due to the fact that he was almost always busy with the Scorpions, with whom he had been producer since very early in the career. With his help, Scorpions had not only traversed to the top of the charts but were conquering the US at the time on the back of their album “Love at First Sting”. With his name being mentioned as one of the reasons the Scorpions had been able to morph into such success over the previous five years, it made sense for Accept to bring him on board and look to incorporate that into their own music. And on the back of this, alongside the AC/DC influence that had been a part of their early work, Accept also now had a small but important Scorpions influence upon their work. Wolf Hoffman recalled in an interview on his website that Dierks was very demanding in the studio. "We would do some pieces several dozen times trying to capture what he had in his mind for a specific section," and adding "Each song we tried different combinations of guitars, mic'ing and even strings!”
What the band was looking for was a more commercial sounding album without losing the inbuilt qualities that they had come through their first five albums with. The challenge was to write good strong songs that had an ability to break the market wide open for them. They had at least set themselves up to give themselves the best chance of doing that.

It is no real surprise that you can hear that Scorpions influence again seeping into Accept's music, this time not necessarily from following in their fellow Germans footsteps, but in a stylistic way in the recording studio. Not hugely, and not overpoweringly, but there are nuances there to be picked up on. With the band trying to push for a change in the direction of this album to a more commercial side of metal, in order to try and crack the American market, that Scorpions sound would perhaps have been an integral factor being considered. If that is the case, it is quite minimal. They may have changed the songs styles such that the guitars do not have such crunching heavy riffs, but everything else seems to be in order.
I love how the first time my daughter, who was learning to play the piano at the time, heard the opening title track "Metal Heart" which kicks off the album, she immediately recognised the theme of "Fur Elise" in the riff and solo of the song, and made mention of it. There is also a touch of Tchaikovsky in the opening of the song. It's a nice insert, and because that tune is so recognisable it does draw in the interest of those who may not necessarily be Accept fans and at least induces them to have a listen. It is a slow creeping start, but it comes to the party by the middle of the track. "Midnight Mover" then does have a softening chorus, sounding like it is looking to be the radio song that it was released as a single for. It is really only the chorus that changes in its style for this purpose. The rest of the song is pure Accept. In this instance at least it sounds as though there was no intent to make this more commercial friendly, that this is just a progression.
In the main, the songs are probably even faster here on this album than on “Balls to the Wall”, which for most fans makes them more endearing to their heavy metal roots rather than trying to unshackle them. "Up to the Limit" shows this off perfectly, rushing along at speed with squealing guitars and Udo's distinctive vocals. This is one of the best songs on the album and really showcases the way the band has improved over the past three albums to this point. This is followed by “Wrong is Right” which carries on in the same direction. While the opening two songs on the album have their commercially crafted moments, the next two tracks are indicative of the best that Accept has to offer. Wolf Hoffmann and Jorg Fischer here trade duelling solos in Judas Preist-esque fashion, and the song is a triumph.
"Screaming for a Love-Bite" is a song where the case could be made for a change in direction. It sounds like a single from the moment the song starts, and it was subsequently released as the second single from the album, after "Midnight Mover". This is looking for a market, trying to hook in people through its repeated chorus line, and with Udo’s vocals coming back from his trademark screech and finding a melody in the chorus that doesn’t offer the same power as in previous songs. The song is okay when you listen to it in the context of the album proper, but its weakness comparatively both musically and vocally, along with the over repeated lyrics to close out the first side of the album does hold it back.
“Too High to Get it Right” opens up side two of the album, and as a song it is a solid one, the kind of track that you expect to back up the best songs on the album by being the enjoyable fill ins between them. But...the gang backing vocals repeating the track’s name over and over again is overplayed, too much to really enjoy the track as it is. Again, it’s fine but just overdone in the process. A couple of the songs here also seem to have choruses that are reminiscent of their AC/DC early album songs, looking for that anthemic quality so the listener will chant along and be all the more memorable. "Dogs on Leads" is an example of this, and while the song overall is good, in exactly the same way that the other band does, sometimes it can just grate a little too much. There is also a familiar ring of the drum and rhythm of the song “Balls to the Wall” here that is a little distracting. "Living For Tonite" also possesses that almost-anthemic quality and still is an enjoyable track. Sandwiched between them is “Teach Us to Survive” which plays off the solid rock tones of the other two songs. However, "Bound to Fail" is a great closing track and finishes off the album perfectly. Udo is in great form and the bass line from Peter Baltes suits the track perfectly. And the song leads out to its conclusion with a Queen-like guitar solo from Hoffman to finish the album in style.
“Metal Heart” has a lot to like about it. The production is slicker, the songs are strong, the musicianship is top class. Udo’s vocals, even if you aren’t a fan of his gravelly disposition, are in top form, and show an increasing variety in their tone and range.
 
I didn’t come in to Accept the band until the 2000’s. Like everyone in existence I knew “Balls to the Wall” the song and probably heard a handful of other through the years, but it wasn’t until my decision to go back and chase down artists that I hadn’t heard in the mid-2000's, especially those of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, that I began to go through their catalogue. And as I had decided to listen to them all in the order they were released, I had already discovered and enjoyed “Breaker” and “Restless and Wild” and “Balls to the Wall” by the time I came to “Metal Heart”. And having admired the progression the band was making from one album to the next, I found that this was just as enjoyable. Yes, there is a slight change in the way the songs are written and pushed compared to those three previous albums, but it too me isn’t something that jumps out at you and creates a conundrum in listening to it. There are a lot of songs here I really like. The opening four tracks are all strong and enjoyable for being a new kind of hard and heavy metal style for Accept, while the second side of the album sticks true to what came before when it comes to tempo and rhythm.
I still like this album a lot, and yet there is something that just deprives it of something that - for me at least - doesn't allow it to jump into a higher category in regards to ranking against other bands of the age. And it may well just be as simple as this fact. Because if I had discovered this album in my teenage years when it was released, it would probably be a classic to my ears. The fact that I didn't find Accept until much later means their albums don't have that starry eyed love that other albums from that era have for me, because I actually had them at the time and I have grown up with them. I didn’t grow up with this album or the others that preceded it I have only discovered them in a much more recent period, and so they didn’t get played to death at that time when I was gorging myself on the band and the albums of the era. Take me back to 1986 and hand me this album, and right now I could well be spending another 20 minutes praising its qualities. Because I think they are there. I’m just unable to put aside what I feel may be a few inadequacies that I may have blinded eyes to when it comes to other bands and albums that I did have in 1986.
I recently purchased this on CD on eBay because I didn’t own it, and I really wanted to. And it sounds awesome listening to this in the Metal Cavern. It is still a very good album, that perhaps once again has even raised itself in my esteem having heard it once again for the first time in a while. And it is true that I probably prefer the latter career albums of Accept with Mark Tornillo on vocals because they have more aggression in their music and vocals. But this for me is still a worthy listen. It is probably also true that it is the last of the four album stretch that was such a huge part of the classic era of the band.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

768. Blitzkrieg / A Time of Changes. 1985. 3.5/5

Of all of the bands that were formed or pulled along in the wake of the rise of the NWOBHM in the early 1980’s, and then promptly turned to dust once that movement had run its course and the reality of the music business was born upon them, one of the least likely stories of ultimate longevity despite their rocky start is the band Blitzkrieg. The story of their slight rise, then abolition, only to find a way to crawl back into the light and succeed in finally releasing a debut album that no one thought would ever see the light of day, is a story and journey and hardship and triumph for band leader and lead vocalist Brian Ross. And like so many bands of this era, their path to resurrection can be almost singularly attributed to the support of one band. Metallica.
Ross first founded the band Blitzkrieg at the end of 1980, when he joined another band by the name of Split Image. Almost from the outset, Ross went about convincing the other band members - guitarists Jim Sirotto and Ian Jones, bassist Steve English, and drummer Steve Abbey - to ramp up their music and head in a more metallic direction, one that had gained a foothold over the past 18 months in the UK. Within weeks of this decision, the newly christened Blitzkrieg had already recorded a three-song demo tape that instantly attracted the attention of independent label Neat Records, who immediately included the track "Inferno" in their ‘Lead Weight’ titled compilation album. A deal was simultaneously struck for the release of a single containing the remaining two tracks, and the result was 1981's "Buried Alive," whose B-side - a rather loose reworking of the song "Hocus Pocus" by the band Focus, and go ahead and listen to the two songs together, you’ll hear that riff in both - would both bear their name “Blitzkrieg” and ultimately guarantee their lasting legacy. The single was a huge success, and by early 1981 Blitzkrieg had written enough new material to consider going into the studio and recording an album. Unfortunately there was already fractures beginning to appear in the band. Both Jones and English were soon shown the door, to be replaced by John Antcliffe and Mick Moore respectively. A second demo, the six-song “Blitzed Alive”, was recorded at a gig where they were supporting French band Trust, a demo that they hoped would help pave the way to recording their debut studio album. The trouble within the band could not be solved, and they soon dissolved without being able to take advantage of the popularity they had been able to create in their short time together. And that should have been the end of the short lived career of Blitzkrieg.
Then in 1984, Metallica released the first single from their sophomore album “Ride the Lightning” called “Creeping Death”. On the B-side of this single, they recorded two cover songs from their favourite bands of the NWOBHM age. The first was “Am I Evil?” a cover of the song by the band Diamond Head. The second was a cover of the song “Blitzkrieg”, which itself had been the B-side to Blitzkrieg’s only single release. Was it a coincidence, or a piece of very good fortune, that around this same time, Brian Ross had decided to reform Blitzkrieg and have a real shot at a second redemption? Legend has it that a very young and then unsigned Metallica had actually sent Ross a demo tape in the hope of being signed with Neat Records as he was doing some work for them at the time. Could this have been a quid-pro-quo? No matter what, Ross had been playing in other high-profile bands since Blitzkrieg’s demise, bands such as Satan, Avenger and Lone Wolf, and now had decided to try again with Blitzkrieg. Jim Sirotto and Mick Moore returned, while guitarist Mick Proctor who had been in Tygers of Pan Tang and drummer Sean Taylor who had been in Satan and Raven, came on board to complete the line up. Ross had had a standing invitation from Neat Records that if he could get a band together that they would release and album from the band. The majority of the material was still there waiting to be recorded, and so the newly reformed band entered the studio to record the album that should have been done four years earlier, and would be released in April of 1985 under the name of “A Time of Changes”.

The album opens with the moody and scene setting instrumental of “Ragnarok”, a nice interlude to lull you into the opening proper. It almost reminds of an 80’s version of the them music to the movie “Halloween” but obviously not as spooky or compelling, but fun all the same, before segueing into the opening track which comes with the band’s first demoed song “Inferno” that was included on the compilation album back in 1981. The solid rhythm holds the song together throughout, and there are moments when the song really comes to life. Ross’s vocals appear to be a little too far back into the mix compared to the original demo made by the band, and less energetic as well. Is that four years really such a period of time to affect this? In this regard, you need to compare it to the following track as well, as the song “Blitzkrieg” was also on that original demo tape. While the version of this song does appear closer in kind to the demo version, both re-recorded versions for this album appear less exacting and less energetic and real than those demos. It is the best example of how different this album may have been if it had been recorded back in 1981 when the band was really cooking, rather than four years later with a bits and pieces reformation of the band pretty much going into the studio cold to provide the versions for the album in this era. Both songs here are still really good and certainly I enjoy them, but the compromise of comparison does create a false reality in some places.
“Pull the Trigger” is in fact a song by Ross’s previous band Satan that he went to after the dissolution of Blitzkrieg. It is written by Stan guitarist Russ Tippins, who makes a guest appearance on this track. It didn’t feature on Satan’s debut album “Court in the Act” and thus gets a run here instead. This again is a mixture of some very good stuff, notably the guitar solo with Tippins involved, and some average parts. Again the rhythm is solid and steady, Mick Moore’s bass line outshines the rhythm guitar on this song, but the soling is excellent. This is followed by the other previously available song "Armageddon" from the “Blitzed Alive” demo. It goes through about three different time changes throughout the song. At one point it sounds like Ross wants to be Rob Halford and the song wants to be Judas Priest. Similarities end very quickly, but it is still one of their best songs here, a solid rhythm guitar riff giving Ros that ability to riff his vocals off it in a more favourable way than he perhaps has done on the earlier songs of the album. Moore’s basslines again show some great versatility. Both “Pull the Trigger” and “Armageddon” may have been improved by cutting the length of the tracks rather than driving out beyond the five minute mark, but in the case of “Armageddon” that desire to treat the listener to a progressive like track with all of the trimmings fills out the time well enough.
Side 2 of the album opens up with “Hell to Pay”, which utilises dubbed live crowd noise from a Queen concert, ala Dio's "King of Rock and Roll", to give it a faux live sound. The band really ups the tempo again, with the fast paced 2/4 timing and anthemic chorus and great guitar solos making this one of the best songs on the album. If there is one thing that the “Blitzed Alive” demo showed is that Blitzkrieg was an excellent live band back at the beginning of their career, and the way they structure this track actually proves that point again. "Vikings" acts as the power ballad of the album, perhaps more progressively than that as it does move from the quiet and moody into a stronger finish than a typical hair metal ballad would take. This is followed by the lengthy "A Time of Changes", one that again seems to crush three different songs into one, such are the changes in the flow of the song. I guess the title does somewhat give that away. It acts as a progressive attempt at mainstream metal like “Armageddon”, with the billowing changes in tempo and style trying to replicate a style that had been popular back when the band was first active. The album concludes with "Saviour" in a cacophony of crashing drums of squealing guitars. There is little doubt that this is the style of song that the band should have concentrated more heavily on. The tempo is back up at the right level, the energy output is fantastic, and the vocals and guitars combine to bring the album back to life in perfect style. It is a great way to finish the album, but also makes you wonder why there wasn’t more material like this before it.

I went down a rabbit hole just over two decades ago as I sit here recording this episode. I had come to a kind of ‘end of the line’ situation. Most of the bands that I had listened to for most of the previous two decades seemed to have run out of ideas with their music. And I was starved for variety. I was really looking for more than I had. So I utilised the internet, and I began to search far and wide for those albums and bands that I had heard of in the past, but had either never heard or could hardly find. And the bands of the NWOBHM were at the top of my list. And I found a lot of them. I made a list, and kept adding to it as I searched. And through various sources I was able to track down new listening for my waning attention span. One of those bands was Blitzkrieg. Yep, like you, I knew them from that Metallica single. Hell, the bands I was in with my mates in my late teens and early twenties used to PLAY “Blitzkrieg” the song. We loved it. And so, having researched the history of the band and then tracked down albums one by one, I got to finally find out more about them than just the fact that Metallica liked at least that original demo tape.
When I first got this album and listened to it quite a bit, I guess I get from it what most people have, and what you may also believe. For a start, the album was five years too late. It sounds like it was recorded in 1980, and of course the songs were all written a year after that, so they were already from that era. The chance for this album to lead to something more had already passed, because they sounded like another era. Compare the sound of these songs to the debut Iron Maiden and Def Leppard albums album. Yeah okay, there are some similarities there. But by the time this was released, Maiden had released “Powerslave” and Leppard had released “Pyromania”. THAT was where those bands had progressed to in that short space of time. By releasing this album at that time, Blitzkrieg were a long way behind the eight ball.
Away from all of those comparisons, this album just doesn’t quite match up to the era. And as I have mentioned, I was discovering this album already 20 years after it had been released. At that same time I was also discovering Venom’s “Welcome to Hell” and “Black Metal”, Holocaust’s “The Nightcomers” and Killing Joke’s debut album. They all shared similar aspects to their writing and recording. And each of them has some short fallings. And this wasn’t the only band that missed its shot at the time, and then recorded a debut later on far beyond when it should have come out. Sweet Savage’s “Killing Time” is another prime example. Add to this the problem that the new and improved versions of their songs, while still good versions here on this album, couldn't match the original versions that appeared on their demo tapes from the 1981 era.
Having had my CD copy of this album on again this week, I can report that it hasn’t been unpleasant. I still enjoy a lot of this album, even if there is always this nagging doubt in the back of my mind, wondering just what could have been done with this material with some updating and tweaking around the place. Brian Ross’s vocals stray at times, and while the guitars sound really good in sections, when tied to the rhythm they seem to not mix in well at all. Perhaps I’m being petty. Perhaps I am looking for something that isn’t there. To be fair, given that this band, which is still going, has had some 40 different people play in it over the years, perhaps the band is still searching for some of those things too.
In retrospect from the modern day looking back on an era that was just slightly before my time as a music lover and headbanger, I can still get the best out of this, but it is obvious that a trick was missed when the four years passed between the prime time for release and the actual time of release.
I have probably always wanted this to be more than it is, based solely on the first song I ever heard from the band all those years ago. I have no reservations in listening to this album still today, there are some great moments on it. And not everything can be a great album, can it? Sometimes you have to settle for something just being a reasonable album.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

767. Metallica / 1983-03-05: The Stone, San Francisco, CA, USA [Cliff's 1st Show] [Bootleg]. 5/5

The availability of, and ability to track down, bootleg recordings of bands in recent years has increased remarkably with the advent of the internet and other various modes of recording and distributing such albums. Nowadays practically every concert played is recorded by someone, and the sharing becomes more widespread.
There are some real gems that can crop up from days past, ones that still hold up years later, ones that have recorded a piece of history. Some of these pieces of history can also be pieces of crap, depending on the quality of the recording, or the quality of the performance involved. This bootleg has the best of both, which is fortunate, as it marks a big moment in the history of Metallica. The band had just parted ways with original bass guitarist Ron McGovney, and had found a new guy named Cliff Burton to take his place. His first show with the band was on 5th March 1983 at The Stone in San Francisco, and the band had brought in their open air reel-to-reel to record the show. From that came this bootleg.

This really is a superb bootleg. It is raw, and it captures the band in their ultimate rawness. It's interesting to hear the vocals especially. They aren't note-perfect, which to be honest is refreshing given they were yet to release a studio album. You can hear early indications as to why James's voice eventually blew out, even from this point in time. Dave Mustaine takes the lead on the opening tracks "The Mechanix" and "Phantom Lord", both of which he helped to compose, before handing over lead vocal duties to James. The setlist is terrific, and the band doesn't sound all that different from the one that eventually led to the studio. Filling out the set came the band's three favourite cover songs, "Am I Evil" (with Mustaine's guitar cutting in and out during the solo) and "Blitzkrieg", both of which eventually made the B side of the single for Creeping Death, and "The Prince". Here you can also hear for the first time Cliff Burton's bass solo, which on the album was entitled "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth". What an amazing sound he gets out of that bass guitar, and it's just amazing to hear it here for the first time with this band.

This show was just two months before the band entered the studio to record their debut album Kill 'Em All. Everything that ended up on that album appears here in their live setting, except for "Hit the Lights", and of course the re-working and re-naming of "The Mechanix" to become "The Four Horsemen". It was also just one month before the sacking of Dave Mustaine as lead guitarist, and the hiring of Kirk Hammett as his replacement. As such, it is one of the few bootlegs around that has this quartet performing. Have a listen to this, and then pull out Kill 'Em All and notice the differences. Apart from Kirk's solo's, there really isn't that much!

Rating:  Whoever thought she'd be better, at turning a screw than me.  5/5


Listen to the complete show here!

Monday, April 27, 2015

766. Alice Cooper / Welcome to My Nightmare. 1975. 4.5/5

The Alice Cooper band had had a great and growing success through the first half of the 1970’s decade, releasing seven studio albums in total over a period of just four years. The huge international success in particular of albums such as “Killer”, “School’s Out” and “Billion Dollar Babies”, as well as the shock horror value of the band's antics on stage during live shows, had given the Alice Cooper Band a reputation that might have sent conservative folks into a tizzy but had drawn in fans of a younger generation in droves.
By 1974, the band’s seventh album “Muscle of Love” had not matched the top-charting success of its predecessor “Billion Dollar Babies”, and while there had been tension at times within the band over the years, that tension now seemed to be evolving into constant disagreements. For various reasons, the members agreed to take what was expected to be a temporary hiatus, and the original Alice Cooper Band played their final show on the ‘Muscle of Love’ tour on April 8, 1974. "Everyone decided they needed a rest from one another", said manager Shep Gordon at the time. "A lot of pressure had built up, but it's nothing that can't be dealt with. Everybody still gets together and talks."
The fact that the band never reformed following this hiatus has several different explanations depending on who you talked to, though they all seem to align once they have been heard. Neal Smith has said in interviews since that the members wanted to take a year off to slow down and possibly do solo projects, and just never reunited. Alice Cooper himself, Vincent Furnier, claimed there was disagreement over how much money they should sink back into stage shows, which had become costly. Michael Bruce contended over time that Glen Buxton's issues with substance abuse, which at one time led him to pull a switchblade on the band's tour manager, likely hastened the breakup. The group’s breakup was made public in 1975, well after the release of “Welcome to My Nightmare”.
After the group had agreed to a sojourn, Alice had pushed forward to record a solo album. To avoid legal complications over ownership of the group name, Alice Cooper had by then become Vincent Furnier's new legal name. When asked about the prospect of moving forward under the name Alice Cooper as a solo entity rather than as a band, Alice had said "It got very basically down to the fact that we had drawn as much as we could out of each other. After ten years, we got pretty dry together." Manager Shep Gordon added, "What had started in a sense as a pipe-dream became an overwhelming burden."
Cooper intended the music on this new project to be more theatrical than the previous glam rock focused records. Shep Gordon had a clause in his contract that allowed the members of the Alice Cooper Band, should they wish, to do a soundtrack album for a different label other than Warner Brothers who they were contracted to. As a result, Shep Gordon and Alice Cooper went to Atlantic Records, a sister label to Warner Brothers, to begin work on the album.
The pulling together of the pieces for the writing and recording of the album came from shared acquaintances. Alice hired Bob Ezrin, who had produced the previous four Alice Cooper Band album, to collaborate and produce his new album. Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter, who had both contributed guitars to the “Billion Dollar Babies” album, were also drafted in. All three of these men had most recently been a part of Lou Reed’s album “Berlin” and had toured on that album alongside Prakash John on bass guitar and Pentti Glan on drums, who were also brought in to play on Alice’s new venture.
With the band in place, and with Ezrin and Wagner both helping to co-write the majority of the tracks with Alice, the stage was set – metaphorically speaking – for the album that would jump start a solo career that, fifty years after the release of this album, is still one of the most famous in music history. And the album that started it was “Welcome to My Nightmare”.
Because of the clause in the contract that stated specifically that members of almost-defunct Alice Cooper Band could do a soundtrack album for another label, it meant that the album had to be written as though it was the soundtrack to a movie or tv programme that was about to be produced. To create this album, Cooper and Ezrin decided that it would have to be a concept album, with a story involved that was a believable plot to create such a programme. The idea that they finally hit upon was about a boy named Steven, and the album would tell the story of his recurring nightmares, what they foreshadowed and how he dealt with them. And this is what they did. The end result did in fact eventuate into a TV called “Alice Cooper: The Nightmares”. In the TV special, Alice Cooper stars as Steven who is trapped in a nightmare he can't wake up from and tries to escape. Vincent Price also appears throughout the special, starring as the "Spirit of the Nightmare". The 66 minute long special included the “Welcome to My Nightmare” album played in full. But while the concept was necessary to have the album come to fruition, there is no need to know the storyline when listening to the album to enjoy it. Indeed, the songs hold their own without any need to question what the story being told is.

It opens with the terrific title track "Welcome to My Nightmare", a great creeping beginning which then explodes into action with wonderful menace from Alice. He runs the gamut of expressions and emotions through this first track, setting up the songs that are to follow. His low voice through the opening minute of the track is wonderful in augmenting the spookiness of the start. I never get tired of listening to this, and the additions of the horns through the song just enhances everything about it. It is a magnificent opening to the album, one that sets the scene for the album and the story that is to follow. "Devil's Food" is a great follow up, talking about the scary creature in Steven’s dream that scares him to the point of tears, which then as sung in the lyrics “I kiss the tears off from your chest, I felt the poison fright that's in your breath, I knew your precious life and I know your death, I squeeze the love out of your soul, All the perfect love that's in your soul, You're just another spirit on parole”. This is then followed by a terrific monologue from the master fright and horror, Vincent Price, all about setting the scene for the next track and monster of the show, “The Black Widow”. This is a perfectly creepy song, enhanced by Alice’s vocal throughout that sets up the scene wonderfully well. The lines as such fun and exacting, with “Our thoughts are hot and crazed, Our brains are webbed in haze, Of mindless senseless daze, The Black Widow, These things he says are true, We're all humanary stew, If we don't pledge allegiance to, The Black Widow”. Creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky, as was once sung as the theme song to a different TV show.
"Some Folks" is of a different variety than these opening songs, and actually does a great job of changing the mood and tempo of the album and story, with the old western saloon bar piano and the horns section dominating the song. And then comes what is arguably the piece de resistance of the album, and the song that probably gave Alice the impetus to create his own solo career away from the Alice Cooper Band. "Only Women Bleed" is a powerful and emotional song that deals with the issue of domestic violence and the suffering that women endure in abusive relationships. Despite its sensitive and dark subject matter, it reflects the physical and emotional pain that women experience, while also emphasizing their strength and resilience. The song itself builds in intensity to perfectly emphasise the lyrics Alice is singing at the time, before falling back into the gentle and emotional musical piece when coming to the fore with its empathetic portrayal of a difficult topic. It is one of Cooper's most successful ballads and arguably his greatest ever song. It is still an amazing performance.
And then what kicks off Side 2? Well, just one of Alice Cooper’s most brilliant and popular songs, the youth anthem "Department of Youth". It has been a song that the young and the young at heart have loved since this album was released, and continues to be as influential and popular as ever. And yes, it seems rather superfluous and perhaps ludicrous that whenever this song comes on, I still sing along at the top of my voice, along with Alice's spoken words towards the end of the song as it fades away. Though I assume the mention of Donny Osmond goes over a lot of kids heads in this day and age. Yes, my youth has left me a long time ago, but this song still stays close to my heart. And, I would assume, to all of Alice Cooper’s fans of many many generations. Following this comes “Cold Ethyl”, the next of Steven’s nightmares, and with lines like “One thing, no lie, Ethyl's frigid as an Eskimo Pie, She's cool in bed, And she ought to be...'cause Ethyl's dead” are still great to sing along to. It’s another excellently composed track musically, combining well with the anthemic qualities of the previous song.
The album turns a corner here, firstly with the retreating child like personality Steven feels he has fallen into in “Years Ago”, before the setup leads into the very rock opera slash musical styled “Steven”, which contains all of the angst, fright and confusion within the scale of the song that you would imagine the character would be suffering from in going through this trial by nightmare. Alice and Bob Ezrin have done a magnificent job in crafting this track, and it is one that always plays well when performed on stage. The lines from Steven and the ones he hears, those being “You've only lived a minute of your life, I must be dreaming, please stop screaming, Steven... Is someone calling me? No... Steven... I think I hear a voice--- it's outside the door! Steven! I hear my name!” are performed to perfection, and far better than I have uttered here. “The Awakening” is another quiet interlude that reveals what happens as Steven finally wakes up from his nightmares, and into the concluding track “Escape”, a reasonable track that lacks the intensity and drama of what has come before it, and though a conclusion to the story as such, lacks the punch that the end of the album deserved. It was actually written by another band, the Hollywood Stars, and Alice adapted it to be the concluding song here.

Those who have followed my story through three and a half years of my previous podcast Music from a Lifetime will know my journey with Alice Cooper, both individually and the band. Having discovered and loved him from the mid-80's albums that marked his return to the industry, “Constrictor” and “Raise Your Fist and Yell”, I tried to find his other albums the best way I could to hear everything he had done. This album was the third of his albums I knew, because my mate who eventually became my brother-in-law, Peter, was a big fan of the album and owned it on vinyl and was the one I borrowed it off to tape my own copy onto cassette.
I am still amazed at this album, even listening to it a lot over the last week for this podcast episode. It still has the power that it must have glowed with on its release fifty years ago this week. That opening with the title track, Vincent Price and his interlude in “Devil’s Food”, “The Black Widow” and Alice’s snarling, the just amazing “Only Women Bleed” and “Department of Youth”, Further frightening clauses in “Cold Ethyl” and then that crashing mental anguish of “Steven”. It is just superb.
If I was going to be harsh in judgement, the end of the album doesn't quite maintain the excellence of the first two thirds of the album. Sure, those closing passages of “Years Ago”, “The Awakening” and “Escape” are a part of the story and therefore concept, but they are the songs I would include in those that are there for the album, but don't really hold up individually as well. Songs such as "Years Ago" and "Escape" are those that I especially feel sit in this category. "Steven" holds its own magnificently, with Alice again giving an amazing performance here, backed up by excellently written music that helps Alice convey every emotion felt through the lyrics. "The Awakening" would have been a better way to end the album in my opinion, allowing Steven to awake to blood on his hands and the song and album quietly coming to a close but "Escape" is what was chosen, and it just doesn't feel right, changing the whole tempo of the conclusion. I understand why it is this way, to represent the fact that Steven has escaped his nightmares by waking up and feeling lighter and happier because of it and looking to the future, but it changes the feel of the album for me by doing so. The fact that the song came from another band and that Alice adapted it here is a strange choice. It's not a huge deal from my perspective, but it has always been something that bugs me a little.
So I have had this on a consistent rotation again for the last week. It is still a great album. I bought a second-hand vinyl copy about 12 months ago where the true deeper sounds come out wonderfully, its just that it jumps a bit too often. A good clean will hopefully solve that a little, because it sounds better in that element than from CD or streaming.
This has been one of my favourite Alice Cooper albums since I first discovered the man/band, and it has four or five songs here that rank up alongside his best. While it may not be perfect, and may not be to everyone's taste, it is the kind of album that everyone should listen to at least once in their lifetime, for the interesting story it tells, and for the magnificent vocal performance from Alice himself.
In my ranking of the 29 albums released under both his name and his band’s name, this for me is #3 on that list. There are arguments that it could be higher, and I could understand those arguments. But sometimes we have favourites for a reason.
This album propelled Alice Cooper the solo artist into orbit and all but killed off the old band as a result. But that didn’t lead to peaches and cream from that point on, as market pressures and drugs of different varieties raise their head to make sure that mega stardom and success was not just a walk in the park going forward.

Friday, April 24, 2015

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

Click Here for original Webpage (may be non-existent now)

I've always been interested in this list, so when I found it the other day I thought I'd post it here for all to see.
For interest sake, the titles in bold are the ones I own and/or have heard.

Published in 2005 by Cassell Illustrated. Selected & written by 90 leading international critics, general editor Robert Dimery. In chronological order 1955-2005. Year of release only given here, when considered absolutely necessary. Where there were differences in UK & US (or other) releases for artists, such as the Beatles & the Rolling Stones, the original country of release edition can be taken to be the one listed, unless indicated otherwise. (ie: for the Rolling Stones’ Aftermath & The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night, the UK editions are the ones listed). No compilations were allowed, though, the odd one (The Hives’ Your New Favourite Band, for example) did creep in!

›› The 2008 Edition

1950s

o Sinatra, Frank – In the Wee Small Hours
o Presley, Elvis – Elvis Presley (1956)
o Louvin Brothers – Tragic Songs of Life
o Prima, Louis – Wildest
o Domino, Fats – This is Fats
o Ellington, Duke – At Newport (1956)
o Sinatra, Frank – Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!
o Crickets – Chirping…
o Basie, Count – Atomic Mr Basie
o Monk, Thelonious – Brilliant Corners
o Sabú [Martínez] – Palo Congo
o Davis, Miles – Birth of the Cool
o Machito – Kenya
o Little Richard – Here’s…
o Puente, Tito & His Orchestra – Dance Mania (1958)
o Holiday, Billie – Lady in Satin
o Elliott, Jack – Jack Takes the Floor
o Vaughan, Sarah – At Mister Kelly’s
o Fitzgerald, Ella – Sings the Gershwin Song Book
o Charles, Ray – Genius of… (1959)
o Davis, Miles – Kind of Blue
o Robbins, Marty – Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs
o Brubeck, Dave – Time Out

1960s

o Baez, Joan – Joan Baez (1960)
o Presley, Elvis – Elvis is Back!
o Makeba, Miriam – Miriam Makeba (1960)
o Everly Brothers – A Date with the…
o Smith, Jimmy – Back at the Chicken Shack
o Muddy Waters – At Newport
o Evans, Bill – Sunday at the Village Vanguard
o Charles, Ray - Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music
o Booker T & the MGs – Green Onions
o Getz, Stan & Charlie Byrd – Jazz Samba
o Price, Ray – Night Life
o Beatles – With the…
o Dylan, Bob – Freewheelin’…

o Spector, Phil & Various Artists – A Christmas Gift for You
o Cooke, Sam – Live at the Harlem Square
o Mingus, Charles – Black Saint & the Sinner Lady
o Brown, James – Live at the Apollo (1963)
o Getz, Stan & João Gilberto – Getz/Gilberto
o Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night
o Brel, Jacques – Olympia 64
o Burke, Solomon – Rock ‘n’ Soul
o Springfield, Dusty - A Girl Called Dusty
o Rolling Stones – Rolling Stones (1st Album)
o Owens, Buck – I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail
o Lewis, Jerry Lee – Live at the Star Club, Hamburg
o Sonics – Here Are the…
o Dylan, Bob – Bringing it All Back Home
o Redding, Otis – Otis Blue… Sings Soul
o Beach Boys – Today!
o Coltrane, John – A Love Supreme
o King, B.B. – Live at the Regal
o Beatles – Rubber Soul
o Jansch, Bert – Bert Jansch (1st Album)
o Byrds, Mr Tambourine Man
o Dylan, Bob – Highway 61 Revisited
o Who – My Generation
o Beatles – Revolver
o Beach Boys – Pet Sounds

o Neil, Fred – Fred Neil (1st Album)
o Byrds – Fifth Dimension
o Dylan, Bob – Blonde on Blonde
o Monks – Black Monk Time
o Kinks – Face to Face
o Mamas & the Papas – If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears
o Revere, Paul & the Raiders – Midnight Ride
o Mothers of Invention – Freak Out!
o Rolling Stones – Aftermath
o Simon & Garfunkel – Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme
o 13th Floor Elevators – Psychedelic Sounds of the…
o John Mayall’s Blues Breakers – With Eric Clapton
o Yardbirds – Yardbirds [aka Roger the Engineer] (1st Album)
o Simone, Nina – Wild is the Wind
o Gilberto, Astrud – Beach Samba
o Nico – Chelsea Girl
o Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
o Country Joe & the Fish – Electric Music for the Mind & Body
o Buffalo Springfield – Again
o Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Safe as Milk
o Moby Grape – Moby Grape (1st Album)
o Love – Da Capo
o Beau Brummels – Triangle
o Monkees – Headquarters
o Buckley, Tim – Goodbye & Hello
o Love – Forever Changes
o Cream – Disraeli Gears
o Pink Floyd – Piper at the Gates of Dawn
o Who – Sell Out
o Velvet Underground - & Nico
o Sinatra, Frank - Frank Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim
o Doors – Doors (1st Album)
o The Byrds - Younger Than Yesterday
o Young Rascals – Groovin’
o Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow
o Kinks – Something Else by the…
o Donovan – Sunshine Superman
o Haggard, Merle – I’m a Lonesome Fugitive
o Hendrix, Jimi – Are You Experienced
o Electric Prunes – I Had too Much to Dream (Last Night)
o Lynn, Loretta – Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)
o Sharma, Shivkumar / Brij Bushan Kabra / Hariprasad Chaurasia – Call of the Valley
o Velvet Underground – White Light/White Heat
o Hendrix, Jimi – Axis: Bold as Love
o Franklin, Aretha – I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
o Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet
o Traffic – Traffic (2nd Album)
o Incredible String Band – Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter
o Kinks – Village Green Preservation Society
o Shankar, Ravi – Sounds of India (1968)
o Mutantes, – Mutantes, (1st Album)
o Hendrix, Jimi – Electric Ladyland
o Cohen, Leonard – Songs of…
o Cash, Johnny – At Folsom Prison

o Nyro, Laura – Eli & the Thirteenth Confession
o Franklin, Aretha – Lady Soul
o Blue Cheer – Vincebus Eruptum
o Byrds – Notorious Byrd Brothers
o Big Brother & the Holding Company – Cheap Thrills
o United States of America – United States of America
o Dr John – Gris Gris
o Iron Butterfly – In a Gadda da Vida
o Pretty Things – S.F. Sorrow
o Simon & Garfunkel – Bookends
o Small Faces – Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake
o Band – Music from Big Pink
o Beck, Jeff – Truth
o Veloso, Caetano – Caetano Veloso (1968)
o Walker, Scott – Scott 2
o Zombies – Odessey & Oracle
o Morrison, Van – Astral Weeks
o Byrds – Sweetheart of the Rodeo
o Beatles – Beatles [aka White Album]
o Mothers of Invention – We’re Only in it for the Money
o Young, Neil – Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
o Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Trout Mask Replica
o Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bayou Country
o Crosby, Stills & Nash – Crosby, Stills & Nash
o Blood, Sweat & Tears - Blood, Sweat & Tears (2nd Album)
o Flying Burrito Brothers – Gilded Palace of Sin
o Cash, Johnny – At San Quentin
o Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River
o Beatles – Abbey Road
o Who – Tommy

o Davis, Miles – In a Silent Way
o Bee Gees – Odessa
o Pentangle – Basket of Light
o Rolling Stones – Let it Bleed
o Drake, Nick – Five Leaves Left
o Springfield, Dusty – Dusty in Memphis
o Presley, Elvis – From Elvis in Memphis
o Velvet Underground – Velvet Underground (3rd Album)
o Quicksilver Messenger Service – Happy Trails
o Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin (1st Album)
o Band – Band (2nd Album)
o Led Zeppelin – II
o MC5 – Kick Out the Jams
o Temptations – Cloud Nine
o Sly & the Family Stone – Stand!
o Buckley, Tim – Happy Sad
o Chicago Transit Authority [Chicago] - Chicago Transit Authority (1969)
o Fairport Convention – Unhalfbricking
o Youngbloods – Elephant Mountain
o Hayes, Isaac – Hot Buttered Soul
o Grateful Dead – Live/Dead
o Kinks – Arthur: Or the Decline & Fall of the British Empire
o King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King
o Cohen, Leonard – Songs from a Room
o Fairport Convention – Liege & Lief
o Walker, Scott – Scott 4
o Stooges – Stooges (1st Album)
o Spence, Alexander ‘Skip’ – Oar
o Zappa, Frank – Hot Rats

1970s

o Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory
o Derek & the Dominos – Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs
o Davis, Miles – Bitches Brew
o Spirit – Twelve Dreams of Dr Sardonicus
o Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (1st Album)
o Doors – Morrison Hotel
o Carpenters – Close to You

o Still, Stephen – Stephen Stills (1st Album)
o Lennon, John – Plastic Ono Band
o Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Déjà vu
o Black Sabbath – Paranoid
o Young, Neil – After the Gold Rush
o Led Zeppelin – III
o Deep Purple – In Rock

o Morrison, Van – Moondance
o Grateful Dead – American Beauty
o Drake, Nick – Bryter Layter
o Shankar, Ananda – Ananda Shankar (1970)
o Who – Live at Leeds (1st Album)
o Soft Machine – Third
o Stewart, Rod – Gasoline Alley
o Harrison, George – All Things Must Pass
o Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
o Stevens, Cat – Tea for the Tillerman
o Traffic – John Barleycorn Must Die
o Stooges – Fun House
o James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
o McCartney, Paul – McCartney (1970)
o Santana – Abraxas
o Barrett, Syd – Madcap Laughs
o Jethro Tull – Aqualung
o Crosby, David – If Only I Could Remember My Name
o Sly & the Family Stone – There’s a Riot Goin’ On
o Gaye, Marvin – What’s Going On
o Yes – Yes Album
o Bee Gees – Trafalgar
o Who – Who’s Next
o King, Carole – Tapestry
o Hayes, Isaac – Shaft: Music from the Soundtrack
o Allman Brothers – At Fillmore East
o Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
o Lennon, John – Imagine
o Beach Boys – Surf’s Up

o Yes – Fragile
o Doors – LA Woman
o Can – Tago Mago
o John, Elton – Madman Across the Water
o Parton, Dolly – Coat of Many Colors
o McLean, Don – American Pie
o Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Tarkus
o Led Zeppelin – IV [aka Untitled / aka Four Symbols]
o Gainsbourg, Serge – Histoire de Melody Nelson
o Stewart, Rod – Every Picture Tells a Story
o Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Pictures at an Exhibition
o Cohen, Leonard – Songs of Love & Hate
o Mitchell, Joni – Blue
o Funkadelic – Maggot Brain
o Joplin, Janis – Pearl
o Kuti, Fela - With Ginger Baker: Live!
o Faces – A Nod is as Good as a Wink… To a Blind Horse
o Flamin’ Groovies – Teenage Head
o Clark, Gene – White Light
o Prine, John – John Prine (1st Album)
o Nilsson, Harry – Nilsson Schmilsson
o T.Rex – Electric Warrior
o Bowie, David – Hunky Dory
o Newman, Randy – Sail Away
o Deep Purple – Machine Head
o Big Star – # 1 Record
o Black Sabbath – Vol 4
o Steely Dan – Can’t Buy a Thrill
o Young, Neil – Harvest
o Mayfield, Curtis – Superfly: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
o Slade – Slayed?
o Deep Purple – Made in Japan
o Yes – Close to the Edge
o Reed, Lou – Transformer
o Masekela, Hugh – Home is Where the Music Is
o Nascimento, Milton & Lo Borges – Clube da Esquina (1972)
o Rundgren, Todd – Something/Anything
o Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Will the Circle Be Unbroken?
o Wonder, Stevie – Talking Book
o Still, Stephen – Manassas
o T.Rex – Slider
o Ackles, David – American Gothic
o Eagles – Eagles (1st Album)
o Buckley, Tim – Greetings from LA
o Drake, Nick – Pink Moon
o Simon, Paul – Paul Simon (1972)
o Roxy Music – Roxy Music (1st Album)
o Alice Cooper – School’s Out

o Temptations – All Directions
o Bowie, David – Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
o War – World is a Ghetto
o Green, Al – Let’s Stay Together
o Rolling Stones – Exile on Main St
o Lynyrd Skynyrd – Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd
o Incredible Bongo Band – Bongo Rock
o Bowie, David – Aladdin Sane
o King Crimson – Lark’s Tongues in Aspic
o Marley, Bob & the Wailers – Catch a Fire
o Hawkwind – Space Ritual
o Cale, John – Paris 1919
o Can – Future Days
o Reed, Lou – Berlin
o Genesis – Selling England by the Pound
o Gaye, Marvin – Let’s Get it On
o Martyn, John – Solid Air
o Roxy Music – For Your Pleasure
o Faust – IV
o Hancock, Herbie – Head Hunters
o Mott the Hoople – Mott
o Oldfield, Mike – Tubular Bells
o Rundgren, Todd – A Wizard, a True Star
o John, Elton – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
o Steely Dan – Countdown to Ecstasy
o Jennings, Waylon – Honky Tonk Heroes
o Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
o Wonder, Stevie – Innervisions
o ZZ Top – Tres Hombres
o McCartney, Paul & Wings – Band on the Run
o Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Next
o Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies
o Iggy & the Stooges – Raw Power
o Isley Brothers – 3 + 3
o New York Dolls – New York Dolls (1st Album)
o Eno, Brian – Here Come the Warm Jets
o Bad Company – Bad Company (1st Album)
o Genesis – Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
o Otis, Shuggie – Inspiration Information
o Wonder, Stevie – Fullfillingness’ First Finale
o Clapton, Eric – 461 Ocean Boulevard
o Kraftwerk – Autobahn
o Morrison, Van – It’s Too Late to Stop Now
o Mitchell, Joni – Court & Spark
o Queen – II
o Roxy Music – Country Life
o Tangerine Dream – Phaedra
o Sparks – Kimono My House
o Supertramp – Crime of the Century
o Thompson, Richard & Linda – I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
o Scott-Heron, Gil & Brian Jackson – Winter in America
o Queen – Sheer Heart Attack
o 10cc – Sheet Music
o Young, Neil – On the Beach
o Jones, George – Grand Tour
o Clark, Gene – No Other
o Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic
o Newman, Randy – Good Old Boys
o Marley, Bob & the Wailers – Natty Dread
o Wyatt, Robert – Rock Bottom
o Parsons, Gram – Grievous Angel
o Eno, Brian – Another Green World
o Dictators – Go Girl Crazy!
o Neu! – ‘75
o Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti
o Jarrett, Keith – Köln Concert
o Aerosmith – Toys in the Attic
o Bowie, David – Young Americans

o Burning Spear – Marcus Garvey
o Springsteen, Bruce – Born to Run
o Harris, Emmylou – Pieces of the Sky
o Dion – Born to Be With You
o Mitchell, Joni – Hissing of Summer Lawns
o Tom Waits - Nighthawks At The Diner
o Burman, Rahul Dev – Shalimar (Soundtrack)
o Young, Neil – Tonight’s the Night
o Dylan, Bob – Blood on the Tracks
o Smith, Patti – Horses
o Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
o Queen – A Night at the Opera

o Nelson, Willie – Red Headed Stranger
o Earth, Wind & Fire – That’s the Way of the World
o Mayfield, Curtis – There’s No Place Like America Today
o Petty, Tom & the Heartbreakers - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (1st Album)
o Modern Lovers – Modern Lovers [Rec 1972, not released until 1976]
o Bowie, David – Station to Station
o Mitchell, Joni – Hejira
o Boston – Boston (1st Album)
o Eagles – Hotel California
o ABBA – Arrival
o Kiss – Destroyer

o Rush – 2112
o Ben, Jorge – África Brasil
o Armatrading, Joan – Joan Armatrading (1st Album)
o Aerosmith – Rocks
o Parliament – Mothership Connection
o Penguin Café Orchestra – Music from the Penguin Café
o Jarre, Jean Michel – Oxygene
o Ramones – Ramones (1st Album)
o Kuti, Fela – Zombie
o Tosh, Peter – Legalize It
o Wonder, Stevie – Songs in the Key of Life
o Frampton, Peter – Frampton Comes Alive
o Eno, Brian – Before & After Science
o Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express
o Joel, Billy – Stranger, the
o Marley, Bob & the Wailers – Exodus
o Electric Light Orchestra – Out of the Blue
o Weather Report – Heavy Weather
o Muddy Waters – Hard Again
o Stranglers – Rattus Norvegicus
o Clash – Clash (1st Album)
o Bowie, David – Low
o Steely Dan – Aja
o Wire – Pink Flag
o Martyn, John – One World
o Talking Heads – 77
o Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
o Bowie, David – ‘Heroes’

o Wilson, Dennis – Pacific Ocean Blue
o Suicide – Suicide (1st Album)
o Iggy Pop – Idiot, the
o Gabriel, Peter – Peter Gabriel (I)
o Television – Marquee Moon
o Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell
o Costello, Elvis – My Aim is True
o Iggy Pop – Lust for Life
o Dury, Ian – New Boots & Panties!!
o Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the…
o Pere Ubu – Modern Dance
o Kraftwerk – Man Machine
o Blondie – Parallel Lines
o Regina, Elís – Vento de Maio
o Pere Ubu – Dub Housing
o Only Ones – Only Ones (1st Album)
o Costello, Elvis – This Year’s Model
o Jam – All Mod Cons
o Ely, Joe – Honky Tonk Masquerade
o Adverts – Crossing the Red Sea with the…
o Big Star – Third (aka Sister Lovers)
o Residents – Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
o Public Image Ltd – Public Image
o Magazine – Real Life
o Springsteen, Bruce – Darkness on the Edge of Town
o Funkadelic – One Nation Under a Groove
o Throbbing Gristle – DOA: Third & Final Report
o Thin Lizzy – Live & Dangerous
o Talking Heads – More Songs About Buildings & Food
o Buzzcocks – Another Music in a Different Kitchen
o Van Halen – Van Halen (1st Album)
o Colón, Willie & Rubén Blades – Siembra
o Cars – Cars (1st Album)
o Devo – Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
o Dire Straits – Dire Straits (1st Album)
o Saints – Eternally Yours
o Gaye, Marvin – Here, My Dear
o Nelson, Willie – Stardust
o Chic – C’est Chic
o X-ray Spex – Germ Free Adolescents
o Eno, Brian – Ambient 1: Music for Airports
o Siouxsie & the Banshees – Scream, the
o AC/DC – Highway to Hell
o Sister Sledge – We Are Family
o Crusaders – Street Life
o Germs – GI
o B52s – B52s (1st Album)
o Czukay, Holger – Movies
o Police – Reggatta de Blanc
o Fall – Live at the Witch Trials
o Talking Heads – Fear of Music
o Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
o Chic – Risqué
o Undertones – Undertones (1st Album)
o Clash – London Calling
o Japan – Quiet Life
o Faithfull, Marianne – Broken English
o Slits – Cut
o Costello, Elvis – Armed Forces
o Young, Neil – Rust Never Sleeps
o Gang of Four – Entertainment!
o Cheap Trick – At Budokan
o Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
o Pink Floyd – Wall, the
o Public Image Ltd – Metal Box
o Jackson, Michael – Off the Wall
o Damned – Machine Gun Etiquette
o Numan, Gary – Pleasure Principle
o Specials – Specials (1st Album)

1980s

o Adam & the Ants – Kings of the Wild Frontier
o Dexys Midnight Runners – Searching for the Young Soul Rebels
o AC/DC – Back in Black

o Cramps – Songs the Lord Taught Us
o Dead Kennedys – Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
o Gabriel, Peter – Peter Gabriel (III)
o Soft Boys – Underwater Moonlight
o Cure – Seventeen Seconds
o Echo & the Bunnymen – Crocodiles
o Motörhead – Ace of Spades
o Killing Joke – Killing Joke (1st Album)
o Judas Priest – British Steel
o Circle Jerks – Group Sex
o Talking Heads – Remain in Light
o Joy Division – Closer
o Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden (1st Album)

o Undertones – Hypnotised
o Jam – Sound Affects
o Waits, Tom – Heartattack & Vine
o UB40 – Signing Off
o Teardrop Explodes – Kilimanjaro
o Specials – More Specials
o Winwood, Steve – Arc of a Diver
o Pretenders – Pretenders (1st Album)
o Einstürzende Neubauten – Kollaps
o Siouxsie & the Banshees – Juju
o Heaven 17 – Penthouse & Pavement
o Go-Gos – Beauty & the Beat
o Motörhead – No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith
o Soft Cell – Non Stop Erotic Cabaret

o Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Architecture & Morality
o Eno, Brian & David Byrne – My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
o Black Flag – Damaged
o X – Wild Gift
o Psychedelic Furs – Talk, Talk, Talk
o Human League – Dare
o Gun Club – Fire of Love
o Bauhaus – Mask
o Womack, Bobby – Poet
o Tom Tom Club – Tom Tom Club (1st Album)
o Rush – Moving Pictures
o ABBA – Visitors
o ABC – Lexicon of Love
o Prince – 1999
o Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five – Message, the
o Costello, Elvis – Imperial Bedroom
o Cure – Pornography
o Dexys Midnight Runners – Too Rye Ay
o Simple Minds – New Gold Dream (81, 82, 83, 84)
o Madness – Rise & Fall
o Fagen, Donald – Nightfly
o Haircut One Hundred – Pelican West
o Bush, Kate – Dreaming, the
o Orange Juice – Rip it Up
o Jackson, Michael – Thriller
o Birthday Party – Junkyard
o Venom – Black Metal
o Springsteen, Bruce – Nebraska
o Associates – Sulk
o Iron Maiden – Number of the Beast
o Duran Duran – Rio
o Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes (1st Album)

o McLaren, Malcolm – Duck Rock
o Def Leppard – Pyromania
o REM – Murmur

o The The – Soul Mining
o Waits, Tom – Swordfishtrombones
o Blue Nile – A Walk Across the Rooftops
o Hanoi Rocks – Back to Mystery City
o Lauper, Cyndi – She’s So Unusual
o Simon, Paul – Hearts & Bones
o Echo & the Bunnymen – Porcupine
o ZZ Top – Eliminator
o Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
o U2 – War
o Police – Synchronicity

o Meat Puppets – II
o Culture Club – Colour by Numbers
o Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome

o Run DMC – Run DMC (1984)
o Sade – Diamond Life
o Cocteau Twins – Treasure
o Minor Threat – Out of Step
o Van Halen – 1984
o Prince – Purple Rain

o Replacements – Let it Be
o Style Council – Café Bleu
o Turner, Tina – Private Dancer
o Echo & the Bunnymen – Ocean Rain
o Minutemen – Double Nickels on the Dime
o Cole, Lloyd & the Commotions – Rattlesnakes
o N’Dour, Youssou – Immigrés
o Springsteen, Bruce – Born in the USA
o Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace
o Ibrahim, Abdullah – Water from an Ancient Well
o Aha – Hunting High & Low
o Tears for Fears – Songs from the Big Chair
o Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms
o Prefab Sprout – Steve McQueen (aka Two Wheels Good)
o Mekons – Fear & Whiskey
o Big Black – Atomizer
o Vega, Suzanne – Suzanne Vega (1st Album)
o Pogues – Rum, Sodomy & the Lash
o Bush, Kate – Hounds of Love
o Smiths – Meat is Murder
o Waits, Tom – Rain Dogs
o Jesus & Mary Chain – Psychocandy
o New Order – Low Life
o Simply Red – Picture Book
o Dexys Midnight Runners – Don’t Stand Me Down
o Scritti Politti – Cupid & Psyche 85
o Costello, Elvis – Blood & Chocolate
o Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force – Planet Rock: The Album
o Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill
o Metallica – Master of Puppets
o The The – Infected
o Griffith, Nanci – Last of the True Believers
o Bragg, Billy – Talking with the Taxman About Poetry
o Talk Talk – Colour of Spring
o Megadeth – Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?
o Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet
o Sonic Youth – Evol
o Slayer – Reign in Blood
o Throwing Muses – Throwing Muses (1986)
o Simon, Paul – Graceland
o Run DMC – Raising Hell
o XTC – Skylarking
o Earle, Steve – Guitar Town
o Bad Brains – I Against I
o Baker, Anita – Rapture
o Smiths – Queen is Dead
o Gabriel, Peter – So
o Anthrax – Among the Living
o Dinosaur Jr – You’re Living All Over Me
o Parton, Dolly with Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Trio
o Def Leppard – Hysteria
o REM – Document
o Prince – Sign ‘O’ the Times
o Cult – Electric
o Depeche Mode – Music for the Masses
o Sisters of Mercy – Floodland
o Michael, George – Faith
o Hüsker Dü – Warehouse: Songs & Stories
o Butthole Surfers – Locust Abortion Technician
o Piazzolla, Astor & Gary Burton – New Tango
o Smiths – Strangeways Here We Come
o Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction
o Jesus & Mary Chain – Darklands
o Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Shaka Zulu
o Laibach – Opus Dei
o Napalm Death – Scum
o Sonic Youth – Sister
o Triffids – Calenture
o Jackson, Michael – Bad
o Pet Shop Boys – Actually
o U2 – Joshua Tree
o D’Arby, Terence Trent – Introducing the Hardline According to…
o Pogues – If I Should Fall from Grace with God
o Cohen, Leonard – I’m Your Man
o Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues
o Fishbone – Truth & Soul
o Everything But the Girl – Idlewild
o Living Colour - Vivid
o Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff
o REM – Green
o Happy Mondays – Bummed
o Go Betweens – 16 Lovers Lane
o Cowboy Junkies – Trinity Session
o Chapman, Tracy – Tracy Chapman (1st Album)
o My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything
o Pixies – Surfer Rosa
o Metallica – And Justice for All
o Dinosaur Jr – Bug
o Krause, Dagmar – Tank Battles
o lang, k.d. – Shadowland
o American Music Club – California
o Morrissey – Viva Hate
o Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation
o Sugarcubes – Life’s Too Good
o Yoakam, Dwight – Beuenas Noches from a Lonely Roomn
o Jane’s Addiction – Nothing’s Shocking
o Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
o Faith No More – Real Thing
o Kravtiz, Lenny – Let Love Rule
o Hooker, John Lee – Healer, the
o New Order – Technique
o Madonna – Like a Prayer
o Queen Latifah – All Hail the Queen
o Spacemen 3 – Playing with Fire
o fIREHOSE – fROMOHIO
o Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
o Young Gods – Eau Rouge, l’
o Zorn, John – Spy vs Spy: Music of Ornette Coleman
o Stone Roses – Stone Roses (1st Album)
o Cherry, Neneh – Raw Like Sushi
o Maal, Baaba & Mansour Seck – Djam Leelii
o Bush, Kate – Sensual World
o Cure – Disintegration
o 808 State – 808:90
o Coldcut – What’s That Noise?
o Adamson, Barry – Moss Side Story
o Aerosmith – Pump
o Pixies – Doolittle
o Raitt, Bonnie – Nick of Time
o Fugazi – Repeater
o Soul II Soul – Club Classics: Vol One
o De La Soul – 3 Feet High & Rising
o Jackson, Janet – Rhythm Nation 1814
o Jungle Brothers – Done by the Forces of Nature
o NWA – Straight Outta Compton

1990s

o Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas
o Shamen – En-Tact
o Deee Lite – World Clique
o La’s – La’s
o Black Crowes – Shake Your Money Maker
o Depeche Mode – Violator
o Pixies – Bossanova
o Megadeth – Rust in Peace
o Digital Underground – Sex Packets
o Pet Shop Boys – Behaviour
o Happy Mondays – Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches
o Michael, George – Listen Without Prejudice: Vol 1
o Young, Neil – Ragged Glory
o Ice Cube – AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted
o Jane’s Addiction – Ritual de lo Habitual
o LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out
o Public Enemy – Fear of a Black Planet
o O’Connor, Sinéad – I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got
o Tribe Called Quest, a – People’s Instinctive Travels & the Paths of Rhythm
o Sonic Youth – Goo
o Ride – Nowhere
o My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
o Nirvana – Nevermind
o Crowded House – Woodface
o Cypress Hill – Cypress Hill (1st Album)
o Cope, Julian – Peggy Suicide
o Gang Starr – Step in the Arena
o MC Solaar - Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo
o Jah Wobble – Rising Above Bedlam
o Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magik
o Ice T – OG: Original Gangster
o Mudhoney – Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge
o Public Enemy – Apocalypse 91… Enemy Strikes Back
o Tribe Called Quest, a – Low End Theory
o Pearl Jam – Ten
o Saint Etienne – Foxbase Alpha
o Sepultura – Arise
o Slint – Spiderland
o U2 – Achtung Baby
o KLF – White Room
o Massive Attack – Blue Lines
o Primal Scream – Screamadelica
o Teenage Fanclub – Bandwagonesque
o Metallica – Metallica [aka Black Album]
o Pavement – Slanted & Enchanted
o Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 85-92
o Arrested Development – 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life of…
o Olomidé, Koffi – Haut de Gamme: Koweït, Rive Gauche
o Morrissey – Your Arsenal
o Maal, Baaba – Lam Toro
o Lemonheads – It’s a Shame About Ray
o Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine (1st Album)
o Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy – Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury
o lang, k.d. – Ingénue
o Dr Dre – Chronic, the
o REM – Automatic for the People
o Pharcyde – Bizarre Ride II the…
o Spiritualized – Lazer Guided Melodies
o Sugar – Copper Blue
o Waits, Tom – Bone Machine
o Sonic Youth – Dirty
o Stereo MCs – Connected
o Ministry – Psalm 69 (Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs)
o Amos, Tori – Little Earthquakes
o Ice Cube – Predator
o Pantera – Vulgar Display of Power
o Alice in Chains – Dirt
o Cave, Nick & the Bad Seeds – Henry’s Dream, by…
o Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali – Devotional Songs
o Harvey, P.J. – Dry
o Suede – Suede (1st Album)
o Weller, Paul – Wild Wood
o Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
o Auteurs – New Wave
o Phair, Liz – Exile in Guyville
o Afghan Whigs – Gentlemen
o Mann, Aimee – Whatever
o Grant Lee Buffalo – Fuzzy
o Nirvana – In Utero
o Jamiroquai – Emergency on Planet Earth
o Pet Shop Boys – Very
o Harvey, P.J. – Rid of Me
o Blur – Modern Life is Rubbish
o Crow, Sheryl – Tuesday Night Music Club
o Fall – Infotainment Scan
o Wu Tang Clan – Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)
o Björk – Debut
o Orbital – Orbital [aka Brown Album]
o Snoop Doggy Dogg – Doggystyle
o Sebadoh – Bubble & Scrape
o Boo Radleys – Giant Steps
o Orbit, William – Strange Cargo: III
o Method Man – Tical
o Black, Frank – Teenager of the Year
o Girls Against Boys – Venus Luxure No 1 Baby
o Jeru the Damaja – Sun Rises in the East
o Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
o Portishead – Dummy
o Sabres of Paradise – Haunted Dancehall
o Nas – Illmatic
o Beastie Boys – Ill Communication
o Costello, Elvis – Brutal Youth
o Morrissey – Vauxhall & I
o TLC – CrazySexyCool
o Oasis – Definitely Maybe
o Soundgarden – Superunknown
o Offspring – Smash
o Drive Like Jehu – Yank Crime
o Blur – Parklife
o G Love & Special Sauce - G Love & Special Sauce (1994)
o Touré, Ali Farka – Talking Timbuktu
o Hole – Live Through This
o Massive Attack – Protection
o Manic Street Preachers – Holy Bible
o Suede – Dog Man Star
o Notorious BIG – Ready to Die
o Buckley, Jeff – Grace
o Orbital – Snivilisation
o Nirvana – MTV Unplugged in New York
o Nine Inch Nails – Downward Spiral
o Prodigy – Music for the Jilted Generation
o Green Day – Dookie
o Foo Fighters – Foo Fighters (1st Album)
o Garbage – Garbage (1st Album)
o Nightmares on Wax – Smokers Delight
o Tricky – Maxinquaye
o Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
o Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness
o Rocket from the Crypt – Scream, Dracula, Scream
o Chemical Brothers – Exit Planet Dust
o 2Pac – Me Against the World
o Elastica – Elastica (1st Album)
o Supergrass – I Should Coco
o Radiohead – Bends, the
o Guided by Voices – Alien Lanes
o Kuti, Femi – Femi Kuti (1995)
o Verve – A Northern Soul
o Genius GZA – Liquid Swords
o Pulp – Different Class
o Leftfield – Leftism
o D’Angelo – Brown Sugar
o Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
o Goldie – Timeless
o Morissette, Alanis – Jagged Little Pill
o Screaming Trees – Dust
o Super Furry Animals – Fuzzy Logic
o Fatboy Slim – Better Living Through Chemistry
o Dr Octagon – Dr Octagonecologyst
o Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup
o Tortoise – Millions Now Living Will Never Die
o Beck – Odelay
o Belle & Sebastian – Tigermilk
o DJ Shadow – Endtroducing
o Eels – Beautiful Freak
o Divine Comedy – Casanova
o Apple, Fiona – Tidal
o Wilco – Being There
o Sepultura – Roots
o Adamson, Barry – Oedipus Schmoedipus
o Fun Lovin’ Criminals – Come Find Yourself
o Maxwell – Urban Hang Suite
o Charlatans – Tellin’ Stories
o Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go
o Everything But the Girl – Walking Wounded
o Cave, Nick & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads
o Bukem, LTJ – Logical Progression
o Underworld – Second Toughest in the Infants
o Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Now I Got Worry
o Cardigans – First Band on the Moon
o Marilyn Manson – Antichrist Superstar
o Fugees – Score, the
o Ash – 1977
o Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister
o Blur – Blur (1997)
o Radiohead – OK Computer
o Quaye, Finley – Maverick a Strike
o Elliott, Missy Misdemeanor – Supa Dupa Fly
o Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole
o Primal Scream – Vanishing Point
o Wyatt, Robert – Shleep
o Holmes, David – Let’s Get Killed
o Sleater Kinney – Dig Me Out
o Prodigy – Fat of the Land
o Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club (1997)
o Cave, Nick & the Bad Seeds – Boatman’s Call
o Divine Comedy – A Short Album About Love
o Cornershop – When I was Born for the 7th Time
o Daft Punk – Homework
o Williams, Robbie – Life Thru a Lens
o Carey, Mariah – Butterfly
o Supergrass – In it for the Money
o Dylan, Bob – Time Out of Mind
o Size, Roni & Reprazent – New Forms
o Smith, Elliott – Either/Or
o Verve – Urban Hymns
o Spiritualized – Ladies & Gentlemen, We are Floating in Space
o Dandy Warhols – Dandy Warhols (1997)
o Dylan, Bob – Bootleg Series Vol 4: Live 1966 [rec: 1966 at Free Trade Hall, Manchester]
o Chao, Manu – Clandestino
o Bragg, Billy & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue
o Turbonegro – Apocalypse Dudes
o Fatboy Slim – You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby
o Gray, David – White Ladder
o Williams, Lucinda – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
o Pulp – This is Hardcore
o Madonna – Ray of Light
o Hill, Lauryn – Miseducation of…
o Hole – Celebrity Skin
o Mercury Rev – Deserter’s Songs
o System of a Down - System of a Down (1st Album)
o Queen of the Stone Age - Queen of the Stone Age (1st Album)
o Air – Moon Safari
o Singh, Talvin – OK
o Korn – Follow the Leader
o Khalèd, (Cheb) – Kenza
o Kid Rock – Devil Without a Cause
o Boards of Canada – Music Has the Right to Children
o Suba - São Paulo Confessions
o XTC – Apple Venus: Volume 1
o Skunk Anansie – Post Orgasmic Chill
o Incubus – Make Yourself
o Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs
o Travis – Man Who
o Slipknot – Slipknot (1st Album)
o Orton, Beth – Central Reservation
o Sawhney, Nitin – Beyond Skin
o Death in Vegas – Contino Sessions
o Moby – Play
o Flaming Lips – Soft Bulletin
o Rhymes Digitales, les – Darkdancer
o Tigre, le – Tigre, le (1999)
o Eminem – Slim Shady LP
o Spears, Britney – Baby One More Time
o Metallica – S&M
o Bonnie Prince Billy – I See a Darkness
o Shack – HMS Fable
o Basement Jaxx – Remedy
o Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
o Sigur Rós – Ágætis Byrjun

2000s

o Doves – Lost Souls
o Air – Virgin Suicides: Original Motion Picture Score
o Adams, Ryan – Heartbreaker
o Gilberto, Bebel – Tanto Tempo
o Cole, MJ – Sincere
o Harris, Emmylou – Red Dirt Girl
o Limp Bizkit – Chocolate Starfish & the Hot Dog Flavored Water
o Radiohead – Kid A
o U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind
o Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory
o Smith, Elliott – Figure 8
o Badly Drawn Boy – Hour of Bewilderbeast
o Harvey, P.J. – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
o Badu, Erykah – Mama’s Gun
o Coldplay – Parachutes
o Common – Like Water for Chocolate
o Ladd, Mike – Welcome to the Afterfuture
o Red Snapper – Our Aim is to Satisfy
o Eminem – Marshall Mathers LP
o Goldfrapp – Felt Mountain
o Giant Sand – Chore of Enchantment
o Lambchop – Nixon
o Lemper, Ute – Punishing Kiss
o Madonna – Music
o Avalanches – Since I Left You
o OutKast – Stankonia
o Radiohead – Amnesiac
o Silver Jews – Bright Flight
o Björk – Vespertine
o Gorillaz – Gorillaz (1st Album)
o Adams, Ryan – Gold
o Destiny’s Child – Survivor
o Strokes – Is This It
o Welch, Gillian – Time (The Revelator)
o Gotan Project – Revancha del Tango, la
o White Stripes – White Blood Cells
o Beta Band – Hot Shots II
o Jay Z – Blueprint
o Röyksopp – Melody AM
o Drive-By Truckers – Southern Rock Opera
o Super Furry Animals – Rings Around the World
o Jurassic 5 – Power in Numbers
o Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
o Ms Dynamite – A Little Deeper
o Bees – Sunshine Hit Me
o Jones, Norah – Come Away with Me
o Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head
o Coral – Coral (2002)
o Cash, Johnny – American IV: Man Comes Around
o Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
o Doves – Last Broadcast
o Elliott, Missy – Under Construction
o Springsteen, Bruce – Rising, the
o Aguilera, Christina – Stripped
o Roots – Phrenology
o Beck – Sea Change
o Timberlake, Justin – Justified
o Vines – Highly Evolved
o Hives – Your New Favourite Band
o Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
o Winehouse, Amy – Frank
o Calexico – Feast of Wire
o Darkness – Permission to Land
o White Stripes – Elephant
o Dizzee Rascal – Boy in da Corner
o Kings of Leon – Youth & Young Manhood
o Thrills – So Much for the City
o Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell
o OutKast – Speakerboxxx/Love Below
o 50 Cent – Get Rich or Die Tryin’
o Mars Volta – Deloused in the Comatorium
o Lightning Bolt – Wonderful Rainbow
o Wainwright, Rufus – Want One
o Scissor Sisters – Scissor Sisters (1st Album)
o Morrissey – You Are the Quarry
o Björk – Medúlla
o Mylo – Destroy Rock & Roll
o Wilson, Brian – SMiLE
o Icarus Line – Penance Soirée
o Arcade Fire – Funeral
o Banhart, Devendra – Rejoicing in the Hands
o Cave, Nick & the Bad Seeds – Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus
o Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand (1st Album)
o N*E*R*D – Fly or Die
o Beta Band – Heroes to Zeros
o Ozamatli – Street Signs
o Libertines – Libertines (1st Album)
o West, kanYe – College Dropout
o Green, Cee-Lo – Is the Soul Machine
o TV on the Radio – Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
o Liars – They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
o Streets – A Grand Don’t Come for Free
o Wainwright, Rufus – Want Two
o Zutons – Who Killed the Zutons?
o Killers – Hot Fuss
o Kings of Leon – Aha Shake Heartbreak
o MIA (UK) – Arular
o Beck – Guero
o White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan

765. Machine Head / Burn My Eyes. 1994. 3.5/5

The roots of the band Machine Head came from the early thrash metal scene of the US, and in particular through the evolution of vocalist and guitarist Robb Flynn. Flynn had been in the band Forbidden Evil back in the early 1980’s, and had then joined Vio-lence as their lead and rhythm guitarist as they began their bursting onto the thrash scene, driving alongside the greats of that uprising through the late 1980’s. Two albums, 1988’s “Eternal Nightmare” and 1990’s “Oppressing the Masses” caught the attention of fans and critics alike, but by 1991 Flynn had become unhappy with the direction the band was going with its music, and had decided that he would perhaps instead form his own band to go forward. Part of this was driven by some songs that he had written for Vio-lence, "Death Church" and "Blood for Blood", but had been rejected by the rest of the band. He began the band, which he eventually named Machine Head, as a side project along with his friend, bass guitarist Adam Duce, but following a physical altercation between the members of Vio-lence and a local gang, Flynn left the band and made Machine Head his number one priority. It was often felt in the metal community that Flynn came up with the name of band after the seminal Deep Purple album of the same name, but in recent times Flynn has poured cold water on that, claiming he settled on the name simply because it sounded cool. Draw your own conclusions on that.
Flynn recruited guitarist Logan Mader and drummer Tony Costanza to flesh out the band.
Based on listening to a demo recorded by the band in a friend’s bedroom, Roadrunner Records signed the band to a record deal. Once the band had entered the studio to record the album, Costanza left the band, and was replaced by Chris Kontos. Flynn had decided to take on the lead vocal role himself, while retaining playing rhythm guitar, and fueled with the anger and frustration that had built up over the recent past, he funneled that into the songwriting for what was to become Roadrunner Records bestselling debut album, “Burn My Eyes”.

Machine Head came along at a time when grunge was still a leading influence in the music world, and there were some defining changes in the metal genre that came to pass almost directly due to this. And in retrospect there is a lot about this album that helped to redefine exactly what metal was going to do, especially on the American continents, over the next few years. Fear Factory’s “Soul of a New Machine” had already been released and was heading down that new industrial path. Sepultura’s influence was becoming a major indicator as well, along with Pantera’s new and evolving sound over their releases during the early 1990’s. Lots of other bands and ingredients were in the mix, and all of this contributed to what was to come. One thing you can say for certain about Machine Head, and how they would direct their debut album, it is not a thrash metal album. The other thing you can say for certain is that this is a polarising album. Because as many people as you can find out there that love this album, you can find the same number that absolutely hate it, and there seems to be very little middle ground.
Opinions vary on every subject – Flynn's voice is really bland and annoying, or is the perfect mixture of rage and spiritual. The songs are a mixture of mid-paced progression with groove parts and too clean parts, or have perfectly encapsulated the rise of the groove riff of Pantera and incorporated it into this next level performance. There is a recurring stop-and-go technique on the guitars that sounds unflowing and horrible, or is a great combination of the heavier riff and thrash overtones that blend with the grunge characteristics still being felt in the world. The songs are too long and boring with vocals that are not angry at all but just weak, or the songs draw on the world as Rob Flynn sees it and are a battement of the truth into the lyrics. This pretty much sums up the arguments for and against this album in particular over the years when it has come up in conversation with various groups of people that I have met through music relationships. Whatever you may wish to try and define this album as - groove metal, grunge metal, thrash metal... or perhaps just metal? - this is the grade variant that comes across when listening to the album.
“Davidian” kicks the album off with raging guitars and forceful riffs accompanied by Flynn's enraged vocals referencing the Waco siege and just general destruction throughout. “Old” is structured to build as it flows and it succeeds, a great opening riff moving towards the end with its rising chorus that builds up into the thunderous ending. These first two songs get the album off to a solid start.
The next four songs vary in style and quality, a difference that affects the album depending on your preferences. “A Thousand Lies” starts with a sinister mood which builds into the heart of the song, it has a heavy, driving groove that progresses to a pleasing finish. “None But My Own” is mostly just chugging riff and shouting once the song gets going, and perhaps it overstays its welcome a tad too long. “The Rage to Overcome” does tend to retain the same rhythm double kick throughout and perhaps isn’t the most imaginative of tracks the band has produced, settling into its tempo and sticking to that for the entirety of the track. "Death Church” divides opinion, a song that was rejected back in the Vio-Lence days, but is transformed here into a Pantera-like sounding track, back in that slow mid-tempo and shouting vocals. It still retains that energy, if not much excitement. “A Nation on Fire” sticks to similar pace but without the Pantera comparison (maybe apart from the very Dimebag solo) and is a much better song as a result. The last minute of the song is the money shot and a must to wait around for. The whole song should have been like this.
“Blood for Blood” builds on this great finish and continues in the same direction, speeding things back up, and the music improves into something far more entertaining. A blistering track that ups the ante and sounds like they're just spoiling for a fight. “I'm Your God Now” builds off of a grim intro and shows some semblance of emotion aside from anger. It combines melancholy and anger, launching into slamming riffs while giving a swirling chorus and a structure with a break towards the end that builds into the shredding ending. The bass tones bookend the track and com across wonderfully well. “Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies” ups the social commentary of the lyrics. Flynn has weaved the commentary of the LA riots from 1992 into the track such that it becomes a part of the song. a transitional track with a great atmosphere. This then segues into “Block” which closes the album with a similar build up of anger that we came into the start of the album with, and it closes with increasing pace, awesome riffing and hard hitting drums, allowing the album to close on a satisfying note.

Back in 1996, at a time when music had changed from what I had grown to love, and I wasn’t really sure just what direction I was going to head in myself, I was working at the Shell Select in Ryde across the road from Ryde TAFE, where all the ‘young’ people (I was 26 years of age at this time) would often cross the road on their breaks and come and fill up on Frozen Coke and chips. A number of them called me Dante, due to my similar appearance and employment at that time to the lead character from Kevin Smith’s breakout movie “Clerks”. One day, one of those regulars, a clean cut and respectable looking young man who I knew to converse with, handed me a cassette and said, “You know what – you might like this. But, I’d play it at home first before playing it here”. He wrote nothing on the cassette, and left without telling me what I would be listening to. In the car on the way home from work that afternoon, I played the cassette, and got accosted by a wall of noise that I wasn’t sure I liked, but was sure I didn’t hate. Within a few days, I was pretty much hooked. I still had no idea who it was until a week later when my provider returned, and once I had fawned over the album, he informed me it was the debut album by a band called Machine Head. And that was my introduction to “Burn My Eyes”.
Personally I really like the way the music is written and played on this album. Many think it improves in later releases, and that is a fair comment because the band does improve and mature over following albums, but the raw aggression here appeals to my taste. And look, I won’t argue that at times the vocals come across as a little amateurish, and that someone with a bit more polish would have created a far better atmosphere with some of these songs. Then again, it has never seemed to matter when I’ve seen the band live, and Flynn’s vocals did improve over time. “The Blackening” is a pretty fair example of that. But did that matter that much all the way back in 1996? I don’t recall it doing so.
In August 2001, I saw Machine Heads open for Slayer at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, and they blew Slayer off the stage, and Slayer were still magnificent. I had not heard any other Machine Head albums apart from this one at that stage, but that night reignited the fire in me, and I was back on the wagon after that. And back in 2020, I was booked to see them play again, but this time in three sets – the first and last with the current line up of the band playing all of their great songs, and the middle set with this original line up, playing this album in full. It really was a dream come true, a dream that was shattered by the covid pandemic which then cancelled the tour, never to be seen again. One of the biggest tragedies of all time.
While Machine Head has better crafted albums, and better produced albums down the line, this is still the one that remains firmly in my memory. It doesn't suit everyone's tastes, and I can understand why there is that divide in the lovers and the haters of this album, but for me there is still that magic in the way this album came about and how it set the course for the band into its future, and that is still a terrific thing.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

764. Led Zeppelin / Led Zeppelin. 1969. 3/5

Rising from the ashes of The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin's first album shows glimpses of their initial influences as well as what their music was going to develop into. The story about how the band came into being is like so many bands of that era. Guitarist Jimmy Page was left with the name rights and obligations of The Yardbirds when all of the other members quit, and he had to perform a tour of Scandinavia that had been booked ahead of this. Through a combination of acquaintances and their own friends, Page was able to recruit vocalist Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham and bass guitarist John Paul Jones to join the band to fulfil those tour requirements. They toured under the name of The New Yardbirds, and in the process played some old Yardbirds songs as well as some newer material that the foursome had been working on in rehearsals for the tour. With the feeling within the group being positive, the band returned to London, with Page changing the name of the band to Led Zeppelin, and they entered the studio to record their first album.
The album took only 36 hours to record, a figure that Jimmy Page was able to ascertain because he paid for it, and had the bill from the studio that listed 36 hours as the billable fee. Reportedly the band was able to have the album done in this short period of time because the material for the album had been selected beforehand, and had been rehearsed and in most instances played on that tour of Scandinavia. Thus everything was in place for the band’s first foray onto vinyl.

Many songs on the album are cover versions of other artists tracks, especially the very noticeable blues tracks. "You Shook Me" is complete, unadulterated, blues, written by Willie Dixon. No need to try and work out what the basis of this track is in the scheme of things. Apart from the higher pitched vocals on offer here, and the keyboards that make their appearance, it could have come from any blues record from the previous twenty years or so. You've got the slow beat of the drums, the blues riffling guitar, along with those keys and the harmonica as well. And it sometimes feels like it drags out a lot longer than those six minutes too. Still, it fits in well in the scheme of the album as a whole, and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb at least. You can read the same for "I Can't Quit You Baby", also written by Dixon, and showing all the same symptoms of blues. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" is a reworking of the original Anne Bredon folk song, which is improved by being more up-tempo and with Plant's vocals crying over the top, but also the change from the acoustic guitar to begin into the harder push past the bridge of the song. For those that enjoy the band W.A.S.P. you will also hear where some of the music was ‘inspired’ by for their album “The Crimson Idol” on this song.
Some of it such as "Black Mountain Side" sounds like hippy music with guitars and bongos, the kind of stuff I was forced to go and listen to during my university days when I was courting a girl who loved this stuff (nope, I do not), and while of course that was still very much in vogue at the time of this album it has never appealed to me. This is saved by the immediate interruption of the next song, which then comes crashing into "Communication Breakdown", a much better tempoed song. The same for me occurs in regards to "I Can't Quit You Baby" into "So Many More Times". The slower blues number can sometimes lose my interest, but once the album moves into the last song on the album it jumps back into action.
The opening track “Good Times Bad Times” is a good one, with the initial showcasing of all four in their best environment. Plant on lead vocals has that honeyed main vocal line but the ability to hit the heights when he wants. The backing of all three of the other members is also important. Jones and his beautiful bass line throughout is terrific, while Page’s great lead breaks are that integral part to the best Led Zeppelin songs. “Dazed and Confused” is still one of the band’s best known tracks, but to be honest has never been one of my favourites. I like bits of the song (Jimmy’s guitar in general) but I’ve obviously never been dazed enough or confused enough to appreciate it more fully. And the opening track of side two, “Your Time is Gonna Come”, with opening organ into acoustic guitar with Robert’s vocals is nice and pretty, but for me never seems to get out of first gear. It is another example of a song that is fine for what it is, and no doubt was tremendously popular with the fans of this era, but for me just doesn’t wet my whistle.
This could have been a disastrous album if not for Robert Plant's vocals, and that is not having a go at the other three members and their contributions. It’s just that there are so many quiet places throughout, where only the slow and almost unnoticeable drum beat and a turned down or acoustic guitar leave the vocals open to any slight wavering or cock up. But that just never happens. Plant's voice is just magnificent, and makes those slow silent times become alive. The album shows glimpses of Bonham's hard hitting drum work, but focuses mainly on the lesser extravagant slow tom beating, which is nicely settled in rhythm by John Paul Jones bass guitar. The same with Jimmy Page's guitaring, which shows great technique in the blues and slower songs without really showcasing his greater talent.

I have never been the greatest Led Zeppelin fan, though I appreciate their faster heavier work more than the majority of what it on show here. Like many other albums of its type, I can still put this album on and listen to it without prejudice, and enjoy the skills being shown. Plant's vocals can draw anyone in such as the display on Led Zeppelin. But apart from the second half of "Dazed and Confused" and "Communication Breakdown", I can't say that I love anything else that is on this album. It's more of an appreciation of the talent of the band and what they do with these songs than a great love of the songs themselves for me here.
Over the years I would hear bits and pieces of the band’s work, but it really wasn’t until they released the excellent double CD “Remasters” with all of their greatest hits on it that I began to appreciate the band. And eventually I went back and began to gather their albums, one by one, and listen to them in order to catalogue each album as its own entity rather than listen to a selection of songs.
This debut album is one that I have had for a while now, and one that I am still getting more from each time I take it out and give it a spin. Over the past couple of weeks I have found I have heard more of each member in each song as I have listened. Perhaps that is simply because on this occasion I was listening to it in a critical way in order to present it for this podcast episode. But I think that more than that, being older and less attuned to have to say ‘that’s brilliant’ or ‘that’s crap’ to every album I listen to, I understand the album and its time better than I have in the past. As I said before, that doesn’t mean I actually love all these songs, or even love this album, but I appreciate it and have listened to it with enjoyment rather than out of necessity. The playing on this album is the real winner, the way the four members combine in the first instance of what became their music immortality. As a starting point, you can’t help but be drawn in just a little.