This Year's Model - Elvis Costello: Caustic reports from the human swell spat into the microphone over something that sounds like 1965 but feels like 1978. Fave track: You Belong to Me
Station to Station - David Bowie: From the epic lumbering nightmare juggernaut of the title track, to the cool Gregorian funk, skyscraping prayer, horror bubblegum, and mighty pathos, this is frequently my favourite Bowie outing of all. Fave track: Wild is the Wind
Debut - Lamb: In the high tide of 90s electronica this Mancunian duo added song craft to the breakbeats and made something new and engaging. Didn't last long but it lasts all through this one. Fave track: Gorecki
Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols: Changed my life with its sheer force, cheek and fury and bade me sever the ties to the traditions of my older siblings as well as mainstream culture in general. Still love it just as a rock album. Fave track: Holidays in the Sun
The Kick Inside - Kate Bush: I was 16 when it was new and I found the spookiness of the lyrics and strong melodism as powerful as any punk. There was great light in the quiet moments. Fave track: L'amour Looks Something Like You
Let it Bleed - The Rolling Stones: At a time when the only Stones stuff I liked was their mid 60s pop era I was in a situation where I had to do a lot of waiting (film set 1982). The farmhouse we stayed in had a small record stack from which I chiefly remember Monty Python's Contractual Obligation and this which was a revelation. From the eerie guitar play of Gimme Shelter to the shivering swell of Can't Always Get as the choir comes in, this is my favourite of the big four. Fave track: Midnight Rambler
Wilder - The Teardrop Explodes: Of the early 80s UK acts with big voices and exploratory lyrics I easily favoured TTE for their high melodism and non-slavish links back to their 60s inspirations. Fave track: The Great Dominions.
Babypop - France Gall: The sheer bomping joy of the bigger numbers and the surprisingly earnest kitsch of the slower sadder numbers do more for me than a swag of Beach boys albums to convey the teenage experience so that it's both serious and fab. Fave track: Attends Ou Va-T'en
Children of God - Swans: The junction of the version of the band that played headcrushing industrial manifestos and the band that calmed to refine those statements and find power in more intimate places, COG is one long celebration of religious charismatic preaching and condemnation of the religion itself. Gira's vocals found such power in the lower register, leaving Jarboe's cool mezzo space to add glowing light into the darkest and most brutal passages. Fave track: Our Love Lies
Closer - Joy Division: The album that launched a million scowling conversations about suicide remains an architecturally sound monument to anyone who has glimpsed the scars around every smile. Or a collection of great songs. You decide. Fave track: The Eternal
Some unfamiliar titles in there as well as many Il know well. I wouldn't have picked that that you rate The Kick Inside. I'll have to source the unfamiliars.
ReplyDeleteBtw how many blogs are you running? I've lost count...
The Kick Inside, apart from its own substantial worth came out in a year deafening with the great oafish monster crap like the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, Grease soundtrack, Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds and Bat Out of Hell and still sounded clear and cooling through the lot of them. I know this as I had to tape all of them except for the War o' the Worlds for John Milston one moderate afternoon. Can't remember what I got in return for that as John's taste was horrible (although he did get a copy of The Kick Inside).
ReplyDeleteBlogs ... murmur murmur, count count ... five. This one, Shadows, Daily Tablets, Monsoon Days and Fibula.