Thanks John, very informative stuff in there! Would be wonderful to hear your thoughts on those you don't know, they're all available to download/stream as well!

 

-x-

 

 

Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory

 

The album that would come to define both the band's career and the Britpop movement of the 1990s. ...Morning Glory was the second studio album by Oasis and was a departure from the more raw rock feel of their first album and much more bigger, more brash and loud and would indeed come to define their singalong anthemic sound. It received a lukewarm critical reception at first but (mainly due to how many people LOVED it), it has been reappraised and seen as their best album and turned them into rock superstars. It sold a then record breaking 345,000 copies in its first week and remained the best selling album of the 1990s.

 

Now this is my shit. I know this album already, being a big fan of them anyway, so I was just revisiting it but while Oasis did have a patchy career (for a band I love, they've done a hell of a lot of duds), in their early days, they were unbeatable and this album just proves it. 'Anthemic' really does define the album, the instruments and solos are always, Liam and Noel sing the hell out of these songs, it's pretty much defined to be heard in a massive stadium. Lyrics-wise, it's not the greatest, in fact, it's downright terrible in places ('slowly walking down the hall/faster than a cannonball, 'The sink is full of fishes/She's got dirty dishes on the brain' ????), but true lyrical power was never really their priority, Noel structured a kind of vague enough meaning that people could connect to the basics and Liam made it all about that massive soundscape and singalong sound, it's what made things like Don't Look Back in Anger, Wonderwall and Some Might Say such huge hits, but if it works this well, why change it? Pretty much every song here sounds huge, and the aforementioned examples are all amazing if a bit overplayed, but there's joy to be had in the album tracks too, Cast No Shadow and Morning Glory are two particularly standouts with some excellent guitars on the latter and a great desolate atmosphere on the former. If I had to pick a highlight though that sums up the album, it's the closer, Champagne Supernova, it's slowly building structure, nonsense lyrics (even Noel doesn't know what it's about) and truly anthemic chorus comes together to make something truly excellent. I'm so sad this was never released in the UK, it's a real favourite.

 

I kinda get some of the criticism of Oasis and this album certainly won't change your mind about them, but they did exactly what they set out to do with this album and every song is a excellently conceived singalong anthem for just about everyone, and given they became rather hit and miss for the rest of their career, hearing them at their best reminds me of why I was such a fan and makes me wish I was older at the time to truly appreciate them as it's the sounds of a truly fun era. It's probably one of my favourite albums, and it was wonderful revisiting it.

 

9.5

Lauryn Hill was a really good surprise, particularly To Zion, very powerful track but all of that album went pretty hard, enjoyable stuff.

 

Oasis is a weird one for me, I like them and have listened to them a lot out of bands of that era, but I can't really enjoy them for long periods over an entire album, and once I have, it makes even the singles seem a bit less special. Other Britpop bands are in my experience a lot better at avoiding fatigue. So there's some great tracks on Morning Glory but I don't think I'd want to listen beyond the best songs again.

What’s the Story... is a really good album. It soundtracked my sixth form years (still feel so lucky to have had such a distinctive era for music whilst I was that age) and it’s stood the test of time well. Hello isn’t amazing, nor are Roll With It or Hey Now but the rest of the album are classics.

Morning Glory is one I bought at the time, the swagger of a band in their prime, and any act which is clearly inspired by The Beatles & Glam Rock, updating the love for another musical generation, is one which has already persuaded me. Sadly any act which was inspired enough by the sound of Gary Glitter to rip it off (or as I prefer to think of producer Mike Leander rather than the bloke singing it) can't mention that anymore. Cough, hello, cough.

 

When I get round to listening to those I havent bought I'll start with Ziggy as I have half the tracks on compilations already :lol:

Interested to see what you make of The Joshua Tree. I find U2 a bit too much most of the time but this, Zooropa and Achtung Baby are the only albums by them that I like.

Sorry I meant to post this yesterday but got distracted, thanks for the comments re: Oasis, I so wish I was old enough to appreciate them at their peak, such great music around at that time.

 

-x-

 

 

U2 - The Joshua Tree

 

The Joshua Tree was the fifth album from the Irish stadium rockers and is perhaps the best representation of their status as stadium fillers, it departed from the ambient, experimental sound of their last album and it had a proper hard-hitting rock approach. With sociopolitical and sometimes biting lyrics throughout centring on their view of America at the time as well as contrasting that with their spiritual view of the mythical America. It was named after a common plant that is found in the deserts of Southwest United States with religious significance which summarised a lot of the album's themes. The USA indeed took very well to the album alongside many other places, it was a huge success and remains one of the world's best selling albums, it came to define the anthemic rock sound that they would be so known for.

 

I like U2 a lot, their best days are long behind them, but they've had a very diverse and anthemic back catalogue. Despite knowing their singles very well, I hadn't got round to an album from them until this one. This was a great place to start though as it really does show how effectively they combine political statements with an excellent anthemic sound. Much like the last album , pretty much every song on here sounds like it could be played loud in a stadium but unlike that, there is definitely more of a depth to the lyrics and a real pain in Bono's voice that makes you take notice. It starts with three of their biggest ever hits - Where The Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For and With or Without You respectively - I don't know if they knew these would be the ones to push, but it's a hell of a start and really draws you into the album. The other tracks aren't quite as anthemic but have a deep and contemplative storytelling edge. Bullet the Blue Sky is particularly harsh and dramatic in sound with a spoken word section dripping with contempt for then president, Ronald Reagan. Exit is another big highlight starting with hushed vocals before the guitars and foreboding atmosphere take over. There are also more quieter, more thoughtful moments such as One Tree Hill, their tribute to Bono's PA who had died in a motorcycle accident and Running to Stand Still. The ode to the classic America that this album is can be felt in the sound, asides from sounding like vintage U2, it is accompanied with harmonicas, fiddles and acoustic strumming adding a real Americana country feel to it, with the lyrics encompassing vast aspects of American scenery, folklore and spiritual scenery, it all works extremely well as a package and ends on a suitably ominous note with the beautifully building Mothers of the Disappeared.

 

They would go back to their experimental sound for their next album, Achtung Baby, and while I do really like their more experimental and unconventional songs, I think this album really shows the best that they can achieve with that rousing, anthemic sound with a political edge (no pun intended) that doesn't turn into preaching (Bono really does that well doesn't he) and I really enjoyed listening to this. I'd say if there's any U2 album that really sums up their dominance of the 80s rock scene, it's this one.

 

9.0

I actually hated U2 for the longest time and can't figure out why, I've never listened to an album in full before this either but this was so damn good, so many good political songs, Red Hill Mining Town made me go back and read about the 80s miners strikes again and Bullet The Blue Sky is amazing as you said. Very strong alt rock stuff with good messaging, and yes indeed those little American sound effects are lovely. I suspect it's some of their other big hits I'm not so keen on.

Interested to see what you make of The Joshua Tree. I find U2 a bit too much most of the time but this, Zooropa and Achtung Baby are the only albums by them that I like.

 

 

The Joshua tree is by far their best album.

Okay so I've definitely heard that Oasis album - once again it was a long time ago but it does remind me of caravan holidays in Wales (I think my dad must have bought it there) so nice memories there.

 

The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed

 

The Rolling Stones' eighth album (tenth in America) was recorded amongst pretty bad circumstances for the band. Mainly being that of Brian Jones, who in his final days, became inebriated and unreliable in the studio, he was fired in the process and only appeared on the album playing backing instruments, this was his last ever appearance by Jones on the album as he died less than a month after being eventually dismissed from the band. Keith Richards was the only guitarist as a result as the replacement, Mick Taylor, didn't come into until after principal recording on most songs had finished. There was also a rather dark concert around the time of the release at Altamont Free Concert which resulted in the death of a fan by the Hells Angels biker gang. Thankfully, they moved past all this and the album was a success, often seen these days as one of their best albums with some signature songs on there.

 

I've never listened to Rolling Stones in real depth before this album, I liked a handful of tracks but none were real favourites outside of the bizarrely brilliant She's a Rainbow. I always assumed from that that they were similar to the Beatles in terms of 60s psychedelia, but this album proved otherwise as it was a return to the more Blues/Country rock esque sound which they've pretty much stuck to since they were around. This album was a bit mixed, it's not my favourite type of sound and there were a fair few disposable ones even at just nine tracks, but I did find a handful I enjoyed as well. This album's opener and closer contains two of their most classic songs - Gimme Shelter and You Can't Always Get What You Want - and I will confess my ignorance to these before this album, I did enjoy both though, the latter particularly has a real anthemic feel with the length, singalong chorus and choir and it does seem like their Hey Jude moment (even if it associated with Trump rallies now, thanks x), additionally Country Honk is actually Honky Tonk Women. Not so good is the title track, packed full of rather graphic sexual imagery that probably may have been a funny bit of banter at the time but now...nah ('we all need someone to cream on' being one example of a lyric...), that has no business being over five minutes long. But it's better elsewhere, for all the rather standard bluesy rock sound, there are some that stand out. Midnight Rambler is an slowly building rockabilly story about a midnight marauder that keeps you interested throughout and builds in tempo as it goes on. Monkey Man is also quite fun, starting with a twinkling piano and ending with Jagger wailing 'I'm a moonkaaaayyyy'.

 

It is quite incredible that the Rolling Stones are still going as strong as ever after almost sixty years, it's easy to forget that their founding member was one of the 27 Club, it speaks to how well they worked as a group together and this album, while not incredible, does have a fairly classic sound that they would go on to consistently stick with and you can see how America in particular would get behind them. I do find a lot of my favourites from them came from their more experimental era in the 1960s so I may have preferred those albums, but there's some good stuff on here too. Definitely not a favourite on the list, but it was a nice brisk listen and there was just about enough there to keep me interested.

 

7.5

I’ve finally got round to reading through this. Sorry I’m a bit late to the show. I’ll try and keep following it in a more timely fashion from now on.

 

Dark Side Of The Moon is a great album which still sounds fantastic now, nearly 50 years on. Abbey Road is definitely one of the best Beatles albums. As it was the last they recorded, they certainly went out on a high.

 

I’ve never owned a copy of Never Mind The Bollocks but have heard it many times. In Suede’s early days, they used to play the album between the support act and them coming on so I got to know it very well.

 

Screamadelica remains one of my favourite 90s albums, probably Andy Weatherall’s finest piece of work. It is a rather odd album in Primal Scream’s catalogue as it is so different from the rest of their material.

 

Funeral is an extraordinary debut album (ignoring their earlier EP). It includes everything bar the kitchen sink and really ought to sound a mess but doesn’t at all.

 

I’ve never really been a fan of Nirvana so Nevermind doesn’t do a lot for me.

 

Your comments on Ed Sheeran are perfectly valid. Many people who have had the success he had with his first two albums would have used the financial security that gave him to experiment a bit more. Maybe he is waiting until he has exhausted the main arithmetical functions before he does that.

 

Light My Fire is one of those songs that I loved from the first time I heard it but I have to confess I still haven’t heard the whole album.

 

Debaser and Monkey Gone To Heaven are both great Pixies tracks which I still listen to regularly now.

 

I’ve always found Frank Sinatra’s voice to be extremely limited. His versions of songs such as New York New York are perfectly decent but there’s no real range to his voice. I once found myself in a restaurant where one of his albums was playing and some of the tracks (all versions of well-known songs) were awful.

 

Hotel California is probably one of my most-played albums although it’s been a while since I heard it in full. I was quite intrigued when Joe Wlash joined them as he seemed a strange choice but it’s one that worked. The Last Resort is one of my favourite closing tracks on any album. I played it so many times that I knew where every crackle was on my worn-out vinyl copy. I sort of missed them when I got the CD!

 

Definitely Maybe and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory formed one of the best opening pairs of albums ever released. Unfortunately, they set such a high standard that they were unable to match it with any of their subsequent releases.

 

The Joshua Tree is perhaps U2’s definitive album and, with Mothers Of The Disappeared, has another of my favourite album closers. Yes, it’s a fairly pompous album but it came out before that sound became repetitive.

 

You wrote about Let It Bleed without mentioning Delia Smith. Well done! Have you heard the wonderful version of She’s A Rainbow by World Of Twist?

 

 

 

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

 

Something a bit more up to date now and one I can remember from when I first started getting into music. Arctic Monkeys immortalised how to get publicity by using the internet site, MySpace (RIP) and their debut album was a huge hit, becoming and still being to this date, the fastest selling debut album by a band, selling over 360,000 copies in its first week. It was one of the central moments of 2000s indie rock and cemented them as a huge name that, whilst the star's dimmed slightly since, they still continue to be.

 

Arctic Monkeys came into prominence as I started properly exploring music and I do hold the singles here in a rose-coloured view as I just loved 2005/2006 in music. But it's to their credit that I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor and When the Sun Goes Down still sound as great as ever today, the latter in particular is a chilling portrait of life after dark in England. They are easy highlights here, I am familiar with some of the album tracks as my sister was a big fan of them too, Mardy Bum (as horrible as that expression is eww) is a great cynical look at a sour relationship and Fake Tales of San Francisco are also pretty good. There isn't a whole lot of variation at all in sound here, but they were nowhere near the level they could do that yet, but they all have that same very catchy and snide approach with some distinctive, dry lyrics that, along with the strong accent, paints a convincing picture of young people in modern day Northern England, clubbing, 'pulling', disputes with the bouncer, getting taxis home at night etc. It may not connect with everyone (if you're outside the UK, particularly) but it felt very authentic as 'home grown' superstars and it's what kept me engaged whenever it got too samey, and it's such a brief and fast moving listen that you barely notice the time at all and it lends itself well to repeat listens. I think the highlights asides from those mentioned would be Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong..., a strange song which I think is about bad people in a nightclub that feels very dramatic and the closer, Riot Van feels a lot quieter and perhaps the only moving more towards social commentary on the album. A Certain Romance feels much more epic than the rest of the album is a good choice of closer.

 

This is often looked on as a modern classic, there isn't anything revolutionary here, none of this sound is particularly new and released these days, it probably wouldn't make as much of a splash. But looking back, while they didn't reinvent the wheel, it's crazy how many indie rock bands there were in 2006/7 that followed their imprint so it certainly encouraged a brief return to that genre (which I greatly miss </3) and this album really showcases what they do best - very catchy, dry cynical and socially conscious alt-rock that never drifts too far from home. It was the first type of music I was really into and this album, even now, was a great reminder of it.

 

8.0

After that catch-up post, I can comment more immediately this time! Whatever People Say I Am... sounded really fresh at the time. IT's still quite extraordinary that Alex Turner was only 20 when it came out. The lyrics sound as if they were written by someone a good deal older.

Thanks for the comment, Suede, great to read your thoughts, glad you're interested!

 

You wrote about Let It Bleed without mentioning Delia Smith. Well done! Have you heard the wonderful version of She’s A Rainbow by World Of Twist?

 

Oh wow, I must've missed that bit of trivia on the Wikipedia page :lol: How fun. I haven't heard that one no, I'll go and track it down!

Thanks for the comment, Suede, great to read your thoughts, glad you're interested!

Oh wow, I must've missed that bit of trivia on the Wikipedia page :lol: How fun. I haven't heard that one no, I'll go and track it down!

The Delia Smith fact is one of those wonderful pieces of trivia that are great for quizzes!

 

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead

 

The third and penultimate album released by The Smiths in their rather short yet very impactful career. It was their most commercially successful album, and the only one to chart in the Billboard top 200. It was known for it's blunt and humourous songwriting that contained biting and at times brutal takedowns of both the music industry (they were at the time having issues with their record label) and society at large. It was originally due to be titled 'Margaret on the Guillotine' so that should tell you all you need to know. While it might look like a regal woman being dead on the cover, it is actually a male actor taken from the film, L'Insoumis.

 

The main instant problem I have with this album and The Smiths music in general before even listening, which I haven't been hugely familiar with, is that the classic 'art from artist' argument that we're seeing with Kanye West, JK Rowling etc. in which in this case, Morrissey, is really doing all he can to ruin the reputation of his band. While he has always had a bit of a big mouth, but his recent rather eyebrow raising comments and supporting a far-right, nationalist party have been way too far, given he was at the forefront of the Smiths, it really made it quite hard not to think of that while listening to this, and if he does end up 'cancelled', I wonder what that means for his back catalogue in the future.

 

It'll be a great shame if it is tainted by this, because I am fully able to separate art from artist and can do so here and can see that there is a lot of really good stuff on this album. And as much I hasten to say it, yes it is very well written with some particularly astute observations on society and indeed the regal monarchs as shown in opening title track The Queen is Dead and a very pointed attack at their record managers in Frankly Mr Shankly ('I'd feel more fulfilled making Christmas Cards for the mentally ill' being a particularly cutting moment). At the time of course, Morrissey, while outspoken, probably was generally looked upon much more favourably as a voice of the overlooked working class so I do see why many called him a genius and hilarious, but a song like Bigmouth Strikes Again where he's essentially just playing up his criticism aimed at him for laughs has his skyscraper ego all over it and I can't get into that (although it doesn't help that it's a bit annoying anyway). The best moments here though are when you can forget who's singing because they are just incredible, timeless songs where you get a sense of the vulnerability and human presence behind the facade, and the great strumming guitars and symphonic instruments that accompany these moments make them all the more cinematic and beautiful. Never Had No One Ever and The Boy With a Thorn In His Side are great examples, but the best one is certainly There is a Light That Never Goes Out. Commonly seen as one of the all time greatest songs and I see why, it's a beautifully tragic, yet incredibly simple song accompanied with siren strings that almost everyone can relate to even today and the LGBT connections (never confirmed but hinted at) fit very well and could played today just as easily. I think only How Soon Is Now is ahead of it in terms of my favourite songs from them.

 

So overall, a pretty great album that had the unfortunate caviar that Morrissey's disgusting personality is still quite prevalent even if it wasn't at its worst at the time, so it may just be a problem for newer listeners like me. But nonetheless, I was able to look past that here. I definitely recommend separating art from artist and/or appreciating the profound poet that he was as there is a lot to appreciate on the album, very little filler and still some of the most cut throat and distinctive British lyricism I've encountered on this list so far.

 

8.5

Morrissey is the classic of the difficulty of separating the man from the music. He and Johnny Marr wrote some great songs but he is still an awful person. Several years ago, someone tweeted at the time of an early Smiths performance on the TOTP repeats that it was from a time before Morrissey ws a dick (the actual word used was ruder). I responded that it was before we realised he was a dick.

 

My favourite Smiths song is also How Soon Is Now?

U2's Joshua Tree is a classic, and they are easily one of the best stadium bands I've ever seen, just awesome in the live setting. The Stones too make more sense in a stadium, but I've only ever bought greatest hits sets from them, bar 1978's Some Girls. As you hint, I find them too hit and miss, and largely pedestrian since 1983, though the recent Lockdown single could have easily sat on any of their albums as a stand-out.

 

Arctic Monkeys arrived with a tremendous bang, and left me increasingly cold afterwards - I'm much more interested in The Last Shadow Puppets and Alex's Scott Walker enthusiasm.

 

The Smiths were great in their short career, but they were a band and the band isn't responsible for any of Morriseys' headline-grabbing quotes. The driving force for me was always Johnny Marr even if the centrepiece was Mozza and his lyrics. For the record, they didn't really appeal to the working class (even if the lyrics come over that way), they were more of a student arty band and Rock Muso band, most in the general public thought Morrissey was a miserable twat during their heyday, and he was busy slagging off his contemporaries way back when, and even before when he sent in letters of comment to music magazines when he was a pleb like the rest of us. So not really much change then....

 

 

I try not to get too sucked into Morrissey's personal beliefs and outbursts - The Smiths are one of my favourite bands and their back catalogue is one of the most consistently strong I have come across. My personal faves include This Charming Man, What Difference Does It Make, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, Barbarism Begins At Home and There Is A Light... I think when the music is this good, it is easier to separate the man from the music. I still enjoy MJ's music despite not being so sure these days about his innocence.

I do agree, it's definitely very important to separate art from artist. It's always a bit more difficult when the artist is still alive and profiting and becoming more powerful because of it, but I always tell myself that some of the greatest films of all time came from apparently, pretty awful people!

 

-x-

 

 

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

 

Pet Sounds was the landmark record of the Beach Boys' career and still remembered today as one of the most important and influential albums in music history. Predominantly making surfing, party music, Brian Wilson of the band longed to experiment more and after a lengthy period of recording after quitting the band's touring, he came up with one of the key works with progressive pop, using a wide variety of instruments and vocal harmonies that went well beyond the norms for rock music at the time, including bicycle bells, French horn, flutes, Electro-Theremin, string sections, and beverage cans. It baffled his bandmates, but he persisted and so it is often considered as a Brian Wilson solo album, a highly introspective album about a hopeless romantic. It is regarded as an early example of a concept album, could not be performed and crucial to the development of psychedelic pop music and artistic statements in pop music. Critical response was mixed at first but it has improved over time and there are very few that dispute it's status as an all time great these days. Interestingly, Wilson was inspired to innovate more after hearing the Beatles' Revolver released the year before, it must've been wonderful for him to hear that the Beatles themselves were inspired after hearing this album to record Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

 

This album is BEAUTIFUL, like seriously. I can think of no album that truly gives you quite the invigorating audio experience that this does. The amount of instruments and intricate compositions that go into every single song on here, every time you hear it, you notice something new. It's the equivalent of a Stanley Kubrick film, every shot and movement so carefully composed, every chord and progression in the music seems to serve a purpose, it forces you to pay attention. There are frequent changes in tone, key and mood midway through a song that not only serve great command over the music but also the mood, good examples are I'm Waiting For The Day and Wouldn't It Be Nice, whereas instrumentals like Let's Go Away For a While show the full might of the packed and eclectic recording studio (at least based on what I read). Wouldn't It Be Nice as the opening track sounds like classic Beach Boys but then it changes and the instrumental gets softer and more wistful, hinting at a greater emotional depth to the song beyond the happy opening. And the lyrical and vocal themes on the album by Wilson is equally beautiful, across all the songs, there is a clear picture of a devoted yet clearly emotionally vulnerable and scared protagonist and the symphonic wall of sound that surrounds him are the perfect backing for his wild emotional turns throughout the album and his affectionate falsetto is well matched. This really works as a full piece to appreciate the full atmosphere around you so I would recommend the whole album rather than isolated tracks, but the other ubiquitous song on the album, God Only Knows, works well either way. I had heard this before and while I thought it was good, I didn't fully appreciate it until I heard this album, there is again so many intricate key changes, tonal shifts and other technical music stuff that enhances the production, it's a clear as day ethereal heaven sound that matches the lyrics well. It really speaks for the amount of care that went into making this album cohesive and completely in sync both musically and lyrically and such a beautiful artistic vision. I'm sad Wilson apparently had quite a lot of struggles in life, he really does seem quite the genius to mastermind all of this.

 

Despite my glowing praise, there is one song that breaks the flow of the album in my view - Sloop John B, apparently a cover of an old reggae song, it fits in the mould of previous Beach Boys surfing songs and was apparently only included so the album could have a hit single, and it went at the expense of the all time classic, Good Vibrations! That just annoys me and the song just doesn't fit into the rest of the album which makes me kinda mad x But that's a mere blot on an otherwise pretty perfect piece of work, my overall impression of the Beach Boys prior to this was that they primarily were based on surfing, Americanised music. This was beyond what I expected from them, and it is still one of the most beautifully composed, sung and produced albums I've heard doing this. I would highly recommend this to anyone curious, gah where has this been all my life? :heart:

 

9.5