24. THE AUTEURS - AFTER MURDER PARK (1996)
The Auteurs are a bit of an oddity , After releasing 2 acclaimed albums & generally being thought of as the next big thing (They were one of the bands that appeared on the famous 'Britpop' cover of Select magazine in 1992 , which is generally considered to be the launch of the movement)They released this album , their darkest most intense album yet and it does nothing more than return to them to obscurity.Which is a shame really because it`s the best album they ever made.I guess one of the reasons why was because they didn`t really fit the Britpop asthetic when this came out.With Steve Albini`s production , Alice Readman`s chello giving every song a moody atmosphere and Luke Haines stinging lyrics , this is a million miles away from your average Parklife lite albums that were saturating the market at the time.Luke Haines can knock out a good rock song , in fact the album opener Light Aircraft On Fire' opens up with the lyrics "When you cut your lover's slack, you'll get a f*cking monster back.", there`s no let up with this guy.But it`s really the slower songs that shine here.Songs like Child Brides , Everything You Say Will Destroy You , Unsolved Child Murders and Dead Sea Navagators are the most brooding , chilling songs i`ve heard this side of Joy Division.
Interpol? don`t make me laugh.
Favourite Songs - Unsolved Child Murders , Tombstone , Everything You Say Will Destroy You , New Brat In Town
23. NEW YORK DOLLS - NEW YORK DOLLS (1973)
I have a DVD of the New York Dolls playing Jetboy on The Old Grey Whistle Test back in 1974.It`s probably the worst live performance I have ever seen , they are just awful.But you know what , it`s f*cking great.
But that one performance sums up why I would take attitude over technical ability any day of the week.They are barely holding the song together but it`s like a car crash , you can`t take your eyes off it and you can`t ignore them .The New York Dolls are basically The Rolling Stones cranked up to 11 , A distorted f*cked up version of what the Stones would have ended up like if the whole band had become drug addicts & went much too far with the make up.The songs are cheap, tacky and throwaway , yet they are so much fun you find yourself going back again & again to listen to them. This is what just how glam rock should sound like , not the limp wristed ballads that plagued 80s glam rock.This is a throwback to all the things that rock n roll was originally about. To be loud , to be shocking and to not give a f*ck.And this album is all those things , with a ton of lipstick on top.
Favourite Songs - Personality Crisis , Looking For A Kiss , Vietnamese Baby , Jetboy
22. THE CLASH - SANDINISTA! (1980)
As i`ve already made a thread expressing my love for this album I guess it`ll be easier just to repeat what I said about it in there in the hope that just one person buys this wonderful album.....
I don`t care what anybody says , i ADORE this album. I don`t think it`s a masterpiece by any means , I don`t even think it`s the Clash`s best album. But to have such a big hit as London Calling and then follow it up with a 6 sided album full of dub, electronica, hip-hop,folk, ballads , motown , soul, skiffle, gospel and everything in between , well quite honestly that takes balls , and to release it at the same price as a normal album , so much for the punks calling them sell outs.
A lot of people hate it , but hey who cares what they think , some of the above mentioned punks even dismissed this as 'prog rock' when it came out. But I would rather have a band who tries & fails than just rehash the same 3 chords of their first album over & over again. Yes it`s huge , yes it`s bloated but strip it away theres a fantastic album under it , even better than London Calling in my opinion if you take best 12 or 13 songs on it . But if you do that you lose the whole fun of this album.This is a great album for putting on & just getting lost in , you just never know whats coming next , even if you`ve played it a lot.
Strummer said before he died there isn`t a single thing on this album he would change , I totally agree with him.
There , wish all these entries were that easy
Favourite Songs - The Magnificent Seven , Somebody Got Murdered , The Call Up , Washington Bullets
21. ALICE COOPER - BILLION DOLLAR BABIES (1973)
Ahhh , now I have a real soft spot for this album , in fact the only probable reason it`s not on the top 10 is because i`ve not listened to it in a while. In 1973 when this came out The Alice Cooper Band were one of the biggest in the world , even bigger than Led Zeppelin.And this was the album that arrived at the pinnacle of that , after that the boozing & the constant touring affected things and it was downhill all the way, but at least they got this wonderful record out before that happened.Like most Alice Cooper albums there`s plenty of horror , but this horror is more true to life.This is social commentary Alice Cooper style.It`s about the horror of having too much money (Billion dollar babies , Generation Landslide , Elected )The horror of being outcast (No More Mr Nice Guy)Even the horror of going to the dentist(Unfinished Sweet).Production wise this album is spot on too , the album opener Hello Hooray has a Phil Spector wall of sound feel to it , but not quite enough to take the edge off it and then there`s Donovan sharing singing duties with Alice on the title track.Easily Alice`s best work & for me one of the best classic rock albums of all time.In fact looking at what came after it`s kind of sad he/they didn`t call it a day after this came out.
Favourite Songs - Hello Hooray , Billion Dollar Babies , Elected , Generation Landslide