Fruitonica

I don't think I've commented before, but I should say this is an awesome list.

Bulldog

Cheers I'm guessing you'll like at least one of the albums in the next four. Got a few things to take care of and then I'll get cracking with the entries...

Bulldog

18. Paul McCartney - Ram (1971)

That's right, there's a Paul McCartney album here. I'd say why, but let's have a tiny bit of back-story first. Following the breakup of the Beatles, fans could be forgiven for expecting sweeping artistic statements from each one of them (alright, three of them). Lennon delivered the superb John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Harrison the epic All Things Must Pass. McCartney on the other hand didn't; his first solo record being the slap-dash collection of demos McCartney. Here's where he starts to take things a bit more seriously, by writing an album's-worth of material with his wife Linda. Although Ram still has that ramshackle feel, the production sounds a lot fuller and more considered than McCartney. It's easy to dismiss Ram as an album of hastily-composed songs thrown together on one LP, but on the other hand it's just as easy to see it as album which, as a result of the lack of a stylistic blend between songs, becomes greater than the sum of its parts. It's hardly the most abrasive record ever made, but it remains a glorious, melody-driven pop album, with a few harder rock 'n' roll numbers like the gorgeously noisy Smile Away and the playful Monkberry Moon Delight to spice things up a little. Probably the most intriguing part of the album would be the Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey medley - to some ears five minutes of cheesy noise, to others a masterpiece of a collage of differing melodies and structures. Either way, it's one of McCartney's most experimental solo tracks, and one of the high-points on a very diverse and endlessly fascinating record. Ram is basically the sound of McCartney doing what he was good at; writing great pop songs with terrific melodies and harmonies to make it all work. Ambitious yet unpretentious = classic album.
The best bits: Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, Ram On, Monkberry Moon Delight

17. Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust (1988)

Despite virtually being superstars in Australia, by the time the year of my birth came along Midnight Oil were little more than a rumour in Britain and the US. Anyone who knows the Oils will know that whatever they did musically, vocalist Peter Garret always had a very strong message to deliver. In order to get the world of 1988 to listen though, a softer approach was required. Gone are the rough edges and eccentricities of earlier albums such as 10-1 and Red Sails In the Sunset, and in comes a production style which favours the tuneful side of Midnight Oil's songwriting a lot more. To say 'the Oils went pop' though would be grossly simplifying things - it's true that the in-your-face punk attitude of their earlier works are no longer there, but this allows each band member to apply careful thought to less-aggressive songs like the Dead Heart and Arctic World, while the aimed-at-the-masses production approach provides fantastic results on the faster numbers like Dreamworld and Bullroarer. Best of all though, the lyrics are typically politically-oriented; the majority of these songs being concerned with Aboriginal rights, and you've gotta give the guys credit for seeing Beds Are Burning, a song which explicitly demands indigenous reparations, climb to the higher reaches of singles charts all over the world. Regardless of this though, from my experience the Oils are band you either love or hate. I think it should be obvious which category I fall into.
The best bits: Dreamworld, Warakurna, Sell My Soul

16. Happy Mondays - Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches (1990)

Out of a mountain of pills and hallucinogens comes this masterpiece of catchy hooks, cut-and-paste rhythms and Shaun Ryder's atonal lyrical mumblings, and without doubt the best album from the Madchester craze. While their Stone Rose contemporaries delivered classic pop songs, the Mondays announced the arrival of the ecstasy age in pop music. It's an album that only a bunch of junkies could have created - a reinterpretation of oldies (John Kongos' He's Gonna Step On You Again becomes the anthemic Step On), sometimes plagiarising entire songs (the fantastic Kinky Afro was in no small way based on LaBelle's Lady Marmalade), all the while subverting pop song structures, while the rhythm section does a magnificent job in giving each one a blissfully danceable edge. Although the credit for this collage of style and sound goes to the production team, the idea of painting such a vivid, drug and sex-fueled picture of urban life was entirely Shaun Ryder's, revealing himself here as an extremely talented lyricist. It's basically a thuggish and sleazy album which mixes elements of acid house (containing some brilliant samples, like the flute on Bob's Yer Uncle with pop-rock, and an absolute classic which had a massive influence on that whole Cool Britannia thing in the 90s.
The best bits: Donovan, Bob's Yer Uncle, Holiday

15. The Zombies - Odyssey and Oracle (1968)

I won't lie; it's not like I'm a massive fan of psychedelia or anything. This, though, counts as my favourite ever such album, mixing dreamy melodies, harmonised choruses and colourful swathes of mellotron based around the rock 'n' roll song structure. Ironically, considering in Time Of the Season it spawned their biggest hit, Odyssey and Oracle was intended as a swansong for a band on the verge of splitting up during recording. The results are just mesmerising, and ones which made an instant impact on yours truly. With solid rhythms, white-hot piano melodies and textured mellotrons, it delivers some of the best psychedelic songs ever in the form of Changes and Hung Up On a Dream, as well as some wonderfully composed pop songs with that same psychedelic air about them like the uplifting Friends Of Mine and Care Of Cell, and more downbeat, emotional centrepieces for the album such as Beechwood Park and Butcher's Tale. I could go on, but there's already a pretty solid review of this somewhere in this forum, so I'll just say it's an end-to-end classic and one of the very finest albums of the 60s.
The best bits: A Rose For Emily, Changes, Friends Of Mine

Mojo

I've never heard any Zombies stuff but this sounds interesting. I'm gonna be all over this. Do you have an up? If you dont I wouldnt worry about it too much, I'm sure its easy to find and you've been kind enough to throw a few my way in the past. Good review by the way.

__________________

Last.FM | Echoes and Dust

Bulldog

I haven't got an up, but I'll be able to get you one pretty soonish. Keep an eye on your PMs

Molecules

yeessssssss
I don't think it's easy to dismiss Ram on any level. Is it better than Band On the Run though is the eternal question...? If anybody on here has anything positive to say about this I will eat a very nice cake.

The reviews are starting to get epic...

As for the Mondays brilliant, I would have chosen Bummed myself of course All their albums have been remastered recently so thanks for giving me something else to spend money on you £$^&£%*?1!

''YOUR DREAM WORLD IS JUST ABOUT TO END (FAAALLLLL)''

__________________

[SIZE="1"]Eff em
tumble her

Bulldog

If I didn't limit myself to three album highlights, those would have been there too. The closing track Harmony is bliss too - kinda krautrockish in its own north-western way.

Thanks man. Depending how hungover I feel tomorrow, I'll get 'round to the next four then.

Not at all PM on the way.

It's one of those very rare albums which had such an impact on the first listen, and I still love it just as much now. Amazing album.

I've heard people criticise the album for sounding confused, which of course I think is absolute bollocks - in a lot of cases the disjointed sound of an album works wonders (the White Album, Spike, Sticky Fingers etc). It's also easy to dismiss McCartney's solo stuff just because it's McCartney's. I mean, sure, he's an arsehole, and has been responsible for some terrible music over the years, but it's all about this album (and Band On the Run of course).

Great news that they're remastering the Mondays' stuff - my only problem with Pills n Thrills is the muted sound of the CD. Can't wait for those reissues.

Bulldog

Time to press on with this then...

14. Peter Tosh - Equal Rights (1977)

One of the true classics of reggae music here, and the album which propelled Peter Tosh to the top of that particular pile significantly enough to rival the achievements of former Wailers bandmate Bob Marley. Having been the most militant of the Wailers, consequently we have a rough-edged record than Marley's Exodus which came out the same year (at least lyrically). Whether he's preaching for unity amongst the African people, protesting against the apartheid conditions rife in South Africa at the time or simply summoning people to stand up for their rights, Equal Rights is a very politically-motivated record indeed. The glory of the record though is that the powerful messages in each lyric do not overwhelm the songs themselves, as the smooth production style opted for delivers some of best songs you'll ever hear on any reggae or otherwise album. It's true that this kind of production does make for a record which strays from roots reggae stylistically, and thus not sounding quite so raw as the finest Burning Spear or Big Youth albums (for example), but this is what makes this into something that non-reggae fans can enjoy. Basically, if you've ever thought of giving reggae a try and have no idea where to start, this is one of the albums you should look to. A superb album boasting great rhythms and deeply evocative lyrics (which thankfully don't stray into Lauryn Hill territory) brought to life by Tosh's angry and forceful vocal style. Not quite the best of the best, but well worth a look.
The best bits: Get Up Stand Up, Downpressor Man, African

13. Black Uhuru - Red (1981)

Alright, it's the only Black Uhuru album I've got (I have been pointed in the direction of their Sinsemilla album before), but aside from the obvious one (which is nestled firmly among the top ten), I can't think of another classic reggae album which instantly left an impression on me. This release from the third incarnation of the Jamaican maestros (their name literally translating from Swahili as 'black freedom') sees their lineup consisting of the then-rising star Michael Rose, Sandra Jones, Derrick Simpson and the Sly & Robbie rhythm section. The presence of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare alone takes this album to the upper echelons of musical greatness, injecting the roots-backbone of the record with modern touches such as synth and electronic drums, resulting in an absolute killer of a record with a real dancehall vibe about it. Sly and Robbie also provide Red with yet more of the finest rhythms I've ever heard and, despite the modern production touches, a much rawer yet complex variation of roots reggae than the aforementioned Peter Tosh album. Consequently, it's a totally different kind of reggae-styled quality, being as it is a much more uptempo affair and lacking in the slower, more contemplative moments on any Tosh or Marley record, but one I'm sure even non-reggae fans will enjoy all the same (hell, I loved it when I first heard it). An endlessly enjoyable album, and very important in bringing roots reggae to the international scene.
The best bits: Sponji Reggae, Utterance, Carbine

12. Can - Tago Mago (1971)

Cripes, where do I even start with this one?! There's this bit in that rather rubbish movie School Of Rock where Jack Black's showing his class a diagram of musical genres, with a massive question mark next to Can's name, which I've always thought of as a pretty neat way to sum them up. Anyway, the album sees the flower of Can's creativity in full bloom here, with Damo Suzuki's inimitable vocal style being but one of the ingredients to a mixture which conjures of the most brilliant yet baffling albums of all time. Boasting three tracks which stray over the ten minute mark, and three more which run for longer than six minutes, it's quite a statement to say that there is not a single wasted note on this album. As it happens, it's also quite an accurate one. Paperhouse kicks off this avante-garde masterpiece brilliantly, going through movements in an almost classical song structure; from the low-key beginnings to a quickly-rolling midsection, before slowing down once again and speeding up to a terrific climax, all the while being textured by razor-sharp guitar tracks and robotic work of human metronome Jaki Liebezeit. It's a terrific start to the album and a vibe carried over to the following songs, the haunting Mushroom and hypnotic Oh Yeah. Then along comes one of the best midsections of any album, starting with the twenty minute rollercoaster ride that is Halleluwah. Genius is a word that's tossed around a lot these days (I remember using it after a particularly tasty Lancashire hotpot once), but it's not remotely out of place when it comes to this track and is present in its purest form - a pounding rhythm section beats out a trance-like and funky beat while Suzuki rants over the top. From a masterclass of rhythm to the almost ambient textures of the nightmare trip that is Aumgn; another brilliant work of composition that floats from speaker to speaker before evolving into the equally harrowing yet slightly more structured Peking O. Comparatively, the complex Bring Me Coffee Or Tea serves as a spot of light relief to wrap up a beautifully difficult yet massively rewarding landmark of an album.
The best bits: Paperhouse, Halleluwah, Aumgn

11. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Lick My Decals Off, Baby (1970)

Another place where the word genius wouldn't be out of place is where you're using it to describe the talents of this gentleman. Since acquiring Beefheart's full discography, I've plenty of albums which would easily grace a list such as this (such as Trout Mask Replica, Safe As Milk or Doc At the Radar Station for example), yet this, the followup to the aforementioned Trout Mask... gets my pick here, if not for the fact that its promotional TV ad was pulled from transmission simply because it freaked so many watchers out alone. While it's true to say that Safe As Milk was quite possibly the best pop album of the 60s, that Doc... is one of the true masterpieces of avante-garde music and Trout Mask... was the opus that showed the world the limits of what could be achieved within the confines of the rock band format, this album takes its predecessor that little bit further, adopting a slightly darker and unified atmosphere while sacrificing neither the complex guitar interplay nor the jazzy rhythms therein. It's also a great place to start for anyone wishing to explore the Good Captain at his most experimental, reining things in a little more to a comparably sizeable fifteen tracks, and still presenting the listener with the totally f*cked jazz-blues mutant of Beefheart's most difficult material, and more importantly one of the albums which does the most to reward repeated listening. Basically, what at first may sound like a random cacophony soon becomes something so much more - upon revisiting, some tracks will start to make more sense than others, as you start to notice intricate little melodies buried beneath the layers of improvisation and Beefheart's playful, cut-and-paste poetry. By the time you make it to around the fifth listen to the album as a whole, the full colour and scope of this avante-garde classic is fully revealed, and you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. That's how it happened with me anyway. Eccentric, ingenious - if you already think so, kudos. If not, what're you waiting for?!
The best bits: I Love You You Big Dummy, Japan In a Dishpan, the Buggie Boogie Woogie

And it's on to the top 10 next, which I'll be doing one by one. I'll just work on a run-down of the list so far and put the mixtape links where appropriate. So, watch this space!

Bulldog

20-11.rar
11. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Lick My Decals Off, Baby
12. Can - Tago Mago
13. Black Uhuru - Red
14. Peter Tosh - Equal Rights
15. The Zombies - Odyssey and Oracle
16. Happy Mondays - Pills, Thrills 'n' Bellyaches
17. Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust
18. Paul McCartney - Ram
19. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
20. Steely Dan - Aja

30-21.rar
21. Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
22. Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man
23. New Order - Technique
24. PIL - Flowers Of Romance
25. Baaba Maal - Missing You (Mi Yeewni)
26. The Byrds - Sweetheart Of the Rodeo
27. Love - Forever Changes
28. Human League - Dare!
29. The Beatles - The White Album
30. Supergrass - Road To Rouen

40-31.rar
31. The Clash - London Calling
32. 10ft Ganja Plant - Midnight Landing
33. Gorillaz - Demon Days
34. Pink Floyd - Animals
35. Transglobal Underground - Impossible Broadcasting
36. Tom Waits - Mule Variations
37. Faith No More - King For a Day, Fool For a Lifetime
38. Massive Attack - Blue Lines
39. Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy
40. The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette

50-41.rar
41. The Saints - Eternally Yours
42. XTC - Black Sea
43. Talking Heads - Remain In Light
44. Super Furry Animals - Guerilla
45. Joy Division - Closer
46. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing...
47. Gladys Knight & the Pips - Nitty Gritty
48. The Kinks - Village Green Preservation Society
49. Hybrid - Wider Angle
50. Morcheeba - Big Calm

60-51.rar
51. A Certain Ratio - I'd Like To See You Again
52. Sabrina Malheiros - Equilibria
53. Pulp - This Is Hardcore
54. The Specials - The Specials
55. David Byrne - Rei Momo
56. Depeche Mode - Violator
57. Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove
58. George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
59. The New Christs - Distemper
60. Turin Brakes - Jackinabox

70-61.rar
61. Joe Jackson - Night and Day
62. Aztec Camera - High Land, Hard Rain
63. Iggy Pop - The Idiot
64. Dub Incorporation - Diversité
65. Lou Reed - Berlin
66. The Birthday Party - Junkyard
67. Cibelle - Cibelle
68. Celibate Rifles - Sideroxylon
69. Brian Eno - Before and After Science
70. UNKLE - Psyence Fiction

80-71.rar
71. Paul Weller - Wild Wood
72. The Coral - The Coral
73. Air - Moon Safari
74. The Pop Group - Y
75. 10cc - The Original Soundtrack
76. Madness - Absolutely
77. The Meteors - Stampede
78. The Residents - Third Reich 'n' Roll
79. Blur - Parklife
80. Gang Of Four - Entertainment

90-81.rar
81. Bob Dylan - Desire
82. Kraftwerk - The Man Machine
83. The Buzzcocks - Another Music In a Different Kitchen
84. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
85. The Wedding Present - George Best
86. Johnny Thunders - So Alone
87. Magazine - Real Life
88. Big Youth - Screaming Target
89. Everything But the Girl - Temperamental
90. The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster - Hörse Of the Dög

100-91.rar
91. Alternative TV - The Image Has Cracked
92. The Music - The Music
93. Ohio Players - Skin Tight
94. Souad Massi - Deb
95. Frank Zappa - Jazz From Hell
96. Third World - 96 Degrees In the Shade
97. Gram Parsons - GP
98. Gomez - Bring It On
99. Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
100. The Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional