Urban Hat€monger ?

Into the top 40....

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40. Roxy Music - Roxy Music (1972)

I remember John Peel once saying 'The early 1970s were kinda boring , except for Roxy Music'.And he had a point. There were no overlong wanky solos here or your boring blues influenced c0ck rock that a million & one bands were churning out at the time. The great thing about Roxy Music was that they were fresh , they were totally new & different & beyond classification because threw all their influences together & created a sound that nobody then or since has sounded anything like .But above all they were FUN.The great thing about this album is the tension between Brian Eno pulling one way & Bryan Ferry pulling his way, It really makes the album. You have Ferry trying to pull the band into his smooth lounge lizard style one way & Eno with all his weirdy synthisizer effects pulling in the opposite way. Of course it would never last & Eno finally upped & left to do his own thing (Joined by everybody in Roxy Music except Ferry ironically enough). They only ever recorded 2 albums with Eno (This one & For Your Pleasure)and they made one good record without him (Stranded)But after that Roxy Music slid down the slippery slope to Ferry`s middle of the road soft rock hell. Still at least they had this album.

Favourite Songs - Remodel/Remake , 2HB , Virginia Plains , Ladytron


39. PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)

I love this album , probably because it was the best thing she`d done in ages. I liked her first couple of albums, but it was probably her album of demos for the Rid Of Me that really got me hooked. But then she seemed to slump & her next couple of albums were a huge disapointment.And then just as i`m thinking she`s on her way out , she comes out with this little beauty & restores my faith in her. There`s an energy about this album that she had with her first couple but the songs & the production are far better. The first 2 songs on the album just blew me away and the rest of them kept me interested right until the end. Something I can`t say of the 2 albums that preceeded this one. She won the Mercury music prize for this one. In reality not one of the other nominations could touch this.

Favourite Songs - Big Exit , Good Fortune , This Mess We`re In (With Thom Yorke) , Kamikaze


38. The Fall - Live At The Witch Trials (1979)

Ah-ha , there was always going to be an album by the Fall on this list , the question was always going to be which one. I decided to go for the one that started it all.I will put my cards on the table right now & say that Mark E Smith is a real hero of mine. In an industry full of hangers on , bullsh*tters , and talentless idiots who sell music with their looks & expensive videos on MTV, Mark E Smith is a breath of fresh air.He reminds me of the miserable old bloke you see in the pub permenently pissed & mouthing off about anything & everything.He does what he wants , says what he wants , he once fired his own wife from the band , another time he decided he would do a gig by himself & locked his entire band in the dressing room for 2 hours while he performed.The Falls music itself changes like the weather. On this album you have Mark snarling & drawling his vocals over your typical lo fi punk rock but with an electric piano added to give the music a totally different dimension. Sometimes you wonder if you`re listening to a rock album or a gameshow theme, totally weird. A million or so albums down the line Mark is still putting out music and still hiring & firing members like they`re going out of fashion , their last album was still just as aggressive & as uncompromising as this was 25 years ago. God bless the old bugger.

Favourite Songs - Frightened , Rebellious Jukebox , Mother/Sister , Music Scene


37. Gorkys Zygotic Mynci - Barafundle (1997)

So around 8 or 9 years ago i`m sitting at home at around 3am with the TV on in the background wondering if I should go to bed , then all of a sudden I hear this great song. It`s melodic , it`s quirky , it`s fun & I can`t understand a bloody word the lead singer is saying. I keep watching & i`m told the song is called If Fingers Were Xylophones by the Welsh band Gorkys Zygotic Mynci and that their Bwyd Time album as well as the single was available. So far so good. I look for it , and look , and look and look.....And nothing. In fact I STILL don`t own that album , but at least I now have the song.Then a couple of years later I read they have signed to a major lable and had an album out I rushed to get it......and it was wonderful. I still couldn`t understand a word of it , but half the songs were in welsh anyway.But that didn`t matter. This is the perfect summer record. Laid back , gentle & soothing folk music done with a modern twist . They may have had their ups & downs after this (Their next album Gorkys 5 was terrible , so terrible in fact the record company dropped them) but they are always one band I rush out to buy when they have something new out.

Favourite Songs - Diamond Dew , Patio Song , Starmoonsun , Cursed Coined & Crucified

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