Urban Looks At Melody Makers End Of Year Album Lists 1979-2000
 

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1. Talking Heads - Fear Of Music

OK I'm not going to go into too much detail here, I've already said this is one of my favourite albums ever.

This for me is Talking Heads at their peak, you get all the post punk attitude of their early stuff, but not only that the songwriting is razor sharp (Life During Wartime, Cities, Air, Animals, Mind). A fantastic balled (Heaven) and there's just a tiny hint of the world music direction they would explore more with later albums (I Zimbra). That's not to say the album is without fault, what really lets this album down is the final 2 tracks (Electric Guitar & Drugs) that are slow & ponderous & seem to go on forever. Overall if you've not heard this album & want to hear one of the most intelligent pop albums that helped define the best of 80s music you can't go far wrong with this.


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2. Ry Cooder - Bop Till You Drop

I'll be honest I know very little about Ry Cooder, I know of him and have done for many years but he's never been an artist I've ever been in any great hurry to check out. Reading up on this album I find out that Ry had been playing lots of jazz up till this point of his career and this is a bit of a departure from that as he gives us his take on R&B. It's also the first ever album to be recorded in it's entirety in digital. The album is also made up entirely of covers with the exception of one song.
This is the first time I have ever listened to a Ry Cooder album so lets see how it goes....

My first impression of this is that it's not the fast paced R&B that swept mid 60s Britian with the likes of the early Stones, The Who and The Yardbirds that I know & love. It's a very much more cleaner, more laid back sound with a very generous nod to country music.

The album starts off with an Elvis Presley cover (Little Sister), but it's one of those muso covers where all the drive & excitement of the original is sucked out of the song to play it note perfect & cleanly. Things pick up a bit after a very slow start with the third song 'The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Makes Me Poor)' which has a nice groove to it, but even then this all still feels too clean and a bit safe & bland. In fact by this point the best comparison I can make is if Dire Straits ever covered the Rolling Stones, and I loathe Dire Straits.

It really doesn't help that after this comes a slow, rather dull country ballad.
Side 2 of the album (If I had bought it in 1979) starts with the highlight of the whole album 'Down In Hollywood' which is a total rip off of Stevie Wonder's Livin' For The City. When I say highlight what I actually mean is the bassline is cool and it's so cheesy that you're just grateful for something different to break up the slickness of this album at this point. and it has Chaka Khan doing backing vocals who brings it to life a bit.

'Look at Granny Run Run' is OK but it just made me want to go listen to Howard Tate's version (If you don't know who Howard Tate is and you like a bit of late 60s early 70s soul/funk go get his S/T album ... NOW. One of the most underrated soul singers ever). 'Trouble, You Can't Fool Me' is another early 70s soul cover, this time by one hit wonder Frederick Knight, and if you're wondering, no this song wasn't that hit.
Next we have 'Don't Mess Up A Good Thing' originally a duet by Fontella Bass and Bobby McClure. This version has Chaka Khan doing the duet with Ry and to be honest I thought it was OK, best song on the album by a mile........
Then I went & checked out the original and it was 10 times better.

The album finishes with a slow soul balled called 'I Can't Win'. It's passable but I'd still rather hear the original by The Invincibles.
So to sum up, if you find that Exile On Main Street is too dirty or too raucous for you or you find The Who too scary, or you just like hearing muso white men sucking the soul out of soul music this album is for you. I came out of this wanting to hear the original songs more than another Ry Cooder album.
Which is the point of cover albums.... Isn't it?

Very cool idea for a thread. If you find links to some of the more obscure releases you find, I'd be happy to listen along. I'm sure people will help you find the ones you can't find as well.

Speaking of which...I haven't downloaded it so I can't tell you if it's legit but I found Music of Quality & Distinction Volume 1 bundled with 4 other rare 80's albums without too much effort. If you want the link, I would be happy to PM it to you.

"Memories Can't Wait" has always been my favorite song off Fear of Music (1979) and my liking that album over Remain in Light (1980). Anyways I'm looking forward to this series, you always have interesting listening habits and are always posting obscure older albums so I may learn a thing or two.

I know Fear of Music is probably not the album you prefer to discuss, but since that's probable the one most here have heard, I'll just say Remain In Light still edges it out...but just barely. Both albums are amazing, in my opinion.

I don't know if I'm too inspired to listen to that Ry Cooder album after your review...

If you get one thing out of that review then get Howard Tate's 1972 S/T album. I love that record.
Remain in Light is actually top of the 1980 chart.

Oh and...
Yes please :)

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3. Gang Of Four - Entertainment

Oh dear, it wasn't that long ago that I called Gang Of Four the most overrated post punk band on this very forum and here I am faced with having to listen to Entertainment in it's entirety. The last time I listened to this album I said it was like being beaten over the head with a flagpole with a red flag on it while someone repeatedly shouts 'We're socialists you know' right into your ear for over an hour.
Still, look on the bright side. At least I don't have to review a Chumbawumba album like being beaten over the head with a flagpole with a red flag on it while someone repeatedly shouts 'We're socialists you know' right into your ear for over an hour while standing in dog shit.

I have slightly mellowed my stance on the band since then. Helped by seeing them play an awesome version of 'At Home He's a Tourist' on the Old Grey Whistle Test in a 'Post Punk at the BBC' thing late one night on BBC4. Let's focus on the positives then.

Before I do this I should point out I'm only going to listen to the 12 songs that the album was originally released with and not the CD or downloadable versions which include 20 songs.

The first thing you'll notice hearing this album is you'll hear exactly where Franz Ferdinand stole both their guitar sound and every single idea they ever had for that matter. After a so so start the groove of 'Not Great Men' is the first real highlight of the album. The downside is I'm not confident they can sustain that for another 7 songs until I get to the one I want to hear.
Sadly it is all rather predictable, lots of uptempo drumming, angular jerky guitars, that thing English punk singers do when they sing like they have their tongues pushing their bottom lip out & doing an impression of talking like a spastic (See Paul Simonen for further details).

It's all very energetic, grooves along great but after a while it just becomes samey. the beat doesn't really slow down or speed up, every guitar riff sounds the same as the last save for a tiny variation. And as for the vocals, they give the word monotone a whole new meaning. I know monotone vocals were the 'in' thing in during the era this was released in but get angry, get upset, get emotional over something for God sake, if only to give it some variety.

At least when I get to the 6th song (which was back then would be the first song on Side 2) things pick up slightly with 'I Found That Essence Rare' which has less of the jerky guitar & funk bass & drums and more melody & almost a singable chorus. Even the next song 'Glass' owes more to 1976 style punk than it's post variety and is all the better for it. Sadly after that 'Contact' carries on as if those 2 songs never happened and we get much the same as before.

Next up is 'At Home He's a Tourist' so I'm just going to turn this up really loud and enjoy it....

That's better, what's next.

Oh this is interesting '5.45' seems to have a melodica in it or some sort of instrument, you know .. one of those blowly pianos. the song isn't bad either as it's a little slower than all the others, not much but enough to notice. The start of 'Anthrax' is so chaotic & noisy I expect Mark E Smith to walk out at any moment & start singing something off Fall Heads Roll. I was rather enjoying this sonic cacophony of guitar feedback until it stops suddenly when the vocals kick in a making it sound like most of the other songs. the final song does nothing really to persuade me to change my mind much more than it already had.

On the whole I still don't think it's the amazing album it's supposed to be. I can listen to Gang of Four at sporadic times but a whole album is too much and by the end I'm kind of glad I can put something else on instead.
This would have made a great E.P. but at 53 mins it's just far too long.

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4. Linton Kwesi Johnson - Forces of Victory

I've never been anything of a reggae person. God knows I've tried to get into it on many occasions but the problem is once I've heard an album I've never been in any great hurry to listen to it again, to be honest if I want to listen to any reggae I'll just listen to the odd Bad Brains or Clash song, which I guess is totally missing the point of it. If only I had heard this album a lot sooner, things might have been very different.

Linton Kwesi Johnson is someone I've seen mentioned on a couple of album lists but nothing much more than that. On further investigation I discover that Linton is a 'Dub Poet' and at the time of this albums release (his first) was being called Britain's answer to Gil Scott Heron, and I can see where that comparison comes from because his I get a very similar vibe hearing this album as I did when I heard Gill's 'Pictures Of a Man' album. I also love it that the song titles on the album are named as having a prominent Jamaican accent (Fite Dem Back, Independent Intavenshan).

The first thing that strikes me about this album is Linton's rich expressive voice. I could listen to the guy talk all day. The music itself arranged by Dennis Bovell is just as good and is the perfect platform for Linton to express himself over, It just flows along nicely not getting in the way gliding you along from one line to the next. In fact it also gets me interested to go hunt for Bovell's own albums.

In fact I find myself enjoying this album so much that I find I'm three quarters of the way through the album after seemingly just listening to it for a few minutes. The album is 34 minutes long and gets it's point across in half the time that it takes in G.O.F's Entertainment album in a much more palatable way. I get much more of a clearer picture of what life was like in the UK in 1979 listening to this album, whether that be about police brutality in a letter back to his mother in Jamaica (Sonny's Lettah) or the rise of the National Front & racism (Fite Dem Back) than I ever did listening to the former. By the time I get to the end of the final track 'Time Come' it leaves me wanting more. The first time that's ever happened to me listening to a reggae album.

I enjoyed this album a hell of a lot and if I find just a few albums as good as this while attempting this whole marathon I would consider it time well spent. I see this album is rated No. 46 for 1979 on Rateyourmusic.
That's not nearly high enough, and 79 was a damn good year for music.

Stopping by to say that this is an enjoyable read.

I think I first caught MM in1984 and found it a great read - I still have a number of issues today including the one with the Kevin Roland interview that was supposed to promote Don't Stand Me Down that instead turned into a heated argument (although the album had a rave review some pages later). Although I was more into Sounds, it was a pretty hard find, so I mostly chose MM when I wanted on of "The Three", although budget reasons settled me down to getting a monthly in Select and the occasional MM - This was before I settled in my "Old Music Listener Slippers" and settled for Q and the many "Remember When" "Collector's Edition" publications of the last decade. In The US for me, it was mainly a 40 Mile Drive to get any one of them, so I had to choose carefully.

Damn, this is taking me back to many memories, especially the Gang of Four review. Listening to the "Alternative Music" shows from Detroit in the Early 80's, they were one of the first bands for me.

Damn it. Of course Urban is going to make my High Fidelity journal look like balls.

Crap journal....I was more of a Sounds man myself, as they used to cover more of the stuff that I was into in the 1980s.;) Anyway I'm sure to find something in here that I'm going to like and a great idea for a journal.

Well, to be totally fair, Urban's journals make all of ours look like balls....

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5. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps

I've been aware of Neil Young for a long long time now. In fact the first time I had ever heard of him was in the early 90s just after the release of Freedom & Ragged Glory when they started playing the singles off those albums on Headbangers Ball. That's right, my introduction to Neil Young was on a TV show that was supposed to cover metal. At first my reaction to him was pretty much 'Who the hell is this old fossil?'. But then later as I became more aware of him, especially with his next release being Harvest Moon, the sequel to his massively popular Harvest album, so there were plenty of history lessons about him being written in the music press at the time, plus this whole ridiculous 'Godfather of Grunge' label that seemed to become attached to the poor sod sometime around 1992. But really it was me becoming more aware of his wilder side when I filed away a note in my head to check him out at some point. I ended up buying After The Gold Rush & Weld and although I quite liked them they didn't really blow me away.

The real point came very slowly, not until 6 or 7 years ago when I acquired his work through the beauty of the internet. I discovered that I preferred the stuff he did with Crazy Horse more, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Zuma, Re-ac-tor. For some reason Rust Never Sleeps got lost somewhere, so I guess it's time to fix that.

I like the way 'Hey Hey My My' sandwiches both the beginning and end of the album. I like it when bands do this. It's almost like hearing the beginning again at the end somehow rewards you for listening to the whole album.
I wish more bands would do stuff like this. You have the nice acoustic one at the beginning and you have the grimy electric version at the end of the album. And when I say grimy I mean really f*cking grimy. I thought the guitar sound on Funhouse were something, this takes it to another level of dirt & filth.

Listening to the first half of this album for me was rather something of a disappointment. Knowing the reputation of this album & seeing so many songs on this album on many best of albums & live albums after the first 4 songs I was really beginning to wonder when the hell this thing was going to kick in. Why have I just heard 3 rather dull acoustic songs in a row? Why have I not heard hardly anything of Crazy Horse, what the hell is going on here?

Things pick up a bit halfway through the album with Sail Away which is a pretty good acoustic country ballad but it has a bit of extra oomph!! to it in the same way that Gram Parsons & The Rolling Stones would make a country ballad.

Where things really pick up is on Side 2 of the album. 'Powerfinger', 'Welfare Mothers','Sedan Delivery' & Hey Hey My My (Into The Black). It's like a Neil Young greatest hits album and he really rocks on this half of the album. Powderfinger sounds like an electrified version of something you'd find on the first half of the album, but that extra energy in the song gives this album the lift it needs and suddenly you feel refreshed, almost as if you're listening to a different album. 'Welfare Mothers' is just fantastic, I'm not sure if its' supposed to be a nod to or a parody of Frank Zappa but this song has got Zappa style written all over it and young pulls it off effortlessly.

Sedan Delivery is Neil Young doing punk and is 4.40 of nasty sounding guitars pounding away at you. It almost a shame there's nothing like this earlier on in the album.
That finally takes us into the reprise of Hey Hey My My, this time with those nasty guitars and all it's mentions of John Lydon in the lyrics.

A strange album this one, I'm going to use an old footballing cliché & say this is very much a game of two halves. It's the second half that really grabs you & draws you in, but I think with repeated listens I could begin to appreciate the first half a lot more.
A really enjoyable album if you stick with it.

I'm not old enough to remember Sounds, that was long gone by the time I started buying them :)

Did you decide against the journal where people discussed albums you sent to them? I really liked that Poison Idea record, although my copy had every song titled the same.

I got a couple back and I still have them but I also got ill as well so I didn't really follow it up.

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6. The Undertones - The Undertones

I always thought of The Undertones as a singles band. it never really occurred to me that they might have albums out, but they do (4 of them in fact), and here for my listening pleasure is their debut album.

The first thing I notice is that the two Undertones songs I am the most familiar with are not on this album (Teenage Kicks & My Perfect Cousin). It does however have two other of their singles I do seem to recall hearing at some point in Jimmy Jimmy & Here Comes The Summer. I'm actually glad that I don't have to hear Teenage Kicks for the millionth time. It's a good pop song don't get me wrong, but it's not THAT good. No better than hundreds of other great catchy pop songs I've heard over the years. Still, I guess that it's John Peel's fault it's so overplayed, not theirs.

To be honest I found a lot of this album rather dull. Most of the songs are the same tempo, have virtually the same riffs and just repeat the title of the song over & over again in the chorus. I'm sure I would have loved this when I was 15 with all it's energy, bounciness and singalong choruses but now I've heard this stuff so much I want a little more than this and as I don't have any history listening to this album in the past I don't even have the nostalgia factor in letting me enjoy it.

That's not to say I hated all of the album, I nodded my head enthusiastically to Jimmy Jimmy & Here Comes The Summer. Male Model sounds like a decent stab at punk rock and at least has a bit of grit into it. As for True Confessions, Imagine if Joy Division had little brothers high on Ritalin, they would probably sound something like this.

Amazingly Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures didn't even get in their top 20 for this year. This album did. Don't ask me how.

The most frustrating aspect of this album is the final song Casbah Rock (Nothing to do with the Clash song of a similar name). It's 50 seconds of dirty garage rock that sounds like it was recorded in one. I'm listening to it thinking 'This is great, why doesn't more of their stuff sound like this?'

Everything about this album seems rather lightweight and non threatening, even the album cover looks like a lightweight non threatening version of the Ramones first album. I'm reminded of Harry Enfield & Paul Whitehouse's Smashie & Nicey The End Of An Era TV show from a few years ago when Mike Smash decided to start making 'nice' punk records, in his chunky sweater with 'I'm a Punky Monkey' spray painted on it.

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It's interesting to note that just before I heard that song I was thinking to myself that I think Feargal Sharkey has a great voice yet it's totally wasted on this record. I would have loved to hear him doing some wild punk fuelled R&B inspired stuff in the vein of Jon Spencer and possibly The White Stripes. Yet this cleanly produced pop with a very diluted hint of punk doesn't really do it any justice at all. Neither did his rather bland solo career later on.

Before I heard this album I thought of The Undertones as a singles band.
This album has done nothing for me to change my mind.

THE LISTS

Key
ORANGE = Albums Reviewed
RED = Albums Owned
BLACK = Albums Not Owned


1979
1. Fear Of Music - Talking Heads
2. Bop Till You Drop - Ry Cooder
3. Entertainment - Gang Of Four
4. Forces Of Victory - Linton Kwesi Johnson
5. Rust Never Sleeps - Neil Young
6. The Undertones - The Undertones
7. Off The Wall - Michael Jackson
8. I Am - Earth, Wind & Fire
9. Metal Box - PIL
10. London Calling - The Clash
11. The Original Sin - Cowboys International
12. Squeezing Out Sparks - Graham Parker
13. We Are Family - Sister Sledge
14. Armed Forces - Elvis Costello
15. Tom Verlaine - Tom Verlaine
16. 154 - Wire
17. Drums And Wires - XTC
18. Exposure - Robert Fripp
19. Rock On - Raydio
20. Bad Girls - Donna Summer

1980
1. Remain In Light - Talking Heads
• Get Happy - Elvis Costello
• Pretenders - The Pretenders
• Vienna - Ultravox
• Searching For The Young Soul Rebels - Dexy's Midnight Runners
• Crocodiles - Echo & The Bunneymen
• Closer - Joy Division
• Scary Monsters - David Bowie
• Boy - U2
• Empires & Dance - Simple Minds
• Kings Of The Wild Frontier - Adam And The Ants
• Sandinista - The Clash
• Absolutely - Madness

1981
1. Penthouse And Pavement - Heaven 17
2. Trust - Elvis Costello
3. Almost Blue - Elvis Costello
4. East Side Story - Squeeze
5. Ghost In The Machine - The Police
• Dare - Human League
• Movement - New Order
• Non Stop Erotic Cabaret - Soft Cell
• Journeys To Glory - Spandau Ballet
• My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts - Brian Eno, David Byrne
• Nightclubbing - Grace Jones
• Stray Cats - The Stray Cats

1982
• You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever - Orange Juice
• Fun Boy Three - Fun Boy Three
• Pornography - The Cure
• Pinky Blue - Altered Images
• Avalon - Roxy Music
• The Lexicon Of Love - ABC
• The Blasters - The Blasters
• Music Of Quality & Destinction - B.E.F.
• Rio - Duran Duran
• Sulk - The Associates
• Too-Rye-Ay - Dexy’s Midnight Runners
• Junkyard - The Birthday Party
• Upstairs At Eric’s - Yazoo
• Kissing To Be Clever - Culture Club -
• New Gold Dream - Simple Minds
• Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen
• Songs To Remember - Scritti Politti
• A Kiss In The Dreamhouse - Siouxie & The Banshees
• 1999 - Prince
• Music For A New Society - John Cale
• Thriller - Michael Jackson
• Midnight Love - Marvin Gaye

1983
1. Touch - Eurythmics
2. The Crossing - Big Country
3. Soul Mining - The The
4. Rhythm Of Life - Paul Haig
5. Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This - Eurythnics
6. Duck Rock - Malcolm Mclaren
7. Murmur - REM
8. Synchronicity - The Police
9. Porcupine - Echo & The Bunnymen
10. Synchro System - King Sunny Ade
• Power, Corruption & Lies - New Order
• The Hurting - Tears For Fears
• No Parlez - Paul Young
• Life's A Riot With Spy Vs Spy - Billy Bragg
• Colour By Numbers - Culture Club
• Swardfishtrombones - Tom Waits
• Fantastic - Wham!

1984
1. Ocean Rain - Echo & The Bunneymen
2. The Smiths - The Smiths
3. In The Studio - The Special AKA
4. Cypress - Lets Active
5. Hallowed Ground - Violent Femmes
6. Steeltown - Big Country
7. The Age Of Consent - Bronski Beat
8. The Unforgettable Fire - U2
9. Born In The USA - Bruce Springsteen
10. Diamond Life - Sade
• Purple Rain - Prince
• Cafe Bleu - The Style Council
• Reckoning - REM
• Welcome To The Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
• Like A Virgin - Madonna
• From Her To Eternity - Nick Cave

1985
1. The Head Of The Door - Cure
2. Rum, Sodomy & The Lash - Pogues
3. Cupid & Psyche ‘85 - Scritti Politti
4. A Secret Wish - Propaganda
5. Psychocandy - Jesus And Mary Chain
6. No Free Lunch - Green On Red
7. Meat Is Murder - Smiths
8. Fables Of The Reconstruction - R.E.M.
9. Stories Of Johnny - Marc Almond
10. Night Of A Thousand Candles - Men They Couldn’t Hang

1986
1. Licensed To Ill - Beastie Boys
2. Parade - Prince
3. Blood And Chocolate - Elvis Costello
4. Throwing Muses - Throwing Muses
5. King Of America - Elvis Costello
6. The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths
7. Infected - The The
8. Life's Rich Pageant - REM
9. No 10 Upping Street - BAD
10. Word Up - Cameo
11. Back To The Old School - Just Ice
12. Raising Hell - Run DMC
13. Brotherhood - New Order
14. Radio - LL Cool J
15. Victoraland - The Cocteau Twins
16. Giant - The Woodentops
17. Kicking Against The Pricks - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
18. Gods Own Medicine - The Mission
19. London 0 Hull 4 - The Housemartins
20. Whiplash Smile - Billy Idol
21. Talking To The Taxman About Poetry - Billy Bragg
22. EVOL - Sonic Youth
23. Schoolly-D - Schoolly-D
24. The Occupied Europe Tour - Laibach
25. Please - Pet Shop Boys
26. Peter Case - Peter Case
27. Beat Happening - Beat Happening
28. Music - Mantronix
29. Born Sandy Devotional - The Triffids
30. The Album - Mantronix

1987
1. The Young Gods - The Young Gods
2. Sign 'O' The Times - Prince
3. Yo! Bum Rush The Show - Public Enemy
4. The Fat Skier - Throwing Muses
5. Songs About Fucking - Big Black
6. Darklands - Jesus And Mary Chain
7. Substance - New Order
8. Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me - The Cure
9. Bigger And Deffer - LL Cool J
10. Locust Abortion Technician - The Butthole Surfers
11. Mind The Perpetual Intercourse - Skinny Puppy
12. Strangeways, Here We Come - The Smiths
13. Document - REM
14. Pleased To Meet Me - The Replacements
15. Floodland - Sisters Of Mercy
16. In My Tribe - 10,000 Maniacs
17. Franks Wild Years - Tom Waits
18. Poetic Champions Compose - Van Morrison
19. Come On Pilgrim - The Pixies
20. Secrets Of The Beehive - David Sylvian
21. Warehouse - Songs And Stories - Husker Du
22. The World Of Echo - Arther Russell
23. This Is The Story - The Proclaimers
24. You're Living All Over Me - Dinosaur Jr
25. Happy Come Home - Victoria Williams
26. Heaven's End - Loop
27. Calenture - The Triffids
28. Squirrel And G-Man... - Happy Mondays
29. Oh! Tears Baby - Win
30. At My Window - Townes Van Zandt

1988
1. Surfer Rosa - The Pixies
2. Life's To Good - Sugercubes
3. Isn't Anything - My Bloody Valentine
4. Green - REM
5. 69 - AR Kane
6. Blue Bell Knoll - Cocteau Twins
7. Hairway To Steven - Butthole Surfers
8. All About Eve - All About Eve
9. Fisherman's Blues - The Waterboys
10. Bug - Dinosaur Jr.
11. The House Of Love - The House Of Love
12. Lovesexy - Prince
13. Vivisectvi - Skinny Puppy
14. Spirit Of Eden - Talk Talk
15. So Far So Good - Megadeath
16. The Walking - Jane Siberry
17. Tender Pray - Nick Cave
18. In The Spanish Cave - Thin White Rope
19. Live! You Goddamned Son Of A Bitch - Revolting Cocks
20. House Tornado - Throwing Muses
21. Miss America - Mary Margaret O'Hara
22. Shiva Burlesque - Shiva Burlesque
23. Provision - Scritti Politti
24. Daydream Nation - Sonic Youth
25. Here Come The Snakes - Green On Red
26. The Eight Legged Groove Machine - The Wonder Stuff
27. California - American Music Club
28. It Takes A Nation Of Millions.. - Public Enemy
29. Dusted - Live Skull
30. 16 Lovers Lane - The Go Betweens

1989
1. Disintegration - The Cure
2. Doolittle - The Pixies
3. The Sensual World - Kate Bush
4. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
5. Freedom - Neil Young
6. New York - Lou Reed
7. L'eau Rouge - The Young Gods
8. Hats - The Blue Nile
9. Oh Mercy - Bob Dylan
10. 3 Feet High And Rising - De La Soul
11. The Trinity Sessions - The Cowboys Junkies
12. Technique - New Order
13. Club Classics Vol. I - Soul II Soul
14. United Kingdom - American Music Club
15. Automatic - Jesus And Mary Chain
16. Hope And Despair - Edwin Collins
17. Hup - The Wonder Stuff
18. I - AR Kane
19. Superfuzz Bigmuff - Mudhoney
20. Spike - Elvis Costello
21. Straight Outa Compton - NWA
22. Hunkpapa - Throwing Muses
23. Playing With Fire - Spaceman 3
24. Raw Like Sushi - Neneh Cherry
25. Scarlet And Other Stories - All About Eve
26. Bizarro - The Wedding Present
27. The Iceberg/Freedom Of Speech - Ice-T
28. The Only Ones Live - The Only Ones
29. Manic, Magic, Majestic - Band Of Holy Joy
30. Pump - Aerosmith

I can help you with some of those if you like. Let me know. I think it's The The and All About Eve mostly, though there may be others.
TH