Month: April 2019

The Sex Pistols’ debut and only full studio album, Never Mind The Bollocks was a game changer. Riding the rising tide of the punk explosion and the seemingly endless wave of negative publicity associated with the bands insurgent behaviour, Bollocks created a perfect storm of hype and anticipation and was rewarded with its debut atop the UK charts at #1. Amid the filth and fury surrounding Never Mind the Bollocks’ release, the Sex Pistols managed to transcend the hype surrounding the record by creating an iconoclastic masterpiece that redefined everything that a rock n’ roll album should be, similar to Nirvana’s Nevermind purging hair metal from the rock zeitgeist in 1991. Featuring a diss track about the Queen and odes to anarchy and abortion, Never Mind the Bollocks punched a hole through the Saturday Night Fever flavoured saccharine of 1977 and Johnny Rotten’s wicked snarl gave a voice to a new generation of disenfranchised youth.

Remain in Light is a crystallisation of elements that, at a glance, do not seem to add up to a rock masterpiece. The album is underpinned by the ebb and flow of afrobeat inspired rhythm, ornamented by the avant-garde, laser focused production of Brian Eno and punctuated with the urbane strangeness of David Byrne’s lyrics. Intriguing as these individual elements may be, on Remain in Light they combine, seemingly by pure alchemy, to create a record that is so much more than the sum of its parts. This record moves. Sometimes it moves smoothly and sinuously, sometimes with an awkward stutter but it is its state of perpetual motion which defines it. Talking Heads have one foot in dance and one foot in punk – the two dominant genres of the late 70’s New York scene that spawned them – yet they wilfully defy both in this bold meeting of head and heart that leaves the senses reeling.

Springsteen’s previous six albums were dominated by themes of working class struggle and tales of down-and-out underdogs. The lyrical content here is no different, but slick production values, the explosion of MTV and the looming shadow of Ronald Reagan created a perfect storm which allowed Born in the USA to spawn no less than seven top ten hits. In a much derided political misstep, Reagan tried to use Born in the USA – intended by Springsteen as an ode to downtrodden Vietnam veterans – as his campaign song. Springsteen had never been more relevant. Born in the USA perfectly encapsulated the temperament of mid 80’s America and the relatively new medium of MTV exposed Springsteen to a wider audience than ever – it is Springsteen’s most commercially successful record and one of the best selling of all time. Bruce’s writing is on point, as always – rich with the gut-wrenching sincerity that makes him so relatable. However it is the sizzle of the E Street band that offers a valuable counterpoint to the often dark, desperate lyrical content and helped give this album such a broad appeal. Born in the USA is deservedly a high point in the Boss’ oeuvre and the record that cemented him as a bonafide pop star.

While Johnny Cash was already a towering figure in country music, At Folsom Prison sees his metamorphosis into the notorious Man in Black. Recorded live at Folsom prison in front of a rowdy assemblage of California’s hardest inmates, the material Cash selects is very much in line with his working man reputation. From the amphetamine fulled Cocaine Blues and the rowdy Folsom Prison Blues to the melancholy of ballads like the Long Black Veil, At Folsom Prison underlines Johnny’s gift for storytelling. Sometimes bawdy, sometimes funny, sometimes tender, this is that rare live album where an artist truly bonds with an audience. As an interesting side note, Cash was arrested several times over the years but never actually served any hard time. The fact that a bunch of hardened prisoners so readily buy into his romantic outlaw myth-making is truly a testament to Cash’s easy charisma and his velvety drawl, cementing At Folsom Prison as milestone in Cash’s career, as well as one of the most moving live albums ever cut to wax.

Hendrix’s groundbreaking debut Are You Experienced shook pop music to its very core. In 1967 nobody had ever heard a rock n roll outfit sound so nasty and seductive. At this point, nothing even remotely as heavy had cracked the top ten but Are You Experienced rocketed all the way to number 2 in the UK charts upon its release, blocked from number 1 only by Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Jimi’s fusion of blues, feedback and distortion changed the game for everyone. Listening to its perfectly honed waves of fuzz and sonic experimentation, one easily forgets that this record dropped relatively early in the Hard Rock piece – during the Summer of Love – before Led Zeppelin had even formed. Are You Experienced duly wrote the blueprint for 70’s rock n’ roll and heavy metal and stands as perhaps the most robust debut in pop music history. The track list reads like a greatest hits, it’s scary that Jimi only continued to evolve after this. Best listened to at extremely high volume. Now, excuse me while I kiss the sky!