36. The Sleepy Jackson - Lovers (2003)
My favourite album from 2003 and it came from out of nowhere. I`d bought their mini album the previous year & didn`t really think much of it, In fact I only bought this album because I`d heard the first single 'Good Dancers' off it and was impressed with it , plus I could get it for £2. When I listened to it I was awestruck at what I was hearing. This wasn`t the lackluster indie band i`d heard the previous year. This was a guy spreading his songwriting wings incorperating rock , country , pop & electronica. The album opener Good Dancers is almost operatic with lashings of lush strings & female harmonies which gives way to the driving guitar rock of the next song Vampire Racecourse , with Luke Steele virtually spitting out the lyrics , then there`s the laid back country of Rain Falls For The Wind.And quite honestly you never know what you`re going to get next. I only hope he can get it all together for another album , Luke Steele`s drinking has been compared to Bon Scott proportions.
Favourite Songs - Good Dancers , Vampire Racecourse , Rain Falls For Wind , Come To This
35. Led Zeppelin - Presence (1976)
I`ve no idea why this album has such a bad rap. I can understand why it isn`t liked as much as say the first 4 albums or Physical Graffiti , it`s not your typical bombastic macho posturing that Led Zeppelin became famous & if you are a Led Zep fan for that reason then this probably isn`t the best Led Zep album. But even with my macho pusturing Led Zep hat on i`d still say that In Thru The Out Door & Houses Of The Holy are much worse than this album.So Plant`s vocals are not technically brilliant on this album , who the hell cares , no other Led Zeppelin album had this much feeling in it.
Anyway I love this album because it doesn`t have all that. This is a wounded Led Zep, at their most vunerable , a band that were not even sure if there would be a band for much longer & I think it`s compelling listening. This is probably the most personal album they made & i`d much rather hear songs like that than songs about Valhalla or all that mystical bollocks.This album contains the best song Plant & Page ever wrote in Tea For One , I don`t care what anyone says this runs rings around Stairway & is a much more mature & poignant , written about Plant`s lonliness on tour due to Page`s heroin addiction & Bonzo partying & Jones keeping himself to himself. Almost 10 mins long but I never get bored of hearing it. And just in case you are in any doubt , there`s Achilles Last Stand just to prove that there`s life in the old dog yet and a great cover of Otis Reddings Nobodies Fault But Mine . Not the best Led Zeppelin album , but still my favourite.
Favourite Songs - Achilles Last Stand , Royal Orleans , Nobody`s Fault But Mine , Tea For One
34. UNKLE - Psyence Fiction (1998)
Usually you stick a bunch of people together & do a load of collaberations it comes out as one big mess. This album shouldn`t work , but it does. On this album you have (Deep breath) The Beastie Boys , Badly Drawn Boy ,Kool G Rap , Richard Ashcroft ,Alice Temple , Jason Newstead & Thom Yorke. And thats not counting the the people that didn`t get as far as appearing on the album (Ian Brown, Bobby Gillespie & Josh Homme). But the true talent behind this album is DJ Shadow. The songs themselves does not just have appearences by other artists , they sound like those artists. The Drums Of Death sounds like a Beastie Boys song , Lonely Souls sounds like a Verve song , Rabbit In Your Headlights sounds like a Radiohead song , but it`s a testament to DJ Shadows talent that he puts all these peices together & makes an album that flows together & despite all the different genres on show it all flows along nicely & nothing seems out of place, You can have the Beastie Boys doing a full on rap alongside a Thom Yorke piano driven ballad, and it works. The highlight of the album is Rabbit In Your Headlights with Thom Yorke , the best song on the album by a mile & probably the best Radiohead song there never was. James Lavelle attempted another UNKLE album a few years later , it had everything this album had with one exception. DJ Shadow wasn`t involved. It was awful.
Favourite Songs - Guns Blasing , Bloodstone , Lonely Soul , Rabbit In Your Headlights
33. XTC - English Settlement (1982)
One of the things that has surprised me is when talking to some of my American friends about music just how many of them like this band.They`ve never been big over there as far as I know yet they seem to have a lot more popularity over there at the moment than they do here. XTC in my opinion were probably the best band of the post punk era , mixing intelligent lyrics with wonderful catchy hooks. I guess you`d call it punk pop now , but I think musically they are well above that level. This album was a kind of transitional album moving away from that sound & focusing more on an almost folkish sound. There`s a lot of acoustic guitar on this album but it`s done with rock style bass & drums so there`s still plenty of moments to nod your head to. This album contains one of my favourite songs ever in Senses Working Overtime , one of my earliest musical memories as a child , again it`s an acoustic song but with pumping bass & drums almost giving in an anthemic quality to it.With all the bands from the 1980s seemingly getting a re-evaluation influencing todays bands I really hope someone stands up & gives this lot some much deserved credit.
Favourite Songs - Senses Working Overtime , Ball & Chain , Jason & The Argonauts , No Thugs In Our House