Because I've just got that much to do, I think I'll post eight today. Here goes;
42. XTC - Black Sea (1980)
Put mildly, I'm nuts about XTC, and from my experiences of people's musical preferences in the wide, offline world, the amount of people who haven't even heard of them is frankly appalling. Picking a favourite is a pretty mad task, but based on the amount of listens I've given it, this is probably my pick of the litter. It's jam-packed with typically tight and efficient band performances, meaningful lyrics and some of the best melodies I've ever heard committed to record (just try listening to
Generals and Majors and not finding yourself whistling it for hours afterwards). This album is among the most consistently brilliant in XTC's back catalogue - it's just crammed full of end-to-end terrific pop-rock/post-punk.
The best bits: Living Through Another Cuba,
Rocket From a Bottle,
Burning With Optimism's Flames
41. The Saints - Eternally Yours (1978)
After kicking open the doors to the punk-rock scene with their debut (the superb
(I'm) Stranded), the Saints steered further clear of the scene they'd kicked off themselves (with the help of Radio Birdman) in Australia with their second effort. This kind of move involved Bailey, Kuepper and company throwing horn sections, tempo-changes and r'n'b into proceedings, and putting them through the punk-rock mangle. What results is an album which serves as a middle-ground between their pop-smart 80s years and the ferocity of their debut, and basically an album which doesn't sound a whole lot like what their contemporaries in the scene were recording at the time. To me, it's the Saints (not the phony, post-Kuepper Saints) at their peak, incorporating a real variety of moods and textures to a great effect.
The best bits: Know Your Product,
A Minor Aversion,
This Perfect Day
40. The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette (1979)
And speaking of the Saints, the Damned brought on their then-bassist Alastair Ward to help them record this, their masterpiece. While perhaps not quite as important as their debut,
Damned Damned Damned, their third effort finds them rallying glam and new wave under the punk rock banner, resulting in the kind of album which stands head and shoulders above those of most of their contemporaries. It's a strutting, rowdy effort, full of classic anthems, and another one of the very best of British punk.
The best bits: Love Song,
Noise Noise Noise,
Smash It Up Pts 1&2
39. Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy (2000)
More nocturnal trip-hop here, this time mixing atmospheric elements of Brazilian, Jamaican, French and Indian musical forms into their own breezy, chilled electronic soundscapes. Where it's not delivering elegant and easygoing grooves alone, it features the wonderful vocal contributions of Pam Bricker, Lou Lou, Ella Fitzgerald and the mighty Bebel Gilberto. Although these guys have made great records before and since (their latest effort,
Radio Retaliation, is well worth a go if this is your thing), this album probably had the most immediate impact on me. Seeing as it got me started on trip-hop and a lot of contemporary electronica, it's also a very important album to my current musical taste as well.
The best bits: Focus On Sight,
Shadows Of Ourselves,
The Mirror Conspiracy
Next bunch coming up after I've had my dinner. Oh, here's the sixth mixtape too...
50-41.rar
1. The Saints - Know Your Product
2. The Kinks - Phenomenal Cat
3. Talking Heads - Crosseyed and Painless
4. Joy Division - Isolation
5. DJ Shadow - The Number Song
6. Gladys Knight & the Pips - (I Know) I'm Losing You
7. Morcheeba - Fear and Love
8. XTC - Rocket From a Bottle
9. Hybrid - Snyper
10. Super Furry Animals - Guerilla