The blood soaked hammer that adorns Metallica’s debut serves as an ample warning to those who would drop the needle on this violent platter, as the Bay Area ‘bangers cut loose throughout Kill ’em All, barking with fury as every track is sent into the red with unrestrained aggression. This is the sound of metal-obsessed fans stripping away the fat and then dishing out the lean leftovers with a new, ultra-heavy direction, Kill ’em All serving as a statement of dedication to the denim ‘n’ leather lifestyle, alone in service to the almighty riff. Adrenaline pumping rallying cries to the metal masses like “Whiplash,” “Hit the Lights,” and “Motorbreath” are delivered at breakneck speed, while Metallica rides crushing grooves on tunes like “The Four Horsemen” and “Seek and Destroy.” Although the band pushes the sound of their NWoBHM influences to it’s extreme, the fact that they have the skill and smarts to adopt the catchiness that ran through those imported sides is one of the key factors that elevates Kill ’em All to it’s lofty position. –Ben
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Andrew Hill “Black Fire” (1964)
Almost from the beginning, Andrew Hill has been a driving force of avant-garde jazz. To this very day he’s still at it, having won a best album award for Dusk in the year 2000 and multiple Best Jazz Composer awards recently. While Hill set the standard for all avant-garde jazz with the release of Point of Departure, Black Fire was his first masterpiece. He didn’t create the genre but he has certainly almost carried it on his back. This album features what may be my favorite quartet as of yet: Andrew Hill, Richard Davis, Roy Haynes and Joe Henderson. Hill’s style is hard to pinpoint. It’s sort of a cross of Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk, varying from classy to erratic. Joe Henderson had just gotten out of the military when this was recorded. Black Fire definitely features some of his finest tenor saxophone work. On drums, Roy Haynes is, for lack of better description, the original Tony Williams. His versatility is awesome. From what I can tell, if a person wanted to record a slightly strange jazz album in the 60s, bearing in mind that they couldn’t get Charles Mingus, Richard Davis was the next logical selection. Ron Carter would be after Davis and then somebody random if all else failed. Two of the seven songs are piano/drums/bass numbers: “Subterfuge” and “Tired Trade”. “Subterfuge” is perhaps my favorite jazz trio song. Start to finish, “Pumpkin” to the avant-garde Latin feeling “Land of Nod”, this is a classic. –Rob
Queen “Queen II” (1974)
It’s a slightly awkward (and goofy) amalgam of Glam and Prog and Metal, but only slightly: the band catches fire and forges the core of their classic sound (in which Glam and Prog and Metal get along Famously) with this second release, a dense, majestic, and, of course, operatic sequence that inhabits a dark sound-world while delivering shimmering pop hooks aplenty. Gallivanting sword ’n’ sorcery themes alternate with classic r ’n’ r rebellion, and somehow it all works, even if I get the feeling that they could’ve developed some of these songs a little more. Incidentally, this also can be cited, for better or worse, as the origin of Smashing Pumpkins’ whole guitar sound and song dynamic (not to mention melodic sensibility) on their (his) early records—so fans of that stuff should look this up. Low on hits but stacked with impressive “deep cuts,” this is to my ears nearly as good as successors Sheer Heart Attack and A Night at the Opera; in fact, I find that I play this one more often than either—if only to hear tracks that never fail to surprise me in this album’s baffling yet strangely fluent sequencing (“White Queen,” “Some Day One Day,” and the Phil Spectral “Funny How Love Is”). –Will
The Kinks “Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire” (1969)
The freshness of a piece like “Shangri-La” is astonishing. It’s as relevant to middle-class values today as it was 40 years ago. “Brainwashed” continues the examination, which is completed by “Nothing To Say” taking a look from a completely different perspective. Brilliant! Individually most of the songs aren’t great. The exceptions are the brilliant “Victoria”, “Shangri-La” and “Young And Innocent Days”. But, put together the songs amount to another masterpiece from the Kinks. I don’t know of another lyricist who has achieved on one album of popular music what Ray Davies has achieved here – a complete social history of a particular era. –Jim
Van Morrison “Common One” (1980)
If not the least accessible and popular Van album, it is definitely one of them. Having two songs that both go over fifteen minutes, being made in a week, and carrying a very experimental jazz vibe it sounds unique in Van’s catalog.
“Summertime in England” builds and builds up until it’s majestic ending blows the house down, “When the Heart is Open” is the most ambient song of his career and is the best song to fall asleep to on a rainy day. The other four songs are equally great. The album only feels more organic and beautiful put into the context of the time. It was a celebration of spirit and freedom [released in 1980]. –Allistair
Henry Cow “Western Culture” (1979)
It’s hard to believe this album hit the racks in ’79, a year not known for great prog albums. The closest comparison I can find to Henry Cow would be the Mahavishnu Orchestra, but this being more avant classical in nature. Complex time changes, great playing, and worth it alone for the just the drumming of Chris Cutler, this is an album worth spending hours listening to. Great music. –Brian
Spinal Tap “This Is Spinal Tap” (1984)
The soundtrack to Spinal Tap’s cult rockumentary serves as the only easy place to hear highlights from long out of print, impossible to find albums like Brainhammer, Shark Sandwich, and Bent For The Rent, with classics like the onstage anthem “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You,” the squalid “Hell Hole,” and sexual throb of “Big Bottom” and #5 Japanese hit “Sex Farm” leading the charge. Tap’s regrettable flirtations with progressive rock are represented by “Stonehenge,” and the ill-timed ’77 release “Rock And Roll Creation,” the album also featuring the previously unreleased Tufnel composition, “America,” and both sides of the band’s pre-Tap Thamesmen 7-inch, “Gimmie Some Money/Cups and Cakes,” both fine examples of the so called “Squatneybeat” sound that gripped the UK for 3 days in 1965. Until the long promised Tap reissues arrive (“A lot of our music they won’t put out on CD because it’s too vibrant.” – David St. Hubbins), This Is Spinal Tap is your best bet for a taste of the Tap. –Ben
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Mudhoney “Superfuzz Bigmuff” (1990)
Superfuzz Bigmuff plus Early Singles was my introduction into Mudhoney and the perfect place to start for newcomers. The great thing about this compilation is that it appeals to fans of all kinds of genres, not just grunge. Verifying the date of when this original EP was released we already know that it was before the whole grunge vogue. It even dates back before the explosion by a little band called…shit – sometimes forget the name, but they infiltrated the mainstream and changed music forever. So, if you have a problem with the “grunge” label and other typecasts no need to fret because Mudhoney is straight up garage rock with a grime quality added on to it. I can hear many influences that various bands drew together from this band. Hell, the opening track “Touch Me I’m Sick” is the absolute grunge anthem, in my opinion. It draws more from the “grungy muck” distinguishing the glorified sound that electrified the planet in the early 90’s as opposed to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” have-on-loan resonance of the Pixies “slow-fast” format. There is no denying the fact why one song was bigger than the other. Mudhoney was more interested in the raw sound of the Stooges and the debris of it all. Often the songs are just repeat uncomplicated lyrics with effortless playing, but there was a reason why these guys are so appropriately labeled the igniters of a revolution. Mark Arms feral scream was so concentrated that it was only rivaled by that of a Mr. Cobain. These guys had the gravy, while so many others were lingering, trying to play catch-up. Everybody I know gets hooked on this band as soon as they hear this album. –Jason
Willie Nelson “Red Headed Stranger” (1975)
It took all of a minute or so for me to realize I loved this album (when Willie sings “…and he screamed like a panther in the middle of the night,” the phrasing just kills me.) It took a full five minutes to actually give me chills (at the end of track three “…and the killin’s begun.”) “Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain” and “Can I Sleep in Your Arms Tonight” are two of the most beautiful, aching songs I’ve ever heard. My experience with Red Headed Stranger and country music is akin to the experience I had with Kind of Blue and jazz. The very first album I tried in the genre turned out to be the best, but it doesn’t matter because it was so good it led me to explore and enjoy so many others. –Lucas
Oliver Nelson “The Blues and the Abstract Truth” (1961)
The Blues and the Abstract Truth could very easily be called part II of the Kind of Blue trilogy. Oliver Nelson used two musicians from Kind of Blue: Bill Evans and Paul Chambers. Other notable musicians here include Roy Haynes, Eric Dolphy and Freddie Hubbard. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Freddie Hubbard is the best trumpet player of all time. But as usual, Eric Dolphy stands out as the star, no matter how deep an album’s lineup is. If you want to know how to distinguish between Oliver Nelson and Eric Dolphy’s playing, keep in mind that whenever somebody is playing like a complete lunatic it’s Dolphy. This album came out two years after Kind of Blue and was followed by part III and the peak of the trilogy, Speak No Evil by Wayne Shorter in 1964. Not only does the lineup improve, but the music itself gets better with every chapter. Don’t miss out on Part II or III. –Rob
Nick Drake “Bryter Layter” (1970)
Five Leaves Left was Drake balancing on a wire as lush orchestras complimented bare acoustics with songs that cried in the evening and smiled in the morning. While Pink Moon can be seen as Drake dialed down to -1, Bryter Lyter is Drake turned up to 11. You can hear his smile when he sings on “Hazy Jane II” and you can feel the tears roll on (“Northern Sky”). While the strings on “River Man” and “Cello Song” off his debut added a dramatic flair, the arrangements here added a steady backbone and call for celebration. While the integrity behind the change in sound isn’t that inspiring, the execution is. Who would have known that John Cale of all people who bring the crowning moment of the album when he plays the piano solo in “Northern Sky”? –Allistair
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