She likes lingerie but he prefers the sombrero

Continuing my trip up Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time...

#476 : Kimono My House - Sparks (1974)

The duo of singer Russell Mael and songwriter-keyboardist Ron Mael coined a unique, influential sound that mixed glam and prog-rock, the Beach Boys and Frank Zappa. Russell adopts a florid falsetto to sing Ron’s lyrics about clumsy sex (“Amateur Hour”), Albert Einstein’s doting parents (the pun-filled “Talent Is an Asset”), and a broken suicide pact (“Here in Heaven”). The overwhelming sensation from Sparks’ third album is a sense that you’ve arrived at a party where you know no one and hear things you can’t comprehend but still have a great time.

I am, of course, aware of "This Town Ain't Big Enough..." and in all the years since I first heard it, I've been unable to decide if I actually like it.  I was expecting most of this album to be the same - although I suspected that I'd probably be able to decide I hated most of it pretty quickly.  Amusingly, the track ratings on Amazon Music are 10/10 for "This Town...", 2/10 for "Amateur Hour" and every other tracks gets 0/10 or 1/10.  Having listened to it, that doesn't feel fair - if you like "This Town..." then you're probably going to get along with most of the other tracks - although I imagine a whole album's worth would challenge even the most die-hard fan on some days and I certainly struggled towards the end.  Top marks for calling a track "Thank God It's Not Christmas" though!

I would also say, the cover design is brave/foolish - it feels it would scare quite a few people off now, so I can only imagine the impact it had back in 1974 (although it's possible glam rock put a completely different perspective on things back then).  Wikipedia points out it's also notable for not featuring the album title or the band printed on it - it doesn't feel like they were trying to be too accessible.  Another area that they're not making immediately accessible is the lyrics - mostly due to the trademark/annoying falsetto vocal delivery.  And having read some of them, this is a shame - there's a lot of quirk and humour in there which you just can't hear (or sing along to either, really!).  I guess this was a deliberate choice they made though - it's not like any of this stuff would have happened accidentally and they're still making the same kinda sounds nearly 50 years later (after 24 albums)!

"Customers also listened to" Roxy Music and T Rex which are obvious companions, but also The Boomtown Rats and Dexy's Midnight Runners which aren't so obvious but there are definite Sparks influences in some of their stuff.  Overall, I can't say I liked it - but I hated it a lot less than I was expecting to and wanted the lyrics to be more accessible because I actually think I might have made it as far as liking some of it.

#475 : Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow (1996)

The Missouri gal finally got to make an album her way, in 1996, with her self-titled, self-produced smash — an ingenious mix of roots-rock raunch and vengeful wit. As Crow told Rolling Stone, “My only objective on this record was to get under people’s skin, because I was feeling like I had so much shit to hurl at the tape.” “Every Day Is a Winding Road” and “A Change Would Do You Good” rock like a feminist Exile on Main Street, while “If It Makes You Happy” became an anthem for bad girls of all ages.

And finally, 25 albums in, we've arrived at an album I actually own.  So I was expecting this to be as I remembered it - a slightly rockier version of "Tuesday Night Music Club", her fine debut album (which I also own) with Sheryl wanting to show a bit more of herself to the world.  And unsurprisingly enough, that's exactly what I got!  I like this album - it has a pretty high quality threshold throughout, and the songs are both sing-along-able and stand up to deeper investigation.  "If It Makes You Happy", "Everyday Is A Winding Road" and "Hard To Make A Stand" are probably the high points for me (and were the first three singles released off the album) - "Oh Marie" is the best of the non-singles for me.

I hadn't realised she'd written most of the songs and produced the album herself, so kudos for that - particularly given the range of styles and instruments involved.  I think I prefer it as an album to her debut although there's an argument that the high points are not quite so high this time around.  I really enjoyed relistening to it though - whilst I doubt it would have occurred to me as an obviously great album from that period, I think it has a lot to recommend it.  I'm also glad I got to listen to an album I know (or at least knew) well, because there isn't another one coming up for a very long time indeed.

#474 - #1 Record - Star (1972)

Alex Chilton and Chris Bell were the Memphis whiz kids at the heart of Big Star. They mixed British Invasion pop finesse with all-American hard rock, from the surging “Feel” to the acoustic heartbreaker “Thirteen.” Big Star didn’t sell many records but did become a crucial inspiration to underdogs like R.E.M., the Replacements, and Elliott Smith. As Chilton said later, “If you only press up a hundred copies of a record, then eventually it will find its way to the hundred people in the world who want it the most.”

I had very vaguely heard of Big Star - most likely referenced as an influence to REM, but couldn't have told you the faintest thing about them or this album, so had no expectations at all.  And I really quite liked it although I'd struggle to describe it - it has a definite Seventies vibe going on (mostly good Seventies, not bad Seventies - although they had been listening to too much Beatles and a bit of Led Zep as well) but is at times rocky and other times country, often with some beautiful harmonies going on as well.  It does sound dated, but there are bits of most songs that you recognise (or think you recognise but can't quite place) from later songs so the claims about Big Star's enduring influence hold some water for me.

Apparently the album was released to rave critical notices, but the record label suffered from a complete inability to deliver copies to shops in order to sell them, which sounds like they had one job to do and spectacularly failed.  "Customers also listened to" a load of groups named "<adjective> <noun>" - Modern Lovers, Flaming Grooves, Soft Boys, Exploding Hearts - which suggests this was definitely a thing in the seventies.  I can definitely imagine my Dad having bought this (after listening to it in the record shop, which was the thing to do back then) and then bringing it home to listen to it on his sideboard sized record player/radio combo - and I would have liked it then, and I like it now.

But I'm afraid that familiarity bias means that Sheryl gets declared the winner this time around - it will be interesting to see if there are many instances when a previously unknown album manages to beat a known (and liked) album.

#479-477 - A winner I will never listen to again...
#473-471 - A curious mix