Son, when you grow up would you be the savior of the broken, the beaten and the damned?

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

#361 : The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance (2006)

Just as the Who did with Tommy, or Pink Floyd with The Wall, New Jersey act My Chemical Romance served up an era-defining rock opera, tailored for the golden age of emo. Frontman Gerard Way — the goth millennial answer to David Bowie — stars as a cancer patient who marches boldly into the afterlife (“The Black Parade”), where Liza Minelli, of all people, awaits him for a smashing horror-punk duet (“Mama”).

I was vaguely aware of My Chemical Romance and think I've liked the odd track or two in the past, but had never experienced a full album, so was intrigued as to what I'd find here.  And generally, I liked it - there's a good energy to the tracks and the album hangs together well.  A lot of it is (at first listen) batshit crazy, but to be honest that seems to be a prerequisite for rock operas - you certainly don't want to let something like reality get in the way of producing a masterpiece.  I also suspect I'd like this more if I gave it another listen or two - it reminds me of Green Day's American Idiot which most definitely grew on me.  There's definitely a bit of old-style Queen in there as well, if you like that sort of thing.

Wikipedia doesn't have a great deal to say about the album but does point out the existence of a limited release version covered in black velveteen (too much?!?) and the fact that the album was kept off #1 by Hannah Montana in the US and Robbie Williams in the UK.  That must have resulted in some very unhappy emos indeed - which, conversely, would have made them happier.  But would that have then made them even less happy? (I think I'll stop thinking about this before my head explodes).  "Customers also listened to" Paramore who are another group who I suspect I might like but haven't got round to investigating yet.  I'd have to say I liked this though and will make an effort to get a few more listens in at some point.

#360 : One Nation Under A Groove - Funkadelic (1978)

George Clinton led two of the 1970s’ wildest bands: Funkadelic for rock guitars, Parliament for dance beats. But this album sums up his whole P-Funk empire, as Clinton spreads the gospel of mind-altering, loose-booty rhythms for the body and brain. “One Nation Under a Groove” is a call to arms, demanding “the funk, the whole funk, and nothing but the funk.” Another song asks, “Who Says a Funk Band Can’t Play Rock?!” It’s the same message Uncle Jam has always preached: Free your mind and your ass will follow.

I could have sworn I had to suffer a George Clinton album yesterday - and yet here we are again.  Having said that, I found this generally much more bearable - it's more guitar-funk than bass-funk (think Prince as opposed to Nile Rodgers) and some of it is actually pretty good.  The title track in particular stood out as a fine track (and was another million selling single for George and friends).  But...

...the shortest track is 4:27 and most of them are considerably longer, with the longest being 10:45, which there's really no reason for.  And, incredibly, the length of that track isn't even close to being the worst thing about it - it's called ""Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad (The Doo Doo Chasers)".  And, INCREDIBLY, the title of that track isn't EVEN CLOSE to being the worst thing about it - I'd include some lyrics, but believe me when I say no-one would thank me for it, so I'll just let you Google it if you're feeling brave (but I can't think of any reason why you'd want to do so)

WIkipedia has remarkably little to say about the album, but somewhat bizarrely lists the personnel involved on the album under such categories as Throbbasonic Funkgeetarists, Banjo'd Muthaplucker and Percussionatin' Thumpdans.  It would be easy to write off everyone involved with George Clinton as more than a little ker-azee - and often I find that the simplest explanations turn out to be correct.  "Customers also listened to" all the other funk legends you'd expect - but I think this album stands slightly apart from the generic funk-athons which tend to bore me quite quickly.  That's not to say I actually liked it - it's still much harder work to listen to than I'd like, but there's something hidden in there if you're prepared to put the effort in.

#359 : Radio City - Big Star (1974)

Alex Chilton and his band of Memphis misfits were years ahead of their time — when they released Radio City in 1974, hardly anyone heard it. But like the Velvet Underground, they became hugely influential when future generations discovered them and got their minds blown. Big Star came up with their own skewed pop sound, filtering their love of the Beatles through their Memphis-soul roots. “September Gurls” and “Life Is White” should have been hits, soaring with the sweetly eccentric guitar chime and the romantic ache in Chilton’s voice.

Big Star's second appearance on the list and, although I wasn't aware of them before, I liked #1 Record, so was looking forward to listening to this one as well.  And again, I'm reasonably positive about it - I'd say this is slightly less obviously Beatles-ish than #1 Record so maybe they'd spent the couple of years between the albums listening to a few other groups.  At first listen, I'd say Radio City is less consistent - the highs are higher, but there are some more average patches - but it's still worth a listen if you've not heard it before.

I totally agree with Rolling Stone that "September Gurls" should have been a hit - it's an instantly catchy song which I suspect was just ahead of its time.  I'd love to have a heard an REM cover, but unfortunately such a thing doesn't exist (a version with Mike Mills on vocals exists out there, but the sound isn't great to say the least!) - however, The Bangles (a very under-rated group imho - particularly before they went all "Eternal Flame") do a decent version here.  The Searchers cover is also an interesting listen given the influence such groups had on Big Star - but unfortunately I didn't particularly like it!  "Life Is White" I'm less taken with - it's OK, but not so instant.

Wikipedia has surprisingly little to say for what's regarded as an influential album (normally it doesn't shut up about every minor detail of such albums) but it does note that the album didn't sell well because their new record label refused to distribute it, which is somewhat ironic given that #1 Record didn't sell well because their old record label were unable to distribute it - I think it's safe to say Big Star didn't exactly have a lot of luck with their record labels.  "Customers also listened to" a load of people I've never heard of but I'd be tempted to if they're anything like Big Star - they're doing well so far on this list.

A tricky round to declare the winner for - but for a change this isn't because they're all awful or "not my thing".  It's a toss up between the heavily influential Radio City and the heavily influenced The Black Parade and, although I liked the high points of Radio City most, I think The Black Parade hangs together better as an album and I'm more likely to revisit it.  So well done to My Chemical Romance.

#364-362 - A slight improvement
#358-356 - Well, that's the end of that slight improvement