I wanna tear down the walls that hold me inside

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

#136 : Maggot Brain - Funkadelic (1971)

“Play like your mama just died,” bandleader/genius George Clinton said to guitarist Eddie Hazel. That morose instruction worked; nothing has ever sounded like the 10 minutes of anguished, fuzzed-up blues Hazel plays on the title song. (Clinton likened the playing to “a silver web.”) Clinton was a funk surrealist and a provocateur, but he’d also been in a doo-wop group and had written songs for Motown — he balanced multicolored futurism with old-school R&B chops on the swinging “Can You Get to That,” the psychedelic “You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks,” and “Super Stupid,” another showcase for Hazel’s dense, distorted riffing. As Clinton later asked defiantly, “Who says a funk band can’t play rock?”

Our second visit with Funkadelic - last time I didn't hate it as much as I was expecting, but I'd completely forgotten about that, so was slightly dreading listening to this.  And again, I didn't hate it as much as I was expecting.  I actually really liked the title track (both versions, covering over 20 minutes - which for a change I'm not going to be rude about) - it sounds remarkably like Pink Floyd and nothing like the rest of the album.  The rest of it is funkier, but never gets too over-the-top for me (which is something George has been known to do at times - from about 1972 onwards, as far as I can tell).  There's also a lot more variation into various avenues of R&B than I was expecting.  I also quite liked "A Whole Lot Of BS" with its only lyrics being "It's just BS.  A whole lot of BS" - and nobody can argue with that.

WIkipedia is generally amusingly dismissive of the album - reporting that Vince Aletti said in his Rolling Stone review "who needs this shit?".  Bizarrely, the "Title And Packaging" section is surprisingly disturbing, including this beauty "Other sources say the title is a reference to band leader George Clinton finding his brother's 'decomposed dead body, skull cracked, in a Chicago apartment.'".  Ohhhh kay.  It all ended well though, right?  Errr - "After the album was released, the band effectively disbanded: drummer Tiki Fulwood was fired due to drug use; guitarist Tawi Ross reportedly got into an "acid eating contest, then snorting some raw speed, before completely flipping out" and has not performed since; bassist Billy Nelson quit over a money dispute with Clinton".  All I can say is that if George Clinton is firing you for drug use, then there's a slight chance you might be overindulging...

"Customers also listened to" all the people I was expecting to see and Betty Davis, who looks VERY SCARY indeed - I'm running and hiding rather than listening to any of her stuff.  I actually found this album surprisingly enjoyable - and I would have added the title track to my general playlist if it wasn't 10 minutes long.  Does that mean there's the slightest chance of me revisiting it?  No, of course not - but "surprisingly enjoyable" was way better than I was expecting before I started this exercise, so I think everyone should be happy with the way things turned out.

#135 : The Joshua Tree - U2 (1987)  

“America’s the promised land to a lot of Irish people,” U2 singer Bono told Rolling Stone. “I’m one in a long line of Irishmen who made the trip.” On U2’s fifth full album, the band immerses itself in the mythology of the United States, while guitarist the Edge exploits the poetic echo of digital delay, drowning his trademark arpeggios in rippling tremolo. While many of these songs are about spiritual quests — “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” — U2 fortify the solemnity with the outright joys of rock & roll, although one of the most moving songs is “Running to Stand Still,” a stripped-down slide-guitar ballad about heroin addiction.

I've already discussed my love for U2 and this album in quite some depth here, so don't intend to say a lot more here other than to say that (for once) Rolling Stone agrees with me that this isn't the greatest U2 album - we have another one to come.

However, Wikipedia tells us both we're wrong and this is the best U2 album - it's certainly the best selling one with over 25 million copies sold.  It was definitely their breakthrough album - The Unforgettable Fire only sold 3 million in the US, whereas this sold that many in the UK and 10 million in the US.  It also tells me that Kirsty MacColl (who I love, love, love) set the track order for the album - you didn't know that, did you?  The band's Wikipedia entry is enjoyable, but a long read.  I'll just leave you with this comment about the bands formation when they were all teenagers - "Mullen later described it as "'The Larry Mullen Band' for about ten minutes, then Bono walked in and blew any chance I had of being in charge".

"Customers also listened to" The Police, Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits and Cyndi Lauper - one of these things is not the same but hey, that's 80s fans for you.  I think this is a fine album and I revisit it on a regular basis - if you're one of the 2 or 3 people left in the world yet to hear it, then I suggest you check it out.

#134 : The Score - The Fugees (1996)  

The East Coast and West Coast were in an arms race to see who could be more hardcore when the Fugees snuck up from behind and slayed everyone with a feather. The trio of Wyclef Jean, Pras, and Lauryn Hill blended rap, R&B, and reggae into an intimate, widescreen sound, using panache, a teasing sense of humor, and a forthright intelligence. Their second album was both an underground and mainstream hit, thanks to the singles “Fu-Gee-La,” “Ready or Not,” and their breakbeat cover of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly.” Hill lays out the highbrow-for-lowbrows battle plan: “And even after all my logic and my theory/I add a ‘motherfucker’ so you ignant niggas hear me.”

I heard this album back in the day when "Killing Me Softly" was being played everywhere and I remember being somewhat shocked at how different the album was to that single with a LOT of N words floating around the place - I imagine there were quite a few parents who allowed their kids to buy the album and then never let them listen to it again.  And I can't say I hated the album, but our paths never crossed again, so was looking forward to revisiting it.  And I was glad I did so - I can't say I loved it, but it feels like I could grow to do so with a few more listens.  And there is indeed humour (not humor though!) and intelligence contained within.  I suspect my love of "The Miseducation Of" (hopefully I will get a chance to discuss this later) hasn't hurt my opinion of this album - if you like that album then I'd say it's worth giving this a chance.

Wikipedia has a lot of text on the album but very little to say about it other than noting it sold well - over 22 million copies globally.  The "Critical Reception" section annoyed me - the "balanced" negative reviews comment that the group's view of the ghetto as a place with some positives is unrealistic.  And, of course, both critics quoted are white and probably have about as much of an idea of what the ghetto is really like as I do - and for the avoidance of doubt, St Albans isn't particularly ghetto.  Sometimes you just have to admit that you aren't qualified to comment on some things - yes, even if you're a music critic.

The group's Wikipedia entry is surprisingly short - although they only made two albums, no-one bought the first one and they split pretty soon after this one, so I guess there's not a lot more to add.  There were rumours of a reunion, but I'm guessing this comment from Pras - "Before I work with Lauryn Hill again, you will have a better chance of seeing Osama Bin Laden and George W Bush in Starbucks having a latte" and this from Wyclef - "I feel the first issue that needs to be addressed is that Lauryn needs help" suggest one possible reason why it might not have happened.

"Customers also listened to" a bizarre mix of rappy types ranging from Will Smith through to Puff Daddy, some of which I quite like and some of which I very much do not.  But I liked this album more than I was expecting and will be making an effort to revisit it at some point.

So, a better all-round selection that I was initially expecting, but U2 were always going to win this round - and they have!

#139-137 - Ozzy takes on some ladies who've sold a few albums
#133-131 - Not a close contest