Not everyone can carry the weight of the world

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

#167 : Violator - Depeche Mode (1990)

One of England’s first synth-pop bands, Depeche Mode had moved beyond their bubblegum phase by the time of their seventh album and, under the influence of hip-hop, began playing with samples and loops, even betraying their keyboard roots with the twangy guitar that opens “Personal Jesus.” Alan Wilder created the dense, constantly shifting arrangements, Martin Gore wrote the pervy lyrics, and Dave Gahan croons implacably about betrayal, immorality, and sexual domination. The percolating “Enjoy the Silence” became their only U.S. Top 10 single, and “Policy of Truth” did almost as well. With its panoply of high-gloss hooks and arresting, artificial sounds, Violator cemented Depeche Mode’s status as the first electronic band that could fill stadiums.

I've always quite liked Depeche Mode (as evidenced here), more as a singles band than an album band but I would say Violator is one of their better efforts (and I'd argue they'd moved beyond their bubblegum phase way before this album).  However, "Personal Jesus", "Enjoy The Silence" and "Policy Of Truth" are definitely the highpoints of the album for me.  They were taking themselves very seriously at this point in time and it's possible that some of the album somewhat leaps over the line, but all in all it's an impressive achievement that enabled them to take off in the US.  Over here we forget how massive they got over there, which Dave Gahan dealt with by developing a particularly serious heroin habit that he was lucky to survive (when LA paramedics nickname you "The Cat" because you're working through your nine lives, then you should probably consider whether things have gone a bit too far).

Wikipedia doesn't have an awful lot of interest to say about the album, noting a generally positive reception with 7.5m sales globally.  As Andy Fletcher put it "Before this, we'd been going along quite nicely.  Then when it came to Violator we inexplicably went huge. It was just incredible, and in many ways we never really recovered from that".  The band's entry is somewhat lengthier and gives you an idea how long they've been going - formed over 40 years ago, they've had over 50 singles in the UK charts and they've done far better in the US than many of their contemporaries.  I think we can safely say they've had their fair share of drama along the way though - but they're still hanging in there.

"Customers also listened to" U2, Soft Cell, R.E.M., New Order, Bronski Beat - the list of random 80s groups goes on and on, none of which seem entirely relevant (I would have thought Nine Inch Nails would have been a more likely companion piece).  But this entry from the very early 90s is well worth checking out if you haven't experienced it - it won't be for everyone, but I quite like it - and particularly the singles, which they have somewhat excelled at over the years.

#166 : 20 Golden Greats - Buddy Holly (1978)

Buddy Holly spent his teenage years kicking around Texas playing straight country music — until, at 19, when he got a gig opening for Elvis Presley. With that, Holly later claimed, he became a rock & roller. For the next two years, he put his trademark vocal hiccup on springy rockabilly, orchestral ballads, and Chuck Berry covers — an eclecticism that had a huge impact on the future Beatles. “Rave On,” “Peggy Sue,” and “Not Fade Away” made Holly one of rock’s first great singer-songwriters. He was also its first major casualty: dead at 22, in a plane crash after a show in Iowa in 1959.

I'd not heard this album but I had a sneaking suspicion that it might be a greatest hits - I've no idea what gave me that idea though.  I listened to it anyway and there are a lot of fine tracks on there - many of which give me happy memories of my mum singing them around the house.  "Peggy Sue" and "Oh Boy!" are probably my favourites, but Rolling Stone is accurate when it declares it to be an eclectic mix which he delivers well.  But it is, most definitely, a greatest hits album.

Wikipedia gives us a good pub quiz question - what links The Beach Boys, The Shadows, Buddy Holly, Nat King Cole, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Diana Ross and Glen Campbell?  (they've all released albums called "20 Golden Greats").  There's very little written about this version, other than noting it got to #1 in the UK, but only #55 in the US - it's not clear why it did so well in the UK, but it did!  His Wikipedia entry is unsurprisingly lengthier - he managed to achieve quite a lot in his 22 years.  Lots of fascinating stories around his death - Waylon Jennings (famous for the Dukes Of Hazzard theme song, if nothing else!) was in his band and was supposed to be on the flight but gave up his place for The Big Bopper - and then he couldn't go to the funeral because he was still on the tour which was progressing without three of its main performers.

"Customers also listened to" a lot of people from around that time and I would have to say that Buddy Holly would be reasonably high up my list of people I'm likely to listen to more than once from that period.  But this greatest hits album cannot be considered as suitable for this list - although it's the first one we've had for a bit!

#165 : Murmur - R.E.M. (1983)

“We wanted to have this kind of timeless record,” guitarist Peter Buck said of R.E.M.’s debut LP, and this “technically limited” band (according to producer Don Dixon) did just that. Buck was a rock scholar who had worked in a record store; singer Michael Stipe unspooled his lyrics as if they constituted some new secret language. Murmur is full of ringing guitars and mystery. The lyrics and the melodies seem buried, almost subliminal, and even the songs with something approximating hooks, such as “Radio Free Europe,” resist clarity. Murmur was a founding document of alternative rock, released just as Gen X was heading off to college.

Well, I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise to any Depeche Mode or Buddy Holly fans who thought they were in with a chance of winning this round, coz you're shit out of luck.  I'm a huge R.E.M. fan -  I wouldn't claim that this is even close to being my favourite album of theirs (I'd definitely pick Reckoning over this from their early days), but this is where it all began.  I wouldn't say it's quite as inaccessible as Rolling Stone suggests - I think I'd use "understated" to describe it instead, particularly for Michael's lyrics (although they're more understandable than on some of the following albums).  If I had to pick favourite tracks, I'd go for "Talk About The Passion", "Perfect Circle" and "Shaking Through" but I was perfectly happy listening to all of it.

Wikipedia doesn't have a lot to say about the album, other than noting that it was critically but not commercially successful at the time of release.  Amusingly, apparently the band spent their time making the record  "refusing to incorporate rock music clichés such as guitar solos or then-popular synthesizers" - the mind boggles what we might have ended up with otherwise!  The band's entry is extremely long, but also somewhat lacking in joy - they're quite a serious bunch of fellows.  But I won't hear a word against them, I tell you!

"Customers also listened to" U2, James, The Sugacubes, The Jesus & Mary Chain, 10,000 Maniacs (Natalie & Michael used to be an item back in the day - it's a shame we won't be seeing her on the list) - again, a somewhat random selection.  But I like most R.E.M and certainly all the early stuff and they don't come much earlier than this.

Sorry to Depeche & Buddy, but feel free to blame bias on my part - I'm quite happy to admit it.  R.E.M for the win!

#170-168 - Expectations pleasantly surpassed
#164-162 - Country, disco or Britpop?