Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face

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

#85 : Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon (1970)

Also known as the “primal scream” album, referring to the painful therapy that gave rise to its songs, Plastic Ono Band was John Lennon’s first proper solo album and rock & roll’s most self-revelatory recording. Lennon attacks and denies idols and icons, including his own former band (“I don’t believe in Beatles,” he sings in “God”), to hit a pure, raw core of confession that, in its echo-drenched, garage-rock crudity, is years ahead of punk. He deals with childhood loss in “Mother” and skirts blasphemy in “Working Class Hero”: “You’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see.” But the unkindest cut came in his frank 1970 Rolling Stone interview. “The Beatles was nothing,” Lennon stated acerbically.

Our second visit with a solo Mr Lennon on this list and last time I wasn't overly impressed, and Rolling Stone's description above didn't give me a great deal of confidence I was going to enjoy this one either.  But actually, I didn't mind it - although it really does feel like he's undertaking it as part of his therapy.  It is a bit "throw it all at the wall" though because the man had a lot of things he wanted to get off his chest, as you can tell from looking at the track titles - including "Mother", "Isolation", "Love", "Look At Me", "God", "My Mummy's Dead".  I can see it must have been an "interesting" time in his life and if it helped him sort it all out, then I'm pleased for him.  I think "Working Class Hero" works best for me - there's a lot of rage in there framed in a reasonably simple structure.  I can't say I'll be rushing back to it at all, but I enjoyed the experience of listening to it and was pleased it wasn't as terrible as I feared it was going to be.

Wikipedia gets very confused because Yoko also did an album called Plastic Ono band with a very similar cover - I wonder how many people bought that one by mistake?  When we finally make it to the right place, it tells us that Lennon's therapist intended his sessions to last a year, but they had to be cut short after a couple of months because his visa expired, so he came home and made this instead.  It had a mixed reception - some critics loving it, some being less enamoured and the public bought it, but not as much as Lennon would have liked.  Apparently he was pissed off that people preferred All Things Must Pass - although I sure he wasn't pissed off with George because no-one could stay angry at George for long, surely.  John's Wikipedia entry is, of course, massive and an interesting read and he doesn't come across as the nicest of guys at times - hopefully he improved after sorting out some of his issues with this album.

"Customers also listened to" Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Julian Lennon and some band called The Beatles - no idea who any of them are.  Overall, I'd describe this album as effective rather than enjoyable - you get the feeling that Lennon got the most of out it.  I'm glad I listened to it and didn't hate it as much as I was expecting to, but it doesn't feel like something I'm going to revisit.

#84 : Back In Black - AC/DC (1980)

In the middle of album rehearsals, singer Bon Scott went on a drinking spree; he choked on his vomit and was found dead in the back seat of a car. After two days of mourning, guitarist Malcolm Young thought, “Well, fuck this, I’m not gonna sit around mopin’ all fuckin’ year.” He called his brother, guitarist Angus Young, and they went back to work with replacement vocalist Brian Johnson. The resulting album has the relentless logic of a sledgehammer. Back in Black remains the purest distillation of hard rock: “Hells Bells,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” and the title track have all become enduring anthems of strutting blues-based guitar.

AC/DC aren't really my sort of thing, but like Ace Of Spades, this album kinda transcends anyone's "sort of thing".  Yes, it's all a bit silly and a bit same-y, but it's still quite enjoyable - and obviously needs to be played as loud as it possibly can.  I think "You Shook Me All Night Long" is probably my fave track, closely followed by the title track.  However, if you've never heard it, then you can probably allow this state of affairs to continue, safe in the knowledge you're going to hate it.

Wikipedia tells us this album is "not to be confused with Back To Black" - yes, thanks for that.  It also tells me something I had no idea about - it's the second/third/fourth biggest selling album in history (depending upon who you ask!)  This is basically because they went absolutely mad for it in the US - 26 million copies sold over there.  Which is otherwise known as "a lot" - although it never made it to #1 in the US charts.  Critical consensus was somewhat more mixed - one critic said it was "a preposterous, drongoid record ... built on casual sexism, eye-rolling double entendres, a highly questionable attitude to sexual consent, a penchant for firearms, and a crass celebration of the unthinking macho hedonism that killed the band's original singer" - and she was one of the ones that liked it!  In slightly more obscure news, the bell on the opening track was cast specifically for the album, which seems like a very Spinal Tap thing to do and nearly delayed the release of the record.

The band's Wikipedia entry is long and, upon skimming through it, contains pretty much everything you'd expect to happen to a band like AC/DC over a 48 year period - no cliche is left unexperienced. But they're hanging in there and still rocking with the best of them, although possibly not quite as vigorously as they once did (Angus Young is 66 now - but still dresses like a schoolboy).

"Customers also listened to" Aerosmith, Guns'N'Roses, ZZ Top, Bon Jovi - more rock than metal groups certainly which I guess shows it's appeal in the US.  It is, quite patently, a ridiculous and questionable record - but it's also a very enjoyable ridiculous and questionable record.

#84 : Dusty In Memphis - Dusty Springfield (1969)

Born in London, Dusty Springfield was a great soul singer hidden inside a white British pop queen — racking up Motown-style hits such as “I Only Want to Be With You” — when Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler brought her way down South, to Memphis, to make this album. She was so intimidated by the idea of recording with session guys from her favorite Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding hits that she never actually managed to sing a note there. Her vocals were overdubbed later, when the sessions moved to New York. But the result was blazing soul and sexual honesty (“Breakfast in Bed,” “Son of a Preacher Man”) that transcended both race and geography.

Our second album from Memphis on the list, but a slight different artist to last time.  I had heard this before and remembered liking it, but it was a long time ago so was looking forward to revisiting it.  And yeah, it's a fine selection of songs - "Son Of A Preacher" and "Windmills Of My Mind" work best for me, but they're all pretty good and her voice is just so smoooooth.  If you like sixties soul and haven't checked this out, then you probably should (but I suspect you already have).

Wikipedia doesn't have a lot to say about the album, other than confirming Springfield's nervousness about actually recording in Memphis and noting that the album didn't sell well upon release.  It also contains the somewhat incredible story that Atlantic Records signed Led Zeppelin for a large amount of money without ever having seen them because Dusty suggested it just because she knew John Paul Jones.  If only everything was that easy, eh?  

Her Wikipedia entry is a long one - I knew she was pretty famous back in the day, but I had no idea quite how famous.  She started out in The Springfields (alongside her brother) who were one of the best selling UK acts in the early 60s and after she went solo, she was the best selling female artist globally in the mid 60s.  She was at least partially responsible for introducing the Motown sound to the UK both through her singles and through presenting an episode of Ready Steady Go! which included the first TV appearances for The Temptations, The Supremes, The Miracles and Stevie Wonder - which I think most people will agree is a reasonable line-up, if you like that sort of thing.  The 70s were a leaner time, but the 80s were livened up by The Pet Shop Boys and the 90s sorted out by Quentin Tarantino, so she lived an interesting life until her untimely death in 1999.  All in all, it's a fascinating read and includes the somewhat bizarre fact that she liked "food fights and throwing crockery down the stairs".  Well, I guess we all need a way to relieve the stresses of everyday life.

"Customers also listened to" a particular bizarre mix - all soul-ish, but with very few soul staples being present except Aretha.  I liked this album, but I think I liked her Wikipedia entry more - I was aware of her in a "Pet Shop Boys rescue her from obscurity" way, but I wasn't in the slightest bit aware how far she'd slipped into obscurity.

I can quite believe that some people believe the Lennon album to be the best thing ever, but for me it was more a case of "not as bad as I feared, but I don't really understand the fuss".  So, how to decide between the other two?  They're both albums which are fine examples of their genre - but it's very much a case of comparing chalk and cheese.  Not that I generally let something like that stop me stating an arbitrary preference (often with the specific intention of annoying people).  But I can see situations where I'd feel the need to listen to either album (or more likely, specific tracks from either album) so I'm going to declare a draw and let AC/DC and Dusty share the spoils.  And there can't have been too many instances where that's happened before ever.

#88-86 - Three albums from a five year period
#82-80 - Make a decision, man!