Number

Album

Artist

About

Song

Release Year

67

Tracey Chapman

Tracey Chapman

When I think about 88 it was similar to 85 “some absolute brilliant music was produced” but 88 was also flooded by the Whitneys, Tiffanys etc and so on (music I don’t care for much) and then Boom in come Tracey Chapman and what a debut album this one was. It had meaning it had poverty, social awareness, domestic violence all the tabo subjects, so in hindsight it was a ballsy album especially given it was debut. Throw in the fact that this girl could sing and play the guitar (underrated in my eyes) she was always going to attract my ears. I have picked 3 songs off this album but really all songs on this album were sublime, complete, absolute masterpieces.

Talking about a revolution

For my lover

My Pick –

Baby can I hold you tonight

1988

Number

Album

Artist

About

Song

Release Year

68

Apolcalypso

The Presets

Electro punk brilliance at is best and to know Australia produced these boys makes it even a little more enchanting to me. When this album first came out I smashed it and I still find myself to this day often listening to it. Uplifting musically due to the synth versus guitar riffs, throw in some heavy beats, the great voice of Julian Hamilton and the genius of Kim Moyes and you have Apolcalypso. Lyrically it is also complex but it is the combination of the duo that produced an intense somewhat at times dark album. Overall definitely one of my all-time favourite albums but like Gotye it will be interesting to see if they can ever match the commercial expectation and success of this album ever again.

Yippiyo – Ay

Kicking & Screaming

My Pick –

This Boys in Love

2008

Number

Album

Artist

About

Song

Year

69

Physical Graffiti

Led Zepplin

This album for mine produced the greatest fuck - oops make love song in history (now I get to see who is reading – I dare say it will be mentioned in conversation) – though Justify my Love would give it a run for its money. Still “Kashmir” is a journey and an 8.33min one at that. Now I will pull my mind from the gutter, such an emphasis has been placed on songs like Stairway to Heaven over the years that has left this song so underrated – if it wasn’t for P.Diddy’s Come With Me cover (using the riff) people wouldn’t even know this song, probably still don’t except for the Zepplin and Rock Classic fans. One thing I love about Led Zepplin is a lot of their songs take you on journeys, they just don’t tell you a storey. Page and Plant not to dissimilar to Daltrey and Townsend were just brilliant musicians who could not only write a song but they come up with an uncoupled riff or bass line that just profiled the song, it made it much more attractive to the ear but what’s more, memorable. True classics, nothing more nothing less. A great album in its entirety but it was Kashmir that separated this one from the rest for me.

10 Years gone by

Trampled under foot

My Pick - Kashmir

1975

Number

Album

Artist

About

Song

Year

70

Thriller

Michael Jackson

What do you really say about the greatest Pop act in the history of the universe. An album of my teens that seen us also dancing the “Thriller” in front of our TV screens on a Saturday morning (go on admit it). This album produced so many pop hits at the time it became a Pop Folklore almost a music culture within itself. It wasn’t until later in life that I really realised how important a Producer was to an artist and Jackson had one of the best in Quincy Jones on this one – another duo marriage made formed in music heaven. Though I would never consider myself to be a great fan of Jackson that’s not to say I didn’t appreciate his music nor the fact of his incredible talent or the place he held in music history (thoroughly deserved). This album whether I like to admit it or not was a sing along album where you knew every song word for word and the ooofffs and daahhhs synonymous with Jackson they went hand in hand. Still it was a very popular album in my teens and when you think of songs like Billie Jean and Thriller for that matter it will stand the test of time. Off the Wall was also a great album but just a warm up for what was to come.

Human Nature

Wanna be startin something

My Pick – Billie Jean

1982

Number

Album

Artist

About

Song

Year

71

Jagged Little Pill

Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morrissette put the anger, the females scorn back into music with channelled rage and intelligent definition. But to define this whole album to this though would do it unjust but it is a reason why she attracted me and so many more people to her music. With lyrics “are you thinking of me when you fuck her” and the brilliant riff and hooks of the guitars from Flea & Navarro (Chilli Peppers) this girl was always destined for greatness. This whole album is another album where you find yourself singing every song on it, another brilliant debut album. She would never share the same commercial success again from this album but some of her music that she did afterwards I also went on to really appreciate. Her MTV unplugged concert that she recorded showed me just how good of an artist this girl really was musically, definitely worth a look. Your “Uninvited” the most memorable.

All I really want

See Right Through You

My Pick – You oughta know

1995