7 Albums in 7 Days
Recently a friend of mine posted his Top 5 albums that helped form who he is - albums and bands that helped through the years and have influenced various parts of his life.
In the same vein, I’ve decided to go with seven albums in seven days - these seven albums have influenced me as a musician and a writer and helped me through at various times of my life. Some of these are a guilty pleasure; bands or artists that might seem odd for someone like me who has played in punk, metal and hard rock bands his whole life. However I don’t really care if someone thinks that so-and-so is unfashionable, or if my musical taste isn’t to someone else’s.
Yes - this is entirely self-indulgent.
Yes - this is entirely subjective.
Yes - you comment if you want (in support or otherwise).
But remember that it is only taste and I’m not looking for vindication or some level of hipster, old-school credibility. Just a moment of reflection, reminiscing and comfort.
There is no order either. They will simply be listed 1 - 7, Monday through to Sunday, for the sake of convenience and for no particular reason. I hope you like…
Monday: Bad Religion - “Stranger Then Fiction”
When this album came out, punk had started to gain a foothold on commercial airwaves with bands like The Offspring and Green Day (both of whom could have had albums on this list). Then Bad Religion - who pre-date these bands by several years - released this and the world changed for me. Fast paced drumming and bass playing, a cacophony of guitars and the most melodic socially conscious lyrics I’d ever heard was like heroin to me and I was hooked.
The big “hit” was a remake of “21st Century (Digital Boy)” (originally on their album “Against The Grain”). It received airplay on the heels of other punk releases at the time. However songs like “Inner Logic”, “Incomplete” and Better Off Dead show a real connection between the fury and anger of raw punk and a sensitivity and consciousness that is released through the melodies and lyrics.
And, in a song like “Leave Mine to Me”, lyrics such as “there’s hate and opposition, there’s fumbling dialogue/and you sit there and judge me and you think it makes a difference” just drew me in completely.
To me, this was perfect. I could have listed any one of most of the Bad Religion catalogue, but this album was a turning point. A time in my life where I discovered someone who was singing to me - feeling the same way about society, the environment and politics that I did. Right band, right album, right time and right place.
Sometimes, a band just fits.
Tuesday: Pop Will Eat Itself - “Wise Up Suckers”
OK, so technically this one is a bit of a cop-out as “Wise Up Suckers” is a compilation of their previous albums. But these guys were so fucking good that I couldn’t separate the other albums. Before Nine Inch Nails, before Ministry, before The Prodigy there was PWEI. There would not have been those other guys if it weren’t for PWEI. They mixed pop culture, metal, rap and dance beats in with sampling and references to comics, movies and TV seamlessly. What could have ended up as a ferocious mess turned out to be ear candy for the ADD generation.
“Dance of the Mad” has a furious dance beat underneath some of the fastest and most rhythmic lyrics that makes Eminem sound like Rain Man. “Get the Girl! Kill The Baddies” references “Total Recall” and “Wake Up Time To Die” pays homage to another Philip K Dick classic “Bladerunner” (adapted from “Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?”)
I first heard “Can U Dig It” in nightclubs in Melbourne in the late 80’s and it had the sound of a psychotic DJ mashing parts of songs together overlaid with references to the pop culture that pervades every aspect of Western civilisation. It was completely different to the saccharine pap being fed to us by Stock Aitken Waterman at the time.
The fact that this music has stood the test of time shows just how far ahead of their time they really were. They didn’t last long, but PWEI still influence people today and it still sounds like it was made in someone’s bedroom last week.
A bedroom no sane person would want to enter.
Wednesday: Pennywise - “About Time”
These skate/punk stalwarts recently toured again celebrating the 20th anniversary of this album by playing it from start to finish. It was such a thrill for me to see them do this and watch them play the songs that I have played ad nauseum since hearing “Same Old Story” on Triple J back in 1995.
The thing that still surprises me is just how FAST this album is. The drums speed their way through every song like a speed-addled Energiser bunny. The fast riffing of Fletcher’s guitar was nothing like I had heard before and, frankly, I still don’t think anyone else does it quite so well even now.
The album starts with “Peaceful Day”, setting the tone for a high-octane voyage through mental health, drug abuse and other social issues that are just as relevant now as they were 20 years ago.
From the vitriol of “Perfect People” to my favourite Pennywise song of all (“Not far Away”), this album resonated with me at a time when I was starting to mature in terms of a social conscience and an empathetic understanding of the world around me. This is always an ongoing process I know, but their cries rung true then and they still do now.
“Killing Time” lyrics such as: “A child of war, wonders what we’re all fighting for” and “religious right, buying up guns for a hell of a fight” seem to have more relevance now than ever before.
The most complete Pennywise album for me - concise, insightful and still relevant after all these years. I hope I can be too.
Thursday: Placebo - “Black Market Music”
Placebo have been a guilty pleasure of mine for many years now. I’ve enjoyed Brian Molko’s whiney snarl since first hearing “Nancy Boy” in the mid 90’s. I love his androgynous appearance, the occasional foray into perversion and the strong reliance upon heavy bass lines and layered guitars. This is another band that, on paper, shouldn’t work - but because of the talent within, succeeds easily.
“Black Market Music” has some hits on it (“Special K” and “Taste in Men”) but it’s the album tracks that make this such a complete album. “Black-Eyed” starts with the lyrics “I was never faithful and I was never one to trust” and “Commercial for Levi” shows a perversity that is rarely explored on anything other than the darkest black metal albums.
The driving bass lines are what holds this band and this album together. Whether its Brian Molko or Stefan Olsdal playing doesn’t matter - they both use the bass to drive each song along where it needs it. They combine guitars, keyboards and intelligent/thoughtful lyrics to turn each song into a short story in it’s own right.
I was heavily into metal and punk at this stage in life so when I heard this album, it was such a relief to me to have the same sort of musical catharsis as punk music gave me, but within a truly alternative genre. Where Placebo have really impressed is that each subsequent album has had a similar effect on me.
But this was the first one - with “Black Market Music”, I broke my Placebo cherry and have never looked back.
Friday: INXS - “The Swing”
This one does hold a special place in my heart because it was the first album I ever bought with my own money!
For those who weren’t there, INXS were a juggernaut that took on the US and succeeded where so many Aussie bands failed (Jimmy Barnes, Men At Work, The Easybeats). Only AC/DC outranks them in terms of the most successful Aussie band outside Australia. They had a mix of an exceedingly talented songwriter (Andrew Farriss) and a dynamic and enigmatic lead singer (Michael Hutchence) who could not only sing, but also write a very catchy hook or three.
The hits are there on this album - “Burn For You” and “I Send a Message” are great radio friendly tracks but the standout has always been “Original Sin” with it’s racially attuned message that still resonates today 30 years after it was released.
However, some of the lesser-known tracks are what makes this the complete INXS album for me. “Johnson’s Aeroplane” laments the plight and harshness endured by our farmers, “Dancing on the Jetty” mixes a melodic hook with a great dance feel and “Face The Change” bridges 80’s dance with a Hutchence’s cutting vocal technique. “Melting in the Sun” sets the tone for the future of INXS and, had it been on later albums like “Listen Like Thieves” or “Kick” could also have been a huge hit too.
With so many good albums to choose from this one gets the nod from me purely because of the emotional connection I have - and the fact that it’s just a bloody good all round journey.
Saturday: Pearl Jam - “Ten”
Ok - so this one might be a little obvious. It was almost inevitable that there’d be a “Seattle Grunge” album in here somewhere. Soundgarden nearly got the nod with the all-round brilliance of “Badmotorfinger” and I could have put any Nirvana release in there too. But, for me, Pearl Jam’s “Ten” was the quintessential 90’s grunge album. Some of the photos from that time seem a little pretentious now, but the deeply personal lyrics and tortured sounds of Eddie Vedder’s performance are a stand out.
Yes - the guitars of Stone Gossard and Mike McCready evoke Hendrix and Clapton.
Yes - the fretless bass of Jeff Ament mixed Chris Squire with John Entwistle.
And yes - the time signature changes of Dave Krusen's drumming move this band closer to prog-rock than any of their contemporaries. But It’s Eddie’ performance that makes this album for me.
Hit songs like “Alive” and “Even Flow” hinted at a darkness that he was trying to exorcize - but tracks like “Why Go”, “Once” and “Jeremy” read more like a therapy session. And “Black” still remains the haunting song that I recall from all those years ago and is high on the list of songs to be played at my funeral (not that I’ll be there to hear it of course - I’ll be in heaven or some other astral plane jamming with the greatest super-group in history).
With this record on repeat on the Walkman (yes, it was THAT long ago), it helped me through the awkward years of late teens and early 20’s. It showed me that it was okay to express your feelings through music and that great musicianship will succeed regardless of genre.
Sunday: Guns ‘n Roses - “Appetite For Destruction”
I am willing to right out on a limb and say this: “Appetite For Destruction” is the greatest album in the history of Rock-n-Roll. I’m sure there are many who will cite countless others, but this one for me is superb. A combination of an exceptionally tight and rhythmic band, a very talented lead guitarist and a singer of such presence and ability that many copy, but few achieve.
There is not a dud track on this album (Okay, maybe “Think About You” isn’t the greatest, but, for the worst track on the album, it’s still pretty good). The hits like “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City” are rockin’ good tunes. But “Welcome To The Jungle” rates up there as the best Track 1, Side 1 on a debut album in, like…well…ever!
I could list every song and comment on each one’s sublime brilliance but, for me, my favourite has always been “Nighttrain”. There’s something about the cadence of the lyrics, the three-chord simplicity and the fact that it is a song you can jam on for ages and still come up with a great sound.
The pompous and bombastic subsequent albums from GnR may diminish the impact of this brilliant debut - as too the saga of “The Chinese Democracy” and bad blood between some members. But I can’t let that detract from the perfect mix of blues, punk, hard rock and hard livin’ that is “Appetite”. At a time when hair metal ruled, these street punks took the world by storm and did it their way. And what a way it was.
Well, that’s it. Maybe you’ll agree, maybe you’ll disagree. And maybe you’ll go away and come up with your own “7 Albums in 7 days”. But this has been a nice trip down memory lane and I take comfort in that.
Thanks for reading.
