No. 333: Them Crooked Vultures - "Them Crooked Vultures" (2009)

Finally, a supergroup worthy of the title...
Them Crooked Vultures are Josh Homme: Guitars & vocals (Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl: Drums (Foo Fighters / Nirvana) and John Paul Jones: Bass & keys (Led Zeppelin). The line-up is almost too good to be true. Oh, the expectations!
Fortunately the line-up doesn't just look good on paper - this debut album delivers in spades: an instant hard rock classic with some of the heaviest riffs and powerhouse drumming ever committed to tape. And John Paul Jones's inventive bass-lines and signature keyboard embellishments give this album a touch of musical class that only a master musician can deliver.
I played this non-stop for 3 months when it came out in November 2009 - at a volume that my car speakers have never recovered from - and for me it's still the best example of what a modern day rock album should be. No pretending, no posing and no overindulgence. And no Pro Tooled synthetic production - just raw, straightforward rock.
The band rolled into Perth one balmy summer evening in early 2010 and I went along to the gig with a group of friends. I thought I was over the five-year "Zeppelin addiction" that overtook my life as a teenager in the early 90's  until I realized I was actually standing in the same room as a member of Led Zeppelin. And then the shakes started....
A great evening and a truly great album.

No. 334: Donovan - "Barabajagal" (1969)

"Love is hot. Truth is moltennnnn"

Yes. Yes it is.
Donovan was the UK's answer to Dylan in the 60's - a Scottish folk mystic who dropped cosmic folk-pop singles that were embraced by the LSD generation. He was also one of the rare few individuals who can boast about having hung out with the Beatles in India and teaching John Lennon to play fingerstyle guitar. Not a bad resume actually.
This is his seventh album, and aside from his underrated acoustic guitar work it also features the Jeff Beck Group as backing musicians on most of the album (which featured Ronnie Wood and a young Rod Stewart).
The funky title track "Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)", grooves along nicely before Donovan's classic spoken word interlude, while the soft acoustic  "To Susan On The West Coast Waiting" is sung from the point of view of a soldier in Vietnam and his message to his girl back home. Very nice indeed. But be warned: "I Love My Shirt" almost kills the album dead. I have no idea why it was included. It has the highest cringe-factor of almost any song I've ever heard. Thus endeth the warning.
Thankfully the rest of the album is superb. The standout by far though is the epic "Atlantis". Everyone needs to listen to the opening monologue, memorize it, then watch that Futurama episode called "The Deep South" where Donovan guest stars and narrates the same monologue - only this time about "Atlanta" in the USA and its attempt to move offshore to boost tourism before eventually sinking to the bottom of the ocean under the weight of its own development. Pure cartoon gold.
"Hail Atlantis!"

No. 335: Rage Against The Machine - "Evil Empire" (1996)

Everyone talks about Rage Against The Machine's first album (you know the one with the burning monk on the cover?) and admittedly it is a superb album - but this follow-up, 1996's Evil Empire is, for me at least, one of the top albums of the decade.
Everything on this album is powerful - both lyrically and musically. The power riffing of "Vietnow" reminds me of an old Zeppelin tune called "The Wanton Song" (check it out), and "Bulls On Parade" has that classic "wah-wah" break - a sample of which recently found its way to becoming my new mobile phone ring-tone.  Tom Morello appears to be in his element on this album, extracting noises from the guitar that sound like they were generated by a synthesizer ("People of the Sun", "Year of Tha Boomerang") - despite the band's seemingly anti-synth message on the album sleeve, which declares: "all sounds on this album made by guitar, bass, drums & vocals".
Other highlights are "Revolver", with its slow build-up prefacing an awesomely aggressive riff, and the relentless "Tire Me" - the desperation in Zack de la Rocha's voice all too evident as he belts out the line "We're already dead!".
When I eventually saw the band live in 2008 on the Big Day Out Tour, they played about five tracks from this album, which I took as my own personal reward for having waited 12 long years to get to one of their gigs. It ended up being probably the best live show I've ever seen.

No. 336: Lou Reed - "Rock N Roll Animal" (1974)

I love this album so much that I have 2 copies of it on vinyl plus the CD expanded version - a classic from Lou Reed and one of the best live recordings of the 70's.
Released at the height of Glam rock, and featuring backing musicians who went on to join Alice Cooper's band, Lou swaggers through some intense Velvet Underground tracks, plus one from his recently released Berlin album, all recorded live in concert at Howard Stein's Academy of Music, New York, in late 1973.
The original version only had five songs, but contained possibly the best recorded versions of "Sweet Jane" and "White Light/White Heat" available anywhere. There's some great guitar interplay on this album, as well as that signature deadpan vocal delivery. As Lou himself said years later, "Nobody does Lou Reed better than me". After copping a lot of criticism over his 1973 album Berlin - one of the most depressing albums ever made - Lou further tested fans and critics with Metal Machine Music in 1975, which was basically 60 minutes of unlistenable noise & feedback spread over two LP's. But in between he gave us this gem: a timely reminder to the masses about the power of the Velvet Underground's music, delivered with "Lou Reed attitude".

No. 337: Gorillaz - "Gorillaz" (2001)

I was never a huge fan of the whole Britpop explosion of the early to mid-90's - despite enjoying a few albums by Blur, Supergrass and the occasional Oasis single along the way - but for me, this debut album from Gorillaz is where Blur's Damon Albarn emerged as something more than just a former Britpop icon.
While Noel Gallagher entered the new decade seemingly content to re-write the same Oasis album over & over again, Albarn emerged with this brilliant concept: a "virtual band" of cartoon characters (complete with back story) in collaboration with artist Jamie Hewlett and producer Dan The Automator.
This self-titled debut is a finely crafted piece of work, covering many musical styles from hip hop to punk, via some dub and Latin American-infused detours.
When it came out - nearly 10 years ago to the day - I thought "Clint Eastwood" was the best thing I had heard in a long time: a catchy and innovative slice of alt. hip-hop which still sounds as fresh today as it did 10 years ago. In fact the whole album has a timeless feel to it, and I'm sure I'll still be giving it the occasional spin in another 10 years time.
Which is more than I can say about the last five Oasis albums.

No. 338: Kiss - "Creatures Of The Night" (1982)

This is it - the last solid Kiss album before it all turned to custard....
Kiss drifted away from their hard rock roots in the late 70's to dabble in disco (Dynasty, 1979), pop-rock (Unmasked, 1980) and concept albums (Music from "The Elder", 1981) before realizing that most of their original fans had bailed somewhere along the journey. So they did the sensible thing and returned with a balls-out rock album. But it was really too little, too late: original drummer Peter Criss left in 1980, and guitar-whiz Ace Frehley ceased working with the group in early 1982 - partly in protest against the late 70's musical direction of the band, but mainly because of his descent into alcoholism.
Despite appearing on the cover and in the "I Love It Loud" music video, the Space Ace didn't play a single note on this album, (much to my dismay when I found out years later). Session guitarist Vinnie Vincent replaced Frehley on this album, adding some heavy chops to "Rock & Roll Hell", "Danger" and "War Machine", while Paul & Gene carved up vocal duties.
It all effectively died (for me anyway) in 1983 when Kiss took the make-up off and became yet another cheesy 80's hair-metal band - but I'm glad they managed to get this full make-up, heavy rock album out with Ace's face on it before the magic disappeared....

No. 339: Air - "Pocket Symphony" (2007)

I was lucky enough to secure a few days on a small private island in the Maldives back in 2009, and I spent many hours alone on a crisp white strip of beach - laying back in a white plastic lounge chair at the water's edge - quietly gazing out over the calm Indian Ocean with this album coming through my headphones. So forgive me if sound like I'm on Air's payroll...
This is French duo Air's fifth album and overall it sort of has a Japanese feel to it. I learned later that there were some interesting Japanese stringed instruments used in the recording - the best example being on the track "One Hell Of A Party", featuring vocals from Jarvis Cocker from Pulp. Very nice indeed.
Air seem to be the masters of this style of "downtempo electronica", but don't expect any big variations in mood or feel from track to track on this album - it's a very consistent-sounding record: each piece seems to drift into the next, which makes it the perfect background album for those lazy chill-out afternoons with a few friends.
For me, though, it will forever be linked to memories of sipping from a fresh coconut, looking out over the various stunning shades of ocean blue, and wondering how I can procure myself a monkey butler.

No. 340: Roger Waters & Ron Geesin - "Music from The Body" (1970)

This is an interesting curio: a soundtrack to a 1970 human biology documentary featuring music by Pink Floyd's Roger Waters in collaboration with quirky Scottish composer & orchestrator Ron Geesin. This is a record full of creative string arrangements, avant-garde experiments and "biomusic": sounds made by a living body.
If it sounds weird, well it is, however if you like the sounds of burps, farts, clapping, breathing, whispering and screaming then this album is for you! And with song titles such as "Mrs. Throat Goes Walking" and "More Than Seven Dwarfs in Penis-land" you know it gonna be worth listening to...
Waters contributes the only vocal numbers - the delicate guitar pieces "Sea Shell And Stone" and "Breathe" (the opening line of which - "Breathe in the air" - would be used as the opening line to Dark Side Of The Moon over three years later), and even gets the remaining members of Pink Floyd in to back him for the album's closer, "Give Birth To A Smile".
Geesin went on to collaborate with Pink Floyd on 1970's Atom Heart Mother, with decidedly mixed results, but this joint-effort with Waters was far more interesting.
Did I mention it has farts??! Yeah!!!

No. 341: Dire Straits - "Dire Straits" (1978)

These days it is not cool to admit that you dig Dire Straits. The name alone conjures up images of fluoro headbands and sports jackets over T-shirts, courtesy of the titanic success of their Brothers In Arms album in the mid 80's. Sure, "Money For Nothing" was the ultimate MTV track and "Walk Of Life" was a great toe tapper, but it's mainly for these reasons that the band will forever be identified as a product of the 80's. Which is a shame.
This debut album from 1978 is superb. The quality of Mark Knopfler's guitar playing and songwriting is outstanding. "Sultans of Swing", "Down To The Waterline" and "Water Of Love" have some of the most tasteful guitar takes ever put down on record, and I can safely say that aside from Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler is the only other guitarist I have ever heard that makes me specifically want to pick up a Fender Stratocaster every time I hear him.
It's nothing more than a simple case of bad luck that Knopfler's time came in the 80's, as opposed to the late 60's & early 70's when Eric Clapton came to the fore. To this day I still cannot understand how Clapton drifted through the 70's & 80's with all the respect and adulation as one of the "world's greatest guitarists" whilst Knopfler rarely cracks a mention. I've even watched video of them in concert together and Clapton was literally blown off the stage. Don't get me wrong: Clapton is a great interpreter of the blues, but Knopfler's fingerstyle guitar playing incorporates rock, blues, country & celtic influences and it's a real shame he doesn't get the kudos he deserves.
It was that damn headband, wasn't it?

No. 342: Michael Jackson - "Thriller" (1982)

It's 1982. You're Michael Jackson and you've just released what is destined to be the biggest selling pop album in history. You are king of the universe. Where do you go from here?
We all know the subsequent story: not even Stephen King could have made it up.
I choose to remember the good times. Thriller on vinyl has been in our house since I was 5 years old. We had to get written permission from our parents to watch the Thriller music video at our school, and it was awesome. "Billie Jean" was playing everywhere you went. Kids were trying to practice the moonwalk at recess. Good times.
As for the music - this is pop perfection. There's a ridiculous amount of hit singles on here. Seven out of the album's nine tracks hit the US top 10 singles chart. Insane.
To this day I never get tired of hearing what I consider to be THE absolute pinnacle of 80's pop/rock - THE quintessential 80's moment - which is the 5 note guitar crescendo at the end of Eddie Van Halen's solo on "Beat It". It sends a shiver up my spine every time.

No. 343: Miles Davis - "In A Silent Way" (1969)

When I was studying at university back in 1998 I went through a phase where I listened to nothing but this album for about a month. And it was a great month.
Miles Davis was a legendary trumpeter and band leader, and also one of the most influential musical figures of the 20th century, and this is generally regarded as the first album in the "electric" phase of his career. Electric keyboards and electric guitar has already been used on previous Miles Davis albums, but this was the first one where these electric instruments were used to create new experimental soundscapes - leading to the birth of jazz fusion.
Miles continued his relentless experimentation into the mid 1970's, even hooking a wah-wah pedal up to his trumpet, and the music got very dark and aggressive-sounding - but this album is a meandering, relaxation-inducing masterpiece. Plain and simple. Every note that Miles plays through his trumpet is perfect, measured and understated: exactly what you would expect from a genius of his calibre.
Everyone on Earth needs to hear this album at least once while they are still here.

No. 344: Iggy Pop - "The Idiot" (1977)

I've always been a huge David Bowie fan and somewhere along the way I read that he produced and co-wrote this album with Iggy Pop during his "Berlin period" in the late 1970's.
Iggy's days with The Stooges were over and he was recovering from drug addiction when Bowie took him under his wing and they both relocated to Berlin to dry out and experiment with electronic effects. This resulted in Iggy Pop's first post-Stooges solo album - a dark, introspective and sometimes funky set that seemed miles away from the Stooges unique brand of hard rock.
"Sister Midnight" and "China Girl" have Bowie's fingerprints all over them (Bowie re-recorded "China Girl" on his own in 1983 and had a monster hit) but it's Iggy's weary, deadpan vocal delivery which makes this album great. Tales of decadence and excess are found in "Nightclubbing" and "Funtime" - no doubt influenced by the seedy Berlin nightlife that Iggy and Bowie were immersed in - while "Mass Production" was an early blueprint for industrial rock.
Bonus fact #1: Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails used a bass drum sample from "Nightclubbing" as the drum track in his 1994 hit "Closer" off The Downward Spiral.
Bonus fact #2: When Joy Division front man Ian Curtis was found after hanging himself in 1980 this record was found still spinning on his turntable.

No. 345: Spinal Tap - "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984)

Forget Metallica and Jay-Z - this is the only "Black Album" that matters...
This is the soundtrack to the film of the same name released in 1984 which follows the stellar career of Spinal Tap: David St. Hubbins (lead vocal & guitar), Nigel Tufnel (lead guitar), Derek Smalls (lead bass) plus 9 different drummers who died a variety of accidental or mysterious deaths over the years. This album features their best stadium rock tunes such as "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight", "Rock And Roll Creation" and the band's masterpiece, "Big Bottom" - with its awesome triple lead-bass riff.
There's also some tracks covering their humble beginnings as a Beatles-styled pop group ("Gimme Some Money") and later excursions into flower power ("(Listen To The) Flower People") which are even better when you watch the music clips from the film (or on YouTube). And "Cups & Cakes" has to be the best ever ode to afternoon tea ever recorded.
For my money though, you can't go past Nigel Tufnel's opening monologue on "Stonehenge" - a certified classic "heavy metal moment". Make sure you crank it up to 11.

No. 346: U2 - "Zooropa" (1993)

Well it's St. Patrick's Day as I'm writing this, so I guess it's appropriate to feature an album from an Irish band - and who's more Irish than U2?
This is probably an unpopular call with the majority of U2 fans out there, but in my opinion Zooropa is their finest effort.
The reasons? Well, after running The Joshua Tree into the ground through stadium shows and becoming the biggest and most serious band in the world they started to have some fun in the 90's with Achtung Baby and Zooropa, which incidentally was recorded between stops on the mammoth "Zoo TV" world tour in 1993. This lead to some experiments with European-styled electronica, dance music and other various loops & samples which ended up as this album: a bold new direction in the 90's from an 80's stadium rock band. And it was fresh and exciting at the time too - check out the chiming loops on "Babyface", the electronic fuzz in "Numb" and the club-feel of "Lemon". All good things. There's even a track sung by Johnny Cash! Not many of us saw that coming on this album the first time we heard it.
But all good things do come to an end: U2 tried too hard with the follow-up Pop and then went back to the safety of stadium-friendly, self-righteous rock in the 21st century - and today they're still more popular than ever.
You can keep their last three albums though, I'll just sip my Guinness and listen to Zooropa instead - a great record from a band who had the guts to try something different. Even if they don't like it in hindsight.

No. 347: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - "Before Today" (2010)

I came across a few reviews of this album around September last year and noted the big rap it was getting from some respected music publications, so out of curiosity I decided to track it down.
Ariel Pink, by all accounts, was a member of the outsider/freak-folk scene in LA who has been making lo-fi home recordings for years and playing them to anyone who will listen. A few years ago he formed a backing band called Haunted Graffiti and they eventually released this studio album last year: an eclectic collection of tunes covering genres such as garage rock, psychedelic pop and experimental new-wave.
Some parts just sound like The Cure too, which isn't a bad thing.
Another point in it's favour is it's not "over-produced". Despite being recorded in a proper studio it still mostly sounds like a home recording, which adds to the curiosity factor. Don't be put off by Ariel Pink's "freak" tag: this record is full of great songs and it's refreshing to hear a collection so musically diverse as this one is across its brief 45 minute duration.
I think its one of the best kept secrets of the last 12 months - if you're a music lover track it down ASAP. You freak.

No. 348: Captain Beefheart - "The Spotlight Kid" (1972)

After five years of releasing "far-out" music that not many people bought and fewer people understood, Captain Beefheart (AKA Don Van Vliet) and his Magic Band released The Spotlight Kid in 1972, which was his most accessible release to date.
Beefheart made no money from his first five albums, so this sixth was an attempt to move a bit closer to commercial territory. It's a seemingly straightforward swampy blues album which contains some of Beefheart's best singing and harp playing, however nothing is ever that straight-forward in the Beefheart universe, hence the appearance of interesting instruments such as marimba and jingle bells on this record. "I'm Gonna Booglarize You Baby" contains perhaps the deepest voice ever heard on a rock album, however tracks like "Click Clack" and "When It Blows Its Stacks" are the highlights with their driving rhythm and muddy guitar breaks. Purely and simply this is a great listen - and a great place to start with Beefheart if you're curious to find out what all the fuss was about.
This particular commercial attempt, however, was in vain. The Spotlight Kid failed to give Beefheart the breakthrough he was hoping for and he spent the next few years wandering around in the musical wilderness before eventually returning to his quirky best in the late 1970's with a stunning trilogy of albums. And, criminally, he didn't make any money from those either.

No. 349: Brian Eno - "Ambient 1: Music For Airports" (1978)

Brian Eno, ex-member of art rock band Roxy Music, and later electro/pop/glam solo artist, introduced the world to the concept of ambient music in the mid-70's: a word for his new minimalist approach to music. The idea was to produce an unobtrusive background soundtrack that would soothe the mind & soul of the listener in a variety of everyday situations, and this was the first of Eno's installments under the "ambient" banner: Music For Airports.
He supposedly got the idea while waiting at an airport terminal in Cologne, Germany, in the mid-1970's after being caught there for hours and getting annoyed at the "uninspired sound atmosphere" in the terminal. In a situation filled with often tense, weary and stressed out commuters, Eno believed there should be a sound installation that could play in the background with the specific aim to bring some peaceful respite to the listener - hence the creation of this album.
The album is divided into four movements - featuring differing atmospheric textures, synthesizer phasings and vocal loops - which intertwine to bring the listener into a relaxed, peaceful and meditative mood.
I once gave this a few spins through the headset on a solo flight to Hong Kong about 6 years ago and it remains one of my "in-flight essential" listening experiences. Just stock up on your free airline drinks first and then peacefully zone out. Whatever we need to do to take our minds off the horrors of flying economy class, right?

No. 350: Nirvana - "Bleach" (1989)

I was reading today that Krist Novoselic, former bass player with Nirvana, will be making a guest appearance on the new Foo Fighters record, Wasting Light, alongside his old band-mate Dave Grohl. Good for him, I thought.
We first heard from Krist and some guy called Kurt back in 1989 on Nirvana's debut album Bleach - recorded for approximately $600 and released on the independent Sub Pop label out of Seattle, Washington.
Everyone knows the rest of the story: the follow-up Nevermind went ballistic, became a global phenomena and launched a hundred copycat bands the world over. While Nevermind was an extremely polished, poppy and professional-sounding record, Bleach was the opposite - very rough, bleak and heavy.
Tracks like "About A Girl", "Blew" and "Negative Creep" all became live favourites over the next few years, but they are here on this album in their rawest form. Drummer Chad Channing was replaced by Grohl after this album as the quality of his drumming apparently wasn't good enough, but it's Cobain's voice and guitar that delivers that primal DIY feeling that characterizes the record.
This is Sub Pop's best selling album ever, and the starting point for grunge as we knew it.

No. 351: Moby Grape - "Moby Grape" (1967)

"What's big and purple and lives in the ocean?"

That's how they got the name Moby Grape, apparently - one of the best bands to emerge from the psychedelic era in the late 60's.
They were a fixture of the San Fransisco music scene along with the other local heavyweights, Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead, and this - their debut album - is their best by far.
Moby Grape had five members, including three guitarists, and everyone sang and contributed to the songwriting on this album. The result is an awesome mixture of rock, blues, country and folk music delivered with an intensity so raw you can hear the guitar amps buzzing on the record. There's also a squeaky bass drum pedal that can be heard, and I swear it gets louder each time I hear it.
Moby Grape never really got off the ground though and the original line-up imploded after a few years. Guitarist Skip Spence (who incidentally used to be the drummer in the early Jefferson Airplane) was forced out of the band after this album due to mental health issues and was later diagnosed with schizophrenia, eventually living out the rest of his days in drug addiction and alcoholism until his death in 1999.
Check out drummer Don Stevenson on the front cover sneakily "flipping the bird" on the washboard. This was air-brushed out on some later pressings of the album - but of course this is the cover you need to track down. What a bad-ass.

No. 352: Danger Mouse - "The Grey Album" (2004)

This is one of the most innovative albums of the 21st century - and its never been officially released.
DJ Danger Mouse (real name Brian Burton) took an a capella version of rapper Jay-Z's The Black Album and mixed it with music samples from The Beatles White Album to create this masterpiece. Only about 3000 copies of the album were produced, however none of the Beatles samples were cleared for use, so when EMI heard about this effort they apparently sent nasty letters to try to stop its distribution altogether.
The Grey Album gained enough notoriety that it spread like wildfire as a free online download - and a debate about the nature of sampling laws in the industry ensued. Since its release, the concept of the mash-up (ie: mixing two or more songs together to create a new unique creation) has literally exploded, with music from artists as diverse as Prince and the Wu-Tang clan being used in remix projects.
I was never a big Jay-Z fan, but hearing his rhymes over loops of some of my favourite Beatles tunes is great. It all seems to fit so well, which is a testimony to Danger Mouse's determination to make this project work.
There was also a bonus "Grey Video" produced, which is possibly the only place you can catch a glimpse of John Lennon break dancing. Well worth checking out!

No. 353: Midnight Oil - "10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1" (1982)

One of the best Aussie albums ever released, from one of the best Aussie bands ever. My mate Coulsey mentioned this one a few weeks ago and it made me get it out and have another listen, and I still think it's brilliant.
Midnight Oil rocked with so much power & conviction (or should that be power & passion??) that its hard not to admire the work they put out. Lead singer Peter Garrett never held back: manic singing and flailing limbs were his trademark before he traded it in for a career in Australian federal politics. Now its hard to believe he was the same guy...
I received this album as a present from an uncle on my 13th birthday at a Mexican restaurant in Fremantle way back in April 1990 - and since that day I firmly believe its one of the best albums of all time. "Read About it", "Power and the Passion", "US Forces" and "Short Memory" - they are all Aussie rock classics now. I even think it was ahead of its time sonically too. Check out the instrumental "Scream In Blue" - it sounds like U2's "Zoo Station" from Achtung Baby - 9 years before U2 released it!
One final note: Watching the band play "Only The Strong" live back in the late 90's on the 20,000 Watt R.S.L tour is one of the single greatest performances I've ever witnessed.
Garrett for PM! There I said it.

No. 354: Bob Dylan - "Nashville Skyline" (1969)

Was this a legitimate excursion into the field of modern country music or just a 27 minute piss-take?? It's been over 40 years since it was released and I still don't think anyone really knows for sure...
Dylan was at the cutting edge of the music scene in the mid-1960's, before retreating with his family to Woodstock in New York in the latter part of the decade. Next thing we know he's recording country songs in Nashville and singing in a totally different voice (his "moon-in-June" croon). Not only did he sound different, but the music was a big departure too. Jaunty tracks like "Peggy Day" and "Country Pie" were much more poppy than previous Dylan recordings, and the use of pedal-steel guitar infused the album with that cliched country sound that many Dylan fans were a bit dubious of. But the album sold extremely well and gave Dylan one of his most enduring hits in "Lay Lady Lay".
Evidently there was no time for second takes on this album - check out Dylan's duet with Johnny Cash on "Girl From The North Country" - at one point they are not even singing the same words as each other! Quite funny listening to it actually - how about a rehearsal first guys??
There was obviously a hurry in the studio to get this album done - all 27 minutes of it - and even though I love it, I can't shake the feeling that the joke was (and still is) on us.

No. 355: Various Artists - "Lost Highway [OST]" (1997)

Any David Lynch film is its own reward, however a David Lynch film accompanied by a soundtrack this good is just downright kick-ass.
The soundtrack to this surreal psychological thriller plays out like a sinister nightmare, with choice tracks from some of the heavyweights of the music business, including David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein and even some Lou Reed. Interspersed amongst cuts from these artists is original music written for the film by Trent Reznor, Angelo Badalamenti and Barry Adamson, plus a few audio snippets from the movie. In a word: brilliant.
David Bowie's haunting track "I'm Deranged" opens & closes proceedings, and in between is 70 minutes best enjoyed on a headset, drifting in and out of consciousness after 6 or 7 rum & cokes. I recommend you watch the movie first - it will get you in that paranoid mood you really need to be in to appreciate the journey. But if you're a David Lynch fan you probably already know what I'm talking about, right?
And finally, at the risk of committing heresy, Marilyn Manson's cover of "I Put a Spell On You" may even be better than the Creedence version.
Maybe.

No. 356: Tom Waits - "Rain Dogs" (1985)

"We sail tonight for Singapore, we're all as mad as hatters here ..." So begins Rain Dogs - Tom Waits's finest album of the 1980's.
Most albums from the mid-1980's sound exactly like that today - stuck in the 80's, usually due to an over-reliance on synthesizers & drum machines which tend to date a record before it's even released. But not this one. It's musically adventurous and features a wide range of instruments such as marimba, banjo, double bass and accordion to create a rough concept album about transients in New York City.
I like to listen to this one when I'm traveling (especially to Singapore) - songs like "Clap Hands" and "Jockey Full Of Bourbon" feature those melancholic characters that frequently pop up in Tom Waits' songs - restless travelers escaping their past, or battlers & bums looking for a place to call home.
Wait's reinvented his music in the 1980's after being semi-typecast as the boozy barfly balladeer at the piano in the 1970's, and we are all the richer for it. This album follows the unveiling of "the new Tom Waits" on 1983's Swordfishtrombones, and builds on that album's experimental base. And "Downtown Train" is on here in its original form too, before Rod Stewart got hold of it and strangled all the life and feeling out of it (cause that's what he does, see).
A great, timeless album.

No. 357: Queens of the Stone Age - "Queens of the Stone Age" (1998)

After the grunge explosion of the early 90's there were a heap of copycat bands trying to cash in on the phenomena, and after a while everything started to sound the same. To me, rock music seemed to have lost its balls, so to speak, and I became disillusioned. That is until I got a hold of this album.
Desert rock, stoner rock, robot rock - it's been called all these things in an attempt to "give it a label", but essentially this album earmarked the revival of riff-based rock. Queens of the Stone Age signaled a return to those classic days when rock had real power and you could jam on the same chord for nearly 5 minutes. Opener "Regular John" and "Walkin' On The Sidewalks" are the best examples of this, and the rest of the album delivers with the same full-on intensity.
This is a guys album, best enjoyed at a BBQ with mates and a few bourbons. There's no Van Halen-styled overplaying on this album - just honest rock the way it was intended. Guitar, bass, drums & voice (and maybe the occasional piano riff). That's all folks.
Criminally, the album has been out of print for the last 6 or 7 years, however yesterday it was re-released on CD with three bonus tracks and I was first in-line to pick it up (again) at my local record store. Coincidentally the band are also in Perth this weekend to play the Soundwave festival, but being a father of two young children on a long-weekend holiday prohibits my attendance - the first performance of theirs in Perth I have missed since 2003.
This album is a timely reminder of the power of rock music in this age of seemingly endless electro-pop and Gaga-esque over-indulgences. As Molly Meldrum would say, "Do yourself a favour..."

No. 358: The Orb featuring David Gilmour - "Metallic Spheres" (2010)

Every now and again you just need an album to put on in the background while you're busy at work, or something to zone out to on your headset in the early hours of the morning after a big night out. And for me, this is my current favourite album to accompany both of those scenarios.
Ambient techno outfit The Orb have teamed up with "the voice and guitar" of Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, to create this spacey chill-out album full of cosmic sound effects and interesting electronic soundscapes. David Gilmour's tasty lead guitar breaks weave in and out of the mix across the album's two 20-plus minute halves, making this album seem like a 21st-century updated version of Pink Floyd's "Echoes".
The Orb are well-known fans of art/prog-rock, and their teaming up with David Gilmour seems to be a perfect match as they successfully graft that famous guitar sound with a range of grooving rhythms and extraterrestrial moods.
If you have a trampoline in the backyard, my recommendation is to sneak out there on a warm summer's night, hop on, lie flat on your back and gaze up at the stars as this one plays on your iPod - a suitably trippy soundtrack for a night spent quietly pondering the universe. Total mind blow dudes!

No. 359: Frank Zappa - "Hot Rats" (1969)

Frank Zappa is one of the most polarizing entities in the history of popular music: there is no middle ground - you either love him or loathe him.
He's known for his meticulous compositions and professional arranging skills - and also his odd sense of humour, which more often than not gravitates toward the juvenile.
The man released over 60 albums in his lifetime, but if your looking for a good place to start with Zappa this album seems to be one of the best choices. I first picked it up back in my university days (way back in 1996) and was impressed by the innovative and complex nature of the music - especially considering it was made in 1969. It was one of the first rock albums to be recorded with 16-track technology, and the best example of what could be done with this technology is found on the opening track "Peaches en Regalia" - a fusion of jazz rock that features layers of guitar, flute, saxophone, clarinet and octave-bass that has gone on to be one of Zappa's best known compositions.
The entire album is instrumental with the exception of one track, "Willie The Pimp", which features guest vocals from friend/rival/fellow musical partner-in-crime Captain Beefheart. The combination of his voice and Zappa's guitar soloing on this track is my own personal album highlight. The bluesy intro riff is also played on a violin, which only Zappa could get away with.
There are no cliches on this album - listen to it with an open mind and a few beers within reach.

No. 360: Mr. Bungle - "Disco Volante" (1995)

I seem to pull this album out for a listen once every 4 or 5 years and today happened to be one of those days.

Disco Volante is a tough listen - definitely the toughest listen of the three albums Mr. Bungle have released - but it seems to improve with age. Featuring vocals from master front man Mike Patton [this being his main band before he joined Faith No More] this album is an aural assault that covers a range of musical styles, from speed metal to avant-garde jazz, interspersed with occasional snippets of creepy carnival music, random maniacal laughing and death screams. So not really one for the family then...

The highlight is the 12 minute track "The Bends" - a 10-part aquatic journey which explores the terrors of the deep and successfully manages to drag the listener down into the abyss as well. "Everyone I Went To High School With Is Dead" is death metal doom with cult-like chanting, while "Desert Search For Techno Allah" made hardcore arabian techno cool again - at least for a few minutes. The weirdest moment comes in "Carry Stress In The Jaw", with vocals in the second half of the song from someone who sounds exactly like Grandpa Simpson! I kid you not.

Disco Volante it's like a disturbing nightmare: some will spend hours trying to analyze what they just went through, however most will try and banish it from their memory as soon as possible.

No. 361: Julian Casablancas - "Phrazes For The Young" (2009)

I was at a poker night a few months ago with "The Boys" and was chatting with a mate about what we'd been listening to lately. He said to me, "Have you heard Julian Casablancas's solo album"?
"No", I replied.  "What's it like?"
"Well it's ..... interesting".
He's a man of few words, but that was enough to pique my curiosity.
For those unfamiliar, Casablancas is the lead singer of The Strokes - the kings of New York Garage/Indie rock. I was expecting a re-hash of Strokes-styled rockers, and I'm glad to say I was way off the mark.
This is a great futuristic-sounding pop album full of drum machines & synths. There's only 8 tracks and it doesn't even last 40 minutes, but its has so many ideas woven into each song that it never gets the chance to become boring or predictable. Heck, there's even a waltz on here, in the form of "Ludlow Street" - possibly the album's highlight, delivered in that trademark deadpan vocal style.
Hats off to Casablancas: he could have churned out a quick Strokes rip-off, but he's seized the opportunity to do something different and do it better than a lot of people probably expected. 
He also drops one of the best lines on record in recent memory:

"And yes I know I'm going to hell in a leather jacket,

At least I'll be in another world while you're pissing on my casket"

I hear you man. Preach it!

No. 362: Curtis Mayfield - "Super Fly" (1972)

This has to be one of the greatest soundtrack albums ever released - and an album that apparently made more money than the movie that inspired it.
"Super Fly" is a gritty, low-budget blaxploitation flick about an inner city drug dealer, and Curtis Mayfield's soundtrack is the perfect backdrop: a high watermark in the funk/soul genre, full of cautionary tales about the perils of dealing and life on the street, all sung in Mayfield's distinctively soothing high falsetto.
Like Marvin Gaye at around the same time, Mayfield was a socially-conscious voice for Afro-America, and despite the themes in the movie there is a strong "don't glorify the ghetto" message on this album, particularly in the album highlights "Pusherman" and "Freddie's Dead".
The arrangements and musicianship on this album are second to none, and if you're not in the mood after listening to these funky wah-wah guitars then you don't have a pulse. A seriously good album from one of the most talented & influential singer/songwriters of 20th century.
Bonus fact: In 1990 Curtis Mayfield was paralyzed from his neck down after a lighting rig fell on him while performing live in concert. Why can't that sort of thing happen to the Justin Bieber's of the world instead??

No. 363: MGMT - "Congratulations" (2010)

Don't be fooled by the naff cover art: this is one of the finest psychedelic rock records to be released in the last 20 years.
I got a hold of this when it came out back in April 2010 as it was the highly anticipated follow-up to their synth-pop breakthrough album, Oracular Spectacular (2007) - and I was floored by the quality of the melodies and the deceptive simplicity of the songs. Compared to the last, there are more guitars and a more experimental feel on this album and - even though they are American - the band seem to channel a 60's English psychedelic sound reminiscent of Syd Barrett and early-era Pink Floyd. The lead single "Flash Delirium" is quite possibly the best 4-minute pop song released in 2010, while "Siberian Breaks" feels like a modern-day Abbey Road-medley: a series of shorter musical ideas grouped together as a 12-minute suite executed to perfection.
In a musical climate full of manufactured "idols", and divas specializing in "faux-soul", it's refreshing to hear something as inventive and adventurous as this. It's endearing and clever, but not up itself.
Plus any album that has a track called "Brian Eno" is well worth checking out anyway, in my opinion.