Buried Treasure: John, The Wolfking Of L.A.

[Today: Papa John looks at the dark side of sunny Los Angeles...]

John Phillips was the main architect of the Mamas & Papas, and his 1970 solo debut was an eagerly anticipated release. But John, The Wolfking Of L.A. sounded nothing like ‘California Dreamin’, so it sold poorly and quickly faded from view. At the time of these sessions, Phillips was in the early stages of twin heroin and cocaine addictions that would debilitate his career, and he was ending his first marriage while beginning a new relationship. The Manson Family murders of August, 1969 had obliterated the serenity of Phillips’ Laurel Canyon neighborhood, and his personal turmoil and the general unrest of the times weigh heavily in Wolfking‘s grooves.

It’s an album filled with rumpled, sordid characters pulled straight from Phillips’ life: April Anne, the Easy Rider, the Drunken Gigolo, the Jingle Jangle Friend, the Captain, and Genevieve. Property is stolen, life is misconceived, ships wreck, and flirtations are bandied about. This is an album with a dark side a mile deep – the type of music that was seemingly invented and perfected in Los Angeles. But in spite of its dark subject matter, the music here is sublime. Phillips put together one of the best studio bands possible at the time, including drummer Hal Blaine, guitarist James Burton, and most of Elvis Presley’s band (the King was reportedly a big fan of this album). It resulted in a relaxed musical vibe that’s part bluegrass, part soul, and part rock.

Phillips hated the album. “I never had the front man’s ego and that LP proved it. I nearly mixed my vocals off the album. I sounded seriously depressed. The songs were fine, the backup vocalists and musicians were fine, but the lead singer seemed groggy” he wrote in his 1986 autobiography Papa John. But ‘Holland Tunnel’ is a gorgeous masterpiece of the open road, ‘Mississippi’ is a relentlessly catchy piece of cajun flavored rock, and the album is dotted with excellent tunes that perfectly reflect their era. Time has proved Phillips wrong about his own creation – John, The Wolfking Of L.A. is now generally and justifiably considered to be one of the great lost albums of the 1970′s.

Listen: Holland Tunnel

Listen II: Mississippi

Masterpiece: Rain Dogs

[Today: Tom Waits runs away and joins the circus...]

Rain Dogs is populated by slaughterhouse bigshots, drunken jockeys, demented ship captains, small-town Napoleons, and strangers with weeds in their hearts. It’s a carnival of sadness and loss, and its odd instrumentation and off-kilter rhythms roughly approximate the sound of mental illness. But Tom Waits doesn’t just sit and stare at these bums, clowns and madmen – he inhabits the characters fully, giving them a dose of humanity that reveals the hopes and dreams living inside even the most deranged and desperate soul.

Waits is a master at taking an everyday object (like a dish outside the window filled with rain) and turning it into a metaphor for the hopeless, lonely nature of life itself. He’s one of the most gifted songwriters of his generation, but he goes to great lengths to disguise the poetry at the heart of his tunes. “And you’re East of East St. Louis/and the wind is making speeches/and the rain sounds like a round of applause” is just one of the magical couplets that he hides behind the raspy razor-wire of his voice. It took Rod Stewart to make ‘Downtown Train’ into a hit, mainly because Waits’ voice is so inaccessible to most listeners.

If Rain Dogs is ever criticized, it’s usually for being too ‘sprawling’. At 19 songs and 54 minutes, it’s not an excessively long album, but it is so full of ideas and imagery (much that doesn’t make obvious sense) that it can feel dense and impenetrable. But if this album is sprawling, it’s a mental sprawl that reaches for ideas and dimensions that most music doesn’t touch. This 1985 release saw Waits move ever farther from the beatnik/bluesman persona that defined him during the 70′s. Here he slipped into the dark, shadowy world of back alleys, bordellos and sewers, and made the kind of music that creates its own steam and leaves you coated in sticky, restless agitation. Rain Dogs is a musical marvel, and the album that turned Tom Waits into a mad genius.

Listen: Singapore

Listen: Time

On The Fence: 20 Verdicts

I was leafing through the ‘On The Fence’ archive for this blog recently, and I realized that I’ve drawn pretty strong conclusions about many of the albums in question there. In the course of writing those posts, I spent a LOT of time with the albums (nearly drove The P nuts with some of them) and really gave each of them a fair chance to win me over. Some did – others, not so much.

It’s also worth repeating (for the Hall & Oates and Billy Joel fans out there) that I was genuinely torn about these albums, and these weren’t just convenient excuses to rip popular music from the 70′s and 80′s. These posts weren’t exactly scientific enquiries, but they did produce some interesting results, in the form of lively comments.

After listening to the albums and weighing those comments, here are my verdicts on 20 of the albums that I’ve placed On The Fence. And because my opinion doesn’t necessarily reflect the collective verdict of the commentors, I’m including a “Key Comment” for each album – please enjoy the wit and wisdom of my esteemed readers.

Here we go. Again…

The Album: David Byrne & Brian Eno | My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

The Argument: Musical genius or dated techno?

Key Comment: “Essentially, the meaning of the album is religious. To be submerged in the music is to be engaged in an act of faith. I know that must sound like sheer wackiness, but the best songs on the album are riffs off religious music, and the ultimate effect is one of trance-like devotion to a superior being or vast ephemeral, untouchable truth.” – Aldo Velasco

My Verdict: Thumbs up. How can you argue with comments like that?

The Album: Journey | Greatest Hits

The Argument: 80′s schlock or golden oldies?

Key Comment: “No, the music isn’t especially good. But for me, it’s a direct conduit to very specific places and times. Nice places to visit, but I’m glad I don’t live there anymore.” – JD

My Verdict: Thumbs up. Hey, nostalgia’s powerful stuff.

The Album: Michael Jackson | Thriller

The Argument: Jacko or wacko?

Key Comment: “Even weirdos can bust out some dopeness and when they do, they ought to be recognized for it… which, in this case, would be the astronimical sale of 26 million units… that’s a lot of worn out tape decks and needles, people…” – Arlo Chingaderas

My Verdict: Thumbs down. Too much weirdness under the bridge.

The Album: Miles Davis | Sketches Of Spain

The Argument: Classic jazz or classical music dressed as jazz?

Key Comment: “I, for one, think you should take Sketches Of Spain off your turntable and head to your nearest frisbee golf course. Miles gets kudos for trying, but not much more.” – Cordell

My Verdict: Thumbs down. I’m sure it’s brilliant, but I just don’t get it.

The Album: KISS | Kiss Alive II

The Argument: Good memories or bad music?

Key Comment: “While I’ll fully admit that KISS is not a band with any kind of earth-shattering music talent, twere it not for them, there might never have been a Poison, a Slaughter, a Twisted Sister. Without those bands, I might not have had the high school realization that I, myself, like to rock.” – Cindy

My Verdict: I’m still up in the air on this one.

The Album: The Police | Synchronicity

The Argument: Smart pop or pretentious poppycock?

Key Comment: “Many of the songs even seemed annoying to my wide eyed teenage self then. Now, they just plain suck. However, the packaging and marketing of that album would pave the way for fetishism of the rock brand, rather than the rock band.” – Mikel Chase

My Verdict: Thumbs down. Some good moments, but sheesh…

The Album: Jethro Tull | Original Masters

The Argument: Prog rock or hard rock?

Key Comment: “All in all, I remember a lot worse shit in the late 60’s early 70’s than Jethro Tull.” – HB

My Verdict: Thumbs down. Hard to take that flute too seriously.

The Album: Ted Nugent | Great Gonzos: The Best Of

The Argument: Juvenile knucklehead or guitar god?

Key Comment: “I was pretty wasted that day but I may well have been the guy that threw the frisbee.” – Bill

My Verdict: Thumbs up. Barely.

The Album: Beastie Boys | The Mix Up

The Argument: Funky good times or funky muzak?

Key Comment: “In their catalog, it will prove insignificant over time, but when the songs are included on their next greatest hits, they’ll sit rightfully beside the rest of their music without missing a beat.” – jkg

My Verdict: Thumbs up. Not their best, but still pretty good.

The Album: Eric Clapton | Journeyman

The Argument: Classic comeback or mediocre misfire?

Key Comment: “Boring. So very very boring. I’m pretty sure Eric Clapton was replaced by a soulless cyborg around 1981. Bark bark.” – James Osterberg

My Verdict: Thumbs down. Boooooooring.

The Album: Neil Young | Tonight’s The Night

The Argument: Sloppy gem or unlistenable mess?

Key Comment: “Oh goodness… feedback & slop = a few of my favorite things…” – Devil Dick

My Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s messy, but it’s Neil.

The Album: MC5 | Kick Out The Jams

The Argument: Sloppy gem or unlistenable mess?

Key Comment: “FYI – The vocalist on Ramblin’ Rose wasn’t Rob Tyner, it was Wayne Kramer.” – D.D. Banter

My Verdict: Thumbs up. Noisy, but well worth the earache.

The Album: Peter Gabriel | ‘Melt’

The Argument: Smart pop or pretentious poppycock?

Key Comment: “I agree with Devil Dick (and I like to type and say ‘Devil Dick’). PG has some goofy stuff out there, but I wouldn’t throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.” – Foo

My Verdict: Thumbs down. Peter Gabriel makes me laugh, but not in a good way.

The Album: Chicago | Greatest Hits

The Argument: 70′s fluff or pop perfection?

Key Comment: “It all depends on your sitch. Swanky dinner party? Cetera’s falsetto ain’t gonna cut it. Barbecued hot dogs in the backyard? That horn section sounds awesome. Sometimes smoked cheddar from Hickory Farms just tastes güd.” – shelbydee

My Verdict: Thumbs up. Tough to deny those horns.

The Album: Abba | Gold

The Argument: Good cheese or bad cheese?

Key Comment: “Fuck Abba! – P.S. My Mom’s from Fon du Lac.” – Furr

Key Comment II: “Fucking ABBA rocks my face. And I will kick anyone’s ass who says differently.” – Kdubbie

My Verdict: Thumbs down. I and I is annoyed.

The Album: Ray Charles | Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music

The Argument: Pure genius or dated relic?

Key Comment: “Country Music with strings? What’s next: Mandolin Metal, Goth Tuba, Xylaphone Blues, Harpsichord Funk or Yanni Does Zeppelin? I have no problems with experimental music as long as my lunch stays where it belongs.” – heavy g

My Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s dated and dusty, but it’s Ray Charles dammit!

The Album: Grateful Dead | American Beauty

The Argument: Classic Dead or lifeless dud?

Key Comment: “Every song is good or great and shouldn’t be compared to their live recordings to determine if it is good or not. It is simply, a good record. Frankly, I am a bit annoyed this is even up for debate.” – James Cabral

My Verdict: Thumbs up. Thumbs down. Do such things matter when you’re dancing with cartoon bears?

The Album: Crosby Stills Nash & Young | Deja Vu

The Argument: Timeless classic or cotton candy?

Key Comment: “Is this the CSN and sometimes Y album that has the track ‘Impregnating Lesbians’ on it? Oh wait, that came later.” – bert

Key Comment II: “Now I’ve got ‘Our House’ stuck in my head. Thanks a lot.” – Aldo Velasco

My Verdict: Thumbs down. Yawn…

The Album: Billy Joel | The Stranger

The Argument: Blast from the past or pointless pop?

Key Comment: “One stint in rehab does not destroy a lifetime of quality work. And being the top-selling catalogue artist on a record label like Columbia is not merely “a bunch of downloads”. This is the same record company that markets Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Billy Joel outsells all their other legacy artists – COMBINED. Methinks you are another gullible victim of the tabloids. Do a little research before you post stuff like that.” – Bob

Key Comment II: “I also find it hard to believe that in 10 years all you heard about him was ‘drunken shenanigans’. He has toured constantly with and without Elton John during those years, wrote and released an album of piano compositions, had a Tony Award-winning hit musical on Broadway that is still being produced on the road, wrote an anti-war song for a new young artist, donated much time and money to numerous good causes, and done an extensive tour of colleges around the world speaking to students of music and music business. He even designed a boat which has become a successful business in itself.” – Bob

Key Comment III: “I’m more of a ‘Glass Houses’ kinda guy…” – Devil Dick

Key Comment IV: “Wow, I want three of whatever Bob’s drinking. Good show, man. While I still maintain that box office draw is hardly a measure of artistic merit (or ‘substantive music’), Billy Joel is lucky to have admirers like Bob.” – James Osterberg

My Verdict: Thumbs up. Bob’s comments convinced me…

The Album: Hall & Oates | Rock ‘N’ Soul Part 1

The Argument: Awful or awesome?

Key Comment: “God! I’ve had it with the pompous windbags telling what music they think is cool and worthwhile and what is shite. Who died and made you blowhard fuckers king?” – Pricklee Pete

My Verdict: Thumbs up. 4 out of 5 pompous windbags prefer Hall & Oates.

Doubleshot Tuesday: Dusty In Memphis/ The Greatest

[Today: Sultry ladies singing sultry songs in Memphis, TN...]

Dusty Springfield was a one-time hit machine who was down on her luck when Atlantic exec Jerry Wexler suggested she record in Memphis with a team of crack session musicians. Springfield was too petrified to sing during the Memphis sessions, but Wexler simply added later vocal takes to the recorded music, and fancifully titled the results Dusty In Memphis. Here she sings like a mature woman inhabited by the soul of a fifteen year-old girl in love – all starry-eyed innocence and rapturous, breathless phrasing. ‘Son Of A Preacher Man’ ‘Breakfast In Bed’ and ‘Just A Little Lovin” are but three flavors of sultry that Springfield lays down, and there are many individual moments where – like a lover whispering in your ear at dawn – she can produce chills with just a single word.

Meanwhile, Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) sings like a woman who’s seen too much life in too few years. Her well-documented struggles with drugs and alcohol threatened to undo her career before it got going, but on The Greatest she made a stirring comeback by recording in Memphis with a group of talented session musicians. On the title track, she takes the perspective of a fighter who’s lost a step and absorbing beatings – and somehow manages to sound tough as nails and intricately fragile at the same time. This is a girl who can forcibly take your lunch money while breaking your heart. Like Dusty Springfield in reverse, Chan Marshall is a young woman drained of every last ounce of innocence, singing from the gutter instead of the bedroom, but still sultry in spite of all that wear and tear.

Listen: Son Of A Preacher Man [Dusty Springfield]

Listen: The Greatest [Cat Power]

Caught In The Crossfire

This nifty biography chronicles not only Stevie Ray Vaughan’s rise to guitar god status, but also the West Texas music scene that allowed him to develop, and the guitar slingers who inspired him, including T-Bone Walker, Freddie King, Johnny Winter, and his brother, Jimmie Vaughan. The book opens with Stevie getting pounded for borrowing Jimmie’s guitars without permission, and SRV is rarely without a guitar in his hand for the rest of the book’s 271 pages. Caught In The Crossfire details his time in bar bands such as The Sidewinders, Blackbird, and Triple Threat, and paints a vivid, dusty picture of the Austin and Dallas music scenes of the 70′s.

Authors Joe Nick Patoski and Bill Crawford are to be commended for doing justice to such legendary subject matter. Crossfire covers all the biographical details, but never feels like a rote recitation of facts. Rather, Vaughan’s life story flows naturally, like notes from a well-played guitar. If Stevie Ray is often portrayed as a man on a mission – Luke Skywalker with guitar in his hand – it’s because he was. “He played every note like it was his last. That’s how you’re supposed to play. He did it” marvels fellow musician Stephen Bruton, and it’s the overriding sentiment expressed throughout the book by those who knew him.

The book also details Vaughan’s struggles with drugs and alcohol that nearly cost him his life. That he became an inspirational champion of AA for three years before his tragic death in a helicopter accident in 1990 only makes his story more compelling. “I have been gifted with something, and if I don’t take it to its fullest extent, I might as well be farting in the bushes” he said. Luckily for us, he took his gift to its fullest extent, and beyond.

The P Speaks: Basement Treasures

On our recent trip back to the P family homestead, I was reunited with an old friend.

Continuing the tradition of rescuing (read: pack-ratting) ancient (read: heavy and breakable) components and dragging them across the country, I carried my 32 year-old friend back to California in my suitcase.

As you might imagine, this looked a bit unusual in the airport x-ray machine, so the nice TSA folks tossed the contents of my suitcase like a ceasar salad. (Any person crazy enough to pack this 30 pound case of wires must be a true security threat!) And once I’d emptied my pockets to show that I wasn’t hiding a reel-to-reel or any wayward 8-tracks and we’d collectively negotiated the threat level back down to chartreuse, the war on terror and air travellers was pushed to the background for a few minutes as the Agents all gathered around to take a look at my treasured receiver and offer their opinions on its merits.

This little gem was the heartbeat of our household for many many years, and has a strong affinity for classical and jazz. She’s a little powerhouse, with snappy push buttons and strong, solid tuning knobs. Her signal window is downright sexy.

But the best thing about her is her warm green glow.

Welcome home!

Paging Blaine Siegel…

Blaine Siegel was a buddy of mine for a spell in the mid-90′s. We used to play basketball regularly on the playgrounds of SF, and we’d often talk about music (he introduced me to Radiohead’s OK Computer, among other albums). One day I mentioned that I had a Dick Dale LP (his 1962 debut Surfer’s Choice) that was missing its cover. Blaine – an aspiring artist who was heavily influenced by comic art – offered to draw a cover for me, and the results are posted here.

Needless to say, I was blown away by his zombie surfer interpretation of Dick Dale’s music, and have treasured this one-of-a-kind work of art ever since. In preparing this post I googled Blaine, and found out that he’s a successful visual artist living in the Philadelphia area. I’m happy to say that one of his originals hangs proudly in our music room.

I fell out of touch with Blaine when he moved away from the Bay Area (it happens), but I’m pleased to hear that he’s still making art, and hoping that this post eventually finds its way to him. Thanks Blaine!

[Here's the "real" cover art...]

Listen: Let’s Go Trippin’

On The Fence: The Velvet Underground & Nico

In August of 2006, Uncut magazine counted down their take on ‘The 100 Greatest Debuts’ in rock. Perched atop their list was The Velvet Underground & Nico. The article claimed that “…its No 171 placing on the Billboard chart belied its subsequent influence” and went on to mention Brian Eno’s oft-cited quote that “Only five thousand people ever bought a Velvet Underground album, but every single one of them started a band.”

Today I wonder: were VU really as influential as Eno would have us believe? And if so, does this album’s subsequent influence make it any more enjoyable? As always, because I’m a tone-deaf imbecile, I’m hoping that you, the enlightened reader, will help me solve this puzzle with your insightful and humorous comments…

THUMBS UP: Velvet Underground is like foreign cinema – if you enjoy it, bonus, but its main purpose is to expand the scope of your experience. Indeed, much of VU’s music seems like it is intended NOT to be enjoyed, but to be passively observed, like art. Lou Reed was a brilliant noir songwriter, and his character sketches of transvestites, junkies, and losers are every bit as brilliant as the beat writings of the 50′s. ‘Heroin’ was a bold and alarming take on drug abuse, and the group makes every moment of the song’s 7-minute, 9-second running time count. ‘I’m Waiting For The Man’ sees Reed in Harlem chasing down drugs and fielding suspicious questions from the locals. VU’s 1967 debut shined a light on the down-and-out, and opened the field of rock music to more interesting topics than sun and surf and boys and girls.

THUMBS DOWN: Nico’s addition to the group was one of Andy Warhol’s conditions for managing them, and it’s easy to see why Lou Reed and John Cale were less than thrilled about the proposition. Her icy demeanor and Cale’s shredding viola are enough to drive an even-tempered person mad. Velvet Underground & Nico has some undeniable moments of brilliance, but much of it is unfit for regular listening. ‘Femme Fatale’ sounds vapid – as does everything else Nico croons on – and she ruins a perfectly great tune in ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’. Meanwhile, ‘Black Angel’s Death Song’ pretty much sounds like the title – an alley full of feral cats is more tuneful than this. A lot of people mention VU&N as a great album, but I’m guessing that only a fraction of them regularly drop it on the turntable and suffer the consequences.

[What do you think? Is Velvet Underground & Nico the greatest debut album of all-time, or an artsy-fartsy mess that punishes the ears? As always, your opinion is kindly appreciated...]

Doubleshot Tuesday: Fleet Foxes/For Emma, Forever Ago

[Today: Two of the finest debut albums in recent memory...]

I’d rather not distract myself with biographical details when it comes to Fleet Foxes. Music this majestic and otherworldly should remain ungrounded by such trivialities as the lead singer’s name (no idea), the band’s home town (who cares?), and their musical influences (impossible to say). Their recently released debut is an album of elemental beauty – each song an incantation that works its magic through repeated listens. “Wanderers this morning came by/Where do they go, graceful in the morning light?” It looks like Wordsworth on the page, and sounds positively angelic on the hi-fi. This is music for the white light of your death tunnel, and song titles like ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’ ‘Ragged Wood’ and ‘White Winter Hymnal’ reflect the medieval poetry at the heart of Fleet Foxes.

The story of Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) is oft-told and worth revisiting: guy loses girlfriend, sees his band split up, and cloisters himself away in a cabin in Wisconsin in the dead of winter. He kills his food, chops his firewood, and makes an album of stunning beauty with just his voice, a guitar, and a few effects pedals. Isolated, mournful, and ghostly, For Emma, Forever Ago is beyond classification and genre. Like Fleet Foxes, it lives at the horizon of music, where vast cacophonies of influences and sounds come together through a single artist, defying easy placement in any one bin at the record store. Pity the fool who has to categorize either of these albums, because it can’t be done.

Listen: Blue Ridge Mountains [Fleet Foxes]

Listen: Flume [Bon Iver]

The 20 Greatest Debut Albums Of All-Time

“Some are born to sweet delight,
some are born to endless night.” – William Blake

*****

Some artists just get it right the first time. The debut album is meant to be a stepping stone to future greatness, but sometimes the pieces come together and magic is made on the first try. A great debut is no guarantee of future success (Moby Grape, NY Dolls, Dr. Feelgood), and conversely some legendary artists have coughed up sub-par debuts (Neil Young, Prince, Radiohead), but is there anything more exciting than hearing a lights-out debut album by an exciting new band?

One ground-rule: solo debuts by artists in well-known groups were not considered here. The two most wrenching exclusions under this provision were Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks (he’d been part of Irish R&B sensation Them) and George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass (Harrison was the guitarist for a band from Liverpool who’s name I’m presently forgetting). Alas, the lines had to be drawn somewhere.

Here then are 20 debuts that captured a musical moment in time, launched a great career, or simply rocked from front to back, over and over again…

The Doors | The Doors (1967)

Introduced the world to the dark charisma of Jim Morrison through hits like ‘Light My Fire’ ‘Break On Through (To The Other Side)’ and ‘The End’. But the entire album is an assured and accomplished run through the sound that would make this group one of the biggest acts in rock.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Are You Experienced? (1967)

The electric guitar would never be the same after Jimi Hendrix dropped this love letter/anarchist manifesto on the world. ‘Purple Haze’ ‘Third Stone From The Sun’ and ‘Love Or Confusion’ are sonic assaults, while ‘The Wind Cries Mary’ and ‘Manic Depression’ show a masterful depth of touch. The axis of Jimi’s work would forevermore trace a line between boldness and loveliness.

Moby Grape | Moby Grape (1967)

Columbia Records loved Moby Grape so much that they decided to take the unprecedented step of releasing five singles at the same time. This so confused the record-buying public that the album tanked, sending the band into an artistic spiral from which it wouldn’t recover.

Captain Beefheart | Safe As Milk (1967)

From the blues/rock of ‘Sure Nuff ‘N Yes, I Do’ and ‘Zig Zag Wanderer’ to the straight doo-wop of ‘I’m Glad’ and ‘Call On Me’ to the savant ramblings of ‘Autumn’s Child’ and ‘Dropout Boogie’, Safe As Milk serves as a roadmap to the many places the good Cap’n would visit during his eccentric career.

The Band | Music From Big Pink (1968)

Music From Big Pink is a timeless masterpiece that changed the direction of rock music in the late 60′s. The Band eschewed psychedelic noodling in favor of solid roots rock, and inspired albums such as Sweetheart Of The Rodeo, Let It Bleed and the White Album.

Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin (1969)

Led Zep’s brand of bombastic blues rock may have sounded radical in the late 60′s, but it became the cornerstone for harder bands to come. The first of four self-titled albums is overshadowed by later releases, but ‘Dazed And Confused’ and ‘Communication Breakdown’ are among their heaviest songs, and ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’ and ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ among their purest blues.

Nick Drake | Five Leaves Left (1969)

Nick Drake sang melancholy, confessional folk songs that came from the bottom of his heart. Five Leaves Left is light as a feather, but cuts like a scalpel, and while it sounds rather spare, it has much more musical accompaniment than either of the other two albums Drake would release during his short life.

Black Sabbath | Black Sabbath (1970)

If Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode “could play the guitar just like a ringing a bell” then Sabbath guitiarist Tony Iommi played the guitar just like he was ringing the bell of doom. Ozzy Osbourne sang like a demented loon, and Black Sabbath helped build the temple of heavy metal. This is the first brick…

John Prine | John Prine (1971)

Prine was among the unfortunate handful of talented singer/songwriters of the late-60′s to be hung with the title of the “New Dylan”. On his debut, Prine showed the songwriting chops to earn that comparison, but songs like ‘Illegal Smile’ ‘Hello In There’ and ‘Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore’ flashed a wit that Dylan would rarely display after Highway 61 Revisited.

Steely Dan | Can’t Buy A Thrill (1972)

In the grand tradition of Tropicalia music, Steely Dan disguised biting social commentary as mainstream pop fluff. ‘Do It Again’ raps about addiction, ‘Kings’ compares Nixon and JFK, ‘Midnite Cruiser’ is about growing old – and that’s just part of side one of Can’t Buy A Thrill. The Dan would create more sophisticated music, but none that sounded better.

Patti Smith | Horses (1975)

“Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine” might just rank as the greatest opening line of any debut album in rock history. With that vivid declaration, poet/priestess Patti Smith expanded the scope of what constituted rock and who could be a rock star, and brought a genuinely artistic attitude to a genre (punk) that prided itself on artlessness.

Ramones | Ramones (1976)

By reducing rock and roll to its base elements – 2 minute songs, leather jackets, and absolutely no solos – the Ramones led the way for a fledgling musical movement called punk rock. In 14 songs and just less than 29 minutes, their debut album revolutionized and breathed new life into popular music.

Sex Pistols | Never Mind The Bollocks (1977)

John Lydon understood that everyone loves a good villain, and he did his best to oblige. The Pistols were provocative, but they also made great music – Steve Jones’ layered guitar amounts to a Phil Spector-ish wall of punk, and still sounds fresh three decades later. A musical supernova, this group left behind just one perfectly anarchist album. Bollocks!

Van Halen | Van Halen (1978)

Van Halen was a four-headed rock and roll beast that came roaring out of the Los Angeles club scene during the mid-70′s. By the time they released their self-titled debut album, they were a well-seasoned live band, and Eddie Van Halen was a guitar god on arrival. Van Halen is loaded with great riffs, amazing tunes, and plenty of David Lee Roth’s groaning and gyrating. A classic party starter…

Joy Division | Unknown Pleasures (1979)

Ian Curtis was one glum dude. He dabbled in Nazi imagery, suffered from severe epilepsy and depression, and hung himself at age 23 in May of 1980, on the eve of Joy Division’s first tour of the United States. Unknown Pleasures is the sound of a bad dream, a horror movie, a primal scream – and just another day in the short, unhappy life of Ian Curtis.

Dead Kennedys | Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables (1980)

Jello Biafra really knows how to piss people off. Like Jonathan Swift, Biafra is a social satirist of the highest order, matching his uber-liberal lyrics with the Kennedys’ high octane punk to startling effect. ‘Kill The Poor’ ‘Holiday In Cambodia’ and ‘California Uber Alles’ constituted some of the best political commentary of the 80′s. The band would eventually end up fighting obscenity charges in a lengthy court case that bankrupted them.

Guns ‘N Roses | Appetite For Destruction (1987)

When punk rock cornered the market on nasty in the late-70′s, regular rock-n-roll lost its swagger for the next decade. It took Appetite For Destruction to reintroduce rock fans to razor blade guitar riffs, scandalous lyrical content, and a lead singer who just didnt’ give a f*ck. It felt damned good, and songs like ‘Mr Brownstone’ ‘It’s So Easy’ and ‘Rocket Queen’ still have the power to kick your ass.

Eric B & Rakim | Paid In Full (1987)

Paid In Full isn’t just one of the best debut albums of all-time, it’s also one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums ever produced, period. This masterpiece saw MC Rakim Allah displaying an effortless yet incredible verbal dexterity on the mic, while DJ Eric B spun pioneering beats that popularized the sampling of James Brown records. This album is so good that it’s a natural dividing line between Hip-Hop’s old and new schools.

Massive Attack | Blue Lines (1991)

Massive Attack’s debut seemingly came from a new place – half hip-hop and half electronica – that charted a fresh course for both genres. Tricky, Horace Andy, and Shara Nelson each took thrilling turns behind the mic for this shape-shifting musical entity. And while the album was a radical departure in its time, ‘Safe From Harm’ ‘Be Thankful For What You Got’ and ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ are slow-burning gems that still sound contemporary.

Jeff Buckley | Grace (1994)

Every track on Grace cuts to the quick about love lost (including the definitive reading of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’) and the entire album is nothing less than the sound of a human heart falling to pieces, one fragile, intricate piece at a time. Buckley drowned during a midnight swim the day before he was due to record his second album, so we’ll never know what kind of music he might have made. But Grace is such a unique and lovely masterpiece that it’s hard to see how he could have topped it.

*****

And 40 more outstanding debuts…

Elvis Presley | Elvis Presley (1956)
Rolling Stones | England’s Newest Hit Makers (1964)
The Byrds | Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)
Fred Neil | Bleecker & MacDougal (1965)
Neil Diamond | Just For You (1967)
Dr. John | Gris Gris (1968)
Funkadelic | Funkadelic (1970)
Lynyrd Skynyrd | Pronounced Leh*Nerd Skin*Nerd (1973)
Bob Marley & The Wailers | Catch A Fire (1973)
New York Dolls | New York Dolls (1973)
Tom Waits | Closing Time (1973)
Dr. Feelgood | Down By The Jetty (1975)
The Modern Lovers | The Modern Lovers (1976)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers | Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1976)
The Clash | The Clash (1977)
Talking Heads | Talking Heads: 77 (1977)
The Cars | The Cars (1978)
Dire Straits | Dire Straits (1978)
The Undertones | The Undertones (1979)
Black Flag | Damaged (1981)
Metallica | Kill ‘Em All (1983)
Stevie Ray Vaughan | Texas Flood (1983)
Beastie Boys | Licensed To Ill (1986)
Public Enemy | Yo! Bum Rush The Show (1987)
Nirvana | Bleach (1989)
Stone Roses | Stone Roses (1989)
The Black Crowes | Shake Your Money Maker (1990)
Pearl Jam | Ten (1991)
PJ Harvey | Dry (1992)
Wu Tang Clan | Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)
Nas | Illmatic (1994)
DJ Shadow | Endtroducing… (1996)
Queens Of The Stone Age | Queens Of The Stone Age (1998)
The Strokes | Is This It (2001)
Kings Of Leon | Youth & Young Manhood (2003)
Arcade Fire | Funeral (2004)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah | Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2005)
LCD Soundsystem | LCD Soundsystem (2005)
Bon Iver | For Emma Forever Ago (2008)
Fleet Foxes | Fleet Foxes (2008)

*****

Further reading…

Gibson.com – Instant Karma: 10 Great Debut Albums
Uncut – The 100 Greatest Debut Albums
Listology – Greatest Debut Albums