David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Much of my musical taste was inherited. Growing up with a hard rock/metal/eclectic music fan of a father, with over a thousand vinyl albums stored in the dining room and a Bang and Olufsen 1984 BO Master (still working, by the way), I had little choice or say in the matter. However, at around 15 years old, I started to seriously explore this treasure trove. It was my dad who suggested that this album should accompany my regular homework slot in the dining room in the run up to my GCSEs. He was, once again, more than right. From the opening track, Five Years, so sci-fi and apocalyptic but at the same time mesmerizingly observant, through to the glam rock style later tracks, Bowie seemed to sound to me, even though he was coming from 1972, like some sort of future-man. I listen to this album at least two or three times a month still, and it still sounds like it’s from the future. I’m not really a fan of any other Bowie album but this holds me for the duration. As with all great albums, I can’t find the weak track; I can’t see or hear the weaknesses anywhere. It is, to me, truly phenomenal artistry and one that hasn’t seemed to dull with age.
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Metallica are my favourite band, and whilst some in the metal community will turn their noses up at them, probably due to their successful crossovers into mainstream heavy rock, back here they were the best of the best. This was a toss-up between Ride the Lightning but comes out on top as my favourite. This is mainly due to the consistent level of tunes – like Bowie there is no weak track for me. Metallica are not just one of the tightest bands (amazing live, as well) but they are lyrically criminally-underrated. Themes such as religion, war, class, power are all examined and explored on this album, with Disposable Heroes being my favourite. Metallica represent the excess of life to me – what’s the point in doing something unless you do it to the extreme and it shakes your rib cage? Genre-wise, this album elevated an underground obsession to the attention of others, and when I first listened to it around 12 or 13, it sounded like a bomb. I absolutely defy anyone to find a poor guitar solo on this album and the thrash elements of each song, the slow-to-fast-then mega-fast approach is something I just can’t ignore. It opened a world of heavy-rock and metal for me but they remain my favourites. Each musician is brilliant and James Hetfield is a rarity in being a good, non-screaming singer of metal.
Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
Another of my favourite bands but for different reasons altogether. Morello is a genius of a guitarist and the riffs he displays on this album are nothing short of god-like. There’s a couple of albums I could have picked from RATM, but as a debut this is simply phenomenal. I stumbled across the band after The Matrix films were released as I tried desperately to stay with the crowd in school; listening to Oasis etc. I went out and bought this from my local HMV, aware that the cover was just as startling as the music. Lyrically de la Rocha is brilliant, and his pure anger comes through so often. His frustration with capitalism and imperialist foreign/domestic policy in the U.S. drives so much of the energy in this album. Working at a local hotel in my teens we would all visit The Krazyhouse in Liverpool on a Thursday evening after work. When Bullet in the Head came on, the top floor would go crazy. I loved that tune and still do, but have to be careful to stay on the road when listening in the car. A gem of a rock record and one I find myself constantly returning to. I also align with the politics and was overjoyed when they achieved Christmas number one over the factory of Cowell et al.
Soundgarden - Superunknown
This is seriously never off rotation for me. Such a skilled band featuring arguably the best rock singer of the last 40 years. Cornell is superb on this album but then so are the rest of the band. I remember reading a journalist comment saying that they covered such a broad range on this album that other artists could only dream of doing. That person was right. Another one passed on to me by my Dad, this album has the full gambit of emotions on display and can be seriously heavy then seriously relaxed. The lyrics also follow the same pattern and the way Cornell likes to show the light/shade and juxtaposes so much with antithetic comments adds to the mystery he creates around his songs. So much of grunge was good, but Soundgarden sounded, to me, like the adults, the artists, in the room. I’d never put Cobain anywhere near Cornell, but each to their own! No one sings like you anymore, Chris.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Most Pearl Jam fans will decry me here, more than likely, and say how much better other albums are, but it was my first experience of them and it holds a special place for me. Sure there are MTV favourites such as Jeremy, but then there are Deep, Oceans, Porch and Black which offer so much more. Black is an amazing rock song about loss and the piano throughout adds a raw emotion. I love that song and Alive, in particular, I could listen to on repeat for God knows how long. I read that Eddie Vedder doesn’t like the album and thinks it’s too polished – well, whatever. There is a darkness underneath each track and the whole album, cyclical as it is, can be played over and over with each listen offering something new to find. I loved the vocals on this album, and the guitar playing, which seemed to fuse so well and often create almost operatic panoramas for the ear. At times I feel as if Hendrix is somewhere in the recording studio – bold comment, I know, but it is sublime throughout.
Radiohead - OK Computer
Radiohead were the first band I could consider to be ‘mine’ and OK Computer was my entry point to the weird world that would follow. Undoubtedly they took a very different route after this album, but the signs were there. I’m not totally in love with later albums, but this has to stand as one of the best rock albums ever made. It is corny to say that every listen reveals something new, but it is genuinely the case for me with this album. Even Fitter Happier seems to make me smile with a new realisation each time I hear it and it is pretty much just spoken computer voice. This album allowed me to explore the alternative scene of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s which brought some excellent albums from all sorts of bands. OK Computer though, as Ziggy does, still sounds like it’s been beamed back to Earth from some point in the future – who knew fax machines could make such amazing sounds? The accompanying film ‘Meeting People Is Easy’ was also so well linked to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the album that it actually worked to enhance the aural element of the band. Out of all the British bands of the period, Radiohead were the most experimental and astonishing, for me.
Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals
Well, I have to just say that this band is so underrated. Obviously he caused a huge commotion around the time of this and the other two albums in this ‘trilogy’ but as a piece of work, I love this album. I had to often keep this a secret for fear of societal reprisals from my friends at the time, this was solely the area for ‘goths’ and ‘weirdos’ and I wasn’t confident enough to stand up and show this off. A concept album, with the figure of Omega as some future-alien sort of thing, there are huge songs on this album, brimming with invention and sonic superb-ness. I think old Brian was certainly a Bowie fan as this still feels like a Ziggy-homage of sorts. However, the vocals and guitar are spot-on throughout. Some of the lyrics are beyond sci-fi and truly thought provoking - how can you have the face of a dying star? Brilliant. There was always a shock-factor with Marilyn Manson which ended up being counter-productive insomuch as people seemed to ignore the music…what a terrible shame. I’m glad I could cut through the theatrics to find an album so full of space-like wonder and cuttingly brilliant observations on society and the future of the planet.
Dire Straits - Dire Straits
1978: punk is on the way out (or so I’m led to believe) and something else is bubbling. Out come these guys, led by Mark Knopfler, and produce something truly sublime. No bad or weak track on this album and it’s one I’ve listened to since being a small child. The opening track, Down to the Waterline, sets up the chilled theme of this whole journey. Songwriting and lyrical skill are brilliant throughout. I absolutely love this album for the way it suits any occasion and mood in my life. It is perfect for sitting in the garden reading, driving, lying in bed, pretty much everything. It is now established how good he is as a guitarist, but lyrically he is just as good here. Listen to the novella of In The Gallery or the observational perfection of Wild West End and hopefully you see what I mean. Sultans of Swing is probably the worst song on the album! If I could have made any of these albums, this would have been the one.
Bio
Adam Tudor is 37 and works in further education. He lives in Warrington with his wife and daughter and enjoys music, football, and reading a seemingly endless pile of fiction which will soon require its own extension to his house. He has a miniature Yorkshire terrier who makes him look even more masculine when walking around his village. His twitter is @Eltudinio
