Essential Studio Albums

[liebzz]

Was never a Warrant fan. I only really liked Uncle Tom’s Cabin and their cover of Train Train from their second album. Which I guess puts them ahead of Poison.

When I was 12 I liked the song Cherry Pie. That was a long long time ago. For every Warrant I guess there’s been a Great White or Cinderella that surprised me.

[liebzz]

L.A. Guns - Cocked and Loaded

Members of L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose would come to form Guns N’ Roses, then break apart again, leading to L.A. Guns and a revamped lineup of Guns N’ Roses and two separate operating bands. That probably gives a good amount of context for the sound we’re approaching here. Kind of the halfway mark between GNR and hair metal proper, and I ended up liking this album a whole lot more than I expected. Rip and Tear, Never Enough, The Ballad of Jayne, Magdalaine, the guitar jam that is a cover of I’m Addicted, 17 Crash, Showdown (Riot on Sunset), and I Wanna Be Your Man are all more than solid. So either I am becoming normalized to this sound or this is an unexpected gem in the rough. I guess only future listens will draw that conclusion.

The Essential Track: Showdown (Riot On Sunset)

Up Next: Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood

[wease]

L.A. Guns - Cocked and Loaded

Members of L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose would come to form Guns N’ Roses, then break apart again, leading to L.A. Guns and a revamped lineup of Guns N’ Roses and two separate operating bands. That probably gives a good amount of context for the sound we’re approaching here. Kind of the halfway mark between GNR and hair metal proper, and I ended up liking this album a whole lot more than I expected. Rip and Tear, Never Enough, The Ballad of Jayne, Magdalaine, the guitar jam that is a cover of I’m Addicted, 17 Crash, Showdown (Riot on Sunset), and I Wanna Be Your Man are all more than solid. So either I am becoming normalized to this sound or this is an unexpected gem in the rough. I guess only future listens will draw that conclusion.

The Essential Track: Showdown (Riot On Sunset)

Up Next: Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood

LA Guns was never on my radar. I remember that Jayne song being somewhat popular but have no idea how it goes at this point. And don’t really care.

It’s getting ready to get better for you.

[liebzz]

Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood

This album is probably the true soundtrack of my preteen years. With brothers that ate up hair metal, I was exposed to a lot of it, and this album in particular (probably along with Pump and Appetite) were in the highest of rotations. The title track, Same Ol’ Situation, Kickstart My Heart, and Don’t Go Away Mad were a regular thing, as was the MTV videos with Tommy Lee in the rotating cage playing drums upside down. Revisiting now isn’t quite as sweet as those memories could be, but this is also probably my favorite of the Motley Crue albums nonetheless. Some of the edge is off, but they also made up for increased melody by also increasing the bombast. Plus, even if emblematic of the hair metal excess, Kickstart My Heart is pure adrenaline so long as you don’t take it too seriously.

The Essential Track: Kickstart My Heart

Up Next: Tesla - The Great Radio Controversy

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Tesla - The Great Radio Controversy

This band seems to be trying to find some sort of balance of classic hard rock and the glam metal present of that moment, with riffs that sometimes almost feel Zeppelin-like, or maybe that first Bad Company album. It makes for mixed results - moments where you are sort of following and then it sort of gets lost in the next. What I liked here was Lazy Days Crazy Nights, Lady Luck, Makin’ Magic, The Way It Is (not sure to be confused with Bruce Hornsby), and Flight to Nowhere. It really should have ended there as the last quarter of this hourlong marathon kind of falls apart and became hard to stomach for me.

The Essential Track: Lazy Days Crazy Nights

Up Next: Skid Row

[wease]

As a non- Motley Crue fan, I’ve always enjoyed Dr Feelgood. Still hate Neil’s voice, tho.

I actually was into Tesla somewhat and thought they were one of the better bands from this era. Love Song was the big one from this album and all the girls dug it. The Way It Is and Modern Day Cowboy from their debut (which I don’t remember you covering) are prob my favorites.

[LoathedVermin72]

I'm not a Crue fan either but the riff on the title track is really incredible, like an all-timer metal riff. Heavy as fuck.

[wease]

I'm not a Crue fan either but the riff on the title track is really incredible, like an all-timer metal riff. Heavy as fuck.

Agreed. That bass drum was like a kick in the chest.

[liebzz]

Skid Row

So add this to the list of albums I probably wore out as an 11/12 year old. That I distinctly remember all these tracks as well is something. This is sort of hair metal meets the ferocity of GNR. I Remember You is a power ballad of power ballads - probably my least favorite track on here but a huge classic making Sebastian Bach the crush of many young ladies at the time. 18 and Life and Youth Gone Wild might be even bigger hits from this one. Piece of Me and Rattlesnake Shake are almost menacing in their delivery - the kind of stuff that I think separates this album even from these albums here I am remarking on positively. Turns out ‘89 was a banner year for hair metal.

The Essential Track: 18 and Life

Up Next: Mother Love Bone - Shine EP

[wease]

Big fan of Skid Row back then. They and G’n’R were definitely the top two of the genre. And when I saw them open for G’n’R they absolutely blew them off the stage. My cousin saw Soundgarden open for Skid Row in ‘92 and he was probably the only one there for SG.

[liebzz]

Mother Love Bone - Shine

This placement was deliberate because as a teenager freshly obsessed with everything Pearl Jam, I got the Mother Love Bone compilation (the self-titled one that included this and Apple on two discs), and at that moment recoiled, and felt like it was kind of glam metal not unlike what we just covered. Several years later I went back and listened again and my perspective evolved on it, and continued to evolve until I ended up hearing more Jane’s Addiction than hair metal. So is it among the early risers in alternative rock? Is it glam metal that rose tinted glasses cast aside? On this listen, it’s pretty clearly distinguishable to me from glam rock, though Andrew Wood’s vocals can often toe that line. The band is clearly influenced by more of a Jane’s Addiction, meaning neither version of me was totally wrong.

In the end, I now just take enjoyment from this music for enjoyment’s sake. I am not looking for clues into some future band, or wondering if I am dipping my toes into glam rock - it’s just a band doing its thing, and Mindshaker Meltdown and Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns, my two favorites here, show the full range of that sound.

The Essential Track: Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns

Up Next: Fugazi - 13 Songs

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Fugazi - 13 Songs

Especially compared to where I am coming from, listening wise, this album feels like a full on revolution. Mixing punk rock and noise rock, with powering aggression, these guys are no compromise and that’s a fresh feeling idea. Granted, this doesn’t work without some great songs, and Waiting Room, Bulldog Front, Burning, Suggestion, and Margin Walker bring us just that. I can’t say this blows way up my list in the same way as for some others, but it is a rare punk album that hits front to back for me.

The Essential Track: Waiting Room

Up Next: Bad Religion - No Control

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Bad Religion - No Control

These 15 songs total 1 more minute than all of the 5 songs on MLB’s Shine. It’s an exceptionally fast album, seemingly never slowing down, and while the one minute and under 2 minute tracks can make them sound too similar to each other, there’s some really good songs here to hold the album up nicely. Sometimes I Feel Like, Sanity, Progress, and Billy were my highlights here, which are the songs that probably have the most musical ambition here. Mostly it goes by really really fast.

The Essential Track: Sanity

Up Next: The Stone Roses

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The Stone Roses

The hype around this album is pretty damn suffocating, but I guess I am not surprised since this is the apparent reinvigoration of Brit-pop. I mean, Oasis owes these folks a pay check or two. That aside, this is really one of those albums that fully lives up to that hype. The opening trio of I Wanna Be Adored, She Bangs the Drums, and Waterfall are all phenomenal and only topped by the closing trio of This Is the One, I Am the Ressurrection, and Fool’s Gold (US version). The middle section is very consistently good and wanted make sure to note my enjoyment of (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister - but again gets sort of buried beneath the stunning opening and closing of this album. The guitar-driven hooks, the pop undertones, the murky vocals - sign me up.

The Essential Track: I Am the Resurrection

Up Next: Uncle Tupelo - No Depression

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Uncle Tupelo - No Depression

Back when I was listening to the ‘79 albums I made a mistake and put The Feelies’ Crazy Rhythms on that list instead of ‘80, and that turned into a favorite for me for the 80s (not the favorite, but among them). The same can probably be said for this album, that accidentally ended up on my ‘89 list even though it was released in 1990. This is likely to be among my favorites from the 90s. Much in the way The Stone Roses feel like a new day for Britpop, Uncle Tupelo is essentially inventing alt country, and this album straight up cathartically rocks while delivering a nice little country flavor. The Jeff Tweedy/Jay Farrar writing combo is just amazing here - just one of those albums that’s like lightning in a bottle for me. Damn. Graveyard Shift, Before I Break, and Whiskey Bottle just hit the spot perfectly.

The Essential Track: Before I Break

Up Next: Neil Young & The Restless - Eldorado EP

[liebzz]

Neil Young & The Restless - Eldorado EP

THAT guitar. It’s been a real long time since we’ve checked in with this version of Neil Young, who spent much of the 80s chasing a muse that took him from his signature sound to synthesizers, rockabilly, country, and whatever else he could conjure up, maybe to piss off David Geffen, maybe not. Either way, these 5 tunes do nothing more than simply rock out in Neil Young’s 70s signature, and it’s a reminder of just how effortlessly great he can be. A bunch of these tracks are on the next album in different mixes, but Cocaine Eyes and Heavy Love, the two that aren’t, might actually be my favorites. The title track actually is also quite killer.

The Essential Track: Heavy Love

Up Next: Neil Young - Freedom

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Neil Young - Freedom

There’s a narrative out there in the world, or maybe just in my head, that after a decade of being lost in the wilderness, Freedom is where Neil Young finally came home. Some would say a return to form. David Geffen would say wtf. To some extent, Eldorado the EP kind of feels that way, but this one doesn’t. What it seems like, to my ears, is an amalgam of the things he was trying to do in the 80s with a sense of moderation - the horns, the twang, all that stuff’s here, but exists as a compliment rather than the main driver of the song. Also helps that this is one of those Neil Young albums that’s pretty focused - largely on crack epidemic of the time, but focused nonetheless. This was also my entry point into Neil Young’s catalogue since I bought this album as a teenager learning about classic rock from a certain other band that liked his tunes. I wanted to remark on the exceptional flow of this album - he made those moments when he blasts that guitar have maximum impact on Don’t Cry, Eldorado, and the album closing Rockin’ in the Free World. Those chords hit like anvils here. As far as a favorite, I really can’t decide between Crime in the City, which is magnificent, and Rockin’ in the Free World as that blast of a song that got me into Neil Young in the first place - a Subterranean Homesick Blues or It’s the End of the World As We Know It for its moment in time. I’ll go with the former since it speaks more to me now even if the latter had a greater impact back when.

The Essential Track: Crime in the City

Up Next: Lou Reed - New York

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Lou Reed - New York

Lou Reed’s got something to say - so much so that this is the most direct album I can recall hearing from him, both vocally and sonically. The first half of this album in particular is full of straight ahead rock songs with his typical poet incantation - half sung half spoken - lamenting the times through the prism of New York. Reed has always been attracted to what lies just beneath the shiny veneer of how we present ourselves, here as the collective society. And on that he’s ready to rumble, and the music mirrors that sentiment. In the second half, he sort of starts to take some of the more interesting turns in the music - the kind he was best known for in the Velvet Underground but never to that level. That shift probably starts a little earlier on Last Great American Whale, but is a feature of the run of Sick of You, Hold On, and Good Evening Mr. Waldheim. It’s best reflected on Dime Store Mystery to close the album - a renewed sense of adventure I initially sensed we would escape on the rock opening of Romeo Had Juliette. Yet all of this, straightforward or otherwise, is fantastic, start to finish.

The Essential Track: Dime Store Mystery

Up Next: Warren Zevon - Transverse City

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Warren Zevon - Transverse City

For no reasonable explanation I can think of from myself, I am constantly surprised at how much I enjoy Warren Zevon’s albums, one after the next. Off the heels of the really stunningly great Sentimental Hygiene comes another Zevon and his really cool friends album, this time with Jerry Garcia, David Gilmour, Mike Campbell, and a return engagement for Neil Young. And again this album is fantastic - I actually did a little internet research on Run Straight Down when I found it remarkably reminiscent of Pink Floyd and saw Gilmour there. Of course! The Long Arm of the Law, Turbulence, They Moved the Moon, Splendid Isolation, and Nobody’s In Love This Year are also all fantastic here…but THAT guitar that can peel the paint off the goddamned wall hits and well, there’s no contest ultimately as Gridlock takes this with Neil Young’s anvil chords bringing it home. Another great album!

The Essential Track: Gridlock

Up Next: Billy Joel - Storm Front

[liebzz]

Billy Joel - Storm Front

Folks love their rapid fire name check songs with a catchy chorus. Subterranean Homesick Blues, It’s the End of the World As We Know It, hell… even the Chanukah Song, and We Didn’t Start the Fire - we just need one of these now and then to make us feel a way about our times. This, and I Go to Extremes are the big hits on this one. There some other pretty good songs here too, but in keeping with Billy Joel, it still feels like the hits and then everything else. It’s a fairly good reason he could the same set every night for 100 shows and still sell out the Garden each time. Dude knows how to write a hit.

The Essential Track: We Didn’t Start the Fire

Up Next: Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever