The Best Albums I’ve Never Heard

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When I was seven years old, I saw the video for Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” on MTV. I was into metal, but Def Leppard was about as heavy as I got at that age. Something about the “Ace of Spades” video bothered me; as I look at it now, Lemmy’s vocal microphone was at a 45 degree angle downward, rather than the traditional 45 degree angle upward. Knowing nothing about Motorhead or live sound at the time, this was an odd prejudice. As far as I can tell, one reason Lemmy’s mic is pointed downward is because the band’s stage volume was so loud that anything else would result in massive feedback. Although, in later interviews, Lemmy stated that he just liked it that way because he’d have to look at the audience less. While I had heard many individual Motorhead songs over the years, I never gave Ace of Spades a spin in its entirety until recently. 

Produced by Vic Maile and released on November 8, 1980, Ace of Spades reached gold certification in the UK soon after its release. The album contains the successful and recognizable single “Ace of Spades” as well as a tour-de-force of relentless, anthemic, big, loud, rock songs. 

As for their sound, Motorhead defies specificity. They likely were the loudest band around in the late 70s/early 80s. Their songs are fast and heavy, but not dark, gothic, or political. Lemmy is a powerful singer, but not operatic like his contemporary British metal frontmen (see Rob Halford or Bruce Dickinson). The guitars are distorted and crunchy, but the solos never take on a virtuosic spotlight. 

What I like most about Ace of Spades is it’s straight-ahead approach to rock’n’roll. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it doesn’t compromise either. Adrenaline sounds like Ace of Spades and vice-versa. Motorhead enthusiasts often recommend Ace of Spades as a fine introduction to the band. The performances are well produced and accessible, while never straying from what makes Motorhead one of the most awesome bands in history. 

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The first Joe Jackson song I ever heard was “Steppin’ Out.” I saw the video on MTV back in 1982. There, Jackson portrays a song smith in some kind of New York nightlife story. Back in 2003, I picked up a 20th Century Masters “best of” Joe Jackson that spanned his career. The first two songs on the best of collection were from his debut album, Look Sharp!. I never ventured further into Jackson’s catalog, but Look Sharp! was as good of a place as any to start. 

Produced by David Kershenbaum and released on March 5, 1979, Look Sharp! sold over 500,000 copies in its initial commercial run. Look Sharp! contains the singles “Is She Really Going Out with Him?” and “Sunday Papers” as well as the anthemic “Got the Time,” which metal band Anthrax covered on their 1990 album Persistence of Time.

I imagine if I were a record connoisseur in 1979, I might compare Look Sharp! to something by Elvis Costello & the Attractions. But with time, and when viewed through a long lens, I find Jackson’s debut as more of a precursor than a clone of Costello. Something about Look Sharp! is much more smug than Costello’s work. If smug rock were a thing, we could trace it back to this record as its origin. 

My favorite part of Look Sharp! is the guitar arrangements, which comes as a bit of a surprise, seeing as how Jackson was the piano player in his own group. There isn’t as much piano on his debut album as with later offerings. I’m glad I included this album on my exploration of albums I had not yet heard. His “best of” collections are superb, but Look Sharp! is a masterpiece in its own right.

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By the time The Cars released Heartbeat City in 1984, they had become an MTV staple. Heartbeat City contained heavy rotation classics like “You Might Think,” “Magic,” and “Drive.” The Cars presented a perfect mix of pop, new wave, and rock on each of their early albums. As with many bands from the late 70s and early 80s, what I didn’t experience through MTV, I explored through a greatest hits compilations. The eponymous debut by The Cars is an album I missed but have recently come to appreciate. 

Produced by Roy Thomas Baker, The Cars has sold over 6 million copies in the United States since its release on June 6, 1978. The Cars contains the hit songs “My Best Friend’s Girl,” “Just What I Needed,” and “Let the Good Times Roll.”

Elliot Easton, guitarist for The Cars, used to joke that The Cars should really be called The Cars Greatest Hits. Easton’s jest is not unwarranted—5 of the 9 tracks are certified classics. But The Cars also takes risks and never takes itself too seriously. “In Touch with Your World” and “Don’t Cha Stop” were never destined to top the charts, despite Easton’s sally. Moreover, hearing The Cars be creative is a refreshing ear break from the overall high bar the rest of the album sails above. 

The Cars influenced just about every rock band that used a synthesizer or self-identified as “new wave.” One hears their impact squarely in early Weezer albums—which Cars singer Ric Ocasek produced—as well as the early work of The Killers. The Cars is an enjoyable first entry on a successful run of albums from The Cars that continued well into the late 80s.

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I’ve probably listened to over 10,000 albums in my lifetime. Some albums resonate with me on a visceral level. R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People, for example, expresses life’s deepest mysteries, at least to me. As commercial albums go, it sounds decent—certainly acceptable as a major label recording. Failure’s Fantastic Planet fascinates me on an intellectual level. It’s lyrics have a one of a kind space rock/James Joyce stream of consciousness thing that I haven’t experienced with any other album I’ve heard. It too sounds quite good. But, there’s one album that I now recognize for its meticulous production. That album is Aja by Steely Dan. 

Produced by Gary Katz and released on September 23, 1977, Aja topped the U.S. albums chart and was one of the first albums to be certified platinum, having sold well over two million copies to date. Aja contains the singles “Peg,” “Deacon Blues,” and “Josie” as well as a notable saxophone solo on the title track from Miles Davis alumnus Wayne Shorter. 

Having not listened to a lot of Steely Dan, my first impression of Aja was two fold. First, I thought the lyrics and vocal phrasing were quite odd at times. Lyrically, “[i]n the corner of my eye/I saw you in Rudy’s/You were very high . . .it’s over now/Drink your big black cow/And get out of here,” opens the album. The title track contains odd extensions of the long and short “a” sounds on the phrase “Aja.” Couched inside crystal clear production, these anomalies, I found, drew me in closer to the album. A lesser quality recording may have pushed me away. It’s the confluence of oddity and sonic perfection that makes the album a compelling listen on each and every spin.

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I blame MTV. Well, let me back up. The likely reason I hadn’t really heard of the Runaways before about 10 years ago was because I grew up watching MTV. One of my first memories of the music channel was watching Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’s vibrant, black-and-white video for “I Love Rock ‘n Roll.” As Joan Jett released more videos and subsequent albums, MTV showed much of her evolving work. In the mid-80s, Lita Ford had a decent run from a few songs from Lita, including an unforgettable duet with the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Ozbourne. Joan Jett and Lita Ford played in a band together in the mid-70s called the Runaways, and their debut album is one I regret not hearing sooner. 

Produced by Kim Fowley and released on June 1, 1976, The Runaways enjoyed modest success on the Billboard album charts. The album purportedly went gold in Australia, and the lead single, “Cherry Bomb” went to #1 in Japan. Perhaps the most notable use of actual Runaways music was its prominent featuring in Guardians of the Galaxy, a Marvel movie that took in more than $700 million world wide. The Runaways are also the subject of a biopic called, of all things, The Runaways, starting Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, and Michael Shannon.

The Runaways works not only because of the collective youth and feminine energy that runs through the record, but also because the band is the sum of rock icon simulacra. Cherie Currie channeled David Bowie for her stage persona. Joan Jett emulated Suzi Quatro. Lita Ford mashed up Ritchie Blackmore and Jeff Beck. Sandy West and Jackie Fox emulated Roger Taylor and Gene Simmons, respectively. While this energy was apparent in their stage show, The Runawayscaptures this amalgamation quite well on tape. Currie’s androgyny in the opening lines of “Cherry Bomb” echoes mid-70s Bowie.

Joan Jett does the lion’s share of the writing on The Runaways, with Currie contributing significantly and producer Kim Fowley second to Jett. Even if you took away the archetypes at play in the Runaways, you’d still have a handful of well crafted rock songs. “American Nights” and “You Drive Me Wild” sound like precursors to Jett’s solo career—they tend to stick in my head for a few days after just one listen. The album closes with an odd musical skit set to Jett and Currie escaping from Juvenile Hall. “Juvie,” as it was called in the 80s, was a real threat for five teenage women in a rock band called, of all things, “the Runaways.” 

In 1977, after a falling out with Jett, Currie left the Runaways. After a few line-up changes and management shifts, the Runaways broke up in 1979. Joan Jett went on to be a rock icon. Lita Ford had a successful commercial run in the mid-80s as a metal artist. 

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Back when Kickball was first rehearsing, we held our practice sessions in John Gillespie’s hut. The Hut (as it was called) was a 100 square foot building behind John’s mom’s house off of Estes Drive on the north side of Chapel Hill. We fit a drum set, two amps, and three people in the Hut, but not much more. On the wall, John had this awesome poster from a show at Memorial Hall: Patti Smith, Queen of Rock. I had made a mental note to check out Smith’s work. I had heard a handful of her songs scattered here and there through the years, but it wasn’t until recently that I gave her 1975 debut, Horses, my undivided attention. 

Produced by John Cale (as in John Cale from the Velvet Underground John Cale) and released on November 10, 1975, Horses has been preserved in the National Recording Registry for being culturally, historically and/or aesthetically significant. In spite of being a critic’s darling of an album and appearing on any reputable “Greatest Albums of All Time List,” Horses has sold less than 500,000 copies. Like the debut album from the Velvet Underground, Horses influenced everyone who heard it, whether or not they actually purchased a copy. 

Horses has two outstanding features. First, Smith’s lyrics and phrasing are simultaneously poetic and punk. Fluid, dark imagery runs through Horses veins while Smith delivers her lines with an oddly sincere flippancy. Second, Smith somehow resuscitates new life into garage band classics like “Gloria” and “Land of 1,000 Dances” by reinterpreting them and mashing them together with her own imagery and lyrics. The tension in the opening track is remarkable and when she delivers the “G-L-O-R-I-A,” it’s so satisfying.

Other moments, like “Redondo Beach” and “Break It Up,” evoke different styles than what I expected from Patti Smith. “Redondo Beach” has a reggae flavor while “Break It Up” seems to come from a broken doo wop idea. Both tunes are brilliant. 

Patti Smith would go on to release ten more albums since Horses was released in 1975. She would have a commercial breakthrough with “Because the Night,” co-written with Bruce Springsteen, as well as a mid-90s creative resurgence with the albums Peace and Noise and Gone Again. But it’s Horses that gets the prize for innovation, relevance, and being culturally significant. 

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In 1984, the Swiss metal band Krokus covered “Ballroom Blitz,” originally recorded by The Sweet (a/k/a Sweet). In 1992, Tia Carrere performed “Ballroom Blitz” for the Wayne’s World soundtrack. Carrere’s version served as an important back drop to the film’s finale. While I enjoyed both iterations of the song in the respective time periods in which I heard them, nothing prepared me for the majesty, grace, and power of the original recording of “Ballroom Blitz.” The album that features “Ballroom Blitz,” Desolation Boulevard, is one of the best rock albums I’ve ever heard. I am kicking myself for not seeking out the original version of “Ballroom Blitz” sooner. 

Released in November of 1974 in England and released in July of 1975 in the United States, Desolation Boulevard sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. within two years. The U.S. release of Desolation Boulevard is a super-album of sorts, the best parts of the British release backed with “Ballroom Blitz,” which was released first as just a single, and several tracks from their previous album, Sweet Fanny Adams. 

Desolation Boulevard excels as a glam rock album, heavier than T. Rex, more accessible than Gary Glitter, and more layered than Kiss. Sweet displays such incredible musicianship throughout Desolation Boulevard that their virtuosity detracts from the songs at times. Personally, I think “The Six Teens” would be much more powerful without four-part harmony throughout the choruses. But, in other instances, it works so well. “Ballroom Blitz” and “Fox on the Run” work because of the band’s collective prowess. 

After the success of Desolation Boulevard, Sweet changed directions in more ways than one. Sweet switched labels, which allowed them to pursue a different, but no less grand, approach to their sound. Their experiments produced the international hit “Love is Like Oxygen,” but may have alienated fans who wanted more “Ballroom Blitz” and less what ended up sounding like the kissing cousin of Electric Light Orchestra. 

Desolation Boulevard is such a tour-de-force that it’s a shame that all of Sweet’s albums aren’t available on streaming services, nor have they been remastered for modern devices. I would not be surprised if a remastering campaign re-issued so much of this important music. Until then, we have a version of Desolation Boulevard. At least that’s something. 

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In a Rolling Stone review, Lenny Kaye described Quadrophenia as “The Who at their most symmetrical, their most cinematic, and ultimately their most maddening.” After a few listens, I agree with Kaye’s characterization. Quadrophenia is essentially two a-list songs that bookend a double album—that’s the symmetry. In between “The Real Me” and “Love Reign O’er Me,” The Who deliver their best rock opera—that’s the cinematic quality. And, like Joyce’s Ulysses or Davis’ Bitches Brew, Quadrophenia’s genius is almost impenetrable and, therefore, maddening. 

Produced by The Who and written completely by guitarist Pete Townshend, Quadrophenia was released on October 23, 1973 and has since sold over a million copies in the United States. 

Quadrophenia self-identifies as a rock opera set to the backdrop of the mod/rocker cultural conflict of the mid-60s. While cultural historians, like Stanley Cohen, have debunked the veracity of the mod/rocker conflict, what it boiled down to was a clash of two sub-cultural mindsets. Rockers wore leather, listened to rock music, and rode motorcycles. Mods wore frilly clothes, listened to rock music with a swing, and rode Vespa scooters. If Austin Powers and James Dean went fisticuffs at a pub one night, you’d pretty much have a mod/rocker conflict. Behind this backdrop, Townshend tells the story of a mod named Jimmy in the midst of a coming of age struggle. 

For me, Quadrophenia works first as a musical work and second as a narrative work. I am drawn to the power of the singles, the instrumental segues that recast the motifs from the singles, and the hooks of the songs in between. “Bell Boy” and “Cut My Hair” often get stuck in my head after I listen to the album in its entirety. I recognize the narrative within Quadrophenia, but also hear a collection of songs that work independently of a story. 

Townshend recognized Quadrophenia as the last great album from The Who. It’s definitely the last record with focused drumming from Keith Moon. Granted, many post Quadrophenia albums, like The Who by Numbers and Who Are You, are fine recordings. The difference is that The Who never pursued anything grander in scope than Quadrophenia. That contrast says less about the integrity of the band and more about the monstrous ambit of The Who’s finest hour. 

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Only a handful of songs have reached number one twice (when recorded by different artists). “Lean on Me,” originally performed by Bill Withers and subsequently performed by Club Nouveau, is one of those exceptional songs. While a chart topping song is often the only standout track on an album, Still Bill by Bill Withers is an outlier in that regard. All of its songs are well-crafted gems. 

Produced by Benorce Blackmon, Bill Withers, James Gadson, Melvin Dunlap, and Ray Jackson, Still Bill sold over 500,000 copies in 1972, the year it was released. Containing the singles “Lean on Me” and “Use Me,” Still Bill is so good that really any song could have been a single. 

Still Bill excels as a singer/songwriter album, but to not recognize its genius as a funk/soul masterpiece would be a disservice. Generally, when good songs and good players meet in the studio under good direction, the outcome is a good recording. Still Bill obviously met all of those conditions. But it also picked up a rare, transcendent quality that most albums lack. Check it out and you’ll hear what I mean. 

Not having been too familiar with Bill Withers before listening to Still Bill, what struck me most was Benorce Blackmon’s versatility as a guitar player. On some songs he’s playing straight funk parts, while on others—like “I Don’t Know”—he steps out and plays a charming jazz guitar solo. I find no faults in Still Bill. 

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The Who makes three appearances in this album exploration. The Who has made magnificent albums, but, so often, compilations cherry pick the best single moments from those albums. An anthology cannot express the width and breadth of an epic like Tommy or Quadrophenia. Who’s Next contains the Greatest Hits staples “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Baby O’Riley,” and “Behind Blue Eyes,” while offering a solid host of album cuts. As with My Generation, it’s been easy for me to pass over Who’s Next because its singles are so ambitious. 

Produced by The Who and Glyn Johns and released on August 14, 1971, Who’s Next has sold over 3 million copies. While the album works just fine as a traditional album, Who’s Next was culled from the ashes of a concept album that was to be called Lifehouse. Lifehouse was to be a futuristic rock opera and follow up to their highly successful rock opera, Tommy. Townsend’s writing process was, in part, feeding biographic data into nascent computer technology.

The most notable difference between Who’s Next and earlier Who albums is the use of the synthesizer. Townsend intended for the arpeggiated synthesizer parts to be in the foreground on many tracks. The synth offers compelling textures to a spacious and bombastic album. Keith Moon’s drumming challenges all who would subsequently get behind a drum set. Chances are, no drummer will ever approach the drums with such explosive musicality. Daltrey’s vocals on “Behind Blue Eyes” are splendid and Entwistle’s vocal, performance, and writing contributions are significant. 

The Who’s Next album cover is as iconic as its music. Entwistle, Townshend, Moon, and Daltrey are standing near a trash pylon, each having just peed on it and each zipping up his fly. Legend has it that the band just happened to be passing by the area and randomly chose the site. Three years prior, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey debuted and featured a dark monolith that eluded explanation. No one knew what it meant. The Who didn’t care what it meant, what with having pissed on a similar monolith. 

I love the space and size of the album. It’s one of the first rock albums that sounded huge from the opening notes through the end. The synth parts on “Baba O’Riley” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” hypnotize me every time I hear them. Daltrey gives rock n’roll one of its best vocal howls at the end of “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” At one point, someone licensed the song “Bargain” to a car commercial and it ruined the song for me. Whenever I hear it, I see slow motion wheels peeling out in the desert. That’s not a blemish on the album itself, just in how it’s been used. 

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