I had this idea after seeing the CCR Headcleaner album cover and realized I had to do this. I have written reviews of many of these records for my job back in the day. If I wrote a review it's under the record cover.
Produced by Martin Birch (who produced Heaven and Hell for Black Sabbath), Cultosaurus Erectus was a return to both form and critical acclaim for Blue Oyster Cult. Kicked off by "Black Blade," simply one of the group's very best songs, the record boasted a muscular sound, re-invigorated songwriting and probably the finest heavy metal album cover of all time. "Monsters" (totally weird) and "The Marshall Plan" (totally, um, rock!) are highlights. Buck Dharma goes to town in "Lips in the Hills."
Before Neil Peart, ponytails and all the synthesizers, Rush were a damn good rock band and this, their first album, is a must for anyone who blames the Canadian trio for inventing math rock. "Finding My Way" has some of the most air-guitar-worthy breaks ever, and "Working Man" has the best Sabbath riff Tony Iommi never wrote.
Descending from Valhalla with "793 (Slaget om Lindisfarne)," a 16-minute super-epic about a battle that happened before the year 800, Eld finds Norwegian band Enslaved continuing on the path toward Viking metal, despite the presence of prominent black metal elements: shimmering walls of guitar, high-speed tempos and exhaustive double-bass drumming. The schizoid shifts in style are hallmarks of a genre Enslaved essentially created themselves. The band's insistence on tossing in decidedly sideways keyboard parts where you least expect it just never gets old.
My friend tells me that these two girls were camping in the same place Brian Ferry was camping and he had this idea and took this photo, I think that's kinda funny, I always thought they were models.
Good Christ this is hot
This is not an album cover but it should be. This is my friend Matt St Germain and I can't believe it happened. This was in a hotel room in Detroit, photo taken by Virgil Porter, it was like 11am I don't know why Matt brought his ricer.
The first collaboration by the doomed lovers is, not surprisingly, rife with the bleak imagery, wrist-slashing lyrics and celebration of life's endless misery that, as baleful as it is, make the Thompsons' music a treasure of sorts. Richard is one of the key figures in folk rock, and Linda's voice alone makes her every bit his equal. This album is their best work: The title cut is on the short list of greatest breakup songs ever; "When I Get to the Border" is nothing less than mythic; and you can hear Will Oldham being born as "The Calvary Cross" trudges its way to the gallows.
The extended punk-metal jams that formed side two of this when it came out in '84 either alienated what was left of Black Flag's original fan base or changed the way kids thought about music. Judging from the emergence of bands like Born Against, Saint Vitus, Eyehategod and countless others representing the breadth of extreme music, it's the folks that dug it that mattered. The title track is brilliant Henry paranoia/Ginn axemasnship but it's "Scream," the "War Pigs" homage "Three Nights" and especially "Nothing Left Inside" that make My War one of Black Flag's most important albums.
The most influential stoner-metal album to emerge from said movement of the '90s, Holy Mountain translates the crush-thud of Sabbath doomology into the post-Saint Vitus era, permanently setting a bar for heavy music. While it's hard to write about this album and not turn into a blubbering zealot, it's even more difficult to listen to "Dragonaut," the title cut, "Aquarian" and "From Beyond" -- all of it -- without wetting your pants if you're even a casual fan of the sanctified moves of Tony, Geezer, Bill Ward and Ozzy.
Originally titled (and vetoed by Caroline) Let Them All Eat Sh*t Slowly, Dial "M" finds Pussy Galore at their most experimental, throwing samples, backwards tape loops and even funkiness into the grating cacophony. Folks either love or hate this band, but if you never get sick of trash rock riffs gone right (The Sonics' "Cinderella," "Louie Louie") you will find moments on here that make it at least seem like they knew what they were doing. "Dick Johnson," "Understand Me" and "SM 57" are good places to start.
QOTSA deliver one hell of a debut with their 1998 self-titled record. Taking tips from St. Kurt as they fire up not just the big bong but the little bong too, these former members of Kyuss finally hand over the goods they promised on Blues For the Red Sun. Big fat riffs, c'mon and sing along melodies, and sky-splitting psychedelia. Heavy.
The title cut is the closest Aerosmith ever got to sounding as safe and smart as Cheap Trick, but they're still the types of dudes you don't want smoking pot with your little sister. "No More No More" rules and there's nothing in rock music like the first couple minutes of "Sweet Emotion." That and "Walk This Way" show the band becoming increasingly interested in funk.
This is Moby Grape's first record. It came out on Epic in like 1969. If you look closely at the guy with the washboard. That is Skip Spence and he is giving the finger. They didn't realize this when they put it out so when you buy it you can get either version of the cover. I think this is wicked funny. I will eventually tell Skip Spence's whole story. It's a good one.
This album cover scared the shit out of me when I was a teenager. Between this and the first record which also scared me, I didn't hear Sabbath at all until one day when I was 21 I woke up and wanted "War Pigs." They played this and "Iron Man" at Roller Kingdom where we roller skated to AC/DC, Van Halen, and Black Sabbath. It was in a shit town in Massachusetts called Hudson. Hearing this music and roller skating was some major 80s behavior. I went and bought "We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'n' Roll." Everyone had that one, right?
Combining hard biker boogie with country rock spaceouts, Rides Again is an overlooked gem of early '70s hard rock. Although Joe Walsh would go on to greener pastures as both a solo artist and as a member of the Eagles, he would never again reach the heights he attains here. "Funk #49" rocks and "The Bomber" rules.
Southern Discomfort collects singles and alternate takes of various songs that appeared on Dopesick and Take as Needed for Pain. With a definitive version of their timeless love ballad "Ruptured Heart Theory" and a "Blank/Shoplift" medley that shows what masters Jimmy Bower and Brian Patton were at constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing their own music, Southern Discomfort is not a bad place for newcomers to start and is also very good for anyone interested in what the blaring siren pain of multiple toothaches would sound like set to music.
These are not my favorites at all, these are easily the ugliest album covers ever. Apparently when Heart recorded Strange Animals money was no object.
My friend Justin Farrar says he looks like sunglasses were made for him, he's totally right.
I can't believe this was allowed.
Notice Neil Haggerdy has a fucking Flying V. In the booklet that came with this CD the only word in English was the word "pigfucker." Anytime they referred to the band they used "pigfucker."
This album had a fucking commercial. Rock music used to have commercials sometimes. The hit of "I can't wit for a night with you" was huge and I was of course terrified of this album cover.
At the end of this album you'll hear a security guard saying that, "Whoever is recording then live, press the eject and give me the tape." Pretty cool title for a live album. The thing is, when I got this in the 80s I thought it sounded way better than a bootleg. Maybe that's why they put it out. That said, this is an awesome live album.
