Here is the list of our picks for the classic album of the week! Every week we’ll be highlighting a classic album. You may have never gotten around to listening to it or simply want a reminder to enjoy it all over again. These are albums that are simply brilliant from front to back. They can be from any era or any genre.
Enjoy our trip down memory lane!
24th November: Stevie Wonder – Innervisions
Of this album, Stevie Wonder said “I think it is my most personal album. I don’t care if it sells only five copies.” The reality is that it became one of the best albums of all-time and earned its place in history. That unique and personal approach is what helped to make the album special.
It has all that trademark funk that Wonder is known for but with songs that had a pointed social and spiritual message. The songs where have a wonderful range and for those who only know him by his biggest hits, they may be surprised at the depth here. It’s a classic album in all meanings of the term and still sounds as good as ever today.
17th November: Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run
It’s very hard to pinpoint Springsteen’s best work but many would agree that it’s “Born to Run”. The record is a masterpiece and one which he painfully crafter to try and make it as perfect as possible. In the end, the blood, sweat, and tears were worth it.
The problem was with Springsteen trying to replicate the energy and dynamism he had on stage into the studio. After many attempts, he was finally able to make it work. The songs tell many inspirational stories of dreaming of greatness and dealing with the falls along the way. It has ended up being Springsteen’s trademark album and an incredible one at that.
10th November: Def Leppard – Hysteria
There are a few albums that you could use to define classic rock and this is one of them. It’s a hugely powerful album which spawned seven singles and helped to give the band a timeless legacy. It has often been called the “hard rock version of Thriller” and it’s easy to see why.
It was an incredibly difficult album to make which took three years to complete and cost the band a huge amount of money. Even in those days of excess, it was a little extreme. Thankfully they persisted as it tuned out to be one of the most iconic albums ever made.
3rd November: R.E.M – Automatic For The People
The eighth album from the American rock band was their masterpiece. It was a more stripped-back sound for the band, which kicks of with the brooding “Drive”, and perfectly sets the tone got the album.
It’s a lyrically deep record and one that looks upon a harsh world with kind eyes. There is plenty to love about this album including Stipe’s vocals and the complex instrumentation.
It’s the perfect album for the contemplative souls among us with an array of brilliant songs. What’s perhaps most impressive about the album is the sheer quality throughout. While the whole record is great, “Nightswimming” followed by “Find The River” is one of the most beautiful endings to an album of all time.
27th October: Johnny Cash – American IV: The Man Comes Around
American IV: The Man Comes Around was the last studio album released by Johnny Cash while he was still alive. It marks it as a perfect swan song to a legendary career.
Perfectly produced by Rick Rubin, it contains possibly the best cover of all time. Rubin had been instrumental in the revival of Cash’s career as he placed an increasing amount of focus on a more stripped-back sound and using that legendary voice on cover songs instead of originals.
There was still the occasional original song, and there was a great one on this album with “The Man Comes Around”. There is no doubt that “Hurt” takes the headlines here but others such as “I Hung My Head”, “Personal Jesus”, and “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” are immensely powerful.
20th October: Deep Purple – Machine Head
The story of the making of Machine Head is quite an epic one, with half of the story described in the lyrics to its most famous track, “Smoke On The Water”. As the song details, the band hired a mobile studio for the recording equipment and booked the Montreux Casino. The casino burned down and the band had to find an alternate venue.
That alternate venue ended up being the out-of-season Grand Hotel which the band converted into a temporary recording studio. Out of these difficult circumstances, the band found the inspiration to write their most commercially successful album.
There are only seven tracks on the album but they are all brilliant with the likes of “Highway Star” and “Space Truckin” being thunderously good rock tracks. “When A Blind Man Cries” is also a phenomenal ballad but was dedicated as a B-side instead. It should have been included on the original album but this was corrected for re-releases.
It’s one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time and for a band that was often tumultuous, this was a time where everything just clicked.
13th October: The Jam – All Mod Cons
While it may not contain any of the band’s three most infamous songs, many would regard All Mod Cons as their best work. From front to back it has incredible quality with all the elements that made The Jam so special.
The lyrics here are, of course, sublime. Plenty of them make reference to the class divide and never is Weller more scathing than on “Mr Clean”. The middle class isn’t the only target of his barbs here as the album is full of angst. This was most likely driven by the band’s failure to crack America and a critically panned second album.
In between their high-paced punky songs is one of the most beautiful love songs written in “English Rose”. It’s an album full of brilliant tracks and showed that the band we’re more than just a great debut album.
6th October: Snow Patrol – Final Straw
Everything about this album is incredible. Along with having a mix of impressive songs, it’s also one of the best lyrical albums ever made. Each song is a rich tapestry of emotions that range from finding love to losing it, while battling your own demons in the process.
The most popular track is, of course, Chasing Cars. There is no doubt it’s one of the best love songs ever penned. It magically captures that feeling of new love and being almost uncontrollably excited about it.
This album is, of course, a lot more than Chasing Cars. That song’s antithesis is “Make This Go On Forever” which details the harrowing point where you know your relationship is breaking apart. Then “You Could Be Happy” is post-breakup and about hoping someone that once loved you is still happy.
The rest of the songs sit in this spectrum of feelings. In each one, you hear Gary Lightbody’s excellent vocals which perfectly bring to life the raw emotion within them.
If you’ve never had the delight of analyzing the lyrics of these songs, grab yourself a drink and put it right. It’s pure poetry from beginning to end which are encased in some phenomenal songs.
29th September: Oasis – Be Here Now
Is it as good as Oasis’ first two albums? Probably not. This is why Be Here Now often flies a little under the radar when looking at great albums. It didn’t receive the critical acclaim of their first two releases but it’s still a phenomenal album.
It kicks off with the swaggering “D’You Know What I Mean?” which has all the hallmarks of Oasis’ cocky attitude. Along with the singles, there are also some epic album tracks here such as “My Big Mouth”, “I Hope, I Think, I Know” and the title track “Be Here Now”.
The album is perhaps a little self-indulgent with nine of its 12 tracks being over five minutes long. But at a time where Oasis could have easily ‘sold out’, they went the opposite way. It’s not exactly on “Kid A” levels but they didn’t take the easy road here.
“Stand By Me” and “Don’t Go Away” are more introspective and unarguably great songs. Add that to the more ridiculous (in a good way) “All Around The World” and you get a fantastic collection of music.
While Noel Gallagher isn’t its biggest fan, Oasis fans universally adore the album. It’s 71 minutes of bloated, overly-produced and arrogant rock ‘n’ roll. Some don’t like it for those reasons but it’s exactly why we, and millions of others, love it.
22nd September: Kasabian – Kasabian
2004 was a great year for music. We got some brilliant albums such as the self-titled albums from Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines, and Razorlight along with The Killers’ Hot Fuss, Hopes And Fears from Keane, and Aha Shake Heartbreak from Kings of Leon. That’s only a small selection,as there were many more.
Standing out from the crowd in such a golden year was very tough but that’s exactly what Kasabian did. We’d never heard a band quite like them before with their brand of psychedelic and electronic rock. They were exactly what we needed when “Reason Is Treason” was released to the world. They followed that with the singles “Club Foot”, “L.S.F.”, “Processed Beats”, and “Cutt Off”.
It was an exceptional level of quality songs which were added to by some good album tracks. A new era of rock ‘n’ roll was born and Kasabian were right at the centre of it.
15th September: Dire Straits – Making Movies
It’s hard to think of any other album that has crammed in so much brilliance into just seven songs. In terms of run time, however, it’s not a particularly short album because you have some epics on there. The most famous of its tracks is “Romeo And Juliet” which is a painfully beautiful song that deserves its fame.
It’s one of those albums where you can put on your headphones and be transported to a different world. You can’t really say anything about Mark Knopfler’s guitar work here that hasn’t been said before but it’s truly a work of art.
There are no skippers with songs such as “Skateaway” and “Expresso Love” being brilliant additions. For me, though, the tracks masterpiece is its opening track. “Tunnel Of Love” is an 8-minute melancholic and wondrous journey that mixes in poetic lyrics, an infectious melody, and that genius guitar playing. It kicks off an album which sounds as good as it ever did.
8th September: Stereophonics – Word Gets Around
Stereophonics are due to release their 12th album in 2022 and it’s hard to choose which of their current 11 is their best. For many, however, their debut album Word Gets Around remains unsurpassed.
It’s a brilliant rock record that laid the foundations for the seven number one albums that followed. As with many debut albums, Word Gets Around didn’t immediately receive the popularity it deserved but still reached number 6 in the album chart.
It brilliantly mixes in high-energy rock tracks such as “A Thousand Trees” with slower acoustic-led songs like “Traffic”. All through the album, we see evidence of Kelly Jones’ songwriting genius in his storytelling style. Never is this more evident than in “Local Boy In The Photograph”. While we’ve highlighted three songs there, all 12 on this album are fantastic.
It’s the type of album we’re currently crying out for from a new band but until then, we’ll keep listening to classics such as Word Gets Around.
1st September: Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks
Released back in 1975, Blood On The Tracks was already the fifteenth album released by Bob Dylan and for many people, it would be his best work. It received mixed reviews at the time, which is strange to think with how highly regarded it is today.
Many of the songs are lyrically brilliant and have that metaphorical flow that has come synonymous with Dylan. On no song is that more apparent than the opener “Tangled Up In Blue”.
You could speak to 10 Dylan fans and they could all justifiably have 10 different favorites from this masterpiece. Whether it’s the beautiful poetry of “Shelter from the Storm” or the incredible storytelling on “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts”, it’s an album that demands close attention and repeated plays.
25th August: The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
For many people, Sticky Fingers is the Rolling Stones’ best album and we wouldn’t disagree with that. Released in 1971, it doesn’t relent in quality over the course of its 10 tracks.
It starts off with the iconic riff from Brown Sugar then goes from strength to strength. It’s not all swaggering rock ‘n’ roll. This is shown on Wild Horses where the band opts for a country-rock feel for the timeless classic.
It’s full of brilliant tracks and personified the genre. It reached number one on the album charts in both the UK and the US, as well as getting top spot in many other countries. The band would go on to release many more great albums but none reached quite the level of Sticky Fingers.
18th August: The Clash – London Calling
This album is dominated by the title track but it’s so much more than that. While “London Calling” is undoubtedly an incredible song, there are several brilliant tunes on this album and it’s better than the greatest hits of many other bands.
It’s also a huge album. Originally released as a double album, it has 19 tracks but is still only just over an hour long. It has a wide range of styles throughout the album with The Clash’s punk rock staple being mixed in with some reggae, ska, and jazz, among others.
Personal favourites for me are “Lost in the Supermarket”, “Clampdown” and “The Guns of Brixton” but such is the brilliance of this album, your favourites may be completely different. If you’ve never heard it before, then prepare to find a hatful of songs you’ll fall in love with.
11th August: Courteeners – St. Jude
St. Jude is an album that does not miss. The band’s debut album came out in 2008 and has 12 brilliant songs with zero skippers. It’s also an album that lends itself to brilliant live moments with memorable sing-along anthems.
It starts with the understated intro to “Aftershow” before that songs burst into life. What follows is a tirade of witty lyrics that never relent. There are some brilliant quieter moments on the album with tracks such as “Please Don’t” and “How Come” which are both as funny as they’re brilliant. St. Jude also closes with a slower track with the stunning “Yesterday, Today & Probably Tomorrow”.
You could praise every song on this album but “Bide Your Time” and “Not Nineteen Forever” are the most well-known and are phenomenally fun live. The mid-to-late noughties gave us plenty of brilliant indie albums and this is one of the best.
4th August: Pulp – Different Class
Has there ever been a better lyrical album than this? You might have another personal favourite but there is no doubting the lyrical genius here. For the uninitiated, this could be easily mistaken for a Greatest Hits. It was the band’s 5th studio album and the one that gave them immortality.
The album starts off with an anthem for those who are different with “Mis-Shapes” and has many more bought-provoking songs such as “Disco 2000” and “Something Changed”, which showcase Cocker’s ability to look at the world a little differently.
Songs such as “I Spy” and “Live Bed Show” are incredibly unique and could only have been written by the man himself. Most casual listeners will perhaps remember the album mainly for “Common People” but this album is much more than that incredible tune.