STACK #235 May 2024

MUSIC FEATURE

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There’s nothing quite like taking home some fresh vinyl and putting it on the turntable for the first time. It’s a total experience. Each month we pull together a collection of reissues, JB-exclusives, or just straight-up classic long-players to add to any burgeoning collection. Words: Zoë Radas, Amy Flower, Paul Jones V I N Y L V I T A L

CHART Vinyl

RAMONES RAMONES (1976)

MISSY HIGGINS THE SOUND OF WHITE (2004) 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Tommy Ramone’s mantra for recording the band’s eponymous influential debut was refreshingly simple: “Eliminate the unnecessary and focus on the substance.” $6400 and seven days in the studio would produce an album that, while unsuccessful commercially, would ignite a fuse that changed music forever. Packed with 14 energy

A satisfying stumble of a piano melody, and Missy Higgins’ beautiful Aussie twang dancing alongside: Scar quickly left its mark

filled roaring guitar-driven two-and-a-half minute songs that mirrored their explosive live performances, the band charted the course of punk and indie music for the next 40 years. From the opening rallying cry Blitzkrieg Bop to perennial classics Judy Is a Punk and I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend , Ramones is nothing short of a masterpiece. TOP TRACK: Blitzkrieg Bop FAST FACT: Big Beatles fans, the Ramones took their name from Paul Ramon, a pseudonym Paul McCartney used in 1960 when on tour in Scotland as the Silver Beetles. McCartney thought it made him sound more exotic. (Warner)

on the radio-listening public in August 2004. Next to that month’s other peak-played artists on the ARIA chart - Britney Spears, Nelly and Usher - Higgins’ debut track landed with an uncompromising but delightful freshness, and piles of relatability. We’d never heard such a soul-baring message of individuality from a young, homegrown star. Higgins most treasured song from her six-time ARIA winning debut The Sound of White is the perennially gorgeous The Special Two . ”I wrote that initially for my sister, when we were having a feud over a boy we both liked,” she told us. ”I think so many people have adapted that song to their own lives and made their own meanings out of it – it’s become more of a love song… about dedication, and forgiveness. It’s beautiful, because the fans have changed that song for me.” On the special 20th Anniversary Edition of The Sound of White (out now), Scar and The Special Two are joined by soulfully introspective gem All For Believing , the infectious folk-pop bop Ten Days , and the other tracks from the original album - along with bonus live recordings of every song. TOP TRACK: The Special Two FAST FACT: Higgins wrote album track All For Believing for a high school music assignment; her sister contributed it to triple j’s Unearthed, and it won the comp in 2001 when Missy was just 15 years old. (Universal)

1. TAYLOR SWIFT TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT 2. TAYLOR SWIFT 3. TAYLOR SWIFT LOVER 4. TAYLOR SWIFT MIDNIGHTS 5. MISSY HIGGINS THE SOUND OF WHITE 6. TAYLOR SWIFT TAYLOR SWIFT 7. ARIANA GRANDE ETERNAL SUNSHINE 8. TAYLOR SWIFT evermore 9. PEARL JAM DARK MATTER 10. PINK FLOYD DARK SIDE OF THE MOON 1989 (TAYLORS VERSION)

SNOOP DOGG DOGGYSTYLE (1993) 30TH ANNIVERSARY CLEAR VINYL EDITION

Snoop Dogg’s debut record was one of the pioneers in G-funk that would help shape the West Coast hip-hop sound. Dr. Dre – who led the new West Coast movement with The Chronic a year earlier - assembled a legion of musicians, rappers, and singers to help create a decidedly different sound.

Driving the core of Doggystyle are melodic synths and funky hooks and beats complemented by Snoop’s unique laid-back, swaggering vocal style. There’s no filler here, and no song outstays its welcome. While some lyrical content will raise an eyebrow, Doggystyle is an outlandishly fun, brilliant album and a pinnacle of G-funk. TOP TRACK: Gin and Juice FAST FACT: Incredibly for a debut, Doggystyle sold over 800,000 copies in the U.S. in the first week alone. (DRR/Gamma)

HOODOO GURUS STONEAGE ROMEOS (1984) 40TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION After some singular success with the likes of indie release Leilani , then Tojo and My Girl , the debut album from Sydney-via-Perth act Hoodoo Gurus arrived in 1984 and instantly made its presence felt. With each song recorded in separate studio spurts, Stoneage

TINA TURNER WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT (1993) 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION The early ‘90s were a peak era for LA-via-Tennessee rock siren Tina Turner; in mid-June of 1993, an autobiographical film based on Turner’s 1986 memoir I, Tina was released to critical acclaim. As companion to the movie, this top-shelf compilation soundtrack was released, comprising re-recorded versions of Tina’s most sparkling hits - including its title track, Nutbush City Limits , and Proud Mary .

the Stoneage bosom. The album scored the Countdown Award (the less-pointy-pointy-careful-or-you’ll-have your-eye-out precursor to the ARIA Award) for ‘Best Debut Album’, and went on to dig its heels in at the apex of the then-important US college radio charts for

Romeos (the title an homage to Larry, Curly and Moe) came across like a greatest hits compilation that had fallen back in time from some tribal, trashy, pop culture-worship ping, punk rock future. The next assault on radio, I Want You Back , will always be an Aussie classic – and if not for the Hoodoos’ decision to quickly follow-up the debut with another long-player, there could easily have been more singles plucked from

a remarkable seven weeks. It remains one of the greatest Australian albums of all time - debut or otherwise. TOP TRACK: I Want You Back FAST FACT: Hoodoo Gurus’ frontman, the Perth-born Dave Faulkner, is a member of two Halls of Fame: those of the Western Australian Music Industry (WAM), and the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). (Universal)

What’s Love Got to Do With It is a scintillating earful of timeless songs from the undisputed - and still sorely missed - Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll. TOP TRACK: Proud Mary FAST FACT: The album includes a cover of The Trammps’ Disco Inferno , a track Tina had often performed live in the late ‘70s but hadn’t yet recorded in-studio. (Warner)

16 MAY 2024

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