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MUSIC FEATURE

Each month we handpick a collection of reissues, limited editions or just straight classic long-players that deserve a place in any record collection. Words Paul Jones, Zoë Radas & Amy Flower

NIRVANA BLEACH (1989) Before the

CHART Vinyl

buff, polish and commercial success of Nevermind and the narcotically

PIXIES DOOLITTLE (1989)

Albums are plentiful, but truly influential ones are rare. Cited by everybody from Nirvana to Radiohead as massive influences, Pixies basically invented the quiet/LOUD formula, and honed it to perfection on their killer second long player Doolittle . There was certainly no sign of the fabled second album syndrome, with chief

introspective In Utero came the ancestral firestarter, Bleach . The band’s 13-track wrathful freshman was recorded in just 30 hours and retained by label Sub Pop for six months until the money was available to release it. Drawing inspiration from the Melvins, Black Flag, Sabbath, and even the Beatles, the sound is raw, stark, and thrillingly raucous. Cobain’s embryonic songwriting offers glimpses into the juggernaut that would follow, crafting supercharged mainliners like Negative Creep , Swap Meet, and Mr. Moustache , and grunge touchstones Blew and School , to a nod to the Fab Four in About a Girl . Before despair dominated Cobain, there was rage, and that provides the momentum here. Nirvana’s odyssey had begun. TOP TRACK: About a Girl FAST FACT: The total cost that producer Jack Endino charged the band for recording time was $606.17.

songwriter Black Francis in top form right from the get-go with Debaser , the scream-sung tale inspired by surrealist film Un Chien Andalou . From here our Doolittle journey encompasses themes ranging from biblical to environmental to good old death, with producer Gil Norton’s aim to commercialise the Pixies sound just a little – or a lot in the case of Here Comes Your Man (which the band described as their “Tom Petty song”) - giving us a collection of tracks that burst triumphantly from the speakers at every turn. Following that initial rush of Debaser , we’re taken on a roller coaster ride of classic hooks, with such gems as Monkey Gone to Heaven , Tame, La La Love You , and Gouge Away managing to stand out amongst a stylistically varied collection of 15 top-notch, flab-free tunes that does its business inside 40 exhilarating minutes. TOP TRACK: Wave of Mutilation FAST FACT: Norton wanted Black Francis to make his songs longer. In response, the head Pixie handed the producer Buddy Holly's Greatest Hits and said, "If it's good enough for Buddy Holly..."

1. TAYLOR SWIFT Midnights 2. TAME IMPALA Currents 3. HARRY STYLES Harry’s House

4. KENDRICK LAMAR good kid, m.A.A.d. city

WHITNEY HOUSTON WHITNEY (1987)

ALICE IN CHAINS FACELIFT (1990) REISSUE 30TH ANNIVERSARY VINYL REMASTERED DOUBLE LP Masters of the heavier side of the Seattle sound, Alice in Chains beat

blue vinyl reissue Still five years shy of her chart-obliterating performance of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always

5. PARAMORE This is Why

Nirvana to be the first “grunge” band to nab a gold disc for this, their debut long-player. They’d go on to receive many more accolades, not least for the kicking second track in – and first single - Man

6. PINK FLOYD

Love You , in 1987 Whitney Houston’s star was already blindingly bright. Having won a Grammy for her debut album Whitney Houston in 1985, two years later The

The Dark Side of the Moon

7. TYLER, THE

CREATOR IGOR

Voice released her second album Whitney – now re-released on lush blue vinyl. Showcasing Houston’s stunning spinto soprano range – which could move from velour to ethereal in a heartbeat – the record produced four singles: evergreen banger I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) , the endearing schmaltz of Didn’t We Almost Have it All , ‘80s personified pop jam So Emotional , and soaring power ballad Where Do Broken Hearts Go . TOP TRACK: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) FAST FACT: Whitney ’s success made Houston the first female act to achieve four number one tracks from a single album.

in a Box, which with its catchy hooks and wild, throaty intro from singer Layne Staley remains a rock radio staple today. The album thrums with intensity, from the stop-go thrills of second single Sea of Sorrow right through to the Led Zep-like album closer Real Thing (complete with its shoutout to Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America, “Sexual Chocolate, baby!”). TOP TRACK: Man in the Box FAST FACT: Drummer Sean Kinney nearly didn’t appear on the album, as he had a broken hand. Soldiering on, he removed his cast and played, icing up the offending paw regularly.

8. ABBA Gold

9. THE WEEKND Starboy

10. NIRVANA Nevermind

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