Remember this…?
#050. Jack Johnson – In Between Dreams (2005) [spotify]
Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams
If you like acoustic-y singer-songwriter-y stuff, then odds are you like Jack Johnson. If you don’t, feel free to skip ahead to #49 where there is rawk and stuff. This is still one of the favoured “Sunny afternoon chillout” albums at Murray Mansions, and has been since it came out. It’s my belief (though I haven’t checked it) that Johnson was, like David Gray before him, churning away for ages before one particular major release catapulted him up the charts, at least in this country. Certainly it was this, his third release, that brought him to my attention, and it immediately became part of the soundtrack to Summer 2005 with classics like “Sitting, Waiting, Wishing”, “Better Together” and “Staple It Together”. Always puts a smile on the dial. 
TOP TRACK: #7 “Staple It Together”.
#049. Forty Deuce – Nothing to Lose (2005) [spotify]
Forty Deuce - Nothing to Lose
Like many, I loves me some Richie Kotzen. I must confess though, that my favourite stuff is his early period – Fever Dream, Electric Joy, Mother Head’s Family Reunion. The whole thing where he took it down a notch and released (seemingly) about fifty albums that sound pretty much the same, is I’m sure artistically verifying for him and all that, but I can take it or leave it. Everything from 1996′s Wave of Emotion up to 2004′s Get Up just does very little for me, and that’s when I kind of stopped paying attention. (Note: 2009′s Peace Sign is excellent, btw.)
But in 2005 he released this album under the monicker Forty Deuce, and went some way back to his hard rock roots, and the result is superb. Proper hard rocking tunes, verging on heavy, and some frankly incandescent guitar work without ever really labouring the point. “Start It Up”, indeed.
TOP TRACK: #2 “Oh My God”.
#048. Underride – One of Us (2008)
Underride - One of Us
Historically, when you think of Seattle, you initially think of one band. That band is obviously Queensrÿche. (If you said Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam or any of the early 90s grungers, go to the back of the class.) But it’s always been a musical melting pot – aside from the 90s grungesplosion, people like Hendrix, Nikki Sixx and Duff McKagan all cut their teeth in Jet City, as well as such nonrock luminaries as Sir Mix-A-Lot, Kenny G, and jazzer Bill Frisell. Scant surprise then when it turns out a top quality rawk band, which it has done with Underride. Not heard of them? I’m not surprised – I caught a mention of them on Sleaze Roxx one day, and took a punt on the album as it was payday, but good thing I did. This is some really energised no-nonsense rock music led by a fan-fucking-tastic singer. Get it if you can find it.
TOP TRACK: #6 “Upstart Coming Up”.
#047. Zero 7 – When It Falls (2004) [spotify]
Zero 7 - When It Falls
Some albums are amazing whenever and wherever you listen to them, but others suit a specific situation, and if there is a better “sunny Saturday afternoon, BBQ in the garden, friends round, couple of drinks, chilling out until sundown” album out there, I’ve yet to hear it. Beezer.
TOP TRACK: #2 “Home”.
#046. Black Stone Cherry – Black Stone Cherry (2006) [spotify]
Black Stone Cherry - Black Stone Cherry
When I first heard these boys I knew they were going to be something special. This is their self-titled debut album, and it gets right down to business with the chuggy Zeppelin-esque riffage of “Rain Wizard”, and doesn’t let up from there. One thing that hits you immediately is the depth and character of singer/guitarist Chris Robertson’s voice. He sounds like he’s been out there rocking the free world for thirty years or more, but in truth he hasn’t even been alive that long. This band are young, but that doesn’t mean they’re green – the 13 songs on this album are expertly crafted blocks of Southern-fried rock standing somewhere between Black Label Society and Lynyrd Skynyrd in terms of heritage, and by the time the final cut “Rollin’ On” has faded away, you’ll know you’ve been Cherryed.
TOP TRACK: #5 “When the Weight Comes Down”.
#045. American Pearl – American Pearl (2000)
American Pearl - American Pearl
Can’t remember for the life of me how I came across this CD, though thinking about it it was more than likely one of those “customers who bought X also bought Y” thingers on Amazon. Never heard of before or since, Wikipedia offers scant information other than that the band was the brainchild of one Kevin Roentgen, who did some other stuff afterwards. Hmmm. Well, whatever, this is an ace hard rock record – well constructed rock songs, good riffs, tasteful guitar (no huge solos knocking holes in the songs) and nice raw production. Effective – recommended.
TOP TRACK: #2 “Automatic”.
#044. Wheatus – Wheatus (2000) [spotify]
Wheatus - Wheatus
Wheatus, the brainchild of Brendan B Brown, will have first come to the attention of most readers (if at all) with their monster hit single of 2000, “Teenage Dirtbag”, which as well as being a huge MTV smash was also on a hit movie (if the movie “Loser” was a hit, I don’t really know to be honest) soundtrack, and thus found its way into the ears of millions that Summer. My then girlfriend (now wife) quite liked it, and talked me into buying the album one day in Virgin on Oxford Street and it’s been a favourite ever since. Catchy and fun, and not afraid to offend on occasion, few albums in my collection can raise a smile as reliably as this one.
TOP TRACK: #8 “Love Is a Mutt from Hell”.
#043. Alter Bridge – One Day Remains (2004) [spotify]
Alter Bridge - One Day Remains
If you’re anything like me – and I know I am – then you loved the music that Creed were making, but just found the singer Scott Stapp a little bit irritating sometimes. It’s not that he’s a bad singer – he really isn’t, he’s pretty bloody good, but his style just grates with me a little bit sometimes, y’know? So wouldn’t it be cool if you could take the band and make them write stuff roughly 12% heavier, and replace the singer with someone even better? It would be, and the result is called Alter Bridge. Singer Myles Kennedy is so freaking good that it’s almost unfair to compare Stapp to him, inevitable though that is. Anyway, musically here you have Tremonti and co riffing away like their lives depend on it in a variety of dropped tunings and Kennedy wailing over it all like some dark angel of rock, and by god what a record. I shut up, you go listen.
TOP TRACK: #2 “One Day Remains”.
#042. Coldplay – Parachutes (2000) [spotify]
Coldplay - Parachutes
Yeah yeah yeah, I don’t want to hear it. Fashionable as it (still!) is to knock Coldplay and to sneer at Chris Martin, I have always liked their music. “But it’s just pop crap, it’s audio beige, it’s by-the-numbers cranked out faux-pop-rock bullshit” – yawn. Are you finished? Good. Hang on a minute, I think I have 20p somewhere, you can go phone someone who cares.
Now, I used to like Radiohead, but as mentioned before, I only liked them in their early days – Pablo Honey and The Bends, and OK Computer was for me where they started to go off the rails and I stopped being interested. The reason for this? I liked the style of music on those first two albums, and not so much on the latter ones. I admire Radiohead for being adventurous and changing styles, but I just happen not to like the styles they chose as they grew and changed – and this left a musical hole, which Coldplay filled nicely when they came along in 2000 with Parachutes. I think you have here a really well written and delivered pop album, and if you just forget about Chris Martin and his “we’re going to save the world through the use of wristbands” nonsense, you can really enjoy the songs and the instrumentation. Well produced, too.
I like it a lot, you may not. You are welcome to your opinion, and so am I.
TOP TRACK: #6 “Trouble”.
#041. Nickelback – Silver Side Up (2001) [spotify]
Nickelback - Silver Side Up
Yeah yeah yeah, I don’t want to hear it. Fashionable as it (still!) is to knock Nickelback and to sneer at their brand of corporate rock, I have always liked a lot of their music.
This was their breakthrough album, despite having two previous albums under their belts, kicked hugely into the public eye on the back of the ultra-success of the mega-single “How You Remind Me”. (By the way, if you’ve only ever heard that song on the radio, you should really hear the album version. It has guitars in it.) Now it’s true that since then, Chad’s cut most of his hair off so he appeals to more girlies, there are four ballads on every album, and three of them are the same songs with different-ish lyrics, and yes, they did that fucking “Rockstar” song. But this album is still excellent, and tracks like “Never Again” and “Too Bad” are undeniably rockmungous.
TOP TRACK: #4 “Too Bad”.