1994 in music. • Page 3

So hard to open an album

 

I know there’s a lot to choose from, but ya’ll sleeping on Superunknown by Soundgarden.

 

it’s not as good as badmotorfinger but it still rules

 

The Downward Spiral is also a deliberately challenging record

Even when you appreciate those kinds of records, it can be hard to consider them too 3 in a deep year.


Also who the hell played lead for Oasis? Definitely Maybe is absolutely one of the great lead guitar records of the ‘90s

 

noel gallagher, perhaps you’ve heard of him

 

I had no idea he was that good a guitar player. There are shit-hot solos on basically every song

 

You said this so much better than I could come up with - Weezer, Green Day, Oasis, et. al. are so much more accessible, "easy" listens.

And Noel plays the lead guitar, my dude. I assume that a few parts could be Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs - but lead guitar credited to Noel. Phenomenal stuff indeed.

 

It felt so weird putting it as low as #10 indeed. Many of my Top 10 are interchangeable, I'd say. Just a landmark year.

I always feel that tons of people sleep on STP, personally. You could say they were the most critically-panned of all of these bands, but for me, Purple does not have a single dud of a track. Part of it is the personal connection I associate with it. I was not reading rock journalism much when I was a 10-12 year old. I waited until at least age ~16 for that lol

 

The first Oasis album is another one I need to spend more time with. I've always loved Morning Glory but only listened to the debut like 4 times.

 

fwiw he played lead on everything through standing on the shoulder of giants. once andy bell and gem archer got added to the band for heathen chemistry and noel started singing more, gem took over lead stuff, and still plays in noel’s solo band

 

NIN- Downward Spiral
STP- Purple
Tom Petty- Wildflowers

 

Gravediggaz came out this year too. That’s a cool album.

 

SHOUTOUT PURPLE!

 

One of the best albums from the 90’s.
Spiral and Purple are in my top 5 from that decade.

 

Cheers to that!

 

Had my first listen with The Downward Spiral today and it's a big slab of noise and self-loathing. A really hard and punishing listen for the majority of the time, either in lyrical content or the aggressive electronic sounds, or frequently both. Can see how hugely influential this would be, and can definitely see this being something that you warm up to with more listens. From a first listen, I'm impressed and definitely respect whatever it's doing here, but felt like an endurance mission to get to the end.

Will be back for more though.

 

first listen ever???

wow. yeah, it’s an album that gets more rewarding with each listen, picking up new things. i remember hearing it for probably the 1000th time but right when i was watching twin peaks for the first time and finally placing the reference to the twin peaks theme song in Reptile. it’s a good easter egg album

 

Yup! First time listening to a Nine Inch Nails album was a couple of weeks ago too, from whatever year Pretty Hate Machine was. Looking forward to keeping up with them in the threads to come!

 

The best album of all time - Illmatic - came out this year. Kbye.

 

A first listen to Hole's Live Through This, which was much more immediate and fun. It's grungy, loud and with punk attitude, but with fantastic hooks and choruses. It's angst driven, but in a much more palatable way. Really good fun - I don't necessarily think there's hidden depths to it, but for a first listen, it was immediate and engaging.

 

Agree entirely, but that’s also what makes “Hurt” one of the most powerful songs of all time. After all of this gnarled, vicious, challenging work, to end with this broken little fragment with every feeling laid bare. Just stunning


The Fragile is his masterpiece though

 

Insane year.

1. Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
2. Soundgarden - Superunknown
3. STP - Purple

And then you have Grace, the Blue Album, Definitely Maybe, Dookie, Jar of Flies, Ill Communication, Let Love In... and so many more!

 

Taking some time to think about it, this may be the year with the highest volume of huge records in the entire 90s, and that's saying a lot.

Aside from all the albums that have been named, we have forgotten that Korn's debut album was released in '94.

I put Vitalogy at the top because it is a special album. It is conceived in a different way than usual, with the strange interludes, the artwork and that roughness that makes it so special. But, oh my friends, the songs. What songs does Vitalogy have. Last Exit, Spin the Black Circle, Not for you, Tremor Christ, Nothingman, Whipping, Corduroy, Better Man, Satan's Bed, and Immortality. Give me something better than that. Eddie kills it here. Special record, it is.

In second place I put Superunknown, my favorite Soundgarden album. It is a true work of art in which they manage to combine the rawness and aggressiveness of their beginnings with the delicacy and sentimentality of their last years as a band. They were extremely good. And they were unique, nobody sounded like they did. And Chris Cornell, oh Chris...

In third place I put Purple. My favorite STP album, a wonderful album. A step up coming from Core, which sounded too much like a random grunge band, even though they had great songs. What they do on songs like Big Empty, Interstate Love Song or Meat Plow is special. Scott Weiland was very talented, and the band sounded in a unique way. A pity how they ended.

The rest:

Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies. An album in which Alice in Chains showed a different face, making it clear that they had the talent and finesse required to make an EP in acoustic format. Nutshell is one of the songs from the 90s.

Pantera - Far Beyond Driven. Real punch to the face.

Beastie Boys - Ill Communication. Probably the best album by one of the most special bands of the last 40 years.

Korn - Korn. An overwhelming debut, unlike anything we'd heard so far. Groundbreaking.

R.E.M. - Monster. It's not Automatic for the people, and it caught a lot of people off guard, but it's a very good record.

Nirvana - MTV Unplugged. Even if it is not a studio album, you have to put it on the list. Historical document.

Oasis - Definitely Maybe. I like Morning Glory better, but this debut is terrifying. It was clear that they were eager to conquer the world.

The Offspring - Smash. Hit after hit.

Bad Religion - Stranger than fiction. Very good records from the grandparents of punk.

Green Day - Dookie. The best-selling punk-pop album in history? It is tremendous.

Weezer - Blue Album. Rivers Cuomo's ability to make memorable melodies over simple songs has been demonstrated from his first album. Absolutely majestic.

Jeff Buckley - Grace. One of the most special albums I have ever heard in my life. I don't know how it doesn't make my Top 3, to be honest. Lover you should've come over is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

Kyuss - Welcome to sky valley. A stoner rock bombshell. Underrated album, underrated band.

Nick Cave - Let Love In. Nick Cave has a lot of swag.

Hole - Live Through This. A more than remarkable album.

Ben Harper - Welcome to the cruel world. Ben Harper was promising from the start.

Blur - Parklife. Possibly the best Blur.

NIN - The Downward Spiral. Agonizing album.

 

Great write-ups all around, but *raises hand* - I did not forget about Korn's debut album - see my honorable mentions on page 1!

 

Oops! You're right, my fault!