Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

Thriller will always have a special place in history, after all as LP's go, Thriller is bigger than life itself. It's so entrenched in the narrative of our times that it's easy to forget that on an artistic level it pales in comparison to Off The Wall. Like Thriller, Off The Wall had a core of five star singles; "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough", "Rock With You" and "Off The Wall" were perfect disco-motown hybrids and were cooler if not catchier than anything the BeeGees ever wrote. Yet what makes Off The Wall truly special, and MJ's best, is it's sense of balance and fluidity. Off The Wall is an album with a defiant evolving groove and a young tender heart. The way disco charms of "Girlfriend" roll into the sorrowful but never bitter "She's Out Of My Life" is a delight. It recalls the listeners first love and his first break up; Off The Wall is a record of fun, innocence, heartbreak and optimism. It's carefree youth encapsulated in both it's naivety and in all it's dirty funky disco glory. With Jackson reminding us after the trails and tribulations of love there's nothing like dressing up, going out, and Burning The Disco Down.

After Plastic Ono Band provided a shock to the world's collective system, Imagine must have seemed like a real relief. This was the Lennon album the general public had been waiting for, it was the album they had always expected. Despite lacking the raw thrills of it's predecessor, Lennon still had a few tricks up his sleeve. The honesty of Plastic Ono Band recordings transfered over to the Imagine sessions and gave the world the beautiful and heartbreaking "Jealous Guy". Simple sharp and to the point, Lennon pulls no punches on one of the most emotive tracks ever penned. "How Do You Sleep?" is perhaps the greatest shock; an utterly scathing and unrelenting attack on Paul McCartney. It's almost unpleasant to hear Lennon let rip: "A Pretty Face May Last A Year Or Two, But Pretty Soon They'll See What You Can Do" ouch. I normally hate "diss" records but "How Do You Sleep?" is simply too well crafted with it's swirling layered strings. Outside of it's sit up and take notice moments, Imagine is comprised of the catchiest and most addictive pop music of Lennon's post Beatles' career. It's an album that can't help but satisfy. Oh and of course there's the title track, but you probably don't remember it, it's not even worth talking about really.

Okay seriously did I just put this album ahead of John Lennon, Michael Jackson, George Harrison and Bruce Springsteen? I mean this has to be the stupidest album of all time, have you heard "Mongaloid", I mean it's positively morose! Why on earth would I ever include this monstrosity in the top 1,000 let alone the top 90? Maybe I had an "Uncontrollable Urge"...christ this album has got me making terrible puns now. I mean why how could any human being call this music...oh right I forgot they are not mere mortals, THEY ARE DEVO!

Now In all seriousness, what Devo created in 1978 was a blast of sheer synth pop heaven. There are a million reasons why we shouldn't like Devo, the silly hats and the sheer irreverence of their music for starters, but at the end of the day there is one simple reason why people keep coming back to this silly little album. Because across twelve tracks there is not one single song that is anything less than addictive. Quirky and inane, yes, brilliant and surprisingly influential, you better believe it. Now remember, They Are Devo and it's best not to ask questions.

It's testament to the Rocky Horror Picture Show's enduring influence that in a months time, I'll be at the Sonisphere metal festival and their Friday night has a Rocky Horror Theme. Seriously in 2010 a festival that plays host to over sixty thousand people is holding a night in honour of a classic seventies cult movie (and the musical of course). So why has Rocky Horror endured? Maybe it's the sheer camp delight, maybe it's Susan's Sarandon's bussom, or maybe it's just that we all long to be sweet transvestites transexual Transylvania. All these factors probably do come into play, but the real answer lies in the perfect marriage of over the top concepts with brilliant timeless music. Rocky Horror has all the silly cringe inducing elements that make musicals both incredibly popular and unpopular at the same time, but it manages to subvert them, creating something that's just cool. As an album Rocky Horror Picture Show actually works better than the movie itself, it's more coherent without sacrificing any of the inane Rocky Horror randomness. Meatloaf still explodes out of no where only to disappear just a quickly, Tim Curry remains larger than life even if you can't see him prancing around in his tights, oh and "The Time Warp" kicks even harder on record than it does on the silver screen. You can visualize the movie scene for scene, you can picture every image, and you can genuinely appreciate how brilliantly crafted each and every one of these camp classics truly are.

After all that silliness, it almost feels disrespectful to talk about Janis Joplin and Pearl, but really, it simply goes to show just how diverse and intriguing a decade the seventies truly were. Joplin was more of a hang over from the sixties, with her raw blues and folk elements dominating Pearl. For Joplin herself Pearl marked a more straight forward approach casting aside her Blue Grass and Country background. This simplification allows Joplin to really find her voice and make her ultimate artistic statement with blood curdling blues. While Joplin was a product of the sixties Pearl with it's dark, desperate cries and her, dare I say heavy metal showmanship (Robert Plant would be proud of the "arh...arrrrwwwh...aaaarhs" on "Half Moon") remained a thoroughly contemporary record. Pearl bled emotion, and it's Joplin's virtuous vocal that continues to captivate music lovers long after her death.

"Cry Baby" has elements of stripped down blues, heart wrenching soul and even gospel preaching but it's all tied together by the showmanship of a true rock and roll star. Despite "Cry Baby's" brilliance, Pearl happens to be one of those unique albums where the singles are blown out of the water by the album tracks. The winding jaunt of the excellent "Me And Bobby McGee" can't measure up the powerhouse closer "Get It While You Can". A track which contrasts world weary cynicism with strength of character and iron willed determination. In a way it reflects Pearl in it's entirety; it's relentless, it's determined, it's earnest and it's desperate but never weak and rarely fragile. Pearl is about strength, strength of belief, strength of spirit and the strength of one young lady's incredible voice.