Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

Sometimes a record's importance and influence out strips it's quality, and to an extent that is true of Black Sabbath. It is only marginal in Black Sabbath's case, as behind the great histrionics and the storytelling laid a brooding, richly, atmospheric, and occult album. Of course Black Sabbath is the originator, sure there were earlier influences, there were probably louder records, there were certainly creepier records but none of them brought it all together in the way Black Sabbath did. This was the birth of heavy metal as we know it today. Rich brooding instrumentals, big wide open knowingly blown landscapes, big solos and even bigger chords. This was brash music, it wasn't subtle, hell it wasn't intellectual, but it was daring and it was damn groovy too. Honestly just try to resist the monstrous chord and rhythm groove that concludes "Sleeping Village". Picking this album up in 1970s opened kid's minds, it gave them a new way to express themselves and most importantly it gave them new heroes. In Iomni they had the riffage, in Butler they had the grooves and in Ozzy they had the image and the voice. Perfection would come later (later that year in fact) but in the February of 1970 Black Sabbath were just happy with kick starting the revolution, and laying down some thick jams in the process.

It's ironic (and pure chance I should add) that Rocket To Russia and Black Sabbath landed next to one another in this countdown. After all, I just decided that the revolution was less important than artistic perfection in Sabbath's case, yet for the Ramones, the perfect culmination of their achievements (Rocket To Russia) finds itself behind their original revolution (The Ramones). At the end of the day it simply comes down to personal preference as really it matters little where Rocket To Russia places, because it is a classic five star album, and no listing can change that.

This was the sound of the Ramones at their absolute zenith. There are few LPs in music history more instantly loveable than Rocket To Russia. Unlike American Beauty this isn't necessarily easily listening, Rocket To Russia still sounds edgy and cool but it's so fundamentally accessible, it remains music for the masses. It's stacked full of brilliance and more importantly variety, slowies, quickies, brain dead romps and ironic rockers. Whatever the mode of delivery it's all irresistible. "Cretin Hop", "Rockaway Beach", "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker", "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow", "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Surfin' Bird" there's brilliance around each and every corner. Blink and you'll miss it, Rocket To Russia is lightening in a bottle. La-Bot-Om-Ee!

Rumours is a monster. In almost every sense of the world, it's gigantic, unwieldy, it's mean, totally inescapable and most importantly it's the stuff of legend. Oh and that isn't just pointless hyperbole, I like so many others, knew the story, knew the drama and knew the sales figures of Rumours before I'd even heard the record. So where to start? The internal tension? The jabs? The emotional brutality or music itself? You know what; I am going to talk about the music. (If you do want to hear about music's greatest melodrama search out BBC4's masterful documentary).

Of course the first feeling most of us get, and the feeling I still get when listening to this album is one of deflation. "Second Hand News" starts the record and you feel yourself taking a deep intake of breath and subconsciously you hear yourself saying "So this is it huh?". Yes Rumours is a mere pop album but what a pop album. "Second Hand News" grows with each passing verse slowly luring you in before you are taken softly by the staggering beauty of "Dreams". A truly timeless track that hits you simultaneously with it's irresistible chorus and it's open hearted honest verse; "Now Here You Go Again, You Say You Want Your Freedom, Well Who Am I To Put You Down". It may seem arbitrary to say it, but the underlying tensions really elevate the albums less interesting tracks, you find yourself almost subconsciously reading into every last line in even the most bland of efforts. Soon however the quality of the record shines through, as "Go Your Own Way" fades into "Songbird", right before "The Chain" really brings the record to life. Vibrant, immediate and soulful; Rumours is great pop music, there's no two ways about it.