IAceI's Top 20 Albums

[IAceI]

JUST MISSING OUT AND FINISHING IN SECOND…

2. SINK OR SWIM by THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM (*****) [2007]

We all knew it was coming, it was just a matter of where it will come. While The ’59 Sound is a fantastic attempt at a follow up, it’s still a bit off this epic album. And if you go back you’ll see just how highly rated I rate that album, so be warned as I may wet my pants talking about this one. I mean, it’s just beautiful. From the opening sequence on “Boomboxes and Dictionaries” which whenever he hears it my dad insists on repeating in his own way, “Bow-bow-bow-bow” thinking he’s a guitar of some sort. As a whole this song is one of the most underrated on the album and I’m not sure why, it just seems like that song that people thinks alright but not as good as the other songs – but just listen to it. It’s everything The Gaslight Anthem are neatly rolled into one, and it doesn’t take long for one of the three favoured words to crop up. Anyone who is unaware of them, and that’s going to be slim pickings if you’re reading this, you’ll know that they use the words “Drive”, “Maria/Mary” and “Brothers” a lot. Hell, they even seem to use the word “ballet” a lot for a band of this genre over their discography.

The second song is possibly my favourite, “I Coulda Been A Contender”. It’s been one of those I picked it up on early on and still love to this day, the quiet intro and the use of “hard up” which I now seem to use in my every day speak and pull it off like it’s something I’ve always done. The sing-a-long lyrics, the epic chorus that really showcases the punk influences of the band as Fallon’s voice becomes more grainy and scratched. “Wooderson” seems far removed from the sound we became accustomed to on their latest album, but given that a lot of people who started liking the band liked them for their punk-tinged songs – this is just a firm favourite. Beautiful written like all of their songs, references to Dazed and Confused “alright, alright”. The song really becomes so much better on the third verse where it slows down, “Tonight, tonight. We’re gonna ride like silver on a desolation moonlight…” before it throws us back into the heavy guitars and the now familiar “alright, alright’s” from Fallon. I don’t want to get into a paragraph on every song, so you just have to trust me that it’s all brilliance. From the “we are the last of the jukebox Romeo’s” of “We Came To Dance” to the amazing “and the glory hasn’t come and it’s probably gonna fade like a tattoo that hides the shame” from 1930. Track 6 gives us the acoustic ghost song “The Navesink Banks” which is a fantastic downer between a fast and furious album but doesn’t fade into the background itself. It’s a great song in its own right even though it’s not strictly keeping with the rest of the album. After the acoustic song we’re thrown back into the final half of the high octane album, “Red in the Night” is punctuated with plenty of screams and yelps from Fallon as the guitar riff keeps fresh in your memory. Then comes the first song I ever heard by this band, “I’da Called You Woody, Joe” appropriately name dropping their musical heroes like they do so often – this one paying homage to Joe Strummer with the lines such as “ram shackled voice over attack of a blues beat”. This song really grew on me and I fell in love with one of the opening lines of, “and then I heard it like a shot from my skull to my brain, I felt my fingertips tingle and it started to rain.”

The album loses no steam as it goes into “Angry Johnny and the Radio” which just screams to be a fantastic live song. The slow, elongated build up with the gentle drumming and slow strumming before it goes a bit quicker into the chorus. A real sing along gem right there, but then we go right back into the slow verse and once again into the chorus with the successful formula repeated. Then comes the “and on and on and on” bit as the drums begin the beat before the guitar overlays it and it all seems as if it was manufactured so Brian Fallon could take this moment to tell everyone in the crowd he loves them, thank them for coming out, and then tell them to rip down the arena as they close off the song. “1…2…1, 2, 3, 4!” and the band explodes back into life, the whole band getting in on the vocals and you’d imagine the crowd as well. It seems like a fitting ending but then from there you still have the magnificent “Drive” to listen to and their old gig closer “We’re Getting A Divorce, You Keep The Diner” which opens with the “Ready or not, here they come. It’s zombie time!” which just seems like it should be a fantastic line used at the most opportune time. Once again the whole band get in on the act with the long “woooooooaaaah’s” and the whole song ends in the most fitting way, no music just everyone singing “It’s alright man, I’m only bleeding man, stay hungry, stay free and do the best that you can.” The album then closes on a final acoustic guitar and harmonica song, an apt ending given their musical heroes as Fallon has the last line, “It’s a red sky night and I’m doing just fine.” As the band signs off an album that in a year is already a classic, and in years to come will undoubtedly be one of my favourite albums ever. And I can say that as a certainty.

My Favourites: The whole album, sounds cliché but the whole album is just amazing from start to finish.

And then there was one… who will it be? Think you know it or will it be a complete swerveball? You’ll find out soon. Till then!

[METALMAN]

So I went and downloaded STWB to see what all the fuss is about.

I enjoyed it immensely. Thanks!

[YI]

"Sink Or Swim," fucking epic! One of the few albums I've heard when released where I actually felt "Fuck me! This is a classic!". How far they've come in the little under 2-years I've been a fan amazes me, no end. The fact they've retired "We're Getting A Divorce..." really makes me sad, it's a MUCH more epic set-ender than "The Backseat". One thing that I adore about this more than "The '59 Sound" is that the references are so much better put together. From the reworking of a Woody Guthrie track (although it may be a traditional number, my brain is tired, and I can't be arsed to check) to make "Red At Night", to fucking LIFETIME being referenced in "We Came To Dance" (which was the first one I noticed ), I love that, after like Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Elvis, Tom Petty, Springsteen references, there's one to fucking Lifetime...I mean, I adore Lifetime, "Jersey's Best Dancers" and "Hello Bastards" are absolute classics, and they launched right back into the thick of it a decade later with their self-titled in 2007, but they just don't seem to fit with the other names.

As for 1...fuck...that's tough...I honestly don't have a clue...my mind is pretty much blank as to what it could be...fuck it, some ideas;

"Our Darkest Days" by Ignite

"Everything In Transit" by Jack's Mannequin

"Kezia" by Protest The Hero

...err...fuck it, I honestly don't have a clue.

[YI]

FUCK YOU!!! FUCK YOU AND YOUR GAY LITTLE LIST!!!

[IAceI]

LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, BOYS AND GIRLS… WE HAVE REACHED THE TIME FOR THE NUMBER ONE ALBUM IN THE TOP 20 LIST… IIIIIT’S TIME… LETS GET FREAKY NOW… LETS GET FUCKIN’ FREAKY NOW… IN NUMBER ONE…IS…

1. REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE by RISE AGAINST (*****) [2003]

So how about that then? It’s bittersweet really, because my all time favourite album is by a band that just haven’t been able to keep it up in recent efforts. They still have the odd amazing song, but not enough, and there’s too much rubbish in there, but this album here is covered head to toe in amazing songs. Punk rock at one of it’s finest moments in my eyes and they manage to really make the balance of political messages and music balanced, which has declined rapidly recently as we’re often treat to shit songs written for the sake of whinging about the government. But this album gets it spot on, perfect. Anyone who has ever asked me to recommend them an album always gets this thrown at them and I always used the word “masterpiece.” It’s not a word I throw around particularly often, it’s almost reserved for when I discuss this album because that’s just how I see it.

Maybe there’s also something a bit sentimental to it all. Maybe it’s not musically the best album ever, but it helped shape my musical tastes so much. Probably the most influential album I’ve ever listened to in terms of pushing me towards a more punk rock sound. Obviously I have to thank YI for that, I remember the first Rise Against song I ever heard “Like The Angel” that features on this album and I loved it. I was always listening to it all day when I got home from school and it’s because of this album that I’m where I am today in terms of what music I listen to.

You’re instantly thrown in at the deep end, a classic song in “Black Masks & Gasoline”. The distinctive voice of Tim McIlrath prevailing over furious guitars and drums in the background, the tried and tested formula of a big start to the song with the choruses and verses before a little downtime is continued here before once again we’re in the midst of it all; “And I have, an American Dream, but it involves black masks and gasoline…” and so the albums opening song comes to a ferocious ending with the lyrics, “’cause I couldn’t care less.” “Heaven Knows”, “Dead Ringer” and “Halfway There” continue to keep the tried and tested sound Rise Against were using at the time and three very solid songs, but it’s the next song that just about peaks my interest.

The gentle intro to “Like The Angel”, listening to that as a 13 year old boy I really had no idea what I was getting into but we’re given Tim’s brilliant lyrics and the dark and heavy drumming complimenting his voice perfectly. The album seems, almost cheap with the referencing to calling someone an angel, but it’s epic at the same time and just makes you want to sing along – to see them in a gig and be in the front row screaming along with them. The band continue with slower verses punctuated with the epic chorus and when the song finishes in similar fashion to the way it opens you feel like you’ve listened to Rise Against at possibly their finest moment. However then you’re given the phenomenal “Voices off Camera” with the speedy drums in the back, the fast chorus. Once again the powerful lyrics come across to the listener; “I can’t bare the thought of losing, I dread the attention winning brings, but ever since the day I came here I can stand without your strings.”

“Blood Red, White and Blue” sees the band don the socio-political style lyrics once again but comfortingly not in a pompous or arrogant way. They express it through their music much better than they seem to manage now. Next comes “Broken English” with its Fat Wreck guitar sound, using the slow followed by explosive technique and we get; “et the blind lead the blind, cause its eye for an eye in your so called life. Are you out there, are you listening, is there something we’re still missing?” followed by a quick dab on the hi-hat and then the crunching guitars and back in the fray. This song is then followed up with “Last Chance Blueprint” which begins with an audio clip from ‘American Beauty’, the next song is probably my least favourite of all “To the core” but as I began to embrace a more hardcore side as I grew up I managed to tolerate it more so, but it has the unenviable task of preceding, for me, the best Rise Against song ever.

“Torches” is just phenomenal. From the memorable and catchy opening riff, the way the drums just punctuate the start of each riff before the intro becomes a full blown instrumental – fast and furious like it should be. Tim’s poetic lyrics laying over the music to make an oddly beautiful song with everything it needs, catchy riffs, great lyrics, screams, slow tempo, fast tempo music, everything it needs is there, it’s the complete song and it’s the best they’ve ever done. “So put your hands, where I can see them. And shut your mouth, I know who you are. In a world void of feeling or heart, I know we are the torches in the dark…” before going back into a dark and sinister style and then virtually the music stops. Gentle guitars and Tim’s unique voice the only thing being paid attention to, and then the final minute is just purely perfect as the song ends.

The album then wraps up with the fantastic “Amber Changing” and they even sneak in a cover of Journey’s “Anyway You Want It” just as a thank you for listening to… what is for me… the best album I’ve ever heard.

My Favourites: Again – the whole fucking album. Particularly “Torches”… it’s just fucking amazing. Listen to the whole thing and then listen to it all again 25 more times. Amazing album.

And that concludes the top 20 list. Thanks to the two of you who read this pretty much all the way through, maybe I’ll be back with another list one day in the not too distant future… Till then!

[YI]

Fuck, an obvious one. It's an album I keep forgetting about, especially after "Our Darkest Days" by Ignite (GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and "Sink Or Swim" came out, but it is an absolutely epic album, and before those two was the 'best' punk-rock album I'd heard in some time. "Torches" is an unbelievable song, "Black Masks & Gasoline", "Broken English" etc...the entire thing is bloody brilliant. It pains me, that unless they do like a "Play "The Unravelling" or "RPM" through tour" I doubt will ever catch them live (I might be tempted to catch them at a festival) as they now just have so much material, a lot of which does not interest me, I don't think I could stomach wading through a lot of stuff just to here 2 or 3 songs from "Revolutions Per Minute". Amazing album.

Haha, I love the expression "Fat Wreck guitar sound" to describe "Broken English"...what the fuck? Haha, I know I talk epic proportions of shit in my reviews, but, COME ON!

Edited February 5, 2009 by YI

[METALMAN]

Oh very good album indeed. Personally I wouldn't place it in my top 20 but I can totally understand why you would place it first because it really is one of the best of its genre. I haven't listened to it in ages actually. Maybe I should.

Very good list too. Very comprehensive reviews AND you actually managed to finish it which is something I have so far failed to do. So well done!

[IAceI]

Oh very good album indeed. Personally I wouldn't place it in my top 20 but I can totally understand why you would place it first because it really is one of the best of its genre. I haven't listened to it in ages actually. Maybe I should.

It was a sodding chore. I've never said amazing, epic or phenomenal so many times in my life.