Playing off the tension between punk energy and arty intellectualism, Mission Of Burma were one of American punk’s most visionary bands.
A quantum leap in the singer-songwriter paradigm, Joni Mitchell’s flawless essay on love, loss and regret ‘Blue’ remains hugely powerful.
Analyzing a bitterly divided America in 1971, Marvin Gaye’s gorgeous soul suite ‘What’s Going On’ has a legacy that resonates well beyond music.
An understated mix of alternative country and lush chamber-pop, Lambchop’s 2000 album ‘Nixon’ remains Kurt Wagner’s masterwork.
The two completed solo albums from Syd Barrett, both released in 1970, remain intriguing insights into one of English music’s most elusive figures.
Although ‘The Wall’ was an extraordinary accomplishment, Roger Waters’ masterpiece effectively signaled the end of Pink Floyd’s classic line-up.
While synthesisers had been around for a while by 1979, Gary Numan’s chilly, immersive album ‘The Pleasure Principle’ represented a Year Zero for commercially successful electronic pop.
Portishead may not have invented ‘trip hop’, but their endlessly cool and inventive 1994 debut album ‘Dummy’ came to define it completely.
Turning his neuroses inwards, David Byrne and Talking Heads delivered their first proper masterpiece in 1979 with third album ‘Fear Of Music’.
Derided at the time, Beastie Boys’ kaleidoscopic second album ‘Paul’s Boutique’ helped to turn sampling into a fine art form.
