Uncut presents 100 startling bursts of glory that revealed rock’s major players and revolutionised the world of music… Originally published in Uncut's August 2006 issue (Take 111). _______________ Presley’s first record back in March 1956 and the recent debut of the Arctic Monkeys, the faste...
19 THE SEX PISTOLS
Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols (1977)
The most feverishly-anticipated LP of all time, how could Bollocks live up to the raging hype? By delivering the definitive soundtrack to punk. Its obnoxious brilliance made it near-immune to criticism, with producer Chris Thomas mining wall-of-sound gold from the chaos.
Best track: “Bodies”
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18 PATTI SMITH
Horses (1975)
Smith, a respected poet, eschewed punk’s Year Zero-ism, evoking instead Dylanesque visions and employing tough basic rock, adding a visceral female sensibility with no precedent.
Best track: “Kimberly”
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17 THE BEATLES
Please Please Me (1963)
A detonation more than a debut. Recorded in 10 hours, the eight Lennon-McCartney originals threw down a songwriting gauntlet to every group that followed.
Best track: “Please Please Me”
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16 NEW YORK DOLLS
New York Dolls (1973)
The Dolls gave ’70s US rock a lipstick-smeared kiss of life, mixing the trash aesthetic of Bolan and warped world view of Lou Reed with a healthy dose of nihilism. Somewhere, Malcolm McLaren was listening…
Best track: “Jet Boy”
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15 THE ROLLING STONES
The Rolling Stones (1964)
The Beatles’ 50-week reign at the top of the UK charts was broken by this raw, brash collection of R’n’B covers (plus Jagger-Richards’ plaintive “Tell Me”) that started the groups’ rivalry as stylistic leaders.
Best track: “Not Fade Away”
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14 PINK FLOYD
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967)
Syd Barrett’s only complete Floyd album, his influence is clear in the fairytale-ish whimsy that envelops the material. Piper is textbook Brit psychedelia: weird, ingenious pop songs; freewheeling instrumentals crammed with experiments in dissonance and feedback.
Best track: “Interstellar Overdrive”
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13 THE BYRDS
Mr Tambourine Man (1965)
The darlings of Sunset Strip melded The Beatles, Dylan and Bach into glorious, folk-rock heaven. Jim (later Roger) McGuinn’s Rickenbacker became the definitive sound of mid-’60s LA, while the tiered harmonies and Gene Clark’s songwriting established The Byrds as the first US band to seriously threaten the dominance of the Fabs themselves.
Best track: “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better”
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12 RAMONES
Ramones (1976)
Ramones reduced rock to basics: leather jackets, solo-less riffs, lyrics torn from True Confessions. It was at once brilliant and dumb. Without it, claimed Joe Strummer, there would’ve been no UK punk.
Best track: “53rd And 3rd”
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11 THE WHO
My Generation (1965)
With its pillhead stutter, “My Generation” was the ultimate disaffected teen anthem, but its originality lay more in the sound – raw, brittle R’n’B drenched in Townshend’s squealing feedback.
Best track: “The Kids Are Alright”
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10 THE STOOGES
The Stooges (1969)
Drawing on British R’n’B, US garage rock and psych, The Stooges was a work of frenzied unease enhanced by John Cale’s production. Released in the same week as Woodstock, this record finally killed the ’60s.
Best track: “I Wanna Be Your Dog”
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9 ROXY MUSIC
Roxy Music (1972)
Roxy arrived fully formed, like a sci-fi group from the 1950s or a nostalgia act from the future. On “Virginia Plain”, the band had married Bryan Ferry’s knowing pop classicism with Brian Eno and Andy Mackay’s avant-garde sensibilities. The LP outstripped it, fusing Hollywood glamour, elegant disenchantment and art-pop wit.
Best track: “Re-make/Re-model”