667. The La's - The La's

Release Date: 1990
Label: Polydor

I have this one la'

Rating: 9/10

544. Lloyd Cole and the Commotions - Rattlesnakes

Release Date: 1984
Label:Polydor

My knowledge of Lloyd Cole stems from the Camera Obscura song, 'Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken' from their fantastic 2006 album, 'Let's Get Out of The Country'. 'Rattlesnakes' is equally as good, and there were a few familiar songs that I've obviously heard before.

Rating: 10/10

540. The Style Council - Cafe Bleu

Release Date: 1984
Label: Polydor

After ditching the other two, Paul Weller continued with his career as The Style Council. More soulful than the modish Jam, this debut album is a mishmash of styles and substance. For every high (You're The Best Thing) there is a low (whatever the rap song was called).

Rating: 6/10

507. Orange Juice - Rip It Up

Release Date: 1982
Label: Polydor

Orange Juice were more than one-hit wonders in the UK, even if the title track was their only top 40 hit. Their influence on the Scottish indie scene still continues to be felt. Edwyn Collins is the true star of the record, although drummer Zeke Maniyka does his best to out-do him. All in all, a positive bunch of songs which - given more luck - could've been brilliant.

Rating: 7/10

479. Siouxsie and the Banshees- Juju

Release Date: 1981
Label: Polydor

the Banshees fourth, and their second in the list. Juju is better than their debut - and that's really good too -. Siouxsie's vocals and the McGeogh's guitar playing were singled out for praise in contemporary reviews.

Rating: 9/10

471. The Jam - Sound Affects

Release Date: 1980
Label: Polydor

The Jam are brilliant.

Rating: 10/10

426. Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Scream

Release Date: 1978
Label: Polydor

Arguably the female punk icon, Siouxsie Sioux Banshee was famous before even being signed. By the time record companies came calling, punk had pretty much peaked so the Banshees decided to release, perhaps, the first goth album instead. The title is a give away for a start! A promising debut and hopefully a sign of better things to come.


Rating: 8/10

402. The Jam - All Mod Cons

Release Date: 1978
Label: Polydor

Paul Weller never felt comfortable being labelled as a punk. Whilst the prevailing attitude of the time was to reject the past, Weller wanted to embrace his mod and soul influences, and occasionally play tribute to them. The first two albums released by The Jam were largely 'angry youth' albums, but by the time 'All Mod Cons' was released, Weller had the confidence to pursue his true passions and a better album was the result.

Rating: 9/10

369. Brian Eno - Before and After Science

Release Date: 1977
Label: Polydor

Brian Eno has been one of my favourite 'discoveries' of recent weeks. I expected his music to be difficult to get into, but it's rather more accessible than I thought it would be. This is the third album in the book, and probably one that represents him best. There's not really a bad song on the album, but my favourites were "Backwater" and "Here He Comes".

Rating: 9//10

248. Slade- Slayed

Release Date: 1972

Label: Polydor

Retrospective criticism of the Black Country's finest has Slade compared to illiterate yobs, but history cannot change the fact they were one of the UKs biggest singles acts in the early 70s. Incidentally, many of these singles were left of their studio albums (e.g. Coz I Luv You, Cum On Feel The Noize et al.) so we are left with a studio album which was released at the height of their fame, but doesn't necessarily showcase their best work.

The weapon in Slade's armor is of course, Noddy Holder's vocals. Their weakness is undoubtedly their spelling. None of these songs are going to win the award for originality or experimentation, but Slade are the definition of fun, and that is the primary importance of Glam Rock.

Rating: 7/10

Favourite: Mama Weer All Crazee Now

210. Bee Gees - Trafalgar

Release Date: 1971
Label: Polydor

After the trauma that was Odessa, I was dreading another Bee Gees album and unfortunately my fears were not unfounded. Once again, this was a horrible album and I can't think of a single redeeming feature. At least I got all the way through it though, so that's progress. The good news is that there are no more records by the Brothers Gibb to listen to.

Rating: 3/10
Favourite Track: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

176. Derek and the Dominos - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs

Release Date: 1970
Label: Polydor

Derek Clapton and the Dominos are famous for recording a song about Beatle George's wife of the time, Layla to declare their undying love for her. You will be glad to know this song features on the album - the only one the band ever recorded - along with a host of other tracks. I've never been too sure about Eric Clapton. I enjoy some of his work - Cream for example - but can't get the hang of his solo stuff. Luckily, this was a very rewarding listen and I enjoyed it very much.

Rating: 9/10
Favourite Track: Layla

112. Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes

Release Date:1968
Label: Polydor

88. Cream - Disraeli Gears

Release Date: 1967
Label: Polydor

Rock's first 'supergroup', Cream were a trio consisting of lover of toads, Ginger Baker, lover of friend's wives, Eric Clapton, and lover of dairy, Jack Bruce. This was their second album, and arguably the only one of those you'll ever need. I have a best of which I bought in 2005 but I could easily not listen to half of it. The best tracks on this were ones I was already familiar with, such as 'Strange Brew' whilst the worst was definitely 'Mother's Lament' which was a disappointing way to end what was actually a very good album.

Rating: 8/10
Favourite Track: Strange Brew

65. The Monks - Black Monk Time

Release Date: 1966
Label: Polydor

Rating: 8/10
Favourite Track: Drunken Maria