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So here we are, 2016 already. It doesn’t seem like too long that we were announcing the release of our CX series range! While most people might take the time in January to look back at the past year, we thought we’d go further back in time and take a look at some music milestones and celebrate the birthdays of some iconic albums.
Happy Tenth Birthday…
Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not
Before Alex Turner had all that swag and was headlining festivals worldwide, the Arctic Monkeys were just emerging from the humble Yorkshire city of Sheffield. The debut album skyrocketed the lads straight to the top as the album charted at number 1 in the UK, US and Australia. Not only is every track an absolute standout belter, it perfectly documents youth culture and life growing up in the UK. It’s also worth mentioning the album won the Mercury Prize that year, further going on to increase their popularity, proving they were far more than just hype.
Muse – Black Holes and Revelations
Another British act to go from strength to strength is Devon based three piece, Muse. The fourth album for the band gained them significant popularity in the US and festival appearances around Europe. Singles such as Supermassive Black Hole, Starlight and Knights of Cydonia really solidified them as contenders for the next big rock act to take the world by storm.
Keeping with the British theme and considering the release of the incredible Amy documentary last year, it’d be rude not to give Back to Black a mention. That’s right, Amy’s second and final album turns ten this year. For the album Winehouse took a vintage style of singing and gave it a modern twist that even ten years from now will surely be regarded as a modern classic, arguably paving the way for the likes of Adele, Duffy and a plethora of dominant British female icons.
Happy twentieth Birthday…
Rage Against The Machine – Evil Empire
The follow up to the bands debut self titled record helped push the band and their politics challenging music into the mainstream, with tracks like ‘People of the Sun’ and the absolute rock monster ‘Bulls on Parade’. Years later us Brits managed stick it to the machine by finally knocking The X Factor Christmas song from the top spot with ‘Killing in the Name Of’. Well done everyone who bought it!
The follow up to their debut self titled album led Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo to take a much darker slant to writing his next album. The result being Pinkerton. Although another album that didn’t receive particular success from release, years later it has received cult status and in 2010 was given a deluxe edition reissue.
Happy thirtieth to…
The Smiths – The Queen is Dead
Although not a worldwide smash at the time of release, the third album from The Smiths is considered by many as an iconic album, topping NME’s greatest albums of all time list. Singles from the album include the classics ‘The Boy with the Thorn in His Side’, ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’ and ‘There is a Light That Never Goes Out’. Who’d have thought 30 years on Moz would continue to be a rock and roll diva and release a novel about an American relay track team….
THAT album with THOSE songs celebrates it’s 30th birthday this year. Those songs solidifying Bon Jovi as a credible rock act, their rightful place on karaoke systems and wedding playlists across the land from now until forever. The tracks being of course Living on a Prayer and You Give Love a Bad Name. The album brought the band to mainstream success as they altered their sound for a wider audience, as their previous two albums had a much heavier rock feel.
The Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill
The 1980’s introduced the world to the intriguing combination of rap and rock, specifically in 1986 with the release of the debut album from The Beastie Boys. The duo brought hits such as (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn to the table and more recently the album was certified Diamond in March 2015.
And finally, a happy fiftieth to….
We simply HAD to mention the fab four after their well awaited recent addition to a number of streaming services. The seventh Beatles album featured only two singles, the marmite anthem ‘Yellow Submarine’ and the song where no Beatle actually played any instruments ‘Eleanor Rigby’. Coming in at third place in Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list and spent 34 weeks in the UK album chart, seven of which at the top spot.
Another seventh studio album came from Mr Dylan in 1966, spawning two top 20 singles in the U.S: ‘Rainy Day Women #12 & 35’ and ‘I Want You’. The second set of sessions for the album in Nashville resulted in material that could not be fitted onto a single LP, therefore released as a double album, a real first in contemporary music.
So…. Are you feeling suitably decrepit? Have you muttered “Where has the time gone?” under your breath as you read this? Are you rekindling memories of longer hair and youthful skin? Good. We aim to please!
