Bad by Michael Jackson

Calling your album ‘Bad’ is something of a hostage to fortune. This was Jackson’s third and final collaboration with the great Quincy Jones - Off the Wall was breezy soul, Thriller was a behemoth (and I’ll say more when it turns up on this list) but this album is very much diminishing returns. The good parts are pretty much all down to Jones, but Jackson’s increasingly weird vocal tics (shamone!) and yelps are distracting to the point of annoyance.

The pointy nosed elephant in the room though, is Jackson himself. It’s clear he was an extremely damaged individual who had an abusive and controlling father, and after the success of Thriller was the subject of intense and intrusive media interest. He also suffered from body dysmorphia and started the process of transforming his appearance in increasingly bizarre and extreme ways.

This does not excuse in any way his behaviour with children, even though the truth of that is still shrouded in out of court settlements and disputes. Was he sad? Definitely, judging by the song “Leave Me Alone”. Was he mad? More than likely. Was he bad? In my opinion, yes, but some fans may disagree. Do I want to listen to this album again? No.

Dusk, Low Tide

Walking the shore line
As the sun sets and tide ebbs
Rock pools glistening

Gi by Germs

Supposedly Germs were America’s answer to the Sex Pistols, but by the time this album came out in 1979 the Pistols were long gone making the question moot. Produced by Joan Jett, this album feels kind of empty and pointless, and derivative without adding anything new or interesting. The sound is too clean and lacking in any of the energy that they might have had live.

The best track by far is the album closer which features a nine minute live improvisation in the studio which makes me think that maybe they could have had something, but sadly we’ll never know because a year later in December 1980 front man Crash Derby emulated his hero Sid Vicious one last time by taking a deliberate heroin overdose.

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

Patch, Fresh

What fresh hell is this?
Mandatory updates now
Patch Tuesday again

Orchids, Shoots

The detective hides
Amidst the hothouse orchids
Shoots and then he leaves

Guero by Beck

This list seems to have an inexplicable fascination with certain artists, Beck being one of them. After the rambling Odelay and the toe curling break up album Sea Change, I had no idea what to expect from this. I certainly wasn’t expecting something approaching a rap in hispanic accent or a song with a Nintendo bleep core intro or Christina Ricci pretending to be a sushi waitress.

This isn’t in my copy of the book so I have no idea why it was chosen. Apparently the title of track 2 “Qué Onda Guero” translates as Mexican slang for “What’s up whitey?” which is a perfectly fair question both for Beck and Robert Dimery.

Warehouse: Songs and Stories by Hüsker Dü

This list seems to have a thing about albums recorded by bands on the brink of splitting up, where the members have fallen out with each other and the resultant creative tension feeding into the music. I’m not so keen myself. I’d rather hear people having a good time and sparking off each other to produce something fun.

In the case of Hüsker Dü they went from a hardcore early 80s punk band into something a bit more nuanced with a run of critically acclaimed and thoroughly enjoyable albums. By this album though, Bob Mould had had enough of drummer Grant Hart’s drug use leading to them writing songs separately for this double album and there’s a feeling of tying up loose ends, knowing that the end was near.

The final result is perfectly fine, but it feels padded out and it’s just not the best Hüsker Dü album, making this an odd choice. Listen to Candy Apple Grey and then move on to Bob Mould’s next project Sugar, but put this one in the pile for completists and historical interest.