A personal selection
There were a lot of big albums released in 1991, some big releases at the time, some growing in reputation since.
From already established heavyweights like U2 and Guns’N’Roses to newcomers Massive Attack and 2pac, and a fair smattering of classics, Primal Scream’s Screamadelica’, My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Loveless’ (both on Alan McGee’s Creation Records), REM’s ‘Out Of Time’, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ and of course Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’.
Now, a Top Ten of 1991’s album releases could be drawn up by sales, review scores or their musical legacy but instead you’ve got my arbitrary choices backed up with nothing but my enjoyment derived from my years of listening to them.
You probably won't agree with all of them, maybe none of them, but read on for a personal Top Ten Albums of 1991.
808 State 'ex:el'
An early classic of the late 80s/early 90s British dance music scene, the Manchester outfit roped in the city's unofficial ambassador Bernard Sumner on 'Spanish Heart' and little known Iceland band The Sugarcubes' singer Bjork on 'Qmart' and 'Oops' (mark my words, she'll go far I claimed... honest). Bizarrely 'Olympic' managed to be both the soundtrack to late night tv outrage-athon 'The Word' and the official song for Manchester's Olympic games bid (Which failed. Any connection? I can't possibly comment). It was that kind of year you know. While creating 'ex:el' the band were also working on MC Tunes 'The North At Its Heights' album, a real lost classic...
U2 'Achtung Baby'
They’re back to being publically derided but ‘Achtung Baby’ was the peak of the U2’s renaissance, a radical reinvention that caught the public’s imagination with its accompanying Zoo TV live stadium extravaganza. Unfortunately, like a fat man on a health kick, they’ve slide back into their comfort zone of late making 'Achtung Baby' and its companion follow up 'Zooropa' all the more remarkable, the desolate closer 'Love Is Blindness' an unthinkable end to any U2 album released since. Not that the album was without its hits spawning 'One', 'Even Better Than The Real Thing' and lead single 'The Fly' all doing the business.
Red Hot Chili Peppers 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik'
As featured on the cover of the next issue of Clash Magazine, 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' was the breakthrough album for the socks-on-cocks funksters featuring classics 'Under The Bridge', 'Give It Away' and 'Breaking The Girl'. It was everywhere in 1991, dominating MTV back when they used to play music videos, by-passing the drama that enveloped the band as guitarist John Frusciante quit the band in the wake of its huge success (to return for 1999's 'Californication' after years in a druggy wilderness).
Cypress Hill 'Cypress Hill'
The debut album from the hazy West Coast crew marked a wind change in hip hop as acts scrambled to emulate their stoned swagger (with more than a few actually propelled by DJ Muggs’ productions, House Of Pain included ). Sen Dog, B Real and Muggs concocted a powerful fug of raspy samples, nasal rapping and wayward funk that peaked on their ‘Black Sunday’ follow-up taking them to the top of the charts while smoothing the rougher edges of their sound. While the infamous NWA rapped “I don’t smoke weed or sess, ‘Cause it’s known to give a brother brain damage” Cypress Hill revelled in stoner imagery, a sample lyric running “Sawed off shotgun, hand on the pump, Left hand on a forty, (puffin’ on a blunt)”. Hip Hop would never be the same again.
Jesus Jones 'Doubt'
Now here's an album of its time. Time hasn't been kind to Jesus Jones or 'Doubt', the production sounding very 1991 but that's what made it all so exciting twenty years ago too I guess. Followed by EMF while (allegedly) lifting their whole act from Pop Will Eat Itself before them, Jesus Jones was a band with an inbuilt expiry date. In my defence of this selection there was an Aphex Twin of their 'Zeroes And Ones' song although that wasn't actually on this album... Anyway it all sounded good at the time. Still i'm going to cling to the innovative guitars/dance beats card and a handful of decent pop songs.
Massive Attack 'Blue Lines'
Originally released by ‘Massive’ (the Attack part being dropped because the Gulf War was on thanks to some obtuse record company thinking) ‘Blue Lines’ followed singles ‘Daydreaming’ (a revelation for West County accented rapping!) and ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ (unfettered gorgeousness) and built on those two pillars of cinematic ballads and sound system culture with Horace Andy adding weight with his distinctive, keening vocals. A real enigma, the album sat uncomfortably in any single genre birthing the faddy ‘Trip Hop’ tag to attempt to pigeon hole the slow motion samples and soulful execution. Also notable for its sleeve notes which name-checked a host of unlikely acts, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Isaac Hayes, Wally Badarou, as well as other cultural touch stones including ‘Taxi Driver’, allowing the listener a path to back track to the source (and revealing large chunks of the source material for their output).
Orbital 'Orbital'
Techno boffins ahoy! The Hartnoll brothers' surname even conjures up Dr Who associations. Containing an absolute classic in 'Chime' (apparently 'live' but not sure in what sense) as well as the machine music melancholy of 'Belfast' (also dig out the version with vocals 'Wasted'). In retrospect it feels like a dry run for 'Orbital 2' where their sound crystallizes into something really special but in 1991 it was enough to transfix those dissatisfied with the novelty dance music clogging up the charts (The Prodigy's 'Charly' kicking off a horrible raft of copycats... no pun intended). So a couple of classics and the launch pad for one of our great electronic acts. Where's those torch glasses?
Primal Scream 'Screamadelica'
Currently being celebrated by the band themselves in a venue near you, ‘Screamadelica’ was released amid the weekly music paper’s ‘dance traitors’ accusations and the news that it contained four tracks they’d already released (and a additional remix of one of them too, the audacity!). All of which sounds a bit silly given the esteem the album is now held in and the actual listening experience of those eleven tracks (experience being the wanky but valid term). From the opening salvo to the ebb and flow of the album's latter tracks, 'Screamadelica' rightly stands as Primal Scream's masterpiece and a benchmark of the times.
The Orb 'The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld'
My first exposure to The Orb was tuning into John Peel to hear ten minutes plus of NASA astronaut chatter and synth washes and, whilst enjoying its curiosity value, retuning the radio every few minutes to make sure I was on Radio One. Things became a little clearer with ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ appearance on late night MTV’s Chill Out Zone and this sprawling debut album. With tongue in cheek Alex Paterson and passengers revisited the best/worst of 70s weirdness, Eno’s ambient output and dub reggae with disembodied voices and copious echo providing some kind of anchor. They (Dr Alex Paterson and whoever was in the studio when record was pressed) refined the sound to commercial success on 'U.F.Orb', without making the music any more accessible, before spinning off into a more remote orbit that still rewards the dedicated space cadet.
The KLF 'The White Room'
Originally the soundtrack to their scrapped road movie (i've seen chunks of it and it involved the pair drive around in their police car a lot) this version of 'The White Room' was a lot more conventional than its origins might suggest as their manifesto driven prank pop actually reached the top of the charts, although maybe it isn't such a surprise given that they'd written a book called 'The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way)'. For me 'The White Room' doesn't quite capture the fun The KLF were at the time, grab their single releases from the period to taste the madness, ice cream vans, Tammy Wynette, Viking long boats and all (if you can find them, the duo deleted their back catalogue when they called it a day... and burnt a million pounds).
From already established heavyweights like U2 and Guns’N’Roses to newcomers Massive Attack and 2pac, and a fair smattering of classics, Primal Scream’s Screamadelica’, My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Loveless’ (both on Alan McGee’s Creation Records), REM’s ‘Out Of Time’, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ and of course Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’.
Now, a Top Ten of 1991’s album releases could be drawn up by sales, review scores or their musical legacy but instead you’ve got my arbitrary choices backed up with nothing but my enjoyment derived from my years of listening to them.
You probably won't agree with all of them, maybe none of them, but read on for a personal Top Ten Albums of 1991.
808 State 'ex:el'
An early classic of the late 80s/early 90s British dance music scene, the Manchester outfit roped in the city's unofficial ambassador Bernard Sumner on 'Spanish Heart' and little known Iceland band The Sugarcubes' singer Bjork on 'Qmart' and 'Oops' (mark my words, she'll go far I claimed... honest). Bizarrely 'Olympic' managed to be both the soundtrack to late night tv outrage-athon 'The Word' and the official song for Manchester's Olympic games bid (Which failed. Any connection? I can't possibly comment). It was that kind of year you know. While creating 'ex:el' the band were also working on MC Tunes 'The North At Its Heights' album, a real lost classic...
U2 'Achtung Baby'
They’re back to being publically derided but ‘Achtung Baby’ was the peak of the U2’s renaissance, a radical reinvention that caught the public’s imagination with its accompanying Zoo TV live stadium extravaganza. Unfortunately, like a fat man on a health kick, they’ve slide back into their comfort zone of late making 'Achtung Baby' and its companion follow up 'Zooropa' all the more remarkable, the desolate closer 'Love Is Blindness' an unthinkable end to any U2 album released since. Not that the album was without its hits spawning 'One', 'Even Better Than The Real Thing' and lead single 'The Fly' all doing the business.
Red Hot Chili Peppers 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik'
As featured on the cover of the next issue of Clash Magazine, 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' was the breakthrough album for the socks-on-cocks funksters featuring classics 'Under The Bridge', 'Give It Away' and 'Breaking The Girl'. It was everywhere in 1991, dominating MTV back when they used to play music videos, by-passing the drama that enveloped the band as guitarist John Frusciante quit the band in the wake of its huge success (to return for 1999's 'Californication' after years in a druggy wilderness).
Cypress Hill 'Cypress Hill'
The debut album from the hazy West Coast crew marked a wind change in hip hop as acts scrambled to emulate their stoned swagger (with more than a few actually propelled by DJ Muggs’ productions, House Of Pain included ). Sen Dog, B Real and Muggs concocted a powerful fug of raspy samples, nasal rapping and wayward funk that peaked on their ‘Black Sunday’ follow-up taking them to the top of the charts while smoothing the rougher edges of their sound. While the infamous NWA rapped “I don’t smoke weed or sess, ‘Cause it’s known to give a brother brain damage” Cypress Hill revelled in stoner imagery, a sample lyric running “Sawed off shotgun, hand on the pump, Left hand on a forty, (puffin’ on a blunt)”. Hip Hop would never be the same again.
Jesus Jones 'Doubt'
Now here's an album of its time. Time hasn't been kind to Jesus Jones or 'Doubt', the production sounding very 1991 but that's what made it all so exciting twenty years ago too I guess. Followed by EMF while (allegedly) lifting their whole act from Pop Will Eat Itself before them, Jesus Jones was a band with an inbuilt expiry date. In my defence of this selection there was an Aphex Twin of their 'Zeroes And Ones' song although that wasn't actually on this album... Anyway it all sounded good at the time. Still i'm going to cling to the innovative guitars/dance beats card and a handful of decent pop songs.
Massive Attack 'Blue Lines'
Originally released by ‘Massive’ (the Attack part being dropped because the Gulf War was on thanks to some obtuse record company thinking) ‘Blue Lines’ followed singles ‘Daydreaming’ (a revelation for West County accented rapping!) and ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ (unfettered gorgeousness) and built on those two pillars of cinematic ballads and sound system culture with Horace Andy adding weight with his distinctive, keening vocals. A real enigma, the album sat uncomfortably in any single genre birthing the faddy ‘Trip Hop’ tag to attempt to pigeon hole the slow motion samples and soulful execution. Also notable for its sleeve notes which name-checked a host of unlikely acts, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Isaac Hayes, Wally Badarou, as well as other cultural touch stones including ‘Taxi Driver’, allowing the listener a path to back track to the source (and revealing large chunks of the source material for their output).
Orbital 'Orbital'
Techno boffins ahoy! The Hartnoll brothers' surname even conjures up Dr Who associations. Containing an absolute classic in 'Chime' (apparently 'live' but not sure in what sense) as well as the machine music melancholy of 'Belfast' (also dig out the version with vocals 'Wasted'). In retrospect it feels like a dry run for 'Orbital 2' where their sound crystallizes into something really special but in 1991 it was enough to transfix those dissatisfied with the novelty dance music clogging up the charts (The Prodigy's 'Charly' kicking off a horrible raft of copycats... no pun intended). So a couple of classics and the launch pad for one of our great electronic acts. Where's those torch glasses?
Primal Scream 'Screamadelica'
Currently being celebrated by the band themselves in a venue near you, ‘Screamadelica’ was released amid the weekly music paper’s ‘dance traitors’ accusations and the news that it contained four tracks they’d already released (and a additional remix of one of them too, the audacity!). All of which sounds a bit silly given the esteem the album is now held in and the actual listening experience of those eleven tracks (experience being the wanky but valid term). From the opening salvo to the ebb and flow of the album's latter tracks, 'Screamadelica' rightly stands as Primal Scream's masterpiece and a benchmark of the times.
The Orb 'The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld'
My first exposure to The Orb was tuning into John Peel to hear ten minutes plus of NASA astronaut chatter and synth washes and, whilst enjoying its curiosity value, retuning the radio every few minutes to make sure I was on Radio One. Things became a little clearer with ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ appearance on late night MTV’s Chill Out Zone and this sprawling debut album. With tongue in cheek Alex Paterson and passengers revisited the best/worst of 70s weirdness, Eno’s ambient output and dub reggae with disembodied voices and copious echo providing some kind of anchor. They (Dr Alex Paterson and whoever was in the studio when record was pressed) refined the sound to commercial success on 'U.F.Orb', without making the music any more accessible, before spinning off into a more remote orbit that still rewards the dedicated space cadet.
The KLF 'The White Room'
Originally the soundtrack to their scrapped road movie (i've seen chunks of it and it involved the pair drive around in their police car a lot) this version of 'The White Room' was a lot more conventional than its origins might suggest as their manifesto driven prank pop actually reached the top of the charts, although maybe it isn't such a surprise given that they'd written a book called 'The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way)'. For me 'The White Room' doesn't quite capture the fun The KLF were at the time, grab their single releases from the period to taste the madness, ice cream vans, Tammy Wynette, Viking long boats and all (if you can find them, the duo deleted their back catalogue when they called it a day... and burnt a million pounds).
Primal Scream
