Top 5 Debut Albums
I recently learned of Uncut Magazine's Top 100 Greatest Debut Albums list, which prompted me to think about my own list. Lists are always open for debate and ridicule, but, I gotta say, a list that puts the Arctic Monkeys 2006 debut at #36 almost immediately disqualifies itself. That tells you all you need to know about that list, and the British music press' zeal for proclaiming the next big thing in music. Anyway, here's my crack at a top five, hopefully I'll see some lists by others here soon after.
5. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1996)
Back when hip-hop was dominated by Dr. Dre's g-funk (which yielded two contenders for this list, The Chronic and Doggystyle), the Wu-Tang Clan brought attention back to the east coast with this minimalist ode to street grit. Stripped from the excesses that too often drown out talent in hip-hop, Enter the Wu-Tang used the haunting beats and samples by The Rza to compliment the lyrical abilities of the eight MCs that made up the Clan, each bringing their own unique styles to the album's 12 tracks. The lyrics and atmospheric beats hit hard, with the variety provided by RZA, Method Man, Ol Dirty Bastard, GZA/Genius, Raekwon the Chef, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, and U-God making the album endlessly interesting and enduring. Sadly, the group never again released another album this strong as a group (although some of their solo efforts come close), succumbing to the excesses they contrasted with this effort, seemingly more interested in building the Wu-Tang brand than building the Wu-Tang legacy.
4. The Ramones - The Ramones (1976)
Let's see... what did the Ramones do with this album? Oh yeah, they invented punk rock music. Nuff said.
3. Nas - Illmatic (1994)
Wow, look at me, with all the hip-hop! I'm so down. What can I say? I didn't grow up listening to The Clash or Oasis. That, and this album is straight up excellent and its exclusion from Uncut's list is worse than their over-indulgence of Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not (which I do enjoy, by the way, but... too soon, you know?). This album was a breath of fresh air, the announcement of a once-in-an-era talent. The best part of making this list is that it motivated me to rip the CD to my iPod, so I could re-live its brilliance. Doing so, I came to the realisation that every other lyric on the album has been sampled since its release. Unfortunately, Nas quickly squandered all the promise of this debut, abandoning the poetry of this album to sell out as quickly as possible, and none of those sell out efforts were all that lucrative.
2. The Smiths - The Smiths (1984)
The debut of one of my favourite bands, their self-titled album contains some of their best tracks, including "Still Ill", "Hand in Glove", "What Difference Does It Make?", and their best song ever (as chosen by me) "This Charming Man". What's nice about this debut, as opposed to some of the others, is that it wasn't even their best album. The Smiths were able to live up to and surpass the promise of this album.
1. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
The classic quote (attributed to Brian Eno) about this album is that "only about 1,000 people ever bought a Velvet Underground album, but every one of them formed a rock and roll band". I can believe it (well, other than the hyperbole). Even listening to the album now, it almost sounds like it's from the future, such is the expanse of the sound they were able to create. Sure, I may not be a musical encyclopedia, but I can't think of another debut album that expanded the possibilities of music as much as this one. Not just the best debut album ever, but one of the best albums ever, period.
5. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1996)
Back when hip-hop was dominated by Dr. Dre's g-funk (which yielded two contenders for this list, The Chronic and Doggystyle), the Wu-Tang Clan brought attention back to the east coast with this minimalist ode to street grit. Stripped from the excesses that too often drown out talent in hip-hop, Enter the Wu-Tang used the haunting beats and samples by The Rza to compliment the lyrical abilities of the eight MCs that made up the Clan, each bringing their own unique styles to the album's 12 tracks. The lyrics and atmospheric beats hit hard, with the variety provided by RZA, Method Man, Ol Dirty Bastard, GZA/Genius, Raekwon the Chef, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, and U-God making the album endlessly interesting and enduring. Sadly, the group never again released another album this strong as a group (although some of their solo efforts come close), succumbing to the excesses they contrasted with this effort, seemingly more interested in building the Wu-Tang brand than building the Wu-Tang legacy.
4. The Ramones - The Ramones (1976)
Let's see... what did the Ramones do with this album? Oh yeah, they invented punk rock music. Nuff said.
3. Nas - Illmatic (1994)
Wow, look at me, with all the hip-hop! I'm so down. What can I say? I didn't grow up listening to The Clash or Oasis. That, and this album is straight up excellent and its exclusion from Uncut's list is worse than their over-indulgence of Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not (which I do enjoy, by the way, but... too soon, you know?). This album was a breath of fresh air, the announcement of a once-in-an-era talent. The best part of making this list is that it motivated me to rip the CD to my iPod, so I could re-live its brilliance. Doing so, I came to the realisation that every other lyric on the album has been sampled since its release. Unfortunately, Nas quickly squandered all the promise of this debut, abandoning the poetry of this album to sell out as quickly as possible, and none of those sell out efforts were all that lucrative.
2. The Smiths - The Smiths (1984)
The debut of one of my favourite bands, their self-titled album contains some of their best tracks, including "Still Ill", "Hand in Glove", "What Difference Does It Make?", and their best song ever (as chosen by me) "This Charming Man". What's nice about this debut, as opposed to some of the others, is that it wasn't even their best album. The Smiths were able to live up to and surpass the promise of this album.
1. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
The classic quote (attributed to Brian Eno) about this album is that "only about 1,000 people ever bought a Velvet Underground album, but every one of them formed a rock and roll band". I can believe it (well, other than the hyperbole). Even listening to the album now, it almost sounds like it's from the future, such is the expanse of the sound they were able to create. Sure, I may not be a musical encyclopedia, but I can't think of another debut album that expanded the possibilities of music as much as this one. Not just the best debut album ever, but one of the best albums ever, period.