Urban75 Album of the Year 1994

[hitmouse]

This whole poll is going to be bloody difficult. I've drawn up a "shortlist" of 34, and there's at least 7 on there which could justifiably get top spot.

Yeah, I reckon I've got 14 albums that I know fairly well and am confident in voting for, and then around another 30 or so that I want to get around to listening to a fair bit more to firm up my opinions about them.

 

[The39thStep]

This is the second find that I've not previously heard which will be in my top 5 short list.

Pete Namlook - Air II

There's background ambient and then there is ambient which takes you on a journey and this is one of the latter almost creating its own little universe.

 

[hitmouse]

Evanescence by Scorn was 94:

From a quick listen, it sounds like Scorn all right.

 

[Knotted]

For the Spandex lover amongst us Enuff Z'Nuff released 1995 (in 1994), as did Tuff and Bang Tango.

For full on metal/rock though Korn released their self titled album, Kyuss released Sky Valley, Machine Head did Burn My Eyes, and then Marylin Manson, Megadeth, Motley Crue, Nailbomb, Pantera, Prong, Soundgarden (super unknown) and Therapy all turned up too.

Am loving the variance of the different styles of music that people are posting. I'm guessing we were at an age whe. We were fully focussed on our own tribes

Millennials and younger don't have the same tribalism I think. Pre-streaming, the fact that we had to buy our own music meant we had to limit ourselves and that created a certain tribalism. And that's why it's good to look back on all this. Break free from your old tribe, rediscover your lost youth and ferchrissakes listen to some jungle.

 

[hitmouse]

Turns out Slayer did Divine Intervention in 1994 as well, and it seems to have been a big year, maybe the biggest year, for albums by the core group of Norwegian black metal bands - Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger, along with the first albums by Emperor and Mayhem, and there was a Burzum album as well if you really want to listen to that stuff. If you want to avoid listening to music by really awful people you probably need to swerve all of them, I guess the Mayhem album is at least historically notable due to the circumstances though?

 

[The39thStep]

Sub Sub - Full Fathom Five .

Decent enough example of Manchester dance post Hacienda from the group who later became The Doves . The opening track is probably one of the weakest imo but I really like this track.

 

[Knotted]

In 1994 Ghanaian Ata Kak self released a cassette of his music, Obaa Sima, mixing house, rap and highlife. He made 50 copies and sold about 3, the rest getting spread around friends and families.

That could've been an end to it except Awesome Tapes From Africa founder Brian Shimkovitz bought a copy at a roadside stall in Ghana in 2002. He eventually tracked down Ata Kak and rereleased the album in 2017 to far greater success, leading to Ata Kak playing Glastonbury that year.

It's excellent.

Oh forgot about this. Five years ago or so I played it to a colleague and whenever everybody is out the office we dance to this. There are sort of immediate weaknesses, in that the production and his voice are a little tinny/weedy. But it is so dextrous and rhythmic it's infectious. Ignore the weaknesses, this is the album of the year no question.

Daa Nyinaa is my favourite track (the backing vocals make it for me). My colleague's is the title track. Check this out



I owe someone on urban75 for introducing this to me. I can't remember who, but it was on fishco.

 

[Knotted]

The Sub Rosa label put out three sampler albums each with two artists, each with one side of material.

So we have
Marc Ribot/Fred Frith - Subsonic 1 Sounds of a Distant Episode
Bill Laswell / Nicholas James Bullen - Subsonic 2 Bass Terror
Justin K. Broadrick / Andy Hawkins - Subsonic 3 Skinner's Black Laboratories

I ended up buying all three on the strength of the first. I'm sure the first of the above came out in 1994 the other two may have been 1994 or 1995 - I need to check. But it's only really the first that I totally recommend. The Fred Frith side is solo experimental guitar which if you listened to 1974's Guitar Solos album you'll have an idea about. The Marc Ribot side is noise/guitar experiments the first of which, Lobster Claw Symphonette, owes a lot to Pierre Schaeffer's Etude aux chemins de fer (musique concrète) and the rest is with his band Shrek (long before the ogre of course) being wholly original. You could perhaps describe it as post rock or industrial, but that would only underscore how conservative all other post rock and industrial is. Edit: No wave might be a better genre description.

This has to be the most overlooked and underrated album of all time. Please, please, please, please, please listen to the Marc Ribot side, this will be unlike anything you have heard before.



Please play Lobster Claw Symphonette at my funeral.

 

[stavros]

Yeah, I reckon I've got 14 albums that I know fairly well and am confident in voting for, and then around another 30 or so that I want to get around to listening to a fair bit more to firm up my opinions about them.

I'm working my way through re-listens to quite a few. Luckily we've still got two weeks until the deadline.

Quite a few acts with very good 1994 albums have other records from other years which I prefer. Hopefully that doesn't count against them in my final decisions (Beasties, Massive Attack, Aphex, Wedding Present, Nick Cave).

 

[stavros]

I gave Amber a listen today, and you can tell Autechre were early on in their career, because not only is the album title an actual word, but so are a lot of the track titles.

 

[hitmouse]

Saint Etienne - Tiger Bay was released too

This one has been remixed loads of course

Huh, after always vaguely thinking "I should get around to listening to Saint Etienne one of these days" I think this is my first time actually doing it. I dunno what I expected, I suppose something a bit more like Camera Obscura, but this is good!

 

[Indeliblelink]

1994 a busy year for Richard H. Kirk
Cabaret Voltaire - The Conversation [Apollo]
Richard H. Kirk - Virtual State [Warp]
Electronic Eye - Closed Circuit [Beyond]
Sandoz - Intensely Radioactive [Touch]
Sweet Exorcist - Spirit Guide To Low Tech [Touch]
Wouldn't be surprised if I've missed others.







Although my favourite track by him in 1994 was Oneski on the Trance Euro Express Vol. 2 comp.
ðð¢ðð¡ðð«ð ð. ðð¢ð«ð¤ - ðð§ðð¬ð¤ð¢ (ðððð)

 

[stavros]

It'll be interesting to see how albums from the same genre/scene fair in this poll against one another: Protection, Maxinquaye and Dummy; Definitely Maybe, Parklife and His 'n' Hers; Illmatic, Tical, Six Feet Under and The Sun Rises in the East; SAW2, Amber and 76:14.

 

[ska invita]

It'll be interesting to see how albums from the same genre/scene fair in this poll against one another: Protection, Maxinquaye and Dummy; Definitely Maybe, Parklife and His 'n' Hers; Illmatic, Tical, Six Feet Under and The Sun Rises in the East; SAW2, Amber and 76:14.

Pretty sure Maxinquaye / Tricky is 1995

 

[The39thStep]

They missed a trick here.The Robert Fripp String Quintet released Live in Japan but for some daft reason only on DVD. Superb live concert ranging from Frippertonics, soundscapes and playing with the Californian Guitar Trio. One for the curious or niche.

 

[stavros]

Pretty sure Maxinquaye / Tricky is 1995

You're right. I think I'd seen it linked to 1994 because Aftermath and Ponderosa both came out as singles in 1994.

 

[stavros]

Oh, Middle Class Revolt is a pretty solid 90s Fall album:

I gave this a listen today, and you're right, it's underrated in their catalogue.

 

[hitmouse]

Have been thinking that I'm not really getting into either the Pavement or Superchunk 1994 albums to anywhere near the same extent as Slanted... or On the Mouth, but just realised that the first Silver Jews album was 1994 as well, will have to see how that one stands up:

 

[hitmouse]

I've got through this much of my life without really learning anything about Guided by Voices, but apparently they did Bee Thousand in 1994, should I choose this moment to start listening to Guided by Voices?

Turns out Bee Thousand is definitely pretty good, manages to hit that sweet spot of weird enough to be interesting but pop enough to be fun really well. Definitely recommended for all eager new music listeners of 1994.

 

[The39thStep]

After The Chameleons split in 1987 Mark Burgess formed a number of groups The Sun and the Moon and then Mark Burgess and the Sons of God . The latter released an album of original songs and then with a different lineup up embarked on a UK and European tour tour in 1993 , a large part of their set actually being Chameleons covers . Following that they released two albums , Manchester 1993 which was only sold at their gigs and later in the year Spring Blooms Tra-la.

Any excuse to hear live version of Chameleons songs this version of Swap Thing was on the Manchester 93 album.

 

[Spandex]

I just realised Aisha's True Roots was from 94. I adore Only Jah Works:



Also in the world of Mad Professor were his first two Black Liberation Dub albums. A slightly different sound to his long running Dub Me Crazy series, I don't love them as much but there's some great stuff on them. Chapter Two: Anti-Racist Dub Broadcast is the better one:

 

[Spandex]

Sub Sub - Full Fathom Five .

Decent enough example of Manchester dance post Hacienda from the group who later became The Doves . The opening track is probably one of the weakest imo but I really like this track.

Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use) is a TUNE

 

[The39thStep]

Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use) is a TUNE

Made the charts

 

[rutabowa]

Very prolific band which despite several attempts I've never got into. Ok, but nothing to write home about. Be Thousand is one of the better albums.

Propeller is the one to go for imo (not 1994 so wont link). agree there is far too much to listen to tho.

 

[rutabowa]

I don't think we've had Frank Black's second solo album yet. It's good, but a bit long, and probably not as good as his debut:

I've listened to this so many times, definitely more than any of his other solo records, and I even think it's better than Pixies. it is long, but it is amazingly consistent in how good the songs are, whilst still being really varied. one of the best guitar albums of the whole decade.

you can def hear a notable early Dire Straits influence tho, which may put some off.

 

[rutabowa]

Turns out there are also Cows and Jesus Lizard albums from 1994 I've never heard before as well:



Uploader of that Orphan's Tragedy video seems to think it was 1995 but everything else I've seen says 94.

Jesus Lizard one def not their best... I bought it on release and lost it a few years later which is a pity as the vinyl is worth a bit.

 

[stavros]

I'm playing Jilted Generation at the moment, as part of my revision for the poll. Apart from No Good I don't think it's as good as Experience.

 

[AverageJoe]

I'm playing Jilted Generation at the moment, as part of my revision for the poll. Apart from No Good I don't think it's as good as Experience.

3 kilos is one of the best tracks of all time

 

[hitmouse]

Shampoo - ‘We Are Shampoo’


Should have been bigger (and not just in Japan) - poptastic

I've now given this matter a bit of thought, and I don't reckon We Are Shampoo is the best record of the year, but I can confirm it pisses all over Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. I don't think it's up there with His'n'Hers, but then again Pulp did make the mistake of including a song that pointlessly goes on for 7-odd minutes on their record whereas Shampoo didn't, so they definitely could've taken notes from Shampoo on that point.

 

[Knotted]

Ali Farka Toure and Ry Cooder - Talking Timbuktu

I found that to be a bit disappointing to be honest. On the other hand I've found this Songhai/flamenco crossover that's much more lively.

Ketama, Toumani Diabaté & José Soto - Songhai 2