411 Music Top 5 10.23.07: Greatest Debut Albums
Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 10.22.2007
Join myself and the 411 music staff as we select our top 5 greatest debuts featuring the likes of Led Zepelin, Nas, Black Sabbath, Violent Femmes and many more!
Good morning guys and gals, and welcome to another edition of 411's Top 5!
I'd first like to apologize for last week's column, as it was very short, which was entirely my own fault for not getting off my ass and organizing the whole deal, leaving you with jus 2 staff lists. I'd like to thank Rob and Dan for getting their lists to me at short notice as well.
This week, however, we've got a great set of lists documenting the Top 5 Greatest Debuts!
As always, I'm your host, Daniel Wilcox, and I'm here to guide you through the staff's lists.
Now let's get to it!
Rob Samuels
HONORABLE MENTION: - Wolfmother - Wolfmother
This is a cracking debut album from my second favourite band from down under. Its great to see a three piece rockin out some 70's style Heavy Metal. This album takes me back (back where? I was born in 1987). It's like listening to Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin moulded together. Plus you gotta love the lead singers mop. Excellent debut – and I hope to see more from them in the future.
5. – James Blunt - Back to Bedlam
Don't get me wrong I really do not like this man or his music. He is a horrendously pompous British stereotype and his songs are annoying. So why have I included it here? Well I find this category very misleading. Top 5 debut albums – what does it mean? Best musically? Or best selling? Well I included this album to cover the latter, as it has sold over 15 million copies, and was the highest selling album in Britain THIS CENTURY. Not bad considering it's shit.
4. – Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
I know I included Iron Maiden's second album last week as a Top 5 underrated record. You could call me a sad case for including them again but this is a great album. It is the defining record for the NWOBHM movement. There are some brilliant songs on here which have stood the test of time such as ‘Iron Maiden' (Yes Iron Maiden on Iron Maiden by Iron Maiden) which is still a concert staple to this day for the band.
3. – The Sex Pistols - Never mind the Bollocks… Here's the Sex Pistols
I was surprised to find this album listed as one of the most overrated ever in a previous Top 5, so I thought I'd counter that claim. This album is class. It is pure energy, and is filled with catchy hooks. Whenever I listen to it I find myself singing the chorus lines to Bodies, God Save the Queen, Pretty Vacant et al, for weeks. Ok, it's hardly amazing musicianship and John Lydon ain't the best singer ever, but that is not the point, if I wanted technical musicianship I'd slap on Charlie Mingus. This is the definitive Punk album end of story.
2. – The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are you Experienced?
This is the debut album that sealed Hendrix as one of the greatest and most innovative guitarists of all time. Before this record Jimi really had no career, as most who saw him play refused to take a chance on someone so different. This album would change all that as his music was available to a wider audience. Filled with epic tunes and infamous numbers like ‘Foxey Lady', this album is simply amazing. If you don't own it, buy it. If you do own it, send it to me because I lost mine.
1. – Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
A great album by a revolutionary band. From start to finish Rage's self-titled debut is packed with classic songs and great riffs. At the time of release this record shook America mostly for its extreme left wing political views, but also for its fresh and unique sound. (I know they weren't the first to combine Rap and Rock, but it had never been done to this extent) This album made the bands career and sealed them in history as one of the greatest of all time, and if that doesn't add up to make a great debut, what does?
Daniel Marsicano
HONORABLE MENTION:- Opeth - Orchid
This album really doesn't get mentioned among the top debuts and that's because of the underground nature of the band. Orchid was a bold album for 1995 and one of the first to successfully mix death and progressive metal. What other band would open up their first album with a 14 minute song? Only Opeth, that's who. There is so much beauty behind all the darkness that surrounds the album's sound. From the lonely piano solo in "Silhouette" to the acoustic ending of "In Mist She Was Standing," the band knows how to successful mix the dark and light of metal music.
5. – Derek and the Dominos- Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
Released in 1970, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is one of the best albums of all time. If you are looking for emotional music, look no further. The pain that Eric Clapton is feeling over his love with Patti Boyd, the wife of his friend George Harrison, plays out throughout the entire 70-ish minutes. The album is worth it just for "Layla," one of the best songs ever written in rock and roll. I have never heard such emotional music in my life and nobody else had either during the early 1970's.
4. – Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction
Remember the 1980's? Those were the good old days with hair metal, cheesy haircuts, spandex…wait, those all sucked. At least that was until Guns N Roses came along and shook up the foundation of mainstream metal. With Appetite For Destruction, Guns N Roses created an album that was almost perfect in its execution and arrangment. From the opening riff of "Welcome To The Jungle," to the last shrieked note of "Rocket Queen," Guns N Roses took the formula and turned it upside down. It also helped that the band has Slash for a lead guitarist and Axl Rose as the dysfunctional lead man. While Guns N Roses would go through a lot in their short career together, at least for one album, they were just a bunch of guys having fun and playing music they wanted to.
3. – Metallica- Kill Em' All
Metallica's debut was something that was fresh at the time in the underground metal scene. They took the sound of NWOBM (New Wave Of British Metal) and sped it up a lot. While a good portion of the songs were written with Megadeth guitarist/singer Dave Mustaine before he left the band, the songs still kick loads of ass. While James Hetfield's vocals are a little strange, since he really can't hit any high notes because of his age, the rough production and blazing riffs were something that wasn't heard before in great capacity. Metallica would go on to make bigger and better albums, but Kill Em' All will always be known as the "speed metal" album for Metallica.
2. – Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I
Mixing blues with rock and roll may not seem like a big deal today, but in 1969, this concept was revolutionary. The band successfully mixes these two genres, but also creates their own unique sound. Songs like "Good Times, Bad Times" and "Communication Breakdown" were heavier than anybody had heard in that time period. The production is great and everything is loud and clear. Of course, you can't mention this album without talking about "Dazed and Confused." The song would turn into a concert favourite, going on for an extended 25 minutes. Robert Plant had the most powerful voice of the 1970's and Jimmy Page's guitar playing was influential in hundreds of guitarists. John Bonham and John Paul Jones create the most solid rhythm section of all time. While I enjoy their second record a bit more, the fact remains that Led Zeppelin I was one of the most influential album in rock music.
1. – Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
What can be said that hasn't already been said? This album was the beginning of heavy metal music. The songs were progressive, dark, bleak, and full of the classic Iommi riffs. The title track alone is worth the price of admission. Nothing like this was ever done before. People were legitimately scared of this music and teenagers ate it up. Like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath would create other great albums, but their debut was the album that began the heavy metal movement, which is still here to this day.
Jesse Coy Nelson
[Disclaimer- being the music junkie that I am, squirreling away tons and tons of releases, this is not the five greatest debuts of all time. I couldn't rank one over the other. But if I came up with a list of fifty of the greatest debuts, they'd be on it. Secondly, these greatest debuts I'm picking are ones I'd place a high stakes Vegas bet on that none of my other esteemed peers here will pick (variety be-ith thy spice of life). Lastly, the numbering is not indicative of ranking one over the other. Comparing these in the same category is insane… but then again, so am I].
5. The Cars - The Cars - The first three tracks, "Good Times Roll," "My Best Friend's Girl," and "Just What I Needed" all clock in respectively at 3 minutes and 44 seconds. I sense some sinister formula has been put in place to make this slab of 80's keyboard rock one of the ultimate summer albums you can dig up and throw on the player while throwing back a beer, kicking back with friends, and… ah, hell, just letting the good times roll. Yeah, I know. Summer's over now. Well, if you miss it, do what I do and play this debut.
4. Danzig - Danzig - Holy freakin' hell if the opener on Danzig's self-titled debut, "Twist of Cain," ain't one of the all-time evil rocker tunes ever. Ever see the music video? The dude looks like a Satanic troll sent him earthbound to rip through this one. I don't even have to pick Glenn's foray into minor mainstream, "Mother" (which is nestled on this debut). Sure, that's a fine song. But jam "She Rides," and get a load of that damn awesome beat as provided by Chuck Biscuits, leading into Eerie Von and John Christ oozing in with bass and guitar. Amazing. Usually albums run out of steam toward the end. That doesn't happen here. "Possession," "The Hunter," and the closing track, "Evil Thing"… this is an incredible debut.
3. Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Devil's Night Out - Speaking of demons and what-not… or devils, here we go. I heard the debut by these guys, ten songs that clock in at under 30 minutes, close to when it first came out, maybe in '91. My friend had picked up this CD and a Motorhead CD. I was aware of ska music. When he played this, as soon as it began, I thought he was yanking my chains. "Did you put Motorhead in first?" Because "Devil's Night Out," the first track, is as heavy as a cinder block, no trace of horns at the onset, but then you're forcibly slammed into ska mode. Back then, vocalist Dicky did have a lot in common with Lemmy's crunchy style. If you can listen to "Drunks and Children" and "The Bartender's Song" without being Mighty Mighty converted, you got something wrong with you.
2. Suicidal Tendencies - Suicidal Tendencies - Yep, here is one of the MANY great American punk bands of the early 80's that went ignored on 411Mania's official top 100 list. Well, I'm giving some love here to this one. As anti-PC and consequently ironic as you can get, this debut opens with vocalist Mike Muir's resonating laugh, leading into "Suicide's an Alternative." We have "I Shot Reagan," which consequently led to the band being investigated by the FBI. No sense of humor there. On top of "Institutionalized," which you probably heard (or should be ashamed of yourself if you haven't), this one has probably the most delightfully happy and distasteful track of all time, "I Saw Your Mommy" (as the chorus goes, "I saw your mommy, and your mommy's dead"). There're plenty of awesome punk tracks running under a minute and a half, like "Memories of Tomorrow," "Fascist Pig," and "Two-Sided Politics." This one's great from start to finish.
1. Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes - You can almost call it folk punk, and I can say without a doubt, before this arrived, there was nothing quite like it. What am I talking about? There still isn't anything quite like it. I first heard this around maybe '87. A pen pal gal I had in upstate New York invited me to her place, and we were driving these back roads, and there was road kill everywhere, but it was beautiful. Now that I think about it, that's an amusing summary of this great debut. This is one of those albums whose various parts, all excellent on their own, work together to make an even greater whole. Like many a great debut, too, this one is timeless. Pop it in nowadays, and it still works like gangbusters. I'm having girl problems now, so I may need to listen to this one again for a while.
Patrick Robinson
HONORABLE MENTION: - Big L - Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous
Big L's debut album was released in 1995 and is often forgotten gem in the mid 90s East Coast era. Featuring production from the D.I.T.C. crew, Big L showcases his ability to rap about a variety of topics ranging from people wasting their potential, police brutality, the streets of Harlem and straight up battle rap.
5. – Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill's self-titled debut album was released in 1991 and is recognized for the funk/rock-sampled beats throughout the album. B-Real is the lead vocalist and his high pitched nasally voice provides a very surreal listening experience. Lyrically the album touches on topics such as the then traditional gangsta rap of the West Coast along with marijuana advocating lyrics.
It's one of the Top 5 debut albums in my opinion as it kick started the career of what would become one of the most successful hip-hop groups of all time.
4. – Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle
After being featured prominently on Dr. Dre's album, The Chronic, Snoop released Doggystyle in 1993. The album is seen by many as one of the most significant albums to come out during the height of the g-funk era. Snoop's flow was smooth and crystal clear and he was definitely at the top of his game with this album. Doggystyle was typical of West Coast albums at the time with the focus on gangsta rap lyrics, however the introduction of g-funk put a whole new twist on things as we were introduced to a more serious sound.
Whilst Snoop hasn't made an album this cohesive since, it certainly stands the test of time and is still seen as a landmark album for the West Coast.
3. – Big Punisher - Capital Punishment
Big Pun is one of the most talented rappers to ever bless the mic hands down. Despite his enormous size, he was still able to rap using multi-syllabic rhyme schemes along with complex internal rhyming. He is also known as the first solo Latino hip-hop artist to receive a Platinum certification by the RIAA with this album. It was also one of the first both commercially and critically successful albums to utilize a large number of Producers rather than a select few which had been the preference for albums prior.
Capital Punishment displayed Pun's versatility in making songs such as menacing street tales, battle raps and club songs, a skill that many rappers toady can only wish they had. Pun's debut album is another example to me of what could have been had he not succumbed to a heart attack in February 2000.
2. – Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
This album not only introduced a completely new sound to the hip-hop game, but also helped spearhead the resurgence of East Coast hip-hop in a time when the West was running things. RZA handles all the production on the album and creates a truly unique soundscape for the members to rap over. Lyrically the Clan uses a lot of vivid imagery as well as metaphorical use to portray not only their love for the kung-fu culture, but that of the teachings of Islam and life on the streets. Each member of the Clan had a different rapping style, flow and voice, which, given the number of members in the group, was unheard of at the time. What makes the album even more of an achievement is that none of the songs come off as cluttered or rushed, nor did the lyrical content sound preachy or forced.
Enter The Wu-Tang is an amazing album that deservedly received a Platinum certification from the RIAA, as it not only brought arguably the most successful rap group in history to the forefront of hip-hop, but also started careers for all NINE members as well as those of hundreds of ‘Wu-Affiliates'.
1. – Nas - Illmatic
Any hip-hop fan worth their salt should have seen this coming. Universally accepted as the Greatest Rap Album of all time it has quickly become that of legend in hip-hop circles. Illmatic was Nas' debut album released in 1994 and featured production from the who's who of East Coast producers, DJ Premier, Large Professor and Pete Rock. There is also only one notable guest appearance, that being of fellow Queensbridge rapper, AZ. AZ's verse in "Life's A Bitch" is widely seen as one of the greatest debut verses of all time.
Given Nas was only 19 years old at the time of recording, it was hailed for it's discerning treatment of what had become ‘typical' subject matter. Rather than glorify life on the streets, it portrayed the darker side of urban living, something that hadn't been seen before.
Another factor in its greatness is the length of the album. Clocking in at just under 40 minutes and featuring only nine songs (and one skit), there was no room for error as well as not much time to convey a message. It was also the first album to be awarded the (then) coveted 5 Mics from The Source upon initial release.
I could honestly go on and on but we could be here all day. To me, Illmatic is the Greatest Debut album and one of the Greatest albums of all time, not just in hip-hop, but music as a whole.
Matt Reno
HONORABLE MENTION: - Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath, Weezer - Weezer, Dropkick Murphys - Do Or Die, The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?
5. – Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
"If ignorance is bliss, then wipe the smile off my face." That line perfectly sums up Rage, and Rage perfectly sums up political anger. Their debut album blasts out of the gates with a unique blend of rap, punk, funk, and heavy metal. Singles "Killing In the Name," "Bombtrack," "Take the Power Back," and "Freedom" would be tough sells on modern rock radio today, but maybe that shows how great the ‘90s were for innovation. Or maybe it just shows how powerful this album is. Through this incredible metal album, Rage told us in no uncertain terms that if we weren't pissed off, we weren't paying attention.
4. –Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
Though more commercial sounding than subsequent Nine Inch Nails albums, Pretty Hate Machine is still packed with classics that fit right alongside more abrasive material. Top to bottom, this album is filled with catchy yet angry industrial hard rockers - "Head Like a Hole," "Down In It," and "Terrible Lie" - that you can dance to as well as shout along to. And before we had "Hurt" to totally depress us, there was "Something I Can Never Have," a dark, stirring outpouring of emotion. This album revolutionized industrial rock and set Trent Reznor upon his long path of being one of the geniuses of the rock world.
3. – Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
The final year of the ‘60s began with a bang, much like the one depicted on this album's cover. From the opening crunches of "Good Time Bad Times," you can tell you're in for only good ones. Many call Zeppelin one of the first metal bands, but I disagree. They were a great blues band that plugged way in and cranked the volume way up, a sound that would certainly pave the way for metal, just as Jimmy Page's speedy riffing on "Communication Breakdown" would help inspire punk rock. This album showed the band's mastery of several musical styles, but more importantly, tracks like "Dazed and Confused" showed that they were willing to take rock and roll to strange and exciting new places.
2. –Pearl Jam - Ten
As a diehard Pearl Jam fan, I know how annoying it is to hear people say, "I wish Pearl Jam would make another record like Ten. However, I wouldn't complain if that happened since it's an extraordinary album. The hard-rocking big hits - "Jeremy," "Alive," "Evenflow" - aren't just pieces of '90s nostalgia; they're lasting anthems. "Once" and "Why Go" are some of PJ's heaviest hitters, and "Black" is a beautifully heartbreaking song with possibly music's best breakup lyric. Even the lesser known tracks like "Garden" and "Release" are outstanding. Sure, they've made loads of great material since then, but if all you like is Ten, I guess I can't fault you too much.
1. – Guns N Roses- Appetite For Destruction
Rock anthem after rock anthem after rock anthem. This could easily be mistaken for a greatest hits compilation, but no, it's just a fine example of a band getting it right the first time. With a few years to go before Nirvana decimated it all, GNR took everything that was wrong about ‘80s hard rock and made it sound oh so right. Though it's been only 20 years, can you imagine hard rock without "Welcome to the Jungle," Paradise City," or "Sweet Child o' Mine"? Hell, even without those, "Mr. Brownstone," "Nightrain," "My Michelle," and more make this a phenomenal album. It's too bad Axl has turned this band into a bad joke about temper tantrums and procrastination because Appetite is an enduring rock record that deserves better.
Dan Haggerty
5. – Van Halen - Van Halen
Largely regarded as on of the best debut albums for all time (for a rock band), Van Halen's self-titled shook up the industry and changed what a rock band could be. If you have an image of the seminal arena filling rock band with the classic combination of anthems, hooks, solo's, and a party you wanted to be at, then there is a 99% chance this album created that image. And it does this without the clowning around image the band would develop later, this ride being straight-on in your face rock with a work rate the copy-cat bands of the 80's forgot to include in the formula. The guys look like the ghosts of rock and roll past now days, but 30 years ago this album made them the future. And less ye' forget, "Eruption" defined the guitar solo.
4. – Boston - Boston
During a time of rising disco and punk gaining notoriety, out of the blue comes Tom Scholz, an engineering graduate of all things, who loved to record music. But Scholz was frustrated with the limitations of mid-70's technology and started to design his own equipment to help produce the record he wanted. So confident in his home studio with his equipment, he secretly went behind his label's (Epic) backs to record this album (sans one song) instead of the label's studio. Good choice, as he revolutionized the common opinion on how an album could sound, and what could be done with excellent production, all while creating the number one selling debut in American history at 17 million in sales.
3. – The Jimi Hindrix Experience- Are You Experienced
Out of the quiet world of the psychedelic and British invasion, comes a power trio to pick up where Cream left off. The Experience created the definition of the power trio, each member working overtime to fill the empty positions in a whirlwind performance that drifter towards 10. This is enough to get these guys a spot in history. But Hendrix took it to the next step and did the one thing that borders on magical, something that would define guitars, rock, and eventually heavy metal followed by grunge and alternative – He introduced feedback and wah-wah, turning the guitar into the instrument of the ages while the guitar player evolved into the axeman that slays and heals.
2. – Led Zeppelin - Led Zepplin
Picking up and playing with the new tracking and recording technologies of the time, Jimmy Page tracked every instrument into the recording to insure the bottom end got to be represented. John Bonham on drums and John Paul Jones on bass both insured it got represented loud. Part blues, part rock, and drug infused psychedelic, the fusion becoming the heaviest sound to be burned into vinyl to date. In the end, this cacophony of proto-metal and hard rock would turn the music scene inside out.
1. – Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
So a couple of lads from Birmingham took one look at the summer of love, and promptly decided to sing about everything the hippies would not. Death, the occult, the dark side of drugs, all mixed up with blues and jazz but combined with the three notes of the devil himself, and the end result would be the birth of heavy metal. It also scared the crap out of the status quo. But it was too late, for one Toni Iommi invented the riff that would define metal, and the world would never be the same.
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And we're done for another week of the Top 5.
Thanks to the staff for providing some great lists, and thanks to you guys for reading.
Feel free to send me any thoughts on our lists and they'll get printed next week.
