#485 - Nothing's Shocking, Jane's Addiction

"On the band's major label debut, Jane's Addiction show the world why they were so relentlessly pursued by A&R types, as their thunderous, Metal-meets-Funk explodes from the speakers right from the get-go. Nothing's Shocking established Jane's Addiction ability to set the pace musically, and it remains one of best representations of the band to date."

#484 - A Picture Of Nectar, Phish

"Phish's second major-label release, A Picture of Nectar is in many ways their best and most accomplished album. Expanding on the musical explorations that dominated Lawn Boy, Nectar incorporates a remarkable mixture of styles, from country, jazz, and calypso to straight-up rock & roll. Lyrically, the band's trademark goofiness is intact, but the playing is more muscular and Trey Anastasio's arrangements have increased intensity and focus." (allmusic guide)

#483 - Talking Heads: 77, Talking Heads

"All pretenses of normality were abandoned by the second track, as Talking Heads finally started to sound on record the way they did downtown: the staggered rhythms and sudden tempo changes, the odd guitar tunings and rhythmic, single-note patterns, the non-rhyming, non-linear lyrics that came across like odd remarks overheard from a psychiatrist's couch, and that voice, singing above its normal range, its falsetto leaps and strangled cries resembling a madman trying desperately to sound normal." (allmusic guide)

#482 - Saturday Night Fever, Original Soundtrack

"The Bee Gees had done some pretty cool things before this record - they had made fantastic baroque pop records and stepped into the world of FM rock, but nothing they did was as cool as "Stayin' Alive." This is music that makes you want to wear all white, shake your moneymaker and point that finger like you mean serious business. A glittering powerhouse of a record." (real music guide)

#481 - Rock Of Ages, The Band

"With a country funk version of Marvin Gaye's "Don't Do It" proving to be the best song on this album (if not on any of their long-players), the Band ushered in New Year's 1972 with this perfectly captured performance. The show may not have as many cameos as The Last Waltz, but it sounds much more inspired." (real music guide)


#480 - Argybargy, Squeeze

"Still a distinctly British band, Squeeze compensated with an incredibly catchy batch of songs that, despite the subject matter, spoke the universal language of bright, bouncy, instantly endearing pop. The acute observations of the British working class were even more vivid -- none so poignant as the classic "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," which offers a series of detailed snapshots of the different walks of life on a seaside holiday, or the often-overlooked courting-to-breakup story-song "Vicky Verky," which nearly matched "Up the Junction"'s brilliance. Argybargy is simply packed with perfect, timeless pop that stands not only as the band's crowning achievement, but also as a landmark recording of the era." (allmusic guide)

#479 - Band On The Run, Paul McCartney & Wings

"McCartney's talent for songcraft and nuanced arrangements is in ample display throughout the record, which makes many of the songs -- including the nonsensical title track -- sound more substantial than they actually are. While a handful of the songs are excellent -- the surging, inspired surrealism of "Jet" is by far one of his best solo recordings, "Bluebird" is sunny acoustic pop, and "Helen Wheels" captures McCartney rocking with abandon -- most of the songs are more style than substance." (allmusic guide)