1)The Jam, All Mod Cons: I was actually ready to proclaim this inferior to In The City, an opinion I don’t recall having back when I first heard the key Jam albums, and I think I might still feel that way, but a number of the songs on this album really grew on me at the last minute. Regarding the first minute, I can’t believe I forgot “English Rose”–that song is beautiful, and I’m stupefied that The Jam didn’t do more ballads. The only song I’d actually really listened to from this album after hearing it was “Down In The Tube Station At Midnight” and that one–probably their best song overall–is even better than I remember it (and the lyrics are actually horrifying!). Was Bruce Foxton the best punk bassist? Seems like it (I think Dee Dee Ramone is overrated and certainly cannot imagine him or any of the others playing the bassline on “Tube Station.”“) Oh, and all the good songs I forgot besides “English Rose”? “All Mod Cons,” “To Be Someone (Didn’t We Have A Nice Time),” “Mr. Clean,” “Billy Hunt” (billy billy billeeee!), “It’s Too Bad” (which I didn’t realize was a ripoff of “So Sad About Us,” but I might prefer the Jam song–and I know the Jam covered SSAU later) “The Place I Love.” Not “A Bomb In Wardour Street”–I don’t like that riff much. I never much cared for “David Watts” when the Kinks did it, so the Jam doing it isn’t going to really improve things. I am aware of this band’s flaws–Weller’s voice is admittedly a slight obstacle and I don’t suppose the band possessed any originality at all, but Weller was a real songwriter, even if a derivative one, and his lyrics and outlook did improve with this album.

2)The Jam, Setting Sons: Ditto for this album; it seemed inferior to In The City and All Mod Cons at first, but by the end I’d have to put all three albums on par, with Paul Weller now improving as a Big Important Social Commenter–but I can’t take issue with that as I don’t think any of his lyrics were actually embarrassing, even for a guy as young as he was. I’d really never listened to anything from this album after hearing it so long ago, but “Eton Rifles,” “Private Hell” and “Thick As Thieves,” the three biggest highlights, all came roaring right back. “Saturday’s Kids” and “Little Boy Soldiers” are like early power pop with depressing social commentary lyrics. “Wasteland“‘s another good one–I really like that flute! Oh and this time their obvious derivative cover makes good–this is the only version of “Heat Wave” that I actually like, because they fuckin’ tear through it! Weller’s barking voice actually improves the song, if you ask me! Take that, The Who! (Of course, “Smithers-Jones” is one of their worst Who imitations–if you’re going to rip off Sell Out, pick something besides “I Can’t Reach You”!) I did some of the bonus tracks too–“Going Underground,” “When You’re Young” and “The Dreams Of Children” could’ve been on the album too. Wow, I really like the Jam! Why’d I only keep listening to three songs by these guys?

3)Can, Soundtracks: “Mother Sky” is 14 minutes of pounding rhythmic awesomeness and gives “Halleluhwah” a run for its money, but you already knew that. Everyone thinks that song is the highlight of Can’s second “album” (they didn’t consider it a real album, apparently.) But it’s almost like “Mother Sky” is best because it points the way to Tago Mago, whereas the other Damo songs, “Deadlock,” “Tango Whiskeyman” and “Don’t Turn The Light On, Leave Me Alone,” while decent, all point to Ege Bamyasi....where they were done better as stuff like “Vitamin C” and “I’m So Green.” Then there’s the two Malcolm Mooney songs, which point backwards: the much-hated “Soul Desert” is an inferior retread of “Yoo Doo Right” (not a very well-liked song itself) and “She Brings The Rain” is a plain jazz ballad that could have been done by anybody. I’m not saying this is a bad album–it’s certainly not–but it seems clear as an azure sky to me that it’s the runt of the early Can litter; I hate to be a snot, but I honestly wonder if the glowing reviews the WRC gave it weren’t just everyone copying George Starostin, who gave it one of his least convincing 10s. (Outside the WRC, it’s not that well-loved an album at all.)

4)Jethro Tull, The Broadsword And The Beast: This isn’t the worst Jethro Tull album by a long shot, but it’s definitely the cheesiest; I know most people would probably think of Under Wraps first, but at least I want to credit Tull with trying to get with the times on Under Wraps; here, they officially become a dinosaur band once and for all, churning out bored 70s hard rock in the early 80s, one of the worst places for any artist to be. I was ready to blast this to pieces before I found out at the last minute that it doesn’t actually contain 18 songs, but is rather a 10 song album with eight bonus tracks that I’d been mistakenly listening to thinking they were part of the album proper. Those ten songs contain the four or five passable tunes on the album–“Flying Colours” is the cheesiest song on the album, probably, but I like the cheesy part, a burbling synthesizer that plays over a driving major-key chorus. I didn’t think “Clasp,” “Fell On Hard Times,” “Slow Marching Band” or “Pussy Willow” were half-bad either. Still, all of the bonus tracks are completely worthless (I should know, I listened to them eight times, and none of them stick!) so it’s likely that I’ll only ever revisit “Flying Colours,” and even then looking over my shoulder to make sure nobody hears me listening to dinosaur-era Jethro Tull. Oh, BTW, as is (somehow!) par for the course with Tull, there’s a gigantic multi-disc 40th anniversary reissue of this flop album that barely anybody at all (outside of Germany, I guess) likes. Jaysus.

5)Pink Floyd, A Saucerful Of Secrets: I always kept this album at arm’s length, because I was always kind of disappointed in it–I wanted it to be a trip to a dark 60s psychedelic underworld, echoey and spacey and cavernous and creepy, full of those eerie Rick Wright organ/keyboard tones, a true sonic trip. Instead, I ended up pretty much just forgetting all the songs on it that weren’t “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun,” which is, of course, the creepiest song on the album. Although it’s true that the band was transitioning in 1968 due to the Syd debacle and probably had to scramble to figure out a new style to latch on to, I now feel that they got there a little over half the time, so my opinion of the album has gone up. One big obstacle was the title track, which every review praises as the best, or one of the best, tracks–I think it’s 12 minutes of boring vomit mess, looping drum rolls and dumb “dark” choir noises, very flat. Its popularity baffles me. Then there’s “Jugband Blues,” which, for all its historical importance (Syd openly admitting he’s crazy) isn’t as good as the stuff on Syd’s solo albums, if you ask me. Fortunately, the rest is pretty good. “Let There Be More Light” is a good ominous opener and I think the two Richard Wright compositions are slidey and kind of beautiful, and wish so many of the reviews wouldn’t bash “See-Saw”; aren’t those slides just nice? The reviews all bash the piss out of “Corporal Clegg,” too, but I say it’s a pleasant rediscovery–in fact, I think it’s the best track on the album, with “See-Saw” right behind it! It’s humorous and the chorus is a friggin’ BEATLES hook! Don’t you like Beatlesy 1968 Floyd? So yeah, this album’s kind of hanging on by a thread, but what a thread. I’d have liked to be a fly on the wall in 1968 when they were recording this. Now, to see if Atom Heart Mother has gotten better, too…
(NOTE: about comparing “Coporal Clegg” to the Beatles, the Rolling Stone review did too…and this is one of the funniest bitter reviews they ever wrote: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/a-saucerful-of-secrets-184964/)