Californication - Red Hot Chilli Peppers

1999 saw the release of The Red Hot Chili Peppers seventh studio album "Californication", an album that brought loyal fans back to the fold after the mixed reaction to its predecessor "One Hot Minute", as well as winning the band armies of new followers. It has currently sold over fifteen million copies worldwide, making it the band's most successful album to date. More importantly it also saw the return of ex-guitarist John Frusiante, who had left the band in 1992 while the group were in the middle of touring 91's "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" release.
The record was a change of style for the Chili Peppers, especially compared to "One Hot Minute". Although "Californication" still contained elements of their once unique "punk funk" sound, it leaned towards more melodic riffs (for example, "Scar Tissue" and "Otherside") and focused on songs with structure rather than jam sessions.

1. "Around the World"
2. "Parallel Universe"
3. "Scar Tissue"
4. "Otherside"
5. "Get on Top"
6. "Californication"
7. "Easily"
8. "Porcelain"
9. "Emit Remmus"
10. "I Like Dirt"
11. "This Velvet Glove"
12. "Savior"
13. "Purple Stain"
14. "Right on Time"
15. "Road Trippin'"

Let Love In - Nick Cave

“Let Love In” is the eighth studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released in April 1994. It contains all of the elements that make Cave and his band great; love, death, the blues, booze and murder, and yet it is also more accessible than some of their other work. Although several masterpieces of gothic imagery abound, this album, for the most part, focuses on love.
The two versions of “Do You Love Me?” star as the bread in this dark musical sandwich, a chilling look at child prostitution and reportedly based on what Cave observed while living in Brazil. The compulsory piano-led love ballad of course also features in the form of “Nobody’s Baby”. “Jangling Jack” is a cheerful tale of death and bar-room brawling. “Lay Me Low” sees Cave musing on his eventual end with his own unique irony and black humour. “Loverman”, with its demonic fury, is perhaps best known by many as one of the stand-out tracks from Metallica’s “Garage Inc.” covers album. The (nearly) title track, “I Let Love In”, paints a bleak picture of the darkness, pain and frustrations that often accompany the most overused word in any song; ‘love’. The album’s highlight is easily the creepily-catchy “Red Right Hand”. Cave’s songs have been sadder on some albums, or have been grubbier in production on others, but on the whole “Let Love In” hasn’t been bettered. Cave is on searing form both lyrically and vocally, and the Bad Seeds have never sounded this electrifying. Flooded with emotions, this album is hard-hitting, powerful and reveals all its charms and nuances after repeated listens. If ever there was a record that will lead you to pursue other releases in an artist’s catalogue, this is the one.

1. “Do You Love Me?” – 5:56
2. “Nobody’s Baby Now” – 3:52
3. “Loverman” – 6:21
4. “Jangling Jack” – 2:47
5. “Red Right Hand”– 6:10
6. “I Let Love In” – 4:14
7. “Thirsty Dog” – 3:48
8. “Ain't Gonna Rain Anymore” – 3:46
9. “Lay Me Low” – 5:08
10. “Do You Love Me? (Part 2)” – 6:12

Violator - Depeche Mode

In a week where Depeche Mode are Fartist it's only fitting that we should feature one of their albums on Critical Junctions.
In 1990 Depeche Mode released their seventh studio album, Violator and finally gained international superstardom. Yeilding four singles, Personal Jesus, Enjoy The Silence, Policy Of Truth and World In My Eyes, the album achieved huge critical acclaim and is on the Rolling Stones top 500 albums of all time list and is featured in the book 1001 albums you must hear before you die.

Track Listing
"World in My Eyes" – 4:26
"Sweetest Perfection" – 4:43
"Personal Jesus" – 4:56
"Halo" – 4:30
"Waiting for the Night" – 6:07
"Enjoy the Silence" – 6:12
"Interlude #2 - Crucified" – 1:42 (hidden song starting at 4:30)
"Policy of Truth" – 4:55
"Blue Dress" – 5:41
"Interlude #3" – 1:23 (hidden song starting at 4:18)
"Clean" – 5:28

Dance The Devil - The Frames

The third studio album from The Frames saw them pick up where they left off after 1996's Fitzcarraldo. More of the same I hear you say! Well yes and no, its still the sound of a happy go lucky Irish Wilco but now with a generous helping of The Pixies and the wonderful Deus. Yet it also has more mature and rounded song writing on it, we see once more on Dance The Devil the ever growing potential of this Irish band.

Stand out tracks are, the irrepressible Pavement Tune and the soft melodic Star Star. God Bless Mom and Rent Day Blues are more fine examples of The Frames penmanship.


Track Listing

1. "Perfect Opening Line"
2. "Seven Day Mile"
3. "Pavement Tune"
4. "Plateau"
5. "Star Star**"
6. "The Stars are Underground"
7. "God Bless Mom"
8. "Rent Day Blues"
9. "Hollocaine"
10. "Neath the Beeches"
11. "Dance the Devil Back into his Hole"

Tuesday Night Music Club - Sheryl Crow

Released in 1993, Sheryl Crow's debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club was named after a loose colection of musicians who met once a week to write the album with Crow. However after the success of the album there was the ineveitbale acrimonious break up of the group over songwriting credits.

The album is packed with hits, Run Baby Run, Leaving Las Vegas and the monster, All I Wana Do. Selling 7.6 million copies in the nineties and winnig three Grammy's it launched Crows career and changed Tuesdays for ever.


Track Listing:

1. Run, Baby, Run
2. Leaving Las Vegas
3. Strong Enough
4. Can't Cry Anymore
5. Solidify
6. The Na-Na Song
7. No One Said It Would Be Easy
8. What I Can Do For You
9. All I Wanna Do
10. We Do What We Can
11. I Shall Believe

The Tueday Night Music Club Members:

Sheryl Crow
David Baerwald
Bill Bottrell
Kevin Gilbert
David Ricketts
Dan Schwartz
Brian MacLeod

Screamadelica - Primal Scream

"Just what is it that you want to do?
We wanna be free
We wanna be free to do what we wanna do
And we wanna get loaded
And we wanna have a good time
That's what we're gonna do
We're gonna have a good time
We're gonna have a party"

(Peter Fonda, Wild Angels as heard on Loaded)

OK so it's 1991, Nirvana have put out Nevermind altering the field of play for rock music and Primal Scream release Screamadelica, changing the rules for dance music to this day.

Screamadelica brought techno, acid house and the whole rave scene into the mainstream. It also ripped up Primal Screams own rule book. Before the release of the album they were a mediocre indie rock band, forgettable in almost every way, but boy did they change that. That's not to say that Screamadelica doesn't tip its hat to their penchant for Detroit rock and the Rolling Stones. One listen to Movin On Up the opening track is clear proof of this, it is unmistakeably a giant leap forward for this little Scottish band.

The great debate about this album is who is actually responsible for it. It is such a monumental change for Primal Scream that it would, on paper, seem clear that producer Andrew Weatherall is the prime innovator here. Primal Scream have however taken responsibility for its innovations. True enough, they are the writers, but one can't help but feel that Adrew Weatheralls production role is of significant importance to the success of the album.

It is trippy, imaginative and almost certainly of its time, but it has also stood the test of time. Its influence on British music cannot be understated. It brought the psychedelic weirdness of the 60's and rocking 70's onto the 90's dance floor. Don't forget your groove thang this Thursday morning, for the Critical Junction is a floor filler.

Track Listing

1. "Movin' on Up" – 3:47
2. "Slip Inside This House" – 5:14
3. "Don't Fight It, Feel It" – 6:51
4. "Higher Than the Sun" – 3:36
5. "Inner Flight" – 5:00 (instrumental)
6. "Come Together" – 10:21
   
7. "Loaded" – 7:01
8. "Damaged" – 5:37
9. "I'm Comin' Down" – 5:59
10. "Higher Than the Sun [A Dub Symphony In Two Parts]" – 7:37
11. "Shine Like Stars" – 3:4

Kerbdog - On The Turn

Kerbdog were (and occasionally, still are) a three-piece alternative rock band. Surprisingly, the credit for the severely underrated Irish band’s formation goes to (well, apart from the band themselves of course!) none other than the Christian Brothers, as band members Cormac Battle (vocals/guitar), Colin Fennelly (bass guitar) and Darragh Butler (drums) met while attending the same CB school in Kilkenny. Billy Dalton (guitar) joined the band in 1992.

“On The Turn” is the band’s second and final album. 1996 saw them back in the recording studio after the success of their 1994 début album “Kerbdog”. Produced by G.G. Garth of Rage Against the Machine fame, “On The Turn” was recorded in Los Angeles and is deemed by many to be the better of the two. Part Helmet and part Therapy?, the songs are powerful and melodious with a “quiet/loud” dynamic, changing from clean and soft to searing guitars and pounding drums. A fantastic mix of great melody, energetic catchy riffs, and sing-a-long choruses mean “On The Turn” has a wide appeal and a great summery feel to it.

Track number one “Sally”sets the pace for the rest of the album. Simple lyrics and an infectious tune make it a catchy opener. “JJ’s Song” continues in the same style. Snappy guitar sections add interest and vary the sound. “Mexican Wave” starts slowly with a relentless tune that slips easily into another all-powerful chorus. “Severed” is the dark horse of the album. The rumbling intro leads to snarling vocals but nevertheless it wins the listener over. “Lesser Shelf” opens with an energetic rapid bass and guitar section that gives way to another simple yet powerful chorus. The final track, “Sorry For The Record”, cools off the album nicely, trailing into a wave of feedback before repeating the opening lines of “Sally”. As soon as the album stops, it is guaranteed that you will be pressing play again.

Unfortunately, the album’s release was delayed and when eventually put out, it never sold in large enough quantities to satisfy their label. Kerbdog were the losers in the game of record company acquisition and label juggling that was so prevalent in the latter part of the 90s and they were dropped from their label’s roster. They left in their wake a drawn-out echo of “what if?”... They split in 1998 after a sold-out show in Dublin Mean’s Fiddler.

A series of reunion gigs in 2005 was very successful for the band. However, they have since stated that due to the great changes in their lives they have no plans to record any new material, though they have played at least one gig a year since 2005.

Track List

1. “Sally”

2. “JJ’s Song”

3. “Didn’t Even Try”

4. “Mexican Wave”

5. “Severed”

6. “Pledge”

7. “On The Turn”

8. “Secure”

9. “Lesser Shelf”

10. “Pointless”

11. “Rewind”

12. “Sorry For The Record”

Superunknown - Soundgarden

While Nirvana are credited with bringing grunge and alternative rock to the mainstream, it was Soundgarden, along with the likes of Mudhoney and their precursor Green River, that helped to create the “grunge” sound.
Black Sabbath and Stooges influences can be clearly heard in the band's early work, like the “Screaming Life” EP (released in 1987) and debut album “Ultramega OK” (1988) and though this influence remained, the band started to get a more refined and metallic edge as they progressed, with “Louder than Love” (1989) and “Badmotorfinger” (1991). In 1994, at the twilight of Seattle grunge’s reign, Soundgarden - singer Chris Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron - unleashed their fourth album, “Superunknown”, which would become their masterpiece as it marked the pinnacle of the band’s success.
“Superunknown” takes up where ”Badmotorfinger” left off, but though one could argue that the former is not as ‘metal’ the latter, it displays a much greater emphasis on melody and a more diverse range of influences. The songs on Superunknown capture the creativity and heaviness of the band’s earlier works, while showcasing their newly evolving style.
As the band’s lyricist, Cornell had always explored the darker aspects of human nature, but he excells with “Superunknown”’s rota of disturbing characters and depressed souls, with issues such as substance abuse, suicide and depression rearing their heads. As a band, they’ve never sounded tighter, whether they are powering through the tangled angst of “Mailman” or negotiating the trippy left turns of the experimental “Head Down”. When tracks push the six-minute mark, the tunes never feel indulgent, even lengthy numbers such as “Like Suicide”. “Mailman” chronicles the life of a meek, frustrated nobody who could turn homicidal any minute. “The Day I Tried to Live” satirises people’s attempts to improve themselves in the face of life’s crushing monotony and cynicism. Elsewhere, the album features several scenes of impending doom, whether real or imagined, creating an atmosphere of dread that rarely lets up. From the hushed tones of “Fell on Black Days” to the cathartic wailing of “My Wave”, Cornell can sing it all. His dark, churning, guitar riffs, helped by Kim Thayil’s distorted solos, complete the powerful atmosphere of these songs. Add in Matt Cameron’s nimble drum-work and the result is a musical masterpiece. The variety of this album is also noteworthy, as it mixes hard tracks like rocky openers “Let Me Drown” and “My Wave” with slower, more melodic numbers like “Fell on Black Days” and “The Day I Tried To Live”.

“Superunknown” boasts all that serious music fans could possibly want, from creativity to technical precision to complex arrangements to a powerful vocal performance by Chris Cornell. Visionary, perfectly executed and technically impeccable, Soundgarden set the standard for dark hard rock here.

1. “Let Me Drown”
2. “My Wave”
3. “Fell on Black Days”
4. “Mailman”
5. “Superunknown”
6. “Head Down”
7. “Black Hole Sun”
8. “Spoonman”
9. “Limo Wreck”
10. “The Day I Tried to Live”
11. “Kickstand”
12. “Fresh Tendrils”
13. “4th of July”
14. “Half”
15. “Like Suicide”
16. “She Likes Surprises”

Ok Computer - Radiohead

Unless you've been living under a stone or were in fact born yesterday, then you could not have possibly missed out on this genre genre defying and defining album from Oxfords greatest export Radiohead .

Ok Computer, is on many lists as the greatest album of all time if not automatically in the top 100, no small achievement from an album that was only released in 1997. Holing themselves up in St Catherine's Court an rural mansion outside Bath owned b the Actress jane Seymore. The atmosphere of this rather spooky looking house haunts the album at every corner. Recording was done along with then unknown producer Nigel Godrich and was finished in January 2007.

When Capital records heard the finished album they cut their predicted sales figures in half describing the album as commercial suicide! However once the début single Paranoid Android a 6 minute epic entered the UK charts at number 3 (a higher position than Creep Achieved or in fact any previous Radiohead track) They began to push the album relentlessly.

The music on the album blends effortlessly from track to track The opening track Airbag sounds like King Crimson and the Beatles blended into a car crash of guitars and vocals that shocks the first time listener into knowing they are about to experience something rather special and terrifying.

Paranoid Android began as 3 different songs that fit together in a disjointed and electrifying way. It has often been compared to the work of later Pink Floyd. Its title refers to Douglas Adams classic book and radio Play series The Hitchers Guide To The Galaxy in fact there are a number of references throughout the album to Adams and his work. The songs is a live favorite and one of Radiohead's signature tunes.

Karma Police is probably one of the most popular and Bends like songs on the album, and was the second single. Live Drive listeners are not alone in hearing the similarities to the song and The Beatles Sexy Sadie. The song is Radiohead's most successful song worldwide (not counting Creep of course) The title comes from a joke within the band that they would say to each other if they did something wrong, that they would call the Karma Police on them (nerds).

The next single to be released off of Ok Computer is No Surprises. This melodic track contains dark lyrical images of someone perhaps committing suicide or just being plane fed up with everything. It is beautiful, melodic and can transport its listeners from a mood of hollow depression to joy in a matter of minutes. The only song to contain the same qualities is the uplifting Let Down.

The singles are not however the best racks on the album, Aliens looking down at the word and wondering what these funny people are in Subterranean Homesick Alien drifts the listener into a bizzare word of images and superb musicianship. The empty promises of Politicians in Electioneering is the loudest song on the album with a crunching riff that ears through the lyrics as much as they do through the politicians. Climbing up the Wall is the one song on the album that hints of what is to come from Radiohead's following album Kid A. Exit Music for a film was commission by Baz Luhrman for the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack and Lucky was recorded as a single for the War Child Charity.

The album Killed off Brit Pop, inspired many of today's biggest bands from Muse to Coldplay. Mere words are not enough to do justice to this album, it is said in each track, how important Radiohead are as a band and to how important this albums is to music.

Track Listing:

1. Airbag
2. Paranoid Android
3. Subterranean Homesick Alien
4. Exit Music (For a Film)
5. Let Down
6. Karma Police
7. Fitter Happier
8. Electioneering
9. Climbing Up the Walls
10. No Surprises
11. Lucky
12. The Tourist

The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill

Troublegum - Therapy?

“Troublegum”, released on February 7, 1994, was the second major-label album by Northern Irish metal/punk rock band Therapy?. It is often remarked that “Troublegum” is Therapy?’s “Black Album”, as it is probably their most accessible work. Frontman Andy Cairns, who formed the band in 1989 with friend and drummer Fyfe Ewing, was particularly interested in subjects such as isolation, psychosis and psychiatry, and his lyrics dealt mainly with the recurring themes of unrequited love, loss and loneliness, a trait which has persisted throughout Therapy?’s career.
1993 and 1994 were the most successful years in the group's history. 1993 saw the release of the “Shortsharpshock” EP, featuring the band’s classic song “Screamager”, which stunned many when it catapulted into the UK Top 40, peaking at 9. “Troublegum” became an instant metal classic on its release in 1994, delighting Therapy?’s old fans and sucking in new ones. “Screamager” also featured on the album and the song earned the band the first of many appearances on the world-famous UK music show “Top of the Pops”. It was clear that their sound was changing, evolving from experimental noise cacophony into something far more accessible even for those wary of a band with the “metal” tag. A seething but sleek slice of angry rock music, with dark and brooding lyrics paired with upbeat riffs and interwoven with masses of feedback and Ewing's phenomenal drumming, “Troublegum” earned the band appearances at a string of rock and indie festivals over the next couple of years, as well as a clutch of Top 40 singles including “Trigger Inside”, “Nowhere” and “Turn”. It remains the band's high point for many fans and it gained them a string of nominations at the annual Kerrang! Awards, celebrating the best of the year’s metal music. It was also rated the top album of 1994 in the 1000th issue of Kerrang!, published in 2004.
“Troublegum” makes for uncomfortable listening in parts, but it’s indisputably a grower and an album that no metal fan should be without.
Various theories have been put forward over the years by fans and critics as to why the group placed the unusual question mark suffix to their name. However, the truth is rather mundane. When designing the band's first home-produced single, Andy Cairns accidentally misaligned the Letraset adhesive label on the sleeve and decided to simply use the "?" icon to fill the space instead.

1. “Knives”
2. “Screamager”
3. “Hellbelly”
4. “Stop It You’re Killing Me”
5. “Nowhere”
6. “Die Laughing”
7. “Unbeliever”
8. “Trigger Inside”
9. “Lunacy Booth”
10. “Isolation”
11. “Turn”
12. “Femtex”
13. “Unrequited”
14. “Brainsaw”

Dirt - Alice in Chains

Their second full-length album and released on September 29th, 1992, “Dirt” was recorded while lead singer Layne Staley was suffering from a crippling heroin addiction, an affliction that overshadowed both this release and most of the band’s career. Although steeped in doom and gloom, this album is one of the best metal/alternative rock records ever recorded and is considered by many to be Alice in Chains’ best album. “Dirt” was released on the same day as the Stone Temple Pilots album “Core”, another very important and successful album of the grunge era. The group received massive exposure in 1992 when one of the songs from “Dirt”, “Would?”, appeared on the soundtrack for “Singles”, a motion picture by filmmaker Cameron Crowe based on the lives of a group of Seattle singles. The band also appeared in the film, performing the songs “Would?” and “It Ain't Like That”, from their debut album “Facelift”, during one of the club scenes.
While never officially labelled with the often debilitating term “concept album”, “Dirt” shows the slow but steady decline of the habitual heroin user. Tracks like “Sickman”, “Junkhead”, “Dirt”, “Hate To Feel”, “Down in a Hole” and “Would?” all showcased this and sadly they also showed just how quickly, in real life, Staley’s heroin addiction was spiralling out of control. However, a track almost halfway through the album sees one of the band’s best efforts and the only song not about drugs and the inevitable misery that comes with them. “Rooster” was written by guitarist Jerry Cantrell and is based on his father’s experiences of the Vietnam war. Cantrell Senior’s nickname was Rooster, the origin of which is believed to be connected to the time he spent in Vietnam. Along with his fellow members of the 101st Airborne, he wore a patch on his arm featuring a bald eagle; as there are no bald eagles in the country, the Vietnamese referred to them as “roosters”. The uneasy relationship between father and son was healed somewhat by this song along with the music video that accompanied it, cut with clips of an interview Cantrell’s father did with film director Mark Pellington, the first time he had ever spoken about the war. “Iron Gland”, the untitled track before “Hate to Feel”, is a parody of the Black Sabbath song “Iron Man” and features vocals by Tom Araya of Slayer, whom the band brought in so he could provide an “Angel of Death”-style scream (“Angel of Death” being the opening track on Slayer’s 1986 “Reign In Blood” album).
During the summer of 1993, Alice in Chains joined bands such as Tool, Rage Against the Machine and Babes in Toyland for the alternative music festival Lollapalooza. It would be the last time that Alice in Chains would undertake a major tour. Although mostly on hiatus, the band briefly came together again on a number of occasions in the following years. 1996 saw them record their first concert in three years for “MTV Unplugged”, in 1997 they appeared at that year’s Grammys and in 1998 they recorded two new tracks for the “Music Bank” box set, released in 1999.
After more than a decade spent fighting his heroin addiction, Layne Staley was found dead in his Seattle condominium on April 19th, 2002.


Track listing:
1. “Them Bones”
2. “Dam That River”
3. “Rain When I Die”
4. “Sickman”
5. “Rooster”
6. “Junkhead”
7. “Dirt”
8. “God Smack”
9. “Iron Gland”
10. “Hate To Feel”
11. “Angry Chair”
12. “Down In A Hole”
13. “Would?”

Ten - Pearl Jam

Ten is the 1991, twelve times platinum, debut studio album by Seattle-based rock band Pearl Jam. Their most successful album to date, it was a slow burner and took almost 2 years to reach the US Billboard Top Ten. The band are widely recognised as part of the Holy Trinity of grunge bands along with Nirvana and Soundgarden and despite criticism that they simply “jumped on the grunge bandwagon” it’s fair to say that Ten was an instrumental part of the rise of alternative rock in popular music in the ‘90s.
Originally calling themselves Mookie Blaylock (after the professional basketball player), they recorded the album in Seattle’s London Bridge Studios in one month as most of the material was written before going in to studio.

The album's eleven tracks deal with dark subjects like depression, suicide, loneliness, and murder. “Jeremy” and its accompanying video were inspired by a true story in which a high school student shot himself in front of his classmates. The songs “Alive”, “Once”, and “Footsteps” (the last of which was not on the album, but appeared as a b-side on the “Jeremy” single) formed a song cycle Vedder called the “Mamasan” trilogy. Vedder has said that the lyrics tell the story of a young man whose father dies (“Alive”), causing him to go on a killing spree (“Once”) which leads to his capture and execution (“Footsteps”). It was later revealed that Vedder's lyrics were inspired by his discovering at the age of seventeen that the man he thought was his father was not, and that his real father had already died.

“Ten” is almost universally considered to be one of the highest points of the early 1990’s alternative rock sound. With the success of “Ten”, Pearl Jam became a key member of the Seattle grunge explosion, along with groups like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden. However, they were criticised by both the music press and their peers; British music magazine NME said the band was “trying to steal money from young alternative kids' pockets”, and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain angrily attacked Pearl Jam, claiming the band were commercial sell-outs and arguing that “Ten” was not a proper alternative album because it had so many prominent guitar leads. Cobain later reconciled with Vedder, and they reportedly became friends before Cobain's death in 1994.
Ten is this Thursdays Critical Junction.

Track listing
1. Once
2. Even Flow
3. Alive
4. Why Go
5. Black
6. Jeremy
7. Oceans
8. Porch
9. Garden
10. Deep
11. Release

Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream

Released in 1993 Siamese Dream was the second studio album from Chicago alternative rock out fit The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed in 1988 the band had had some success with their debut album Gish. However it wasn’t until the release of this land mark album that they finally found their feet on the international stage.

The recording of the album was fraught with internal conflict. Jimmy Chamberlain. Jimmy Chamberlain was a heroin addict and was often missing for days without contact. Bassist Darcy Wretzky and second guitarist James Iha had just gone through a very messy break-up. On top of these 2 volatile situations was Billy Corgan (Lead singer and guitarist) who is often described as a tyrant in the studio. Recording all the parts except drums. He himself has come out and admitted that 97 % of the music on a Smashing Pumpkins album is himself and Drummer. Not the most ideal situation to record an album. It took four months and $250,000 to record Siamese Dream with grunge stalwart Butch Vig in the producers chair (Vig produced Nevermind for Nirvana and Dirty for Sonic Youth)

Drawing on a diverse range of styles the music on siames dream was more complex than many of the grunge acts of the time. Corgan had an obsession with Cheap Trick and Irelands very own Thin Lizzy. The album opens with the sensational drumming of Jimmy Chamberlain on Cherub Rock. Corgans quite voice lends itself well in a strange way to the heavy guitars of The Smashing Pumpkins sound and this is most obvious on Cherub Rock. The monster hits from this album Today and Disarm contained all the whingy sentiments that were ideal for the depressed shoe-gazing teenager’s of the early nineties. Happily they were also dam fine tunes. Other Standout tracks on the album include Rocket, Mayonnaise, Quiet and Geek USA.
The album launched the Pumpkins to international fame and as a complete work it is their finest hour.

Track Listing

1. Cherub rock

2. Quiet

3. Today

4. Hummer

5. Rocket

6. Disarm

7. Soma

8. Geek USA

9. Mayonaise

10. Spaceboy

11. Silverfuck

12. Sweet Sweet

13. Luna

Debut - Björk

Right after her breakup with The Sugarcubes, Björk kicked off her solo career in 1993, with her appropriately enough titled Debut. Her actual debut album was released in 1977, simply titled Björk, but that was when she was still in music school, well before the heady days of The Sugarcubes fame.
Soul II Soul Producer Nellee Hooper brought a dance edge to the record, that, matched with Björk's unmistakable voice, provided her with an international hit record.
While the singles were gaining approval on the underground dance-floor scene, the accompanying music videos to the singles also wowed critics, Human Behaviour, Venus As A Boy, Play Dead, Big Time Sensuality, and Violently Happy all showing the singers tricky slightly wacky side in different lights, and heralding a collaborative and artistic approach to her work that continues today.
Track Listing
1. Human Behaviour
2. Crying
3. Venus As A Boy
4. There's More To Life Than This - (live)
5. Like Someone In Love
6. Big Time Sensuality
7. One Day
8. Aeroplane
9. Come To Me
10. Violently Happy
11. Anchor Song, The

Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll battle for position throughout 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik.
Rick Rubin produced, Gus Van Sant designed the cover Art and The Red Hot Chili Peppers delivered a smash hit 5th album. Heavy radio play sent the LA underground band mainstream, scoring chart success with Under The Bridge, Give It Away, Breaking The Girl and Suck My Kiss. The Chillis had been through some choppy changes, their original guitarist died of an overdose, the drummer quit, leaving Singer Anthony Keidis and Bassist Flea in search of new band mates. They found them in John Frusciante (guitar) and Chad Smith (drums) The combo worked, the bands sound became much more controlled easier on the ear (Rubins influence?), and therefore gained heavy radio rotation. Frusciante subsequently left, mid album tour, hating the media attention the band were attracting.
Troubles aside, this is the album that put The Peppers on the world map and it's rockin' as Thursdays Critical Junction.

Track listing
1. Power Of Equality, The
2. If You Have To Ask
3. Breaking The Girl
4. Funky Monks
5. Suck My Kiss
6. I Could Have Lied
7. Mellowship Slinky In B Major
8. Righteous & The Wicked, The
9. Give It Away
10. Blood Sugar Sex Magik
11. Under The Bridge
12. Naked In The Rain
13. Apache Rose Peacock
14. Greeting Song, The
15. My Lovely Man
16. Sir Psycho Sexy
17. They're Red Hot

Play - Moby

Moby had been doing the rounds for about 10 years, achieving some sucess in the Club circuit when he released Play in 1999. The critics went into raptures, people bought it in droves, everybody loved it. Especially the advertising industry. Play was the first album ever to have ALL it's songs licensed for commercial use, and because of this, before it had gone multi platinum it was already a huge financial success.
The ubiquity of many of the albums tracks served to distract from the album as a whole and pulling it out and listening it to it now is a refreshing exercise. Genre Hopping Poppy Blues mixed with Rock and Disco beats Moby Plays on this Thursdays Critical Junction.


Track listing
1. Honey Honey
2. Find My Baby
3. Porcelain
4. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad
5. Southside
6. Rushing
7. Bodyrock
8. Natural Blues
9. Machete
10. 7
11. Run On
12. Down Slow
13. If Things Were Perfect
14. Ever Loving
15. Inside
16. Guitar Flute And String
17. Sky Is Broken
18. My Weakness

The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths

The third studio album released by the smiths in 1986 was called The Queen Is Dead and is quite simply, magnificent. It is universally regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, constantly appearing in the top twenty polls year in year out. The title of the album, by the way, is taken from Hubert Selby Jr’s book Last Exit to Brooklyn.

Johnny Marr worked tirelessly recording and producing the album with Morrissey and Stephen Street (Producer of Blur, the Cranberries and sadly the Kaiser Chiefs) in an effort to get it out as quickly as possible. There was however a delay of 6 months due to problems with their label Rough Trade.

Big Mouth Strikes Again was the first single from the album and strictly speaking the only single from the Album. There is a light That Never Goes Out is widely seen as the greatest Smiths song and one that truly epitomises their lyrical and musical style. The great songs don’t end there, other highlights on the album include Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others, The Boy With A Thorn in His Side, I Know Its Over and the title track The Queens is Dead.

There is a Light That Never Goes Out wasn’t released until 1992 it was re-released by Morrissey in 2005 when he put it on a double A side with his cover of Patti Smith’s Redondo Beach. It is believed that the song is about James Dean Morrissey remains tight lipped about this.

The Boy With A thorn in His Side was actually released before the album and was remixed and placed on The Queen is Dead. Morrissey claims that the Thorn in the title was the music industry the original single had Asleep as the B Side Easily one of The Smiths greatest songs.

There is a sarcastic, wry tone throughout this record and it is one of its finest traits and quite typical of The Smiths. Its status as a cult record is slowly disappearing as more and more people embrace it. Is it the best Album of the 80’s? One thing is for sure it is a Critical Junction, without it the 80’s would have been a very hollow place

Track listing
1. The Queen Is Dead / Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty
2. Frankly, Mr. Shankly
3. I Know It's Over
4. Never Had No One Ever
5. Cemetry Gates
6. Bigmouth Strikes Again
7. Boy With The Thorn In His Side, The
8. Vicar In A Tutu
9. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
10. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others

Odelay - Beck

Loser was the song that made Beck famous.

In 1996, Odelay was the Album that put him on the map. As Albums go it's a little mixed up, it opens with the almost bluesy Devils Haircut, followed up by the groovy Hotwax and the Country style Lord Only Knows.
And it is the Genre Hopping between styles that really makes this album stand out, Beck raps and strums his way through Folk, Rock, Funk and Soul in what has to be one of the most original Albums of the 1990's.

On the Thursday Live Drive CJ Playlist will be Devils Haircut, The New Pollution, Where it's At, High 5, and, if we can squeeze it in we'll play Jackass!

Track listing
1. Devils Haircut
2. Hotwax
3. Lord Only Knows
4. New Pollution, The
5. Derelict
6. Novacane
7. Jack-Ass
8. Where It's At
9. Minus
10. Sissyneck
11. Readymade
12. High 5 (Rock The Catskills)
13. Ramshackle

Parklife - Blur

The third album from Britpop mastermind’s Blur is the very pinnacle of the whole Britpop genre. Released in 1994 it was Blurs first number 1 album and spawned 4 hit singles, Girls and Boys, End of A Century, Parklife and To the End.

The pseudo-cockney, bored, self absorbed, middle class suburban lyrics of the album are hardly the invention of Damon Albarn but can be traced back through a great deal of English music especially the Paul Weller and to a greater extent in Parklife’s case Ray Davies of the Kinks who’s clever twist of phrase is quite similar to Albarns.

Girls and Boys is the lead track on the album and was a top 5 hit for Blur. This songs satirises the pointless hedonism of English 18 to 35 holiday makers. Ironically the very people who it poked fun at adopted it as their own. It is catchy and funny a perfect pop hit. It is perhaps more suitable to the charts of today, as many bands have now adopted this very blend of dance beats and pop guitar to great effect.

End of a century reached number 19 when it was releases as a single. Lyrically it is about the impending doom of the millennium “end of a century / its nothing special”. How very true.

To the End, is the uber relationship song, two people getting over a bad patch. It has a full orchestral accompaniment. While not one of their biggest hits coming in at number 16 n the charts it is one of their best and stylistically typical of Blurs old and new style. It even has the Stereolab vocalist Laetita Sadier singing along in French during the chorus. A full version of the song was released in French sung by legendary chanteuse Francoise Hardy.

Parklife the title track and number 10 hit featured the vocal talents of actor Phil Daniels, most famous for his role in Quadrophenia and perhaps as one of the rats in Chicken Run at the moment he is in that staple of TV nonsense Eastenders. The single is mostly spoken verse thanks to Dnaiels and the Chorus sung by Albarn. It is yet another wry look at the adoption of the English middle class of Estuary English.

Perhaps the finest moment on the album is This Is A Low It is a clever song whose lyrics are based around the shipping weather forecast. Its soaring guitar solo at the end show the promise of Blurs future albums and proved them to be above their rivals and poor Lennon imitators Oasis.

Parklife is an Album which is sure to prove a greater influence over time and cement Blur as one of England’s greatest bands.

Track listing
1. Girls And Boys
2. Tracy Jacks
3. End Of A Century
4. Parklife
5. Bank Holiday
6. Debt Collector
7. Far Out
8. To The End
9. London Loves
10. Trouble In The Message Centre
11. Clover Over Dover
12. Magic America
13. Jubilee
14. This Is A Low

Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos

Little Earthquakes, released in 1992 set the bar high for female singer songwriters throughout the Nineties. Tori Amos gave us a deeply personal, challenging and often humorous debut and introduced an original and very individual talent. Crucify is probably the best known track, but other standouts include the ode to independence Winter, the jaunty and hopeful Happy Phantom and Precious, dealing with the desire to "break and wash away" painful memories. The overall result is a magical album for Thursdays Critical Junction.

Track Listing
1. Crucify
2. Girl
3. Silent All These Years
4. Precious Things
5. Winter
6. Happy Phantom
7. China
8. Leather
9. Mother
10. Tear In Your Hand
11. Me And A Gun
12. Little Earthquakes

Nevermind - Nirvana

With disturbing themes of guns and death, in 1991 Nirvanas second album Nevermind crashed into the mainstream. Edgy and Passionate, the effect it had on middle of the road Top 40 music was revolutionary. For many, this is the best alternative rock album EVER. Fusing Punk with hard rock Kurt Cobains lyrics are simple and brutally effective and 17 years later a new generations continues to discover Nirvana, lured in by the mythology of another dead rocker.
Is it all it's cracked up to be...tune in to Thursdays Critical Junctions and decide for yourself.

Track Listing
1. Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. In Bloom
3. Come As You Are
4. Breed
5. Lithium
6. Polly
7. Territorial Pissings
8. Drain You
9. Lounge Act
10. Stay Away
11. On A Plain
12. Something In The Way

The Black Album - Metallica

It's probably safe to say that when Metallica released their fifth studio album "Metalllica" on August 12th 1991 (also known as the "Black Album" due to its mostly plain cover), they had no idea that it would help to propel them to their present status of seventh biggest selling act ever in America's history. The album remains the band’s biggest selling release to date, with a total of nearly 15 million copies sold in the United States alone.

It is also their most controversial album amongst fans, as its release heralded a new radio-friendly sound that divided fans right down the middle. Songs like “Holier Than Thou” and “The Struggle Within” still maintained elements of the band’s thrash metal roots, yet some fans felt that the success of singles like “Nothing Else Matters” and “Enter Sandman” showed that the band were now more interested in commercial gain than with artistic integrity and staying true to the scene that the Bay Area group had a large part in cultivating. It was the band’s first album with producer Bob Rock and despite his altering their working schedule and routine to such an extent that the band swore they would never work with him again, Rock has subsequently produced all five albums released by Metallica since the “Black Album”.
The “Black Album” is also noted for being the first Metallica album to not include an instrumental track, a feature that was a particular favourite of fans from their other albums.
Pam, our metal afficionado has chosen the tracks. After much agonising, the four songs will be Enter Sandman, Nothing Else Matters (the crowd pleasers), Don't Tread On Me and My Friend Of Misery (fan favourites!).

Track Listing:
1. "Enter Sandman"
2. "Sad But True"
3. "Holier Than Thou"
4. "The Unforgiven"
5. "Wherever I May Roam"
6. "Don't Tread On Me"
7. "Through The Never"
8. "Nothing Else Matters"
9. "Of Wolf And Man"
10. "The God That Failed"
11. "My Friend Of Misery"
12. The Struggle Within".

.....Baby One More Time - Britney Spears

The Album that created the ultimate Pop Princess and spawned a celebrity facination that perseveres to the present day. Britney Spears 1999 debut is Bubble Gum Senseless Fun and became THE teen Pop album of the decade. On Soda Pop she fairly belts it out, but what's lacking in vocal ability on other tracks is more than made up for in catchy beats, irristable Euro Dance rhythm and the unforgettable intro to Baby One More Time. In terms of affect and reach you can't argue with 14 times Platinum: Cute girl next door meets schoolgirl vixen, Britney is going to BRING IT to Thursday mornings Critical Junction!
Track Listing.
1. Baby One More Time
2. You Drive Me Crazy
3. Sometimes
4. Soda Pop
5. Born To Make You Happy
6. From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart
7. I Will Be There
8. I Will Still Love You
9. Deep In My Heart
10. Thinking About You
11. E Mail My Heart
12. Beat Goes On

Blue Lines - Massive Attack

A masterpiece of what was to become known as Trip Hop, Blue Lines was Massive Attacks debut album. Released to critical acclain in 1992, its been called the best dance album of all time but the laid back groovy beats have also make it a contender to be the finest down tempo album of the decade. We kicked off the morning with "Safe From Harm", followed it up with the classic "Unfinished Sympathy" at 8 and at 9 it was time for the bass groove of "Five Man Army" The show closed at 10 with "Hymn To The Big Wheel" (What else?)

Track listing
1. Safe From Harm
2. One Love
3. Blue Lines
4. Be Thankful For What You Got
5. Five Man Army
6. Unfinished Sympathy
7. Daydreaming
8. Lately
9. Hymn Of The Big Wheel