There Ain't Half Been Some Great Albums: F Quiz

Answer: Public Enemy

"Fear of a Black Planet" was Public Enemy's third studio album and the one on which they really went over the top with the production, creating layer after layer of samples and various other sounds. I vividly remember listening to it repeatedly when it had just come out, just trying to work out what the heck was going on. Although a lot has happened in hip hop production since the heady days of 1990, "Fear of a Black Planet" is still just as breathtaking.

Of course, Public Enemy have always been controversial for their lyrical content. It was around this time that many rap and hip-hop artists were being accused of every sin possible, and Public Enemy got flack for alleged homophobia, misogyny, and antisemitism. Whether those accusations are true or not, none of these unpleasant attitudes were new to the music industry. Furthermore, Public Enemy were one of the few groups who actually faced up to these charges, both in the press and in their lyrics.

Answer: Love

"Forever Changes" has to be one of the greatest albums of all time. It's certainly in my top ten. It was Love's third album, and as much as I enjoy listening the previous two, this one is in another league.

"Forever Changes" is often seen as a classic from the infamous Summer of Love, but you only have to scratch slightly beneath the surface to realise that songwriters Arthur Lee and the less-celebrated Bryan MacLean's vision was no bright, cheerful, optimism but something much more opprobrious. Indeed, even the album's title was veritably cynical if the story of it referring to the following dialogue is to be believed: "You said you would love me forever!,", "Well, forever changes."

On a musical level you get everything your heart desires on "Forever Changes". Apart from the expected drums, bass, and guitars, there are horns, strings, and pianos all interweaving and creating evocative, rocking tunes.

Answer: Roxy Music

Not many albums start as dramatically as "For Your Pleasure". The first track is the urgent "Do the Strand" which emphatically recommends we try the new dance trend without actually telling us how to do it. The song ends just as abruptly as it started. The rest of the album is a very unusual mixture of clever pop, crooning, solos which range from frantic to intricate, and weird sounds. Not much to dance the strand to.

"For Your Pleasure" was Roxy Music's second album and the last to feature Brian Eno unfortunately. Although the following album, "Stranded", is also great I think they lost a lot when Eno packed up his VCS 3 synthesizer and embarked on a bizarre solo career.

Answer: Van Halen

When people talk about Van Halen, "Fair Warning" is often overlooked for some inexplicable reason. I suppose it came during a period of transition in terms of the group's style, and it's arguably less jokey than some of their other offerings, but neither of those observations are to its detriment. You might say it's a Van Halen album for Eddie fans rather than Dave fans.

"Fair Warning" opens without any warning at all as Eddie Van Halen blasts us into "Mean Streets" with some guitar-playing tricks followed by a classic Van Halen riff. The album carries on in that sort of vein in terms of tough, mean songs. They really open up as the album progresses, and we hear synths towards the end of the record which ushered in the next stage of the Van Halen sound.

Answer: Arctic Monkeys

A huge critical and commercial success on its release, "Favourite Worst Nightmare" was Arctic Monkeys' second album. It's an intense blend of funky in-your-face rock and great pop songwriting, all done in the band's typical Northern English style. Everybody in the British music press was wondering if they could keep up the momentum after the huge success of the high-profile debut, but nobody seemed disappointed.

The Arctic Monkeys seem to have absorbed the whole of popular music history and spewed it all back out again with their own slant on it. Add the magic ingredient of charisma, and you are onto a winner. What's incredible is that they manged to have all this at their fingertips so early in their careers when they were so young, almost like a throwback to the glory days of the Brits in the 1960s who had a similar familiarity and confidence.

Answer: The Stooges

I think The Stooges' second album, "Fun House", falls solidly into the category of popular culture described by Austrian author Thomas Bernhard that is misunderstood in its own time because it is too far forward although it seems behind the times. Practically every artist of punky music has cited this as the album that turned them on in the early 1970s. What is more, it hasn't dated an iota and still sounds as radical without really having to be experimental at all.

The star of the show is the track "Dirt". The Stooges' rhythm section of drummer Scott Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander were almost playing funk on this album, but on this song they slammed down a rhythm so tight it sounds as if it's about to snap. On the other hand, Iggy Pop sounds like he's already snapped.

Answer: Molly Hatchet

"Flirtin' with Disaster" was Molly Hatchet's second album after an eponymous debut. Apart from the classic Southern Rock title track, it's a bounty of fun tunes characterized by founding member Dave Hlubek and his cohorts Steve Holland and Duane Roland's guitar licks. Yes, that is three guitarists.

The fabulous "Boogie No More" takes the whole three-guitar-attack to its illogical apex brilliantly. That's not to say that the rhythm section is in anyway lacking, since the whole outfit are on top form here. Southern-drawling vocalist Danny Joe Brown does a great job too. When I was a kid growing up in Yorkshire, I wondered if he was putting on the accent for our entertainment, especially when he just calls stuff out which seems to start with "C'mon boys" but then just gets lost. He whistles like he's herding beasts a lot too. Fantastic.

Answer: Genesis

Even though "Foxtrot"'s reputation lies mostly on the compelling opening track "Watcher of the Skies" and the lengthy closer "Supper's Ready", the songs in the middle work as perfect buffers for the aforementioned songs' moods.

"Foxtrot" was Genesis's fourth studio album and saw them in full flight. It was prog rock at its best, with every instrument playing a vital role and everybody sounding like they were having a great time playing complicated time changes. It almost sounds as though they were trying to outwit one another in some strange game. Peter Gabriel put in a top-notch performance too, with his haunting, elegant voice.

Answer: Napalm Death

"From Enslavement to Obliteration" was Napalm Death's second album and the defining statement of the group's early incarnation. That line-up was actually only really together on this album since vocalist Lee Dorian left to form Cathedral, guitarist Bill Steer left to concentrate on his other group, Carcass, and the to-be longstanding member Shane Embury had only just joined.

"From Enslavement to Obliteration" is a fabulous album which succinctly sums up a brief moment in music history when extreme music was high-profile (in the UK at least), if not appreciated by the masses. Nevertheless, the legacy the movement left was so significant that a host of mainstream rock bands at least acknowledging what was happening.

It's also a great album in its own right for fans of the genre. Despite criticism from the holier-than-thou camps, Napalm Death brought not only an extreme style of music, but also an extreme political attitude to the public's attention without selling out completely.

I'll never forget hearing Napalm Death for the first time on their earlier album "Scum", and seeing this line-up perform in small venues. I hope I never stop getting the massive buzz from listening to this stuff.

Answer: Dead Kennedys

The brilliantly-titled "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables" was Californian punk band Dead Kennedys' debut album, and their best I believe. Vocalist Jello Biafra's virulent sarcasm hadn't yet become sanctimonious and the group were knocking out their sped-up surfy rock 'n' roll like it were going out of fashion rather than just about to become one.

The album lasts just over half an hour but the Dead Kennedys managed to get through thirteen originals and a cover of Elvis's "Viva Las Vegas" in that time. It has a great loose-yet-tight feel which later hardcore punk lost in favour of over-muscular macho nonsense. It's also brimming with a biting humour that manages to remain funny despite the passing of time, and the then-topical cases being long forgotten.