Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums": Part 2 Quiz

Answer: Heart

"Heart Like a Wheel" was the fifth long player from Linda Ronstadt and topped the Billboard 200 charts in 1975. On it she covered artists such as Hank Williams, Buddy Holly, Little Feat, and Kate and Anna McGarrigle. The title track was by the McGarrigle sisters.

The single "You're No Good", a cover of the 1963 Dee Dee Warwick song, topped the Billboard Hot 100. The cover of "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You) by Hank Williams won a Grammy.

Answer: Mono

In 1991, "Back To Mono" included songs by many artists that Spector had recorded using his 'wall of sound'. This was a method of adding instruments and overdubs to basic tracks. When it worked well it sounded impressive, although not everyone concurred. In 1970, Spector added his trademark effects to the Beatles album "Let It Be". Paul McCartney hated it. In 2003, a re-mix, "Let It Be...Naked" was released. It featured the songs in the stripped down versions the Fab Four had intended.

Among 73 tracks on four CDs were "He's A Rebel" and "Da Doo Ron Ron" by The Crystals; "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes; "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers. All of these had originally been top 10 hits.

Answer: Stooges

Some say "The Stooges" by the Michigan outfit pre-dated punk rock. "Rolling Stone" commented that The Stooges played "with a savagery that unsettled even the most blasé clubgoers."

The name, of course, referenced the Hollywood comedy act The Three Stooges and Iggy Pop was the lead vocalist. "The Stooges" was the first of five albums

Answer: Damaged

Founded in California in 1976, Black Flag were in the vanguard of the American punk rock revolution. In 1981, MCA Records refused to distribute "Damaged", calling it "anti-parent." It was eventually distributed by SST Records, something that did not go down well with MCA, who banned them from releasing records under their own name for two years.

Black Flag ran up, um, a white flag when they dissolved in 1986.

Answer: Continuum

John Mayer surrounded himself with some top notch musicians for the 2006 long player "Continuum".

This was his third album and jumped into the Billboard 200 at number two. It also won a Grammy.

Answer: Bright

The married couple of Richard and Linda Thompson were in their own separate rights at the centre of the English folk rock scene, but "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" broke them up professionally and personally.

Despite some outstanding harmonies and Thompson's signature superb guitar parts, this 1974 outing never achieved commercial success, but is now considered a masterpiece. (This quiz author, though, prefers their 1975 release "Hokey Pokey".)

Answer: Born

"Born The Way" was released in 2005. It was the second album from the New York born songstress. As a single the title track was a chart-topper the world over, even if some did compare it to a Madonna track "Express Yourself". Madonna saw similarities, but Lady Gaga vehemently, and profanely, rejected any 'copycat' suggestions.

The album topped the Billboard 200 charts and was a multi-Grammy nominee.

Answer: Anthology

Chicago native Muddy Waters mastered the blues on acoustic guitar in Mississippi, but switched to electric when he arrived back on the Chicago scene in 1943. The 2001 album "The Anthology" included 50 tracks highlighting the journey he had come on.

During his lengthy career, Muddy Waters won seven Grammy Awards, including Lifetime Achievement.

Answer: Bizarre

Okay, best pun in a band's name so far on this list, the 1992 album was hip-hop heaven from the Los Angeles foursome.

Writing on BBC Music in 2012, Mike Diver opined "Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde" was inspired by jazz and characterised by crude but colourful humour.

Answer: Sinister

The 1996 release "If You're Feeling Sinister" by the Glaswegian duo Belle and Sebastian made the grade with the critics. Writing in the "Guardian" newspaper in 2011, Malcolm Jack called it "subtly poetic, wickedly funny, gorgeously melodic." He also chose it as his favourite album.

(Few children of the sixties can see that band's name without recalling the 1965 French television show "Belle et Sébastien", or the novel of the same name.)