'Contraband' is one of those albums in which the story of its making is almost as interesting as the music itself. After the death of fromer Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue drummer, Randy Castillo, friend and fellow drummer Matt Sorum gave a call to his former Guns N' Roses bandmates Slash and Duff McKagan. They performed together for the first time since 1993 at a tribute concert for the band with appearances from Josh Todd and Keith Nelson (Buckcherry), Cypress Hill, and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. The three of them enjoyed that so much that they decided to make it a full-time band. Working together with fellow former GN'R member Izzy Stradlin, they began writing material whilst searching for a singer. Eventually, Stradlin left what was then known as "The Project" to be replaced by Dave Kushner, and after months of auditioning singers, both famous and unknown, they managed to recruit Scott Weiland whose second stint with Stone Temple Pilots had just come to an end. The still unnamed band contributed the song 'Set Me Free' to Ang Lee's Hulk, and after naming themselves Velvet Revolver gave their first performance at the El Rey Theatre as part of that movie's premiere.
But that wasn't the end of their problems, as Scott Weiland was currently in the midst of a debilitating heroin addiction and was arrested for possession of heroin shortly after work on the album began, forcing him to record vocals on day release from jail.
It looked like the odds were against this band, with people predicting their dissolution before even releasing their debut album. All of this helped make 'Contraband' one of the best rock albums of the last decade. You get the sense upon listening to it that this was 'make-or-break' time for everyone involved. They had something to prove, and prove it they did. Musically, it features the familiar hallmarks of both GN'R and STP, but managing to not sound like either band, and instead something far more modern. Slash played like he's never played before, whilst maintaining the familiar sound in his solo's, and Weiland went from furious venom-spitting fury, to deep introspection from song to song.
'Contraband' was an album that any band was going to have trouble following up, and 'Libertad' ended up being a flop critcially, commercially and musically (though it wasn't without it's moments, and the track 'Messages' which was left off of the album but shouldn't have been is the best thing they ever recorded). And Velvet Revolver themselves were a band forged through such volatility that they were never going to last long, and just four years after the release of this record it all fell apart on-stage before the eyes of the UK public on the band's final tour (which they somehow managed to complete). But for a while, Velvet Revolver were one of the best things rock music had to offer.
Best Songs: Sucker Train Blues; Set Me Free; Slither
179) Jerry Cantrell - Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2 (2002)
In 2001, Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell went to Roadrunner Records with this double album, and was told that they'd sign him as long as before releasing it, he cut the album down to one disc, and 'Degradation Trip' was released in the following June. Fortunately, however, the label agreed to release the full-length double album with its original tracklist as a Special Edition a few months later. As a kind of "Director's Cut", 'Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2' is what I consider to be the official version of the album.
As opposed to the country-influenced Southern rock that dominated most of his first solo album, 'Degradation Trip' sees Jerry (along with bassist Rob Trujillo, and drummer Mike Bordin) return to the dark, sludgy, grungy metal that characterises most of Alice In Chains' work. Several songs on the record deal with Cantrell's eroded relationship with Layne Staley and his worries for his old friend's health (specifically '31/32'), which were made all the more heartbreaking after his tragic death in April that year. Other songs deal with his misgivings about life in the music industry, and various other dark themes.
Best Songs: Psychotic Break; Angel Eyes; Anger Rising
178) Radiohead - Pablo Honey (1993)
Radiohead's debut album is as far removed from 'The King Of Limbs' as is probably possible for one band. Straight up rock music all the way, including 'Creep', one of the most anthemic songs in their catalogue. The band themselves seem to hate everything about that song (those guitar crunches before the chorus were supposedly put there to ensure the track would never receive radio play), and have all but disowned this album entirely. But it's a great debut album from a band who have since gone off the rails.
Best Songs: Creep; Anyone Can Play Guitar; Lurgee
177) Green Day - Warning (2000)
The pop-punk band break out the acoustic guitars and try their hand at "folk punk". Perhaps because of this style change ('Minority' wouldn't sound terribly out of place on a Dropkick Murphys album), 'Warning' is probably the most criminally underrated album in the band's catalogue. There were hints of this on 'Nimrod', but other than that Green Day were in danger of being one of those bands that just stays the same throughout their career, and it was good to hear such a change of pace. It wasn't as dramatic a change as most people seem to think, though. You can still tell it's a Green Day record.
Best Songs: Deadbeat Holiday; Waiting; Macy's Day Parade
176) Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist (2007)
The day that his debut solo album was released, Billy Corgan issued a full-page press release in a Chicago newspaper announcing his intention to regroup the Smashing Pumpkins - and in this action showed perhaps the least confidence someone had in their own work in living memory. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin jumped on board straight away, but other former members James Iha (guitar), D'Arcy Wretzky and Melissa auf der Maur (both former bass players) wanted no part of it, forcing Billy and Jimmy to record this comeback record on their own.
I think it's this lack of involvement from former members that has led 'Zeitgeist' to be treated with as much derision as it has. Don't take those circumstances into consideration, and what you get with 'Zeitgeist' is a highly impressive record. It's not the best Smashing Pumpkins album ever (in fact, not including B-side/rarity compilations people are right correct that it's their worst), and there are some issues with the production (from the legendary Roy Thomas Baker), but it showcases Billy Corgan back on form after the misfires of both Zwan and his solo album 'TheFutureEmbrace'. I think he really does need to be writing for the Smashing Pumpkins in order to have the confidence and desire to write the very best music he can at the time. Smashing Pumpkins are a band (no matter who's in it) that'd I'd take at their worst over a lot of other bands at their best.
Best Songs: Doomsday Clock; Tarantula; United States
175) Mother Love Bone - Apple (1990)
Mother Love Bone were a band from Seattle that featured former members of Malfunkshun (Andrew Wood), 10 Minute Warning (Greg Gilmore) and Green River (Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Bruce Fairweather). Upon the release of their debut EP in 1989, they were tipped to be the band that brought the Seattle scene to the attention of the mainstream, and were gearing up to release this - their first full length album - in March 1990. However, days before its slated release date, Andrew Wood slipped into a coma after overdosing on heroin, and died a few days later. The album was eventually released quietly in July, but without the promotional push and tour that were originally planned, it's now considered an obscure release. Stone and Jeff would release a tribute to Wood under the name Temple Of The Dog along with Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden, guitarist Mike McCready and a couple of tracks with aspiring singer Eddie Vedder before eventually teaming up with Mike and Eddie to form Pearl Jam.
Musically, Mother Love Bone weren't as inspired by punk rock or metal as most of their Seattle contemporaries, instead having a sound more similar to the likes of Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin, though with less of the OTT theatrics that similar bands from Hollywood were displaying.
Best Songs: Stardog Champion; Stargazer; Crown Of Thorns
174) Hole - Celebrity Skin (1998)
The third studio album from Courtney Love's band. For this album she recruited Billy Corgan to co-write almost half of the album with the band, and the resulting album is a far more commercial affair than either of the band's previous albums. The title track is the best example of the kind of music on display here, featuring a much more 'bubblegum' rock sound than the band's earlier punk-influenced music. In short, it's the best thing that Love has ever produced (with the possible exception of her performance in The People Vs. Larry Flynt).
Best Songs: Celebrity Skin; Malibu; Use Once & Destroy
173) Stone Sour - Come What(ever) May (2006)
The second album from Corey Taylor and Jim Root of Slipknot's other band. This is probably the album which best showcases Taylor's skill writing great melodies, which until recently was almost completely absent from Slipknot. One of the best singers in rock or metal today, and the rest of the band are equally as brilliant.
Best Songs: 30/30-150; Made Of Scars; Zzyzx Rd.
172) Within Temptation - The Silent Force (2004)
The Dutch symphonic metal band's third album. Front and centre is the amazing voice of Sharon den Adel, Of all of the European female-fronted metal bands, Within Temptation are perhaps the most commercial, and therefore invite the most comparison to Evanescence (who many people outside of Europe mistakenly believe came first).
Best Songs: Jillian (I'd Give My Heart); It's The Fear
171) Metallica - Garage Inc. (1998)
In which Metallica pay tribute to their influences from Misfits to Bob Seger via Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath. Their rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Tuesday's Gone', featuring Pepper Keenan, Jerry Cantrell and Les Claypool is a thing of beauty, as is Bob Seger's 'Turn The Page' - the ode to getting bored whilst on tour. It's 'Whiskey In The Jar' that most people will have heard, though.
Disc 2 is a compilation of covers from previous hard-to-find Metallica releases, including Anti-Nowhere League's controversial 'So What?'... the original version of the song was actually banned in the UK under the Obscene Publications Act.
Best Songs: Turn The Page; Tuesday's Gone
170) Ozzy Osbourne - Scream (2010)
Since being reduce to human punchline in MTV's The Osbournes (I've actually had a conversation from someone who called themselves an Ozzy Osbourne fan who was surprised to hear that he did music, too), Ozzy's music seemed to have suffered. Both his covers album, 'Under Cover', and his last album of original material, 'Black Rain' were disappointing at their best points. So I was pleasantly surprised when I heard 'Scream' in 2010 and found myself enjoying every moment of the 49 minute running time. It's probably the final solo album by Ozzy as he's now pre-occupied with promoting the new Black Sabbath album (his first with the band since 1978), and I'm not sure how many years of being able to perform he has left in him.
Best Songs: Let Me Hear You Scream; Crucify
169) Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire (1996)
The follow-up to Rage Against The Machine's stunning debut album is often considered a disappointment compared to what had come before. It's true that this is not quite as good as that self-titled record, but that doesn't make it a disappointment as far as I'm concerned. Still, it's the least of the band's three albums of original material.
Best Songs: Bulls On Parade; Revolver
168) Serj Tankian - Harakiri (2012)
So far, this is the best of Serj Tankian's solo output. Musically, it's his most similar to System Of A Down, but is still far more melodic than that band.
Best Songs: Figure It Out; Uneducated Democracy
167) Apocalyptica - Worlds Collide (2007)
The sixth album from the Finnish cellists features guest appearances from members of other bands including Slayer's Dave Lombardo drumming on one track. The best songs on the album, though feature guest vocals from Corey Taylor and Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia.
Best Songs: I'm Not Jesus; S.O.S. (Anything But Love)
166) Deftones - White Pony (2000)
For their third album, the Deftones moved away from the nu-metal sound that they had found themselves pigeon-holed into in favour of a more atmospheric style with trip hop and shoegaze influences. The growth in their sound is fantastic, and the result is the best album in their career. 'Passenger' is one of my favourite songs of all time, and features great vocal interplay between Chino Moreno and Tool's Maynard James Keenan.
Best Songs: Knife Party; Passenger
165) Muse - Black Holes & Revelations (2006)
How do you follow-up the most extravagant album of your career so far? In the case of Muse, you get even more extravagant. It doesn't quite reach the heights of the amazing 'Absolution', but that's no loss. 'Knights Of Cydonia' is one of the most ridiculous songs I've ever heard... that it's also great is the real surprise.
Best Songs: Map Of The Problematique; Knights Of Cydonia
164) Pearl Jam - Backspacer (2009)
At just 36 minutes long, 'Backspacer' is the most short, sharp collection of music that Pearl Jam have ever released. It's also the most straightforward rock 'n' roll album in any of the bandmember's careers including elements of "surf rock" in some tracks. Such optimism is a rarity in the music of Seattle's most famous band's, and it's a welcome change of pace.
Best Songs: Amongst The Waves; Supersonic
163) The Clash - Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978)
The second album by the legendary punks. It's the best album that the band produced... definitely better than the vastly overrated 'London Calling'. Though that one does have a better cover image.
Best Songs: Tommy Gun; All The Young Punks (New Boots And Contracts)
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