Rolling Stone Magazine 100 Best Debut Albums of all time.

[TBird1958]

I was being a bit flippant 

I don't see any Duran Duran either. 

[gweimer]

Wasn't R.T.B. only involved in remixing the original self-produced Crue album before it was released by Electra?

I reviewed the debut for the Illinois Entertainer, and I seem to recall that he was listed as the producer, but it came out that he did some mixing for one song.  It's been a long time, but I think you have it pretty much correct.  I seem to remember that his work was even limited within that description.  All I know is that it certainly didn't sound like a Queen album!

[Highlander]

I bristle far more at the omission of Chicago Transit Authority.

Can't argue that, Billy... certainly can't argue that one...

Would Derek and the Dominoes be construed as a "debut" album...?

[lowend1]

Can't argue that, Billy... certainly can't argue that one...

Would Derek and the Dominoes be construed as a "debut" album...?

...or Blind Faith?

[lowend1]

I reviewed the debut for the Illinois Entertainer, and I seem to recall that he was listed as the producer, but it came out that he did some mixing for one song.  It's been a long time, but I think you have it pretty much correct.  I seem to remember that his work was even limited within that description.  All I know is that it certainly didn't sound like a Queen album!

Yeah, he only remixed it after the Elektra signing. Frankly I liked the Leathur Records version better - the remix was lipstick on a pig.

[the mojo hobo]

Saying that they compiled a list of the best debut albums of all time and then saying albums got docked points if the artist went on to far greater achievements kind of makes the whole excercise invalid, doesn't it?

[Psycho Bass Guy]

20 years ago? I'd say it's more like about 1980, and even then, it was only relevant if you were an aging hippie.

They latched onto the grunge/alternative movement pretty hard because they viewed them as Neil Young version 2.0. And while it was still a music network, RS was pretty much in lockstep with MTV, who still dictated the charts in those days. Sadly, the pretentious Seattle scene was probably the last time that large labels and big media supported non-prefab music. It was a slim grasp, but for a short time in the mid 90's, Rolling Stone actually did know and report on what was going on in music. They laid off their permanent boner for Dylan, even if it was only to fly it for Neil Young, but it was at least a change that reflected the times and tastes of many folks.

[nofi]

imo crawdaddy was the best rock rag ever followed by lester bangs era creem.

[the mojo hobo]

Apparently "all time" started about 1965.

[uwe]

All right, missy....

Mötley Crüe's debut was hardly anything to crow about.  They didn't have any idea of what they were doing, so they did everything.  The sound was credited to Roy Thomas Baker, but I've heard since that he wasn't nearly as involved as credited.  The whole album was a mish-mash of every popular trend of the time.   Motley Crue didn't really make a big impact until after Vince Neil's accident and the enormous PR makeover the band got from Dee Anthony.

Mötley took an excruciatingly long time to finally get their sound right. The first two albums were badly produced, Theater of Pain was thin-sounding, it really took them until Dr Feelgood to get whatever they do right. I thought Ratt's debut more musical than the first three albums the Sixx men put out.

I understand the importance the Crüe had for the whole hair metal and glam rock LA scene, but their music lagged behind their, errrm, "cultural importance" for quite some time. I'm no Crüe hater at all, I've seen them and was entertained even though Herr Neil is so dumb to make you Vince (bad pun intended).

Rolling Stone always massacred Deep Purple and Rainbow albums, but they did it with style and wit. Loved how they quipped in their Burn review: "With a new singer and bassist in, both sounding "blacker" than their predecessors, they still manage to sound as Yuropean as a vampire movie".  Their snipe at an early eighties album of Iron Maiden was great too: "No doubt one of the better albums of 19...72."

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Mötley took an excruciatingly long time to finally get their sound right. The first two albums were badly produced, Theater of Pain was thin-sounding, it really took them until Dr Feelgood to get whatever they do right.

Bob Rock produced that album, and he was exactly what they needed. He has his place in music, aside from ruining Metallica.

I understand the importance the Crüe had for the whole hair metal and glam rock LA scene, but their music lagged behind their, errrm, "cultural importance" for quite some time.

Without MTV, they never would have been anything other than LA club-scene burnouts. They were/are dumb, wasted, and marketable to white trash, the perfect spokesband for record label-approved corporate "rebellion." They have their moments, but are far more flash than substance.

[Highlander]

... aside from ruining Metallica.

Ah... a pre "black" fan... Mostly post, myself...

[uwe]

Bob Rock produced that album, and he was exactly what they needed. He has his place in music, aside from ruining Metallica.


Without MTV, they never would have been anything other than LA club-scene burnouts. They were/are dumb, wasted, and marketable to white trash, the perfect spokesband for record label-approved corporate "rebellion." They have their moments, but are far more flash than substance.

LA rock without MTV is an oxymoron. Wimmin' writhing on Jaguar hoods and half (of) the (male) band looking like Claudia Schiffer, the other half like Cindy Crawford. Which reminds me of a highly amusing exchange between Axel Rose's then missus, Stephanie Seymour, and Ms Cobain/Love, when both bands met at the MTV Awards. Ms Seymour to Ms Love: "Are you a model?" Ms Love's repartee: "No, are you a brain surgeon?"   Wimmin' can be harsh.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Ah... a pre "black" fan... Mostly post, myself...

Moreso than the changes in production and fidelity, which were most definitely positive, it was the change in attitude reflected that a former "legit" band like Metallica who had made their rep on being the anti-establishment band would willingly make a philosophical 180 in hiring Bob Rock and trade legitimacy for rock-stardom. They were already rich, but I guess they wanted to be super rich. The first time I saw the video for "Enter Sandman" which premiered a month or so before the album was released, I knew the band that I had loved for years was gone. I would like to hear Bob Rock remixes of the first Metallica albums. FWIW, prior to Bob Rock, Kill 'Em All and the Garage Days Revisited EP were the best sounding recordings from the band.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

LA rock without MTV is an oxymoron.

Yep. The question is did MTV choose SoCal to promote because of Van Halen or Micheal Jackson?