Some Might Say - EPArtist: Oasis
The Best of Dramarama: 18 Big OnesArtist: Dramarama
Despite all of their good reviews, Dramarama was never able to break into the mainstream. Nevertheless, they left behind a number of terrific rock & roll albums, which found a dedicated cult following. For anyone interested in joining that cult, Best of Dramarama: 18 Big Ones provides an excellent primer, featuring 16 of the group's best songs...
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Greatest HitsArtist: Robyn Hitchcock
Community Score: 10.00
Disappointingly, the 1980s failed to recognize the genius of Robyn Hitchcock. As a member of the Soft Boys until they broke up in 1981, Hitchcock went on to write some extremely witty, off-the-wall, and peculiarly clever music. With a sound reminiscent of Lloyd Cole and even Elvis Costello at times, Hitchcock's jangly Brit-pop is made up of...
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Shoe Box EPArtist: Barenaked Ladies
Do they have the worst band name since Haircut One Hundred? Yes. Are they one of the finest pop groups in the world? Almost certainly. Their debut album was a tuneful, slapstick adolescent romp and their second was a remarkably mature folk-rock outing filled with as many irresistible hooks as a good Beach Boys album. This four-song EP previews a...
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Moseley ShoalsArtist: Ocean Colour Scene
Community Score: 8.62
By the time Ocean Colour Scene released their debut album in 1992, they were already considered has-beens. The band had formed during the height of Madchester, but they never released their first album until the scene was already dead, which left them without a following. But between their debut and their second album, 1996's Moseley Shoals, a...
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Roll with It - EPArtist: Oasis
Magic BoxArtist: Bel Canto
Community Score: 6.00
It's a sign of the times and relative fame that the opening track, "The Magic Box I," immediately calls to mind Tori Amos, where some years previous it would have just sounded like Bel Canto through and through. While Drecker and Johansen have never achieved the thorough fame of Amos or many other well-known names, the duo still stick to their...
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To See the LightsArtist: Gene
The easy joke is, To See the Lights is Gene's Hatful of Hollow. True, the album is a collection of B-sides, non-album singles, radio sessions, and live tracks but, like the Smiths' Hatful of Hollow before it, the album illustrates the band's strengths more effectively than their debut album, Olympian. Several of Gene's greatest songs, including...
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Different ClassArtist: Pulp
Community Score: 8.59
After years of obscurity, Pulp shot to stardom in Britain with 1994's His 'n' Hers. By the time Different Class was released at the end of October 1995, the band, particularly lead singer Jarvis Cocker, were genuine British superstars, with two number two singles and a triumphant last-minute performance at Glastonbury under their belts, as well...
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NuisanceArtist: Menswear
Perhaps Menswear was always destined to be a footnote in pop history, a product of the heady good times of London in 1994 and 1995. Reportedly signed after only three shows, the band was never given the chance to fully develop before they recorded their debut album, Nuisance. At the time of their first single, they appropriated the sound of Blur...
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(What's the Story) Morning Glory?Artist: Oasis
Community Score: 7.80
The Shadow of Your SmileArtist: Friends of Dean Martinez
A post-modern fusion of Santo & Johnny, Dick Dale and the Ventures, with a heaping side order of Tex-Mex border music. Whether or not the musicians are playing this straight or not, they're playing it very well, and the result is good fun, even if it's totally uncharacteristic of the material offered by the Giant Sand/Naked Prey axis in the...
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Exit the DragonArtist: Urge Overkill
Community Score: 9.10
Sonically falling somewhere between Supersonic Storybook and Stull, Exit the Dragon is a dark, lean album, the flipside of Saturation's glossy celebration of '70s rock & roll excess, and easily Urge Overkill's most haunting collection of songs. It kicks off with "Jaywalking," a terse, powerful rocker lamenting "all the evil in this world," which...
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Step Into 1996Artist: Oasis