THE FIRST CUT
JIM REID ON THOSE OTHER CLASSIC ROCK DEBUTS
The Velvet Underground & Nico The Velvet Underground & Nico (Mgm/verve, 1967) “A blueprint for a type of music that hadn’t yet been invented, and obviously a huge influence on the Mary Chain. That old cliché about everyone who heard it starting a band is probably true. It’s an Empire State Building of an album. As important as The Beatles and the Stones.”
The Stooges The Stooges (Elektra, 1969) “It’s the same thing. To say it was ahead of its time is not an exaggeration. No one understood it at the time. It was so out of place. It was punk rock before punk rock existed. It’s totally timeless. It would sound perfect in any decade.”
New York Dolls
New York Dolls (Mercury, 1973)
“The punk rock Rolling Stones. The standard of songwriting is incredible. Every song could have been a single. It sounds like a Greatest Hits record and they look so fucking incredible on the sleeve. My dad didn’t do this, but I can picture him picking that cover up and shouting, ‘What the fuck is this?!’ The hairs on the back of my neck would have been standing up. Right, I’m off to buy a red plastic dress…”
Sex Pistols Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
(Virgin, 1977)
“It was the first classic debut that I ever bought at the time of its release. There was no cooler person on the planet than
Johnny Rotten in 1977. He was the role model. Every single song is great. When people labelled us ‘the new Pistols’ it terrified us. We knew that one sentence had the power to end the Mary Chain. Don’t anyone ever fucking say that again!”
Suicide Suicide
(Red Star, 1977)
“It sounds like nothing else on earth. On all the other records we’ve discussed, I could easily find the reference points, but with the Suicide album I’ve no idea. It sounds unique. It sounds like they wanted to do a punk record but couldn’t play guitar and then spotted a synth lying in the corner: ‘Hey, let’s hit it with a hammer and see what happens.’”
The Smiths
The Smiths
(Rough Trade, 1984) “William is a massive Smiths fan. I wasn’t a fan then and I’m not a fan now. It used to drive me mad because I couldn’t find anyone back then who didn’t like The Smiths. I don’t get them at all. They leave me completely cold.”
Beastie Boys Licensed To Ill (Def Jam, 1986) “I quite liked it at the time. It’s OK. It’s not a classic and it’s not up there with the others. They made much better records later on.”
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses (Silvertone, 1989)
“I was a bit confused by it at first, because I thought it was really retro. So, my first reaction was: what’s the point? But then I started listening to the songs and the songs are great. Having said that, I actually prefer The Second Coming: the production and John Squire’s Hendrix guitar.”