Always a popular discussion amongst music fans. Mine was, as previously mentioned, The Stray Cats' debut album. Not a 'Revolver' or 'Dark Side Of The Moon', but equally, not a 'One of those Top Of The Pops covers albums that had a bunch of chart tunes covered by session musicians and a scantily clad woman on the front' either.
Semi-respectable middle ground.
I was 14, so I was a bit late to the party, discovering-music wise. Up until that point, we had two radio's in our house - Dad's 'Music Centre' in the living room, and Mum's transistor radio in the kitchen, both of which had been welded to Radio 2, and the tuning controls removed.
Well that's what it felt like anyway.
So the late 70's passed me by. Punk overthrowing the old order was something I read about years later. In 1977, when the revolution was taking place, I was walking to school humming tunes by Cilla Black, Jack Jones, Crystal Gale and the like.
And then in March 1981, I got a Binatone Galaxy MkIII for my birthday, discovered Radio 1, and my world changed for ever.
All of which is getting off the point.
First albums is what we were talking about. So what was my first Shuffleman album? Did Mr Holmes look at the five choices presented to him and choose the most epic, the coolest, the best of the bunch?
No.
I started with 'The Spitting Image Record'.
Cheers mate!
(For anyone who doesn't remember Spitting Image, you can read about it here.)
And you know what? It wasn't bad. Sure there were lots of songs on it*, but many were short, and the vast majority were still very funny, even after all this time.
DSP rating : 6
After that, Matt had some sympathy and chose (presumably) what he thought was the best of the bunch, and gave me Blur's 'Modern Life Is Rubbish'.
Ask many people what Blur's first album was, and most will say 'Parklife'. A few will tap their nose in a knowing fashion and say 'Modern Life Is Rubbish, actually'. Hardly anyone remembers that it was in fact, 'Leisure'. Anyway, I digress. This is what Shuffleman is all about. MLIR is a fine album. I've had it for donkeys years. And apart from the classic single 'For Tomorrow', I don't think I've heard anything else on it.
So I listened. And it was good.
DSP rating : 6
I think I may have had to go and do some work at this point, as I only got one more album on the first day : 'Bryan Adams - Waking Up The Neighbours'.
Mr Adams, or 'the groover from Vancouver' as DJ's love to call him, is Rock-lite, but he does have a way with a tune. Pick up the 'Reckless' album - it's a corker.
However, my heart weighed heavy as I dialled round to W on the iPod. For WUTN has a millstone around it's neck. Basically, it's 14 songs, plus 'that one from Robin Hood that was at No.1 for 16 weeks'.
'Everything I Do (I Do It For You)'. How many couples walked down the aisle, or had their first dance to that song?
In July 1991 is was a pretty good song. When it was still at No.1 four months later, you had to wonder who was still out there buying it.
But despite this, it's actually a good, solid album. A bit long maybe, but I hadn't heard it for ages, so nice to hear it again.
DSP rating : 6
So three albums that, in all likelihood, I wouldn't have selected for myself.
A good start!
*When Shuffleman presents you with an album that you are unfamiliar with, the first thing you check is 'how many tracks are there, just in case it's awful'. Stupidly, I've tended to import many boxed sets as one album, rather than 'CD1, CD2, etc'. A fact which I came to regret bitterly, fairly soon...
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