A few months ago Uncut Magazine published this list of their "101 Weirdest Albums Of All Time". A relative failure, if judged by the title, as these albums are in no way the weirdest of all time: You have cult favourites, sonic experiments, bad or atypical albums by mainstream artists and, yes, genuinely out-there stuff existing in the twilight between genius and madness. Cover star Captain Beefheart certainly belonged to the latest category. I can't relay my emotions on hearing his Trout Mask Replica LP. Having heard it was a masterpiece, I bought it at a record bazaar in my late teens. I tried to like it, but to my ears it sounded like an incompetently played mix of blues and psychedelia. I promptly sold it, only to buy it again on CD twenty years later. I figured I had to have it in my collection but I haven't yet decided if I like it. Skip Spence's Oar belongs to the same "weird masterpiece" category, albeit a much more listenable one. Syd Barrett's solo albums are strangely absent but Floyd's The Final Cut is included. Why The Final Cut? It's by no means Floyd's weirdest (my vote would go to Ummagumma or Atom Heart Mother), more like a needless addendum to The Wall. And why Hüsker Dü's Zen Arcade? Bold for its time but certainly not an a par with Captain Beefheart in terms of weirdness. And Pere Ubu's New Picnic Time is neither their best nor -in my opinion- their strangest.
White Noise's "Electric Storm" is a charmingly bonkers mix of folk and proto-electronica, and while Aphrodite’s Child's "666" is certainly mad, it's only slightly weirder than your average 70's prog concept album. Crazy times, the 70's. I blame the LSD, its effect keeps reverberating a decade later.
Winds Of Change is one of my all-time favourites, and I never thought of it as being weird. I guess you could call a track like "The Black Plague" somewhat dark, but weird? Hmmm, maybe there is a point there... In any case, the whole list seems rather random, but it nevertheless makes for interesting, if challenging, listening.
White Noise's "Electric Storm" is a charmingly bonkers mix of folk and proto-electronica, and while Aphrodite’s Child's "666" is certainly mad, it's only slightly weirder than your average 70's prog concept album. Crazy times, the 70's. I blame the LSD, its effect keeps reverberating a decade later.
The albums I mentioned already, along with a few others, are in my collection so I'll have the chance to present them here in the future. Some others (e.g. Dee Dee Ramone's rap LP) I don't own any more and yet others are still in my shopping list. It'd be cool to own e.g. Zaireeka on vinyl, even if it is comprised by 4 LP's that need to be played simultaneously - which makes it almost impossible to play. The majority of these albums I've never heard, but I aim to rectify this omission. I publish the whole list here, so you can do the same...
1. Todd Rundgren – A Wizard, A True Star – 1973
2. John & Yoko – The Wedding Album – 1969
3. Lou Reed & Metallica – Lulu – 2011
4. Joe Meek – I Hear A New World – 1991
5. Scott Walker – The Drift – 2006
6. Butthole Surfers – Locust Abortion Technician – 1987
7. Sun Ra – Disco 3000 – 1978
8. Lee Perry – Cow Thief Skank – 1973
9. Jandek – Ready For The House – 1978
10. John Tilbury – John Cage: Sonatas & Interludes For Prepared Piano – 1975
11. Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band – Trout Mask Replica – 1969
12. White Noise – An Electric Storm – 1969
13. Mike Patton – Adult Themes For Voices – 1996
14. The Residents – The Third Reich ‘N’ Roll – 1976
15. Aphrodite’s Child – 666 – 1972
16. Art Bears – Winter Songs – 1979
17. Chris Gaines – Greatest Hits – 1999
18. Faust – Faust (Aka Clear) – 1971
19. Sheldon Allman – Folk Songs For The 21st Century – 1960
20. Sham 69 – That’s Life – 1978
21. Portsmouth Sinfonia – Plays Popular Classics – 1974
22. Skip Spence – Oar – 1969
23. Comus – First Utterance – 1971
24. Frank Zappa – Lumpy Gravy – 1968
25. Alvaro – Drinking My Own Sperm – 1977
26. Various Frogs – Sounds Of North America
27. Denim – Novelty Rock – 1997
28. Flaming Lips – Zaireeka – 1997
29. Chris Butler – The Devil Glitch – 1996
30. Lucia Pamela – Into Outer Space With Lucia Pamela – 1969
31. Julian Cope – Skellington – 1989
32. Moondog – Moondog – 1969
33. Half Japanese – Half Gentlemen/Not Beasts – 1980
34. Godley & Crème – Consequences – 1977
35. Throbbing Gristle – 20 Jazz Funk Greats – 1979
36. Gong – Flying Teapot – 1973
37. The Fiery Furnaces – Rehearsing My Choir – 2005
38. Lil B – Rain In England – 2010
39. David Peel & The Lower East Side – The Pope Smokes Dope – 1971
40. Spirit – The Adventures Of Captain Kopter… – 1981
41. Yat-Kha – Re-Covers – 2005
42. Martin Denny – Exotica – 1957
43. The Cosmic Jokers – The Cosmic Jokers – 1974
44. Robert Ashley – Yellow Man With Heart With Wings – 1990
45. Marc Bolan & T.Rex – Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow – 1974
46. Ivor Cutler – Dandruff – 1974
47. Robert Mitchum – Calypso Is Like So… – 1957
48. John Coltrane – Ascension – 19??
49. Rudimentary Peni – Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric – 1995
50. The Shaggs – Philosophy Of The World – 1969
51. Magma – Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh – 1973
52. Sonny Bono – Inner Views – 1967
53. Armand Schaubroeck Steals – Rat****er – 1978
54. John Oswald – Grayfolded – 1994
55. General Magic + Pita – Fridge Trax – 1995
56. Sonic Youth – Syr4: Goodbye 20th Century – 1999
57. Robert Calvert – Captain Lockheed & The Starfighters – 1974
58. Holy Modal Rounders – The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders – 1968
59. Kim Fowley – Outrageous – 1968
60. Paul Horn – Inside – 1968
61. Third Ear Band – Third Ear Band – 1970
62. Slint – Spiderland – 1991
63. Hampton Grease Band – Music To Eat – 1971
64. Ya Ho Wa 13 – Savage Sons Of Ya Ho Wa – 1974
65. The Osmonds – The Plan – 1973
66. The Frogs – It’s Only Right And Natural – 1989
67. Pere Ubu – New Picnic Time – 1979
68. Caetano Veloso – Araca Azul – 1972
69. Circle One – Patterns Of Force – 1983
70. Lewis – L’amour – 2014
71. David Stoughton – Transformer – 1968
72. The Fall – Dragnet – 1979
73. Centipede – Septober Energy – 1971
74. Michael Nesmith – The Prison: A Book With A Soundtrack – 1974
75. The Beatles – Love – 2006
76. Royal Trux – Twin Infinitives – 1990
77. Elvis Presley – Having Fun With Elvis On Stage – 1974
78. AA Allen And His Miracle Revival Ministries – 19??
79. The Group – The Feed-Back – 1970
81. Bobb Trimble – Harvest Of Dreams – 1982
82. John Greaves/Peter Blegvad/Lisa Harman – Kew.Rhone – 1977
83. RD Burman/Various – Hare Rama Hare Krishna – 1971
84. Lucifer – Big Gun – 1972
85. Shooter Jennings – Countach (For Giorgio) – 2016
86. Wild Man Fischer – An Evening With Wild Man Fischer – 1969
87. John Fahey – Requia – 1967
88. John Cale – The Academy In Peril – 1972
89. Current 93 – Swastikas For Noddy – 1988
90. Tom Russell – Hotwalker – 2005
91. Neil Young – Trans – 1982
92. Ra-X – The Opium Den (Parts I-IV)
93. Freddie And The Dreamers – Over In The Overworld – 1971
94. Husker Du – Zen Arcade – 1984
95. Various Artists – Great Googa Moogal – 2003
96. Fred Frith – Guitar Solos – 1974
97. R Kelly – Trapped In The Closet – 2005
98. Cromagnon – Orgasm – 1969
99. Dee Dee King aka Dee Dee Ramone – Standing In The Spotlight – 1989
100. Merzbow – Merzcar – 1994
101. Pink Floyd – The Final Cut – 1983
Indeed, the list could be called the Top Weird, but not too Weird Records.
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