Much is being made of this year being the anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind album, with a 4-CD + DVD deluxe edition due for release in September.

It was already notable at the time of its original release, not least of all because it knocked Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album out of the no. 1 slot on the charts. (Of course, by that time, MJ was palling around with the Home Alone kid, so it’s not as though Nirvana had dethroned Thriller.)

However, there are some other fine albums that also celebrate the big 2-0 this year. I think somebody should acknowledge them, so that somebody is going to be me:

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Homebase (Jive)
Homebase, of course contains the summer classic, “Summertime”, built on musical samples from the live version of Kool & The Gang’s own summer classic, “Summer Madness”, and painting the picture of a happy summer day in Philadelphia. Homebase was the first album after a relatively extended absence during which both Will Smith and Jeff Townes had been doing the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sitcom. Released at a time when gangsta rap was still gaining steam, the album was in some ways kind of a throwback. But, with “Summertime” leading the way, it was an enjoyable throwback indeed.

Julian Cope – Peggy Suicide (Island)
I suspect many folks had long written off Julian Cope by the time the double album that was Peggy Suicide made its appearance. No longer. In addition to being one of the better non-hair-metal rock albums to appear in quite some time, Peggy Suicide was not only politically relevant (these were the days of the poll tax, and poll tax protests, in the UK), but it was also environmentally conscious years before that phrase entered the popular lexicon. Including songs like “East Easy Rider”, “Drive She Said”, “Safesurfer”, “Soldier Blue”, and “Leperskin”, Peggy Suicide helped cement Cope’s reputation for years to come. Universal/Island released a Deluxe Edition of the album last year.

Galliano – In Pursuit of the 13th Note (Talkin’ Loud)
Alternately mellow and uptempo, this blend of jazz, hip-hop, and spoken word is something of a classic, albeit an under-recognized one. Whether the grooves are jazzy and subdued or more clearly hip-hop-influenced, the music evokes the atmosphere of a smoky after-hours club on a late summer evening. Even when the songs are topical, the musical vibe tends to be laid back; the group’s very British vocals add to this feel. Highlights include “Leg in the Sea of History”, “Welcome to the Story”, “Power and Glory”, and “Little Ghetto Boy”. Available as a budget-priced CD in the UK, in digital download formats.

Young Disciples – Road to Freedom (Talkin’ Loud)
Another Talkin’ Loud release, Road to Freedom was the only album released by Young Disciples. A blend of soul, hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and funk influences, the album yielded the #13 UK hit “Apparently Nothin'”. Though the album apparently did not sell very well, it was critically acclaimed, and is considered very influential. Other notable songs on the album include the minor hit “Get Yourself Together”, “Talkin’ What I Feel”, “As We Come (To Be)”, and the three-part “Freedom Suite”. Oddly enough, the album (also known as Young Ideas) was not released in the US until 1993, by which time the group had already split. The album was reissued with bonus tracks in 2006.

Rain Tree Crow – Rain Tree Crow (Virgin)
A reunion of the band Japan resulted in this album, which more closely resembled the band’s solo projects than anything they had done the first time around. The instrumentation was largely acoustic (in feel, if not always in practice), the music was often ambient, the lyrics were more direct, and no photos of the band were to be found on the cover. The album was well-received, though this did not necessarily translate into sales. The album’s lone single, “Blackwater”, was a minor UK hit; other songs include “Every Colour You Are”, “Pocket Full of Change”, and “Cries and Whispers”. A remastered edition was released in 2003.

Jesus Loves You (a/k/a Boy George) – The Martyr Mantras (Virgin)
I could be wrong, but I seem to recall this being more of a collection than a proper album, what with “No Clause 28”, “After the Love” (which The KLF sampled on Chill Out), “Generations of Love”, and “One on One” having been released as singles between 1988 and 1990. In any event, while the album itself was just a minor UK hit, it was a significant improvement over Boy George’s solo albums to date. “Generations of Love” and “I Specialise in Loneliness” are particularly good, and “Love Hurts” would not have been out of place on a late 1970s disco album (in a good way). Only “No Clause 28”, with its disco stomper beat, seems out of place here, but that’s a minor quibble. As far as I know, the CD is out of print in the US, but the album is available in digital formats on both Amazon and iTunes.

The KLF – The White Room (KLF Communications)
The KLF were the biggest-selling British singles artist in 1991; those singles are all available (in one form or another) on this album—namely, “What Time is Love”, “3 a.m. Eternal”, and “Last Train to Trancentral”. Even the re-worked version of “Justified and Ancient” featuring Tammy Wynette was belatedly included on the American edition, when Arista decided to bundle the CD single with the album. Still in print in the US—and only in the US, as far as I know, since The KLF deleted their entire catalog when they decided to call it quits in 1992.

P.M. Dawn – Of the Heart, Of the Soul, and Of the Cross: The Utopian Experience (GeeStreet/Island)
Sadly, P.M. Dawn have never really been given their due. I didn’t really catch all of the initial controversy (though I did hear about the KRS-One incident), but it never made sense to me. Here I’d thought that rap/hip-hop was about giving voice to those who might not otherwise have one, yet P.M. Dawn were slammed for one reason or another. Too soft? Well, so they weren’t hardcore. BFD. Their music didn’t sound like everybody else’s, their lyrics were often thoughtful and contained emotion, and they could actually sing once in a while. Whatever the hip-hop orthodoxy didn’t like about them, their debut album had depth and feeling that transcended genre. The big hit here was “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss”, but the album also includes “Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine”, “Paper Doll”, and “A Watcher’s Point of View (Don’t ‘Cha Think)”. With the remixes and b-sides found on singles (and on an expanded edition released in the UK in early 1992), this album deserves a deluxe edition reissue.

Pop Will Eat Itself – Cure for Sanity (RCA)
Nowadays, Clint Mansell is a respected film composer—but, back in the day, he was known to most folks as Clint Poppie, part of Britain’s Pop Will Eat Itself, a name which came from an article in the New Musical Express. Their previous album had found them achieving some success with a rap-oriented sound, via the hits “Def Con One” and “Wise Up Sucker”. This follow up produced the singles “X Y and Zee”, “92˚ F”, and “Touched by the Hand of Cicciolina”, successfully melding rock and rap years before the likes of Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock upped the rock side of the equation. The CD is out of print in the US, but the reconfigured edition of the album (which replaced the LP versions of the singles with their single versions, and moved the album versions of “X Y and Zee” and “92˚ F” to the end of the album, in place of the “X Y and Zee” remix that appeared on the original edition) is available in digital download format from some outlets.

Living Colour – Biscuits (Epic)
In the US, Biscuits was a 6-song EP of previously unreleased recordings and live tracks. In Japan, nine tracks were added to create an expanded edition released to coincide with the band’s 1991 Japanese tour. Among the highlights of this expanded edition were a version of The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go”, the Soulpower mix of “Love Rears its Ugly Head”, plus live versions of “Solace of You” and other tracks, as well as covers of songs by Bad Brains (“Sailin’ On”) and Led Zeppelin (“The Ocean”). Out of print on CD, but the EP is available in digital download formats from iTunes and Amazon.

Alexander O’Neal – All True Man (Tabu)
The last classic Alexander O’Neal album, All True Man marked the last time Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis would be significantly involved in songwriting and production on one of his projects. In some ways, this album is a continuation of the socially conscious path Jam & Lewis started on with Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814—particularly the album openers, “Time is Running Out” and “The Yoke”. But, of course, this is an Alexander O’Neal album, so things quickly turn to matters of the heart, even if things aren’t all they should be. “Used” is the album’s gratuitous rock-guitar-based number (following in the tradition of “Criticize”, Janet Jackson’s “Black Cat”, and The Time’s “Blondie” and “Skillet”), after which the slow(er) side starts. “All True Man” is undoubtedly the album’s highlight, and it was the single. Out of print on CD, but available in digital download formats.

LaTour – LaTour (Smash)
Notable largely for two songs: “People Are Still Having Sex” and “Blue”, the latter of which many folks will recognize from the infamous dance club scene in Basic Instinct. LaTour is not the greatest vocalist in the world, but the music here is a varied blend of rock, house, rave, and dance sounds. “People Are Still Having Sex” is far and away the album’s highlight, with “Blue” a close second; I’m also partial to “Involved” and “Cold”, though “Allen’s Got a New Hi-Fi” has its own bizarre charm. Out of print on CD, but available in digital download formats.

Public Enemy – Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Black (Def Jam)
The last classic Public Enemy album, as the role of the Bomb Squad shifts, and the increasing pressure on artists to obtain sample clearances effectively prevents the group from continuing the sample-heavy approach it had used on the previous two albums. Samples are still present but not to the same extent. Whether or not this had an effect on the songwriting is hard to say, but the songs here aren’t as memorable as those on It Takes A Nation of Millions… and Fear of a Black Planet. The best tracks here are the opener, “Lost at Birth”, “Nighttrain”, “Can’t Truss It”, “A Letter to the New York Post”, and the collaboration with Anthrax, “Bring Tha Noize”. (I’d include “Get the F*** Outta Dodge” in that list, but it’s inexplicably censored here—it wasn’t when it appeared on the “Can’t Do Nuttin’ For Ya Man” CD single—even though by this time the Parental Advisory stickers were already being applied to packaging.)  Still available.

ABC – Abracadabra (EMI)
Abracadabra was ABC’s first (and only) album for EMI, and the last ABC album to feature original member Mark White. It wasn’t a huge success, which is a shame, as it is one of their best albums. With its smooth production and European dance-floor grooves, Abracadabra is a pleasure from start to finish, with “Love Conquers All” (the first single), “Unlock the Secrets of Your Heart”, “Say It” (the second single), and “Welcome to the Real World” being highlights. The US version, on MCA, added the inferior b-side “What’s Good About Goodbye” and a Black Box remix of “Say It”. Both editions are out of print.

(8 July 2011)