Locomotive Breath Trivia Quiz

Answer: Booker T and the MGs

Here's what you do. You get a hold of a copy of this disc, place it on the turntable (yes, I'm that old), skip to the third track, their rendition of the Ray Charles song "I've Got a Woman", then sit back and close your eyes and let your ears do the work as they listen to Booker T. Jones on the organ and Steve Cropper on his guitar going about doing what they do best and... you will get lost in it - so lost that you will forget to notice that this song actually has lyrics. And just like this track, on the rest of the album, there is not a note out of place. Every track arrives with a fresh sound and provides its own delicate surprise.

It was a shining piece of work when it was released in 1962 and fifty years beyond it has lost none of its lustre.

Answer: The Cars

Released in 1984 this was the fifth studio album for new wave US band The Cars. The album spawned two Top Ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 in the charismatic "You Might Think" and the powerful ballad "Drive" that would later become an anthem for the "Live Aid" campaign in 1985.

This, however, was an album that was laden with hits and any number of songs, tunes that ranged from the ethereal title track to the sparse "It's Not the Night" or the rocker "Stranger Eyes", could have been singled out as highlights.

Answer: REO Speedwagon

REO Speedwagon were giants in the arena but they could not deliver or capture that sound on vinyl. That is until "Hi-Infidelity", their ninth studio album, which was released in 1980. This was an album with killer riffs that were as catchy as the flu, in particular on their two lead singles; the power ballad "Keep on Loving You" and the rocker "Take it on the Run".

Whilst these two tracks would propel the album to the top of most charts around the globe it should be seen as a record full of great songs. From "In Your Letter" and it's plaintive look back at the carefree sixties to the "rip-it-apart" "Tough Guys".

This album defined REO Speedwagon but the sad part is that it was the only one to hold them in the spotlight for any length of time. Fame can be fleeting.

Answer: Camper Van Beethoven

After recording three independent albums over a period of eighteen months Camper Van Beethoven were signed to Virgin Records in 1987 and suddenly found themselves with a much bigger budget. Would this change them? Would this ruin their folk-punk sound? In a word... no! Certainly, on "Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart" (1988), they come out sounding bolder but they also sound so much more professional than on their previous recordings. Whether that has been signalled by the change of label or it was simply a sign of personal growth within the band is difficult to isolate. Certainly their dark wit and humour is still present on this album, possibly sharper, yet somehow goofier than ever.

This is particularly evident on tracks such as "Life is Grand" and the ode to Patty Hearst "Tania".

Answer: Led Zeppelin

"Led Zeppelin IV" (or, if you prefer, simply "IV" or "untitled"), released in 1971, was always going a hard act to follow but the band did it brilliantly with "Houses of the Holy" (1973). As a songwriting team Jimmy Page and Robert Plant would best be described as eclectic.

Instead of the tension and the temptation overplaying their hand with the follow up the pair relaxed and loosened the strings on this album. "Rain Song", with its gentle melody simply tears at you and winds up being one of the band's finest songs.

This is backed up by the foreboding "No Quarter", the heavy guitar styling of "The Ocean" and it is nicely balanced out by the almost reggae workings of "D'Yer Mak'er".

Answer: Drive-By Truckers

The Drive-By Truckers finally broke through with their 2001 album "Southern Rock Opera" and steadily worked their way up to being one of America's best live and hardest working bands. Their three albums prior to "Go-Go Boots", and in particular 2010's "The Big To-Do", were full on guitar driven rockers.

In this 2011 release the band prunes it back without getting lazy. The song-writing of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley is still strong and their ability to draw out finely tuned character sketches remains sharp. Even bass player, Shonna Tucker, gets in on the song writing act with the hard-edged "Dancin' Ricky".

Answer: Bryan Ferry

One had to wonder what Ferry was up to on this album. Half the songs were covers, which he did perform with great gusto, of early soul, pop and rock classics. He is at his scintillating best with the title track, a pumping version of Wilbert Harrison's 1962 hit and he provides a scorching, yet satin smooth, re-working of The Everly Brothers' song "The Price of Love".

The other half of the album consists of Bryan Ferry originals but they're not new songs. They're re-modellings of tracks that he'd produced with Roxy Music during the Brian Eno era.

As the Eno era was a rather chaotic one for Roxy, was Ferry trying to flush something out of the system? Whatever inspired the move, be grateful that he did so.

Answer: Grand Funk Railroad

OK, I've taken a liberty here because on this 1973 album, the band's seventh LP, they shortened their name to Grand Funk. This was the year (1973) they could rightly call the "year they rose from the mud" and the truncating of their name was not the only significant change they'd made. For their new album they employed Todd Rundgren as producer and he would take their plodding sound and turn into a sharp and catchy monster.

They also introduced Craig Frost as a full-time member and his driving keyboards rounded out the band's sound. Possibly the most important change was to allow drummer Don Brewer to provide the lead vocals for half the album's tracks.

His gruff no-nonsense voice was the perfect counterpart to Mark Farner's often wailing vocals. Significantly, it was Brewer who sang on the title track which was released as the first single and it became the band's first successful hit - truly, a coming out of the mud.

Answer: Paul McCartney and Wings

Whilst this album is credited to Paul McCartney and Wings it could almost be classed as a solo effort. Two members had walked out on the band just before recording started and it left Paul, his wife Linda and guitarist Denny Laine to bring the album together. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise.

The band's previous two albums, "Wild Life" (1971) and "Red Rose Speedway" (1972), whilst successful, were sporadic and lacked cohesion. When "Band on the Run" (1973) was released it proved to be McCartney's strongest and most successful album since his break-up with The Beatles. Unlike John Lennon and, to a lesser degree, George Harrison McCartney probably struggled in installing finely crafted emotional nuances into his songs but Paul knew the art of creating great pop songs and it is in this area that this album excels.

Here he dabbles in a wide range of styles; the delicate jazz of "Bluebird", the pub sing-a-long of "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)", the blues of "Let Me Roll It" to the full-on rock of "Helen Wheels".

Answer: The Rolling Stones

Heading toward the back end of the 1970s The Rolling Stones were still a very popular band, mainly because their two front-liners, Mick Jagger and Keith Richard, were constantly in the news. However, their music began to suffer due to Mick pursuing the art of being a celebrity and Keith pursuing a burgeoning drug habit.

The result was that their previous releases to "Some Girls" (1978), 1974's "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" and 75's "Black and Blue" were devoid of energy and direction. Add to this the rise of disco and the advent of punk rock and one began to wonder if The Rolling Stones were still (musically) relevant. Enter "Some Girls". With the opening single from the album "Miss You" the Stones proved that they could do disco.

Not only could they give it polish they could also give it muscle.

Their attempts at punk, "When the Whip Comes Down" and "Respectable" do not quite come off but the endeavour does provide the album with a harder sound and a level of energy that was last seen on "Exile on Main Street" (1972). Add to that the "dirty" glitz that Jagger brings to the closing track "Shattered" and, possibly the finest ballad the Stones have ever done, "Beast of Burden" and you have an album that the Rolling Stones can truly call definitive.