Rolling Stone's 500 "Greatest Albums" Part 28 Quiz

Answer: Anti

Released in 2016, "Anti" (aka "ANTI") was the eighth album from Rhianna and reached the top of the charts in Canada, the UK and the USA, as well as the top ten in several other countries.

There had been mounting speculation about Rhianna's latest album for some time before its release, some said as part of a marketing ploy to hype anticipation. But Will Hodgkinson in "The Times" felt it led to an album that was "...bravely experimental if oddly downbeat." He added: "...the result is an uneven but creative work by one of the world's biggest stars, let out into the world messily and devaluing the idea of major album release as major event accordingly."

Answer: Ultimate

Confusingly, we have had two "Ultimate Collection" albums featuring the songs of Patsy Cline. The release in 2000 is the one here and had 32 tracks as opposed to 16 on the 1998 release. The two releases had few tracks in common.

The death of Virginia Patterson Hensley at the age of 30 robbed American music of a great talent. She began her career with local country bands and made the most of the exposure that radio and the burgeoning television of the 1950s offered. She seized the day by winning the CBS television show 'Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts' with "Walkin' After Midnight".

In the years that followed, Cline trod a fine line between country and pop, although it was said country was her true love. Dolly Parton regarded Cline as "a pioneer" and spoke of "her God-given voice."

Answer: Dead

The hip-hop/rap trio De La Soul emerged from Amityville, New York, in 1988 and "De La Soul Is Dead" was the second LP. It was far from a horror, reaching a respectable 26 on the Billboard 200 and hitting number seven in the UK in 1991.

The trio of Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove, and PA Pasemaster Mase grew up initially in New York City and in those years lived the lives they sang about. While the critics liked to pigeonhole the outfit, their music was difficult to classify. "The De La sound is diverse - and that's about the only categorisation you make," Trugoy said in a 1989 interview with "Melody Maker".

Answer: Richard

In 1957, "Here's Little Richard" was the debut album from Richard Wayne Penniman; one of early rock and roll's greatest influences. In 2010, "Rolling Stone" created a list of "100 Greatest Artists" and placed Little Richard at number eight.

In that article he accepted the acclaim as an architect of rock & roll, pointing out that he was recording before Elvis was on the scene. It had been a difficult time for black musicians: he and his band often had to sleep in their cars after a show because no hotel would have them.

In an obituary in 2020, Carlie Porterfield wrote in "Forbes" magazine that Little Richard was: "one of the most influential musicians of all time-but a bad record deal and the pervasive racism of the 1950s American music industry kept the singer from cashing in on some of his biggest hits". It was reported that he was paid just $50 for his biggest hit, "Tutti Frutti", and had to sue record companies to get any royalties at all.

"Here's Little Richard" reached number 13 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.

Answer: Love

In 1970, Eric Clapton formed Derek and the Dominos to progress the blues rock he had been playing with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. In that same year they released "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs", and it was to be their sole LP. It did not sell particularly well although "Layla" - described by some critics as head and shoulders above the rest of the track listing - reached the top ten of the UK singles charts in 1972 and again in 1982.

It reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1993 as a Clapton single.

Answer: Yankee

Wilco got together in Chicago, Illinois, in 1994 and carved a respected niche in alternative rock and folk/rock. "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" had a difficult gestation period: disagreements in the recording studio were not helped by personnel changes. Reprise Records did not like what came out of those sessions and refused to release the album. The band put it up on the internet and 200,000 downloads later the record company suddenly decided they liked it after all and released it on their Nonesuch Records imprint. It subsequently reached number 13 on the Billboard 200.

Answer: Fly

In 1999, "Fly" went number one with a bullet on the Billboard 200 and within three years had sold more than ten million copies. They were to go on to become one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.

This was, of course before the Dixie Chicks got banned by many radio stations for their views on the First Iraq War. (The band were later to drop the "Dixie" from their name.). The band were probably never allowed to forget expressing their views, but keep on making music based on traditional country sounds.

Answer: Imagine

In 1971, JohnLennon released "Imagine" as his fifth studio album. It was to top the charts in Australia, the UK and the USA. It was his most successful solo album.

Some critics claimed it was enough like a Beatles album to make the fans happy, even if the title track was to be roundly parodied a number of times.

Answer: Ray

In 1998 "Ray of Light" was to hit the top of the album charts around the world, except in the USA were it stalled at number two. This was the seventh album from Madonna and was, according to Gabriel Szatan in the "Guardian": "...probably Madonna's most widely acknowledged classic."

Answer: Machine

Formed in Los Angeles in 1991, Rage Against The Machine (RATM or Rage for short) brought out their self-titled album in 1992. Writing for BBC Music, Chris Jones called it: "Musically adventurous, funky to a tee and mad as hell". The album reached number 17 in the UK and number 45 in the USA. It was a number 12 in Australia.

The band wore their left wing politics on their sleeves, and not everyone liked that. The album cover was to create controversy for an image it used. It also did not help the band in some quarters when they burned an American flag on stage at 'Woodstock 1999'.