Rolling Stone's 500 "Greatest Albums" Part 34 Quiz

Answer: Gears

In 1967, Cream released "Disraeli Gears" as their fifth album. It went on to reach number five on the UK album charts and number four on the Billboard 200. It was number one in Australia.

Described by Chris Jones at BBC Music as "...one of the UK's premier psychedelic albums..." this brought together the minds, magic and fragile egos of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker in what was hailed as "rock's first supergroup". Two more LPs were to follow before the band broke up. Workloads were part of the cause, as was the continued friction between Baker and Bruce. Clapton also blamed some of the drugs that were about.

Answer: Stranger

Phil Ramone was brought in to produce the fifth album "The Stranger" by Billy Joel at a time when his future with Columbia Records was in doubt. It was a Billboard 200 number two and a top ten in many other countries by strangely, peaked at number 24 in the UK.

The appreciation of Billy Joel was an ambiguous one. As Chris Jones noted at BBC Music "Beloved of millions of faithful fans he nevertheless always just misses out on the acceptance of many of his peers and the snobbier end of the critical axis". Meanwhile, "The Stranger" remains one of this quiz author's favourite albums.

Answer: Thrill

Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, may just be tiny place and probably its biggest claim to fame was to produce the rockers Steely Dan, as well as being the hometown of X-Men character Jean Grey in Marvel Comics. In 1972, "Can't Buy A Thrill" was their debut album and reached number 17 on the US Pop Albums chart.

The band was formed by schoolfriends Donald Fegan and Walter Becker. Chevy Chase drummed in an earlier band they had. Seven albums were released between 1972 and 1980; the band stopped recording in 1981. There is a story behind the band's name, but you will have to look it up yourselves...

Answer: Violator

In 1990, "Violator" from the English electric band Depeche Mode reached number two on the UK charts and number seven on the Billboard 200. It was their seventh album and their biggest seller, hitting 15 million unites worldwide. Some critics called it their best album.

The band's name came from the title of a French magazine. Depeche mode can be translated to "fast fashion". The band thought it was a cool name. During their carer they had 54 songs in the UK singles charts and 17 top ten albums, including two at the top.

Answer: Greats

As legacy.com noted, Buddy Holly was "...widely acknowledged as one of the most important influences on rock 'n' roll music. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones... Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen... Elton John, Elvis Costello, Eric Clapton... they're just a few of the rock superstars whose music wouldn't be what it is without Buddy Holly."

Holly (his birth name was actually Holley) recorded his first song, a Hank Snow cover, at the age of 12 and the world was to lose a musical hero when he was aged just 22. Holly took influences from all around, including Elvis Presley and Bill Haley and produced what legacy.com called "a cocktail of sounds".

Answer: Murmur

Formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980, R.E.M released "Murmur" as their debut album in 1983. It reached number 36 on the Billboard 200.

Sam Smith, writing for BBC Music, called it "a fully-fledged classic." Although the band drew upon many influences, the album was hard to pigeonhole, he added.

Answer: Prison

In January 1968, Johnny Cash played two concerts in front of inmates at Folsom Prison. A few months later, this live album was released and reached number one on the US Top Country albums chart. It was said to be the album that reinvigorated the career of 'The Man In Black'.

It was not actually Cash's first prison concert, that had been at Huntsville State Prison in Texas in 1957. There were to be others after Folsom. After the assassination of Robert Kennedy in June 1968, the record company removed one line from the single "Folsom Prison", despite Cash's objections. On re-release it hit the top of the country charts. The album won two Grammys.

Answer: Fever

The soundtrack from the 1977 movie "Saturday Night Fever" topped the charts the world over. It also won six Grammys in all. On the basis that if one cannot stay something good about an album, say nothing at all, I'll move on...

Answer: Class

In 1995, "Different Class" was the fifth album from Sheffield, England, rockers Pulp. It reached number one in the UK, but did not sell so well in most of the rest of the world.

Pulp guitarist, singer and songwriter Jarvis Cocker maintained that the title was a reference to the class structure in Britain. At that time two other bands, Blur and Oasis, were vying for the title of Britain's best. Some wondered if Cocker was making a jibe at both and suggesting Pulp were apart from that scene. Certainly, Pulp had no interest in that 'Britpop' tag - "It still makes me shudder a bit today," drummer Nick Banks told 'BBC Culture' 25 years later.

Answer: Nash

In 1969, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash got together in a band they imaginatively called Crosby, Stills & Nash, and equally imaginatively called their debut album that also. Apologies to CS&N fans if that comment was a bit twee: certainly the band was well liked and the record sold well, hitting number six on the Billboard 200 and making the top 10 in Canada and Australia.

"Classic Rock Review" called this an "extremely rich and influential debut album" that put an original twist on folk, country, blues, and rock. It also won the band a Grammy in 1970 for best new act.