Rolling Stone's 500 "Greatest Albums" Part 37 Quiz

Answer: Bob Marley and the Wailers

In 1973, Bob Marley and The Wailers released "Catch A Fire" as their fifth album. It did not chart in the UK and reached number 171 on the Billboard 200.

In 2021, "Far Out" magazine ranked 13 of "Bob Marley's albums in order of greatness" and placed "Catch A Fire" at number two. This, Jack Whatley wrote, was the album that brought Marley and the Wailers to attention. "A groundbreaking record, the LP is one of the most pertinent moments of the entire decade. Though many Marley albums are imbued with a higher quality of songs, this record is a holistic introduction to everything great about Bob Marley. Rich, textured and always authentic, 'Catch a Fire' is near-perfection," he added.

Answer: Black Sabbath

In 1970, "Paranoid" was the second album from Birmingham, England, heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It topped the UK charts and was a number 12 on the Billboard 200. The title track was written as a filler in the studio, yet became one of its best known. As a single, it reached number four in the UK.

Answer: Madonna

In 1990, "The Immaculate Conception" was the first volume of greatest hits LPs from Madonna. It remixed some of her top hits and reached the top ten in several countries, selling 30 million copes worldwide.

Answer: Adele

In 2011, "21" was the second album from London, England, singer songwriter Adele Laurie Blue Adkins. It topped the charts the world over and in the UK established a record for the longest run at the top by a female singer.

It also met with a storm of approval from the critics. BBC Music noted: "21 is simply stunning. After only a handful of plays, it feels like you've always known it. It will see Adele become an even greater award magnet come the end of the year, leaving her contemporaries for dust. Genuinely brilliant."

Answer: Funkadelic

Funkadelic got together in Plainfield, New Jersey, in 1968 and were noted for their funk rock sound. "Maggot Brain" was their third LP and reached number 108 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart in 1971.

Funkadelic were closely associated with the band Parliament, George Clinton led both, although their sound was different and Funkadelic were the more political of the two. They both emerged from a late 1950s band The Parliaments, whose record label went bust. Clinton formed Funkadelic and reformed Parliament.

Answer: U2

Sometimes hailed as one of the "most boring" rock bands of all time, U2 released "The Joshua Tree" as their fifth album in 1976. The album topped the charts the world over and won five Grammys The LP changed the sound of the band and in 2007 Chris Jones wrote at BBC Music it remained "their finest moment to this day."

So, how "boring" were U2? That is in the eye of the beholder and to misquote someone or other, 170 million record buyers cannot be wrong. "The Joshua Tree" sold 25 million copies. Eight of their LPs topped the US charts.

Answer: Fugees

Fugees were a hip-hop trio from South Orange, New Jersey, and "The Score" was their second and final album. In 1996 it reached number one in the US and Canada and was a number two in the UK and became one of the best selling hip hop LPs of all time.

The best known track from the LP was the cover of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and was one of their two number ones in the UK - the other being "Ready Or Not" from the same disc.

Answer: Joni Mitchell

When "Ottawa Life" magazine compiled a list of "Top 20 Greatest Canadian Singers" in 2020, it placed Joni Mitchell at number four.

"Hejira" was Mitchell's ninth album and reached number 11 in the UK, number 13 in the USA and number 22 in her home country. The word Hejira has its origins in Arabic and can be translated to mean "a journey especially when undertaken to escape from a dangerous or undesirable situation". [Merriam-Webster dictionary]. Appropriately, Mitchell wrote many of the songs on a road trip- across the USA.

While the album did not sell as well as some of her previous, "classicrockreview" considered it to be her best artistically. It quoted Mitchell as saying: "I suppose a lot of people could have written a lot of my other songs, but I feel the songs on 'Hejira' could only have come from me."

Answer: Hank Williams

"40 Greatest Hits" was released in 1978, 25 years after the death of the country music legend. During his brief five-year career, Williams had 11 country number ones in North America. It was a prolific career that produced 56 studio albums.

Answer: Portishead

Founded in Bristol, England, in 1991, Portishead released "Dummy" as their first album. It reached number one on the UK R&B chart and number two on the Official UK Albums chart in 1995. A second album followed in 1997, but the band then took a break of ten years before their third in 2008.

A sporadic number of singles and concerts followed, but fans were left waiting for a fourth studio album.