Rolling Stone's 500 "Greatest Albums" Part 42 Quiz

Answer: Neil Young

In 1970, "After The Gold Rush" was the third album from Neil Young. It was to be a top ten on several charts in North America and Europe.

Among some critics, the album was regarded as "a masterpiece". It was also one that stood the test of time. Writing for "The Irish Times" in December 2020, Tony Clayton-Lea said "'After the Gold Rush' has seeped into our collective consciousness, song by song."

Neil Young continued to be an artist who divided opinion. He said of himself that he preferred to walk in the ditches rather than in the middle of the road. He was also an artist who never sold out - always refusing to allow any of his songs to be used in commercials. He was also famously sued by his own record company for producing an album that was, in their view, not commercial.
In a "Rolling Stone" reader's poll, "After The Gold Rush" was named as the second best Neil Young album ever.

Answer: Erykah Badu

In 1997, Erica Abi Wright released "Baduizm" as her debut album. It reached number two on the Billboard 200 and topped the UK R&B chart. It also won a Grammy.

Erykah Badu, to use her professional name, was a child musical prodigy and came to attention with her demo "Country Cousins".

In a review for BBC Music, David O'Donnell wrote that "Baduizm" attracted critical acclaim for its lush, introspective vocals and stripped back, bass-heavy productions.

Answer: David Bowie

Released in 1971, "Hunky Dory" was the fourth album from David Bowie and reached number three on the UK album charts.

"Classic Rock Review" later noted: "This was a landmark album for Bowie in many ways, as a transition between his folksy origins and his movement into what would become his signature sound for years to come." Jeremiah Cook added: "But the real magic on this album lies in the music and melodies. The first side of 'Hunky Dory' may be as good a side of musical excellence that you'll find anywhere and, throughout the album, none of the songs go exactly where your ear expects them to go, as they throw in subtle or sometimes blatant changes".

Answer: Miles Davis

In 1970, the double album "Bitches Brew" made number four on the Billboard US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

"JazzTimes" later called this "one of the most influential jazz albums of the 20th century." "Groundbreaking", "provocative" and "extraordinary" were just a few of the words used to describe the album.

Answer: The Doors

In 1967 The Doors released their debut self-titled album. It reached number two on the Billboard 200. The single "Light My Fire" spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

The album caught the attention of the critics. UltimateClassic Rock called it "one of the best debut albums ever made". "The LA Times" was not so sure, its 1967 review believed the album "has a strange, new sound, but it is not strange in the fascinating directions pursued by the Rolling Stones, Dylan, Donovan or the Beatles." It also considered: "Jim Morrison, lead vocalist, has a voice similar to that of Eric Burdon, the Animals' singer, but he is somewhat overmannered, murky, and dull."

But the debut album was probably as good as it got for The Doors. Jim Morrison remained an enigma - probably as much in retrospect after his death at the age of 27. Some critics and fans felt that succeeding albums were a sell-out for pop hits.

Answer: John Lennon

Get any group of Beatles fans together and they will debate for hours 'the single greatest cause of the break-up of the fab four' and the answer most will come up with is - Yoko Ono. Her influence over John Lennon was often seen to be pervasive, and yet there is the music he was to make under that influence.

Lennon said in a "Rolling Stone" interview: "I had to either be married to them or Yoko, and I chose Yoko, and I was right." On 'The Dick Cavett Show' in 1972 Lennon maintained: "Anyway, she didn't split The Beatles because how could one girl or one woman split The Beatles, they were drifting apart on their own."

"Record Collector" magazine noted in April 2021: "'Plastic Ono Band' ranks among his greatest achievements: a stark, simple, brutally honest and outspoken collection of songs that, for better or for worse, practically invented the confessional singer-songwriter genre and drew a line under his time in the band that changed the world."

The album was a top ten in several countries in 1970 and 1971, reaching number one in Canada and the Netherlands.

Answer: AC/DC

In 1980, the Aussie rockers AC/DC released "Back in Black" as their seventh album. It topped the charts in their home nation and also in the UK and reached number four on the Billboard 200. It went on to become one of the best-selling LPs of all time. (While the list is always subject to change, in 2020, "Business Insider" put "Back in Black" at number four.)

"Rolling Stone" said this was the best of AC/DC's albums and called it "...the apex of heavy metal art".

"Total Guitar" said this was the album that turned AC/DC into superstars and had inspired many other acts. "Most remarkable of all is what 'Back In Black' represents on a human level, for AC/DC's greatest success followed their darkest hour: the death of their singer Bon Scott. Most bands would have been broken by such a loss. But with 'Back In Black' - "our tribute to Bon," as lead guitarist Angus Young called it - AC/DC pulled off the greatest comeback in rock history." It is, in the words of Slash, "One of the huge Cinderella stories of rock 'n' roll," Paul Elilott wrote in 2020.

Answer: Dusty Springfield

The album may have been called "Dusty in Memphis", but English songstress Dusty Springfield did not sing a note on the tracks laid down there. "Rolling Stone" reported that she had been so intimidated by working with the session musicians used by her heroes, that the vocals had to be overdubbed after she recorded them in New York City.

In 1969, the album reached number 14 in the UK on the New Musical Express chart, and number 99 in the US on the Billboard 200.

Answer: Sly and the Family Stone

Another entry in the countdown for Sly and the Family Stone, "There's a Riot Goin' On" was their fifth album and topped the Billboard pop albums and soul albums charts in 1971/72.

This was, according to BBC Music, "Dark, troubled and brilliant funk from kaleidoscopic soul-rock legends." The record brought some changes to the earlier sound of the band. Sly had been busy in the studios with his overdubbing ad this led, Steve Chick wrote, to some "edgy, restless" tracks.

Answer: Beyoncé

"Beyoncé" was the fifth album from Houston, Texas, singer Beyonce Giselle Knowles. It was released in 2013 and topped the charts in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. It was her fifth consecutive number one on the Billboard 200.

"Drunk in Love" featured Jay Z and was the best seller among seven tracks released as single. It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100

Beyoncé had been lead singer with the group Destiny's Child and found huge success as a solo singer, songwriter and actor. Destiny's Child had been formed by Beyoncé when she was aged just nine. In her solo career, Beyoncé showed that she could mix genres, from dance to ballads and many more. She was not afraid to mix social messages in with the songs.

Record sales eventually topped 118m, on top of the 60m with Destiny's Child (first time around and on reappearance). She also won more than 20 Grammys.

In 2018, Beyoncé was named "music's most powerful woman by the BBC "Woman's Hour" radio programme.