There Ain't Half Been Some Great Albums: I Quiz

Answer: Stevie Wonder

Incredible as it might seem, at the age of twenty-three, Stevie Wonder released his sixteenth studio album, "Innervisons". It came after the equally brilliant "Talking Book" and preceded "Fulfillingness' First Finale". To say Stevie was on a roll is something of an understatement.

What I love about "Innervisons" is how it spanned arbitrary musical categories so nonchalantly, i.e. Mr. Wonder didn't seem to be making a contrived statement but just played what he felt worked. Some critics complained that it didn't have as many standout tracks as some of Wonder's other albums, but how can you argue with "Living for the City", "Higher Ground", "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing", and my favourite "He's Misstra Know-It-All"?

Stevie Wonder played practically everything on the album, as was his bent. He's credited even with the fabulous handclaps!

Answer: Wipers

Although Wipers' debut "Is This Real?" brought anything like pecuniary prosperity to Wipers' guitarist/vocalist Greg Sage, it certainly put him high up on the list of one of the most seminal singer-songwriters of the punk era. Not to say that the other group members, Dave Koupal on bass Sam Henry on drums, weren't instrumental in the group's sound, but it was really Sage's urgent delivery, loose guitar riffing, and singalong choruses that made Wipers such a fantastic band.

The influence of Wipers was mostly felt in the 1990s when bands such as Melvins, The Nation of Ulysses, Poison Idea, and Nirvana all namechecked the group. Wipers had given up the ghost in the late 1980s due to the lack of interest in the six albums they had put out, but got back together in 1993 for another three excellent albums.

Answer: Iron Butterfly

"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was Iron Butterfly's second studio album and undoubtedly their biggest seller. Its reputation really lies in the title track, which takes up the whole of side two. Side one is a feast of terribly dated psychedelic rock which is highly entertaining if you like that sort of thing, but painful if you don't.

On the other hand, side two is, whether you like it or not, a highly significant bit of rock history. It is pretty much a blueprint for so much heavy music that has come since and a must-hear for anybody interested in heavy metal. It's tough to listen to it seriously after so many hilarious parodies, but if you manage you won't be disappointed.

There have been some great covers of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida". Personally, I find Boney M's version the one which really took it to another level.

Answer: Scorpions

"In Trance" was Scorpions third album and the first to head in the direction of straightforward songs after two spacey, bluesy releases. The first two albums, "Lonesome Crow" and "Fly to the Rainbow", were great for people into the band, or simply the era, but it was with "In Trance" that Scorpions really came of age.

Hendrix aficionado Uli Jon Roth was still in the band so the guitar sound is softer than what it was to become after his departure, but nonetheless the feel is still fairly direct.

Side one of "In Trance" is one of my all-time personal favourite sides of vinyl. It kicks off with the fairly straightforward psychedelic hard rock tune "Dark Lady", followed by the great groovy sing-a-long title track. Then there's the pseudo-profound "Life's Like a River", which has me crying a river if I'm feeling down in the dumps. It picks up again with the tough rocker "Top of the Bill", and is rounded off with the existential "Living and Dying". Superb.

Answer: Supergrass

"I Should Coco" was Supergrass's debut album. It came out after a string of singles, all of which featured on the album, had worked up massive interest in a very short space of time. The first single, "Caught by the Fuzz", summed up Supergrass's style at the time perfectly; high-energy, guileless, punky rock 'n' roll music and juvenile, spunky lyrics. The big hit from the album, and almost the band's albatross, was "Alright".

Supergrass seemed to come out of nowhere and suddenly be everywhere. That can sometimes ruin a band's cred and Supergrass appear to have fought against that happening throughout their career, which went on for five more great albums, by purposefully taking the wrong turning whenever possible. The band might have liked to ditch the millstone that "I Should Coco" became since nobody seemed willing to take them as anything other than a bunch of fresh-faced funsters, but it really is a highly entertaining forty minutes.

Answer: Led Zeppelin

"In Through the Out Door" was Led Zeppelin's eighth studio album and the last proper album by the original band members. It might not be high on many Zep fans' lists, but I relish the messed-up sound of a fantastic band who are falling apart at the seams but still managing to produce something more intriguing than most other groups at the top of their game.

According to all involved, Zeppelin was no longer a cohesive unit at this point due to the precarious lifestyles of guitarist Jimmy Page and John Bonham. To my mind, the group's real creative genius was always all-rounder John Paul Jones, and he came up with lots of the structure of the songs during the day with charismatic vocalist Robert Plant. However, John Bonham and Jimmy Page, who were obviously the two with innate brilliance, would come in and do their stuff in the small hours.

Answer: Stiff Little Fingers

I'm not sure an album has ever started off quite so abrasively as "Inflammable Material". Singer Jake Burns was straight in your face from word go on "Suspect Device". "Suspect Device" had been released as an independent single prior to the band getting a record deal and is arguably their best-known song.

It wasn't all about Burns' gravelly voice though. Stiff Little Fingers'
indomitable rhythm section was as tight as a nut on "Inflammable Material", never so much as on the astounding cover version of Bob Marley's "Johnny Was".

Of course, the album's lyrics and overall attitude were also a big part of what Stiff Little Fingers and this album were all about. The so-called "troubles" of the group's native Northern Ireland were ever-present, and often right in the front-line. What I appreciate is the gallows humour of it all, most obvious on and the doo-wop homage "Barbed Wire Love".

Answer: Klaus Schulze

Although "Irrlicht" was Klaus Schulze's debut solo album, he was a well-seasoned musician and had played on Tangerine Dream's debut 1970 album "Electronic Meditation", and "Ash Ra Tempel's eponymous album in 1971.

Side one of "Irrlicht" consists of two pieces; "Satz: Ebene" and "Satz: Gewitter energy rise-energy collaps". Side two is just one piece, "Satz: Exil Sils Maria". It's best listened to as a whole.

On later albums, Schulze made innovative use of synthesised sounds, but in 1972 he hadn't yet got a synthesiser. What he did use ingeniously was an electric organ. He also made extensive use of recordings of an orchestra rehearsing, and various bits of bust-up equipment. The result is a fabulous, eerie trip.

Answer: Manowar

"Into Glory Rides" was New York heavy metal group Manowar's second studio album. In a career which would be hampered by constant record company-hopping, it was their first on new labels Megaforce/Music For Nations. I'll never forget reading in the music papers how they had signed the contract in blood. They only released one more opus for the labels.

As silly as Manowar might seem in their furry Viking costumes, and risible their tales of sword and sorcery, at their best they play such powerful heavy metal they deserve much more respect than they get. How they manage to take themselves so very seriously has me doffing my hat to them too. Furthermore, I don't know how any rock-lover can help but bang their heads, raise their studded fists in the air and scream "Leather! Metal! Spikes! And chains!" on "Gloves of Metal" from this album.

Answer: John Lee Hooker

John Lee Hooker recorded "It Serve You Right to Suffer" with a laid-back jazz backing band in 1966 for jazz label Impulse!. At the time, the label was headed by legendary producer Bob Thiele, who also produced this album.

John Lee Hooker rarely fitted into a band setting and some match-ups were disastrous, but this one was spot on. What worked is probably best explained by what didn't work on other Hooker hook-ups: John Lee Hooker's idiosyncratic timing and most musicians' inability to unlearn what they have always been taught. The latter is relatively easy in an experimental environment, but with the blues many otherwise accomplished musicians have been tripped up by John Lee.

The song selection is fairly predictable apart from a cracking version of the Motown hit "Money (That's What I Want)", here listed as simply "Money". "Serve You Right to Suffer" also boasts a fantastic version of "Bottle Up & Go", a song John Lee Hooker played throughout his career.