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

Answer: The Rolling Stones

"Let it Bleed" opened with what might be The Stones' greatest moment, "Gimme Shelter". Everything just clicked on this track, from the dark threatening lyrics talking about rape and murder, to Keith Richard's distinctive guitar sound. An amazing opening statement. However, what really made the song was Merry Clayton's vocals. Apparently, she was a last-minute addition at the behest of producer Jimmy Miller.

The rest of the album was nothing to sniff at either. There was a great version of Robert Johnson's "Love in Vain", followed by a reworking of The Stones' hit single "Honky Tonk Women" retitled "Country Honk". The title track saw The Stones at their messy best, and the whole album was rounded off by what was to become a Stones' classic, "You Can't Always Get What You Want". Forty-odd minutes don't get much better than that.

Answer: Joe Higgs

"Life of Contradiction" was Joe Higgs' debut solo album. He was already a well-seasoned reggae singer and considered one of the founding fathers of reggae music. He'd had a vital influence on singers such as Bob Marley, who he had tutored, and Jimmy Cliff.

The album was recorded in 1972 but lay gathering dust until 1975. When it came out it hardly set the world on fire, but over the years more and more people have fallen under its spell.

On display is fine songwriting and a breadth of musical influences all performed with such mellow sophistication and deep warmth that once it's on the turntable, you struggle to get it off again.

Answer: Laibach

Laibach's "Let it Be" covered 1970's "Let it Be" by a Liverpudlian group whose name escapes me. They rearranged the track list and discarded the title track all together. However, what was even more radical was the Slovenian group's take on the songs and the sound. With Laibach you get a singer barking out lyrics like military orders, an OTT harsh guitar sound, and a marching rhythm. The exception on "Let it Be" was the beautiful version of "Across the Universe".

Why Laibach decided to cover a whole album, and why they chose such a big one, is a mystery. It puts a whole new slant on such frequently heard songs though, and I'd be really curious to hear what any of the original musicians thought.

Laibach also released seven versions of The Rolling Stone's song "Sympathy for the Devil". They were all collected together on an album called "Sympathy for the Devil".

Answer: Hawkwind

"Levitation" was Hawkwind's tenth studio album and arguably saw them reaching heights they'd never seen before.

The line-up must have had a lot to do with "Levitation" being so good. I have always thought the key member of the group was the outstanding guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton. What he brought to the sound was a delicacy which counterbalanced the pumping, tribal rhythms. On "Levitation" those rhythms were provided by mercenary drummer Ginger Baker. Despite the latter's subsequent disdain for the band and admittance he just needed the money, his undeniable talent shone through. The line-up also included the solid Harvey Bainbridge on bass, Tim Blake on keyboards, and of course Mr. Hawkwind himself, Dave Brock.

Having said all that, the songwriting on "Levitation" was superior to previous albums as well. The title track opened the album with exciting urgency, followed by the more sedate singalong "Motorway City". Also worthy of mention was the album's first single, the portentous "Who's Gonna Win the War?".

Answer: Spiritualized

"Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" was the second studio album by Spiritualized and was heralded as a work of huge importance on its release. The key seems to have been its eclectic mix of space rock, quasi-Motown pop, garage punk, gospel, psychedelia, and a huge dose of good old rock 'n' roll. How they managed to put all that together in a coherent way was the beauty of the album.

The man behind it all was multi-instrumentalist Jason Pierce. He had already built up his credibility in the wonderful "Spaceman 3". Helping him out on this record he had a cast of twenty-plus musicians (not counting the London Community Gospel Choir) playing just about everything you can imagine, creating a huge but also very delicate sound.

Answer: The Velvet Underground

"Loaded" was The Velvet Underground's fourth studio album. It was their most accessible record, and I think it's fair to say it was something of an anomaly in the group's distinguished catalogue. Some Velvets' purists pour scorn on it, but I don't see why you can't enjoy the avant-garde innovation of "Sister Ray" or "Venus in Furs" from previous albums, and the joyful pop frivolity of "Who Loves the Sun" or "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" on show here.

What I really adore about "Loaded" is that the group sounded like they were actually having a good time, which wasn't so obvious on other releases.

It was essentially the last proper album by the group unless you count 1973's "Squeeze" which was basically a Doug Yule solo album Other releases after "Loaded" were compilations of odds and ends.

Answer: Big L

"Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous" was Big L's debut album and unfortunately the only album released in his short lifetime. As has so often happened with young African American rap artists, Big L was shot dead. It happened in Harlem, New York City, his stomping ground, in 1999.

If the album is anything to go by, Big L (aka Lamont Coleman) would have become a huge star on the rap/hip hop scene and possibly beyond. He told stories wonderfully and had a wicked sense of humour. Poor speller though.

The music is fabulous, great beats and perfectly chosen bass lines rumbling along. It's all very East Coast hip hop, but what really set it apart was Big L's wonderful, hilarious at times, insightful lines.

Answer: The Fall

"Live at the Witch Trials" was The Fall's debut studio album and not, as some mistakenly think, a live album at all. Mind you, I shudder to think which witch trials they imagine happening in England in the late 1970s.

The opening track, "Frightened", is actually my favourite track of all time. The lyrics are the only off-centre lyrics which make perfect sense to me. Add to that a menacing, sinister tune and an almost existential tone, to Mark E. Smith's vocal performance and you have a gem.

The rest of the album hardly disappointed either and it has provided the group with several perennials. The lyrically clever "No Xmas for John Quays", the rampant "Industrial Estate", the frenetic "Futures and Pasts", and the album's closer "Music Scene" all made for a sneering, nasty record.

Answer: Ramones

"Leave Home" was the Ramones second album. It came out just one year after their eponymous and epoch-defining debut. Some fussy critics have opined that it was essentially "Ramones" part II, which it was, but where was the problem? In fact, the Ramones first three albums were cut from the same cloth and even when they did later move away from the formula, they didn't drift far. Whereas with some groups I find that lack of adventure pitiful, the Ramones were one of those perfect-as-they-are things in life that you shouldn't mess with too much such as pizza, beer, jeans, and rock 'n' roll.

Some of the songs from "Leave Home" became Ramones classics such as ""Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment" and "Suzy Is a Headbanger", but the one which stands out has to be "Pinhead". The song became a standard part of the group's live set and included some entertaining theatrics. Its origins go back to the character Schlitzie in Tod Browning's groundbreaking 1932 film "Freaks".

Answer: Alice Cooper

"Love it to Death" was Alice Cooper's third studio album. It came after two odd acid rock albums by the group, "Pretties for You" and "Easy Action". While both those albums were interesting, "Love it to Death" saw Alice Cooper really change gears.

The album falls firmly into the category of seminal chunks of rock 'n' roll history and its influence can still be heard years later. Songs such as the opener "Caught in a Dream" and the hit single "I'm Eighteen" had such a huge impact on young to-be rockers, it can be held at least partly responsible for the snarly late-1970s movement known as punk. There was more to it than that though and songs such as "Ballad of Dwight Fry" helped usher in the tongue-in-cheek theatrics of 1970s rock, and the brilliant "Is It My Body?" was way ahead of its time.