85. Mekons, The Mekons Rock ‘N’ Roll (A&M, 1989)
“Destroy your safe and happy lives, before it is too late!” So begins the best album by the greatest band you’ve probably never heard. So great that they could make such a bold declaration sound so gleeful, so impassioned, so sensible. This was the band’s only major label effort, and yes, it does rock, but it's no commercial sell-out or creative death knell. On the contrary, the band seems vital, tighter and more confident than ever before. For all their rambling on about “Cocaine Lil’” or certain hypocritical rock celebs who don’t know when to shut up, this is a blindingly optimistic record. Even when inimitable, sinuous chanteuse Sally Timms sings “I Am Crazy”, it’s more of a battle cry than a heartbreaking lament, a joyful noise raging with one thousand different emotions, all of them begging to be heard and relatable to you and me.
“Destroy your safe and happy lives, before it is too late!” So begins the best album by the greatest band you’ve probably never heard. So great that they could make such a bold declaration sound so gleeful, so impassioned, so sensible. This was the band’s only major label effort, and yes, it does rock, but it's no commercial sell-out or creative death knell. On the contrary, the band seems vital, tighter and more confident than ever before. For all their rambling on about “Cocaine Lil’” or certain hypocritical rock celebs who don’t know when to shut up, this is a blindingly optimistic record. Even when inimitable, sinuous chanteuse Sally Timms sings “I Am Crazy”, it’s more of a battle cry than a heartbreaking lament, a joyful noise raging with one thousand different emotions, all of them begging to be heard and relatable to you and me.
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