First up, a note to those reading this...something along the line of the old media adage, "The opinions expressed in the following...blah blah blah". The top albums I've chosen for each of the 22 years of my life may be my picks but they are not definitively the greatest albums ever made, nor are they all neccesarily even my favourite albums: there are plenty of albums that came out too early to be up for selection, there are also some that never made the final cut because they were released in a particularly prodigous year (and, conversely, some that made the cut thanks to a lack of genuine competition that year). Please bear all this in mind when reading (and don't hesitate to recommend albums that you feel should be present!)
That being said, we can begin...
1986:
Top Album:
Conflict -
The Ungovernable Force
Runner Up:
Chumbawamba -
Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records
Worth a Mention:
Dead Kennedys -
Bedtime for Democracy
The year of my birth was ten years since the days of the
The Ramones and
Sex Pistols, in the mainstream punk was dead and long gone; superceded by toned down power-pop on the one hand and more refined post-punk on the other. In the underground, though, punk was still thriving.
True, the old bands were all dead or lost their edge;
The Clash's last album had been released four years ago;
Crass had called it a day in '84, bogged down in jaded reactionism and 'anti-music' sentiment in their final years; John Lydon had moved onto greener pastures with the - far superior to the Pistols for me - avant-garde stylings of
Public Image Ltd. But across the pond in California one of Hardcore punk's greatest bands (themselves about to explode in a manner not too dissimilar to Crass) put out one final effort.
Dead Kennedys' Bedtime Democracy is considered weak by some fans; the band's opus by select others. Whether or not it stands up to the oft-praised first two records - or even the dark psychedelia of 1985's Frankenchrist - may be up for debate, what isn't is that Bedtime is a fine standalone album. The wide range of styles on offer - from the psychotic country-punk of 'Take This Job and Shove It' to the creepy prog-influenced sounds of 'Cesspools in Eden' and, of course, the aural blitzkrieg of 'The Great Wall' and 'Anarchy For Sale' - sets the album apart from much of 80s Hardcore.
At 21 tracks long, its no lightweight either, but far from sinking into the same cliched attacks on 'the system', no subject is safe from Biafra's piercing (and, let's not forget, often hilarious) analysis - the usual candidates of politicians and police are joined by a host of pop-culture references - 'Dear Abby' being one of my favourites (you really have to check out the lyrics to appreciate it) - and the punk community is fair game for scathing commentary just as much as the business community thanks to the epic 'Chickenshit Conformist' and others.
Back here in England, another band firmly rooted in punk music, but with an eye for different styles, announed their arrival with a debut LP that gave little indication of where they would be a quarter of a century later. Chumbawamba's Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records was released in '86 as a direct response, and criticism of, the Live Aid concert. Not unsurprisingly for a punk debut, Pictures... is a little rough around the edges musically but still precludes the band's future, more mellow, sound. Space is found for driving, funk influenced, basslines, some pretty guitar and vocal melodies, and outright folk music. The heavier parts belie a strong Crass influence, with a fuzzy, lo-fi guitar sound and vocals very reminiscent of Eve Libertine at her angriest.
Punk bands have often found it hard to pull off the concept album, that feeling of righteous indignation synonomous with punk rock struggles to lend itself to the kind of focused songwriting neccesary. Pictures... however, manages to stay well on-topic for much of its course. The associations between 'Starvation, Charity, and Rock 'n' Roll' and the wider roll of government and business conjured up by the album's lyrics flow well. One has to concede a certain lack of metaphor in the lyrics that might well make them cringeworthy for some, but there is undoubtedly no deficit of passion or imagery here. A challenging idea for even a well-established act, Pictures... comes very very close to being my top record of 1986, but is beaten by one of the finest - and underrated - hardcore punk albums of all time...
...Far-and-away the angriest of the 80s anarcho-punk bands, Conflict have sometimes been labelled as 'Crass' baby brother' (although it must be said the claim is rejected by as many people as make it). The Ungovernable Force, their third full-length LP, did more than any previous record to dispute that claim and set Conflict apart as a tighter, heavier musical force in UK punk.
The adrenaline - or amphetamine - driven fury of much of the record is well-balanced by lighter, catchier elements in songs like 'C.R.A.S.S.' and 'Statement'; these parellel musical themes reinforce the parellel themes of anger and peace in Conflict's philosophy and aesthetic perfectly. The band's first flirtation with dub reggae on 'The Day Before' is a spine tingling herald of things to come for them, whilst the use of tape loops and radio samples throughout is another nod towards the ubiquitous influence of Crass on the anarcho-punk scene.
The different vocal styles of Colin (at his most aggresive and impressive), Mandy (melodious, hopeful, and despondent all at the same time), and ex-Crass frontman Steve Ignorant (at times reminiscent of hip-hop more than punk), lend yet more eclecticism to the record.
The Ungovernable Force's ultimate strength comes from being both a product of its time and place; and a timeless classic of punk music. Musically and lyrically - especially lyrically - the album captures perfectly the anger, uncertainty and *ahem* conflict of the Thatcher years, yet it is not uncommon for new listeners to be genuinely shocked at how old the album is. It remains as fresh and relevant today as it did 22 years ago - despite all that has changed (musically and politically) in the intervening years - and probably offers a better signpost for contemporary radical music than anything on offer in the world of today.
p.s. The Following albums deserve some sort of mention:
Subhumans -
29-29 Split Vision
Public Image Ltd. -
Album
The Flaming Lips -
Hear It Is
Bad Brains -
I Against I
XTC -
Skylarking
