GNMD Poll: Top Ten Albums of 1979

[Serjeant Grumbles]

1 9 7 9


Obviously make sure to hit up RYM yourself and search your favourite genres.

The deadline is 9th of August 2020.

The rules:
- submit at least 5 releases.
- first place in your rankings gets 10 points, 2nd gets 9, etcetc, 10th gets 1.
- feel free to post more than 10, but only the top 10 will get points.
- feel free to post less than 10, the same scoring will apply.
- feel free not to rank your picks, in which case all ten picks will get 5.5 points.

GNMD = General Non-Metal Discussion, so NO UNAMBIGUOUSLY METAL ALBUMS are to be included in anybody's list.

 

[Slammed]

1. Cold Chisel - Breakfast at Sweethearts
2. The Angels - No Exit
3. AC/DC - Highway to Hell
4. Pink Floyd - The Wall
5. Midnight Oil - Head Injuries
6. Ellen Foley – Nightout
7. Dire Straits – Communiqué
8. ZZ Top – Degüello
9. KISS – Dynasty
10. George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Better Than the Rest

 

[CiG]

 

[CiG]

1. Germs - (GI)




2. The Cramps - Gravest Hits EP




3. Black Flag - Nervous Breakdown EP




4. Crass - Stations of the Crass




5. The Raincoats - The Raincoats




6. Chrome - Half Machine Lip Moves




7. Siouxsie and The Banshees - Join Hands




8. Devo - Duty Now for the Future




9. Tubeway Army - Replicas




10. The Residents - Babyfingers EP

 

[no country for old wainds]

think i’m taking a break for this one but GI rules

 

[zabu of nΩd]

1. Pink Floyd - The Wall
2. AC/DC - Highway to Hell
3. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
4. Blackfoot - Strikes
5. Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principle
6. Talking Heads - Fear of Music
7. Supertramp - Breakfast in America
8. Jethro Tull - Stormwatch
9. Molly Hatchet - Flirtin' With Disaster
10. The Residents - Eskimo

 

[Bloopy]

1. The B-52's - The B-52's
2. Gang of Four - Entertainment!
3. ZZ Top - Degüello
4. Nurse With Wound - Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella
5. This Heat - This Heat
6. Univers Zéro - Heresie
7. Wire - 154
8. Crass - The Feeding of the 5000
9. The Ruts - The Crack
10. Poison Girls - Hex

HM:
Throbbing Gristle - 20 Jazz Funk Greats
Marlena Shaw - Take a Bite
The Clash - London Calling

 

[challenge_everything]

8. Crass - The Feeding of the 5000

This is '78 my friend. Stations is 1979.

 

[Bloopy]

This is '78 my friend. Stations is 1979.

I cross-checked with Discogs and RYM. Discogs' source is this NME review from Jan '79, which says "due to be released by Small Wonder early in February". Admittedly both sites once said '78 when they were younger and dumber.

I have a lot of experience with researching release years due to contributing to BandToBand, so basically if you fuck with me on release years you're always gonna lose.

 

[CiG]

Pretty sure that's just a mistake, because the sourcing system is kinda broken. Small Wonder did two runs; one in 1978 and one in 1979 before Crass went independent. The first run had "621984" printed on the insert which refers to how many years are left until 1984 (1978 + 6 years = 1984) and the second run had the same insert except with "6" crossed out and a "5" added (1979 + 5 = 1984). Also the first run didn't come with a review insert like the second run did.

Granted it's flimsy circumstantial evidence, but I looked over all of this myself because I was thinking of listing the record here. It was all recorded and finished in a couple of days in summer 1978, the label on the vinyl itself says "1978" and I wonder why would a label do two runs of the same record in the same year with different inserts?

 

[Bloopy]

I wonder why would a label do two runs of the same record in the same year with different inserts?

The logic would be that December was when the first run's inserts were printed, not necessarily when it landed in customers' hands. There were delays in the process when the pressing plant refused the song 'Asylum'. On the second run, the text covering the lyrics to 'Asylum' adds info saying they were gonna try and get that song pressed themselves with 'Shaved Women' as B-side. The songs for that single were recorded late April '79, suggesting the second run of the album was printed close to then, consistent with it being to replenish supplies of a sold out Feb '79 release.

Nobody mentioned the album in our 1978 poll thread.

 

[challenge_everything]

Crass' own band camp page says originally released in 78.

 

[CiG]

The logic would be that December was when the first run's inserts were printed, not necessarily when it landed in customers' hands. There were delays in the process when the pressing plant refused the song 'Asylum'. On the second run, the text covering the lyrics to 'Asylum' adds info saying they were gonna try and get that song pressed themselves with 'Shaved Women' as B-side. The songs for that single were recorded late April '79, suggesting the second run of the album was printed close to then, consistent with it being to replenish supplies of a sold out Feb '79 release.

Nobody mentioned the album in our 1978 poll thread.

That makes sense, especially with the "Shaved Woman" bit. Also when I was looking it up it was stated the music was recorded in summer of 1978, but the actual liner notes say it was recorded late October, so I agree with you that it makes more sense the first run was in early 1979. I stand corrected!

Crass' own band camp page says originally released in 78.

I doubt they run it.

 

[challenge_everything]

Ok let me go a step further. Crass' biography 'The Story of Crass' by George Berger has its chapters titled '621984', '521984' for the reasons explained by Cig. The chapter called '621984' (ie 1978) says it was released that year, with the Asylum single released the following year. This is repeated in the discography listed at the end of the book. This was a sanctioned biography written with extensive input from Rimbaud, Ignorant etc.

 

[Bloopy]

Even band members often get it wrong on their own websites, presenting recording or copyright years as release dates. We know why '621984' was printed but that doesn't say when it got into fans' hands. The second run mentioning the upcoming single has me 100% confident now given the single was recorded April (and released May I think).

The album was recorded 29th October. Two months from recording to release of an album where they had trouble finding someone willing to print the inserts and the pressing plant over in Ireland rejected a track and then they had to update the master & inserts just isn't remotely as likely as a February date.

edit: A couple of websites/interviews say the album's release was met with a barrage of negative press. I don't see how the NME article saying early Feb could've slept on the first run of 5000 copies while talking to the band directly about the pressing delays. Aging musicians lacking attention to detail can't beat an article from the time, unless they were addressing the specific discrepancy. Oh, and they spent time making unsuccessful enquiries with several pressing plants in England before resorting back to the Irish one and removing the song.

 

[challenge_everything]

That NME article is obviously talking about the repressing because it talks about Asylum being on the album, when it was not on the original press.

All accounts also confirm the single came out after the first press.

 

[CiG]

No it doesn't it says it wasn't on the album.

 

[challenge_everything]

My bad, I obviously didnt notice the third para.

I think there's room for argument.

But mostly now I have a compelling urge to go listen to the album. I probably wont do a list this round but it would be in the top few for me.

 

[Bloopy]

First press

Repress: one difference being that the insert now says they're trying to get the single pressed. Surely that means this edition is from about the same time as the single recording, otherwise they have no audio to press!

Single: recorded 22nd April

'Asylum' doesn't appear on the album until 1980 when they reissued it on Crass Records. When they started pressing in France I think.

 

[CiG]

Yeah you had to snail mail them for a cassette copy of "Asylum" until they released it on their own label. Personally I think Stations of the Crass is a smidge better anyway.