Hard Hitting Brighton based rauccous rhythm & boozers Mean Poppa Lean Reveal their Perfect 10
Mean Poppa Lean – Perfect 10
1. Snoop Doggy Dogg – Doggystyle (1993)
Let’s start this list off with a party banger. Christian (lead singer) and I used to grace every house party we attended with an a cappella rendition of the entire album front to back. It’s misogynistic, puerile and undeniably infectious. Snoop may now be a mere caricature of himself, but this debut was stunning especially at the tender age of nineteen.
2. Jeff Buckley – Grace (1995)
On the other side of the coin, JB’s debut remains the most sensitive and heart-breaking album I’ve ever heard. In my opinion, the singer-songwriter genre has regressed by over-saturation and there is a lot of boring material out there. Jeff takes risks and wears his heart on his sleeve, injecting just enough rock power to lift you out of your seat.
3. Marvin Gaye – What’s Goin’ On (1968)
Vying for Jeff’s crown of tenderness is another great artist who died tragically young. After years in the Motown hit factory system as another matinee idol with golden chords, Marvin proved he had more to his bow by co-writing the entire album around a cogent concept. What really counts, though, is the milestone performace by Motown’s house band The Funk Brothers.
4. Rage Against The Machine – Evil Empire (1996)
Proving themselves one of the most important ands of the 90s with wildly successful reunion gigs all over the world, music fans in general usually regard their debut as their magnum opus. However in MPL we prefer the raw delivery and tangible in-band friction of their sophomore which takes far more risks and frankly sounds miles more punk.
5. Morris Day and The Time – What Time Is It? (1982)
Anyone who has seen Purple Rain or indeed Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back will be familiar with Prince protégés The Time. The Purple One actually wrote all the tunes and played nearly all the instruments but Morris and the band proved their live supremacy on tour where they were known to blow him off the stage. Highlights are ‘The Walk’ and ‘777-9311.’
6. Prince – Controversy (1981)
Although we’ve already included an album which was 90% his creation (and uncredited to boot) Prince deserves another mention as one of our biggest influences. Before he broke the mainstream with Purple Rain, he was fusing the dirtiest sex-funk with retro-fitted synth rock n roll boasting strongly anti-Reagan lyrics. Years ahead of its time, echoes can be heard throughout the Eighties.
7. Red Hot Chili Peppers – One Hot Minute (1996)
As veteran Chili Peppers fans, we have lost faith of late; recent albums portray a watering down of their old sound without taking any risks. In the wake of BloodSugarSexMagik, their commercial breakthrough, a 5 year hiatus brought Dave Navarro into the fold along with a sharp injection of psychedelia. Even questionably-talented Anthony Kiedis sounds honest and in tune on this hard-riffing rock journey.
8. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin III (1970)
No Top 10 could be without a Zep album, but which one? They’re all seminal to us, but at this point in time their third album has priority on the turntable. Recorded in a cottage in Wales and dripping with Jimmy Page’s flourishing interest in folk and roots music, the triumvirate of ‘Tangerine’, ‘That’s The Way’ and ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ is enough to give it legendary status, not to mention iconic opener ‘Immigrant Song.’ Bonus points for the rotatable gatefold vinyl cover which my Dad proudly owns.
9. Pearl Jam – Vs.
Another difficult one to choose, PJ’s follow up to ‘Ten’ edges the competitors on the basis of sheer invention. Moving seamlessly from Zeppelin-esque ‘Blood’ through the laid back groove of ‘Rats’ to acoustic anthem ‘Elderly Woman…’ it is notable that they weren’t trying to recreate Ten, although the pressure of commercial success must have been huge.
10. David Bowie – Hunky Dory
I refuse to go anywhere without mentioning Bowie and this is the album I keep coming back to. Honest, delicate and with lyrics that read like Shelley even without the music it is a wonder that people always talk about Ziggy and The Thin White Duke when it is so clear that the artist reveals himself so much more truthfully on this album. It’s a shame I can’t listen to it without thinking of The Kooks, whose moniker was inspired by the track of the same name.
Honourable Mentions
Somehow I’ve managed to leave a few off and I didn’t want to go back and make changes so here they are. Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road, Steely Dan’s Aja, Rick James’ Street Songs and finally our friends Thedealwasforthediamond, whose self-titled album is finished and looking for a release. I honestly believe that they’ll be the next big thing in hard rock so watch this space and check their Twitter @tdwftd
Cheers!
C-Dogg – Mean Poppa Lean guitarist, 26 years old (if anyone’s asking)
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Mean Poppa Lean have been handpicked to perform live at this year’s Latitude Festival 12-15th July
