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Best LP 1989?

Best LP 1989?

  • The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses

    Votes: 26 30.6%
  • The Pixies - Doolittle

    Votes: 19 22.4%
  • The Cure - Disintegration

    Votes: 8 9.4%
  • Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever

    Votes: 7 8.2%
  • De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising

    Votes: 3 3.5%
  • Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Nirvana - Bleach

    Votes: 2 2.4%
  • Lou Reed - New York

    Votes: 8 9.4%
  • New Order - Technique

    Votes: 8 9.4%
  • Soul II Soul - Club Classics Vol 1

    Votes: 4 4.7%

  • Total voters
    85
  • Poll closed .
In my opinion -
On the list:
Doolittle & New York are great, Stone Roses highly overrated. I own Technique, it seems, but I don't remember anything about it. I haven't heard the others.
Good but not on the list:
As others have said, The Sensual World. Also Paul's Boutique.
 
If we are counting EP's then I would have included and picked A Guy Called Gerald - Peel Sessions. Emotions Electric is an exceptional track.

The Stone Roses debut is the obvious one as, with the Happy Monday's Bummed from the preceding year, and several 12" singles it defined the Madchester scene. I'd prefer to pick something more club/techno/electronic though as that is what was really breaking at the time, but it was a 12" culture, not album (all the landmark Warp, Superstition, Harthouse etc albums came out a couple of years layer). The best I can come up with off the top of my head is 808 State's Quadrastate mini-LP on Creed Records as that indicated the direction of travel for sure. Over the next few years 808s, 303s etc were bleeping away in the better clubs across the land. Like many 1989 was the point I jumped ship from indie/rock to electronica, hence my choice here.

PS I played on an indie album released in 1989 (link)!
 
Tough choice between Pixies and Lou Reed. I went with Pixies because that's more "in my wheelhouse" even though Reed's "New York" was a career high point. That and Charles is a much nicer guy than Lou was.
 
PS I played on an indie album released in 1989 (link)!

I have this! Very decent.

I went for The Stone Roses. However it sounds now, it really was their time. Close second was Technique, with New Order completely reflecting the dance mentality of the times. The latter is still my sunny holiday soundtrack of choice.

Of the rest...there was no Fall studio album that year. Elvis Costello released the excellent Spike, and Primal Scream's debut was a lovely thing. But yeah, as per what Tony said, very much a 12" single/EP kinda year for me.
 
So many bands that defined the times didn't release an album that year; Sonic Youth, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr, Happy Mondays, Fall etc etc. In hindsight I think it was a year where people were regroupling, it is obvious the techno club-scene was a huge shift and bands needed time to process that.
 
XTC - Oranges And Lemons (Probably my favourite for that year)

The Replacements - Don't Tell A Soul

China Crisis - Diary Of A Hollow Horse
 
Agreed it was a bit of an in between year and the club scene was huge but within a couple of years IMO some of the greatest LP's of all time would be released Massive Attack - Blue Lines, Primal Scream - Screamadelica and Nirvana - Nevermind three huge records all released in 1991 at least two of which would come out of the Club Scene of the late 80's.
So many bands that defined the times didn't release an album that year; Sonic Youth, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr, Happy Mondays, Fall etc etc. In hindsight I think it was a year where people were regroupling, it is obvious the techno club-scene was a huge shift and bands needed time to process that.
 
The late 80s was a time when other things took priority over music (family mostly) so is a period when I tired of the rock scene but couldn't/wouldn't get into the techno/clubbing scene of the time.

I only own four of the listed albums and cannot think of any alternatives of the top of my head so my vote goes to The Cure - Disintegration, their last classic album.
 
This is totally my era. Happy memories of going on a college trip to Paris with just one tape - Stone Roses on one side and a Sub Pop compilation on the other. Played relentlessly over and over for 5 days.

I have all the albums on that list with the exception of Tom Petty & Soul II Soul. The one that's missing for me is Bob Mould - Workbook. His first post-Hüskers release and a stunning LP. Still one of my all time favourites today.
 
I have to say there was, for me, a distinctly small number of really good albums released in 1989. Either side of 1989 there were some really good albums:

1988 saw Spirit of Eden, Serpent's Egg, Bug, Flag and even Lovesexy (better still I saw Squiggle on that tour at Wembley).

1990 saw Shake Your Money Maker, Travel-Log, Ragged Glory, Heaven or Las Vegas and Chill Out (yes I like that offering from the KLF!).
 
Almost impossible to choose between Doolittle and Technique. I chose the latter in the end because it represents late New Order at their very peak (I saw them live at the time and they just blew me away) whereas Doolittle is (for me) a step down from the sheer "where the hell did that come from?!" brilliance of Surfer Rosa.

I've never rated The Stone Roses.
 
So many bands that defined the times didn't release an album that year; Sonic Youth, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr, Happy Mondays, Fall etc etc. In hindsight I think it was a year where people were regroupling, it is obvious the techno club-scene was a huge shift and bands needed time to process that.

There was a year The Fall didn't release an LP? That can't be right surely!
 
I seem to be the only person who has voted for Nirvana so far.

I'd like to vote for Repulsion - Horrified. But it was actually recorded in 1986 so I'm not sure if it counts.
 
How about "None of the above" - think I have a copy of Soul II Soul on CD so have gone with that

How about Amandla or Aura by Miles Davis (especially the latter) - both released in 89

Or I'd be happy to agree with Bonnie Raitt "Nick Of Time" which was something of a comeback after "getting clean"
 


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