Top 60 Music Albums of 1988 by 
Mercury 
I’m doing a tear down and rebuild, a deep dive and dissection, of all I can take for 1988… these 10 are my base, I feel like I am solid enough on these 10s and where I rank them. I will now get to work on the many relistens to albums I love/quite like from 1988, the many many relistens to those I don’t honestly recall much about from same year, and the MANY, MANY, MANY new listens and exploration of those albums and EPs of 1988.
This album will be fleshed out with comments and albums as I go. Peace.
- Chart updated: 08/07/2023 13:45
- (Created: 12/02/2013 07:01).
- Chart size: 60 albums.
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Following note taken from my diary entry in the forums posted on December 6th, 2021:
I liked this. Even within a short 36 or so run time I won't lie I got tired of hearing the same bitter sweet nostalgic motif/theme. Still, I love the movie and I love the images this album and this music conjures in my head. I am not sure if this would have been particularly great to me had I not the earnestly sad and somber and nostalgic story and film to fill in the gaps between all these floating notes. But anyway, the point is its solid and excellent classical type stuff. I also will say I have way WAAAAY less to say about this music and this style than I do Slayer's album or basically any album. I have a hard time saying anything of substance or even pulling stiuff out of thin air when I speak on soundtracks, Jazz, Classical, or Hip Hop. Not sure why. I just get self conscious.
Anyway, this is REALLY sweet and I recommend it somewhat. But I actually and truly recommend watching the film this is a soundtrack to. IT is a stunning work of art. [First added to this chart: 01/04/2016]
I liked this. Even within a short 36 or so run time I won't lie I got tired of hearing the same bitter sweet nostalgic motif/theme. Still, I love the movie and I love the images this album and this music conjures in my head. I am not sure if this would have been particularly great to me had I not the earnestly sad and somber and nostalgic story and film to fill in the gaps between all these floating notes. But anyway, the point is its solid and excellent classical type stuff. I also will say I have way WAAAAY less to say about this music and this style than I do Slayer's album or basically any album. I have a hard time saying anything of substance or even pulling stiuff out of thin air when I speak on soundtracks, Jazz, Classical, or Hip Hop. Not sure why. I just get self conscious.
Anyway, this is REALLY sweet and I recommend it somewhat. But I actually and truly recommend watching the film this is a soundtrack to. IT is a stunning work of art. [First added to this chart: 01/04/2016]
0
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Following note taken from my diary entry in the forums posted on December 14th, 2021:
Ah yes, how I do recall the first time I heard this album. I had already recently heard the debut [i]Paid In Full[/i]. My reaction to that, more famous and VERY influential, album was a very lukewarm, soupy, unaffected "mehness". I suppose I thought it was a bit too old school and too, to these ears at least, wooden and awkward. I had much the same opinion at that time of all pre-1993 hip hop. For some reason I just was left feeling nothing. Then I saw this CD at a record store, I bought it as it was used and quite cheap, and I listened. I was blown away. I thought it was EXCELLENT!
My initial enthusiasm for the album was due, probably, to just being in the mood as well as having my expectations lowered so thoroughly. But, yep and without a doubt, I thought this album was GREAT. Then I moved on. I returned to it once or twice over the next decade and, while enjoying it still, I was much less impressed and none of those subsequent listens matched that first impression. And now here we are. This album is the next I wanted to listen to once or twice.
I just finished a second listen today and my thoughts are simply that it is a very cool old school hip hop album. The first track is both MONUMENTALLY badass as well as, at times, kind of cheesy. Rakim's flow and lyricism is very good, but very good - nay, unmatched - by 1988 standards, while being to my ears, not equal to the great rappers of the mid 90s to today that I most like. Relative to hip hop of the time, the beats and the flow of the album are fantastic. And on a few tracks I am legit still impressed mightily by in a modern/present day context, namely The opening title track with its incredibly funky sound and the speedy and unstoppable energy of the bars on "Put Your Hands Together".
One thing I had forgotten is that there are large chunks of this album that are instrumental hip hop, with not a line to be heard from the 18th letter, the genius, the Legend. These tracks, while again being fine, aren't highlights in a modern context for me. Its just a personal taste point. I don't love nor feel any emotional connection to old school hip hop (outside of Public Enemy as you know). Much of my experience with this was detached. As if I was simply trying to send myself back in time to when this was brand new, imagining how mind-blowing this was or must have been. Very little of the album for me was spent lost in the music and really just enjoying myself on a more fundamental level. Some of the lines are great, a lot are, again, super cheesy and awkward and not to my liking stylistically. I enjoyed this much less than [i]It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back[/i], but substantially more than [i]By All Means Necessary[/i]. If PE's 1988 classic is a solid 9 and Boogie Down Productions' was for me a 5.5/6, then this is a 7-7.5. Its good and much more enjoyable than most pre-90s hip hop, but really not something I see myself putting on for any reason - to be moved, to be wowed, to experience, nothing.
I wish I had more to say specifically about the music, the style, the production, the sounds and the words. I listened twice and anything of note to say about such escapes me. [First added to this chart: 01/04/2016]
Ah yes, how I do recall the first time I heard this album. I had already recently heard the debut [i]Paid In Full[/i]. My reaction to that, more famous and VERY influential, album was a very lukewarm, soupy, unaffected "mehness". I suppose I thought it was a bit too old school and too, to these ears at least, wooden and awkward. I had much the same opinion at that time of all pre-1993 hip hop. For some reason I just was left feeling nothing. Then I saw this CD at a record store, I bought it as it was used and quite cheap, and I listened. I was blown away. I thought it was EXCELLENT!
My initial enthusiasm for the album was due, probably, to just being in the mood as well as having my expectations lowered so thoroughly. But, yep and without a doubt, I thought this album was GREAT. Then I moved on. I returned to it once or twice over the next decade and, while enjoying it still, I was much less impressed and none of those subsequent listens matched that first impression. And now here we are. This album is the next I wanted to listen to once or twice.
I just finished a second listen today and my thoughts are simply that it is a very cool old school hip hop album. The first track is both MONUMENTALLY badass as well as, at times, kind of cheesy. Rakim's flow and lyricism is very good, but very good - nay, unmatched - by 1988 standards, while being to my ears, not equal to the great rappers of the mid 90s to today that I most like. Relative to hip hop of the time, the beats and the flow of the album are fantastic. And on a few tracks I am legit still impressed mightily by in a modern/present day context, namely The opening title track with its incredibly funky sound and the speedy and unstoppable energy of the bars on "Put Your Hands Together".
One thing I had forgotten is that there are large chunks of this album that are instrumental hip hop, with not a line to be heard from the 18th letter, the genius, the Legend. These tracks, while again being fine, aren't highlights in a modern context for me. Its just a personal taste point. I don't love nor feel any emotional connection to old school hip hop (outside of Public Enemy as you know). Much of my experience with this was detached. As if I was simply trying to send myself back in time to when this was brand new, imagining how mind-blowing this was or must have been. Very little of the album for me was spent lost in the music and really just enjoying myself on a more fundamental level. Some of the lines are great, a lot are, again, super cheesy and awkward and not to my liking stylistically. I enjoyed this much less than [i]It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back[/i], but substantially more than [i]By All Means Necessary[/i]. If PE's 1988 classic is a solid 9 and Boogie Down Productions' was for me a 5.5/6, then this is a 7-7.5. Its good and much more enjoyable than most pre-90s hip hop, but really not something I see myself putting on for any reason - to be moved, to be wowed, to experience, nothing.
I wish I had more to say specifically about the music, the style, the production, the sounds and the words. I listened twice and anything of note to say about such escapes me. [First added to this chart: 01/04/2016]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
536
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Following note taken from my diary entry in the forums posted on December 14th, 2021:
Okay, I don't know what is wrong with me. I don't love or even particularly like this. I mean, scratch that, I like it. It's fine. But... anyone who knows me knows I love singer/songwriter stuff and blues stuff and americana-type dark stuff and I like punk stuff... and this album seems made for me. And, what's more is its from one of the most revered songwriters ever as well as one of his most loved albums - almost universally liked. Yet, for me, yet again with a Cave release, I am not vibing with this even after 2 listens.
I suppose I just can't get into the presentation, its all very very theatrical and, to me, feels fake and forced and unconvincing. It's all quite dour, quite wild and woolly and full of death and murder and betrayal oh my! It really is like a more approachable sort of Tom Waits-ish bluesy rock with lots of drama. The songs don't hit like Waits and the vocals aren't remotely as engaging or convincing. I generally don't like Cave's vocals - either here or later when he started really leaning more into crooning. He sounds like the dude from Television sometimes and he kept reminding me of someone else and I can't remember who.
As of now this joins [i]From Her to Eternity[/i], [i]No More Shall We Part[/i], [i]Carnage[/i] and [i]Push the Sky Away[/i] in the club of quite hyped and loved Cave records I just don't quite click with. [i]The Boatman's Call[/i] and [i]Skeleton Tree[/i], i admit, have dug their claws in me and I quite like them. [First added to this chart: 12/28/2021]
Okay, I don't know what is wrong with me. I don't love or even particularly like this. I mean, scratch that, I like it. It's fine. But... anyone who knows me knows I love singer/songwriter stuff and blues stuff and americana-type dark stuff and I like punk stuff... and this album seems made for me. And, what's more is its from one of the most revered songwriters ever as well as one of his most loved albums - almost universally liked. Yet, for me, yet again with a Cave release, I am not vibing with this even after 2 listens.
I suppose I just can't get into the presentation, its all very very theatrical and, to me, feels fake and forced and unconvincing. It's all quite dour, quite wild and woolly and full of death and murder and betrayal oh my! It really is like a more approachable sort of Tom Waits-ish bluesy rock with lots of drama. The songs don't hit like Waits and the vocals aren't remotely as engaging or convincing. I generally don't like Cave's vocals - either here or later when he started really leaning more into crooning. He sounds like the dude from Television sometimes and he kept reminding me of someone else and I can't remember who.
As of now this joins [i]From Her to Eternity[/i], [i]No More Shall We Part[/i], [i]Carnage[/i] and [i]Push the Sky Away[/i] in the club of quite hyped and loved Cave records I just don't quite click with. [i]The Boatman's Call[/i] and [i]Skeleton Tree[/i], i admit, have dug their claws in me and I quite like them. [First added to this chart: 12/28/2021]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,590
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
44. (38) 
6
6
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Following note taken from my diary entry in the forums posted on December 7th, 2021:
Carcass follows a similar trajectory to Bolt Thrower in some ways. They came out5 of the gates in the same UK grind scene the same year, released a rough-as-fudge debut album, then got to work and refined their sound quite hastily and released a superior in many ways follow up in 1989 (same as Bolt Thrower) they then made a masterpiece in 1991 and 1993 (Bolt Thrower released very highly regarded DM albums in 1991 and 1992 and 1994 - but I admit I have not heard them). I find this somewhat interesting. One major thing that Carcass managed to do that is fucking fantastic is they released this album and their 1989 Symphonies of Sickness, which was a MASSIVE influence on every gross out medical procedure gore-fest themed band who came after, then in 1991 they created a straight forward death metal album with much less goreGRIND involved, and then they shockingly created one of the great works of Melodic Death Metal in 1993. Like these dudes just fucking went and quasi-invented goregrind and were one of the first grindcore groups and then a few years later quasi-invented melodic death metal and influencved legions of swedes with Heartwork. My hat is tipped to thee, Carcass.
Anyway, about this album in particular... if Bolt Thrower's debut was roughly recorded and muddy, well then this... this is substantially more muddy and rough sounding. By design I think. If the recording quality of Bolt Thrower's debut was like a 4, than this is a 2 (and the brilliant Napalm Death is like a 5 or 6 in comparison). The music here just rumbles, the bass just sounds like this incessant wobbly deep groan that barrages your ears the whole way through. The bass is the bedrock of the sound and then over top we have these garbled, weird, what became classic goregrind vocals rasining hell all over this thing. Then on top of the bass and vocals doing weird shit, the guitars just sound like staticy sludge hammers. The fact that underneath all this ugly production there are moments of truly TRULY kickass thrashing riff work just makes the whole experience - at times - sublime. The drums are there too, holding down the beat as best they can. Nothing amazing there that I heard.
Its funny that despite how influential this album undoubtedly was for the creation of a little niche subgenre, this is generally not a loved or revered debut. Not that this is scientific at all, but if you go to RYM and you look at the top metal albums of 1988, and scroll and keep scrolling, you won't find this album for several minutes. Finally down there at #209 metal album of 1988, you will find this Reek of Putrefaction, with a small 3.25 avg grade. Why this is I think is clear: they - Carcass - took this sound and recorded it better and perfected it within months and released Symphonies of Sickness 16 months later and THAT is given its due love within metal fandoms. This album is so ugly and the drums in particular are sooo absurdly strange sounding and indistinct and amateur as well as how everything just sounds soupy, that it was just a bridge too far. I think though that there is a lot to love here not just for the historical significance of this release as one of the earliest grindcore documents, but also there is a rotting, decaying, ugly atmosphere you will find here and some really cool riffs, that make it a pretty damn cool album. Do I love it? No. I respect it and it mostly is fascinating seeing a band like this level up so fast from album 1 to 2 to 3 to 4. Carcass were far far too great to be contained and the coming years after this debut proved it. [First added to this chart: 11/18/2021]
Carcass follows a similar trajectory to Bolt Thrower in some ways. They came out5 of the gates in the same UK grind scene the same year, released a rough-as-fudge debut album, then got to work and refined their sound quite hastily and released a superior in many ways follow up in 1989 (same as Bolt Thrower) they then made a masterpiece in 1991 and 1993 (Bolt Thrower released very highly regarded DM albums in 1991 and 1992 and 1994 - but I admit I have not heard them). I find this somewhat interesting. One major thing that Carcass managed to do that is fucking fantastic is they released this album and their 1989 Symphonies of Sickness, which was a MASSIVE influence on every gross out medical procedure gore-fest themed band who came after, then in 1991 they created a straight forward death metal album with much less goreGRIND involved, and then they shockingly created one of the great works of Melodic Death Metal in 1993. Like these dudes just fucking went and quasi-invented goregrind and were one of the first grindcore groups and then a few years later quasi-invented melodic death metal and influencved legions of swedes with Heartwork. My hat is tipped to thee, Carcass.
Anyway, about this album in particular... if Bolt Thrower's debut was roughly recorded and muddy, well then this... this is substantially more muddy and rough sounding. By design I think. If the recording quality of Bolt Thrower's debut was like a 4, than this is a 2 (and the brilliant Napalm Death is like a 5 or 6 in comparison). The music here just rumbles, the bass just sounds like this incessant wobbly deep groan that barrages your ears the whole way through. The bass is the bedrock of the sound and then over top we have these garbled, weird, what became classic goregrind vocals rasining hell all over this thing. Then on top of the bass and vocals doing weird shit, the guitars just sound like staticy sludge hammers. The fact that underneath all this ugly production there are moments of truly TRULY kickass thrashing riff work just makes the whole experience - at times - sublime. The drums are there too, holding down the beat as best they can. Nothing amazing there that I heard.
Its funny that despite how influential this album undoubtedly was for the creation of a little niche subgenre, this is generally not a loved or revered debut. Not that this is scientific at all, but if you go to RYM and you look at the top metal albums of 1988, and scroll and keep scrolling, you won't find this album for several minutes. Finally down there at #209 metal album of 1988, you will find this Reek of Putrefaction, with a small 3.25 avg grade. Why this is I think is clear: they - Carcass - took this sound and recorded it better and perfected it within months and released Symphonies of Sickness 16 months later and THAT is given its due love within metal fandoms. This album is so ugly and the drums in particular are sooo absurdly strange sounding and indistinct and amateur as well as how everything just sounds soupy, that it was just a bridge too far. I think though that there is a lot to love here not just for the historical significance of this release as one of the earliest grindcore documents, but also there is a rotting, decaying, ugly atmosphere you will find here and some really cool riffs, that make it a pretty damn cool album. Do I love it? No. I respect it and it mostly is fascinating seeing a band like this level up so fast from album 1 to 2 to 3 to 4. Carcass were far far too great to be contained and the coming years after this debut proved it. [First added to this chart: 11/18/2021]
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Not much of a note for this. None made on diary or anywhere else. So here is a short note on my thoughts:
I SHOULD love this. Whenever I see it on a chart or whenever I read something about it I without fail think "That album is just soooo my jam!" The way they recorded it with one mic in an old church or something. The slowcore meets country meets murder ballad aesthetic of it. Hell the melodies and the steel guitar and and and... I am a geek for all this stuff. But... it doesn't deliver on most of its promise. This album bores me mostly, and always leaves me feeling disappointed. A classic or masterpiece this is not (to my eyes and ears) and I am done revisiting it with all the hope of youth and so I will not do it again. This chart just now had 42 albums now it has 10. I left 10 here that I have essentially made up my mind about between all time top album to bad. This is closer to bad than overall chart worthy.
Grade: 6.1/10 [First added to this chart: 01/04/2016]
I SHOULD love this. Whenever I see it on a chart or whenever I read something about it I without fail think "That album is just soooo my jam!" The way they recorded it with one mic in an old church or something. The slowcore meets country meets murder ballad aesthetic of it. Hell the melodies and the steel guitar and and and... I am a geek for all this stuff. But... it doesn't deliver on most of its promise. This album bores me mostly, and always leaves me feeling disappointed. A classic or masterpiece this is not (to my eyes and ears) and I am done revisiting it with all the hope of youth and so I will not do it again. This chart just now had 42 albums now it has 10. I left 10 here that I have essentially made up my mind about between all time top album to bad. This is closer to bad than overall chart worthy.
Grade: 6.1/10 [First added to this chart: 01/04/2016]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,045
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 01/04/2016]
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Following note taken from music diary entry in forums, 4 December 2021:
Okay so this woman is fascinating and also not some super or particularly unknown nor undreground artist. But she is new to me. Had no idea what to expect when I pushed play. Its wild. the opening track of A cappella opera is recorded in such a way that when I am not being blown out of my head by the sheer audacity and brilliant virtuosity of the vocals, I am being mindfucked by the way the mics will sort of push the notes around and engulf my ears from several directions. I am no music expert lol and I don't know what exactly is being done to create this disoriuenting and brilliant effect, but hot damn its cool. This opener (titled "Swing Low Sweet Chariot") is followed up by a menacing, experimental beast of a track called "Double-Barrel Prayer" which, again, is beastly. Its so dark and twisted. It has no comparison in my mind right now.
After this very VERY intoxicating 1-2 punch to start, I feel the album goes to more predictable or at least less interesting places and tracks 3, 4 and 5 are just a step down in terms of mind-bending, experimental brilliance. There are a couple almost blues tracks in there and a track called "Birds of Death" which is a dark brooding thing. They are fine but not much else.
The track "Let My People Go" continues the piano blues which I didn't love in those middle cuts but it works here. It is ghostly and cold and demented and pissed-thefuck-off. The vibe is somewhat similar to recent Lingua Ignota album, only slightly - insofar as you have a maverick, deeply creative, classically trained, female experimental genius absolutely going off and belting uncompromising avant-garde somewhat religiously oriented music. (When I put it that way there are some legit similarities... but really the genres are fundementally different... I'm just saying maybe you will like this track if you dig Ignota).
Track 7 "Malediction" has an absolutely atrocious 80s drum sound and some other things going on that undermine it. But Galas' vocals are their usual wild goodness. She is punk rock as fuck and mad as hell here and the free and improvised jazzy piano runs are dope. - but, amn I wish that that fucking drum machine was gone. Its bad.
"The Lord Is My Sheperd" ends the album. just like the opener, its an A cappela piece and ... yeah i'll admit, its just weird and demented. She's like playing with a creepy singing style where she is breathing in and making these demented noises and sounds and notes. Weird. I can't say I totally bought oin and I don't think it's a fraction the powerhouse that the album opened with, but its cool and unique at least.
Apparently this is the 3rd album in what is regarded as a Trilogy of albums. This is my first introduction to Galas, and maybe I should have started with her debut, 2nd release or her first album in this trilogy of sorts from 1986 (it has the highest avg rating on RYM it seems). But as far as new experiences and new artists and new sounds go, this was a hoot. I may not have loved all of it and not liked a few tracks, but the general take away was this artist is a brilliant, uncompromising experiemntal queen and I am glad artists like this exist to sort of reset my expectations and try to give me utterly new musical byroads to venture down.
Yeah I think I will earmark this musician so to speak and listen to more of her music in the future. [First added to this chart: 12/06/2021]
Okay so this woman is fascinating and also not some super or particularly unknown nor undreground artist. But she is new to me. Had no idea what to expect when I pushed play. Its wild. the opening track of A cappella opera is recorded in such a way that when I am not being blown out of my head by the sheer audacity and brilliant virtuosity of the vocals, I am being mindfucked by the way the mics will sort of push the notes around and engulf my ears from several directions. I am no music expert lol and I don't know what exactly is being done to create this disoriuenting and brilliant effect, but hot damn its cool. This opener (titled "Swing Low Sweet Chariot") is followed up by a menacing, experimental beast of a track called "Double-Barrel Prayer" which, again, is beastly. Its so dark and twisted. It has no comparison in my mind right now.
After this very VERY intoxicating 1-2 punch to start, I feel the album goes to more predictable or at least less interesting places and tracks 3, 4 and 5 are just a step down in terms of mind-bending, experimental brilliance. There are a couple almost blues tracks in there and a track called "Birds of Death" which is a dark brooding thing. They are fine but not much else.
The track "Let My People Go" continues the piano blues which I didn't love in those middle cuts but it works here. It is ghostly and cold and demented and pissed-thefuck-off. The vibe is somewhat similar to recent Lingua Ignota album, only slightly - insofar as you have a maverick, deeply creative, classically trained, female experimental genius absolutely going off and belting uncompromising avant-garde somewhat religiously oriented music. (When I put it that way there are some legit similarities... but really the genres are fundementally different... I'm just saying maybe you will like this track if you dig Ignota).
Track 7 "Malediction" has an absolutely atrocious 80s drum sound and some other things going on that undermine it. But Galas' vocals are their usual wild goodness. She is punk rock as fuck and mad as hell here and the free and improvised jazzy piano runs are dope. - but, amn I wish that that fucking drum machine was gone. Its bad.
"The Lord Is My Sheperd" ends the album. just like the opener, its an A cappela piece and ... yeah i'll admit, its just weird and demented. She's like playing with a creepy singing style where she is breathing in and making these demented noises and sounds and notes. Weird. I can't say I totally bought oin and I don't think it's a fraction the powerhouse that the album opened with, but its cool and unique at least.
Apparently this is the 3rd album in what is regarded as a Trilogy of albums. This is my first introduction to Galas, and maybe I should have started with her debut, 2nd release or her first album in this trilogy of sorts from 1986 (it has the highest avg rating on RYM it seems). But as far as new experiences and new artists and new sounds go, this was a hoot. I may not have loved all of it and not liked a few tracks, but the general take away was this artist is a brilliant, uncompromising experiemntal queen and I am glad artists like this exist to sort of reset my expectations and try to give me utterly new musical byroads to venture down.
Yeah I think I will earmark this musician so to speak and listen to more of her music in the future. [First added to this chart: 12/06/2021]
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Following note taken from my diary in the forums. Posted there on December 10th, 2021:
I have heard the compilation or the album that gathers their early singles along with their famous debut EP several times. Actually for the longest time, until yesterday actually, I thought "Touch Me I'm Sick" was in their debut EP. Not the case. That was their debut single which for some reason wasn't in their EP. So, much like that great MBV EP from 1988 I spoke of earlier, this will be stuff familiar to me but never listened to AS an EP and as its own complete release in context and with nothing added before or after. So, here goes:
Most of what comes to mind as I hear this is the amazing book Our Band Could Be Your Life, which I read at a perfect time in my life. This book is a cool look at the american underground punk/indie scene in the 1980s. It has big portions dedicated to The Replacements, Husker Du, Mission Of Burma, Black Flag, Minutemen, Beat Haappening, Minor Threat, and Mudhoney. (and others I'm forgetting). So before I had ever heard a second of this EP or any Mudhoney I knew a little about how huge of an influence they had on the creation of what we later called Grunge and what later became the famous Seattle punk/grunge scene. So when I first bought this EP as part of the Superfuzz Bigmuff+Early Singles album (along with Double Nickels and Vs. and You're Living All Over Me - oh yeah Dino Jr is big part of book - etc) I was excited to finally put my ears to this classic band's material. And I was a little disappointed. I thought at the time (and as you will see, still think) that this band is fine, fuzzy, heavy, kinda fucked in the head, dirty, and cool in ways but always a little bit lacking in that extra special something to push it over. This EP has a sound that is kind of cool, but no clear stand out moments. Like, I think of The Stooges and Raw Power and Fun House when I hear this - they both have a certain animalistic, rabid, dirty rock n roll vibe - but The Stooges are so much more convincing than Mudhoney ever is here. I also think of Bleach by Nirvana and I am struck by how much better that Nirvana debut is, how much more alive and distinctive it is, how much more emotive and convincing even very young Cobain is over this guy who is the singer of Mudhoney.
Okay, that last paragraph was a mess as is my tendency. I don't dislike this EP or this band. I just think that this scene and this sound was almost IMMEDIATELY made much much cooler and more badass by early Nirvana and Soundgarden and other stuff (i don't claim to be smart about that seattle musical scene). The coolest thing this has going for it is that dirty fuzz and rumble - that almost noisy staticy rumble is alllll over this EP, espeially on tracks of the more unbridled and heavy sort like track 2 "Chain That Door". And that is dope. This band could have used something that almost all the other seattle bands had that made them better in all cases - that is a dynamic, INTERESTING and charismatic lead singer. This dude on vocals is fine, but while everyone else is contributing to this cool, fucked up and sick and neauseas garagy sludgy something, the vocals just sort of exist. If Staley or Cornell or Vedder or Cobain was in this band, I think you'd have something special. This is coming from someone who doesn't particularly love Layne Staley's or Vedder's vocals. I just think despite everything those front men had a personality and a distinctiveness and were memorable. and Mudhoney woulda been HUGE had they someone like that at the helm.
Anyway, this is pretty good. I'm done talking about it. [First added to this chart: 02/15/2014]
I have heard the compilation or the album that gathers their early singles along with their famous debut EP several times. Actually for the longest time, until yesterday actually, I thought "Touch Me I'm Sick" was in their debut EP. Not the case. That was their debut single which for some reason wasn't in their EP. So, much like that great MBV EP from 1988 I spoke of earlier, this will be stuff familiar to me but never listened to AS an EP and as its own complete release in context and with nothing added before or after. So, here goes:
Most of what comes to mind as I hear this is the amazing book Our Band Could Be Your Life, which I read at a perfect time in my life. This book is a cool look at the american underground punk/indie scene in the 1980s. It has big portions dedicated to The Replacements, Husker Du, Mission Of Burma, Black Flag, Minutemen, Beat Haappening, Minor Threat, and Mudhoney. (and others I'm forgetting). So before I had ever heard a second of this EP or any Mudhoney I knew a little about how huge of an influence they had on the creation of what we later called Grunge and what later became the famous Seattle punk/grunge scene. So when I first bought this EP as part of the Superfuzz Bigmuff+Early Singles album (along with Double Nickels and Vs. and You're Living All Over Me - oh yeah Dino Jr is big part of book - etc) I was excited to finally put my ears to this classic band's material. And I was a little disappointed. I thought at the time (and as you will see, still think) that this band is fine, fuzzy, heavy, kinda fucked in the head, dirty, and cool in ways but always a little bit lacking in that extra special something to push it over. This EP has a sound that is kind of cool, but no clear stand out moments. Like, I think of The Stooges and Raw Power and Fun House when I hear this - they both have a certain animalistic, rabid, dirty rock n roll vibe - but The Stooges are so much more convincing than Mudhoney ever is here. I also think of Bleach by Nirvana and I am struck by how much better that Nirvana debut is, how much more alive and distinctive it is, how much more emotive and convincing even very young Cobain is over this guy who is the singer of Mudhoney.
Okay, that last paragraph was a mess as is my tendency. I don't dislike this EP or this band. I just think that this scene and this sound was almost IMMEDIATELY made much much cooler and more badass by early Nirvana and Soundgarden and other stuff (i don't claim to be smart about that seattle musical scene). The coolest thing this has going for it is that dirty fuzz and rumble - that almost noisy staticy rumble is alllll over this EP, espeially on tracks of the more unbridled and heavy sort like track 2 "Chain That Door". And that is dope. This band could have used something that almost all the other seattle bands had that made them better in all cases - that is a dynamic, INTERESTING and charismatic lead singer. This dude on vocals is fine, but while everyone else is contributing to this cool, fucked up and sick and neauseas garagy sludgy something, the vocals just sort of exist. If Staley or Cornell or Vedder or Cobain was in this band, I think you'd have something special. This is coming from someone who doesn't particularly love Layne Staley's or Vedder's vocals. I just think despite everything those front men had a personality and a distinctiveness and were memorable. and Mudhoney woulda been HUGE had they someone like that at the helm.
Anyway, this is pretty good. I'm done talking about it. [First added to this chart: 02/15/2014]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
412
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 02/15/2014]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,513
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 02/15/2014]
Total albums: 60. Page 5 of 6
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Top 60 Music Albums of 1988 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| My Bloody Valentine | 2 | 3% | |
| R.E.M. | 1 | 2% | |
| Bob Dylan | 1 | 2% | |
| Voïvod | 1 | 2% | |
| Blood Spill | 1 | 2% | |
| The Pogues | 1 | 2% | |
| Mudhoney | 1 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
35 | 58% | |
 |
11 | 18% | |
 |
4 | 7% | |
 |
2 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 3% | |
 |
1 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 60 Music Albums of 1988 chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
 Up 2 from 8th to 6thFrom Enslavement To Obliteration by Napalm Death |
| Up 1 from 22nd to 21st Blood Fire Death by Bathory |
| Up 1 from 18th to 17th Surfer Rosa by Pixies |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 10 from 48th to 58th Down In The Groove by Bob Dylan |
| Down 10 from 49th to 59th You Walk Alone by Jandek |
| Down 10 from 50th to 60th Open Up And Say...Ahh!!! by Poison |
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Other year charts (from the 1980s) by Mercury
Top 50 Music Albums of 1989 by Mercury (2022)Top 41 Music Albums of 1987 by
Mercury (2022)Top 29 Music Albums of 1986 by
Mercury (2022)Top 34 Music Albums of 1985 by
Mercury (2023)Top 35 Music Albums of 1984 by
Mercury (2023)Top 86 Music Albums of 1983 by
Mercury (2023)Top 68 Music Albums of 1982 by
Mercury (2023)Top 45 Music Albums of 1981 by
Mercury (2023)Top 47 Music Albums of 1980 by
Mercury (2023)Top 60 Music Albums of 1988 ratings
86/100 (from 1 vote)
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| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 02/15/2014 20:07 | PauloPaz | | 89/100 |
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We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.