Mudhoney - 1991 - Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

Whether it was Conrad Uno's production, the addition of more instruments to the Mudhoney arsenal (notably, Mark Arm adds organ, as can be enjoyably heard on "Who You Drivin' Now," among other numbers), a slew of brilliant songs, or a combination of the above, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge found Mudhoney coming into their own album-wise. "Let It Slide," the album's lead single, fuses everything from surf rock drumming from Dan Peters to a delicious vocal whine on the verses from Arm into a hotwired classic. It's not so much grunge as speed-freak energy, and all the better for it given the caricatures of Sub Pop's sound that would soon take over the airwaves. "Into the Drink" is another fun single, using acoustic and electric guitar to carry a nicely snotty garage stomp along, the full band adding one of their better chorus-gang shouts. More acoustic twang surfaces here and there (check out "Move Out"), helping to show that the variety of songs and styles is much more apparent and welcome here than on the self-titled album. The almost-pretty rushed guitar chime on "Good Enough" could be mid-'80s New Order or the Wedding Present, while Steve Turner's harmonica playing often suggests even deeper roots (and on "Pokin' Around" is both quick on the pace and sweetly mournful). Uno's eight-track production makes more of less plenty of times — "Something So Clear" may not sound as full to some ears as their other records, but the basic guitar overdubs add just enough force, an effective simplicity (and Turner's soloing is pretty great to boot). The six-minute "Broken Hands" is the one point on the album where the band completely freaks out, but unlike the takes-too-long moments of Mudhoney, it's all worth it here, down to the final chaotic amplifier abuse.

		1		Generation Genocide	Mudhoney	1:13
		2		Let It Slide	Mudhoney	2:35
		3		Good Enough	Mudhoney	3:25
		4		Something So Clear		4:14
		5		Thorn		2:10
		6		Into the Drink	Mudhoney	2:08
		7		Broken Hands		6:02
		8		Who You Drivin' Now	Mudhoney	2:21
		9		Move Out		3:32
		10		Shoot the Moon		2:27
		11		Fuzzgun '91		1:52
		12		Pokin' Around		3:30
		13		Don't Fade IV		3:58
		14		Check-Out Time	Mudhoney	3:07

¡Aquí!

Impala

A surf quartet hailing from Memphis, TN, Impala has issued four full-length albums (El Rancho Reverbo, Square Jungle, Play R&B Favorites, and Teenage Tupelo Movie Soundtrack), as well as an EP (Kings of the Strip).

1994 - El Rancho Reverbo

Impala - 1994 - El Rancho Reverbo

		1		El Rancho	Impala	:31
		2		Odalisque	Impala	2:10
		3		Ronnie and the Renegades	Impala	1:27
		4		Wild Night at the Bloody Bucket	Impala	2:43
		5		Last Tango in Turrell	Impala	2:49
		6		What the Astronauts Drink	Impala	1:58
		7		Anna Vienna	Impala	3:41
		8		Open All Night	Impala	1:38
		9		Taos Pueblo	Impala	1:51
		10		Have You Seen This Man?	Impala	2:15
		11		Derailed	Impala	2:21
		12		Endsville	Impala	2:26
		13		Hell of a Woman	Impala	2:46
		14		Ltd A-Go Go [*]	Impala	2:46
		15		Mr. Here	Impala	2:10
		16		Experiment in Terror/Stalkin' [*]	Eddy, Hazzelwood, Mancini	3:07

¡Aquí!

Hives

Eight years into their career, the Hives rose from garage rock stalwarts to one of the trendiest bands of the early 2000s, along with the Strokes and the White Stripes. Mixing arty contrivances such as a strict black-and-white dress code and the guidance of a (possibly imaginary) Svengali named Randy Fitzsimmons with Stooges-inspired rock, the Hives -- Nicholaus Arson, Chris Dangerous, Dr. Matt Destruction, Vigilante Carlstroem, and Howlin' Pelle Almqvist -- formed in 1993 in Fagersta, Sweden, while they were still in their teens. After signing with a subsidiary of the Burning Heart label in 1995, they released their debut EP, Oh Lord! When? How?, the following year. The group switched to Burning Heart for their first full-length, Barely Legal, in 1997; that year they also embarked on their first U.S. tour. After the release of 1998's A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T EP, changes in the band's management put things on hold for a time. However, the Hives returned in 2000 with their second full-length album, Veni Vidi Vicious, which featured the singles "Hate to Say I Told You So" and "Main Offender." The album, along with tours with the like-minded International Noise Conspiracy and the Hellacopters, generated serious buzz around the group, leading to praise from stars as diverse as Noel Gallagher and Courtney Love and a deal with Alan McGee's Poptones label in 2001. Stateside, Gearhead Records reissued Barely Legal, A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T, and Hate to Say I Told You So. More touring and the re-release of their singles in the U.K. culminated with the Top Ten debut of Your New Favourite Band, a compilation of songs from their two previous albums and EPs, upon its release in spring 2002. That summer, the Hives returned to the U.S. for another round of live dates before playing the Reading and Leeds festivals, among others. The band spent most of 2003 in the studio and out of the limelight, but they returned with a vengeance in 2004: Your New Favourite Band was reissued in the States by Sire Records; Interscope released the Walk Idiot Walk single and the Hives' third full-length, Tyrannosaurus Hives. Late in 2007, The Black and White Album, which featured production work from the Neptunes, arrived.

1997 - Barely Legal

Hives - 1997 - Barely Legal

The Hives launched the first salvo in their global assault on all that is lame in our culture with their debut album, 1997's Barely Legal, and there is little arguing that these guys had the right idea out of the gate. Emerging from Fagersta, Sweden (which, at least in 1997, was the rock equivalent of Absolutely Nowhere), the Hives set a high standard with their hot-wired fusion of garage rock tunes and punk rock speed and energy, and they hit the sweet spot just right, sounding tight enough to connect with unified force while still letting the frenzy of their forward momentum give the performances a bit of dizzy sway that indicates true rock & roll. If Barely Legal lacks an obvious "breakout hit" tune like "Main Offender" or "Hate to Say I Told You So," the rapid-fire assault of these songs is impressive indeed, and this disc plays like a brick of firecrackers that refuses to stop exploding until "Closed for the Season" crosses the finish line. And while the Hives rock like nobody's business here (especially the Siamese twin guitars of Vigilante Carlstroem and Nicholaus Arson), the real secret weapon is Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, whose cocky swagger actually communicates on tape, and is the perfect vehicle for his "We are cool, you are nothing" lyrical outlook. Veni Vidi Vicious was the album that let the world know who the Hives were and what they were all about, but Barely Legal let a clued-in few know about their monumental coolness three years ahead of the game, and for sheer rock action, it's as good as anything they've put to tape.

		1		Well, Well, Well	Fitzsimmonds	1:02
		2		A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T	Fitzsimmonds	2:12
		3		Here We Go Again	Fitzsimmons	2:12
		4		I'm a Wicked One	Fitzsimmonds	1:45
		5		Automatic Schmuck	Fitzsimmons	2:17
		6		King of Asskissing	Fitzsimmonds	1:46
		7		Hail Hail Spit N'Drool	Fitzsimmons	1:27
		8		Black Jack	Chandler, Mariconda, Tchang	2:45
		9		What's That Spell?... Go to Hell!	Fitzsimmonds	1:41
		10		Theme From...	Fitzsimmonds	2:49
		11		Uptempo Venomous Poison	Fitzsimmonds	1:13
		12		Oh Lord! When? How?	Fitzsimmonds	1:42
		13		The Stomp	Fitzsimmonds	1:54
		14		Closed for the Season	Fitzsimmonds	2:34

¡Aquí!