The Bends by Radiohead
English rock band Radiohead released their second studio album, The Bends, in March 1995
For me, this was a massive improvement on their debut and really showed how much their songwriting had matured. Although it didn’t have anything that sounded like hit single “Creep” from their debut album Pablo Honey, it did receive greater critical acclaim. In the end six singles were released from the album, each with an accompanying music video.
Favourite track: “Just”, which I love both for the music and its intriguing music video
A Million Year Girl by Max Sharam
Three hit wonder Max Sharam, released her only studio album to date in May 1995
Max Sharam has had a very diverse career. She spent several years busking around Europe before landing a lead role in a hit Italian opera. She toured with musical around Europe for two years. She received an award for her efforts, released a dance EP and then spent a year in Japan studying Taiko drums. She returned to Australia and spent time as a stand-up comedian before performing her song “Coma” on TV’s New Faces. This garnered her music label attention ultimately leading to the recording of this album. I loved the singles and enjoy the whole album.
Favourite track: “Can I Catch Fire?”
Stanley Road by Paul Weller
This was Paul Weller’s third studio album and was named after the street he grew up on
Featuring an album cover by Peter Blake, the artist behind the Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover, Stanley Road continued Paul Weller’s career rejuvenation. It was a commercial success for Weller and featured guest artists including Noel Gallagher and Steve Winwood. I enjoy the whole album immensely and some 28 years later can still put it on any time of day or night and enjoy it.
Favourite track: The fantastic cover of Dr John’s “I Walk On Gilded Splinters”
To Bring You My Love by P.J. Harvey
Recorded after her trio’s demise, this album is considered to be P.J. Harvey’s first solo outing
The material on this album is inspired by one of P.J. Harvey’s influences, Captain Beefheart, as well as American blues music in general. I remember being blown away by the first single and its music video, “Down By The Water”. I bought the album as soon as I could get my hands on a copy and it came with a VHS video featuring the music videos for “50ft Queenie”, “Mansize” and “Down By The Water”. It is a very successful album for her, achieving critical acclaim and chart success around the world.
Favourite track: “Down By The Water” of course
Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness by the Smashing Pumpkins
This magnum opus from the Smashing Pumpkins was released in February 1995
I absolutely love this album and consider it another of my favourites of the 90s decade. In the 1990s, many acts felt the need to pad out their albums to fill out a compact disc to maximise its 74 minute limit (79 minutes later on), as opposed to the 50 minutes of vinyl LPs. Often this created a mediocre album due to the amount of filler included. This is not the case here. Billy Corgan gave us a two hour masterpiece spread across two CDs, split as Dawn To Dusk and Twilight To Starlight. On the triple vinyl release the sides were Dawn, Tea Time, Dusk, Twilight, Midnight & Starlight. The album was a huge success around the world and spawned five singles.
Favourite track: “Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans”
The Slabthrower 