It’s inconceivable that a full two decades have passed since 1994, an explosively prolific year in music. As the domination of grunge began to wane in popular music, the world was introduced to a much wider spectrum of artistic promise through debut records from Nas, Jeff Buckley, Weezer, Elliott Smith and Notorious B.I.G., among others.
Mixtape: The 20 Best Songs of 2014
Those of us old enough to remember each have our own stories from this incredible year in music, though this year gave us plenty of musical memories we’d like to forget. To remind us all of a time when iconic albums arrived at a dizzying pace rather than a snail’s crawl of hype and false inflation, we’re running down a list of 20 Awesome Albums That Turned 20 in 2014. How many do you own? How many can you remember?
20 Albums Turning 20
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Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
Released: May 24, 1994
Label: Grand Royal
Beastie Boys’ fourth album was the jet fuel that turned the bratty party boys into curveball superstars. "Sabotage" changed everything for the trio, helped in no small part by its legendary Spike Jonze-directed 70s cop pastiche video. Co-produced by Beastie Boys and Mario C., the record drops the bratty sneer and digs into its own analog warmth with a rhythmic funk leading instrumentals that paced out the avalanche of rhyming acrobatics.
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The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die
Released: September 13, 1994
Label: Bad Boy
Universally considered to be one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, Christopher Wallace’s recorded debut is a semi-autobiographical streak of brilliance that foretold a lyrical devastator who would only deliver one more album before his murder. A defining anthemic volume for gangsta-leaning East Coast rap and the fuel that drove Bad Boy Records to success, Ready To Die showcased storytelling prowess wrapped in impossibly catchy rhymespitter flow from a man barely 22 years of age. B.I.G. was murdered days prior to the release of his second album Life After Death.
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Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
Released: March 8, 1994
Label: Interscope
Trent Reznor’s third NIN offering is a sadomasochistic cauldron of pure rock fury, self-mutilating, self-loathing and mired in the full erotic thrust of industrial darkness. Layered soundscapes painted a portrait of personal hell in a raging tide of paranoia, sexual power and God’s ultimate fallibility. It’s tormented, it’s disturbed, and documents an impossible darkness in Reznor’s life, which ironically catapulted the broken artist into one of the most prominent - and promising - music icons of our generation. Lucky for us, it’s also one of the most brilliantly captivating rock albums of all time.
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Soundgarden - Superunknown
Released: March 8, 1994
Label: A&M Records
While Badmotorfinger was Soundgarden’s pure-firing realization of power, Superunknown was the band’s toned, honed artistic peak, an absolute masterpiece of attitude and accessibility within an uncompromising artistic fever. After watching fellow Seattleites Nirvana and Pearl Jam reach superstardom in the previous two years, Chris Cornell & co. stepped into their own commercial success with a gloriously dark, bristly album that boasted five strong singles, put them in Grammy league and went nine times platinum. Sure, this is the record that gave us “Spoonman” and “Black Hole Sun,” but you’re doing yourself a disservice skipping any tracks on Superunknown - especially “Mailman,” the apocalyptic dirge of “4th of July” or the epically soaring title track.
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Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Released: December 6, 1994
Label: Epic
Pearl Jam went weird on their third album, following the blistering assault of Vs. a year prior. Tumultuous times in the band led to creative shifts, with bristling declarations of intent and urgency (“Not For You,” “Satan’s Bed,” “Whipping”) and frontman Eddie Vedder’s weirdo indulgences reach full flight (“Bugs,””Stupid Mop,” etc). It’s the last album from the Seattle rockers to possess the darkened angst of the early nineties, and an explosively artistic reminder that Pearl Jam’s road to immortality lies in their experimental capacity.
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Johnny Cash - American Recordings
Released: April 26, 1994
Label: American/Sony
It’s hard to conceive of now, but 20 years ago the music world didn’t regard Johnny Cash with the depth of mythical reverence that it does today. Having found Jesus and sidestepped the drum of popular currents, Cash’s popularity was at an all-time low. Driven by a new partnership with legendary producer Rick Rubin, Cash began a series of releases that would close the chapter of dormant years in the Man In Black’s third act and concrete Cash in his rightful place as one of the most adored musical figures of all time.
Rubin recorded Cash at home, with only his guitar and a microphone providing the backdrop to the man’s strongest characteristic and selling point: his voice. The intimacy was to be expected; the stark mortality and poignant reflection on a hard-lived life was not - and it was the latter that proved most captivating through a series of covers and re-worked originals that brought new life to the material, and to Cash himself.
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Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York
Released: November 1, 1994
Label: DGC
Determined to take the Unplugged format in a different direction, Nirvana took Mark Lanegan's 1990 album The Winding Sheet as a source of inspiration, leaping into uncharted waters with a cover of David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World" and inviting members of the Meat Puppets to join them on stage for “Lake of Fire” and “Oh Me,” which far outshined the originals.
Despite immense difficulty during rehearsals due to Kurt Cobain’s heroin withdrawal sickness, technical issues and creative differences between producers and the band, it’s a flawlessly gorgeous performance. Augmented by guitarist Pat Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, the stripped sound of the acoustic set was given a greater depth which allowed for a richness of sound that defines the recording - specifically on the heartbreaking accordion-driven “Jesus Don’t Want Me For a Sunbeam” and hauntingly passionate closer “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” by Leadbelly. After the band finished the song, which in retrospect carries an ominous finality, the show's producers wanted an encore. Cobain refused, knowing he couldn’t top the performance.
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Nas - Illmatic
Released: April 19, 1994
Label: Columbia
The debut album of Nas is a hardcore hip hop album through and through, and immediately cemented the New York rapper as a permanent force to be reckoned with in the rap game. A landmark album in East Coast rap, the articulate, complex lyricism and menacing aggression, wrapped around beats from DJ Premier, Pete Rock, the Large Professor, Q-Tip and L.E.S, remains razor-sharp to this day and influenced an entire generation of rappers to expand their art beyond dumb-thug bravado.
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Beck - Mellow Gold
Released: March 1, 1994
Label: DGC
Beck’s major label debut turned him into a slacker superstar, a dollar-store Dylan with abstract metaphor poetry wrapped in hilarious imagery and the most basic instrumentation. The smash success of “Loser” made an unwelcome caricature of Mr. Hansen, but the rest of Mellow Gold’s anti-commercialism flavor helped keep listeners grounded in the lo-fi weirdness that surrounded it. The album’s success allowed Beck to flex his bizarre oddity and make a fascinatingly diverse career still going strong 20 years on; he plans to release two highly-anticipated albums in 2014.
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Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley
Released: June 28, 1994
Label: Elektra
The precursor to Queens of The Stone Age, Kyuss had no idea they were setting the tone of the only real danger rock n’ roll would have left in the 21st century when they were playing generator parties amidst the cacti and coyotes of Joshua Tree, California. Intentionally made to be hell for playing on a CD player, the album originally consisted of three tracks each containing multiple songs - most notably the immortally awesome “Demon Cleaner” - meant to encourage listeners to experience it as a full album instead of a collection of separate songs.
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Massive Attack - Protection
Released: September 26, 1994
Label: Circa/Virgin
Stirring hip-hop’s beat gravity into the stony sulk of relaxed reggae, Massive Attack birthed trip-hop and infected every facet of pop and rock for the next two decades. The final album to feature Tricky as a full member of the group, Protection is the perfect record for a dub-laced soul session or the best kind of sex, inspiring a world of trance-dance copycats. Big nod to Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl for the enchanting 8-minute title track.
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Weezer - Weezer [Blue Album]
Released: May 10, 1994
Label: DGC
Reigniting the torch The Cars carried for years prior, Weezer’s debut record made quirky cool again in pop-perfecting fashion. Recorded in Electric Lady Studios in New York City, The Blue Album concreted their saccharine pop-rock excellence with singles "Undone - The Sweater Song,” "Buddy Holly,” "Say It Ain't So,” “My Name Is Jonas” and beyond. An unsung precursor boost to the hipster movement, Weezer’s debut record holds strong two decades on, and “Surf Wax America” remains one of the best slacker-pride anthems of all time.
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Tori Amos - Under the Pink
Released: Jan. 28, 1994
Label: Atlantic
“Cornflake Girl” is only the entry point on Under The Pink for fans drawn to Tori’s flame. The grinding eroticism of “God,” the poignant Trent Reznor duet on “Past The Mission” and the softly devastating heartbreak of “Baker Baker” make for an emotional minefield of an album that embraced fragility while breaking free of the weight of her strict religious upbringing. The emotional fearlessness, wrapped in vibrant dramaticism and spectacularly strong songwriting & production, possesses an impossibly sweet gravity to this day.
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Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies
Released: January 25, 1994
Label: Columbia
The first EP in music history to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 Chart, Jar of Flies was an enormous success for the band, mostly on the strength of singles “I Stay Away” and “No Excuses,” as well as the intensifying fan-favorite “Don’t Follow”. The brevity of the release doesn’t defy its impact, as a dark and brooding essence commands nearly the entire run while exploring a wider variety of sound than the band’s previous album releases.
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Green Day - Dookie
Released: February 1, 1994
Label: Reprise
The pop-punk generation found its voice in Billie Joe Armstrong’s wide-eyed bratty wit, and with over 20 million albums sold, Green Day’s major label debut remains a landmark album of the nineties. Five hit singles are still burned into our heads: "Longview,” "When I Come Around,” "Basket Case,” a re-recorded version of "Welcome to Paradise" and the radio-only single "She". Brash, sneering rebellion became safe and fun, with “punk” outfits following grunge’s lead two years prior on department store mannequins.
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Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
Released: May 10, 1994
Label: Sub Pop
Sunny Day Real Estate’s debut album took the pre-emo torch The Cure ignited years earlier and ran with it, in an atmosphere unhindered by the love affair with black-clad hand-wringing melodrama. Connecting the post-hardcore movement with what would evolve into full emo, Diary was a highwater mark of stylistic cross-breeding, with an urgency weaving through its melodic currents. Jeremy Enigk’s unique vocal styling serves as a precursor to the exaggerated whining of the genre they would inspire, but for a brief and glorious time, earnestly delicate expressionism was exactly what rock needed - and Sunny Day Real Estate delivered.
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Elliott Smith - Roman Candle
Released: July 14, 1994
Label: Cavity Search
Elliott Smith came as close as he ever would to earning the hyperbolic “greatest songwriter ever” declarations on his debut album, despite Roman Candle amounting to little more than a sketchbook of the songwriting framework that would come before his untimely death. The agonized whisper, intricate guitar work and seething undercurrent tugging lyrical threads of addition, heartache and depression defy the fact that the recordings originally weren’t intended for release. It’s delicate beauty has only grown more vibrant with age.
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Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Let Love In
Released: April 18, 1994
Label: Mute
The eighth album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, is a high point for Cave and cohorts, a seedy, violent malevolence that preceded the downshifted intensity of releases to come. Skewering love with reliably dark endings, Let Love In is a fine balance between the band’s more jutting, jarring history and the fantastically captivating melodies and dark wit in Cave’s repertoire, decorated with demonic antagonization.
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Stone Temple Pilots - Purple
Released: June 7, 1994
Label: Atlantic
After being packaged as a happy medium between Pearl Jam and Nirvana, STP were determined to secure their own identities with their second album. That they did, and on the strength of singles “Vasoline,” “Interstate Love Song” and “Big Empty,” the album - featuring more aggressive vocals and psychedelic instrumentation - showcases a band hitting their stylistic stride and expanding their horizons beyond grunge add-ons.
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Jeff Buckley - Grace
Released: August 23, 1994
Label: Columbia
With a range of three and a half octaves, Buckley’s voice was angelically captivating, a beauty that buoyed the material he delivered. The young songwriter died in 1997, but achieved early and rare artistic immortality with a release so gravitationally gorgeous people are stopped cold, twenty years on, hearing it. From the flawless, definitive reading of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah,” the magical textures of "Mojo Pin" to the rolling rocker "Eternal Life,” Buckley makes clear that his well of inspiration contained great promise of what was to come. Sadly, that wasn’t to be, and the frustrating inconsistencies of his posthumous releases leave us returning to this one magnificent, nearly perfect collection, wondering what might’ve been if he had survived to enjoy a full career.
