The Fall – Container Drivers (Peel Session) (1980)

One of my favourite records of all time. It gradually lumbers into its stride and then never stops.

The version on the “Grotesque (After the Gramme)” LP is terrific but, as so often happened, the version recorded for the John Peel show is even better (for other examples of this, check out the two Joy Division Peel sessions which are unbelievably good).

I have liked The Fall over all stages of their career. Their early stuff (like this) is wonderful and they peaked again in the early 1990s.

The lyrics on this are priceless:

Communists are just part-time workers

And there’s no thanks from the loading bay ranks

The build up to, and execution of, the concisest guitar solo in history (1:45-1:55) is one of the finest 10 seconds in 20th century music. No, really.

Pavement – Summer Babe (Winter Version) (1992)

In the early 1990s, money was tight and I was starting to fall out of love with music.

However, I borrowed Pavement’s “Slanted and Enchanted” LP from a friend and, suddenly, all was well with the world again. Quite simply one of the top two or three albums of the 1990s – a record that pretty much invented an entire slacker/lo-fi genre.

In February 1994, a group of us saw Pavement in London on my 30th; a fantastic gig, life-affirming stuff….

Pavement went on to release more popular records (and all their LPs are great) but why not start here with “Summer Babe (Winter Version) – the first track on their debut LP.