The Top 100 albums released between January 2000 and December 2009, as voted for by NME staff (past and present) plus a selection of musicians and industry figures that included Arctic Monkeys, Carl Barat, The Killers, Jarvis Cocker, Pete Doherty, Elbow, Johnny Marr, MGMT, Ian Brown, The Big Pink, Snoop Dogg, Alan McGee, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Michael Eavis and many, many more (see the full jury in NME magazine).
This list is taken from the ‘End Of The Decade’ issue of NME magazine (on sale November 18th) where each album included is reviewed again from a 2009 perspective, alongside brand new interviews and a look back at the defining musical moments of the past 10 years.
Well what do you know, look what album ranked #2:
THE LIBERTINES - UP THE BACKET
Read the original NME review from 2002:
"It hasn't passed without comment that the front-running bands at the moment hail from almost everywhere except Britain. No new homegrown band can yet hold a candle to The Strokes or The Vines - and when Sweden and bloody New Zealand begin out-rocking the UK, you know that things are getting bad. Forget UK garage; we want, well, UK garage - bands with a tiger in their tank and a ready quip on their lips, who can out-dress, out-class and out-drink Johnny Foreigner and won't rest until they've buccaneered from Land's End to John O'Groats. The Libertines: your country needs you!
And after ten months morphing from The London Strokes to their current, eccentric incarnation, The Libertines have released their debut album. Mysteriously omitting 'What A Waster', it's the sound of hot iron being struck, hay made while the sun shines and opportunity knocking, being grabbed by the scruff of the neck and shagged there and then on the doormat. It's ragged, inconsistent, and, in places, barely finished (it was produced, apparently live, by The Clash's Mick Jones). The awful acoustic ballad, 'Radio America', falls apart before your very ears.
But when it comes to vim (as in vigour and also the cleaning product they probably snort when all else fails), The Libertines have what it takes. Boundlessly curious and energetic, the best parts of 'Up The Bracket' come across like William Blake meets The Jam round the back of King's Cross station. 'Horrorshow', basically a speeded up version of Elvis Presley's 'His Latest Flame', makes chronic heroin addiction sound distinctly jolly. 'The Boys In The Band' doesn't just pile on the sleaze, it crucially also turns on the charm. 'I Get Along' features the best swearing (a throwaway 'Fuck 'em') in pop this year. And 'The Good Old Days' is a nicely-timed reminder to jaded fools everywhere that 'If you've lost your faith in love and music the end won't be long'. See, The Libertines even do wise.
This isn't the record to smite The Vines and The Strokes with the sword of Albion - it's too disorganised and chaotic for that. But if The Libertines can keep writing songs as insolently catchy as the title track and the Smiths-style 'Time For Heroes', their finest hour will be upon us soon. Still, this is more than adequate for now.
God save the 'Tines!"
Alex Needham
Via:
NME
