Album of the Week.

So, last week, predictably if you've been around me over the past two weeks, Appetite for Destruction claimed top spot in the Album of the week feature, with Velvet Revolver's debut album, Contraband coming a close second.
This week a new top two has emerged; Stone Temple Pilot's Core and The Black Crowes' Shake Your Money Maker.
Both terrific, both extremely different. Crowes' bluesy, southern states' style blended with heavy undertones of old school rhythm 'n' blues makes an album of tracks which can stand up in their own right, while the two most successful singles off the album, the crunch-ridden hilbilly riffed Twice as Hard and the het-up cover of Otis Redding's Hard to Handle are a must listen. Also worth looking out for the version of Twice as Hard featuring Stereophonics on Jools Holland some years ago.
Then there's the Pilots. Weiland may have been imbibed in the Seattle Sound scene (in more ways than the music), but the album is an unsung hero lagging behind Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden et al. That sais, if you're looking for a grunge/alternative wail, look no further. Singles off the album, Sex Type Thing and Plush are a masterclass, while the rest (Creep and Naked Sunday are my picks) are just as worthy.

On the balance, though, for me it has to be the Crowes. Not that I'm biased, which I am, but the Crowes album appeals more. If I had to choose either in a Tony Blackburn-style Desert Island thing, it's be Shake Your Money Maker. Here's a link to youtube, some album art to follow.