[troutman]

I select in the 1994-1996 Category, WHIP-SMART by LIZ PHAIR (1994):

Her debut (Exile In Guyville) was more impactful because it was so uniquely sexually frank, but I think the second record is more interesting musically. More hooks - she sings well.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...69us33ua3zg~T1



Expectations ran extremely high for Liz Phair's follow-up to Exile in Guyville, one of the most critically acclaimed debut albums of all time. If there are flaws in this generally first-rate follow-up, they mostly arise in comparison with Guyville, a record of such unexpected impact that most anything Phair could have done may have been found lacking. She continues to explore sex and relationships with exhilarating frankness and celebration, employing her much-touted profanity to a conversational rather than a sensational effect. The sound is somewhat more produced, though still pretty basic, and the compositions are by and large tuneful and lyrically intriguing. It's not, after all is said and done, quite as striking as Guyville; like many sophomore efforts, it mines similar territory without making huge strides forward. Several songs are reprised from her widely circulated Girlysound demo tapes, and in some instances the more heavily produced, self-consciously ingenious arrangements here suffer in comparison to their blueprints. The title track, one of the highlights of those tapes, comes off as particularly gimmicky in its new incarnation, with the addition of all manner of superfluous animal noises. There's no question that Phair is a major songwriter and artist, but this album is more a solidification of her talents than a breakthrough statement.

Whip-Smart:


Supernova:


Nashville:




This is another record I could have put in this spot, KING by BELLY (1995):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_(Belly_album)



http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/m...view.asp?ID=15

With drummer Christopher Gorman's wicked, lightning-quick drum fills ("Lil' Ennio" might be the tightest pop/rock track ever), brother Thomas Gorman's crunchy guitars, and Donelly's left-of-center lyrics and distinctive voice, the album should have been a huge success. With the help of classic rock producer Glyn Johns, tracks like "Seal My Fate" and "Red" proved Belly could cram three-and-a-half minutes with as many sugary melodies as possible, but without selling out. The lead single, "Now They'll Sleep," was a quirky number reminiscent of The Doors, while the gothic "Silverfish" features a classic rock-style guitar snaking beneath Donelly and bassist Gail Greenwood's honey-glazed harmonies: "I don't want to hear about your poorly timed rock career."

Often obscure but never disposable, Donelly's prickly situations and infectious pop hooks read like poetry: "Are there heartstrings connected/To the wings you've got slapped on your back?" she begs on the high-energy "Super-Connected." "The Bees," a lovely ballad about dying love, finds the singer a bit self-deprecated ("So come at me with mouth open wide/And I, like a jerk, I crawl inside"), while on the album's haunting final track, "Judas My Heart" (in which Judas is a verb and the moon hangs low so that deception can be fully and painfully witnessed), Donelly is the bearer of an impossibly heavy torch. Compromise may have shrunk the band's fanbase at the time, but it left behind a thought-provoking, near-perfect pop album.