Underappreciated Albums – Part 4 of 4 – Punk, Off-The-Beaten-Path-Rock Including But Not Limited to Drug-Soaked Rock Operas Featuring Giant Cheeseburgers

The Fall – I Am Kurious Oranj
Almost 15 years after I first got this cd it still gets more play than I should probably admit. I’ll never be able to explain why the “quirky drug-induced rock opera that features a giant cheeseburger as a prop” genre didn’t take off after this album got the ball rolling, but life is full of inexplicable mysteries. The fact is there’s still nothing like this album in my collection. Mark E. Smith might not be blessed with the best voice in the world, but he can deliver his style rather powerfully and it seems to help when there’s a strong but simple baseline to accompany his singing. The Dog Is Life ramble that leads into Jerusalem is one of the greatest rants ever recorded and I would be very happy if it were included verbatim on my tombstone when my time comes. As an added bonus, I think Mark E. Smith still holds first-place in the “you-can-tell-just-by-looking-at-him-that-he’s-crazy” contest. In addition to all those intangibles there’s some pretty darn good music on the thing too. A unique lyrical delivery, a strong influx of bass guitar and a fluid tempo keep this one interesting from start to finish.