''The Mekons Rock 'n Roll'' is the eighth studio album by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Mekons The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of ...

, released in 1989.

Critical reception

''The Mekons Rock 'n Roll'' was well received by critics on its initial release. It was voted the eighth best album of 1989 in ''

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''s

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...

critics' poll. In 1991, ''

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'' critic

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' placed ''The Mekons Rock 'n Roll'' at number 97 on its 2002 list of the 100 best albums of the 1980s. In 2007, the record was ranked at number 97 on ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...

''s list of "The 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever". It was included in

Tom Moon Thomas Raphael Moon (born November 3, 1960) is an American saxophonist, author, and music critic. He is known for his book ''1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die''. He has won two Deems Taylor Awards from the American Society of Composers, Auth ...

's 2008 book ''

1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die Onekama ( ) is a village in Manistee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 411 at the 2010 census. The village is located on the shores of Portage Lake and is surrounded by Onekama Township. The town's name is derived from "O ...

''.

Track listing

All songs composed by The Mekons (as per label). The BMI database lists all songs as composed by

Tom Greenhalgh Thomas Charles Greenhalgh is a multimedia artist and singer-songwriter best known for his work with the Mekons. Education He attended Sevenoaks School in Kent with future members of the Gang of Four (Andy Gill and Jon King) and the Mekons (Ke ...

and

Jon Langford Jonathan Denis Langford (born 11 October 1957) is a Welsh musician and artist based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Langford is a founder member of the punk band The Mekons, the post-punk group The Three Johns, and the alternative count ...

. # "Memphis, Egypt" – 3:37 # "Club Mekon" – 3:29 # "Only Darkness Has the Power" – 3:28 # "Ring O' Roses" – 4:07 # "Learning to Live on Your Own" – 4:37 # "Cocaine Lil" – 2:51 # "Empire of the Senseless" – 4:35 # "Someone" – 2:44 # "Amnesia" – 4:31 # "I Am Crazy" – 3:28 # "Heaven and Back" – 3:16 # "Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet" – 3:56 # "Echo" – 4:33 # "When Darkness Falls" – 3:53 The American issue of this album omits "Ring O' Roses" and "Heaven and Back".

References

External links

Robert Christgau's liner notes
for the 2001 Collector's Choice reissue

on the discography section of the official Mekons website {{DEFAULTSORT:Mekons Rock'n'roll The Mekons albums 1989 albums Blast First albums A&M Records albums Rough Trade Records albums