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

post punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

the Mekons The Mekons are a British Post-punk band formed in 1976 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 co ...

, released in September 1989.

Critical reception

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

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

''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 abse ...

critics' poll. In 1991, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' critic

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' 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 (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

''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 best known for his 2008 book '' 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die''. He has won two Deems Taylor Awards from the American Society of Comp ...

's 2008 book ''

1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die ''1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book written by Tom Moon, published in 2008. Synopsis It consists of a list of recordings, mostly albums (with some singles), arranged alphabetically by artist or composer. Each ...

''.

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 singer, songwriter and multimedia artist best known as a foundational member with the post-punk band the Mekons. While primarily credited as a guitarist in the early Mekons recordings, Greenhalgh's role as a lead ...

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