Top 5 Glam Albums

1) Jobriath – Jobriath (1973) - A weird combo of science fiction imagery, odes to a young gay lover and Bowie at his Hunky-Dory-est best. Part Bowie, part Elton and part Jagger, this American singer has produced an album ahead of its time, loved by those in the know. It is one of Morrissey's fave albums, which explains a lot. Musically it is better than a lot of the other American Glam being taunted at the time. It is one Glam album that could be listened to by those who detest this tacky musical genre. Most people hated it at the time and are now just waking up to its intense beauty, including me!



2) Lou Reed - Transformer (1972). This needs little explanation. Not only has it got Vicious, Satellite of Love and Perfect Day but also Walk on the Wild Side. Altogether now, Doo-pee-do, Doo-pee-do, doo-doo doo-pee do.



3) Queen - Queen (1973) - first album by the band that seems an unlikely fit. It contains none of their well known hits and is therefore why it is so good and obviously underrated. Opener Keep Yourself Alive  is a killer and the rest of the album comes off like some understudy Led Zeppelin types, yet obviously camper and taking the self less seriously. Later Queen fans may not like it as it is so much harder than they are used to. It is Queen before they found their pop feet and thank God for that!



4) Vodka Collins - New York Tokyo (1972) - Japan has produced some amazing bands and VC is no exception. A mixture of Japanese and English songs undercut by the kind of campy Rock of bands like T-Rex and Roxy Music.  I think the Japanese adds to the campy glam of it all.



5) Zolar X -  Timeless (1982) - written during mid-to-late '70s but only released in 1982. Punky, Gothy, freaky but all Glam. The band come off like some outer space troupe who are trying to communicate with us through their native music. They were not adverse to singing in their own made-up language. Camp Klingons!