This Month in Music - Classic Albums from July

Introducing our new regular feature where we highlight some of the best albums ever released in each month. They could be seriously retro or bang up to date. Quality has no expiration. Sit back, have a read, and let us know on our socials if you agree with the choices for July.

Back in Black by AC/DC (1980)

Yes, this is 45 years ago, but it still feels as fresh today as the day it was released. 

Following the tragic death of lead singer Bon Scott, producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange suggested singer Brian Johnson (who fronted a British rock band called Geordie) take the lead for AC/DC. 

The new lineup recorded Back in Black between April and May 1980, while Johnson was thrust into a new environment, having to adjust to Lange’s obsessive production style.

Back in Black became the fourth best-selling album in the United States and is widely considered one of the greatest rock albums in history. AC/DC’s tragedy fuelled a masterpiece.

Buy Back in Black on vinyl

Fleetwood Mac by Fleetwood Mac (1975)

When Fleetwood Mac released this self-titled album, it wouldn't have been known just what an impact it would have had on them as a group but also on music as a whole. Particularly as the album achieved only moderate success after its release, with their real accolades starting following the release of their 1978 album Rumours. 

Fleetwood Mac (the album and the group) still sounds amazing today with standout tracks Rhiannon and Landslide. The album also marked the arrival of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham to the fold.

Get Fleetwood Mac on coloured vinyl

Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses (1987)

Let me indulge myself personally here for a moment. This was one of the first albums that I was personally exposed to as I was honing my music tastes. As an avid Hip Hop head this rock album by Guns N' Roses shouldn't have interested me. But the construction of the music and the way they created levels in tracks such as Sweet Child O' Mine and Paradise City were like I had never heard before.

It's also the debut studio album of a rock band that made such a huge impact on the scene and for me, even to this day is still one of the best around.

Buy Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses on vinyl

Black Sunday by Cypress Hill (1993)

Some would argue Hip Hop was in its prime in the early to mid-90s.  Who are we to argue? The mix of acts and styles was as varied as the music scene itself. Cypress Hill were genuinely challenging the boundaries of Hip Hop. The crossover sounds fuelled people to call them sell-outs. The unusual lyrical delivery of the group got people confused.

One thing is certain, it worked. Featuring in the likes of The Simpsons and Beavis and Butthead, the boys made it. Black Sunday was one of those albums that made people rethink. Insane in the Brain was the first single released and became a huge crossover hit. I Ain't Goin' Out Like That was nominated for various gongs. They became so popular that clean versions of the album were recorded with tracks renamed and/or removed.

Buy the album that made Cypress Hill

Closer by Joy Division (1980)

It feels hard to talk about Closer in a list of the greatest albums due to the proximity of its release to the sad ending of lead singer Ian Curtis, who struggled with his personal life and sadly in May that year took his own life on the eve of the band's US Tour.

Closer was Joy Division's second and final album featuring amazing tracks such as Isolation. The album received widespread critical acclaim including NME's Album of the Year, along with so many more.

"While we were working on Closer, Ian said to me that doing this album felt very strange, because he felt that all his words were writing themselves." Bernard Sumner

Get Closer by Joy Division

Let us know what you think about our choices or give us your views on why these albums matter to you in the comments.

By Rich Clark