Elastica

Elastica would’ve been the finest punk-pop album of 1979, had it not been recorded 16 years later. In fact, songwriters Justine Frischmann and Donna Matthews raided their favorite records of that era for attitude, speed, energy, and, very often, riffs -- the hit single "Connection" is basically Wire’s "Three Girl Rhumba" with new words, and other songs borrow ideas from Blondie, New Order, and the Stranglers. But there’s not a wasted second on the album. Sexy, vicious, and hilarious at the same time (especially the debut single "Stutter," a roaring swipe at a lover who can’t get it up), it rocks like a banshee.

It was a mighty hard act to follow, and Elastica basically couldn’t. Almost five years later, they coughed up the half-assed 6 Track EP: a live track, some demos, and a couple of collaborations with the Fall’s Mark E. Smith. Most of its songs turned up on The Menace, a patchwork assemblage that includes four tracks by the now-departed Matthews, a rewrite of another Wire song, and a cover of Trio’s "Da Da Da." Even so, it holds together surprisingly well: The party of Elastica turned into a cotton-mouthed hangover, trying to rouse itself with some hair of the dog.

The 21-track, live-in-the-studio Radio One Sessions, recorded between 1993 and '99, lacks the fire of Elastica's proper albums, but adds seven songs to their catalogue, including some crisp early rockers and the Christmastime Fall parody, "I Wanna Be a King of Orient Aah." (DOUGLAS WOLK)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide