5 Excellent Albums Released 20 Years Ago This Month

We’ve been focusing our eyes and ears back on the top albums released each month in the 20th century of late. But we just couldn’t ignore the batch of records that arrived on shelves in May 2005, as it’s a particularly strong group. You’ll find a little bit of everything in this mix of albums released 20 years ago this month. We wouldn’t be surprised if one or more of your all-time favorites made this list!

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‘Gimme Fiction’ by Spoon

Britt Daniel did most everything on Spoon’s fifth album. In addition to writing and singing, he also handled the bulk of the instrumentation. The exception was Jim Eno’s drumming, which is critical to the album’s limber, funky feel. Daniel’s songs on this album are uncategorizable in every sense, from trying to figure out their genre to the elusive lyrical meaning. Yet there’s an invigorating spirit behind it all that makes it irresistible. Gimme Fiction contains one of Spoon’s finest love songs (“I Summon You”), a killer power pop flex (“Sister Jack”), and many more songs like “The Beast And Dragon, Adored” that defy easy characterization. Let’s just say they’re wonderful and leave it at that.

‘Separation Sunday’ by The Hold Steady

If you’re going to judge an album on song titles alone, Separation Sunday might be the best LP of all time. Luckily, the music behind it lives up to the monikers. The Hold Steady managed to redeem arena rock by putting it in the service of Craig Finn’s cast and crew of pimps and hoodrats. After a brief a cappella opening to lead track “Hornets! Hornets!” (what did we tell you about the titles?), it is pretty much an unrelenting assault. Tad Kubler’s power chords clear the path at every turn. Finn’s ability to make his heroes and heroines sound both sympathetic and self-destructive allows the stories behind songs like “Stevie Nix” and “Multitude Of Casualties” to stick with you long after your ears stop ringing.

‘Demon Days’ by Gorillaz

Ike Turner, Dennis Hopper, and Neneh Cherry walk into a studio. No, it’s not the setup for a joke of some kind. It’s actually what Damon Albarn orchestrated on this, the second album by his fictional alter ego band. If anything, this one raises the ante from the debut record, with more genre-hopping, unexpected collaborations, and general anarchy. The hip-hop contributions from folks like De La Soul (“Feel Good Inc.”) and MF DOOM (“November Has Come”) hit hard. Cherry’s ghostly backing vocals on “Kids With Guns” also stand out. The heady concoctions by Albarn and Jamie Hewlett on Demon Days leave the overall vibe of a somewhat melancholy dance party held the night before the apocalypse.

‘Rebel, Sweetheart’ by The Wallflowers

Because of the way music exploded into so many various genres in the 90s, those bands that came of age in that era, playing straight-ahead rock, didn’t get the same kind of exposure over time that their predecessors from previous eras enjoyed. That helps to explain how this excellent release from The Wallflowers, one of the “it” bands of the 90s, came and went without too much fuss in the marketplace. The set of songs on Rebel, Sweetheart is every bit as strong as earlier triumphs like Bringing Down The Horse. Jakob Dylan and company hit high after high on the record. The swirling “The Beautiful Side Of Somewhere” and the touching “We’re Already There” lead the pack.

‘What I Really Mean’ by Robert Earl Keen

Fans of stellar songwriting are still hoping that Keen might drop some new music. (His last album came in 2015.) But in the meantime, the Texas legend has a wonderful catalog that we can peruse. What I Really Mean finds him at the top of his game. Just like most Keen albums, there’s a nice mix of more traditional country moves with Americana-leaning songs. Tracks like “For Love” show off his facility in nailing the details of a story while also ensuring that the overall message resonates. “Broken End Of Love” offers excellent value as a weeper, while “The Great Hank” pays proper tribute to his predecessors. Closing track “Ride” sends things out on an elegiac but still somehow triumphant note.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Crossroads Guitar Festival