Nikki Sudden & Dave Kusworth – Jacobites (Reissue) (1984)

The Jacobites' debut -- originally issued in 1984 -- quickly established the band's darkly romantic formula, their sound a druggy, dingy amalgam of touchstones including Neil Young, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan (the latter Nikki Sudden's most obvious vocal model). For all of the group's borrowed moves, however, there's a spark of ingenuity which sets them well apart from the average copyists -- it's tough to imagine Sudden's dispirited, lived-in songs at home in any other sonic environment, and the best of his compositions (the superb "Big Store" and "Silver Street" among them) would do even his idols proud.