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12. Flying Burrito Brothers, Gilded Palace of Sin
Released in 1969, the Flying Burrito Brothers' debut would become ground zero for every member and wannabe of California's cocaine cowboy mafia (but don't blame them for the Eagles). The thing is, Gilded Palace was the truest-yet merging of classic Southern country music (thanks to Georgian co-founder Gram Parsons) and the laid-back, coke-dusted SoCal aesthetic. The Burrito Brothers knew they were about decadence -- note the album cover presence of a non-member/Angelina Jolie-lookalike gal that looks as if she's had 20 orgasms in the past 36 hours amid lads wearing ornate Western wear designed by Nudie. Jeez, you'd have to be powdered to wear those things. -- Mark Keresman
11. Iggy Pop, The Idiot
By the mid-1970s, David Bowie was a cocaine-addled, paranoia-riddled superstar residing in Los Angeles -- an interview with writer Cameron Crowe was interrupted by Bowie's seeing "a body drop out of the sky." In 1976, Bowie and idol/party-pal Iggy Pop relocated to Berlin, ostensibly to "dry out" -- interesting choice, as that city was a major European drug-hub. The pair would go on coke-fueled all-night jaunts, soaking up the city's decadence and mechanization-influenced rock scene (then as now known as Krautrock). They collaborated -- the results: Bowie's "Berlin trilogy" (Low, Heroes, Lodger) and Iggy's first solo album, The Idiot. It fused Bowie's Thin White Duke-era elegant funk with the coldly precise synth-rock of Kraftwerk -- and this tightly-wound set would become a post-punk blueprint. -- Mark Keresman
See also:
* The Top 15 Most Cocaine-Influenced Albums of All Time, Nos. 10-6
* The Top 15 Most Cocaine-Influenced Albums of All Time, Nos. 5-1
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