Post by salparadise on Jul 2, 2006 21:46:47 GMT -5
The 1950's were the decade of the exclusive single, and bears no true "albums", really. The music from the 1950's as far as Rock goes can pretty much only be found on "Greatest Hits" and "Anthology" collections for the most part.
Therefore this list begins with the 1960's.
This is my "desert island" list of the best albums ever. As we cruise with blinding speed full-circle back into another era of "the single" thanks to iTunes and MP3's, I like to reflect on the beauty of the LP...the Album. To the time when an artist only gained real bones by constructing 60 minutes or more of quality stuff.
The 1960's:
5. Kick Out the Jams- The MC5
Breaking from just about anything traditional, even in terms of Rock music, the at-the-time highly controversial Kick Out the Jams is the very definition of proto-punk. Loud, creative, highly intense and at its best a brutal record, the MC5 immortalized themselves in grit-ridden punk enclaves from coast to coast for decades following the release of this phenomenal breakthrough album. Not by message but through sonic revolution, the MC5 scoffed at the bloated carcass of big hippy music, and KOtJ found itself laughing at subsequent fat-ass dinosaurs riding flaming Zeppelins and Alabaman Homes.
The best thing to know about KOtJ if you have never heard it is that the primary impression one has in one's mind after hearing this record is that the band must have simply dropped dead from exhaustion after the performance. The level of energy presented on this album has rarely been matched, the quality has hardly ever been surpassed, and by the way, it's entirely live.
4. Odessy and Oracle- The Zombies
This album doesn't hit top 100 lists of critic after critic for nothing. The psychedelic pulse that the Zombies felt with this record beats even Sgt. Pepper. From the opening track, "Care of Cell 44" to the final notes of "Time of the Season", the Zombies struck a rare melodic nerve in each track presented on O&O. This is embryonic Emo, believe it or not, and one trip through this highly artistic album will reveal just how real and heart-rending Rock music has the potential to become, when it is done right.
3. Blonde on Blonde- Bob Dylan
It's tough picking the best Dylan record of the 1960's. There is so much to be said for The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Bringin' it All Back Home, Highway 69 Revisitedand The Times They Are a-Changin'. The reason I think that I would pick Blonde on Blonde over any of these other masterpieces is that it gives us, more than any other of Dylan's records, ALL of Bob Dylan. With Blonde on Blonde we get everything. The pinnacle of Dylan's talent is his ability to project an entire world of depth and color into our minds. No Rock artist has been more capable of sending us a literary illustration, a snapshot of a scenario that any one of us could have been a part of. Blonde on Blonde is Dylan's best conveyance, it is his Magnum Opus, and there is no richer world to be found than in the poetic land of illusion brought to us by tracks such as "Pledging My Time" and "Absolutely Sweet Marie".
2. The Velvet Underground & Nico / White Light/White Heat / The Velvet Underground / Loaded- The Velvet Underground & Nico/The Velvet Underground
There is perhaps no other artist, other than the Beatles, more responsible for everything worth listening to after 1967 than the entire catalogue of the Velvet Underground. There is no other band cited by more of a variety of great music, other than the Beatles, as a primary influence to their work than the Velvets.
Some have claimed that the reason for this is an unwarranted hype tagged onto the Velvets because of their "mysterious" or depraved reputation, and the subsequent name-dropping of a few great artists of their name. They say the Velvets are "over-rated" and without talent. These are the cheese-ass Dinosaur-Dick Zeppelin fans who have read too many assinine boot-licking Steven Davis books of crap and still like Rush. They are certainly not people who have taken the time and the artistic interest to actually listen to the Velvet's records and are only able to cite Nico and "Heroin" as their sources for all the reasons the Velvets stink. Don't listen to them. Buy these records and invest yourself in them. Few artists provide a more rewarding experience than the Velvet Underground.
And Nico rules. Just ask Wes Anderson.
1. A Hard Day's Night- The Beatles
This is The Beatles at their absolute peak. This is the one moment that they remained artistic enough to move beyond the teen-bop shackles of "She Loves You" and before the pretentious, wear-on-me "art" music of "Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown)". That isn't to say that anything the Beatles did wasn't brilliant, because it all was. The thing about AHDN is its complete freedom from the obstacles that faced the band both before and after this particular record.
Considering that the Beatles were, all opinion aside, the greates Rock band of all time, and that AHDN was their finest output, I place it, and have consistently for many years now, as the number one album of all time. I have listened to it with regular frequence for many years, and the record continues to astound and entertain me. It is the quintessential Rock album, possessing every element ever asked of what defines Rock music.
-Sal
Therefore this list begins with the 1960's.
This is my "desert island" list of the best albums ever. As we cruise with blinding speed full-circle back into another era of "the single" thanks to iTunes and MP3's, I like to reflect on the beauty of the LP...the Album. To the time when an artist only gained real bones by constructing 60 minutes or more of quality stuff.
The 1960's:
5. Kick Out the Jams- The MC5
Breaking from just about anything traditional, even in terms of Rock music, the at-the-time highly controversial Kick Out the Jams is the very definition of proto-punk. Loud, creative, highly intense and at its best a brutal record, the MC5 immortalized themselves in grit-ridden punk enclaves from coast to coast for decades following the release of this phenomenal breakthrough album. Not by message but through sonic revolution, the MC5 scoffed at the bloated carcass of big hippy music, and KOtJ found itself laughing at subsequent fat-ass dinosaurs riding flaming Zeppelins and Alabaman Homes.
The best thing to know about KOtJ if you have never heard it is that the primary impression one has in one's mind after hearing this record is that the band must have simply dropped dead from exhaustion after the performance. The level of energy presented on this album has rarely been matched, the quality has hardly ever been surpassed, and by the way, it's entirely live.
4. Odessy and Oracle- The Zombies
This album doesn't hit top 100 lists of critic after critic for nothing. The psychedelic pulse that the Zombies felt with this record beats even Sgt. Pepper. From the opening track, "Care of Cell 44" to the final notes of "Time of the Season", the Zombies struck a rare melodic nerve in each track presented on O&O. This is embryonic Emo, believe it or not, and one trip through this highly artistic album will reveal just how real and heart-rending Rock music has the potential to become, when it is done right.
3. Blonde on Blonde- Bob Dylan
It's tough picking the best Dylan record of the 1960's. There is so much to be said for The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Bringin' it All Back Home, Highway 69 Revisitedand The Times They Are a-Changin'. The reason I think that I would pick Blonde on Blonde over any of these other masterpieces is that it gives us, more than any other of Dylan's records, ALL of Bob Dylan. With Blonde on Blonde we get everything. The pinnacle of Dylan's talent is his ability to project an entire world of depth and color into our minds. No Rock artist has been more capable of sending us a literary illustration, a snapshot of a scenario that any one of us could have been a part of. Blonde on Blonde is Dylan's best conveyance, it is his Magnum Opus, and there is no richer world to be found than in the poetic land of illusion brought to us by tracks such as "Pledging My Time" and "Absolutely Sweet Marie".
2. The Velvet Underground & Nico / White Light/White Heat / The Velvet Underground / Loaded- The Velvet Underground & Nico/The Velvet Underground
There is perhaps no other artist, other than the Beatles, more responsible for everything worth listening to after 1967 than the entire catalogue of the Velvet Underground. There is no other band cited by more of a variety of great music, other than the Beatles, as a primary influence to their work than the Velvets.
Some have claimed that the reason for this is an unwarranted hype tagged onto the Velvets because of their "mysterious" or depraved reputation, and the subsequent name-dropping of a few great artists of their name. They say the Velvets are "over-rated" and without talent. These are the cheese-ass Dinosaur-Dick Zeppelin fans who have read too many assinine boot-licking Steven Davis books of crap and still like Rush. They are certainly not people who have taken the time and the artistic interest to actually listen to the Velvet's records and are only able to cite Nico and "Heroin" as their sources for all the reasons the Velvets stink. Don't listen to them. Buy these records and invest yourself in them. Few artists provide a more rewarding experience than the Velvet Underground.
And Nico rules. Just ask Wes Anderson.
1. A Hard Day's Night- The Beatles
This is The Beatles at their absolute peak. This is the one moment that they remained artistic enough to move beyond the teen-bop shackles of "She Loves You" and before the pretentious, wear-on-me "art" music of "Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown)". That isn't to say that anything the Beatles did wasn't brilliant, because it all was. The thing about AHDN is its complete freedom from the obstacles that faced the band both before and after this particular record.
Considering that the Beatles were, all opinion aside, the greates Rock band of all time, and that AHDN was their finest output, I place it, and have consistently for many years now, as the number one album of all time. I have listened to it with regular frequence for many years, and the record continues to astound and entertain me. It is the quintessential Rock album, possessing every element ever asked of what defines Rock music.
-Sal