A while back, I posted my favourite musical six-pack for your viewing and debating pleasure. However, as is always the case when I try to settle the musical ADHD maelstrom in my head down to a mere slow breeze, I missed out on several seminal albums that I would never shun.
This got me to thinking; I get a wee bit thirsty on occasion, and perhaps a six-pack just isn't going to quench my musical thirst. With this in mind, I have opted to give in to my parched musical mind here, and now present to you another six albums — in no particular order — that are key cogs in my musical library:
London Calling - The Clash - This album is so much more than a punk rock affair. Sure, the Clash may have started out in the impoverished, boarded up slums of London, and there is no question their entire attitude was as punk rock as it gets; however, this album proved that you could maintain that fire while dancing across an unbelievably diverse range of musical genres. This album has a bit of everything; from the reggae-meets-punk strains of the title track; to the Caribbean-influenced Rudy Can't Fail; to the piano-drenched melodrama of The Card Cheat, to the enormous Motown-esque horns and Joe Strummer's playful refrains of "That's Montgomery Clift honey!" in The Right Profile, this album is a masterpiece of eclectic wizardry.
I pay little attention to what many music critics have to say, because many of them don't have a freakin' clue most of the time, but when I listen to this album I concur with those who deemed The Clash "The Only Band That Matters" during this era. This album is simply epic.
Rust Never Sleeps - Neil Young - Picking a favourite Neil Young album is difficult if you're a fan; and I am. This one stands out though, as it combines both main elements of what I like in Young's work: his crazy electric freak-outs, and his deft acoustic side. Standout tracks include Hey Hey, My My, Powderfinger, Thrasher, and Pocahantas.
Desolation Boulevard - The Sweet - It's a true rock n roll tragedy that this band gets overlooked so frequently when discussing the growth of the genre in the Seventies. Sweet introduced a notion of refined heaviness that bands like Motley Crue and Def Leppard would ride to multi-platinum success in the Eighties. Combining loud, crunchy guitars, with smooth pop choruses, Sweet set the benchmark for many of the bands that would follow in their path. Faves on this one: Sweet F.A., Fox on the Run, No you Don't, Set me Free, Solid Gold Brass.
The Cars - The Cars - This band was so far ahead of its time, yet much like the Sweet doesn't get nearly enough credit for the groundwork they laid. Combining old-time rock n roll riffs, spacey keyboards, the brilliant contrasts between co-lead vocalists Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr (Ocasek was the oddball frontman with the quirky voice, while Orr was the ladies man with the smooth pipes), and a lead guitarist in Elliott Easton who could play perfectly suitable, yet dynamic and creative solos, the Cars were unlike any band before or since. Bridging the gap between new wave and straight-ahead rock, the Cars sat in a middle ground all of their own. Standouts: I'm in Touch With Your World, You're all I've got Tonight, Dontcha Stop, Moving in Stereo, By Bye Love, Let the Good Times Roll.
Chronicles Vol. I - The Best Of Creedence Clearwater Revival - Okay, two points here. First off, I must admit, I haven't owned a copy of this album in a couple years, but how could I ever forget its tunes? Secondly, yes, this is a greatest hits, but for a band like CCR, who recorded so much great material in such a short period of time, this album might just be the best reference point. Faves on this: Green River, Heard it Through the Grapevine, As Long as I can see the Light, Around the Bend, Someday Never Comes, Fortunate Son.
Master of Puppets - Metallica - A total no-brainer in every sense. Simply the greatest album of all, from the greatest metal band of the past 25 years. It never fails to amaze me how a band of musicians still in their early-twenties could produce something that combined the ferocity, politcally-conscious lyrics, complex arrangements, absurd tempos, and sheer scope of this record. Jame Hetfield proved on this album that he is simply the greatest rythm guitarist, lyricist, and frontman in metal history, and the late Cliff Burton contributed not only stellar bass playing in the Steve Harris mold, but also some of the melodic sections that made this album stand out from others of the genre. Metallica did not merely bludgeon you over the head on this album. No, they instead hit you with a combination of both heavy, speedy riffery, and slow, melodic mid-sections. I am still amazed by the beauty of the middle of the title track, or the Burton-penned, Thin Lizzy-style guitar harmonies in the middle of Orion — a tune in which Burton also plays a damned good bass solo. Other faves on this one: Battery, The Thing That Should not Be, Welcome Home Sanitarium, and Disposable Heroes.
This got me to thinking; I get a wee bit thirsty on occasion, and perhaps a six-pack just isn't going to quench my musical thirst. With this in mind, I have opted to give in to my parched musical mind here, and now present to you another six albums — in no particular order — that are key cogs in my musical library:
London Calling - The Clash - This album is so much more than a punk rock affair. Sure, the Clash may have started out in the impoverished, boarded up slums of London, and there is no question their entire attitude was as punk rock as it gets; however, this album proved that you could maintain that fire while dancing across an unbelievably diverse range of musical genres. This album has a bit of everything; from the reggae-meets-punk strains of the title track; to the Caribbean-influenced Rudy Can't Fail; to the piano-drenched melodrama of The Card Cheat, to the enormous Motown-esque horns and Joe Strummer's playful refrains of "That's Montgomery Clift honey!" in The Right Profile, this album is a masterpiece of eclectic wizardry.
I pay little attention to what many music critics have to say, because many of them don't have a freakin' clue most of the time, but when I listen to this album I concur with those who deemed The Clash "The Only Band That Matters" during this era. This album is simply epic.
Rust Never Sleeps - Neil Young - Picking a favourite Neil Young album is difficult if you're a fan; and I am. This one stands out though, as it combines both main elements of what I like in Young's work: his crazy electric freak-outs, and his deft acoustic side. Standout tracks include Hey Hey, My My, Powderfinger, Thrasher, and Pocahantas.
Desolation Boulevard - The Sweet - It's a true rock n roll tragedy that this band gets overlooked so frequently when discussing the growth of the genre in the Seventies. Sweet introduced a notion of refined heaviness that bands like Motley Crue and Def Leppard would ride to multi-platinum success in the Eighties. Combining loud, crunchy guitars, with smooth pop choruses, Sweet set the benchmark for many of the bands that would follow in their path. Faves on this one: Sweet F.A., Fox on the Run, No you Don't, Set me Free, Solid Gold Brass.
The Cars - The Cars - This band was so far ahead of its time, yet much like the Sweet doesn't get nearly enough credit for the groundwork they laid. Combining old-time rock n roll riffs, spacey keyboards, the brilliant contrasts between co-lead vocalists Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr (Ocasek was the oddball frontman with the quirky voice, while Orr was the ladies man with the smooth pipes), and a lead guitarist in Elliott Easton who could play perfectly suitable, yet dynamic and creative solos, the Cars were unlike any band before or since. Bridging the gap between new wave and straight-ahead rock, the Cars sat in a middle ground all of their own. Standouts: I'm in Touch With Your World, You're all I've got Tonight, Dontcha Stop, Moving in Stereo, By Bye Love, Let the Good Times Roll.
Chronicles Vol. I - The Best Of Creedence Clearwater Revival - Okay, two points here. First off, I must admit, I haven't owned a copy of this album in a couple years, but how could I ever forget its tunes? Secondly, yes, this is a greatest hits, but for a band like CCR, who recorded so much great material in such a short period of time, this album might just be the best reference point. Faves on this: Green River, Heard it Through the Grapevine, As Long as I can see the Light, Around the Bend, Someday Never Comes, Fortunate Son.
Master of Puppets - Metallica - A total no-brainer in every sense. Simply the greatest album of all, from the greatest metal band of the past 25 years. It never fails to amaze me how a band of musicians still in their early-twenties could produce something that combined the ferocity, politcally-conscious lyrics, complex arrangements, absurd tempos, and sheer scope of this record. Jame Hetfield proved on this album that he is simply the greatest rythm guitarist, lyricist, and frontman in metal history, and the late Cliff Burton contributed not only stellar bass playing in the Steve Harris mold, but also some of the melodic sections that made this album stand out from others of the genre. Metallica did not merely bludgeon you over the head on this album. No, they instead hit you with a combination of both heavy, speedy riffery, and slow, melodic mid-sections. I am still amazed by the beauty of the middle of the title track, or the Burton-penned, Thin Lizzy-style guitar harmonies in the middle of Orion — a tune in which Burton also plays a damned good bass solo. Other faves on this one: Battery, The Thing That Should not Be, Welcome Home Sanitarium, and Disposable Heroes.
