Apologies that it's been a week since the last post, but that may be the case from here on out. I will probably get to post again in just a few days, then it'll be another week. What can you do, gotta pay them bills. Anyway, we'll have a comment from the great one, Michael A., regarding my statement that Elvis's That's All Right belongs in the 'first rock song' discussion and another review from my cuz Michael W.
The poll for this week is for the best Stones album. I am surprised to say that, more than any other band that has more than 5 albums on my list, these guys have albums ranked completely different than where I thought they'd be at the start. The Stones album I had long considered my fave has wound up ranking below 4 or 5 other efforts from this band. Very curious to see how this one turns out, so, VOTE! The winner of the Pink Floyd poll was Dark Side Of The Moon by a slim margin over Wish You Were Here. I'd agree with that, too. Onward and upward....
235. Rock And Soul Part 1 - Hall And Oates (1983)
I have loved this greatest hits album from one of the heaviest charting duos in music history since it was issued. Long before 500 Days Of Summer and, less notably, She's Out Of My League (thanks, Chris and Ryan!) caused a resurgence of interest in them, my dad had the album on vinyl. I would play it constantly, putting She's Gone and Kiss On My List back to back on cassette mixes while reciting where both songs placed on my own Top 10 for the week into the built-in crappy mic on the stereo. I would wait up to see if MTV would play Maneater for the third time in as many hours. Once I hit junior high I hid my love of the rock and soul creators until I met one of the honest-to-buddha biggest musical influences in my life shortly after high school, Adam, and he had it unabashedly blazing forth from his car stereo. We may have listened to I Can't Go For That and Sara Smile each a few times that night. A greatest hits, indeed, and one that, regardless of the aim of the song, always puts a smile on my face. Oh, and this is for Justin (sorry, I kinda rambled): 'They need to Hall more Oates!'
234. A Picture Of Nectar - Phish (1992)
I'll keep this brief as you've read about my love of Phish already (#273 and the very first post) and will see more later. This was the band's third album on a major label and, although it included great jam songs like Stash and Tweezer, was quite a bit more focused than their previous albums. Chalkdust Torture and Tweezer Reprise were the group's most rocking efforts up to this point. Llama and The Landlady are both surprising in their increased intensity from singer/guitarist Trey Anastasio and the band, and the horns alone make Cavern a great song. An excellent album that continued Phish's path from jazz folk through any musical genre they damn well wanted to traipse through.
233. Mezzanine - Massive Attack (1998)
The third album from these trip hop pioneers is a departure from their previous 2 albums in that it is much more guitar driven and relies on sound textures more than instrumentation. Vocally it also misses Tricky a bit as he was such a force on the first 2 albums, but the beats and the darker vibe remain the same. If you think you haven't heard this group, you have. It gets hard to track how many movies, commercials and TV shows these songs have been in, perhaps none more immediately noticeable than the song Teardrop used during the opening credits for the show House. This album has gotten many a spin back in the day in a dark apartment with floating candles glowing in the windows, incense smoke wafting through blacklight beams illuminating colorful felt posters of mushrooms and dancing bears, waiting for that special knock on the door that could only mean one thing at 1 AM. Ahhh, the old days. I digress, this is, start to finish, an amazing album from a truly incredible group of electronic producers. Angel, Risingson, Teardrop, Inertia Creeps...I'm just giving you the track list in order, you need to just turn down the lights, grab a strong drink or a smoke, and just let this one play.
232. Fields - Junip (2010)
This swedish trio has been playing for over 10 years but just released their first full-length album last year. The group features the incredible classical guitar stylings and soothing vocal melodies of Jose Gonzalez with an excellent drummer and organist backing him. Although largely a very gentle, simple album, you can certainly hear the perfectionism inherent in a band that takes this long to churn out an album. You can hear several musical influences infused in this oddly organic yet dynamic work - Richie Havens, Nick Drake, Nina Simone, Neil Young and several other folk, jazz, krautrock and soul icons can be deciphered flowing in and out of tracks. The songs are all very similar in style although they vary by degrees. The choppy, staccato bursts of In Every Direction, the breezy Always, the tense anticipation heavy steppin' through Sweet And Bitter, the meditative To The Grain...this is an album that could have come out 40 years ago or could have waited 40 years from now and still wouldn't sound quite of that time. A wonderfully atmospheric and hypnotic album.
231. Love, Power, Peace: Live At The Olympia, Paris 1971 - James Brown
Most music critics, geeks and fans would pick Live At The Apollo as the greatest JB live album. I would take this show from Paris in a heartbeat. This is the only complete live recording that features the original lineup of the J.B.'s, one of the greatest funk groups ever until splitting to be a part of Parliament-Funkadelic. It also took 20 years to get released on album. This contains the greatest version of Sex Machine I have ever heard. It became so rowdy that a lovely Parisian woman jumped onto the side of the stage, stripped butt naked and danced through the next few songs before security even made a move to end the fun. Scorching versions of Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved, Ain't It Funky Now and Super Bad serve as testimony to the madness rising from the crowd, and, somehow, a one and a half minute medley of Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, I Got You AND I Got The Feeling occurred to cement the insanity of this inferno of a show. Ladies and gentlemen, one of the tightest bands to ever step on stage, live. You need to hear this.
Here's a comment about my proclamation that the Elvis Presley sung That's All Right should hold a seat at the table of the 'first rock and roll song' debate....
Your blog continues to be fascinating. Different entry, I know, but kudos for including the Meters. Not enough people know about them...I consider it a bit of a holy mission to turn people on to them, and that is a very well chosen compilation. Now, to the subject of my comment, though...I must take issue to the idea of any Elvis song being the "first rock song." Of course, any first is open to debate, but you gotta go back further than Elvis: brilliant as he was, he was just the white guy who made the style cross over. After years of investigation, I personally agree with those who who count "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats as the first ever Rock and Roll record in March of 1951. Said band was actually Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm recording under a different name. More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_88 - Michael A
Thanks, my man. I understand and have heard that stated by most music fans who were maybe more 'in the know' as far as music history goes, and most music critics and journalists have settled on this. It states on that link that even Sam Phillips said it was the first. I just don't know that I feel that that song was so much different then most R & B of that time. I know the pace picked up, I know it's one of the first examples of guitar distortion, it just doesn't have that attitude to me, that sneer that you can visualize being needed to sing a rock song. It's All Right, recorded 3 years later, I admit, has that, and is so clearly this mix of R&B, country and blues that I don't really know what other genre it would fit in but rock 'n roll. Of course, I've also heard multiple Little Richard and Chuck Berry songs mentioned in the argument, as well as Rock Around The Clock. Going by date recorded, attitude, level of separation from what was popular during it's time, an inability to categorize or label the song into any specific genre and that certain x-factor, I stay with That's All Right as my pick. I could go on with this for hours, as I know Michael could, and maybe someday we will, but that's all right for now (did you see what I did there?).
Finally, here's a review from my cousin Michael W. with a band that, he will be disappointed to learn, will not appear on this list....
Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power...This would be a glaring omission as well. Like many, I didn't like Pantera at first - the "screaming" was a bit much for me at first. But then you listen for a few minutes, and they just can't be denied. Even if you don't like your metal quite this heavy, you can't help but gravitate to the purity of their we're going to throw down and kick some ass attitude and can't help but be wowed by Dimebag Darrell's unique sound all his own and Anselmo's powerful lyrics and ridiculous delivery - whether it's your cup of tea or not. With all respect to grunge, it got a bit one-note in the mid-90s and Pantera provided a desperately needed breath of fresh air on the scene with this album.
There it is. Don't forget to take the poll (please!) and check in a few days as I will do my best to have another post up by them. Until then, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars! Sorry, I had to end one of these posts with a little Casey Kasem....I'm done now.
The poll for this week is for the best Stones album. I am surprised to say that, more than any other band that has more than 5 albums on my list, these guys have albums ranked completely different than where I thought they'd be at the start. The Stones album I had long considered my fave has wound up ranking below 4 or 5 other efforts from this band. Very curious to see how this one turns out, so, VOTE! The winner of the Pink Floyd poll was Dark Side Of The Moon by a slim margin over Wish You Were Here. I'd agree with that, too. Onward and upward....
235. Rock And Soul Part 1 - Hall And Oates (1983)
I have loved this greatest hits album from one of the heaviest charting duos in music history since it was issued. Long before 500 Days Of Summer and, less notably, She's Out Of My League (thanks, Chris and Ryan!) caused a resurgence of interest in them, my dad had the album on vinyl. I would play it constantly, putting She's Gone and Kiss On My List back to back on cassette mixes while reciting where both songs placed on my own Top 10 for the week into the built-in crappy mic on the stereo. I would wait up to see if MTV would play Maneater for the third time in as many hours. Once I hit junior high I hid my love of the rock and soul creators until I met one of the honest-to-buddha biggest musical influences in my life shortly after high school, Adam, and he had it unabashedly blazing forth from his car stereo. We may have listened to I Can't Go For That and Sara Smile each a few times that night. A greatest hits, indeed, and one that, regardless of the aim of the song, always puts a smile on my face. Oh, and this is for Justin (sorry, I kinda rambled): 'They need to Hall more Oates!'
234. A Picture Of Nectar - Phish (1992)
I'll keep this brief as you've read about my love of Phish already (#273 and the very first post) and will see more later. This was the band's third album on a major label and, although it included great jam songs like Stash and Tweezer, was quite a bit more focused than their previous albums. Chalkdust Torture and Tweezer Reprise were the group's most rocking efforts up to this point. Llama and The Landlady are both surprising in their increased intensity from singer/guitarist Trey Anastasio and the band, and the horns alone make Cavern a great song. An excellent album that continued Phish's path from jazz folk through any musical genre they damn well wanted to traipse through.
233. Mezzanine - Massive Attack (1998)
The third album from these trip hop pioneers is a departure from their previous 2 albums in that it is much more guitar driven and relies on sound textures more than instrumentation. Vocally it also misses Tricky a bit as he was such a force on the first 2 albums, but the beats and the darker vibe remain the same. If you think you haven't heard this group, you have. It gets hard to track how many movies, commercials and TV shows these songs have been in, perhaps none more immediately noticeable than the song Teardrop used during the opening credits for the show House. This album has gotten many a spin back in the day in a dark apartment with floating candles glowing in the windows, incense smoke wafting through blacklight beams illuminating colorful felt posters of mushrooms and dancing bears, waiting for that special knock on the door that could only mean one thing at 1 AM. Ahhh, the old days. I digress, this is, start to finish, an amazing album from a truly incredible group of electronic producers. Angel, Risingson, Teardrop, Inertia Creeps...I'm just giving you the track list in order, you need to just turn down the lights, grab a strong drink or a smoke, and just let this one play.
232. Fields - Junip (2010)
This swedish trio has been playing for over 10 years but just released their first full-length album last year. The group features the incredible classical guitar stylings and soothing vocal melodies of Jose Gonzalez with an excellent drummer and organist backing him. Although largely a very gentle, simple album, you can certainly hear the perfectionism inherent in a band that takes this long to churn out an album. You can hear several musical influences infused in this oddly organic yet dynamic work - Richie Havens, Nick Drake, Nina Simone, Neil Young and several other folk, jazz, krautrock and soul icons can be deciphered flowing in and out of tracks. The songs are all very similar in style although they vary by degrees. The choppy, staccato bursts of In Every Direction, the breezy Always, the tense anticipation heavy steppin' through Sweet And Bitter, the meditative To The Grain...this is an album that could have come out 40 years ago or could have waited 40 years from now and still wouldn't sound quite of that time. A wonderfully atmospheric and hypnotic album.
231. Love, Power, Peace: Live At The Olympia, Paris 1971 - James Brown
Most music critics, geeks and fans would pick Live At The Apollo as the greatest JB live album. I would take this show from Paris in a heartbeat. This is the only complete live recording that features the original lineup of the J.B.'s, one of the greatest funk groups ever until splitting to be a part of Parliament-Funkadelic. It also took 20 years to get released on album. This contains the greatest version of Sex Machine I have ever heard. It became so rowdy that a lovely Parisian woman jumped onto the side of the stage, stripped butt naked and danced through the next few songs before security even made a move to end the fun. Scorching versions of Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved, Ain't It Funky Now and Super Bad serve as testimony to the madness rising from the crowd, and, somehow, a one and a half minute medley of Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, I Got You AND I Got The Feeling occurred to cement the insanity of this inferno of a show. Ladies and gentlemen, one of the tightest bands to ever step on stage, live. You need to hear this.
Here's a comment about my proclamation that the Elvis Presley sung That's All Right should hold a seat at the table of the 'first rock and roll song' debate....
Your blog continues to be fascinating. Different entry, I know, but kudos for including the Meters. Not enough people know about them...I consider it a bit of a holy mission to turn people on to them, and that is a very well chosen compilation. Now, to the subject of my comment, though...I must take issue to the idea of any Elvis song being the "first rock song." Of course, any first is open to debate, but you gotta go back further than Elvis: brilliant as he was, he was just the white guy who made the style cross over. After years of investigation, I personally agree with those who who count "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats as the first ever Rock and Roll record in March of 1951. Said band was actually Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm recording under a different name. More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_88 - Michael A
Thanks, my man. I understand and have heard that stated by most music fans who were maybe more 'in the know' as far as music history goes, and most music critics and journalists have settled on this. It states on that link that even Sam Phillips said it was the first. I just don't know that I feel that that song was so much different then most R & B of that time. I know the pace picked up, I know it's one of the first examples of guitar distortion, it just doesn't have that attitude to me, that sneer that you can visualize being needed to sing a rock song. It's All Right, recorded 3 years later, I admit, has that, and is so clearly this mix of R&B, country and blues that I don't really know what other genre it would fit in but rock 'n roll. Of course, I've also heard multiple Little Richard and Chuck Berry songs mentioned in the argument, as well as Rock Around The Clock. Going by date recorded, attitude, level of separation from what was popular during it's time, an inability to categorize or label the song into any specific genre and that certain x-factor, I stay with That's All Right as my pick. I could go on with this for hours, as I know Michael could, and maybe someday we will, but that's all right for now (did you see what I did there?).
Finally, here's a review from my cousin Michael W. with a band that, he will be disappointed to learn, will not appear on this list....
Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power...This would be a glaring omission as well. Like many, I didn't like Pantera at first - the "screaming" was a bit much for me at first. But then you listen for a few minutes, and they just can't be denied. Even if you don't like your metal quite this heavy, you can't help but gravitate to the purity of their we're going to throw down and kick some ass attitude and can't help but be wowed by Dimebag Darrell's unique sound all his own and Anselmo's powerful lyrics and ridiculous delivery - whether it's your cup of tea or not. With all respect to grunge, it got a bit one-note in the mid-90s and Pantera provided a desperately needed breath of fresh air on the scene with this album.
There it is. Don't forget to take the poll (please!) and check in a few days as I will do my best to have another post up by them. Until then, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars! Sorry, I had to end one of these posts with a little Casey Kasem....I'm done now.
No comments:
Post a Comment