"Think of 17 albums, CDs, LPs (if you're over 35) that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life. Dug into your soul. Music that brought you to life when you heard it. Royally affected you, kicked you in the wasu (wazoo?), literally socked you in the gut, is what I mean. Then when you finish, tag 20 others, including moi. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill. Get the idea now? Good. Tag, you're it!"
Here it goes, in more or less chronological order:
Black Sabbath - Volume 4 - My first favorite band. I was in 4th grade or so. How could you not love the long hair, large oversized crosses and the power chords. This was not my first but it is their best. More intricate than the slab of meta that makes Paranoid
Jethro Tull - Aqua lung: Not my favorite now, but back in the day it was. I like the folksier earlier stuff better now like Benefit, Stand Up Living in the Past.
Genesis - Foxtrot - In High School I would sing the whole of Supper's ready to kill time during my daily 3 mile run.
Chris Squire - Fish Out of Water - The bass player for Yes. Better than any Yes album. Had the London Philharmonic backing him up on strings and such.
Gentle Giant - Octopus - My favorite of theirs. The most consistent.
Kink Crimson - Lark's Tongue in Aspic - A super group and their best cd ever. Bill Bruford on drum kit and John Wetton on Bass.
Roxy Music - Viva Roxy - Live album by Roxy Music. Not my favorite, but it has my favorite version of a great song by them "If There is Something".
Brian Eno - Before and After Science - First heard this under a chemical enhanced mood. It sowed the seeds to my later taste in New Wave and Punk Rock.
XTC - Black Sea - the 80's did not hold up to the test of time very well. These guys and Talking Heads are probably all that I will listen to now. Needless to say, the musical motifs of the 80's forms the basis of what I listen to now.
The Birthday Party - Junkyard - My first Introduction to Nick Cave - Also see their Ep Mutiny in Heaven.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The First Born Is Dead - The rolling thunderous bass of Tupelo is an unforgettable start to an album full of dying, blind blues men, criminals on the run and biblical stories of the great flood.
Violent Femmes - Unhallowed Ground - This second album is under valued but just as great, if not greater than their 1st album. It's one of the albums that got me interested in Alternative country.
The Gun Club - Fire of Love - Gothic and horrifying. Country punk. A wonderful version of Preaching the Blues. Another favorite is Jack on fire.
Hunters and Collectors - Jaws of Life - Australian group influenced by the Birthday Party. Great rhythm section with a stand out bass player. Came out inthe height of interest of all things Australian. Good for road trips since all the songs seem to be about cars, trucks and engines.
The Sound - From the Lions Mouth - Think Early rockin' U2 but Much better. Adrian Borland's guitar soared (RIP). dark and haunting.
Echo and the Bunny Men - Heaven up There - Mellow that their debut. I think it sounds better today after test of time.
The Teardrops Explodes - Mount Kilimanjaro (Spelling) - punk/pop from the eighties. Julian Cope's cds are hard to find here n the states.
Chris & Carla - Swinger 500 - this is their second cd together, but my 1st exposure to them. They are the leading musicians in the group The Walkabouts who are one of my favorite all time groups. Sounds like a mix of Portishead (Some weird electronics) and Leonard Cohen (great song writing).
Tindersticks - Curtains - 3rd cd. Alternating beautiful sweeping violins pop vs dissonant punk rock sounds.
16 Horsepower- Sackcloth 'n Ashes - Greatly influenced by The Gun Club. It's old timey music with an insanely religious bent to it. When the singer sings, you fear god dag nab it! Lots of banjo, hurdy gurdy etc.
Neko Case - Furnace Room Lullabye - My first and still by far her best. Dark abnd sinister and beatiful.
Damien Jurado - Where Shall You Take Me - A singer song writer who write beautiful heartbreaking songs. Has been compared to the writing of Raymond Carver who writes about ordinary people in ordinary situations which become transforming and trascendant.
The National - Alligator - Kind of like Tindersticks but more rocking. Get's better on repeated listenings.
Midnight Choir - Unsung Heroine - I heard this cd for the 1st time on one of the more traumatic (emotionally) times of my life. The music brought calmness to my tormented soul that night. And don't forget beautiful emotive singing and swirling sweeping strings.
Willard Grant Conspiracy - All their cds are great so ill pick just one song here - "Dig a Hole".
I know that's much more than 17 (25 to be exact)... Besides
Showing posts with label Best CDs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Best CDs. Show all posts
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Best Cds of 2007
This last year has seen a reduction of the quantity of CDs I have bought. I am starting to realize that no one really has time to listen to all this music. In fact the summer of 2007 was the year of The Great Purge in which I sold 40% - 50% of my music. I wish I could say how many CDs I bought this year (I actually do count and compare from year to year) but its been over 7 months since I made that count. I would guess I bought about 80 CDs, which is down from the usual well over 100 CDs per year. With finances being really tight, I expect the number for next year to be even lower. Right now as of August 2008, I have about 40.
Another thing about this year is that I noticed that some of the CDs I have not listened to very much, which means I really don’t have a great idea of what they are about – A general idea but not a great understanding. So I expect that the ranking of the cds will be very loose, especially for the lower ranking CDs. So without any further ado, here is the best of 2007:
1. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup – This guy just doesn’t miss. In my opinion it’s a slight improvement over the last CD. Has a little more French influence, but the Eastern European is still there.
2. Great Lake Swimmers – Ongiara – While a tad on the softer side, there is some beautiful acoustic folk music here.
3. Grinderman – Grinderman – Nick Cave rocking out. I think that this is better than the Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! CD, though many critics disagree with me.
4. Jessie Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter – Like Love & Lust & The Open Halls of the Soul – A little more rocking than her last CD, yet still lush and haunting.
5. The National – The Boxer – Another Solid effort, though I still prefer Alligator.
6. Stax – 50th Anniversary Celebration – Now I’m not a fan of Rhythm and Blues, but the quality of song writing on this CD is unquestionable. If you don’t know what Stax is, thing Motown but hipper.
7. Iron & Wine – The Shepard’s Dog – I like his more recent work because it is a little more rockier.
8. P.J. Harvey – White Chalk – She plays piano instead of guitar. The results are spooky and beautiful.
9. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – This one is a bit more minimalist than their others, but still some catchy tunes.
10. Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited – Various Artists – Some nice renditions of classic songs.
11. Bright Eyes – Cassadaga – No new sound really, but there are some really good songs.
12. Chris & Carla – Fly High Brave Dreamers – I have not been able to get into this CD very much, though they are some of my all time favorite performers. I suspect with more listens, this would go up more in the rankings.
13. Bishop Allen & the Broken String - Bishop Allen & the Broken String – My Space Phenom. They release all their songs on My Space and than compiled their best songs for the CD. Great catchy pop songs.
14. Blanche – Little Amber Bottles – A Bit of a disappointment from their debut CD, but there are still some great songs on here. Maybe with some more listens…
15. Joe Henry – Civilian – A solid CD of Americanaish music. Very good song writing.
16. New Model Army – High – Solid Songs from punk Rock/Activist group
17. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha – While this one is good, I have not been able to get into this one as much as the previous CD. More listens needed?
18. Earlimart – Mentor – Good solid pop music. Kind of drags in second half .
19. Chuck Prophet – Soap and Water – Americana music but slightly more rockin’ than the typical for the genre.
And the bottom of the pile. Still good but perhaps they need more listens.
20. Cafe tacuba - Sino
21. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of...
22. Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque
23. Pylon - Gyrate (rerelease)
24. Karen Ann - Karen Ann
25. Moby Grape - Listen My Friends (rerelease)
Another thing about this year is that I noticed that some of the CDs I have not listened to very much, which means I really don’t have a great idea of what they are about – A general idea but not a great understanding. So I expect that the ranking of the cds will be very loose, especially for the lower ranking CDs. So without any further ado, here is the best of 2007:
1. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup – This guy just doesn’t miss. In my opinion it’s a slight improvement over the last CD. Has a little more French influence, but the Eastern European is still there.
2. Great Lake Swimmers – Ongiara – While a tad on the softer side, there is some beautiful acoustic folk music here.
3. Grinderman – Grinderman – Nick Cave rocking out. I think that this is better than the Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! CD, though many critics disagree with me.
4. Jessie Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter – Like Love & Lust & The Open Halls of the Soul – A little more rocking than her last CD, yet still lush and haunting.
5. The National – The Boxer – Another Solid effort, though I still prefer Alligator.
6. Stax – 50th Anniversary Celebration – Now I’m not a fan of Rhythm and Blues, but the quality of song writing on this CD is unquestionable. If you don’t know what Stax is, thing Motown but hipper.
7. Iron & Wine – The Shepard’s Dog – I like his more recent work because it is a little more rockier.
8. P.J. Harvey – White Chalk – She plays piano instead of guitar. The results are spooky and beautiful.
9. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – This one is a bit more minimalist than their others, but still some catchy tunes.
10. Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited – Various Artists – Some nice renditions of classic songs.
11. Bright Eyes – Cassadaga – No new sound really, but there are some really good songs.
12. Chris & Carla – Fly High Brave Dreamers – I have not been able to get into this CD very much, though they are some of my all time favorite performers. I suspect with more listens, this would go up more in the rankings.
13. Bishop Allen & the Broken String - Bishop Allen & the Broken String – My Space Phenom. They release all their songs on My Space and than compiled their best songs for the CD. Great catchy pop songs.
14. Blanche – Little Amber Bottles – A Bit of a disappointment from their debut CD, but there are still some great songs on here. Maybe with some more listens…
15. Joe Henry – Civilian – A solid CD of Americanaish music. Very good song writing.
16. New Model Army – High – Solid Songs from punk Rock/Activist group
17. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha – While this one is good, I have not been able to get into this one as much as the previous CD. More listens needed?
18. Earlimart – Mentor – Good solid pop music. Kind of drags in second half .
19. Chuck Prophet – Soap and Water – Americana music but slightly more rockin’ than the typical for the genre.
And the bottom of the pile. Still good but perhaps they need more listens.
20. Cafe tacuba - Sino
21. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of...
22. Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque
23. Pylon - Gyrate (rerelease)
24. Karen Ann - Karen Ann
25. Moby Grape - Listen My Friends (rerelease)
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