A Call For Albums
Can you please recommend a great album for me to listen to? Periodically, I’ll email my friends to ask for music recommendations. Usually, I just want song recommendations. But I was listening to Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie and was taken aback by how good an ALBUM it is. You all know what I mean. The ones in which it’s better when you listen to that whole album, rather than just the songs (even though the songs are so great!). And it’s a been while since I’ve really devoured albums whole. You know what I’m talking about — those albums where there’s something that makes the sum greater than the parts.
Albums like:
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots — Flaming Lips
Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
Automatic for the People – R.E.M.
Exile in Guyville – Liz Phair
Imperial Bedroom – Elvis Costello
The B-52s – The B-52s
More Songs About Buildings and Food – The Talking Heads
Pet Sounds, Sgt. Pepper’s — you know them when you hear them.
Or whatever. I’m listing these not to specify types of music but types of albums. Ones that are more than just a collection a great tracks. It’s something BIGGER. So give me some recommendations. Any era, any genre. Let’s have at it.
I think you know most of these, but here are the easy off the top of my head ones…without using soundtracks (except for purple rain, it can’t be left off.)
Innervisions – Stevie Wonder
Purple Rain – Prince
Nevermind – Nirvana
Thriller – MJ
Tapestry – Carole King
Back in Black – Ac/DC
Low End Theory – Tribe Called Quest
Blue – Joni Mitchell
eliza
2 Aug 05 at 11:28 am
Rogue Wave
Out of the Shadow
2004
Someone recommended this album to me – unheard I bought and I loved it – I guess it is described as Sub Pop (whatever that means?) well anyway I would say it is one of my recent favorite albums and enjoy it all the way through many many many times– you might dig it….
you can check out their sound: http://www.roguewavemusic.com/
k!m
2 Aug 05 at 11:34 am
Papas Fritas: Helioself
Air: Moon Safari
AC/DC: Highway to Hell (their best, I think)
Andrew WK: I Get Wet (also, “The Wolf” is ok but not great)
tony
2 Aug 05 at 12:44 pm
Could I also just say (I’m listening to AWK’s single from his yet-unreleased third album) that Andrew WK is absolutely a genius. I am not overstating things. He will be remembered a hundred years from now.
tony
2 Aug 05 at 12:49 pm
James McMurtry: “Where’d You Hide the Body?”
The Clash: “London Calling”
Walter Becker: “11 Tracks of Whack”
Miles Davis: “Kind of Blue”
Sarah Harmer: “You Were Here”
Lucinda Williams: “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road”
Van Morrison: “Moondance”
Paul Simon: “The Rhythm of the Saints”
Radiohead: “OK Computer”
tanouye
2 Aug 05 at 2:46 pm
Forgot:
Nick Drake: “Pink Moon”
tanouye
2 Aug 05 at 2:56 pm
I listened to these today.
Gran Turismo – The Cardigans
Get Behind Me Satan – The White Stripes
X & Y – Coldplay
Blue Album – Weezer
Achtung Baby – U2
Bonus: Each album listed has at least one fantastic song to run to as well.
IRCTess
2 Aug 05 at 3:03 pm
Eliza and Tanouye got most of mine, but I’d add:
10,000 Maniacs – MTV Unplugged; Blind Man’s Zoo
Lucinda Williams – Lucinda Williams; Car Wheels; Essence
Red House Painters – Songs for a Blue Guitar
James Taylor – Never Die Young; Hourglass; October Road
R.E.M. – Out of Time
Mark Kozelek – What’s Next To the Moon
Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Mirah – You Think It’s Like This But It’s Really Like This
Al Green – I’m Still In Love With You
Arto Lindsay – Noon Chill
Daniel Lanois – Acadie
Uncle Tupelo – Anodyne
Afghan Whigs – Black Love
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
Tom Petty – Wildflowers
Jay-Z – Unplugged
Liz Phair – Whip-Smart
PJ Harvey – Is This Desire?; Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
Tom Waits – Rain Dogs
Cat Power – You Are Free
Modest Mouse – This is a Long Drive For Someone…
UNKLE – Psyence Fiction
Lois – Infinity Plus
My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
Steely Dan – Aja
Fiona Apple – Tidal
Elliott Smith – Either/Or
DJ Shadow – Endtroducing
Ben Harper – The Will to Live
Justin
2 Aug 05 at 6:43 pm
Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms – Talia introduced me to this, so much more than Money for Nothing.
Jim
2 Aug 05 at 7:11 pm
Here are some:
ELO – Time
Mark Knopfler – Golden Heart
Pretenders – Viva El Amor (A newer album, but great.)
Rory Gallagher – Photo Finish
Yes – Relayer (3 songs… all long.)
Radiohead – The Bends (I can’t really get into their other albums, but this is perfect.)
Dire Straits – Communiqué (My guitar practice album since college.)
Terry
2 Aug 05 at 10:32 pm
The Avalanches, “Since I Left You” Ridiculous DJ collective from Australia. Ideal summer music. One of the few albums I know that has Harold-style callbacks Should be on the mac mini in the tech booth, so push Baer out of the way and get it on your iPod.
dc
3 Aug 05 at 1:22 am
Justin – You said Eliza and I listed most of yours, but then you listed twice the number of albums we did combined. (I hope you are the Justin I know, because I otherwise, you will think I’m a jerk. If you’re not, sorry!*)
To be fair: I did have Steely Dan’s “Aja” on an earlier draft, and considered Tom Waits’ “Franks Wild Years” or “Blood Money” or “Alice” (and, even, for a while, “Closing Time”) but left them off so my list would be more managable. I like his theatre-score albums for their album-ness. Also, for Liz Phair, I’d put “Whitechocolatespaceegg” up there with “Exile,” but I’ve never really loved “Whip Smart.” And, if we’re including Phair’s “Exile,” I’d probably throw in the Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main St.” too.
I would have put Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” if it hadn’t already been listed. And I’d include TWO R.E.M. albums: “Automatic for the People” and “New Adventures in Hi-Fi.”
U2’s “Achtung Baby” would also be on my list if I had done a more thorough search of my CD collection, although it suffers somewhat from “Zooropa” being so uneven – because they’re next to each other on my shelf and are sort of linked in my head, even if they shouldn’t be.
Dire Straits’ “Brothers In Arms” – I always want to love this more than I do. The first four tracks are brilliant (especially the underplayed “Your Latest Trick”) but I usually turn it off before it’s finished. Perhaps I would like it better if I had bought it before I moved to the city, or I had better acoustics in my stereo system – it gets pretty quite toward the end and has trouble competing with the sounds of the street and subway near my apartment. Maybe I should get a better set of headphones so I can listen to it without the rest of the world bleeding in.
*This is mostly a concern because if your list were shorter and I liked all the albums I knew on it, I’d make an effort to track down the few that I didn’t know. But with a longer list, there’s bound to be albums I’m not a fan of that make me second guess the ones I don’t know. Of course, the real problem is that I’m judging your list on how well it serves me as a list of buying recommendations and not how well it answers Will’s question.
Erik
3 Aug 05 at 2:20 am
Proper list-making is an art as Nick Hornby and the staff of EW will tell you. I admire Justin’s enthusiasm, but yeah, shorter lists are ultimately more fun to digest.
Justin DID give me a CD which I have yet to look at. I’m wondering how many of his albums on are here….
whines
3 Aug 05 at 7:05 am
I just want to say that LOTS of albums do “callbacks!” Hell, there are eighty bazillion classical compositions that have recurring themes. And if you want to talk rock ‘n’ roll… there’s plenty there too. “Abbey Road” is one of a jillion.
Del Close did not create human life.
But Andrew WK? Still a genius.
tony
3 Aug 05 at 9:33 am
One more!
Run DMC’s “Raising Hell”
eliza
3 Aug 05 at 10:24 am
Erik- You and Eliza did get a lot of the ones that immediately came to mind. Then I started going through my library, and those are the albums I prefer to listen to in full (ex. Dave Matthews Band stuff, which I am actively trying not to evangelize).
Will- That dvd has all of the albums on there, but some of them may not play b/c of DRM restrictions (i know most of the My Bloody Valentine, for instance)
But fair enough, I will focus my list a bit, limiting it to 6 albums:
Lucinda Williams – Lucinda Williams
Red House Painters – Songs for a Blue Guitar
James Taylor – Hourglass
PJ Harvey – Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
DJ Shadow – Endtroducing
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
Justin
3 Aug 05 at 12:51 pm
Crash into me, Justin.
tony
3 Aug 05 at 1:49 pm
I don’t have Dave Matthews’ later stuff, but I think both “Under the Table and Dreaming” and “Crash” would be better if they were a bit shorter. Even though there are good songs on the second half, I think “Crash” peaks with “Two Step” and “Crash Into Me.” Also, “Under the Table…” has those annoying blank tracks at the end, which prevent it from ever being on a list of my favorites.
I think too many artists today feel the need to fill up all 80 minutes of the disc. Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” is less than 30 minutes, I think, but it’s all great. 40 minutes is an ideal length.
That being said, I love the Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds’ “Live at Luther College” set, which is two discs long… but since it’s a concert, I accept that it’s longer. And the songs don’t seem too long, since there aren’t as many solos.
Justin, I’m going to check out the PJ Harvey album from your shortened list.
tanouye
3 Aug 05 at 2:21 pm
I am shocked and dismayed that the following albums have not made this list:
The Wall
Dark Side of the Moon
Tommy
Frampton Comes Alive
The White Album
Hotel California
Now I will get back in my Camaro and return to 1979.
Rob W
3 Aug 05 at 3:46 pm
Rob -
I left Tommy off my list b/c of my self-imposed soundtrack restriction. Otherwise my list would have been riddled with Original Cast Recordings….I can’t even GO there, boy.
eliza
3 Aug 05 at 4:11 pm
Whereas I left Frampton Comes Alive off my list b/c of my self-imposed Frampton restriction.
tony
3 Aug 05 at 10:29 pm
Don’t know if this is like any of the albums you listed, but definitely safely in the indie vein:
Andrew Bird, Mysterious Production of Eggs
Mysterious is the only album I’ve heard, but word is his older stuff with his band Bowl of Fire is also good.
For a more rock feel, We Are Scientists (album: The Wolf’s Hour).
Margaret/Syrup
3 Aug 05 at 10:36 pm
Del Close did not create human life.
Tony:
This is awkward because this week when my group hosted Human Life Night we announced that human life was created by Del Close in Chicago and brought to New York by the Upright Citizens Brigade.
This is one of the many threads on the internet with callbacks.
dc
4 Aug 05 at 4:08 am
Eliza’s showtune list:
Whoop Up!
Children of Eden
On The Twentieth Century
Merrily We Roll Along (Original Broadway)
Chess (London)
The Apple Tree
Into the Woods (Broadway)
She Loves Me (New Broadway)
Rob W
4 Aug 05 at 9:06 am
Okay it’s my show tune list. Except for Whoop Up. I added that as a gag for musical theater geek insiders.
Rob W
4 Aug 05 at 9:13 am
Cripes! Look at all the Dave Matthewsheads! It’s like a frathouse in here!
Is now the wrong time to admit that I like Phish?
tony
4 Aug 05 at 10:14 am
Erik–I was actually thinking Remember Two Things…I kinda see where you’re coming from on under the table though…how’s PJ treating you?
Tony–the difference is so, so slim. Just admit it already.
Justin
4 Aug 05 at 1:02 pm
I fucking love “Merrily We Roll Along”
Dyna
4 Aug 05 at 1:20 pm
I enjoy the Polly Jean so far, but my inner jury is still out on whether it belongs on this list of “albumy” albums. If Patti Smith and Liz Phair made a baby, and Chrissie Hynde produced its record, and Thom Yorke showed up while they were recording it, that record would be “Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea.”
Another album for the list I forgot:
Aimee Mann: “Bachelor No. 2″
(Just like I didn’t notice U2’s “Achtung Baby” next to “Zooropa,” I failed to see the extra thin packaging of “Bachelor” on my shelf. Thinner than a jewel box!)
I don’t have “Remember Two Things.” I think the album cover turns me off every time I consider getting it.
tanouye
4 Aug 05 at 2:19 pm
DMB fans have ruined his music for me. All of the frat boys in Connecticut who claim “it’s about the music man!!!” while rushing to buy the next John Mayer album make me ill.
I’m far from the music fan who discovers obscure bands that only 6 people know about. However, I do think I have good opinions on pop-rock music., popular or not. As far as recomending albums to Will…. I highly doubt he’s making it this far down the comment page.
Brian
4 Aug 05 at 2:31 pm
Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers
tony
4 Aug 05 at 2:55 pm
Oh, I’m still reading. My name’s on the sign out front.
These I knew, have, or have listened to a bunch:
Purple Rain – Prince
Nevermind – Nirvana
Thriller – MJ
Tapestry – Carole King
Low End Theory – Tribe Called Quest
Blue – Joni Mitchell
The Clash: “London Calling”
Miles Davis: “Kind of Blue”
Lucinda Williams: “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road”
Radiohead: “OK Computer”
Nick Drake: “Pink Moon”
Blue Album – Weezer
Achtung Baby – U2
Radiohead – The Bends (I can’t really get into their other albums, but this is perfect.)
Lucinda Williams – Lucinda Williams
PJ Harvey – Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
The Wall
Dark Side of the Moon
Tommy
The White Album
Hotel California
Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers
These I have not:
Innervisions – Stevie Wonder
Back in Black – Ac/DC
Papas Fritas: Helioself
Air: Moon Safari
AC/DC: Highway to Hell (their best, I think)
Andrew WK: I Get Wet (also, “The Wolf” is ok but not great)
James McMurtry: “Where’d You Hide the Body?”
Walter Becker: “11 Tracks of Whack”
Sarah Harmer: “You Were Here”
Van Morrison: “Moondance”
Paul Simon: “The Rhythm of the Saints”
Gran Turismo – The Cardigans
Get Behind Me Satan – The White Stripes
X & Y – Coldplay
Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms
ELO – Time
Mark Knopfler – Golden Heart
Pretenders – Viva El Amor (A newer album, but great.)
Rory Gallagher – Photo Finish
Yes – Relayer (3 songs– all long.)
Dire Straits – Communiqué
The Avalanches, “Since I Left You”
Run DMC’s “Raising Hell”
Red House Painters – Songs for a Blue Guitar
James Taylor – Hourglass
DJ Shadow – Endtroducing
Frampton Comes Alive
I think I’m going to start with:
Innervisions – Stevie Wonder
The Avalanches, “Since I Left You”
Dire Straits – Communiqué and Brothers in Arms
DJ Shadow – Endtroducing
Air: Moon Safari
James McMurtry: “Where’d You Hide the Body?”
whines
4 Aug 05 at 3:23 pm
One of the ultimate albums is Neutral Milk Hotel “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”
That is an incredible disc no matter what, but especially when listened to start to finish.
Nas – Illmatic – the best rap album of all time.
Gethard
4 Aug 05 at 3:44 pm
Now that’s a recommendation! First of all, I agree 1000% about Neutral Milk Hotel. And then, after your post has the credibility of having recommended that, you bring up what you brazenly label “the best rap album of all time”? I’ll bite.
whines
4 Aug 05 at 3:47 pm
These three albums are not for the easily distracted, but they are three of my all time faves (favs?). Soothe the beast inside of yourself with these.
Four Tet – Pause
Kronos Quartet – Philip Glass String Quartets
Can – Future Days
The string quartets maybe don’t qualify as they were composed individually over quite some time, but they all work together because of the unity of form. As an alternate, these albums aren’t half bad either:
Gram Parsons – GP/Grievous Angel (two great albums on one CD!)
Elvis Presley – Elvis Country, I’m 10,000 Years Old
Elvis Presley – From Elvis in Memphis
Kinks – Village Green Preservation Society
Kinks – Arthur (or… etc)
Spiritualized – Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Captain Beefheart – Clear Spot
The Byrds – Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Also, everybody else’s recommendations are pretty tight (at least for those albums that I’ve heard).
Z-Tab
4 Aug 05 at 4:16 pm
Two great albums by Sufjan Stevens inspired by states:
Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State
Illinoise
Garrett
4 Aug 05 at 4:43 pm
I wasn’t going to launch into a genre that I’m pretty sure Will won’t dive into, but given the breadth this list now encompasses I feel compelled.
Metallica – Master of Puppets – last album with Cliff. Insanely good. Many will argue that …And Justice for All should be here, and it’s a toss up really. But I feel Justice is flawed since they turned Jason’s bass way, way down. Crazy lyrics on Justice though.
Metallica – sure, I listed one, but Garage, Inc. isn’t their stuff. It’s all cover stuff done by them. Awesome collection of bands I mostly don’t even listen too. Most impressive thing – how tight Metallica is on this album, especially the live stuff. Exception: one or two of the Motorhead covers where Jamyz is clearly hammered and forgets the lyrics.
Judas Priest – Unleashed in the East – has all the best of their early stuff, without the garbage that plagues many Priest albums.
Iron Maiden – Somewhere in Time. I stopped listening to their new stuff about 14 years ago, but I can’t make it one week without listening to this album. It’s tight all the way through, not a single garbage track on it. And, it won’t even sound terribly heavy given the direction that genre has gone in.
Guns ‘n Roses – Appetite for Destruction. Amazing how hunger focuses the mind. Amazing breakout album for this band at a time when hair bands and rapid, boring guitar solors that basically climbed the scales ruled the metal world.
Queensryche – The Warning. Very unique sound from a band that really is shoehorned into the metal genre. You can make an arguement for their rock opera Mindcrime, but that’s an album that requires multiple listens to pick up on what they are doing (in my humble opinion). I say that because the first 20 times I listened to it all the songs sounded to similar. After that I caught onto the theme. The Warning offers up a very different sound throughout. Bizzare, innovative drumming was the hook here for me.
There, a more accurate reflection of my musical taste (loves) than Brothers in Arms. Typed up while listening to Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath, Who are you by the Who, and Smooth Criminal covered by Alien Ant Farm.
Jim
4 Aug 05 at 7:12 pm
I am a tard and had to browse this thread, so this may already have been mentioned…
but I just wanted to suggest R.E.M’s Automatic for the People.
Seriously, it is still good 11 years later.
Spencer
4 Aug 05 at 10:11 pm
Some great ALBUM albums (as in, best heard in sequence, in their entirety)
Brian Wilson – SMiLE
Elvis Costello And The Attractions – Imperial Bedroom
Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, The innocent And The E Street Shuffle
The Polyphonic Spree – Together We’re Heavy
k.d. lang – Ingenue
The Move – Message From The Country
Todd Rundgren A Wizard/A True Star
Todd Rundgren – Something/Anything?
The Beach Boys – pet sounds
The Heavy Blinkers – self-titled
The Heavy Blinkers – the Night And I Are Still So Young
Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing
The Mountain Goats – We Shall All Be Healed
plus others
MJC
4 Aug 05 at 10:47 pm
those others include
Joni Mitchell – Court & Spark
Joni Mitchell – The Hissing Of Summer Lawns
Todd Rundgren – Healing
Squeeze – Play
and plus more others
MJC
4 Aug 05 at 10:51 pm
Oh, Guns N Roses “Appetite for Destruction” is great. That album won’t take shit from nobody. And your description of it nailing the benefits of “hunger” is perfect. That album changed my life in the sixth grade – seventh grade years, when I stopped hanging out with the cool kids and joined the outcasts at Robert Frost Middle School.
I have long pushed the theory that everything went downhill for them when Izzy left, although sadly, Axl’s antics and other fireworks grabbed more attention as derailing moments. I wish Izzy was still making albums for release in the U.S. And I wish Velvet Revolver would ditch their singer and get Izzy to front them. It’s sad how quickly GNR burnt out.
On a completely different note, I saw Ben Folds tonight and remembered how much I enjoyed “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” which is the only album of his I own. It’s great!
tanouye
5 Aug 05 at 1:35 am
Spencer, you didn’t browse it very well, since Automatic for the People was one of the albums I mentioned in the original post. But I agree — that album is amazing!
Well, I’ll never be able to listen to all these. Actually, I would if I had them all here in a stack.
So for those who are still reading these comments and not just adding — anyone who can get me a copy of any great album — I’ll listen to it. Just one per person (for those who see me and who want to bother doing this).
whines
5 Aug 05 at 9:23 am
I want to know what school Tanouye went to where the cool kids didn’t listen to Guns ‘n’ Roses.
I now know that “Appetite For Destruction” is totally great. When it was first released, however, I hated Guns ‘n’ Roses and all they stood for, which seemed mostly to be preventing girls from noticing me.
I would later realize that Guns ‘n’ Roses had nothing to do with this.
tony
5 Aug 05 at 9:43 am
Meow meow meow:
mew
mew
Meow
Meow Moew
fffffft
Meow.
purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Maggie and Hopie
5 Aug 05 at 3:34 pm
Um, right. I think the real Hopey would know how to spell her name. You are clearly not actually two cats.
tony
5 Aug 05 at 3:47 pm
Badly Drawn Boy- The Hour of Bewilderbeast
Kings of Convience- Quiet is the New Loud
M. Ward- Transfiguration of Vincent
Iron & Wine- The Creek Drank the Cradle
Mate of State- Our Constant Concern
Beulah- The Coast is Never Clear
Old 97’s- Satellite Rides
The Thrills- So Much for the City
Built to Spill- Keep it Like a Secret
As far as Neutral Milk Hotel is concerned, whilst I prefer Aeroplane, I find On Aver Island to work better as a whole (especially listening to it while driving through a winding road in the mountains).
In regards to any Broadway Cast Recordings, I fully support anything Sondheim.
Angela
5 Aug 05 at 4:31 pm
I enjoy both Handsome Boy Modeling School albums.
I’m not much of a album person, but I felt left out.
DTC
5 Aug 05 at 6:23 pm
A.C. Newman: The Slow Wonder (2004)
Tahiti 80: Wallpaper for the Soul (2002)
Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire: Oh! The Grandeur! (1999)
Paul Weller: Paul Weller (1992)
Jeff Lynne: Armchair Theatre (1990)
These five albums are each FILLED with fabulous songs that will make you squeal like a French school girl. All glee, all the time.
(DC! Testify! Talk about A.C. Newman.)
Fretty McSarah
6 Aug 05 at 8:29 am
Although many of these albums in all these comments are great — you guys need to, in general, RAISE THE BAR. There’s a lot of strong albums. But I should have specified — I’m looking for WORLD-CHANGING albums. BIG. Not just “Wow, really good album!” I want “WOW — EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT NOW.” True, I did not specify this.
I’m sure some of these albums which I have not even heard of are indeed that big — but I bet a lot of them are not. Anyway. It’s tough to know. It’s all so subjective.
whines
6 Aug 05 at 8:59 am
Wow.
tony
6 Aug 05 at 12:28 pm
As requested.
The White Album – The Beatles
Jim
6 Aug 05 at 5:35 pm
I didn’t mean to sound so hostile. I’m sorry.
All the suggestions are welcome! I got overwhelmed with information.
Jim knows I can never resist or disagree with any Beatles recommendations.
By the way, I DO consider Master of Puppets to be a world-changing album. Not kidding.
whines
6 Aug 05 at 6:22 pm
I was going recomend albums until the bar was set at “World Changing”. I guess I’ll just go with USA for Africa.
Brian
6 Aug 05 at 7:17 pm
I had Jeff Lynne’s “Armchair Theatre” on cassette. I don’t remember much of the album beyond “Lift Me Up,” which is wonderful.
There was also a cover of “Stormy Weather,” I think.
tanouye
7 Aug 05 at 4:10 am
YES.
Jeff Lynne’s “Armchair Theatre” had those two wonderful songs and a maybe three others that really worked. It suffers from a twinge of 1990ish keyboard sound (which means it can sound late eighties) but is a great album.
I now feel ashamed for not recommending
Split Enz: The Best of Split Enz
Will Hines, you will feel changed upon hearing this Split Enz comp. (Remember my mother? The 70-year-old PhD lady? I come from smarties. Trust me. )
Fretty McSarah
7 Aug 05 at 7:50 am
Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl
tony
7 Aug 05 at 9:31 am
Johnny Cash: Live At Folsom Prison
R.E.M.: New Adventures In Hi-Fi
The Roots: Things Fall Apart
Lucinda Williams: Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Tom Petty: Wildflowers
Love,
Comment #75
dunford
7 Aug 05 at 9:37 pm
Mister Mister: Welcome to the Real World
Also I really love Wilco’s “A Ghost is Born”. Am I still cool? I’m a guitar rock fanatic, what can I say? I’m also a keyboard rock fanatic too.
Rob Lathan
9 Aug 05 at 11:54 am
guys. Lucinda Williams’ self-titled album is SO MUCH BETTER. I love Car Wheels with all my heart, but this is getting ridiculous.
Justin
10 Aug 05 at 2:28 pm
I couldn’t resist an opportunity to compile a LIST!
Keith Jarrett – Survivor’s Suite
Keith Jarrett – Still Live
Sonny Rollins – Saxophone Colossus
Sonny Rollins – The Bridge
Sonny Rollins – On Impulse!
Joe Henderson – The State Of the Tenor Vol. 1-2
Joe Henderson – Mode For Joe
Joe Henderson – Inner Urge
Wayne Shorter – Etcetera
Wayne Shorter – JuJu
Wayne Shorter – Speak No Evil
Count Basie – The Atomic Basie
Duke Ellington – Such Sweet Thunder
Duke Ellington – …And His Mother Called Him Bill
Stan Getz – Jazz Samba
Miles Davis – Milestones
Miles Davis – ‘Round About Midnight
Miles Davis – E.S.P.
Miles Davis – In a Silent Way
John Coltrane – Giant Steps
John Coltrane – Coltrane Jazz
John Coltrane – Live At the Village Vanguard, 1961
John Coltrane – Ballads
John Coltrane & Duke Ellington
Cannonball Adderley/Nancy Wilson
Lee Konitz – Motion
Thelonious Monk – Underground
Thelonious Monk – Solo Monk
Thelonious Monk – Alone In San Francisco
Thelonious Monk – Monk’s Music
Thelonious Monk – The Genius Of Modern Music Vol 1-2
Thelonious Monk – Monk’s Dream
Thelonious Monk – Live At the It Club
Thelonious Monk – Live At Carnegie Hall w/John Coltrane (drops 11/27/05)
The Brecker Brothers – Heavy Metal Be-Bop
Bennie Wallace – Big Jim’s Tango
Wynton Marsalis – Black Codes From the Underground
Thomas Dolby – The Flat Earth
Funkadelic – One Nation Under a Groove
Elton John – Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Wes Cunningham – 12 Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking
Dusty Springfield – Dusty In Memphis
Van Halen – Fair Warning
Pat Travers Band – Live! Go For What You Know
Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak
Thin Lizzy – Black Rose
Thin Lizzy Chinatown
Amon Tobin – Bricolage
Richard Pryor – Wanted: Live In Concert
Richard Pryor – That Nigger’s Crazy
Richard Pryor – Bicentennial Nigger
Richard Pryor – Live On Sunset Strip
Richard Pryor – Here And Now
Firesign Theater – Waiting For the Electrician (or Someone Like Him)
Firesign Theater – We’re All Bozos On This Bus
Firesign Theater – Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers
Alas, I intended for this to be a short list. So, take the first CD from each artist and move on to the others as you see fit.
Eason
12 Aug 05 at 5:53 am
Eason, you made list like an improv 101 student. Learn to edit!
whines
12 Aug 05 at 5:01 pm
Justin, I bought “Car Wheels” and loved it so much that I bought “Sweet Old World” which was just meh. I mean, the songs are good, but the production is pretty cheesy – sounds like early Mary Chapin Carpenter (except for the great cover of Nick Drake’s “Which Will”) — I avoided the eponymous album because it was even earlier, and I figured it would sound even worse. Please reassure me that it’s not.
Also, while helping my parents move, I found jars full of change and bought two albums (Kathleen Edwards’ “Back to Me” and Ben Folds Five’s “Whatever and Ever Amen”) using only dimes. The folks at Best Buy were none-too thrilled when I counted out 130 dimes on their counter (I made two separate trips). I think I have enough dimes for another album and I’m considering Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61″ or “Desire”.
Any recommendations either way?
Or I might get David Bowie’s “David Live” or “Stage” if I use some quarters as well. Does anyone have either of those?
tanouye
12 Aug 05 at 11:36 pm
Will,
Words have power; the power to hurt.
High Fidelity-style there are only five in each category.
JAZZ:
Sonny Rollins – On Impulse!
Joe Henderson – Mode For Joe
Wayne Shorter – Etcetera
Duke Ellington – Such Sweet Thunder
Thelonious Monk – Monk’s Dream
POP:
Thomas Dolby – The Flat Earth
Wes Cunningham – 12 Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking
Pat Travers Band – Live! Go For What You Know
Thin Lizzy – Black Rose
Amon Tobin – Bricolage
COMEDY:
Richard Pryor – Wanted: Live In Concert
Richard Pryor – That Nigger’s Crazy
Firesign Theater – Waiting For the Electrician (or Someone Like Him)
Firesign Theater – We’re All Bozos On This Bus
Firesign Theater – Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers
Eason
13 Aug 05 at 11:06 am
I don’t think there are that many all-changing albums, at least none that you haven’t heard of. How about just re-listening to some of those albums? Fill your mp3 player with Sgt. Peppers and Revolver, Thriller, Nevermind, Neve Mmind the Bollocks, OK Computer, London Calling, Out of Time, The Chronic, etc.
You know what I’m saying. It’s not like anyone is going to dig a ground breaking album out of their basement becuase chances are if it were so amazing it wouldn’t be forgotten about.
Brian
13 Aug 05 at 1:50 pm
You’re right, Brian. And Eason, I’m sorry I was inappropriately critical.
What I meant is: don’t recommend 40 albums, because I can’t even remember them. Or at least, it’s not helpful to me if I get a list of 40 albums. I need one or two per person so I can remember them, go find them, and listen to them. But you know what? I didn’t say that in my original post. So if you want to list 50 albums that you think are good albums, go ahead. I won’t remember them, so I won’t end up hearing them, but that’s no big deal.
I said “world-changing” to up everyone’s standards, but next time I’ll just be more specific when I request albums: 3 suggestions per person.
I bought My Bloody Valentine this weekend, and I’ve ordered Innervisions, the Avalanches, and a Dire Straits album. Should be cool.
whines
13 Aug 05 at 2:54 pm
Will,
I’m ok now. Your heartfelt apology (undercut by your “explanation” — why can’t you just apologize?) has let the healing begin.
I mostly agree with Brian that it’s unlikely that some great album has been completely ignored until now. But, by the same token, you (Will) hadn’t heard Innervisions (!) — and you’re old enough to know better. So, if I had to pare down my list even further, I’d probably omit all of the jazz recommendations until I had a sense of particular artists you liked, then the real work would start — very similar to the indoctrination into Scientology, the US Army, and/or improv.
My third attempt at recommending CDs to Will Hines:
Thomas Dolby – The Flat Earth
Wes Cunningham – 12 Ways To Win People To Your Way Of Thinking
Thin Lizzy – Black Rose
(Pat Travers Band – Live! Go For What You Know) — only if you’re a fan of kickass gtr playing. Pat Thrall is a motherfucker!
COMEDY:
Richard Pryor – That Nigger’s Crazy
Firesign Theater – Waiting For the Electrician (or Someone Like Him)
Also, I keep looking for the link to your “Swarm Diaries”. Has it moved??
Eason
14 Aug 05 at 7:03 am
Will. You have a website. Cool. Here’re my picks:
12rods – Split Personalities
The Replacements – Pleased to Meet Me
Paul Simon – Spirit of the Saints
amon tobin – supermodified
(call me crazy, like it better than bricolage – surfer glitch trumps faux jazz any old day)
Death Cab for Cutie – Forbidden Love EP
Squarepusher – Big Loda
(call me crazy – again!)
Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
Prefuse73 – Uprock Narratives
(or anything Scott Herren’s done under this name, for that matter)
Supergrass – I Should Coco
The Pharcyde – Bizarre Ryde 2 the Pharcyde
(my favorite rap record; illmatic’s great too though)
Sublime – 40 oz. to Freedom
Wayne Shorter – Speak No Evil
Grandaddy – Under the Western Freeway
John Coltrane – Giant Steps
Alex Berg
18 Aug 05 at 7:37 pm
[...] Like probably everyone who reads this, I suggested several albums in response to Will Hines’ legendary “A Call for Albums.” In compiling my list, I was reminded of the work of Arto Lindsay, who was a dominant force on most of my WPRB playlists, but who has since been kind of lost in my iTunes library. Anyway, I was just listening to Noon Chill, and found a few articles on him, and was reminded what a fascinating guy and musician he is. [...]
» Blog Archive »
23 Aug 05 at 3:18 pm
[...] Like probably everyone who reads this, I suggested several albums in response to Will Hines’ legendary “A Call for Albums.” In compiling my list, I was reminded of the work of Arto Lindsay, who was a dominant force on most of my WPRB playlists, but who has since been kind of lost in my iTunes library. Anyway, I was just listening to Noon Chill, and found a few articles on him, and was reminded what a fascinating guy and musician he is. [...]
» Blog Archive » Neo Arto
23 Aug 05 at 3:19 pm
Porter Mason told me about this great thread and I came to A) learn what others loved musically so that I could share in the glee and B) blather on about ELO/Jeff Lynne, as per usual. Someone beat me to it, and wrote a loving testimony to Mr. Lynne’s “Armchair Theater” to boot. I’m thrilled. So, in lieu of a lecture on “Eldorado”, I leave these for you, Mr. Hines.
Girlfriend- Matthew Sweet
Grand Prix- Teenage Fanclub
First Band on the Moon- The Cardigans
I know you said 3 albums per poster, but this one is also pretty amazing:
Inspiration Information- Shuggie Otis
Brandy
25 Aug 05 at 10:11 am
[...] Is to ask me what are my top five albums of all time. I just can’t do it. Will Hines called for a list of albums that were good from top to bottom and I gave him like 30 different albums. When pressed, I got it down to six, but it was just so that he would get started listening to the others, and I completely disavow myself from those choices now, just four months later. I’ve spent the last hour and a half debating this, listening to different candidates and trying to come up with some scientific method based on average star ratings and number of plays that will at least give me ground to stand on, because right now my knees are weak. I just can’t do this. [...]
Sweet Chatty Purns » Blog Archive » One way to completely incapacitate me…
22 Nov 05 at 11:56 am
The Mountain Goats – All Hail West Texas
The Silver Jews – The Natural Bridge
The Postal Service – Give Up
Sean
2 Dec 05 at 2:03 am