Greatest Album Sides- Discussion - Music - Forums : Best Ever Albums

AAL2014

Tap wrote:

side a of this

Hétérozygote / J'ai Été Coupé by Luc Ferrari

is just the piece heterozygote https://youtu.be/3ItuRfmyvOk and it is an absolute feast for the ears, a wonderfully paced celebration of musicality from the difference in all sorts of sounds (but not in an unfocused "all sounds" sort of way, just the good ones)

also side A of Charles Mingus - Cumbia & Jazz Fusion, everyone who has an interest in his stuff needs to at least hear that side

Just for your description of the album, I'm listening to that thing next.
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Fischman
RockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMaster

Gender: Male
Location: Land of Enchantment

AAL2014 wrote:

Hey BEA, here's another topic I've been thinking about for a while:

Greatest album sides of all time. A great side can almost be an album within an album. Whether that be more literal of a statement like Rush's 2112, or just a great collection of tracks like Pearl Jam's Ten or Dylan's Highway 61.

On the topic of Rush, I was thinking about Moving Pictures last night and just thought about the first 4 songs, Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, YYZ, Limelight. All Rush hits, popular among fans and critics, and they were all concert staples off and on for 35 years live. Moving Pictures, to me, has one of the most flawless Side A's to a rock record ever capping off with Limelight having an excellent outro to send the listener off to Side B opening with the impeccable Camera Eye.

Another favorite of mine springing to mind is Side A of Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger. Similar to Moving Pictures, Badmotorfinger offered Rusty Cage and Outshined, an incredible opener and fan favorite followed by the SG tune I hear most on the radio. After that, two of my all time favorite tracks, Slaves and Bulldozers and Jesus Christ Pose. Side A closes out with Face Pollution and Somewhere, not necessarily my favorite SG songs, but good showings of the variety this album had to offer. Somewhere closes Side A with a false ending, coming back and ending even more dramatically to set the stage for Searching With My Good Eye Closed to kick off Side B (a song they would often times open concerts with).

To throw out one of absolute favorite Side B's.. I've always thought the second half of Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home was flawless and maybe my favorite part of his entire catalog. What iconic songwriting. Mr. Tambourine Man, Gates of Eden, It's Alright Ma, and It's All Over Now. Some of them play like dreams, others play like nightmares, but the B Side to possibly my favorite Dylan album, as a whole, is a sparkling moment in a catalog filled with coveted shiny gems.

So what say thee? What would you guys throw into the discussion of favorite album sides? What are your thoughts on the records I've mentioned?

Agree 100% on Moving Pictures and Badmotorfinger.

I will add that I am actually equally enamored with the b side of Moving Pictures. Only three songs, but all equally compelling in my ear. The opener, the epic "The Camera Eye" may be the most underrated song in the groups storied catalog. Multiple movements, all brilliantly woven together, and multiple lyrical concepts integrated with equal brilliance. The song is a huge achievement, topped only by the previous albums similar interwoven epic, "Natural Science." The comes "Witch Hunt," which, impossible though it may be, is even more atmospheric as "The Camera Eye," and as atmospheric as anything by Pink Floyd. And Peart's lyrical deftness is in full display in his description of the worst manifestations of fear, from the medieval to the present. Another unparalleled accomplishment. Then it ends with the understated brilliance of "Vital Signs," which builds tension with a stunted reggae beat and subsequently resolves it with a killer groove in the chorus.

Fischman
RockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMaster

Gender: Male
Location: Land of Enchantment

Others I would like to note:

Kansas--Leftoverture
Opens with fan favorite and musical extravaganza "Carry On Wayward Son," continues with another stellar metaphor, beautifully presented in musical fashion in "The Wall," followed by the more straightforward but still very strong "What's On My Mind," and finishes with the incredible "Miracles out of Nowhere," sporting the best four part counterpoint since J.S. Bach himself.

Dan Fogelberg--Nether Lands
"Nether Lands" – A++, lyrically magnificent, musically a cut above
"Once upon a Time" – A, classic Fogelberg adult pop in the vein of Heart Hotels
"Dancing Shoes" – A-, beautiful artistry
"Lessons Learned" – A, another piece of adult pop perfection, bu with more meaningful lyrics
"Loose Ends" – A++ , beyond brilliant

Metallica--Master of Puppets
"Battery," - an aptly titled thrash masterpiece
"Master of Puppets," - the title cut is killer
"The Thing That Should Not Be," - possibly Metallica's most underrated cut ever
"Welcome Home (Sanitarium)," - A masterful combination of thrash metal heaviness and genuine melody

The Cult--Sonic Temple
"Sun King" – A
"Fire Woman" – A+
"American Horse" – A+
"Edie (Ciao Baby)" – A
"Sweet Soul Sister" – A

B side:

Rush--Hemishpheres
The very clever and musically intricate "Circumstances" followed by the greatest metaphor ever set to music in "The Trees," and finished with Rush's supreme instrumental, "La Villa Strangiato."

Both Sides:

Dream Theater--Images and Words. Not only is there not a weak cut, there's not so much as a weak phrase or weak note anywhere through this perfect album.

Moody Blues--Days of Future Passed. Same as above. The template for a musically coherent concept album.

Fates Warning--Parallels. An intricate but accessible progressive metal masterpiece from start to finish.

And on the Jazz side, It'd be horribly remiss to not mention two of Miles Davis' great sides.
Side 1 of In a Silent Way--"Shhh/Peaceful." One of the most sublime musical statements ever recorded.
Side 1 of Jack Johnson--"Right Off." Jazz master Davis threatened to put together the greatest rock band of all time. This is a testament that could allow him to claim to have done exactly that. But it's still jazzy. Wow.

YoungPunk

@Fishman

Leaving side B off Moving Pictures would be a really bad career move, not to mention silly.

AAL2014

Fischman wrote:

AAL2014 wrote:

Hey BEA, here's another topic I've been thinking about for a while:

Greatest album sides of all time. A great side can almost be an album within an album. Whether that be more literal of a statement like Rush's 2112, or just a great collection of tracks like Pearl Jam's Ten or Dylan's Highway 61.

On the topic of Rush, I was thinking about Moving Pictures last night and just thought about the first 4 songs, Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, YYZ, Limelight. All Rush hits, popular among fans and critics, and they were all concert staples off and on for 35 years live. Moving Pictures, to me, has one of the most flawless Side A's to a rock record ever capping off with Limelight having an excellent outro to send the listener off to Side B opening with the impeccable Camera Eye.

Another favorite of mine springing to mind is Side A of Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger. Similar to Moving Pictures, Badmotorfinger offered Rusty Cage and Outshined, an incredible opener and fan favorite followed by the SG tune I hear most on the radio. After that, two of my all time favorite tracks, Slaves and Bulldozers and Jesus Christ Pose. Side A closes out with Face Pollution and Somewhere, not necessarily my favorite SG songs, but good showings of the variety this album had to offer. Somewhere closes Side A with a false ending, coming back and ending even more dramatically to set the stage for Searching With My Good Eye Closed to kick off Side B (a song they would often times open concerts with).

To throw out one of absolute favorite Side B's.. I've always thought the second half of Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home was flawless and maybe my favorite part of his entire catalog. What iconic songwriting. Mr. Tambourine Man, Gates of Eden, It's Alright Ma, and It's All Over Now. Some of them play like dreams, others play like nightmares, but the B Side to possibly my favorite Dylan album, as a whole, is a sparkling moment in a catalog filled with coveted shiny gems.

So what say thee? What would you guys throw into the discussion of favorite album sides? What are your thoughts on the records I've mentioned?

Agree 100% on Moving Pictures and Badmotorfinger.

I will add that I am actually equally enamored with the b side of Moving Pictures. Only three songs, but all equally compelling in my ear. The opener, the epic "The Camera Eye" may be the most underrated song in the groups storied catalog. Multiple movements, all brilliantly woven together, and multiple lyrical concepts integrated with equal brilliance. The song is a huge achievement, topped only by the previous albums similar interwoven epic, "Natural Science." The comes "Witch Hunt," which, impossible though it may be, is even more atmospheric as "The Camera Eye," and as atmospheric as anything by Pink Floyd. And Peart's lyrical deftness is in full display in his description of the worst manifestations of fear, from the medieval to the present. Another unparalleled accomplishment. Then it ends with the understated brilliance of "Vital Signs," which builds tension with a stunted reggae beat and subsequently resolves it with a killer groove in the chorus.

Could not agree more that The Camera Eye is one of the most underrated Rush masterpieces. One of my favorite Neil tracks. A ton of smart fills and interesting coordinated grooves spread throughout.
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Attention all planets of the solar federation: We have assumed control.

RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

AfterHours wrote:

Best Ever

(The following is incomplete, but contains most of the Rock/Jazz album halves that I would consider 7.8/10 or above. There are various others that should probably be here that I didn't include because I am undecided whether they fall just below or above that cut off point. Also, I did not include albums that are entirely or mostly a single track, such as Coltrane's Ascension or Pharaoh Sander's Karma)

White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground: I Heard Her Call My Name; Sister Ray
Rock Bottom - Robert Wyatt: Alifib/Alife; Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road
Atlantis - Sun Ra: Atlantis
Irrlicht - Klaus Schulze: Satz: Ebene ("Side A" might also include Satz: Gewitter as these two tracks used to be combined)
A Love Supreme - John Coltane: Part 3: Pursuance/Part 4: Psalm
Trout Mask Replica - Captain Beefheart: Side 1 + Side 2
Faust - Faust: Miss Fortune
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady - Charles Mingus: Mode D – Trio and Group Dancers/Mode E – Single Solos and Group Dance/Mode F – Group and Solo Dance
Third - Soft Machine: Moon in June; Out-Bloody-Rageous
Parable of Arable Land - Red Crayola: Side A
The Ascension - Glenn Branca: Side Two
The Survivor's Suite - Keith Jarrett: Conclusion
Trout Mask Replica - Captain Beefheart: Side 3 + Side 4
Ys - Joanna Newsom: Emily; Monkey & Bear; Sawdust & Diamonds
Lorca - Tim Buckley: Lorca; Anonymous Proposition
The Jazz Composer's Orchestra - Michael Mantler: Communications #11 Part 1 & 2
Seeds, Visions & Counterpoint - Ivo Perelman: Zero Expectancy; Seeds, Vision and Counterpoint
Twin Infinitives - Royal Trux: Tracks 1-8
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel: Tracks 8 - 11
Unit Structures - Cecil Taylor: Unit Structure/As of a Now/Section; Tales (8 Whisps)
Improvisie - Paul Bley: Touching
Afternoon of a Georgia Faun - Marion Brown: Djinji's Corner
The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground: Side A
Desertshore - Nico: Side A
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady - Charles Mingus: Track A – Solo Dancer/Track B – Duet Solo Dancers/Track C – Group Dancers
Blonde On Blonde - Bob Dylan: Side 1 + Side 2
The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground: Side B
Y - Pop Group: Side 1
Astral Weeks - Van Morrison: Part One: In the Beginning (Side A)
Bitches Brew - Miles Davis: Side 1 + Side 2 (Pharoah's Dance; Bitches Brew)
The Doors - The Doors: Side B
Nail - Foetus: Side 1
The Doors - The Doors: Side A
Unit Structures - Cecil Taylor: Steps; Enter, Evening

(NOTE: I would probably include both halves of Carla Bley's Escalator Over the Hill here -- 3 "sides" each -- but need to revisit before I could rank them)

This thread was made for you Smile

LedZep

Fischman wrote:

Others I would like to note:
Metallica--Master of Puppets
"Battery," - an aptly titled thrash masterpiece
"Master of Puppets," - the title cut is killer
"The Thing That Should Not Be," - possibly Metallica's most underrated cut ever
"Welcome Home (Sanitarium)," - A masterful combination of thrash metal heaviness and genuine melody

The Cult--Sonic Temple
"Sun King" – A
"Fire Woman" – A+
"American Horse" – A+
"Edie (Ciao Baby)" – A
"Sweet Soul Sister" – A

Sonic Temple is definitely one I forgot to mention. A stellar record, but side A is better.
I would disagree with Master though, because Damage Inc is my favourite on that album, followed by Disposable Heroes Smile

Also Aladdin Sane is another one that I just remembered, Side B is much better (Time - The Prettiest Star - Let's Spend The Night Together - Jean Genie - Lady Grinning Soul)
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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

Yann

Gender: Male
Location: France

Obvious better A sides for me:

George Michael : Faith
Depeche Mode : Music for The Masses
The Alan Parsons Project: Tales of Mystery and Imagination
The Divine Comedy: Liberation
The Smiths : Strangeways, Here We Come

B-sides (originally the A-side)
Lloyd Cole : Don't Get Weird on Me, Babe