Best Ever Albums

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Bork — Sat, 30 Jun 2018 00:07:24 GMT

Author: Bork

Posted: 06/30/2018 04:07

Been reading from start to finish with great enjoyment. I don't necessarily agree with all you're saying, but keep it up Listman. This is a good thread.

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Listmeister — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 20:47:26 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 06/30/2018 00:47

29. Just Dance. It'll Be Okay

The Fame by Lady Gaga

BEA ranks: 39th of 2008; 465th of 2000s; 2,165th of All Time
Ranked highest by KryptoniteKait, 3rd of All Time.

"It's great and very infectious pop, I never complain when this disc goes in the player or ipod." --joeMT

"She might be annoying, but she writes catchy pop songs." --pearljammer13

"This displays some talent. We'll see where her career goes from here." --junodog4

I was going to make this review about how this album was a game-changer, but I think I bit off more than I could chew when I tried to write music history analysis. I do believe the album changed the direction of pop music over the next seven to ten years, but I could not find the words to explain how, with examples. After all, as good as it is, it didn't really invent anything.

Well, you do have that half-second self-echo in the middle of "Just Dance"("Half psychotic, sick hypnotic, got my blueprint electronic"). I'd never heard that before. There's a subtle bass drum undertone throughout "Lovegame" that I thought was really cool. "Paparazzi" single-handedly invented a genre that I call "Sweet Creepy", but this genre never really took off, so that doesn't count.

After that, you have several really good pop/dance songs. "Fame", "Poker Face", "Eh-eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)", and "I Like It Rough" are all amazing pop tunes. Now, the album is not flawless. Paper Gangsta is badly written. Really badly written.

To be fair, it's meant to be blasted from club speakers at high volume, so don't expect a lot of subtlety. But unless you deliberately clamp your butt to your chair, it's going to get you moving, and that is what the album set out to do.

29. Rocky Horror Picture Show
30. Slippery When Wet
31. Nightflight to Venus
32. Flood
33. Bat Out Of Hell
34. The ArchAndroid
35. Brill Bruisers
36. Help!
37. The Fame
38. Up!

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Listmeister — Tue, 5 Jun 2018 21:36:42 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 06/06/2018 01:36

Epoch moments in rock and roll history.

9 July 1955: Rock Around the Clock, by Bill Haley & his Comets, is the Number One Song on Billboard's Pop Charts
3 Feb 1959: Buddy Holly dies in a plane crash, ending the career of the greatest songwriter of the first generation.

1 Febr 1964: I Want to Hold Your Hand, by The Beatles, Number One on Billboard's Hot 100
26 May 1967: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, by The Beatles released in the United Kingdom

8 May 1970: Let It Be, by The Beatles, is the last Beatles album released.
1 March 1973: Dark Side of the Moon, by Pink Floyd is released

28 Oct 1977: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols is released
14 Dec 1979: London Calling, by the Clash, is released

27 March 1984: Run-DMC (the album) is released.
21 July 1987: Appetite for Destruction, by Guns 'n' Roses, is released

24 Sept 1991: Nevermind, by Nirvana is released.
16 June 1997: OK Computer, by Radiohead, is released

12 June 1999: Agaetis Byrjun, by Sigur Ros, is released
1 April 2003: Elephant, by The White Stripes, is released

27 Oct 2006: Back to Black by Amy Winehouse is released
19 Aug 2008: The Fame, by Lady Gaga, is released

24 Jan 2011: 21, by Adele, is released
17 May 2013: Random Access Memories by Daft Punk is released

23 April 2016: Lemonade, by Beyonce, is released

A generation in pop music is seven years. Young musicians learn their craft from the generation before them, and it takes about seven years for them to go from teenagers messing around with guitars to pop stars. Every half-generation, it seems, a great album, a game-changer, is produced. Sometimes there's more than one, sometimes the length of time varies a little. These are the albums that stand out for me as the bell-ringers and peaks of each generation.

Lemonade by Beyoncé

Our current epoch.

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

bobbyb5 — Tue, 15 May 2018 19:58:37 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 05/15/2018 23:58

Listmeister wrote:

New Discovery 2: Guitar Rock of 1970

American Woman by The Guess Who

BEA Ranks: 63rd of 1970; 583rd of 1970s; 2989th of All Time
Ranked Highest by: Mauce, 23rd of All Time

"They were invited to the White House, under the guise that they would not play one particular song. They played 'American Woman' anyway, and were kicked out. How badass is that?" junodog4

"Those three hits are probably three of the 100 best radio songs ever." jhuik

Mathematically, one out of every 13 or 14 albums that I hear should be in my top 100. Given that it takes an album several listens, and I'm not going to rank it into its true place the first time I hear it, it may be more like one out of 25 or 30. Still, I expected I'd have more than two new discoveries since I started this diary. Happily, I now have the chance to rectify that a little bit. This had been in my wish list for a long time, but I just didn't get around to listening to until last week I wished I listened to it sooner.

The guitars are amazing on "American Woman". "8:15" shows the virtuosity of the band, with the accoustic guitars, bass, and drums each taking a moment in the spotlight. The interplay of guitar and vocal harmonies is amazing on "No Time." More fantastic harmonies in "When Friends Fall Out" and "Proper Stranger." "Talisman" is a 1960's poetry exercise with some interesting vocals by Burton Cummings, and on "Humpty's Blues" he pushes his voice to the limit. "969 (the Oldest Man)" is an instrumental, it has flute in it.

"No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" is in a class almost by itself. It's two songs, really. One sung after another, and then both at the same time. That is so hard to do that few bands have even attempted it. Simon and Garfunkel did something similar with "Scarborough Fair/Canticle", and that's the only other example I can think of.

When I heard the album, it immediately went to number one for 1970s ("Lola vs. Powerman & the Moneygoround" by the Kinks is now runner-up). I had to put in the top 100, even the my top 100 are already glutted with 70's albums. I'll make room for one more.

91. Breakfast in America
92. Book of Dreams
93. Actually
94. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
95. Revolution Radio
96. American Woman
97. Use Your Illusion II
98. London Calling
99. Don Quixote
100. American Graffiti Soundtrack
101. The Fame Monster

I don't know which three songs that guy was talking about who said those three songs are three of the best radio hits ever, but if he's talking about either No Time, Laughing, These Eyes or Undun, he's absolutely right. Some of the best hit singles ever.They make today's tuneless wonders look sick in comparison.

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

bobbyb5 — Tue, 15 May 2018 19:51:20 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 05/15/2018 23:51

dihansse wrote:

Oh this really one of the guilty pleasures dating from mu youth where single after single shot up high on the charts and were all over the place on Dutch music shows: Ballroom Blitz, Fox On The Run, Action, etc.
So indeed a singles band where you’re best off with a best of. Mine has always been this one on CD which has all the hits I cherish:

Starke Zeiten by Sweet

The only regular album of theirs which is ok but doesn’t have any of those hits is:

Sweet Fanny Adams by Sweet

Other guilty pleasures in that league and at that time were Mud and The Rubettes. I remember that I awaited their singles with an eagerness you can’t imaginaire in these times were everything at your fingertips.
And then i got disappointed when The Sweet issued The Lies On Your Eyes, which was a lot mellower but which I started to like afterwards, and Lonely This Christmas by Mud which is still terrible.

I like Little Willy and Fox on the Run the best. They're awesome.

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

bobbyb5 — Tue, 15 May 2018 19:48:34 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 05/15/2018 23:48

Listmeister wrote:

30. Disco surprise party

Nightflight To Venus by Boney M.

BEA Ranks: 127th of 1978; 1173rd of 1970s; 7,019th of All Time
Ranked highest by Listmeister, 30th of All Time

"Great dance-pop. Don't turn up your nose - it's a dancefloor filler." --junodog4

"for half of it's running time this album is a fresh and fun disco/pop record that still sounds great today. The rest? Arghh!" --garycottier

If you look at my top 30, most of the albums are your standard Classic Rock staples. Pink Floyd, Beatles, Heart, the Who, you get the idea. Then you have this weird euro-disco thing from 1978. I discovered Boney M. while I was surveying the hit songs of 1977, and they had a hit that I'd never heard before, called "Daddy Cool", in which they expressed the poetic sentiment of being "Crazy like a fool / about Daddy Cool". Okay, the lyrics were not spectacular, but their sound was electric, and I wanted to hear more.

At the time, Spotify didn't have the album Daddy Cool was on (called Love For Sale), but it did have Nightflight to Venus, and it blew me away. Each song had their sound, which I would describe as "Soulful harmonies, driving disco beat, simple lyrics." So, it was a surprise discovery for me, and if you give it a chance, it will surprise you as well.

It turned out I was already familiar with four songs on the album. You have "King of the Road", a cover of Roger Miller's classic and "Heart of Gold", covering Neil Young. "By the Rivers of Babylon" is quoting Psalm 120, and I'm sure I sung some variation of it in church camp when I was growing up. "Brown Girl In the Ring" was later covered by the Wiggles, to which I had mandatory exposure when my kids were pre-schoolers. One of those kids is now in high school, and when she heard "Rasputin", she mentioned that she had had to play that in band.

This album is just a lot of fun. You want to sing to it and dance to it at the same time.

30. Rocky Horror Picture Show
31. Slippery When Wet
32. Nightflight to Venus
33. Flood
34. Bat Out Of Hell
35. The ArchAndroid
36. Brill Bruisers
37. Help!
38. Up!
39. Kimono My House
40. Kick

Nightflight to Venus is one of the coolest albums ever. I don't know if it's just the way that it's mixed, or the perfect Arrangements, or just the way the drums amd the bass sound, but every song on it kicks in and grabs you. No matter how silly it gets, the music just takes a hold of you. I'll never get tired of listening to it.

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Listmeister — Tue, 15 May 2018 18:00:05 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 05/15/2018 22:00

30. Disco surprise party

Nightflight To Venus by Boney M.

BEA Ranks: 127th of 1978; 1173rd of 1970s; 7,019th of All Time
Ranked highest by Listmeister, 30th of All Time

"Great dance-pop. Don't turn up your nose - it's a dancefloor filler." --junodog4

"for half of it's running time this album is a fresh and fun disco/pop record that still sounds great today. The rest? Arghh!" --garycottier

If you look at my top 30, most of the albums are your standard Classic Rock staples. Pink Floyd, Beatles, Heart, the Who, you get the idea. Then you have this weird euro-disco thing from 1978. I discovered Boney M. while I was surveying the hit songs of 1977, and they had a hit that I'd never heard before, called "Daddy Cool", in which they expressed the poetic sentiment of being "Crazy like a fool / about Daddy Cool". Okay, the lyrics were not spectacular, but their sound was electric, and I wanted to hear more.

At the time, Spotify didn't have the album Daddy Cool was on (called Love For Sale), but it did have Nightflight to Venus, and it blew me away. Each song had their sound, which I would describe as "Soulful harmonies, driving disco beat, simple lyrics." So, it was a surprise discovery for me, and if you give it a chance, it will surprise you as well.

It turned out I was already familiar with four songs on the album. You have "King of the Road", a cover of Roger Miller's classic and "Heart of Gold", covering Neil Young. "By the Rivers of Babylon" is quoting Psalm 120, and I'm sure I sung some variation of it in church camp when I was growing up. "Brown Girl In the Ring" was later covered by the Wiggles, to which I had mandatory exposure when my kids were pre-schoolers. One of those kids is now in high school, and when she heard "Rasputin", she mentioned that she had had to play that in band.

This album is just a lot of fun. You want to sing to it and dance to it at the same time.

30. Rocky Horror Picture Show
31. Slippery When Wet
32. Nightflight to Venus
33. Flood
34. Bat Out Of Hell
35. The ArchAndroid
36. Brill Bruisers
37. Help!
38. Up!
39. Kimono My House
40. Kick

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Listmeister — Tue, 8 May 2018 17:51:45 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 05/08/2018 21:51

31. Science Fiction Double Feature

The Rocky Horror Picture Show by Various Artists

BEA Ranks: 50th of 1975; 508th of 1970s; 2,631st of All Time
Ranked highest by: timtooky, 9th of All Time

"This album seems to be a bit underrated so far. I hope it will catch up." -- zonrod

"A Glam Rock Musical which has never lost its glam. Lovin' it" --Nepology

How do you describe something that's simply a lot of fun? There are songs that make you want to dance (Hot Patootie, Time Warp), songs that move you (Goin' Home, Eddy's Teddy), songs with interesting lyrics (Science Fiction Double Feature, Super Heroes), and songs with amazing vocals (Over At the Frankenstein Place, Sweet Transvestite).

On the vocals, almost everyone in the cast has amazing pipes. Little Nell's vaguely American twang (as Columbia), Meat Loaf's operaticness (as Eddy), Susan Sarandon's soprano (as Janet) and Tim Curry's baritone (as Frank N Furter) pull you in with every note. Richard O'Brien does this igor-characterization thing with his voice that's just perfect.

However, there visuals of the film are colorful costumes and surrealistic sets. The set decorations are straight out of the science fiction double features that the first song pays homage to. The music reflects the tone of the visuals.

And then there's these amazing moments. Sarandon's vowel glides on "Over at the Frankenstein Place." Little Nell's mini-bridge in "Time Warp". "Hot Patootie" (the whole song). Curry's reprise of "I Can Make You Man", interrupted by Sarandon singing a sopranissimo line ("I'm a muscle fan!). Everybody in the cast repeating "Creature of the Night" . Jonathan Adam's (he played Dr. Scott), his rich bass in "Eddy's Teddy". I could go on.

Let's do the Time Warp again. It's just a jump to the left.

31. Rocky Horror Picture Show
32. Slippery When Wet
33. Flood
34. Bat Out Of Hell
35. The ArchAndroid
36. Brill Bruisers
37. Help!
38. Up!
39. Kimono My House
40. Kick

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Listmeister — Tue, 8 May 2018 10:42:34 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 05/08/2018 14:42

Top Ten Movie Soundtracks

1. Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
2. Help! (the Beatles, 1965)
3. Xanadu (Electric Light Orchestra and Olivia Newton-John, 1980)
4. American Graffiti (1973)
5. Chicago (2002)
6. Saturday Night Fever (Bee Gees, others) (1977)
7. That Thing You Do! (1996)
8. O Brother Where Art Thou (2000)
9. The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
10. Pitch Perfect (2012)

Not counting albums that were later made into a movie (like Alice's Restaurant) or albums for concert movies.

Saturday Night Fever by Various Artists

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Listmeister — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 18:00:48 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 04/24/2018 22:00

32. Raise your hands from New Jersey to Tokyo

Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi

BEA Ranks: 12th of 1986. 119th of 1980s. 748th of All Time.
Ranked highest by: big-mama, 3rd of All Time, out of 24; bobbyd24, 4th of All Time, out of 45; Fade2Black, 8th of All Time, out of 100.

"I know this isn't really saying much, but BY FAR, this is the greatest hair album of all time! Sure, half the songs are overplayed, but they still all are a ton of fun." --Applerill

"Few other albums capture the times as good as this one. And why this one is so good? it stood the test of time, the great songs are still there and everybody recognize the hit-singles. " --ponkine

"Stop being a snob and just enjoy it for what it is. Fun! Light-years ahead of the other hair metal dreck." --junodog4

"Beethoven's favorite works include Mozart's Requiem, Handel's Messiah, and Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet" --Bill S. Preston, Esquire

From the extended opening chord to the high-energy finale that is "Wild in the Streets", Slippery When Wet a relentless torrent of high energy rock and roll. Stadium Rock is showcased in its purest form, not just in the guitar work (which is incredible) but also in the harmonics of the vocals. Those harmonies are designed to fill a large space, to the point where it almost feels wasted just hearing it on headphones.

Each song has its unique intro. The a cappella beginning to "You Give Love a Bad Name" ("Shot through the heart! And you're to blame! You give love a bad name! I play my part! And you play your game! You give love a bad name!" Then the ooga-wooga intro to "Livin' on a Prayer" sucks you right in and then the song doesn't let go until you're halfway through "Social Disease." The sad acoustic guitar riff demonstrates a western theme to open "Wanted: Dead or Alive".

Even the slow songs, the ballads, are filled with energy and power. "Wanted: Dead or Alive" and "I'd Die For You" have all the force behind it that five guys from New Jersey can muster, by which I mean, you believe them, and you aren't going to argue with them. "Die for you? Really?" is not something you will be saying after you hear the song.

32. Slippery When Wet
33. Flood
34. Bat Out Of Hell
35. The ArchAndroid
36. Brill Bruisers
37. Help!
38. Up!
39. Kimono My House
40. Kick
41. Lonely and Blue

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Listmeister — Tue, 3 Apr 2018 13:47:34 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 04/03/2018 17:47

33. BOH BAH BOH BAH BAH BOH

Brill Bruisers by The New Pornographers

BEA Ranks: 84th of 2014; 734th of 2010s; 5236th of All Time
Ranked highest by jepstein, 17th of All Time

"The title track is pretty difficult not to like." --pearljammer13

"This was one of my favorite albums of 2014. Nearly every track is remarkably crafted and full of energy. " --larryrr

"The New Pornographers have largely recaptured the magic of their first 3 albums, pumping multiple hooks into the majority of these abnormal pop/rock tracks. The poppiest tracks still mostly emanate from AC, the loveliest from Neko and the strangest from Bejar (harmonica solo!), but the tracks are tighter than they have been since Twin Cinema. If one article i read is true, this is in no small thanks to Kathryn Calder. Thank you, Kathryn. And thank you New Pornographers for once again bringing me an album more complex than simple pop but carrying all of the smiles. (And i still heavily heart Neko.)" --paladisiac

Sometime in late August 2014, I was listening to the current hits on Spotify, and somewhere in between Bailando by Enrique Iglesias and Bartender by Lady Antebellum came a commercial interruption. Normally I ignore commercials like everybody does, but this one caught my attention. It went "BO BAHH BO-BAH-BAH BO" in magnificent multi-part harmony. "And the sea was allright, and it was all right, yes (BO BAHH BO-BAH-BAH BO)" it continued. Someone spoke, "Check out the new album, Brill Bruisers, by the New Pornographers, right here on Spotify." Thank you, Spotify, I would like to check that out.

Mind blown.

It seems that the first album I hear by a band quickly becomes my favorite by said band. I suspect it's because the first time you hear the band, it's a new sound, and it's exciting, and it's wonderful. The second album you hear by them doesn't have the same impact. Anyway, that's my theory. I'm not ready to say definitively that Brilll Bruisers is the best New Pornographers album, but it's the one I heard first. That initial BOH BAH BOH-BAH-BAH BO still gets me excited, and I know I'm going to hear a good album.

So, it's got a great initial hook. What else ya got? Well, the New Pornographers' vocal sound is a co-ed harmonies ('Back Stairs', 'Dance Hall Domine'), intrumentally, their sound is overlapping video-gamey synth ('Champions of Red Wine', 'Marching Orderes') and guitar ('War on the East Coast') and drummed ('Born with a Sound') hooks. There are intriguing lyrics all over the place ("There is another west, and a new one when you arrive" --'Backstairs') ("They say we can't make this stuff up, but what else could we make?" -- 'Marching Orders').

It turned out the line in Brill Bruisers was "And the sea was all right and it was all lighters". I don't know what that means.

33. Flood
34. Bat Out Of Hell
35. The ArchAndroid
36. Brill Bruisers
37. Help!
38. Up!
39. Kimono My House
40. Kick
41. Lonely and Blue
42. On the Threshold of a Dream

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Listmeister — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 23:10:44 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 03/29/2018 03:10

34. And now it's time for silly songs with Johnny and Johnny

Flood by They Might Be Giants

BEA Ranks: 12th of 1990; 184th of 1990s; 871st of All Time
Ranked highest by nachosbob (6th of All TIme, out of 100); t08121981 (4th of All Time, out of 40)

"Incredible album, funny as hell and amazingly eclectic and complex when it comes to execution, it is one of those little gems that may be far more trascendental than what they appeared to be..." --covercove

"It's hard not to sing along with ever song." --surfdaily

"Why is the world in love again? Why are we marching hand in hand? Why are the ocean levels rising up? It's a brand new record for 1990, They Might Be Giants brand new album, Floooooooood." --From track 1. Theme from Flood

It's not brilliant music, but each song is a lyrical wonderland and catchy as hell. John Flansburgh and John Linnell, the guys who Might Be Giants, have constructed an album of surrealistic wisdom, and singable tunes. The big hit, "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" one of those earworms that, once you get it in your skull, you are never getting rid of, and why would you want to? [Footnote]

You're not convinced. "What are these wondrous lyrics you speak of?" you say. Get a load of these lines:

Quote:

Blue canary in the island by the light switch, who watches over you? Make a little birdhouse in your soul. Not to put too fine a point on it, but say I'm the only bee in your bonnet. Make a little birdhouse in your soul.

Every gal in Constantinople lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople, so if you've a date in Constantinople, she'll be waiting in Istabul.

This is where the party ends. I can't stand here listening to you and your racist friend. I know politics bore you, but I feel like a hypocrite talking to you and your racist friend.

Particle Man, Particle Man, doing the things a particle can. What's he like? It's not important. Particle Man.
Is he a dot or is he a speck? When he's underwater does he get wet, or does the water get him instead? Nobody knows, Particle Man. Triangle man, triangle man. Triangle man hates Particle Man. They have a fight, Triangle wins. Triangle Man.

I said if I was smart, then I would save up for a rock to wind a piece of string around. Everybody wants a rock to wind a piece of string around.
If I were a carpenter, I'd hammer on my piglet eyes, collect the seven dollars, and I'd buy a big prosthetic forehead and wear it on my real head. Everybody wants prosthetic foreheads on their real heads.

Mr. Horrible, Mr. Horrible, got a phone call for Mr. Horrible.

Minimum wage! Hyah!

There's only one thing that I know how to do well, and I've often been told that you only can do what you know how to do well, and that's be you. Be what you're like. Be like yourself. And so I'm having a wonderful time but I'd rather be whistling in the dark.

I think I've made my point.

34. Flood
35. Bat Out Of Hell
36. The ArchAndroid
37. Help!
38. Up!
39. Kimono My House
40. Kick
41. Lonely and Blue
42. On the Threshold of a Dream
43. Moody Blue

[Footnote] "Istanbul (Not Constantinople) was not actually written by TMBG. It was written in 1953 to commemorate the actual renaming of the city in 1930. It was written by Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon.

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Listmeister — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 22:18:58 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 03/23/2018 02:18

35. On the Mastery of Three Genres

Up! by Shania Twain

BEA Ranks: 154th of 2002; 1539th of 2000s; 6,410th of All Time
Ranked highest by Listmeister

Where I work there is country music playing all the time. That's fine. My job is fixing laptops, so my eyes and hands are busy, and my ears are free to do what they want, and I have headphones and Spotify and YouTube. But, sometimes I have to put the headphones down and step away from my workbench, and I'll hear what's playing in the background. One day, the song playing was "Up!", by Shania Twain. So, I looked up the album, played it, loved it, it blew me away.

Forgive me for quoting myself, but this is what I wrote on the album page:

Quote:

Best country album this city boy has ever heard. I'll admit that's not a very long list, but still. I'd decided it was the best country album I'd ever heard by the time I was halfway through the album -- and then it got better.

In 2002, Shania Twain released three albums called "Up!" There was a Pop version of the album, released on a red CD; a Country version of the album on green CD, and an International version on blue CD. Now, Shania Twain has an absolutely gorgeous voice and she knows what to do with it for maximum effect. The vocals are so flawless and perfect for the songs that it works with almost any instrumentation.

The Pop album, the one I heard first and made the above comments on, is the version of the songs that are probably most familiar, and "Up!" and "Forever and Always" were legit pop hits in 2002. The Country version fits a tiny bit more with her style of songs, with more banjo, more fiddle, more acoustic guitar. It's different enough to be interesting, and it works well. "In My Car" and "She's Not Just a Pretty Face" sound really good on this one.

The International one, the Blue CD, comes as a shock once you're used to the pop and/or country version. There are all sorts of international flavors there. Bits of Latin, bits of Bollywood, bits of French, bits of K-Pop, bits of African, all blended together and emphasized in different ways and different arrangements. "Juanita" gets the prize for best International arrangement, but any of them make for a really good remix.

I don't know if anyone else made three versions of the same album. Sometimes someone might produce an album of remixes, but even then you're not going to get track-for-track parallel universes of music. Not since Zaireeka by the Flaming Lips have I heard of such an interesting idea for an album.

Country music doesn't score a lot points at BEA, but if you want to hear a great country album, give the green CD a try. Then listen to the red and the blue ones, you won't be disappointed.

35. Bat Out Of Hell
36. The ArchAndroid
37. Help!
38. Up!
39. Kimono My House
40. Kick
41. Lonely and Blue
42. On the Threshold of a Dream
43. Moody Blue
44. Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

dihansse — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 04:49:13 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 03/14/2018 08:49

Oh this really one of the guilty pleasures dating from mu youth where single after single shot up high on the charts and were all over the place on Dutch music shows: Ballroom Blitz, Fox On The Run, Action, etc.
So indeed a singles band where you’re best off with a best of. Mine has always been this one on CD which has all the hits I cherish:

Starke Zeiten by Sweet

The only regular album of theirs which is ok but doesn’t have any of those hits is:

Sweet Fanny Adams by Sweet

Other guilty pleasures in that league and at that time were Mud and The Rubettes. I remember that I awaited their singles with an eagerness you can’t imaginaire in these times were everything at your fingertips.
And then i got disappointed when The Sweet issued The Lies On Your Eyes, which was a lot mellower but which I started to like afterwards, and Lonely This Christmas by Mud which is still terrible.

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Listmeister — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 21:44:58 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 03/14/2018 01:44

Reluctant Disqualification Two

The Best Of Sweet by Sweet

BEA Ranks: 352nd of 1993, 3504th of 1990s; 17237th of All Time
Ranked highest by Listmeister (36th of All Time)

This was my favorite road-trip album for years. Each song is high energy glamish metalish rock and roll. The harmonies of the normal metal voice with the high-pitched metal voice are phenomenal and they nail it on every song. Many of the songs, the most famous ones particularly, were singles that did not really appear on albums.

Here's the problem. This is not the definitive collection. Bigger problem, there isn't one. There isn't even really a definitive Sweet discography. They suffered from the British-albums-like-this-American-albums-like-that problem. (I think that's the technical name for that condition).

So finding the albums with my favorite Sweet songs (Little Willy, Wig Wam Bam, Ballroom Blitz) is not really possible. In Britain, some of them were not actually put on albums. In America, these singles were put on albums that were hodgepodges of British albums plus singles. So, I'm stuck with a compilation.

I introduced this one to Best Ever Albums when I was first compiling my list because I loved it so much. Still do. But there are other Sweet compilations. "Strung Up" (1975) is the highest ranked one on BEA, but it only covers about half of their career. "Action: The Sweet Anthology" (2009) is more extensive, with 32 songs on it, including almost all the songs on Best Of, and maybe I should go with that one. Or, I can knuckle down and start listening to the actual albums, and pick my favorites, as I have done with other bands after loving their Best Of.

With some compilations, there is no more that you need of this band than what is on the compilation. "The Association" and "Little River Band" are great examples of this, you don't really need more than their greatest hits.

But I have listened to some of the Sweet albums, and some other anthologies, and the same thing I love about the songs on this album is there in almost all their songs. Their sound is one of the most unusual sounds in rock and roll history. I need more Sweet than I can get from this album.

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

bobbyb5 — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 02:27:59 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 02/22/2018 07:27

I love the Guess Who too. I like them better than the regular Who. LMAO. They had more good songs, to be honest. Although I think Canned Wheat is better than American Woman. But all their albums have at least three or four Classics on them. And I mean REALLY classic. And the best thing is, their very best songs were also huge hit singles. That makes them all the more awesome.

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Repo — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 23:06:41 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 02/21/2018 04:06

Listmeister wrote:

"It just sounds like a bad DJ mixed ABBA and Genesis." --Hayden

�'� �'� �'�

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Listmeister — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 22:48:03 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 02/21/2018 03:48

37. Glamsville '74

Kimono My House by Sparks

BEA Ranks: 24th of !974; 249th of the 1970s; 1,111th of All Time

"Sparks are not for everyone. With falsetto vocals in combination with an unpredictable, schizophrenic style, they're a tightrope act teetering on obnoxious cleverness. But I guess that's why I love them. Unlike other bands, Sparks don't play it safe. My personal fave, Kimono My House, sounds like a marriage of showtunes, prog, and some futuristic genre not yet discovered." --meccalecca

"It just sounds like a bad DJ mixed ABBA and Genesis." --Hayden

"Very very underrated album and artist. How to make an art out of clever and funny lyrics." --Jorbaa

"When I first listened to this I wasn't too impressed. Why didn't someone lecture me about how objectively amazing this is? " --SuedeSwede

The most fun I ever had on this site was when I hosted the Best of 1974 tournament in 2013. Then, as now, BEA ranked The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis as the best of that year. Overall, it was in the 200s somewhere, which is much much lower than the highest ranked songs of the years surrounding it. 1973's best was "Dark Side of the Moon" (number 2 overall), and 1975 was "Wish You Were Here", 12th overall. I explained that something was seriously lacking in the love that 1974 was getting on BEA, and I wanted to host a tournament to rectify this. This was approved, and we began.

sp4cetiger nominated Kimono My House, by Sparks, along with Gram Parson's Grievous Angel and Stevie Wonder's Fulfillingness' First Finale. In the first round, it crushed Living in the 70s by Skyhooks. It was the first time I had heard Kimono, and I was blown away. Court and Spark by Joni Mitchell fell next, 11-6, followed by Autobahn by Kraftwerk, 13-9. Then it knocked out the Defending Champion, the aforementioned Lamb Lies Down on Broadway in the quarterfinals, before losing to Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt in the Semifinals, and then lost the Bronze to Veedon Fleece by Van Morisson. By the end of the tournament, Kimono had become my favorite of the tournament, and of the year. The other albums in the top 4 weren't as fun or as interesting to me.

There are so many amazing moments in Kimono. The four ascending notes repeated at the opening of "Amateur Hour". The way the word 'equator' sort of morphs into 'You quitter!' at the end of "Equator" The line "Hasta Manana Monsieur was all I knew how to say," is hysterical since the guy is mixing two languages. The way the falsetto vocals that harmonize on "In My Family".

I think glam, as a a genre, reaches its pre-Queen peak on this album. (Queen was a whole nother thing.) It's a fun album, and the musicianship is top-notch. Thank you, sp4cetiger.

37. Bat Out Of Hell
38. The ArchAndroid
39. Help!
40. Kimono My House
41. Kick
42. Lonely and Blue
43. On the Threshold of a Dream
44. Moody Blue
45. Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We
46. In the Court of the Crimson King

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

dihansse — Thu, 8 Feb 2018 00:58:20 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 02/08/2018 05:58

Listmeister wrote:

38. All Rev'd Up And No Place To Go

Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf

BEA Ranks: 14th of 1977; 114th of 1970s; 453rd of All Time
Ranked highest by strongbowuk, Best Of All Time

"Say what you will about how over the top Meat Loaf may be, but "Bat Out Of Hell" is a masterpiece. Some incredible singing, great songwriting, one of the most unique albums in rock history, and a favorite of mine." --RockyRaccoon

"This album was never meant to provide the answers to meaning of life questions. If you try to take it seriously - you are unlikely to like it. If you just have fun with this album it is enjoyable, party music." --edubs

"I get nothing from this. Sounds derivative of so many 70's trends, queen, billy joel, led zeppelin, elton john. If you made an album of "worst 70's motifs" where you combined all the parts of 70's pop that now sound dated and exhausting - it would be this album. Multiple listens didn't expose anything to make me reconsider this opinion." --corenfro

---

My first copy of Bat Out of Hell was a miscut cassette. For some reason, side one was spliced in such a way that it begins with the last few seconds of the side. You have silence, and then, "ALL REV'D UP WITH NO PLACE TO GO! ALL REV"D UP WITH NO PLACE TO GO!! ALL REV'D UP WITH NO PLACE TO GO!!!" Then Bat Out of Hell, the song, begins. Well, I'm awake now. At the end of side one, the song cuts off rather suddenly. "ALL REV'D WITH NO PLACE TO---"

I can't think of another album where this level of energy is carried on by one artist over the course of the whole album. Even when he's singing in ballad mode ("Baby we can talk all night, but that ain't gettin' us nowhere") he's pouring his heart out into whatever he's singing. The man does not have a "relax" mode.

The music is incredible, there's driving guitars, horns, a fireworks explosion of drumming in For Crying Out Loud, occasional bits of theatric dialog (like at the beginning of Hot Summer Night / You Took the Words Right Out of my Mouth

In reading up on BEA's opinion of this album, for the quotes -- let me interject here, that Romanelli's review in his diary, here, is an excellent summary of the album in it's historical context. Where was I? BEA members either love this album or they hate it. They love the album because it's bombastic, it's loud, it's theatrical, it's fun, it's got a weird sense of humor. Or else they hate it because it's bombastic, it's loud, it's theatrical, it's fun, it's got a weird sense of humor. They love the over-the-top drama in Bat Out of Hell They love or hate the outrageous metaphors sprinkled throughout the lyrics (e.g. "there ain't no coup de ville hiding in the bottom of a cracker jack box", from Two Out of Three Ain't Bad They love or hate the baseball bit in Paradise by the Dashboard Lights.

Now, Paradise by the Dashboard Lights is such a well-crafted epic that I was probably going to love any album it was on, at least at first. The emotional roller coaster -- he's thrilled he's going out with the best girl in school, then they're making out, it's getting hotter. [the baseball bit comes in here, as a character is rounding the bases, almost getting stopped at every base, announced by New York Yankees announcer Phil Rizzuto. "Here's the throw, here's the play at the plate. Holy Cow, I think he's going to make it.] "Stop right there!" command the girl, as she demands a promise of eternal love "before we go any further". He waffles, she insists, they go back and forth, and then this:

"I couldn't take it any longer, LORD I was crazed
And when the feeling came upon me like a tidal wave
Started swearing to my God and on my mother's grave that I would love you till the end of time.
I swore I would love you till the end of time............
So now I'm praying for the end of time to hurry up and arrive"

38. Bat Out Of Hell
39. The ArchAndroid
40. Help!
41. Kick
42. Lonely and Blue
43. On the Threshold of a Dream
44. Moody Blue
45. Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We
46. In the Court of the Crimson King
47. Past Masters Volume One

Coming next: The Best of 1974

I’m not a big singer but everytime Paradise is played I can’t help myself: it’s about the only song where I know every single word of the lyrics.
About the love/hate relationship: I have the impression that it’s also an age thing: If you weren’t young at the time this album came out you’re bound to find it too bombastic and you're absolutely right; but there’s something about that album.... and that for every single song on it.
He tried to copy the sound on follow up albums but those were bombastic without the quality of the songs.

Re: Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

Listmeister — Wed, 7 Feb 2018 18:46:01 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 02/07/2018 23:46

38. All Rev'd Up And No Place To Go

Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf

BEA Ranks: 14th of 1977; 114th of 1970s; 453rd of All Time
Ranked highest by strongbowuk, Best Of All Time

"Say what you will about how over the top Meat Loaf may be, but "Bat Out Of Hell" is a masterpiece. Some incredible singing, great songwriting, one of the most unique albums in rock history, and a favorite of mine." --RockyRaccoon

"This album was never meant to provide the answers to meaning of life questions. If you try to take it seriously - you are unlikely to like it. If you just have fun with this album it is enjoyable, party music." --edubs

"I get nothing from this. Sounds derivative of so many 70's trends, queen, billy joel, led zeppelin, elton john. If you made an album of "worst 70's motifs" where you combined all the parts of 70's pop that now sound dated and exhausting - it would be this album. Multiple listens didn't expose anything to make me reconsider this opinion." --corenfro

---

My first copy of Bat Out of Hell was a miscut cassette. For some reason, side one was spliced in such a way that it begins with the last few seconds of the side. You have silence, and then, "ALL REV'D UP WITH NO PLACE TO GO! ALL REV"D UP WITH NO PLACE TO GO!! ALL REV'D UP WITH NO PLACE TO GO!!!" Then Bat Out of Hell, the song, begins. Well, I'm awake now. At the end of side one, the song cuts off rather suddenly. "ALL REV'D WITH NO PLACE TO---"

I can't think of another album where this level of energy is carried on by one artist over the course of the whole album. Even when he's singing in ballad mode ("Baby we can talk all night, but that ain't gettin' us nowhere") he's pouring his heart out into whatever he's singing. The man does not have a "relax" mode.

The music is incredible, there's driving guitars, horns, a fireworks explosion of drumming in For Crying Out Loud, occasional bits of theatric dialog (like at the beginning of Hot Summer Night / You Took the Words Right Out of my Mouth

In reading up on BEA's opinion of this album, for the quotes -- let me interject here, that Romanelli's review in his diary, here, is an excellent summary of the album in it's historical context. Where was I? BEA members either love this album or they hate it. They love the album because it's bombastic, it's loud, it's theatrical, it's fun, it's got a weird sense of humor. Or else they hate it because it's bombastic, it's loud, it's theatrical, it's fun, it's got a weird sense of humor. They love the over-the-top drama in Bat Out of Hell They love or hate the outrageous metaphors sprinkled throughout the lyrics (e.g. "there ain't no coup de ville hiding in the bottom of a cracker jack box", from Two Out of Three Ain't Bad They love or hate the baseball bit in Paradise by the Dashboard Lights.

Now, Paradise by the Dashboard Lights is such a well-crafted epic that I was probably going to love any album it was on, at least at first. The emotional roller coaster -- he's thrilled he's going out with the best girl in school, then they're making out, it's getting hotter. [the baseball bit comes in here, as a character is rounding the bases, almost getting stopped at every base, announced by New York Yankees announcer Phil Rizzuto. "Here's the throw, here's the play at the plate. Holy Cow, I think he's going to make it.] "Stop right there!" command the girl, as she demands a promise of eternal love "before we go any further". He waffles, she insists, they go back and forth, and then this:

"I couldn't take it any longer, LORD I was crazed
And when the feeling came upon me like a tidal wave
Started swearing to my God and on my mother's grave that I would love you till the end of time.
I swore I would love you till the end of time............
So now I'm praying for the end of time to hurry up and arrive"

38. Bat Out Of Hell
39. The ArchAndroid
40. Help!
41. Kick
42. Lonely and Blue
43. On the Threshold of a Dream
44. Moody Blue
45. Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We
46. In the Court of the Crimson King
47. Past Masters Volume One

Coming next: The Best of 1974