Best Ever Albums

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sat, 4 Apr 2020 00:45:51 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 04/04/2020 04:45

babyBlueSedan wrote:

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Dropping back in to co-sign this recommendation, which I just got to. Vibrant, very funky listen if you want a musical pick-me-up with Afrocentric lyrics.

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sun, 1 Mar 2020 17:54:45 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 03/01/2020 22:54

Well, February is over. Thanks everyone who joined in! Although the sun has set on this project until next year, I will get to more of your recs in the months ahead.

Week 4 (February 22-29). Albums I've heard in full before = *

Amazing

Pieces Of A Man - Gil Scott-Heron*
The College Dropout - Kanye West*
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West*
Midnight Marauders - A Tribe Called Quest*
Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - Wu-Tang Clan*

Great

Bad Brains - Bad Brains*
Below The Heavens - Blu & Exile
Ravissante Baby (Negro Phrasing) - Francis The Great
Wake Up Everybody - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Juju Music - King Sunny Adé And His African Beats*
The Two Sides Of Sam Cooke - Sam Cooke
Ask The Ages - Sonny Sharrock
Me Against The World - 2Pac*

Quite Good

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! - The Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Do Cóccix Até O Pescoço - Elza Soares
Freshmen Adjustment - Kanye West
Freshmen Adjustment 3 - Kanye West
No Discrimination - Tony Allen And The Afro Messengers*

Pretty Good

Freshmen Adjustment 2 - Kanye West

~~~~~

Verdict: the three best albums I discovered this week were...

GOLD

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Ravissante Baby (Negro Phasing) by Francis The Great

Wow, thanks for the rec babyBlueSedan! This is definitely the best album ever by a 7-year-old. Of course, the amazing and incredibly funky band that makes this album so groovy is composed of adults, at least one of whom is related to Francis. But it also wouldn't be the same without his charming vocals.

SILVER

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Below The Heavens by Blu & Exile

baystateoftheart wrote:

An album that's been on my to-do list for ages. Exile's beats are strong, albeit very 2007. The more soulful ones are the best. Blu kills it on most tracks. Both parts of the title track are highlights, but this is all at least good. Apparently Miguel made his first ever appearance on an album here.

BRONZE

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Ask The Ages by Sonny Sharrock

baystateoftheart wrote:

Great album! It really hits the sweet spot of my jazz taste, as I love avant-garde jazz and fusion. All the tracks are strong performances, although they don't cross over too often into revelatory territory, and I could do without the most abrasive section of the opening track. Feels like a potential grower.

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

RoundTheBend — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 13:14:23 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 02/28/2020 18:14

Thanks to Fischman suggesting Symphony No. 2 by this dude, I stumbled upon this symphony:

Link

Quote:

Still's first major orchestral composition, Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American", was performed in 1931 by the Rochester Philharmonic, conducted by Howard Hanson.[2] It was the first time the complete score of a work by an African American was performed by a major orchestra.[2] By the end of World War II the piece had been performed in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Berlin, Paris, and London.[2] Until 1950 the symphony was the most popular of any composed by an American.[11]

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

babyBlueSedan — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:16:36 GMT

Author: babyBlueSedan

Posted: 02/26/2020 23:16

Just discovered this today. It's a really great neo-soul EP from Obongjayar, who had a couple guest spots on Danny Brown's last album. Great vocals, and even better instrumentation. Might be the best 2020 release I've heard.

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Which Way Is Forward? by Obongjayar

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 14:55:14 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 02/23/2020 19:55

For about a year I've been trying to better balance exploring new music with appreciating what I've already heard - by not permitting myself to listen to two new albums in a row. This has been really helpful, and as of partway through this week I've started going a step further: only every third listen can be new music.

~~~~~

Here's my listening during week 3 (February 15-21). Albums I've heard in full before = *

Amazing

Broke With Expensive Taste - Azealia Banks*
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady - Charles Mingus*
Confusion - Fela Kuti & Africa 70*
Expensive Shit - Fela Kuti & Africa 70*
Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye*
Mm.. Food - MF DOOM*
Illmatic - Nas*
Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul - Otis Redding*
Aquemini - OutKast*
Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica - The Ronettes*
Undun - The Roots*

Quite Good

Terror Management - Billy Woods
Survival - Bob Marley & The Wailers
Jaime - Brittany Howard
All My Heroes Are Cornballs - JPEGMAFIA
Miles Smiles - Miles Davis Quintet
Dah Shinin' - Smif-N-Wessun
Red Burns - Standing On The Corner
CrazySexyCool - TLC

~~~~~

It was a really bizarre week for listening, in that every album I heard struck me as either amazing (4.5) or quite good (3.5). As far as I know, this is the first week ever in which I haven't heard any albums that I believe are great (4.0). Furthermore, all the new listens fell into the quite good category, which means no medalists this week because those are only for discoveries I love. Weird.

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

mickilennial — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 14:40:40 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 02/23/2020 19:40

baystateoftheart wrote:

Gowi wrote:

Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson

the album where jackson peaked, still spin it lots

Love that album! I need to explore the rest of her discography.

Control and The Velvet Rope are probably the only other two "better than decent" albums from her unfortunately. Her discography is really inconsistent and she uses way too many interludes.

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 14:35:07 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 02/23/2020 19:35

Gowi wrote:

Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson

the album where jackson peaked, still spin it lots

Love that album! I need to explore the rest of her discography.

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

mickilennial — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 14:17:39 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 02/20/2020 19:17

Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson

the album where jackson peaked, still spin it lots

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

Fischman — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 13:46:26 GMT

Author: Fischman

Posted: 02/20/2020 18:46

Past couple years, I've had some recommendations for this effort. This year, I've been so immersed in my jazz diary, I'll just reference that. Tons of goodies to be found in those pages.

If I had to narrow it down to a single recommendation specifically for this topic, I'd go with:

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Review here:
https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...p;start=30

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

Fischman — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 13:31:43 GMT

Author: Fischman

Posted: 02/20/2020 18:31

Gowi wrote:

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Blacks And Blues by Bobbi Humphrey

Man, I love Blacks and Blues! Bobbi is a delightful artist.

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

Jimmy Dread — Sun, 16 Feb 2020 12:24:51 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 02/16/2020 17:24

We don’t have a Black History Month until October in Blighty, but seeing as it’s Sunday and I’ve been listening to very little else aside from gospel these past few weeks I feel qualified to chuck this in for your delectation:

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Real raw, good-ol’-fashioned R&B to stir even the hardest of hearts. Lula has soul, sure - a gruff Aretha after numerous packets of B&H if you will - and the original LP goes for a lot more than found on your average church collection plate (I’ve got a repress though). There’s power. There’s beauty. There’s praise. There’s yearning. It’s well worth ducking out of mass to stick on your turntable...

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

mickilennial — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 21:50:33 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 02/16/2020 02:50

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Something About You by Angela Bofill

underrated gem from the 80s, produced by Michael Walden

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 19:43:21 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 02/16/2020 00:43

PurpleHazel wrote:

Baystate, have you heard any Rahsaan Roland Kirk?

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Rip, Rig & Panic by The Roland Kirk Quartet Featuring Elvin Jones

Just in case you haven't heard this already:

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They Say I'm Different by Betty Davis

Yes, I really enjoy both albums you posted. I prefer I Talk With The Spirits and Betty Davis s/t though. Apart from those four, I haven't heard any other albums by either of them.

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

PurpleHazel — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 19:37:51 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 02/16/2020 00:37

Baystate, have you heard any Rahsaan Roland Kirk?

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Rip, Rig & Panic by The Roland Kirk Quartet Featuring Elvin Jones

Just in case you haven't heard this already:

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They Say I'm Different by Betty Davis

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

mickilennial — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 17:39:51 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 02/15/2020 22:39

at any rate, in line of the thread i am relistening to

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New Breed by Dawn Richard

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 17:33:13 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 02/15/2020 22:33

Gowi wrote:

its in the middle of the month!

Two weeks >>> zero weeks. The first time I did it I had the idea partway through the month.

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

mickilennial — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 17:23:21 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 02/15/2020 22:23

baystateoftheart wrote:

I mean it already is a listening project, one that I've been inviting people to join me in for three years now... no time like the present.

its in the middle of the month!

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 15:58:31 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 02/15/2020 20:58

Gowi wrote:

maybe we should turn this to a listening project next year if BEA is still around

I mean it already is a listening project, one that I've been inviting people to join me in for three years now... no time like the present.

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

mickilennial — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 15:03:47 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 02/15/2020 20:03

maybe we should turn this to a listening project next year if BEA is still around

Re: Black History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 14:49:12 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 02/15/2020 19:49

Thanks for the recs, babyBlueSedan, Gowi, and Luigii! I have already added several of them to my library.