FRANK ZAPPA
THE YELLOW SHARK
1993-RYKO
Produced By FRANK ZAPPA
1. Intro
2. Dog Breath Variations
3. Uncle Meat
4. Outrage At Valdez
5. Times Beach II
6. III Revised
7. The Girl In The Magnesium Dress
8. Be-Bop Tango
9. Ruth Is Sleeping
10. None of The Above
11. Pentagon Afternoon
12. Questi Cazzi Di Piccione
13. Times Beach III
14. Food Gathering In Post -Industrial America, 1992
15. Welcome To The United States
16. Pound For A Brown
17. Exercise #4
18. Get Whitey
19. G-Spot Tornado
The Yellow Shark is an important album for more than one reason. It's easily Zappa's best classical album (although you wouldn't guess it from looking at the song titles), and it's the very last Zappa album before his death in 1993. Played by the 26 piece Ensemble Modern, this shows that even Zappa's craziest music is right at home in this setting. Versions of "Uncle Meat", "Pound For A Brown", and "G-Spot Tornado" work nicely, and Zappa proves once again that music should really know no boundaries. And if they were there, Frank was going to just tear them down, any way.
The album has been listed as a favorite by many, including Tom Waits. This is a great collection for anyone who wants some of everything...rock, jazz, classical, and of course, Zappa. Only Frank could make a record like this. And make it work the way it does.
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DRIVE BY TRUCKERS
A BLESSING AND A CURSE
2006-NEW WEST
Produced By DAVID BARBE
1. Feb 14
2. Gravity's Gone
3. Easy On Yourself
4. Aftermath USA
5. Goodbye
6. Daylight
7. Wednesday
8. Little Bonnie
9. Space City
10. A Blessing And A Curse
11. A World Of Hurt
A Blessing And A Curse is the 6th studio album by the carriers of the Southern rock torch Drive By Truckers. Unlike their previous albums which were more like drunken Skynyrd parties (in the best possible way), this album shows the band moving in different directions and showing that there is a lot more to them than just Southern boogie. The Truckers have a great lineup here. Mainstay guitarists Patterson Hood (son of horn player David Hood) and Mike Cooley write and sing their own material, which results in brutally honest pictures of Southern life (Hood) and backroads Charlie Daniels like craziness (Cooley). The great weapon from this period was Jason Isbell. A great player, singer and writer himself, this was his last album with DBT...maybe because he got only 2 songs on the album. Not enough for a songwriter as prolific and rising as Isbell.
The highlights of this album are everywhere as the band continues to grow and evolve. This is a great listen all the way through, and if you're not familiar with DBT, then you're in for a treat. This is a band, by the way, that has thrived on personnel changes: this and it's predecessor The Dirty South are the only two DBT albums to this point with the same lineup. Buy this album. You'll be happy you did. By the end of "A World Of Hurt", you'll be a fan.
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RICKIE LEE JONES
PIRATES
1981-WARNER BROS
Produced By RUSS TITELMAN & LENNY WARONKER
1. We Belong Together
2. Living It Up
3. Skeletons
4. Woody And Dutch On The Slow Train To Peking
5. Pirates (So Long Lonely Avenue)
6. A Lucky Guy
7. Traces Of The Western Slopes
8. The Returns
Rickie Lee Jones was what Norah Jones would eventually become. Hugely popular after a jazzy and catchy debut album, then slipping into obscurity by playing the music she wanted to. After the huge success of "Chuck E's In Love" and with a promising career in front of her, Jones went with her heart and became almost instantly obscure. Not that her second album, Pirates, is bad. It's actually very good. And there are hints of her first album (particularly "Woody And Dutch"), but this is a mostly quiet and introspective work. Outside of the debut, Pirates is her best album. And unfortunately, one that's rarely heard.
"We Belong Together" is one of many very quiet songs on the album, but when it does build up, the results are great. "Living It Up", "A Lucky Guy", and "Traces Of The Western Slopes" are beautiful songs. Jones kept on recording after "Chuck E"...too bad nobody except her die hard fans ever really knew it.
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CREAM
STRANGE BREW: THE VERY BEST OF CREAM
1983-POLYDOR
Produced By FELIX PAPPALARDI & ROBERT STIGWOOD
1. Badge
2. Sunshine Of Your Love
3. Crossroads
4. White Room
5. Born Under A Bad Sign
6. Swlabr
7. Strange Brew
8. Anyone For Tennis? (The Savage Seven Theme)
9. I Feel Free
10. Politician
11. Tales Of Brave Ulysees
12. Spoonful
From a period of what turned out to be barely two years, Cream was the greatest and most influential band on earth. They recorded what amounted to be 3 real albums, a small handful of singles, and set the bar for what a power trio and a supergroup should be. This compilation does a great job of collecting half of what Cream was really good at...the songs. For the other half, the instrumental jam prowess that they had, you'll need to dig deeper. But Strange Brew does show what a force they were in such a short time. There is one song from their debut album ("Spoonful"), and one song from their last ("Badge", a song co written by George Harrison) and a couple of singles...the rest is from either Disraeli Gears of Wheels Of Fire. You'll want both of those albums.
As for the singles, "I Feel Free" is a great song. "As far as "Anyone For Tennis?"...why they felt compelled to put this song on here is a mystery. Its presence costs the album a full star. The song is nothing but weak 60's imagery presented in sentences that all begin with the word "And"...highly irritating. Otherwise, enjoy Strange Brew. A great look back at one of rock's best bands, and a great look at Eric Clapton before he became what he became in the 70's.
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MILES DAVIS
KIND OF BLUE
1959-COLUMBIA
Produced By IRVING TOWNSEND
1. So What
2. Freddie Freeloader
3. Blue In Green
4. All Blues
5. Flamenco Sketches
6. Flamenco Sketches (Alternate Take)
One of the not so few albums by Miles Davis in which he changes the way jazz is played. Kind Of Blue marks the introduction of modal improvisation into his solo work...but more importantly, it's maybe the most beautifully played album of its time. Davis and his twin saxophone attack of John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly turn in what could be Davis' finest album. This is one record you could listen to for days and never tire of. Every track is as beautiful and stunning as the last.
This is one of the few albums that should be heard by everyone, jazz lover or not. It's simply an amazing work from start to finish, and proof that Miles Davis was maybe our greatest musical treasure. This is a no doubt, all thumbs up, required listen for the fanatics among us. You know who you are.
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MARVIN GAYE
WHAT'S GOING ON
1971-MOTOWN
Produced By MARVIN GAYE
1. What's Going On
2. What's Happening Brother
3. Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky)
4. Save The Children
5. God Is Love
6. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
7. Right On
8. Wholy Holy
9. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
When, exactly, did Motown hit it's absolutely highest point? Right here. What's going On is not only Marvin Gaye's greatest album, but it's also maybe the greatest Motown album ever released, and maybe the greatest R&B album as well. This album is a non stop song cycle, breathtakingly played and sung, and it has something to say as well. Gaye talks about life in the inner cities, troubled youth, everything else that was important in 1971. And the songs are first rate. The title track is still huge to this day, but also excellent are "Mercy Mercy Me" and "Inner City Blues".
After this album, Gaye moved permanently into his sexy beast phase with Let's Get It On. But he was never better than he was here. This is an easy call...one of the best albums ever made.
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FAIRPORT CONVENTION
1968-POLYDOR
Produced By JOE BOYD & TOD LLOYD
1. Time Will Show The Wiser
2. I Don't Know Where I Stand
3. If (Stomp)
4. Decameron
5. Jack O'Diamonds
6. Portfolio
7. Chelsea Morning
8. Sun Shade
9. The Lobster
10. It's Alright Ma, It's Only Witchcraft
11. One Sure Thing
12. M.1 Breakdown
Fairport Convention, with this album, began a long, amazing musical journey that continues today. This debut album featured the excellence of one of rock's most underrated guitarists in Richard Thompson, and the vocals of Judy Dyble, who would soon be replaced by Sandy Denny. The songs are great, with the band showing an ability to rock and to play a ballad as well as anyone. Their Irish roots are at the front, and it works well...it always has.
The album features 2 strong Joni Mitchell covers ("I Don't Know Where I Stand" and "Chelsea Morning"), as well as a Bob Dylan tune. The original songs are strong, particularly "If" and "It's Alright Ma, It's Only Witchcraft". This album is a preview of great things to come from this band. They would be hurt by massive personnel changes over the years, but the fact that they are still around today is a testament to their abilities. Fairport is a great band. This is a fine debut album.
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Hi. Just joined the site although have been using the main charts for a few years to find music. I like the look of this thread and will certainly be looking at it for suggestions. Starting with the Cream recommendation. A band, strangely, I have never tried. Thanks
NEIL YOUNG
HARVEST
1972-REPRISE
Produced By ELLIOT MAZER, NEIL YOUNG, JACK NITZSCHE & HENRY LEWY
1. Out On The Weekend
2. Harvest
3. A Man Needs A Maid
4. Heart Of Gold
5. Are You Ready For The Country?
6. Old Man
7. There's A World
8. Alabama
9. The Needle And The Damage Done
10. Words (Between The Lines Of Age)
If you have been locked in a broom closet for your entire life and have never heard of Neil Young, then let me introduce you to Harvest. This is Neil's best selling album, his most popular, and a great place to start with one of rock's greatest solo acts. Harvest follows in the same vein as its predecessor, After The Golod Rush from 1970, but it's more in the middle of the folk rock road. His biggest (and most overplayed) hits are here: "Old Man" and "Heart Of Gold" will forever haunt solo acoustic players who play requests. These two songs are graced by the backup vocals of James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt. "The Needle And The Damage Done" is a quick 2 minute acoustic live track that lives forever. And his friends from CSN are here: he's joined by Crosby & Nash on "Are You Ready For The Country", Crosby & Stills on "Alabama", and Stills & Nash on "Words".
Harvest is a great album. It is unfortunate that two songs (the somehow hilarious "A Man Needs A Maid" and "There's A World") are buried by the London Symphony Orchestra. But this is a great intorduction to Neil. And everyone should be well versed in Neil.
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THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE
ELECTRIC LADYLAND
1968-MCA
Produced By JIMI HENDRIX
1. ...And The Gods Made Love
2. Have You Ever Been To (Electric Ladyland)
3. Crosstown Traffic
4. Voodoo Chile
5. Little Miss Strange
6. Long Hot Summer Night
7. Come On (Let The Good Times Roll)
8. Gypsy Eyes
9. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp
10. Rainy Day, Dream Away
11. 1983...(A Merman I Should Turn To Be)
12. Moon, Turn The Tides...Gently Gently Away
13. Still Raining, Still Dreaming
14. House Burning Down
15. All Along The Watchtower
16. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Electric Ladyland was, and was intended to be, the final Jimi Hendrix Experience album. At the time of his death, he was already working with new musicians and moving in a different direction. This may be his finest of the 3 studio albums he left behind, and certainly changed the way rock albums were put together. A 2 record set, this sprawling set shows just how quickly and amazingly Hendrix had outgrown the pop artist he had become just over a year earlier. His songs are no longer singles, but turning into masterful works of art. There is only one piece of filler here, "Little Miss Strange", which was written and sung by bassist Noel Redding. Redding and Hendrix were miles apart by the end of the recording, which was the first step toward the end of the Experience. Redding wanted to do his own inferior songs, and he didn't like the party atmosphere that Hendrix encouraged.
The great pieces here are astounding. "Voodoo Chile" features a powerful back and forth between Hendrix and Steve Winwood. "All Along The Watchtower" (featuring Dave Mason on 12 string guitar) is Hendrix doing Dylan at it's best. "Crosstown Traffic" is maybe his greatest single. And everything else in between is just stunning to listen to. Jimi Hendrix was a man with a truly scary gift...and where that gift might have taken him is anyone's guess. Electric Ladyland is a must have. One of the best albums of all time.
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