And here we have (probably) Rush's last album, and boy, it is a phenomenal swan song.
A concept album that coincided with a book release (check it out btw) Clockwork Angels is Rush's most ambitious album in decades, and one that proved that even at 60+ years old they could still kick ass.
I've always been a big fan of thematic/concept albums because they always flow better than a regular album. Due to the uniqueness of individual songs, albums can have a bunch of great songs when taken by themselves but have a lackluster flow when not pieced together carefully with other recordings. Clockwork Angels has this flow down wonderfully.
The album follows the adventures of a young man (known as Owen Hardy in the book) who leaves his small town and searches for something greater than himself. In his travels he joins a traveling circus, falls in love, sails the world, and travels to find cities of gold. The backdrop is a quasi-socialist steampunk landscape where an anarchist seeks to destroy the rule of the ever watchful watchmaker.
If that sounds banal and weird, then just skip this album altogether. But for those of you still intrigued, keep listening!
The album is quintessential Rush, with sprawling and complex instrumentation coupled with deeply personal lyrics against a swirling landscape of ambient bliss. This is truly an underrated album that somehow was forgotten shortly after its release.
I bought this album and the book during my senior year of high school, and, as cliche as it sounds, it really spoke to me. One of the major thematic elements is leaving your comfort zone, exemplified by an interaction the main character has a with a street vendor who asks him, before his adventure, "what do you lack?" Essentially, we have to do the things in life that scare us to find out what we truly lack, and fully become who we are meant to become.
So my friends, please sit and have a listen, and ask yourself "what do I lack?"
Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I was out being a lazy piece of shit.
Anyway, next on the top 100 album breakdown we have Revolver! The album that is the bridge between two Beatles periods.
If you're a normal music person (and I like to consider myself as such) then you know that there are two distinct Beatles periods. The first was their boy band phase where teen girls fawned over them because of how cute they were (Sidenote, it goes Paul, George, John, then Ringo). And their second phase is when everybody else began fawning over them after they put out some genuinely world-changing music. Revolver is the bridge that connects these two periods.
Revolver is chock-full of tight arrangements that have more complexity than the Beatles had previously displayed, most notably by adding orchestral arrangements to several songs. What follows is a delightful mix of baroque pop and straight forward rock that perfectly guided them into Sgt. Pepper.
I love this album because despite the contrasting song styles, they don't clash hardly at all and manage to coexist well next to one another. For instance, Taxman and Eleanor Rigby are very different songs, and even though they are back to back, it would seem crazy if they weren't placed one after the other.
I'm quickly realizing that the more I listen to the Beatles the more I become entranced by them. I've even started diving into their more obscure solo catalog. My favorite so far is Paul's 2005 album Chaos And Creation In The Backyard by Paul McCartney.
Once again, there is no real emotional connection to this album, as I've only gotten into the Beatles in the last year. Hopefully I get more emotional in these next few posts, or else even less people will read this!
What is presented before us is the masterwork of a group that, for a while, put out masterpiece after masterpiece.
Automatic for the People features an absolute murder's row of songs, ranging from the surreal Drive to the melancholic (and now parodied) Everybody Hurts, to the quaint Nightswimming. The album ranges this broad emotional spectrum that provides an intense and rewarding listen for those willing to take the journey.
Every time I listen to this album I find something new to love about it. All of the songs are amazingly complex and deep and all have a sense of wonderment and lingering sadness, which is why this album takes such an emotional toll with every listen.
My uncle is a MASSIVE R.E.M fan, so much so that he has their rolling stone covers framed on his wall, every one of their early albums on vinyl, and boasts about being a fan when they were still on college radio. He always played R.E.M when our families were together, and says he wants an R.E.M tribute band to play at his funeral wake. Honestly, that sounds pretty lit, and it's definitely something I'm looking forward to (the wake, not him dying).
R.E.M is one of those bands that is endlessly enjoyable because of their wide ranging discography, making every album an eye-opening discovery of uniqueness. Automatic for the people is no different, and represents R.E.M at their commercial peak, when they could've just done Out of Time part 2 (thank God they didn't) but instead decided to progress in their musical exploration and give us this great gift of musical existential dread.
So please friends, take some time with yourself and this album and contemplate life. It sounds awful, but it's worth it.
Another Rush album that doesn't get nearly enough attention.
Released between their breakout album 2112 and their prog masterpiece Hemispheres, Farewell to Kings is the least known of their 'peak' period from 1976 to 1981. This is kind of ironic, considering of the 6 tracks on the album, 3 of them are some of Rush's biggest hits.
This, along with 2112, is Rush's biggest foray into Progressive metal, and showcases their ability to consolidate several styles into a concise package that makes each song feel like 3 different songs.
I love this album because this album goes hard in the paint. You can hear this intensity and hardness on Xanadu and Cygnus X-1: Book 1, two of Rush's longest songs, and Book 1 is one of Rush's most underrated songs, and you could make the argument that it's a top 5 Rush song.
Of course, I have to mention Closer to the Heart, probably their most notable song, and a song that they frequently closed concerts with. Closer to the Heart is an amazingly beautiful song about integrity and conducting oneself in a manner that can be beneficial to everybody. Which, to be honest, is in dire need in this day and age, which starts with "the men who hold high places."
I love Rush with all my heart (If you haven't figured it out yet) and this album is just another reason why. Amazingly complex and heavy, it only grows in favor the more I listen to it.
So come and get ready to hear some SLAPPIN DA BASS!!
Another Rush album that doesn't get nearly enough attention.
Released between their breakout album 2112 and their prog masterpiece Hemispheres, Farewell to Kings is the least known of their 'peak' period from 1976 to 1981. This is kind of ironic, considering of the 6 tracks on the album, 3 of them are some of Rush's biggest hits.
This, along with 2112, is Rush's biggest foray into Progressive metal, and showcases their ability to consolidate several styles into a concise package that makes each song feel like 3 different songs.
I love this album because this album goes hard in the paint. You can hear this intensity and hardness on Xanadu and Cygnus X-1: Book 1, two of Rush's longest songs, and Book 1 is one of Rush's most underrated songs, and you could make the argument that it's a top 5 Rush song.
Of course, I have to mention Closer to the Heart, probably their most notable song, and a song that they frequently closed concerts with. Closer to the Heart is an amazingly beautiful song about integrity and conducting oneself in a manner that can be beneficial to everybody. Which, to be honest, is in dire need in this day and age, which starts with "the men who hold high places."
I love Rush with all my heart (If you haven't figured it out yet) and this album is just another reason why. Amazingly complex and heavy, it only grows in favor the more I listen to it.
So come and get ready to hear some SLAPPIN DA BASS!!
GODSPEED MUSIC JUNKIES
Yep. 100% agree. This album has everything that a God Tier Prog Album should have:
A Radio Single- Closer to the heart
An Epic Track- Cygnus X1 (or Xanadu, they're both great)
Hard Rocking Tracks- Cinderella Man, A Farewell to Kings
A transitional track that's just kind of ok- Madrigal
PS I saw Rush on their Time Machine tour in 2011 (I think) and the tracks from Clockwork Angels kept up with all the classics. It is a great late career album for an aging band.
Another album in the Yes canon that absolutely kicks ass.
Coming hot off the heels of the tour for Tales from Topographic Oceans (an album I loath), and worsened by the loss of Rick Wakeman, this album could've very easily been terrible. They were burned out from massive touring, and replacing a key member of a group is never easy.
Luckily, Patrick Moraz stepped in and kept the Yes ship afloat. Relayer is a decidedly jazzier album than Yes had previously put out, but still contains that envelope pushing insanity that makes them so great.
The Gates of Delirium is especially insane, stretching over 20 minutes and featuring a lengthy instrumental section that was meant to sound as though a war was occurring. Well, mission accomplished.
Sound Chaser and To Be Over are the jazz fusion and funk inspired tracks of the album, which is a nice change of pace from previous albums. The main problem I have with Tales From Topographic Oceans (other than it's massive length) is that there is nothing unique to the tracks that differentiates themselves from the of album. On Relayer, there is a diverseness to the 3 tracks that maintain a solid cohesion.
I've always loved Yes because of their commitment to the music, and the unwillingness to compromise. The purity and magic of the music begs for repeated listens, and with each listen the music becomes more and more entrancing.
So have yourself a listen friends, and take a journey to Yes' musical landscape.
No, obviously. Houses is Zeppelin's fifth album and showed that even after the monumental success of IV, they had not peaked in the slightest bit.
Houses feels like an entire album where they just kicked back, cut loose, and played some dope music. Every cut on this album is just a rolling show of fun and lightness. They're as tight with one another as they've ever been, every phrase bounces off one another with delightful ease, and you really get the sense that they had the time of their lives recording this album.
Of course, the previous praise does not really apply to my favorite song on the album, No Quarter. John Paul Jones has always been my favorite member of Zeppelin, mostly because I see myself in him. Mostly because when the other 3 when go party, he would quietly recuse himself and be by himself quietly doing massive drugs. That I can identify with. Not the massive drug use, but the being as far away from parties as humanly possible.
Personal party preferences aside, JPJ shines on No Quarter, and it really was his coming out as a driving creative force in Zeppelin. The dark and mysterious mood created provides an ethereal listening experience, which makes a great song to listen to in a dark room lit only by a single candle while a joint in passed around the room where everybody shares a deep and dark secret about themselves that- Sorry. Lost track of myself for a minute.
There is no bad song on this album. Hell, there's no decent track on this album. They're all incredible tracks that enthrall the listener as more time passes.
This is my girlfriend's 3rd favorite album ever, just behind One Of These Nights and Breakfast In America. Over the Hills and Far Away is her favorite song of all-time and she has told me repeatedly that she wants to have The Rain Song played at her funeral and "have everybody just sit and contemplate in the amazingness of that song." I have spent many hours listening to this album with her, earning steely glares after doing my best Robert Plant impression on The Ocean (for probably the 1000th time) and we have bonded over our shared love of the album.
Through my many experience with music, the shared bonding experience of listening to an album remains a incredibly intimate way to spend time with someone. Someone's musical taste is like a portal into their soul, and someone sharing a common musical touchstone is an amazing way to connect to someone that you may not have much else to bond over. So sharing this album with her has been an amazing gift to bring us closer together and fawn over our love of this album and Led Zeppelin especially. So please friends, share a listen with a friend and make a connection.
they've done four already/but now they're steady/and then they went/one, two, three, four!
Despite the fact that King Crimson had a revolving lineup that varied from album to album, they still managed to put out a string of fantastic albums. From Court to Red, they put out an amazingly consistent set of albums. Red is the perfect bookend to this first string of albums.
I love this album because of it's King Crimson at its most striped down and bare. They usually had a larger lineup, but after alienating everybody he ever knew, Robert Fripp could only find two other people willing to work with him. Despite this, the trio was skilled enough to craft some immensely incredible songs.
The songs vary from relatively straight-forward songs to slow, methodical tone poems that create a large volume gap between song volume. I especially like the reverb heavy feel of the album, particularly on Fallen Angel and Red. There is a general heaviness to the sound of this album, which I think works to its advantage, creating a dark and gloomy soundscape that seems to fit King Crimson's mystique.
Much like with some other albums on my list, I do not have any sort of deep emotional connection to this album. So, in an effort to avoid talking in circles for another couple of paragraphs, I will end this post here.
Unfortunately I cannot find a copy of the album to link so please look it up on Spotify or Apple Music.
Talk about a group that hit the ground rolling at 100 miles an hour.
Chicago Transit Authority, soon to be Chicago after the real transit authority threatened to sue, exploded on to the scene with this fantastic double album that cemented them as one of the premiere jazz-rock groups. This debut is a massive showcase of their immense talents, from jazzy rock tunes to radical free-form pieces.
This album's greatness lies with how consistent it is despite its length. Over 4 sides and 12 songs, Chicago manages to keep the album interesting and engaging, which in the hands of a lesser band could've very easily become a repetitive and boring album.
I've always enjoyed Chicago's first couple albums, but they quickly lose my interest once they realized they could crank out half-baked love ballads and makes millions of dollars. Their first album is the only one you need to listen to, but feel free to check out their first couple of albums.
I love this album because it has great staying power. I've been listening to this album since high school and I still feel the same way now that I felt the first time I listened to it. The jamming on this album has a true sense of joy and love of music not found on most other albums. Chicago had such a dedication to their music that they took a royalty cut to have this debut be a double LP. Priorities for the win!
This whole album just has a real sense of joy in the music being played. Listening to this album reminds me of playing in jazz band in high school and the feeling of playing some great music. The freedom that flows from your instrument and the other-worldly flow that penetrates your heart. It makes me long to listen to more music, and expand my horizons of music. This album encapsulates the spirit of music and joy that can come from it.
So friends, have some fun and enjoy yourself, that's what music is for.
This is probably the manliest sad album that's ever existed.
Johnny Cash released this swan song only a few months before he died, and a few months after his longtime wife died. This swan song foreshadows Cash's impending death, and acts like a tour of his life and his last confession of sins before being taken up to heaven.
Every song is a personal reflection on some aspect of Cash's life, reconciling for past wrongs and waxing nostalgic about people and places lost to time's unflinching nature. Cash's voice is weak and lonesome, as if he can no longer stand the weight of being alive, and is waited for the horseman to ride him off to his own personal apocalypse.
This album destroys me with every listen. I feel like every guy is at least a little affected by this album, especially Hurt. Everybody knows it's a Nine Inch Nails cover, and that he did it better, but the amazing part of this song, and really the whole album, is that every song takes everybody's happiness from 100 to 0 in about 5 seconds.
This album is chock full of emotional gems from top to bottom. The entire album is an exercise in deep emotionally human interactions, weaving a tapestry of melancholic tunes, only to be washed away by the bittersweat closer, We'll Meet Again. In the final moments of the album, Cash is essentially saying that he's made peace with his impending death, and to not be sad at his parting, because he'll see you again soon.
So put your feet up, and grab some tissues, you'll need them.
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