Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

[Listmeister]

92. I think I've done this one already

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On The Third Day by Electric Light Orchestra

BEA Ranks: 77th of 1973; 691st of the 1970's; 3,574th of All Time
Ranked highest by Clouds2095, 6th of All Time



As I went through my reviews of the ELO Albums, I discovered this one, and gave it a spot on my top 100. I reviewed it here, and I'm not going to redo it. An excerpt of that review follows:

"Side One as a suite bookended by Ocean Breakup (which, in the book of Genesis, happened on the third day.). The second track (Bluebird is Dead) is interesting in light of what comes later. The vocals swing into falsetto in a way we haven't heard before but would become a big part of their sound, and Tandy's keyboard is producing some amazing music. Bluebird is Dead leads into Oh No Not Susan, followed by New World Rising, which is a storm of classical instrumentation and electronic keyboarding. The suite is unified in such a way that you don't know when it's transitioning from one song to the next.

Side two opens with"Daybreaker", an amazing instrumental where the band shows off their skills in a piece built around one of Tandy's keyboard riffs. "Ma-ma-ma Belle" has driving guitars and drums behind it to produce a well-crafted pop tune. it's probably the earliest ELO track that you will still hear on the radio. If "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" had driving guitars, "Dreaming of 4000" starts with virtuoso guitars, and leads into a beautiful song with interesting lyrics. The finale is called "In the Hall of the Mountain King", which starts off with a familiar classical melody that I dien't know the title of, so I looked it up (thanks, Wikipedia)." --from Listmeister Listens -- Electric Light Orchestra

Anyway, I don't know how much of this is due to my review of it, or just because I put it in my top 100, but it seems to have gone up a few notches. From 79th to 77th of 1973; it went up 150 places in the All Time ranking, since May 13th.

92. Stone Roses
93. Tragic Kingdom
94. The Life Pursuit
95. Actually
96. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
97. On the Third Day
98. London Calling
99. Don Quixote
100. American Graffiti Soundtrack
101. The Fame Monster

[Listmeister]

91. You say you want a revolution?

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The Resistance by Muse

BEA Ranks: 7th of 2009; 77th of 2000's; 360th of All Time
Ranked highest by RasmV (Best of All Time, listing 100); Dominoes34 (Best of All Time, listing 12)

"It starts out fantastic through the first three songs." --Edwarda85

"One of the better bands of the new millennium for sure." --Deckiller

"This is the massive and ambitious album we’ve always expected, a bit messy. Sometimes it can be glorious." --Boxyno1

If you read the rest of the comments, there seem to be two kinds of responses to this album "I hate it! Their other albums are great, this one sucks." and "I love it! It's great; the other albums, eh, not so much." As you can guess, since I put it in my top 100, I am in the second camp. Their other albums, might have the occasional great song ("muh-muh-muh-muh-mad-madness") . But they strike me, for the most part, as being pretty dull.

Not so, The Resistance! This may be the most masculine album I've ever heard. It gets your blood going, makes you feel like you can take on the world. It stirs me up in a way that I haven't experienced since Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger", and that had the whole Rocky III movie behind it. If I ever try to lead a revolution, I will be sure to have this album playing in the background at least once a day. (along with Survivor's greatest hits) Even the final symphonic bit is stirring, but in a more subdued way. "Rest a bit, warrior", says Exogenesis, "tomorrow, we conquer!"

Besides, look at that album cover. Isn't that glorious?

91. The Resistance
92. Stone Roses
93. Tragic Kingdom
94. The Life Pursuit
95. Actually
96. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
97. On the Third Day
98. London Calling
99. Don Quixote
100. American Graffiti Soundtrack

[Listmeister]

90. Better than Actually

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Very by Pet Shop Boys

BEA Ranks 40th of 1993; 440th of 1990s; 2,047th of All Time
Ranked highest by: franktalus (3rd of 40)

"This one is [their] most underrated. They're at the top of their synth-pop game, with danceable beats and snarks on love all-around. Pretty dark in mood and lyrics but all songs are still up-tempo" --paladisiac

"Weirdest physical copy award goes to..." joshtraina

Most albums, I only discover years after they get released. This one was different. A friend had given me Introspective, and I had gotten their Discography, so I was pretty caught up as far as Pet Shop Boys hits were concerned. So, I'm in a record store, and I see this orange Lego CD case. I picked it up. Very. Pet shop boys. Hmm, I liked the Pet Shop Boys, so I bought it. My collection was mostly tapes at this time, but I did have a CD player.

It fit right in with the best of Pet Shop Boys' most danceable hits. After many listens, I grew to appreciate Neil Tennant's relaxed vocal style. Clearly, he was more sure of himself, gone was the self-deprecation of songs like "It's a Sin" and the Wattaveye Song.

"Actually" (number 95) is a great album, but this one is just a little bit better.

90. The Resistance
91. Stone Roses
92. Very
93. Tragic Kingdom
94. The Life Pursuit
95. Actually
96. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
97. On the Third Day
98. London Calling
99. Don Quixote

[Listmeister]

89. None of the Above (except awesome)

One Step Beyond... by Madness

BEA Ranks 31st of 1979; 345th of 1970s; 1,581st of All Time
Ranked highest by: Fedfan: 12th of 100; missionbeach99: 6th of 40

"Great funny album. Even after thirty years, put a smile on your face " --Mirek

"What a joy.....the first, and best Madness album.... Sounds like they are having the best time, which makes it all the more enjoyable." --Rich150


It was 1979 when this album came out. At the time, music was dominated by disco. This wasn't disco. There was a lot of punk coming from England. This wasn't punk, not exactly. There was some southern country rock coming from the southeastern United States. This wasn't southern country rock from the southeastern United States. There was singer songwriter... this wasn't that either.

Wikipedia says Madness was "one of the most prominent bands of the 2-tone ska revival." If you say so, wikipedia, I'll take your word. I don't know how to classify it.

I will try to describe it. This is really really good rock and roll. The musicians in the band are amazingly skilled. It's their saxophonist (Lee Thompson), who puts the band over the top, and makes them into something extraordinary. A band I'd never heard of before I was asked to listen to this album (for some tournament or other), this is one my favorite BEA discoveries.

89. The Resistance
90. Stone Roses
91. Very
92. Tragic Kingdom
93. The Life Pursuit
94. One Step Beyond...
95. Actually
96. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
97. On the Third Day
98. London Calling

[Listmeister]

88a. Cool mellow sounds

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Fly Like An Eagle by Steve Miller Band

BEA Ranks 33rd of 1976; 334th of 1970s; 1,524th of All Time
Ranked highest by: glitter-bubbles, Best Of All Time

"LOVE this album! It was one of the first cassette tapes I ever had (wow) and I can still listen to it over and over!" --glitter-bubbles

"Not enough love here for some fantastic tunes - classic!" --ERadio

"Miller soars, creating his dynamic, trippy, space blues. Never overdone, Steve Miller’s guitar-work is excellent. Hook-laden songs, atmospheric production and whooshing synthesizers, "Fly Like An Eagle" is an uplifting album of excellent 70's pop rock." -- ~SMILE~

One song after another is gorgeous sounding, catchy, and fun. Fly Like an Eagle. Wild Mountain Honey. Serenade. Dance Dance Dance. Take the Money and Run. Rock'n'Me. Blue Odyssey. The Window. Very few albums have that many great songs. When it gets musical (Space Intro, Wild Mountain Honey), it's beautiful and serene. When it gets dancey, you want to move. Even when his lyrics wax geographical ("I've been from Phoenix, Arizona all the way to Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A., Northern California where the girls are warm, so I can hear my sweet baby say, 'Keep on a-rockin' me, baby!'"), well, you want to go to all those places.

88. The Resistance
89. Stone Roses
90. Fly Like an Eagle
91. Very
92. Tragic Kingdom
93. The Life Pursuit
94. One Step Beyond...
95. Actually
96. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
97. On the Third Day

[Listmeister]

88b. Cool Mellow Noises

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Book Of Dreams by Steve Miller Band

BEA Ranks 64th of 1977; 696th of 1970s; 3,627th of All Time
Ranked highest by: boboland1203, 14th of All Time

"A soft rock album with hints of psychedelic in an updated 70s sound. Late 70s early 80s were the height of this band and if you choose one album of SMB to listen to then this is the place to start" --msududek1

"Classic softguitar rockalbum with many fine songs. I do not knew all albums of this band, but in this album they have great soft sound, swingig/rolling/rocking sound. Very positive music, great compositions with great production." --Pekka

"Solid record all the way thru with lots of classic tracks and no filler." --Rufus

In 1978, Steve Miller put out a compilation album, Greatest Hits 1974-1978. It's probably the definitive Steve Miller anthology. It includes, 'The Joker', 7 tracks from Fly Like An Eagle, and Six tracks from Book of Dreams.

One song after another is fun, and catchy, and there's some really amazing noises. The whistling at the beginning of "Jungle Love"; that vibratto synth thing that runs throughout SwingTown. Electro Lux Imbroglio.

This album is slightly more electronic, and slightly less mellow than Fly Like An Eagle, but the songs are just as catchy. Listening to it yesterday, I found myself singing along with Jungle Love, in the middle of my office. With Country Music blaring in the background. "Jungle Love! S'drivo me mad! S'makin' me crazy!" So, that was an embarrassing moment.

88. The Resistance
89. Stone Roses
90. Fly Like an Eagle
91. Very
92. Tragic Kingdom
93. The Life Pursuit
94. One Step Beyond...
95. Book of Dreams
96. Actually
97. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
98. On the Third Day
99. London Calling
100. American Graffiti Soundtrack

If you're wondering whats with the 88a and 88b, and why Fly Like an Eagle was not actually in my top 100 until today, here's what happened. I found a copy of Fly Like An Eagle, on vinyl, at a garage sale. I was familiar with most of it, and I'm pretty sure I had a copy of the tape at one time, but I had never ranked it. But, for some reason, I had ranked Book of Dreams, which was the follow up, and put it at 88th of All Time. So, I listened to my new record, and put it in my notes. I had it at #85, but I never updated the rest of the albums under it to put them a number lower. I also hadn't gotten around to putting it in my BEA list.

Both albums deserve a place in the top 100. Unfortunately, that means that one will have to drop off. I think I'd rather leave American Graffiti soundtrack in the #100 spot, and bump Don Quixote. American Graffiti's soundtrack is a better climax.

[Listmeister]

87. It's Spanish for "The Dorado"


Eldorado, A Symphony By The Electric Li... Orchestra

BEA Ranks 20th of 1974; 235th of 1970s; 1,050th of All Time
Ranked highest by TrekkiELO, 8th of All Time (out of 79); CWMartin, 6th of All Time (out of 50); BELAC64, 5th of All TIme (Out of 12)

"Yeah, Eldorado's the first of two albums that I've really disliked so far in this tourney [Best of 1974]. And they both happen to be in the same batch as I'm currently trying to figure out which album I like less - this or Crime of The Century. It's quite a battle. But, I think Eldorado's going to take it. " --RepoMan

"RepoMan wrote:
'Yeah, Eldorado's the first of two albums that I've really disliked so far in this tourney.'

You guys are no fun. What's not to love about totally over the top AOR prog pop?" --meccalecca

"I actually enjoy ELO when they're just doing fun pop songs, but this thing is a bit over the top for my taste." sp4cetiger

"Romanelli and Dihannse are totally right. This album is a leap forward for the band. They've gained a level in awesome. They've found their sound. Any track is instantly identifiable as ELO. After I heard it, I wanted to go back and hear it again. Their best so far by a huge margin. " --Listmeister

My full review is here.

87. The Resistance
88. Stone Roses
89. Fly Like an Eagle
90. Very
91. Tragic Kingdom
92. The Life Pursuit
93. One Step Beyond...
94. Eldorado
95. Book of Dreams
96. Actually

[Listmeister]

86. Sing a song. Make it simple to last your whole life long.

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Now & Then by Carpenters

BEA Ranks: 256th of 1973; 2,294th of the 1970s, 16,672nd of All Time
Ranked highest by: Listmeister, 86th of All Time.

"We had an ace up our collective sleeve, resulting in a damn good album which became a worldwide best-seller: Karen and I introduced an oldies medley into our concert show starting in the summer of 1972, and it met with such an enthusiastic response, I decided to feature a version of it on side two of what would become “Now And Then”. " --Richard Carpenter, from richardandkarencarpenter.com

"Interesting concept. Side one ("Now") is original songs including 'Sing' and 'Masquerade' (also 'Jambalaya'). Side two ("Then") begins with 'Yesterday Once More', a song about how great the old songs were. Then, there's a medley of those old songs separated by Richard Carpenter doing his Radio DJ shtick. It fades out on reprise of 'Yesterday Once More'." --Listmeister

"Don't talk. You're stepping on Karen." --Ghost Rider

I have listened to pop music from the very earliest days of recorded music (around 1890's or so), all the way to whatever hit the Billboard charts last Tuesday. I have come to the conclusion that Karen Carpenter has the most beautiful voice ever recorded.

Whether it's a lullaby ("Sing"), sorrowful ballad ("Masquerade"), or just for fun ('jambalaya"), Karen's voice is a waking dream of pure euphoria. Her covers of songs from c. 1963 on side two, most of them sound better than the originals. Richard's arrangement serves her voice perfectly.

Side two is a medley of oldies, framed by their hit song "Yesterday Once More" (which describes how great the old songs were). They, for Richard is also singing, and when they harmonize, you realize what an amazing duo they were. You almost wish they would do more, except that would mean less Karen.

I digress. They do a medley of songs from c. 1963, and Karen's voice is always sweeter than the original singer ("The End of the World", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "One Fine Day").

I think I'm alone here, the Carpenters don't get a lot of love on BEA. But, give this one a chance.

86. Now & Then
87. The Resistance
88. Stone Roses
89. Fly Like an Eagle
90. Very
91. Tragic Kingdom
92. The Life Pursuit
93. One Step Beyond...
94. Eldorado
95. Book of Dreams

[Romanelli]

[Listmeister]

85. An essential addition to The Catalog

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Live At The BBC by The Beatles

"It captures the last possible moment when playing rock & roll could be unadulterated fun. For better or worse, no one thought of the Beatles as "artists" when they made this music. No one cared about their opinions on foreign affairs or domestic issues — except as fodder for jokes. The generational struggles of the '60s — and of the '90s — were still in the future, and no one could foresee them. Celebrity was not yet the minefield it is today; the Beatles' biggest problem, they say, was no longer being able to ride the bus. They could rock because they loved to and could cheerily look forward to whatever came down the pike after that." --Anthony deCurtis, Rolling Stone, January 25, 1995.

"Superb glimpse of The Beatles' talent before Sgt. Pepper and beyond, as songwriters, musicians, and personalities. For someone like me, who prefers the energy of the early years, this is a treasure trove of songs that you won't find on any other album." --KGB

In the Beatles Catalog, this album goes between Please Please Me and With the Beatles. Many of the radio bits were recorded in that time frame, but more importantly, this album showcases the artists that influenced the Beatles, that they admired, that they sang when they were learning how to sing, that they sang when they were building there act back in Hamburg.

You have the live versions of songs that were already on albums. Those are interesting, but the differences between the recorded and the live are usually not noteworthy (one exception is Honey Don't, which Ringo sings on Beatles For Sale and John sings on Live at the BBC). The songs themselves are pre-Rubber Soul.

The banter between the radio hosts and the "lads" is well selected (by George Martin). These bite-sized bits of comedy make the album much more fun than it would have been if it was just straight music.

But what makes this album essential is the 30 songs that are not on record anywhere else. Most of them are covers (only "I'll Be On My Way" is original Lennon-McCartney), but hearing the Beatles take on artists ranging from Little Richard to Elvis to the Everly Brothers to Ann-Margaret is delightful. Great song follows great song; Beatles song follows song by someone else sung by the Beatles, and it all mixes and flows indistinguishibly.

85. Live at the BBC
86. Now & Then
87. The Resistance
88. Stone Roses
89. Fly Like an Eagle
90. Very
91. Tragic Kingdom
92. The Life Pursuit
93. One Step Beyond...
94. Eldorado