Greatest Albums of All Time (Rock & Jazz) - Music Diaries

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

Mercury wrote:

hey afterhours, i wanted to crash this party briefly and say that from time to time I check on this masterclass of music discussion and I think i can get5 in and out quick and end up reading and reading... and reading and its all great stuff. So, thanks for this.

I was curious if you ever dived into metal of various kinds? I don't see any metal albums sticking out here, and was mostly checking to see if some albums that I find to be masterpieces and artistic high points (Neurosis' Through Silver In Blood, or more abstract stuff like Gorguts' Obscura) were here or mentioned. Is metal not particularly your thing or of interest to you?

The best and most brilliant metal of any kind albums are for me at this time
Reign In Blood by Slayer
Through Silver In Blood by Neurosis
Leviathan by Mastodon
Prowler In The Yard by Pig Destroyer
Everything Is Fire by Ulcerate
Dead As Dreams by Weakling

These also largely seem like albums you may be fascinated and moved and impressed by. (although Pig Destroyer is grindcore and I think of it as less intellectual perhaps but more primal and more in line with my love of hardcore punk.)

Thank you Mercury! You're always welcome to jump in at any point on any of my lists/diaries. I do not mean them to be exclusive to the usual users I discuss with (a handful of which also go back years to a previous site, listology). And they also aren't exclusive to whatever discussion is or last took place. But really, for anyone, for any sincere recommendations, questions, discussion (even if disagreeable). And if in disagreement, hopefully civil, respectful, with a purpose towards arriving at increased understanding even if there may be some bumps in the road while getting there (and even if I hypocritically admit to forgetting this on a few occasions! d'oh!

).

Metal definitely has its place and you should see its voice on my list even if it's maybe not enough of one for someone who's listened to more of the genre like yourself. It's also a point that the more updated 7.3 and above portion of the list is spread out across so many genres/subgenres that one is unlikely to dominate.

I wholeheartedly agree that Neurosis' Through Silver in Blood is among the masterpieces of metal and should definitely be on there around 8.1-8.2. If not, that would mean I inadvertently removed it during a refresh and transfer of my original doc onto BEA. So I'll double check that and make sure it's correctly placed!

I used to rank Reign of Blood higher and wouldnt surprise me if I upgrade it again. Currently it's in the 6.8-7.2 range (used to be in the 7.5s fwiw).

Don't recall if I've heard your others except probably Mastadon. But I will consider those recs and will check them out when I am honing in on updating Metal. It looks like you're highlighting this on your own diary, which I'll check out as well.

I have genre lists, including a Metal and Hard Rock one, that I STARTED putting together -- and will get back to -- here: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...857#573857

(there are a number that still need to be added, and it may not be as updated as my overall "greatest" -- and again -- it's also combined with "hard rock", but it's a start...)

One other thing: Although I keep a tab open for quick access to BEA throughout most days, I am not actually ON the site for usually more than a few short times here and there to reply or make a quick update or two, over a given day. So, I can be kinda rushed and somewhat haphazard in response at times (maybe most of the time haha). So just try not to confuse that as "abrasiveness". It occasionally really is that I am legitimately annoyed in reply to someone and making that known, but in most cases (by far the majority) I am not and just hurried. The point being, I am more welcoming of feedback, discussion, recommendations than sometimes it might seem. I'm pointing this out because those who I've been discussing with consistently for years usually understand this while others may not. In short, you're welcome to discuss at any time.
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geologist

geologist wrote:

Once you get tired of all that Taylor Swift, you should check out the new Squid album "Bright Green Field". Really been enjoying it, it's a British post-punk album. Definitely draws comparison to Talking Heads, but also has clear inspiration from post-rock and krautrock.
I'm also curious if you've ever listened to the Math Rock band "The Brave Little Abacus", as I think their music is some of the most creative and cathartic of the 21st century.

Don't know if you're interested in listening to new music right now, but I'll give an update:
Squid album got a 7.5! https://www.scaruffi.com/vol8/squid.html
Black Country, New Road also just released "Ants From Up There", which is one of the few unique takes on rock music in a loooong time.

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

geologist wrote:

Once you get tired of all that Taylor Swift, you should check out the new Squid album "Bright Green Field". Really been enjoying it, it's a British post-punk album. Definitely draws comparison to Talking Heads, but also has clear inspiration from post-rock and krautrock.
I'm also curious if you've ever listened to the Math Rock band "The Brave Little Abacus", as I think their music is some of the most creative and cathartic of the 21st century.

Don't know if you're interested in listening to new music right now, but I'll give an update:
Squid album got a 7.5! https://www.scaruffi.com/vol8/squid.html
Black Country, New Road also just released "Ants From Up There", which is one of the few unique takes on rock music in a loooong time.

Thanks geologist! I'll try and check those out after I've revisited Maestro Swift's oeuvre a few more times over! (kidding about that last part Laughing

)

How does Ants From Up There compare to their debut?
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geologist

AfterHours wrote:

geologist wrote:

Once you get tired of all that Taylor Swift, you should check out the new Squid album "Bright Green Field". Really been enjoying it, it's a British post-punk album. Definitely draws comparison to Talking Heads, but also has clear inspiration from post-rock and krautrock.
I'm also curious if you've ever listened to the Math Rock band "The Brave Little Abacus", as I think their music is some of the most creative and cathartic of the 21st century.

Don't know if you're interested in listening to new music right now, but I'll give an update:
Squid album got a 7.5! https://www.scaruffi.com/vol8/squid.html
Black Country, New Road also just released "Ants From Up There", which is one of the few unique takes on rock music in a loooong time.

Thanks geologist! I'll try and check those out after I've revisited Maestro Swift's oeuvre a few more times over! (kidding about that last part Laughing

)

How does Ants From Up There compare to their debut?

The overall mood of both albums are very different. The post-punk anxiety and angularity of their debut is still there, but it's balanced by a new-found sentimentality. They've made a pivot to chamber pop that keeps the post-rock buildups. I've seen comparisons to Arcade Fire's Funeral and Sufjan Steven's Illinois, along with post-minimalism. In my opinion it's a much more fully realized version of their sound. Their debut was to me just a vessel for Sunglasses, and an inferior version of Sunglasses at that. Ants From Up There is far more creative and vivid. Although, they do keep a few old habits, possibly weaknesses. First, their love for jarring multipart songs without clear transitions, as with closer Basketball Shoes. Second, their tendency to push everything toward a climax at the last minute. Third, their occasionally (intentionally?) awkward and quivering vocals.

They execute much better on this album though, and the sound palette is richer and more expressive. There are plenty of highlights: The bittersweet, twinkling rise and fall of "Concorde", balancing minimalist drones with tender melodies. And the vulnerable two-parter Bread Song, with its sentimental swells nervously quivering, and then locking into focus once the drums come in. Good Will Hunting's hesitant rhythmic switches and massive final chorus makes for yet another perfect emotional crescendo, predictable but honestly impossible to hate. The last three songs are epics, 7 minutes, 9 minutes, and 12 minutes respectively. Again, it's this contrast that I love, between the paranoid, nervous energy and the patient sentimentality. The Place Where He Inserted the Blade is impossibly warm and lovely for a band like this to be putting out. The delicate humming of Snow Globes continues as a grotesque drum solo arrives. The drum solo doesn't displace the song, but overlaps it, a bizzare form of claustrophobia. Basketball Shoes is their best song. It's a summation of the album, a triptych of brooding melancholy, then a brief self-destructive sprint, ending in pure catharsis. So yeah, listen to it.

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

geologist wrote:

AfterHours wrote:

geologist wrote:

Once you get tired of all that Taylor Swift, you should check out the new Squid album "Bright Green Field". Really been enjoying it, it's a British post-punk album. Definitely draws comparison to Talking Heads, but also has clear inspiration from post-rock and krautrock.
I'm also curious if you've ever listened to the Math Rock band "The Brave Little Abacus", as I think their music is some of the most creative and cathartic of the 21st century.

Don't know if you're interested in listening to new music right now, but I'll give an update:
Squid album got a 7.5! https://www.scaruffi.com/vol8/squid.html
Black Country, New Road also just released "Ants From Up There", which is one of the few unique takes on rock music in a loooong time.

Thanks geologist! I'll try and check those out after I've revisited Maestro Swift's oeuvre a few more times over! (kidding about that last part Laughing

)

How does Ants From Up There compare to their debut?

The overall mood of both albums are very different. The post-punk anxiety and angularity of their debut is still there, but it's balanced by a new-found sentimentality. They've made a pivot to chamber pop that keeps the post-rock buildups. I've seen comparisons to Arcade Fire's Funeral and Sufjan Steven's Illinois, along with post-minimalism. In my opinion it's a much more fully realized version of their sound. Their debut was to me just a vessel for Sunglasses, and an inferior version of Sunglasses at that. Ants From Up There is far more creative and vivid. Although, they do keep a few old habits, possibly weaknesses. First, their love for jarring multipart songs without clear transitions, as with closer Basketball Shoes. Second, their tendency to push everything toward a climax at the last minute. Third, their occasionally (intentionally?) awkward and quivering vocals.

They execute much better on this album though, and the sound palette is richer and more expressive. There are plenty of highlights: The bittersweet, twinkling rise and fall of "Concorde", balancing minimalist drones with tender melodies. And the vulnerable two-parter Bread Song, with its sentimental swells nervously quivering, and then locking into focus once the drums come in. Good Will Hunting's hesitant rhythmic switches and massive final chorus makes for yet another perfect emotional crescendo, predictable but honestly impossible to hate. The last three songs are epics, 7 minutes, 9 minutes, and 12 minutes respectively. Again, it's this contrast that I love, between the paranoid, nervous energy and the patient sentimentality. The Place Where He Inserted the Blade is impossibly warm and lovely for a band like this to be putting out. The delicate humming of Snow Globes continues as a grotesque drum solo arrives. The drum solo doesn't displace the song, but overlaps it, a bizzare form of claustrophobia. Basketball Shoes is their best song. It's a summation of the album, a triptych of brooding melancholy, then a brief self-destructive sprint, ending in pure catharsis. So yeah, listen to it.

Thank you for your insights -- these details are much appreciated. Definitely got me more curious about it now. I don't often seek out albums before Scaruffi rates them like I used to around 2005-2010 (which was, consequently, an early point that I "proved" to myself that my ratings were often the same or very close to his even beforehand -- roughly 75-80% of the time -- not just after the fact). No longer doing so is mainly out of time consideration: I let him find most/all of the best ones so I can go straight to those and don't have to waste my time with the lower ratings in trying to do the same thing first (sorry Scaruffi! Laughing

). Once I started going through and rating/ranking paintings and had built my film list a bit more (plus revisits of all this), seeking out albums ahead of time dropped out almost completely (with occasional exceptions in a given year). But maybe I will return to doing so if I ever catch up to the current year(s) before he does.

HOWEVER I do make exceptions and in this case I may see if I can get to it soon (of course, I say that and yet I'll probably see him rate it just before I get to it haha). Again, thank you for the recommendation and telling me several pertinent insights about this work.
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geologist

No problem, take your time with checking it out. I don't think I would've been so quick with it if it wasn't huge on Rate Your Music right now. It lives up to expectations for sure. It also complements the two Brave Little Abacus albums well, so it'd be a fun idea to go through them all whenever you're in the mood for rock music.

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

geologist wrote:

No problem, take your time with checking it out. I don't think I would've been so quick with it if it wasn't huge on Rate Your Music right now. It lives up to expectations for sure. It also complements the two Brave Little Abacus albums well, so it'd be a fun idea to go through them all whenever you're in the mood for rock music.

Thanks again, geologist. I've listened to it twice so far and it seems like around a high-6 or 6.5 to me, even though I can see why it could deserve a higher rating (clearly a very talented band, equally indebted to precursors like Slint as they seem to also echo artists like Bright Eyes, as well as Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Microphones, and other indie acts). Your description was spot on, I just think the best works of the artist's it resurrects were more potent and profound emotionally and creatively. I'm undecided on the best tracks but they might be Good Will Hunting, Snow Globes and Basketball Shoes. Expressively it seems (somewhat, partially) "faux" profound to me, not that it doesn't also have several great moments. Because of this I felt it had diminishing returns after peaking on the first listen (where I might have rated it 7 or so). Again it's only 2 listens, so maybe it will grow to a better rating at some point in the future, even if (approx a 6.4) or so seems right to me at this time. And I wouldn't be particularly surprised if Scaruffi gives it a better rating than I do. I tend to be less accurate with him on decades that I am farther behind on and therefore less in-depth with my view of what happened musically that was significant/creative beyond the most obvious ones that I've listed (like a chunk of the 2010s and 2020-2022).

Please feel free to provide more recs in the future, regardless to what degree I agree or disagree on their merits. I especially appreciate the added insights that help state your case (again, even if I don't quite think as highly of the work, such insights are valuable, useful, worth considering, etc). I'll have to get around to that 7.5 you recommended earlier (well in advance of Scaruffi!).
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DommeDamian
Imperfect, sensitive Aspie with a melody addiction

Gender: Male
Age: 23
Location: where the flowers grow.

I'm thinking of making Yerself Is Steam and Underwater Moonlight my summer albums of the year, thoughts on these albums? And why do you and Scaruffi feel/think that first mentioned is better than Piper At The Gates of Dawn?
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AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

DommeDamian wrote:

I'm thinking of making Yerself Is Steam and Underwater Moonlight my summer albums of the year, thoughts on these albums? And why do you and Scaruffi feel/think that first mentioned is better than Piper At The Gates of Dawn?

Thanks Domme, I'm heavily focused on cinema for the time being (doesn't mean these queries are unwelcome! Just that I'm not really spending time thinking about, evaluating music at the moment). I'll say some...

Re: Yerself ... There is much psychological content in not just the vocals (on the edge of bliss and a psychotic break) but also the wild and vigorous instrumentation, most prominently the wildly colorful, delirious, ruptured, violent, nightmarish and sometimes panoramic vistas of the evocative and monstrous guitar playing, which runs the gamut of states of mind from the very debased and psychotic to epic nirvana or the transcendental ("nirvana" the state, not the band). Combined with the surreal, fractured, neurosis/psychosis in the vocals, this has a sickly tension and (in climaxes) an otherworldly wide-eyed visionary explosion to it, of both a psychedelic "happiness" and as if delving (as I think Scaruffi has said) into a precarious, unstable mind akin to that of a serial killer falling apart, his reality bursting at the seams.

Re: Piper and Yerself ... Essentially expressing similar states of psychedelia. Yerself, while in part inspired by Piper (especially Astronomy Domine and Interstellar Overdrive), including its often "spacey" and psychedelic effects throughout its songs, yet takes on a much more epic fusion (especially, guitar) and more striking and ferociously demented psychological conflict across its series of tracks. Particularly its last three major tracks, which features 3 consecutive monstrous "trips", reflective, teetering towards both a hopeful beautification and deathly swallow, and perhaps even what could be called a delusional "nirvana", both beyond reality and into the depths of psychosis -- all three match or approach the quality of Piper's very best (Interstellar Overdrive), with the frantic, insane, "death scene" delirium of Very Sleepy Rivers being among the greatest tracks of the 90s.

Re: Underwater ... I don't really have anything to add beyond Scaruffi on this one. Plus, would need to re-familiarize myself with it. But one key point is that they are intentionally "re-creating" the "sound" of the 60s, reviving it in both "spirit" and in a resurrection of its sound world (including its lower-fidelity, its less artificial guitar sound, its choruses, and so on, but with more sickly, lysergic, demonic (guitar) expression most closely resembling early Floyd/Syd Barrett). The anthems and sudden bursts of chorus are not just formal advances in the songs, but sonic "resurrections" tethered between the song taking place (or that previously took place) and into an eruption into psychedelia (and resurrection of a different time).
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DommeDamian
Imperfect, sensitive Aspie with a melody addiction

Gender: Male
Age: 23
Location: where the flowers grow.

AfterHours wrote:

Thanks Domme, I'm heavily focused on cinema for the time being (doesn't mean these queries are unwelcome! Just that I'm not really spending time thinking about, evaluating music at the moment). I'll say some...

Re: Yerself ... There is much psychological content in not just the vocals (on the edge of bliss and a psychotic break) but also the wild and vigorous instrumentation, most prominently the wildly colorful, delirious, ruptured, violent, nightmarish and sometimes panoramic vistas of the evocative and monstrous guitar playing, which runs the gamut of states of mind from the very debased and psychotic to epic nirvana or the transcendental ("nirvana" the state, not the band). Combined with the surreal, fractured, neurosis/psychosis in the vocals, this has a sickly tension and (in climaxes) an otherworldly wide-eyed visionary explosion to it, of both a psychedelic "happiness" and as if delving (as I think Scaruffi has said) into a precarious, unstable mind akin to that of a serial killer falling apart, his reality bursting at the seams.

Re: Piper and Yerself ... Essentially expressing similar states of psychedelia. Yerself, while in part inspired by Piper (especially Astronomy Domine and Interstellar Overdrive), including its often "spacey" and psychedelic effects throughout its songs, yet takes on a much more epic fusion (especially, guitar) and more striking and ferociously demented psychological conflict across its series of tracks. Particularly its last three major tracks, which features 3 consecutive monstrous "trips", reflective, teetering towards both a hopeful beautification and deathly swallow, and perhaps even what could be called a delusional "nirvana", both beyond reality and into the depths of psychosis -- all three match or approach the quality of Piper's very best (Interstellar Overdrive), with the frantic, insane, "death scene" delirium of Very Sleepy Rivers being among the greatest tracks of the 90s.

Re: Underwater ... I don't really have anything to add beyond Scaruffi on this one. Plus, would need to re-familiarize myself with it. But one key point is that they are intentionally "re-creating" the "sound" of the 60s, reviving it in both "spirit" and in a resurrection of its sound world (including its lower-fidelity, its less artificial guitar sound, its choruses, and so on, but with more sickly, lysergic, demonic (guitar) expression most closely resembling early Floyd/Syd Barrett). The anthems and sudden bursts of chorus are not just formal advances in the songs, but sonic "resurrections" tethered between the song taking place (or that previously took place) and into an eruption into psychedelia (and resurrection of a different time).

Thank you AH. The little review/description of YIS was what I needed. I think Imma listen to it again today.
As of the comparison to Piper, I also agree that it feels more epic in sound and structure, but subjectively I think Piper is much more unpredictable and trippy (that's what I'm looking for in pure psychedelia), and objectively YIS doesn't have a 10th of the same influence as Piper.
I noticed you have rated/ranked Underwater Moonlight much lower than Scaruffi, and although I think his description/review of it is dope (I even translated it), I was curious as if you had anything to add. Luckily, imo you had. Very Happy

"they are intentionally "re-creating" the "sound" of the 60s, reviving it in both "spirit" and in a resurrection of its sound world (including its lower-fidelity, its less artificial guitar sound, its choruses, and so on, but with more sickly, lysergic, demonic (guitar) expression most closely resembling early Floyd/Syd Barrett)." - sums it up really.
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