Monday, August 25, 2003

The 50 Most Important Albums (21 - 30) (31 - 40) (41 - 50) Psychocandy - The Jesus and Mary Chain: Someone once described this as a Tootsie Roll wrapped in sandpaper--catchy pop tunes covered in layers of distortion and feedback. It builds and builds until, toward the end, on "Sowing Seeds," the music becomes a pipe organ (or so it seems), while Jim Reid moans "I want peace..." over and over. Sign o' the Times - Prince and the Revolution: Prince is so frustrating. He showed so much promise on Dirty Mind, 1999, and Purple Rain, fulfilled all of that promise here, and has been on a Dylan-like wander through the desert of wasted talent ever since. This album had so many brilliant pop songs, touching on virtually every musical style that preceded it. I only hope that in another five or ten years, Prince is able to manage a Dylan-like revival. OK Computer - Radiohead: On the basis of this sort-of intellectual concept album about technology, alienation, and everything else that plagues modern society, Radiohead are often compared to Pink Floyd. But the concept is far less rigid than on any Pink Floyd album, and, despite their pretensions, the songs are good old guitar-based rockers courtesy of the incredibly inventive Jonny Greenwood. Perhaps this band would be more productively compared to The Who. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs - Derek and the Dominos: Eric Clapton's earlier work with John Mayall and Cream showed his brilliance in bursts; his later, solo work was that of a lazy musician. With Derek and the Dominos, which also included Duane Allman on guitar, Clapton made a single sustained, searing collection of blues rock so consistently audacious that by the time you get to "Layla" on the fourth side of the vinyl version, it seems a bit of a letdown in its familiarity. Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen: Two years after the release of The River everyone was anxiously awaiting the release of the next Bruce Springsteen album, which was expected to continue the growth of his devoted audience. That came two years later in the form of Born in the U.S.A., but first he released Nebraska, which is essentially a solo demo tape. It's his most eerily powerful album, haunted by characters with "debts no honest man can pay," hoping for "radio relay towers to lead [them] to [their] baby." It offers none of the hope of the rest of Springsteen's catalog, just an unexplained "Reason to Believe." Nothing's Shocking - Jane's Addiction: Jane's Addiction was often compared to Led Zeppelin because of the epic quality (and even titles) of songs like "Up the Beach," "Ocean Size," and "Mountain Song," but it was the more ambitious songs like "Jane Says" and, especially, "Ted, Just Admit It..." that made this album remarkable in its own right. It's too bad they never managed to deliver on its promise. Introspective - The Pet Shop Boys: From the first, the Pet Shop Boys made dance music with a difference. It had a sophistication and wistfulness not normally associated with pop music, but you could still dance to it. This was the peak of their self-described "imperial" period, which also included Behavior and Very. This album stands out by virtue of the sweeping scope of its songs--each a suite in itself--which were recorded to be edited down for single release, contrary to the usual practice of padding dance singles for 12" release. Astral Weeks - Van Morrison: After the success of "Gloria" with Them and "Brown-Eyed Girl" as a solo artist, Van Morrison took the opportunity afforded by that success to work with a group of studio musicians on this collection of driving jazz songs with a mystic Irish lilt. It was jazz fusion done the right way: from rock to jazz. Use Your Illusion I & II - Guns N' Roses: Guns N' Roses made a shocking debut with Appetite for Destruction, and then recorded these two albums under the pressure of the proverbial sophomore slump. Perhaps aware of that pressure, they poured everything into that recording, overwhelming listeners (such that many great songs, including "Dead Horse," "Bad Apples," "Pretty Tied Up," "Locomotive (Complicity)," and "Estranged" vanished with nary a trace) and ultimately dissolving the band. The sprawl of these two albums was indulgent, but they couldn't be pared down to one--lesser bands would be happy to stretch this material across four or five. 7:23:49 AM     What do you think? ()

© Copyright 2003 Morgan N. Sandquist. Last update: 11/2/03; 10:36:09 AM.

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