Boz Scaggs' "Silk Degrees," Steely Dan's "Katy Lied"...name an album you consider to be perfect

...and a third one that wouldn;t fit in my subject line, Neil Young's "Ragged Glory"...name YOUR all-time faves.

:toast:

"Francine"
"Just Got Paid"
"Mushmouth Shoutin'"
"Ko Ko Blue"
"Chevrolet"
"Apologies to Pearly"
"Bar-B-Q"
"Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell"
"Whiskey'n Mama"
"Down Brownie"

I really enjoy "Sharp Dressed Men"...one of the few "tribute" albums that "clicked" from start to finish. Alan Jackson's "Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell" was one of many highlights. Hank Williams III brought the appropriate spirit of rebellion to "Fearless Boogie," while Brooks & Dunn played it safe with "Rough Boy," delivering a "bar band-perfect" version.



:toast:

...I own and enjoy all of the other ones you've posted, but "Revolver" is considered by many to be "THE" Beatles album. Sgt. Pepper's may have received the lion's share of hype, but "Revolver" delivered what they did best...mercilessly tight, well-crafted rock and pop songs. As a guitarist, I love the fact that legions of woodshedders tried to nail George's work on "And Your Bird Can Sing."

I still consider the first Van Halen album to be the one that returned guitar-based rock to FM radio. Disco may be fun and campy and nostalgia-filled now, but back in the day, it hung around long after it had worn out its welcome. I remember "Runnin' With The Devil," "Eruption," and "You Really Got Me" blasting out of radios everywhere. It was like the old David Spade "Buh-BYE" skits on SNL...the first VH album officially declared the disco years to be O-V-E-R.

:toast:

(oops, it's late and I'm not all there, somehow thought you were the OP...oh well)......or at least near-perfect, on the theory that there's always something that coulda been better about it....So... eliminating greatest hits/compilations and live albums (which are usually sort of greatest hits)and besides the ones of yours I mentioned, here goes in no particular order:

Doors: first album and LA Woman
Elvis Costello, My Aim is True
Derek and the Dominoes
The Band
the Fugs second album
Toots and the Maytals, Funky Kingston
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels,Breakout
Springsteen, Born to Run, and The Wild ,The Innocent, and The E Street Shuffle ( Darkness on the Edge of Town gets left off due to Something in the Night)
Van Morrison, Moondance, Astral Weeks and St. Dominic's Preview
The Temptations, With a Lot of Soul, Temptin' Temptations,and Wish It Would Rain
Janis Joplin, Kozmic Blues
Carol King,Tapestry
Grateful Dead, American Beauty
Chris Isaak, Heart Shaped World
X, More Fun in the New World
Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, Bringin it All Back Home
Elton John,Tumbleweed Connection
Eagles,The Long Run, Desperado, first album
Robert Johnson,King of the Delta Blues singers
Rolling Stones, Out of Our Heads, Sticky Fingers
Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Wise Guy
Beatles, Yesterday and Today, Second Album, Rubber Soul, Sergeant Pepper, maybe Beatles VI too
Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues
Rancid, Out Come the Wolves
Television ,Marquee Moon
Robert Cray,Bad Influence

:hi:

...that's my impression of the "Marquee Moon" solo, the part where it blows up and Verlaine lets go with that beautiful shower of little staccato notes.

I was turned on to the "Marquee Moon" album by the posse I hung with at the time. I'll always be grateful for that.

:toast:

and same thing I just said to firewalk...I don't know who Verlaine listened to growing up, but I hear occasional echoes of early Quicksilver Messenger Service in Verlaine's playing . Powerful record, ain't it? Still have my vinyl copy, and still listen to it on occasion, but gotta be in a certain , generally late night, mood.

and actually I got turned on to em because one of my good friends (and bandmate off and on through the years) had played bass in a band based I think around Delaware and Baltimore before he moved out here to NM. Anyway, Billy Ficca ( of Television) was the drummer in that band back east. John knew I was getting into punk and new wave when it first was starting to filter out of the east coast ( the rest of the band were all turning into sort of jazz snobs there for awhile, but I'm a terminal rocker) and mentioned Television as a band he thought I'd like and that he knew of em because of Billy being an old buddy of his. Ficca also , I believe , played with The Waitresses ( I Know What Boys Like) after Television. I've seen a few other DUers who are hip to Television on other threads, but yeah, they never really broke through commercially . To my ears, it's one of the most compelling albums ever made , but not for every taste, and something I have to be in a specific mood to hear. I never got into that second album, but have been told it grows on you if you give it a few tries...I don't know who Verlaine listened to growing up, but I hear echoes of early Quicksilver Messenger Service here and there on that album......and back atcha:hi:

...and the reason was that I've always thought of that as a perfect Frank album, too. I just saw it sitting in the rack and thought "Oh YEAH."

:toast:

It changed my life.

Then
Freedom of Speech (Just Watch What You Say) - Ice T
Goodbye Yellowbrick Road - Elton John
Overnight Sensation - Frank Zappa


I could go on all night.

I've always felt that "Laughing" from this album featured the best playing of Jerry Garcia's career (running a close second to "Bird Song" from his own first solo album).

The CD / DVD audio remaster of this album that came out in 2006 is amazing. There's a "Bonus Track"...a song called "Kids And Dogs" that could have easily stayed on the cutting room floor...but the sound, especially on the DVD audio disc, is heart-stopping.



:toast:

Put down the bong, man...

I still have it. Nothing to play it on, though. :)

I LOVE Smashmouth's Astro Lounge also.

U2's How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

Thanks for the nod to Silk Degrees. Saw Boz live last year -- as VITAL as ever. Stunning.

"Ice Cold Ice" from Husker Du,
"Wishing Well" and "Whichever Way The Wind Blows" from "Workbook,"
"Hanging Tree" and "Black Sheets Of Rain" from "Black Sheets Of Rain,"
"Hoover Dam" and "Man On The Moon" from "Copper Blue,"
"Come Around" and "Judas Cradle" from "Beaster,"
"Needle Hits E" from "Besides,"
"Your Favorite Thing" and "Explode And Make Up" from F.U.E.L.,"
"Anymore Time Between" and "Fort Knox, King Solomon" from "Bob Mould,"
and the live version of Richard Thompson's "Shoot Out The Lights" from "Poison Years."

:toast:

"Hoover Dam" is one of the best songs ever.

Around 1991 or 92 I turned a local DJ onto "If I Can't Change Your Mind" and he put it in the playlist. :hi: :toast:

We wore out the vinyl Silk Degrees in high school.

Yeah, I know, Sugar=Bob Mould. It's a great album and on heavy rotation in my cd player and MP3 thingamadoo. "Fortune Teller" and "If I Can't Change Yor Mind" are amazing songs.

:hi:

...when times are tough, I roll down the windows and turn that one up. Like a lot of Bob songs, I really don;t know what he's talking about here, but don't need to.



Good stuff whether it makes sense or not. And loud. Good, loud stuff.

:rofl:

Tracy Chapman "Telling Stories."

I used to play the title track again and again...

http://www.amazon.com/Sails-Chet-Atkins/dp/B000KQF7BG/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_lnk

:toast:

Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Jennifer Warnes "Famous Blue Raincoat."

Oops! I went over. It's hard to narrow it down to one...

SIMPLE THINGS by Zero 7
WHAT'S GOING ON? by Marvin Gaye
And
THIS IS NOT A LOVE SONG by Omar Lye Fook

...as much as I love all of the classic Motown, Marvin tore up Berry Gordy's playbook and made history.

:toast:

Honestly, I'd put any Radiohead album at near perfect, but OK Computer really hits the mark. Wish You Were Here needs no introduction or justification. It's just plain beautiful. Here are some others that I think of as perfect:

Beatles - Revolver
The Who - Tommy
El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
DJ Shadow - The Private Press
Beck - Odelay
Buck 65 - Secret House Against the World
Portishead - Dummy
Massive Attack - Mezzanine

No others come immediately to mind, but all of the albums I mentioned are beyond fantastic and are worth your time.

I like "The Bends" better than "OK Computer" for some reason. Both great albums though.

But both are fantastic.

"In Rainbows" also a strong contender.

...centers around the band's dislike of the project and questioning of Brian's wisdom, discussed at length in Steven Gaines excellent BB bio "Heroes & Villains," with Mike Love calling the album Brian's "ego" music. Supposedly he recorded the whole album while the band was in Europe, and when they returned the only remaining piece was to add their vocals, and they listened and went "We don't LIKE this..."

:rofl:

"Who's gonna hear this shit?" Beach Boys singer Mike Love asked the band's resident genius, Brian Wilson, in 1966, as Wilson played him the new songs he was working on. "The ears of a dog?" Confronted with his bandmate's contempt, Wilson made lemonade of lemons. "Ironically," he observed, "Mike's barb inspired the album's title."

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6553833/2_pet_sounds

Rubber Soul ===> Pet Sounds ===> Sgt. Pepper

Pink Floyd: Animals and Jethro Tull: Thick as a Brick are both worthy as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1moiym6-Nk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1xY7Heaqg8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNa551dR6Rc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toHlMD50eYY

*edited to add youtube links to a song from each album - title song for all but Animals - all but one in HQ audio

The Beatles, "Abbey Road"

The Jam, "Sound Affects"

..."Who's Next" just sounded so LARGE, and "Abbey Road" just had so many layers...I think we take a lot of these songs / albums for granted now because they've weaved themselves into the overall fabric of life, but little things like the doomsday guitars and abrupt ending of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" were new and revolutionary in their day. A lot of younger listeners who hear The Beatles now for the first time and say "I don't get it" are right...they don't, and they can't, because they lack the perspective that came with the music upon its arrival.

It's easy to forget that around the time of "White Album," "Abbey Road," and "Let It Be," Lennon was walking around in fur coats and snorting heroin. Eventually, that comes out in the music. In his case, it certainly did.

:toast:

Just as someone may not get how heavy Hendrix was, because he fundamentally changed the landscape of what could be done with a guitar after he came along...

"Cannonball Adderley/Nancy Wilson"

Beastie Boys-"Paul's Boutique"

Ornette Coleman-"In All Languages"

John Coltrane-"Crescent" and "First Meditations (for Quartet)"

Miles Davis-"My Funny Valentine/Four & More" and "Kind of Blue"

Peter Gabriel-"So"

Alan Holdsworth-"Secrets
"
Edgar Meyer-"Work in Progress"

Charles Mingus-"Mingus Ah Um"

NWA-"Straight Outta Compton"

Bob Marley & The Wailers-"Uprising"

Pat Metheney-"Bright Size Life"

Mahavishnu Orchestra-"The Inner Mounting Flame"

Jaco Pastorius-"Jaco Pastorius"

The Police-"Ghost in the Machine"

John Scofield-"Time on My Hands"

Wayne Shorter-"Speak No Evil" and "The Soothsayer"

Steely Dan-"Aja"

Weather Report-"Black Market", "Heavy Weather", and "Weather Report"

There's more, but that's a jumping off point.

...what an album. Just amazing.

That, along with Herbie's "Maiden Voyage," are my two favorite jazz albums not performed by Miles or Coltrane. I also like "JuJu" and "Soothsayer"...I have a mix CD that never leaves my car with tracks from these albums plus "My Favorite Things," "Coltrane's Sound," and "Kind Of Blue."

:toast:

underrated band, underrated album.

it had everything a rock album needs: sex, drugs, cheesy B3, soaring geetar solos. what's not to like?

James McMurtry's Too Long in the Wasteland

Donald Fagen's The Nightfly and Kamakiriad

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells

Alice Cooper Group - School's Out

Synergy (Larry Fast) - Cords

The Who - Tommy

Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick

Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile

Didn't think anyone else knew who they were!

BIL is a district manager at an indie record chain. He fished out lots of good stuff from there. You was an album I always took to since it was just the right mix of above and below ground prog, mythology, ambient and Krautrock. "A Sprinkling of Clouds" is probably one of the best instrumentals ever written.

Tubular Bells would have been my other choice for the perfect album - part I is pretty much a perfect song. (siigh) . . . .juuuuuuuust not liking the "hoedown" ending to part II, though.

just great music from cut 1 til the end.

...the late Robert Quine was rightfully credited with goading Lou into picking up the guitar again after years of post-Velvets apathy. I remember when "Blue Mask" came out, and the reviews of the title track (a right-channel, left-channel Texas Death Cage match between Reed and Quine).

As a guitarist myself, I respect any "technique" player like Chet Atkins, Les Paul, etc...

...but I also respect the players who couldn't find their own ass with a funnel when it comes to "guitar technique," like Neil Young and Lou Reed.

"Blue Mask" marked the return on Lou Reed, lead guitarist. He'd continue in that role, but NEVER as ferociously as he did on "The Blue Mask."

:toast:





Robert Quine, December 30, 1942 – May 31, 2004, American guitarist.

...I've heard rumor that the reason "Exile" was held back from the recent Stones remasters / box set is that it's coming out as a box set itself. I know they are doing that with "Get Yer Ya Yas Out"...a few unreleased takes as well as songs from the supporting acts and a DVD of "Gimme Shelter" documentary stuff.

But an "Exile" box set? How the hell could I resist THAT?

My favorite Coltrane story is found in the notes accompanying the 2-CD "deluxe edition," discussing the live performance of "A Love Supreme" found on Disc 2. Seems like the French audience was a little less than appreciative of the length of the show (A.L.S. only, clocking in at 48 minutes...)

Announcer Andre Francis (transcribed from the CD booklet):



I have to wonder how many people in 2009 would consider selling a kidney or some other organ to attend a John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones live performance of "A Love Supreme."

:rofl:

Here's a short clip I shot. Unfortunately, I didn't have the best view, but the night was a tribute to Coltrane.

http://img63.imageshack.us/i/1212194.mp4/

I wish that some jazz keyboardists, such as ultimate showboat diva Keith Jarrett, would pay a little more attention to McCoy. His performance in "My Favorite Things," for me, is the equivalent to Neil Young's famous/infamous "one note solo" in "Cinnamon Girl"...McCoy could have gone over the top on some free-form modal exploration, and what did he do? He built an air of tension by going back and forth on those two notes, which hold you captive, waiting for a dramatic form of release that never happens, and...that becomes the dramatic release.

Sometimes less is really more. Or as BB King once said, the space between the notes is sometimes more important than the notes themselves. I'm not implying that McCoy is a "simplistic" player...not by any stretch of the imagination...but he plays with taste and style and contributes what is important to the music, not some self-absorbed narcissistic noodling.

I mean, Jarrett makes a guitar face when he plays/ That, and the fact that he's not shy about trashing other musicians (he was not happy at all about John McLaughlin being in Miles' Live-Evil era band, for starters...)

:toast:

...I don't miss John Hartford as much for his music as I do the fact that he was like a quirky, cool friend who was always there when you needed him. The music remains, but I miss the man behind it. He was a true original.

:toast:

I just checked Ebay and found a copy of the CD for $99.95.

I want it. But I don't want it THAT bad!

...and if you want to listen to the whole thing for free right now, you can do so on "Free Napster"...

http://free.napster.com/view/album/index.html?id=10628481

:toast:

I love the layers of warm fuzzy sonic goodness of Low and the evolution of emotion throughout the Album's progression. The lyrics are more like poem verses than song lyrics.

Iggy pop managed to sonically manifest the feeling of being on shitty dirty drugs and being in that culture . I also appreciate the way the songs change throughout the progression of the album from feeling invincible to feeling shitty. I think China Girl(iggy pop;s version any way) is a punk blues song

heard the perfect album. My favorite band is the New York Dolls and their 2 official records are ok but it is their 3rd demo recordings (sometimes called 7 day weekend or Endless Party among other titles) that I find to be the greatest recordings of all time.

The Dolls tear through several 50s and early 60s classics in addition to their own soon-to-be groundbreaking material. Only the songs 'Trash' and 'Showdown' would ever be improved by proper recordings IMO. The rest of the songs are the definitive versions to me.

To my ears the Dolls 3rd Demos were the greatest batch of rock-n-roll songs ever pressed to vinyl.

more "pop" than the Dolls, but really good NY style pop. :hi:

One of the unsung heroes of rock-n-roll IMO and a real swell guy. Syl wrote some very good songs right when the Dolls imploded. Kids are Back and Teenage News could be my favorite Dolls songs if they had been recorded by the full band properly. The Red Patent Leather lp just has horrible sound.

Syl's solo stuff has that infectious quality to it, even if it doesn't rock as hard as the Dolls. Teenage News is like the last great 50s type rock-n-roll song. My girl's the queen of the hop and she's a boppin' so pretty!

I have an exciting project lined up for next year Abq and maybe you could help me with it. My friend and I are planning on contacting people like Syl, Michael Lutz of Brownsville Station and the Collins Kids to interview them. My rock-n-roll heroes are not the rich and famous, but rather people who fell through the cracks but are very important to rock-n-roll anyway. I know that David Johansen, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis or Chuck Berry would not agree to an interview with me, but I am certain that Sylvain would. I wish the GREAT GREAT GREAT Cub Koda was still alive. Man, I just loved that guy and he would be perfect for what I am trying to accomplish. The world does not know what we lost when Cub Koda passed away in obscurity. NOBODY knew more about rock-n-roll music that good ol Cub. Can you think of any rock-n-roll heroes who fit the bill?

I have some ideas that I've had knocking around for awhile that might or might not be similar to what you're talking about. BTW, first I ever heard of Cub Koda...I know a lot of stuff compared to the average civilian, but obviously there are many people, ( and in apparently many cases, you) who know a hell of a lot more R&R history than I do.

He also wrote many of the entries in the all music guide including Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, and the Collins Kids among many others. When Brownsville Station (Smokin in the Boys Room) split up, Cub became a solo rockabilly artist and wrote for Goldmine magazine. Cub was a real champion for early rock-n-rollers. There are only a couple of clips of B Station on youtube, but Kings of the Party really shows what Cub and company were all about. He was a great rock-n-roller and a fine human being.

Charlie is now an entertainment lawyer, but in the late seventies and eighties he led some of the greatest rockandroll bands in existence- Chatlie Pickett and the Eggs and Charlie Pickett and the MC3 (both bands featured brilliant guitarplayer John Salton)
Bloodshot has recently issued a Charlie Pickett anthology.
He is truly an unsung rockandroll hero.

Sounds like he is just the type of guy I want to interview. It is amazing how much great unknown rock-n-roll is out there. I am always discovering artists and bands that I'd never heard of before that end up becoming real favorites.

Just today at an auction, I got about 75 45rpm singles by a bunch of old rockabilly artists like Elvis, Wanda Jackson and Conway Twitty. I can't wait to check out the other artists that I am not as familiar with, such as Sonny James.

I always have mixed feelings about this kind of project, but from everything I've read, it was done in the right spirit.

:toast:

I can also listen over and over again to several other albums on this thread. But Jethro Tull? I'll quote a friend who said, "There's not enough pot in the world to make that shit sound good again."

I love "Tokyo", but "How I Spent My Fall Vacation" is one of my all time favorite songs!!

I was a college radio dj in the early 80's, and I turned so many people onto Bruce Cockburn with songs form this album.

There are a lot of albums with eight great songs, one so-so and one :wtf: song, but this one just has something in every song.

The man is totally a visual lyricist. Blows me away sometimes! :thumbsup:

I'd +1 a lot of the ones listed in the thread so far... especially:

XTC - English Settlement
Jason & The Scorchers - Lost and Found
Television - Marquee Moon
Clash - London Calling

And I could probably add more to the list, if I took the time...

I bookmark every one.

Neil Young: Unplugged

Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Rust Never Sleeps

Radiohead: The Bends

Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here

Johnnie Bassett and the Blues Insurgents: I Gave My Life to the Blues

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Texas Flood

Rush: A Farewell to Kings

Jethro Tull: Aqualung

U2: Achtung Baby

The Who: Who's Next

Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense

In modern music, I think both A Fine Frenzy albums are perfect.

Back then it was the perfect album because I was bored and didn't know nuttin'.

Just look at that fucking mayhem going on! You see that cover and you buy the damn album.
What you see is what you get, musically.

:headbang:

there is no way for you to avoid purchasing it. Yes, just look at the cover! I still like 'em.

It's not an "every song is perfect" album by any means (maybe one or two groaners at the most, though), and it's unfortunate that what has become a standard gimmick for Wal-Mart (a second CD of "re-recorded greatest hits, plus a DVD) had to get tacked on, but they're still charging less than the price of a normal CD for the 3-disc set, so who's to complain...as an album, it kicks the ass of virtually any Kulick-era effort (except maybe "Revenge," which I still like).

On the Kiss Website, they talk about not using outside songwriters, and it paid off. Although they DID include "Forever," one of their worst attempts at chasing a hit single, on the re-recorded disc.

I think I wore this album out...

Tells you all you need to know.

"My Aim Is True"/This Year's Model"....Elvis Costello & the Attractions
Someone upstream said "Get Happy" by EC & the A's...I totally agree...
"Los Angeles".....X
"Electric Ladyland"...Jimi Hendrix Experience
"What We Do Is Secret(EP)"...GERMS
"Double Nickels On The Dime"....The Minutemen
"KRLA/King Of The Wheels"....Bobby Fuller Four
"Primordial Ooze Flavored"...The Unclaimed
"RAMONES"....RAMONES
"The Clash"....The Clash
"Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music"....Ray Charles
"Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables"....the Dead Kennedys
"Working In A Coal Mine"....Lee Dorsey

There are sooooo many more.

These are albums I can put on the turntable and play through the day
with sounds that either entertain or energize me.

Tikki

Is your avatar the Screamers logo?

edit- did not notice your sigline. It must be the Screamers, very cool.

I was just relistening to that the other day, and thinking how great those days were. :thumbsup:

I would add:

Purple Rain - Prince
Back in Black - AC/DC
Licensed to Ill - Beastie Boys

Beatles – Revolver


Great Big Sea – Road Rage


Graham Parker – Heat Treatment


Teenage Fanclub – Grand Prix


Dave Brubeck – Time Out


Monkees – Headquarters


10,000 Maniacs – Our Time In Eden


Elvis Costello – Get Happy


Ella Fitzgerald – Sings the Cole Porter Songbook


Nanci Griffith – Other Voices Other Rooms



Beware, though, these threads often devolve into “Your Favorite Band Sucks.”

http://www.amazon.com/Time-Out-50th-Anniversary-Legacy/dp/B001S6Y0AQ/

Disc 2: 8 tracks (St. Louis Blues, Waltz Limp, Since Love Had Its Way, Koto Song, Pennies from Heaven, You Go to My Head, Blue Rondo à La Turk, Take Five) recorded during various years in concert at Newport

Disc 3: "a companion DVD offering a fresh take on the making of this pioneering recording"

:toast:

. . . "Who's Next"!

:yourock:

. . . "Who's Next"!

:yourock:

are all perfect albums in my view.

John Abercrombie's Timeless is a perfect album.

John Abercrombie never recorded a note in his life that wasn't worth listening to. I once sat in a restaurant in Greenwich Village eating dinner and he showed up with a woman - it seemed like a first date or something - and talked about his feelings about his playing.

It was very rude I know, but I listened in on the conversation. He disparaged his own playing quite a bit, and I was very surprised, because I always thought of him as if he were God, and I'm not all that religious.

...especially "Hejira." It may be one of the single greatest "atmosphere" albums of all time. When the mood strikes, no other album fills that void.

:toast:

which is "Edith and the Kingpin." It is an essential album, bold and innovative, but for my taste uneven.

Hejira, well what can I say?

I will never forget the first time I heard it, which was a New Year's Eve in which I shared tea on the beach with a friend and a very beautiful young woman, a Mitchell aficinado, who happened to be going through a religious phase.

That was the first time I heard Jaco Pastorius's playing...

There's a video on the internet of Mitchell playing "Edith and the Kingpin" with a band that was Pastorius/Metheny/Mays. Metheny didn't rise to the occassion. He's a great player, but inconsistent.

I've heard, and I don't know if it's true, that John McLaughlin did out-takes for either Hegira or Mingus. If so, they must be as interesting as hell.

Speaking of perfect albums, though, another one would be McLaughlin's Extrapolation with John Surman.

McLaughlin is one of the great musicians to have played Goodbye Porkpie Hat. His version is one of those impossibly beautiful things, and that flameco riff he does blows my mind. I feel like I stayed up a thousand nights to hear it. I always attach Ms. Mitchell's lyrics to that song, although her version is nowhere near my favorite. My favorite was the one that Mingus himself reportedly said was the best, Ralph Towner with Gary Burton's version on Matchbook. Ralph has done a couple of solo guitar versions that have been recorded that are also very beautiful.

:hug:

And:

"Rubber Soul" is held down from perfection by "What Goes On," the weakest song by far on the album. If they had just substituted something like "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" or "Yesterday" then they would have made the perfect pop music album.

Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions" is nearly perfect, only "Too High," the first track, brings it down a notch.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hbqf2LImoxc/SqbTboTZXVI/AAAAAAAAIdQ/6bcir5LGe38/s400/Steve+Miller+Band+-+Children.jpg

Boz plays the entire 2nd half (tracks 6-11 on the CD) and it's about as perfect a sequence of songs as has ever been

...Jumpin' Jack Scaggs.



:toast:

saw them 40 years ago ( WHAT?) opening for Sly and the Family Stone. Wow..just wow. Somebody gimme a cheeseburger.

It brings back a lot of memories. I also liked Steve Miller's "Sailor" album, especially that first piece with the foghorns, but after that album he went downhill.

the who - quadrophenia



i never get tired of listening to it.

...that big, fat, earth-shaking one he hits after the line "I used to follow you back in '63," in "Bell Boy" (right before the final Moon vocal).

Also, my favorite Entwistle bass is on this album too ("The Real Me")...

:toast:

think alike. though i like the first and last 2 songs on the album. the real me/quadrophenia and the rock/love reign o'er me. pete townsend is a god (well, one of them anyway).

It's almost like it was written by a guy with a PhD in Psychology with a minor in Comparative Religions..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tja6_h4lT6A&feature=player_profilepage

Dylan, Young, rem

and Armed forces (Elvis Costello) Marquee Moon (Television) Bitches Brew (Miles Davis) Horses (Patti Smith)

and many more......

Great concept, beautiful music... what can I say?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff0wqQe963A

-The Court of the Crimson King
-Gaucho
-Gould's Goldberg Variations
-The Who, Live at Leeds
-Penguin Cafe Orchestra (self-titled)
-Rubycon, Tangerine Dream
-Thelonius Monk, 1963 Monterey festival (MFSL)
-Wish You Were Here

-Cords by Synergy is very, very good but might not -quite- make the aforementioned level...Peter Gabriel, Security is the same.

I'm sure that I'm missing something or other...sometimes an entire record is just a joy to experience.

...there was a time when I'd buy any album that had a gimmick. Of course, I've been an unrepentant prog fan for years, so "Cords" crossed my path anyway, but the clear vinyl was...well, did I mention that it was CLEAR??? Here's a T-I-N-Y little shot I found of it on Google Images:



Had a nice, weird album cover, in alignment with the era...so that was another enticement. And it actually contained MUSIC, too!



:toast:

I also, as you ALREADY KNOW, like King Crimson, but I'm not gonna discuss that at length because I might be ridiculed as a FANBOY.

:rofl:

The best way for me to describe this is "bittersweet innocence"...Tish's style, at least on this album, is very similar to early career Emmylou Harris. The title track is worth the price of admission but there is not a single "filler" track on the CD. Bonus points awarded for her beautiful performance of "Please Be With Me," which was one of the standout tracks on Eric Clapton's "461 Ocean Boulevard."



:toast:

...a little more mature and self-assured than "Taos" while still retaining the charm.



In the mainstream, Tish is another one of those "best kept secrets," which is unfortunate. She deserves a much wider audience.

:toast:

Many others of course, but this one comes eerily to mind, as the events depicted on it are happening right now.

I was just compiling my list and accidentally closed the tab when I was almost done. :cry:

...the mind boggles.

Steely Dan - Katy Lied, The Royal Scam, Aja
Springsteen - The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle
Jethro Tull - Aqualung, Thick as a Brick, Passion Play, War Child
Beatles - ANY album at all
Joni Mitchell - Song to a Seagull, Hissing of Summer Lawns, Hejira
King Crimson - Court of the Crimson King, In the Wake of Poseidon, Red, Lizard
Yes - Fragile, The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, Tales From Topographic Oceans
Zappa - Freak Out, We're Only In It For The Money, Overnight Sensation, Sheik Yerbouti
The Who - Who's Next, Quadrophenia
Pink Floyd - Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals
Genesis - Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England By the Pound, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Audience - House on the Hill
Todd Rundgren - A Wizard, A True Star & Todd Rundgren's Utopia
The Tubes - White Punks on Dope
Traffic - The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys
Derek & The Dominoes
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - The Impossible Dream, Next
Sade - Promise
Roxy Music - Avalon
Jean-Luc Ponty - Aurora, Civilized Evil, Cosmic Messenger, Enigmatic Ocean, Imaginary Voyage
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Led Zeppelin - The first 8 albums
Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene, Equinoxe, Zoolook
James Gang - Rides Again
Gentle Giant - Three Friends
Fleetwood Mac - Bare Trees, Rumours
Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy), Before and After Science, Another Green World
Curved Air - Second Album
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love, Aerial
Blind Faith - Blind Faith
Bill Bruford - Feels Good to Me, One of a Kind
Bob Seeger - Live Bullet, Night Moves
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust, Hunky Dory, Black Tie, White Noise, Space Oddity, Station to Station, Young American
David Bowie & Brian Eno - Low, Outside
Laurie Anderson - Mr. Heartbreak, Strange Angels
Tangerine Dream - Force Majeure
Patrick O'Hearn - Between Two Worlds
Cat Stevens - Tea For the Tillerman
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Wendy Carlos - Clockwork Orange Soundtrack

I could go on and on... obviously.

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

This album is a drug.
:loveya:

Haven't seen those two mentioned yet. Both classics.

Others (as I scan the My Music folder on my computer...):

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
Beatles - Rubber Soul, Revolver, White Album (aside from a few crappy songs), Abbey Road
Solo Beatles:
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (recorded with many of the same people that did "Layla")
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
Paul McCartney - Band On The Run, Run Devil Run
Rolling Stones - THE big four (Beggars, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile)
Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
Radiohead - Kid A, In Rainbows, OK Computer
U2 - Achtung Baby, All That You Can't Leave Behind
Boz Scaggs - I'll give you Silk Degrees. That's a good one.
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
The Clash - London Calling
Johnny Cash - American IV - The Man Comes Around
Joe Jackson - Night And Day
Led Zeppelin - II, IV, Physical Graffiti
Billy Joel - The Stranger, The Nylon Curtain
Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell (I really don't care what YOU think!)
Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced?
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here
The Pretenders - First album
Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet
Rage Against The Machine - First album
The Who - Sell Out (mono version), Who's Next
The Doors - L.A. Woman
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde On Blonde, Freewheelin', Blood On The Tracks
The Pogues - If I Should Fall From Grace With God

...so I will. ;-)



Up until a few years ago, I'd argue that Revolver is better, but now I find myself switching their places and moving the earlier album down to (a very close) second place. Of course, I also used to absolutely detest the "White Album," but now find it's becoming one of my favorites of theirs, especially in the new mono remaster.

In terms of other performers...well, in terms of another "'60s album," this one got played until it almost wore out back then:



And, since I have a love for British and Celtic folk-rock, I'd have to go with these:







And, in the "early '70s singer-songwriter" category:






(O.K., that last one was released in the mid-'80s, but Browne's still part of that group.)

Also...







In music of (very) recent years, this is the album I find I could listen to over and over...

...I just think that it's a better album. "Pepper" holds its rightful place in the CAHOF ("Concept Album Hall Of Fame") and very unique songs like Lennon's bizzaro-slash-whimsical confessional "Getting Better" ("I used to be cruel to my woman, I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved") but "Revolver" just hangs better as an album. All a matter of personal preference, but can an album be over-hyped? Of it's Sgt. Pepper, yeah, I think it can. The album could never possibly be as good as some critics claim it to be. Of course, half of the enjoyment in music comes from listening in spite of...not because of...what critics write, because these are people writing about music, not performing it. The albums we think are "perfect" are our perfect albums.

:toast: