Filed under: Top 40 Albums | Tags: Counting Crows, Lists, Madonna, PJ Harvey, Public Enemy, U2
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35. U2 – Achtung Baby (1991)
Must Hear: One
Underappreciated Gem: Acrobat
This was the album that announced to the world that the “Band of the 80’s” was ready to lay claim to the next decade as well. From Bono’s proclamation of “I’m ready, ready for what’s next” at the outset to the chilling closer “Love Is Blindness”, Achtung Baby transforms U2 from arena rock flag wavers to industrial monsters but never loses sight of the band’s true vision and exquisite storytelling. “One” is arguably the greatest song the band has ever produced (rivaled only by “With or Without You” in my mind) and “Mysterious Ways”, “Even Better Than The Real Thing” and “Acrobat” are prime examples of the musicianship and growth that keeps U2 at the top of the heap even 17 years after this album’s release.
34. Madonna – True Blue (1986)
Must Hear: Open Your Heart
Underappreciated Gem: Live To Tell
A quintessential 80’s pop album, True Blue was the recording where Madonna succesfully made the leap from dance club diva to serious songstress. Led by three stunning mega hits, the latin flavored “La Isla Bonita”, the wistful yet melodic “Open Your Heart” and the controversial (at the time) teen pregnancy theme song and radio favorite “Papa Don’t Preach”, this album introduced Madonna to a whole new audience and a showed a leap forward in her musical maturity that makes this her finest single work.
33. Counting Crows – Recovering The Satellites (1996)
Must Hear: Angels of The Silences
Underappreciated Gem: Catapult
Following up their smash debut “August and Everything After” seemed like a daunting task for Adam Duritz and Co. but they not only equaled their previous foray but in terms of songwriting surpassed it. This album which is equal parts classic rock and heartfelt folk, becomes a showcase for Duritz’s voice from the beginning balladry of “Catapult” to the grand “Daylight Fading” and “Miller’s Angels” and the achingly sorrowful hit “A Long December” making it their most accomplished production yet.
32. Public Enemy – Fear of A Black Planet (1990)
Must Hear: Fight The Power
Underappreciated Gem: Burn Hollywood Burn
Public Enemy’s third album is everything a rap album should be. The messages brought to light by Chuck D and Flavor Flav on Fear of a Black Planet were urgent as a bullet and helped to bring awareness to the struggles of the inner city like no other album since Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” and “Innervisions”. Whether it’s racism, sexism or social injustice, Chuck D goes after the offenders with one impassioned pronouncement after another. Flav even gets in on the act with the memorable “911 Is a Joke” that plays as catchy satire but is truly one of the most true indictments of urban policy anyone has ever come up with. A touchstone in making the rap genre more than just party music.
31. PJ Harvey – To Bring You My Love (1995)
Must Hear: Down By The Water
Underappreciated Gem: Send His Love To Me
This is the album on which PJ Harvey finally lived up to her early promise as a songwriter. She plots a a winding course through her feminine psyche that ranges from lament on “Working For The Man” to desire on “Long Snake Moan” and delirium on “Down By The Water”. With the caressing “Send His Love To Me”, Harvey puts a beautiful bow on what is the perfect gift to her fans, a completely engrossing album.
Filed under: Best and Worst | Tags: ACL Festival, Highline Ballroom, Live Shows, M.I.A., Mos Def
This is a series in which I will write about the best and worst of a wide range of topics. This week it’s Best and Worst Live Performances of 2007.
Best Live Performance MOS DEF “Black Radio” at the Highline Ballroom NYC May 26 2007
Arriving at the Highline Ballroom, I was excited but unsure what to expect from the show titled “Black Radio” but my apprehension was relieved immediately when Mos Def was welcomed onstage by an entire horn section. I knew this was going to be a different type of show and by the time the night was out, I knew I had witnessed a one of a kind performance. Throughout the first half of the show, Mos peppered the crowd with covers ranging from fun (Bell Biv Devoe’s “Poison”) to soulful (Stevie Wonder’s “Too High”) to sexy (Prince’s “If I Was Your Girlfriend” on which he dueted with Alice Smith) which were surprisingly well received by the crowd (even though it was laughable that the majority of the crowd went silent when prodded by Mos to sing along to “Poison”). Most of the crowd seemed to finally get what they were expecting when Mos’ Black Star partner Talib Kweli joined him onstage and the two of them blew through “Respiration” and “Definition” but the crowd excitement jumped to a whole different level once Q-Tip (looking strangely similar to Lou Bega in his panama beach wear) joined the party. The three then collaborated on Tribe’s “Check The Rhime” before Kweli and Tip left Mos to finish out the show with his “Napoleon’s Dynamite” and signature composition “UMI Says”. The show concluded with a spirited encore which saw Mos and Kweli trade verses on Kweli’s “Just to Get By”. By changing it up and not just doing a greatest hits set list favored by so many artists, Mos Def delivered a show that will not soon be forgotten by anyone lucky enough to be “rockin’ with the best” on that night in lower Manhattan.
Honorable Mentions: The Killers at Austin City Limits, Kaiser Chiefs at Beacon Theatre, Regina Spektor at Austin City Limits, Cypress Hill at Rock The Bells, Butch Walker and the Let’s Go Out Tonites at Austin City Limits and Jack’s Mannequin at Bamboozle Festival
Worst Live Performance M.I.A. at Austin City Limits Festival, Austin TX September 14th 2007
After discovering the album “Kala” to be a personal favorite, I had high hopes for the performance on the first day of the ACL Festival, unfortunately those hopes were dashed almost immediately once M.I.A. took the stage. Joined by a backup dancer who became an instant distraction, sound that was less than stellar and what seemed to be an obvious disconnect between the artist and the crowd, M.I.A. was completely unable to translate the freshness and fun of her recording to the live stage. After only a few songs, I found myself echoing the sentiments of the couple in front of me who muttered “We are missing LCD Soundsystem for this???” and it was only a few minutes more before I called it quits and headed over to see what turned out to be one of the better performances that afternoon.
Dishonorable Mentions: They Might Be Giants at Bowery Ballroom, Jedi Mind Tricks at Bamboozle Festival, Arctic Monkeys at Austin City Limits, Stephen Marley at B.B. King’s and Slayer at Roseland.
Filed under: Albums You Should Own | Tags: 1970's, Bryter Layter, Nick Drake
Nick Drake
Bryter Layter (1970)
About the Artist: Nick Drake was a very talented and very troubled musician. His bouts with depression and mental illness led to his death by an overdose of antidepressants in 1974. He recorded only three albums during his short career (Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layter and Pink Moon). His musical style could best be described as jazz-tinged folk with a dark, moody edge.
About the Album: Bryter Layter is the second of Drake’s three releases. Compared to the earlier Five Leaves Left, it could almost be considered upbeat. Drake was accompanied on the album by John Cale of The Velvet Underground and accomplished guitarist/singer Richard Thompson as well as many others. Drake used horns,flutes and string arrangements to lift “At the Chime of a City Clock” and “Hazy Jane I and II” to a jazzier and lighter place than his previous releases and piano and guitar to create the album’s most moving moment “One of These Things First”, a song about what could have been. Other notable tracks are “Fly” and the love lament “Northern Sky” (both featuring Cale) and the fragile “Poor Boy”. Bryter Layter is the perfect starting point for the uninitiated and one of the more celebrated albums of the 1970’s.
Filed under: Top 40 Albums | Tags: Elvis Costello, Lauryn Hill, Lists, Outkast, The Cure, TMBG
This is the first part in a series of posts that look at what I believe are the top 40 albums released from 1980 through 2008.
40-36
40. Elvis Costello and The Attractions – Imperial Bedroom (1982)
Must Hear: Beyond Belief
Underappreciated Gem: Man Out Of Time
While some will say “King of America” was a better album, I believe this was the perfect bridge between Elvis Costello’s earlier punk and rock oriented records and his later more complex recordings. “Beyond Belief” gives notice immediately that this is a special work and the next three songs work as an almost seamless piece of music leading into the moving “Man Out Of Time” and the simply gorgeous ” Almost Blue”. Imperial Bedroom stands as a wonderful achievement in a career full of extroardinary music.
39. Outkast – Stankonia (2000)
Must Hear: B.O.B.
Underappreciated Gem: Humble Mumble
When Big Boi and Andre 3000 decided to “change the game” they released one of the best hip hop albums in years. Channeling the best parts of P-Funk, the sexuality of Prince and the electricity of Southern Rap, Stankonia comes at you in many different ways but never disappoints. From the laments of love long gone in “Ms.Jackson” to the big pimpin’ style of “We Luv Deez Hoes” to the breathtaking poetry of “Humble Mumble” and bombastic explosion of “B.O.B.”, Outkast show that when true vision meets ambition that a great album can be realized.
38. They Might Be Giants – Flood (1990)
Must Hear: Your Racist Friend
Underappreciated Gem: Hearing Aid
They Might Be Giants (TMBG) were always considered the “cool” band for the “uncool”. Feted as “OUR” band by the math geeks and computer dorks, TMBG was the best kept secret in fringe rock for years until the release of “Flood”. When “Birdhouse In Your School” gained heavy rotation on MTV and the radio, TMBG gained a whole new audience and after hearing this album many of the new fans decided to come along for the whole ride. Songs like “Particle Man”, “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” and “Birdhouse” draw you in with their catchy sing-a-long verses and melodic mix-ups like “Hearing Aid” and “Minimum Wage” make you want to visit again and again. Truly the Giants’ best album and one that hasn’t lost it’s ability to make you want to play it loud and dance by yourself just like you did the first time you heard it.
37. Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)
Must Hear: To Zion
Underappreciated Gem: Superstar
With her distinctive voice, Lauryn Hill created an album which served as a voice for anyone who was looking for something more from hip-hop during the late 90’s. Focusing not only on her personal life (“To Zion” and “Lost Ones”) but also the state of hip-hop (“Superstar”) and the social concerns of not only the past but the future as well (“Every Ghetto, Every City” and “Final Hour”), Hill imagined a complex and thoughtful album that still somehow found time to explore the fun side of hip-hop.
36. The Cure – Disintegration (1989)
Must Hear: Lovesong
Underappreciated Gem: Homesick
Anyone who has experienced the joy and pain of being in love can recognize all of their most personal feelings laid out for them in the most poetic way in the words of Robert Smith on this epic album. “Disintegration” is the fully realized dream of a pop album for the affected masses. All 12 songs on the album are pieces that develop slowly around the listener and bring an evocative lush sound that captures your ear as well as the pit in your stomach.
