Patti, I don't remember REVOLVER as an album though I might have heard the songs behind it. I like R.E.M.'s OUT OF TIME and the singles "Losing My Religion," "Shiny Happy People," and "Near Wild Heaven." I'm also quite fond of the song "Drive" by The Cars though I don't remember any of the other songs from their hit album HEARTBEAT CITY.
Not even my favorite Beatles album - I've always preferred RUBBER SOUL and even ABBEY ROAD.
Of course there is no #1 favorite for me. I could maybe pick out 10 favorites at any one time... (and no, Cream wouldn't be on it).
Off the top of my head, some favorites:
Let It Bleed American Beauty Bat Out of Hell Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music Rubber Soul After the Gold Rush Bringing It All Back Home Music From Big Pink
Highway 61 Revisited - Dylan Hotel California - Eagles Aja - Steely Dan Aftermath, Let It Bleed - Rolling Stones Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road - Beatles Layla - Eric Clapton Late For the Sky - Jackson Browne Afterburner - Z.Z. Top
the next nine were PURPLE RAIN, EXILE ON MAIN STREET, THRILLER, LONDON CALLING, BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, LADY SOUL, MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY, PET SOUNDS,NEVER MIND.
To me, Revolver and Rubber Soul are a double album--and, at least when I'm talking about The Beatles, my favorite(s). As for the best of all time, well that's too hard to narrow down. Certainly Let It Bleed would be there, Coltrane's A Love Supreme, the previously-mentioned Kind of Blue (the best record for background at dinner parties--and I mean that in a good way), Pet Sounds, Rumours, Deja Vu, Life's Rich Pageant, the list goes on...
/Did anyone else notice that in the greatest novels list, EW claimed the publication date of Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy to be 1895? Hello, Editor!
I also prefer Rubber Soul. my favorite album would be a choice between London Calling by the Clash, Exile On Main Street by the Rolling Stones, Blonde on Blonde by Dylan or The Velvet Underground with Nico.
The album featuring "Take Five" is called TIME OUT. The next one in that sequence from the Brubeck Quartet, TIME FURTHER OUT: MIRO REFLECTIONS, was my default favorite album for a decade, when I was a kid. The contrapuntal fugue "Bluette" and "Blue Shadows in the Street" particularly. ("It's a Raggy Waltz" and "Unsquare Dance" are the "hits"...)
For the Beatles, the original (Parlophone) HELP! is almost as good as the original REVOLVER and the original RUBBER SOUL is just a shade behind. "Run for Your Life" is a minus, "In My Life" is a plus.
Among the rock contenders: The Zombies BEGIN HERE THE KINKS ARE THE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY BIG STAR'S 3RD/SISTER LOVERS The Byrds FIFTH DIMENSION The Velvet Underground WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT Jawbox GRIPPE (cd version) The Bangles ALL OVER THE PLACE The Go-Go's TALK SHOW
Duke Ellington, Max Roach, Charles Mingus: MONEY JUNGLE
Charles Mingus Band: MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS
George Russell Smalltet: JAZZ WORKSHOP--where Bill Evans learned modal improvising, so he could teach it to the other Miles Davis Quintet members later on for KIND OF BLUE (a toss-up with the GR Orchestra's LIVING TIME)
Lambert, Hendricks and Ross: THE HOTTEST NEW GROUP IN JAZZ
Brubeck Quartet and the New York Philharmonic: BRUBECK PLAYS BERNSTEIN PLAYS BRUBECK
The Modern Jazz Quartet: THE LAST CONCERT (nearly a toss-up with THIRD STREAM MUSIC)
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson: WINTER IN AMERICA (with a lot of potential subs)
Billie Holiday: STRANGE FRUIT: THE COMMODORE YEARS (the CBS collections of course vie with this)
Thelonious Monk Quartet: CRISS-CROSS
Gil Evans Orchestra with Miles Davis: PORGY AND BESS
Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln et al.: FREEDOM NOW SUITE
THE WEAVERS: THE CONCERT AT CARNEGIE HALL 1963 (essentially all the Weavers together, though if Erik Darling's boring solo number got lost, it would be no crisis)
Maggie and Terre Roche: SEDUCTIVE REASONING
Johnny Cash: DESTINATION VICTORIA STATION (no kidding...it gathers a brilliant mix of country and folk train songs--even better than RIDE THIS TRAIN)
Albums with tracks like WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU or LOVE YOU TO or YELLOW SUBMARINE should not even be considered. The best Beatles LP is probably A HARD DAYS NIGHT. However, he opening quartet of tracks from WITH THE BEATLES are incredible.
I'm not really into all this "best album" stuff anyway. Pop music has always been the best when it was about singles. This was the case up until ca 1968, and it had kind of a rennaissance in 1977-1982.
But if you twist my arm, I'd like to mention the following items: Can't Stand the Rezillos (The Rezillos) Inflammable Material (Stiff Little Fingers) I Just Can't Stop It (The Beat) Stands for Decibels (The dB's) Violent Femmes (Violent Femmes) All Mod Cons (The Jam) Blank Generation (Richard Hell) Marquee Moon (Television) Prehistoric Sounds (The Saints)
This Year's Model (Elvis Costello) New Boots and Panties (Ian Dury) Another Music In a Different Kitchen (Buzzcocks) The Modern Dance (Pere Ubu) Parallell Lines (Blondie) Drums & Wires (XTC)
Wheels of Fire ...
ReplyDeleteI don't have a good sense of CREAM. Need to listen to them more.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... I have a soft spot for Sergeant Pepper's.... And although I'm not at all a Pink Floyd fan, I think The Wall was very influential.
ReplyDeletePatti, I don't remember REVOLVER as an album though I might have heard the songs behind it. I like R.E.M.'s OUT OF TIME and the singles "Losing My Religion," "Shiny Happy People," and "Near Wild Heaven." I'm also quite fond of the song "Drive" by The Cars though I don't remember any of the other songs from their hit album HEARTBEAT CITY.
ReplyDeleteNot even my favorite Beatles album - I've always preferred RUBBER SOUL and even ABBEY ROAD.
ReplyDeleteOf course there is no #1 favorite for me. I could maybe pick out 10 favorites at any one time... (and no, Cream wouldn't be on it).
Off the top of my head, some favorites:
Let It Bleed
American Beauty
Bat Out of Hell
Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music
Rubber Soul
After the Gold Rush
Bringing It All Back Home
Music From Big Pink
Jeff M.
Yes, I prefer RUBBER SOUL. That would be my choice.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Cyndi Lauper's first album. Have to go check the title.
SHE'S So UNUSUAL.
ReplyDeleteAnd Norah Jones first album too.
Pet Sounds might make my list.
ReplyDeleteJeff M.
BLONDE ON BLONDE by Bob Dylan.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite album is "We Sold Our Souls for Rock and Roll" double album by Black Sabbath.
ReplyDeleteTough.
ReplyDeleteHighway 61 Revisited - Dylan
Hotel California - Eagles
Aja - Steely Dan
Aftermath, Let It Bleed - Rolling Stones
Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road - Beatles
Layla - Eric Clapton
Late For the Sky - Jackson Browne
Afterburner - Z.Z. Top
See, that's why I left room in my top 10. AJA is definitely one I forgot.
ReplyDeleteJeff M.
And in jazz,
ReplyDeleteKind of Blue - Miles Davis
My Favorite Things - John Coltrane
Giant Steps - John Coltrane
Take 5 - Dave Brubeck
Blues in Orbit - Duke Ellington
TAKE FIVE might be the best for me.
ReplyDeletethe next nine were PURPLE RAIN, EXILE ON MAIN STREET, THRILLER, LONDON CALLING, BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, LADY SOUL, MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY, PET SOUNDS,NEVER MIND.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Revolver and Rubber Soul are a double album--and, at least when I'm talking about The Beatles, my favorite(s). As for the best of all time, well that's too hard to narrow down. Certainly Let It Bleed would be there, Coltrane's A Love Supreme, the previously-mentioned Kind of Blue (the best record for background at dinner parties--and I mean that in a good way), Pet Sounds, Rumours, Deja Vu, Life's Rich Pageant, the list goes on...
ReplyDelete/Did anyone else notice that in the greatest novels list, EW claimed the publication date of Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy to be 1895? Hello, Editor!
Deb
I also prefer Rubber Soul.
ReplyDeletemy favorite album would be a choice between London Calling by the Clash, Exile On Main Street by the Rolling Stones, Blonde on Blonde by Dylan or The Velvet Underground with Nico.
The album featuring "Take Five" is called TIME OUT. The next one in that sequence from the Brubeck Quartet, TIME FURTHER OUT: MIRO REFLECTIONS, was my default favorite album for a decade, when I was a kid. The contrapuntal fugue "Bluette" and "Blue Shadows in the Street" particularly. ("It's a Raggy Waltz" and "Unsquare Dance" are the "hits"...)
ReplyDeleteFor the Beatles, the original (Parlophone) HELP! is almost as good as the original REVOLVER and the original RUBBER SOUL is just a shade behind. "Run for Your Life" is a minus, "In My Life" is a plus.
Among the rock contenders:
The Zombies BEGIN HERE
THE KINKS ARE THE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY
BIG STAR'S 3RD/SISTER LOVERS
The Byrds FIFTH DIMENSION
The Velvet Underground WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT
Jawbox GRIPPE (cd version)
The Bangles ALL OVER THE PLACE
The Go-Go's TALK SHOW
Jazz album contenders (among so many):
ReplyDeleteDuke Ellington, Max Roach, Charles Mingus: MONEY JUNGLE
Charles Mingus Band: MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS
George Russell Smalltet: JAZZ WORKSHOP--where Bill Evans learned modal improvising, so he could teach it to the other Miles Davis Quintet members later on for KIND OF BLUE (a toss-up with the GR Orchestra's LIVING TIME)
Lambert, Hendricks and Ross: THE HOTTEST NEW GROUP IN JAZZ
Brubeck Quartet and the New York Philharmonic: BRUBECK PLAYS BERNSTEIN PLAYS BRUBECK
The Modern Jazz Quartet: THE LAST CONCERT (nearly a toss-up with THIRD STREAM MUSIC)
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson: WINTER IN AMERICA (with a lot of potential subs)
Billie Holiday: STRANGE FRUIT: THE COMMODORE YEARS (the CBS collections of course vie with this)
Thelonious Monk Quartet: CRISS-CROSS
Gil Evans Orchestra with Miles Davis: PORGY AND BESS
Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln et al.: FREEDOM NOW SUITE
Toshiko Akiyosh/Lew Tabackin Big Band: INSIGHTS
Among the folk and related albums:
ReplyDeleteBLUE ROSE
THE WEAVERS: THE CONCERT AT CARNEGIE HALL 1963 (essentially all the Weavers together, though if Erik Darling's boring solo number got lost, it would be no crisis)
Maggie and Terre Roche: SEDUCTIVE REASONING
Johnny Cash: DESTINATION VICTORIA
STATION (no kidding...it gathers a brilliant mix of country and folk train songs--even better than RIDE THIS TRAIN)
Doc Watson: SOUTHBOUND
Miriam Makeba: PATA PATA
The Dave Grisman Quartet: DAWG JAZZ/DAWG GRASS
The Brothers Cazimero: HO ALA
so many Newport and similar concert albums...
...and how could I forget...
ReplyDeleteThe Count Basie Orchestra: KANSAS CITY SUITE
The Duke Ellington Orchestra: CARNEGIE HALL 1943
Husker Du: WAREHOUSE: SONGS AND STORIES
FAIRPORT CONVENTION or any of their next five albums (counting the BBC sessions)
The Pretenders: LEARNING TO CRAWL
The Miracles: GOING TO A GO-GO
Ray Charles: WHAT'D I SAY
and on and on...
How could anyone have a single best album?
Leaving aside all the classical recordings one would have to cull...
Also, Lauper recorded, as you probably recall, with the band Blue Angel before going solo.
ReplyDeleteAlbums with tracks like WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU or LOVE YOU TO or YELLOW SUBMARINE should not even be considered. The best Beatles LP is probably A HARD DAYS NIGHT. However, he opening quartet of tracks from WITH THE BEATLES are incredible.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really into all this "best album" stuff anyway. Pop music has always been the best when it was about singles. This was the case up until ca 1968, and it had kind of a rennaissance in 1977-1982.
But if you twist my arm, I'd like to mention the following items:
Can't Stand the Rezillos (The Rezillos)
Inflammable Material (Stiff Little Fingers)
I Just Can't Stop It (The Beat)
Stands for Decibels (The dB's)
Violent Femmes (Violent Femmes)
All Mod Cons (The Jam)
Blank Generation (Richard Hell)
Marquee Moon (Television)
Prehistoric Sounds (The Saints)
Hm, I'm showing my age, I guess...
How could I forget?...
ReplyDeleteThis Year's Model (Elvis Costello)
New Boots and Panties (Ian Dury)
Another Music In a Different Kitchen (Buzzcocks)
The Modern Dance (Pere Ubu)
Parallell Lines (Blondie)
Drums & Wires (XTC)