Essential Studio Albums

[tragabigzanda]

[wease]

Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

We start looking at ‘71 albums by finishing a trilogy of albums by Black Sabbath. My initial thoughts on hearing the first half of this album is how much Soundgarden had been influenced by this sound. Sweet Leaf and After Forever are both absolutely killer tracks to start this album, which at that point was at least matching Paranoid. Children of the Grave and Lord of This World are also big highlights here, just absolutely amazing hard rock music. Into the Void is also solid here. Even though I had heard the first two before (and weirdly stopped as if I had reached the mountaintop), this was actually stands up to those albums easily. I guess I learn something new every day.

The Essential Track: Sweet Leaf

Up Next: Jimi Hendrix - The Cry of Love

You mention Soundgarden being influenced and they did cover Into The Void.

There's a great Michael Beinhorn interview where he talks about how Chris's goal with Superunknown was to combine Black Sabbath with The Beatles, and you can really hear it.

Oh wow. Yeah!

[tragabigzanda]

[liebzz]

Janis Joplin - Pearl

The Black Sabbath trilogy followed by a trilogy of posthumous albums. This one is I think undeniably the best Janis Joplin album, mostly recorded at the time of her death (apparently she was scheduled to record vocals over Buried Alive in the Blues - an excellent instrumental by the way). Nearly all of this is canonical to her catalogue, from the epic rendition of Me and Bobby McGee to the massive vocal delivery of Cry Baby to the spare and humorous Mercedes Benz (apparently written down the street from the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY where I most frequently see live shows). Move Over is my favorite song on here though, and is a classic in its own right. Everything on here is most befitting of her delivery, leaving all the room Janis needed to really stretch her vocal delivery out.

The Essential Track: Move Over

Up Next: The Doors - L.A. Woman

[tragabigzanda]

[liebzz]

The Doors - L.A. Woman

It’s maybe not a good survival tactic to be a subject of this journey. This too was Jim Morrison’s final album and he went out with a bang as well. LA Woman is an excellent if uneven album, with quite a few massive classics like the title track, Love Her Madly, and Riders on the Storm. Add The Changeling, and Crawling King Snake and really that is enough to make for a great album. The longer tracks suit them well. Shame this was it for them.

The Essential Track: LA Woman

Up Next: Led Zeppelin IV

[tragabigzanda]

Top 10 maybe?
Hello Morning
Close Captioned
The Kill
Place/Position
Do You Like Me?
Latest Disgrace
Recap Modotti
Nightshop
Break
Life & Limb

I'd maybe bump Life & Limb for Epic Problem

[liebzz]

The Doors - L.A. Woman

It’s maybe not a good survival tactic to be a subject of this journey. This too was Jim Morrison’s final album and he went out with a bang as well. LA Woman is an excellent if uneven album, with quite a few massive classics like the title track, Love Her Madly, and Riders on the Storm. Add The Changeling, and Crawling King Snake and really that is enough to make for a great album. The longer tracks suit them well. Shame this was it for them.

The Essential Track: LA Woman

Up Next: Led Zeppelin IV

Perfect album. "Cars Hiss by My Window" is the essential track.

Opposite assessments on Janis and The Doors. I will say after this listen, this is now my second favorite Doors album behind the self-titled debut, but the two were always close for me.

[wease]

Janis Joplin - Pearl

The Black Sabbath trilogy followed by a trilogy of posthumous albums. This one is I think undeniably the best Janis Joplin album, mostly recorded at the time of her death (apparently she was scheduled to record vocals over Buried Alive in the Blues - an excellent instrumental by the way). Nearly all of this is canonical to her catalogue, from the epic rendition of Me and Bobby McGee to the massive vocal delivery of Cry Baby to the spare and humorous Mercedes Benz (apparently written down the street from the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY where I most frequently see live shows). Move Over is my favorite song on here though, and is a classic in its own right. Everything on here is most befitting of her delivery, leaving all the room Janis needed to really stretch her vocal delivery out.

The Essential Track: Move Over

Up Next: The Doors - L.A. Woman

I’ve never understood the appeal. Her voice grates on my soul.

[wease]

Janis Joplin - Pearl

The Black Sabbath trilogy followed by a trilogy of posthumous albums. This one is I think undeniably the best Janis Joplin album, mostly recorded at the time of her death (apparently she was scheduled to record vocals over Buried Alive in the Blues - an excellent instrumental by the way). Nearly all of this is canonical to her catalogue, from the epic rendition of Me and Bobby McGee to the massive vocal delivery of Cry Baby to the spare and humorous Mercedes Benz (apparently written down the street from the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY where I most frequently see live shows). Move Over is my favorite song on here though, and is a classic in its own right. Everything on here is most befitting of her delivery, leaving all the room Janis needed to really stretch her vocal delivery out.

The Essential Track: Move Over

Up Next: The Doors - L.A. Woman

awful album. awful artist. not deserving of her accolades. banned in my household.

Look here, now.

[liebzz]

Janis Joplin - Pearl

The Black Sabbath trilogy followed by a trilogy of posthumous albums. This one is I think undeniably the best Janis Joplin album, mostly recorded at the time of her death (apparently she was scheduled to record vocals over Buried Alive in the Blues - an excellent instrumental by the way). Nearly all of this is canonical to her catalogue, from the epic rendition of Me and Bobby McGee to the massive vocal delivery of Cry Baby to the spare and humorous Mercedes Benz (apparently written down the street from the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY where I most frequently see live shows). Move Over is my favorite song on here though, and is a classic in its own right. Everything on here is most befitting of her delivery, leaving all the room Janis needed to really stretch her vocal delivery out.

The Essential Track: Move Over

Up Next: The Doors - L.A. Woman

awful album. awful artist. not deserving of her accolades. banned in my household.

Look here, now.

It’s an acquired taste I guess. My father loved Joplin when I was a teenager so I guess I have known her music peripherally for long enough? Before Pearl, it was really her bands that were pretty mediocre.

[coptheriotact]

Janis Joplin - Pearl

awful album. awful artist. not deserving of her accolades. banned in my household.

lol

[Ello Sailor]

Yeah that cracked me up. Can't even argue with that.

[liebzz]

Led Zeppelin IV (ZOSO)

As a teenager growing up, I thought straight up this was the greatest album of all time, full stop. It had Stairway. It had Black Dog and Rock and Roll. It had Misty Mountain Hop and Going to California and The Battle of Evermore. Four Sticks wasn’t epic material but it was still great. When the Levee Breaks was cool as hell. Turns out this is mostly still the case, even if there are a few albums that I might take over it. It’s the mountaintops in many ways of hard rock albums still. It’s also a sort of amalgam of their first three albums, and builds on everything they had done before without having even a microsecond of seeming like they were beating old paths. I would posit it is so good that we take it for granted, pointing to the minutiae of other Zep albums as quirks we might crush over, but this is the one.

The Essential Track: Stairway to Heaven on legend alone, but pick your track here

Up Next: The Who - Who’s Next

[doug rr]

Janis Joplin - Pearl

The Black Sabbath trilogy followed by a trilogy of posthumous albums. This one is I think undeniably the best Janis Joplin album, mostly recorded at the time of her death (apparently she was scheduled to record vocals over Buried Alive in the Blues - an excellent instrumental by the way). Nearly all of this is canonical to her catalogue, from the epic rendition of Me and Bobby McGee to the massive vocal delivery of Cry Baby to the spare and humorous Mercedes Benz (apparently written down the street from the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY where I most frequently see live shows). Move Over is my favorite song on here though, and is a classic in its own right. Everything on here is most befitting of her delivery, leaving all the room Janis needed to really stretch her vocal delivery out.

The Essential Track: Move Over

Up Next: The Doors - L.A. Woman

awful album. awful artist. not deserving of her accolades. banned in my household.

get over yourself

[liebzz]

The Who - Who’s Next

This one is an all time great album on the strength of Baba O’Riley and Won’t Get Fooled Again, two of the greatest and most anthemic tracks. It’s what is in between those bookends though that makes this such an exceptional album. It may be what was salvageable from Townshend’s attempt at a second full rock opera, but what’s here is some of the most epic rock songs - Bargain, My Wife, The Song Is Over, Love Ain’t For Keeping are all fantastic, as are Getting in Tune and Going Mobile, even if to maybe a slightly lesser degree. Actually, Behind Blue Eyes, a staple on classic rock radio today (a song thats been played to death in that format) might be the least attractive song on this, which is saying quite a bit.

The Essential Track: Baba O’Riley

Up Next: The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers

[tragabigzanda]

Top 10 maybe?
Hello Morning
Close Captioned
The Kill
Place/Position
Do You Like Me?
Latest Disgrace
Recap Modotti
Nightshop
Break
Life & Limb

I'd maybe bump Life & Limb for Epic Problem

[liebzz]

The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers

I’m trying not to approach this one with the bias of this being either the top or second favorite album from before I started this journey. And a few of the albums, even a couple I heard before I started this, are going to top it, but my love for this thing has not waned even the slightest bit. It’s got epic hooks, it’s got some mild experiments, great jams, sleaze so well developed it might be refined. And some of the most iconic rock and roll music ever made (in tandem with their next album, which is the other one I would call my favorite in life before I started this journey). Bitch frankly has maybe my favorite Stones or any riff, Can’t You Hear Me Knocking is 7 minutes of pure rock heaven, and Dead Flowers is as good a country song as it gets. Sister Morphine is the exact psychedelic touch they should have had. Moonlight Mile is a perfect closer. And I don’t even need to mention those two tracks that are iconic Stones songs and this is still one of the best ever.

The Essential Track: Bitch

Up Next: Dr. John - Dr. John’s Gumbo

[liebzz]

Dr. John - Dr. John’s Gumbo

When I think of the wild cocktail of blues, soul, gospel, jazz, and New Orleans funk of Dr. John, this is precisely the album I think of. His take of Iko Iko is the definitive one in my eyes. On this, it’s also worth noting his takes on a bunch of other songs that he makes his own, which is easily just the rest of the album. His own Somebody Changed the Lock is good fun, and keep a particular eye out for Stack-A-Lee, Junko Partner, Huey “Piano” Smith Medley, Tipitina, and Little Liza Jane - all phenomenal. Another of those albums that is just intoxicating once you are into it.

The Essential Track: Iko Iko

Up Next: Funkadelic - Maggot Brain

[liebzz]

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain

This wild album is bookended by two 10 minute tracks, the opener the 10 minute guitar opus and title track I was initially exposed to as covered by Pearl Jam. The original is a real adventure, with every guitar trick thrown into the mix and probably one of my all time favorite guitar tracks at that. This is followed by a handful of quick tracks that explore the lines of funk, and rock, and Can You Get to That and Super Stupid were my favorites of those. The album ends on the converse of Maggot Brain, 10 minutes of a funky line with intervening noises, some of which are straight up weird and silly. This is a weird, fascinating and rewarding album, but Maggot Brain is undoubtedly the star.

The Essential Track: Maggot Brain

Up Next: Pink Floyd - Meddle