Essential Studio Albums

[tragabigzanda]

[liebzz]

That’s lame. It works really well thematically in that spot.

[tragabigzanda]

[liebzz]

That’s lame. It works really well thematically in that spot.

??? I feel like I'm missing something.

The Lynyrd Skynyrd album. Sorry.

[liebzz]

Joni Mitchell - Blue

It only makes sense from what feels like a confessional album to confess: I find Joni Mitchell cloying and nearly impossible to listen to. This is her masterpiece and all, and unfortunately I hated it even wanting to like it. That’s not to say it’s bad music or overrated. It isn’t. I just can’t find enjoyment from her vocal cadence, or the narrator within the song technique or the sudden low/high note shifts that are so frequent they seem to lack the sort of impact they should be having on me. It’s a quality work I just frankly don’t care for. If it makes me less of a human to feel that way so be it.

Up Next: Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mounting Flame

[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

[Jorge]

Blue is an all-timer

[liebzz]

I wish I liked it. I really do, and I just don’t.

[wease]

liebzz has it right

[VinylGuy]

Liebzz being all badass

[Happy Trees]

Me Too Bowel Movement

[liebzz]

Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mounting Flame

Listen closely, and you’ll hear more than just jazz fusion. Yes there’s rock - loud rock that cleanses the soul for me as a reaction to the last album. Yes, there’s plenty of jazz. There’s also intricately designed moments that recall classical, beats that might not seem out of place in modern R&B and pop, some more laid back grooves that foretell a Dave Matthews Band, and damn fine shredding from pretty much everyone. This one is top notch, and John McLaughlin leading the way may not be Miles, but this album and this band sure know how to make some noise anyway.

The Essential Track: Meeting of the Spirits

Up Next: Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson

[doug rr]

liebzz has it right

I dont think I'm going to sleep tonight and we have an early flight..

[Sloppy Dupree]

Has anyone ever heard that one Tupac album you can only cop at a Long Beach swap meet?

[liebzz]

Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson

Miles Davis at this point in his career had broken the mold several times. Just on The Birth of the Cool, Kind of Blue, and Sketches of Spain, he had managed masterpieces in several jazz formats. Add the jazz fusion startups in In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, and you almost feel like you got the four corners. And yet, A Tribute to Jack Johnson, two 25 minute plus tracks that bring some serious rock in Right Off, and some serious groove in Yesternow, and you have yet another masterpiece. And what Miles is doing with what sounds like a calling to the heavens on the trumpet (this is the third straight album his trumpet has this “tone” for lack of a better term) is just straight incredible. And between the two tracks, picking a favorite here is just not fair.

The Essential Track: Yesternow

Up Next: Marvin Gaye - What’s Goin’ On

[liebzz]

Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On

There is no more profound statement in soul music than this, a masterpiece not just from the perspective of Marvin Gaye, but also from the backing band, the Funk Brothers. Gaye weaves through social issues facing the country from the perspective of an outsider, a Vietnam war veteran coming home to see the country is an abject mess (though really might be quaint compared to these times, but that’s for another thread on another day). But it’s not the social statement that stands out alone, as the music is incredible, with a cohesiveness that is unmatched as Gaye and the Funk Brothers take strands of the songs and weave them straight into the next without seams, providing an experience where those social issues and the state of the world is bound together rather than compartmentalized. And even with all that, the songs are largely just great - Mercy Mercy Me, What’s Going On, What’s Happening Brother, Right On, and Inner City Blues are all amazing songs in themselves. Stunning.

The Essential Track: What’s Going On

Up Next: Curtis Mayfield - Roots

[liebzz]

Curtis Mayfield - Roots

There are ways in which this album in many ways mirrors What’s Going On. It thematically also focuses on living life in the midst of unrest, but there’s a call to action on this that feels a bit more hopeful. It may not quite measure up, for me, to that album, but frankly had What’s Going On never existed, I might have said a lot of similar things, and this is a great album on its own. It’s lush musically, and mayne a bit more driving and focused, but still has an orchestral feel to it. Get Down, Keep On Keeping On, Underground, and We Got To Have Peace are all highlights right out the gate and take up large space here, but my favorite was Beautiful Brother of Mine, which is socially conscious soul at its top form. Another classic for a soul music Friday.

The Essential Track: Beautiful Brother of Mine

Up Next: Isaac Hayes - Black Moses

[VinylGuy]

oh yeah, im in the mood for some Curtis and Marvin today

[liebzz]

Isaac Hayes - Black Moses

While Curtis and Marvin were trying to make sense of the world through their music, Isaac Hayes was just trying to get laid. This double album comprises of 93 minutes of pure lust, pining, and giving in to temptation. The signature of Isaac Hayes, long jams that stretch out but don’t feel as lengthy as their run times is evident, as is his top notch band. Hayes even gets into his greatest caricatures with the spoken words and soulful cries out for, well, somebody for lovin’. The best track is Part-Time Love, but don’t sleep on a killer version of Never Gonna Give You Up, yeah that one.

The Essential Track: Part-Time Love

Up Next: Stevie Wonder - Talking Book

[liebzz]

I may not get to it tomorrow, which means you might have to be waiting for Stevie.