Essential Studio Albums

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The Upsetters - Blackboard Jungle Dub

Admittedly, I’ve never been much for dub. The patterns always seem limited to me, and when it’s good, great, but even great dub has limited shelf life in my attention span. This is likely very good dub, including a bizarre dub take on Pop Goes the Weasel called Pop Goes the Dread Dub. It makes for a fun listen but none of this really stuck to me.

The Essential Track: Blackboard Jungle Dub Version 1

Up Next: Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters

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Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters

It feels like a while since we’ve gone back to jazz, and at the very least jazz that isn’t Miles, so this was a nice change, and Hancock is really pushing the boundaries of the format, incorporating synths and some seriously funky beats and grooves into this album. All the tracks are pretty spectacular though I am betting Chameleon has likely made the biggest impact. Sly is pretty face melting as well. Can’t go wrong on this one, even if it won’t fit a safe definition of jazz - it’s infectious and fun as it is genre bending.

The Essential Track: Chameleon

Up Next: Marvin Gaye - Let’s Get It On

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Marvin Gaye - Let’s Get It On

Gaye goes from surveying the social landscape in the early 70s to surveying his feelings after a batch of oysters. This is some seriously sensual stuff with Marvin Gaye unable to contain his lustier instincts. Whether you regard this as passionate, or borderline creepy, Gaye is certainly exploring the edge of baser instincts on this, and sonically it nearly mirrors What’s Going On with the band in incredible form. But no doubt I need a cigarette after this one.

The Essential Track: Let’s Get It On

Up Next: Kool & the Gang - Wild and Peaceful

[liebzz]

Kool & the Gang - Wild and Peaceful

This is breezy funk, mixed with just the right jazz touches. The sort of easy exhale, especially after the downright horny Marvin Gaye, that was needed. The songs don’t take themselves too seriously, the vocals sparse but effective compliments to the fun times being had on this. Jungle Boogie and Hollywood Swingin’ are the classic known songs, but Funky Stuff also brings the good times. The closing title track is a laid back cool jazz tune that is not out of place, but brings a classiness to the party.

The Essential Track: Jungle Boogie

Up Next: Al Green - Call Me

[liebzz]

Al Green - Call Me

If Kool & the Gang use vocals as a sort of filler for the shifting and dynamic music they are creating, Al Green is their opposite. With the music firmly in the background, Al Green’s vocals are up front and center. He’s a really excellent singer, though the songs come off for me as mostly fine soul music. Whether the quality of his voice transcend the otherwise by the numbers soul atmosphere is for the listener, and I enjoyed this enough, but not enough to keep reaching for it.

The Essential Track: Here I Am (Come and Take Me)

Up Next: America

[liebzz]

America

A quick look back at a group I nearly forgot about, and probably with pretty decent reason. They have a few hits and some songs I enjoyed here and will on the next one, but on their debut if they tried any harder to sound like CSNY, they’d have to hire those guys themselves as session musicians. Granted vocal harmonies were the thing at that time, but if someone came to me and said they liked that Neil Young song “Horse With No Name” I couldn’t exactly blame them. With that caveat, I do think that’s a pretty good song, as is Sandman, the bridge that falls apart in Here, and Donkey Jaw. The rest I don’t really care about either way.

The Essential Track: Horse With No Name

Up Next: America - Homecoming (we’re just gonna rip off that band-aid then move on)

[oasisfan35]

America

A quick look back at a group I nearly forgot about, and probably with pretty decent reason. They have a few hits and some songs I enjoyed here and will on the next one, but on their debut if they tried any harder to sound like CSNY, they’d have to hire those guys themselves as session musicians. Granted vocal harmonies were the thing at that time, but if someone came to me and said they liked that Neil Young song “Horse With No Name” I couldn’t exactly blame them. With that caveat, I do think that’s a pretty good song, as is Sandman, the bridge that falls apart in Here, and Donkey Jaw. The rest I don’t really care about either way.

The Essential Track: Horse With No Name

Up Next: America - Homecoming (we’re just gonna rip off that band-aid then move on)

"Name the goddamn horse!"

[liebzz]

America

A quick look back at a group I nearly forgot about, and probably with pretty decent reason. They have a few hits and some songs I enjoyed here and will on the next one, but on their debut if they tried any harder to sound like CSNY, they’d have to hire those guys themselves as session musicians. Granted vocal harmonies were the thing at that time, but if someone came to me and said they liked that Neil Young song “Horse With No Name” I couldn’t exactly blame them. With that caveat, I do think that’s a pretty good song, as is Sandman, the bridge that falls apart in Here, and Donkey Jaw. The rest I don’t really care about either way.

The Essential Track: Horse With No Name

Up Next: America - Homecoming (we’re just gonna rip off that band-aid then move on)

"Name the goddamn horse!"

In the desert, you don’t remember your name.

[liebzz]

America - Homecoming

Well, if you’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name, you might have also taken Ventura Highway. On this second album, America seems like they have a little bit more of an identity then the first one, but they certainly did not give in on the vocal harmonies or the acoustic strumming, they just added a pinch more to their sound and it results in a fuller sounding album. This is still a situation where they got it well on some tracks and were forgettable on others. Ventura Highway, Moon Song, Cornwall Blankets, and California Revisited are keepers, and the rest are sort of there - not bad but not anything to go crazy over.

The Essential Track: Ventura Highway

Up Next: Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle

[liebzz]

Bruce Springsteen- The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle

This is frankly not just one of my favorite Springsteen albums, but one of my favorites in life. I have always been drawn into how loose and open this sounds, with the band really pushing and expanding its territory. There’s soul, there’s jazz, there’s some great rock and roll. It’s to me what Springsteen was always meant to be with this band, in a way that he will never again replicate. The E Street Shuffle, 4th of July (Sandy), Kitty’s Back, Incident on 57th Street, and Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) all are killer tracks. 4th of July has a way of evoking both the sense of the Jersey Shore in the 70s vibe and bringing with it a sense that this was something quickly moving into Bruce’s past with whimsy and longing, and it’s largely a credit to the accordion of all instruments. And that longing immediately follows the party that is the E Street Shuffle with the band going almost out of control in the final third of the song. Kitty’s Back is simply epic, from Bruce’s guitar tones through its various movements. Rosie is just a killer throwdown of what this band is capable of. Incident on 57th Street may well be one of the finest Springsteen songs in the whole catalogue. And the song I always under appreciate on this album that deserves considerable due is New York City Serenade, which similarly features a number of movements that jump from calm and nearly serene to frenetic in just that way that a young Springsteen did it. Born to Run deservedly overshadows this album in due course, but this one is where the legend of Springsteen should be made in my eyes.

The Essential Track: Incident on 57th Street

Up Next: Aerosmith

[oasisfan35]

Bruce Springsteen- The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle

This is frankly not just one of my favorite Springsteen albums, but one of my favorites in life. I have always been drawn into how loose and open this sounds, with the band really pushing and expanding its territory. There’s soul, there’s jazz, there’s some great rock and roll. It’s to me what Springsteen was always meant to be with this band, in a way that he will never again replicate. The E Street Shuffle, 4th of July (Sandy), Kitty’s Back, Incident on 57th Street, and Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) all are killer tracks. 4th of July has a way of evoking both the sense of the Jersey Shore in the 70s vibe and bringing with it a sense that this was something quickly moving into Bruce’s past with whimsy and longing, and it’s largely a credit to the accordion of all instruments. And that longing immediately follows the party that is the E Street Shuffle with the band going almost out of control in the final third of the song. Kitty’s Back is simply epic, from Bruce’s guitar tones through its various movements. Rosie is just a killer throwdown of what this band is capable of. Incident on 57th Street may well be one of the finest Springsteen songs in the whole catalogue. And the song I always under appreciate on this album that deserves considerable due is New York City Serenade, which similarly features a number of movements that jump from calm and nearly serene to frenetic in just that way that a young Springsteen did it. Born to Run deservedly overshadows this album in due course, but this one is where the legend of Springsteen should be made in my eyes.

The Essential Track: Incident on 57th Street

Up Next: Aerosmith

As much as I adore everything that came after, Incident can encapsulate everything Springsteen has to offer in the live setting.

[liebzz]

It is a thrilling effin’ album.

[liebzz]

Aerosmith

There was a time when Aerosmith didn’t suck. When they rocked hard, had a mean groove that tied the line between the Stones bluesy rock and killer hard rock. This is one of the albums where we get that Aerosmith. Make It, One Way Street, Mama Kin, and Movin’ Out are blazing, while Dream On the classic ballad. A young Steven Tyler sounds great here.

The Essential Track: Dream On

Up Next: The Doobie Brothers - Toulouse Street

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The Doobie Brothers - Toulouse Street

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this, given a general hesitation enjoyment maybe of some yacht rock songs, in the proper head space. So with an element of surprise, this album actually rocked. Rockin’ Down the Highway and Disciple were particularly intense. Snake Man is very acoustic bluesy. Listen to the Music and Jesus is Just Alright With Me the classics. This was an unexpected treat.

The Essential Track: Disciple

Up Next: The Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me

[liebzz]

The Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me

Before Micheal McDonald and What a Fool Believes, the Doobie Brothers really were a completely different animal, a country and blues rock outfit that actually had some rippin’ tracks. The process of extricating this from my soft rock preconceptions has taken these two albums, but here we are. China Grove and Long Train Runnin’ are both huge hits, and both deservedly so. I keep forgetting how much I enjoy those songs. A deeper listen here reveals Dark Eyed Cajun Woman, Without You, and Evil Woman, all really substantial tracks that demonstrate a killer band on top of those harmonies. We’ll take the Doobie Brothers all the way through their McDonald surgical neutering - and discussion the for better or worse aspect of that. But damn this band ripped at a given time.

The Essential Track: Long Train Runnin’

Up Next: The Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire

[liebzz]

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire

This second and final studio album with everyone all together is a master work of fusion. The title track is a great example of a band playing over arrangements that have as much in common with classical music as jazz and rock, and they keep this going for the full 40 minutes, with a tremendous amount of range, even if my brain keeps thinking they were a band that just went full out. The second half of One Word might be some of the best drumming I can remember hearing, at least in terms of soloing. Open Country Joy opens up into a blitz after a calm start that is pretty thrilling. Beyond the fireworks though, maybe the most impressive part is this album is the compositions, which are really thought out.

The Essential Track: Birds of Fire

Up Next: King Crimson - In the Wake of Poseidon

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King Crimson - In the Wake of Poseidon

First order of business is that King Crimson needs to stop messing with my volume control. Now that we got that out of the way, this is a solid, yet not quite as epic follow up to their debut. There are some really great tracks here, including Pictures of a City, which I think is the clear winner here, but the title track ends up building nicely, the 11:30 minute long slow building slow volume raising instrumental The Devil’s Triangle is excellent and would make those krautrock bands quite jealous. Given that I dropped the ball, we’re gonna hit a trio of King Crimson albums here.

The Essential Track: Pictures of a City

Up Next: King Crimson - Lizard

[liebzz]

King Crimson - Lizard

Well, this was unexpected. When I started on this album, I was a little taken back by the change in direction the band took, with a bit more focus on the jazz and classical elements to their sound. Until the final long title track, the guitar is not the lead instrument here, and that takes a little recalibration. Cirkus which is sort of foreboding followed by the more buoyant Indoor Games is a strong start. Happy Family is kind of bonkers crazy, and Lady of the Dancing Water didn’t really grab me on initial listen. But this thing lives and dies by the title track and its movements - one of the more stunning pieces of music in this entire journey. It sort of goes from nearly pure rock then moves to nearly pure jazz, then to nearly pure classical until the final movement, in its dramatic jumps sort of melds the three. The song, 23 minutes long, changed my entire outlook on this album, which I would have otherwise called uneven. This track alone carries the whole album into great territory.

The Essential Track: Lizard (Prince Rupert Awakes/Bolero/The Battle of Glass Tears/Big Top)

Up Next: King Crimson - Larks’ Tongues in Aspic

[liebzz]

Since the next album will be #400 on this thread, an updated personal top 50 (at least half of these have been absolutely amazing to listen to whether first time or repeat listen):

50. Led Zeppelin III
49. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
48. Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come
47. Charles Mingus - Pithecanthropus Erectus
46. Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson
45. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
44. Dr. John - Dr. John’s Gumbo
43. Dr. John - In the Right Place
42. Miles Davis - In a Silent Way
41. Jerry Garcia - Garcia
40. Thelonious Monk - The Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 1
39. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
38. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
37. Derek and the Dominos - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
36. The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
35. The Who - Who’s Next
34. The Kinks - Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround
33. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
32. The Allman Brothers Band
31. The Allman Brothers Band - Idlewild South
30. The Allman Brothers Band - Eat a Peach
29. Credence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo’s Factory
28. The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
27. The Kinks - Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire
26. Tom Waits - Closing Time
25. Neil Young - After the Goldrush
24. Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On
23. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd
22. Grateful Dead - American Beauty
21. Neil Young - Harvest
20. George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
19. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
18. The Beatles - Rubber Soul
17. Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde
16. Led Zeppelin IV
15. The Who - Quadrophenia
14. Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle
13. Thelonious Monk - The Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 2
12. Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain
11. John Coltrane - Blue Train
10. The Beatles - Abbey Road
9. The Beatles - Revolver
8. The Beatles
7. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
6. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
5. Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?
4. The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street
3. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
2. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
1. Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland

[lvc]

Trying to imagine living in a day when my favorite band might release two albums in a single year. Live was good back when you had to buy stuff you wanted.