Essential Studio Albums

[wease]

John Cougar- American Fool
Go-Go’s- Vacation
Stray Cats- Built for Speed
Joe Jackson- Night and Day
Vanity 6 - Vanity 6
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five- The Message

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Also added!

[Higgs]

We’re quickly approaching but yet at ‘82, but it’s time to check in and see how that year shapes up ...

Brian Eno - Ambient 4: On Land
Adrian Belew - Lone Rhino
King Crimson - Beat
Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel [IV - Security]
Siouxsie and the Banshees – A Kiss in the Dreamhouse
Kate Bush - The Dreaming
XTC - English Settlement

Cold Chisel - Circus Animals
Goanna - Spirit of Place

[Higgs]

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five- The Message

White Lines (don't do it!).

Pretty sure I bought this back in 1982...

<edit> And obviously the follow up album as White Lines wasn't on this album. Lol.

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The Cure - Faith

Things got dreary real fast. This third album from the Cure is much less jangly pop rock and much more rainy day slow droning, with those intros to boot. This is really the album where that meme applies to waiting for the song to kick in from the intro…



That notwithstanding, this is a pretty good album, really well crafted in terms of maintaining this vibe, even if this isn’t the vibe I often look for.

The Essential Track: The Funeral Party

Up Next: New Order - Movement

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New Order - Movement

From the ashes of Joy Division…

This album seems very much a continuation of Joy Division’s work - with even the baritone vocals and dark foreboding atmosphere. I thought most of this was indeed quite good, though not quite as enjoyable as Joy Division, but maybe splitting some hairs here. Everything is solid, though I found I was most drawn to Senses and The Him, both seemed to experiment enough to feel fresh and interesting while still rooted in the same sound the band showcased throughout.

The Essential Track: The Him

Up Next: Depeche Mode - Speak and Spell

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Depeche Mode - Speak and Spell

This album seems to fit directly into dance focused new wave, and almost has a caricature-like feeling of 80s pop. Surely there’s a place for that, and they have a huge fan following, but I can attest this isn’t exactly my cup of tea - perhaps a little too far into the synth territory which not much more to show for it in my ears. It has a few good moments, like the hit Just Can’t Get Enough, and I won’t say it’s bad and I ain’t looking to yuck someone else’s yum…I think I just prefer something that feels more organic and less like a midi file from a 90s computer.

The Essential Track: Just Can’t Get Enough

Up Next: Neil Young - Re-Ac-Tor

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Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Re-ac-tor

This album is a therapeutic cleanse after a few intense albums we just covered with mixed responses. This is instead a profoundly unserious record, a cast of toss-off quick rock songs delivered with the gusto of a loud-as-hell Crazy Horse. The kind of album that gets panned by critics but also an album I have always loved. To call any of these songs might be somewhat absurd, but they all rock in their own ways (granted side 2 is all about transit). I know there’s some meaning behind all this related to connecting with his son, who had cerebral palsy, a theme that plays out much much bigger in Trans, but there’s a humor to this bound to divide those here. It’s always been among my favorite Neil Young albums.

The Essential Track: Surfer Joe and Moe the Sleaze

Up Next: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Hard Promises

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Hard Promises

Tom Petty is just in the business of making near perfect rock records with hooks that just won’t quit. It’s nearly impossible for Tom Petty to match the lightning in a bottle that was Damn the Torpedoes, but he gave it a good try here. This is also the album where the musical chemistry with Stevie Nicks begins to come into focus (she duets on Insider and provides backup vocals on You Can Still Change Your Mind - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers would return the favor on Bella Donna’s Stop Dragging My Heart Around).

That aside, this still makes for an incredible album full of Petty’s signature no frills rock music - The Waiting, A Woman in Love (It’s Not Me), Nightwatchman, Kings Road, Letting You Go, and A Thing About You are all major highlights. Another phenomenal album.

The Essential Track: Nightwatchman

Up Next: Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna

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Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna

Venturing outside of Fleetwood Mac was Stevie’s thing in ‘81. In addition to her contributions to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Hard Promises, which we just heard, her solo debut comes with massive classics in tow. The title track, Stop Dragging My Heart Around, Edge of Seventeen, and Leather and Lace are all bona fide classics and largely deservedly so. Edge of Seventeen in particular is phenomenal in its repetitive chords that mesh with Stevie’s vocals to deliver a vibe menacing, immediate and seductive at the same time. Kind of Woman also stuck out as a highlight here. Real solid solo debut.

The Essential Track: Edge of Seventeen

Up Next: U2 - October

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U2 - October

U2’s second album has the misfortune of being sandwiched between the exciting and fresh debut, and the first of many albums that would define their greatness in War. Frankly, this album doesn’t really come close to either of those two, even if it is a perfectly good album. Gloria starts this off and is the unquestioned classic and best song here to my ears. I Threw a Brick Through a Window, Rejoice, Tomorrow, With a Shout (Jerusalem), and Is That All? are also highlights, but they don’t bring the same highs that other U2 albums feast on.

The Essential Track: Gloria

Up Next: Muddy Waters - King Bee

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Muddy Waters - King Bee

It’s been a long long time since we’ve properly revisited the blues. Muddy Waters is one of its true kings, and this album brings all the force of his sound. The way these instruments pop, particularly the drums here, gives the impression of being in a blues club with the band - a live feel I think is likely pretty necessary for this format. No doubt the songs and riffs are brought up from the past, but the continuation of that story is what keeps the blues alive, never straying far from those signature songs and sounds and providing fresh spaces for these stories to be told and retold. Muddy Waters certainly stays true to that here.

The Essential Track: Champagne & Reefer

Up Next: Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska

[wease]

Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna

Venturing outside of Fleetwood Mac was Stevie’s thing in ‘81. In addition to her contributions to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Hard Promises, which we just heard, her solo debut comes with massive classics in tow. The title track, Stop Dragging My Heart Around, Edge of Seventeen, and Leather and Lace are all bona fide classics and largely deservedly so. Edge of Seventeen in particular is phenomenal in its repetitive chords that mesh with Stevie’s vocals to deliver a vibe menacing, immediate and seductive at the same time. Kind of Woman also stuck out as a highlight here. Real solid solo debut.

The Essential Track: Edge of Seventeen

Up Next: U2 - October

I’m assuming the only reason you didn’t pick Stop Dragging is because she shares lead vocals with someone else…

[liebzz]

No, because I think Edge of Seventeen is an incredible track. I am usually unfairly balanced toward Tom Petty and I really like Stop Dragging My Heart Around, but I prefer Edge of Seventeen.

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Alright, we crossed the 750 album mark a few albums ago, but to keep this fresh, for this particular list, I decided to list my favorite album from each year so far* (some “years” particularly at the beginning are either from Spotify or when they were last recorded rather than release date). It highlights some down the list albums I still think are essential, and leaves out a whole ton of albums that are among my favorites or will otherwise be on the next list when I go back to my personal favorites:

1924 - Louis Armstrong - The Complete Hot Fives and Hot Sevens Recordings, Vol. 1
1925 - Louis Armstrong - The Complete Hot Fives and Hot Sevens Recordings, Vol. 2
1926 - Louis Armstrong - Jazz Moods - Hot
1928 - Louis Armstrong - The Complete Hot Fives and Hot Sevens Recordings, Vol. 3
1934 - Billie Holiday - Lady Day: The Best of Billie Holiday 1933-34
1937 - Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings 1936-37
1942 - Duke Ellington - Never No Lament: The Blanton Webster Band 1940-1942
1947 - Thelonious Monk - The Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 1
1948 - Nathan Milstein - Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor Op. 64
1951 - Lester Young - Lester Young Trio
1952 - Thelonious Monk - The Genius of Modern Music, Volume 2
1953 - Louis Armstrong - Plays WC Handy
1954 - Clifford Brown/Mac Roach Quintet - Clifford Brown and Max Roach
1955 - Charles Mingus - Pithecanthropus Erectus
1956 - Thelonius Monk - Brilliant Corners
1957 - John Coltrane - Blue Train
1958 - Miles Davis - Milestones
1959 - Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come
1960 - Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain
1961 - Etta James - At Last
1962 - Sonny Rollins - The Bridge
1963 - Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
1964 - The Rolling Stones - 12x5
1965 - The Beatles - Rubber Soul
1966 - The Beatles - Revolver
1967 - Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced?
1968 - Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
1969 - The Beatles - Abbey Road
1970 - Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
1971 - Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
1972 - The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street
1973 - Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
1974 - Neil Young - On the Beach
1975 - Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
1976 - Muddy Waters - Hard Again
1977 - Pink Floyd - Animals
1978 - Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town
1979 - The Clash - London Calling
1980 - Talking Heads - Remain in Light
1981 - Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk

[wease]

No, because I think Edge of Seventeen is an incredible track. I am usually unfairly balanced toward Tom Petty and I really like Stop Dragging My Heart Around, but I prefer Edge of Seventeen.

Not sure we can be friends anymore

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Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska

This album is back in the conversations these days due to the recent reissue, and I’m all for that. Every time I listen to this album it seems to grow in my esteem for it, a rough set of recordings primarily featuring Bruce and his guitar. Meant as demos to be worked up by the full band, the lore is Bruce just never felt good about the full band versions and decided to just drop the demos as the album. Without really busting the myth just yet (soon!), this seems about spot on, as this album to me spoke opposite The River. If The River is what folks did when the dream died, went on living normal lives, and The River is part celebration of that, what happens to the folks that don’t? The people who end up on the fringes of society - thieves and murders, straight cops putting family before duty, losers and gamblers…well they deserve their celebration too, but Bruce’s ultimate decision to strip down and give us the rusty versions fits the theme like a glove. Frankly, all of this is essential Springsteen, from Atlantic City to Johnny 99, Open All Night and Reason to Believe. Given its stripped down nature, I do love how this album commands your attention to the stories and dynamic characters. A genius record as is. We’ll see what the myth busting does next…

The Essential Track: Atlantic City

Up Next: BONUS: Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska ‘82

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Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska ‘82

So the immediate wonder is what would this reissue and the electric version of this album change about Nebraska? This essentially gets broken down into 4 pieces and Bruce deserves credit for this organization because the compartmentalization of this keeps each individual piece cohesive, as if 4 albums exist among these discrete set of songs. I won’t go back over the album itself, a haunting masterpiece exploring characters who never made it out in one piece from the Born to Run/Darkness/River trilogy of albums that grow from youthful hope to regular folks traversing love, lusting, heartache and longing, but also triumph and pain as they truck on - the sort of slow motion invention of heartland rock these Nebraska characters never make it to.

Well, n electric Nebraska, they do make it there. Much doesn’t change at the starting point, with the song Nebraska largely unchanged but for the light touch of some additional instruments, but then these characters, rather than explored hauntingly, now explode on to the scene in their own River-like power and energy. Atlantic City’s suddenly more driving and urgent, Johnny 99 is more humorous than down on his own made luck, Downbound Train rolls down the track with full momentum, Open All Night pushes the pace, and this early Born in the USA more aptly evokes the bitterness of the song, but still comes to rock.

We take this album on again in Part 3: Bruce coming back as an old man to play these songs once again alone in a theater. In here, where the original Nebraska is haunting, Bruce is wise to the characters now, and if he’s playing the same chords and singing the same words, these characters now feel like they’ve been wizened in the passage of time in that voice. It’s almost as if Bruce is looking back on these songs autobiographically, the experience feeling like a past tense than a present moment.

Part 4 (really Part 1 in sequence) are the outtakes, a moment for us all to realize that while these are nearly universally all wonderful songs, Bruce 100% chose the right ones for his album, as these songs follow similar patterns but don’t quite fit in the space Bruce created for Nebraska. The myth that these songs came out of the ether and onto our stereo as is might be slightly interrupted, but the brilliance of Nebraska may even be enhanced by this collection - these characters could have different paths or been celebrated in different ways, but it all leads us back to understanding Bruce’s intentions for them all along.

The Electric Essential Track: Johnny 99

Up Next: Led Zeppelin - Coda

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Led Zeppelin - Coda

In the three years between In Through the Out Door and this compilation, the demise of Led Zeppelin occurred suddenly with the passing of the legendary John Bonham. Picking up the scraps, this album is of course uneven, given its outtake and b-sides nature, but it still features some great moments, including We’re Gonna Groove, Ozone Baby, and Wearing and Tearing - 3 songs that are true reminders of Zeppelin’s power at its height. Add to that one last drum solo from the tragically departed in Bonzo’s Montreaux, and you have a collection worthy of investing in. It’s not an album that holds up against one of the greatest catalogues, but it does bring one last reminder of this band’s greatness, even if the music world feels like it moved on.

The Essential Track: Wearing and Tearing

Up Next: Robert Plant - Pictures at Eleven

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Robert Plant - Pictures at Eleven

Plant’s debut solo album after the demise of Led Zeppelin can best be described as Led Lite, or Zeppelin Zero. Basically, it’s a further exploration of Led Zeppelin’s sound, though the songs don’t quite add up to that level of quality. Not that this album is bad, there’s just not that much to remember it by, save for Slow Dancer - a massive track that pulls much of this out of decent enough territory and makes it worth the investment. It’s sort of humorous to start here with Plant post-Zeppelin based on his present day attitude towards playing with the surviving members, as if he’s moved on. As if 1982, not quite.

The Essential Track: Slow Dancer

Up Next: Neil Young - Trans