Essential Studio Albums

[liebzz]

Danzig

Okay, so we’re changing sounds like whiplash today. One would think that a jazz album would be the polar opposite of Johnny Hates Jazz, but Danzig does the trick. Actually, I remember this band from the early 90s when the video for Mother was all over MTV and it got a second life. I wasn’t into it then, but I have to say I am much warmer on it now. It sounds like an early version of the punk meets metal movement, but if Jim Morrison lead the band. And there’s some nice guitar work laced in here to keep it from being too monotonous. Soul on Fire really impressed me, as did this version of Mother and the Albert King cover of The Hunter turned in Danzig-style. Paint me ultimately impressed.

The Essential Track: Soul On Fire

Up Next: Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peepshow

[liebzz]

Y’all recommended a lot of albums for ‘88. I have listened to 36 albums from ‘88 so far and I am only halfway there.

[wease]

Danzig

Okay, so we’re changing sounds like whiplash today. One would think that a jazz album would be the polar opposite of Johnny Hates Jazz, but Danzig does the trick. Actually, I remember this band from the early 90s when the video for Mother was all over MTV and it got a second life. I wasn’t into it then, but I have to say I am much warmer on it now. It sounds like an early version of the punk meets metal movement, but if Jim Morrison lead the band. And there’s some nice guitar work laced in here to keep it from being too monotonous. Soul on Fire really impressed me, as did this version of Mother and the Albert King cover of The Hunter turned in Danzig-style. Paint me ultimately impressed.

The Essential Track: Soul On Fire

Up Next: Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peepshow

I met Glenn Danzig. He’s a really short dude. Like 5’2” or3” short. I told him he’d make a badass Wolverine. He agreed.

[liebzz]

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peepshow

This has been a really fun band to follow in this thread. They’ve had a fair amount of range, really enjoyed some of the heavier rock focused albums with them. This is a bit of a mix, and a more experimental vibe than they’ve had in a while. The first few seemed like maybe this would be a little poppier, but by the end of Scarecrow, Carousel, and the builder Burn-Up, this album fully finds its groove. Siouxsie really seems to have found another level on this as a frontwoman and vocalist.

The Essential Track: Burn-Up

Up Next: Richard Thompson - Amnesia

[liebzz]

Richard Thompson - Amnesia

I had sort of vaguely heard of Richard Thompson, probably here somewhere, though I never really took a listen. I was pleasantly impressed with his material on this album, full of range, and while this album seems very much a collection of really good songs more than a cohesive unit, there’s not a single song I wanted to move on from. Turning of the Tide, Gypsy Love Songs, Jerusalem on the Jukebox, Don’t Tempt Me, Can’t Win, and Waltzing’s For Dreamers, all different sounds going on, were my favorites. Also, this guy’s a low key beast on guitar.

The Essential Track: Gypsy Love Songs

Up Next: Tracy Chapman

[liebzz]

Tracy Chapman

Tracy Chapman’s debut seems like an album totally different from what the 80s were all about - stripped down and organic in a way that seems more suited for the 90s. The approach works really well for her style of storytelling, which personalized social causes in a relatable way. The album has several moments of brilliance, from the well known Talkin’ Bout a Revolution and Fast Car, to Behind the Wall and Mountains O’ Things. The storytelling is the primary focus, and typically that isn’t a primary focus of mine, but it really is a success if I made that exception and didn’t get distracted. Great stuff.

The Essential Track: Fast Car

Up Next: Leonard Cohen - I’m Your Man

[liebzz]

Leonard Cohen - I’m Your Man

This album storms in with an odd juxtaposition of 80s synthetic production against the booming voice of Leonard Cohen - which is almost akin to Vincent Price in the delivery on First We Take Manhattan. Even if it’s weird at first, the approach comes more into focus as the album draws out, and this modern sound with his voice, the shape rounded out with backup singers that bridge the gap between the 80s modern sound and Cohen’s voice. That this proves successful over the course of 40 minutes is pretty remarkable, and Everybody Knows, I’m Your Man, and Take This Waltz is a brilliant middle space of this album where it all really does seem to come together.

The Essential Track: Take This Waltz

Up Next: Morrissey - Viva Hate

[Kevin Davis]

Richard Thompson - Amnesia

I had sort of vaguely heard of Richard Thompson, probably here somewhere, though I never really took a listen. I was pleasantly impressed with his material on this album, full of range, and while this album seems very much a collection of really good songs more than a cohesive unit, there’s not a single song I wanted to move on from. Turning of the Tide, Gypsy Love Songs, Jerusalem on the Jukebox, Don’t Tempt Me, Can’t Win, and Waltzing’s For Dreamers, all different sounds going on, were my favorites. Also, this guy’s a low key beast on guitar.

The Essential Track: Gypsy Love Songs

Up Next: Tracy Chapman

Richard Thompson is awesome -- I wouldn't hesitate to recommend adding all of his albums between now and the end of your journey to your list. All of them are inconsistent in their way, but all of them have a handful of essential songs. The "Acoustic Classics" (volumes 1 and 2, plus rarities) records that he put out from 2014-2017-ish are excellent starting points if you're wanting to get an overview. And you're right that he's an excellent guitarist -- I've seen him live a few times (once solo acoustic, twice with his electric trio), and he's easily on the shortlist of greatest players I've ever seen in person. You checked in with him right in the middle of his Mitchell Froom period -- a few albums later some of the production gloss comes off, and you get to hear him in a more organic setting that spotlights his natural talents a bit more. But, there are many great songs on the way there.

[LoathedVermin72]

Thompson is so good. I definitely already planned on recommending more as this project rolls along. My personal favorite of his is Mock Tudor - just fantastic work front to back, one of my all-time favorite records.

[Kevin Davis]

Thompson is so good. I definitely already planned on recommending more as this project rolls along. My personal favorite of his is Mock Tudor - just fantastic work front to back, one of my all-time favorite records.

This is my favorite too, LV! I was hooked from the first verse of "Cooksferry Queen." Glad to know you're a fan!

[wease]

Ok. Now I’m gonna have to check this dude out.

[liebzz]

Ok. Now I’m gonna have to check this dude out.

That’s why we’re here! Looking forward to all of that as well!

[liebzz]

Morrissey - Viva Hate

This is Morrissey’s post- Smiths debut. It’s a very good outing, though I think I prefer his work with Johnny Marr and the Smiths. It took me a few songs before it hit properly, really Everyday Is Like Sunday and then Bengali in Platforms. Late Night Maudlin Street, I Don’t Mind If You Forget Me, and Margaret on the Guillotine were also strong highlights here. Morrissey is still a strong songwriter, but there’s at least a somewhat noticeable difference to me without Marr there.

The Essential Track: Everyday Is Like Sunday

Up Next: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Tender Prey

[liebzz]

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Tender Prey

Now this is what I was hoping for with this band. Having liked but not loved the other albums we discussed here, this one clicked right from the jump. It’s a little weird, hard driving, and every song seems to fit, even if it leans more pop rock (Deanna), meandering (The Mercy Seat), or straight rock (Sunday’s Slave). I really also loved Up Jumped the Devil, Sugar Sugar Sugar, Mercy and City of Refuge…hell, I loved this whole album. It’s just the right combination of strange but addictive.

The Essential Track: Up Jumped the Devil (I could have picked any of maybe six songs here, this feels almost random)

Up Next: Harold Budd - The White Arcades

[LoathedVermin72]

Hell yeah, I had a feeling this would be the one to finally click for you. Such a great album.

[liebzz]

Harold Budd - The White Arcade

Been a while since an ambient album was discussed here, and this one’s pretty good, though I really only felt the pull of the opening title track and The Room. It’s mostly fine but works in the background. In the realm of these albums there’s probably albums that are much more meditative and others more exciting. Kind of fit in the middle of the road for me on this one.

The Essential Track: The White Arcade

Up Next: The Bill Frisell Band - Lookout For Hope

[liebzz]

Hell yeah, I had a feeling this would be the one to finally click for you. Such a great album.

Yeah, this was a real winner.

[liebzz]

The Bill Frisell Band - Lookout For Hope

We’re taking a short jazz interlude on this and the next album. This one is billed as a fusion album, though that short changes it a bit, as there’s so much range here that it goes well beyond a single sub-genre of jazz. One would have thought, particularly after the opening title track, that this would be primarily a guitar jazz record, but this band all gets their space from the strings to the drums, and all of it excellent.

The Essential Track: Lookout For Hope

Up Next: Nels Cline - Angelica

[liebzz]

Nels Cline - Angelica

This is the debut jazz album from Nels Cline, who apparently would later join Wilco. For most of the album, I would say I enjoyed it well enough. There are some really soft spots on this album where you kind of want it to move along, but for the most part it is a well conceived and structured album. Then there’s The Lung, and the whole of this thing gets lifted to another level. I mean, this one, powerful and loud, would easily make my list of essential jazz tunes that we’ve heard here. And while he comes back down to Earth after, hot damn that is an unforgettable moment.

The Essential Track: The Lung

Up Next: The Traveling Wilburys - Vol. 1

[liebzz]

Traveling Wilburys - Vol. 1

Put Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and George Harrison in a room and watch them go. What we get here is 35 minutes of blissful pop rock music where everyone shines. Handle With Care and End of the Line are the bookends and both the known quantities here. It’s interesting because there was a long period where this album gained a sort of mythical status with it being out of print and I can remember my excitement circa 1999/2000 when I found the album at a used record store and clutched it like I won the lottery. And each song brings something to the table so that my excitement was justified. Heading For the Light, Dirty World, and Margarita are songs I rarely think about from this one, but even still they sparkled on this listen. Every listen brings a new favorite.

The Essential Track: Heading for the Light

Up Next: David Lee Roth - Skyscraper