Essential Studio Albums

[liebzz]

Prince and the New Power Generation - [love symbol]

This is I guess the beginning of that whole symbol fiasco with years of “Artist Formerly Known As Prince” thing - but in fairness, the music in this album, and leading into it and probably always, defied limitations of genre, sound, and expectations. This album is no change to that. Prince merely makes music that feels limitless here, and though it’s wrapped up in some bizarre pseudo-concept of an ancient love story starring Prince himself, the music sort of meanders in and out of sounds so fluently you barely realize the genre bending that is constant. It seems to start largely in an organic hip hop and move into rock, soul, etc. - that there’s 75 minutes of material and really not much time wasted is a testament to- though still, nothing sounds much better than Prince with a guitar in his hand, so the winner here for me was pretty evident.

The Essential Track: The Morning Papers

Up Next: Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92

[liebzz]

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Fully recognizing that this is a seminal work in the ambient and techno genres, on an individual level I was not really feeling this. For me, it felt like I was not cool enough to appreciate this - in fact it felt like the soundtrack to a sparsely stocked clothing store featuring t-shirts with prearranged holes in them selling for far more than I can afford. Or maybe a pricey restaurant that uses this for “atmosphere” - or a spa or something. Really any place that tells you upon entering that the space is above your cool quotient. I imagine a few folks are agitated by that, and I would never say the music is bad, and I know it’s not. But those ain’t the vibes I am looking for myself.

The Essential Track: Actium

Up Next: White Zombie- La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One

[VinylGuy]

I feel Aphex Twin is ok for a particular moment or vibe

[liebzz]

I feel Aphex Twin is ok for a particular moment or vibe

The vibe:

[VinylGuy]

[washing machine]

Check out Selected Ambient Works Vol II if you're at all interested in hearing more. Still Aphex Twin, but much different vibe. Minimal beats, maximum atmosphere.

[VinylGuy]

thats a pretty cool one yeah. i would suggest Come To Daddy and I Care Because You Do.

[Birds in Hell]

If liebzz thinks he's going to get out of being recommended more Aphex Twin albums as this moves along, he's got another thing coming.

[VinylGuy]

haha poor bastard he doesnt know whats coming

[washing machine]

Wait 'til you hear about Autechre, liebzz.

[liebzz]

If liebzz thinks he's going to get out of being recommended more Aphex Twin albums as this moves along, he's got another thing coming.

Oh, we’ll surely have some fun with it. I promise to listen with an open mind.

[wease]

Glad you’re still digging Prince.

[liebzz]

Glad you’re still digging Prince.

I thought the other shoe would drop in the 90s but he was still awesome.

[liebzz]

White Zombie - La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1

White Zombie were really a fascinating band - metal but really focused on groove, a lead singer in Rob Zombie who has a raspy voice with an incredibly smooth vocal delivery and cadence. It makes for some interesting results - I didn’t really get it at the time, the psychedelic horror movie motif, but now I hear a lot of what I missed then. Thunder Kiss ‘65 is the known song here, but there really is a strong and consistent front to back performance happening here.

The Essential Track: Thunder Kiss ‘65

Up Next: Rage Against the Machine

[liebzz]

Rage Against the Machine

This is probably one of the seminal albums of the 90s, and one I feel like stayed relevant through the end of the decade, even as they had released the next two albums. They may have not been the originators of melding rap and rock, but they felt like the biggest band to have done so to that point, with De La Rocha’s spitfire political screeds (which went well over the heads of the bros that were drawn to the testosterone masculinity of the music), Tom Morello finding a way to reinvent the guitar, and some aggressive rock. This formula would come to dominate mainstream rock music in the second half of the 90s in no small part due to this. As for the songs, Killing in the Name, Bombtrack, Know Your Enemy, Wake Up (thanks to the Matrix), and Freedom are all legit classics off this. A band at the forefront of this sound, and I think probably my favorite to have done it.

The Essential Track: Freedom

Up Next: Body Count

[VinylGuy]

Both WZ and Rage felt like very dangerous bands at the time, or at least it was music most grown ups werent going to get. I loved them.

Morello also opened a new path with those guitar sounds...i remember thinking they had a DJ or something.

[liebzz]

Body Count

Well, this is the second album of this thread that I just couldn’t get through. I’m once again in a position of not looking to yuck someone else’s yum, but this just seemed like sophomoric rantings about the police behind a wall of metal music that wasn’t really interesting on its own to carry the album past the aforementioned ramblings. Mostly, this feels like an attention seeking publicity stunt, and borders on unintentional self-parody- which is a shame because I really liked Ice-T’s prior album. I’ll pick I guess from one of the three songs I made it through.

The Essential Track: Body Count

Up Next: Dr. Dre - The Chronic

[liebzz]

Dr. Dre - The Chronic

Most of the hip hop friends I knew back when considered this one of the holy grails of the genre. I know it was a huge album, and certainly an important one for gangsta rap, and launched some big careers (Snoop Dog to say the least). For me, this was sort of an up and down affair. The hits are huge - Let Me Ride and Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang are classic by any definition. Turning Parliament upside down on The Roach was fun. Ray-Tat-Tat-Tat was also memorable here as well as the album closer. Dre and Snoop have really good chemistry as a duo as well, though it feels like the pushes to extremes in moments here were a bit much for my taste. Certainly much better than what came right before this listen.

The Essential Track: Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang

Up Next: Beastie Boys - Check Your Head

[liebzz]

Beastie Boys - Check Your Head

On this album, the Beastie Boys sound a bit rawer, less sample heavy, and closer to the group that created Licensed to Ill. That’s not a bad thing in any respect, though this falls short of the kaleidoscopic brilliance of Paul’s Boutique. Pass the Mic and So What’cha Want are classic singles and deservedly so. The Maestro, In 3s, and Groove Holmes were highlights for me, even if some were instrumental - funny since you can really hear the verbal chemistry with these guys just getting better and better.

The Essential Track: So What’Cha Want

Up Next: The Rollins Band - End of Silence

[VinylGuy]

probably my fav from the boys, along with Ill Communication and the very first start of the the sound i love from them.