Essential Studio Albums

[VinylGuy]

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is such a cool little raw band. I listened to them around the time Acme came out and i wasnt that interested but it got me years later when i came back to it.

[liebzz]

Yeah, I have been improvising much of the order of things on my list, and this seemed right after Morphine and inspired me to go back to Reverend Horton Heat next.

[Ello Sailor]

Morphine - Cure for Pain

I will have to admit that I knew absolutely nothing about out this band when I started this album. One can make assumptions about what you’re getting on band name alone, and I guess I sort of expected a natural progression away from what we have been listening to. Nope. This is a whole other beast I don’t think i would have seen coming. It’s sort of a rock framework, but with jazz instruments (it never really feels like it’s a jazz album or even fusion). The first half is good here, but the second half is really great. The run from Thursday to Sheila in particular, which comprises at least a third of the album is just one great song after the next - and that first half does boast Buena, which is also great. This was a really pleasant surprise.

The Essential Track: Thursday

Up Next: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Extra Width

How is this possible? Trag and I have clearly been slacking. They were incredible.

[liebzz]

Reverend Horton Heat - The Full Custom Gospel Sounds of the Reverend Horton Heat

On their second album, RHH lean a little more punk, but there’s still plenty of the rockabilly influence running their sound. I think this is a step down from the first album, in part because of that. Granted, their sense of humor has not suffered as demonstrated in their faux-country Bales of Cocaine, and full rockabilly Big Little Baby. The Devil’s Chasing Me is probably the most central to their sound here despite not diving much into punk territory there. This one just kind of jumps up and down in quality, and they’ll most certainly get it back on further releases.

The Essential Track: The Devil’s Chasing Me

Up Next: Bad Religion - Recipe For Hate

[liebzz]

Bad Religion - Recipe For Hate

Of the Bad Religion albums covered so far, I am pretty confident, by a large margin, that this was my favorite. Pop punk would take off in the next year and they are the vision of that future here - but I think probably better than what’s to come. American Jesus, Man With a Mission, All Good Soldiers, Watch It Die and Struck a Nerve all stuck with me nicely, and while I still wouldn’t go too crazy over them, this seems like the fulfillment of what they’re capable of.

The Essential Track: Watch It Die

Up Next: Fugazi - In On the Kill Taker

[VinylGuy]

I love Recipe...probably my fav from them. Eddie is featured too, so whats not to like!

[liebzz]

Fugazi - In On the Kill Taker

With the sound aesthetic of Albini in tow, In On the Kill Taker manages to be the harshest sounding, and the artiest album of theirs so far. This blends their signature punk sound with a more noise rock and it even took me two listens to get the proper attention - as if, like many great albums, the music opens up on repeat listens. That said, the most immediate track here is my favorite: Rend It. The remainder of the album is pretty excellent, and requires a bit more attention and focus. It may not be a toe tapping album you can just throw on in the background, but the foreground indeed rewards.

The Essential Track: Rend It

Up Next: The Melvins - Houdini

[VinylGuy]

fuck yeah fugazi!!

[liebzz]

The Melvins - Houdini

On paper at least, this sounds like a dream scenario - Kurt Cobain co-producing an album with his childhood heroes. In reality, at least what I gather with the controversy surrounding this, Cobain contributed guitars on Sky Pup, percussion on Spread Eagle Beagle, and was otherwise largely a drug addled ornament to the sessions on his better days. A real shame. This album, despite the warts, is pretty good. Hooch, Honey Bucket, and Set Me Straight are proof that had the Melvins desired, they could have easily ascended musically with their contemporaries, and yet they still experimented and dealt sludge throughout the album, much of which is quite good, the Kurt Cobain issues notwithstanding.

The Essential Track: Set Me Straight

Up Next: Frank Black

[liebzz]

fuck yeah fugazi!!

I was a little surprised because I feel like the chatter seemed like it was 13 Songs, Repeater, then largely disappear until The Argument. That was a total misunderstanding.

[VinylGuy]

I always forget Kurt was on Houdini.

[Higgs]

Fully organic and frankly 100% feel. I have actually ranked all 1402 albums thus far and there’s certainly some level of inaccuracy. I try to avoid things like ranking with the album’s legacy in mind, or even the bias I would have brought with an album that’s been central to me for 30+ years. For instance, ranking Vs. was hard as hell because of my history with the album, and particularly because it still in many ways represents the center point of my music taste 33 years almost after having heard it for the first time. I had to listen to it twice to get what I needed out of it because I know I place it above Ten and always have and still do, but then there are moments in Siamese Dream where I think that should supplant, but it’s lower than Ten and Nevermind. Those are the toughest.

As a process for initial thoughts on ranking, I usually contextualize it in my head with how the same artist’s other albums made me feel, as well as the albums I had just recently heard. It gives me a range, like is this album in the 200s, the 500s, etc. - then I get to that range and think about it against the albums it will be ranked with a make a decision on feel.

At the end of the day, I want the list to reflect how this thread has impacted the way I think about music (it’s had a big impact), and not what would be perceived as best or greatest outside my own head. It’s a hard task because I see a seminal album title and I look forward to hearing it, be it the first or hundredth time, and that inevitably has some sway on how I consume it. But my wish is to straight report on what exactly hits me on each album, and catalogue where that album fits for me. And in turn, I hope that all of you participating can feel the joy and excitement and discovery or rediscovery in many of the same ways I am.

Hey liebzz, apologies for lack of follow up, lots going on in Higgs World just now. But just wanted to say I appreciate you're ("hella quick I might add) response, detailed as I'd of course expect. I kinda figured it had to be more organic that statistic, otherwise you'd go insane. Mind you, me talking to the dude determined to listen to and rank 2,500 albums about insanity, well...

Just want to add I had to listen to a few of your top 10 albums that I hadn't heard before - there were a surprising amount, and I say that as a fellow tunes nerd - but On The Beach is something else. Never been a huge Neil guy, but I know Harvest and love Harvest Moon (I commented earlier in the thread on the personal connection I have with that album/song) but this is next level. So I'm not sure if this matters to you or not, but THANK YOU for introducing me to an album that simply makes my life better.

Now off you go, you have albums to listen to.

[Ello Sailor]

I hope you've heard Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Higgsy.

[Higgs]

Yes! Down by the River is killer!

[liebzz]

Frank Black

Formerly Black Francis from the Pixies, Frank Black arguably continued in their tradition on this album, but there’s something even lighter about this album, not to mention that these songs all seem to have a sense of completeness where a bunch of Pixies songs sounded more like fragments of ideas not yet fully fleshed out. On its own merits, this is an excellent album, filled with tons of dare I say catchy nuggets and one great Beach Boys cover. Los Angeles, I Heard Ramona Sing, Hang On to Your Ego (I Know There’s an Answer from Pet Sounds), Fu Manchu, Tossed, Adda Lee, and Don’t Ya Rile ‘Em are all fantastic here. A nice little gem of an album.

The Essential Track: Fu Manchu

Up Next: Sugar - Beaster

[liebzz]

Fully organic and frankly 100% feel. I have actually ranked all 1402 albums thus far and there’s certainly some level of inaccuracy. I try to avoid things like ranking with the album’s legacy in mind, or even the bias I would have brought with an album that’s been central to me for 30+ years. For instance, ranking Vs. was hard as hell because of my history with the album, and particularly because it still in many ways represents the center point of my music taste 33 years almost after having heard it for the first time. I had to listen to it twice to get what I needed out of it because I know I place it above Ten and always have and still do, but then there are moments in Siamese Dream where I think that should supplant, but it’s lower than Ten and Nevermind. Those are the toughest.

As a process for initial thoughts on ranking, I usually contextualize it in my head with how the same artist’s other albums made me feel, as well as the albums I had just recently heard. It gives me a range, like is this album in the 200s, the 500s, etc. - then I get to that range and think about it against the albums it will be ranked with a make a decision on feel.

At the end of the day, I want the list to reflect how this thread has impacted the way I think about music (it’s had a big impact), and not what would be perceived as best or greatest outside my own head. It’s a hard task because I see a seminal album title and I look forward to hearing it, be it the first or hundredth time, and that inevitably has some sway on how I consume it. But my wish is to straight report on what exactly hits me on each album, and catalogue where that album fits for me. And in turn, I hope that all of you participating can feel the joy and excitement and discovery or rediscovery in many of the same ways I am.

Hey liebzz, apologies for lack of follow up, lots going on in Higgs World just now. But just wanted to say I appreciate you're ("hella quick I might add) response, detailed as I'd of course expect. I kinda figured it had to be more organic that statistic, otherwise you'd go insane. Mind you, me talking to the dude determined to listen to and rank 2,500 albums about insanity, well...

Just want to add I had to listen to a few of your top 10 albums that I hadn't heard before - there were a surprising amount, and I say that as a fellow tunes nerd - but On The Beach is something else. Never been a huge Neil guy, but I know Harvest and love Harvest Moon (I commented earlier in the thread on the personal connection I have with that album/song) but this is next level. So I'm not sure if this matters to you or not, but THANK YOU for introducing me to an album that simply makes my life better.

Now off you go, you have albums to listen to.

Oh man, so glad I could turn you on to that album. Sometimes it’s hard for me to remember just how great that one is until I turn it on again and think “god this is incredible” even if I can point to songs on other albums that I can hear in my head more immediately. It’s got a level of comfort for me not unlike the nearly 30 years of living in something like No Code. It just feels right.

[liebzz]

Sugar - Beaster

If I found a bunch of new artists from the long exploration of the 80s, this might be the first band for me of the 1990s that I have been made a fan of from this thread alone. This one in particular is a gloriously heavy rock album, a really quick one at that, but these 6 songs (really the first five) are so damn good that you don’t want it to end. Feeling Better in particular is just straight awesome. So far there’s very little Bob Mould can do wrong, from Husker Du to solo to Sugar.

The Essential Track: Feeling Better

Up Next: Daniel Lanois - For the Beauty of Wynona

[Kalevi]

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[Kalevi]

Sugar - Beaster

If I found a bunch of new artists from the long exploration of the 80s, this might be the first band for me of the 1990s that I have been made a fan of from this thread alone. This one in particular is a gloriously heavy rock album, a really quick one at that, but these 6 songs (really the first five) are so damn good that you don’t want it to end. Feeling Better in particular is just straight awesome. So far there’s very little Bob Mould can do wrong, from Husker Du to solo to Sugar.

The Essential Track: Feeling Better

Up Next: Daniel Lanois - For the Beauty of Wynona

The next one was a huge album for me (sugar)

[liebzz]

Daniel Lanois - For the Beauty of Wynona

We’re a family thread here, thank you very much.

This album is from a guy I associate with the albums he’s produced and didn’t really think about him as an individual artist. Blessed with a tremendous amount of range of sound while still maintaining the same sonic thread through the album is no small feat, but it’s done well here. The Messenger, Brother LA, Death of a Train, The Unbreakable Chain, and Sleeping in the Devil’s Bed were all highlights for me, but no matter he goes electronic or instrumental, everything has its place here.

The Essential Track: The Unbreakable Chain

Up Next: Seefeel - Quique