Essential Studio Albums

[wease]

1994

Prince- Come
Prince- The Black Album
Offspring- Smash
Beck- Mellow Gold
Tori Amos- Under The Pink
Johnny Cash- American Recordings
Live - Throwing Copper

[liebzz]

Tupac Shakur - Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.

The most challenging part of listening to 2Pac for me is that he is immensely talented, but shows it only sometimes. This album feels like exhibit number one in that regard. There are some real great gems here: Holler It Ya Hear Me, Keep Ya Head Up, I Get Around, Papa’z Song, and 5 Deadly Venomz. If this were it and an EP I would tell you he’s unstoppably great, but the rest is meh - basically by the numbers gangsta rap with nothing particularly interesting musically. But those 5 tracks are quite great. I think I recall feeling the same way about his prior album.

The Essential Track: Keep Ya Head Up

Up Next: Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tant (36 Chambers)

[Kalevi]

Outkast

[Higgs]

1994

Underworld - Dubnobasswithmyheadman
Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley
Hootie and the Blowfish - Cracked Rear View (sorry but you kinda gotta...)
Portishead - Dummy


And can I sneak in a late 1993 album please??

The Cruel Sea - The Honeymoon is Over

[liebzz]

Will do on all accounts.

[tragabigzanda]

1994:

Shellac - At Action Park
Portishead - Dummy
Sebadoh - Bakesale
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Stereolab - Mars Audiac Quintet
Low - I Could Live in Hope
Daniel Johnston - Fun
Built to Spill - There's Nothing Wrong with Love
Superchunk - Foolish
The Sea and Cake - The Sea and Cake
Beck - One Foot in the Grave
Silkworm - Libertine
Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
Liz Phair - Whip-Smart
Dinosaur Jr. - Without a Sound
Beck - Stereopathetic Soulmanure
The Folk Implosion - Take a Look inside....

[Kalevi]

Stp
Gravediggas

[Birds in Hell]

A few others:

Bark Psychosis - Hex
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Vol. II
Hole - Live Through This
Nas - Illmatic
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In
Unwound - New Plastic Ideas
Suede - Dog Man Star
Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible
Pulp - His n' Hers

[liebzz]

Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

We go to a classic to close out this mini-set of hip hop albums. I never really tried too hard to get into these guys, mostly because when they exploded on to the scene I was not really in a space to take them in and just never got back to it. While this is a raw album, it’s really well done - humorous but there’s more going on than merely that. The beat structures and approach feel fresh and different, especially juxtaposed with the last album - not that being different makes it better, but this album on the whole was in any event. I certainly see what all the fuss was about,

The Essential Track: C.R.E.A.M.

Up Next: Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne

[liebzz]

Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne

This is a tale of two albums for sure as the last of the Invle Tupelo albums before their breakup. One track employs the sounds of No Depression to great affect - The Long Cut and Chikamaiga are great examples of this sort of rock music with a little country flavor. The other track melds the stripped down sound of their prior album and the earlier sound, which is still quite good, and gives us the title track which is the track here - but I fell for that No Depression sound with this band and just prefer that. Altogether this is still another fantastic album from them despite the clearer dividing lines between Farrar and Tweedy.

The Essential Track: Anodyne

Up Next: John Hiatt - Perfectly Good Guitar

[liebzz]

John Hiatt - Perfectly Good Guitar

It’s pretty much right on the nose - Perfectly Good Guitar is very much the mantra of this album. Really the guitar is what keeps the album from being fully exposed. I liked the first two songs here pretty well enough. Something Wild and Straight Outta Time are solid rock songs. Then the title track comes and I find it some combination of out of touch and hokey in a bad way. A rare moment of listening to a track and just rolling my eyes. Okay, Boomer. Pretty much put the nail in the coffin for the remainder of the album, as it meanders through cliche and mediocrity for me in some form of heartland rock that would make John Cougar Mellencamp blush. A shame too because I have enjoyed the other albums of his in this thread.

The Essential Track: Something Wild

Up Next: Janet Jackson - Janet.

[liebzz]

Janet Jackson - Janet.

So this is the beginning of the Janet that would one day make wardrobe malfunction a household name. All kidding aside, it’s a pretty decent album all in all, and with I think 2 big highlights that reeled me in: If and Funky Big Band. The interludes seemed a little superfluous for an album was so long, but the rest was largely solid pop music, albeit with a more inward facing theme. I’ll take Rhythm Nation over this, but by not as much as I thought I would.

The Essential Track: Funky Big Band

Up Next: The Auteurs - New Wave

[liebzz]

The Auteurs - New Wave

This felt immediately like I was back on track. The songs here seem fresh and really good, and if this is an advancement for Brit-pop, okay, but honestly it’s just a really good rock album. That opening trio of Show Girl, Bailed Out, and American Guitars is just fantastic, and it never loses steam after that. Juno Shop Clothes is an interesting and great follow up to that trio, and How Could I Be Wrong is also right up there. Yet even the songs I am not mentioning by name here are really good too. I had no expectations going in and was still very happily surprised by this one.

The Essential Track: How Could I Be Wrong

Up Next: The Lemonheads - Come On Feel the Lemonheads

[wease]

Janet Jackson - Janet.

So this is the beginning of the Janet that would one day make wardrobe malfunction a household name. All kidding aside, it’s a pretty decent album all in all, and with I think 2 big highlights that reeled me in: If and Funky Big Band. The interludes seemed a little superfluous for an album was so long, but the rest was largely solid pop music, albeit with a more inward facing theme. I’ll take Rhythm Nation over this, but by not as much as I thought I would.

The Essential Track: Funky Big Band

Up Next: The Auteurs - New Wave

Right on

[VinylGuy]

I havent seen NIN - The Downward Spiral listed.....

Also Lush - Split and Lanegan´s Whisky for The Holy Ghost

[liebzz]

The Lemonheads - Come on Feel the Lemonheads

For some reason, this album feels much more immediately memorable than the last. This is one spritzy pop rock album! The Great Big No and the well known Into Your Arms make one helluva statement in that regard, and the spritz never lets up, well until the sound collage to close this out. Down About It, Style, and Dawn Can’t Decide were my other favorites here, but I found this maybe more consistent than the last.

The Essential Track: Into Your Arms

Up Next: Yo La Tengo - Painful

[liebzz]

Yo La Tengo - Painful

Okay, wow. This album blew me away from the jump. This is one of those bands I heard about for years but never made the investment. Now is as good a time as any. Big Day Coming is an epic opener…and really everything here is just perfectly placed and basically all essential here. At moments they recall a Velvet Underground or poppy Sonic Youth, and frankly there’s not many more complimentary comparisons you can get - especially since they feel like their own thing as well. If someone told me this album came out last week I’d believe them. Bravo.

The Essential Track: Big Day Coming

Up Next: Swervedriver - Mezcal Head

[liebzz]

Swervedriver - Mezcal Head

This is another really good rock album that I think mostly defies any particular rock categorization. Granted, I was distracted in spots listening to this one, and it probably deserves repeat closer listens, but I was still very happy with everything on here - and I think that has been consistent throughout my listens on this band. For Seeking Heat, Duel, Last Train to Satansville, and A Change is Gonna Come were my top choices here. Solid solid album.

The Essential Track: A Change is Gonna Come

Up Next: Paw - Dragline

[VinylGuy]

Yo La Tengo - Painful

Okay, wow. This album blew me away from the jump. This is one of those bands I heard about for years but never made the investment. Now is as good a time as any. Big Day Coming is an epic opener…and really everything here is just perfectly placed and basically all essential here. At moments they recall a Velvet Underground or poppy Sonic Youth, and frankly there’s not many more complimentary comparisons you can get - especially since they feel like their own thing as well. If someone told me this album came out last week I’d believe them. Bravo.

The Essential Track: Big Day Coming

Up Next: Swervedriver - Mezcal Head

one of my favs from them for sure. Big Day Coming is one of their greatest. I saw them live last year maybe?

[liebzz]

Paw - Dragline

This one fell on the heavier side of the alternative rock we’ve been banging through in the early 90s. It’s a solid album, though not really in the realm of my favorites so far, though there are plenty of highlights: Jessie, Couldn’t Know, Dragline, Pansy, Veronica, One More Bottle, and Sugarcane were all quite good. This is another vocalist who can get quite yell heavy at time not in a great way, but the band keeps this thing in good shape.

The Essential Track: Pansy

Up Next: Catherine Wheel - Chrome