Essential Studio Albums

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I had no idea. I never really thought about who did that song. Some faceless 70s band?

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Aerosmith - Get Your Wings

This is one of those bands that you listen to with the sort of trust that would have you sleeping with one eye open. It’s ultimately more due to their later output that casts a shadow, even though their 70s output has many moments of brilliance. On Get Your Wings, Aerosmith develops their best selves, a combination of the Stones’ groove with Led Zeppelin’s might. Their take on the Yardbird’s Train Kept a Rollin’ is pure brilliance, Same Old Song and Dance is the Aerosmith I can always listen to, Lord of the Thighs, Woman of the World and SOS pure hard rock greatness. Even the slow song here, Seasons of Wither, hits the right mark. This is a really wonderful hard rock album.

The Essential Track: Train Kept a Rollin’

Up Next: The Rolling Stones - It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll

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The Rolling Stones - It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll

Goats Head Soup really brought out full sleaze Stones, and this follow up seems to soften that direction in delivering a more immediately accessible but not nearly as strong an album. That said, there are many phenomenal moments here - the title track is iconic, If You Can’t Rock Me, Til the Next Goodbye sticks to the ribs better than I remembered, Luxury is an attempt at reggae that sort of works though Fingerprint File is a more successful tune to tinker with their sound as a more dance-y tune, Dance Little Sister and Short and Curlies come back to that sleazy fun, Time Waits for No One is a hidden gem here, a shockingly great track that really rises above the rest of the fray here. Really the only negatives to this album is the middling cover of Ain’t Too Proud to Beg and the cloying If You Really Want to Be My Friend. Mid 70s Stones I always thought was unfairly maligned as mediocre, but it’s only a handful of tracks that qualify as that.

The Essential Track: Time Waits For No One

Up Next: The Who - Odds N Sods

[Happy Trees]

Aerosmith - Get Your Wings

This is one of those bands that you listen to with the sort of trust that would have you sleeping with one eye open. It’s ultimately more due to their later output that casts a shadow, even though their 70s output has many moments of brilliance. On Get Your Wings, Aerosmith develops their best selves, a combination of the Stones’ groove with Led Zeppelin’s might. Their take on the Yardbird’s Train Kept a Rollin’ is pure brilliance, Same Old Song and Dance is the Aerosmith I can always listen to, Lord of the Thighs, Woman of the World and SOS pure hard rock greatness. Even the slow song here, Seasons of Wither, hits the right mark. This is a really wonderful hard rock album.

I would say "Seasons Of Wither" more than hits the right mark.

It's their finest song.

[liebzz]

The Who - Odds N Sods

From the folks who brought to you one of the all time definitive live albums (Live at Leeds), and two of the all time rock operas (Tommy & Quadrophenia), The Who deliver one of the all time b-sides albums in Odds N Sods. I listened through the CD version, which works in chronological order, starting with I’m the Face and ending with Naked Eye. Despite this being largely songs that didn’t make the albums (a few alternate versions sit here), there’s not a weak moment, and for a collection that spans a decade, only close listens make the span noticeable in a big way (being a fan I can obviously hear the difference between I’m the Face and say Pure and Easy). Hell if it isn’t nearly impossible to pick a favorite here amongst all the gems.

The Essential Track: Naked Eye

Up Next: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping

[liebzz]

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping

If Pronounced… is an all out assault on guitar, Second Helping is a more refined southern rock sound, and here is where there are sounding a bit more Allman Brothers than the debut. The sound suits them well, be it the all time classic Sweet Home Alabama, Workin’ for MCA, or Swamp Music. The Ballad of Curtis Loew was quite good, and different enough from the formula to assert itself, though the ultimate winner here for me is their take on Call Me the Breeze, which rivals Free Bird in its epic delivery and instrumental throwdowns. This may not be as viscerally exciting as Pronounced, but I would have to agree it is probably the better album, which given how high esteem I held the first, is very much essential listening.

The Essential Track: Call Me the Breeze

Up Next: Marshall Tucker Band - A New Life

[wease]

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping

If Pronounced… is an all out assault on guitar, Second Helping is a more refined southern rock sound, and here is where there are sounding a bit more Allman Brothers than the debut. The sound suits them well, be it the all time classic Sweet Home Alabama, Workin’ for MCA, or Swamp Music. The Ballad of Curtis Loew was quite good, and different enough from the formula to assert itself, though the ultimate winner here for me is their take on Call Me the Breeze, which rivals Free Bird in its epic delivery and instrumental throwdowns. This may not be as viscerally exciting as Pronounced, but I would have to agree it is probably the better album, which given how high esteem I held the first, is very much essential listening.

The Essential Track: Call Me the Breeze

Disappointed you didn’t pick Needle and the Spoon. Or MCA.

This album, for me, is much more pleasurable than the first. I can’t really stand to hear SHA anymore, but the rest is absolutely solid. Every track. They also got their bass player back and moved the guy that played bass on the debut album to third guitar and that totally opened things up. Last album with the original drummer.

It tickled me a bit that you went Skynyrd right after The Who as they were the opening act for the Quadrophenia Tour.

[liebzz]

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping

If Pronounced… is an all out assault on guitar, Second Helping is a more refined southern rock sound, and here is where there are sounding a bit more Allman Brothers than the debut. The sound suits them well, be it the all time classic Sweet Home Alabama, Workin’ for MCA, or Swamp Music. The Ballad of Curtis Loew was quite good, and different enough from the formula to assert itself, though the ultimate winner here for me is their take on Call Me the Breeze, which rivals Free Bird in its epic delivery and instrumental throwdowns. This may not be as viscerally exciting as Pronounced, but I would have to agree it is probably the better album, which given how high esteem I held the first, is very much essential listening.

The Essential Track: Call Me the Breeze

Disappointed you didn’t pick Needle and the Spoon. Or MCA.

This album, for me, is much more pleasurable than the first. I can’t really stand to hear SHA anymore, but the rest is absolutely solid. Every track. They also got their bass player back and moved the guy that played bass on the debut album to third guitar and that totally opened things up. Last album with the original drummer.

It tickled me a bit that you went Skynyrd right after The Who as they were the opening act for the Quadrophenia Tour.

Ha. It just kind of worked out that way.

You are right on all of that, though I gravitate always to epic jams, giving Call Me the Breeze the edge. I went through phases with Sweet Home Alabama, and I would say in the last 5 years I came back to appreciate that song. It’s one of those that is so played that you can get sick of it or resent it for being the face of their music, but in the end it’s still a great song.

[liebzz]

Marshall Tucker Band - A New Life

This is the second really strong album from this band, who I never really thought about before this journey but for Can’t You See on the debut. Turns out they are really good. The opening title track is a mix of southern rock in the vein of an Allman Brothers but set against some serious jazz breakdowns - the kind of stuff that makes me real excited. Blue Ridge Mountain Sky is the sort of breezy southern rock that goes down almost too easy. Another Cruel Love, You Ain’t Foolin’ Me, and 24 Hours at a Time are all highlights of just a real solid album.

The Essential Track: A New Life

Up Next: Marshall Tucker Band - Where We All Belong

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Marshall Tucker Band - Where We All Belong

This one leans a little more southern country than the last two, but keeping with the stew that made them so solid on the first two albums. This Ol’ Cowboy, a song I know but didn’t even realize til I heard it again, is some real fun country songwriting, but it doesn’t feel like a typical country song at all. It’s just weird enough to draw you in. In My Own Way, Now She’s Gone, Try One More Time, and the live Ramblin’ stuck out to me on first listen here. There may be country leanings here, but it’s still full of different sounds, mixing in jazz and rock music seamlessly and creating a meaningful contribution to the southern rock sound.

The Essential Track: This Ol’ Cowboy

Up Next: Toots and the Maytals - In the Dark

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Glad to see you’re enjoying MTB. Toy Caldwell definitely doesn’t get enough recognition.

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Glad to see you’re enjoying MTB. Toy Caldwell definitely doesn’t get enough recognition.

Yeah I think this is a band that is largely overlooked. They have a lot of really fantastic moments on these albums, and the live tracks that are included are nearly all excellent.

[liebzz]

Toots and the Maytals - In the Dark

There are a couple better known tracks on this one that are immediately worth checking out: Time Tough and 54-46 Was My Number. Even beyond that though this is another excellent Toots album and still the one reggae artist that can almost stand toe to toe with Bob Marley. I know I have mentioned it several times, but it bears repeating that Toots has such an infectious vocal performance you can’t help but root for him, and his band is more than up to the task of delivering the roots reggae sound to back him up.

The Essential Track: Time Tough

Up Next: Bob Marley and the Wailers - Natty Dread

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Bob Marley and the Wailers - Natty Dread

The first four songs on this album are Marley classics, but the funny thing is before today, I had never studio versions of any of those songs, including No Woman No Cry. They are essential pieces of his live albums but for an artist as culturally influential as Bob Marley, somehow the studio versions are practically non-existent to me. This is largely for good reason - they are not bad at all - but they lack the bite and power of the live versions by a highway mile. The remainder of this album however is fantastic. So Jah S’eh, Natty Dread, and Revolution are just as good as the classics, and Bend Down Low is instructive of the range reggae music can have, given that we visualize a specific beat and rhythm structure when we think of the genre. The changes in personnel don’t hurt Bob’s music at all, though some of that intensity may have been compromised for a fuller sound.

The Essential Track: No Woman No Cry

Up Next: David Bowie - Diamond Dogs

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David Bowie - Diamond Dogs

There’s a real pull to call this the one with Rebel Rebel on it. The song is probably among Bowie’s most iconic tracks, if not the iconic track, and for good reason: it’s damn good. There is a whole album here though, and for the most part, it is successful if not very different from that looming track. The Orwellian coda is pretty remarkable in 1984 > Big Brother > Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family, and Diamond Dogs, Candidate, and Rock ‘n’ Roll With Me (nice build on this) are all pretty stellar tracks on their own. An album that’s worth more than its signature track that feels like both a center point yet a complete outlier from the rest.

The Essential Track: Rebel Rebel

Up Next: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe(‘)

[oasisfan35]

David Bowie - Diamond Dogs

There’s a real pull to call this the one with Rebel Rebel on it. The song is probably among Bowie’s most iconic tracks, if not the iconic track, and for good reason: it’s damn good. There is a whole album here though, and for the most part, it is successful if not very different from that looming track. The Orwellian coda is pretty remarkable in 1984 > Big Brother > Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family, and Diamond Dogs, Candidate, and Rock ‘n’ Roll With Me (nice build on this) are all pretty stellar tracks on their own. An album that’s worth more than its signature track that feels like both a center point yet a complete outlier from the rest.

The Essential Track: Rebel Rebel

Up Next: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe(‘)

On any given day Rebel Rebel has my favorite guitar riff of all time.

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Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (‘)

This sort of dichotomy is reminiscent of when I listened to Frank Zappa on the live albums thread. On the one hand, it’s some really amazing musical spaces he plays in, and on the other, the bonkers lyrical games he’s playing managed to play with the music in sometimes funny ways. His sense of humor is at times hard to decipher, I mean this seems like a loose concept album about dog piss, and he finds ways to make it work. I am never totally convinced with Zappa, and maybe there’s a point to that, but for the Zappa I have sampled, I think this has been the strongest for me. But it’s still a sophomoric album about dog piss…in a good way….probably.

The Essential Track: Apostrophe

Up Next: Graham Parsons - Grievous Angel

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Graham Parsons - Grievous Angel

As country albums go, this one sticks to you. It’s got an undeniable twang with a lot of slide in there, but the songs are just well constructed, be it $1000 Wedding, I Can’t Dance, Hearts on Fire, or the very well known Love Hurts. The best song for me was the more up tempo Ooh Las Vegas with Emmylou Harris. Most of this is very good though.

The Essential Track: Ooh Las Vegas

Up Next: Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets

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Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets

I’ll admit I didn’t see this coming. With his separation from Roxy Music and the following album with Fripp, I was really expecting some kind of ambient and atmospheric textural album. Instead, this is more pop rock with some impactful textural elements in just the right places. Needles in the Camel’s Eye, Baby’s On Fire (so is Fripp!), On Some Faraway Beach, and Dead Finks Don’t Talk are all really excellent tracks here on an album that is shockingly easy to digest, even where Eno’s experiments jump in on the foreground where they would have been layered in somewhere on a Roxy Music album. It just all works, and probably helps that he’s got the backing of his former band mates, making the chemistry natural between his compositions and their playing. Great album.

The Essential Track: Needles in the Camel’s Eye

Up Next: Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain

[VinylGuy]

I really should try to get more into Brian Eno.