Dez's Favorite Rock/Pop Records, #'s 45-41

Most albums featuring multiple artists fall short of greatness. It is hard to keep that essential cohesiveness and still have everyone at the top of their game. Remember that compilations are not allowed, but I kinda made an exception for #45, since most of it is made up of new material from one band.

45. ‘Friday Night Lights’ motion picture soundtrack, composed and performed by Explosions in the Sky and various artists, 2004
Excellent book, good film, near perfect television show, and gorgeous soundtrack. This is the soundtrack to the film (the released soundtrack to the TV show, unfortunately, is not that good). Explosions in the Sky is an instrumental group out of west Texas, and their moody, cinematic music (two guitars, drums, bass) perfectly captures the wide open spaces, possibilities, disappointments, triumphs, hardships and emotions of the film. It is extremely melodic, and the intertwining guitars weave complex webs of sound, as the music dramatically crescendos and then falls to quiet. Explosions in the Sky is responsible for about 80% or so of the soundtrack, but the rest of the music fits in with the mood nicely, such as a Brian Eno piece and even the one song with vocals, Bad Company’s lovely, little heard gem, the acoustic “Seagull.” But this soundtrack belongs to Explosions in the Sky, and they are responsible for its placing in this slot.


ABOVE: The music of Explosions in the Sky seems tailor-made for dramatic soundtracks

44. The Beatles – Revolver, 1966
#44 captures The Beatles in that magical middle period where they were beyond mere master pop songcraft and before the excess. It was a time of exciting musical experimentation where the four plus George Martin busted the possibilities of the studio wide open. Paul McCartney is a pop writer without parallel here: “Eleanor Rigby,” “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Got To Get You Into My Life,” “Good Day Sunshine,” “For No One”…each of these is pop genius songwriting from a man with arguably the greatest gift for melody rock has ever seen. John Lennon is the one to really push the boundaries, though. “I’m Only Sleeping” and “Tomorrow Never Knows” are on the vanguard of psychedelia, while “She Said She Said” and “Dr. Robert” are sly rockers referencing the emerging drug culture. George Harrison gets multiple tracks (finally) on a Beatles record, even opening it with the sarcastic rocker “Taxman.” Lennon and McCartney also throw Ringo a charming bone, letting him sing “Yellow Submarine.”


ABOVE: The Beatles at their peak

43. Radiohead – The Bends, 1995
Radiohead is considered one of the new saviors of rock and roll, and the praise and worship heaped upon them by both critics and rabid fans is indeed impressive. While I am not a Radiohead, err, Head, I have to concede they are one of the most important bands of the last 20 years. The Bends straddles the divide between Radiohead the mere rock band and Radiohead the new progressive gods. The guitars are still big, but the experimentation is already apparent. What impresses me about this album is that I hear bits of The Who, The Kinks and Pink Floyd, but they are not merely copying. They are influenced and then take those influences and use them in new and original ways. Listening to #43 all the way through in one sitting is almost too much, there is so much going on here, all of it great. “Black Star” is a personal fave.

42. U2 – Achtung Baby, 1991
The most successful reinvention in rock history. U2 pulled off the impressive hat trick of turning themselves from the ultimate band of heartfelt rock anthems to the ultimate band of ironic cool. Sensing they needed a change in direction before staleness set in, they took desperate measures. Bono announced that the band would have to “go away and dream it all up again.” What did that mean? Moving to Berlin to record and to soak up some of that Bowie/Eno late-70’s karma circa their Berlin Trilogy days, things got so tense that the band almost broke up in the process. Bono described the sound of the album as “four men trying to chop down ‘The Joshua Tree’.” But out of near disaster came one of the biggest records of the decade. With its dark Post-Soviet East European ambiance combining the Bowie/Eno avant-garde of the late 70’s with the more postmodern Madchester musical movement, Edge creates waves of industrial guitar noise, as the rhythm section of Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen pound away. But even here, U2’s earnest heart shines through (they can’t really help themselves), such as on the gorgeous “One.” This record gave U2 another 15-20 years of relevance.

41. Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, 1969
Neil’s debut solo record was rather timid, but he got it right on his sophomore effort, his first and finest with his garage backing band Crazy Horse. “Cinnamon Girl” and the title track are two tight rockers, and “The Losing End” is a fine rolling country number. But everyone remembers this classic because of the two extended jams that capture everything great about Neil and Crazy Horse, “Down By the River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand.” Neil solos with such passion and abandon on these feverish jams, he establishes himself in the upper echelon of guitar greats, even though his actual technique is quite rudimentary. But that was really the point. I call them “feverish” not only because of how they are performed, but because Neil actually wrote both epics in the same day when he was bedridden with a high fever. If only we could all be that productive on our sick days! At any rate, out of Neil’s vast and impressive discography, #41 is one of every fan’s favorites. Many of these tunes are still deservedly concert staples.


ABOVE: One of Neil's finest