Friday, August 15, 2008

Dez's Favorite Rock/Pop Records, #'s 50-46

The thing about making these lists is that they are never static. Over a period of 20 weeks, I am giving you a Top 100 list that I finalized a couple of months previous. But now already I might change a couple of things. This is not to say that this list is not representative of my favorite music. But still, you always want to go back and tweak. Where I put The Rolling Stones Beggar’s Banquet at #82, I might now switch that out for The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street. Anyway, now that we are in the top half of the list, the remainder of these selections is set in more solid stone than the half you have already seen.

50. Uncle Tupelo – Still Feel Gone, 1991
Uncle Tupelo’s debut was the perfect hybrid of punk abandon and country weariness; on their second album, these alt-country icons stretched out a little more in the punk direction. The opening “Gun” announced Jeff Tweedy’s arrival as Jay Farrar’s equal in the band. (Unbeknownst to fans at the time, it was also the beginning of the end. After a mere four albums, this beloved band split, with Tweedy going on to form critic darling Wilco and Farrar forging parallel solo and Son Volt careers.) “Gun” is a rousing rocker with their signature stop-start electric guitar volleys, showing that although Tweedy was stepping out as a songwriter, at this point he still leaned heavily on Farrar’s style. “Postcard” and “Punch Drunk” both take the punk/country fusion as far as Tupelo ever would take it (arguably a little too far), but Tweedy’s “Watch Me Fall” and Farrar’s “Still Be Around” rank amongst the greatest acoustic tunes ever. “Still Be Around” is the clear highlight, with warm layered acoustic guitars underlying the type of desolate lyrics that Farrar does so well.

49. Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy, 1973
Zep released six absolutely essential records (and the other ones weren’t bad), but none better than #49. One of my favorite things about #49 is the variety and the looseness, which demonstrates an absolute mastery and confidence in their craft. While the opening “The Song Remains the Same” indeed reassures fans that they can still be the hard rock behemoth we all know and love, they then quickly move into more experimental territory. “Rain Song” is a gorgeous and expansive orchestral piece, showcasing Jimmy Page’s less appreciated arranging skills. “D’yer Mak’er” shows them rather clumsily trying to tackle reggae, but they are clearly having a great time and it is infectious, while “The Crunge” and “Dancing Days” are about as funky as Zeppelin ever got. “The Ocean” rocks hard with a guitar riff for the ages. The elegiac Norse mythology epic “No Quarter” is the type of thing only this band could pull off seriously and without irony, and John Paul Jones’ underrated keyboard prowess really comes to the fore and creates a haunting atmosphere. “Over the Hills and Far Away” is stunning, an acoustic folk / electric hard rock hybrid that has never been equaled, and with a killer riff to boot. Not only one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs, but one of my favorite songs, period.

48. Dire Straits – Dire Straits, 1978
Nobody knew quite what to make of Dire Straits’ debut when it came out. It was released in the midst of musical turmoil, when punk was reacting to disco and when New Wave was emerging. But out comes this straight forward pub rock record with a guitarist who finger picks lightning yet fluid guitar leads and sings in a gruff, offhand Dylan-esque voice. Mark Knopfler has long been my favorite guitar player, mastering a striking finger picking technique and using a crisp and clean Stratocaster tone (at least in the early period). The classic “Sultans of Swing” is here, which remains their de facto anthem (a tale of an underappreciated hardworking bar band, albeit a jazz band in the song). Knopfler’s guitar solo on the song is deservedly one of the most recognizable from the period and highlights what was so great about his early playing style. One of my favorite songs is “Wild West End,” a lovely story-song that features Knopfler’s occasional use of National Steel guitars. #48 sounds as fresh today as the day it was released.

47. The Police – Ghost in the Machine, 1981
#47 is their “densest” record, sonically speaking. Following the almost skeletal Zenyatta Mondatta, they decided to lay on the sound textures, adding synths, strings, horns, steel drums…and Sting even allows Andy Summers to stretch out on a rare extended guitar solo on “Demolition Man” (showing why that was such a rare thing. Summers' forte was atmospheric rhythm playing, not soloing). #47 is also their darkest record thematically, taking on the dehumanizing effect of technology (even down to the computer characters on the album cover that create stark drawings of the band members). There are quite a few highlights here. “Spirits in the Material World” has one of Sting’s all time best bass lines, but I have always been disappointed that the relatively short tune fades out just as they start to really jam on it. I could use a couple more minutes of that. I have always held out hope that somewhere there existed an extended version. “Invisible Sun” is a haunting song of political protest, “Demolition Man” is a rare time where the three of them jam rather loosely, “One World” is one of their best reggae-influenced tunes, and “Secret Journey” is a musical dry run for “Every Breath You Take.” And I’ve always really dug Andy Summers’ ignored rocker, “Omegaman.” Amongst all of this darkness is the joyous, perfect pop song “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.”


ABOVE: (From left to right) Andy Summers, Sting and Stewart Copeland.

46. The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America, 2006
The most recent entry on my list. I know it is often necessary to let some time pass in order to fully assess the greatness of a work, but I feel confident that ten years from now, this would still make the cut on my list. I have not heard epic rock and roll like this in a long time. This is epic in the sense of 70’s era Springsteen (just listen to opener “Stuck Between Stations”), street operas that capture youth rebellion and uncertainty in equal measure. It is like both 70’s Springsteen (prominent pianos and street stories) and top shelf Kinks (devastating guitar riffs); and that description doesn’t even do justice to it (it is near impossible to be completely original in rock anymore, so I bring up those reference points.) The best new bands take their influences, integrate them, and then make their own distinct music from it. First among equals for me are “You Can Make Him Like You” and “Citrus,” with my new favorite lyric “Lost in a fog of love and faithless fear / I’ve had kisses that made Judas seem sincere.” But there really is not a bad song here. I like the story of how this band came to be. Evidently friends Craig Finn (vocals) and lead guitarist Tad Kubler were hanging out watching the brilliant film about The Band, ‘The Last Waltz’, and Finn asked Kubler “Dude, why aren’t there any bands like this anymore? Let’s do this from now on.” And thus God created The Hold Steady, and it was good. I don’t really hear The Band in their sound, but it makes for a cool story.


ABOVE: Epic rock lives on Boys and Girls in America

7 comments:

JMW said...

I certainly won't complain about Uncle Tupelo and The Hold Steady -- two of my favorite bands. The other bands are classics, of course. I'm not the Dire Straits fan that you are (by a long shot), but you did open my ears and make me like them. I swing wildly with the Police -- sometimes I love 'em, and sometimes I think they're over-rated. In any case, you must be kidding that those computer characters are supposed to be portraits of them, right?

Lastly, Zeppelin. I love the songs I have, and they're great, and they did a lot to inspire Spinal Tap, which is achievement enough. But I never went through the fantasy phase that many males do, so when they sing about Mordor and such, I find it funny -- not in the good way. They still rock, though.

pockyjack said...

I think I need to hang out with jmw more. His musical analysis seems similar to mine. Esp the Zeplin thing and the Police thing.

Dez, please say you are going to include a Knopfler Solo album, esp Sailing to Philidelphia. If you don't, there is no hope.

ANCIANT said...

I love Zeppelin, of course. Unlike jmw, I DID go through a dedicated Zeppelin phase. In High School, of course. It included a black wall hanging with an old man holding a lantern and a quote from "Stairway to Heaven."

Ah, high school.

Point is, I know Zep, and Dez, no way is "Houses" their best. I don't think it's in their top 3, even. So I'm hoping that other of their albums will be higher.

The Hold Steady should be top 20, at least.

Can't argue with the rest, though I'm not the Tupelo fan you are.

You forgot to mention the best song on "Ghost"--Rehumanize Yourself. Containing these classic lines:

"Billy's joined the national front.
He always was a little runt,
he's got his hand in the air with the other c**ts,
You've got to humanize yourself."

So true. Kept me from becoming a Hitler Youth, that song.

Dezmond said...

JMW - I am not kidding. Those are their headshots. Look more closely.

Pocky - Never have I been such a big fan of an artist with his band (Dire Straits) and more disappointed in his subsequent solo career. Dire Straits is a favorite band of mine, but I can't stand most of Knopfler's solo work. Although, 'Sailing to Philadelphia' is definitely his best solo album.

Anciant - I know that many Zep fans do not hold 'Houses of the Holy' in high esteem, but I've always loved it. Like I said, their first six albums are all essential. 'Physical Graffiti' almost made it.

Johannes said...

Maybe I am betraying the limits of my Zep fandom, but it always seemed to me that discussing the relative merits of different zep albums is kind of silly. To me their all one big album.

Slice it any way you like, it's still baloney.

That being said, I love baloney. A little Zep and mayo on white bread is great on a saturday afternoon when i want to channel high school again.

I waver less than JMW on the cops. I always thought they were overrated. Pretty great, actually, ALike zep though, I listen to them, but they're not holding up now to the, er, rating. Landlord - Yes! Fallout - Yes!

I agree with Dez on Dire Straights. Post-Straights Knopler is Knorrible. Yawn. Pity too, i mean it's not like the Straits wasn't 99% Knopfler anyway. I like Mark because he's an ugly guitar guitar anti-hero who spurns picks, and heavy distortion, and plays his guitar like a musician not like one dog humping another.

Go see Tropical Thunder.

pockyjack said...

I must say that all of Knopfler's other albums before and after sailing are not worth the buy, but I think sailing to Philli is one of the most complete solo albums I have heard in a long time. Mellow? Sure, but beautifully mellodic with some great hooks.

Anyhoo, about tropic thunder. did you realy like it that much? I saw it this weekend and thought is had a couple of good parts, but I came away completely underwhelmed. Every time I see Robert Downey Jr. (Why is is actually listed as Downey Jr on everything? I am not listed as Turner Jr.) I think that he is eisily one of the greatest actors of our generation, and I almost cry with al the time wasted in rehab. I thought he was brilliant in this movie with a limited script that completely underutilized him. I thought they should have found a role for vince vaughn somewhere. Maybe instead of Matthew McCaughnehaaaayyyy! (sp?)

On a personal note, I don't know if it is just me or not, but I have not seen a really good movie in a long time. Actually, let me rephrase that . . .I have not seen a movie in a long time that really . . .affected . . me in some way. Even Wall-e, Batman, Ironman, the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (II), were all good, but nothing that I really wanted to tell people about. Maybe it is me.

Johannes said...

Tropic Thunder made me laugh out loud several times, but i'll be the first to outline all the ways it broke down and didn't quite work like they intended. But still, I haven't laughed out loud in the theatre in a while, so there's the props. I mean, the look on the panda face after, well... you know. I'm laughing right now.

What worked was the Hollywood send ups and generally good casting and cameos. Matt excluded. the awkward plot devices are sometimes painful, but whatever, it's a shallow as a puddle comedy that made me laugh.

RDJ was great and all, but one of the greatest actors of our generation? Maaaaaybe. I don't know about that.