Thursday, October 9, 2008

Dez's Favorite 100 Rock/Pop Records, #'s 10-6

Here we are at the Top 10. It's been a fun journey through my favorite rock/pop albums, and I appreciate your indulgence and comments and critiques. That is what this is really all about. It's a way to talk about tunes. Next week you will get Dez's absolute favorites of all time. Alright, Pockyjack, #10 is for you...

10. The Doors – The Doors, 1967
No other record sounds quite like this, not even subsequent Doors records. It was one of the most auspicious debuts from any band of the era, which was a time of many brilliant debuts. While Jim Morrison’s prototype dark, sexy, mystic persona has been immortalized over the decades, to me the key to this band are the other three guys. John Densmore swings like a jazz drummer, Robbie Krieger incorporates everything from blues to flamenco styles in his loose guitar playing, and the amazing Ray Manzarek creates the unique character of their sound with his double duties on keyboards and bass. These strengths are best demonstrated on their biggest hit, the still thrilling “Light My Fire.” This tune has been played to death on classic rock radio, but give it a fresh listen at top volume. After Morrison steps out of the way, that extended instrumental middle is still one of the more exciting and groovy passages of music I've ever heard. One of my favorite aspects of The Doors was how, early on, even though they were influenced by blues and soul music, they played it through their own unique psychedelic and baroque prism. Take their cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Back Door Man” here; instead of just regurgitating the original, Morrison and Co. turn it into something quite new and menacing. “Soul Kitchen” is a Doors original where they do something similar. Of course, #10 closes with the infamous oedipal, apocalyptic epic “The End” (a song famously used in the film ‘Apocalypse Now’ and also a song that got them fired from their residency at the Whiskey A-Go Go in L.A. after Morrison’s “father, I want to kill you / mother, I want to f*ck you” bit was too much for even the open minded late 60’s mainstream to handle.)

9. ZZ Top – Eliminator, 1983
In one of the most unlikely of reinventions, ZZ Top came roaring back from oblivion in the early 80’s on the strength of #9. Like so many other classic rock acts from the 70’s, ZZ Top didn’t seem to fit in with the New Wave dominated early 80’s. So what did they do? I will argue they pulled one of the most daring switches in rock, on par with what U2 accomplished going from The Joshua Tree to Achtung Baby. The Top managed to keep the essence of what made them a great band in the first place, but then added just the right elements from the new era and adjusted brilliantly. By keeping Billy Gibbon’s signature gritty guitar intact, they all but threw out Dusty Hill’s traditional bass guitar, and replaced it with a heavy, distorted synthesizer to stand in for most of the bass on the record, and then drummer Frank Beard (ironically, the only band member without a beard) turned his already simple drumming style into a metronome-like, mechanical precision. So, you’ve got an album that is purely hard rock, yet also very 80’s in all of the best ways. Next step, grow the beards and make a series of iconic, humorous music videos just in time for the peak of MTV. But none of this would have worked if they didn’t have the songs, and they also happened to come up with one of the best batches of songs of their career. Hits “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs,” “TV Dinners,” “Got Me Under Pressure”…they all rock hard and have a wonderful humor about them at the same time. Throw in some strong album tracks, like the funky “Thug” and the awesome updated blues-for-the-80’s “I Need You Tonight,” and you’ve got one of the best rock records of the 80’s…or any other decade for that matter.


ABOVE: Eliminator's album cover is in the running for one of the coolest ever. BELOW: Even Hot Wheels knows that the Eliminator car is a classic. The original Eliminator car now sits in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland. It is consistently one of the more popular exhibits there.


8. Yes – 90125, 1983
#8 divides Yes fans like no other record. For people of my age, it was our first introduction to the band. Only after hearing this did we then explore their glory days of yore. #8 is all about Trevor Rabin, the new guitarist and writer of most of these songs. He added a definite 80’s sheen, and streamlined (for Yes standards) the band’s former grandiose compositions. He also raised them from the dead and gave them a new lease on life as a band. Yes was nowhere in the early 80’s, about as uncool and out of step at that point as any rock dinosaur could be. Prog rock was on the outs. So this giant of prog rock comes along and delivers their biggest commercial success, including their only #1 hit single, “Owner of a Lonely Heart” (a song that is still heavily sampled in rap songs). Single “Leave It” was one of the more unique sounding singles of the day with its layer upon layer of harmonized vocals in an almost a capella setting; and “Changes” is a transcendently great song, with its jarring and excitingly precise changes, probably in my top 10 of favorite songs. Surround those three centerpieces with solid and varied album tracks like “Hold On,” “It Can Happen,” “City of Love,” “Cinema” and “Our Song,” and you’ve got one of the most complex records of the 80’s, yet also one of Yes’ most accessible ones.

7. The Police – Synchronicity, 1983
At least The Police went out on top. Their last studio album before their acrimonious break-up was also their most successful, one of the biggest hits of the decade. It is almost as if the previous four records were all leading up to this one. Sting is one of the few artists who could make a record loosely based on the philosophical theories of Carl Jung and other such intellectual territory palpable to pop audiences. I mean, he had a hit single with “Wrapped Around Your Finger” which included such lines as “Mephistophiles is not your name” and “Caught between the Schylla and Charibdes”! “Synchronicity II” vies for their hardest rocker, megahit “Every Breath You Take” had such a seductive hook that most people overlooked the fact that it was a song about a stalker. “O My God” is a petulant little tune, where Sting demands of his Creator that He “take the space between us and fill it up some way”, insisting:

“O my God you take the biscuit, treating me this way
Expecting me to treat you well no matter what you say
How can I turn the other cheek, it’s black and bruised and torn
I’ve been waiting since the day that I was born, fill it up! Fill it up!”

Even God can get a dressing down from the Ego of Sting. “King of Pain” is the best Police song, the perfect woe-is-Sting number. With dazzling percussive effects courtesy of Stewart Copeland, and guitar textures from Andy Summers (even a rare and good guitar solo), “King of Pain” summarizes all of their strengths as a band. Stewart’s drumming is, as usual, brilliant throughout the record.

6. Los Lobos – Kiko, 1992
If the band Los Lobos only conjurs up a successful cover of “La Bamba” when you hear them mentioned, then listen to this brilliant piece of work. I don’t know what they were smoking when they were recording this (according to them, they were on quite a few different substances), but give me whatever they were on. There are so many styles and genres crossing, often from verse to verse in a single song, it is astounding. The years go by, and I admire this album more and more. The opening salvo of “Dream in Blue” and “Wake Up Dolores” should give you an indication of things to come. Both are off kilter rockers that unfold with fascinating sonic colors. From there, it just gets stranger. “Angels With Dirty Faces” and “Saint Behind the Glass” brilliantly use the band’s Mexican heritage in a modern context. “That Train Don’t Stop Here,” “Whiskey Trail” and “Wicked Rain” reassure fans that they can still do the blues/rock thing fairly straightforwardly when warranted. I love “Kiko and the Lavender Moon,” it sounds like Count Basie on acid, underwater. That is the best way I can describe it. In all this weirdness, there is a fantastic, largely acoustic middle set of songs: “Reva’s House,” “When the Circus Comes,” “Arizona Skies,” “Short Side of Nothing” and “Two Janes” that is modern Americana at its best, and sounds like really good mid-80’s Tom Petty. Then there is “Peace,” with a killer acoustic riff and perfectly building tension. Finally, they close out with “Rio de Tenampa,” which sounds like a drunken bar in Tijuana at about 3 a.m. on a Saturday night. This is one of the most impressive, eclectic and creative records I’ve ever come across. One of those rare records where all of the disparate directions and experiments work.


ABOVE: Los Lobos' Kiko is one of those rare records where every experiment or left turn works brilliantly.

10 comments:

Johannes said...

ZZ Top #9. Gutsy.

pockyjack said...

I was about to throw my computer against the wall until I got to #6, a respectable choice, not because I think it should be this high on the list, but because it actually looks like there is some independent thought for once. (And I don't hate #9 either. Not this high, but respectable.)

I was waiting for #10, and I am glad to see that I was not disappointed with my anticipated level of utter disappointment. All I have to say is this - Thank God Jim Morrison is dead, because the idea of a Doors/Steely Dan Reunion tour makes me want to take the stapler on my desk, staple my ears shut, and then take a hot shower with a giant lemon zester.

JMW said...

I have to say, none of these bands would ever sniff my top 10, but it's an interesting bunch. I had no idea you were that big a Doors fan.

I'm struck by a broader point, Dez. You know how you're always razzing on me about my love for so many albums released in the 1990s, even though you realize that it was my most active decade of discovering music, so why wouldn't that be the case? (That last sentence got mangled; sorry.) Anyway, I've always known you to be much more of a classic-rock person, but look at how strongly it's viewed through the prism of the '80s! With the ZZ Top and Yes records, you admit that this isn't their most traditionally beloved stuff, but that they updated their sound well for the '80s. And on the Police, you pick the album of theirs (a great album, I admit) that most hit the sweet spot of our childhood. Interesting, that's all I'm saying. Perhaps you're just as susceptible to the forced chronology of your life as I am to mine!

Oh, and I know you burned me the Los Lobos ages ago. But could you do it again? It's probably in a box in storage somewhere, along with most of my other possessions at the moment....

Johannes said...

"giant lemon zester."
Awesome.

Dezmond said...

Yes, I knew that the Doors pick would excite Pockyjack. "My anticipated level of utter disappointment." Yes. And the fact that the idea of a Doors Golden Oldies tour would push you to self mutilation...that's awesome, Pocky! I love it! I've been waiting to unleash my Doors pick on you for some time.

I will say this. Your feelings for Jim Morrison aside, how do you feel about the other three as musicians? In my younger days I was pulled in by the Morrison rock god mystique. I admit. Now, my view of him is that he was a mediocre to sometimes laughable lyricist; but an excellent rock frontman. And he did have a great voice throughout. On the early records it was strong and smooth. As he ravaged his vocal chords through substance abuse and hard living, he wisely adjusted the band's material to fit his own physical state. Their last record, L.A. WOMAN (which barely missed making my list), is a great, hard-lived (and earned), blues record. Morrison sounds so weary on the record, and that is what makes it so compelling. No wonder he died soon after.

But back to the band. As much as you hate The Doors, you've got to admit that Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore were one of the most unique and talented trios from the 1960's. These days, I listen to the Doors primarily for the interesting musicianship.

I'm glad to see the love for ZZ Top. I expected some backlash on that one. But talk about solid trios. Just for straight up, blues-based rock and roll? Shit. It don't get much better than The Top. I recall in our high school band Mark Coldbeer and His Six Pack (although it was really only a five pack), frequent GNABB commentator Johannes could throw down some nasty Billy Gibbons riffs when we did our amazing cover of "Sharp Dressed Man."

JMW, I agree with your point. But, I was really a victim of older brothers and sister. So I had two forces at play. First, yes, I really discovered my love for music in the 80's. Guilty as charged. I will spend the rest of my days trying to convince people that the 1980's produced some worthwhile rock and roll and pop music. But secondly, my older brothers and sister assaulted me with classic rock from my infancy. I didn't have a chance.

My sister is responsible for Bruce Springsteen and Dire Straits. By dearly departed brother Rick helped me get into The Rolling Stones and ZZ Top. (I still have an old, beat up cassette tape of ZZ Top's TRES HOMBRES that Rick gave me one year for my birthday when I was about 10 years old.) My bro David, he is responsible for a lot of this mess. Hendrix, CCR, The Doors, Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young...he gave me my first albums from each of those guys.

So, I blame my siblings and circumstance. I just feel sorry for you, JMW, that you had to have your "discovery" decade in the vapid 1990's!

ANCIANT said...

If I had to list my ten worst bands or worst albums ever (where worst indicates a disparity between critical and commercial acclaim and actual quality) there is no question ZZ Top would be in the Top Ten. If not Top Five.

I weep for our generation.
Weep!

Other in that list:
Dave Matthews
Phish
Public Enemy
The Doors

Anonymous said...

Thank you for picking 90125, Dez. I have always maintained that it's the best non-Police album of the 1980's, and it's heartening to see that you at least come close to agreeing with me.

pockyjack said...

I agree with anciant's list. I love that list. I would actually not put DMB on there, but I understand why it is there. But Phich, PE and the Doors! Awesome. I even agree with ZZTop. However, I still respect Dez's inclusion on here because sometimes you just need some simple, self indulgent three chord blues/rock riffs to beat your head against the wall. It is the music of domestic beer and the factory worker, and sometimes that is ok.

Dez, I don't disagree with your analysis of the Doors. I actually think they are decent musicians. However, its like a jackson pollack painting. I am not denying that he is talented (I guess . . ) but god forbid you ever find one of those paintings on my wall. That is why I put them in the same category as The Dan.

Johannes said...

Dez,

You've won me over by complimenting my guitar playing. So i'll just say this: Whay not Tres Hombres?? Holy Baloney, what a great album. Very domestic beer, very proletariat blues, but also of quality for its genre. Also, this album is so hot you have to handle it with tongs. I'll defend this album like the alamo, but I couldn't say the same for Eliminator, though it is intereting the way they made that fried blues mainstream somehow.

Dezmond said...

TRES HOMBRES came in at #30 on this last, Johannes. That ain't chump change.