Dez's 5 Star Records: the J's

Marching right along through the J's. This one was tough for some reason, I had several records I really struggled with that were right on the cusp, but in the end I cut them off as strong 4 stars but not quite 5 stars. I really went back and forth with MJ's Bad, which is loaded with killer hits, but the filler is so filler that I couldn't do it in the end.

Michael Jackson – Off the Wall (1979): World, meet the grown-up Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson – Thriller (1982): It is hard to even judge the most successful album in history on normal terms, but “Billie Jean” might be the greatest pop song of all time. Maybe.

Mick Jagger – Wandering Spirit (1993): Mick felt somewhat constrained within The Rolling Stones’ latterday rock and roll formula, this solo record makes the argument that Jagger was the more daring and eclectic of the Glimmer Twins.

James – Laid (1993): Commercial peak for this great alternative pop band from across the pond, their collaborating with Brian Eno proves a perfect match.

Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow (1967): The most overrated band of the late 60’s era, BUT this one record is outstanding and captures its time and place better than most anything else from the period.

Billy Joel – Songs in the Attic (live) (1981): No hits here, but this live document is full of excellent deep album cuts from his early days.

Dr. John - Gris-Gris (1968): The Dr. debuts as 'The Night Tripper' with this mysterious, groovy gumbo of New Orleans roots music and psychedelic trippiness, nothing else (including from him) sounds quite like it.

Elton John – Tumbleweed Connection (1970): The best of a series of outstanding Elton records from the early and mid-70’s, TC has an earthier feel than most of his other records.

Robert Johnson – King of the Delta Blues (1936-37): The almost mythical Johnson only participated in two recording sessions, and this collects most of the masters which quite simply lay the foundation for an entire generation of blues-rockers to come decades later. NOTE: Like with the Mississippi John Hurt selection below, these tracks were recorded before the LP era, but this can be considered an album as opposed to a compilation because they would have been released together as a record had the format been available at the time.

Janis Joplin with Big Brother & the Holding Company – Cheap Thrills (1968): Joplin’s force of nature, volcanic vocals were best complemented by the scrappy and rough-around-the-edges Big Brother & the Holding Company; the raw energy of these tracks will blow your hair back. NOTE: Technically, this should have been listed in the B’s, as Joplin was merely a member of the band at the time. But most people view this as a Joplin record in reality, not to diminish the substantial contributions of this band.

Stanley Jordan – Magic Touch (1985): Jordan’s unique approach to the jazz guitar has the danger of being a bit gimmicky (taking tapping to the extreme), but his astounding technique genuinely amazes and, for the most part, his playing is tasteful.

Journey – Frontiers (1983): Most listeners would probably give the edge to predecessor Escape, but for me, “Send Her My Love” and “Faithfully” are the definitive 80’s power ballads, and the tougher material here, for the most part, is also masterfully produced and delivered.

Judas Priest – British Steel (1980): Priest led the British New Wave of Metal, and BS was the album that really broke them through, as it deftly stays true to its metal roots yet makes it very accessible for the mainstream (“Breaking the law! Breaking the law!”)


ABOVE: Seems obvious in hindsight, what with the leather and chains motifs, but Judas Priest singer Rob Halford surprised many when he came out of the closet. It was a bit risky in the macho world of heavy metal, but Halford's vocals have always been so bad-ass, he is still rightly considered a metal deity.