Big Star - #1 Record (1972): In a just universe, Alex Chilton and Chris Bell would be remembered alongside Lennon/McCartney and Jagger/Richards as one of the all time great pop/rock songwriting duos and would have released 12 records together instead of just one.
Big Star – Radio City (1974): Chilton leads the now trio Big Star through a grittier but nonetheless just as catchy set of tunes that continues to invent Power Pop.
Black Sabbath – Paranoid (1970): Might not have been the first metal record, but it set a standard that is rarely reached to this day.
David Bowie – Diamond Dogs (1974): Bowie’s coke-fueled failed attempt to create some sort of musical version of Orwell’s ‘1984’ is nonetheless still a great listen.
David Bowie – Low (1977): Half fiery, jagged song fragments and half icy atmospheric (mostly) instrumentals, Bowie’s first collaboration with Brian Eno is still his best.
Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out (1959): Avant-garde-like experiments with tempo and time signature also produced a handful of catchy jazz classics on one of jazz music’s biggest selling hit records.
Jack Bruce – Songs For a Tailor (1969): Cream vocalist and bass virtuoso’s debut solo album is much more interesting than anything Clapton ever put out.
Buffalo Springfield – Again (1967): Where Stephen Stills reaches his peak with two of his greatest performances and we discover that Neil Young is a rock and roll genius (this is one of those records where the great half is so brilliant that it carries the weaker half).
Paul Butterfield Blues Band – East-West (1966): Doomed guitarist Michael Bloomfield’s shining achievement is the monumental title track, a tune that breaks through musical barriers and invents the great rock and roll jam (and the rest is simply Chess produced blues that never takes the foot off the gas).
The Byrds – Mr. Tambourine Man (1965): Folk rock is born (and God was Gene Clark great).
The Byrds – Fifth Dimension (1966): Folk rock, meet psychedelia. Psychedelia, meet folk rock (contains what, to me, is the greatest single of the 1960's: "Eight Miles High").
The Byrds – The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968): Amidst much turmoil and band squabbling, The Byrds create their most serene and beautiful record.
ABOVE: There was a time, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, when you could take Ozzy Osbourne seriously (right, with Black Sabbath in the 70's)
3 comments:
I think you have the Brubeck album
I bought in 1960 (Time Out). It's still one of my all time favorites.
It's good to see some classic soft jazz on your list.
I heard Black Sabbath in a cafe last week and couldn't believe how good it sounded. Unlike today's over-produced "heavy" stuff, it sounded like ... music. Organic music.
Overall, I'm just happy that your stinginess with the A's has given way to your more democratic spirit with the B's. I mean: a solo record by the Cream bassist. That's the Dez I know and love.
I don't know if I'd characterize that Brubeck album as "soft jazz." It is definititely of the cool West Coast school, but "soft" implies slight. That Brubeck album kicks ass.
Yeah, the first five Sabbath records are all pretty awesome. I just picked the best one.
I'm still trying to be pretty stingy, though. In the grand scheme of things, listing about 20 B's out of every popular music record (that I've heard) released by anyone whose name starts with "B"...that's still pretty selective.
And Jack Bruce was not just Cream's bassist. He was the lead singer on most of Cream's songs, wrote most of their original material. Cream was Bruce's band, not Clapton's. Jack Bruce is also regarded as one of the greatest bass players in rock history too. Check out 'Songs For a Tailor,' it is so creative and interesting. Clapton's much more heralded solo career pales in comparison to it.
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