Dez's Five Star Records: The D's

This entry is kind of long, but it was too short to split into two, so here are the D's. You are going out and buying all of these, right?

Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (1959): If there is a consensus on this sort of thing, Kind of Blue is generally considered the greatest jazz record ever made; it is the Sgt. Pepper of jazz, one of those rare records that is bold and experimental while also being quite catchy and engaging, featuring the killer line-up of Miles, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb.

Miles Davis & Gil Evans – Sketches of Spain (1960): Miles and frequent collaborator/arranger Evans deliver their most arresting record, which is hardly jazz at all, instead exploring Spanish textures to stunning effect.

Miles Davis – In a Silent Way (1969): No melodies, no structures…just beautiful, moody soundscapes featuring Miles’s gorgeous playing gliding ethereally on top that sets the stage for entire genres of music to come.

Derek & the Dominoes – Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970): In protective anonymity, Eric Clapton lets loose his most sincere and fully committed record, where he inhabits and makes the blues his own vs. his usual aping the masters (with a huge assist from Duane Allman).

Devo – Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978): A rare record that actually expresses its own ideology; never has geek culture sounded so cool.

Wasis Diop – Toxu (1998): Great pop/rock music doesn’t just come from the U.S. or the British Isles; Senegal’s Wasis Diop delivered a diverse pop collection with his breakout record that is highlighted by a funky, African chant cover of Talking Heads’s “Once in a Lifetime.”

Dire Straits – Dire Straits (1978): Unassuming pub rock debut that ignores all of the late 70’s trends (disco, punk, beginnings of New Wave) and instead leans on the stellar guitar picking and relaxed storytelling of Mark Knopfler.

Dire Straits – Making Movies (1980): Amongst the Dire Straits faithful, Making Movies is universally considered to be their peak; Side A especially is a tour de force of great and intricate rock and roll that moves beyond their pub rock roots with “Tunnel of Love,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Skateaway.”

Dire Straits – Alchemy (live) (1984): Some may consider expanding tight five or six minute studio songs into fifteen minute live extravaganzas a bit indulgent, but I can’t get enough of Knopfler’s deft skill with song dynamics and glorious pre-Brothers in Arms guitar work.

Thomas Dolby – The Flat Earth (1984): Relatively obscure but excellent sophomore effort from New Wave’s mad scientist, it actually features a variety of styles and sounds, but is most effective when it is ethereal and mysterious, as it is on the lengthy and beautiful title track and the wistful “Screen Kiss.”

The Doors – The Doors (1967): Even in the musically open 1960’s, nothing sounded like The Doors’s debut, which featured such a distinct and already fully developed sound, mixing rock with baroque pop, blues, classical, Jim Morrison’s amateur poetry, Oedipal nightmare and pure carnival.

The Doors – L.A. Woman (1971): Weary blues-drenched Doors swansong sounds a world away from the 1967 debut; it is astounding how far this band traveled sonically in its five year lifespan, only to return to the comforting blues womb (knowing that Morrison would be dead before the year was over makes the listening all the more intriguing, he doesn’t sound long for this world on these tracks).

Nick Drake – Pink Moon (1972): Even if it took a Volkswagon commercial decades after Drake’s demise to give this lovely acoustic folk record its deserved exposure, the music here is timeless in its beauty and simplicity.

Duran Duran – Rio (1982): If you want to capture the 80’s in all of its bright colors and decadent glories (as well as some of the morning after regrets), this is the record to head for; what may surprise some is that the level of musicianship is quite impressive, these pop idols could actually play their instruments and compose their own compelling tunes, they just also happened to have sexy hair.

Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks (1975): I know I should have more than one Dylan record here, I really do love the man’s music, but this is the only record of his that grabs me from start to finish and never lets up; it is one of the best and most intriguing looks into matters of the heart in all of rock music.


ABOVE: Interesting fact: Thomas Dolby is court ordered to never market his music without using his first name with his last (as in, he can't use just "Dolby," he has to always use "Thomas Dolby.") Dolby Laboratories sued him because they felt his techno-geek image combined with his chosen stage name would confuse consumers, who might think that he invented Dolby's recording technologies. The court sort of agreed, and allowed Thomas to keep his stage name but ordered that he could never use just the last name alone.