Bruce Springsteen – Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ (1973): Bruce’s debut is a burst of pent up energy as songs so verbose that the lyrics practically tumble over each other come one after the other; it is also interesting/fun because he had not settled on his persona (not even an early one) yet.
Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle (1974): This is the studio record that best captures the loose, jazzy spirit of Bruce’s early club shows (a key is that the personnel of his early band swung harder than the eventual E Street Band could), featuring epic favorites like “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” and “Incident on 57th Street”; my favorite Springsteen record.
Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run (1975): Bruce’s third outing landed him on the covers of Time and Newsweek in the same week, he went for broke and tried to make something truly epic, and it worked, the legend was born.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band – Hammersmith Odeon, London ’75 (live) (1975/2006): Long a favorite show of bootleggers until it was given an official release in ‘06, Bruce’s first overseas show finds him playing with breakneck desperation in a make or break performance, highlighted by an 18-minute romp through the jazzy “Kitty’s Back” (from his great second record).
Bruce Springsteen – Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978): In stark contrast to what came before, Springsteen strips everything down to raw essentials, tossing aside the epic escape fantasies of Born To Run and instead turns his attention for the first time to those who can’t or won’t run away, exploring working class frustrations and realities in what may be his most powerful set of songs.
Bruce Springsteen – Born in the U.S.A. (1984): Bruce was big before, but this record put him on a superstar level with the elite of rock history, featuring an impressive seven hit singles, it is the most commercial, concise and catchiest album of his career.
Stephen Stills – Stills Live (live) (1975): Recorded near the end of his peak period before a sharp decline in his songwriting and skills, it is great that Stills chose to release a live record when he did, one neatly divided evenly between a somewhat sloppy but spirited electric side and an often stunning acoustic side.
Sting – Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985): I admire Sting’s decision to make a sharp break in style once he left The Police, his solo debut features a jazz all-star band backing him, and his decision to use these jazz musicians on a pop/rock record results in often interesting and exciting moments.
Sting – The Soul Cages (1991): Sting’s solo career started off very strong, but this was the last great record of his before he put on the cruise control and decided to take less risks, it did not do well commercially but it is a lovely if somber affair ruminating on the recent death of his father and other such happy things.
The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses (1989): Sometimes those stars that shine the brightest burn out the fastest, and such is the case with this band whose debut announced a resurgence in British rock music; the resurgence did occur, but the band that was as responsible as anyone for starting it imploded soon after without reaping the rewards of the renaissance they helped inspire.
(Iggy and) The Stooges – Raw Power (1973): While maintaining that, err, raw power that made The Stooges the godfathers of punk, their third release shows just enough progression and structure to make RP an interesting step forward.
The Streets – Original Pirate Material (2002): Once you get beyond the novelty of a white British rapper (Mike Skinner) and dig into these tunes, you will find ruminations on modern daily life for an average English bloke that can be alternatively funny and often profound.
Strength in Numbers – The Telluride Sessions (1989): This one-off release by a supergroup of Newgrass virtuosos (Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Tony Rice, Edgar Meyer) is intriguing precisely because none of these songs are really bluegrass songs, but intricate compositions that are impossible to categorize and that just happen to be played on traditional bluegrass instruments.
The Subdudes – The Subdudes(1989): The ‘Dudes’s unique instrumentation (especially using miked tambourines for percussion) and breezy sound perfectly evoke their hometown of New Orleans’s easy manner, open mind and open heart and the handling of life’s trials and travails with dignity and an upbeat spirit.
5 comments:
I apologize for not commenting on more on this ongoing event.
I deeply question omitting "Nothing Like The Sun" in favor of Soul Cages even as, at the same time, I blush with shame for my knowledge at Sting's back catalogue.
But "Sun" is the better album.
That one is great too, but just as tad too much filler for a top rating. Sting's first three studio records and that double live album were so good and so promising. But he just went to cruise control with 'Ten Summoner's Tales'. I don't know why this sticks with me, but I remember a conversation you and I had when 'TST' was released. I was very excited about it, and I recall you not liking it and warning it was a dangerous turn for Sting's career. The ensuing years have proven you correct.
LOL. I don't remember that conversation at all. What else do you remember me saying, historically?
I do remember buying the album. The last Sting album I ever bought. Ergh.
For my money, Nothing Like the Sun has less filler than Cages--I'd say the latter was mostly filler, actually. Three great songs. But the whole first side of "Nothing LIke The Sun" is great and some of the reverse.
That's the only one I remember. I guess I remember it because it was so spot on, but at the time critics (and myself) were hailing TST as a return to form and a great success. Only you saw through the gloss and sugar coating for what it really was...Sting deciding not to make the effort any more to really reach deep and instead to go the easy route and write pop songs that were more radio-friendly. I joke, but that has stuck with me, and honestly is one of the many reasons I listen to your musical opinions with great interest and respect.
But I disagree about NLTS vs. SC. NLTS has some real high points, but I'd say about half is forgettable. Not necessarily filler, that's different, just forgettable. SC, though, has a real cohesion to it that I really like, and over the years I have come to appreciate even the lesser tunes on it. It just works as a whole for me.
Funny thing on NLTS. Look at the credits for "They Dance Alone." Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler and even a third guitarist. All I hear is one acoustic guitar lightly noodling throughout. Can you even hear Clapton or Knopfler? Then Sting shares vocals with Ruben Blades, a well known and respected hispanic singer. Yet, he only gives Blades a spoken part in the middle (spoken!), as Sting takes the singing part. I have always thought that was very funny.
It would be like getting Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant to play for a championship team, but then deciding to only use them off the bench occasionally.
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