100 Albums – Page 4

September 10, 2016

“Waxworks” & “Beeswax” by XTC (No. 31)

Waxworks and Beeswax are a double dose of angular, jumpy, frenetic pop from Swindon’s XTC. This pairing captures the very best of XTC’s early period, before they evolved into a more “pastoral” (and Beatlesque) sound on later albums.

Officially Waxworks: Some Singles 1977–1982 and Beeswax: Some B-Sides 1977–1982 are separate albums. However, I’m lumping them together because that’s how I first found them, as a long-play cassette from Virgin released in 1982.

At 25 songs, it was one hell of a score when I still chose new music based on how much I could scrape together from part-time jobs. “This album has 12 songs, but this one is the same price and it’s 25 songs! Score!” I’ve never really thought of side two as b-sides, probably because XTC’s b-sides were usually just as good as their singles – and certainly better than a lot of bands’ singles. Continue reading ““Waxworks” & “Beeswax” by XTC (No. 31)”

September 9, 2016

“Under the Pink” by Tori Amos (No. 32)

If there was any doubt whether Tori Amos could live up to her debut, Little Earthquakes, it was shattered by Under The Pink. From the opening track, “Pretty Good Year” to the epic closer “Yes, Anastasia,” Amos knocks it out of the park.

Under the Pink is not a radical departure from Little Earthquakes, but it’s not just treading the same ground again either. If you loved the first album, you’ll almost certainly love this one – without feeling like “oh, it’s the same album all over again with a few tweaks.” It’s also, thankfully, not one of those albums where the artist was afraid of being in a rut and went and changed everything up to sound different. Amos may bust out a full album of death metal or bluegrass standards (or some combination of the two) one of these days, but this is not that.

Continue reading ““Under the Pink” by Tori Amos (No. 32)”

September 8, 2016

“Be My Thrill” by The Weepies (No. 33)

Be My Thrill is probably the best release from a band that, so far, has had no bad releases.

If you’ve been following closely, you’ll remember that The Weepies‘ appeared on the list at No. 71 with Sirens. As much as I love that one, I have to give Be My Thrill an even better rating.

Since I already covered my thoughts on The Weepies in my earlier post, I’ll focus on a few of the songs on Be My Thrill that really stand out. Continue reading ““Be My Thrill” by The Weepies (No. 33)”

September 7, 2016

“Cloud Nine” by George Harrison (No. 34)

George Harrison album cover for Cloud Nine

Cloud Nine may not be the strongest George Harrison work outside of The Beatles, but for many reasons it’s my favorite Harrison solo album. My reasons for loving this album? Let me tell you them…

At 17, when Cloud Nine was released, I was still strongly convinced that no band would ever equal The Beatles musically. I’d started to branch out musically, but the Fab Four still dominated my musical mindset. Harrison had been in a long fallow period – Cloud Nine was five years after the previous studio album, and it was also the last studio album before his death in 2001. But it did come along with a new wave of appreciation for The Beatles and some interesting follow-up projects. Continue reading ““Cloud Nine” by George Harrison (No. 34)”

September 6, 2016

“Smile” by The Jayhawks (No. 35)

Smile is The Jayhawks sixth studio album, its second release without Mark Olson. As much as I enjoyed Olson and Gary Louris’ work on alt-country classic Hollywood Town Hall the new direction suits them even better.

I suppose I’ll never be a “serious” rock critic. Doing a little research on Smile I find a lot of the reviews when the album came out were… tepid, at best. So-called Dean of American Rock Critics Robert Christgau gives little love to The Jayhawks and gives Smile a paltry C. To paraphrase a rather famous saying, I may not know much about music, but I do know what I like. And I do like, nay, love Smile. Unabashedly, emphatically, and joyously.

For the record, I’m referring to the original release of Smile and not the 2014 expanded reissue. Extra material is nice, but non-essential in my opinion. None of the new material on the reissue feels like it adds to the album, and it’s probably just as well without it. That may just be my “get off my lawn” reaction, though, to new songs that I’m unfamiliar with.

Continue reading ““Smile” by The Jayhawks (No. 35)”

September 5, 2016

“Gordon” by Barenaked Ladies (No. 36)

Barenaked Ladies Gordon, like Stunt, is all over the place musically and thematically. There’s frenetic and lighthearted pieces, pseudo-jazzy, and deep and introspective all mooshed together. Sounds like it should be a hot mess, but it’s well-balanced and there’s not a wasted track on the album.

Pretty sure I enumerated most of the reasons I love BNL in the Stunt entry, but let’s recap briefly; fantastic songwriting, incredible harmonies, superb musicianship, and killer live shows. All of the above are present on Gordon.

Continue reading ““Gordon” by Barenaked Ladies (No. 36)”

September 4, 2016

“OK Computer” by Radiohead (No. 37)

I don’t consider myself a big Radiohead fan, but OK Computer is just too damn good not to make the list.

OK Computer popped up on my radar sometime after I started aggressively looking for “new” music in the mid-2000s. At some point I realized that I wasn’t buying or listening to new music. New as in “new to me,” whether it was released yesterday, ten years ago, or sixty years ago. The problem was stagnation. I recognized some of OK Computer from college radio, of course – but I hadn’t given the entire thing a play through.

If you follow any of the music mags, you’ll know that OK Computer was widely hailed as the best thing since sliced bread, and then a backlash set in when lots of critics agreed it was overrated. I’m of the opinion they were mostly right the first time.

Continue reading ““OK Computer” by Radiohead (No. 37)”

September 3, 2016November 9, 2024

“Animals” by Pink Floyd (No. 38)

Pink Floyd responded in part to the punk rock movement’s fast, short, and aggressive tunes by… putting out an LP with five complex and relatively languid songs, three of which are longer than 10 minutes. And it is awesome.

1977’s Animals is an album that’s best experienced as an album. I suppose you could play “Sheep” or “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” as stand-alones, but why would you? If you’ve never listened to this one, you need to clear an hour (actually about 45 minutes) and sit down and give it some attention. Continue reading ““Animals” by Pink Floyd (No. 38)”

September 2, 2016

“Going Somewhere” by Colin Hay (No. 39)

Going Somewhere by Colin Hay album cover

Colin Hay is a storyteller. This is immediately evident if you have the opportunity to see him perform live as a headliner, as the stories between songs will be just as interesting and entertaining as the songs themselves. The songs, of course, are also stories.

Other 70s and 80s kids will recognize Hay from Men At Work, a damn good rock band out of Australia that managed three studio albums before breaking up in 1986. (They reunited for some touring between 1996 and 2002, but didn’t produce any new studio albums.) Hay’s voice will be immediately recognizable from his Men At Work days here, but Going Somewhere is a different beast entirely. Continue reading ““Going Somewhere” by Colin Hay (No. 39)”

September 1, 2016

“Excitable Boy” by Warren Zevon (No. 40)

If it weren’t for Warren Zevon, I’d have almost nothing to sing at the Karaoke bar. Whether this is laudable or something he should be ashamed of is left as an exercise to the reader. But give me a drink or three, and a mic, and I’ll be happy to belt out most of the songs on Excitable Boy.

Sad to say, I didn’t really follow Zevon’s career until it was late in the game. I knew several tunes, but I didn’t dig into Zevon’s catalog until his collaboration with R.E.M. on the Hindu Love Gods in 1990. You just haven’t lived until you’ve heard Zevon belting out a bluesy take on Prince‘s “Raspberry Beret.” Come to think of it, I also owe Zevon and the Love Gods (in part) for actually paying closer attention to blues music. Continue reading ““Excitable Boy” by Warren Zevon (No. 40)”