Category: Jam Session
Some people spend their whole lives preparing the answer to this question: What albums are on your personal all-time Top 10 list?
here goes.
nick drake five leavs left, bryter later, and pink moon
bob dillon blood on the tracks
don mclean american pie
leonard cohen the songs of leonard cohen
jone biaz in concert
2-pac all eyes on me
immortal technique revolutionery volumes 1 and 2
eminem marshal mathers l.p
don't know what else lol
This is a tough one, here they are, in no particular order. I try to write a little about each and why I like it, just for amusement purposes:
Suede - Dog Man Star (1994)
(reason, it's melodramatic, grand, daring, different, the guitar playing is absolutely up there with the best you'll ever hear, it's a bold statement of enormous intent, the band imploded and changed after the recording session but this stands as one f the greatest albums ever made)
Radiohead - the Bends (1995)
(A band that exploded from their "Creep" days with a selection of songs that mix the pretty with the rough, melodic with ugly, songs like Fake Plastic Trees and Street Spirit will always be uniquely beautiful).
Radiohead - Ok Computer (1997)
(An album of a band on top of their game, the guitar effects are astaunding. The 3 guitar interplay creates some of the most interesting soundscapes since the Byrds, songs like No Surprises and Let Down, this album won't be a winner on first listen, but I've listen to it in its inteirety hundreds of times and it still amazes me that a band managed to do this, all their later albums, though good, come nowhere near to matching this)
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magic (1992)
(Sound of a band rocking out and having fun, catchy songs, somewhat ridiculous lyrics and supreme musicianship from every player makes this an album I love listening to time and time again)
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream (1993)
(The first album that I remember where super distorted electric guitars are actually made to sound poppy and warm rather than brutal and gritty. This was a revelation for me at the time, having been a big fan of Metallica, something new to do with guitars and a distortion pedal. Their drummer is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the best drummers we've seen in the last 20 years and he shows it, songs like Mayonese and Today are just great happy pop songs, and just listen to the intro to the first song, the build up, within 30 seconds you know what the band is all about, it's a bold statement)
Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun (1997)
(Fellow Icelanders came out of nowhere with their very unique, spaced out, synphonic style and otherworldly vocals. I've found the style gets boring over time and the band's latest efforts have remained more or less unlistened to, but this album is icy and beautiful and deserves all its tags of Icelandic enspired elf music, if you want to relax on a cold day, this is the music you should listen to).
Massive Attack - Mezzanine (1998)
(Andother album that split up the band that created it. The intensity shows very well, the soundscapes are dark and super dense, I love the way they mix slow dance music with more rock like elements and their tasteful use of samples. The first 4 songs are probably the best opening sequence of songs I've ever heard of any album, if you are chlostrophobic or easily scared by soundscapes I do not suggest this as an album for you)
the Prodigy - Fat of the Land (1997)
(This is a guilty pleasure, an album to listen to when going to a party or going clubbing, while slightly drunk and wanting to just rock out. There's nothing pretty or complex here and the songs have titles such as "Smack my Bitch Up", but it's a guilty adrenaline fueled pleasure and, as such, this album is just bloody brilliant).
the Magnetic Fields - 69 Love songs (1999)
(The album is overly long and the vocals leve a lot to be desired, but this is a very fun and uplifting, silly and melodic set of songs, not cheesy but more funny or earnest. I highly recommend this to anyone just wanting a good time pop album with a twist)
Faith No More - Angel Dust (1992, I think)
(For all the System of a Down, Korn and Rage Against the Machine fans, I'm convinced this is the album that kick started that genre, but the beauty of it is that only a few songs there are that aggressive, the album also includes their cover of "Easy" which is their most popular song to-date along with "Epic" from their previous album. "Easy" is a regular feature on any easy listening station. The sheer depth and variety of musical genres on offer here is amazing. Mike Patton is one of the best vocalists I've ever come across and this album is always fun, dark, funny, pretty and outrageous (check out "Be Aggressive with its cheer leader chorus)).
Well, there you have it, on a different day I could make another top 10 list, Blur's Park Life, Pulp's Different Class, Reef's Glow, Bjork's Homogenic, Zuckerbaby's self-titled debut album, Green Day's Dookie, Metallica's ...And Justice For All, Pink Floyd's Dark Side... and the Wall, Portishead, Interpol, the Bravery's first album, Ash's "Free All Angels", the Cure's Disintegration .. you get the picture, I could probably add 50 albums I really like but these 10 have been more than 50 times in my cd or mp3 player and will be for years to come.
cheers
-B