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Post by soundandvision on Jan 17, 2008 16:12:22 GMT -5
Thought I would also start a thread to have music lovers list their Top 5 Desert Island albums. This can be either albums (proper) or greatest hits, doesn't matter as long as it's a long player. Also, please write a couple of sentences about why it's important to you and why it would be vital to your survival. - Bill Evans Trio: "Sunday At the Village Vanguard" Riverside (1961)
It's a record I tend to come back to when I want to capture, in my mind, jazz during what many consider its peak era. I know that "Kind Of Blue" is almost the gold standard of jazz recordings but this record feels like it could have been made yesterday (unfortunately there is no music like this being made right now). Bill Evans was in on the KOB sessions, and is great there. But this record, featuring his namesake, is so much more...I don't know "fresh".
- The Beach Boys: "Pet Sounds" Capitol (1966)
When I finally heard it in 1996 (age 20) it had a profound affect on me. Especially when coupled with my discovery of the Wall of Sound and Brill Building pop several years before. The bittersweet optimism, coupled with the harmonies and the influence of Spector. Rightfully considered one of the handful of truly monumental pop records of the 20th century.
- The Replacements: "Tim" Sire (1985)
One of the first videos I remember seeing was the stark image of a speaker and record player (in B&W) from "Bastards of the Young". Their record, "Pleased To Meet Me" was one of the first records I would admit to having actually purchased when it came out (with maybe the exception of "Purple Rain" ;D). For me "Tim" is the perfect balance of pretty much every emotion I've ever had as a young man (now a thirtysomething).
- Beastie Boys: "Check Your Head" Capitol (1992)
I can't really believe I thought this at the time but, when I first got this that summer, I thought it was one of the best things I had ever heard. Three years after "Paul's Boutique" made picking out what sample is being used the favorite game on everyone's block, this record came out of left field and they were playing all of these hooks. It also so happened the I was just at the time discovering Sly, funk, had just been into "Fear of a Black Planet" (Bomb Squad)...it just kind of all congealed for me. Come to think of it, maybe I wasn't crazy for thinking this was one of the best records I ever heard...
- Guided By Voices: "Bee Thousand" Scat (1994)
Summer of '94... MTV's 120 minutes played "I Am a Scientist" and I hadn't heard anything quite like it. It's the mid 60's Kinks, early 70's Who and Bowie... all rolled into one 2 minute package. And it sounds uniquely their own. I've often felt like, in a parallel univerise "Echos Myron" could have been a #1 hit.
**Edited to replace The Clash "London Calling" with The Replacements "Tim".**
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Post by callipygias on Jan 17, 2008 17:16:07 GMT -5
Neil Young: "Decade" A 34 song set that has many of his essential songs starting with his days in Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y, through his solo stuff.
The Kinks: "The Kink Kronikles" Another collection, this one with 28 tracks including many personal favorites like Wonderboy, Polly, Susannah's Still Alive, and Lola.
The Band: "Music from Big Pink" I don't think there's one song on this legendary album that wouldn't make my "top 100 songs" list.
Van Morrison: "St. Dominic's Preview" My favorite album of one of my favorite artists. I wore out my cassette on songs like Listen to the Lion, Almost Independence Day, and the title track.
Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde If I had to pick a Dylan, it's pretty much a toss up between this and Bringing it All Back Home, Freewheelin', and Blood on the Tracks.
Led Zeppelin: "Complete Studio Recordings" This is probably cheating even by these lenient rules, but if it wasn't for this all-inclusive 10 disc release my list would be all individual Zeppelin albums and that'd be boring.
That's 6, isn't it? I guess I won't have many posts at CT's new forum with math skills like that.
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Post by soundandvision on Jan 17, 2008 18:42:17 GMT -5
The Band: "Music from Big Pink"I don't think there's one song on this legendary album that wouldn't make my "top 100 songs" list. This is such a wonderful record. I think it's underrated because the one I see frequently listed between the two is "The Band". "I Shall Be Released" gives me goose bumps. "The Weight" is one of the best singles of the 1960's.
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Jan 17, 2008 19:26:42 GMT -5
Led Zeppelin: "Complete Studio Recordings"This is probably cheating even by these lenient rules, but if it wasn't for this all-inclusive 10 disc release my list would be all individual Zeppelin albums and that'd be boring. If we're going that route, that and Pink Floyd's Oh By The Way are probably the two longest albums ever!
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Post by xmattxyzx on Jan 17, 2008 22:05:56 GMT -5
Cool thread. Mine:
Boredoms - Super Ae: This album is aural satori. Although I can't listen to it as much as I used to, it played a huge part in my adolescence and I couldn't bear to apart from it for long.
Schubert - No. 8: I can listen to this piece over and over and over again and I will always feel completely physically involved with it. It's an incredibly visceral experience--like riding a roller coaster.
Joanna Newsom - Ys: A recent album but a brilliant one, and, to me, a pretty-close-to ideal one. Listening to this album erases any semblance of cynicism about contemporary music--contemporary art, for that matter.
Silkworm - Even a Blind Chicken Finds a Kernel of Corn: While Firewater is my favorite album of theirs, I think this compilation of b-sides and singles and other kinds of marginalia has much more versatility. They are unequivocally my favorite band and have given me that certain solace that only music can give.
Charlie Parker - Yardbird Suite: This has a great recording of "Night in Tunisia" (at least, I think it does, it may have the Miles Davis one, which I really dislike), a song that is really one of the high points of world culture, ever. It feels so dynamic no matter how many times I hear it.
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Post by Shep on Jan 19, 2008 11:51:44 GMT -5
The Smiths "Louder Than Bombs." A compilation of singles and great b-sides. Essential Smiths IMO.
The Stone Roses "The Complete Stone Roses." See above entry, only with the Stone Roses.
The La's "The La's." This band only put out one album, but it's brilliant. Get a copy with as many bonus tracks as you can.
Oasis "Defintely Maybe." Still the best debut album ever imo.
The Verve "This Is Music." A great singles compilation.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 19, 2008 14:39:13 GMT -5
The easy thing to do would be to direct you to my "Favorite Albums" thread here. So I will. But it makes me think it's high time I updated that thing. For the sake of this thread, here's five: 1- Dig by Adam Again. Funky, noisy, deep, and VERY obscure. Still the best album ever. 2- Grace by Jeff Buckley. The more years that go by, the higher this one gets on my all-time favorites list. From start to finish, simply a beautiful and perfect work of art. 3- A Liturgy, A Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band by Rich Mullins. Another obscure, beautiful, and complex work. Read all about it in the other thread. 4- OK Computer by Radiohead. Often copied, never duplicated. The benchmark of album rock in the last 15 years. 5- Play Deep by The Outfield. 'Cause it's fun and a part of my childhood. Plus, I've been listening to a lot of The Outfield lately, so they're on my mind. I suppose I'll need something really loud and aggressive. Like Master of Puppets or Powerslave, as I'll need to deal with some anger issues if I'm alone on a desert island. So maybe put one of these in at 4 or 5.
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Post by Shep on Jan 19, 2008 14:42:04 GMT -5
4- OK Computer by Radiohead. Often copied, never duplicated. The benchmark of album rock in the last 15 years. This one very nearly made my list, too. Amazing stuff!
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Post by soundandvision on Jan 20, 2008 1:20:43 GMT -5
The easy thing to do would be to direct you to my "Favorite Albums" thread here. My bad.. 4- OK Computer by Radiohead. Often copied, never duplicated. The benchmark of album rock in the last 15 years. There was a time in the late 90's when I thought they were easily the best band on the planet. I always went through the Pink Floyd comparisons. "The Bends" represented "Meddle" & "Obscured".. and this record was DSOTM. I kept thinking the follow up would be this or that. I think I built up "Kid A" so much in my mind what I wanted it to be that by the time it arrived 3 years later I was on overkill.. "OK Computer" is still a masterpiece though and I can now go back and listen to it on its own terms. "No Suprises" and "Let Down" were always my favorites..
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 20, 2008 1:43:35 GMT -5
The easy thing to do would be to direct you to my "Favorite Albums" thread here. My bad.. Not at all. I didn't mean to direct that comment at you. I meant the easy thing to do for me would be to just link to that thread. It would save me having to pick five.
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Post by Broadsword on Jan 20, 2008 7:56:58 GMT -5
Songs from the Wood - Jethro Tull A very different album that includes folk, rock classical and mixed with British folklore, Katy Lied - Steely Dan This is my favorite Steely Dan album (hard to choose they are all classic) with one of my favorite songs, Doctor Wu. Abbey Road - The Beatles No matter how many times I've heard this it's still a classic. Electric Ladyland - Jimi Hendrix All the great songs from Crosstown Traffic to Voodoo Chile to All Along The Watchtower, hard to beat. Who's Next--The Who Love every song even though a some what over played still love it.
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Post by Phantom Engineer on Jan 20, 2008 19:22:17 GMT -5
"I Shall Be Released" gives me goose bumps. I may be in the minority of Band fans on this but I wish Richard Manuel hadn't sang it falsetto.
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derm66
Nanite
He ran all the way to hell. With a penny and broken cigarette.
Posts: 45
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Post by derm66 on Jan 31, 2008 1:43:40 GMT -5
1) CKY "Volume One" (1999) - I first heard this album when I was 14 and it continues to be one of my all time favorite albums. 10 songs with no fillers.
2) Weezer "Weezer-Deluxe Edition" (2004)- The orginal album plus b-sides and demos. Can't get much better.
3) Evlis Costello and the Attractions "This Years Model" (1978)- "Living in Paradise" is worth it alone.
4) Clutch "Clutch" (1994)- The closest I get to metal.
5) Ween "The Mollusk" (1997)- A perfect album to me. Every song is a gem.
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Post by Arizona Warwilf on Feb 5, 2008 12:20:58 GMT -5
Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffiti It's pretty tough to pick my favorite of their albums, but I'll go ahead and do it without cheating. This was my first favorite band and if I had to pick one album that I could hear over and over and over again, it'd be this one. It's got variety and lots of just great tunes and it's nice and long. The Dead Milkmen- Metaphysical Graffiti Not a joke! This is, coincidentally, one of my favorite albums ever. Again, great tunes and I could just hear it over and over and over. Weezer- Weezer (The Blue Album) Yeah, make it the deluxe edition for me too. That way I get Jamie which is one of my favorite tunes ever, ever, ever. But the main disc is absolutely an essential for me. One of my favorite things to do is to sing along to the entire album from start to finish in the car at high volume with my friend Sarah. This is the album I'll never, ever tire of hearing. Kraftwerk- The Man-Machine A desert island list is not the same as a "favorites of all time" list. The desert island list needs items you can hear many many times without getting sick of them and you need some variety. This album would certainly be on my all-time favs list, but not super high up. But it'd be an important addition to my desert island collection for it's crucial mood and genre. It's catchy and yet drawn out and dark. I might have to flip a coin between this and Daft Punk's Homework, though. The Decemberists- Picaresque The LP version which includes the Picaresqueties EP. I love every one of their albums, but this one is nice and long and with the EP it has Bridges and Balloons, the cover of a Joanna Newsom song that was my first exposure to The Decemberists and got me hooked. Ask me some other time and the list would probably be different!
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Post by harpo on Feb 5, 2008 12:25:33 GMT -5
The Decemberists- Picaresque The LP version which includes the Picaresqueties EP. I love every one of their albums, but this one is nice and long and with the EP it has Bridges and Balloons, the cover of a Joanna Newsom song that was my first exposure to The Decemberists and got me hooked. oh man.. this would be on my desert island albums list too! one of my absolute favorite albums.. "on the bus mall" is one of my favorite songs and i always look forward to being eaten by a whale whenever i see the d's live.
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