1001 Albums: 44-53, and other stuff

Long time followers, all two of you, will recognize a new heading scheme. This is because I realized the former way of keeping track by decade is annoying if you're trying to find a title. I of course realize now that my opinion is incredibly valuable so feel the love, my little nincompoops.

We're still in the early sixties with this pack, but things are starting to get really interesting on the Beach Boys/Beatles/Dylan front, I sense an explosion coming on! Or I've read and seen documentaries about this period of American music... here's how it all goes down.


0044 Burke, Solomon – Rock ‘n’ Soul
I was expecting something more like Sam Cooke, but this was still pretty good. What's impressive is Burke isn't content to pump out some hot soul jams. Instead, he incorporates acoustic guitar and medleys more familiar to folk and country. The result is very pleasing and shows that Burke was absorbing everything that was going on around him instead of sticking to the tried of true. Made for an interesting listen.

0045 Springfield, Dusty - A Girl Called Dusty
I really enjoyed this one. It's Dusty's debut record, and she's ridiculously good on this. She's as convincing on the soul/blues numbers as she is on the pop songs. It's talent like this that rings shame to our current gen pop artists. Great stuff.

0046 Rolling Stones – Rolling Stones
The legendary Stones make their debut, and it's actually incredibly underwhelming. It's not bad by any means it's just... Dylan and the Beatles are pushing forward while the Stones are doing blues covers. They're doing ok versions, but they aren't exactly technical marvels, and compared to the originals Mick and the boys just don't have the swagger. They do have the heart however, and it's that innocent passion for the music they clearly love that makes this deserving of the list. They'll make far better albums in the future, but this one has just enough beginners charm to hold up.

0047 Owens, Buck – I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail
Another potentially corny country style that holds up amazingly well. Buck has a fantastic booming voice and was born to play these songs. He even pulls off a Chuck Berry cover in this hillbilly style. Great, fun music for a summers day.

0048 Lewis, Jerry Lee – Live at the Star Club, Hamburg
This is everything good music should be, and might be one of the greatest live rock albums ever. Jerry is in full on rock demon form, hammering the piano to the point you would think it would fly to bits. He's got a pick up band backing him, and he's playing as if to dare them to keep up. Fortunately, they do, and the result is powerful, passionate rock that can raise the hairs on the back of your neck. A perfect representation of everything I love in music and highly recommended.

0049 Sonics – Here Are the Sonics
Oh Sonics, how I love thee! Clearly wanting to get in on the "Louie Louie" craze, they bang out some pretty good rock covers. Where they get really special though is the originals like "Strychnine" and "Psycho". The singer was made for rock, and his screaming voice is as awesome as the frantic band backing him. Amazing stuff, you can feel the love these guys have. Plus, there's a bonus song about hating Christmas, as I said, I love these guys!

0050 Dylan, Bob – Bringing it All Back Home
Dylan broke out of the folk mode with this one that's kinda split into a rock side and a folk side. Both are damned good, and as much as tracks like "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" get played, I'm of the mind set that "Gates Of Eden" is one of his best songs. Other then that, there's not much to say. You can't go wrong with a Dylan album from the 60's in my mind, and this is another great one.

0051 Redding, Otis – Otis Blue… Sings Soul
Otis is the man. Backed by the insanely talented Stax house band featuring Booker T and the MGs with the Mar Keys, you know this is going to be funky. Otis himself kills it. Literally. Pick any track off this album, and see how clearly R&B and black music has suffered over the years. Otis embarrasses them all in the wake of his talent. That's taking into account that this album as a whole isn't perfect, it's just great. Otis really is the man.

0052 Beach Boys – Today!
I thought the Beach Boys would make an appearance before now, but it makes sense that they do so now since this album is ridiculous. There's still the youthful fun of their early recordings, and songs about girls and surfing. The arrangements and production though, even today you'll be hard pressed to hear anything finer. That it was all done by a self taught, 23 year old Brian Wilson, it's an amazing accomplishment on top of being insanely listenable. I love this stuff.

0053 Coltrane, John – A Love Supreme
Jazz that sounds like a lot of fucking about before finding a melody. It's not terrible, I've listened to it 3 times, and every time was based on a list like this. All you need to know about my opinion.

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On another note, I also love movies, and I'm having an amazing movie streak right now. So if you haven't, see these:

Inception - People bitch that the characters aren't likable and it's humourless. This just means that they behave like everyone you know in real life. The movie is an amazing achievement and unlike anything you've seen before. Go to it.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World - It's the opposite of Inception in that you will love everyone and it's filled with humour. It's the same as Inception in that it's an amazing achievement and unlike anything you've seen before. So see it already!

Louie Bluie - If you love music, YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS! It's a documentary about one of the last living (as of 1897 or so) black string band musicians. I had never heard of the guy before seeing this documentary and I now regret it since it was an amazing story. If you like music, you'll love this movie and this movie will make you love life. You'll probably have to buy the new DVD to see it, but do so. Who needs food anyways???

That's enough!