Posts
Seeing as how Audio Overflow is essentially a defunct blog at this point, I've decided to turn the scarce amount of posts into something worth reading.
I don't think it's too big of a secret that my knowledge of "classic" albums is severely lacking. Ask me about anything made after 1990 and I could spout off just about anything and make it sound intelligent. But before that year, most of my musical knowledge is hit and miss. Therefore, I've decided to make it a personal goal of mine to listen to 29 albums this year - all of which need to be considered classic by someone, and need to have been recorded before the year 1990.
Who specifically am I mostly unfamiliar with? Brace yourself. Bob Dylan, Cheap Trick, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Buddy Holly, Bob Marley, Jimmi Hendrix, Billie Holiday....need I continue? There's a serious gap in my musical knowledge and I need to fill this gaps with greatness!
That's where you, dear reader, come in. Leave a comment below. Give me at least one classic album that I need to listen to in 2009 and chances are I probably will. Accompanied with each listen will be me blogging about my thoughts on each suggestion. That blogging could come in the form of a review or any other type of writing. My musical tastes have been known to be...odd...to say the least (I loathe most stuff by the Beatles - though I've never really heard all their druggy music), so there may be some interesting reads in there.
So what do you say? Are you in? Bookmark this page and keep an eye on the list below as I will add records as I listen to them along with links to whatever it is that I end up blogging about. Let the suggestions begin!!!!
- Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
- King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King
- The Who: Tommy
- Nick Drake: Pink Moon
- Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited
- Robert Johnson: King of the Delta Blues Singers
- Jimi Hendrix: Electric Ladyland
- Buddy Holly: Buddy Holly
- Jethro Tull: Aqualung
- The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground and Nico
- The Doors: The Doors
- The Clash: London Calling
- The Allman Brothers: Eat a Peach
- Miles Davis: Bitches Brew
- The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- The Smiths: The Queen is Dead
- R.E.M.: Murmur
- Joni Mitchell: Blue
- Serge Gainsbourg: Histoire de Melody Nelson
- Led Zepplin: House of the Holy
- Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
- Frank Zappa: Over-Nite Sensation
- Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures
- David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
- Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation
- Janis Joplin: Pearl
- The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main St.
- Tom Waits: Rain Dogs
- The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
18 comments:
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
:-)
A couple classics come to my mind:
In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)- King Crimson
Wish You Were Here (1975)- Pink Floyd
Hemispheres (1978)- Rush
My knowledge in this genre is also lacking so I'm looking forward to the reviews!
I would strongly suggest Tommy by The Who, Quadrophenia by The Who, All Things Must Pass by George Harrison, Led Zeppelin 3 by Led Zeppelin, and Aqualung by Jethro Tull though hardcore Jethro fans seem to like Thick as a Brick. Enjoy!
haha... were you proving your unfamiliarity when you misspelt Jimi Hendrix? :-p
P.S. Why 29?
No, but it might as well have been...
Let's see
Any Zeppelin Album - I like 1,2,3, and Physical Graffiti best myself,
Highway 61 - Bob Dylan
Electric Ladyland - Jimi Hendrix
Tommy - The Who
Velvet Underground and Nico - Velvet Underground
Legend - Bob Marley
Fresh Cream - Cream
Any Sabbath Album - Paranoid is my favorite
I will think of some more for you.
This is a fun idea! Let's kick you out of you're comfort zone, shall we? I'll probably forget something, but off the top of my head (and in addition to those mentioned above):
(recorded 1936 and '37) The Complete Recordings - Robert Johnson
->Extremely influential old, old blues music. Johnson wrote the classic "Cross Road Blues", for example (made popular by Eric Clapton, Cream and dozens of other blues-rockers).
(1958) Buddy Holly - Buddy Holly
->He is a legend for good reason. Can't say much more. It's great stuff.
(1966) Pet Sounds - Beach Boys
->Often considered one the most influential albums of all time.
(1967) The Piper At The Gates of Dawn - Pink Floyd
->VERY influential album, and the only Syd Barrett-era album. Read up on Syd if you wanna understand Wish You Were Here completely.
(1973) Over-Nite Sensation & (1974) Apostrophe - Frank Zappa
->Maybe a bit too far out of your comfort zone, but they are considered classic. These two albums are easily his best, and are maybe his only two who are great straight through.
I might add something later...
I love this idea. Good choice on pink moon, it's a brilliantly depressing album.
some other suggestions...
The Doors - The Doors
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
Joni Mitchell - Blue
And maybe something by Tom Waits or Simon & Garfunkel,
Sgt Peppers - The Beatles
Ziggy Stardust
A few you might consider:
Astral Weeks (1968) - Van Morrison
This Year's Model (1978) - Elvis Costello & the Attractions
Marquee Moon (1977) - Television
Oh yeah, thanks kmoe, I totally forgot about Tom Waits. All of his albums from the eighties are great, but I guess Rain Dogs is ultimately the strongest. Swordfishtrombones is great as well though.
I think you should check out
London Calling - The Clash
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - David Bowie
Pearl - Janis Joplin
To reiterate:
London Calling (The Clash), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (David Bowie), Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd), and Eat a Peach (The Allman Brothers). That last one especially...
Hm, I actually think you're gonna need far more than a year to eat through all of the classics... Each time I check the comments here I get embarrassed by all of the albums I'm forgetting.
I need to add something though (as you never know): The Beatles. You've PROBABLY listened to 'em already, but here's a reminder just in case. If so, The White Album might be the place to start.
Cheers!
I would recommend:
*Piper At The Gates Of Dawn - Pink Floyd (Amazing Album)
*White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground (I see you already have their eponymous debut down on the list)
*Lust For Life - Iggy Pop
:)
Oh, and also anything by Syd Barrett solo (The Madcap Laughs or Barrett).
Anything touched by Syd Barret is, basically, delicious. But are they really "classics"? I mean, exactly HOW influential are his solo albums? The Floyd stuff (Piper mostly, but Jugband Blues is awesome as well, as is the demos) is on the map for sure, though less influential than, say, "Dark Side of the Moon". But does it (his solo stuff) really deserve a spot on the same list as Dylan's "Highway 61", "Sgt. Pepper" and say Velvet Undergrounds debut?
I'm all for recommending Syd, though. He is amazing.
Hope that made some kind of sense, heh.
I would recommend Jackson C. Frank's self titled album from 1965.
His story is a tragic one, but he has left us with this magical album.
Produced by Paul Simon, perhaps it's most important influence was on a certain Nick Drake who later covered some of Jackson's songs.
An album with a real story behind it, I urge anyone reading to find out about this album. You won't regret it.
This, for me, is a classic.
Post a Comment