I made it through several Bob Dylan albums and a few of The Rolling Stones albums spanning several decades of their career, Between The Buttons and Black And Blue, to some one of their more recent releases, A Bigger Bang. However, it was by far the most eclectic listening weeks (Yes, I realize it’s only been 3 weeks) thus far. When you listen to Jay-Z, Incredible String Band, Radiohead, Toby Keith, and Nirvana (to name a few) in the same week you’ve covered nearly all ends of the musical spectrum. On a side-note, I've become slightly obsessed with Pepsi Throwback (made with REAL sugar). It's like crack. There's my plug for the taste born in New Bern, NC.
This week's set (1/19-1/24):
Radiohead - Bends, The
3 Doors Down - Better Life, The
The Rolling Stones - Between The Buttons
The Black Keys - Big Come Up, The
Incredible String Band - Big Huge, The
The Rolling Stones - Bigger Bang, A
Otis Spann - Biggest Thing Since Colossus, The
Jay-Z - Black Album, The
The Rolling Stones - Black And Blue
Buckcherry - Black Butterfly
AC/DC - Black Ice
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath, Vol. 4
Nirvana - Bleach
Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde
Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Bloodline - Bloodline
Jeff Beck - Blow By Blow
Toby Keith - Blue Moon
Blonde On Blonde was the highlight of the week. It starts with Rainy Day Women #12 & 35, and is full of great tunes. I never gave Bob Dylan a chance until I was exposed to him by The Black Crowes and that same NJ redneck who opened my eyes to The Rolling Stones. The Black Crowes have covered many of Bob's tunes including a few from Blonde On Blonde. This album was the last one Dylan recorded prior to his motorcycle crash mentioned in last week's post. It was also one of the first double albums to be released in rock. This album aslo marks the time when Dylan first collaborated with members of the Hawks (The Band) Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm.
3 Doors Down is one of my favorite new bands from the past decade. Their first album The Better Life remains my favorite. It isn’t over-polished or forced like many of their later releases. I still like all of their albums, with the exception of Seventeen Days which underachieved my expectations, but The Better Life is the most-diverse straight-ahead album in their library. The Better Life has their breakout songs Kryptonite and Be Like That, but my personal favorites from this album are Duck And Run, Loser, and Down Poison.
I skipped over mentioning another new band covered in prior weeks that is really unique, The Black Keys. This guitar-drum duo is a grungy, raunchy, raw blues style band that uses funk, soul, rock, and blues unlike any band I’ve ever really listened to. The stripped down sound is heavily distorted and far from glossy in it’s presentation, but that’s exactly why I like them. This week I listened to their debut album The Big Come Up. If you like grunge or blues, this band fits both molds without conforming to either.
Hope you’re ready for another Fleetwood Mac (original lineup) reference. Otis Spann (long-time piano player for Muddy Waters) recorded several tunes with Fleetwood Mac at Chess Records. Otis ended up recruiting Peter Green and two other Fleetwood Mac members to record The Biggest Thing Since Colossus. This album is pure blues at its best featuring two giants on one album. This was actually the first time I got to listen to the album in its entirety, but it certainly will not be the last. And just as I predicted all this listen did was make me want to go buy everything with Peter Green and Otis Spann. Music is my drug and I need a new fix. I even did some research on Chess Records to learn that the studio is now a historical landmark owned by the Willie Dixon Blue's Heaven Foundation. If I ever get a chance to visit Chicago, this will be a must see attraction. Willie Dixon is perhaps the most influential person in modern music history. It's easier to name people that haven't covered one of his songs than those that have. He was basically on staff at Chess during it's glory years and played with and wrote for all the greats during his career (Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Otis Rush). Click here to read an article on Gibson's website about Willie Dixon. However, ehe artists he influenced eclipse the list of those he collaborated with. For instances Jeff Beck, whose instrumental album Blow By Blow was covered this week.
Blood Sugar Sex Magik is just a funky-nasty album. Yes, it has the commercial songs, but take a good hard listen and you realize the Red Hot Chili Peppers are diverse. No secret that the real driving force behind this band is Flea. That guy is just a freaky sick bassist. He's played with scores of other musicians, because his skills are in high demand and because he is so musically driven (doing research I found out he got into music as a trumpet player, which oddly enough was the instrument I played in Jr. HS and HS). RHCP are just a great rhythm band all-together. Their music is every style (punk, funk, pop, soul, rap, rock) and at the some time they don't fit in any one category. Nearly every track sounds totally unique.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Week 2
At the rate I got through albums in these first two weeks this project might not take the entire year. I’m skipping all the compilations and as my library continually grows I’ll surely have to back track. Prime example during Week 1 I went to my favorite music store (Offbeat Music in Brightleaf Square) to pick up Abraxas. The song Black Magic Woman might have been made popular by Santana, but it was written and recorded by Peter Green. Peter started this band called Fleetwood Mac, but this was before the days of Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Mick Fleetwood is actually the only original member of the band. I digressed from the point that Abraxas should have been covered during Week 1. Since I am skipping over compilations (aka – Greatest Hits, Live Albums,) I’ll be covering them once I finish listening to all my full-length albums and EPs.
This week’s set (1/11-1/17):
Eric Clapton - Back Home
AC/DC - Back In Black
Kathleen Edwards - Back To Me
Bad Company - Bad Company
The Black Crowes - Band
Jimi Hendrix - Band Of Gypsys
Santana - Abraxas
The Band - Band, The
Lenny Kravitz - Baptism
Bob Dylan & The Band - Basement Tapes, The
Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell
Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell
Rage Against The Machine - Battle Of Los Angeles, The
Oasis - Be Here Now
Beachwood Sparks - Beachwood Sparks
Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times
The Black Crowes - Before The Fost…Until The Freeze (double disc)
The Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet
Eric Clapton - Behind The Sun
Jellyfish - Bellybutton
The week basically began with Back In Black, which I listened to after pounding a sub to get me through my Monday blues. From the first ring on Hells Bells to the closing Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution this album is pure adrenaline. The album is sort of a tribute to lost lead singer, Bon Scott. It’s hard to imagine a band losing a voice as unique as Bon’s and being able to continue. Back In Black proved that Angus and Malcolm were determined to carry on the fallen front-man’s legacy and produce arguably the hardest rocking, most power-chord driven, double-entandra laced albums EVER!! Not to be overlooked they had Steven Tyler induct them into the RN’R HOF (which I will get to another time what I think of the HOF) and he stated, "AC/DC became the litmus test of what rock does. Does it make you clench your fist when you sing along? Does it scare your parents to hell and piss off the neighbors? Does it make you dance so close to the fire that you burn your feet -- and still don't give a rat's ass? If it doesn't, then it ain't AC/DC!" My child-hood friend, Jeff Gilliam, exposed me to this album in like 3rd grade and it did everything Steven said. I hid that album (tape) from my parents because, at the time, all the news about AC/DC was that it was the devil’s music. I thought they would kill me for having it. I still think of Jeff and me sitting in my tiny bedroom on 3202 Cole Mill Rd listening to this album on my tiny “box” and thinking how cool we were. Jeff passed away recently. He and I were as close as friends as just about anyone in my entire life (maybe the most), but he and I drifted apart after high school. While listening to this album, memories of riding Jeff’s motorcycle, going on hunting adventures through the woods for hours, and many many many more things which I won’t discuss here went through my head. “We're just listening to the rock that's giving too much noise/are you deaf you wanna hear some more/we're just talkin' about the future/forget about the past/It'll always be with us/It's never gonna die, never gonna die”, so RIP Bon and Jeff!!
Anyone that doesn’t like The Black Crowes should just skip this paragraph and re-evaluate your musical tastes. I got through 2 of their albums this week. Well technically 1.5 since Band was an album that was totally scrapped and re-released nearly a decade later on the Lost Crowes album. This was when the brothers Robinson fired Marc Ford for the first time in 1997. The album that ultimately came out was By Your Side with reworking of songs like If It Ever Stops Raining into By Your Side with Horsehead and Only A Fool making it to By Your Side. While the Band album carries fan favorites like Paint An 8, Wyoming & Me, and Another Roadside Tragedy the result of revisiting the studio produced one of my favorite Crowes’ tunes – Virtue & Vice, but The Black Crowes recorded their weakest album of their career with By Your Side in my opinion. This album deviates farthest from their true sound, but a bad album from them was still better than…ok let me stop myself again! In February of 2009, my friend Jon and I made our pilgrimage up to Woodstock to see The Black Crowes record new material for release. Recording took place at Levon Helm’s (drummer/singer for The Band) studio/house in Woodstock over the last two weekends in February and the first weekend in March. The result of those recording sessions yielded the double-disc release Before The Frost…Until The Freeze. While in Woodstock we went out to visit Big Pink with snow falling the day we were to see the Crowes record. Big Pink is a big pink house (in case anyone thought this referred to someone’s swollen privates) up in Woodstock, NY where members of The Band resided over the course of the late 60’s. Bob Dylan was recovering from a motorcycle crash, suffered in 1966, and spent a lot of time at Big Pink with The Band. They recorded a lot of music there which resulted in The Basement Tapes as well as The Band’s album Music From Big Pink. All of these albums contain American music in its purist form and to have stood in the presence of Big Pink on the day we watched The Black Crowes record is an experience I will NEVER forget. Before The Frost…Until The Freeze proves The Black Crowes are not ever going to reduce themselves to making crappy music for the sake of selling albums. They make music that matters and lasts without regard for producing chart topping….well you get the point!!! And as for why I chose to listen to them together instead of separate, well that’s because it is one studio release despite having catchy separate titles for each disc.
Despite having raved about Jimi last week, this week I will go overboard. Band Of Gypsys is a release of live performances from December 31, 1969 and January 1, 1970 at The Fillmore in London with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. People familiar with Hendrix will tell you that Band Of Gypsys was Jimi at his absolute best. Many regard Machine Gun and Power Of Soul as the BEST pieces of guitar work ever (self-included). One of my favorite bands, Rose Hill Drive, saw fit to pay this album tribute by covering in one of their own NYE performances. Many other bands I follow (Jive Mother Mary and Medusa Stone) frequently cover songs from this album, because they are scorching tunes that blow the roof off any venue. To hear the two- night show in more detail, pick up Live At The Fillmore East to hear all the tracks from Band Of Gypsys including other great songs like Stone Free and Stepping Stone. Jimi died in 1970 and this is the only live music released under his authorization not to mention it is a MUST LISTEN!!
And speaking of must listens, do NOT allow your ears to be denied Beggars Banquet, which began the greatest 4 album run of music ever made (Beggars Banquet (1968), Let It Bleed (1969), Sticky Fingers (1971), and Exile On Main St. (1972)). My favorite Stones tune is on this album – Prodigal Son. This album contains one of the Stone’s most famous tunes Sympathy For The Devil, along with other hidden gems like Dear Doctor and Salt Of The Earth. I was very ignorant of The Stones for so many years and it took a NJ rib-cooking yankee to edumicate me. Thanks for opening my ears and showing me the light of understanding the intricacies of Keef.
Sprinkled in with all of these great albums and musical giants are bands like Beachwood Sparks, Kings Of Leon, and Jellyfish. With the exception of Kings Of Leon these bands have not experienced much commercial success. The thing they all have in common is that they are very uncommon bands. Their sound doesn’t conform to standards and corporate musical formulas for charting, but that only means that those of us willing to explore music for ourselves instead of listening to what gets force-fed via the airwaves can share in owning something unique.
This week’s set (1/11-1/17):
Eric Clapton - Back Home
AC/DC - Back In Black
Kathleen Edwards - Back To Me
Bad Company - Bad Company
The Black Crowes - Band
Jimi Hendrix - Band Of Gypsys
Santana - Abraxas
The Band - Band, The
Lenny Kravitz - Baptism
Bob Dylan & The Band - Basement Tapes, The
Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell
Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell
Rage Against The Machine - Battle Of Los Angeles, The
Oasis - Be Here Now
Beachwood Sparks - Beachwood Sparks
Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times
The Black Crowes - Before The Fost…Until The Freeze (double disc)
The Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet
Eric Clapton - Behind The Sun
Jellyfish - Bellybutton
The week basically began with Back In Black, which I listened to after pounding a sub to get me through my Monday blues. From the first ring on Hells Bells to the closing Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution this album is pure adrenaline. The album is sort of a tribute to lost lead singer, Bon Scott. It’s hard to imagine a band losing a voice as unique as Bon’s and being able to continue. Back In Black proved that Angus and Malcolm were determined to carry on the fallen front-man’s legacy and produce arguably the hardest rocking, most power-chord driven, double-entandra laced albums EVER!! Not to be overlooked they had Steven Tyler induct them into the RN’R HOF (which I will get to another time what I think of the HOF) and he stated, "AC/DC became the litmus test of what rock does. Does it make you clench your fist when you sing along? Does it scare your parents to hell and piss off the neighbors? Does it make you dance so close to the fire that you burn your feet -- and still don't give a rat's ass? If it doesn't, then it ain't AC/DC!" My child-hood friend, Jeff Gilliam, exposed me to this album in like 3rd grade and it did everything Steven said. I hid that album (tape) from my parents because, at the time, all the news about AC/DC was that it was the devil’s music. I thought they would kill me for having it. I still think of Jeff and me sitting in my tiny bedroom on 3202 Cole Mill Rd listening to this album on my tiny “box” and thinking how cool we were. Jeff passed away recently. He and I were as close as friends as just about anyone in my entire life (maybe the most), but he and I drifted apart after high school. While listening to this album, memories of riding Jeff’s motorcycle, going on hunting adventures through the woods for hours, and many many many more things which I won’t discuss here went through my head. “We're just listening to the rock that's giving too much noise/are you deaf you wanna hear some more/we're just talkin' about the future/forget about the past/It'll always be with us/It's never gonna die, never gonna die”, so RIP Bon and Jeff!!
Anyone that doesn’t like The Black Crowes should just skip this paragraph and re-evaluate your musical tastes. I got through 2 of their albums this week. Well technically 1.5 since Band was an album that was totally scrapped and re-released nearly a decade later on the Lost Crowes album. This was when the brothers Robinson fired Marc Ford for the first time in 1997. The album that ultimately came out was By Your Side with reworking of songs like If It Ever Stops Raining into By Your Side with Horsehead and Only A Fool making it to By Your Side. While the Band album carries fan favorites like Paint An 8, Wyoming & Me, and Another Roadside Tragedy the result of revisiting the studio produced one of my favorite Crowes’ tunes – Virtue & Vice, but The Black Crowes recorded their weakest album of their career with By Your Side in my opinion. This album deviates farthest from their true sound, but a bad album from them was still better than…ok let me stop myself again! In February of 2009, my friend Jon and I made our pilgrimage up to Woodstock to see The Black Crowes record new material for release. Recording took place at Levon Helm’s (drummer/singer for The Band) studio/house in Woodstock over the last two weekends in February and the first weekend in March. The result of those recording sessions yielded the double-disc release Before The Frost…Until The Freeze. While in Woodstock we went out to visit Big Pink with snow falling the day we were to see the Crowes record. Big Pink is a big pink house (in case anyone thought this referred to someone’s swollen privates) up in Woodstock, NY where members of The Band resided over the course of the late 60’s. Bob Dylan was recovering from a motorcycle crash, suffered in 1966, and spent a lot of time at Big Pink with The Band. They recorded a lot of music there which resulted in The Basement Tapes as well as The Band’s album Music From Big Pink. All of these albums contain American music in its purist form and to have stood in the presence of Big Pink on the day we watched The Black Crowes record is an experience I will NEVER forget. Before The Frost…Until The Freeze proves The Black Crowes are not ever going to reduce themselves to making crappy music for the sake of selling albums. They make music that matters and lasts without regard for producing chart topping….well you get the point!!! And as for why I chose to listen to them together instead of separate, well that’s because it is one studio release despite having catchy separate titles for each disc.
Despite having raved about Jimi last week, this week I will go overboard. Band Of Gypsys is a release of live performances from December 31, 1969 and January 1, 1970 at The Fillmore in London with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. People familiar with Hendrix will tell you that Band Of Gypsys was Jimi at his absolute best. Many regard Machine Gun and Power Of Soul as the BEST pieces of guitar work ever (self-included). One of my favorite bands, Rose Hill Drive, saw fit to pay this album tribute by covering in one of their own NYE performances. Many other bands I follow (Jive Mother Mary and Medusa Stone) frequently cover songs from this album, because they are scorching tunes that blow the roof off any venue. To hear the two- night show in more detail, pick up Live At The Fillmore East to hear all the tracks from Band Of Gypsys including other great songs like Stone Free and Stepping Stone. Jimi died in 1970 and this is the only live music released under his authorization not to mention it is a MUST LISTEN!!
And speaking of must listens, do NOT allow your ears to be denied Beggars Banquet, which began the greatest 4 album run of music ever made (Beggars Banquet (1968), Let It Bleed (1969), Sticky Fingers (1971), and Exile On Main St. (1972)). My favorite Stones tune is on this album – Prodigal Son. This album contains one of the Stone’s most famous tunes Sympathy For The Devil, along with other hidden gems like Dear Doctor and Salt Of The Earth. I was very ignorant of The Stones for so many years and it took a NJ rib-cooking yankee to edumicate me. Thanks for opening my ears and showing me the light of understanding the intricacies of Keef.
Sprinkled in with all of these great albums and musical giants are bands like Beachwood Sparks, Kings Of Leon, and Jellyfish. With the exception of Kings Of Leon these bands have not experienced much commercial success. The thing they all have in common is that they are very uncommon bands. Their sound doesn’t conform to standards and corporate musical formulas for charting, but that only means that those of us willing to explore music for ourselves instead of listening to what gets force-fed via the airwaves can share in owning something unique.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Week 1
I have decided to embark on a journey through my entire library of music during 2010. I have accumulated tons of music from different people and now it’s time to get around to giving every album a listen, and stroll through the classics that often get overlooked when browsing for something to listen to. I’ll do my best to touch as many artists and albums as I can, but I’m no music critic nor am I going to attempt to tell you what you should and shouldn’t like. Every album is someone’s art and to say that it isn’t even worth a listen is not in me.
I have always loved music, but it didn’t really become an obsession (for lack of a better term) until I saw Aerosmith for the first time. I had bought their Nine Lives album and fallen in love with it. I listened to it 100 times the first year probably. I saw them on that tour and they covered Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin and that made me learn more about them. That started a snowball affect where I had to learn more about the roots of music. I love discovering new music through connections to other artists. My tastes grew and changed and what started as curiosity has turned me into a minor music historian.
Without further ado, here is this the first week’s set (1/4-1/9):
Wilco - A.M.
The Beatles - Abbey Road
David Gilmour - About Face
U2 - Achtung Baby
Def Leppard - Adrenalize
Aerosmith - Aerosmith
The Rolling Stones - Aftermath
Slash's Snakepit - Ain't Life Grand
Alice Cooper - Alice Cooper Goes To Hell
Jive Mother Mary - All Fall Down
Nickelback - All The Right Reasons
Grateful Dead - American Beauty
The Black Crowes - Amorica
Metallica - And Justice For All
Tim McGraw - And The Dancehall Doctors
Pink Floyd - Animals
Grateful Dead - Aoxomoxoa
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced?
Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way
Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
The Black Keys - Attack & Release
Audioslave - Audioslave
Counting Crows - August And Everything After
10 Years - Autumn Effect, The
3 Doors Down – Away From The Sun
Week 1 of my project and I’ve already walked among some of Rock N’ Roll’s most awe inspiring albums. Anytime you get to listen to The Beatles, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, The Black Crowes, Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz, Metallica, Pink Floyd (twice), and the Grateful Dead (twice) it’s been a good week. Nobody is a stranger to these names and the albums covered here certainly are some of the finest ever made. American Beauty is often overlooked as one of the greatest albums ever made, but that’s only because it’s a timeless album the Dead made full of down-to-earth music instead of radio friendly tripe. Thank you Jerry and the guys for blazing a path for modern bands like Phish, Widespread Panic, and one of my favorites The Black Crowes. Speaking of which, Amorica is proof that a band can make great music without having a single on the album. That’s because every song on the album deviated from mainstream at the time it was released, but has remained when its peers have long faded away…Gone!
Mixed amongst all of that Rock N’ Roll royalty are bands like Jive Mother Mary with their pilot launch All Fall Down which sounds like an album cut decades ago by a group of guys not even out of high school in 2009. These guys have roots in classic rock, but are not imitators. I’m hoping that in 20 years I can say I saw these guys playing small NC clubs before they headlined larger venues. There are so many great bands out now that are a shot away from being huge, but radio overlooks them for rubbish like….ok not going to bash teeny bop bands and over digitized nonsense.
I was not disappointed Wilco’s debut A.M.. I have never listened to much Wilco despite knowing a lot about them. Looking forward to exploring their music more as I continue my journey.
As tough as it seems, following the epic debut success of Guns N’ Roses, Appetite For Destruction, can been done, but it takes an equally remarkable album and artist to accomplish this feat. Listening to the intricacies of Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced? is the only way. It’s hard to believe that Jimi made an entire album which plays like a greatest hits. He was truly a pioneer in music to have created a masterpiece like this to have stood the test of time over 40 years later. Has it really been that long? To answer this question and Jimi’s, yes and we are NOW experienced. And I personally still think that Appetite must be ranked in the top 5, minimum, of any debate about the greatest rock albums of all times. Make note that Slash’s solo efforts prove how pivotal he was to the success of G N’R, simply listen to Ain’t Life Grand which contains one of my favorite solos of his on the track Back to the Moment to see what Axl is missing these days.
Are You Gonna Go My Way is one of Lenny’s finest albums including the title track which absolutely rocks. People don’t realize just how great a rhythm guitarist Lenny is in addition to playing the majority of instruments on most of his recordings. However, the most overlooked aspect of Lenny ’s works is his lead guitarist, Craig Ross. Having played with greats like Mick Jagger and The Black Crowes in his time away from touring with Lenny prove that he is beyond talented. What really makes Lenny great in my mind is his steadfast unwillingness to sell out to the all digital sound of today’s bands. Listen to any album and you hear it. The raw grittiness of vintage gear and guitars hooked directly into your ears is what makes Lenny one of my favorite artists. And having a guitarist like Ross adding wicked sick solos helps too.
Audioslave’s self-titled debut is a work of genius and proves the Soundgarden and Rage marriage was something special. So often super-groups just don’t work (well except Velvet Revolver or The Traveling Wilburys), but this album rocks you to your core through each dynamic track. Tom Morello is a master of effects (which I am not a huge fan of), but he is so diverse in how he applies them in addition to being a great guitarist without them that it’s impossible not to like his style. Throw in Chris Cornell’s haunting and powerful voice mixed with the drive of the Rage rhythm section and it’s obvious why this super-group was a success. Audioslave is an imposing album and one of my all-time favorites.
I have always loved music, but it didn’t really become an obsession (for lack of a better term) until I saw Aerosmith for the first time. I had bought their Nine Lives album and fallen in love with it. I listened to it 100 times the first year probably. I saw them on that tour and they covered Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin and that made me learn more about them. That started a snowball affect where I had to learn more about the roots of music. I love discovering new music through connections to other artists. My tastes grew and changed and what started as curiosity has turned me into a minor music historian.
Without further ado, here is this the first week’s set (1/4-1/9):
Wilco - A.M.
The Beatles - Abbey Road
David Gilmour - About Face
U2 - Achtung Baby
Def Leppard - Adrenalize
Aerosmith - Aerosmith
The Rolling Stones - Aftermath
Slash's Snakepit - Ain't Life Grand
Alice Cooper - Alice Cooper Goes To Hell
Jive Mother Mary - All Fall Down
Nickelback - All The Right Reasons
Grateful Dead - American Beauty
The Black Crowes - Amorica
Metallica - And Justice For All
Tim McGraw - And The Dancehall Doctors
Pink Floyd - Animals
Grateful Dead - Aoxomoxoa
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced?
Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way
Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
The Black Keys - Attack & Release
Audioslave - Audioslave
Counting Crows - August And Everything After
10 Years - Autumn Effect, The
3 Doors Down – Away From The Sun
Week 1 of my project and I’ve already walked among some of Rock N’ Roll’s most awe inspiring albums. Anytime you get to listen to The Beatles, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, The Black Crowes, Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz, Metallica, Pink Floyd (twice), and the Grateful Dead (twice) it’s been a good week. Nobody is a stranger to these names and the albums covered here certainly are some of the finest ever made. American Beauty is often overlooked as one of the greatest albums ever made, but that’s only because it’s a timeless album the Dead made full of down-to-earth music instead of radio friendly tripe. Thank you Jerry and the guys for blazing a path for modern bands like Phish, Widespread Panic, and one of my favorites The Black Crowes. Speaking of which, Amorica is proof that a band can make great music without having a single on the album. That’s because every song on the album deviated from mainstream at the time it was released, but has remained when its peers have long faded away…Gone!
Mixed amongst all of that Rock N’ Roll royalty are bands like Jive Mother Mary with their pilot launch All Fall Down which sounds like an album cut decades ago by a group of guys not even out of high school in 2009. These guys have roots in classic rock, but are not imitators. I’m hoping that in 20 years I can say I saw these guys playing small NC clubs before they headlined larger venues. There are so many great bands out now that are a shot away from being huge, but radio overlooks them for rubbish like….ok not going to bash teeny bop bands and over digitized nonsense.
I was not disappointed Wilco’s debut A.M.. I have never listened to much Wilco despite knowing a lot about them. Looking forward to exploring their music more as I continue my journey.
As tough as it seems, following the epic debut success of Guns N’ Roses, Appetite For Destruction, can been done, but it takes an equally remarkable album and artist to accomplish this feat. Listening to the intricacies of Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced? is the only way. It’s hard to believe that Jimi made an entire album which plays like a greatest hits. He was truly a pioneer in music to have created a masterpiece like this to have stood the test of time over 40 years later. Has it really been that long? To answer this question and Jimi’s, yes and we are NOW experienced. And I personally still think that Appetite must be ranked in the top 5, minimum, of any debate about the greatest rock albums of all times. Make note that Slash’s solo efforts prove how pivotal he was to the success of G N’R, simply listen to Ain’t Life Grand which contains one of my favorite solos of his on the track Back to the Moment to see what Axl is missing these days.
Are You Gonna Go My Way is one of Lenny’s finest albums including the title track which absolutely rocks. People don’t realize just how great a rhythm guitarist Lenny is in addition to playing the majority of instruments on most of his recordings. However, the most overlooked aspect of Lenny ’s works is his lead guitarist, Craig Ross. Having played with greats like Mick Jagger and The Black Crowes in his time away from touring with Lenny prove that he is beyond talented. What really makes Lenny great in my mind is his steadfast unwillingness to sell out to the all digital sound of today’s bands. Listen to any album and you hear it. The raw grittiness of vintage gear and guitars hooked directly into your ears is what makes Lenny one of my favorite artists. And having a guitarist like Ross adding wicked sick solos helps too.
Audioslave’s self-titled debut is a work of genius and proves the Soundgarden and Rage marriage was something special. So often super-groups just don’t work (well except Velvet Revolver or The Traveling Wilburys), but this album rocks you to your core through each dynamic track. Tom Morello is a master of effects (which I am not a huge fan of), but he is so diverse in how he applies them in addition to being a great guitarist without them that it’s impossible not to like his style. Throw in Chris Cornell’s haunting and powerful voice mixed with the drive of the Rage rhythm section and it’s obvious why this super-group was a success. Audioslave is an imposing album and one of my all-time favorites.
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