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.