Day 6 of Albums you must hear before you die.. I was initially disappointed because I looked at the name of the album and it says “Dummy” by Portishead... I thought, damn, what in the hell is a Portishead first and secondly, I thought, I wish it had been something I’m more familiar with. I look at the genre and it’s titled trip-hop, and although I don’t typically like the idea of “genres” when I listed I understood. Man... As soon as I clicked the play button on the first song, I was taken on a beautiful, sexy, smokey, spooky and one of the most sonically pleasing trips that I have ever been on.. Without tripping on acid, of course. (I’ve Never taken acid before by the way, I just could never find any). All jokes aside, this is one of those things that when I first start listening to it and start to let it sink in, I automatically want to know who in the hell produced this!? It’s AMAZING! It’s like 80’s and early 90’s hip-hop/boom bap music had a baby in a film with James Bond played by Isaac Hayes, directed by Martin Scorsese. It’s a cinematic experience that gives you chills. It’s also SO hip-hop that I almost expected Nasir or Andre 3000 to start spitting witty lyrics at certain parts of the songs. They are all crafted so well! All the samples, sound effects, record scratching, the soundtrack to this trip-hop era is so damned satisfying. The arrangements in these songs are so superbly laid out and even though the girl that seems like she’s singing in an old jazz club filled with cigarette smoke with the sweetest voice, that when certain hooks and bridges come in and out that you can only focus on the sounds. Dummy is so well produced, engineered, performed and presented on a platter of gold. Better yet, platinum. Actually four times platinum. Winner of some of the most prestigious awards in music. There’s a saying, you only need two turntables and a microphone, and that is TRUE! But.. If you’re in 1994 in England with access to so many great rhythm and blues albums and jazz records to dig through in the crates, and then be able to use the technology of the time to sample them, and THEN have the obscenely talented singer Beth Gibbons on that side of the fore mentioned microphone, crooning to the notes played from the weeping guitar of Adrian Utley.. Really, it’s a perfect blend of music that makes this album my favorite of them so far at day 6. It caught me by surprise.. Now to give you my favorite songs. I never wanted to skip a single song on all three listens that I had today. If you don’t like this album from the very start it’s not for you. Don’t like the first song? Listen to the very last one, Glory Box. It’s my favorite song and it samples black 007 Isaac Hayes (RIP KING) Now if you don’t like THAT song, we can’t be friends. CANNOT. I also like Mysterons, Numb.. Shit I like them all! I need someone to shame me for not knowing about this group for all these years!! Come at me bro! Last but not least, that producer that I wanted to know so much about, but still don’t because I just learned of Portishead (still a dumb name) yesterday, well, his name is Geoff Barrow, the DJ that you hear creating all these amazing backing tracks for this album that Beth could lyrically mold with her voice like creative hands molding wet clay. I don’t know shit about either of them as people and I want to keep it what way. I prefer the mystique I get from this record. What’s magic without mystery? Music is magic. I’m still excited to gush over some of the great music that I already know so well, after this album, a record that will stay in my rotation from here on out. I’m more excited for the rest of the 1001 albums to hear before you die that I don’t know at all. ✌️

Day 21 of Albums you must hear.. And I’ve got an album that took me a couple of days to digest, in order to give it its well deserved attention. 1979’s release from The Clash, London Calling. Described by Rolling Stone magazine as the best album of the 1980’s, and by many others as the greatest album of all time, London Calling was a real treat to listen to over and over again. I have never listened to London Calling before, and most of the songs that I recognize from The Clash would come out in later years. The Clash didn’t invent the wheel when it comes to British Punk Rock, they just put the GoodYear rubber on that bitch and got the most commercial tread from it. London Calling is considered a Punk album but when you really give it a listen, it’s a potpourri of many different styles and genres. I felt no listening fatigue, as each song is well, different. It’s all tied together with one of the most unique vocalists in Rock music, Joe Strummer. Even when his voice breaks and strains, it is pure Punk and melodic. I couldn’t get enough. There are so many different instruments used on this album that it’s a call back to The Beatles famous experimentation in the studio in their twilight years. London Calling is an album that deserves to be listened to on either a high-end stereo or headphones. If not you will miss out on much of the charm sprinkled throughout. My favorite songs are the title track London Calling (the lyric “phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust” gave me a good chuckle), Hateful has a great breakdown every few bars that I love and the chorus is addictive. Rudie Can’t Fail has a lot of reggae influence and has a call back, or forward, to I Fought The Law. The Guns of Brixton is pretty gangster for 1979 and is catchy as hell. Lovers Rock is smoother than a baby’s powdered bottom. My favorite song, Train In Vain, wasn’t even listed on the original album artwork in 1979, as it was added last minute and might as well be considered a secret track back then. Sure, it’s the most poppy track, but it makes me feel really good. Green Day must have taken a lot from this band, I see so many similarities in style and willingness to cross genre jurisdictions. London Calling is a large album, it was released as a double album, even though it cost the same as a regular album to the consumers, much to the chagrin of the record label. I’m sure the kids back then were super happy about the savings! When I first learned about how highly regarded London Calling is worldwide, I didn’t want to rush through it, and I’m glad I didn’t. This is a five star listening experience and deserves more attention from the average listeners of today. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!

Day 14 of Albums You Must Hear Before You Die! Again, I’ve gotten a debut album from a band that defined a generation, and went on to create some of the most iconic music of the 1980’s. Talking Heads released 77 in 1977 and helped to usher in the New Wave genre, the love child of Punk Rock and Pop. While most of the biggest hits for Talking Heads will come from later offerings, 77 is a gem of an album. Lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter David Byrne has one of the most recognizable voices of the New Wave era. Byrne’s vocals aren’t the most powerful but they mesh beautifully with the music. Talking Heads, especially in 1977 didn’t follow any of the trends stylistically of the time. No radical wardrobe, Mohawks, piercings, spiked dog collars or make up. This band wore well fitting polos and slacks in most live performances that I could find from 1977-80. Maybe thats why some referred to the art grads in Talking Heads as “art fags”. My favorite song from Talking Heads is Burning Down The House, which is not on this album, however, my second favorite song is actually on this album, and that song is Psycho Killer. This song really showcases the abilities and potential of Talking Heads. Simple, yet deep and funky bass, prominent kick drum, and nearly primal vocals. It also takes on the prospective of a character in a fictional story, (Not the Son Of Sam serial killer like many suggested) something that Talking Heads becomes known for. I feel like the band not only shined the best on this track but probably had the most fun making and performing. Tentative Decisions has great use of marching percussion. The Book I Read has great rhythm guitar. The band gels well on this one and is a very chill song. The ever changing tempo of No Compassion keeps it interesting. The closing track Pulled Up seems like a song of gratitude and it showcases their signature sound. Talking Heads seemingly came out of nowhere in 1977 but they sure stuck around for a while and I’m glad they did! I was very impressed with the bass player Tina Weymouth, who joined the band before even knowing how to play bass guitar. This band didn’t try to blow anyones socks off or create a fake persona. They were themselves and it paid off. When music videos became a thing, these “art fags” were really able to shine with some of the most creative visuals in music. The only negative thing I have to say about this album is there a few filler songs that I wanted to skip over. Maybe that will change on future listens but upon my first spin of 77 I knew which songs I liked and which ones that I didn’t because, they felt lazy. I’m looking forward to more music from this band. Share your thoughts, opinions and memories below!!

This man will make your liver quiver! This man will make your bladder splatter! This man will make your knees freeze! If you will let’s all welcome the worlds Godfather of Soul, Soul Brother #1, JAMES BROWN!!! 1001 Albums To Hear Before You Die Day 9. I FEEL GOOD!! The album for today is Live At The Apollo (1962). Let me start by saying that it would be an impossible task to find another more influential artist in the history of modern music and dance. The best you can convince me of, is that he’s had some equals along the way, though few and far between. Now that we have that settled, I thought to myself, what’s my first memory of James Brown and his funky, soulful music? My first conscience memory is Living In America, the super smash, Grammy winning song that also just happened to be in the blockbuster film Rocky IV in 1986. Seeing The Godfather Of Funk giving an explosive performance in that movie moments before Apollo Creed would die in the ring against Ivan Drago changed my childhood. Apollo the boxer died in the movie. Live at the Apollo from Mr. Brown lives on forever. Mr. Please Please Please was only 29 when he recorded this live album at the historic Apollo Theater, a theater named after a Greek God that hosted many, many musical Gods over the years. Brown paid for this project out of his own pocket as his label didn’t think he held the same appeal to deliver a live recording that someone like Sam Cooke had at the time. In early ‘63 this album came out and it was so popular that it was hard to find a copy. Record stores bought cases upon cases in order to meet the demand, and if you found a copy, you had to share it with the whole household, and it was played so much that when you finally wore it out you had to re-up. Most of Mr. Dynamite’s biggest hits weren’t even recorded yet in 1962. Deciding to showcase his best repertoire at the time in a live setting was a genius move. Sure, James Brown sounded just as good on his records as he did in his live performances, but there is an electricity in hearing it live, even if it’s just on an 8-track in the 60’s or Spotify in 2021. You can almost feel the vibrations of this man working up a sweat. Just listen to the crowd go berserk. On the song Lost Someone you can hear the girls in the crowd literally falling apart at the seams. James Brown had the crowd in the palm of his hands and he knew it. His band, The Famous Flames, are “Clean as a silk suit” as quoted by Robert Christgau in Rolling Stone magazine. They never miss a beat, literally. This live album has my most favorite song from The Hardest Working Man In Show Business, Try Me. The passionate pleasing and soulfulness of that record, especially live, is worthy of being added to The Library Of Congress, which it has been. The first to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, James Brown sounds like a preacher at times. The way he uses the call and response technique has me in the shower damn near testifying! There’s no bad songs here. Make sure to check out Try Me, I’ll Go Crazy Night Train and Think. Also, make sure to listen to the girls losing their shit on Lost Someone. James Brown is The Godfather of not only Soul, but of Funk, Pop, and Hip Hop as well. He is the highest sampled artist in the world. His work has been borrowed a record smashing 7,413 times over the years. Listen to his song Funky Drummer and you’ll get the idea. James Brown is the Johnny Appleseed of music and I’m grateful for him.

For Day 16 of Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, we have 1972’s best selling album in America. Harvest by Neil Young. Released ten years before my birth, it is safe to say there were never any Neil Young posters hanging on my wall next to a golden bikini clad Cindy Crawford or Snoop Doggy Dog. I do know a decent bit about him and some of his music, and these are my thoughts about Harvest. As soon as I put this record on, I instantly felt like an outcasted cowboy on the prairie. The acoustic guitars, the harmonica, the steel guitarsand piano.. they all sound so smooth, and as warm as a campfire in Wyoming in the late 1800’s. The instrumentation is worthy of any Oscar winning film. The song I know the most is Heart Of Gold, a song that got so big that Neil Young distanced himself from it and wouldn’t perform live for most of his career. It’s a classic for sure, and was my favorite of his until hearing other songs on this album. Now, before I continue, I must say.. I’ve always been pretty indifferent to Neil Young. I wouldn’t complain if a stranger in the bar spent a couple quarters on the jukebox spinning a couple Neil Young songs. Full disclosure, upon my first listening of Harvest, I wanted to completely shit on it. It’s slow, kind of depressing at times, and I don’t like Neil Young’s falsetto. I couldn’t picture myself strolling around town in my ’69 Camaro with this in my 8-Track. For God’s sake, The Eagles debut album came out in 1972. I do know myself enough, however, to know that I have to listen to certain albums a couple of times before I know for sure whether I really like them or not. On my third listening of this album it struck me that I actually really do enjoy most of it. (Especially with decent headphones on). The final song, Words, is my new favorite Neil Young song. Up until now, at least. Another stand out, Alabama, a song that struck a literal major chord with the fellas over at Lynyrd Skynyrd, is more uptempo. The guitars and piano are so good. I don’t know shit about Young’s politics in his lyrics, but it’s a sonically pleasing song. The heavy gongs and chimes that lead into There’s a World can’t be denied, and to add the cherry to the top, you get the whole symphony chiming in. Other notable songs are, Are You Ready For The Country and The Needle And The Damage Done. In closing, I started off by totally disliking most of this album. I’m still not all that keen on Neil Young’s voice, and some of the slower and somber songs, but the second half of Harvest really grew on me. The production and arrangement on Harvest is above top-notch, its top shelf. I could listen to just the instrumentation and feel like an old, weathered cow wrangler a few years past his prime, like in the song Old Man. I’m glad I got to hear this album before I died. Props to the Canadian Cowboy! Please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and memories on my likely TL;DR posts!

Very witty lyrics. Definitely a lot of references to war and being under the Queens rule vibe. I nearly thought that Sir Paul McCartney was in this band. Someone influenced someone.

Vocals and electronic music makes this one a classic.

Day 3 of 1001 albums you must hear before you die and I got my first hip hop album!! The 1991 sophomore album from the groundbreaking group A Tribe Called Quest. The Low End Theory was a follow up to their debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, which was the first album to receive the then prestigious award of 5 mics in The Source magazine. The Low End Theory was released slap dab in the middle of The New Jack Swing era, gangster rap and the times of huge pop successes of acts like MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice. Instead of making music about guns, girls, money and dancing, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg let their commentary about social issues spill onto jazz samples and record samples spun by DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The classic New York sound of jazz infused hip hop seems so natural now, looking back, however it was Tribe that founded the iconic sound that was considered alternative hip hop at the time. The biggest stand out of this album is Scenario. This monster of a song is credited for boosting the solo career of Busta Rhymes and is a fantastic energetic song. The lead single Check the Rhime is a nostalgic ride through the early 90’s. Q-Tip has one of the most unique voices in music and his back and forward exchanges with a much different sounding Phife gels so satisfyingly well together. (RIP Phife Dawg) This group paved the way for so many acts and inspired the culture so much it’s almost as if it had always been that way. Please share your thoughts and memories of this album. This is only my take on it and being that I was in elementary school when this released, it would be great to hear others perspective! 😎

Day 4 of 1001 albums you must hear before you die.. And boy do I feel the pressure to deliver on this reaction of an album that I never knew existed, but the legendary duo that is Simon & Garfunkel needs no introduction to most people around the world). Even though I was an eighties baby and don’t know much about the culture and lifestyles of that generation, I absolutely love music from the 60’s!! You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon was my introduction to one half of S&G. I was four years old. The song was all over the radio and the still young yet exploding cable channel, MTV, played the music video of this song on a seemingly endless loop. It wasn’t until I was in my mid to late twenties that I actually realized that these two super average looking guys wrote, sang and produced some of the most beloved, comforting and sweet songs of our time. Their junior release saw them having the freedom of being in creative control for the first time. The Sound Of Silence, a song we all know, gave them prestige and They took advantage and convinced their label to allow them to spend precious money on an eight track recorder. What the label probably didn’t understand is that having 8 tracks instead of 2 or 4 even, could enhance the way people hear music. Stereo music is what 8K video is today. You can actually feel immersed in music when you hear all the different tracks of a song coming from different directions from different channels.. Man, It had to feel futuristic at the time. Even listening today with headphones is a trip. The over dubbing of vocals and instruments set these guys apart from the rest, the same way it did for The Beatles and The Beach Boys. The layered vocals were executed so beautifully. Simons writing and Garfunkel’s singing is a match made in another galaxy. The only song I actually recognized from this particular album is The 59th street bridge song (feeling groovy). The more aggressive and Bob Dylan styled song, A Simple Desultory Phillippic, drops many famous names of the time and I liked it a lot, as it showed off their humorous and tongue in cheek side. 7 o’clock News/Silent Night gave me goose pimples with the sounds of news clips juxtaposed with Silent Night. I can totally see a 15 year old in 1966 locking themselves in a dark room and spinning this record over and over. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme isn’t just a record, it’s an experience.. An emotional one at that. Please share your thoughts and memories!!

1001 albums you must hear before you die and it’s day 5!! To anyone that isn’t familiar, I have given myself the challenge of giving my own personal take on each and every album listed in the book 1001 albums you must hear before you die, a book by Robert Dimery. I found this book one day in 2016 in Barnes and Noble, and impulsively bought it. Since then, I’ve felt challenged by it every time I would flip through it out of boredom. I consider myself a music nerd but man, there’s a lot of music within 1001 albums. If I listen to every single album without missing a day, it will take me close to three years to finish. AND IM HERE FOR IT!! Without further ado, I got a MONSTER of an album to share with you all! Anita Baker’s 8 million copies sold, 2 Grammy winning sophomore album, The Rapture. Released quietly in 1986, this fucking album was a phenomenon within itself! I won’t sit here and try to act like I knew all about Anita Baker in 1986, when I was four years old, and quite frankly, when I was randomly generated this album to listen to I was a little intimidated... I LOVE QUIET STORM MUSIC! What is quiet storm music? Well, to me, it’s mood setting music. It’s baby making music, it’s ambiance music to fall peacefully to sleep to. It’s music you play after a break up or discovery of a new love. Quiet storm music is calming and can cater to any mood and that’s why I love it so much. Anita Baker had a hard life. Her mother abandoned her early on at 2 years old, she had to live through the civil unrest of the 1960’s, her foster parents died when she was twelve and she grew up in Detroit on top of all of that. Yikes. But there’s an emotion in her voice that I can’t describe any other way than as “pleading”. Not begging, per say, but an emotion that says HERE I AM! I MADE IT THROUGH! NOW LISTEN TO ME! RIGHT NOW! She kept her dream of being a top notch singer and performer and was recruited to join a funk band named Chapter 8, where she met Michael J Powell and boy, let me tell you, they mixed better than tea and sugar! The production and arrangement that Michael J Powell birthed into this project is so, sooo good! Every instrument is a star on every song. The band never took a day off on any of the eight tracks. The bass? Deep, funky and quite frankly... Superb. The drums? Sampled heavily by the likes of everyone from Jadakiss to Mac Miller. It’s impressive how influential Anita Baker has been to Hip Hop, my very first love. Oh yeah, Strings, horns, piano? Sharp as a razors edge. So many songs have since been sampled by other innovators like Ice Cube, A Tribe Caller Quest, Drake and everyone in between. Jeez. Anita Baker broke out with this album in a big way, and so much more was to come in the future for her that it’s hard for me to not visit her next releases (looking at you Giving You The Best That I’ve Got) .. until the generator Gods bestow them upon me! It’s tough to resist because I know there’s gold sprouting like flowers in her repertoire that I already subconsciously know... My most favorite song is Same Ole Love (365 Days) It is upbeat, the bass slaps SO hard, and the chorus is so catchy. My second favorite is the title song, Sweet Love. It’s the epitome of Quiet storm music.. 80’s contemporary R&B. You could still hear the melodies now as if you were in a ghostly memory of an old rusted and abandoned K-Mart of your childhood, still playing Muzak in the changing rooms .. If you can imagine it. Remember Muzak? I’m definitely old enough to remember! To be completely fair, I won’t rank any other songs because they are all crafted so well, that I may change my mind during the many play throughs that I plan on having in the future. PLEASE share your thoughts and memories of these masterpieces in Quiet Storm style music. I can still hear the DJ’s soothing my soul with their calming dialogue before they cue up the next song. Diana Ross once sang the lyric “Im Coming Out!” ... Anita Baker said hold my beer y’all. Damn... Much respect. Last, but not least, albums like this make me excited to hear acts like Sade, Luther, Brian McKnight, Teddy P, Smokey, Babyface and more... Even more. Much love, thanks for reading. Music heals. 🙏✌️

Day 6 of Albums you must hear before you die.. I was initially disappointed because I looked at the name of the album and it says “Dummy” by Portishead... I thought, damn, what in the hell is a Portishead first and secondly, I thought, I wish it had been something I’m more familiar with. I look at the genre and it’s titled trip-hop, and although I don’t typically like the idea of “genres” when I listed I understood. Man... As soon as I clicked the play button on the first song, I was taken on a beautiful, sexy, smokey, spooky and one of the most sonically pleasing trips that I have ever been on.. Without tripping on acid, of course. (I’ve Never taken acid before by the way, I just could never find any). All jokes aside, this is one of those things that when I first start listening to it and start to let it sink in, I automatically want to know who in the hell produced this!? It’s AMAZING! It’s like 80’s and early 90’s hip-hop/boom bap music had a baby in a film with James Bond played by Isaac Hayes, directed by Martin Scorsese. It’s a cinematic experience that gives you chills. It’s also SO hip-hop that I almost expected Nasir or Andre 3000 to start spitting witty lyrics at certain parts of the songs. They are all crafted so well! All the samples, sound effects, record scratching, the soundtrack to this trip-hop era is so damned satisfying. The arrangements in these songs are so superbly laid out and even though the girl that seems like she’s singing in an old jazz club filled with cigarette smoke with the sweetest voice, that when certain hooks and bridges come in and out that you can only focus on the sounds. Dummy is so well produced, engineered, performed and presented on a platter of gold. Better yet, platinum. Actually four times platinum. Winner of some of the most prestigious awards in music. There’s a saying, you only need two turntables and a microphone, and that is TRUE! But.. If you’re in 1994 in England with access to so many great rhythm and blues albums and jazz records to dig through in the crates, and then be able to use the technology of the time to sample them, and THEN have the obscenely talented singer Beth Gibbons on that side of the fore mentioned microphone, crooning to the notes played from the weeping guitar of Adrian Utley.. Really, it’s a perfect blend of music that makes this album my favorite of them so far at day 6. It caught me by surprise.. Now to give you my favorite songs. I never wanted to skip a single song on all three listens that I had today. If you don’t like this album from the very start it’s not for you. Don’t like the first song? Listen to the very last one, Glory Box. It’s my favorite song and it samples black 007 Isaac Hayes (RIP KING) Now if you don’t like THAT song, we can’t be friends. CANNOT. I also like Mysterons, Numb.. Shit I like them all! I need someone to shame me for not knowing about this group for all these years!! Come at me bro! Last but not least, that producer that I wanted to know so much about, but still don’t because I just learned of Portishead (still a dumb name) yesterday, well, his name is Geoff Barrow, the DJ that you hear creating all these amazing backing tracks for this album that Beth could lyrically mold with her voice like creative hands molding wet clay. I don’t know shit about either of them as people and I want to keep it what way. I prefer the mystique I get from this record. What’s magic without mystery? Music is magic. I’m still excited to gush over some of the great music that I already know so well, after this album, a record that will stay in my rotation from here on out. I’m more excited for the rest of the 1001 albums to hear before you die that I don’t know at all. ✌️

I’ve officially reached one full week of experiencing and giving my impressions of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It’s been a fun and rewarding project and this is album number seven. The second of which I knew absolutely nothing about.. The album of the day is titled Moon Safari by the French band Air. This effort was released in 1998, one of my favorite years in music in my lifetime in that I was old enough to really start making my own decisions in what I like but more importantly, when I was able to buy my own collection of cassettes and tapes. Full disclosure, I’m not all that knowledgeable about electronic music, EDM, techno and all other related music. I can’t name a single Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers or The Prodigy song. (I do know Fire Starter though!) While I’ve never been able to relate to a lot of this style of music, I respect it and acknowledge it’s influential impact on many, many other genres, including my first love, hip hop. Now that I’ve gotten the homage paying part out of the way, I have to give my honest thoughts on Moon Safari with having only 24 hours with it... There are so many other better albums that could have taken the place of this mediocre record. I don’t intend to offend, but I doubt that I will. Sure, if you put this cassette in the tape deck of my 1988 Acura Integra in 1998, I won’t go rushing for the eject button. It’s not bad at all in any way. I really didn’t mind it. It just didn’t scratch any particular itch for me. I didn’t find myself yearning to hear any of these songs again. Sometimes I’ll listen to a new song obsessively on repeat. Not the case here. I do really like the bass on most tracks. The few songs that actually had vocals were okay. The 70’s synthesizers were dope. I’m not hating on Air or their debut album Moon Safari.. But.. In the end, I won’t go back to this album. I need re-playability in my music. If I’m watching a movie and hear a song from this cut in the soundtrack, I may not even recognize it. There are a couple stand out cuts from a project that, to me, sounded more like a demo from a couple of really talented producers that have yet to find their muse. The second song on the record, Sexy Boy, was the most satisfying with the synthetic voice as a catchy rift. The title song, Moon Safari, one of the two only songs that featured a singer, is a cool 90’s love song. I just feel like their are many other really good albums that should have had their place in this collection. Such as Salt’n Pepa’s Hot Cool and Vicious, or The Barenaked Ladies Stunt album released the same year as Moon Safari, a massive hit. Those are just two examples of monster records that were left off of the list. Oh well. At the end of the day, I didn’t write the book, I’m just consuming it. I’m enjoying every album no matter what. Please share your thoughts, memories and impressions, especially if you’ve experienced Moon Safari for the first time because of this post. If you know and love this album to death, and hold it dearly to your heart please feel free to tell me how wrong I am, because we all perceive music differently and that’s okay!! ✌️

The year is 1982. Man, what a time to be alive! Especially for me, being that I was born that year. Imagine, you’re an adolescent in an era that, although there wasn’t any internet yet, there was cable television. Cable was kind of mind blowing to be honest and it was the Wild Wild West at this time. Kids didn’t have Tik Tok or YouTube, but they had MTV!! I’ll hold the tired jokes about how that’s when they actually played music. MTV helped introduce all kinds of music to people that previously only had three channels to choose from when watching television. How did the infant network manage to set themselves apart from any other old thing on the boob tube? Well because if you want to be on MTV you obviously have to have a music video. Having visuals to go along with music that you could see over and over without having to be at a live concert or being forced to sit in front of Ed Sullivan or Dick Clark was revolutionary for the young folks of the time and a humongous marketing tool! Speaking of revolutionary, Paul Revere warned that the British were coming way back in 1775. Well, that wouldn’t be the only invasion since then. The British Invasion in the 60’s changed the musical climate of the entire world. In the late 70’s and early 80’s there was a second invasion. No warfare was necessary, we welcomed it this time around! Now to get on with it, as an Englishman would say. Duran Duran utilized all of the tools listed above. This group of young guys went viral before there was viral. They understood the popularity of Punk Rock and glammed that shit all the way up! Now, that may have been a deal breaker for the widely homophobic demographic of that time, no worries though, a video for a little song titled Girls on Film came out and, what I would have to guess is an enigma of record breaking prepubescent jack off sessions would be had worldwide because of it. That video will still make some guys and girls blush to this day. Look it up if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Just be sure to find the uncensored version. Keep in mind, this was a great time to be alive because the HIV epidemic wouldn’t hit until a couple of years later. Being able to be free sexually if you so shall chose to had little consequences compared to the near future. Duran Duran became so popular that it became cool for girls to like this band as much as the boys and, let’s be real, Duran Duran probably already had the girls attention anyways. Posters and magazine covers were sure to be plastered everywhere. This new English phenomena was just beginning. Now on to my review of the actual music! Every song on this album is as salacious as the guys themselves. If you’re alive and more than 4 years old, you’ve heard Hungry Like a Wolf and Rio for sure. They’re expertly recorded to excite you, make you want to dance and most importantly give you that sexy feeling. Rio gives you a tropical feeling. Listening to it I can see the girls dancing in the sand. Horny, errr I mean Hungry Like The Wolf is self explanatory. The videos these guys put out were top notch. So much beauty, action and anticipation. The music videos that accompanied these songs were next level and inspired classic shows and movies, at least stylistically, like Miami Vice and Scarface. Tell me I’m wrong. They also have sold more than 100 million albums to date. Other great songs from Rio include New Religion, Hold Back the Rain and Lonely In Your Nightmare. Patrick Nagel created the cover art that is so iconically 80’s you get nostalgic just looking at it. In closing, Duran Duran put out pretty good music. Their success, in my opinion, should be chalked up to their vision. The styles, the fashion, the marketing, the good looks and the smarts of these party animals made every guy want to be them and every girl want to be with them.

This man will make your liver quiver! This man will make your bladder splatter! This man will make your knees freeze! If you will let’s all welcome the worlds Godfather of Soul, Soul Brother #1, JAMES BROWN!!! 1001 Albums To Hear Before You Die Day 9. I FEEL GOOD!! The album for today is Live At The Apollo (1962). Let me start by saying that it would be an impossible task to find another more influential artist in the history of modern music and dance. The best you can convince me of, is that he’s had some equals along the way, though few and far between. Now that we have that settled, I thought to myself, what’s my first memory of James Brown and his funky, soulful music? My first conscience memory is Living In America, the super smash, Grammy winning song that also just happened to be in the blockbuster film Rocky IV in 1986. Seeing The Godfather Of Funk giving an explosive performance in that movie moments before Apollo Creed would die in the ring against Ivan Drago changed my childhood. Apollo the boxer died in the movie. Live at the Apollo from Mr. Brown lives on forever. Mr. Please Please Please was only 29 when he recorded this live album at the historic Apollo Theater, a theater named after a Greek God that hosted many, many musical Gods over the years. Brown paid for this project out of his own pocket as his label didn’t think he held the same appeal to deliver a live recording that someone like Sam Cooke had at the time. In early ‘63 this album came out and it was so popular that it was hard to find a copy. Record stores bought cases upon cases in order to meet the demand, and if you found a copy, you had to share it with the whole household, and it was played so much that when you finally wore it out you had to re-up. Most of Mr. Dynamite’s biggest hits weren’t even recorded yet in 1962. Deciding to showcase his best repertoire at the time in a live setting was a genius move. Sure, James Brown sounded just as good on his records as he did in his live performances, but there is an electricity in hearing it live, even if it’s just on an 8-track in the 60’s or Spotify in 2021. You can almost feel the vibrations of this man working up a sweat. Just listen to the crowd go berserk. On the song Lost Someone you can hear the girls in the crowd literally falling apart at the seams. James Brown had the crowd in the palm of his hands and he knew it. His band, The Famous Flames, are “Clean as a silk suit” as quoted by Robert Christgau in Rolling Stone magazine. They never miss a beat, literally. This live album has my most favorite song from The Hardest Working Man In Show Business, Try Me. The passionate pleasing and soulfulness of that record, especially live, is worthy of being added to The Library Of Congress, which it has been. The first to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, James Brown sounds like a preacher at times. The way he uses the call and response technique has me in the shower damn near testifying! There’s no bad songs here. Make sure to check out Try Me, I’ll Go Crazy Night Train and Think. Also, make sure to listen to the girls losing their shit on Lost Someone. James Brown is The Godfather of not only Soul, but of Funk, Pop, and Hip Hop as well. He is the highest sampled artist in the world. His work has been borrowed a record smashing 7,413 times over the years. Listen to his song Funky Drummer and you’ll get the idea. James Brown is the Johnny Appleseed of music and I’m grateful for him.

Day 10 of Music You Must Hear Before You Die and the album of the day is Countdown To Ecstasy by the legendary American rock band Steely Dan. I grew up hearing Steely Dan on the radio and know most of their popular songs. I must admit that, shamefully, I’ve never owned any of their records or dove deep into any of their deeper cuts. I must say, the music these guys have made is as American as it gets, especially when it comes to rock n’ roll. Sure, this is rock music but it has elements of rhythm & blues, jazz, soul, latin and a little funk sprinkled in as well. The biggest standout is the guitars, vocals, and horn arrangements. Lead singer Donald Fagen’s voice is iconic. So warming and haunting at the same time. The songwriting of Walter Becker (RIP) and Donald Fagen is very catchy and intelligent. You can tell that these are some really smart fellas and care A LOT about how their music is crafted. The arrangements and mixing are impeccable. The singles released from this album are Showbiz Kids and My Old School. Both are great songs. My personal favorites were Pearl Of The Quarter, Bodhisattva, and the closing track, King Of The World (very funky almost Isaac Hayes sounding instrumentation). What I like the most about Countdown To Ecstasy is each song has a theme. I was introduced to different characters and felt immersed in some of the stories. I’m so glad I got to listen to this album and get to know more about Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductees, Steely Dan!

Day 11 of Albums You Must Hear before you die. This serving is another live album, this one by Fela Ransome-Kuti and The Africa ‘70. It features the former drummer of the British rock band Cream, Ginger Baker. I’ve never heard of Fela Ransome-Kuti, nor do I know anything about Afro Beat music or the culture it rose from. Going in blind on that front! Cream, however, is one of the best bands of the 60’s hard rock era in my opinion. Their songs I’ve known all my life. One of my favorite Rock Gods is Eric Clapton. If I don’t make my personal observation of this album as short and sweet as possible, I won’t be doing either Fela Kuti, nor Ginger Baker their due respect. I’ll tell you this, I was a day late even writing this, because I fell in love with the music so much, that I fell into a research rabbit hole. I dug so deep into the super unlikely collaboration of these two, ummm, shall I say super gifted and influential but a little bit, no joke, bat shit craz... eccentric guys, that I’d have to write and research for years and probably go nuts, too. It’s that wild. That’s all I’ll say. This was a great listen and you must hear it before you die. The percussion alone will get your foot in the door on this album. Everything else is.. good. It’s so good. ✌️

Day 13 of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and today I’ve got the debut album of one of the best selling bands of all time, Pink Floyd. Now, as a kid I always looked at Pink Floyd as being a drug band. Not a lot of kids my age were dropping acid or magic mushrooms when I was coming up, at least not in my areas, so I couldn’t really relate to this band. As I grew older I learned to appreciate their music a bit more when a couple of my cousins, who were really into The Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd and other similar psychedelic music, turned me on to more of their music. In one way it creeped me out a bit (“Hello… Is there anybody in there?”) but it was so different from what I was used to that it was more welcomed than it was when I was a kid. I’m glad that the first Pink Floyd album I’ve received is their first one. I can really start to dig deeper into this band from the beginning. I got really into The Beatles when I was in my twenties and The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn reminds me of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. It feels very experimental and bound my nobody’s restraints but their own, and even then they seemed to have none. The Beatles, even on Sgt. Peppers, tended to keep their compositions reigned in a little tighter around the choruses, verses and melodies, only allowing the instrumentation and solo’s to go so far. Pink Floyd doesn’t give a shit about a strict song structure, their compositions can get pretty extended on most songs. If I’m being completely honest, which I intend to do on every album, it gets a bit boring for me.. Sure, If I was tripping balls I could see how id get completely lost in the stories that the instruments are playing. No disrespect to Pink Floyd is intended in any way. Its great music and they are pioneers. I’m attracted to choruses, verses and melodies. I didn’t know any songs from this record. The stand outs for me were Lucifer Sam, The Gnome and The Scarecrow. Pink Floyd helped change the game in the 60’s and 70’s for sure. Im particularly looking forward to albums of theirs that I’m more familiar with like The Wall and Dark Side Of The Moon. If you’ve never watched The Wizard Of Oz synced up to Dark Side Of The Moon, it’s a real trip (even if you aren’t on acid). I will leave that topic for when I get to that album though. While I’m not likely to add any songs from this album to any of my playlists any time soon, I am grateful I got to experience it. Please share your thoughts, opinions and memories below!! ✌️

Day 14 of Albums You Must Hear Before You Die! Again, I’ve gotten a debut album from a band that defined a generation, and went on to create some of the most iconic music of the 1980’s. Talking Heads released 77 in 1977 and helped to usher in the New Wave genre, the love child of Punk Rock and Pop. While most of the biggest hits for Talking Heads will come from later offerings, 77 is a gem of an album. Lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter David Byrne has one of the most recognizable voices of the New Wave era. Byrne’s vocals aren’t the most powerful but they mesh beautifully with the music. Talking Heads, especially in 1977 didn’t follow any of the trends stylistically of the time. No radical wardrobe, Mohawks, piercings, spiked dog collars or make up. This band wore well fitting polos and slacks in most live performances that I could find from 1977-80. Maybe thats why some referred to the art grads in Talking Heads as “art fags”. My favorite song from Talking Heads is Burning Down The House, which is not on this album, however, my second favorite song is actually on this album, and that song is Psycho Killer. This song really showcases the abilities and potential of Talking Heads. Simple, yet deep and funky bass, prominent kick drum, and nearly primal vocals. It also takes on the prospective of a character in a fictional story, (Not the Son Of Sam serial killer like many suggested) something that Talking Heads becomes known for. I feel like the band not only shined the best on this track but probably had the most fun making and performing. Tentative Decisions has great use of marching percussion. The Book I Read has great rhythm guitar. The band gels well on this one and is a very chill song. The ever changing tempo of No Compassion keeps it interesting. The closing track Pulled Up seems like a song of gratitude and it showcases their signature sound. Talking Heads seemingly came out of nowhere in 1977 but they sure stuck around for a while and I’m glad they did! I was very impressed with the bass player Tina Weymouth, who joined the band before even knowing how to play bass guitar. This band didn’t try to blow anyones socks off or create a fake persona. They were themselves and it paid off. When music videos became a thing, these “art fags” were really able to shine with some of the most creative visuals in music. The only negative thing I have to say about this album is there a few filler songs that I wanted to skip over. Maybe that will change on future listens but upon my first spin of 77 I knew which songs I liked and which ones that I didn’t because, they felt lazy. I’m looking forward to more music from this band. Share your thoughts, opinions and memories below!!

Day 15 of Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Today I got another album from a band that I have never heard of. I’ve never heard a single song from the San Diego band, Rocket From The Crypt. The title of this album is Scream, Dracula Scream! Released in 1995, this was RFTC’s first major label recording. When I put on the first track, Middle, I was blown away with the energy and uptempo of the song. Surely, I thought, they can’t keep up with this throughout the record? Well, that’s exactly what they did. Scream, Dracula Scream! Keeps the pedal to the metal on all 14 songs. I can only imagine that being at one of their live shows would be a blast! The vocals of lead singer and guitarist Reis are aggressive, without screeching into my ears. The drummer, Sean Flynn, pounds away and gives the songs a serious back bone. Super talented drummer! Almost all of the band members lend backing vocals and the song Misbeaten shines because of it. (Maybe my favorite song by the way). Last but not least, they have horns beautifully blaring on all songs and I’m a sucker for that, really gives that 90’s Ska vibe. I really enjoyed all of the songs and had zero urges to skip any of them. Other songs that really need attention are Born In ’69, On a Rope, Come See Come Saw, and Fat Lip. Scream, Dracula Scream! Is filled to the brim with re-playability. If you want an album to pump you up, this will do the trick. It’s totally rad! One thing I like the most about this project, so far, is that some of the music is completely unknown to me, but becomes some of my favorites of the week. I must admit, I always get a little bummed and intimidated when I receive something totally unfamiliar, at first, but it can be so rewarding sometimes. Sure, I am excited to totally nerd out on albums that I know already like the back of my hand, and those albums will be fun to write about, but that’s not what this project is all about. It’s called Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, not re-listen to albums you’ve heard a gazillion times already and act like a Know It All… I’m having a blast! Please share your thoughts, opinions, and memories below. Even if that means shaming me for not knowing about this super dope band beforehand. Peace!

For Day 16 of Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, we have 1972’s best selling album in America. Harvest by Neil Young. Released ten years before my birth, it is safe to say there were never any Neil Young posters hanging on my wall next to a golden bikini clad Cindy Crawford or Snoop Doggy Dog. I do know a decent bit about him and some of his music, and these are my thoughts about Harvest. As soon as I put this record on, I instantly felt like an outcasted cowboy on the prairie. The acoustic guitars, the harmonica, the steel guitarsand piano.. they all sound so smooth, and as warm as a campfire in Wyoming in the late 1800’s. The instrumentation is worthy of any Oscar winning film. The song I know the most is Heart Of Gold, a song that got so big that Neil Young distanced himself from it and wouldn’t perform live for most of his career. It’s a classic for sure, and was my favorite of his until hearing other songs on this album. Now, before I continue, I must say.. I’ve always been pretty indifferent to Neil Young. I wouldn’t complain if a stranger in the bar spent a couple quarters on the jukebox spinning a couple Neil Young songs. Full disclosure, upon my first listening of Harvest, I wanted to completely shit on it. It’s slow, kind of depressing at times, and I don’t like Neil Young’s falsetto. I couldn’t picture myself strolling around town in my ’69 Camaro with this in my 8-Track. For God’s sake, The Eagles debut album came out in 1972. I do know myself enough, however, to know that I have to listen to certain albums a couple of times before I know for sure whether I really like them or not. On my third listening of this album it struck me that I actually really do enjoy most of it. (Especially with decent headphones on). The final song, Words, is my new favorite Neil Young song. Up until now, at least. Another stand out, Alabama, a song that struck a literal major chord with the fellas over at Lynyrd Skynyrd, is more uptempo. The guitars and piano are so good. I don’t know shit about Young’s politics in his lyrics, but it’s a sonically pleasing song. The heavy gongs and chimes that lead into There’s a World can’t be denied, and to add the cherry to the top, you get the whole symphony chiming in. Other notable songs are, Are You Ready For The Country and The Needle And The Damage Done. In closing, I started off by totally disliking most of this album. I’m still not all that keen on Neil Young’s voice, and some of the slower and somber songs, but the second half of Harvest really grew on me. The production and arrangement on Harvest is above top-notch, its top shelf. I could listen to just the instrumentation and feel like an old, weathered cow wrangler a few years past his prime, like in the song Old Man. I’m glad I got to hear this album before I died. Props to the Canadian Cowboy! Please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and memories on my likely TL;DR posts!

Another day, and another randomly generated album selected for me from the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Todays selection is an album titled Paris 1919 by former Velvet Underground band member John Cale. I’m going to cut to the chase. After having this album in my possession for 24 hours, while being obviously well produced, written, engineered and performed, its mostly forgettable to me, but not completely. There are two extremely good songs on Paris 1919 and I’ll focus on those. This is just my honest opinion. Child’s Christmas in Wales, the album opener, is very warm and welcoming, if it was meant to set the tone for the rest of the experience, it failed. Most following tracks are, to me personally, too slow and sappy. I don’t mind slow and sappy at all, just make it catchy and memorable. As I drudged through about fifty percent of Paris 1919, I was smacked right in the face with the epic title track, Paris 1919. The deep bass of the strings are all it took to hook me. The horns closely following reeled me in closer. I have no idea what this song is about lyrically, seems based on historic events of countries I’ve never visited. Paris maybe? When John Cole sings “you’re a ghost la la - la la la la la” I get a little release of dopamine. So simple, yet so catchy especially in his cadence. Other notable songs are Graham Greene, Half Past France and Antartica Starts here. I totally don’t know what they are about but they sound nice. While the overall production of Paris 1919 is obviously top tier, the only songs I would add to a playlist would be Childs Christmas In Wales and most definitely the title song, Paris 1919. Please share your thoughts, opinions and memories below!

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die day 18 and boy, its going to be a long ride if I can manage to stick this out. I’m nowhere near triple digits, and this project is both rewarding and intimidating, equally. As a self described “Music Nerd”, I’m starting to realize that I’m more nerd and less knowledgeable. If you asked me to guess how many of these 1001 albums that I would know before buying this damn book, I’d confidently guess at least sixty percent. What a fool I was 18 days ago. Todays selection is the debut and self titled album from a Punk Rock slash Pop group called the Undertones. This is a great album to put on while you have a shower beer or two. It is fast paced, it’s uplifting, and the simple lyrics about girls and doing hood rat shit with your friends is enough to set the mood. Honestly though, Undertones debut album is largely forgettable. I can’t really explain it, I love these songs when they’re playing, but as soon as they’re over, I barely remember them. Bands like The Ramones sound very similar and are from the same era, yet had more lasting impressions with their compositions. I’m sure many bands took note of this band and built their craft on top of The Undertones established foundation in music, like, say, Green Day or maybe even Soundgarden. I appreciate this album, it is fun and youthful, it sounds great, it just didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. I’m sure it left enough of a lasting impression on other artists to follow their lead. Please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and memories!

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die day 19, and boy, I have a doozy of an album for you today! The Doors released their sixth, and final studio album, L.A. Woman in 1971. The Doors is a band that probably doesn’t need an introduction, but being that this album is now fifty years old, I will preface with a brief bit of their history. The Doors were the epitome of the sixties counter culture, wild, free and controversial. Vocalist Jim Morrison had a persona larger than life, yet was a very mysterious person. Morrison was a supremely intelligent man and used the mystique that surrounded The Doors to great advantage. While being a magnificent showman, Morrison would often show up to recording sessions and performances drunk and wild, and would sometimes incite riots in the crowd. The Doors frontman would face many criminal charges stemming from his risky antics, including indecency, public obscenity, lewd and lascivious behavior, indecent exposure, public profanity and public drunkenness. Morrison remains the first and only musician to be arrested on stage during a performance. It’s an understatement to say that Jim Morrison had a disdain for authority and was not one to conform to anyones laws, rules or social standards other than his own. The Lizard King joined the 27 Club in 1971, when he died in Paris, France at the age of 27, Joining other icons such as Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, and was quoted by some as saying he would be number 3 in this tragic “club”. His death remains surrounded in mystery fifty years later. Morrison never shied away from the idea of death in his music either. Is being subconsciously suicidal a thing? I can’t help but to feel like doom was in the playbook for this artistically genius/madman. Now, onto the music. The Doors is a band that cannot be confined to any type of genre. While L.A. Woman is widely considered a Rock album, its more Rhythm & Blues than anything. There is some serious tickling of the ivory going down on this record. Keyboardist and co-founder of The Doors, Ray Manzarek shines on every track.

Day 20 of Albums You Must Hear brings me the second Hip-Hop album so far, The Sun Rises In The East by Brooklyn, NY emcee, Jeru The Damaja. While the rap market was bloated and over saturated in 1994, some of the greatest acts in Rap Music, my first love, dropped their debut albums in 1994. It was a hell of a year. Ready To Die from The Notorious B.I.G., Illmatic from Nas, Creepin’ on ah Come Up from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, The Most Beautifullest Thing In The World from Keith Murray, Tical From Method Man, Southernplayalisticcadillacmuzik from Outkast, all debut albums from icons, and thats just scratching the surface. The Fugees, Warren G and Da Brat also stepped out onto the scene. On top of all that, established artists like Snoop Doggy Dogg, Ice Cube, 8Ball & MJG, House of Pain and Hammer released music in ’94. Shit, even Shaq had a rap record, and it actually wasn’t total crap! Thats just in hip-hop, 1994 was a great year for music in general. I say all that to justify why Jeru the Damaja wasn’t really on my radar… I knew of Jeru the Damaja and saw the video for his single Come Clean on Rap City on BET and I liked it, it just didn’t stand a chance competing with the above mentioned artists for my attention. Jeru went to high school with Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr. When he was featured on the song I’m the Man from their album Daily Operation, doors were opened for the Brooklyn rapper. Come Clean gained a lot of traction with its gritty, authentic New York hip-hop sound. The Sun Rises In The East is entirely produced by DJ Premier. Jeru has a very clean and intelligent flow. You won’t be starved of any witty punchlines, and while the majority of the tone of this album is anti-gangster rap, he uses his distain for that part of the culture to come off pretty aggressive and violent. Jeru’s stance earned him more than a few adversaries with his colleagues at the time. I love Gangsta Rap, so while I recognize the abilities Jeru showcase in this album, its just not in my wheelhouse, as my Uncle Rick would say. Its 1994’s version of “woke music” and their were plenty of NY lyricists like Jeru the Damaja at the time. This might sound sacrilegious to other hip-hop heads, I found Coolio to have more of an impact on Rap. Side note, the cover art for this album depicts Jeru in front of a skyline of Manhattan with the World Trade Center buildings on fire and collapsing, eerie shit. In the end, I appreciate the lyricism on this album and how it stayed authentic to New York hip-hop. It may be among your favorite ’90’s rap albums, it just had way better competition in the genre at the time, in my opinion, to draw me in. With that said, Jeru the Damaja is still active even today and is passionate about his craft. No disrespect intended Mr. Damaja. Please share your thoughts, opinions and memories!!

Day 21 of Albums you must hear.. And I’ve got an album that took me a couple of days to digest, in order to give it its well deserved attention. 1979’s release from The Clash, London Calling. Described by Rolling Stone magazine as the best album of the 1980’s, and by many others as the greatest album of all time, London Calling was a real treat to listen to over and over again. I have never listened to London Calling before, and most of the songs that I recognize from The Clash would come out in later years. The Clash didn’t invent the wheel when it comes to British Punk Rock, they just put the GoodYear rubber on that bitch and got the most commercial tread from it. London Calling is considered a Punk album but when you really give it a listen, it’s a potpourri of many different styles and genres. I felt no listening fatigue, as each song is well, different. It’s all tied together with one of the most unique vocalists in Rock music, Joe Strummer. Even when his voice breaks and strains, it is pure Punk and melodic. I couldn’t get enough. There are so many different instruments used on this album that it’s a call back to The Beatles famous experimentation in the studio in their twilight years. London Calling is an album that deserves to be listened to on either a high-end stereo or headphones. If not you will miss out on much of the charm sprinkled throughout. My favorite songs are the title track London Calling (the lyric “phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust” gave me a good chuckle), Hateful has a great breakdown every few bars that I love and the chorus is addictive. Rudie Can’t Fail has a lot of reggae influence and has a call back, or forward, to I Fought The Law. The Guns of Brixton is pretty gangster for 1979 and is catchy as hell. Lovers Rock is smoother than a baby’s powdered bottom. My favorite song, Train In Vain, wasn’t even listed on the original album artwork in 1979, as it was added last minute and might as well be considered a secret track back then. Sure, it’s the most poppy track, but it makes me feel really good. Green Day must have taken a lot from this band, I see so many similarities in style and willingness to cross genre jurisdictions. London Calling is a large album, it was released as a double album, even though it cost the same as a regular album to the consumers, much to the chagrin of the record label. I’m sure the kids back then were super happy about the savings! When I first learned about how highly regarded London Calling is worldwide, I didn’t want to rush through it, and I’m glad I didn’t. This is a five star listening experience and deserves more attention from the average listeners of today. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!

Day 22 of Albums You Must Hear.. Today’s offering is the third album from one of my favorite American Rock Bands, Aerosmith! Toys in the Attic, released in 1975, went on to become their most commercially successful albums in the U.S. selling 8 million copies. I have to credit my Dad for turning me on to Aerosmith. I would go through his collection of cassettes and study the artwork while he played their songs on the way to drop us kiddos off at elementary school. While being more Hard Rock than some other bands and not quite as heavy as others, Aerosmith kept a sweet balance of Rock and Blues, especially on Toys in the Attic. This record proved to not only be big for the Rock genre, it would years later become instrumental to the success of crossover rap music. More on that later. The title track, Toys in the Attic, showcases a much more cohesive gelling of the band, as they had spent much of their time touring in previous years. The constant live performances would sharpen their blade and it really shows on the title track. You knew that Aerosmith was bringing the heat. Sweet Emotions is tied with being my favorite song along with Walk This Way. In 1986 co-founder of Def Jam Recordings and producer, Rick Rubin, who had success popularizing hip-hop artists using hard rock samples and riffs, would convince a reluctant Run-D.M.C., to cover Walk This Way and the results would forever change the landscape of commercial Rap music. (It would also resurrect a floundering Aerosmith at the time.) Big Ten Inch was a superbly satisfying cover of Big Moose Jackson’s Blues song from 1952. The tongue in cheek lyrics paired with the blues and swing sound would be a nice highlight to the track listing. The final track also showcased Aerosmith’s willingness to slow it down a bit and let Tyler’s piano sit front and center. While most of my personal favorite albums and songs from Aerosmith would come in the late eighties and 90’s, Toys in the Attic is nearly flawless. Thanks Dad for introducing me to one of my all time favorite bands. This record is a definite must hear. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!

Day 23 of Albums You Must Hear… 1994 was the peak of alternative rock music in some ways, and the beginning of the end in others. Kurt Cobain would lose his life and bring an end to Nirvana, the greatest band of the 90’s. (Solely my opinion). Other mega acts, though, would break into the mainstream around this time, such as The Foo Fighters, Weezer, Green Day, and Smashing Pumpkins, to name a few. Those are all tough acts to follow, however, a band called Pavement would release their second album, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain in 1994. Full disclosure here, I never knew the band Pavement before receiving this album, though it seems through their indie rock band accomplishments over a few years, they accumulated a decent cult following in the U.S. and U.K. Pavement would never sign a major label deal. The only song familiar to me on Crooked Rain is the single Cut your Hair. I remember seeing a clip of the video on Beavis & Butthead way back when, in which they referred to Pavement as ‘Buttwipe Music’. While I know that was said in the context of a joke, I mean it is Beavis & Butthead, another comment made by the cartoon duo was to ‘try harder’. Thats a statement I can’t get behind when it comes to the music from this band, though. While Cut Your Hair has a catchy tune right out the gate, the rest of the album is totally lackluster. The band is totally talented, just not memorable to me. If you ask me, the thing that made Nirvana the best alternative band of the 90’s is the simplicity of the melodies. I still don’t understand all of Cobain’s lyrics but I damn sure know the melodies of the hooks, drum patterns and chords. I get the feeling that Pavement is trying too hard be complex and not to “sell out” that they avoid making catchy tunes. On the song Range Life, they poke fun at Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots, which is fair, but those bands were able to have cross-over success without watering down their brand. They made catchy songs. The only other song to catch my attention was 5-4=Unity, a fully instrumental jam session that showcases the band’s undeniable musical talent. I just wish the songs on this album had more re-playability. The music video for Cut Your Hair has the perfect low budget, nonsensical vibe of the mid 90’s, though, and was fun to watch 27 years later. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!

Day 24 of Albums You Must Hear… The Byrds, an American band, were a short lived, yet extremely popular collective in the mid 60’s. Their album Mr. Tambourine Man was able to shine amongst the British acts that invaded American air waves during this era. I won’t go deep into the history of this band, but they are worthy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in which they were inducted in 1991. The lyrics are clear and simple, the harmonies are spot on and the satisfying 12 string Rickenbacker guitar exemplifies the sound of the flower child years. Mr. Tambourine man has a lot of Bob Dylan covers, which is a little odd, but perhaps thats why this band was coined as Folk Rock. I love 60’s music, much of which I’m familiar with because of my favorite television show from the 80’s, The Wonder Years. I first heard songs from The Byrds watching that show as a kid. Much of Mr. Tambourine Man’s non-Dylan songs are about adolescent romance, not unlike early music from The Beach Boys and The Beatles. My Favorite song is I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better (When You’re Gone), I mean, who can’t relate at some point to that feeling in their past. The harmony of the vocals is very catchy and very 60’s. The song I least like is All I Really Want To Do, a Dylan cover. It’s about only wanting to be friends with a girl. It’s so damn stupid to me, like, is this a former lover or a girl that has a crush on you? Either way, why write a song and record it for the whole world to hear? Poor girl, dumb song. The title track, Mr. Tambourine has been recorded to death by many artists over the years, but I might like this version the most, while Stevie Wonder’s cover is cool as shit. I am probably safe in assuming this song is about the neighborhood dope man. She Has a Way is a sweet song, again, about adolescent love and wanting to settle down. The majority of kids these days will probably shit on this music for the lack of WAP and electronic drums, but it’s a good album and I enjoyed the majority of it. I appreciate the music of years past and I had fun with Mr. Tambourine Man! Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!

Day 25 of Albums You Must Hear... Next up on my list of randomly generated music is an album titled Blitz! by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, released in 2009. Not gonna lie, I’m not super familiar with this band. The first track, Zero, had me optimistic. Okay, this is going to be a dance/punk record. Heads Will Roll, the second track, is so good that I was super stoked for the rest of the album! Then, this album took a nosedive into loneliness and despair. While the production is top tier, and the vocals of singer Karen O are satisfying to listen to, this albums premature crescendo left me with musical blue balls. In all fairness, music is closely tied to the mood of the listener, and if you’re in the state of mind for the last 8 of the ten tracks on Ok Blitz!, I’m completely understanding. Maybe I got this album at the wrong time, but I couldn’t give it more than a couple listens. I’m not shitting on this album from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, just after hearing the first two songs I felt honey dicked. You can’t name your album Blitz! with an exclamation point and then lose all momentum after two songs in. On that note, in conclusion, Heads Will Roll is REALLY good and I’d totally add that song to a playlist in a heartbeat. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!

Day 26 of Albums You Must Hear... Swordfishtrombones is an album released by one of the most interesting and abstract artists of the list thus far, Tom Waits. I first learned of Tom Waits several years ago while going down a YouTube rabbit hole. Heath Ledger largely took inspiration from Tom Waits for his role of The Joker in The Dark Knight. I will link the video that I watched below, the likeness is incredible. I must preface with this first, Tom Waits is not for everyone. He is abstract, off beat and, frankly, different. For those reasons, I really enjoy Tom Waits and Swordfishtrombone is a genius record. Waits is bound by no restraints, and the pace is up to him completely. In this album you get many sides of this mad genius. If I was to make a recipe for Tom Waits style, I’d say it’s 1 part jazz, 1 part circus clown, foaming from the mouth, 2 parts piss & vinegar, and 2 parts witty, spoken word poet. While having one of the most gravely voices in music, he can go rough and tough to sentimental and soft at the drop of a dime. My favorite song on Swordfishtrombone is In The Neighborhood, an almost national anthem version of Hometown, Anywhere. It’s nostalgic and melodic. On 16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought Six, I felt like a Hell’s Angel riding down a deserted highway with my grip tight on the ape-hangers handlebars. Vroom Vroom! I also love the use of non-traditional sounds in the instrumentation, like creaking of hinges or the steely slam of a sledgehammer knocking in railroad spikes. On Frank’s Wild Years, a spoken word piece, Waits tells a short story with words that slide out of his mouth with such ease and coolness that I totally didn’t expect the twist ending. I really love this cut from the album. Soldiers Things is sad and ironic, yet beautifully written. Tom Waits is a terrific pianist and brilliant songwriter. I look forward to delving deeper into his huge catalog. Please share your thoughts, opinions and memories!!

Day 27 of Albums You Must Hear... Today’s album is titled Autobahn by German Electronic band Kraftwerk. As I’ve mentioned before, I am not a big fan of music that is strictly instrumentation. I really love electronic music, just not as much when it has no words. This is one of those albums. My first time listening to Kraftwerk’s Autobahn, I didn’t know the year of its release, or anything about the creators. When I learned that this was released in 1974, I instantly gained much respect. These guys are innovators of EDM and I would have to imagine that the recourses and technology in the 70’s was scarce enough that you had to A) be super creative and imaginative and B) have the balls to release something so strange and new. 99.9% of music that you hear now utilizes synthesizers, drum machines, auto-tune, recording through MacBooks, and endless applications to create different sounds. Even the music that sounds completely unplugged is most likely plugged in, even in live performances. In 2021 Autobahn sounds generic, but that’s not fair to Kraftwerk. They lead the way in the early 70’s, and the entire music industry over the nearly fifty following years would benefit from them. There are some good melodies here, and this recording is at its finest when you are wearing headphones, especially the noise cancelling kind. In closing, I wanted to take a crap on this album until I learned it was nearly fifty years old, and realized how jaded to musical technology I’ve become. To me, Autobahn isn’t necessarily a must hear, but it is a project that deserves everyone’s respect, regardless of your preference in music. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!

Day 28 of Albums You Must Hear... When Beastie Boys released their debut album, Licensed to Ill in 1986, an album that would go on to sell 10 million copies and become the first rap album to top the Billboard album chart, Rap music had finally began to cross over to a broader audience. Along with Beastie Boys, Def Jam also introduced legendary acts such as LL Cool J, Run-DMC, and Public Enemy. Due to conflict with Def Jam, Beastie Boys would only release one album under the label. When the time came to release their sophomore offering, Beastie Boys had began to lose a bit of their momentum in the eyes of the public, yet expectations were high. Not wanting to be known as a one hit album wonder, Beastie Boys had inspiration to break away from being known as the novelty of “Frat Hip-Hop”. In 1988, no longer having the unique rock inspired production of Def Jam co-founder Rick Ruben, Beastie Boys linked up with production duo, Dust Brothers for their next album Paul’s Boutique. Sampling is as hip-hop as graffiti and break dancing. It’s an art that takes expert timing and next level creativity. Paul’s Boutique is a master class in sampling, maybe only second to De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising. Nearly the entirety of Paul’s Boutique music is all samples, chopped and cut so well that you will miss more than you recognize. There are over 100 songs sampled on this record, 24 on the last track alone. If you listen closely you can hear many clips from a wide variety of artists like, The Beatles, James Brown, Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Sly and the Family Stone, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, The Eagles, and that’s just naming a few. The 80’s was the Wild Wild West of sampling before the lawyers and litigation made it an extremely expensive luxury for artists. (Still can’t stream that De La Soul album, largely because of this). While Licensed to Ill is a legendary album and put Beastie Boys on the map, and has more recognizable songs, the depth of Paul’s Boutique is sonically more satisfying to me. I found myself lost in the dense and craftiness of all the sounds that underly the lyrics. I find it difficult to pick my favorite songs because I liked them all so much. What are your favorites from Paul’s Boutique? Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!

Day 29 of Albums You Must Hear... The Fall is an English post-punk rock band that was impressively active from the late 70’s up until a couple of years ago. I have never heard of them, and to my knowledge, I’ve never heard any of their songs. (They have released over thirty recorded albums). The album from The Fall that I received today is titled The Infotainment. While listening to this band, I really enjoyed the music, however, I really disliked the singer, Mark E. Smith’s vocal style. The half speaking, half singing style seemed very dated for 1993. Smith also has a trait of ending most of his words with an overly used annunciation of “ah”.. Here’s an example, on the song It’s a Curse, a song with a nice and heavy guitar riff, Smith sings/says “Cracked-ah, curse-ah, disliked-ah...” his use of “ah” after nearly every word started to really grate on my nerves and it’s done on seemingly every song. The opening track, Ladybird (Green Grass) has a super funky bass line and riff and is probably my favorite song on this album, and while he is singing a bit more than speaking, Smith’s style just takes me out of it, like the rest of the album. Being that vocalist and founder of the band Mark E. Smith is the only constant member of The Fall over the years that saw many line up changes, I could see why no one really stood up to suggest that maybe he try changing his style to match the times. It’s a shame because the musicians really jammed out on this album but their flame-ah to me-ah was-ah smothered-ah by-ah Smith-ah. Next album please!! Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!

Day 30 of Albums You Must Hear... Vesterpine is the fourth studio album from Icelandic singer Björk, an artist that has been creating since age 11. Vesterpine is part art pop, part trip hop and part electronica. Björk’s voice is very similar to Portishead’s singer Beth Gibbons. The sound of the vocals has a quiet and comforting ambience to it. The production is very good and it definitely had that trip hop quality to it, sonically. While the majority of Vesterpine is a tad too emo for my personal taste, I can see why some fans call it her best album to date. The songs that I liked were Hidden Place, It’s Not Up To You and Heirloom. Lastly, Björk got a lot of attention for the swan dress that she wore to the 2001 Oscars, she is also wearing that dress on the cover of Vesterpine. Anyhow, next album please!! Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!

Day 31 of Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and I’ve hit a major milestone! I cannot tell you how excited I was to get my first Beatles record! I didn’t grow up with The Beatles, the iconic Fab Four had been broken up for over a decade before I was even born. Sure, as a kid, I heard The Beatles on TV, radio, movies and even some commercials, they were just never my cup of tea. That remained the case until I got into my twenties... I can’t really explain how, I just suddenly started listening to their music on my own one day, and fell in love. The things about these guys that I had always thought was strange and off-putting when I was a kid quickly became the same things that I admired and enjoyed the most. With The Beatles, today’s album, is the second release from The Beatles, released in 1963, and the first to be released in North America. With The Beatles has the guys playing it safe, smartly, with Motown covers and simple, upbeat love diddly’s. The first unwritten rule in music is to get the girls to like it first, the guys will follow. Even though super innovative and experimental albums like Sgt. Pepper’s and Yellow Submarine seemed light years away musically, those would come only a couple of short years later. Even when The Beatles music would become more complex and psychedelic, their roots always remained closely tied to R&B and Rock n Roll. You would have to press really hard to find a songwriting duo that even comes close to being as prolific as Lennon & McCartney. The lyrics are simple, yet very effective. The singing is crystal clear, and dares you not to sing along. These guys made masterful music making seem so simple, and still, nearly 60 years later, there’s no other act that can touch them. I also really enjoy watching old interviews, these guys were really fucking witty and funny. Now on to the songs.. Nearly half of the track listing for With The Beatles is cover songs. If the entire album was all covers it would still be a smash. The kids from Liverpool take songs like Please Mr. Postman, You Really Got a Hold on Me, Money and Roll Over Beethoven to new heights. If you don’t like these songs, you won’t appreciate The Beatles, these are artists that inspired Beatlemania! This isn’t an album that uses tried and true classics as a crutch, though. The best songs on With The Beatles are originals. Til There Was You is one of my favorite all time Beatles songs. It’s very sweet, melodic and sentimental. All My Loving is nearly the perfect song, period. Hold Me Tight, I Wanna Be Your Man, All I’ve Got To Do, Don’t Bother Me, all really good and iconic songs. This is only one album, It’s amazing that The Beatles only lasted ten years when you look at their monstrous catalogue. There will never be another group that will impact the worlds musical culture as much as The Beatles. The coolest part about it all is that they always paid respect and honored those that paved the way for them. I absolutely cannot wait for more albums from The Fab Four! Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!

Day 32 of Albums You Must Hear.. Today’s album is a very interesting one. Ananda Shankar was an Indian musician that fused Indian music with rock and electronic music. This self titled album is an instrumental piece, and you all know how I feel about full instrumental albums, however, I really enjoy the sitar and Mook synthesizer. Ananda Shankar has a really cool cover of The Door’s Light My Fire as well as The Rolling Stones Jumping Jack Flash. The song Metamorphosis really shines a light on the sitar skills of Shankar. This is a pretty dope record, not one I would personally consider a “must hear”, but nonetheless, it’s pretty cool and relaxing. I totally wouldn’t mind sipping on a mojito with my toes in the sands of Palolem Beach while listening to some Ananda Shankar. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!

Day 33 of Album You Must Hear... Today, a lot of the younger generation see Wu-Tang Clan as a brand and mostly recognize the big golden W more than they would the artists or music they created from 1993 on. When I first heard Protect Ya Neck when I was a kid, I was intrigued with the mysterious group of NY MC’s. They were so different from anything else at the time. How many members were there? Are they some kind of Kung-Fu masters? Without the internet, all of us kids would speculate endlessly about the Wu-Tang Clan. Some kids would claim that the clan consisted of thousands of members, some would even try to convince others that they were members of this secret society. With Mortal Kombat, the explicit, bloody martial arts arcade game exploding around the same time as Wu-Tang Clan’s debut, it was perfect timing for the group that took heavy influence from Kung-Fu B movies of the Seventies just as much as they did street life. With the direction of the The Scientist, RZA (Prince Rakeem), Wu-Tang went viral before there was viral. Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) would soon be in every hip-hop head’s collection. In an unorthodox deal at the time, the collective were signed to Loud Records, while individually, the members were allowed to pursue solo deals with other labels. While RZA was the first to follow up 36 Chambers with his project group, Gravediggaz, Method Man was the first to release a solo album, Tical, in 1994. While RZA was the producer and quarterback of the Wu, Method Man was the star of the group in the early years. As the youngest of the clan, he even had a self titled song on 36 Chambers that was a huge single. On Tical, Method Man would keep the momentum going with his slick bars and cooler than cool style. On the opening track, Tical, you’re instantly greeted with the familiar production of RZA, with Kung-Fu movie samples, the sounds of Shaolin swords and eerie underground strings. Bring the Pain is a faster paced bravado song where Method Man flexes for any other rapper that wants the ruckus. All I Need is the first song from any of the Wu-Tang Clan collective to approach the topic of love. It’s sentimental nature paid of ten-fold, especially when Mary J. Blige would feature on the remix with the sweet sample of Marvin Gaye’s You’re All I Need To Get By, and won the duo a Grammy Award. (Heads up, this version isn’t on the original LP). Meth Vs. Chef is a great show-and-tell of two great wordsmiths, Method Man and Raekwon. Release Yo Delf, my favorite song from Tical, is upbeat, has triumphant horns blaring that have me feeling like I’m about to go into battle, and has an interpolation of the 1978 song I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor. Method Man also channels his inner Ol’ Dirty Bastard towards the end of the song. Method Man (Remix) closes out Tical with great fashion, with his ability to harmonize and rap at the same time. In my opinion, there are a couple of filler tracks on Tical that don’t exactly match the quality of others, but it doesn’t keep this from being a definite Must Hear, especially for any Hip-Hop fan of any age. Method Man had a very unique style. In between bars, instead of just taking a breath, he would suck air through his teeth and cheeks in a audible way that was almost like an ad lib. In the music videos, he wears sharp fanged gold fronts, an all white contact in his left eye, wrapped philly blunts tucked into his visor, and his trademark black gloves. As dark as the themes usually were, Method Man was also known to dance a bit while performing. In closing, I recently complimented a young lady on her dope Wu-Tang Clan mask and matching shirt. When I jokingly asked if she could name any of the members, or even a song, she couldn’t. Not even one. So, this one is for all my 80’s and 90’s babies out there! Either way, WU-TANG IS FOREVER! Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!

Day 34 of Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 1973, Pink Floyd released their eighth studio album, The Dark Side of the Moon, an album that would put Pink Floyd over the top musically, and would become their most successful album in their long and storied careers. Dark Side is a concept album that takes the listener from their first breath of life, to their last. Topics covered include, but aren’t limited to, greed, mental illness, time, and fame. When I reviewed Pink Floyd’s debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, I complained about the instrumentation going on for far too long on much of the album. Pink Floyd mostly ditched this idea on Dark Side, and more often got to the point of the story, much to my satisfaction. On vinyl, the track listing of ten songs is split into side A and side B. The five songs on side A blend together seamlessly, almost into one song. The same goes for side B. David Gilmour’s vocals are very pleasing on Dark Side and I didn’t learn until just now that he replaced original frontman, Syd Barrett amid issues with Barrett’s alleged mental illness. Now I know why their debut album seemed less familiar to me. The song Breathe (In the air) starts slow and inconspicuous, then builds into a frenzy that cued me up for a wild ride. On the Run, one of my favorites, is melodic and urgent. Time, my favorite song, is funky and has tempo changes that hit right in the feels. The Great Gig in the Sky shines bright with the vocal power of Clare Torry, and almost sounds like a funeral procession. Money is a bass driven rock song that is all about greed. Funnily enough, after this album, the band would become very rich. Us and Them is one of the most dynamic pieces on this record, especially due to its falls and builds and jazz roots. It’s spooky and comforting at the same time, like much of the album. Brain Damage and Eclipse are the final nails in the coffin and even though this album is just under 45 minutes, it feels like a lifetime has passed since Speak to Me, the opening track, began. The album closes with a weakening and fading heartbeat. Chills. Now THIS is how you make a concept album! I didn’t want to skip any songs on this album, it was a great journey that was executed precisely. This is an album you MUST hear if you’re passionate about music of any genre. The Dark Side of the Rainbow: When I was a kid, long before I had heard much of Dark Side of the Moon, I had heard the rumors that you could sync this album up with The Wizard of Oz, and it would play perfectly along and match up with the scenes of the film. I always thought that was cool, so I tried it. I rolled a nice joint and cued this up as soon as the MGM lion began to roar. My mind was blown! The two match up so well that it seems it just HAD to be intentional. The band denies this, but you have to give it a try sometime, if you haven’t already that is. I love this album and it’s re-playability value. You will find many things on your second or tenth listen that you probably missed before, and I’m all for it!! Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions on Dark Side of the Moon!!

Day 35 of Albums You Must Hear.. Today’s albums is Songs of Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen, released in 1967. Leonard wrote the song Hallelujah, covered by more than 300 artists and is one of the most beautiful songs ever written, however, that song is not on this album. I don’t recognize any of the songs on this offering and I honestly found this to be a pretty boring and dull record. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!

Day 36 of Albums You Must Hear.. At Budokan (Live) is the album that put Cheap Trick on the international map, having gained early popularity in Japan, the Rockford, Illionois band that had been playing and recording since 1973 made this live album in 1978. When copies of this record that was meant to be exclusive to the Japanese market made their way to the US, Epic Records was forced to release an American version in 1979, and would go on to be Cheap Trick’s most successful album. I Want You to Want Me is probably the most recognizable song to the average listener and is dripping with sex and desire. Surrender has been one of my favorites from Cheap Trick ever since it was featured in a film I saw once about the Son of Sam serial killer of the 70’s. Ain’t That a Shame, a cover of the great Fats Domino song from 1956 is my officially my favorite song. The closing track, Clock Strikes Ten, is a great song that anyone can rock out to! Hearing the fans go ape shit on every song made listening to this record even more exciting! Cheap Trick rode a wave that was departing the Disco era, when most bands were transitioning to Soft Rock. These guys turned up the heat and brought some heaviness back to Rock music. This was a great listen and an album you must hear before you die. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!

Day 37 of Albums You Must Hear... Meat Loaf has been one of music’s most unique artists for fifty years. He would record with Motown Records early in his career, he performed on Broadway in Hair and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (as well as the film). When Mr. Loaf decided to leave theater and pursue music full time, he had a hard time finding a record label that believed in him, he was just such a different character. Long story short, Bat Out of Hell was released in 1977, and would go on to sell 43 million copies globally, and break a few records along the way. Meat Loaf’s theater experience is what makes this album shine, it’s essentially a musical on wax. The vocals, the backing vocals, and genius arrangements are executed to perfection. Also, Bat Out of Hell has some of the best blues piano playing you can ask for!! Paradise By the Dashboard Light is a funky song that probably showcases the albums potential to its fullest. Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad is a great ballad that I’ve heard on the radio my whole life and it’s still good. You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night) has some of those old Motown roots that I love. Bat Out of Hell, the song, is a nearly ten minute all out rock epic adventure. You can totally see the influence this music had on Jack Black. All Revved Up with No Place to Go breaks out the horns and has that Saturday night feeling that lots of music in the late 70’s wanted to capture. Bat Out of Hell II came out in the early 90’s and the cutest girl in my school loved Meat Loaf, so I obviously paid a little attention. I have to be honest, I thought this music was a little weird back then. Meat Loaf has grown on me over the years and he deserves all the recognition he gets and then some. He’s a great singer, actor and creator. I absolutely loved him in the film Fight Club. This album is legendary and I had fun listening to it! Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!

Day 37 of Albums You Must Hear.. More Songs About Buildings and Food is the second album from New Wave band Talking Heads. I reviewed their debut album ‘77 about a month ago and enjoyed it. Talking Heads sophomore offering finds the band with a new producer, Brian Eno, who would help the band add a bit more danceability to their already polished sound, resulting in Talking Heads coming more into their own style that would become more and more “uniquely them” for the next few years. On MSABAF, singer David Byrne would broaden his singing a bit more, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz would bring even more of a pulse to the rhythm section and Jerry Harrison would continue to create funky synthesizer and guitar effects. The cover of Al Green’s Take Me to the River was a smash hit for the band and is an absolute gem! I’m Not in Love is another great track that can easily get stuck in your head all day. I had fun with Talking Heads More Songs About Buildings and Food and their unique approach to punk rock. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!

Day 38 of Albums You Must Hear!! When I was a kid, I loved Lemonheads. Not the band, the candy. I would buy them almost every day, I loved the sour centers! This assessment isn’t about candy, however, it’s about a band from the 90’s that were also called Lemonheads. I wasn’t familiar with this band before now, or their album released in 1992, titled It’s a Shame About Ray. From the very first song, Rockin Stroll, I instantly knew I would like this band. Evan Dondo, band creator and singer, has a great voice that does a fantastic job of staying in its own lane, without trying to wow the listener.. The melodies throughout this album are great! Lemonheads remind me of other bands of the 90’s that had more commercial success, and while I don’t know the story behind this band, it seems Lemonheads had a shit ton of unfulfilled potential. Title song, It’s a Shame About Ray, is very catchy and a well executed diddy. Kitchen is a song that could’ve been the show tune of a great 90’s sitcom, and I mean that as a compliment. (I also love the bongos on this song). The biggest song for Lemonheads was their cover Simon & Garfunkel’s Mrs. Robinson. I actually remember hearing this version back in the day and loved it then and still love it now! (It was featured in Wayne’s World 2 and later on, in The Wolf of Wall Street). To be honest, I actually prefer the Lemonheads version to S&G’s, the rock drums and electric guitar riffs give it so much life, almost surfer music-ish. Shaky Ground is a very personal song that I suspect is about drug use, maybe something else? I’m really glad I got to experience this album, it is a definite 100% must hear! If you’re a fan of The Lemonheads, please tell me which album to listen to next from them, I plan on hearing more from them! Please share your thoughts, memories, and opinions!!

Day 39 of Albums You Must Hear Before You Die! It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n roll, that is, unless you’re AC/DC. The Young brothers, Malcom and Angus had a vision in the early Seventies to bring straight forward, hard edged, and unapologetic Rock ‘n Roll bangers to the masses. AC/DC was a hard working band that had no problem grinding it out on the road, and their hard work would pay off in a huge way. Although the years ahead would bring tragedy and line-up changes, they would deliver time and time again. From 1974-1980, with Bon Scott as the lead singer and charismatic frontman, AC/DC would turn every record they touched into something better than gold, they turned them all into platinum. T.N.T., High Voltage, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, and Let There Be Rock, would all be released in that time and any band in the world would be able to comfortably say that their musical careers had been a success and ride off into the sunset. When AC/DC prepared to record their sixth album, Highway to Hell, they parted from long time producers Harry Vanda and brother George Young, and ushered in Mutt Lange, who would help steer the band into a whole new stratosphere of rock. Highway to Hell would become their highest selling album up to that point and go on to be known as one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time. Singer Bon Scott would live out all of the excesses of a Rock God in his public and personal life, respectively. When he passed away unexpectedly in early 1980, his absence left an obvious gaping hole in the band. It seemed that AC/DC’s residency at the top of their game had come to an abrupt end. AC/DC isn’t the kind of band that rolls over and dies. When Bon Scott’s mother gave her blessing to continue on without her son, they soon recruited Brian Johnson to join the group. Bon Scott had seen Johnson perform before his death and highly recommended that the guys check him out sometime. Wanting to give tribute to their fallen band mate gave AC/DC the fuel to create their next album, and they did so in record time. In July 1980, only six months after Scott’s death, AC/DC would release Back in Black, once again collaborating with producer Mutt Lange. Back in Black was meant to have a totally black cover in memory of Scott, something that their label was very against, so they compromised and released the record with a mostly all black cover with just the title in grey. Due to the circumstances, most people would expect the band to take a more somber approach to the album. Hell no, AC/DC paid their respects by bringing the same frenzied energy to Back in Black that they were known to always have. Brian Johnson was the perfect frontman to step in on vocals. He didn’t try to replace Scott or mimic him at all. The opening track, Hell’s Bells starts off with the ominous ringing of a massive bell, setting the tone for Back in Black’s dark, yet pumped up approach. Their are no taboo topics on this rebirth. Death, Hell, drinking, partying, sex, it’s all there. When the most famous guitar riff of all time kicks in on the albums title song, Back in Black, I still feel the hairs on my neck rise. On You Shook Me All Night Long, you can feel the drums hit you in the chest as if you’re on the stage with the band. This is one of the cleanest recorded albums of all time, and it really shines because of its rough and rugged content. Have a Drink On Me and Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution are songs that you will still hear played on neighborhood bar jukeboxes around the world to this day. My personal favorite song on Back In Black is Let Me Put My Love Into You, it never loses its shine or sex appeal 40 years later. AC/DC had the perfect balance of Blues infused hard rock and work ethic that made them accessible to anyone that’s not a Bible thumping prude that can’t separate music entertainment from reality. My first memories of AC/DC come from my Uncle Mike. He always played their records at maximum volume that would vibrate the Angus Young plastered posters taped to his bedroom walls, and I thank him for that. (I can still picture Angus Young in his school boy outfit, with horns poking out from his hat, he’s my favorite). Back In Black is still the second highest selling album in the world. Let that sink in. There is no other band before AC/DC or to follow, that can overcome the loss of their frontman at the peak of their career, and go on to not only recover, but soar even higher than before. I’ll leave you with one last fact that I find to be especially impressive. While most albums have many, many songs recorded before selecting the final tracks that will go on the record, and leaving the rest on the cutting room floor, AC/DC recorded only 10 songs, all of which made it to the final cut. Then sold over 50 million copies of Back in Black... Mind blowing. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!

Day 40 of Albums You Must Hear Before You Die!! Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. In the last week or so, I’ve been able to discuss so many iconic artists in music. Some I know more about than others before hearing their records, but the ones that really leave a lasting impression on the culture are the ones that follow their own intuition, the ones that fight to take their deserved spot at the top of the hill, and the ones that are self made and aren’t willing to negotiate one single bit when it comes to their vision. Jimi Hendrix paid his dues by making other amazing artists sound even better. Before he was Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy James played for legendary acts such as, The Isley Brothers, Ike and Tina, Sam Cooke and Little Richard. His flashy and flamboyant ways would sometimes infuriate the stars of these acts (Little Richard), and it became more and more evident that Jimmy James was meant to become Jimi Hendrix and blaze his own trail, like a shooting comet in the sky. Jimi Hendrix is as pure of a blues guitarist as you can get. He made a reputation for himself by playing his Stratocaster electric guitar unlike anyone else, as if he was possessed by his instrument and was just a mere medium used to convey messages from another realm. Before Hendrix, amplifier feedback, fuzz and distortion was unwanted and frowned upon, he would however, use these sounds to convey even more emotion into his instrumentation. He also played his guitar upside down (he was left handed), he would play with his teeth and behind his back. When Jimi would go off on a long solo, he would close his eyes and seem to drift away into the music. This may be because he couldn’t read music, and instead of identifying musical notes on a sheet of paper, he saw the notes as colors in his head. I love that. Electric Ladyland would be Hendrix’s final album before his premature death in 1970. It’s a double LP and would be his most successful album of his very short career, and would reach the number one spot. Have You Ever Been To Electric Ladyland is an R&B introduction into his final experience. Crosstown traffic is one of my favorites on this album, with its upbeat tempo and unique riff. There are two completely different versions of Voodoo Chile, the second of which is much more known and a little bit better, but they are both great. Long Hot Summer Night is smooth and cooler than a polar bears toenails. House Burning Down is a great example of Jimi’s guitar being its own member of the band, it’s as if the instrument is singing its own lyrics. All Along the Watchtower is probably the most well known of all tracks on the record, and is another example of a Bob Dylan song being made better by someone else. Watchtower is one of the most iconic 60’s songs ever, and if there is a film or show about the war in Vietnam, you can bet your ass that this song is in there somewhere. Now, to be honest and fair, I do feel that this album is a little bloated in places and there a few songs that I didn’t particularly fall in love with. With that said, this is a must hear for sure, and a classic without doubt. I have to admit, I did not go into this album knowing a ton about Jimi Hendrix or his life. I found for myself a deeper appreciation for him, because he made his own way, and had fate not intervened, the possibilities of his potential were endless. I’m sure there were no shortage of people who attempted to discourage his desire of being his own man and fronting his own band. Some of the best artists to ever create, spend their lives being the back up to another person’s act, and live out their lives relatively unknown. If that’s what they want, that’s totally okay, but I tip my hat to those that break the chains that bound their creativity and forge their own path. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!

Day 41 of Albums You Must Hear.. Each day I receive a random album from the 1001 must hear collection, and so far it been pretty fun. One of the cool things about the randomness is that I could be having a conversation about an artist and the very next day receive an album from them. I am far from a music expert, and these assessments are merely my response to hearing albums that are, although very different at times, all held in high regard. Yesterday, I spoke about Jimi Hendrix covering a Bob Dylan song and stated it as ‘yet another Dylan song made better by another artist’. While I still stand behind the gist of that statement, in all fairness, I know very little about Bob Dylan, aside from the very basics. Yes, I know that Dylan is considered one of the greatest American songwriters of all time. I recognize pictures of Dylan with his wild, wavy hair, harmonica, and Wayfarers. I know that he was mainly considered a Folk music artists and when he switched from acoustic music to adding in electric guitar, his fans were pissed. Lastly, I know that when He and The Beatles met in the 60’s that something clicked in music forever. Dylan showed up with a nicely rolled marijuana cigarette to share with The Fab Four as he had mistakenly confused the lyrics from I Want To Hold Your Hand as “I Get High”. (The lyric was actually “I Can’t Hide”) Dylan is the second most covered artist of all time, so it’s no surprise that he has been monumentally influential on music culture for the greater part of a century. In 1965, Dylan released Bringing It All Back Home. Side one has Dylan backed by an electric band, while side two has him with his well familiar acoustic guitar. I was warmed up by the electric blues guitar on the hip rock opener Subterranean Homesick Blues, a fantastic song. She Belongs to Me is beautifully written and familiar. On the Road Again is cool and harmonica driven, which I’m a sucker for. The final track of the electric side, Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream is satirical and witty, and has a false start outtake that has a young Dylan giggling and is endearing. I’m glad they kept that part in, as it humanizes the poet. Side two, the acoustic side, starts off with Mr. Tambourine man, one of Dylan’s best and well known compositions. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) is the deepest and maybe most personal song on the album, and because of that, it’s one of my favorites. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue, the final song Bringing It All Back Home is a simple, yet powerful ballad with only a harmonica, acoustic and bass guitar. It’s been covered many, many times. This album was never, ever on my radar before yesterday, and thanks to this project, I now understand why it’s so important and I agree that it’s a must hear, without doubt. I have a new appreciation for Bob Dylan now, and that’s one of the greatest aspects of absorbing the records each day. Please share your thoughts, memories, and opinions!!

Day 43 of Albums You Must Hear brings the 1970 album American Beauty from Grateful Dead. I know a lot of “Dead Heads” and I’m familiar with how much of an impact The Dead have had on musical culture worldwide. I don’t, however, know a whole lot about this band and their music. When I was younger, I wrote this band off as ‘Hippie music’, whatever I really thought that meant. Listening to American Beauty was a treat. It doesn’t get too rowdy or excitable, it’s more or less what we could call “chill music” or “good vibes”. On American Beauty, Grateful Dead use a mix of rock, bluegrass and country, to my surprise. My favorite songs on American Beauty are Friend Of The Devil, Ripple, Truckin’ and Box of Rain. The version of American Beauty I found was the 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, with 23 bonus live songs, which, for time purposes I’ll have to save for another time. Grateful Dead was one of those rare bands that actually welcomed the recording of the audio of their live shows by fans, even allowing some folks to connect right into the soundboard. There are a lot of really high quality tape recordings out their of this band. This tactic really helped the band to grow their fan base over the years. I agree that this album is a must hear, and I look forward to more music from The Dead.

Day 44 of AlbuMs You Must Hear. Before the genre trip-hop existed in 1991, English electronic music Massive Attack released their debut album, Blue Lines. This is a really chill record with lots of sampling, breakbeats and scratching. There is some singing and some rapping on Blue Lines but the true star of this show is the production. Check out the cool William DeVaughn sample of A Cadillac Don’t Come Easy on Be Thankful For What You Got. I really enjoyed Blue Lines by Massive Attack. Please share your thoughts, opinions and memories!!