Iconic album... one of my all-time favorites. Highly influential to '90s alt rock and grunge, while still retaining a one of a kind sound despite its many imitators. Just about every track has some idiosyncrasy or catchy hook to make it memorable. Doolittle displays a wide variety of styles - including the surf-tinged pop of Here Comes Your Man, the frantic punk of Crackity Jones, and the plodding creepiness of Silver. It packs quite the punch in just 38 minutes.
Highlights:
- Debaser
- Here Comes Your Man
- No 13 Baby
- Hey
- Gouge Away
Lowlights:
- There Goes My Gun
With Lost In The Dream, Adam Granduciel and co. have managed to bring Springsteen-esque heartland rock back in style. The more upbeat tracks sound like the perfect accompaniment to a road trip, while the slower cuts lean towards a more somber and contemplative mood. Some of the atmospheric segments may overstay their welcome, but at the same time add to the overall dreamlike vibes of the record. This isn't complicated music, but it does a great job of capturing a feeling of equal parts nostalgia and hopefulness.
Highlights:
-Under The Pressure
-Red Eyes
-An Ocean Between The Waves
-Eyes To The Wind
Lowlights:
-Suffering
-The Haunting Idle
With virtuosic instrumentation and heavy distortion, Deep Purple In Rock is an essential album in the creation of Heavy Metal. Not quite as streamlined and memorable as their seminal Machine Head a few years later, this record still has a lot to offer, including the epic Child In Time - with its slowly building structure and iconic falsetto vocals propelling the song into legendary status. However, occasionally throughout the album Ian Gillan's vocal stylings can be a bit grating, with his shrieks and howls bordering on excessive. Meanwhile, Ritchie Blackmore's skillful bluesy guitar playing in conjunction with Jon's Lord's heavy organ give the band their distinctive sound. While not the best of their career, this is a solid record that gives a glimpse into what the band would become.
Highlights:
-Speed King
-Child In Time
-Into The Fire
Lowlights:
-Flight of the Rat
-Living Wreck
A career highlight, 1984 shows Van Halen at the top of their game. Tracks like Jump and I'll Wait have the band incorporating the keyboard seamlessly into their sound, while Hot For Teacher's blistering drums and energetic guitar riffs are as impressive as they are catchy. The record tends more towards a mainstream pop sound than their previous efforts, but still retains what made the band great to begin with. While their excellent debut album put them on the map, 1984 cemented Van Halen as one of the finest rock bands of the era.
Highlights:
-Jump
-Panama
-Hot for Teacher
-I'll Wait
Lowlights:
-Top Jimmy
-House of Pain
Forging together elements of the blues, jazz, and classical music, Black Sabbath created one of the finest examples of early heavy metal with 1970's Paranoid. Building off of their pivotal self-titled debut released just 7 months prior, the band brings their songwriting skills to new heights with several all-time classic compositions, including apocalyptic war protest War Pigs and the instantly catchy and anthemic Iron Man. Even the "afterthought" title track purportedly written in 5 minutes became an enduring staple of the heavy metal canon. Vastly underappreciated by music critics of their time, Black Sabbath's influence cannot be overstated. Ozzy Osbourne's eerie vocals, Tony Iommi's dark blues riffs, Bill Ward's masterful drum fills, and Geezer Butler's melodic basslines and imaginative lyrics all come together to make a truly unforgettable record.
Highlights:
-War Pigs/Luke's Wall
-Iron Man
-Electric Funeral
-Hand of Doom
-Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots
Lowlights:
-Planet Caravan
Machine Head is Deep Purple at the pinnacle of their career. More focused than their previous efforts, this album has no weak tracks. Up-tempo hard-rocking opener Highway Star proves itself to be the ultimate driving song, with excellent guitar and organ solos to boot. Not much needs to be said about the iconic Smoke on the Water, as just about anyone who has picked up a guitar in their life knows this song by heart. Even the deeper cuts on the album are all worthwhile, including the 7-minute Lazy - which starts with another impressive organ solo by Jon Lord before transitioning into a fun bluesy rocker. While the lyrics throughout the record can leave something to be desired, it hardly matters when the music is this good. Deep Purple would go on to make more great music after this, but they would never reach these heights again.
Highlights:
-Highway Star
-Smoke on the Water
-Lazy
-Space Truckin'
Ahead of its time and out of this world, Kid A is alien music for the masses. To the surprise of fans and critics alike, Radiohead completely abandoned the sounds of their previous highly acclaimed album OK Computer in favor of experimental electronica and ambient soundscapes. To say that they succeeded in this venture is putting it lightly.
Opener Everything In Its Right Place sets the stage with immediately distinct synthesizer chords in 10/4 time, with off-kilter digitally manipulated vocals setting the mood. The way the song builds in intensity without ever straying too far from where it started is masterful. Everything is indeed in its right place. Similar in its rising structure, The National Anthem starts with a groovy repetitive bassline and slowly descends into free-jazz inspired chaos. Though no singles were released for this album, Optimistic is the closest thing to a radio hit to be heard here with its more conventional structure and catchy chorus. Even still, it retains a subtle otherworldly aura, fitting in with the surrounding tracks. Album highlight Idioteque is a dance track that seemingly only Radiohead could come up with, featuring Thom Yorke's paranoid vocals over a pulsating distorted snare beat. Ambient experiments like the title track and Treefingers give off ethereal vibes while adding to the wide range of genres represented on the record.
All in all, Kid A is an unforgettable experience and one of the great left-tuns in music history. It proves itself to not only be a highly influential record of the 2000's, but one of the most groundbreaking and finely crafted albums of all time.
Highlights:
-Everything In Its Right Place
-The National Anthem
-Optimistic
-Idioteque
-Morning Bell
Lowlights:
-Treefingers
Solid blues infused rock album with some standout tracks, but overall a little on the generic side. I enjoy his work with The Jam a bit more.
Highlights:
-Sunflower
-Wild Wood
-Hung Up
Decent album in the Stones discography and certainly the best of their early material. This record represents a turning point for the band where they put more of a focus on songwriting - taking in influences from a variety of genres - such as psychedelia, country, blues, and middle eastern music. It's worth noting that arguably the best track from the album (Paint It Black) is not featured on the original UK release, but was added later for the US version of the album. Under My Thumb is another song of note featuring a catchy marimba riff and controversial lyrics. Some of the featured songs can be a tad uninspired and get a bit repetitive, including the overlong Going Home, but overall, there is a good amount of worthwhile material here.
Highlights:
Paint It Black (US Version)
Mother's Little Helper
Under My Thumb
Out Of Time
Lowlights:
Doncha Bother Me
Going Home
It's Not Easy
What To Do
Quite a wacky album and a scathing satire of hippie culture and psychedelic music of the '60s... but who would expect anything less from Frank Zappa? I tend to prefer his jazz fusion records, but this one is a fun listen as well.
Highlights:
-Who Needs The Peace Corps?
-What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body?
-Let's Make The Water Turn Black
Lowlights:
-Nasal Retentive Calliope Music
-The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny
A great straightforward garage punk record.
Highlights:
-Hate To Say I Told You So
-Main Offender
-Die, All Right!
Never been the biggest fan of the Byrds, but I have to admit that Eight Miles High is a great track. Harmonies are on point and I can definitely see how this record was influential to the psychedelic rock genre. Though I very much prefer David Crosby's later work in Crosby, Stills, & Nash.
Highlights:
-Mr. Spaceman
-Eight Miles High
Lowlights:
-Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go)
-2-4-2 Fox Trot (The Lear Jet Song)
One of Neil Young's better records in a long and impressive career. The first half focuses on acoustic cuts, while the second half turns up the distortion for a heavier rocking sound (which would end up inspiring grunge bands in the '90s). This album also includes one of Young's finest songs - Powderfinger.
Highlights:
-My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)
-Powderfinger
-Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)
Lowlights:
-Sedan Delivery
More of a middling album in Bowie's career, Aladdin Sane has some decent rocking tracks but overall isn't as cohesive as some of his other records. Wedged between his early masterpiece Ziggy Stardust and his more experimental phase of the late '70s, this album doesn't do quite enough to stand out. Though the music here is predominantly glam rock, there is still a decent variety of genres and styles featured across these 10 tracks to keep things from getting too stale. Also, it is worth mentioning that the iconic artwork of this record has become a defining image of David Bowie that has stood the test of time. Overall, this album is not his finest work, but even an average Bowie album is better than most other artists best.
Highlights:
-Aladdin Sane
-Drive-In Saturday
-The Jean Genie
Lowlights:
-Let's Spend the Night Together
One of the great underrated albums of the '70s, No Other is Gene Clark's definitive statement as an artist. Melding together the sounds of country, gospel, rock, blues, and folk music, this is a truly unique and influential record that was ahead of its time. Despite its eclecticism, all the music here sounds cohesive and lends itself to repeated listens. While he had far more commercial success with the Byrds than his solo career, Gene Clark proved with No Other that he was truly an innovator.
Highlights:
-No Other
-Strength of Strings
-Some Misunderstanding
