1001 Albums Summary

Psycho Killer was the first song I had listened to by the Talking Heads. A stone cold classic introduction. Fear of Music was the first album I had listened to and was/is the album I compare all other Talking Heads records to (and David Byrne’s solo albums). This was my favourite album of theirs for years and I listened to it all the time! It’s playful, experimental and I can hear its influence on just about every post-post-post punk album. What’s immediately striking and tantalizing is David Byrne’s lyrics and vocals and quirkiness. And the whole band is in good form - they were one of the most funky, fun, unique of all the punk/post punk/new wave bands. And to top it off, Brian Eno produces! (I’m a huge fan of 70’s era Eno and love hearing his audio prowess all over this!) Revisiting this album, I still love it - I enjoy its quirkiness and simplicity; I relish in it’s surprisingly dark and ominous sounds. It’s an album of its time but it gloriously captures that time to perfection and makes me wish I was there, at CBGB’s, watching, dancing to and singing songs by a band called Talking Heads!! Every track is a little gem. My Favourite Songs? (I pretty much love them all!): Cities Life During Wartimes Heaven Animals Drugs

Johnny Cash is the ultimate OUTLAW badass. I'm not a huge Country music fan, and though he recorded primarily as a Country music artist, Johnny's passion and charisma was always pure Rock N Roll. This is why he remains my favourite 'Country' star. (I absolutely adore his American Recording albums with Rick Rubin in the late 1990's/early 2000's but that's another story!). I remember listening to A Boy Named Sue in early elementary school on a '45 (the song playing over sides 1 and 2). Listening to it as an adult, I'm blown away that my baby ears heard such a 'killer' song. At San Quentin captures Johnny Cash and band in peak form in front an enraptured audience. Johnny's distinct deep voice is in mighty form and his banter is casual and funny, never condensing, always inviting and charming. I laugh every time I hear some of the ‘foul language’ bleeped out! The band is tight and supportive. Johnny's shout to Luther, who had died not long before recording, is pure class. I believe that A Boy Named Sue was a last minute surprise and the band was playing off music charts! What a rebel! Admittedly, outside of the American Recording records, I don't often listen to early Johnny Cash 'albums', except for 2 of his live ones (this and Folsom). The Legacy version of At San Quentin adds over an hour of material and really is the best way to listen to the whole concert! Not a concert that "I wish I was there" but one I'm happy to listen to in the comforts in my own home. A pleasure from start to finish. My Favourite Songs? (mostly his hits, but that's why they're hits!): I Walk the Line Folsom Prison Blues Jackson A Boy Named Sue San Quentin

Neil Young is one of my favourite artists. Not everything he’s made over the years is gold, but Neil in the 70s is truly special. After the Goldrush, Harvest and the ‘Ditch Triology’ are some of my favourite albums ever. Rust Never Sleeps takes Neil out of the 70’s on an incredibly high note. What I love most about Neil and what I think makes him a truly remarkable artist is that when he’s firing on all cylinders, he gives you everything - he lays it all out for you to see - the emotions, the truths, and the contradictions of life. Rust Never Sleeps is firing on all cylinders. The album sees Neil staring down the end of the decade - reflecting on the past, cautious of the future - and writing and playing some of his most raw and honest material. One side acoustic, one side electric. This duality would come to define and redefine him as Neil would repeat this patten over the rest of his career, alternating albums of pastoral beauties with grungy, noisy bastards. As of late (and debatable), the misses happen more than the hits but Rust Never Sleeps hits and it hits hard - giving us the clearest pictures of who Neil was / is. The album deliberately pulls from different styles and brilliantly captures his distinct sides - his wounded, sentimental heart yearning and pleading AND his raging, ragged self living, fighting through words and noise. As with all his masterworks, there is a bleak, relatable sadness and world weariness but also an overwhelming desire to keep going on, searching for the things that matter the most. Rust Never Sleeps is an elegiac epitaph to the 70’s and for me remains one of the best records of any decade. My Favourite Songs?: My My Hey Hey (out of the blue) Thrasher Pocahontas Powderfinger Hey Hey My My (into the black)

Once considered one of the greatest bands of the 80’s and 90’s, it seems as of late that U2 is now considered a band that has overstayed its welcome. Admittedly, I haven’t really listened to nor sought out any ‘new’ U2 (especially from the 2010’s or 2020’s) but I can honestly say that Achtung Baby is my favourite U2 album (and definitely one of my favourites of all time). For context, I was a latecomer to the U2 phenomenon. At their peak, I had only heard and enjoyed a few of their songs and the first album I had listened to was (the underrated?) Zooropa. Zooropa was beloved by my then girlfriend and I liked it well enough to seek out more in their back catalogue. I found that Achtung Baby had been their previous release, didn’t recall any songs from the album, so I started there. My mind was blown! I was not prepared by their fierce, dense sound and their unrelenting, pulsating energy. It felt so fresh and modern. I remember thinking to myself that I had never heard anything like it before. And I loved it! Listening to it again (and it’s been awhile) I’m reminded of the first time I heard it - every new song seems to be even better than the last song, and every other song seems destined to be one of the best songs of all time. I can admit it’s definitely an album of the 90’s, but that sound is still thrilling and charming. Interestingly enough, my recent listen reminds me of The Beatles’ Revolver album - where a band enjoyed experimenting with all kinds of new-to-them sounds, exhilarated by the freedom to - deliberately - defy expectations. Achtung Baby pushed and pulled their ‘U2 sound’ and the results are delightfully dizzying. It’s a fun listen because the band seems to be having the best time while effortlessly reaching new career heights! Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry are at the peaks of their creative powers, constantly taking unexpected and exciting turns (no doubt in large part to the encouragement of an electric trio of producers - Steve Lillywhite, Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno!). It’s a long album (a product of the age of the CD?) but every song is irresistibly memorable. As much as I still love this album, and I do, there is a slight sadness that hangs over it. As U2 leapt into the 1990’s with such ferocity and eagerness, in hindsight, it’s a shame that every album since has never come close to capturing this lightning in a bottle effort again. They’ve made good and enjoyable albums but Achtung Baby remains their best work. I would love to see U2 prove me wrong and pull off another masterpiece. My Favourite Songs? (I do love them all but here are 5 I really really love): Even Better Than the Real Thing Until the End of the World So Cruel Mysterious Ways Ultra Violet (Light My Way)