Music albums discussion

Ok, since "favorite artist/band" threads are looking more and more like grocery lists and "the song I'm listening" was way too post-whore friendly, I figured we should give it a try with a thread about music albums.

So, drop a message with the album's name, artist and few words of description. It can be the best album ever by your opinion, an album worth listening, the worst album ever, or just the one you're listening right now... it's all good. You can even drop a top-list of best albums ever or something like that.

Just one rule - try to avoid one-liners, will you? If you take a time to post a response, at least write a word or two about the album you're posting. Just dropping a name won't do anyone any good.

 

The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd (1973)



In my honest opinion, the best album ever recorded.

It was also the beginning of the most productive period of PF's career and the indicator of a new direction in their music - a slow transition from psychedelic singles and symphonic epics towards progressive rock and concept albums.

The music style is just the right combination of psychedelic and progressive rock, with touches of jazz and blues thrown in for good measure (some also call this ‘space rock’). The lyrics are simply brilliant, full of meaning and purpose (this is a concept-album, btw).

The most recognizable song from this album is “Money”, but my favorite is probably the opener, Breathe (with the introduction titled “Speak to Me”). The only weaker songs are electronic-like “Run like hell” and somewhat drawn out “Us And Them”, but they all make sense in the grand picture this album creates.

 

Gogol Bordello: Gypsy Punks
Underdog World Strike

This band was formed by a Ukranian of gypsy descent who was living in New York. It is a really interesting new sound mixing traditional punk with traditional Ukranian music. Really grows on you. With a mix of Ukranian and English language in the lyrics it's really eclectic. I just went to see them at the London Astoria and they were incredible live. Loads of energy and big catapults(slingshots) for some reason.
Check It Out

 

Grime and Grandeur

Worst album recorded by the band Falconer. Falconer made their name by combining folk music with metal music. This album strayed away from the folk aspect and was just about solely metal.


check out a couple of the songs from the album at their home page http://www.falconermusic.com

my opinion on their best album is Chapters from a Vale Forlorn.

 

Dark Side of the Moon.

GREAT album. Its bold, and is really Pink Floyd in their prime. Its the first album that really began to define Pink Floyd's style.


Billy Joel, Turnstiles

This is my favorite Billy Joel album. Its his New York roots, and his most heartfelt, to me. HIghly recommended.


A new album, from Mr. Robert Zimmerman AKA Bob Dylan. Its relatively recent. Its Bob Dylan: Live at the Gaslight a great album of Old songs he sang when he was first coming up. You can hear him refining stuff. Great album. It captures his raw intensity and youthful energy. Great album. THis is really a worthy part to add to your collection if you are even somewhat interested in Bob Dylan.

 

Dark Side of the Moon is indeed a great album. ^_^

I've never listened to much Billy Joel or Bob Dylan, so I can't give an opinion there, Chuck. *shrugs* I wonder if that makes me uncultured?

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Jar of Flies by Alice in Chains (1994, Grunge/Rock)

This album is mellow, compared to their earlier works, and it isn't exactly lacking on the angst, but it was by far their best album. I can still hear the guitar of that opening song "Rotten Apple"... Eh, I'm bad at analyzing these things. I'll copy the summary from Wikipedia that just about explains my feeling about the album (well, besides "I love this album!"):

Why is it always the good bands that have the lead singers die of Drug overdose? *sigh*

 

I love this album! I actually like lot of Alice's songs, which is strange, seeing how I generally don't like such heavy music. So, this album is pretty much perfect for me (aside from their MTV unplugged concert).

The best songs from this one are "I Stay Away" and "Don't Follow".

I also like almost everything from Dirt, maybe half of "Alice in Chains", while their first album is... meh.

 

See You on the Other Side by Mercury Rev (1995)



This is Rev's most unsuccessful and completely overlooked album (it’s forgotten even by the band itself), but for me, it's absolutely perfect - one of my all-time favorites.

It was recorded just as David Baker, they former noise-oriented guitarist left the group, making this album the perfect bridge between the group’s two distinctive sounds - noise-rock from their first two albums and mellow dream pop they are playing now. And the combination of these two styles is just perfect.

Great combination of catchy pop tunes, mellow high-pitched background instruments (flutes, sax) and strong, distorted riffs (something they are severely lacking nowadays) made this recording just perfect. It may lack another stronger song in its second half, but it is still one of the best Dream Pop/Neo-Psychedelia albums ever IMO.

 

Automatic for the People by REM

It always comes high in the top albums of the last century polls and I agree with it. Most people know the band REM and IMO they are legends. This album is one of the few albums that I have ever owned where, when listening through I'm not tempted to skip a single track. It contains some of REM's greatest singles; nightswimming, The sidewinder sleeps tonight, everybody hurts. A great Album that I think everyone should own.

 

Demon Days by the Gorillaz

Great band, great album. The songs that really stand out are Feel Good Inc., Last Living Souls, White Light, Dirty Harry, Fire Coming Out of a Monkey's Head, and DARE. This is the second album from the Gorillaz.

Gorillaz by the Gorillaz

Awesome album. First of the Gorillaz. The songs that stand out here are Clint Eastwood, Punked, M1A1, 19-2000, and Rock the House. If you ever have the chance and money, get both albums by the Gorillaz.

 

The Voice by Russell Watson

HIs first album, his best album. It makes better use of his voice range and power than his otehr album Reprise. It's mainly operay style music, Watson himself is probably the most skillful tenor alive just now (he can reach from mid bass range to mid soprano and still be in tune and hit al the notes).

Contains pieces like Miserere, Panis Angelicus, Nella Fantasia, Bridge over Troubled Waters and Vienna

 

Chain Gang Of Love By The Raveonettes

Another one of those albums which you can listen to all the way through without getting tired of a single track. Coming from the current New York scene there is a really nice uniqueness to the sound, closest comparison I could think of would be the white stripes. It's a indie/rock sound with some cool lyrics and really catchy. Good songs include: New York was Great, Heartbreak Stroll, Chain gang of Love... All of them actually.

 

The two most recent albums I've bought and liked quite a bit are:

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out by Panic! At the Disco

Almost Here by The Academy Is...

Both catchy pop-punk stuff. Fans of the usual Blink-182, Sum 41, Fall Out Boy, etc... would really like. Panic! sounds a lot like Fall Out Boy at times. It took me a few listens, but they've grown on me and that album's been on heavy rotation for my commute to and from work.

The Academy Is... is a bit more emotive in parts. And a bit more traditional hook-filled rock.

This isn't even one of my four (so far) favorite tracks on the Panic! At the Disco album but it's the free one from their site: The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage

Also, not one of my favorites on the album, but it did make me realize The Academy Is... guys are on the same label. Here's their free one: Checkmarks

And my favorite record of the past year or so is probably still theAudition's Controversy Loves Company. I think all three of these are debut albums for these bands too. You can hear theAudition at myspace or even download a great song called "You've Made Us Conscious" at purevolume. They're a bit more melodic with a touch of hardcore. What you might expect from a new Victory Records band.

 

The Zutons - Who Killed the Zutons? (2004)



One of the best rock albums I've heard in the last couple of years. It's classified as "indie rock", but is actually a strange comination of many genres (60's rock & roll, standard rock, blues, jazz, country...) wrapped up in catchy pop tunes. This band's music reminds me of White Stripes in a way, only without grunge sound and richer production (more different instruments).

Best songs are Pressure Point (2), Havana Gang Brawl (5) and Not A Lot To Do (10).

 

Tommy by The Who.

Tommy is not strictly an album, but rather it is a Rock Opera. However the use of music in absence of lyrics in many occasions to weave the vast majority of the story web is what impresses me the most. The underlying musical themes that carry through the opera in it's entirety make Tommy one of the stronger Who releases.


The Wall by Pink Floyd

My review of Tommy above goes double for this, and the music video is even better. I am equally split between whether this or Dark Side is the better Pink Floyd release. But either way, it's damn good music.

 

The Wall is more structured and ambituous than The Dark Side of the Moon, but it's lacking that distinct PF sound that Gilmore & Wright had developed on their previous 3 albums. This was a consequence of Waters taking over the band and pushing everyone else in the background, so he could complete his masterpiece - a concept album about a crazy rock star. The results are superb, but this was also the end of PF. Shame...

 

True true, however I honestly preferred PF when they were going in the direction Waters wanted to take them in. Gilmore and Wright combined were not even HALF as talented as Waters was.

 

Lyrically? No.

Musically? I'd say they are on about the same level.

But the thing is - Waters doesn't care much about music anymore. With each solo album, he had been removing music more and more, while adding more background noises/lyrics/meaning. In the end, he decided to give up on R&R completely and become 100% poet. So, even if he can make a good tune, he simply doesn't have incination to do so without Gilmore and Wright pushing him to experiment.

Not to mention that his prefered musical taste seemes to be pretty lame grandfatherly straight rock - no cool jazzy rythyms, no blues solos, no psychedelea - nothing that makes PF what it is.

In the end, his music and ideas were cool, but most people still needed better (and larger amount of) music to back it up; which is why his solo career went straight downwards, to a crashing burn and playing 4 old songs live on band aid... meh...

 

His solo career was still better than the crap that Wright and Gilmore did after he left.

 

Eminem's newest album is great. That's my favorite. Let's continue this discussion guys. That's why I bumped it because I didn't want to make a new thread.