"#1 Record/Radio City" - Big Star

This is a twofer (two albums on one CD) and one of my most prized possessions since I bought it in Florida close to twenty years ago. I can thank the magazine Entertainment Weekly for making me aware of this compilation. Back during the mid-90s my brother would buy this magazine religiously. They had an article "100 Best CDs" (yes, I still have it, the November 5th 1993 issue) and in it there was a section entitled "10 ways to double your pleasure" which listed  #1 Record/Radio City by some band called Big Star as the #3 choice, saying simply "two critically revered faves by Alex Chilton's cult '70s band". I was intrigued by it and would pick it up while on March break in Florida with my family. I fell in love with it immediately and have been listening to it religiously ever since. Big Star is the very definition of a cult group. Neither of these albums were hits when they came out (not even remotely close) and the albums produced no hit singles. And yet these two albums are among the two most influential albums to be released during the 1970s, influencing other bands such as R.E.M., The Replacements and many, many more. Though as a side note, the band is really best known for writing the song "In The Street" (off of #1 Record) which became the theme song for That '70s Show in a cover version by Cheap Trick.

Although both albums were recorded in Memphis, where all bandmembers hailed from and it was distributed by Stax Records, this is not a typically Memphis album. Rather it has a lot more common with 60s Rock groups such as The Beatles, The Byrds and others. The sound that Big Star achieved would later be termed 'Power Pop'. Listen to such chiming gems as "September Gurls" or "Back Of A Car" (both from Radio City) and you'll see where the term came from. Those songs are two of the greatest tracks on the album, but highlights are many and varied. The closer on Radio City is the simple and sparse heartbreaker "I'm In Love With A Girl" which deals with all of the confused emotions that adolescents go through. There is an innocence, even a childish innocence present in many of these songs, a good example being "The Ballad Of El Goodo" with its admonition "ain't no one going to turn me around". That's not to say all songs are alike, the biting "You Get What You Deserve" has a very biting tone, as evidenced by its title.

If you like deceptively simple Rock or are curious about what the fuss about Big Star is about, I really can't recommend this compilation enough.

Double your Big Star

"Blood On The Tracks" - Bob Dylan

I think I would rate Blood On The Tracks as my favourite Bob Dylan album. I'm a huge Dylan fan, so it is not an easy choice. Highway 61 Revisited and John Wesley Harding are right up there. But I would give Blood On The Tracks the edge. It is one of his most emotional albums and is consistently strong.

The album opens with one of Dylan's most perfect compositions, "Tangle Up In Blue". Much has been made about how the songs on this album were influenced by his divorce to his wife, and indeed it does seem to be one of Dylan's most personal and intimate albums. The final three songs on the album are all emotional stunners and are instantly memorable. "If You See Her, Say Hello"deals with a painful separation and a desire to see his former love again, whom he has never forgotten. "Shelter From The Storm" is one of the most subdued but uplifting songs on the album, while the sparse closing track ("Buckets Of Rain") is the most quietly lonely track and a stunning closer. The longest and densest track is the inscrutable tale "Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts" which takes many readings of the lyrics to get the story! The next longest song is one of the most well-known songs on the album, the spiteful "Idiot Wind," featuring lines such as "You’re an idiot, babe, it’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe".

 Blood On The Tracks is a fairly dense album, and one that only improves upon repeated listenings. Be sure to give it a listen sometime.

"Two Steps From The Blues" - Bobby Bland

Two Steps From The Blues is a very influential album and has been a real favourite of mine ever since I bought it at the HMV annex in downtown Montreal during my first year of university in 1998. Having read about the album in some of my favourite books beforehand (i.e. Greil Marcus' Mystery Train and Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music) I had built up lofty expectations for this album. Thankfully I was not let down.

The title track is a stunner and as with the rest of the album, is a marvelous synthesis of down home Blues and smoother Soul. It is the album opener and makes a perfect introduction to a truly epochal album. Possibly the most famous song on the album is the hard-hitting "I Pity The Fool" (yes, I believe that's where Mr. T got it from), a song where Bobby Bland simply can't fathom that someone else was fool enough to fall in love with his used to be. This song has been covered many times, Ann Peebles does a great version.

The two deepest songs on the album are the ethereal and haunting "I'll Take Care Of You" and "Lead Me On".  The latter is the highlight of the album for me.... The song is barely over 2 minutes but is one of the deepest songs I've ever heard. It opens with the immortal lines "You know how it feels, you understand. What it is to be a stranger, in this unfriendly land", Bobby Bland's voice surrounded by an understated but forceful orchestration. The album has its rowdier side as well, such as a song from a few years earlier ("Little Boy Blue") where Bland really cuts loose, as well as "I Don't Want No Woman" (later recorded by Johnny Jenkins on his cult classic Ton Ton Macoute).

Bobby Bland passed away fairly recently, in June 2013. Thankfully I had the chance to see him in concert in January 2003, opening for B.B. King at Place des arts in Montreal.

Yep, those are two steps.

"Zooropa" - U2

U2's 1993 album Zooropa sees the band delve even further into electronic music and further away from the anthemic stadium sound found on albums such as The Joshua Tree. In this regard it goes even away from The Joshua Tree than its predecessor, the much acclaimed Achtung Baby. The first side of the album (bear with me, I heard this album for many years in cassette format) is the more electronic side while the second side is more melodic and a bit more traditionally U2. It was too bad that their next album (Pop) focused even more on the electronic side of things. "Babyface" about internet ogling is a very prescient track, though the lyrics would not surprise in this day and age.

The songs are a very disparate bunch. The heartbreakingly tender song "The First Time" is one of Bono's most intimate, perhaps even autobiographical songs and is one of the strongest songs on the album. "Babyface" about internet ogling is a very prescient track, though the lyrics would not surprise in this day and age. The final track is interesting. It is "The Wanderer" and features Johnny Cash on lead vocals. Musically it is a return to the more electronic sounds of the first side and lyrically it is about a future dystopia. It's somehow jarring to me to hear Johnny Cash on a U2 album, but I think it works, and the final track is a good place to put it.

This is by no means my favourite U2 album and it does not contain any big hits..... but it it still a worthwhile and consistent album and definitely worth checking out if you want to delve a little deeper into U2's catalog.

Euro-doodlings?

"Moondance" - Van Morrison

Moondance is considered by most to be Van Morrison's most popular album and is much more up my alley than the more esoteric (to me) album Astral Weeks. It contains some of his most famous and accessible songs and stands as one of the greatest albums to be released during the 1970s. The jazzy title track is the most well-known song on the album and is certainly deserving of its classic status. The song that follows it on the album ("Crazy Love") is a beautiful love song and it enjoyed a second life when Michael Bublé covered it and even named his 2009 album "Crazy Love".

Van Morrison's music has often been referred to 'Celtic Soul'. I believe that actually is a pretty accurate description of this albumt. Let's not forget that Van Morrison's first hit ("Brown Eyed Girl") was produced by R&B producer Bert Berns, also responsible for producing Soul artists such as Solomon Burke, Erma Franklin, The Drifters, Ben E. King and many more. A touch of Soul touches all of the songs on this album.

As I am not averse to a double dip, I picked up the 2-CD expanded edition when it came out a few months ago (while managing to avoid the temptation of buying the bloated 5-disc deluxe edition). The second disc mostly contains alternate versions, but there are a couple of new tunes, namely the spritely "I Shall Sing" (first released through an Art Garfunkel version in 1973). Really though, all you need is the single disc edition. The bare bones single disc remastered edition can be bought here. No matter which edition you get though, the soulfulness and directness of the of the album shines through with every listen.

"What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye

This album is one of the most important and influential of all time and thankfully it's also one of the most enjoyable. Marvin Gaye had been a part of the Motown hit factory of the 1960's, releasing hit singles such as "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" along with his duets with Tammi Terrell (such as "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"). But popular music in the late 1960s/early 1970s was shifting from an emphasis on singles to an emphasis on albums. Motown was still a singles-oriented company during this period, but Marvin Gaye felt constrained by this. He wanted to record and release an album that wasn't just a random collection of hit singles and filler. He wanted to record what we now call a 'concept album'. Berry Gordy (president of Motown) did not think that this was a good idea and it took Marvin Gaye sticking to his guns and many months of arguments before the album was released.

The album ended up being a huge hit and helped lead to a greater emphasis on albums in Soul music and it also produced three hit singles! The first and biggest hit and lead-off track on the album is the title song, "What's Going On". This track, with its the jazzy sax riff is probably my favorite song on the album. One of the most powerful tracks on the album is "Save The Children" a song with an absolutely majestic melody and a haunting tale of desperation and redemption. The album is just as topical today as it was when it was released over 40 years ago and is well worth listening to repeatedly.

One very positive outcome resulting from this album's strong sales was that Stevie Wonder was given the freedom to record entire albums, leading to masterpieces such as "Innervisions," "Songs In The Key Of Life" and many more. Other Black artists would also release albums that were not at all singles oriented, such as Isaac Hayes' "Hot Buttered Soul" a hit album that had only five songs; two clocking in at over 10 minutes! Unfortunately Motown would no longer set trends but only follow them during the 1970s and the number of Motown hits declined, though there were still some dependable hitmakers (i.e. Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, The Commodores).

"Revolver" - The Beatles

It's kind of surprising that after having this blog for over a year, it's only now that I'm finally reviewing a Beatles album, since they are my favourite group by a long shot. Maybe I didn't want to go with albums that were 'obvious' to me. But after all this time, I will talk about what is probably my favourite Beatles album, "Revolver" (on most days that is.... on other days it would be "Abbey Road").

The album is a perfect mix of everything The Beatles represent. The avant-garde/experimental songs ("Tomorrow Never Knows"). The catchy singalong songs ("Yellow Submarine"). The achingly gorgeous love songs (the ethereal "Here, There and Everywhere" and the more upbeat "Good Day Sunshine"). The trippy/psychedelic songs ("And Your Bird Can Sing"). Possibly my favourite song on the album is an uncharacteristically depressing and hearbreaking Paul McCartney song, "For No One". This song has always caught my attention; there is something about this tale of a broken relationship and the picture that he paints that you can't forget. This album is also important in terms of the growing role that George Harrison was assuming, as he gets three songs on the album, including the classic opening track, the hard-rocking "Taxman".

Growing up,  I had the American version of this album on cassette, which has three less tracks than the complete British version which means that whenever I listen to the album now on CD, the three 'new' tracks ("I'm Only Sleeping," "And Your Bird Can Sing" and "Doctor Robert") somehow seem out of place.... even though they were meant to be part of the album and were missing from the American version of the album due to Capitol U.S.' insatiable appetite for more and more Beatles' albums (which led them to subtract songs from the British versions and eventually put them together with singles to create 'new' albums such as "Yesterday And Today," the one that originally had the infamous 'butcher' cover). And even though I've had this album on CD for 15+ years now.

If you've somehow never heard an entire Beatles album from start to finish, this would make a nice start.

What a cover