Well, it's Friday and you know what that means.
Yes, my Asian quota-hire sex worker/martial arts consultant Fah Lo Suee and I are off to fabulous Black Rock City, Nevada, where we plan to go scavenging for high quality drugs in the left-behind muck at this year's Burning Man Festival.
Regular posting will therefore be somewhat fitful for the next couple of days.
But in the meantime, here's an interesting and alarming topic to help you wile away the hours in our absence while you consider it.
To wit:
Best or Worst Post-Elvis Rock, Pop, Soul or Country Concept Album!!!
Self-explanatory, I think, but for purposes of clarity, when I use the term "concept album" I simply mean a record in which some overarching theme, however tenuous, is discernible. As a result no arbitrary rules this time, although I should think you'd be ashamed to nominate a generic greatest hits package.
And my totally top of my head Top Seven is:
7. Sam Cooke -- Night Beat
A collection of Sam's personal favorite blues, soul and gospel songs, recorded for Cooke's own label with the cream of Los Angeles session guys as his backing band, this was designed to sound like the coolest live late night jam session in a smokey bar of all time, and boy does it ever. For reasons known only to the Lord, it went out of print amost immediately after it first appeared in 1963, and despite a CD reissue in the 90s, to this day it remains without question the greatest album by a major artist that most people don't know ever existed.
6. Marty Robbins -- Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
From 1959, a genuine crossover classic; "El Paso" is the best known cut, but the whole album works. That's Robbins on the cover, BTW, and in case you didn't notice he's doing Richard Boone as Palladin from TVs Have Gun, Will Travel.
5. The Turtles -- Present the Battle of the Bands
The concept here is that the Turtles play each cut in a different style, from surf to country to hard rock, in post Sgt. Pepper guise as other bands. It's not really pursued all that rigorously, but since it features "Elenore" and the above gorgeous version of the early Byrds outtake "You Showed Me," I've always cut them a little slack.
4. Fucked Up -- David Comes to Life
A sort of post-modern rock opera set in England in the '70s and '80s.
You know, I rather like the idea (rather than the reality) of this band, and I once saw Damian Abraham, the lead singer, interviewed on my orthicon tube and found him surprisingly funny and politically very astute.
That said, I'd rather have my eyes gouged out with a melon-baller than watch the guy shirtless in a live gig.
3. Garth Brooks -- ...in the Life of Chris Gaines
Brooks in his bizarre incarnation as a supposedly legendary 90s alt-rocker. I don't care if the damn thing sold two million copies -- it's a prime contender for biggest What the Fuck Was He Thinking? album in music history.
2. The Beatles -- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Yeah, yeah, yeah -- I know it's over-exposed (so is Bach's B-Minor Mass) and some people think it's a period piece (those people are just being difficult.)
Sorry, it's the tits. Deal with it.
And the most memorable, for whatever reason, High Concept album of all time obviously is --
1. The Paragons and The Jesters -- The Paragons Meet the Jesters
The very first (after the fact) thematic rock compilation (1959), and thanks to the brilliantly art-directed leather bar juvenile delinquent cover photo -- let's face it, Lou Reed based an entire esthetic on it -- still one of the most iconic.
Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?
And have a great weekend, everybody!!!
[h/t Joy Brodsky Thurston]
15 comments:
I couldn't agree more about "Night Beat." It's the only Sam Cooke album that still fetches silly money.
My pick for a fave is Todd Rundgtren- Liars.
Though this isn’t a ‘concept album’, there is a theme running through it: a search for truth and a frustration with all forms of dishonesty. It was also the best record he had made in 20 years.
Utopia - Deface the Music
Todd Rundgren - Healing, No World Order, Johnson
Best: The Kinks 'Arthur, or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire'
Worst: The Kinks 'Preservation, Act II'. (wherein Ray goes astray)
BTW, Sam Cooke's 'Night Beat' has had a vinyl reissue and it IS fantastic.
Thick As A Brick
What's Going On
Best? Randy Newman's Good Old Boys
Worst? The Who's Quadrophenia (so sue me) and Lou Reed's Berlin - or is it Metal Machine Music? New York?
Nobody has mentioned the obvious one, so I won't either. :-)
I was not a fan of either "Magical Mystery Tour" or "Satanic Majesties Request" when they came out ... I've softened a tiny bit on the former, but I am really glad the Stones got out of their psychedelic phase toot sweet.
“Tommy” live in 1969-1979 is very hard to beat. The studio album is great, but live during that timeframe…spectacular.
I have a soft spot for Warren Zevon’s “Transverse City”; unfortunately, there were only a few of us out there.
“Quadrophenia” meant a helluva lot to me, discovering it as an angst-ridden teen in the early ‘80s. Eventually I shelved it, but rediscovered it about ten years ago and damned if it wasn’t just as good as I remembered.
And of course “Who’s Next” has “Lifehouse” at its core.
Richard Thompson’s 1999 release “Mock Tudor” definitely has a theme, and I think it just might be the best of his numerous solo albums.
Least favorite…might be Alan Parsons Project’s “Eye In the Sky”; they usually did great pop-rock stuff but this one was boring as hell - although there’s a live version of “Psychobabble” out there from a 2004 live in Barcelona (or was it Madrid?) show that is great.
Another least favorite is ELO’s “Time”, which IIRC Noel Coppage reviewed fir TMFKASR and perfectly captured the tedium of that one. I love a lot of ELO’s stuff, but Lynne misfired badly on that one.
Typo on Tommy live, should be 1969-1970.
Who - Never cared for Tommy but really liked Quadrophenia.
Alice Cooper - Killer
Marty Stuart - Pilgrim
Steve: I'm totally with you on The Turtles Present a Battle of the Bands, Sam Cooke's Night Beat and Marty Robbins' Gunfighter Ballads
BG: The Satanic era singles were pretty good, though. We Love You/Dandelion; She's a Rainbow/2000 Light Years From Home. And 2000 Man from the LP. The Lantern with the "Vickie Rock" edit is also quite acceptable. Child of the Moon, though recorded after, would have fit well with the lot I just mentioned. On Beatles MMT, Flying is a waste of time. But I really like the rest. I know it's simple and silly and considered a lesser tune, but I have great affection for Your Mother Should Know.
THE REAL WORST EVER - Styx - Kiroy Was Here
Faves and Likes unless otherwise noted
Kinks - Village Green Preservation Society ('Cause everyone knows that Monica glows at night. She'll do something wrong and prove to you she is right.)
Kinks – Arthur (not as good as Village Green. Not enough humor and a fair amount of brainwashing)
David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars (Don’t fake it baby. Lay the real thing on me)
Beach Boys – SMiLE (My son and I assembled our own version in the days before DAT and CD burners, We used multiple two-track reel to reels and edited the segments onto a Nakamichi Dragon. It took forever but it fuckin’ flows.
Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo – Gram hijacks the Byrds. Roger pays him back. Thank God they kept the originals. (Getting the feel of Hickory Wind) (The re-issues are wonderful)
Mothers - We're Only In It For the Money (potent satire with trademark Zappa musical complexities)
The Who - The Who Sell Out (best Who album ever)
Drive-by Truckers - Southern Rock Opera (Let There Be Rock)
Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger (Blue eyes crying in the rain)
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will the Circle Be Unbroken (This one gave me an education usinig the best method) (only my 6th triple LP set, Woodstock being the first. Then I got The First Great Rock Festivals of the Seventies, The Music People, Fillmore: The Last Days and just before the NGDT triple, I got the Dead’s Europe ’72. I remember things like that, even the price. The Dead and NGDB were $5.99 each. The Fillmore cost more $7.77.)
Who - Lifehouse (I know any day now for the super deluxe version)
Johnny Cash - Ride This Train (Wow. Dammit Elvis don’t you know, you ain’t no Johnny Cash)
Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow (like it more every year) (the expanded version has some choice bonus tracks)
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (tackles some of my favorite subject matter)
Barry White - Stone Gon' (a bit more)
But wait, there's more
VE
Who - Quadrophenia (like it better than Tommy) (5:15 yes! Drowned! Dr. Jimmy!)
Eagles - Desperado (a failed attempt by jive cowboys)
Mothers - Freak Out (Hungry Freaks Daddy) (The cover and the map are worth the admission alone) (My third double album. The first two were The Beatles Story [I know, My mom thought I’d like it. At least she gave it to me with Beatles ’65 for Christmas] and Blonde On Blonde.
Husker Du - Zen Arcade – (It was only a dream. Are you kidding me? Nothing about this makes me want to hear it often. Replacements please)
Bobby Bare - Lullabys, Legends and Lies (this is not the one with Drop-kick Me Jesus) (Silverstein is all over it)
Who - Tommy (I'm the Gypsy, The Acid Queen I'm guaranteed to tear your soul apart)
Jethro Tull - Songs From the Wood (loosely thematic in music and subject matter) (more interesting than the thickness of Gerald Bostock's prick)
Todd Rundgren – Healing (spiritual nourishment)
Johnny Cash - Bitter Tears (Peter LaFarge gets the royal treatment)
Drive-by Truckers - The Dirty South (LOVE THE SHIT OUTTA DIS REKKID) (SOOO GOOOOD FROM COVER TO COVER) (peak of the Cooley-Hood-Isbell line-up) (peak of the band. period.)
Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh (exquisite)
Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat – (There ain’t no cure for love. No cure no drug. It’s all been cut with stuff. I can’t get nothing done. Can’t be with anyone. I don’t want your brother love, I want that other love. Ain’t no cure for love).
ELO - El Dorado (No. I Can't Get It Out of My Head and I wish it'd get out of my bed)
Moody Blues - In Search of the Lost Chord (Pompous bores. Man, if I'm gonna ride anyone's see-saw it's gonna be Don Covay's.)
VR not VE (you see, the e is right next to the r)
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (Haven't listened to it in years. But there was a time. Kinda set the standard. Great Gig in the Sky still gets me, just thinking about it. Clare Torey really owned that tune)
Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium (blows my mind)
Lee Hazelwood – Trouble Is a Lonesome Town (I love his voice but this only rises to cult status.)
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme (indeed)
Parliament - Mothership Connection (Tears the roof off)
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (They call me The Trailblazer. Rael, Electric Razor) (You gitta get in to get out.) Strange record. I can go either way on this one. First time I heard it was when I sat in for an injured DJ at the Grand Rapids FM WLAV. Without an FCC license. I was doing “New Album Preview,” I don’t think it had been released to the general public yet. Don’t ask me what I was doing in G.R.
Rick Nelson - Bright Lights and Country Music (Rick's vocals are too white for country:) (but you do get to hear James Burton, Clarence White and Glen Campbell work their magic - exra credit for being a very early venture into country rock.)
Nick Cave - Murder Ballads - Wondrous.
Eagles - Hotel California (Mirrors on the ceiling and pink champagne on ice. Yecch.) (Stab it with the Steely knives). (The worst thing about it is that even if you hate them, you still know all their shit by heart. Don Henley must die:) (That said, it’s the best album they ever did.) (Just thinking about all the van shag-wagons unoriginally christened “Hotel California” makes me sick.)
Bowie - Diamond Dogs (could've been great. Sooo close …. but no cigar. But it has the good version of Rebel Rebel, the best of three, better than the UK 45 and definitely better than the stupid US “Bongo” 45) Plus I had a really fun day on the date of its release. Long story. Let’s just say that on this day all the coincidences fell the right way. Made me a believer in predestination
Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare (for the kids)
Millie Jackson - Caught Up (for the adults)
Rush - 2112 (for the Cannucks)
VR
Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans - (if not the worst, the most trying - but I like Ritual and the visions it inspires along the journey) (I prefer the first half of the studio version edited into the Yesshows version from the percussive section onward)
Everly Brothers – Roots (nice mix of traditional and contemporary tunes in a country vein interspersed with old radio shows of the everly family–
but I like 'two yanks in england' better. even if only half of it was really cut in britain. shit they covered eight hollies tunes and most of them are good. why the powers that be chose 'somebody help me' and 'fifi the flea' for the singles is beyond me. they do a great job on 'signs that will never change' and 'like every time before.' and there's a pretty rippin' little guitar solo in 'hard, hard, hard.' some say it might be jimmy page.
Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville (critically acclaimed but, with a few hooky exceptions, kinda boring, even sleep inducing)
Rosanne Cash – The River and the Thread (now that’s more like it)
julian cope - peggy suicide - i nearly threw in the towel on cope but then he did this motherfucker of an album
Mickey Newbury – looks like rain (This guy’s an amazing writer and convincing performer - underappreciated)
Jackson Browne - Running On Empty (I got a bottle of wine, Pass it over, I got a broken white line, I'm still sober. There ain't nothin' but time between this Silver Eagle and that New Jersey line)
Derek & the Dominos - Layla (not in the strict sense of concept, but largely muse generated)
The Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy by Gong:
Gong - Flying Teapot - whip out the flying teapot, the octave doctors, the pot head pixies and zero the hero because I am your pussy. Even better when Daevid Allen, God rest his soul, reads poetry about his penis while standing in your living room with his cock hanging out of his dockers. Really. And don't ever let Didier Mahlerbe use your toilet. They're a weird mob.
Gong - Angel's Egg – (Oily Way!)
Gong - You – (You Never Blow Your Trip Forever)
vr
Best: Neil Young's TONIGHT"S THE NIGHT
Willie Nelson's PHASES & STAGES
Beach Boys' PET SOUNDS
Endless Bummer - The Weasels
Captain Al
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