Favorite Albums This Week (July 1 2007)
Submitted by AfterHours on Sun, 07/01/2007 - 06:33
Tags:
- 1. Rock Bottom-Robert Wyatt (1974)
- After a brief hiatus a few weeks ago, it's back and better than ever, following an overwhelming experience of it on a great sound system (320 watts, volume level +27/30 in a fairly large space, about 25ft by 18ft, with lowered bass on Sea Song and then normal bass on the rest). This week I have briefly considered moving it past Trout Mask Replica and Black Saint & The Sinner Lady for the first time in a while, but am still too uncertain to make the move. Continues to be one of the most extraordinary and unique musical experiences ever created.
- 2. Y-Pop Group (1979)
- Blew me away a few days ago. Has reached a new height of greatness. Every sound, every primal scream, every instrumental and vocal contortion has become a source of great emotional catharsis and wreckage. Astonishing.
- 3. Neu!-Neu! (1972)
- Has reached a new level of mystery and overall profundity. The last track in particular took on new meaning for me this past week. I listened to it extra loud and what came out is the agonizing breathing and stretching in his voice gave me goosebumps like never before.
- 4. Faust-Faust (1971)
- Wow. Listening to it on a 320 watt system blurs the line between excruciating and incredible. For an album born in 1971 the sound quality is astonishing and screachingly in parts, especially the opening. Miss Fortune positively explodes out of the speakers. Apocalyptic chaos. This is how it was meant to be.
- 5. Trout Mask Replica-Captain Beefheart (1969)
- A continuous wonder. Practically every moment is brimming with freakish emotional force while being astoundingly original. Probably the most overwhelming and jaw dropping musical work ever created. I've thought many times over the past month or so that it could be the greatest ever, rock or jazz.
- 6. Lorca-Tim Buckley (1970)
- The biggest revelation over the past month has been the soaring emotion of tracks 4 & 5. In portions of Driftin' Buckley's voice seems to extend into eternity, while during the concluding track it is a wild animal. Unless Starsailor proves me wrong, I feel confident proclaiming this album to be the greatest display of vocal performances in rock history.
- 7. The Modern Dance-Pere Ubu (1978)
- Incredible. This album is a force of nature. Thomas and co. hurl themselves through the songs. Was my favorite album for about 3 weeks in a row not too long ago. It really has reached a whole new level for me, and I've found myself able to relate to it better than I ever had before. A couple weeks ago, it finally supplanted Y as the greatest new wave album I've ever heard (no small feat).
- 8. Down Colorful Hill-Red House Painters (1992)
- Gradually improving for me. It finally seems possible (though still distant) that this album could just maybe be something like a masterpiece. But, so far for me, it still has certain weaknesses that I can't quite overcome. Though I can relate to it better than ever, it doesn't quite come together as a profound whole. It seems to be lacking another breakout performance or two from either the vocals, the instruments or both, thus falling short of being as emotionally overwhelming as the singer's experiences. But it does remain a compelling and alluring piece of art. Lord Kill the Pain is getting better for me and I really enjoy the 4 of the other tracks (Japenese To English being solid but certainly below the standard of the rest), especially Medicine Bottle, which is perhaps the least overblown (no compositional pyrotechnics or anything) masterpiece in rock history. It wanders forever as if the vocals are wandering through the most empty spaces, somehow effortlessly becoming quite profound, heartbreaking and philosophical.
- 9. Zen Arcade-Husker Du (1984)
- I strongly considered moving it onto the list last week. It is really quite overwhelming. So far what is holding it back is the common malady of even the greatest punk albums. It seems to lack the necessary profundity to make it stick with one long after it's been heard. I could think about any of the albums on the list for days, but this one, while pummeling and exciting and pretty profound for a punk album, still kind of goes in one ear and out the other. Still, it could easily overcome this, as it is getting better and better to me. Really, an amazing and emotional listen from start to finish.
- 10. Third Ear Band-Third Ear Band (1970)
- A strange, earthly album. While I love it, at this point I haven't quite found enough expansion of content to feel comfortable about moving it onto the list. Still, it is one of the best world music albums ever made.
Author Comments:
Will be updated weekly.
This will be a weekly journal or log of how I am feeling about my current favorite albums.
In 1975 I saw both Captain Beefheart (Knebworth 5th July 1975) and Soft Machine (Reading Festival - 22nd - 24th August 1975).
Damn, you are one lucky SOB. That must've been amazing!