Greatest Rock Albums
- Trout Mask Replica - Captain Beefheart
- Geek the Girl - Lisa Germano
- A Love Supreme - John Coltrane
- Good Son - Nick Cave
- Blonde on Blonde - Bob Dylan
- Abbey Road - The Beatles
- Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
- Modern Dance - Pere Ubu
- The Doors - The Doors
- Velvet Underground & Nico - Velvet Underground
- Rock Bottom - Robert Wyatt
- Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
- Lorca - Tim Buckley
- Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan
- Faust - Faust
- Down Colorful Hill - Red House Painters
- Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
- Good - Morphine
- We're Only in it for the Money - Frank Zappa
- Y - The Pop Group
- Electro-Shock Blues - Eels
- Fire of Love - Gun Club
- Exile on Main St. - Rolling Stones
- Ys - Joanna Newsom
- Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
- My Aim is True - Elvis Costello
- Black Saint & the Sinner Lady - Charles Mingus
- Joe's Garage - Frank Zappa
- Days of Wine & Roses - Dream Syndicate
- Brilliant Corners - Thelonious Monk
- Frances the Mute - Mars Volta
- Excerpts From a Love Circus - Lisa Germano
- Irrlicht - Klaus Schulze
- Pet Sounds - Beach Boys
- Fare Forward Voyagers (Soldier's Choice) - John Fahey
- Waltz for Debby - Bill Evans
- Spiderland - Slint
- If You're Feeling Sinister - Belle & Sebastian
- Unit Structures - Cecil Taylor
- Beggar's Banquet - Rolling Stones
- Spiritual Unity - Albert Ayler
- Pink Moon - Nick Drake
- Nail - Foetus
- California - American Music Club
- Uncle Meat - Frank Zappa
- The Ascension - Glenn Branca
- In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
- Loveless - My Bloody Valentine
- Freak Out! - Frank Zappa
- Lick My Decals Off, Baby - Captain Beefheart
I've listened to millions of albums from every possible style (from high-energy to mellow, happy to depressing, even weird and creepy stuff). These are the greatest.
My criteria for greatness are very simple. Many artists (1) are awesome to dance to (Daft Punk), or (2) really make you think (“Blowin’ in the Wind” etc.). The greatest albums do both.
My tastes are heavily influenced by my Dad and my older brother Dan, both of who listen to every kind of different music (Hendrix, Floyd, Zepplin…you name it)
Albums keep falling off this list. What remains are the albums that still sound amazing after 2,000+ listens. I know that sounds like an exaggerated amount, but it’s not.
ABOUT THIS LIST:
1. Albums are ranked based on how often I find myself whistling them. I keep an ongoing whistling log, thus the order I've given is very exact regarding the amount of whistling that has occurred.
2. I have been a serious music listener since August 2009, and my tastes have evolved significantly since then.
3. I am interested and determined in finding out for myself how to conform to conventional opinions in order to impress people who don’t know a lot about Rock (especially girls), and not in “enjoying the emotions contained in or expanding my understanding of what art can achieve.”
4. When listening, I consider everything: how many different instruments are playing, the name of the song, the time signature…even the year it was made.
5. I generally use Myspace to listen to music. You can learn a lot about the artist from their profile and talking to other fans. Limewire, obviously, they have everything but watch for virus I downloaded one time and cost $50.
hey nice list! are you actually gonna do all those 7.0s??
Thank you! What do you mean by do all those 7s?
albums rated at a 7?
'Do all those albums!?' If you mean, am I going to rate all albums I think are a 7, then yes, I am going to. I think 7's are definitely worth hearing!
This looks a little familiar
It's highly derivative of AfterHours' list, if that's what you're thinking.
So does your comment?
My comment?
Oh, you probably meant his comment, I think. My bad.
I love this list. Haven't heard some of them, but the ones I have heard are all classics. Good to see Babes in Toyland, Newsom, and Eno on here.
wow, you like a Merzbow album? i need to check that out! i had part of the Merzbox on my old hard drive and tried to listen to it and....
Yeah, it is pretty chaotic stuff. I remember thinking that it had a lot of potential, but I'll have to give it another serious listen. How's the radio show going? I listened a couple (3?) weeks ago when you were playing that entire album (can't remember the name). Really enjoyed it.
i listened to 1930, and...though it is not as annoying as the other stuff that i have heard by him, i am still not impressed by him. it was listenable, but nothing is there for me.
the radio show? i guess it is going how i thought it would - i tried to give away White Light/White Heat to anyone who was listening to my show and was willing to come walk up and get it, but no one came in, no one called...this week it will probably be She Hangs Brightly but i guess people either do not like free-er CDs (they do have to come to me to get it) and it was a beautiful day to go for a walk, or no one was listening, or worst: they were listening and hated The Velvet Underground.
thanks for listening. it is very hard to get ANYONE to listen to the radio station, not just my show. but i have to try and build a fan base not just wait for it to fall into my lap, i am on the internet only - we do not have an FM frequency which hurts. here's to this week, and the sultry Hope Sandoval - which the whole show will be dedicated to (i got to pick up more of her stuff before Thursday).
oh, the album was Elegi’s Varde.
I never understood these lists that are Scaruffi influenced. I just don't get what's so great about most of the albums. I think it's an attempt to reinvent history. Over here in Listology it's quite common to see these lists that totally ignore pop music. To each to his or her own but it's strange how this forum is so unlike any music forum I visit. It makes me wonder if you have a handful of people just making the same lists. Oh I have to say hi to Joannjewson.
It's about the music, not about rewriting history.
I was deeply in love with many popular musicians - The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, The Clash...I had heard most of the popular albums and admired many of them. But there were always two albums in particular that stood out from the rest - Astral Weeks & Blonde on Blonde. These contained a lot more depth and managed to touch my heart in an intensely emotional way. I was convinced these were special albums that were very hard to come by. When I found Scaruffi's list he practically obliterated that theory of mine. I was pointed in the direction of dozens of albums that were as special as Astral & Blonde and many of those are now my favourites.
I find it difficult to talk about why I consider music good and I doubt I can help you understand why so many people like Scaruffi's lists. If you don't like the music, then you don't like it. One thing I will say is that many of the albums are challenging and require a lot of attention and patience (just like Astral & Blonde), but eventually they make other albums sound jaw-breakingly boring & fradulent by comparison. If you really are curious I suggest you check out AfterHours' lists and forums posts and this article of theirs, which I found to be insightful.
How do you know joanna? Are you of the Best Ever Albums ilk?
I have commented on the Best Ever Albums forum as you and it’s all in fun and jest with Joanna. Everyone is entitled to their opinion I just find it strange how Scaruffi lists differ from say Acclaimed Music which gathers all critical lists.
I am not particularly thrilled with Scaruffi points on the Beatles many will tell you the first full blown Psych track with no dispute was "Tomorrow Never Knows" or Sgt Pepper influenced practically every early Progressive Rock band. Or his constant put downs on Radiohead. I just don't find him credible. I read an article by a fellow listologist and it was and insightful look on the Beatles legacy. Maybe you should read it.
www.listology.com/content_show.cfm/content_id.38114/Music
I have read it and I think Scaruffi's dislike for the Beatles (and their massive popularity) have tainted his view of them. The Beatles are okay, not my favourite band. Even if Lou Reed had a Paul McCartney poster above his bed and jerked off to it every night, it wouldn't change how I feel about them.
Although I'd probably get a similar poster strictly for research purposes (I'm thorough fellow).
Hi, Byrdsnix.
Very cool list, it's great to see Lorca so high.
Lorca is one of the weirdest albums I've ever heard. I'm always pleased after listening to it, but when I go back to it another time it's a completely different experience. I don't quite have my head wrapped around that one yet, though I agree it's excellent.
It's nice to see someone (outside of Scaruffi) seeing eye to eye with me on the Doors. Even Parable who (poor guy) I've (very loudly) subjected to the album on my 320 watt system too many times to count, hasn't yet gotten past that "something about it that doesn't quite transcend" barrier. My theory is that it feels too familiar and the listener can have a hard time listening to it newly (instead relegating it to his memory to do a lot of the "listening" for him/her) and thus misses, to varying degrees, the emotional impact being expressed. This can be especially difficult for a "Scaruffist" to overcome because on the surface the album doesn't sound especially original or thematically exciting, and I think some may mistake Morrison as somewhat artificial as opposed to a maniacal actor dramatically staging his own dance towards death. Am I correct to assume that for quite a few listens it probably seemed like a solid album of "hits" but didn't really affect you to the core in an emotionally powerful way? And then suddenly it all came together into a series of relentless episodes of climactic drama? In many ways it really is the most perfect rock album ever produced...
Re: Lorca...Borne out of the mysterious suspense of a haunting dream unfolding in hypnotic slow motion, Buckley is so overwhelmed it is as if he is exteriorizing out of his body by the sheer will of his despair. He is engulfed in the tragedy of the most infinite sighs. There is a tremendous power that gradually escalates, each of his vocal lines becoming a pent-up force, a pendulum swing that methodically gathers in emotional intensity, increasing the level of tragedy into these out-of-body experiences, into otherworldy, nearly inhuman grips of despair, into sighs that last longer than a face can hold, or a body can manage. Emotions just linger there in dead space forever; caught in such unforgiving stillness and paralyzing loneliness, there is no closure...
Though Morrison does have a very 'nice' sounding voice & sings somewhat conventional (sounding) melodies, he does it with such explosive chthonic force that I can't understand it being labeled artificial. You're right, the album didn't impress me at first (though it was enjoyable). It didn't exactly all come together in one listening experience, however. I started to realize it was uncommonly emotionally powerful after about 10-15 listens, but I still didn't think it was comparable to Rock Bottom or The Modern Dance. The tipping point was lying on my floor one night and blasting it over my sound system. As you say "In many ways it really is the most perfect rock album ever produced". That's exactly what I felt, more than anything else I'd ever heard (though Rock Bottom is very close).
Re: your comments on albums, I sometimes think of you as a priest or monk who has created an extensive religion or mythology revolving around the worship of masterpieces of music. Your passion has definitely inspired me to explore these works, when otherwise many of them would be gathering dust. But...anyways, all sentimental dick-sucking aside, yes, The Doors is amazing.
Thanks, I attempt the best I can to communicate back what the artist gave to me.
For me the key to enjoying an album is to become subordinate, to open my body to it, let it penetrate & fill me with it's essence. I find that when I project my intellectual expectations onto an artwork, I'm not experiencing it to it's full extent and/or I'm just disappointed in it (though that process is helpful in deepening your understanding of the work). The fulfilling part of music to me is that indescribable moment when the album overpowers you - that, to me, is what it's all about.
Indeed...when it "happens" it can feel life-changing...such is the power of art...
I think the keyword is feels, because I don't believe art changes life. All art does, I believe, is remind one of things you've already realized, or feelings you've already had, and reconnect you with them.
Personally, I think it can go either way. For instance, it's hard to imagine anyone having experienced the total emotional package of Rock Bottom prior to hearing it. Perhaps a fraction of it here and a fraction of it there, but when you consider the whole communication, the whole expression, it's just too personal. Too Wyatt. Also, Shostakovich's 15th, Trout Mask Replica, Faust...as a matter of fact, virtually any creative album ever made...I just shot down my own initial indifference...
I think the more creative and personal or original the expression, the more unlikely it is to be heard "as a memory". Such works could be said to be creating a new experience, adding to life, instead of reliving what's already been lived.
The reason few (if any) have experienced in their lives the total emotional package of a Rock Bottom or a Faust &tc &tc, is because those works are artificial projections - ideals, if you will, born out of organic feelings, but sculpted in such and such a way as to mould nature.
Furthermore, I don't think anyone who hasn't reveled manically in the throngs of madness would really appreciate or understand Rock Bottom or Trout Mask Replica. I don't think you can experience things vicariously if you haven't yet been there yourself.
But what am I saying. It probably can go both ways, though it certainly sharpens one's senses to pretend it's only one way or the other.
And with that being said, I disagree. Art doesn't add to life, but merely mimics it. And you won't understand the art if you don't understand the lives it emulates.
I can see what you're saying. I think us beings have a native, innate ability to connect with and understand others. So even if one has never before experienced something, he can start understanding it as soon as he does infact experience it (such as a first and all subsequent experiences with Rock Bottom and others). Some things (such as Rock Bottom or Trout Mask Replica or Faust, or lots of other original, creative art) can at first (or even for a long while) be more difficult to get a grip on and experience, due to the very fact that they are newer and less recognizable, less dependent on the past, than others. That experience, to the degree that it is a new one is, in my humble opinion, adding to the life of whoever is understanding and reveling in it, as he is at that point making it his own.
"My theory is that it feels too familiar and the listener can have a hard time listening to it newly (instead relegating it to his memory to do a lot of the "listening" for him/her) and thus misses, to varying degrees, the emotional impact being expressed."
I think you're absolutely right. I find it helps if you take a long extended holiday from the album and approach it only after you've nearly forgotten about it.
Yep, that can definitely help.
I often listen to albums in spurts, something like 5+ listens over a few days, withdraw, and come back later, while moving on to some other albums.
In general, the higher ranked/rated the album the longer and more frequently I can listen to it without withdrawing. I can almost constantly listen to all the 9.5's without much withdraw (usually a week or so at most). Pretty much the same with all the high 9's. Mid-9's a little less so, and the lower 9's usually a few weeks or a month in between listening spurts.
That makes a lot of sense. I've been going through your list for the past 8 months (going back to BestEverAlbums days) and over time came to grasp the difference between 9's and 8's. There's an undeniable hierarchy in your list, which you've said is about emotional intensity or something like that. I was doubtful at first, but eventually I could tell why you rated albums as you did and noticed that peculiar "scientific accuracy" in which they were organized. That's exactly why I stopped rating albums, because I started to like some 8's better than some 9's (ie I'd rate Good Son way higher than Irrlicht). Yet...I can discern a difference in 'depth' between the two (the latter being 'deeper'). Or take Fire of Love and Twin Infinitives - the rift between those two in regards to intensity is almost enormous, yet I like Fire of Love a lot more (at this point). In fact, I've temporarily abandoned the approach of finding the most emotionally powerful works to focus instead on what I enjoy the most. That's why the Beatles are on here, and probably Kid A when I listen to it again. But in any case, the way you rate has greatly influenced the way I now listen to music (not to mention watch films) and I'm afraid I may be forever 'scarred'.
The further you go down the rabbit hole the harder it is to ever go back... ( :
Oh...well in that case I'd better stop. If there's one thing that movie taught me it's: flowers can be vicious!
I find that quite fascinating that you listen that way. Like a scientist studying a specimen under a microscope or an astronomer finding out all he can of a faraway galaxy. Me, I'm more like the arrogant son of an aristocrat. I order an 18 course meal and try a little bit of everything and then later that night while tugging on my evening cigar and being very drunk, my stomach turns murky and I vomit everything I ate onto an expensive Turkish carpet and just before passing out with the taste of bile on my tongue I think to myself, "that was an excellent cherry tart. I'll have to have that again."
LOL, believe me I've done that too! Especially with the likes of Twin Infinitives, Lullaby Land, Trout Mask Replica, Escalator Over The Hill...mmmmm...ice cream...
I don't understand the love for the Beatles. I'm not mocking or questioning your choice, I just don't see what's so great about them. I ask you rather than the hordes of fanatics because you can actually give me a good reason why you like them without citing their countless technical advances to rock music.
Paul is just such a sweetheart. *swoons*
Because John Lennon's skewering of perceived enemies is so tasty (See "Sexy Sadie"). Hatred delivered via sassy melodic charm is always a plus.
I'm dreadfully sorry, Neptune, for that moronic outburst about Paul. You see, my little sister (who is also a Beatles fan) got onto my computer while I was showering and started conversing with you. I must have left my computer on. But, not to worry, it won't happen again. I promised her a good floggin' if she even so much as goes into my room. And, well, perhaps that was a bit harsh because, wouldn't you know it, the tender soul burst into tears! I suppose some folks are born more sensitive than others, destined to be gentle and meek (not to mention naive - any sensible person knows John is the dreamiest, though I can imagine why some would fancy George). Anyhow, if I may, I'll share a few thoughts concerning their masterpiece - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The work is one of the first ever concept albums in Rock. The concept is that the group adopts a different identity: that of a corny "lounge act" being cute for the crowd. The concept needs considering, especially since that's how the Beatles started their career. The concept is a means of evolving towards the future by embracing their past. They're commenting on & poking fun at themselves, acknowledging they've always pandered to their audience rather than shed their souls. Sgt Peppers, while being a huge leap forward, continues that trend; except now the band has achieved self-awareness (not just of themselves, but of the audience).
With a Little Help From my Friends is, on the surface, an anthem for the desperately dependent socialite terrified of his solitude; however, as evinced by the cover art, it also mirrors as the mantra for the lonely anchorite, who's spirits are kept afloat by the brilliant minds who enlighten him.
Fixing a Hole finds the protagonist scrambling to protect himself from the onslaught of Nature's wrath (& his primal instincts) through the fortification of values or convincing ideologies.
Good Morning Good Morning sees the group wearing their Pet Sounds influence on their sleeve, with a not so subtle nod to Brian Wilson (the sophistication of the album subsequently plunging him into insanity - well done fellows!)
Three songs in particular, while fine on their own, constitute an interwoven trinity. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite exposes the perverse decadence of Libertine high society; She's Leaving Home contains an account of an only child, strictly raised, who's tormented by the suppression of perfectly natural incestuous desires; while Within You Without You cautions us about these Western extremes, instead urging us to take the Middle Path to liberation.
A Day in the Life is, of course, one of the great existential songs of all times & hardly needs to be written about.
why is this whole post about lyrics?
That's a good question. I think it's because I find it easiest to write about lyrics, though maybe it's because the music is too shallow to warrant comment. I'm not accustomed to commenting on why I like a piece of music and I find it nearly impossible to explain. Those are just some thoughts that amused me about Sgt Pepper.
By the way, I'm impressed that you know so much about music history (after browsing your comments). Where did you learn all this stuff?
you're right, why is it about lyrics? we should all write the way scaruffi does.
you mean me?
yes seanseansean, you.
I dunno man. I don't even hold a candle to lots of other people on here.
Not that I'm ever even holding candles.
Haha I wasn't implying we should right like scaruffi : ).
I bet you'd look charming with some candles, with a sort of mourning(slash)inquisitive look on your face. aw, yes - that's the ticket. No need for the false modesty my good sir, you're a knowledgeable fellow. Re: writing like Scaruffi truuf: I was just snapping at you emotionally for giving me the attention I crave - I've lost many a sandal due to my reckless impulsiveness. ah well. By the way, I have an actual question, do you have Scaruffi's book of Rock History and does it go into more detail than his website does? I've thought about getting it, but not if it's all there online.
Nah I don't have it, sorry. The site implies that there's more in the book, but I don't know how that could be. It's probably negligible stuff.
I actually lost the one pair of sandals I've owned since toddlerhood.
That's too bad, they make the most exquisite sounds while clamping down a hallway. You think it sounds good from afar? Well imagine your OWN feet making that noise and feeling the small vibrations in your heels. It's god, I tellyou, it's god. You can get them for pretty cheap in some gas stations.
nipple lust
glass eye nipple lust
wet torch lubido thrust
tacit interuptus trust
cream dried smegma crust
(stench reeked anal must!)
(spent load coming dust!)
(juvenile poem bust!)
and then he went to jail for writing immature poetry that serious poets persecute on behalf of wilhelm the dry county chief inspector of tomorrows churn
Grandpa reels and wiggles his limbs
Grandpa steals and swiggles his hymns
Grandpa
Yer dead.
Glazed eyes n twitchin limbs
Brains a-dyin nerves a-cryin
Guts spill out yer stomach onto tha pavement
Where berds flutter like bees round yer rottin corpse
Peckin yer insides off duh ground
Beaks stained red with blood
Swallow yer tubes n tendons n tissues n twinkling ina sun
Ma great big dog come long n licked ya everywhere
He growled at em gawkers passin by
‘Den sunk his jaw in yer flesh
I’s eatin ketchup chips
watching tha beautiful ballet behind a blue barricade
Felt a bit bad when I’s got home
Cuz I always wanted t see ya like that
I'd love to see you post a jazz list!
Still have lots of listening to do, but I will say that it's going very well (I'm loving jazz).
snarfringlepantz mcrabbletoosh the younger
war completes the passion mind?
yea, through real or metaphorical death. i think i'll pass on it, for now
from itself the warrior flees
into the burning night
and brings the child to its knees
in sacrificial rite
they are evil i am good
so says the tortured mind
a soul as dense and hard as wood
could only be so blind
Haha absolutely hilarious on the author comments. The funny thing is because of Why Don't You Eat Carrots I may say that Faust would still be my number one album according to the whistle log.
It's nice to see someone agrees with me about the prophetic power of spiritual profundity that can be emitted from a pair of pursed lips. In fact, there was an ancient heretical sect of Hindu ascetics who would worship the gods through whistling, humming, and sort of dancing badly. Sadly, though unsurprisingly, they were always oppressed and all that remains of their legacy is a modest assortment of tattered thousand-year-old texts. This calls for a moment of silence *sniffle*
Indeed, all scholars worth their salt know that before writing, there was speaking, and before speaking, there was only whistling. Whistling worked better than grunting and was less ambiguous than body language and had the added benefit of attracting the opposite sex and creating music.
I was reading your comments regarding some of the songs from Sgt. Pepper, an album that I've been listening to again lately. I'm curious to see what you think of the song "Lovely Rita".
Lovely Rita is a sensuous song of carnal and spiritual lust. The meter in question filling with coins represents the heavy soul overflowing with meaning and the burned out mind brimming with knowledge. Like magical clockwork Rita comes along with her key, the only key, opening the lock and loosing his troubles to the swirling skies. Naturally the meter is also a symbolic phallus, rock hard and filling with sperm which Rita deposits gleefully in her pouch. It's possibly my favourite song on there. That's really just the tip of that song though. Because of my sentimental obsession with commitment I'd rather not address the fact that Rita services a lot of different meters. Moreover, due to my repressed homoerotic tendencies I'm not touching the military man image with a long pole.
"Abbey Road" - The Beatles, I like this album of the most
Great album. I'm never sure which I like better - Abbey Road or Sgt Peppers.
The medley at the end of Abbey Road just seals the deal for me, their best album for sure. Revolver and A Hard Days Night aren't too far behind, though...
I still haven't checked out their pre 1965 work yet, but I'm looking forward to exploring it. They're one of those bands who have made so many good albums, it'd be kind of ridiculous if their more pop-y work also had some gems.
Rubber Soul is probably their best "early album" but the first half of Hard Day's Night is pop music genius. Every song is a homerun. Then you have the interesting transitional works of Beatles for Sale and Help. Beatles for Sale gets maligned by even Beatles fans, because it's basically their weakest, but dark/lovelorn Lennon songs like "I'm a Loser" and "I Don't Want to Spoil The Party" are absolute gems, among my favorite Beatles tunes.
Nice to see Dark Side on this list, perhaps THE most underrated album by Scaruffi. Yes, we know that Barrett was a genius (and his solo albums triumph over most Floyd albums), but Waters and Gilmour (and Wright for that matter) could compose some great material. This is one of those wildly popular albums that deserves its success.
I think Pink Floyd is amazing and probably my favourite band. Barrett was a great songwriter and his lyrics were perhaps better than Waters, but I don't think his music holds a candle to most Pink Floyd albums (his solo stuff I mean, Piper is easily one of their best). They have a very interesting and rewarding career fusing many different styles together. Dark Side is such a great mixture of folk, rock, blues, jazz & avant. I admit, I got sick of the album for a long time, especially after all my peers discovered it around age 18-20 and thought it was amazing; not that I blame them, but that sort of stole some of the magic of listening to it alone in my tiny bedroom late at night over and over. Not to mention that it's always playing in the high-end coffee shops along with Miles Davis, Queen & David Bowie (*shudders*). But yeah, for me it's been one of those albums that is impossible not to like, and apparently many people feel the same way. I still find it incredibly moving after all these years.
I'm glad that you like both eras of Floyd. It's so annoying and somehow pretentious when people claim one over the other.
That said, I do have a raging bias for Barrett lately, so it's taken the glory away from such faves as Animals and WYWH. I'd say up until Dark Side, Piper was their best album, and Barrett's solo material is probably better than Meddle (as great as "Echoes" is). They are a unique band in that their primary songwriter/leader/visionary burned out and the band continued on without him in a completely different vein, matching and arguably surpassing the original incarnation!
Dark Side is quite moving. It's also odd in that it does not contain their very best compositions, yet it's their best!
I do like both eras, but until only recently I was not a fan of the post-Syd experimental phase. I used to like Meddle to Final Cut, with Piper being a big favourite as well. Now I like all of it. I blush to admit it, but there's not a Floyd album I don't like (even the post-Waters era)*. Also I think listening to more avant-garde & modern classical stuff, not to mention jazz, has given me a renewed appreciation for the early experimental period.
"I'd say up until Dark Side, Piper was their best album, and Barrett's solo material is probably better than Meddle (as great as "Echoes" is)."
I agree.
"They are a unique band in that their primary songwriter/leader/visionary burned out and the band continued on without him in a completely different vein, matching and arguably surpassing the original incarnation!"
Yes, that is definitely strange. Barrett was an eccentric, misunderstood prophet a la Beefheart, but seemed to lack the same kind of confidence or drive to 'succeed'. Syd was I think more brilliant than his band mates, but had a hard time working with them (or anybody for that matter). Whereas without him, Pink Floyd worked great together.
"Dark Side is quite moving. It's also odd in that it does not contain their very best compositions, yet it's their best!"
Time, Money, Us and Them, Great Gig in the Sky not amongst their very best compositions?
*edit: A Momentary Lapse of Reason is quite horrible. Division Bell isn't bad if I recall.
What I mean is that it doesn't have Saucerful of Secrets, Echoes, WYWH (both suites), Dogs, Pigs, and Comfortably Numb. I find those to be the monumental compositions of their post-Barrett years. Speaking of Dark Side, one of my favorite memories is driving down the midnight highway, with the windows down, with a good friend, whilst in a state of higher consciousness, listening to "Breath". Another time was driving through one of those bright summer day rainstorms to "Any Colour You Like" (definitely the most underrated song on that album). Do you like Obscured by Clouds? That's such a good little transitional album, you can hear the blueprint of Dark Side in it.
Lol, nice. I concur with the higher consciousness floyd driving experiences. So dangerous, yet so cathartic ;). Obscured by Clouds is a good one. I remember the first two jam tracks in particular, and Whats uh the Deal. I'm going to re-listen to it again soon (it's been years). I'm actually an excellent driver whilst under the spell of sacred herbs :>
Indeed! Until you have one of those "the door is a jar" experiences. As a matter of fact, I had one of those "the parking brake has been in place for the past 20 minutes" experiences once. D'oh! I will remember to designate you as my driver on any such excursions.
Whats Uh the Deal is beautiful, such class. Also dig "Free Four" with its fuzziness and choice Waters lyrics, and "Burning Bridges". I might have to give it as digital spin tonight.
Speaking of Floyd, have you ever experienced Dark Side of the Rainbow (matching the album with the MGM lion roar in Wizard of Oz so it's synchronized?) Another incredible matchup I saw is Dark Side at the beginning of Alice in Wonderland. It does not seem to really match, but then suddenly -- perfectly -- they sing "run, rabbit, run" just as that damn rabbit is taking off! Bizarre. On the topic of synchronicity (just to let my ADD run hog wild), Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" tends to match really well with cartoon animation, like Scooby Doo. It's very hilarious.
"Indeed! Until you have one of those "the door is a jar" experiences. As a matter of fact, I had one of those "the parking brake has been in place for the past 20 minutes" experiences once. D'oh!"
Oh man, I've had my share of those. Reminds me of one in particular. I asked my friends to stop off at the bank so I could take out some money for food. I walk out of the bank, open the back seat door, and there's this old woman sitting in the car asking me annoyed, "can I help you?" "No, sorry I have the wrong car." My friends had a good laugh over that one.
Amazingly enough I haven't watched Dark Side of the Rainbow. I'll check it out.
lol, good story -- almost Lynchian at first, as though you had the right car and the old woman had replaced your friends
Dark Side of the Rainbow is pretty good, the band denies anything fishy, but the house blowing in the tornado during "Great Gig in the Sky"? Lots of odd matches. I guess some music is psychedelic enough it goes with anything. Certainly check out the Dre. Just watching Scooby and Shaggy trading off rhymes is priceless.
Good call on Frances, Cassandra Gemini is fantastic.
Most assuredly. Great album from a great band. What think you of De-loused in the Comatorium?
It's good but nowhere near as much as its successor, it has a couple of brilliant tracks on it. Drunkship of Lanterns and Cicatriz ESP are brilliant, the latter being one of the best extended suites of the decade. You?
I think it's amazing, though admittedly not as overwhelming as Frances. I've been listening to Bedlam in Goliath a lot lately and loving it. I wasn't a huge fan of Amputechture, though it has some interesting parts. Still have to hear their new one Octahedron.
In Rainbows -- oh, do explain!
What can I say. I have a raging piss fetish and I love the smell of farts.
You said it.
Cool to see both Frances The Mute and Deloused on the list. The latter is actually one of those albums that falls on the wrong side of the Scaruffi '2000 threshold' and the ranking suffers because of it. I would be interested to see what its rating would have been had it been made in the 90s; I suspect a 7.5 by his standards. Frances I think might have scrapped an 8.5 from him if it had been in the 90s though I'm not as certain about that one. Joanna Newsom's Ys to me still seems like the obvious one that would have been an 8.5 had it been made earlier, despite the irrelevance of its conception date. I'm curious as to whether the high rating you have for Frances is including the track Frances The Mute. The band have stated it was intended to be included on the album before Cygnus but was not allowed to be put on by the record label because it would have made the album run to 2 discs. Therefore Mars Volta stuck it on The Widow EP. If you haven't already I recommend listening to it before the album as it provides the perfect introduction.
The high rating of Frances does not include the title track. I heard it awhile ago and loved it, but I am so used to listening to the record without it by now. Although I use the same rating system as Scaruffi, I don't think I rate in the same way he does. I primarily weigh artworks against each other and award high points for the ones that succeed over the others. I think he has more specific criteria he applies to the individual works. Also, I feel a lot more confident in my movie picks than in music. Don't get me wrong, I love music. But I don't really 'know' anything about it. I feel like I'm on solid ground when discussing film on the other hand.
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