Songs Ohia: Magnolia Electric Co. (2003)

 

     A couple years ago, I got around to checking out Will Johnson adjacent musician Jason Molina. Turns out he was another December 30th birthday buddy. Anyhow, Molina and Will Johnson recorded an album together in 2009 simply titled Molina and Johnson. Four years after Molina's death in 2013, Erin Osman wrote his biography, "Riding With the Ghost", and asked Will Johnson to write the forward. It was a beautiful tribute to a kindred spirit. The biography was fascinating and prompted me to head down the Jason Molina rabbit hole. Osman went into great detail about the song "Farewell Transmission" from his Songs Ohia album Magnolia Electric Co., so that's where I began. What I discovered was a record that continually veered back and forth between savage power and spare beauty, with Molina presiding like a prime era Neil Young. 

     Magnolia Electric Co. opens with the aforementined "Farewell Transmission" and it is a 7 1/2 minute revelation. I have to resist the urge to just post the entire lyrics; there are so many poignant lines. One that resonates because of Molina's death is "I will try and know whatever I try, I will be gone but not forever". Two other brilliant lyrics are "My kind of life's no better off if I've got the maps or if I'm lost" and "Mama here comes Midnight with the dead moon in its jaws". "Farewell Transmission" ends with a great run out where Molina repeats the line "Long dark blues...LISTEN". Then on the final "LISTEN" the song abruptly ends. Goosebumps.

     "I've Been Riding With the Ghost" and "John Henry Split My Heart" are full on Neil Young and Crazy Horse rockers. "John Henry" opens with a Crazy Horse style jam, then it pulls back for a sparse piano interlude, then kicks the door in with more Crazy Horse jamming. Molina also reprises lyrics from "Farewell Transmission". The song ends with John Henry asking "Boy what are you going to do with your heart in two?" The reply is "If it's good enough and only if it's good enough, half I'm going to use to pay this band. Half I'm saving because I'm going to owe them". Fuck. 

     "Just Be Simple" starts out with some exquisite pedal steel then Molina joins in with fragile vocals. "You'll never hear me talk about one day getting out. Why put a new address on the same old loneliness". My favorite line is "I think he's been letting me win. And I think he's doing it again. Thanks for letting me win. And everything you hated me for, honey there was so much more. I just didn't get busted". 

     I highly recommend this album, as well as, Osman's biography. It's a riveting story. Peace. 

Doves: Lost Souls (2000)

 

     I'm sitting at my desk on a cold, rainy morning coming to the realization that summer will be coming to a close soon. It is this time of year that I invariably turn to my go-to end of summer album, Lost Souls. Lost Souls was realeased in the U.K. in the spring of 2000, but fittingly not released in the States until October. I remember being up in the middle of the night with my daughter, watching MTV2, when the video for "Catch the Sun" came on and blew my mind. I was at the record store the next day. "Catch the sun before it's gone" is the perfect line for late August in a northern clime. I will never understand those who complain about the heat of summer. Every sunny day is a gift. 

     The opening track on Lost Souls, "Firesuite", sounds like what I can only imagine Manchester to be. In my mind, I see seabirds circling in cold, gray skies above a cold, gray cityscape. I can visualize guys going to work in their peacoats and knit caps. I can hear them raising hell in the pub in their fantastic Mancunian accents. Think The Fighting Gallagher Brothers. "Firesuite" sets the atmospheric theme for the entire record. At first listen, Lost Souls may seem dark and depressing, but in fact it's an album about hope and longing and escape. Escape from a place or a person or yourself. And the hope that comes from just one moment in the sun. "Here it comes. Here comes my days in the sun. Here it comes. Here comes my time in the sun. And you don't know how it feels. Here it comes. Here comes my time in the sun". That is the second chorus of track number two, "Here it Comes". 

     The themes of escape and longing resurface in the first verse of standout track "Catch the Sun". "Everyday it comes to this. Catch the things you might have missed. You say get back to yesterday. 'Cause I ain't ever going back. Back to the place that I can't stand, but I, I miss the way you lie. 'Cause I'm always misunderstood, pulled apart and ripped in two, but I, I miss the way you lie". Longing for the simple peace of sleep is a theme in songs like "Sea Song" and "The Cedar Room". "Sea Song" begins "Drive with me, do the things you won't believe. Drive with me, past the city and down to sea. Crushing dreams, leave me be, I cannot sleep". "The Cedar Room" is probably the best song on Lost Souls. The chorus is great; "I tried to sleep alone, but I couldn't do it. You could be sitting next to me and I wouldn't know it. If I told you you were wrong, I don't remember saying it. I don't remember saying it". 

     Other standout tracks are the triumphantly soaring "Rise" and the eerie closer "A House". "A House" begins and ends with a burning sound. Here are the lyrics: "It was a day like this and my house burnt down. And the walls were thin and they crashed to the ground. It was a day like this and my life unwound. You could've struck me a line and that's okay now. We could always put it together again. You could've told me a lie, and a lie so thin, so thin now everything's clear. Day after day and life goes on. And I try to see the good in everyone. If I ever find myself here again I'll give everything". 

     Doves, for me, are the band that defines the 2000's. Lost Souls came out in 2000 and Kingdom of Rust in 2009. In between were The Last Broadcast and Some Cities. They are all 5 star records in my opinion. This decade run is similar to The Beatles run in the Sixties and Zeppelin in the Seventies. One of my regrets is I never saw these guys live and chances are I probably never will. At least I have the records. Peace.

The White Stripes: De Stijl (2000)

 

     The White Stripes were roundly credited for the Garage Revival. As I am revisiting their second album, De Stijl (The Style), it strikes me as mostly a blues album. Yes, there are two tracks, "Let's Build a Home" and "Jumble, Jumble", that are textbook garage rock; complete with crunchy guitars and sloppy drums. However, the album is dedicated to bluesman Blind Willie McTell and much of it sounds like an homage to one of Jack White's guitar hereos, Jimmy Page. 

     The Jimmy Page influence is all over songs like "Little Bird", "I'm Boung to Pack It Up" and the Son House cover "Death Letter". Of course, Jimmy Page was featured in the film "This Might Get Loud" with Jack and U2's The Edge. I've never listened to Son House or Blind Willie McTell, so I don't know the extent that their style may have influenced Page or White. It is clear that Page was an influence on Jack White. 

     The album opens with "You're Pretty good Lookin' (For a Girl)". I wish I could take this song in a time machine back to 1965 and give it to The Kinks. It would have been a huge hit. The second track is the tremendous "Hello, Operator". This is more like the sound we would come to expect from a White Stripes song. The second verse is fantastic. "Find a canary, a bird to bring my message home. Carry my obituary, my coffin doesn't have a phone. How you gonna get the money? Send papers to an empty home. How you gonna get the money? Nobody to answer the phone". I also love Meg's drum rim solos.

     There are a few more tracks that point to the future sound of the band, like "Why Can't You Be Nicer to Me?" There are also a couple tracks that are like "We Are Gonna Be Friends" from White Blood Cells. I liken this type of Jack White song to those old tyme Paul McCartney songs that he would put on every Beatles album. They are cute, but not my personal favorites. 

     It was nice to really dig into De Stijl again. Truthfully, when I'm in the mood to listen to The White Stripes I just put on White Blood Cells. I forgot how good this record is. The White Stripes were a rare band who could combine style AND substance. The red, white and black motif was striking. And the whole marketing thing about whether they were married or brother and sister was brilliant. I still kick myself for not going to see them Downtown when I lived on the mean streets of the Detroit suburbs. I have seen Jack at the Little Caesar's Arena and The Raconteurs at the Agora here in Cleveland and he is an amazing performer. I'm sure The White Stripes will be first ballot Rock Hall inductees. Hopefully they will reunite for the ceremony. If they do I will be there. Peace.

     

The 2000's Revisited

 

     Now that my yearly album Mt. Rushmores are done, I feel like I may have taken an unintentional crap on the 2000's. While I stand by my perspective regarding Mt. Rushmores for the 2000's, there admittedly have been many tremendous records released in the past 22 years. I reviewed the year 2000 again and would be hard-pressed to come up with a Mt. Rushmore without doing a deep dive on dozens of records I don't own and have never heard. But I love Doves Lost Souls and Badly Drawn Boy The Hour of Bewilderbeast and Modest Mouse The Moon & Antarctica. And De Stijl by The White Stripes is pretty good too, but are these albums Mt. Rushmore wothy? 

     I think going forward, I would like to focus on albums of the 2000's. As I said, there are many great records that I know and love. There are also thousands I have meant to get around to, but haven't managed. It might be chronological, or just random. I haven't made that call yet. This could also be an exercise to step out of my comfort zone and try new genres. My instinct is to examine records I enjoy and not bother with those I don't. Who am I to tell people Adele is horrible? And who knows, maybe Harry Styles is amazing. Or BTS. I do know my faith in music has been restored by artists like Yard Act, Wet Leg, Horsegirl and D.C. Fontaines. 

     On a side note, my next Sound Mind post will be number 200. Not too impressive since I began this blog almost 10 years ago, but it's a milestone nonetheless. It feels good to publish something everyday, even though these posts are basically stream of consciousness, unedited first drafts. Hopefully it's not too obvious. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: Sixties Recap

 

     My top ten albums for the Sixties aee very good. Not Nineties good, but probably better than the Seventies and Eighties. The Sixties was interesting because the early years were still singles dominant, but the second half was marked by the concept album, rock operas, garage rock, psychedelic rock, prog rock, hard bop and festivals. Music took a huge creative leap in the Sixties, much like the Space Program putting a man on the Moon by 1969. No band exemplified this more than The Beatles. But how will they fare on my list? Let's find out.

1)  Odessey and Oracle

2)  My Generation

3)  Abbey Road

4)  Revolver

5) The Doors

6)  Nefertiti

7)  A Love Supreme

8)  Are You Experienced

9)  The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society

10) I've Got a Tiger By the Tail

     This list might be better than the Nineties. It's hard to say because it's more diverse. The Nineties doesn't have two jazz albums and a country record. Every album on this list is 5 stars. And I didn't even have Pet Sounds, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan or Simon and Garfunkel. Great decade! Peace. 

Mt. Rushmore: 1964

 

     1964 was a bit more difficult than I first thought. It turned out I had five solid options and the final cut was painful. It came down to The Beatles and Getz / Gilberto. Most of you probably don't consider that a hard decision, but it was for me. Stan Getz will probably be on my Mt. Rushmore of saxophonists and Getz / Gilberto has "The Girl From Ipanema" and "Desifinado", which are jazz classics. The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night was the second album, all-time, to feature all originals by a group or artist. In the end, I decided a Mt. Rushmore for 1964 has to have The Beatles on it. 

     My number one may, or may not, be a surprise. It's Buck Owens and His Buckaroos I've Got a Tiger By the Tail. Where do I start? The Buckaroos were named by Merle Haggard when he was in Buck's band for a hot minute. I consider Buck and his Buckaroos to be the country music equivalent of Miles Davis' Second Quintet. Buck on vocals and guitar, Don Rich playing lead guitar on a Fender Telecaster, Doyle Holly on bass, Tom Brumley on pedal steel guitar and Willie Cantu on drums. Buck was also a hell of a guitarist. He learned in the Grapes of Wrath era work camps as a kid as his family moved west to Bakersfield, California. He started out as a session player, but eventually came to create The Bakersfield Sound; which went up against the Nashville machine. That's why he was always written off by mainstream country music, until Dwight Yoakam became a champion for his legacy. Buck had an affinity for songs that start with the chorus, like the title track of I've Got a Tiger By the Tail and "Fallin' For You". He was an influence on The Beatles and they covered "Act Naturally", which is another song that begins with the chorus made popular by Buck Owens. Other great Beatles songs that lead with the chorus are "HELP" and "You're Gonna Lose That Girl". Someday, after I reread "Buck 'Em", I will do a post on Buck Owens. He was a one of a kind entertainer. And this album was released two days before I was born, on December 28th. 

     Number two and three are by two more heads on my saxophone Mt. Rushmore; John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter. Just to end the suspense, Sonny Rollins would be the fourth. Anyhow, Coltrane released Crescent in 1964 with his clasic quartet of McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. Tyner and Jones also played on Wayne Shorter's 1964 release, Juju. These are both tremendous, overlooked classic jazz records. If you are only passingly familiar with Kind of Blue or Time Out or A Love Supreme, I would recommmend really digging into these albums. They are top shelf hard bop. 

     So, number four is A Hard Day's Night. It's a movie soundtrack, but it's all originals written at the time. Of course, it begins with that iconic chord being struck at the beginning of "A Hard Day's Night". Then there's that classic "music video" during the film where they play "Can't Buy Me Love" while they are frolicking around in a park. Truthfully, it's not high in my ranking of Beatles records, but the movie is fantastic. It was an important album in the band's development and a critical landmark in the history of rock music. Therefore, Mt. Rushmore worthy. 

     Tomorrow is the Sixties recap. Since there were only six years covered, I will pick a few wildcards to round it out to a top ten. This exercise has been fun and it made me post everyday, so win-win. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1965

 

     1965 was a little rough for albums. Not due to a lack of quality, but rather a lack of originality. There were so many artists with a couple originals who then supplemented their albums with covers. Hell, that's how The Beatles started. I was considering Here Are the Sonics by The Sonics and Begin Here by The Zombies, but I felt there were too many covers. I even briefly considered Highway 61 Revisited out of desperation. Other contenders were Herbie Hancock Maiden Voyage and Miles Davis ESP. In the end, I have my top four and they are pretty good. 

     Ironically, my number one has three covers and questionable sequencing. It's The Who Sings My Generation by The Who. I'm puzzled why a band would come out of the gate with a manifesto like "My Generation" and bury it on track six behind a James Brown cover and an original that sounds like an R&B cover. "People try to put us down just because we get around. Things they do look awful cold. Hope I die before I get old". That's a Roger Daltrey punch in the face to the "Greatest Generation". Factor in arguably the best pop song of all-time, "The Kids Are Alright", and this is already one of the most important albums of the Sixties. Then there are several straight up rockers like "Good's Gone", "La-La-La Lies" and "Much Too Much". Try to imagine being alive when this album came out. It was louder, edgier and more confrontational than anything that preceded it. And they had Keith Fucking Moon. So good.

     For my number two, I'm going with John Coltrane's A Love Supreme. This is peak Coltrane with his classic quartet of McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. If a made a Mt. Rushmore for jazz albums, this would be on it. If you find Coltrane intimidating, go back to his stuff with Miles and work your way through his catalog chronologically. He was a musical genius and a brilliant player. Unquestionably the most gifted individual to pick up a saxophone. 

     Number three is Rubber Soul by The Beatles. An album of originals. Yay! Not as good as Revolver, but a nice companion piece that showed the direction they were heading as a band. The songs were more sophisticated and complex. This change was credited to the influence of Dylan. Perhaps, but it probably would have happened organically anyhow. For me, the standout tracks are "Nowhere Man", "Think For Yourself" and "If I Needed Someone". What else can I say, it's The Beatles.

     Number four is a bit of a stunner. I'm going with A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. It is a beautiful album in the style of Bill Evans. This has to be the bestselling and most listened to Christmas album ever. Worth listening to just for "Linus and Lucy". This is a nostaglia selection sorry, not sorry. 

     Wow, tomorrow is 1964, the year I was born; barely. That will be my last album Mt. Rushmore for specific years. I will do a Sixties recap and some other random Mt. Rushmores. After that I'm not sure. I have published something for 38 straight days and I don't want to lose my momentum. Anyhow, 1964 looks like a lot of jazz and country, but I will review my options one more time. Peace.

     

     

Mt. Rushmore: 1966

 

     1966 was an extremely top heavy year. I only have five contenders. You may be thinking to yourself "That's not possible idiot". Well, if you factor in that Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones aren't going to be contenders it's slim pickings. So the one that didn't make the cut was Freak Out by The Mothers of Invention. Originally I penciled that one in for the Mt. Rushmore, but it got edged out in the end. 

     So, obviously the two albums that came out in 1966 were Revolver and Pet Sounds. My personal preference is Revolver, so that's my number one. Revolver is my fourth favorite Beatles album. If it included "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" it would be the greatest record of all-time. It's interesting that the opening track is one of George's songs, "Taxman". Apparently by 1966 taxes were the number one concern of the Fab Four. George also contributed one of my favorite tracks on Revolver, "I Want to Tell You". I love that guitar riff he plays after he sings "I don't mind". While critics point to "Eleanor Rigby" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" as the seminal songs from this album, but my favorite is "And Your Bird Can Sing". I really love this jangly period the band went through before they went psychedelic. And it has "Yellow Submarine", which was the first Beatles song I was exposed to as a kid. I mentioned 10 years ago, when I started Sound Mind, that being born in 1964 skewed my Beatles fandom. When I started to listen to music they were all in the middle of solo careers, so I knew them as solo artists before I knew who The Beatles were. Crazy. 

     Ok, number two is Pet Sounds. It's basically my number two because I don't want to be a contrarian dickhead. I understand it's an important album and many bands I love were inspired by it. However, apart from a couple tracks, I find it quite boring. I question how many people have actually listened to this entire album more than a few times through. It's a critics album. There's nothing wrong with that, but listening to Pet Sounds is like doing homework. "God Only Knows" is a very good song, but it's not the greatest song of all-time. Having said that , it is an important record and deserves Mt. Rushmore status. 

     The Miles Davis Second Quintet didn't release an album in 1966, but Wayne Shorter did. He enlisted fellow quintet members Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter, as well as, Freddie Hubbard and Elvin Jones to record Speak No Evil. It was actually recorded a week before I was born in December 1964, but not released until 1966. Wayne Shorter composed all the tracks. Herbie Hancock, in particular, is on fire on this record. Everyone made impressive contributions to Speak No Evil though. This album served to get Shorter out of the shadow of John Coltrane, which is quite a feat. Brilliant record. 

     Finally, a sloppy, psychedelic garage classic, The Psychedelic Sounds of the Thirteenth Floor Elevators. This is one of the earliest, and best, albums of the garage rock movement. The guitar work of Stacy Sutherland is incredible. It's like lysergic surf guitar. Roky Erickson's vocals are fantastic and they even had an electric jug player. which is delightfully insane. If you are a fan of the Garage Revival of the Aughts, you need to go back and check out this album. Tremendous.

     Looking ahead to 1965, I have some pretty diverse contenders and it may be a difficult task to get down to four albums. There's a lot of jazz, British Invasion and a Christmas album, so chew on that. My number one is locked in and it's probably not the one you think it is. Peace. 

Mt. Rushmore: 1967

 

     As I dug into 1967, it didn't hold up as well as I originally thought. I also have a conundrum whether to count Magical Mystery Tour as an actual studio album. If I did it would be on the Mt. Rushmore. However, it's basically an EP from a TV show, plus some singles that had already been released, so I'm not going to count it. Many of my contenders for 1967 were disappointing upon further review. They included The Moody Blues Days of Future Passed, Mothers of Invention Absolutely Free, Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow and Cream Disraeli Gears. I also gave Forever Changes by Love a chance, because I've never listened to it. Turns out I had heard the opening track before and I hate it. There were a couple decent songs, but overall not my thing. Moby Grape was a close call. I liked it quite a bit, but it couldn't crack the top four. Finally. Miles Davis, like many other artists in 1967, had two albums in 1967 and they split the vote. 

     My number one for 1967 is a fellow left-handed guitarist who was much better than me; Jimi Hendrix Are You Experienced. This is almost a greatest hits album. Purple Haze. Manic Depression. Hey Joe. The Wind Cries Mary. Fire. Foxey Lady. Are You Experienced. While Hendrix is remembered as an innovative guitarist, these are great songs as well. 

     Number two is The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. When it came out it blew minds around the world. It hasn't aged as well, however I feel Glies Martin's remastering a few years ago gave Sgt. Pepper a new life. It's probably the number three Beatles record in my opinion. I love tracks like "Good Morning, Good Morning", "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds". Some of the weaker songs, like "She's Leaving Home", were greatly improved on the Giles Martin remaster. 

     "Gate is straight, deep and wide. Break on through to the other side". Yes, number three is the debut by The Doors. I know Morrison is a divisive figure for rock fans, but I'm a sucker for pretentious music so I love The Doors. "She won't waste time on elementary talk, she's a 20th century fox". Like Are You Experienced, this is basically a greatest hits record. Maybe I have arrested development, but I enjoy lines like "Show me the way to the next whiskey bar", "You can eat your dinner, eat your pork and beans. I eat more chicken than any man's ever seen" and "He took a face from the ancient gallery and he walked on down the hall". "The End" is probably my favorite pretentious song of all-time. "Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain and all the children are insane". Fantastic!

     Number four is Piper at the Gates of Dawn by the Syd Barrett lead Pink Floyd. As much as I love David Gilmour, it's a shame Syd couldn't handle being in a rock band. He was extremely talented and charismatic. This record features some trippy tunes like "Lucifer Sam", "The Gnome" and "Bike". There are also epic tracks that show what the bands future would be, such as, "Astronomy Domine", "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" and "Interstellar Overdrive". Great album!

     Looking ahead to 1966, there are obviously two albums locked in. I will review the year one more time to sort out the other two spots. Well, the clocks says it's time to go now. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1968

 

     1968 was an easy year, as there were only four albums I seriously considered. I did listen to Big Pink and Sweetheart of the Rodeo, but they didn't crack my original four choices. I love these four records almost equally, but I can rank them for these purposes. 

     Number one is Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies. Not to get ahead of myself, but this is probably the best album of the Sixties. It's unfortunate that the band had already broken up when this album finally clicked with the stupid public. "Time of the Season" is easily a top three song of the Sixties. "What's your name? Who's your daddy? He rich? Is he rich like me? Has he taken any time to show you what you really need to live?" Rod Argent and Chris White were genius pop songwriters and Colin Blunstone's vocals were smooth and penetrating. Blunstone's high point on Odessey is "This Will Be Our Year". "The warmth of your love's like the warmth of the sun. And this will be our year, took a long time to come". I mentioned "Care of Cell 44" previously when discussing Sloan's One Chord to Another. It's a beautiful pop tune about waiting for your love to come home from prison. For the love of God, go listen to this album right now!

     Number two is The Kinks' The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society. I think I've decide that the fourth member of my Mt. Rushmore of singers is Ray Davies. HIs voice is like a warm blanket. Village Green is the beginning of a series of nostalgic albums by the Kinks. It's a concept album celebrating a Britain that Davies fondly recalls. It makes the listener hope that there really was a Britain this idyllic. Probably not though. Standout songs are the title track, "Picture Book" and "Last of the Steam-powered Trains". Dave Davies also contributes the excellent "Wicked Anabella". Great album. 

     Number three is The Beatles' White Album. What else can I say about this record. Every song on this record launched a new subgenre of pop music. Someday a should write an extended piece on that topic. Anyhow, this is a double album where everyone in the band is at the height of their powers. It makes for a rich and diverse listening experience. If you read my blog, I'm sure you are quite familiar with this record and have your own feelings about it. It's my second favorite behing Abbey Road. I have no problem with it being a double album, even if there are a few turds in the punch bowl. 

     Number four is Nefertiti by Miles Davis' Second Quintet. Truly the most talented band ever assembled. Everything they recorded was magic. In some ways, this record is peak Miles Davis as a traditional jazz player. After Nefertit he begins his journey to electric jazz-rock fusion; not that there's anything wrong with that. It's sort of a companion piece to 1967's Sorcerer, which is also brilliant but may have a hard time making my Mt. Rushmore in a stacked field. Besides Miles, Herbie Hanccock really stands out on this record. And Tony Williams on "Hand Jive" is quite spectacular on drums. It's a testament to Miles Davis that he always encouraged (pushed) his band members to stretch out and go for it. Even though I ranked this album fourth, it is number one quality. 

     Looking ahead to 1967, it's going to be a straight up bitch to pick four albums. I may have to leave off Sgt. Pepper, which is crazy. People always talk about Sgt. Pepper being innovative, and it was, but there were many albums out that year just as groundbreaking. Pink Floyd. Mothers of Invention. Jefferson Airplane. Moody Blues. The Doors. It's nuts. I have contended for quite some time that the last half of the Sixties was the most creative period of music in almost every genre. 1967 was the peak year. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1969

 

     1969. We're into the Sxities and the Summer of Love. Apparently everybody was too busy with love to make good albums. For me, this was a crap year, except at the very top. It's so bad that one band has two albums on my Mt. Rushmore. I considered three other records, The Band's Brown Album, CCR Green River and King Crimson's Court of the Crimson King, but they were extremely overrated. Even my number four isn't particularly one of my favorites. It does look like the rest of the Sixties will be solid though. 1967 is going to be a slugfest. Anyhow, let's get 1969 over with. 

     My number one is probably my favorite Beatles album, AbbeyRoad. It was the final album they recorded and they wanted to go out on top. If  you watched Peter Jackson's Get Back documentary, the Let it Be sessions were a drain on the band and the producers. In fact, The Beatles really had to convince George Martin to come back for Abbey Road, because he was concerned it would just be a repeat of Let it Be. However, everyone involved got their shit together and recorded a masterpiece. Even George Harrison contributed two of his greatest songs, "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something", rather than keeping them for All Things Must Pass. The standout, for me, is the Abbey Road side two medley. I especially love "Golden Slumbers". It blows me away everytime McCartney sings "Once there was a way to get back home". I sometimes wish they had left the goofy "Her Majesty" off the end of Abbey Road. It takes away from "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make", but their humor is part of what made them great. And then there's the iconic album cover. 

     Number two and three are Led Zeppelin I and II. Gun to my head, I like Zeppelin II better, but not by much. They came out the same year, so they aren't really that different. They created the template of a hard rock band. The golden god lead singer, the riffmaster lead guitarist. the heavy handed bassist and a pyrotechnic drummer. They ruled rock music for a decade, until the death of drummer John Bonham. The highlight for me is "Heartbreaker / Living Loving Maid". 

     Number four is Tommy by The Who. My preferred Who is the early power pop and Who's Next. The live stuff and rock operas aren't really my wheelhouse. Of the rock operas, I much prefer Quadrophenia. Tommy is mostly short pieces with just a few actual good songs. "Pinball Wizard" has been too overplayed. I do like "I'm Free" and "We're Not Gonna Take It". I appreciate Pete Townsend's artistic vision, but it's just not my thing. Sorry. Still on the Mt. Rushmore, though. 

     Looking ahead to 1968, the year the Detroit Tigers won the World Series! Once again very top heavy. I will review the releases, but I already have a solid top four. Number one is also locked in. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: Live Albums

 

     I mentioned brfore that the Seventies were the decade of live albums. However, when compiling my live album Mt. Rushmore I realized this phenomenon spilled into the Eighties and had been a thing in the Sixties as well. My contenders were mostly from the Seventies though. I wanted to get The J. Geils Band's Blow Your Face Out on because I love Peter Wolf's classic tale of Reputa the Beauta, but I couldn't do it. Likewise, I wanted to honor The Pat Travers Band's iconic live version of "Boom Boom, Out Go the Lights", but it wasn't to be. I was also conflicted whether to consider all the great live albums or just the one I actually own. I chose to consider all of them and my Mt. Rushmore is 50-50, but I will eventually acquire the ones I don't have. Needless to say, I had to leave off some classic live albums. They are RUSH Exit...Stage Left, Neil Young Live Rust (amazing just for "Powderfinger"), Johnny Cash Folsom Prison, KISS Alive I, The Who Live at Leeds and Miles Davis Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965. Miles Davis was the last cut. His second quintet of Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams is the greatest band of all-time. 

     My well documented number one is Cheap Trick At Budokan. It wasn't until Heaven Tonight that Cheap Trick were able to translate their live energy to the studio. The studio and live versions of "I Want You to Want Me" could be no more different. The original At Budokan was great, but since then there have been many reissues of the complete show, which is the much have version. The standout for me is "Come On, Come On". I have a fantasy of creating a anime series about Cheap Trick being secret ninjas that live underground in Tokyo, but doing live shows every night. In their prime they were kind of cartoonish with the two good looking guys, the weird guy and the guy who looked like an old chain smoking accountant. Speaking of which, Bun E. Carlos is the MVP of At Budokan. He should still be in the band.

     Number two is Live Bullet by Bob Seger. I'm not a huge Seger guy, but Live Bullet is tremendous; and really the only Seger a normal person would need. His live versions of "Nutbush City Limits", "Get Out of Denver", "Katmandu", "Beautiful Loser" and "Ramblin', Gamblin' Man" are incendiary. They easily make up for the criminally overplayed "Turn the Page" (pronounced Paaaaaaaaja). 

     Number three is the omnipresent Peter Frampton Comes Alive. Everybody had it and there's a reason for that...it's great. Frampton is possibly the most underrated guitarist of the guitar god era. HIs dad was David Bowie's music teacher and Peter was life long friends with him. Unfortunately, he was never able to translate his talent to the studio. He also has the greatest vocoder performance of all-time on "Do You Feel Like We Do", which is something. 

     Number four is my surprise pick and it's from the Eighties; Under a Blood Red Sky by U2. Early U2 is my wheelhouse. Even though they are a great studio band, I love the live versions of "Gloria", "I Will Follow", "40", "The Electric Co." and "11 O'Clock Tick Tock". This came out a couple months after I started college. Perfect timing.

     I just went to my first live show since covid the other night. It was Guided by Voices at the Rock Hall for almost three hours. They were on fire. Pollard's current band is great. My wife and I are going to see two Crowded House shows next month. The best show we have ever been to was Kasabian at the House of Blues in Chicago. The second best was the RUSH show in Cleveland that was released on DVD, CD and LP. Third best was Midnight Oil at the Cleveland House of Blues. We love going to shows. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 70's Recap

 

     Well, the number ones for the Seventies turned out about as I suspected. Not as good as the Nineties, but better than the Eighties. The problem is going to be ranking them. It's like comparing apples and watermelons. How do you sort out such diverse bands as The Who, The Cars, Genesis and Miles Davis. Despite how my Mt. Rushmores turned out, it seems my bands of the Seventies were Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Elton John and Steely Dan. Looking forward, I will be ending the Mt.Rushmores in 1964, which is when I was born. This is also roughly when studio albums, of original material, actually became a thing. Maybe at some point I will do some Mt. Rushmores for pre-1964 music. Alright, I've stalled enough. Here are the rankings for the Seventies. Peace.

     1) Who's Next

     2) Bitches Brew

     3) Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

     4) The Cars

     5) Born to Run

     6) Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

     7) Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust

     8) The Wall

     9) Pink Flag

     10) Modern Lovers

Mt. Rushmore: 1970

 

     Don't say I didn't warn you. 1970 is going to be jazz-tastic. Yes, even though this is the year of the final album by The Beatles, and their subsequent solo albums, I'm going jazz heavy. Since I'm on the topic of The Beatles, and we are going into the Sixties, I thought I should clear up a  Sound Mind policy. I have stated previously that I don't include The Beatles in any lists due to my philosophy of Beatles Exceptionalism. However, I am making an exception for the Mt. Rushmores, because it's a one off thought experiment for ranking my favorite albums. So, it would be crazy not to include The Beatles. Having said that, none of their releases for 1970 made my cut. Let it Be was close. I love the album and the Peter Jackson documentary, but it was really recorded before Abbey Road, not 1970. All Things Must pass was the last cut. It has some great George Harrison songs, but too much filler. The other cuts were John Lennon Plastic Ono Band, Black Sabbath self-titled, CCR Cosmo's Factory, Neil Young After the Gold Rush, Syd Barrett Madcap Laughs and The Kinks Lola vs. the Powerman, 

     Number one is by, arguably, the most important musical artist of the 20th century; Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. Admittedly, I had to work my way up to Bitches Brew, but it is a jazz masterpiece. Miles literally runs the voodoo down. The list of musicians on Bitches Brew is like a jazz hall of fame; Dave Holland, Jack De Johnette, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Airto Moreira, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul and Lenny White, just to name a few. The album was ably "produced" by the legendary Teo Macero, who basically spliced together jam sessions. The standout track is "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down". If you want to dig, there are also many outtakes from the Bitches Brew sessions out there which are also tremendous. 

     The opening track of my number two album sounds like it could have been straight from Bitches Brew. The track is "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" from Abraxas by Santana. Before he released Supernatural, I considered Carlos Santana as a top five guitarist because of his amazing feel as a player. Unfortunately, Supernatural soured me on him. Abraxas is a stellar album though. Interestingly, the two hits were covers; Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman" and Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va". In addition to Santana's inspired playing, the album is marked by the brilliant percussion work of Mike Carabello and Jose Areas. They really steal the show. 

     Number three is by one of my favorite saxophonists, Stanley Turrentine's Sugar. Despite the album cover being gross, the album is fantastic. Whereas Miles and Coltrane had gone electric and avant garde by 1970, Turrentine teamed up with Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter and George Benson to create a traditional jazz masterpiece. I would consider Stanley Turrentine the last great jazz saxophonist. He is criminally underrated. Check him out if you haven't listened to him. 

     Number four is by a metal band with a jazzy rhythm section. I'm talkin' Paranoid by Black Sabbath. Almost every hard rock band is based on the blues, but Geezer and Bill seem to be influenced by jazz. If you don't belive me, check out "Rat Salad", "Planet Caravan" and "Fairies Wear Boots". This album also features classic rock radio staples "Paranoid" and "Iron Man". At one point I was close to having two Black Sabbath albums on this Mt. Rushmore, but I couldn't pull the trigger. 

     So, tomorrow will be the Seventies recap, then live albums and then on to the Sixties. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1971

 

     1971 is quite top heavy. I had three solid albums and a surprising battle for number four. After that the other contenders are all very good. Those contenders were David Bowie Hunky Dory, T Rex Electric Warrior, Pink Floyd Meddle, Miles Davis Jack Johnson, ELO, Badfinger Straight Up, Ram, Imagine, Black Sabbath Master of Reality, Kinks Muswell Hillbillies, Led Zeppelin IV and the final cut Traffic Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. The amazing thng is who beat out Traffic for the last spot. 

     Number one was a no-brainer; Who's Next by The Who. Every track is a classic. My personal favorite is "My Wife", which is a John Entwhistle song. I also love "Won't Get Fooled Again". "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss". Those lyrics were never more true than now. Even though it's overplayed, you can't deny "Baba O'Reilly". Pete Townsend is in my top five guitarists and after reading Tony Fletcher's biography of Keith Moon, he has become my favorite drummer. Moon and Townsend had an amazing chemistry playing off each other. This is a perfect record.

     I may have to change my Mt. Rushmore of greatest hits artists. I would put on CCR and take off the next artist, who has now made a couple Mt. Rushmores; Elton John with Madman Across the Water. The title track, "Tiny Dancer" and "Levon" are three of Elton John and Bernie Taupin's greatest songs. I always have to remind myself that Taupin wrote the lyrics. Honky Chateau had bigger hits than Madman Across the Water, but I feel Madman is much for resonant. Elton John's performance on the title track is intense. 

     Number three is Fragile by Yes. This is a musician's album. My favorite track is "South of the Sky", whch is a masterclass on playing by Steve Howe on guitar and Chris Squire on bass. Howe, in particular stands out on Fragile. He even has an instruental, "Mood For a Day", which is fantastic. He's one of my favorite guitarists, but for some reason his solo abums are all Chet Atkins style chicken pickin', which I don't like. Fragile also includes classic rock standards "Roundabout", "Long Distance Runaround" and "Heart of the Sunrise". One of the great prog rock albums.

     Alright, here's the shocker of this whole thought experiment. My number four is an album that literally everyone in the Seventies owned. I had no intention of putting this on my Mt. Rushmore, but after listening to it in it's entirety I couldn't be a dick and leave it off. I am talking about Tapestry by Carole King. Every track on Tapestry is a masterpiece of songcraft. She even rocks out a little bit on "Smackwater Jack". "You can't talk to a man with a shotgun in his hand". I could list all the songs, but it's not necessary. My personal favorites are "So Far Away" and "It's Too Late". I couldn't put it ahead of my other three albums, but it is probably the best singer songwriter album of the Seventies; and that's saying a lot. 

     Looking ahead to 1970, it's a decent year, but not great. My Mt. Rushmore might be kind of jazzy. I'm still sorting it out. My number one is locked in though. After that I will recap the Seventies and then compile my Mt. Rushmore of live albums. Then we come down the home stretch with the Sixties. I can't believe we're almost done. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1972

 

     I had a day off to really dig into 1972 and my album perceptions changed radically. However, number one has remained unchanged. There were a hand full of contenders that I felt were all about the same, but a few emerged to make it on to the Mt. Rushmore. Those missing out are: Todd Rundgren Something/Anything?, Big Star #1 Record, Elton John Honky Chateau, Miles Davis On the Corner, Steely Dan Can't Buy a Thrill and Neil Young Harvest. I had Big Star as a lock going in, but it didn't quite hold up. 

     Number one is obviously The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars by Bowie. As I revisited the album it struck me that it arguably has the best four song run at the end of an album ever; "Hang on to Yourself", "Ziggy Stardust", "Suffragette City" and "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide". Throw in "Starman" and "Moonage Daydream" and you have a masterpiece. Even though I like Aladdin Sane more, Ziggy was up against much easier competition. Still it's pretty much six of one between the two albums. 

     My number two is an album by a group of Bowie proteges. They came out of nowhere to make my Mt. Rushmore after I fell into a You Tube rabbit hole. I give you Mott the Hoople with All the Young Dudes. The title track was given to the band (after they rejected "Drive-in Saturday") by Bowie, who was a fan and didn't want the to breakup. While it's a Bowie song, it was made great by the idiosyncratic vocals of Ian Hunter. Hunter added spoken word bits to the "All the young dudes" parts and it turned out fantastic. Hunter is one of rocks most unique frontmen. As he says in "One of the Boys"..."I don't say much, but I make a big noise". There's also a good cover of "Sweet Jane" and an early version of "Ready For Love" by Mick Ralphs, who would end up in Bad Company and it would be a hit for them. This version is interesting because Ralphs sings, but Hunter has extra sections that weren't in the Bad Company version. There's also a long guitar outro. The original tracks "Sucker" and "Jerkin' Crocus" are tremendous as well. I forgot how great this album is. 

     Number three wasn't on my radar either, but it is a stone cold classic. Machine Head by Deep Purple is a crimally overlooked album. Ritchie Blackmore was my favorite guitarist at one point, until he became a renaissance fair weirdo. Every track on Machine Head is great and it gave us "Highway Star", "Space Truckin'" and the iconic "Smoke on the Water". There's no denying how important this record was. 

     Finally, I went with Close to the Edge by Yes. Of course, "And You and I" and "Siberian Khatru" are classics. I wasn't super familiar witth the title track, but it's actually very much like Genesis, except when Jon Anderson is singing. I love these guys, especially the classic lineup. They will be returning to the Mt. Rushmore discussion soon. 

     Looking ahead to 1971, it seems like a strong year. There's definitely a locked in number one and two. The other two spots will be hotly contested. I'm listening to The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys as I type to see if it will make the cut. Stay tuned. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1973

 

     Ugh! I still haven't worked out 1973. I'm just going to have to do it as I write. OK, I have my top four albums. While I listed the runners up I will try to pick my number one. The albums missing the cut are: John Lennon Mind games, Stevie Wonder Innervisions, ZZ Top Tres Hombres, ELP Brain Salad Surgery, Steely Dan Countdown to Ecstasy, The Who Quadrophenia and Paul McCartney and Wings Band on the Run. So, now you know who that leaves for the Mt. Rushmore. 

     There is an obvious number one for 1973. It spent years on the Billboard Top 200. However, for me, it is too overplayed and I suffer for fatigue, so I'm not picking it number one. Instead, I am going with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John. There are so many hits, as well as, great deep cuts. Saturday Night's Alright. Benny and the Jets. Candle in the Wind. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. All the Girls Love Alice. And it starts out with the amazing "Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding". I had to give Elton John one of these. He was the greatest performer of the Seventies. 

     So, number two is Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. It is a tremendous album, but I have heard these songs a million times. The strength of Dark Side is the lyric writing. I also enjoy the cospiracy theory that they synched it with The Wizard of Oz. I carry on quite a bit about David Gilmour being my favorite guitarist, but the rest of Pink Floyd are amazing as well, especially Roger Waters. 

     Number three is Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy, which doesn't include the song "Houses of the Holy". For me, this album and Physical Graffiti are peak Led Zeppelin. The highlights are the rockers, "The Ocean", "Dancing Days" and "Over the Hills and Far Away". "No Quarter" is the "Kashmir" equivalent; brooding and epic. "Walking side by side with death. The devil mocks their every step". Awesome. 

     Number four is Aladdin Sane by David Bowie. This is my favorite Bowie album. "Watch That Man" is my favorite Bowie deep cut. "Jean Genie" is a fantastic stomp rocker, which I believe is about Iggy Pop. "Sits like a man, but he smiles like a reptile". "Panic in Detroit" and "Time" are classic Bowie tracks. Another favorite deep cut is "Cracked Actor". What I love about Aladdin Sane is it still has the glam rock, but he's adding some art rock elements to the songs. Very powerful record. 

     Looking forward to 1972, it's another year with a solid number one and a bunch of very good albums vying for the other three spots. There are going to be some critically acclaimed albums that aren't in contention, like Exile on Main Street, Pink Moon and Transformer, just because I don't like them. Sorry. Anyhow, you can probaly guess my number one. I was just talking about him. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1974

 

     1974 is quite a weak year for albums. I do have a solid number one, but everything else is very good; not great. I considered doing another Easter Island Head, but that's kind of a cop-out. So, the contenders that missed the cut are still good albums. RUSH's debut was the final cut and you all know how I feel about RUSH. Another cut was Gram Parsons' Grievous Angel, which is arguably ground zero of what would become alt-country. My favorite Frank Zappa album, Apostrophe, didn't make it either. And of course the albums by Steely Dan, ELO and Elton John missed out. The other contenders were Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell. That's a decent list. 

     The runaway number one is Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis. One of the concept double albums ever. There is a whole convoluted story about Rael and his misadventures with sex, but the music is the star of the show. Don't get me wrong, Peter Gabriel's vocals are stellar, but the focus is how they interact with the music rather than what he's saying. It makes sense that Peter Gabriel and the rest of the band went their own ways after this, because this was the height of what this version of Genesis could do. Love it!

     Number two might be a surprise...Desolation Boulevard by The Sweet. The first two 7" singles I ever bought were "Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox on the Run". I love this album. They were lumped in with glam, but they were just a great rock band. I could argue the seeds of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal can be found in songs like "No You Don't", "Sweet F.A." and "Set Me Free". "Fox on the Run" is the standout though. The vocals and harmonies are tremendous. 

     Number three is Diamond Dogs by David Bowie. This is the final album of my favorite period of Bowie. It made my Mt. Rushmore one the strength of two of my favorite Bowie songs, the title track and "Rebel, Rebel". "Diamond Dogs" is one of those tracks, like "Watch That Man", were the verses are all attitude and then the hooky chorus just kicks in the door. I love the bridge on "Rebel, Rebel". "They put you down, they say I'm wrong. You tacky thing, you put them on". 

     Number four is a revisionist choice, since virtually no one heard this album when it came out. I'm talking about Big Star's Radio City. They have retroactively been lumped in with power pop, which is a difficult genre to pin down. This is due to the standout track from this album, "September Gurls". They were clearly an influence on Cheap Trick, who is also labeled as power pop even though I would just consider them mostly a rock band. Anyhow, "September Gurls" is a perfect song and it's criminal that it wasn't a huge hit. The rest of Radio City is stylistically diverse and great in it's own right. 

     Looking ahead to 1973, it's almost a repeat of 1975. Extremely strong at the top. There is an obvious number one, but it may not be my pick. I haven't decided yet. It's another murderer's row. I can list six albums without even trying; Dark Side of the Moon, Houses of the Holy, Quadrophenia, Aladdin Sane, Band on the Run and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Crazy! Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: Greatest Hits Artists

 

     I thought I'd take a break in the middle of the Seventies to discuss artists that I love, but just for the hits. Some music lovers are snobs when it comes to greatest hits albums, but for some artists that's all you really need. I'm running into this issue with these Mt. Rushmores for best albums. Some of my favorite groups can't make the cut. Before I get to my top four, I have a couple honorable mentions; Jackson Browne and Hall and Oates. Love the hits, can't listen to the albums. I'm not going to rank these artists, because I don't have to; it's my blog.

     The first album I bought with my own money was Elton John"s Greatest Hits Volume 1. I love Elton John, even though I couldn't pull the trigger to see his farewell tour. My babysitter, when I was a kid, always brought over Elton John records. While Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is a great album, I have only listened to it all the way through maybe three times in my whole life. The only deep cut that I consider an iconic tune is "All the Young Girls Love Alice". I kind of got away from Reg in the Eighties, but now I love those singles too. I will listen to his greatest hits until the day I die, but not any of the albums. 

     I have two greatest hits collections for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and no albums. Not even Damn the Torpedes.  I have a Rickenbacker and spend time online trying to learn Tom Petty songs, but I don't need any of his albums. I don't have any of his solo albums and I only have The WIlburys first album on CD. I don't remember the last time I listened to the whole thing. Love the hits though...a lot. 

     I do own a few Steely Dan albums on CD, but I only listen to their greatest hits collections, of which I have a few. Well, that's not completely true. I do listen to Aja periodically. The only deep cut I love is "Any Major Dude", if that counts as a deep cut. Their singles are right in my wheelhouse. I keep meaning to really take a deep dive into their discography, but I haven't yet. Maybe I will come around to the catalog someday. 

     I have repeatedly professed my love of Jeff Lynne in this blog. I own some ELO albums, but literally only listen to the greatest hits collections. The hits are tremendous and are really all you need. Sorry Mr. Lynne. 

     I think I will make a Mt. Rushmore for live albums when I finish the Seventies. Then I can recognize some of the bands who were better live than in the studio. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1975

 

     1975 is the battle of the behemoths. I kept my list at seven albums because it was so strong at the top. I didn't even bother including Elton John's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. For a change, I will give you my whole list of contenders so you understand the magnitude of my decisions. Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here, Bruce Springsteen Born to Run, Queen Night at the Opera, Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti, RUSH Fly by Night, Paul McCartney and Wings Venus and Mars and ELO Face the Music. 

     In the past 24 hours, I have changed my number one. It was always going to be Zeppelin, but at the last minute I'm going with Springsteen. I know they always say to stick with your first instinct, but Born to Run is the best and most important album of 1975. I have posted before about "Thunder Road". It's arguably the number one song in the American songbook. The opening line is so evocative; "Screen door slams, Mary's dress waves. Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays". And the title track isn't far behind. The last verse is so powerful. "1,2,3,4 The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive. Everybody's out on the run tonight, but there's no place left to hide. Together Wendy we can live with the sadness. I'll love you with all the madness in my soul. Someday girl, I don't know when, we're gonna get to that place where we really want to go and we'll walk in the sun. But til then tramps like us baby we were born to run". I love count in's. "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out", "She's the One" and "Jungleland" ain't bad either. Oh, I almost forgot Clarence Clemons. He's pretty good too.

     So, number two is Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin. It's safe to say this is the best double album of the Seventies. Sure, it would have been a better single album, but I'm not going to be that guy today. To me, this is peak Zeppelin. "Custard Pie", "The Rover", "Houses of the Holy" and "Trampled Under Foot" is the band at their most confident. One of my personal favorites is "In My Time of Dying". I mostly love it for the ending when Robert Plant sings "My dying, dying...cough". I love that kind of screwing around on records. Obviously, the standout track is "Kashmir". It's epic. 

Number three is Pink Floyd. The title track is Gilmour-tastic. The interesting thing about the recording of Wish You Were Here is Syd Barrett showing up in the studio while they were laying down "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", which was about him. At first, the band didn't even recognize him, because he was fat and bald. This is my favorite Pink Floyd album. 

     Finally, Night at the Opera by Queen. This is on my Mt. Rushmore solely on the strength of "Bohemian Rhapsody". That was the first song I heard as a kid that blew mind mind. All the movements and dynamics were crazy. There was nothing else like it at the time, at least that I was aware of. 

     Looking ahead to 1974, definitely not as good as 1975. I will come up with four albums, but none of them would have cracked 1975, or most of the other years in the Seventies. I think I have a number one nailed down, though. Peace. 

 

Mt. Rushmore: 1976

 

     1976 was all about the Bicentennial, but for me it was the Summer of "The Bird". Yes, that was the year Detroit Tigers rookie phenom Mark Fidrych was the talk of baseball. A few years ago, my favorite songwriter, Will Johnson, did a painting of Mark Fidrych and I bought a copy. I remember him shutting out the Yankees on Monday Night Baseball 1-0. He finished the season 19-9. He could have won 20 games, except he lost his last start against the Indians. That is all recollection on my part, I didn't go back and research it, but I'm pretty sure that's all correct. 1976 was also a pretty good year for albums. My list isn't huge, but it's high quality. The albums that didn't make the cut are: Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees, Steely Dan Royal Scam, Thin Lizzy Jailbreak, The Ramones self-titled, Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life, ELO New World Record, Kiss Destroyer and the debut by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Not bad. 

     If I were to be honest, my number two album was really my number one at the time. So, my revisionist number one is The Modern Lovers. I discovered "Roadrunner" late in life thanks to my fandom of John Hodgman. This lead me to check out the album and it is tremendous. Once again, I have posted on this previously, so please go back and check it out. The songwriting is great and the album is a really fun listen. 

     If you were to hop into the Wayback Machine and return to 1976, the debut album from Boston would have been everywhere. To this day, you will hear every song from this album played on classic rock radio. It is so good. Back in the day, "More Than a Feeling" ruled the airwaves. I spent hours drawing the Boston Spaceships on anything available for me to draw on. It's hilarious that Bob Pollard named one of his side projects Boston Spaceships. I assume it's a tribute. 

     Number three is Trick of the Tail by Genesis. This post-Peter Gabriel gem is fantastic. The title track is a great storytelling song about aliens. Even though the songs are more concise, the musical showmanship is still in present on tracks like "Dance On a Volcano" and "Squonk". Also "Ripples" is a beautiful track. Stellar album. 

     Finally, I included 2112 by RUSH, even though it's only half a great album. As I posted before, the 2112 side is epic and side 2 is hot garbage. However, side one is so musically brilliant I can't keep it off the Mt. Rushmore. Like Billy Corgan, I spent hours in my bedroom as a kid trying to learn 2112 on guitar. I was not as successful as Uncle Fester. 

     Looking forward to 1975, I have kept my list short because it's a murderer's row. This is probably the most top heavy year since 1995. I'm leaning toward a number one, but it's still up for grabs. I have already noticed that, despite my love of fellow December 30th birthday buddy Jeff Lynne, ELO is going to be my hard luck band of the Seventies. That sucks, but this was the decade of album rock exceptionalism. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1977

 

     1977 was a solid year for albums. It was a big year for punk and Fleetwood Mac, so that's interesting. My list of contenders is wide ranging and there were some tough cuts. Since I didn't include live albums for Mt. Rushmore consideration, Cheap Trick got screwed over in this whole exercise. I had intended to put their debut album on this year's Mt. Rushmore, but couldn't fit them in. While I'm disappointed with this result, Cheap Trick at Budokan is still the greatest live album ever. The other contenders that missed the cut for 1977 are: Jackson Browne Running on Empty, Pink Floyd Animals, ELO Out of the Blue, RUSH Farewell to Kings, The Jam In the City, Foreigner's debut, Kansas Point of No Return, Peter Gabriel Car, Television Marquee Moon and Queen News of the World. Not a bad list of runners up.

     Number one is an album I was not aware of in 1977, but it's a masterpiece; Pink Flag by Wire. Pink Flag was very influential for many alternative bands of the Eighties and Nineties, such as R.E.M. and Guided by Voices. It was punk adjacent, but smart. I have posted on this album previously, so please go back and check that out. 

     Number two couldn't be further removed from Wire, Steely Dan's Aja. Steely Dan's fusion of yacht rock and jazz and clever lyrics is right in my sweet spot. Combine this with stellar session players, Aja is an amazing set of songs. The standout for me is "Deacon Blues". I love the last verse, "This is the night of the expanding man. I take one last drag as I approach the stand. I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long. This brother is free. I'll be what I want to be". "Peg" and "Josie" were big hits and I also love "Black Cow". Finally, a shout out to Tom Scott who is one of my favorite sax players. 

     I didn't intend on putting Rumours by Fleetwood Mac on my Mt. Rushmore, but I can't be a dick. So, that's my number three. Fleetwood Mac ruled 1977 and theses songs are great. Obviously, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were the stars and changed the bands sound when they were brought in. However, I feel Christine McVie is the secret weapon of the group. Literally, the three albums everyone had in the Seventies were Rumours, Tapestry and Frampton Comes Alive. True facts.

     Finally, the other album the defined 1977, Never Mind the Bollocks by The Sex Pistols. Every song on here is tremendous, except "Abortion", which hasn't aged well. I remember crashing at my friends house, listening to his older brothers records and hearing this for the first time. It blew my mind. This is also when I first heard Frank Zappa's Joe's Garage. Even though there was a lot of bullshit involved with The Sex Pistols, this was obviously one of the most important albums in rock history. 

     Looking forward to 1976, I have another revisionist number one. The competition for the other three spots should be pretty stiff. Another solid year. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1978

 

     So, 1978 turned out to be tougher than I thought at first look. My number one hasn't changed,  but it was difficult cutting down to four albums. Revisionism lost out in 1978, because Chairs Missing by Wire and Third/Sister Lovers by Big Star missed the cut. The final cuts were painful. I wanted to get Some Girls by The Stones, Heaven Tonight by Cheap Trick and Darkness on the Edge of Town by Springsteen on the Mt. Rushmore, but couldn't. Other cuts were Devo Are We Not Men?, Dire Straits self-titled, The Jam All Mod Cons, Peter Gabriel Scratch, David Gilmour's debut solo album, Boston Don't Look Back, Elvis Costello This Year's Model and Foreigner Double Vision. 

     The obvious number one is the brilliant debut album by The Cars. This is basically a greatest hits album. Every song was on the radio. It was the first record I bought where I felt cool buying it. I have posted on this previously, so please go back and check that out. There's not much else to say. This was a no-brainer.

     Number two is a record that I originally hadn't intended to put on the Mt. Rushmore. Not sure why, because it's a juggernaut of musical virtuosity... Hemispheres by RUSH. This album has my favorite RUSH instrumental, "La Villa Strangiato", which includes one of Alex Lifeson's top three solos and his homage to Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse". "Circumstances" and "The Trees" are RUSH classics. And the side long "Cygnus X-1 is epic. It's a fitting end of an era iin RUSH's catalog.

     Number three is another great debut, Van Halen I. This album is incendiary. It opens with "Running With the Devil", then EVH kills it on "Eruption", then a rare amazing cover performance on The Kinks "You Really Got Me". Next is my favorite track, "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love". "I went to the edge. Then I stood and looked down. I lost a lot of friends there baby. I got no time to mess around". "Jamie's Cryin'" is a great pop tune and "Atomic Punk" is a stone cold jam. Then there's the happy, fun time track "Ice Cream Man" and it's juvenile double entendre. Classic DLR! 

     Finally, I had to get these guys on a Mt. Rushmore. Yet another great debut in 1978, Outlandos d'Lamour by The Police. It's basically on here just because of "Roxanne" and "Can't Stand Losing You". Those are top twenty songs all-time for me. Back in the day, I always compared them negatively to RUSH in the battle of rock trios. Over the years, I've grown to appreciate what a musically gifted band they were. I've even come around on Sting. Great album.

     Looking ahead to 1977, there's another locked in number one and it is revisionist. However, there are a ton of great albums so the other three spots will be problematic. The rest of the Seventies looks to be a hard slog of getting down to four albums every year. Peace.

Mt.Rushmore: 1979

     1979 is a mixed bag and I don't have a no-brainer number one. There are about ten albums in equal contention for my Mt. Rushmore. My top two are mostly set, but I'm having a difficult time ranking them. I'm also struggling between albums I loved in 1979 and albums I have discovered in the past ten years. This is going to be an issue in the Seventies with bands like Wire, Big Star and The Modern Lovers. In these cases I will probably err on the side of revisionism. Ok, I have my top four. Now I just have to decide number one. The contenders who missed out are: The Cars Candy-O, Frank Zappa Joe's Garage, Dire Straits Communique, The Police Regatta De Blanc, Led Zeppelin In Through the Out Door, The Clash London Calling, Talking Heads Fear of Music, ELO Discovery, The Knack Get the Knack, Joe Jackson Look Sharp ( "Is She Really Going Out With Him" is a top ten song for me) and Elvis Costello Armed Forces. Pretty solid list. 

     Alright, number one is Pink Floyd The Wall. One factor is this album still gives me goosebumps. It is sonically and lyrically powerful. The other factor is David Gilmour's playing. His solos on "Comfortably Numb" are tremendous. It's a great concept album that is partly hurt by a horrible movie adaptation. There are a few tracks that are criminally overplayed on classic rock radio, but "Comfortably Numb" and "Hey You" are briliant songs. I know it's basically a Roger Waters biography album and the band was falling apart, even more than they always were, but it is their last great album. Probably the most important band of the Seventies. 

     Coming in at a very close number two is Damn the Torpedoes by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This album was so huge when it came out. "Refugee" is an all-time classic. "We got somethin', we both know it, we don't talk too much about it. Ain't no real big secret, all the same, somehow we get around it". Damn the Torpedoes is Rickenbacker-licious. Mike Campbell is amazing. Benmont Tench has the greatest name in rock history. Great album.

     Number three is Breakfast in America by Supertramp. This album was also huge in 1979. The singles were awesome. The Logical Song. Breakfast in America. Goodbye Stranger. Take the Long Way Home. The album cover is dumb, yet iconic. Roger Hodgson's voices is weird, yet fits the songs. Probably the most unlikely Mt. Rushmore album.

     Number four is the brilliant debut album from the B-52's. When this album came out it was a total mind fuck. The vocal harmonies sounded futuristic. The surf rock sound was kitsch-y. Fred Schneider was insane. They came right out of the chute with "Planet Claire". "She came from Planet Claire. I knew she came from there. She drove a Plymouth Satellite oh faster than the speed of light. Planet Claire has pink air, all the trees are red. No one ever dies there. No one has a head". "Rock Lobster" is a classic. I love the part where Fred says "Pass the tanning butter!" My sleeper track is "Lava". The whole album is fantastic. 

     Looking ahead to 1978, there is an easy number one. Overall it's alright. I will have to do a quick review to make sure I'm not missing something, but number one is locked in. Here's a hint: it's one of the greatest debut albums of all-time. I can't find a good video of "Comfortably Numb", so I'll have to punt with something else. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: '80's Recap

 

     I love the Eighties. I started high school, graduated from college and started my life as a wage slave. It was the best of times. It was the decade of MTV and Weird Al. And there were so many great songs. PLease indulge me in listing several of my favorites. Jenny, Jenny. The Safety Dance. In a Big Country. Who Can It Be Now? I Know There's Something Going On. Goodbye To You. Everybody Have Fun Tonight. Jessie's Girl. Our House. Walk Like an Egyptian. We Got the Beat. Save It For Later. Good Thing. Whip It. Don't Change. Space Age Love Song. New Year's Day. Modern Love. Time. Red Skies at Night. Wild Wild Life. Do It Again. Smooth Operator. Red Rain. Like the Weather. I'll Be You. End of the Line. Handle With care. Cult of Personality. Under the God. Mayor of Simpleton. Under Pressure. I Can't Go For That. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. Panama. Love Shack. Karma Chameleon. Sledgehammer. 

     I'm sure I missed dozens more, but you get the idea. Now, to the business of ranking my number ones albums for the Eighties. As with the Nineties, this list could change everyday. 

1) Diesel and Dust

2) Permanent Waves

3) Moving Pictures

4) Fables of the Reconstruction

5) Doolittle

6) So

7) Reckoning

8) Murmur

9) Love Junk

10) Days of Wine and Roses

     That's a nice list, but not as strong as the Nineties and probably the Seventies either. Looking ahead to the Seventies, I know I called it the decade of live albums. However, I will not be considering live albums for the Mt. Rushmores. Sorry Cheap Trick at Budokan. The Seventies was the decade of my childhood. I really started to buy records and get into music in 1975. Looking forward to these Mt. Rushmores. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1980

 

     Time to wrap up the Eighties with my Mt. Rushmore for 1980. Once again there is an obvious number one and a bunch of contenders for the other three spots. 1980 was the Year of "Another One Bites the Dust". In fact, my favorite NFL team, the Detroit Lions (insert jokes here), did a version of this song when they started the season 4-0. The season immediately went down the toilet and fans changed the lyrics to "Another one beats our butts." However, The Game by Queen did not make the cut. As usual, I am making my final cuts as I type. Here's my very long runners up list: The Police Zenyatta Mondatta, B-52's Wild Planet, XTC Black Sea, The Soft Boys Underwater Moonlight, Bruce Springsteen The River, Davis Bowie Scary Monsters, Peter Gabriel Melt, Judas Priest British Steel, Dire Straits Making Movies, Devo Freedom of Choice, The Cramps Songs the Lord Taught Us, Van Halen Women and Children First, Def Leppard On Through the Night, Pete Townsend Empty Glass and the final cut Adam and the Ants Kings of the Wild Frontier. That is one hell of a list. It really killed me to leave off Kings of the Wild Frontier. The first time I saw Adam and the Ants and heard "Ant Music" was on American Bandstand and they blew my mind. 

     Alright, number one is note for note my favorite RUSH album, Permanent Waves. This was  a transitional album to a new decade and a more accessible pop song structure. Still, it had a couple epic tracks, "Jacob's Ladder" and "Natural Science". Permanent Waves features the hit single "Spirit of Radio". "All this machinery making modern music can still be open-hearted. Not so coldly charted it's really just a question of your honesty. One likes to believe in the freedom of music, but glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity". It also features the live show staple "Free Will". "If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice". I also love the end of "jacob's Ladder": "Follow men's eyes as they look to the skies. The shifting shafts of shining weave the fabric of their dreams". 

     Number two is Blizzard of Ozz by Ozzy Osbourne. "I Don't Know" and "Crazy Train" are rock radio staples. The secret weapon on Ozzy's first two solo albums is the late, great Randy Rhoads. Ozzy going solo created a win-win scenario for himself, as well as, Black Sabbath.

     Because my number three is Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath, featuring their new frontman Ronnie James Dio. This album ranks right up there with any of the Black Sabbath albums from the Ozzy era. The title track is stupendous. "The world is full of kings and queens who'll blind your eyes and steal your dreams, it's heaven and hell". Every song on this album is great and Dio is the best heavy metal frontman ever. Fight me!

     Speaking of fighting me, number four may be my most controversial pick in this whole exercise. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Hi Infidelity by R.E.O. Speedwagon. In 1980, I probably played this album just as much as Permanent Waves and it sent me down a Speedwagon rabbit hole. Gary Richrath was the most underrated lead guitarist of the Seventies and he is brilliant here as well. This was also a transitional album, but still had plenty o' rock and just a little balladry. Unfortunately, after Hi Infidelity the ballads took over and they were dead to me. At least I still have their Seventies albums. 

     So, tomorrow will be the Eighties recap post. My number ones began with RUSH, ended with The Pixies and plenty of R.E.M. in between. I will give a nod to some of my favorite singles of the Eighties, as well, since this was a great decade for hit songs. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1981

 

     As I have reviewed the albums of 1981, I've had strong feelings of nostaglia. I remember spending hours in my room listening to WLAV out of Grand Rapids and records by RUSH, Triumph and April Wine. So now my Mt. Rushmore will probably be clouded. I was having a hard time after my number one, but I'm going to go with the albums I was obsessed with at the time. The albums that will not be making the cut are: The Police Ghost in the Machine, Men at Work Business as Usual, The Go-Go's Beauty and the Beat, Def Leppard High and Dry, The Kinks Give the People What They Want, AC/DC For Those About to Rock, Genesis ABACAB, Van Halen Fair Warning, Ozzy Diary of a Madman, U2 October and Black Sabbath Mob Rules. That's some good shit. 

     The obvious number one is Moving Pictures by RUSH. Red Barchetta. Tom Sawyer. YYZ. Limelight. The Camera Eye. Witch Hunt. Vital Signs. What an amazing album. "Limelight" is probably my favorite RUSH song of all-time. It's top three for Alex Lifeson guitar solos. I still have my original LP and it is worn out and beat to shit. I have probably listened to it over 200 times in my life. 

     The record I listened to second most in 1981 was Allied Forces by Triumph. Even though they were written off as RUSH Jr., I love Triumph. Last year I got the 40th anniversary box set of Allied Forces which has a ton of cool stuff. Rik Emmett is one of my favorite guitarists. I forgot about their album Never Surrender, partly beacause it was released in Canada in 1982 and the US in 1983. It was also tremendous. I remember hearing Triumph live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour all the time. "Magic Power" and "Fight the Good Fight" were such great singles. 

     Let's keep the Canadian train rolling with number three, Nature of the Beast by April Wine. These guys were also a staple of the King Biscuit Flower Hour. "Just Between You and Me" and "Sign of the Gypsy Queen" were huge to me. Such an underrated band. 

     OK. My Mt. Rushmore can't be all Canadian. Number four is an album that I also played the shit out of and an artist whose career was killed by MTV: Don't Say No by Billy Squier. I got sucked in by "The Stroke" and stayed for "In the Dark", which is an all-time classic. Great, great, great album. 

     Looking ahead to 1980, my number one is obvious again, but I have a metric shit ton of contenders for the other three spots. IT IS LOADED! Once again, I will do a recap of the Eighties number ones after that. The Eighties numbers ones are definitely an step down from the Nineties. They are still great though. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1982

 

     1982 was the beginning of a, roughly, three year reign of Michael jackson's Thriller being everywhere and winning all the Grammys. I even have Thriller on LP. It s not going to be on my Mt. Rushmore because I still have PTSD from living through Thriller-mania. I'm pretty sure Michael Jackson's legacy will withstand this egregious snub. 1982 was a decent year. My list of contenders that missed the cut is quite good. They are: XTC English Settlement, Flock of Seagulls self-titled, Asia self-titled, INXS Shabooh Shoobah, Judas Priest Screaming For Vengence, Culture Club Kissing to be Clever and Paul McCartney Tug of War. 

     Considering my hatred of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground it's surprising that my number one is Dream Syndciate's Days of Wine and Roses. One thing that saves it for me is Steve Wynn's vocals have enough Jonathan Richman to counterbalance the Lou Reed influence. He sounds much less dreary and more playful than Reed. The great things about this album are the guitar work and the timeless production. It came out of the Paisley Underground scene, but has it's own sound that isn't shackled to any particular place or time. 

     Number two is Signals by RUSH. I've posted quite a bit about RUSH and this is one of my favorites. The standout track for me is "Analog Kid". The playing is amazing and the lyrics are great. "Too many hands on my time. Too many feelings. Too many things on my mind. When I leave I don't know what I'm hoping to find and when I leave I don't know what I'm leaving behind". Top Peart. "Subdivisions" is an iconic song about suburban alienation. "Chemistry is a hidden gem in the RUSH catalog. 

     Number three is Vs. by Mission of Burma. This album, along with their 1981 EP Signals, Calls and Marches, cemented them as one of the most important bands of the indie rock underground of the Eighties. Mission of Burma influenced many bands, including R.E.M. 

     Finally, a shout out to The New Romantics with Rio by Duran Duran. When Rio came out it was a new and exciting sound. And the music videos were exotic and cinematic. Simon LeBon has one of the signature voices in pop music. The singles from Rio were great and so are the deep cuts. If you were a guy in 1982, it wasn't cool to admit you liked Duran Duran...but you did. Don't even try denying it. 

     Looking ahead to 1981, I think you can probably guess my number one. It's another decent year, however 1980 is going to be loaded. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1983

     1983. The year I graduated from high school. Also the year I went to college and discovered MTV. I grew up in rural mid-Michigan and we didn't have cable TV. I spent countless hours in the dorm's common room watching MTV. It exposed me to music and bands I had never heard of as well as bands that I loved. As I mentioned yesterday, my 1983 contenders list is long and there's another ten great albums that didn't even make that cut. I would like to mention those artists just to illustrate what a great, diverse era this was for music. The Police, Pink Floyd, Men at Work, Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, Talking Heads, Stevie Ray Vaughn, ZZ Top, Huey Lewis and the News and Cyndi Lauper. There are many amazing albums on my final cut list. Those are: Big Country The Crossing, Culture Club Colour By Numbers, Marillion Script For a Jester's Tear, U2 War, John Cougar Mellencamp Uh-Huh, David Bowie Let's Dance and Iron Maiden Piece of Mind. Iron Maiden was the last cut and it was very difficult. 

     My number one is also difficult. My top two are both game changing debut albums that were like nothing else in popular music at the time. Don't hate me again, but number one has to be Murmur by R.E.M. My reasons are 1) Their importance in the Eighties, 2) their innovative sound, 3) three of my all-time favorite songs; "Radio Free Europe", "Sitting Still" and "Shaking Through". 

     Number two is the self-titled album by Violent Femmes. Nobody sounded like these guys. This album starts out with "Blister in the Sun", "Kiss Off", "Please Do Not Go" and "Add it Up". That's crazy. They sounded kind of goofy, yet there was in your face attitude like "Well, you can all kiss off into the air, behind my back I can see them stare. They'll hurt me bad, but I won't mind. They'll hurt me bad, they do it all the time". And then "I hope you know that this will go down on your permanent record". And they wrote the most famous song about masturbating. I probably should have made this number one, but Murmur is an iconic album. Sorry. 

     Number three is my favorite heavy metal frontman, Ronnie James Dio, with Holy Diver. I've posted about Dio before. He's awesome. I'm glad I could put him on a Mt. Rushmore. Go back and check out my old post on Dio; I said everything there. 

     Finally, one of my favorite groups from the Eighties who I feel are grossly underrated; The Fixx with Reach the Beach. One Thing Leads to Another. Sign of Fire. Saved by Zero. Great album. They did get considerable play on MTV, but for some reason they never reached the level of a band like INXS. 

     Looking ahead to 1982, I was reminded that Thriller came out in 1982. So, I don't know why it was on the list of best albums of 1984. I did live through Thriller-mania. Not sure how I missed that. Anyhow, 1982 is pretty solid. As much as I want to select Chronic Town by R.E.M. as number one, I won't because it was an EP. There's a spoiler for ya. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1984

 

     The Eighties was a musically diverse decade. My list of contenders for 1984 mirrors that trend. As I type, I still haven't picked my top four albums. I know two for sure, one of which should be no surprise. I mentioned yesterday that Sade was a contender, but she didn't make the cut. At the other end of the spectrum, I have an album by a band from The New Wave of Heavy Metal. And there are albums from everywhere in between. Ok, I did a final review and decided on my Mt. Rushmore. The albums that missed the cut are: The Replacements Let It Be, RUSH Grace Under Pressure, Sade Diamond Life and The Kinks Word of Mouth. The Kinks was the final cut. I love this album and the track "Do It Again". Sad. 

     Don't hate me, but number one is R.E.M. Reckoning. I posted before about "Rockville", which is top three R.E.M. for me. "So. Central Rain" is classic R.E.M. and contains a phrase that would be my band name, if I had a band, Rivers of Suggestion. Maybe I should start an R.E.M. tribute band. Other standout tracks are "Harborcoat", "7 Chinese Brothers" and "Pretty Persuasion". These IRS albums can't be stopped. You can only hope to contain them. 

     Number two is the best album by The Pretenders, Learning to Crawl. "Middle of the Road" is a flat out banger. "Don't harass me, can't you tell? I'm goin' home. I'm tired as hell". "Back on the Chain Gang" is a perfect pop song. The rest of the album is tremendous as well. 

     Number three is Powerslave by Iron Maiden. I loved Maiden and Priest back in the day. Powerslave's Egyptian themed album cover is fantastic. One thing I love about Iron Maiden is their references to the 60's TV show, The Prisoner. This album is no exception  with the track "Back in the Village". The album kicks off with two classic Maiden twin guitar assaults, "Aces High" and "2 Minutes to Midnight". There's also an epic song about , and titled, "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". There is also an instrumental, which is hilariously titled, "Losfer Words". Almost as good as Piece of Mind. 

     Finally, probably my favorite U2 album, The Unforgettable Fire. Two of my favorite U2 songs are the title track and "Bad". For me, R.E.M. and U2 ruled the Eighties. I just love R.E.M. slightly more. My wife disagrees, but she doesn't have a blog. 

     Looking ahead to 1983, my 11 contenders are even more diverse than 1984. And I left many more great albums out of contention because I knew they wouldn't make the cut. But more about that tomorrow. Peace.

Addendum to 1984

     I went back and looked up best albums of 1984 and saw Purple Rain, Thriller, Born in the USA and Van Halen 1984. For many of you, that would have been the Mt. Rushmore for 1984. After some consideration, I stand by not having any of these in contention. I don't understand and can't relate to Prince. I hate Van Halen 1984 with a white hot passion, except "Panama". Thriller is fine, but I hated it at the time. Born in the USA has grown on me somewhat, but I also hated it at the time. Sorry. Peace out. 

     

Mt. Rushmore: 1985

 

     My contender list for 1985 is a solid 7 albums that are all very good. The three that didn't quite make the cut were: The Replacements Tim, Tears For Fears Songs From the Big Chair and The Jesus and Mary Chain Psychocandy. I also considered Sting, The Smiths and Phil Collins. Not bad for runners up. 

     Spoiler alert: 1985 is probably the beginning of a run of number one albums by a little band from Athens, GA. The top spot goes to Fables of the Reconstruction (or Reconstruction of the Fables). This is R.E.M.'s most dense and dark album, they had a miserable time recording it and I LOVE it. Sometimes you have to suffer for your art. "Driver 8" is indisputably the song that defines the R.E.M. sound. It starts with that tremendous Peter Buck riff, then Stipe comes in with "The walls you built up, stone by stone. Fields divided one by one". One of my favorite lines is "Power lines have floaters so the airplanes won't get snagged". "Kohoutek" maybe be the most beautiful song in the R.E.M. catalog. "Feeling Gravity's Pull" the most surrealistic. This is the first verse: "Fell asleep and read just about every paragraph. Read the scene where gravity is pulling me around. Peel back the mountains, peel back the sky. Stomp gravity into the floor. It's a Man Ray kind of sky. Let me show you what I can do with it. Time and distance are out of place here". FUCK! That's not even mentioning "Maps and Legends" and "Green Grow the Rushes". 

     Number two is Scarecrow by Mellencamp. Maybe it's corny, but I love ol' John Cougar Mellencamp. I'm also from a small Midwestern town and I found him relatable when I was younger. Scarecrow marked a  major step up in his songwriting. There are some great tracks on this album: "Rain on the Scarecrow", "Small Town", "Lonely Ol' Night", "Rumbleseat" and "R.O.C.K. in the USA". I'm glad I got him on a Mt. Rushmore.

     Number three is an album that kind of baffled me when it was released in 1985; Power Windows by RUSH. I was not a big fan of all the keyboards, but I powered through and learned to love it. "Big Money" and "Marathon" are standout tracks, but my favorite is "Middletown Dreams". It's kind of akin to the spirit of Mellencamp and Springsteen. The chorus is great, "Dreams flow across the heartland feeding on the fires. Dreams transport desires, drive you when you're down. Dreams transport the ones who need to get out of town". I guess that's more escapist like Springsteen, rather than Mellencamp. 

     Finally, a band that I forgot about in 1987, but they had a great two album run with Bangin" and my number four album for 1985, Play Deep...The Outfield. This album is so good and features the tracks, "Your Love", "All the Love" and "Say It Isn't So". Fantastic pop music. I was well into adulthood before I discovered they were British. Why would a band from the UK call themselves The Outfield? Crazy. 

     Looking ahead to 1984, it appears to be very good. Gonna have to make some tough cuts, like Diamond Life by Sade. "Smooth Operator" is like sex on a stick. Just sayin'. Peace.