Awesome Albums, Part II

“Gold” – ABBA

If nothing else, THIS album is the entire reason I have such eclectic taste in music. It’s difficult to describe just what’s so attractive about this kind of music. Maybe it’s the disco influences. Maybe it’s how poppy it is. Or upbeat. Or the piano or synthesizer. Or how utterly catchy. How many metalheads will admit to loving ABBA?

Though, technically speaking, we adopted ABBA Gold after retiring our old ABBA 8-track. Yes, kids. Eight-track. I wore this 8-track to all hell listening to it over and over again. A favorite among us all for car rides, too.

What 8 year old WOULDN’T sing along to “Nina, Pretty Ballerina”?

“Binaural” and “Riot Act” – Pearl Jam

It’s very difficult for me to separate these two albums in my head mentally. I bought them at the same time, and listened to them through pretty much together. Nor can I really describe why these albums are so awesome. It’s pure aesthetic. Pearl Jam IS this generation’s Led Zeppelin, boldly going where no band dares to go. Not to mention nobody can rival Eddie Vedder’s voice.

Nobody.

Key songs: Light Year, Thin Air, and Love Boat Captain. Great songs to sing in your car.

“Amelié” soundtrack

Truth be told, I’ve never bought this soundtrack. I believe I downloaded it while I was still at Rutgers, got it off Direct Connect. Nonetheless, I own Amelié on DVD, so it isn’t a huge deal to me.

If you’ve seen this movie, then you’d understand without explanation. This is music to drive you when you’re feeling emotional. It’s very happy music for a very happy film, yet it takes on a different feeling when you’re depressive.

“Mutter” – RAMMS+EIN

I remember the first time I listened to this album. I was driving home in my old van, and I thought, “Holy shit, this album is AWESOME!” That feeling you get the first time you listen to an album you were looking forward to and your expectations are blown away. Such an awesome feeling. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for violins in ‘Mein Herz Brennt’.

And no, I don’t know much german. I don’t think it matters.

Gotta love how flake has the bomb. This video fucking rocks. Maybe I should do an entry of awesome videos…

“Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace” – Foo Fighters

Another one of those albums where the album is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a very .. experimental album, in some ways. A lot quieter than the rage on the radio-friendly “The Pretenders”. The album hums along. Then you get to “Statues”. Man, makes me wish I learned piano. And the album closer, “Home”? Now THAT is how you do a ballad.

Hrm. “Greater than the sum of it’s parts”, seems to be a pattern here.

In Utero – Nirvana

Back when decent album covers existed. That aside…

On the flip side, there are some albums where the album could never be greater than the sum of it’s parts, simply because the parts are so ungodly awesome. Every single song is fucking awesome. The quintessential teenage angst album. Like it not, music hasn’t been the same since Cobain left the mortal coil.

Throwing Copper – Live

I was in 7th grade, the year was 1996. My sister had left this CD in the computer. I listened to it. I liked it.

Years pass. I keep listening to this album periodically. It’s at a point where I simply love the aesthetic of of this album. Does that even make sense when talking about music? Doesn’t musical aesthetic just amount to saying, “Hey, I like how this sounds.”

Also, while nobody can shine a candle to Eddie Vedder, lead singer Ed Kowalczyk sure as hell has an awesome voice.

“Chronicle I” – Creedence Clearwater Revival

Another album that I’ve been listening to for as long as I can remember. Or whenever I raided my sister’s CD collection. Guitar licks, tight drums, and John Fogerty’s voice = win. Most songs are two to three minutes long, from a time when complexity wasn’t a goal. Just get some awesome chords together and ROCK. “Down on the Corner”, “Fortunate Son”, “Green River”, “Hey Tonight”, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, “Proud Mary”, “Susie-Q”, “Up Around the Bend”, “Who’ll Stop The Rain”, yeah, you get the idea. And obviously WinAmp’s playlist has them alphabetically.

I’d like to see a band write this kind of music now without being called some sort of throwback.

“Physical Graffiti” – Led Zeppelin

Music to light a candle in a dark room and dance. Or meditate. Or just bask in the awesomeness that is this album. Many love Led Zeppelin IV as their favorite album, but nothing has the aesthetic of this album. It’s just so out-there. B-sides and songs left on the cutting room floor end up being the best. “Black Country Woman” reminds me of “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” from Led Zeppelin III. “In The Light”, music to dance to naked. “Down By The Seaside”.. Oh god, they’re all so awesome. AWESOME!

Who remembers when Puff Daddy paid Jimmy Page to play on his hilarious song, “Come With Me”? Sorry, samples come and go, people are going to remember “Kashmir” for a long longer time. Extra credit if you remember what movie “Come With Me” promoted. I tried looking for that awesome SNL video, but could only find the damn movie music video.

Again, aesthetics. I just don’t fathom how it’s possible to dislike Led Zeppelin.

“…And Justice For All” – Metallica

This isn’t the first CD I ever owned. No, that distinction belongs to Weird Al’s, “Bad Hair Day”. A good album in its own right, but I digress. The first real album I ever owned was this one. The year was 1998. …I think. My sister got it for me for Christmas. I don’t really remember why, other than the fact that she had Lightning and Puppets already.

I listened to the first track, “Blackened”. I’d never heard such complexity in music before. Yes, that’s what first drew me in. The complexity. I listened to the second track, the epic 9 minute plus title track, “And Justice For All”. I was just so blown away by these two tracks that I didn’t listen to the rest of the album for about a week.

Don’t really care how people judge the band, all I care about is good music. Any way you shake it, I’d be impressed beyond belief to see a band write a better record than this. Yeah, I’m overdue to thumb through Megadeth’s catalog in search of quality metal. But, sorry, no way Mustaine’s topping THIS album. Maybe Anthrax or Slayer will come close…

Ever play Justice on Rock Band? Nine goddamn minutes later, you realize why Hetfield & company decided to write shorter, simplier songs on The Black Album. Drumming to Rock Band is goddamn cardio, I say.

Thus concludes this list. Y`all should post your own damn favorite albums. Don’t be shy. Fuck what anybody else thinks about your tastes. For all I know, there’s a band/album that I’ve neglected over the years.