In my life, I am grateful to find kindred musical spirits. People who simply love and appreciate music. We don't have to have the same tastes, but of course that helps. Fortunately, I have a friend, Fox Sports' Rick Gethin, who I think of as not only a great friend, but a great musical kindred spirit. He shares more music than anyone else I know on social media, and recently he asked a question that got my musical juices churning. He asked for a list of "...the top 10 albums every teenager should listen to before they turn 18" So I took it upon myself to plot a list of great albums in my life.
First, and introduction. I consider my life to currently be split into three musical phases - birth to the age where I really started loving music (1985-1996), my true introduction to music (1997-2004) and everything since. Somewhere in the late 90s and early 2000's there was a dramatic shift in how music was recorded and released. The rise of the internet brought a new generation of music to the world. Hip-hop/dance music started replacing the old pop and rock stand-bys. Hair metal was long gone, but "Heavy metal" was being replaced by a genre rooted in rap-rock, known as "Nu Metal". Metal also started splitting into "core" genres. The biggest change that I personally saw was the decline of radio-friendly pop-rock (Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, Third Eye Blind etc) and the rise in dance-pop. People wanted to move rather than sing. And in the heavier areas, there became less and less of an appeal to bands like Sevendust, Disturbed, and their contemporaries. It's always been difficult to sell hard rock/metal, and these days with digital downloads replacing album sales, you're either hugely popular (Seether, Foo Fighters, Shinedown, Nickelback) or you have no chance of making it. Nobody wants to hear grunge, jazz or big band stuff on the radio anymore either. Dubstep is the new trendy style. Personally, I feel that as we've progressed into the 00's and '10's, albums have became weaker and weaker, especially with the massive amount of artists vying for smaller markets, and saddest of all, the lack of remaining notes on the scale. The majority of stations across the globe are switching to either classic rock (70s-80s) or the AC mix format (for instance, we have a local station that claims "80s, 90s and now!").
Anyways, that's how I see my splits. So let's start from the top.
Here's 10 albums from the first era- before my "musical discovery".
Boston - Boston
A staple of my childhood and one of my all-time favorite bands, Boston's first album still gets tons of airplay. If you were raised on classic rock, you'd think Boston had a score of #1 albums/hits, but they never had a number 1 song before 1986's "Amanda". 17x platinum here, though.
AC/DC - Back in Black
Anyone who knows classic music knows that Highway to Hell was Bon Scott's last album, and Back in Black was Brian Johnson's first. There was no doubt the band would persevere with their new singer after this 1980 gem. Another one of my childhood staples. It's hard to believe that the band almost broke up before releasing this album.
Alice in Chains - Dirt
Along with the Seattle grunge revolution of Pearl Jam and Nirvana came the harder sound of Alice in Chains. This is a top-to-bottom rock anthem of the 90s, going through depression, rage, solitude, and a whole realm of deep dark emotion. Great album for the suffering or the ones who wish to be kickin' some ass.
Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
There's only one Beastie Boys. They will never be emulated, re-created, or touched. This is their debut record, with classics like No Sleep Til Brooklyn, (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party), Paul Revere, Brass Monkey, and many more. I don't know what more I could say about the band.
The Cars - The Cars
The Cars are the undisputed kings of New Wave. Ric Ocasik may be credited as the bands official front-man and lead singer, but Benjamin Orr (who splits the singing duties) sings lead on their first big hit "Just What I Needed" as well as their first #1 hit Drive several years later. You can't go wrong with this album.
Depeche Mode - Violator
You can call them darkwave, synth pop, or alternative rock, but 1990's Violator showed that the world was ready for the sound of Depeche Mode. It's dark, but it bounces and is almost perfectly crafted.
Heart - Heart
Heart is unquestionably my favorite female-fronted rock band, and in spite of the fact that they had already sold over 10 million records before it's release, this was their biggest effort. It was propelled forward by the smash hit These Dreams. Boy, Ann Wilson is truly something else, but These Dreams was actually recorded by Nancy.
Judas Priest - British Steel
Judas Priest. Rob Halford. KK Downing and Glenn Tipton. British Steel. Need I say more? This album pumped the major heavy metallers into a more commercial spotlight, and they're still crushing it today.
The Who - Who's Next
The Who are a gigantic British force, having sold hundreds of millions of records. If you need a perfect album to introduce yourself to them, Who's Next is the one. The addition of synthesizers makes the album even more accessible than anything previous. If you're looking for a great concept album (and rock opera), the album previous to this (Tommy) is a great place to start, but Who's Next is boss for me.
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge over Troubled Water
Why not start at the finish? It was hard for me to decide between Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, and Bridge over Troubled Water. Both are truly great albums, but this one reached #1 in 10 separate countries. The title track is a perfect synopsis of the troubled relationship the two had. Paul wrote it for Art to sing. Art didn't want to sing, and Paul later regretted letting Art sing on it. Crazy dudes, but a spectacular album.
The Eagles - The Eagles
The craziest thing about the Eagles is that they released six albums in a 7 year span, selling 6.9 bazillion copies, and then they broke up. They hated each other. 30 years later they got back together and sold a 7x platinum record. Whatever? Haha. I love the Eagles. Each of their albums is phee-nomenal, and this is the one that started it all. Take it Easy and Peaceful Easy Feeling catapulted the band into stardom, and the musical world was never the same.
Part 2 coming soon...
No comments:
Post a Comment