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The Songfactors' Choice: Groundbreakers


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WELCOME TO THE SONGFACTORS' CHOICE: Groundbreakers

*ALL MEMBERS OF SONGFACTS ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE * Join us, and share your knowledge and your love of the thing that keeps SONGFACTS the community we all know and love, MUSIC ! The basic guidelines are simple.... :)

* The Songfactors' Music of Choice is decided by your nominations and votes. For each edition we'll ask that you nominate 1 OR 2 selections that meet the guidelines for that edition.

* With each nomination, we ask that you give us a review, a few thoughts or just a description of how your selection makes you feel. No one is being graded on their writing here. What we want is for you to share your knowledge and feelings about the music you love.

* Each edition will run about 3 weeks or so. At the end of that time, we'll ask you to vote, and you know how that works! These lists will number 5 or 10 (we'll let you know), so we'll ask that you compile your list of choices for the final Songfactor's Music of Choice. We will tally them, just like The Songfactors' Choice Top Ten, 1 through ?. At the close of voting, we will have our Songfactors' Music of Choice.

* Be as creative with this as you'd like. We want to encourage an exchange of thoughts, so this will be a place to learn about and enjoy the nominations, as well as the final choices. The guidelines will change with each edition.

**NOTE: MindCrime gave us a great suggestion for this go round. We're talking about albums that have broken new ground, altering the shape and/or direction of Rock 'n' Roll. From any time period, we mean all of the great popular music we've enjoyed from the '50's until today, whatever sub-genre it falls into. We'll again try to keep it a list of 10, as usual depending on the nominations we end up with. You know how it works! ;)

..... So, here we go .....

THE SONGFACTORS' CHOICE: Groundbreakers

GIVE US YOUR NOMINATIONS NOW! :thumbsup:

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In The Court Of The Crimson King (An Observation by King Crimson)

1. 21st Century Schizoid Man

2. I Talk To The Wind

3. Epitaph

4. Moonchild

5. The Court Of The Crimson King

Aside from being an amazing album, "In The Court Of The Crimson King" paved the way for the progressive rock movement of the early seventies. It's lush, symphonic orchestration would be echoed in many of the great albums of that era. Though the idea of creating an album that flowed well and showed clear direction had been around for while, the contrast seen in KC's debut, between the heavy, driving "21st Century Schizoid Man" and the inner songs' more comtemplative atmosphere, demonstrated a skill that would flourish in the coming years.

Most importantly, however, "In The Court" displays songwriting that was innovative for the time. The songs do not follow a set structures (verse-chorus), and many have multiple parts, another trend that would take off in the early '70s with the side-long "epics" of Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis and others.

21st Century Schizoid Man- The opening of the album. Doesn't that first line just feel powerful?

Also note the unconventional (at least for rock) rhythms (after all, this was innovation through fusion if nothing else. Taking the best of a few genres was another thing that made this album important).

Epitaph Influence aside, this is just one most beautiful things ever recorded. Listen to the emotion in Greg Lake's (later of ELP) voice and Peter Sinfield's lyrics.

Edited by Guest
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I think the obvious would be Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Yet I´d rather nominate

"REVOLVER"

The Beatles

It was a first step into not-so-pop/not-so-easy music. Sgt Peppers would come later with its psychedelia, but REVOLVER was the intro.

Side one

1. "Taxman" (Harrison) – 2:39

2. "Eleanor Rigby" – 2:07

3. "I'm Only Sleeping" – 3:01

4. "Love You To" (Harrison) – 3:01

5. "Here, There and Everywhere" – 2:25

6. "Yellow Submarine" – 2:40

7. "She Said She Said" – 2:37

Side two

1. "Good Day Sunshine" – 2:09

2. "And Your Bird Can Sing" – 2:01

3. "For No One" – 2:01

4. "Doctor Robert" – 2:15

5. "I Want to Tell You" (Harrison) – 2:29

6. "Got To Get You Into My Life" – 2:30

7. "Tomorrow Never Knows" – 2:57

...and ask Wikipdia for help for the personnnel:

* John Lennon: vocals, lead, rhythm guitar and acoustic guitars, other instruments

* Paul McCartney: vocals; bass guitar; lead, rhythm guitar and acoustic guitars, piano, other instruments

* George Harrison: vocals; lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars, other instruments

* Ringo Starr: vocals; drums, tambourine and maracas

* George Martin: producer; piano on "Good Day Sunshine" and "Tomorrow Never Knows"; Hammond organ on "Got to Get You into My Life"; samples of the marching band on "Yellow Submarine".

* Geoff Emerick: recording and mixing engineer; samples of the marching band on "Yellow submarine".

* Alan Civil: French horn on "For No One".

* Mal Evans: bass drum and background vocals on "Yellow Submarine".

* Anil Bhagwat: tabla on "Love You To".

* Marianne Faithfull: background vocals on "Yellow Submarine" (uncredited).

* Brian Jones: background noises on "Yellow Submarine" (uncredited).

* Donovan: backing vocals on "Yellow Submarine" (uncredited).

* Session musicians: four violins, two violas and two cellos on "Eleanor Rigby"; brass section on "Got to Get You into My Life": orchestrated and conducted by George Martin

Edited by Guest
I forgot to say that the performers were The Beatles...
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"LYNYRD SKYNYRD (pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd)"

Track listing

1. I Ain't the One (Gary Rossington / Ronnie Van Zant) – 3:53

2. Tuesday's Gone (Gary Rossington / Allen Collins / Ronnie Van Zant) – 7:32

3. Gimme Three Steps (Allen Collins / Ronnie Van Zant) – 4:30

4. Simple Man (Gary Rossington / Ronnie Van Zant) – 5:58

5. Things Goin' On (Gary Rossington / Ronnie Van Zant) – 5:00

6. Mississippi Kid (Al Kooper / Ronnie Van Zant / Bob Burns) – 3:56

7. Poison Whiskey (Ed King / Ronnie Van Zant) – 3:13

8. Free Bird (Allen Collins / Ronnie Van Zant) – 9:06

Skynyrd's 1973 debut album brought into the mainstream the rock of the American South. Skynyrd was one of the first bands do use three lead guitars, sometimes simultaneously, and became the most commercially successful band at the time to do so.

From start to finish, the album is loaded with hard rockers like "Gimme Three Steps" and "I Ain't The One"; heavy, rhythmic ballads like "Tuesday's Gone" and "Simple Man"; and, of course, their trademark tune, "Free Bird", which is still considered one of the ten greatest rock songs ever recorded.

:afro: :afro: :afro: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

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Jimi Hendrix ~[color:Purple]Are You Experienced? 1967

jimihendrixareyouexperienced.jpg

US version

Side 1

"Purple Haze" – 2:46

"Manic Depression" – 3:30

"Hey Joe" (Billy Roberts) - 3:23

"Love or Confusion" – 3:15

"May This Be Love" – 2:55

"I Don't Live Today" – 3:55

Side 2

"The Wind Cries Mary" – 3:21

"Fire" – 2:34

"Third Stone From the Sun" – 6:40

"Foxy Lady" – 3:15

"Are You Experienced?" – 3:55

Al Hendrix re-release CD Bonus tracks:

"Stone Free" - 3:41

"51st Anniversary" - 3:19

"Highway Chile" - 3:36

"Can You See Me" – 2:34

"Remember" – 2:51

"Red House" – 3:57

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Good one Sammy!

I guess I'll go with AC/DC's Back In Black... :rockon:

Back in Black was the first AC/DC album recorded without former lead singer Bon Scott...

ac-dc-back_in_black-front.jpg

Track listing

"Hells Bells"

"Shoot To Thrill"

"What Do You Do for Money Honey"

"Givin' the Dog a Bone"

"Let Me Put My Love into You"

"Back in Black"

"You Shook Me All Night Long"

"Have a Drink on Me"

"Shake a Leg"

"Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution"

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byrds_01sweetheartoftherodeo.jpg

Sweetheart of the Rodeo ~ The Byrds

Although not the very first album of it's kind (Gram Parson gets that honor), Sweetheart of the Rodeo was truly the groundbreaking album for Country Rock. The genre would later encompass The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Eagles, Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt, Poco, Pure Prairie League, The Doobie Brothers, and to some extent possibly all of Southern Rock. All because of the acceptance and success of this one album.

The Byrds were hardly strangers to country music, dipping their toes in the twangy stuff as early as their second album. But no major band had gone so deep into the sound and feeling of classic country (without parody or condescension) as the Byrds did on Sweetheart; at a time when most rock fans viewed country as a musical "L'il Abner" routine, the Byrds dared to declare that C&W could be hip, cool, and heartfelt.

and the influence of the album is still felt today:

Although an uncommercial proposition at time, Sweetheart of the Rodeo proved to be a major landmark album, and its effects are still felt to this day, serving as a blueprint of sorts for the approach of not only Parsons' and Hillman's Flying Burrito Brothers, but of the nascent 1970s Los Angeles country-rock movement, outlaw country, the New Traditionalists, and the so-called alternative country of the 1990s and 2000s. It is widely considered to be The Byrds' last truly influential album.

Track Listing

You Ain't Going Nowhere" (Bob Dylan)

"I Am a Pilgrim" (trad. arr. Roger McGuinn & Chris Hillman)

"The Christian Life" (Charles Louvin, Ira Louvin)

"You Don't Miss Your Water" (William Bell)

"You're Still on My Mind" (Luke McDaniel)

"Pretty Boy Floyd" (Woody Guthrie)

"Hickory Wind" (Gram Parsons, Bob Buchanan)

"One Hundred Years from Now" (Parsons)

"Blue Canadian Rockies" (Cindy Walker)

"Life in Prison" (Merle Haggard, J. Sanders)

"Nothing Was Delivered" (Bob Dylan)

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FleetwoodMac.jpg

Fleetwood Mac's rise from midlevel success to multi platinum superstardom began with their self-titled album. From its eponymous title on down, Fleetwood Mac heralded a new beginning that took them far from their late-1960s origins as a British blues band. Prior to it, Fleetwood Mac's albums had risen no higher than #34 on the Billboard chart and typically lodged in the 60s or lower. Fleetwood Mac, by contrast, peaked at #1 and paved the way for Rumours, its phenomenal follow-up. That album sold 18 million copies in the U.S. (26 million worldwide) and shattered every sales and chart record. From late 1975 to late 1977, you could not turn on a radio or walk down the street without hearing one of Fleetwood Mac's unbroken chain of hit singles-seven in all, from Fleetwood Mac's "Over My Head" to Rumours' "You Make Loving Fun." They owned the airwaves, AM and FM alike, and were among the first bands to breach that divide. Virtually everyone attuned to pop culture, except for doctrinaire punk-rock aficionados, found themselves subject to the "Mac attack." Their allure was irresistible.

Bassist John McVie theorized this was because Fleetwood Mac covered all the bases: "There are three strong writers, three good singers, plus a well-established and well-respected name," he said. "And it seems the time was right for a rock band with two girl singers.'

Indeed, if you want to talk about women in rock-a feminist insurgency that became one of the principal themes of the new wave era and beyond-it was Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks who opened the door, along with Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson, in the mid-1970s.

(read entire article here)

Too much of a self-absorbed teenager, it wasn't until Rumours came out that I even clued in to Fleetwood Mac. When I did, I bought the album that same week, and soon was proud owner of Fleetwood Mac as well, along with cassettes of both. No self respecting individual would have dreamt of not having these albums in their collection. And indeed, to this day I have the same vinyl copies of both.

Edited by Guest
added cover art link from MindCrime's post. Thanks!
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[biggest]PINK [/biggest] 200px-Dark_Side_of_the_Moon.png[biggest]FLOYD [/biggest]

"Dark Side of the Moon" and "The Wall" are both overplayed, but both undeniably ground-breaking albums that rocked.[smallest] Source [/smallest]

Side One

"Speak to Me"/"Breathe"

"On the Run"

"Time"

"The Great Gig in the Sky"

Side Two

"Money"

"Us and Them"

"Any Colour You Like"

"Brain Damage"/"Eclipse"

Wiki has an excellent write up about how DSOTM was recorded. Well worth reading and very interesting :D

Edited by Guest
as requested :)
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[big][color:navy]Led Zeppelin: IV (ZoSo) (1971)[/big]

Gatefold_4th_album_from_Led_Zeppeli.jpg

Black Dog (Jones, Page, Plant)

Rock and Roll (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant)

The Battle of Evermore (Page, Plant)

Stairway to Heaven (Page, Plant)

Misty Mountain Hop (Jones, Page, Plant)

Four Sticks (Page, Plant)

Going To California (Page, Plant)

When the Levee Breaks (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant)

Encompassing heavy metal, folk, pure rock & roll, and blues, Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album is a monolithic record, defining not only Led Zeppelin but the sound and style of '70s hard rock. Expanding on the breakthroughs of III, Zeppelin fuse their majestic hard rock with a mystical, rural English folk that gives the record an epic scope. Even at its most basic - the muscular, traditionalist "Rock and Roll" - the album has a grand sense of drama, which is only deepened by Robert Plant's burgeoning obsession with mythology, religion, and the occult. Plant's mysticism comes to a head on the eerie folk ballad "The Battle of Evermore," a mandolin-driven song with haunting vocals from Sandy Denny, and on the epic "Stairway to Heaven." Of all of Zeppelin's songs, "Stairway to Heaven" is the most famous, and not unjustly. Building from a simple fingerpicked acoustic guitar to a storming torrent of guitar riffs and solos, it encapsulates the entire album in one song. Which, of course, isn't discounting the rest of the album. "Going to California" is the group's best folk song, and the rockers are endlessly inventive, whether it's the complex, multi-layered "Black Dog," the pounding hippie satire "Misty Mountain Hop," or the funky riffs of "Four Sticks." But the closer, "When the Levee Breaks," is the one song truly equal to "Stairway," helping give IV the feeling of an epic. An apocalyptic slice of urban blues, "When the Levee Breaks" is as forceful and frightening as Zeppelin ever got, and its seismic rhythms and layered dynamics illustrate why none of their imitators could ever equal them. ~ (Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Zoso_svg.jpg

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