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The Songfactors' Choice: Groundbreakers


Lucky

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I nominated this in distinctive debuts earlier... because it was groundbreaking.

The Stone Roses

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Track List

1. " I Wanna Be Adored" – 4:52

2. "She Bangs The Drums " – :42

3. "Waterfall " – 4:37

4. "Don't Stop" – 5:17

5. "Bye Bye Badman" – 4:00

6. "Elizabeth My Dear" – 0:59

7. "(Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister" – 3:25

8. "Made Of Stone " – 4:10

9. "Shoot You Down" – 4:10

10. "This Is the One" – 4:58

11. "I Am the Resurrection" – 8:12

US Release 1989:

Elephant Stone

Fool's Gold

(Run DMC liked this bassline so much they used it as a sample it on their track "What's It All About?"... it's an uber-funky bassline, no denying it)

The Stone Roses might well be the band that wields the most influence - directly or indirectly - on the modern indie music scene. The Charlatans more or less stole their sound and Oasis more or less stole their image. Almost every British band since then (and some before) cite the Roses as an influence. Suede, Coldplay, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, Verve etc. Alex Turner apparently regards Ian Brown as his musical hero. NME puts this album on the top of its list of best British albums... The list wasn't compiled in the early 90s no... It was compiled last year. The Stone Roses were at the forefront of the Madchester/acid-house movement of the late 80s-early 90s whether they liked it or not. They had a massive influence on the UK music scene. Without them there'd be no Britpop or indie and then what could be able to contend with that silly old grunge movement in the US of A?

They did all this with one album. Their second (and last) only came out in 1994. That is what makes their debut (and this band) a complete groundbreaker.

Since the Stone Roses were the nominal leaders of Britain's "Madchester" scene -- an indie rock phenomenon that fused guitar pop with drug-fueled rave and dance culture -- it's rather ironic that their eponymous debut only hints at dance music. What made the Stone Roses important was how they welcomed dance and pop together, treating them as if they were the same beast. Equally important was the Roses' cool, detached arrogance, which was personified by Ian Brown's nonchalant vocals. Brown's effortless malevolence is brought to life with songs that equal both his sentiments and his voice -- "I Wanna Be Adored," with its creeping bassline and waves of cool guitar hooks, doesn't demand adoration, it just expects it. Similarly, Brown can claim "I Am the Resurrection" and lie back, as if there were no room for debate. But the key to The Stone Roses is John Squire's layers of simple, exceedingly catchy hooks and how the rhythm section of Reni and Mani always imply dance rhythms without overtly going into the disco. On "She Bangs the Drums" and "Elephant Stone," the hooks wind into the rhythm inseparably -- the '60s hooks and the rolling beats manage to convey the colorful, neo-psychedelic world of acid house. Squire's riffs are bright and catchy, recalling the British Invasion while suggesting the future with their phased, echoey effects. The Stone Roses was a two-fold revolution -- it brought dance music to an audience that was previously obsessed with droning guitars, while it revived the concept of classic pop songwriting, and the repercussions of its achievement could be heard throughout the '90s, even if the Stone Roses could never achieve this level of achievement again.
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The Shadows - The Shadows (1961)

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The most influential album in rock. Why? Because it and Hank Marvin's playing influenced generations of rock guitarists from Pete Townshend to Mark Knopfler.

~ "Hank Marvin’s influence in rock guitar circles is indisputable, and cannot be overstated. Gary Moore, Ritchie Blackmore, Brian May, Tony Iommi, Peter Green, Mark Knopfler, Peter Frampton, Andy Summers - when all these guys (and all the rest of us) took their first stumbling steps on the road to guitar proficiency, â€Apacheâ€, â€Man Of Mysteryâ€, â€F.B.I.†or maybe Cliff’s â€Livin’ Doll†were among the first tunes they tried to learn. Any budding guitarist more or less had to learn them, to have any chance of passing an audition to play in a band at all. (If you were really good, you could even play â€Foot Tapperâ€.) The singer in Jeff Beck’s first band, The Deltones, has related that the band were infinitely impressed by Beck’s ability to play Shadows tunes â€just like Hank†when he auditioned for them. Beck has spoken dismissively of this, but I still think I can hear echoes of Hank in his playing even today, particularly in his use of the vibrato bar and on some of the slow ballads. Marvin’s influence on the other side of the Atlantic has become more widely appreciated in later years, in spite of the fact that neither Cliff Richard nor The Shadows ever really broke in the States in any big way. Artists as diverse as Steve Stevens, Neil Young, Randy Bachman, Frank Zappa, Santana and Bela Fleck have all named Hank Marvin among their influences." ~ Paul Guy, FUZZ Magazine 2002.

Track listing

Side 1

"Shadoogie" (Marvin/Welch/Harris/Meehan) Link

"Blue Star" (Young/Heyman)

"Nivram" (Welch/Marvin/Harris) Link

"Baby My Heart" (Curtis)

"See You in My Drums" (Meehan)

"All My Sorrows" (Guard/Shane/Reynolds)

"Stand Up and Say That" (Marvin)

Side 2

"Gonzales" (McGlynn) Link

"Find Me a Golden Street" (Petty)

"Theme From a Filleted Place" (Marvin/Welch/Harris)

"That's My Desire" (Krease/Loveday)

"My Resistance is Low" (Carmichael)

"Sleepwalk" (Farina/Farina/Farina/Wolf) Link

"Big Boy" (Welch/Marvin)

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My Second Nomination....

"FIVE LIVE YARDBIRDS"...was released in 1964, and was the first DEBUT album ever released that was recorded LIVE. It was recorded at the world famous Marquee Club in London, and originally contained ten covers of blues tunes from the old masters such as Chuck Berry, Howlin Wolf, Slim Harpo and Bo Diddley. A remastered version released in 2003, also contained 9 more blues classics from their original set, and a studio version of Good Morning Little Schoolgirl.

Yardbirds at the time consisted of:

Keith Relf - lead vocals, harmonica

Eric Clapton - lead guitar

Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar

Paul Samwell-Smith - bass

Jim McCarty - drums

FIVE LIVE YARDBIRDS

TRACK LISTING

Side One

1. Too Much Monkey Business (Chuck Berry) – 3:51

2. Got Love If You Want It (Slim Harpo) – 2:40

3. Smokestack Lightning (Howlin' Wolf) – 5:35

4. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (H. G. Demarais) – 2:42

5. Respectable (O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley) – 5:35

Side Two

6. Five Long Years (Eddie Boyd) – 5:18

7. Pretty Girl (Bo Diddley) – 3:04

8. Louise (John Lee Hooker) – 3:43

9. I'm a Man (Bo Diddley) – 4:33

10. Here 'Tis (Bo Diddley) – 5:10

2003 bonus tracks

11. You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover

12. Let It Rock

13. I Wish You Would (Billy Boy Arnold)

14. Who Do You Love (Bo Diddley)

15. Honey in Your Hips

16. A Certain Girl

17. Got to Hurry

18. Boom Boom (John Lee Hooker)

19. I Ain't Got You

20. Good Morning Little School Girl (studio version)

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

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SonicYouthDaydreamNationalbumcover.jpg

Daydream Nation ~ Sonic Youth

Tracks:

1. "Teen Age Riot"

2. "Silver Rocket"

3. "The Sprawl"

4. "'Cross the Breeze"

5. "Eric's Trip"

6. "Total Trash" )

7. "Hey Joni"

8. "Providence"

9. "Candle"

10. "Rain King"

11. "Kissability"

12. Trilogy:

* a) "The Wonder"

* B) "Hyperstation"

* z) "Eliminator Jr."

Sonic Youth broke a lot of ground, but daydream nation is generally known as quite groundbreaking. In the late eighties, it started different roads that are now called, indie, alternative, grunge,..

Quotes from wikipedia:

Daydream Nation is the fifth studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in October 1988 by Enigma in the United States, and by Blast First in the United Kingdom. A number of publications, including Rolling Stone, Spin Magazine, and Pitchfork Media have hailed it as one of the best albums of the 1980s.[1][2][3] As a result, it is regarded as a milestone of 1980s underground music.

On Daydream Nation, Sonic Youth perfected their style, becoming sculptors of interweaving guitar lines that could unfold with nearly symphonic grandeur. The album quickly became an indie rock standard, containing some of the band's best-known songs, such as "Teen Age Riot", "Silver Rocket", and "Candle."

--------------------------------------------------

I'll change my other nomination (disraeli gears) because it's the band Cream, more then the album, that broke ground. I need to thing a bit longer.

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I just don't consider Daydream Nation terribly 'groundbreaking'

Is it really reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally good?

Yes it is,

but as far as technique and sound, Dinosaur Jr. had already done a lot of the guitar stuff, Sonic Youth just made an excellent album.

Their first album was way more original, and introduced aesthetics unheard of in the R'n'R genre, mostly stuff that would be more easily found in French Impressionist symphonies, like Debussey.

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loureedtransformer23738vf9.jpg

"Transformer" - Lou Reed

This is a groundbreaking album. In 1972, Bowie, Ronson and Lou Reed walked on the wild side and opened a new way for pop, a dark path made of melody and transgression. This is a piece of glam, one of the first and best pieces of glam.

What makes it really groundbreaking is both its avant-garde and comercial taste.

I´d love to add some youtube links but the original thread from where I took this info is locked so I can´t quote it and I can´t access youtube right now. I´ll try it later.

Why are the old threads locked in the Tops? :P

Tracks:

Side one

1. "Vicious"

2. "Andy´s Chest"

3."Perfect day"

4. "Hangin' 'Round"

5. "Walk on the Wild Side"

6. "Make Up"

Side two

1. "Satellite of Love"

2. "Wagon Wheel"

3."New York Telephone Conversation"

4. "I´m so free"

5. "Goodnight Ladies"

All songs written by Lou Reed.

Lou Reed plays guitar, keyboards and sings; Herbie Flowers plays bass and tuba; Mick Ronson plays lead guitar, piano, recorder and sings backing vocals; Klaus Voorman plays bass; string and bass arrangements by Mick Ronson; produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson; vocal backings: Bowie, Ronson and The Thunder Thighs.

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I'm just gonna throw out some 'they need no introduction' names, just so no one can consider this thread uncultured.

Corelli

Bach

Mozart

Beethoven

Debussy

Tchaikovsky

Mahler

Gershwin

Stravinski

Rachmaninov

and

John Cage

Those make up a pretty large number of 'transformative' composers, but, of course, there are many many more.

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I don't really know, that was Darryl's idea/decision, and I've just always done it the way he did. Which would you like to access darlin'? I'll gladly unlock it for you. :)

Oh, thank you so much, Carole... :):)

I´ve already done it ;) not unlock the thread but I looked for the youtube links on the other computer and added some lines to my "Transformer" - Lou Reed nomination for groundbreaking albums...

Thank you again, my friend! :bow:

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1200px-Bob.jpg

[bigger] Catch a Fire

[/bigger]

In 1973, this album popularized reggae on the world stage. When this debate album "Catch a Fire" hit the US anyone that listened to it knew, that reggae was here to stay. The songs in the album address serious social and political issues. The songs 'Stir It Up' , 'Kinky Reggae' and 'Baby We've Got A Date',show the lover that Marley was and his love for women.

Catch a Fire was one of two albums the original Wailing Wailers (Marley, Tosh, Bunny) made together, the other being Burnin'. While that album was much darker and angrier, Catch A Fire is more about peace and togetherness. Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer left to start solo careers. It was unfortunate, because Bob Marley and the Wailers never surpassed the quality of these albums on later efforts. Nor did the artists themselves as solo artists ever come close to the popularity and raw original sound of either Catch A Fire or Burin' contained.

By the age of 36 Bob Marley managed to become the best known and most popular reggae musician in history. Even 27 years after his death this remains true.

Quote:

Catch a Fire is the major-label-debut album for Jamaican reggae band The Wailers, released on Island Records in 1973. The album established the band as international superstars. Leader Bob Marley in particular became world famous,especially in the Caribbean, Brazil and Africa, and among immigrants in Europe and African-Americans in the United States. The socially aware lyrics and militant tone surprised many listeners, but others were attracted to songwriters Marley and Peter Tosh's confrontational subjects and optimistic view of a future free from oppression.Catch a Fire peaked at #171 and #51 on Billboard's (North America) Pop Albums and Black Albums charts respectively. It is number 125 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, the highest placement of the four Bob Marley albums on the list.

I found the Album cover art interesting so am adding it as well.

1BobMarleyCatchAFire.jpg

Quote:

The first 20,000 copies of the original 1973 vinyl release were encased in a sleeve depicting a Zippo lighter. The sleeve functioned as a Zippo lighter case would, opening at a side hinge to reveal the record within. However, producers soon realized that this operation would require hand-manufacture, as machinery available was not sufficient to rivet the upper and lower halves of the sleeve together. Copies of the record from these original pressings have since become collectors' items, and subsequent pressings are recognizable by their alternative cover art.

Track Listing:

Side one:

1." Concrete Jungle " (Marley) – 4:13

2."Slave Driver" (Marley) – 2:53

3."400 Years" (Marley/Tosh) – 2:45

4."Stop That Train" (Tosh) – 3:55

5."Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby)" (Marley)

– 3:57

SideTwo:

1." Stir It Up " (Marley) – 5:32

2." Kinky Reggae " (Marley) – 3:37

3."No More Trouble" (Marley) – 3:57

4."Midnight Ravers" (Marley) – 5:10

2001 Deluxe edition:

Disc One:

Catch A Fire: The Unreleased Original

Jamaican Versions

1."Concrete Jungle" – 4:16

2."Stir It Up" – 3:39

3."High Tide Or Low Tide" – 4:45

"Stop That Train" – 3:55

4."400 Years" – 3:03

5."Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby)" – 4:05

6."Midnight Ravers" – 5:09

"All Day All Night" – 3:29

7."Slave Driver" – 2:57

8."Kinky Reggae" – 3:45

9."No More Trouble" – 5:16

Disc Two:

Catch A Fire: The Released Album

1."Concrete Jungle" – 4:15

2."Slave Driver" – 2:55

3."400 Years" – 2:47

4."Stop That Train" – 3:57

5."Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby)" – 3:59

6."Stir It Up" – 5:35

7."Kinky Reggae" – 3:39

8."No More Trouble" – 4:00

9."Midnight Ravers" – 5:08

10."High Tide or Low Tide" – 4:40 (cd bonus track)

11."All Day All Night" – 3:26 (cd bonus track)

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Delaney & Bonnie & Friends on tour with Eric Clapton

Delaney__Bonnie__Friends_-_On_Tour_.jpg

I remember my sister listening to this album, and I also remember liking it a lot.... :guitar:

I picked this as a groundbreaker for Clapton....shortly after this Clapton went on successfully making solo albums....I'm not sure on the details of that, so I'll be back with more info.... :P

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I hope somebody nominates a Rolling Stones album (e.g. Out of Our Heads)

Ground-breaking in the sense that it made all other music pale in comparison.

I thought about that too, Kenne... but as much as I´m a RS fan, I must admit I never found them that revolutionary... Of course, their songs were challenges, but other people would make a similar kind of music at the same time (blues, Them, Yardbirds, Animals) I always found their music was softly taking a second or third step in the mainstream.... but that music they made was the best music ever! :thumbsup:

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I agree edna ... I tried, but failed to find something "groundbreaking" about any Stones album. It seems to me the Stones were masters at picking up other's ideas, and doing it better than the originals. The Stones do everything just a little bit better, and that's what makes them the greatest rock band in history!! :thumbsup:

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Edna...How about Sticky Fingers????....I found this little comment on a website, which would pretty much qualify it for this theme...

Sticky Fingers

Rolling Stones

More than six million copies have been sold since it was released in April 1971. This was the first album recorded on the group's own label, the first in which Mick Taylor played guitar on all the tracks, and only the fourth to be released worldwide. Because it contains tracks recorded at various times between 1969 and 1971, it serves as a showcase of the Stones' work at a time when the group was still honing its musical identity.

:rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

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I read the term "groundbreaking" as something that changed the shape of music, or influenced the music of the time in some way. Sticky Fingers may have been a milestone for the Rolling Stones (and Mick), but I don't think it changed the shape of Rock & Roll in any way.

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I think like Lucky, Laurie... :) I don´t really think Sticky Fingers -I have it in my mp3, it´s my ever fave pack of songs ever- has been a "groundbreaking" album in rock... it has been, no doubt, a milestone. But it didn´t really introduce anything new, it wasn´t a turn in the road... most of all, an amazing album, a crest... :cool:

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I was just sitting here listening to my Marley links because when I added them I didn't really get the chance to and wanted to make sure they were ok.

Listening to Marley always makes me remember why I have been a fan for so long. Reggae isn't something I listen to a lot, but every time I do it makes me remember why I still remain a fan after all these years.

The links are not the full songs I see, so if you want to listen to the whole thing you will have to find another link. That is unless one of the mods want to change them for me :D

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