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List #10


Carl

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Stone Roses - Second Coming

These guys are fantastic, lots of people said that they're self-titled debut basically ushered in a new era of brit rock. Plainly put, they were the coldplay of their day. Sadly, huge expectations made this album a disappointment at the time because it wasn't "Stone Roses II". Instead, the band explored new territory, and so many years later, after a second listen, this is the album that still stands proud. The first one's good, but dated. Chris Squire is destined to be a legend in guitar rock, he plays circles around all but the big 10 (ie Clapton, Gilmour, Satriani, etc.) The vocals are seductive and understated, and the rhythm section is top notch. The standout tracks are: Breaking in to Heaven, Daybreak, Tightrope, Love Spreads, Begging You.

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The Joshua Tree - U2

I have recently rediscovered this album. I realised that, for a big U2 fan, I had shockingly little of their music on my iRiver. so I downloaded several of their older albums, including 'The Joshua Tree'. Despite the fact that this album is consistently voted the best Irish album of all time by Irish radio listeners, I had forgotten how amazing it is. The opening track, 'Where The Streets Have No Name', begins with those instantly recognisable chords on synths before building into the guitar riff in The Edge's distinctive style - one of the best album openers I can think of. The album continues with some of U2's, and indeed the 1980s', most memorable tracks, such as 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For', 'Mothers of the Disappeared', 'Running To Stand Still' and of course one of U2's signature tracks, 'With or Without You'. I definitely think this is worthy of inclusion on List 10.

This was written by Stephen Thomas Erlewine of the 'All Music Guide':

Using the textured sonics of The Unforgettable Fire as a basis, U2 expanded those innovations by scaling back the songs to a personal setting and adding a grittier attack for its follow-up, The Joshua Tree. It's a move that returns them to the sweeping, anthemic rock of War, but if War was an exploding political bomb, The Joshua Tree is a journey through its aftermath, trying to find sense and hope in the desperation. That means that even the anthems - the epic opener "Where the Streets Have No Name", the yearning "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - have seeds of doubt within their soaring choruses, and those fears take root throughout the album, whether it's in the mournful sliding acoustic guitars of "Running to Stand Still", the surging "One Tree Hill", or the hypnotic elegy "Mothers of the Disappeared". So it might seem a little ironic that U2 became superstars on the back of such a dark record, but their focus has never been clearer, nor has their music been catchier, than on The Joshua Tree.

Unexpectedly, U2 have also tempered their textural post-punk with American influences. Not only are Bono's lyrics obsessed with America, but country and blues influences are heard throughout the record, and instead of using these as roots, they're used as ways to add texture to the music. With the uniformly excellent songs - only the clumsy, heavy rock and portentous lyrics of "Bullet the Blue Sky" fall flat - the result is a powerful, uncompromising record that became a hit due to its vision and its melody. Never before have U2's big messages sounded so direct and personal.

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i would like to suggest portishead "dummy"

portishead are (or were, i'm not quite sure if they will ever reform) trip hop band from bristol, and "dummy" was their debut album. I'd heard a couple of songs but never got into them because i found their music incredibly depressing. however, i gave them a second chance a few years back because my boyfriend is a huge fan, and i got hooked. their songs are very emotional, mostly because of her voice i would say but obviously also because of the lyrics and the music.

my fave songs are "glory box" ("give me a reason to love you, give me a reason to be a woman...") and "nobody loves me" ("nobody loves me, yeah it's true, not like you do")

portishead are definitely a must for someone who wants to experience trip-hop, and for those fond of emotional music.

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"nobody loves me" ("nobody loves me, yeah it's true, not like you do")

this song is actually called 'sour times'

great choice rach, that's one of my top ten albums! i adore every song on it and beth gibbons' voice is just stunning - personally she is a big influence on my singing. i love the use of soaring string arrangements, like on 'roads', the dj scratching on tracks like 'mysterons' and 'wandering star' and the samples they use on 'glorybox' and 'sour times'. it's a perfect album, very mellow - ideal for the early morning wind-down after a party. i wish portishead would reform because i never got to see them live! :( their second album 'portishead' is great too and beth gibbons has a solo album which i like alot. but 'dummy' is their masterwork, in my opinion.

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The Joshua Tree - U2

I have recently rediscovered this album. I realised that, for a big U2 fan, I had shockingly little of their music on my iRiver. so I downloaded several of their older albums, including 'The Joshua Tree'. Despite the fact that this album is consistently voted the best Irish album of all time by Irish radio listeners, I had forgotten how amazing it is. The opening track, 'Where The Streets Have No Name', begins with those instantly recognisable chords on synths before building into the guitar riff in The Edge's distinctive style - one of the best album openers I can think of. The album continues with some of U2's, and indeed the 1980s', most memorable tracks, such as 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For', 'Mothers of the Disappeared', 'Running To Stand Still' and of course one of U2's signature tracks, 'With or Without You'. I definitely think this is worthy of inclusion on List 10.

This was written by Stephen Thomas Erlewine of the 'All Music Guide':

Excellent choice SG

I have just rediscovered this myself. This is a genuine treasure and filled to the brim with emotional ear candy.

Grandures musical fest - INDEED!!!

U2 - Joshua Tree really rocks!

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No one has suggested Bowie yet. I searched this forum and coudn't find him so...

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars

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This is one of my favourite Bowie albums. The lyrics are bizarre, the story is weird, the characters are strange and the music is FANTASTIC. The single best justification for glam rock, Ziggy Stardust is a loosely constructed concept album about an androgynous alien rock star. Bowie, as Ziggy, became engrossed in his creation: "He's a monster and I'm Dr Frankenstein. He's my brother and God. I love him".

This album contains some of Bowie's best work, with its theatrical arrangements, dramatic strings and rocking guitars. From the almost operatic 'Five Years', the dark rock of 'Moonage Daydream' and 'It Ain't Easy' to the image laden 'Starman', the swooning 'Lady Stardust' and the irresistable 'Suffragette City'.

As Bono from U2 said: "He was the nicest fella from Mars I ever met.."

Fave tracks: It Ain't Easy, Lady Stardust, Moonage Daydream, Five Years, Rock & Roll Suicide.

Fave lyric: "...you're sqwaking like a pink monkey bird..."

The album was released 33 years ago this month. :bow: :bow:

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I'd like to suggest "the traveling wilburys" volume 1....what an amazing group of talented musicians, and taking turns on the vocals at that....it's a great album to listen to, no matter what mood your in...i would say more, but i've been getting kicked offline lately, so i hope this gets in.......

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Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

Notable Tracks:

(They are all pretty good, but these really stand out)

In My Time of Dying

Houses of the Holy

Trampled Underfoot

Kashmir

Bron-Yr-Aur

Ten Years Gone

Night Flight

When one thinks of Led Zeppelin, and their favorite songs by Zeppelin, they usually think back to ?Dazed and Confused? or something off of Led Zeppelin IV or Led Zeppelin II, or basically anything before ?Houses of the Holy.? But for some reason, people often forget ?Physical Graffiti.? This does not make any sense to me. Physical Graffiti has to be one of the most underrated albums of all time.

Physical Graffiti was a 2 record album, with 6 songs one on part, and 9 on the other. The first part includes the strange ?In My Time of Dying,? an epic 11 minute song that is hard to categorize. It also includes ?Houses of The Holy? which is a good, simple rock song. The first side also has ?Trampled Underfoot,? one out of two of Zeppelin?s expeditions into funk (the first being ?The Crunge?), and this one was by far better. It features John Paul Jones playing the keyboard, and he has a long keyboard solo in the middle. The last song, Kashmir, is an epic often compared to Stairway to Heaven, and is considered by many fans (the pinnacle of Led Zeppelin?s career.

The second side is not quite as good. Its highlight would have to be ?Ten Years Gone,? originally intended as an instrumental; it has both good music and lyrics.

All in all, it is a great, underrated album. It has great highlights, and most of the songs that don?t stand out are still pretty good songs anyways. Those songs should be considered some of the best album filler of all time. Although not their best, still a great album.

And here's another review, Pink Floyd, "Meddle"

Meddle is one of Pink Floyd's most overlooked albums. It could be overlooked for a variety of reasons, though. It doesn't appear to have a consistent theme, and was made during a very transitional time for Pink Floyd. It was made in the time when they were leaving their 60's psychadelia behind, and forming their own musical identity. In this album, you can hear traces of the mellow music showcased in Dark Side Of The Moon. Though it isn't the masterpiece Dark Side is, it is still one of Floyd's best albums, and essential for any fan of Pink Floyd.

The album begins with the sounds of wind, perhaps wind at the ocean. The bass is the first instrument to come in, playing a single echoed note. The bass builds up to a surging echo riff, and soon becomes one of the most intense tracks. The song is highly electronic sounding. It sounds like an intense psychadelic techno song. It is an instrumental, except for somewhere in the middle, where a digitally warped and evil sounding Nick Mason says "one of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces." After a rather abrupt ending, the sounds of a windy ocean become prominent again. After the incredibly intense beginning, it is a shock when a very beautiful, peaceful acoustic guitar comes in, with the song "A Pillow of Winds." It has great lyrics that coincide perfectly with the song. It's the kind of song you could just fall asleep to, but in a good way. It's basically a feel good song until the lyrics get slightly darker, and the acoustic intro gradually flows into an eerie, but still calm, acoustic guitar part. The mood changes throughout the song seamlessly, as do the lyrics.

In the next song, "Fearless," the tranquility is lost, but it is still a calm, flowing song. Another lyrical gem, Fearless stands out as one of Floyd's best songs. The aura flows from that of an ocean, to that of a sporting event. The winds in the last song turn into a crowd chanting "Liverpool." The song really points at the mood to come in later Pink Floyd work.

The next song, "San Tropez," seems awkward, and forced into the album upon first listen. After the peaceful mood has been established in the last two songs, it seems a surprise when the jazzy waltz comes to play in this song. Upon further listening, though, I realize while the genre may be different, the mood is still peaceful, and flowing. As for the song, it has a nice piano solo from Rick Wright. It isn't a great song, but it isn't bad either.

"Seamus" is the only blues song I have ever heard from Pink Floyd. It begins with a barking dog, which is repeated throughout the rest of the song. While at first it seems like a lighthearted song about a dog named Seamus, the song is actually quite depressing. It's a short song, which begins with lyrics about a man outside his house with his dog. It seems like a sort of calm, simple song, describing slow paced living out in the country. The last line, however is

"Well, you know the sun was sinking slowly

But my hound just sat right down and cried."

After that line, the entire song seems to shift from calm and content to lonely and sad. The actual music doesn't change at all. This song is really a testament to the lyrical talent of Roger Waters. It shows how much his lyrics can change a song.

The album ends with the 23 minute epic, "Echoes." It is as epic as possible while still staying with the flowing theme of the album. The song easily flows from eerie and creepy to majestic throughout the song. It is another song that points at the greatness to come, especially the mood in Dark Side of the Moon. It is the perfect ending to a great album

This album is essential for any fan of Pink Floyd. I give it 5 stars out of 5.

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Boston -

? More Than A Feeling

? Peace Of Mind

? Foreplay/Longtime

? Rock & Roll Band

? Smokin'

? Hitch A Ride

? Something About You

? Let Me Take You Home Tonight

The best selling debut album of all time! Over 17 Million copies sold ..so far...

Still as fresh today as it was the first time I heard it nearly 30 years ago! I played this over an over and over again!! I still do. The sounds of technology without any.

Simple Rock Music! The way is was intended to be listened to...loud!

This album just goes to show you something we've been re-learning over the decades, simple rock n roll, with basic lyrics feeds any music appetite!

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Troubadour: The Definitive Collection 1964-1976 - Donovan

I respect Donovan as an uncommonly creative artist. You can tell that he likes to play with music. Nearly all of these songs have unconventional touches and pleasantly peculiar lyrics. Consistently bolstered by top-notch colleagues, Donovan travels between whispered enchantments and perverse wisecracks.

They somehow missed a couple of favorites (Sunny Goodge Street, Young Girl Blues). But if you like Donovan at all, or you want to find out if you like Donovan at all, the 44 tracks on this 2 CD collection will give you a heap, cheap.

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