The List of Lists 2011

My tastes as they stand at the end of this year, for some totally arbitrary decades and years!

TOP 1980s ALBUMS
1. Talking Heads: Remain in Light (Sire '80)
2. Prince: Sign o' the Times (Warner Bros. '87)
3. De La Soul: 3 Feet High and Rising (Tommy Boy '89)
4. The Replacements: Let It Be (Twin/Tone '84)
5. Prince: Purple Rain (Warner Bros. '84)
6. Richard & Linda Thompson: Shoot Out the Lights (Hannibal '82)
7. King Sunny Ade: Juju Music (Mango '82)
8. Prince: 1999 (Warner Bros. '82)
9. The Soft Boys: Underwater Moonlight (Armageddon '80)
10. The Go-Betweens: Spring Hill Fair (Sire '84)
11. R.E.M.: Lifes Rich Pageant (I.R.S. '86)
12. The Clash: Sandinista! (Epic '80)
13. XTC: Skylarking (Geffen '86)
14. Run-DMC: Raising Hell (Arista '86)
15. New Order: Power, Corruption & Lies (Factory '83)
16. R.E.M.: Murmur (I.R.S. '83)
17. The Replacements: Pleased to Meet Me (Sire '87)
18. Boogie Down Productions: Criminal Minded (B-Boy '87)
19. Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (Columbia '88)
20. The Go-Betweens: 16 Lovers Lane (Capitol '88)
21. Run-DMC (Arista '84)
22. Yoko Ono: Season of Glass (Geffen '81)
23. The Go-Betweens: Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express (Big Time '86)
24. Yaz: Upstairs at Eric's (Sire '82)
25. Michael Jackson: Thriller (Epic '83)
26. The Replacements: Tim (Sire '85)
27. The English Beat: I Just Can't Stop It (Sire '80)
28. Brian Eno & David Byrne: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (Sire '81)
29. George Clinton: Computer Games (Capitol '82)
30. Mission of Burma: Vs. (Ace of Hearts '82)
31. The Jam: Sound Affects (Polydor '80)
32. Suicide (Mute '80)
33. Devo: Freedom of Choice (Warner Bros. '80)
34. Depeche Mode: Music for the Masses (Sire '87)
35. The Jesus & Mary Chain: Psychocandy (Reprise '86)
36. R.E.M.: Fables of the Reconstruction (I.R.S. '85)
37. Pixies: Surfer Rosa (4AD '88)
38. Beastie Boys: Paul's Boutique (Capitol '89)
39. Talking Heads: Little Creatures (Sire '85)
40. Pet Shop Boys: Introspective (EMI Manhattan '88)
41. Galaxie 500: Today (Aurora '88)
42. OMD: Architecture and Morality (Virgin '81)
43. Tom Tom Club (Sire '81)
44. Run-DMC: King of Rock (Arista '85)
45. Ultramagnetic MCs: Critical Beatdown (Next Plateau '88)
46. The Go-Betweens: Before Hollywood (Rough Trade '83)
47. Galaxie 500: On Fire (Rough Trade '89)
48. Pixies: Doolittle (4AD '89)
49. U2: Boy (Island '80)
50. Prince: Dirty Mind (Warner Bros. '80)

2001 ALBUMS
1. Beulah: The Coast Is Never Clear (Velocette)
2. Jay-Z: The Blueprint (Def Jam)
3. Old 97's: Satellite Rides (Elektra)
4. Björk: Vespertine (Elektra)
5. Missy Elliott: Miss E... So Addictive (Elektra)
6. Bob Dylan: Love and Theft (Columbia)
7. The Shins: Oh, Inverted World (Sub Pop)
8. The White Stripes: White Blood Cells (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
9. Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire: The Swimming Hour (Rykodisc)
10. The Strokes: Is This It (RCA)
+
De La Soul: AOI: Bionix (Tommy Boy)
Built to Spill: Ancient Melodies of the Future (Warner Bros.)
Rilo Kiley: Take Offs and Landings (Barsuk)
Depeche Mode: Exciter (Reprise)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone: Pocket Symphonies for Lonesome Subway Cars (Tomlab)
Timbaland & Magoo: Indecent Proposal (Virgin)
Jon Brion: Meaningless (Straight to Cut Out)

1991 ALBUMS
1. My Bloody Valentine: Loveless (Sire)
2. A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory (Jive)
3. Naughty by Nature (Tommy Boy)
4. R.E.M.: Out of Time (Warner Bros.)
5. De La Soul Is Dead (Tommy Boy)
6. Matthew Sweet: Girlfriend (Zoo)
7. The Mahotella Queens: Mbaqanga (Verve)
8. U2: Achtung Baby (Island)
9. Erasure: Chorus (Sire)
10. Van Morrison: Hymns to the Silence (Polydor)
+
Smashing Pumpkins: Gish (Caroline)
Red Hot Chili Peppers: BloodSugarSexMagik (Warner Bros.)
Living Colour: Time's Up (Epic)
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet: Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham (Cargo)

1981 ALBUMS
1. The Soft Boys: Underwater Moonlight (Attic)
2. Yoko Ono: Season of Glass (Geffen)
3. Brian Eno & David Byrne: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (Sire)
4. OMD: Architecture and Morality (Virgin)
5. Tom Tom Club (Sire '81)
6. The Stranglers: La Folie (Liberty)
7. Funkadelic: The Electric Spanking of War Babies (Warner Bros.)
8. Depeche Mode: Speak & Spell (Sire)
9. Prince: Controversy (Warner Bros.)
10. Bow Wow Wow: See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang, Yeah. City All Over! Go Ape Crazy (RCA)
+
The English Beat: Wha'ppen? (Sire)
John Cale: Honi Soit (A&M)
Eurythmics: In the Garden (RCA)

1971 ALBUMS
1. The Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers (Atlantic)
2. Funkadelic: Maggot Brain (Westbound)
3. Marvin Gaye: What's Going On (Tamla)
4. Leonard Cohen: Songs of Love and Hate (Columbia)
5. Sly & the Family Stone: There's a Riot Goin' On (Epic)
6. David Bowie: Hunky Dory (RCA)
7. Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of a Man (Flying Dutchman)
8. Van Morrison: Tupelo Honey (Warner Bros.)
9. Al Green Gets Next to You (Hi)
10. The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies (RCA)
+
John Lennon: Imagine (Apple)
John Lee Hooker: Endless Boogie (ABC)
Stevie Wonder: Where I'm Coming From (Tamla)
Yoko Ono: Fly (Apple)
Loudon Wainwright III: Album II (Atlantic)

Happy New Year! Incidentally, if you
- like this blog
- like movies
... you might like this!

The Saints: All Fools Day (1986)

(TVT)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Hard to imagine a more inauspicious setup for an album than this: the band recording All Fools Day were the Saints in name only, constituting just one member -- Chris Bailey -- of the key Australian punk rock band of the late '70s. It's otherwise a new lineup, and on top of that, the record lends itself readily to any sellout accusation you want to hurl at it. Bearing little resemblance to the no-frills rock & roll the Saints initially formed to create in 1974, these songs are hook-filled jangle-pop new wave that fit distressingly well with the MTV brand of alt-pop in the mid-'80s, to the point that the group actually managed to score a mid-sized video hit on the channel with "Just Like Fire Would." It was no "Rock the Casbah," but you'd be forgiven for a certain healthy cynicism about the irony in play here. Oh, and there's a song called "Celtic Ballad" that really kind of is one.

But fortunately, Bailey's work was never all that easy to pin down, and his proven intelligence helps to make this, as mid-'80s power pop goes, near the top of its heap. It betters the ample competition with the same genuine feeling and emotional thrust in the performances, especially within Bailey's vocals, which often uncannily resemble Mick Jagger. "Just Like Fire Would" itself, pun title and all, amply deserves its success, a perfectly engineered piece of romantic aggression. The record is really about Bailey's ever-growing assurance and enthusiasm as a singer-songwriter. In either regard, he excels and frequently soars; "See You in Paradise" is the sort of bracing ballad unimaginable in the typical punk context, even by the Saints' lax standards. Many of these songs cry out for a late-night slowdance or two, many are instantly lovable chestnuts of their time despite choice always-relevant lines like "Sometimes I worry about the third world, and I ain't even seen the first."

Bailey's guitar work throughout the LP is hit and miss, but producer Hugh Jones fills out the band's somewhat thin sound nicely with synthesizers and strings and other expansive-arrangement tricks that would be unthinkable on the Saints' early albums but somehow work well here. The driving sparkle he gives "Hymn to Saint Jude" makes that song even more memorable, and serves to provide contrast to the unprecedented, frayed intensity of Bailey's vocal; he lends just enough echo and spy-movie disorientation to the blatant pub rock throwback "Empty Page" to make it affable instead of utterly ridiculous. But everything goes back to the solid backbone of Bailey's songs and, especially, his vocals, which always remain true to his passion for the work, lending for instance a left-field resignation you don't predict you'll get from something called "How to Avoid Disaster." He doesn't get through any of these songs without breaking a sweat and selling the music's urgency, and the record has enough hooks, tempered gently by desperation and longing, to light up a sullen adolescent night, and we all need a few of those per year.

[SEE ALSO:]
(I'm) Stranded (1977)
Eternally Yours (1978)

Index of posts 1-300

I can pretty much not believe that I've now posted roughly 300 reviews here. Of course, some of those are utter nonsense and some are better than others, but this whole scheme has finally given me a format of music writing that I've been able to stick to and keep sufficiently motivated and anal about to maintain diligently.

You'll notice that I've changed things around a bit, including but not limited to the title of the blog, and I've switched to a template that hopefully isn't as terribly common and tiresome as the last one I had in play here. Oh, and one further housekeeping note. When I started this blog, I intended for it to include reviews of individual songs and some other general commentary about music, music news, etc. Quickly it became nothing but an album review blog. So if you would like to read any of that other stuff, a lot of is going to end up in my tumblr, a dumping ground for a lot of general rambling about music and movies and other things in a not-at-all formal arrangement. There's a lot of other junk there too, so be warned.

Below is a full index of every review, indeed every post, on this blog from the beginning. Since that's kind of boring for the regular reader, I've also done another special list, this one rather short but hopefully revealing. If you're into lists, you'll enjoy my annual List of Lists post coming up tomorrow as well. As always, thank you so very much for reading this mess.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX
KEY: [A+] / [hr] = highly recommended / [r] = recommended / [c] = caution / [NO] = avoid

(Keep in mind, we're using iTunes capitalization here. I am well aware that from a cataloging standpoint that's total bullshit, but it keeps me from having to deal with surname ambiguities. I'm a library assistant in real life so I know this is offensive, and all I can tell you is... I like pissing you off.)

STUDIO ALBUMS
10,000 Maniacs: In My Tribe (1987) [c]
10,000 Maniacs: Blind Man's Zoo (1989)
10,000 Maniacs: Our Time in Eden (1992) [c]
13th Floor Elevators: The Psychedelic Sounds Of (1966) [hr]
13th Floor Elevators: Easter Everywhere (1967) [r]
2 Many DJ's: As Heard on Radio Soulwax, Pt. 2 (2002)
3 Mustaphas 3: Soup of the Century (1990) [c]
The 6ths: Wasps' Nest (1995) [hr]
The 6ths: Hyacinths and Thistles (2000) [r]
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: Source Tags & Codes (2002) [c]
A.C. Newman: The Slow Wonder (2004) [r]
A.C. Newman: Get Guilty (2009) [r]
Adam Green: Jacket Full of Danger (2006) [r]
Aesop Rock: Labor Days (2001) [r]
Air: Moon Safari (1998) [hr]
Al Green Gets Next to You (1971) [hr]
Al Wilson: Show and Tell (1973)
Alanis Morissette: Jagged Little Pill (1995) [r]
Alexander "Skip" Spence: Oar (1969) [hr]
Alexi Murdoch: Time Without Consequence (2006) [hr]
Ali Farka Touré (1988) [r]
Anal Cunt: I Like It When You Die (1997)
Andrew Bird: Noble Beast (2009) [hr]
The Antlers: Burst Apart (2011) [hr]
AraabMUZIK: Electronic Dream (2011)
Arcade Fire: The Suburbs (2010) [hr]
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: Before Today (2010) [hr]
Atlas Sound: Parallax (2011) [hr]
The Bats: Free All the Monsters (2011) [r]
The Beach Boys: Surfin' Safari (1962) [r]
Beastie Boys: Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (2011) [r]
The Beatles: Please Please Me (1963) [A+]
The Beatles: With the Beatles (1963) [A+]
Belle & Sebastian: Write About Love (2010) [r]
Best Coast: Crazy for You (2010) [r]
Big Boi: Sir Lucious Left Foot- The Son of Chico Dusty (2010) [r]
Big Star: #1 Record (1972) [A+]
Big Star: Radio City (1973) [A+]
Björk: Selmasongs (2000) [hr]
Björk: Biophilia (2011) [r]
Blur: Think Tank (2003) [hr]
Bob Dylan: Together Through Life (2009) [r]
Bon Iver (2011)
Brian Eno & Rick Holland: Drums Between the Bells (2011) [c]
Broken Bells (2010)
Buddy Holly: The "Chirping" Crickets (1957) [hr]
The C.A. Quintet: Trip Thru Hell (1968) [r]
Cass McCombs: Wit's End (2011)
ceo: White Magic (2010) [r]
Chatham County Line: Wildwood (2010) [r]
The Chemical Brothers: Further (2010)
Crystal Castles (2010) [hr]
Cults (2011) [hr]
Curren$y: Pilot Talk (2010) [hr]
Curren$y: Pilot Talk II (2010) [r]
Curren$y: Weekend at Burnie's (2011) [r]
Cut Copy: Zonoscope (2011) [hr]
D.L. Byron: This Day and Age (1980)
Daft Punk: Homework (1997) [r]
Das Racist: Relax (2011) [hr]
De La Soul: The Grind Date (2004) [r]
The Decemberists: The Hazards of Love (2009)
The Decemberists: The King Is Dead (2011) [hr]
Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest (2010) [hr]
Depeche Mode: Sounds of the Universe (2009) [r]
Delorean: Subiza (2010) [r]
Destroyer: Kaputt (2011) [hr]
Devo: Something for Everybody (2010) [NO]
DJ Quik: The Book of David (2011) [c]
Drake: Take Care (2011) [NO]
Eels: Tomorrow Morning (2010)
EMA: Past Life Martyred Saints (2011) [r]
Emeralds: Does It Look Like I'm Here? (2010) [c]
The Essex Green: Cannibal Sea (2006)
The Everly Brothers (1958) [hr]
The Extra Lens: Undercard (2010) [r]
The Faint: Blank Wave Arcade (1999)
Fang Island (2010)
Feist: Metals (2011)
The Field: Looping State of Mind (2011) [r]
The Flaming Lips: Embryonic (2009) [hr]
Fleet Foxes: Helplessness Blues (2011) [c]
Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma (2010)
Four Tet: There Is Love in You (2010) [r]
Fucked Up: David Comes to Life (2011)
Galaxie 500: Today (1988) [hr]
Gang Gang Dance: Eye Contact (2011) [r]
Gang of Four: Content (2011) [r]
Girls: Father, Son, Holy Ghost (2011)
Goldfrapp: Head First (2010)
Gonjasufi: A Sufi and a Killer (2010)
Herbie Hancock: Head Hunters (1973) [hr]
Hot Chip: One Life Stand (2010) [hr]
How to Dress Well: Love Remains (2010) [c]
Iceage: New Brigade (2011) [r]
Ice-T: O.G. Original Gangster (1991) [r]
Ida Cox & Coleman Hawkins: Blues for Rampart Street (1961) [hr]
Imani Coppola: Chupacabra (2011) [r]
Information Society (1988) [hr]
The International Submarine Band: Safe at Home (1968) [r]
Interpol (2010) [c]
Iron & Wine: The Shepherd's Dog (2007) [hr]
Iron & Wine: Kiss Each Other Clean (2011) [r]
James Blake (2011) [r]
Jay-Z & Kanye West: Watch the Throne (2011) [r]
Joanna Newsom: Have One on Me (2010) [A+]
John Coltrane: Giant Steps (1960) [A+]
John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (1964) [A+]
John Maus: We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (2011) [r]
Julian Lynch: Mare (2010) [r]
Julianna Barwick: The Magic Place (2011)
Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak (2008) [hr]
Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) [A+]
Kate Bush: 50 Words for Snow (2011)
The Kinks (1964) [r]
The Kinks: Kinda Kinks (1965) [hr]
The Kinks: The Kink Kontroversy (1965) [hr]
Kurt Vile: Smoke Ring for My Halo (2011) [NO]
L7 (1988)
Leonard Cohen: Dear Heather (2004) [hr]
Lupe Fiasco: Lasers (2011) [NO]
Lykke Li: Wounded Rhymes (2011) [r]
M. Ward: Duet for Guitars #2 (1999) [r]
M. Ward: End of Amnesia (2001) [r]
M. Ward: Transfiguration of Vincent (2003) [hr]
M83: Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (2011) [c]
Madonna: Hard Candy (2008)
The Magnetic Fields: Distortion (2008) [hr]
Male Bonding: Nothing Hurts (2010) [hr]
Male Bonding: Endless Now (2011) [r]
Marvin Gaye: What's Going On (1971) [A+]
Marvin Gaye: Let's Get It On (1973) [A+]
Mates of State: Mountaintops (2011)
Matthew Dear: Black City (2010) [r]
Midnight Juggernauts: The Crystal Axis (2010) [hr]
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (1950) [A+]
Miles Davis: Relaxin' (1958) [hr]
Moby: Destroyed (2011) [r]
The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come (2009) [hr]
The Mountain Goats: All Eternals Deck (2011) [hr]
Nicolas Jaar: Space Is Only Noise (2011) [hr]
No Age: Everything in Between (2010) [c]
Oasis: Definitely Maybe (1994) [hr]
OFF! First Four EPs (2011) [r]
Okkervil River: I Am Very Far (2011) [r]
Old 97's: Blame It on Gravity (2008) [r]
Old 97's: The Grand Theatre, Volume One (2010)
Old 97's: The Grand Theatre Volume Two (2011) [c]
Oneohtrix Point Never: Replica (2011) [r]
Otis Redding: Otis Blue (1965) [A+]
Otis Redding: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul (1966) [hr]
Over the Rhine: The Long Surrender (2011) [r]
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Belong (2011) [r]
Panda Bear: Person Pitch (2007) [r]
Panda Bear: Tomboy (2011) [c]
Pantha du Prince: Black Noise (2010)
Parliament: Osmium (1970) [hr]
Paul Simon: So Beautiful or So What (2011)
The Pernice Brothers: Goodbye, Killer (2010)
Pet Shop Boys: Yes (2009) [hr]
Peter Gabriel: Up (2002) [hr]
PJ Harvey: Let England Shake (2011) [hr]
Prince: Dirty Mind (1980) [hr]
Prince: Controversy (1981) [hr]
Prince: 1999 (1982) [A+]
R.E.M.: Murmur (1983) [A+]
R.E.M.: Collapse into Now (2011)
Radiohead: In Rainbows (2007) [A+]
Radiohead: The King of Limbs (2011) [hr]
Ray Charles: Genius + Soul = Jazz (1961)
Ray Charles: Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962) [A+]
Real Estate: Days (2011) [r]
Red Hot Chili Peppers: I'm with You (2011) [r]
Robyn: Body Talk (2010) [r]
The Roots: Rising Down (2008) [r]
The Saints: (I'm) Stranded (1977) [hr]
The Saints: Eternally Yours (1978) [r]
Saturday Looks Good to Me: Fill Up the Room (2007) [hr]
Sepalcure (2011) [r]
Shabazz Palaces: Black Up (2011) [hr]
She & Him: Volume Two (2010) [r]
The Shins: Wincing the Night Away (2007) [A+]
Sleigh Bells: Treats (2010) [NO]
Smith Westerns: Dye It Blonde (2011) [hr]
Spoon: Transference (2010) [r]
St. Vincent: Strange Mercy (2011) [r]
Stevie Wonder: Music of My Mind (1972) [hr]
Stevie Wonder: Talking Book (1972) [hr]
The Strokes: Angles (2011) [r]
Sufjan Stevens: Illinoise (2005) [hr]
Sufjan Stevens: The Age of Adz (2010) [hr]
T.I.: King (2006) [r]
Talking Heads: 77 (1977) [hr]
Tame Impala: Innerspeaker (2010) [hr]
Teddy Thompson: Bella (2011) [c]
Tennis: Cape Dory (2011) [r]
The-Dream: Love King (2010) [r]
Tim Hecker: Ravedeath, 1972 (2011) [c]
Times New Viking: Dancer Equired (2011) [r]
Titus Andronicus: The Monitor (2010) [hr]
Toro Y Moi: Underneath the Pine (2011)
tUnE-yArDs: whokill (2011) [A+]
TV on the Radio: Dear Science (2008) [hr]
TV on the Radio: Nine Types of Light (2011) [hr]
Twin Shadow: Forget (2010) [r]
Twin Sister: In Heaven (2011) [hr]
The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) [hr]
The Velvet Underground: White Light / White Heat (1968) [A+]
The Walkmen: Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone (2002) [hr]
The Walkmen: Lisbon (2010) [hr]
The War on Drugs: Slave Ambient (2011) [NO]
Washed Out: Within and Without (2011) [r]
Wavves: King of the Beach (2010) [r]
We Are Scientists: Barbara (2010) [NO]
Wilco: The Whole Love (2011) [hr]
Wild Nothing: Gemini (2010) [r]
Wire: Red Barked Tree (2011) [r]
WU LYF: Go Tell Fire to the Mountain (2011) [NO]
Wye Oak: Civilian (2011) [r]
Yo La Tengo: Popular Songs (2009) [hr]
Youth Lagoon: The Year of Hibernation (2011) [r]
Yuck (2011) [r]

REMIX ALBUMS / MIXTAPES / FILM SCORES
A$AP Rocky: LiveLoveA$AP (2011) [hr]
Aimee Mann: Magnolia OST (1999) [c]
Big K.R.I.T.: Return of 4Eva (2011)
The Chemical Brothers: Hanna OST (2011) [r]
Curren$y: Return to the Winner's Circle (2011) [hr]
Curren$y: Verde Terrace (2011)
Curren$y & The Alchemist: Covert Coup (2011)
Das Racist: Sit Down, Man (2010) [r]
Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx: We're New Here (2011) [r]
The Mountain Goats: All Survivors Pack (2011) [r]
Radiohead: TKOL RMX 1234567 (2011)
The Weeknd: House of Balloons (2011) [r]

EP's
The Antlers: (together) (2011)
Colleen Green: Cujo (2011) [r]
Crystal Stilts: Radiant Door (2011) [hr]
Darkside (2011) [r]
The Decemberists: iTunes Session (2011) [r]
The Decemberists: Long Live the King (2011) [r]
The Flaming Lips: With Neon Indian (2011) [r]
Girls: Broken Dreams Club (2010) [r]
Hot Chip: We Have Remixes (2010) [r]
James Blake: CMYK (2010)
Nicolas Jaar: Don't Break My Love (2011)
Okkervil River: Golden Opportunities 2 (2011)
PAPA: A Good Woman Is Hard to Find (2011) [hr]
R.E.M.: Chronic Town (1982) [A+]
Radiohead: TKOL RMX 8 (2011)
Sufjan Stevens: All Delighted People (2010) [r]
Surfer Blood: Tarot Classics (2011) [r]
The Tallest Man on Earth: Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird (2010) [hr]
Vampire Weekend: iTunes Session (2011) [r]

LIVE ALBUMS
10,000 Maniacs: MTV Unplugged (1993)

COMPILATIONS
The "5" Royales: All Righty! The Apollo Recordings (1951-55) [r]
The "5" Royales: Complete King Masters (1954-60) [A+]
? & the Mysterians: Best Of- Cameo Parkway (1966-67) [hr]
101 Strings Orchestra: 20 Years of Beautiful Music (1969) [hr]
1910 Fruitgum Co.: Best Of (1968-70) [hr]
Aaron Neville: A Collection of His Best (1966-2006) [NO]
The Action: The Ultimate! Action (1964-68) [r]
Adam and the Ants: Stand and Deliver- Very Best Of (1977-95)
Adriano Celentano: Best (1975-99) [r]
The Adverts: The Singles (1977-79) [r]
Afrika Bambaataa: Looking for the Perfect Beat (1980-2001) [hr]
Al Green: Definitive Greatest Hits (1967-2007) [hr]
Al Martino: The Ultimate Al Martino (1952-79)
Alabina: L'Essentiel (1996-2000)
Archie Bell & the Drells: Tightening It Up (1967-79) [hr]
B.B. King: His Definitive Greatest Hits (1951-93)
B.T. Express: Best Of (1974-80) [r]
The Beach Boys: Summer Love Songs (1963-71)
Buddy Holly: Greatest Hits (1957-59) [A+]
Chuck Berry: The Great Twenty-Eight (1955-65) [A+]
The Everly Brothers: Cadence Classics- 20 Greatest Hits (1957-60) [hr]
The Everly Brothers: Walk Right Back (Warner Years) (1960-69) [r]
Faces: The Definitive Rock Collection (1970-75) [NO]
Gene Vincent: Best Of (1956-63) [A+]
Hall & Oates: The Essential Collection (1974-2001) [NO]
The Impressions: Definitive (1961-68) [hr]
K.C. & the Sunshine Band: Best Of (1974-89) [hr]
Oasis: The Masterplan (1994-97) [r]
R.E.M.: Eponymous (1981-85)
Sam & Dave: Sweat 'n' Soul- Anthology (1965-71) [A+]
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: Ooo Baby Baby- The Anthology (1961-72) [hr]
Taj Mahal: Best of (1967-74) [r]
Talking Heads: Sand in the Vaseline- Popular Favorites (1975-92) [r]
Talking Heads: Bonus Rarities and Outtakes (1975-92)
Van Morrison: Best Of (1965-89) [r]
The Yardbirds: Ultimate! (1964-69) [hr]

BOXED SETS
Big Star: Keep an Eye on the Sky (1970-74) [r]
Chuck Berry: The Chess Box (1955-75) [r]
Sam Cooke: The Man Who Invented Soul (1957-61) [hr]

BOOTLEGS
Oasis: The Early Years (1992-95)

SINGLES & MISC. TRACKS
non-LP cuts: #

LISTS & COMMENTS ETC.
The Best Records of 2011
Top 100 Music Videos + Index
All-Time Top Albums + Index
The List of Lists 2010
The Best Records of 2010
Welcome & Introduction

***

ALL-TIME TOP ARTISTS
In the very first post at this blog I included a list of what my ten favorite artists of all time were. In the two years since then, my opinions have continued inevitably to evolve, particularly in regard to my increasing reverence for John Coltrane and the currently "off" status of my lifelong Beach Boys obsession. I've always intended all of the lists and opinions posted here to be elastic, constantly changing, so what we have now is an expanded list of the fifteen (really sixteen) artists in recorded music, emphasis on rock & roll, most special to me.

15. Big Star

14. The Kinks

13. The Everly Brothers

12. Otis Redding

11. Talking Heads

10. Marvin Gaye

9. Miles Davis

8. Prince

7. Ray Charles

6. The Velvet Underground

5. Buddy Holly

4. Stevie Wonder

3. The Beach Boys

2. John Coltrane

1. TIE:
The Beatles

Chuck Berry

Saturday Looks Good to Me: Fill Up the Room (2007)

(K)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Oh, the nerve of some bands, to disappear into the netherworld of a possibly permanent "hiatus" after making a fascinating and completely unexpected sonic turnaround on their most recent record. SLGTM had been for so many years a grab bag of impulses and influences on the part of their chief architect, the ferociously gifted Fred Thomas, and the muddy production and girl group affect on superb records like Every Night and the delightful compilation Sound on Sound made them a scrappier, grittier alternative to the likes of Camera Obscura. But the band's sixth LP is another matter, an instance of an artist of considerable stature and restlessness choosing for once in his life to focus diligently on craft and precision, "precision" being a loaded word that nonetheless captures the power that roared forth on a lot of those 45s that altered Thomas' life long ago. The result, the winning and heartening Fill Up the Room, is like, I dunno, Stuart Murdoch teaming up with Built to Spill for the guitar pop bliss of your dreams?

To boot, Thomas songwriting and lyrical chops someplace in the ballpark of Stephin Merritt, and one great benchmark of Fill Up the Room's success by contrast to its predecessors is how strictly it devotes itself to melody as an end to itself. These songs have a clipped, lovable specificity about them -- the beautiful little piano flourishes are still there, though, and a bit of the Chiffons shows up on the profoundly blissful "Hands in the Snow" -- all dedicated to the presentation of a straight-ahead rock band's almost obsessively convicted way with the smart, admirably sincere pop ditty.

There are ragged elements here; Thomas still has that oddball squeak of his, and the surprisingly strong guitar tangents add an individualistic sense of joyful noise. Opener "Apple" conjures up a rougher vision of the prototypical garage band, a rather stirring performance that handily offsets the potential cuteness of the Belle & Sebastianisms to follow ("Make a Plan" and "Peg" especially). The long ones "When I Lose My Eyes" and "Money in the Afterlife" never wear out their welcome, brimming with nostalgic yearning, but you come and stay to hear Thomas chirping and yelping with charged and enviable abandon through sweet, brief perfections like "The Americans" and "(Even If You Die in the) Ocean." You can't help loving him even when he sounds like Tony fuckin' Orlando ("Edison Girls").

The revelation happens when SLGTM, having proved themselves capable of concentrating enough to rein in their Yo La Tengo-ish eclecticism to produce an accessible but muscular pop LP, marry all of the newfound restraint and polish you never knew they had in them to a pair of songs that would've otherwise fit perfectly in some form on Every Night. The glorious return of erstwhile former member Betty Barnes to the lead vocal helm, "Hands in the Snow," is a dead ringer for the Magnetic Fields; that's all, there's no bent catharsis or serious element to separate it, but being a dead ringer for the Magnetic Fields is something any band that knows its way around a pop song should strive for -- and it wouldn't have been possible ever before in the context of Thomas' usual preoccupations. And then: the completely unexpected flipped-around "Cecelia," intense and intimate, of closing treasure "Whitey Hands," a stark dance song full of ambition and trickery unimaginable on the group's earlier records, good as they were. That's just magic. Fred Thomas and the other members have recorded music sporadically since Fill Up the Room, but I can't help hoping there's still a sequel lurking somewhere, even if Barnes says she'll be gone by the time we hear this...

Anal Cunt: I Like It When You Die (1997)

(Earache)

Probably their masterpiece. Fave cuts: "Recycling Is Gay"; "You Own a Store"; "You Are an Interior Decorator"; "Your Best Friend Is You"; "You Live in a Houseboat"; "You Sell Cologne"; "Windchimes Are Gay"; "You Have Goals"; and of course, "We Just Disagree."

What else do you say about this, really? This is the only band this heavy I ever "listen" to, and it's exclusively because of their song titles and lyrics. It Just Gets Worse is more offensive, Picnic of Love is a gimmick, this is A.C.'s peak, I say.

Andrew Bird: Noble Beast (2009)

(Fat Possum)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

What is it about Andrew Bird that makes him so damned adorable even as he sprawls out on nutty musical tropes and weird instrumental preoccupations that can ramble on into twenty-second or six-minute tangents? What makes his preciousness and fierce literacy endearing and never (at least, almost never) annoying? I think we like him -- we love him, in this house anyway -- because of his craftsmanship: the way he can turn a dirge like "Masterswarm" into some galvanizing foray into oblique semi-swing jazz, the way he constructs this fifth solo record as more or less entirely a document of his own mastery of the violin, yet manages to present simultaneously his most immediately appealing collection of songs so far. That in itself is an act of invention, even if Bird's music itself never sounds exactly new.

It's easy to get lost in his technical expertise, especially on this album that opens with him in not-so-rare form, crooning and whistling his way through "Oh No" -- the word "sociopath" never sounded so warm and fuzzy, never before was repeated so incessantly it lost all meaning in twenty seconds. But that's the thing, it's the melody, the oddball words, the strange and delicious bounce, that you end up concentrating on after just a minute. Because against everything else, Andrew Bird's gift is songwriting. From Weather Systems on, his music's been built not on gimmick but on the delicate and infinitely charming tangential style that winds through so many back-and-forth structural lurches but always comes across perfect, unfailingly seamless.

As calculatedly calm as they can sound, these songs frequently hide unusual and subversive elements under the surface. On "Nomenclature," a classic Bird title if there ever was one, a calm but slightly upside down melody bounces out in front of a wildly unorthodox backdrop along the lines of "I Get Around." He injects a bit of West Africa, even, on "Anonanimal" -- there's a richness to the music here that hasn't been glanced at by Bird before, and for the first time he seems totally subservient to it. While we're on the subject, he's a knack for this because of his skill as a vocalist, an enormous talent for making his often barbed words sound deeply felt; perhaps he who "speaks with perfect diction as he orders my eviction" is an ideal mirror image of our hero.

The singing helps elevate his more conventional singer-songwriter material, make it intoxicating even. "Fake Conversations on a Nonexistent Telephone" eventually comes round to that, with a more nude structure than usual, after a vaguely Slavic opening tidbit. When he plays around, it's a thrill -- dig the rhythmic fits and trickery on "Effigy" -- but in complete command, he's something of a master. The vocal and musical control he exhibits on "Natural Disaster" shows him as a subtle braggart, taking the reins of all of its bracing beauty. And there's so much going on behind that smug exterior, the William Castle playfulness lurking underneath the cautious calm of "Not a Robot, But a Ghost" -- to call it "quirky" or "twee" is too dismissive, it's all too wry and warm for that.

Make no mistake, there's a cult of personality in place here; I can't think of any other performer I'd actually be praising if I called one of his or her songs "polite rock music," but that's an apt descriptor of the ace "Fitz & Dizzyspells," and it's a compliment. Bird may suffer from a bit of the traditional Paul McCartney problem -- he just does his thing and he's the highest-class of experts at it, but because he's so constantly at it and doesn't really push himself constantly for new directions, it's easy to ignore him. To do so would deprive you of the achingly desolate "Souverian," pop bliss despite seven minutes eighteen seconds, the song of the album and one of his finest to date; and if that's all too drawn out for you, there's the pure beauty of something like "Masterswarm," the ecstatically sunny reveal on "Tenuousness," and all of the nooks and crannies his infinitely expressive singing and playing get us into. Just listen and forget everything except how lovely it all is.

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: Ooo Baby Baby- The Anthology (1961-72)

(Motown)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This two-disc set plays more as a history of Motown than an anthology of a single group. In a sense, the Miracles were Motown; Smokey Robinson was the driving creative personality of the label in its early years, in his supervisory position of both his group and the other talents there at the time. And like Berry Gordy, he knew how to spot talent; just as Gordy pulled incredible performers seemingly from thin air, Robinson dredged up an army of able songwriters who came to completely define R&B and (later) rock & roll radio in the early to mid-’60s. To my knowledge, the Miracles are the only group that brought music of virtually every major Motown composer to the charts. They’re all here — Holland/Dozier/Holland, Ashford & Simpson, Gordy himself, even Stevie Wonder. You can buy a Supremes compilation and get a rundown on H/D/H, a Marvin Gaye and Tami Terrell set for the full story on Ashford & Simpson, the Marvelettes to hear Smokey interpreted by others, etc. But the Miracles album serves as a primer on everything that made Motown great in its brief peak period.

But of course, what matters — and what sticks — is the work of Smokey himself. Smokey Robinson didn’t get called “the greatest living American poet” by someone who ought to know (Bob Dylan) for nothing. His songs are passionate, frail, sophisticated rock & roll; you do frequently get a sense hearing these songs now that you’re witnessing the peak of a form. Every Motown artist had great writers; the words may have been banal, but the music was always superbly distinctive despite its factory-line origins, and a great singer like Diana Ross could easily interpret the worst clichés in a manner that made them earth-shattering. But Smokey’s work never needs even that much qualification. Most of his melodies, at least those written for his own group, are clearly built around his voice; there’s no one else on the planet who can sing “Tracks of My Tears” correctly, and there never will be. Lyrically, too, he is dazzling; “Whatever Makes You Happy” includes some of the most intricate commentary toward relationship politics I’ve ever heard in a pop song, with Lennonesque wordplay to boot. It is not simply a love song, it is an almost surreal blend of self-sacrifice and half-insanity, and it is incredibly sophisticated, and one imagines, difficult to sing:

If my sadness brought you gladness,
I’d be glad to be sad
If my feeling bad made you feel good,
I would always feel bad
And I wouldn’t think twice about the sacrifice
Anything that I’d have to do
‘Cause whatever makes you happy
Makes me happy too

If my tears could make you smile,
I could smile through my tears
Your sweet and laughing voice is
Music to my ears
And I wouldn’t think twice about the sacrifice…

Even if you wanted someone else to take my place
Although I love you so much
I’d still give you up
Just to keep a smile on your face

If my woe seemed to please you, I’d be pleased with my woe
And if my sorrow brought you joy, I’d enjoy my sorrow

But he pulls it off as if it’s another day at work, which it essentially was.

As performers, the Miracles are far more in the shadow of their leader than, for instance, the Supremes, which is why I generally insist on referring to the latter without the “Diana Ross And” addition from the late ’60s but have no beef with Smokey’s name in front of the Miracles. They are backing vocalists for the most part of less importance than the Funk Brothers, as great as ever on some of their definitive recordings. (“You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” is one of the few songs later covered by the Beatles that is just as hard and convicted as the version with John Lennon at the helm.) With that said, the vocal blend is aided immensely by the presence of a female, Claudette Rogers, whose addition is very beneficial to most of the Miracles’ major hits. For instance, on “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” the sensuality becomes the full image rather than the song being simply an ode to it. “Going to a Go-Go” is more colorful and sprightly with her leading the chorus than it would be otherwise. And on and on.

This anthology set takes a chronological approach, which I suppose is best. Some Motown buffs, especially those who swear by the Funk Bros., have been upset by the new stereo mixes included here; I liked them. You'll want a different package to get the punchier mono single versions anyway. The backing tracks are great, but the point of Motown was always in the vocals and the writing amply more than the performing, or else we’d be happy buying a grab-bag of random songs from the label rather than having them separated by group. (This is not reflective of the music fan, either; no one complains about the lack of a Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans compilation because we have a Phil Spector box. Everything is different with Motown.) The Miracles set builds up as it goes along, bravely opening with the truly lame answer song (to the Silhouettes) “Got a Job.” It doesn’t really pick up until the classic “Shop Around,” then continues to take its time before really diving into the good stuff. That said, some fans prefer the earlier, rawer Motown to the mid-’60s material; I am not one of them, but if you are, you may actually find the first half of the first disc to be the best part.

And even I prefer the first disc to the second; although it has lots of great music, the scope is lessened and the group, still conforming with the Motown image in general, becomes less and less distinctive until it just seems to be tackling each trend of the era, like a wealthier Archie Bell & the Drells with blander songs and better vocals. In fact, the first half of the disc is full of stunning tracks, and they never descend into dreck the way the Supremes did, nor did they constantly improve and refine their work like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and the Temptations. Of the last ten tracks, only three really stand with their best and formerly routine work, and only one — the still-stunning “Tears of a Clown,” cowritten by Wonder — is a true classic, and it was recorded several years before the rest as an album track no one noticed!

But the group at their peak, like Motown itself as its peak, is a spectacle; as with fellow vocal giants the Beach Boys, their songs are more often about alienation than about the joy of love, and therein lies their curious power. “Tracks of My Tears” is the greatest, most beautiful of all Motown singles and one of the finrst songs ever recorded, perfect, sincere, and playful in every respect. “My Girl Has Gone,” a song I had never even heard before purchasing this, might just be the second-greatest of all Motown tracks; it’s impossible to even discern what makes it so special, so invasive and so valid, but it’s a chestnut one will not soon forget. “Going to a Go-Go” is cataclysmic, bouncing, propulsive, unshakeable, a lost British Invasion song from a factory in Detroit. I never understood “I Second That Emotion” until I heard it in this context; now it makes sense. (You see, Motown performers could have been album artists, so long as they waited forty years to release their debut LPs and then just stacked all the singles on top of one another, where they work together to create this haze of joy that’s impossible to duplicate on the radio or anywhere.) And the pair of songs about the secret sobs of funnymen are as effortlessly profound as pop music gets. I’m hesitant generally to label anything I appreciate as “art” because I can’t claim to fully understand the word, I find its application to something I am expected to appreciate more a debit than anything, and I just don’t particularly like it; it’s divisive, it’s lazy, and it’s meaningless. But if any branch of rock & roll is true high art, it’s Motown, and if any one of those pop geniuses who churned out this material for those unbelievable ten years was an artist, it is Smokey Robinson. Hats off to him.

[Originally posted elsewhere in 2007.]