I have written twenty books on Rock Music and ran the first course in Britain on the History of Rock Music. These are the 537 albums that I think are the best that have ever been recorded between 1930 and 2000. I not only list them but tell you a bit about it too. Best albums are very subjective. You might find gems you didn’t know about. You might find that I don’t value albums you consider essential. That’s life! It’s always good to hear other peoples’ choices! I’m up for an argument/discussion.
255. Ry Cooder – Paradise & Lunch
This was Ry’s fourth solo album. He came out from playing his session work to produce his own material. The sound on this album was centred on Ry’s crystal clear guitar.
It was a nice smooth album with Ry producing a nice mix of Gospel, Blues, R&B and Rock. The musicianship and production made it sound so soft that it appeared effortless. All the instruments melded together so perfectly.
Apart from one song the album was made up of traditional, blues, Gospel and R&B covers. These included the Blind Willie McTell ‘Married Man’s a Fool’, Bobby Womack’s ‘It’s all over now’, JB Lenoir’s ‘Fool for a cigarette’ the old work-song ‘Tamp them up solid’ and the gospel track ‘Jesus on the mainline’.
They were subjugated to Ry’s special treatment complete with chorus and call and response. It all worked fine.
The album ended with ‘Ditty Wah Ditty’. This was done as a nice light acoustic number. This is a bit like coming back full circle because ‘Diddy Wah Diddy’ was the first single that Captain Beefheart released, except this was done as a R&B number, and Ry Cooder was the guitarist on the Captain’s first album.
256. Jimi Hendrix – Concerts
Well one thing is sure and that is that you can’t have too much Hendrix especially the live stuff. Jimi was a supernatural wonder, a man for whom new superlatives need to be invented. He only released 4 albums in his life-time and yet there are now countless CDs of unreleased material, studio outtakes, studio jams and live material. I just did a count up and I have a staggering 725 CDs of Jimi.
I love all the material. To hear Jimi noodling away, jamming to a groove in the studio, is quite incredible. Then there are the raucous early concerts and the finished article. There were many faces to Jimi Hendrix, some soft and lyrical and others loud, harsh and raw. Whatever mood or style the one thing that was consistent was the quality of the musicianship. Jimi did not stop. His whole short life was music. His guitar was part of him and he was so technically proficient that the only limitations in the sounds he could produce were those of his own imagination.
These tracks are the early Jimi between 1968 and 1970 when he was fronting the Experience with his dare-devil guitar histrionics and showmanship. They capture the excitement but I can tell you that no matter how loud you play them, how good your sound system is or powerful your imagination they don’t come near to the excitement of actually being there.
These tracks were all recorded in the States at San Francisco, San Diego, New York and Los Angeles. So, unfortunately I was not at any of these concerts; but I did see him three times and I can picture him there when I play these.
There has never been anything like Jimi Hendrix.
257. Elvis Costello – Spike
The early punky Costello was great and it is normal for an artist to mellow and mature as they get older, wiser and more adept. I am pleased to say that while Elvis certainly did develop his music, broaden it and bring in different styles, the power and ferocity of his lyrics and delivery were only intensified. This album was exceptionally spiky in places.
This was released in 1989 and was his twelfth studio album. It also contains one of my favourite tracks.
At this time Elvis moved labels and was also co-writing with Paul McCartney. Who knows? Perhaps the Beatles could have reformed with Elvis taking the John Lennon role? He certainly had the venom and bite to do justice to it. He could have pulled off the acerbic part quite well.
The two tracks he wrote with Paul are very good. ‘Veronica’ was very commercial but ‘Pads paws and claws’ was more experimental but still very accessible and catchy. It was a collaboration that showed promise.
‘Baby plays around’ was a beautiful song, sung very delightfully with a great deal of melancholy concerning a break-up of a relationship in which one’s partner is openly unfaithful. ‘…This Town’ was the opening track and was much more like the Elvis of his first few albums. This was the Punk Elvis lamenting the fact that in order to get on you had to be a complete bastard. ‘God’s comic’ is a great song and send-up of religion, a priest who had not been too religious has an audience with God who is listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber and wondering if he should have given the world to the monkeys. ‘Deep Dark Truthful Mirror’ is a song about confronting your own failings.
This was an album with a number of different styles, moods, instrumentation and types of songs. If that was all it would be an excellent album but that wasn’t all. There were two songs that had an exceptional impact on me. The first was the snarling diatribe against hanging ‘Let him dangle’. It told the story of a couple of young thieves who were cornered by the police. Young Bentley was already under arrest and Craig had a gun pointing at the police officer. ‘Let him have it,’ Bentley told Craig. Craig shot the officer dead. Craig was underage got life and Bentley was hung. Elvis turned it into a passionate expose of the viciousness of State murder and the hatred and primitive revenge involved. It was a thought-provoking tale delivered with real anger.
But the stand out track for me was ‘Tramp the dirt down’. It still sends chills running through me when I play it. The melodic beauty of the song only serves to accentuate the hatred in the lyrics as Elvis contemplates the cold, calculated duplicity of Margaret Thatcher. I still have a vivid memory of her standing on the steps at number ten delivering her election speech at the start of her term of office saying how she would bring harmony to the country while already plotting to break the unions and create havoc. Elvis pours out his vitriol as he goes through the trail of Tory deceit over the treatment of public services, the health service and the glorification of the Falklands war. It’s probably not too late to get there and tramp that dirt down so she never gets out, perhaps a good sharp stake should be deployed first though!
258. The Fall – Slates
The Fall were one of John Peel’s favourite bands. It is easy to see why. They have consistently gone about doing their own thing throughout the whole of their long career without the slightest nod to fashion, commerciality or anybody’s views.
Mark E Smith is the Fall. Despite all the personnel changes he is the guvnor! He directs the music, bosses the band around and dictates what goes on. He once said that even if it was him with his moth-in-law on bongos it would be the Fall.
They go about producing their raw output of post-punk without regard to taste, political correctness or the media and often with seeming contempt for their own audience.
I have been to live performances with strange film intros that went on and on, Mark seemingly so intoxicated he could not function, and virtual fights on stage. I’ve also been to concerts where they have motored along completely in tune with the audience with everyone bouncing about and singing along with Mark.
This is the usual type of Fall album. The driving riffs with Mark reciting and shouting his lyrics over it. The result is great. I can’t say he has a great voice but the effect is more interesting than all the plastic bands put together. From ‘Hip Priest’ to ‘Slates, slags etc.’ it drives along. There is that repetitive coda and variation that makes it interesting. You can feel the Captain Beefheart influence.
537 Essential Rock Albums – Pt. 1 The first 270: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781502787408: Books