#38 The Fall-This Nation's Saving Grace

Artist: The Fall
Album: This Nation's Saving Grace
Label: Beggar's Banquet
Year: 1985

A lot of these albums I'm writing about...I'm trying to present an idea of what I find in them to be so great...hopefully I can turn someone who is reading this ear's on to a record. While I would argue The Fall are one of the most important rock band of all time (and my friends know they are my favorite), it's incredibly difficult to peg one or two of their albums as definitive statements. The Fall's influence and greatness is the product of their entire body of work and ongoing nature, not one or two "game-changers." So with that, I introduce the first of two Fall albums I put on this list: 1985's This Nation's Saving Grace. Their second during the Beggar's Banquet years, the album is often heralded by critics as one of their best (both of which are on this list). While the choice of Fall fan's is as varied and radical as the fans themselves, its a safe bet to call this one of the definitive Fall albums. So what's the big deal?
The Fall's early albums grew out of, defined, and then re-defined the post-punk sound and feel. Literate lyrics meant the bands could be working class and intelligent (rather than just gutter punks). But as their peers faded away (either breaking up or poor output), The Fall never slowed down. For a variety of reasons (anybody that points to just one is oversimplifying), including Mark's marriage to Brix Smith and a natural desire to expand their sound, The Fall entered a more commercial (see: less abrasive) period. The songs were catchier as well as richer in production.
Again, none of this points to WHY I'm ranking this album (especially in relation to others). So let's tackle that. After two albums with Brix, one that accidentally turned out great (I think had some production issues, thus leading to it's 8-song tracklist: Perverted By Language) and it's slightly weaker follow-up, The Wonderful and Frightening World Of The Fall, This Nation's Saving Grace got everything right. Mark E. Smith's takes to task those who are full of themselves ("Bombast"), but for the most part, his rants are built around more repetitive lyrics than usual. While the album is full sonically full, the ideas are really kept to a minimum. It's a few great ideas, all hammered out. "L.A." is their first real foray into the electronic tendencies that would never really leave their lexicon. "I Am Damo Suzuki" takes cues from several CAN songs to pay homage to the frontman. And "My New House" and "What You Need" prove the band can be as dark and heavy as any other, even with just an acoustic guitar at lead.
There's really not a week spot on the record. Not even a spot that's kinda weak but gets a pass because it's short and is compared to the greatness around it (that can happen to other Fall releases). This Nation's Saving Grace is just perfect, and unlike most bands, after they released this, what is now considered their definitive statement by many...they just kept going as they always did.

#39 Bob Dylan-Blonde On Blonde

Artist: Bob Dylan
Album: Blonde On Blonde
Label: Columbia
Year: 1966

Blonde On Blonde. One of those Citizen Kane's or Einstein's of pop music, where its name alone, no matter the context, must be synonymous with greatness of some kind. As the first double-album in rock (a fact that I feel is often neglected, as this is pretty damn important--unless I'm missing a record which I don't think I am) it lays the foundation for what all great double-albums should be: diverse, yet focused. It touches on all the elements that had guided his career up to that point, and progresses it by doing so; by taking his songwriting quality to new heights. While so many double albums are bogged down by (among other things) a need for the artist to touch on any and everything in their songwriting abilities, Dylan wisely eschews this approach. So rather than a solo-folk song that reminisces his first four records, or any political approach, he does what even his greatest detractors couldn't deny: he continues his approach of always going forward with his music.
It's also important because it marks the end of his first era. Every year since 1961 had seen at least one new record that took a huge step for him. After the album's release, Dylan would be in a now legendary motorcycle accident, that led to his fleeing from the public life. Though he'd release his next album at the end of 1967, there is a world of difference between Blonde on Blonde and John Wesley Harding. It also features a new backing band, as Mike Bloomfield's definitive guitar work is replaced by Robbie Robertson and other members of The Hawks, who would go on to form The Band. The album was recorded over a period of two-weeks, and Dylan was known to have been editing snogs at the eleventh hour constantly, making adjustments right before the band was set to record. The creative tension that surely existed, as well as Dylan riding the tail end of a superb creative wave helps to create one of rock's most enduring masterpieces.
Though 1967-1969 are seen as the psychedelic years for pop music, some of the best pop music really precedes that era by a year. Dylan never really made any "psychedelic" music (thank God) but the lyrical imagery on this album is some of his most stolen. "Jules and binoculars hang from the head of the mules" he sings in "Visions of Johanna." The side-long epic "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" is another high point in his lyrics, but the album gets personal in a way he barely had before. Lyrics from "Just Like A Woman" and "One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)" allow one to suspect that there is a single person these songs could be inspired by--not just Dylan's generally poetic nature. But musically, this is an even greater achievement than lyrically.
Dylan's first two electric albums were brilliant because they gave rock and roll a new voice. Not as poppy as The Beatles or blues-y as The Stones, Highway 61 Revisited and Bringing It All Back Home seemed like a follow-up album to a Chuck Berry record more than anything else. And at the time, the mid-1960s, with the fallout of the first era of rock and rollers (Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly), that stuff wasn't exactly in vogue. But on Blonde on Blonde, Dylan goes beyond that template, borrowing more from the blues ("Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" and "Pledging My Time") and New Orleans brass ("Rainy Day Women #12 and 35"). Beyond that, the songs no longer have that "boogie" feel, which both his slow and fast numbers really did. Instead, there's actually a return to a folkier vibe, but the rock and roll, full band instrumentation gives it new life. Think about the repetitive nature of the lyrics on Bringing It All Back Home: "I ain't going to work on Maggie's farm no more" is how each lyric begins. But here, on Blonde, the song structure is much folkier. When he does get into the boogie woogie, on the penultimate track "Obviously 5 Believers" it's brief, to the point, and still fits in with the sprawling record.
I don't know if I've made a point...or ever make a point for that matter. Blonde on Blonde is still the first and one of the best double albums ever. Afterwards, Dylan and pop music would really never be the same again. That may be more of a correlation than anything else, but it's still an important marking point. If you have any doubt about the album's greatness, think about the scene in High Fidelity (the movie) where Jack Black's character exclaims, "You don't own Blonde on Blonde!?" Try to substitute a different album title for Blonde, and see how effective it is.

#40 Gang of Four-Entertainment!

Artist: Gang of Four
Album: Entertainment!
Label: EMI
Year: 1979

Gang of Four's Entertainment! is so perfect it's tragic. In the months since I originally concocted a best-of list, I've regained my love of this album and haven't felt this much love for it in years...really since the numbing effects of modern-day rip-off artists (mid-early 2000s dance punkers) made me put it down for a while. But away from a place where I'm listening to new music over and over again, I can enjoy it for what it is: a perfect debut. Absolutely astounding, and I can't stress enough that this album would likely be 10-20 places higher if I re-did the list right now. But whatever, on to the record.
Gang of Four were not some original band that existed in a vacuum, separated from all contemporaries and peers. Like most great music scenes, they did their best work at a time of highly prolific artistic output from a certain geographic area, and put their own spin on the music. Their fierce, razor sharp guitars, a punk take on R&B and reggae, was akin to that of PiL and The Fall. They certainly had the former's penchant for blasts of funk as well, and their place in the pantheon of post-punk from that era is certainly cemented, at least partially, from that sound. Their politics, while a bit more academic and well-articulated than some of their peers (Pop Group) were also not that far off the map from their peers. I repeat my earlier point, that while so much current discussion of this band and this album calls out these points as essential and influential...the band really weren't alone!
So what does separate Entertainment! from its peers? Simple: pop. There's a catchy-ness and ability to sing along throughout the album not unlike the kind that makes Ramones and Black Flag songs so worth singing along to. Pop-punk can be generic chord progressions and time signatures, but punk rock with a dose of pop music can be great. Choruses and verses...standard structure...and really that's what sets the album apart from its peers. While PiL ripped off Big Youth and Lee Scratch Perry and Pop Group took cues from Ornette Coleman, Gang of Four kept the structure of the songs simple, knowing that the sound and lyrics would be revolutionary enough on their own.
It's also a superb album that's built around moments: In "5.45" as the song reaches its final chorus, we hear "Guerilla war struggle is the new entertainment" over a huge crescendo of crashing cymbals and downstrokes. The moment as we leave the chorus from "Damanged Goods" and go back into the "Your kiss so sweet/your sweat so sour." The album is really a perfect pop album, with excellent choruses that build tension and provide an incredible release (as most/all great pop music does!) That these songs are built around visceral lyrics and aggressive guitars and funky rhythm just adds to its awesomeness.
The twelve songs here are really all you need from Gang of Four. I could go on a rant about how disappointing it's follow-up is, but that's not really the point. Some post-punk bands had one or two great moments and then dulled themselves into obscurity; some made one moment of genius and exploded/imploded; very very few were able to consistently make great/relevant music past those initial few albums (The Fall come to mind, obviously, and after them it seems only the likes of Wire and New Order come close). But there's nothing wrong with a band just having one great album, especially amongst Gang of Four's peers-it's a triumph really. One of the finest punk debuts ever. Not dated at all, and as fresh as ever.

#41 Jimmy Cliff-The Harder They Come

Artist: Jimmy Cliff + Various Artists
Album: The Harder They Come
Label: Island
Year: 1972

Oh blog, it's been too long, sorry for the neglect. I will try to tackle the superb soundtrack to the film The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy Cliff who is also the performer/composer of four separate (six total, counting repeats) songs on this album. While Bob Marley has become the face of reggae music around the world, this album had a significant impact in popularizing the music outside of its native Jamaica, and it's breadth of styles from such a diverse group of important reggae musicians allows it to be the quintessential reggae album.
The film the album is the soundtrack for is not strongly linked with the songs. With the exception of Cliff's contributions, the tracks are really more of a compilation--not songs necessarily recorded for the film. While I have a staunch anti-compilation rule for best of album lists...I guess we can have one exception. But it's because of the album's importance and influence. Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and UB40 may be some of the only household names in reggae if not for this soundtrack. But with it, Americans were given an LP with names of Desmond Dekker, Toots and The Maytals, and The Slickers. Without a Duke Reid compilation, such greatness all in one place is nigh unattainable (or at least was so at the time!)
And the songs just can't be beat. Cliff was never one of reggae's heavyweights, but his four contributions here are some of the most well-loved (and with good reason) songs in the genre. Two tracks from The Maytals, including their smash "Pressure Drop." Every song is a winner, and they are perfectly sequenced, with the album getting better and better as the tracks go on.
I guess not being a reggae expert has made this kind of a short review for me, but that's okay. If you haven't heard this album, it's one of those "this should be your next purchase--no matter what" kind of records. It really is superb. The kind of record that turns people onto a genre.

#42 Max Roach-Percussion Bitter Sweet

Artist: Max Roach
Album: Percussion Bitter Sweet
Label: Impulse!
Year: 1961

No shit, it's been exactly a year since I first reviewed this album! What are the odds. I skimmed my first review, but didn't read it in detail. I can't promise this review will be anything totally new, but here goes.
Percussion Bitter Sweet does not mark the first jazz album influenced by African roots or that serves as an appetizer for the black power movement (not only culturally, but in the late-60s that exploded in the jazz world with the likes of Archie Shepp and so many others). It's not even Roach's first album to do so, really, as the previous year's We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite really lays the groundwork for what this album is about. But if there was ever a sequel that improved upon and built off the original...this is it. Percussion Bitter Sweet is one of the finest jazz albums of all-time, and still does not get its due when compared to other jazz greats.
That really can't be attributed to tone or context, really, either. Black pride had always been a part of the roots of jazz, as far back as Jelly Roll Morton, as recently as Charlie Parker, and was certainly continued with the likes of Miles and Mingus. But I would argue that few albums ever musically reflected, or perhaps more accurately, predicted, the tone and air of dissonance surrounding the era. Whether the fire of Abbey Lincoln's vocals or the aggression of the band (certainly aided in this regard by the presence of Eric Dolphy). The unbelievable melodies that are wrapped within this cacophony of sound make for such a splendid album, it's really always a delight.
I've already talked about this album enough I suppose, coupled with my other review and my admittedly limited knowledge about jazz in any sort of technical or official sense. But I know this album is, quality-wise, on par with the giants like Mingus Ah Um and Kind Of Blue, and Max Roach's legacy in jazz is still monumental, even if he's not a household name (and his death a few years ago seems to have added little to his legacy). Percussion Bitter Sweet is one of the most fiery aggressive and magnificent albums of its time, and certainly does a lot to predict the era that would come next.

#43 The Zombies-Odessey And Oracle

Artist: The Zombies
Album: Odessey And Oracle
Label: CBS
Year: 1968

Odessey (sic) And Oracle is one of the finest swan songs pop history. Apart from their perfect single, though, "She's Not There," before the album's recording and release, there really was no reason to believe that the group was any different than many of their peers...capable of some strong singles and certainly a good band, but nothing great. But recorded in the famed summer of love around high tensions and an incredible amount of creativity, the group was able to put together one proper album before they imploded, breaking up before the album was even released.
There is no shortage of overrated 60s icons just as there is no shortage of genius from the era that has never gotten its due. Partially recorded at Abbey Road Studios at a time where the studio also hosted recording for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, and S.F. Sorrow. While those albums would grow legendary in their status as classic psychedelic records, Odessey and Oracle doesn't really fit in with them. The Zombies album owes more to baroque pop and, admittedly, Pet Sounds than it does to the famed summer of love. But the group's pop masterpiece doesn't exactly come off like a counter-hippie record, either, and it's not a classic for avoiding the sounds of the day, in the way bands like The Band and The Kinks built a legacy on. Instead, the group puts together a record that spans decades both musically and lyrically.
Some of the greatest records from the psychedelic 1960s still sound dated, with single-channel drums and ridiculous lyrical content. But none of the weaknesses that characterize some great records from the era are present here. "Butcher's Tale," "Changes," and "Beechwood Park" feature exotic instrumentation, straying far from the typical keys/bass/guitar/drums instrumentation of rock records. The lyrics, generally, seem to carry a timelessness not unlike The Lovin' Spoonful, and they are truly simple. "The warmth of our love is like the warmth from the sun/this will be our year/took a long time to come" Colin Blunstone sings on "This Will Be Our Year." "Care Of Cell 44" is about the excitement of one's girlfriend coming home...after spending time in a penitentiary. It's that little twist that gives the album such a classic status. A normal topic is given a splendid twist. "Changes" is really just a song about the...uh...changes that someone has undergone and the emotional distance that creates. However, with poetic lyrics, such as "I knew her, when summer was her crown, and spring, her voice, she spoke to me" (backed up by the "Now: silver and gold..." response), the album shows that it's more than just classic pop: it's modern, too. The whispered production and excellent use of stereo on songs like "Changes" as well, give the album an excellent balance of classic and timeless.
The album culminates with the undeniable classic "Time Of The Season," which, as legend has it, almost wasn't cut right, with lead singer Colin Blunstone not singing the way songwriter Rod Argent had requested. This is an example of the tension that led to the band's eventual split. But luckily, they got this track and the album down. Not only is the track still timeless, and apt to appear in any number of movies, TV shows, and all around pop culture. The song became a smash hit, but not until after the band had split. Leading up to it are 11 other songs of an equally high quality, allowing the band to go out on top in a way so few have. Only Big Star's 3rd/Sister Lovers better represents a band who couldn't hold it together long enough to enjoy the public's enjoyment of their own masterpiece. But Odessey And Oracle remains a classic, and even if it wasn't obvious at the time, it's better late than never.

#44 Spacemen 3-Playing With Fire

Artist: Spacemen 3
Album: Playing With Fire
Label: Fire
Year: 1988

Ah, Playing With Fire: the finest moment from one of the finest groups of all-time. Playing With Fire is superb because Spacemen 3 prior to this album had spent six or so years on the same set of songs. Everything from their earliest demos to seminal album The Perfect Prescription featured the same songs done and re-done over again. After laying down the definitive versions of those songs though, the duo went back to the studio with a very different approach than the one that had produced the preceding record. What they created was an absolute masterpiece that defines the band: able to lift from so much that came before and really make it something that is uniquely theirs.
Fans of Spacemen 3 might know that The Perfect Prescription almost was much different than it ended up, and the original album was a polished, heavily produced beast (this original version was released in the mid-2000s as Forged Prescriptions. The band opted to strip-down the album towards the end to ensure it was a better representation of their live sound. But that didn't happen on Playing With Fire, and the production ends up being one of the highlights of the record. It allowed for layers of guitars on the quieter tracks like "Come Down Softly To My Soul" and beautiful vocal overdubs on "Honey." Yet with all the production put into it, the most amazing thing about the album is how stripped down it is.
Just listen to "I Believe It." The song has an organ and a flute and tambourine...and then just a light guitar at the end. It is a good indicator of how Spacemen 3 like to experiment: with less and less and less. Previous Spacemen 3 songs and albums were definitively indebted to the sound and song structure of old blues songs...but there is very little traditional song structure on this album (possibly due to Sonic Boom's penning of the majority of the songs...J Spaceman's tracks still fit that mold to a degree). "Revolution" rocks hard on one chord for the majority of the time. "Suicide" is ten minutes of two chords and is absolutely brilliant throughout. The whole album really features so little going on, yet everything that makes up every song is so effective, it works beautifully.
Of course, there is a lot regrettable about the album. For one thing, the live version of "Suicide" from Performance is better and is absolutely astonishing, kind of lessening the effect of the album version (I've included it in the download below). In addition, this is the beginning of the end for the band: where the two lead songwriters/singers began to fade as friends and as working partners. They'd release one more album before breaking up. But the music they produced is indisputably brilliant, and never was that more the case than on Playing With Fire.

Spacemen 3-Playing With Fire