Perfect Albums
I was listening to Roxy Music's Avalon the other day and considered that after thousands of listenings, it remains an amazing album. I'd go as far as to say perfect.
I was also thinking about Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow and I think that album is also perfect, I also think JA never did anything again as good as that and I'd say they are a one album wonder. Mainly because that was their first effort and they blew it after that. Roxy, on the other hand made their perfect album at the end of their career.
Another nominee is Neil Young's Everybody knows this is nowhere.
I have not really decided on a definition of Perfect,as it relates to perfect albums.
I'm open to your ideas about the concept and the choices I've offered. I'll try to give examples of why I think the way I do about the albums I've mentioned when I have more time.
In the meantime, let's hear from all y'all.
What do you think of the albums that are almost perfect, but then have the one shit song on them, like Sgt. Pepper including Within You Without You? Is that shit song a beauty mark? Or a nasty mole with a hair growing out of it?
(You may disagree that Sgt. Pepper is great, because it is so mainstream, and has been overexposed, but I think it is nearly perfect.)
Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys.
I'm not being even slightly original: many have called it one of the best albums of all time. It was innovative. No one was doing anything like it.
God Only Knows is one of the most beautiful songs of modern times. IMHO.
I think you could put Dark Side of the Moon on that list, probably The Wall, too. Floyd had great album cohesion. OF course, you know I'll say all 10 Original Led Zeppelin albums are perfect....
others for consideration:
Blind Melon's original album
Pearl Jam Ten
4Non Blondes: Bigger Better Faster More
Guns N Roses: Appetite
maybe I'm being too loose with the word perfect.... these are just albums that I can listen to straight through without finding myself waiting for this song to end because there's a better one coming.
I've long held the theory that most bands have that great first album chock full of hits because they have all that time before they get signed to develop a repertoire of their best stuff(almost like a pre best of), but then for the 2nd album there's this push from the Label to get another one out... and the quality drops off markedly. See Pearl Jam vs, Blind Melon Soup, GnR Lies.
That's what separates Zeppelin from most others. There was no bad album. No forced offering. Possibly because they stole most of the stuff on the first two albums...and then created their own Label, and were not pressured.
Superbands like Traveling Wilburys, where you can just hear them having so much fun. And it sounds good too.
I was thinking about Floyd too, Jim. They had some amazing albums.
I think you could put Dark Side of the Moon on that list,
That would be my #1 choice.
I also think
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was pretty damn cohesive. That was probably my favorite road trip album ever.
Nicky Six was talking about that album drop-off phenomenon. He had the same take as you but took it out further to people getting overly fascinated with production and then women ruining bands. ;) I think he also used Led Zep as the example of the only band that continued to be damn near perfect every time.
Dark Side of the Moon. Of course.
Aja by Steely Dan.
I'm an unapologetic Steely Dan freak, of course, but that album is so jazzy wonderful it's not like the songs are even separate: they all meld and melt together so beautifully.
I was going to say Aja! So now I'll remind us old people of OK Computer.
Also, the perfect live album is Stop Making Sense.
I'm now 22 minutes in... still perfect.
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Yes, but isn't the chances of finding a track that's not perfect dependent on your mood/state of mind? I mean, say you recently lost a cherished pet and a song about kicking a dog comes on? It might be a comedy bit, but you'd not be in the mood for that.
Just one example of why you have to listen many times, in many situations,
to declare an album perfect.
That's why I used the word cohesive. If the album is all tied together it plays like the chapters of a book. People used to build albums with intentionality because they were trying to move vinyl rather than one cut. I don't know if you'll get many more attempts at an "album." Foo Fighters Wasting Light takes a shot at it and is a great collection of songs but doesn't quite have it.
I doubt that an album that contains a comedy song about kicking a dog would be in my running for 'perfect album.' No matter what the state of my real or imagined dog.
OK, good point. There was once a whole demographic for albums, and separate market for singles. The internet, downloading, ipods, have changed that quite a bit.
Back in my day, ya had to work making mixed tapes, eliminating the clinkers, and create something to make her swoon. :haha:
Queen's got a nearly perfect album with A Night at the Opera, and it contains the joke song "I'm in Love With My Car."
Told my girl I'll have to forget her
Rather buy me a new carburetor
So she made tracks sayin'
This is the end now
Cars don't talk back
They're just four wheeled friends now
You have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy that song.
If I could take elements of Don Henley's The End of the Innocence:
1."The End of the Innocence" (Henley, Bruce Hornsby) – 5:16
2."How Bad Do You Want It?" (Henley, Danny Kortchmar, Stan Lynch) – 3:47
[COLOR="Blue"]3."I Will Not Go Quietly[/COLOR]" featuring Axl Rose (Henley, Kortchmar) – 5:43
4."The Last Worthless Evening" (John Corey, Henley, Lynch) – 6:03
5."New York Minute" (Henley, Kortchmar, Jai Winding) – 6:37
6."Shangri-La" (Henley, Steve Jordan, Kortchmar) – 4:55
7."Little Tin God" (Henley, Kortchmar, J.D. Souther) – 4:42
8."Gimme What You Got" (Corey, Henley, Lynch) – 6:10
9."If Dirt Were Dollars" (Henley, Kortchmar, Souther) – 4:34
10."The Heart of the Matter" (Mike Campbell, Henley, Souther) – 5:24
and Building the Perfect Beast:
1."The Boys of Summer" (Don Henley, Mike Campbell) – 4:45
2."You Can't Make Love" (Henley, Danny Kortchmar) – 3:34
3."Man With a Mission" (Henley, Kortchmar, J.D. Souther) – 2:43
4."You're Not Drinking Enough" (Kortchmar) – 4:40
5."Not Enough Love in the World" (Henley, Kortchmar, Benmont Tench) – 3:54
6."Building the Perfect Beast" (Henley, Kortchmar) – 4:59
7."All She Wants to Do Is Dance" (Kortchmar) – 4:28
8."A Month of Sundays" (Henley, introduction composed by Maren Jensen) – 4:31 (cassette and CD only)
9."Sunset Grill" (Henley, Kortchmar, Tench) – 6:22
10."Drivin' With Your Eyes Closed" (Henley, Kortchmar, Stan Lynch) – 3:41
11."Land of the Living" (Henley, Kortchmar) – 3:24
And add in Dirty Laundry from I Can't Stand Still.
But I've digressed way beyond the OP.
bold: qualifying songs
blue bold: kickin' assiest song of all
13 cuts in Stop Making Sense fails, but then gets back on track. Nice run for a live lp, still no SRV Live at Montreux.
Queensrÿche - 'Operation: Mindcrime'.
Every song is just top-notch on this rock-opera-type concept album.
On the great-album-with-a-beauty-mark/mole front, Kid Rock's 'Rock & Roll Jesus' is a fantastic album with the moles-with-a-hair-growing-out-of-them being "New Orleans", and the live version of "Jackson, Mississippi".
I'll third 'Dark Side of the Moon'. The fact that it's still going is a testament to it's status.
Gosh. There are a few truly perfect albums.
Avalon was awesome. I had that album as a kid and loved it.
OK Computer, also, one of my favourite ever albums.
I'd add Leftfield's Leftism to my list, along with Moby's Play
I've listened to both so often they are in my blood and bones now.
I like most of Leftfield's albums, but with Leftism they hit something marvellous.
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Moby's Play sends shivers down my spine. Another album I listened to obsessively for a couple of years. Still dig out from time to time.
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Considering adding Zooropa and Leonard Cohen's The Future.
I'll have to give Leftism a listen
Oh, and whilst we're at it:
Tom Waits, Blue Valentine. A sublime album.
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And, The Smiths, The Queen is Dead, all excellent tracks and Strangeways, Here We Come. Their last album. Just full of brilliance.
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Funny. I'm at Steak N Shake and they're playing Boys of Summer. This is my summer anthem: convertible top down, wayfarers (or a reasonable facsimile) on, brown skin shining in the sun...
I can't wait for spring. (/threadjack) 
Who's Next
Dark Side, Wish you were here
Zep IV
Tea for the Tillerman
I've long held the theory that most bands have that great first album chock full of hits because they have all that time before they get signed to develop a repertoire of their best stuff(almost like a pre best of), but then for the 2nd album there's this push from the Label to get another one out... and the quality drops off markedly. See Pearl Jam vs, Blind Melon Soup, GnR Lies.
Yes.
I've noticed that if a group's first album is a huge popular success, the artist is typically not long lived. Fourth albums seem to be the most popular or biggest selling or break out album.
Bowie - Ziggy
Billy Joel - Stranger
Led Zep - IV
Yes - Fragile
Elvis Costello - Get Happy
That's a yes also for 'Dark Side' and 'Wish You Were Here'. Peter Gabriel's 'Shaking The Tree' also has something going for it.
Definitely one of the most perfect albums ever.
I was listening to Roxy Music's Avalon the other day and considered that after thousands of listenings, it remains an amazing album. I'd go as far as to say perfect.
Dark Side, of course.
The White Album.
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Close to the Edge
There's more.
Who's Next.....
Bowie - Ziggy
Yes - Fragile
All the above plus Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans
Plus Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Uriah Heep -Salisbury
Mike Oldfield -two albums, Tubular Bells and Hergest Ridge
and for the perfect album with one shit track:
Mott The Hoople - Brain Capers and the shit track is 'Wheel of the Quivering Meat Conception'
Oh!
Aqualung! Loved that. Also, the White Album.
Fun Fact: the lead singer of Jethro Tull is Andrew Lincoln's father-in-law. (Andrew Lincoln = Rick Grimes from Walking Dead).
Oh!
Aqualung! Loved that. Also, the White Album.
Fun Fact: the lead singer of Jethro Tull is Andrew Lincoln's father-in-law. (Andrew Lincoln = Rick Grimes from Walking Dead).
Tsk, tsk.
He's not 'the lead singer of Jethro Tull', he's
Ian Anderson and the only decent rock flautist!!!
:)
Tsk, tsk.
He's not 'the lead singer of Jethro Tull', he's Ian Anderson and the only decent rock flautist!!!
:)
And the motherfucker can do it standing on one leg, longer than I can go between bathroom breaks. Damn show off. :haha:
All the above plus Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans
I love me some Tales, but the first 3 1/2 minutes of The Ancient make it imperfect, IMHO.
Tsk, tsk.
He's not 'the lead singer of Jethro Tull', he's Ian Anderson and the only decent rock flautist!!!
:)
He's no Ron Burgundy ;)
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You WILL eat the cat poop!
You WILL eat the cat poop!
is that an album by Pussycat Dolls or Pussy Riot?:p:
Queen's got a nearly perfect album with A Night at the Opera.
Now I am sure I read on here that in America, Queen were regarded mostly as light relief. Almost a comedy band. Songs played at ball games or karaoke.
So I'm so happy to know it's not so.
FTR (see what I did there?) I had no concept of an album at all when I was a teen.
Because I didn't have a private music source, so the best I could hope for was listening to one side of the record or cassette.
I knew albums in half, and was always most familiar with the first half. When I was in a position to listen to the whole album it was so tricky to skip tracks that the songs which didn't appeal immediately couldn't help but grow onI me.
Even so, my most perfect album is Crowded House's Woodface.
Now I am sure I read on here that in America, Queen were regarded mostly as light relief. Almost a comedy band. Songs played at ball games or karaoke.
So I'm so happy to know it's not so.
FTR (see what I did there?) I had no concept of an album at all when I was a teen.
Because I didn't have a private music source, so the best I could hope for was listening to one side of the record or cassette.
I knew albums in half, and was always most familiar with the first half. When I was in a position to listen to the whole album it was so tricky to skip tracks that the songs which didn't appeal immediately couldn't help but grow onI me.
Even so, my most perfect album is Crowded House's Woodface.
Oh no, I love me some Queen. My brother had News of the World, and I loved "All Dead All Dead" and "Sheer Heart Attack" and "Get Down Make Love."
Really, Queen is one of my all time favorites.
Now I am sure I read on here that in America, Queen were regarded mostly as light relief. Almost a comedy band. Songs played at ball games or karaoke.
Nobody shuts off the car when Bohemian Rhapsody is playing, nobody. :haha:
Now I am sure I read on here that in America, Queen were regarded mostly as light relief. Almost a comedy band. Songs played at ball games or karaoke.
So I'm so happy to know it's not so.
Our relationship with Queen is weird. One the one hand, yes, they are played at ball games and karaoke, and Bohemian Rhapsody is still strongly associated with the scene from
Wayne's World. On the other hand, Freddie Mercury is widely acknowledged as a genius. Queen is light relief
and deeply moving, somehow.
Plus Freddy was so out of the closet, Real Men [SIZE="1"]TM[/SIZE] were dismissive around their buddies, and only grooved on Queen while hiding in the closet. :haha:
I'm kidding, but seriously, I know a couple guys who were really heavy into music, one a pro musician, who are so homophobic they just couldn't get into Queen.
Couldn't separate Freddy and the music. Thinking about it, I guess you can't separate Freddy and Queen's music. :smack:
I didn't know. The guy was a prancer, had the biggest lisp of any gay person, named the band "Queen" and I still didn't know. Until like 1985. I'm fairly certain that my fellow 70s teens didn't know either. They would have said something.
But he's still on the Mount Rushmore of greatest lead singers ever.
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Now if you want to talk best album sides...
Queen II, side Black
The twelve dreams of Dr Sardonicus, side 1, by Spirit
I didn't know. The guy was a prancer, had the biggest lisp of any gay person, named the band "Queen" and I still didn't know. Until like 1985. I'm fairly certain that my fellow 70s teens didn't know either. They would have said something.
But he's still on the Mount Rushmore of greatest lead singers ever.
Don't feel bad. I didn't know about Judas Priest until it came out in the news. I guess I never made the connection between their outfits and the Blue Oyster Bar scene from Police Academy. seems fairly obvious in retrospect... but at the time I just thought they were trying to look tough. and who gives a shit. they rock.
Agree with many of the preceding, have to add Peter Gabriel - Security, Laurie Anderson - United States, and Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds.
Agree with many of the preceding, have to add Peter Gabriel - Security, Laurie Anderson - United States, and Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds.
Oooohhh. Yes! That has to be one of the finest albums ever made.
Funny, I'm reading The War of the World for the nth time (because it was free on Kindle)
But I've listened to the album so many more times, it's almost like finding lines of poetry quoted in a book or letter.
The album terrified me as a child.
I started listening to it again just to de-sensitise myself, only to find I enjoyed it.
I want to see the stage show very, very much.