we're currently tabulating entries, by "we", of course, i mean jack. we'll be posting some of our regular contributors lists before the final tally. we start with mine.
GIHYB's top 25
1. lou reed, berlin (this is the one with "i love you suzanne", right?)
2. ramones, leave home (i ain't gonna argue albums 1 through 3 with you ... you ain't gonna win or lose. album 2 produced the pop overload.)
3. john lennon, plastic ono band (ends lennon's rarely acknowledged post-"white album" drought)
4. the rolling stones, exile on main street
5. bob dylan, blood on the tracks (peeps of mine know my allegiance to the unreleased nyc sessions of this record)
6. big star, sister lovers (4 wrist-slashers in the top 6. gotta check my meds ... or maybe get some)
7. new york dolls, new york dolls (i still have a jones for "too much too soon"'s sleazy sound, but song for song, this towers above)
8. television, marquee moon
9. the clash, the clash
10. public image ltd, metal box (technically, the proper LP version "second edition" came out in 1980, but, to me, this record ends the 70s)
11. iggy and the stooges, raw power (put this and funhouse on rotating wheel, blindfold me, and i'll still regret my choice for a week)
12. sex pistols, never mind the bollocks
13. the kinks, muswell hillbillies (not even in my kinks top 5, might give an inkling to the kinks awesomeness)
14. gang of four, entertainment (i even got off on the reunion bullshit re-record a couple years back!)
15. funkadelic, maggot brain
16. marvin gaye, what's goin on
17. velvet underground, loaded (not in my VU top 3, but, calendars work!)
18. lynyrd skynyrd, second helping (album 2 gave em the songs to fit the template)
19. michael jackson, off the wall (not the forum for the argument, but this blows "thriller" out of the water)
20. pere ubu, the modern dance (not their most interesting, but the most immediate. also, the one with laughner residue)
21. the heartbreakers, lamf
22. neil young, after the gold rush
23. big star, radio city (i initially wasn't going to put 2 records by any artist on the list, but while the ramones first three records resemble one another, big star's leap between albums 1 and 3 is a stark one-- and not the general leap in terms of talent)
24. curtis mayfield, superfly
25. boz scaggs, silk degrees (my defacto saturday morning housecleaning record. awesome tune after awesome tune)
my apologies to:
-any woman who released a record during the 1970s
-fleetwood mac, rumours
-patti smith, horses (there, that's settled)
-the ramones, rocket to russia
-the ramones, the ramones
-richard hell & the voidoids, blank generation
-the stooges, funhouse
-neu!, neu!
-john cale, paris 1919
-bob dylan and the band, the basement tapes
-willie nelson, stardust
-the rolling stones, some girls (too little, too late?)
-paul mccartney, ram
-a bazillion neil young records
-the who, live at leeds
-jimmy buffett, you had to be there (i've told this story often, i heard and saw buffett so often during my childhood, i thought he was a relative. i won a bet at a wedding in the late 90s by being able to recite jimmy lyrics)
-willie nelson, willie and family live (see previous entry)
12 comments:
Nice list.
However, I got no love for Confederate flag-wavers, so I must excuse myself from no.18.
Btw, you'll NEVER get an argument from me regarding your opinion of no.19: Wholeheartedly agree; I recently stated as much in (cyber) print.
As for your first apology, I immediately thought: "Damn, Carole King's Tapestry," which I, of course, left off my list.
Keep 'em comin'...
I can't even find my list anymore, but I don't know whether to be worried or proud that my list and your list square up perhaps 4 times?
marley, you know what they say? a broken clock is right four times a weekend! here's your list:
Marley
1. Darkness on the Edge of Town - Bruce Springsteen. Look, I'm not happy that Bruce has beclowned himself with therapy, silly liberal causes, Irish fetishes and a Vegas act that has gotten, how shall we say, stale (one's "Big Man!" shouldn't need a stool and an oxygen tank), but this record is as authentic, original and visceral as it gets. Best cut -- Adam Raised a Cain.
2. Sticky Fingers - The Rolling Stones try too hard on Exile on Main Street. Best cut - Can't You Hear Me Knockin'. Bonus - ribs, ribs ribs -
3. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John doesn't get his due, but in this record, he cross-cuts a shit load of styles, from honky tonk to ballad to a first cut with a billion minute instrumental. Best cut - All the Girls Love Alice.
4. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen - whereas Darkness is brutal, Born to Run is mythic.
5. Exile on Main Street - The Rolling Stones - sure, they try to hard to be authentic, deep bog blues, but it's mostly convincing.
6. Eat to the Beat - Blondie - Rare when all band members write at least one cut. The result is a slightly techno but mostly dreamy collection of dance music that is impossible to dance to. Best cut - The Hardest Part.
7. Rumors - Fleetwood Mac - great, moody album with three awesome, disparate vocal styles; scads of hits; and Nicks was the proto-beguiling witch. Best cut - Gold Dust Woman (The Mamas and the Poppas get low)
8. Who's Next - The Who - pre-Quadrophenia artsy, indulgent nonsense. Best track - Entwistle's My Wife
9. Deja Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - again, I'm a sucker for everyone contributing, and the individual styles are really evident, thought contributions from others, however small, are distinct. Best cut - Country Girl
10. London Calling - The Clash. I'll defer to others. Best cut - London Calling.
11. Damn the Torpedoes - Tom Petty - A dream first half - 5 massive hits. Second half, a little maudlin, presaging the unfortunate "Southern Accents." Best cut - Refugee.
12. More Songs About Buildings and Food - Talking Heads. I don't like art rock. But it's a compelling record and David Byrne is not wearing a big suit. Best cut - "The Big Country"
13. The Cars. Candy O. Queer, catchy, strangely indelible. Best cut - The Dangerous Type.
14. Bridge Over Trouble Water. Simon and Garfunkel. Their last record and their meatiest (not a word you often here near Simon or Garnfunkel). Best cut - The Only Living Boy in New York.
15. Marquee Moon. Television. Best cut - See No Evil.
16. After the Gold Rush. Neil Young. Young is better with assistance, be it Buffalo Springfield (or Rick) or Crosby, et al. But this record is pretty strong just on the back of Southern Man and When You Dance (co-best cuts)
17. The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle, Bruce Springsteen. Hard to ignore the ambition. Best cut - New York City Serenade.
18. Elvis Costello. Armed Forces. Best cut - Oliver's Army.
19. Thin Lizzy. Jailbreak.
20. My Aim is True. Elvis Costello. Best Cut - Welcome to the Working Week.
21. Big Star. Big Star #1. Best cut - She's a Mover.
22. Let it Be. The Beatles. They even made a movie out of it. Best cut - Dig a Pony.
23. Badfinger. Straight Up. Best cut - (beating by a whisker Day After Day and Better Days)
24. Bad Company. Bad Company. Best cut - Bad Company.
25. (pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd). Lynyrd Skynyrd. Best Cut - Free Bird.
Damn. That list ain't shabby. But if you want to keep yours on the front page and mine back here in the classifieds, I guess I understand.
Fascist.
godihateyourband. where the trains always run on time!
Great list! I gotta say - your pick for #1 threw me. I haven't listened to it in a while. Have to check it out again.
"where the trains always run on time!"
The connection was always there - like Swayze and the other dude in North/South
Are we waiting for a 2010 unveiling of the compiled list?
nope, we are waiting on a contributor named JIMMY EIGHT CATS!!!!!!
Or as he should now be known JIMMY EIGHT DAYS PAST THE DEADLINE!
or as i meant to say, the final votes are being tallied ... and my list will stand.
Word. Is Jimmy Three Fingers contrib really that crucial to the outcome?
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