Seriously, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was a fine choice, especially this late in the game. As fantastic as Slanted and Enchanted was, I think I prefer Crooked Rain, at least as measured by the number of times I played each. Pavement released an (undrafted) EP between these two records that I love most of all.
Wilco - Summerteeth The album where Wilco really made people stand up and take notice. This is, for my money, their 2nd best album after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and was a major step forward in terms of their sound and Tweedy's song writing skills. There are still many traces of the alt-country sounds of Being There, but when viewed with hindsight, you can see Wilco is making steps towards their YHF/A Ghost is Born sound. A Shot in the Arm [youtube]n64WWOXd9mg[/youtube] Via Chicago [youtube]N9LAhq-RP4I[/youtube]
Man oh man, I was just paging through this thread looking for that record, thinking "Surely, Summerteeth must be gone already...." So very, very great.
I am listening to that right now, trying to figure out if it was gonna be my next pick. In fact, I'm 1 minute 22 seconds into Can't Stand It as I'm typing this. Well, I'm gonna listen to the rest of it anyway.
Just so I don't have to go back to the other thread all the time to check, the draft order is: 1)bojendyk 2) Karl K 3) SirManchester 4) Dr. Know 5) sch2383 6) Toon³ 7) Quango 8) ForeverRed 9) taosjohn 10) Panfilo 11) kopiteinkc 12) nancyb 13) Uppa 90 14) GringoTex 15) Michael K. 16) JeremyEritrea 17) The Double Toon³ is up ....
OK then, I'll just make my next pick. Stone Temple Pilots Purple 1994 Interstate Love Song [youtube]8BDQ6mQzOKQ[/youtube] Vasoline [youtube]Zq5FeHzKtqw[/youtube] Big Empty (Live) [youtube]dK2524yhunE[/youtube] Unglued (Live) [youtube]EBNN48NYCMo[/youtube] These are the only videos I could find but tracks like Still Remains, Pretty Penny, Loungefly, and Silvergun Superman are better.
No, I think we're heading forward on Round 7 now. I hate Interstate Love Song, but the rest of the album is sweet. The Johnny Mathis tribute at the end is hilarious.
For me, ranking Wilco albums is liking asking a parent to say which child they like better.....but regardless, great pick. I agree that it's a transition album in that there's still the alt-country influence but Tweedy and Jay are definitely starting to experiment more.
I believe Toon3's clock ran out. Badmotorfinger ~ Soundgarden This album absolutely rocks. It is slightly more mature than ripping on Kevin's Mom but still raw unlike the overproduced-sounding Black Hole Sun. Rusty Cage [youtube]rNWMuu-qUEc[/youtube] So awesome, Johnny Cash covered it! And it was awesome again. [youtube]G54z0LL1YIs[/youtube]
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication (1999) I'm surprised no one has picked the Chili Peppers so far, they were one of THE bands of the 90's and put out two of the best albums of that decade, this being one of them. Not a bad track on this album and of course, the return of JOHN JOHN! Album still contains their funk rock roots but also branches out in a more melodic direction which really fits them well. Scar Tissue [youtube]kvURKorHLq8[/youtube] Around the World [youtube]1mahkDaRU6Y[/youtube] Californication [youtube]Tn28aGYytxs[/youtube]
Joshua Redman -- "Wish" One Sunday in 1993 I drove up to the radio station to do my specialty show (country) while listening to the jazz guy who was on before me. The track was a version of "Moose the Mooche" with an eerie familiarity. By the time I got to the station I had pinned it down and when I got into the studio I asked him "who's the sax player who sounds like he grew up listening to Dewey Redman?" He gave me a big grin and said "Actually he did." and held up "Wish..." Its not revolutionary, just first rate; features the talents of Billy Higgins, Charlie Haden, and Pat Metheney supporting the new kid; all grace and taste and thought, and my favorite Jazz album of the decade... excellent highway music, particularly at night...
Caetano Veloso- Livro (1998) Brazilian pop and tropical hmmmmm basically its Caetano Veloso doing what Caetano Veloso does best which is write great lyrics behind catchy elegant rhythms. Basically it is Veloso with his elegant slow almost soothing songs with Veloso also dabbing into the tropical Brazilian rhythms like in Não Enche. He does what he always has done with just as much quality as always. Não Enche [youtube]cvhqKWJ1kp0[/youtube] Minha Voz, Minha Vida [youtube]4Y16X7DDytc[/youtube]
I just glanced through the big board and saw lot of great picks I missed. But two albums I love thoroughly were picked and saw some critiques. I'd just like to stand up for both Tom Waits' Bone Machine and the Beasties Check Your Head. Lots of people probably think of all Tom Waits albums as interchangeable, and I can understand that. But Bone Machine holds together incredibly well. As Karl says, it's all about death, suicide and decay--but in a fun way. It's a record you can play on a road trip and take two trips at once, and at least one of them will be a blast. It has rompers and stompers and moaners and ballads--highlights include the hilarious and insanely catchy "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" and the wonderful closing hymnal with Keith Richards "That Feel." Check Your Head just flat out rocks the f/ck out of the universe. Coming after the haywire mosaic of "Paul's Boutique" -- which probably single-handedly put the fork in sample-mania--Check Your Head went totally raw. The fuzz and feedback on that album are such a big part of the sound and the vibe of three guys all going to 11 simultaneously. I don't know of any other album or band that could mix 70s soul/rock with punk rock with true hip hop. The musical references come thick and heavy, yet as varied as they are they blend seamlessly. Jimmy James, So Whatcha Want, Gratitude, and especially Live at PJ's and The Maestro are all just phenomenal. One more thought: The genius of the Beasties is they make such simple sounding tracks, but they are truly scientists of sound. The idea of mimicking the sound of needle scratch with a vocal phrase -- "So Whatcha Whatcha Whatcha Want" -- is as simple as it is sublime. And even one more thought: I just popped Check Your Head in the CD player. How could I forget to mention one of the greatest album intros of all time -- sampling Cheap Trick from "Live at Budokan:" "This next one.. is the first song.. from our new album . . ."