Our Favorite Albums (61 – 70)
61. Portishead – Dummy [1994]
Nominated by Fluccs Capacitor of Time Moves Slow and Rick Reaction.
Fluccs Capacitor says: This came out in ’94 at a moment when there were some really amazing Hip Hop albums coming out and this just encompassed a sullen apathetic feeling while paradoxically being vulnerable and confident.
62. The Who – Quadrophenia [1973]
Nominated by Johnny Ganache of Pint O’ Comics and Rob of Chocolate Cake.
Johnny Ganache says: My favorite of all time. Reminds me of being a teenager.
Rob says: The end of their golden era. They’re firing on all cylinders. Townshend’s songwriting has never been more focused. Entwistle’s bass playing explodes to a new level and his one-man horn section rocks.
63. Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run [1975]
Nominated by DJ Deni of Lovin’ the 70’s and Leith of The Light Fandango.
Springsteen began work on the album in May 1974. Having been given an enormous budget in a last-ditch effort at a commercially viable record, Springsteen became bogged down in the recording process while striving for a wall of sound production. But, fed by the release of an early mix of “Born to Run” to nearly a dozen radio stations, anticipation built toward the album’s release. Springsteen has noted a progression in his songwriting compared to his previous work. Unlike Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, Born to Run includes few specific references to places in New Jersey, in an attempt to make the songs more identifiable to a wider audience. Springsteen has also referred to a maturation in his lyrics, calling Born to Run “the album where I left behind my adolescent definitions of love and freedom—it was the dividing line.” (wikipedia.org)
64. Michael Jackson – Thriller [1982]
Nominated by Big Bent of Dub Revolution (and many more!), Andy Chatfield of Center for the Arts Radio Hour, and Johnny Ganache of Pint O’ Comics.
Johnny Ganache says: Sounds like my childhood. Don’t make any shitty MJ jokes about that.
65. Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City [2013]
Nominated by DJ Jagged Little Thrill of What the Funk & Word on the Street and DJ AmorOso of WTF: What the Funk & Storytime.
Broadly experimental, the album’s sound was the result of a variety of unconventional recording assets, including pitch shifting. Subjects explored on the record include characters with adult responsibilities, reflections on growing old, mortality, and religious faith. Vampire Weekend titled the album after a lyric in the 1990 Junior Reid song “One Blood” and chose a Neal Boenzi photograph of the 1966 New York City smog event as the album cover, citing the haunting qualities of both the title and photograph as the reason for using them. (wikipedia.org)
66. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced? [1967]
Nominated by Michael Benson of 75% Folk and DJ Lukey G of The Guest List.
From the start, [Producer Chas] Chandler intentionally minimized the creative input of Mitchell and Redding. He later explained: “I wasn’t concerned that Mitch or Noel might feel that they weren’t having enough—or any—say … I had been touring and recording in a band for years, and I’d seen everything end as a compromise. Nobody ended up doing what they really wanted to do. I was not going to let that happen with Jimi.” When the Experience began studio rehearsals, Hendrix already had the chord sequences and tempos worked out for Mitchell, and Chandler would direct Redding’s bass parts. (wikipedia.org)
67. The Upsetters/Lee “Scratch” Perry – Super Ape [1976]
Nominated by Big Bent of Dub Revolution (and many more!) and Fluccs Capacitor of Time Moves Slow,
Big Bent says: LSP setting the dub plate table for the masses.
Fluccs Capacitor says: Deep, transcendent beats. This evoked an otherworldliness because of its earthiness not in spite of it
68. Fleetwood Mac – Tusk [1979]
Nominated by DJ TJ of Punkadelic and Rob of Chocolate Cake.
Rob says: At the time, Rumors was the biggest selling album ever. They had the world in palm of their hand. But instead of following up Rumors with a clone, they wandered out into left field. The results are simultaneously quirky and glorious. Dismissed at the time, it has since been cited as an influence by tons of indie artists.
69. Living Colour – Time’s Up [1990]
Nominated by Big Bent of Dub Revolution (and many more!) and Johnny Ganache of Pint O’ Comics.
Johnny Ganache says: So great and eclectic. Blues, Rock, Metal, Hip Hop collision
70. Simon and Garfunkel – Bookends [1968]
Nominated by DJ AmorOso of WTF: What the Funk & Storytime and Michael Benson of 75% Folk.
Bookends is a concept album that explores a life journey from childhood to old age. Side one of the album marks successive stages in life, the theme serving as bookends to the life cycle. Side two largely consists of unused material for The Graduate soundtrack. Simon’s lyrics concern youth, disillusionment, relationships, old age, and mortality. Much of the material was crafted alongside producer John Simon (no relation), who joined the recording when Paul Simon suffered from writer’s block. The album was recorded gradually over the period of a year, with production speeding up around the later months of 1967. (wikipedia.org)
