#406: Bonnie Raitt - Nick of Time (1989)

Emily: You don't necessarily think of white red-haired women singing the blues, but Bonnie Raitt somehow makes it work. It definitely was not a straightforward blues album, though. A few songs have slick and polished production more reminiscent of pop and country music (and definitely characteristic of '80s), while others have a slightly shaggier quality that provided more of a blues and rock vibe. Both strategies work fairly well and create a cohesive sound reflective of an artists straddling multiple musical worlds, but I preferred the latter.
Favorite Tracks: Real Man; Nobody's Girl; Thing Called Love

Zack: After the novel I wrote for N.W.A., I figured I would keep this review brief. Nick of Time was a good album, but I didn’t find it particularly exciting. It was the epitome of 4-out-of-5 star. Solid throughout, no complaints to be voiced, but hardly engrossing. As I listened to it, I found myself generally liking every song, but there really aren’t any that I would plan on relistening to. Overall, there are certainly worse ways to spend 40 minutes, and Nick of Time is certainly a good album, but I left the experience certainly unimpressed.

Favorite Tracks: Real Man; Nobody’s Girl; I Ain’t Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again

#405: The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed (1969)

Zack: I was able to stealthily make sure that the first two Rolling Stones albums we listened to were my favorite two, so it’s all downhill from here. Not really, the listmakers (for once) did an excellent job in picking the 6 Stones albums they included, so Let It Bleed is privy to all the same praise I’ve heaped on Exile on Main Street and Aftermath. If I was to issue any criticism to this album, it would be that the primary singles – Gimme Shelter and You Can’t Always Get What You Want – are just too good. They bookend the album and totally eclipse all the songs in between. For most other Stones albums, the singles are strong but there are a couple of other songs on there that I love almost as much as the singles. Here, there’s a pretty strong drop-off from my first 2 favorite tracks to the third. But that comment is minor, since there’s really no filler track on Let It Bleed.

Favorite Tracks: Gimme Shelter; You Can’t Always Get What You Want; Midnight Rambler

Emily: The Rolling Stones are such an iconic band that I tend to forget exactly what they sound like. It's like they've just been part of the cultural backdrop for so long that they tend to blend in with every other band from that era, all of the musicians who have stood the test of time. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. It means I'm surprised every time I actually listen to a whole Rolling Stones album. I forget how strong the blues influence is in their music, especially earlier albums like Let It Bleed. I think they're most successful, though, when they take that influence and make it entirely their own. That especially shines through on the most iconic songs from this album - Gimme Shelter and You Can't Always Get What You Want. These songs are classics for a reason. And it's a great reminder when you haven't heard them in a while of why this band remains relevant nearly fifty years after this album was released.

Favorite Tracks: Gimme Shelter; You Can't Always Get What You Want; Let It Bleed

#404: N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton (1988)

Zack: I’ve listened to Straight Outta Compton before, although only a handful of times. I distinctly remember the last time I listened to it because it was the day after the grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. I, like a lot of people I think, was pretty horrified and angry. The Department of Justice has since released a report saying that Wilson acted in self-defense and I am willing to believe the DOJ on this matter, but a man died and that was at least taking to a formal trial setting, I believe. I spent most of the day after stewing in my frustration, and I naturally drifted toward albums which talked about these issues to soundtrack my disgust. Straight Outta Compton was one of them. It’s fascinating (and very depressing) that an album that came out the same year as He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper could speak so clearly to the events of today. And it’s even more fascinating when you consider the public outcry to black men expressing themselves that occurred then, in light of the fact that when I’m writing this Colin Kaepernick is dominating headlines for refusing to stand for the national anthem. And that, ultimately is what I think makes this album so special. If you isolated only the musical contributions, it would still be worth including in this list. I’ve listened to a fair number of albums that came out the same year as Straight Outta Compton (The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, Love Live the Kane, By All Means Necessary, and Follow the Leader for example) and nothing I’ve heard sounds like this. Dre and Yella really changed the sound of rap by building songs more around the bass than the drums. The rapping is solid, and I will go to my grave arguing that MC Ren is terribly underrated as a rapper. The lyrics have their grimace-inducing moments (like all of I Ain’t Tha 1), but they are more often than not clever and powerful. But beyond all of that, this album stars a conversation, and it’s one we’re still talking about today. That’s what makes it one of the most influential rap albums of all time.

Favorite Tracks: Fuck Tha Police; Straight Outta Compton; Parental Discretion Iz Advised

Emily: Last year, Zack and I, along with another friend, went to see the movie Straight Outta Compton. I was reluctant to go at first, because I wasn't sure how much interest I would have in a movie about gangsta rap in the late '80s, especially a group I had barely listened to before. Turns out I was wrong - I really enjoyed the movie. I left the theater feeling like I learned a lot about N.W.A. and their place in both music history and the larger cultural dialogue about the black experience in America. And that experience led me to pick Straight Outta Compton, the album, to listen to for this blog now. Many of the songs, particularly Fuck Tha Police and the title track, were featured heavily in the movie to show how controversial yet prescient the group was in 1988. While there are songs on this album that are embarrassingly sexist and outdated, the ones that stood out back then remain relevant to the issues facing the world today. Both Straight Outta Compton the movie and the album reflect a particular era in music and history, but tell stories and reflect a mood of discontent that remain startlingly relevant today.

Favorite Tracks: Straight Outta Compton; Fuck Tha Police; Parental Discretion Iz Advised

#403: Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned (2004)

Emily: A few songs into this album, I turned to Zack (who was sitting next to me on the couch watching TV) and told him that I thought this album sounded like spooky Halloween noises. It reminded me so much of the CD you buy at the costume store to provide some ~ambiance~ for the haunted house in your suburban garage. This album is mostly just weird noises being passed off as experimental music. Although a few of the later tracks did actually have some melody and rhythm to them, those aspects were overshadowed by the sheer weirdness and dissonance of it all. The Halloween vibes may have been seasonally appropriate, but if that's what I wanted I would've just turned on the Monster Mash.
Favorite Tracks: Hold Hands and It Will Happen Anyway; We Fenced Other Gardens with the Bones of Our Own; If You're A Wizard Then Why Do You Wear Glasses?

Zack: You know how I normally bemoan every post punk album for sounding identical and just generally not being very interesting. Well, the good news is that I won’t be doing that on this one. For starters, I thought this album might have promise because it appears towards the end of the post punk list I created, and I generally tend to like bands considered post punk revival (Klaxons, Interpol). But apparently I just completely misclassified it. This album really belonged in the experimental rock category, and it is pretty clear to me know that this is less Kaiser Chiefs and more a swarm of bees driven mad with bloodlust. It was really unpleasant and strange, which made it very different from all of those 80s post punk albums, but not at all in a good way. I thoroughly disliked this album, and I honestly struggle to find any redeeming qualities about it. I would have gladly taken an uninspiring but innocuous 80s album by like Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Favorite Tracks: We Fenced Other Gardens with the Bones of Our Own; There's Always Room on the Broom; Hold Hands and It Will Happen Anyway

#402: Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar (1996)

Zack; I was pretty apprehensive of this album. On the one hand, there are things like the title or the artwork or the names of the songs. On the other, I kind of like the few Marilyn Manson songs I’ve encountered in the wild (namely Beautiful People and Vampire) and I remember watching Bowling for Columbine when I was a kid and seeing Marilyn Manson be probably the most thoughtful and articulate person in that whole documentary (I rewatched that interview before I wrote this and it still kind of holds up, especially the part where he says “I wouldn’t say anything to [the people of the Columbine High School community], I would listen to them because it’s the one thing that no one did.”) Both of those points gave me hope. I found that the album confirmed that my reasons for hope were right. While I was listening to it, I was reminded of this band that I’ve gotten kind of into in the past few years, Deafheaven. In terms of general sound, there really aren’t that many similarities. But what I like about Deafheave is how well produced the rollicking metal riffs and screeching sound. It’s metal, but it sounds really lush. The production on Antichrist Superstar was comparable in that sense. Even if this album growled where Deafheaven tend to scream, there was a richness to the music that was really impressive. I don’t think I’ll ever get really into it, and I probably won’t ever listen to it again (when I crave metal, which is rarely, I usually just rotate between the aforementioned Deafheaven and early Metallica, and I’m content with not branching out much from there). But it’s certainly worth a listen, even for the less thrashy among us.

Favorite Tracks: The Beautiful People; Antichrist Superstar; Tourniquet

Emily: I always associate Marilyn Manson with his cover of Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode. For the longest time, I thought that was his song, not a cover. Even when I hear the original I always assume it's the Marilyn Manson version. Before today, I'm not sure if I had even heard any of Manson's own songs. Personal Jesus is certainly more approachable to an unaccustomed listener (like me) than most of Antichrist Superstar, but I liked this album more than I thought it would. Yes, it has its moments of disorienting anger and distortion, and it's about 20 minutes too long, but there's grandiose performance and melody surrounding it all. And it just works, better than I thought it could.

Favorite Tracks: The Beautiful People; Angel with the Scabbed Wings; Tourniquet 

#401: The Ramones - Ramones (1976)

Zack: Oh man. I used to listen to this album all the time. Then I just kind of stopped listening to it one day, probably because I discovered that London Calling could scratch any itches I had for 70s punk music. Honestly, I think I’ve missed it. It can be kind of rough, but in an unabashed way. There is a surprisingly clear vision for what the album is supposed to be, which is pretty remarkable considering this was the debut by a band that was, in many ways, inventing a new aesthetic. It knows exactly what it wants to be and really hits the mark. You can imagine how bands often considered the contemporaries of the Ramones, namely The Clash and the Sex Pistols, heard this and just said yeah let’s do this now. And while the Sex Pistols made the sound more aggressive and the Clash brought in a more diverse group of influences and merged them into punk, it’s clear that the Ramones left a great foundation for them to work off of. I still prefer London Calling, but my appreciation for this album was definitely rekindled.

Favorite Tracks: Blitzkrieg Bop; Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World; Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue

Emily: I was introduced to the Ramones many years ago in a perhaps unusual way. Rather than a cool friend or cousin playing a few tracks for me, I first came to love Blitzkrieg Bop when it was featured on the Jimmy Neutron movie soundtrack. I have no idea why my brother and I decided we needed to have that CD for endless future car rides, but it's a surprisingly good, albeit random, collection of pop music. Alongside Aaron Carter, Britney Spears, and a Lil Romeo/Nick Cannon cover of Parents Just Don't Understand, the soundtrack also features some classic punk and pop jams - most notably We Got the Beat by the Go-Gos and Blitzkreig Bop by the Ramones. While the Ramones probably would not want to see their music in the company of these other artists, let alone on a soundtrack for a Nickelodeon kids movie, it kinda makes sense to have it there. Blitzkreig Bop, much like the rest of the Ramones' eponymous debut, is a simple yet hard-driving wallop of power-punk. It's the rough-edged predecessor of the punky '80s pop of the Go-Gos and their peers, as well as the scores of pop-punk bands that emerged in the '90s and '00s. But the Ramones did it first, and they still did it best. While the coolness factor may not be quite the same after years of marketing and soundtrack features, this album stands the test of time with punks and non-punks alike.

Favorite Tracks: Blitzkrieg Bop; I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend; Let's Dance

The (Less than) Annual Album Awards: 400 Albums Edition

Can’t stop, won’t stop. It’s a funny line from a ChappelleShow skit. It’s a book on our shelves that desperately wants to be read. And it’s the underlying mantra for us here at 1001 Album Reviews. We’ve labored and toiled over the course of more than 5-and-a-half years. And yet, we can’t stop. We won’t stop.

Except today, when we are totally stopping to celebrate meeting the 40% mark on this endeavor! Another hundred albums have come and gone, and it is time to memorialize them the only way we know how/have tried: *Oprah voice* FAKE AWAAAAAAAARDS!!!

So, without further ado, let’s revisit some of the albums and artists that have left their mark over the last nearly 2 years since our last fake award. And then, let us begin anew our efforts to complete this slog. For glory!!!

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Zack: What’s in a name? For us, a shit ton. A very important criterion for which albums we choose to listen to is how cool is the name. So I wanted to take a moment to recognize those bands and albums with implausibly cool names. With that said, the nominees for the Mustapha Mond Award for Best Name are…

The Boo Radleys - Giant Steps
Super Furry Animals - Fuzzy Logic
Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
The Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

And the winner is…Tom Waits, Nighthawks at the Diner! While there is little special about the man’s name, I love this album title. There’s something about it that is just very vivid and poetic. Boo Radleys have a great band name, but the album title is lacking. Violent Femmes is also a great band name, but they don’t get double points for going with an eponymous album title. I like the link between the band and album titles for Super Furry Animals, but neither really capture the essence of the band. Wu-Tang Clan almost snatched this. It is a great name and the album title is better than going purely eponymous. I honestly love it. But I just love Nighthawks at the Diner (as a title) a little bit more.

Emily: Sometimes, the best thing about an album is its danceability. There is always room for music that you can groove to at a club, in the car, or even in your living room when no one else is home. It doesn't have to be the most interesting or groundbreaking album - all you need are some good beats and a few lyrics that are fun to shout along with. The nominees for the Shake Your Groove Thing Award are...

ABBA - Arrival

Basement Jaxx - Remedy

Curtis Mayfield - Super Fly

Justice - Cross

Sister Sledge - We Are Family

And the winner is...Sister Sledge, We Are Family! While Justice and Basement Jaxx are great for the club, I'm just not the club-going type. But throw on We Are Family in the car or at a wedding, and everyone from your grandma to your baby cousin will be dancing and singing along. Disco is made for dancing, and Sister Sledge have mastered the groove.

Zack: You would think that a list of 1001 albums that demand listening would only have good stuff within in. You would be very wrong. Every once in a while, an album betrays us. They force us to listen as they are unmistakably and irredeamably bad. They hit us where we’re most sensitive with this suckiness. The nominees for the Steven Adams’s Testicles Award are…

ABBA - Arrival
Barry Adamson - Moss Side Story
The Beau Brummels - Triangle
Culture Club - Colour By Numbers
Throbbing Gristle - D.o.A.: Third and Final Report

And the winner is…Throbbing Gristle, D.o.A.: Third and Final Report!!! Throbbing Gristle may be the album we listened to most recently, but I still feel confident saying that it was also the worst. Beau Brummels’s mediocrity drove me crazy. Barry Adamson was just lacking cohesiveness and was kind of dull. And ABBA and Culture Club share a common sin: They were just too fucking poppy. Throbbing Gristle, however, was just terrible from start to finish. I don’t have any clue why anyone would ever like this album. I just don’t.

Emily: Sometimes, among all of the classic albums that we get to listen to on this list, something totally terrible sneaks on. Not just mediocre, not just confusing, but music that can actually cause physical pain when you listen to it. Unpleasant albums have come up in every section of our journey through the list, but only a select few are deemed totally unlistenable. The nominees for the I'd Rather Take the Bar Again than Listen to This Album are...

Adam and the Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier

Barry Adamson – Moss Side Story

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will the Circle be Unbroken

Scott Walker - Scott 2

Throbbing Gristle - D.o.A.: Third and Final Report

And the winner is...Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Will the Circle be Unbroken! Although there were many strong contenders for worst album here, Nitty Gritty clocks in at almost two hours of twangtastic country music. I listened to it over the course of several days last summer, and each time I prayed for it to be over as quickly as possible. The sheer length combined with the unpleasantness makes this the album I'd choose the bar exam over, time and time again.

Zack: And now, to celebrate those precious albums that make it all worthwhile. Plenty of albums that we come across are good, and some are even great. But there are previous few gems that make you stop and say “Wow.” These are those albums. They’re the ones that change the way you think of music. They’re the ones that seem to wash over you in their excellence. They’re the ones you definitely don’t put on Dropbox for other people to bask in since that would be illegal file sharing. And among these gems, one shines brightest. This gem, from the listed nominees, is the Steven Adams’s Moustache Award Winner. The nominees…

BB King - Live at the Regal
Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town
Fundadelic - Maggot Brain
Otis Redding - Otis Blues/Otis Redding Sings Soul
Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

And the winner is….the Wu-Tang Clan, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)!!! It’s one of my favorite rap albums, and for damn good reasons. It completely changed the course of rap music, all for the better. I wrote a long review for it, so I won’t sing its praises too much. But I will say that it beat out some tough competition. BB King and Otis Redding created masterpieces of their genres in Live at the Regal and Otis Redding Sings Soul. Bruce did some amazing things lyrically on Darkness at the Edge of Town, and the genius in those words is matched by what Funkadelic did musically on Maggot Brain. All of these albums, and a number of others that couldn’t make the cut, were strong contenders. But, I mean, it’s 36 Chambers. Enough said.

Emily: As easy as it was to find albums that I hated from this batch, it was really hard to find ones that I loved. Maybe it's because it's been almost two years since we last had an awards post, or maybe it's because this middle section just wasn't all that inspiring. However, a few albums broke through the dust to become my favorites. The Diamond in the Rough Best Album nominees are...

B.B. King - Live at the Regal

Count Basie - The Atomic Mr. Basie

Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns

Morrissey - Your Arsenal

Primal Scream - Vanishing Point

The winner is...B.B. King, Live at the Regal! Over the last couple of years, I've listened to more and more jazz and blues music. It's probably because I mostly listen to music while I work, and instrumentals do the trick of keeping me focused while not distracting me. But I have had the opportunity to hear some live jazz in the last few months, and I've realized that jazz is best heard live. The musicians can improvise and try new things, feeding off the audience and coming up with new classics right before their eyes and ears. B.B. King's live album epitomizes the energy of a live show, helmed by one of the masters of the craft. That's why it's an enduring classic, and my favorite album of this group.

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Well, thanks for putting up with another long post. We’ll be back to reviewing albums shortly, and we’ll try to get around to doing another one of these before the sun expires. But no promises.