#457: Ray Charles - The Genius of Ray Charles (1959)

Zack: How it has taken us almost 7 years to get to a Ray Charles album defies explanation, but here we are. Ray Charles is a titan of music, and it’s not hard to see…er…hear why. On this album, Ray Charles relies on a bigger sound than many of the singles he’s more well known for, utilizing big band and swing to create stronger horn and string sections underlying his always brilliant piano playing and singing. I thought they complimented him well, and I found something to like about every song on this album.

Favorite Tracks: It Had to Be You; Come Rain or Come Shine; Let the Good Times Roll

Emily: The other day I started watching the new Amazon show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I've watched four of the eight episodes in season one, and it is just delightful. It takes place in 1958 in New York City, where the titular Midge Maisel is starting out as a stand-up comedian after her husband leaves her for his secretary. The Genius of Ray Charles is of the same era, and listening to it I could just imagine Midge with her stand-up manager or a fellow comedian taking in a Ray Charles show at one of the smoky downtown jazz clubs that populate the show's imagination. Well, by that time I imagine Ray was playing much bigger (but still smoky) venues, but the classic-R&B-and-jazz sound that permeates this album would fit right in alongside Midge's quips and fabulous hats.

Favorite Tracks: It Had to Be You; Let the Good Times Roll; Just for a Thrill

#452: Michael Jackson - Off the Wall (1979)

Zack: After a short, two-album detour, we are once again boarding the Nostalgia Express. This is the second Michael Jackson album we’ve listened to. The first was Thriller, which we listened to on vinyl in Emily’s parents’ basement, I want to say after a riveting game of Mario Kart (but don’t quote me on that last part.) That was super early on, and if we were at Emily’s parents’ house, it would probably be December 2010 or January 2011. So…I’m guessing like 6 and a half years ago. Thriller is unassailable, so of course Off the Wall doesn’t quite compare. But it’s still an excellent album filled with timeless goodies. Michael Jackson truly was a singular talent, and Off the Wall is just further proof of what we all already knew.

Favorite Tracks: Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough; I Can’t Help It; Rock With You

Emily: Off the Wall was Michael Jackson's first album post-Jackson 5 and post-Motown. It was the first time he had some modicum of creative freedom to develop his own sound, and he used that freedom to explore pop ballads, up-tempo funk and disco, and now-classic R&B and soul. The album succeeds across all of these genres, all of which are tied together by Michael's one-of-a-kind voice. Off the Wall has some classics in its own right, and even more importantly serves as a starting point for the even-greater pop excellence of Thriller and Bad.

Favorite Tracks: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough; Rock With You; She's Out of My Life

#431: The Isley Brothers - 3 +3 (1973)

Emily: The early '70s were such a good time for soul and funk music, the kind of music that for decades now has made people get up dance the second it comes on. Cover bands fill stages and play these songs for audiences that may not remember the names of the artists but certainly remember the grooves, and many of the originals are still around and kickin' ass too. Surprisingly (at least to me), a version of The Isley Brothers is still out there performing. Potential declines in performance quality notwithstanding, that's definitely a good thing. I'm not familiar with most of The Isley Brothers' expansive discography, but 3 + 3 was an excellent example of classic funk and soul. Some of the songs are immediately recognizable as staples in commercials, movies, and samples. But they're definitely worth listening to on their own, and I'm sure they're even better live (particularly at an outdoor concert on a summer Friday night). And I know these songs will continue to get people out of their chairs to dance for years to come, no matter who is performing them.
Favorite Tracks: That Lady; Sunshine (Go Away Today); Summer Breeze

Zack: The Isley Brothers are a perennial favorite source of samples for the hip-hop community, and that was my main form of exposure to them before today. There was something super entertaining about hearing notes of I by Kendrick in That Lady, or the similarities between The Highways of My Life and Daily Routine by Joey Bada$$, or Summer Breeze and UGK’s Tell Me Something Good. (I’m sure there are a bunch that I’m missing, but those were the ones that jumped out to me.) I can see why they would be such an inspiration. 3 + 3 is an amazing album. I absolutely loved it, and I expect it will be in my top 5 for this batch of 100 when we get there 6 years from now. It was that good. There isn’t anything particularly profound about it as a standalone project, but it is just a collection of 9 absolutely phenomenal songs. What else could you ask for?

Favorite Tracks: That Lady (Part 1 & 2), Highways of My Life; Summer Breeze

#418: Little Richard - Here's Little Richard (1957)

Zack: It’s sort of embarrassing that it took us over 6 years to get to listening to the only Little Richard album on this list. The man is an absolute icon on a level that very, very few other musicians or just people in general have been able to hit. And this right here was the album that started it all, with the song that really started it all as the lead-off track. Tutti Frutti is pretty much one of the first rock and roll songs. It apparently was also originally an ode to gay sex, before going through some very 1950s rewrites to change lines about “good booty” to “aw rooty” which was slang for “all right.” The song is so incredibly catchy and energetic that it hardly matters how sanitized the lyrics had to be. The first time you hear it, you know it’s a perfect song. The rest of the album is pretty stellar as well. It’s a blazing-fast 28 minutes, but it’s jam-packed with good music.

Favorite Tracks: Tutti Frutti; Jenny Jenny; Slippin’ and Slidin’

Emily: Rock & roll from the '50s may evoke corniness, poodle skirts, and Back to the Future today, but Little Richard was a real pioneer. He took influences from blues and R&B but made them high-energy and irresistibly catchy and fun with his unstoppable showmanship. And, who doesn't love a good rhyming title (clearly I do, if you look at my favorite tracks from this album)? Here's Little Richard has all of those things, laying the groundwork not just for his own career, but for the evolution of countless musicians to come.

Favorite Tracks: Tutti Frutti; Ready Teddy; Jenny Jenny

#386: Sister Sledge - We Are Family (1979)

Emily: As soon as I turned on this album I was immediately transported to car rides with my mom. She and I both love to sing along (poorly) with the radio, and disco hits are some of the best fodder for an afternoon of carpool karaoke. The first track on this album, He's the Greatest Dancer, has definitely been in that rotation, along with the iconic title track that has been a staple at weddings and bar mitzvahs for decades. Disco may catch some heat as a genre, but when Sister Sledge up the R&B grooves alongside the dance fever, it makes for an album perfect for singing, dancing, and grooving - especially from the comfort of your car.
Favorite Tracks: He's the Greatest Dancer; We Are Family; One More Time

Zack: It’s fitting that right before I begin my annual music marathon where I catch up on all the new albums I missed over the course of the year while I was being productive, in what I’ve heard was yet another great year for the Philadelphia music scene, we came across Philadelphia’s own Sister Sledge. Everyone knows Sister Sledge from their hit song We Are Family, which is featured in approximately 40% of all movie soundtracks. But apparently that song was on an album, which had other songs besides We Are Family on it. There were as many as seven other songs, in fact! I know, it’s shocking. Most of the other songs have the same sort of feel to them as We Are Family, with that upbeat disco/soul vibe to them. Which is to say it was quite the pleasant listen. Overall, I probably won’t revisit this album ever again, and it’s a long way away from my favorite Philly albums of all time, but it was exactly what it needed to be and you can’t fault it for that.
Favorite Tracks: We Are Family; You’re a Friend to Me; He’s the Greatest Dancer

#357: Al Green - Let's Stay Together (1972)

Zack: Every once in a while, I like to just randomly start signing Let’s Stay Together or I’m Still in Love With You by Al Green. I like to do it in occasions that clearly do not warrant crooning. I don’t know why I do this. In fact, those are probably the only Al Green songs I know. Now that I’ve listened to an entire album, I can certainly see why those two songs seemed to have been ingrained directly into my soul. Let’s Stay Together (the album) was smooth and soulful. It was the type of album I could see myself putting on while I relaxed with a glass of wine after a hard day of working, regardless of whether Emily was present at the time. If I’m putting Al Green relative to his contemporaries, honestly, I’m taking Gaye, Wonder, and Redding over Al Green, with Isaac Hayes bringing up the rear. But I’ve genuinely loved the albums I’ve listened to by all of those guys, so I don’t mean that as any type of insult. Basically, I’ve found soul music to be an incredibly ripe genre that only seems to bear delicious fruits.

Favorite Tracks: Let’s Stay Together; I’ve Never Found a Girl (Who Loves Me Like You Do): How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

Emily: '70s soul is one of the most remarkably consistent subgenres we've encountered through this blog. While some of it is just okay, it never veers towards bad and frequently can be considered great. There's just something about the combination of horns, guitars, and smooth vocals that just works. Let's Stay Together keeps up that tradition. Although the high point is definitely the title track, Al Green has created a great 35 minutes of classic soul that feels just as important today as I'm sure it did in 1972.

Favorite Tracks: Let's Stay Together; What Is This Feeling?; I’ve Never Found a Girl (Who Loves Me Like You Do)

#339: Curtis Mayfield - Super Fly (1972)

Emily: I've written before about my love for Jimmy Cliff's The Harder They Come. It's one of those rare soundtracks that's better than the movie even when the movie itself is quite good, and it also was one of the first compilations to introduce reggae to the world a few years before Bob Marley took it all the way mainstream. Even though I haven't seen Super Fly the movie, I'm pretty sure Curtis Mayfield's soundtrack falls into the same category as Cliff's. Even though it didn't introduce a whole genre of music to the world, Super Fly was one of the first Blaxsploitation soundtracks to make an impact AND was one of the first soul albums to adopt the classic rock standby of the concept album, using the music to fuel messages of social change. That alone would earn it a spot on this list, but Super Fly is also just a great '70s soul album, full of funky grooves to create songs that make you both dance and think. While it may not replace The Harder They Come (and Saturday Night Fever, for that matter) as my favorite '70s soundtrack, Super Fly is definitely up there on my list.
Favorite Tracks: Super Fly; Pusherman; Little Child Runnin' Wild

Zack: Finally! An album that gives me a chance to talk about D’Angelo’s Black Messiah. Seriously, about halfway through listening to Super Fly, that was the thought that hit me the hardest. But once I finished listening to those last 3 tracks, I actually felt a little guilty that I had been so preoccupied drawing parallels with a modern R&B/Soul/Funk classic when I should have been enjoying Super Fly for what it was: a superb album. Seriously, it blew Isaac Hayes’s Shaft (Shaft!) out of the water in terms of best Blaxploitation soundtrack. Mayfield grabbed on to something special with his grooves and socially conscious lyrics. And even though D’Angelo did the same on Black Messiah (which everyone should listen to, especially The Charade), for now I think I’ll show Super Fly the respect it deserves and just say listen to this.

Favorite Tracks: Super Fly; Pusherman; Think (Instrumental)

#327: Anita Baker - Rapture (1986)

Emily: I've written on here before about my dad's love for Smooth Jazz 106.1, the jazz radio station that was here in Philadelphia for most of my childhood. It went off the air a few years ago, but until then it was pretty much all my dad would listen to in the car until my brother or I protested. Well, usually it was me doing the protesting, but still. For a kid/preteen/teenager, smooth jazz radio filled with the likes of Kenny G was not what I wanted to hear when I was getting a ride to the mall. As I've gotten older, and exposed less often to smooth jazz, I have somewhat more of an appreciation for it. I'm not about to go out of my way to listen to it, but when a smooth jazz artist like Anita Baker comes up on this list I'm always willing to give it a chance. I recognized Sweet Love, the lead single from Rapture, almost immediately. It was a staple on 106.1, and even when I was younger I didn't particularly hate it. That's probably because it's more than your standard, boring smooth-jazz fare. Baker's singing has more soul and R&B style along with the jazzier instrumentals, a blend that shines throughout the album. Smooth jazz radio needs more music like this - maybe then it'll get a better rep than it has had so far with the annoyed children and teenagers of the world.
Favorite Tracks: Sweet Love; Same Ole Love; Been So Long

Zack: I don’t really have much to say about this album, which I think makes it the first of its kind. Anita Baker had a combination of the smoothness of R&B with the up-tempo of jazz. It was a nice mixture and was certainly nice on the ears. There wasn’t anything that really stood out, other than how coherent everything felt. Every song seemed to flow right into the next, like a seamless stream of silky songs. Overall, I’d stop short of saying Rapture felt heavenly, but it definitely wasn’t a hell on Earth.

Favorite Tracks: Sweet Love; Caught Up in the Rapture; Mystery

#320: Otis Redding - Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)

Zack: I – like many Millenials – know Otis Redding best from Kanye West beats. Gone and Otis were my introductions, but not even those amazing tracks could brace me for the awesomeness that is a full Otis Redding album. Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul was awesome from start to finish and included a smattering of songs that rock bands would cover in the subsequent decades. It’s incredible to think how much artists from all different genres have drawn on one man, but it just goes to show how Redding earned his place in the history of popular music.
Favorite Tracks: Satisfaction; Shake; A Change is Gonna Come

Emily: Zack didn't have access to internet when he wrote his review, so I'm going to correct a statement he made. Rather than these songs being covered in later decades by various other artists, in fact most of these album consists of covers themselves. I think that makes it even more interesting. The fact that one singer can take rock from the Rolling Stones (Satisfaction), Motown from the Temptations (My Girl), and blues from B.B. King (Rock Me Baby) and turn them all into soul-tinged ballads and rhythms really says something about Otis Redding as an artist. Even though these songs weren't new, he breathed new and unique light into them all and makes his versions classics in their own right. And one of the songs written by Redding himself (Respect) became one of the best-known soul songs of all time - by another artist, Aretha Franklin. It just goes to show that a great musician can both take something good and make it better as well as create something great and pass it on to someone who makes it amazing.
Favorite Tracks: Satisfaction; Wonderful World; A Change is Gonna Come

#299: D'Angelo - Brown Sugar (1995)

Zack: I was excited when Emily selected D’Angelo in this batch of albums, because I wanted to verify if his music really is as…potent as I’ve heard. While the rating for Robin Thicke is clearly way off, 90% seems about right here. Brown Sugar is every bit the masterpiece I’ve always heard it to be and I definitely see why his forthcoming third album, which has been forthcoming about as long as Detox, has so many people anxious. I thought Brown Sugar started slow, but worked into a nice groove by the halfway point and then was just consistently excellent until the end. It reminded me a lot of channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean, except Brown Sugar was more compact and featured stronger compositions while the lyrics on channel ORANGE are more diverse and mature.

Favorite Tracks: Cruisin’; Brown Sugar; Lady

Emily: D'Angelo definitely has a smooth way with words and sounds. I'm pretty sure he's the only one who can make a song called Shit, Damn, Motherfucker, with lyrics that are pretty much just those three expletives repeated over and over again, sound panty-droppingly sexy. I didn't even realize that's what he was saying until about two-thirds of the way through; I was just grooving along with the beat. Those smooth beats kept me swaying throughout the entire album, and the lyrics on many other songs matched the sexiness of the music. My favorite song, however, was D'Angelo's cover of Smokey Robinson's Cruisin'. That song was the informal theme song of my trip to Israel a few years back, as played on acoustic guitar by a smattering of Americans and Israelis and eventually sung by our entire group around many a campfire. D'Angelo's version takes it from acoustic old-school soul to smooth R&B neo-soul, making a great song even greater and creating a classic in its own right.

Favorite Tracks: Cruisin'; Brown Sugar; Shit, Damn, Motherfucker

#287: Tina Turner - Private Dancer (1984)

Emily: Tina Turner started out as an R&B singer with her husband Ike, who is perhaps better known for his abusive tendencies than his music. I thought she broke out and got her solo start during the late '70s, embracing disco with the likes of Diana Ross. Turns out she stayed with Ike a bit longer than that, and her post-divorce debut was Private Dancer in 1984. She makes a clean break from her old persona, eschewing R&B in favor of shimmering pop, rock, and dance music. What keeps this album from blending in with other '80s pop, though, is Tina Turner's powerful and emotional delivery of the lyrics. Whether it's a storytelling ballad (Private Dancer), a funked-out cover of an R&B classic (Let's Stay Together), or a new pop anthem (What's Love Got to Do With It), Turner's soul-powered voice sets her apart from all of her influences and imitators.
Favorite Tracks: What's Love Got to Do With It; Private Dancer; Let's Stay Together

Zack: I’ll admit that I’ve never really listened to anything by Tina or Ike Turner, with the lone exception being Every Planet We Reach is Dead off of Gorillaz’s Demon Days. I don’t even know the words to a single Tina Turner song, which somehow just feels wrong to say. Additionally, I accidentally refer to this album as “Tiny Dancer” frequently. I’m not ashamed of that last point at all because it always makes me think of a miniature Tina Turner, like a little Tina Turner Tinkerbell, dancing around provocatively, and then I giggle. But the first two confessions I am ashamed of. And I’m glad I get to correct them here. On that note, Private Dancer was pretty good. According to Wikipedia, 70 percent of it became a single. That makes sense, since each and every song seems to have been crafted to blow up on the radio. I think that is the perfect measuring stick of a pop album, too. I was most strongly drawn to a lot of what Wikipedia assures me are the biggest hits – What’s Love Got to Do with It, Let’s Stay Together, and Better Be Good to Me specifically. I don’t know if I would really characterize Private Dancer as a great R&B album (and all that that entails) but I thought it was a great pop album.

Favorite Tracks: I Can’t Stand the Rain; Better Be Good to Me; What’s Love Got to Do with It

#268: Erykah Badu - Mama's Gun (2000)

Zack: Most of my prior exposure to Erykah Badu consisted of listening to Things Fall Apart by The Roots over and over and over again. As much as I love her in that song, I really wasn’t in the mood to listen to a neo-soul album at the time, especially a 71 minute one. But I sucked it up and now I sort of wish I hadn’t. I liked Mama’s Gun, but it just felt so long. Like they could have cut out a whole chunk in the middle and it would have been so much better. It was just too hard to stay focused for the entire time, especially when I didn’t recognize any of the songs to begin with like I did for other artists, like Lauryn Hill. I plan on going back and listening to some songs over again to see if my apathy was earned or sentenced, but I’m definitely not promising to do so with the entire album. I’ve got a life to live.

Favorite Tracks: Penitentiary Philosophy; Bag Lady; Green Eyes

Emily: I don't really know much about Erykah Badu besides her penchant for wearing brightly colored African hair wraps, and that she has a son with Andre 3000 named Seven (yes, like the number). With a quick scan of Wikipedia, I learned that she also has a daughter named Puma (yes, like the animal and/or sneaker) and another daughter named Mars (and yes, like the planet). All celebrity fun facts aside, I also spent the last hour listening to Mama's Gun, one of Badu's most critically acclaimed albums. I agree with Zack that it was overlong, and that a few songs in the middle could have been taken out with no impact on the quality of the music. However, despite it being a lengthy undertaking, Mama's Gun is a beautifully modern soul album. Badu's voice has a classic quality to it, less Aretha and more Billie Holiday. Mixed with modern subject matter and smooth rhythms, the album is both unique and timeless.

Favorite Tracks: Penitentiary Philosophy; ... & On; Bag Lady