1. Five Leaves Left - Nick Drake
Although I could eulogise for hours about Pink Moon (Drake's third and final album), when push comes to shove, I have to choose this one as Nick Drake's greatest album and one of the greatest of all time. Pink Moon is brilliant and has its own qualities, but if I was deserted on an island and had to have just one Nick Drake album, this would be it. What other debut track on a debut album surpasses Time Has Told Me? Whatever it is, I haven't heard it yet. Having entered stunned mode with Time Has Told Me, the genius hits me with River Man which makes me feel in awe of him and creatively inadequate of myself. Three Hours, Day is Done, Way To Blue (confirming there's something very deep going on here), Cello Song, Thoughts of Mary Jane, Man in a Shed, Saturday Sun, are all classics. And Fruit Tree, a 21-year old wrote Fruit Tree!
The structure of the album, the sequencing, the production, the arrangements, the musicians, are all first class. Nick's song writing, guitar playing, lyrics, voice - magnificent is too inadequate a word. And this was his debut.
Stand-out track: River Man
2. Abbey Road - The Beatles
I sometimes think The Beatles were taking the mickey out of everyone. To surpass Rubber Soul with Revolver, and that with Sgt. Pepper, and that with The White Album, and that with Abbey Road, is a bit rich. To sustain that level of creativity for that long and changing direction all the way takes exceptional talent. Choosing one out of that lot is very tough but Abbey Road is such a great album because every member of the group shines and even Harrison comes out from behind Lennon & McCartney's dominant shadows to write 2 all-time classics. Knowing their group was at its end, they still pull off an album that went beyond what came before and created a new dimension of creativity from the individuals' showcases to the mighty second-side segue closing with The End.
Diversity, individuality and team-work. Biggest band there'll ever be.
Stand-out track: Something (but then again...)
3. Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop - Jeff Beck
Even if you're not a guitarist you could adore this album. Being a guitarist I don't know that but hope it's the case as it would be a shame for such a great work to be just esoteric. Asked who is the greatest living guitarist, famous guitarists vote in the majority for Jeff Beck. And this is his meisterwerk. The effort put into creating this record combined with Beck's natural talent is phenomenal.
Played on a Fender Stratocaster, described by Beck as the worst guitar ever invented, but he still plays them for their sound.
Stand-out track: Two Rivers
4. Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
Curiously known by some as "Pink Moon" for short, ("Floyd - Dark Side of the" can be silent) this is the paragon of concept albums. The themes of life, surviving, growing old, time flying by, death, love, money, mental anguish, thread through all the tracks holding the album's fabric together. Alan Parsons' engineering is outstanding complementing the band's sterling performances with Gilmour's guitar and Waters' bass, and lyrics, particularly to the fore.
Not a weak track throughout.
Stand-out track: Time
5. Bacharach & David Songbook - Dionne Warwick
In the songwriting partnership hall of fame, Bacharach & David are up in the top gallery with the best. Burt Bacharach's pedigree of classical training and insistence on not using a straight C chord when a C#13(-5) would do, blends seamlessly with Hal David's lyrics as though the songs were written by the same person.
Warwick's voice gives the songs a third dimension showing off the catalogue as 22 songs of contemporary popular music excellence.
Stand-out Track: I Say a Little Prayer
6. Tapestry - Carole King
King's talent for songwriting is exceptional. This record would be the envy of most artists' "Best Of's..." but instead it's a conventional album release that represents the apogee of a great songwriter's career (ably partnered by Goffin). Almost all of the tracks on this record have been standards for years, covered by the likes of Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack, and their familiarity breeds content.
Stand-out track: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
7. Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin
Every rock band that has ever been have Led Zeppelin as their reference point. If you had to select members for the definitive rock band, this would be it: Plant's stage-strutting and climactic vocals; Page's riffmeister pyrotechnics; Jones' bass- and keyboard-playing virtuosity and arrangements; Bonham's monster powerhouse drumming that belies extraordinary technique. But you don't have to assemble the group yourself - it happened naturally. Out of this combination came a mix of powerful and delicate music that is the yardstick by which all other rock groups are now measured.
Stand-out track: In My Time of Dying
8. Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
If you've ever shared my aversion to the twee-ness of the Beach Boys surf period sound but have been able (or are prepared to try) to listen beyond that then this album warrants major attention. The melodies, song structures, lyrics of love from someone who clearly is expressing them with meaning and from experience, and the innovation that is behind it makes it one of the landmark albums of all time. Apart from the harmonies, the other "Beach Boys" were superfluous - this is basically the product of one man's invention and industry - Brian Wilson - with an ex-roadie as his lyrical foil.
A melodic account of all aspects of love: boy/girl, man/wife, father/daughter.
Stand-out track: God Only Knows
9. When I was on Horseback - Martin Simpson
Simpson is an outstanding acoustic guitarist and this his outstanding album comprising traditional, or traditionally-based, compositions using a variety of different tunings. On this album he augments a set of compositions from the British Isles with examples of American and Afro-American origin. All tunes, no songs (no singing), and a recording I can never tire of.
Stand-out track: The Shearing's Not for You
10. Grace - Jeff Buckley
The only album issued during Buckley's career before his untimely and accidental death snuffed out a rare talent indeed. Buckley's 4-octave, perfect pitch voice is arguably one of the very greatest that has ever graced popular music. An eclectic mix of Leonard Cohen, James Shelton, and even Benjamin Britten covers, melded with originals that can lift you to a higher spiritual plane.
Stand-out track: Lilac Wine
11. The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion - The Black Crowes
The retro-rockers' second album and the one in which they hit their stride. Two very powerful and dynamic openers give way to a calmer, but equally high-quality, third that collectively set the standard for this great album. Largely influenced by the Stones and Small Faces but adding their own style, creativity and texture to the Gibson-drenched mix, Marc Ford and Johnny Colt are the personification of rock 'n' roll cool.
Stand-out track: Sting Me
12. The Essential Collection - Elvis Presley
Although Elvis actually took no part in the writing of any of the songs he got a co-credit for and was not a particularly proficient musician, his charisma, talent as a performer, and inspiration in popular music were all prolific. He could also sing. Although no one conventional album stands out as a classic, this collection does a handsome job of plotting the heights of Elvis's musical talent (only Way Down being worthy of inclusion but absent from this album).
28 tracks from the "King". Thank you very much.
Stand-out track: Jailhouse Rock
13. Walls and Bridges - John Lennon
When this was released, Lennon said the only good thing about it was that it was new. Although he was vindictively, hypocritically and irrationally critical of others during his life (complaining of McCartney writing "granny music" with When I'm 64, while he himself was penning The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill), this was a time when he was unreasonably harsh on himself. Maybe I'm influenced by the circumstances of when I first came across this album but I really rate this as a really great one - I can't hear a weak filler anywhere on it.
Although a lot of Lennon's songs use the over-familiar C-F-C chord progression (Imagine, Watching the Wheels, etc.) this album has a lot of diversity and variety of pace and melody. The lyrics too are strong ("Trying to shovel smoke with a pitch-fork in the wind" is just precious).
Stand-out track: Old Dirt Road
14. Still Got the Blues - Gary Moore
Gary Moore's talent for playing rock blues is phenomenal, achieved via the classic combination of a Les Paul guitar through a Marshall amp, and with no effects embellishments. Complemented by a rich production this album effectively blends original songs with classics providing a catalogue of consummately played classic rock licks. Featuring the blues legends Albert King and Albert Collins, Moore keeps just this side of not embarrassing them with his far greater technical prowess.
Stand-out track: Still Got the Blues
15. OK Computer - Radiohead
What a welcome release this was from the contemporary blandness of rap and techno-pap. Great songs with structure and melody. Lyrics that dig as deep as any you've previously encountered. Proficient musicians honing their trade. Light and shade and darkness, though heavier on the darkness side.
Just when you thought modern music might be in terminal decline or cyclic repetition this album has bite and originality that makes you sit up and listen.
Stand-out track: Paranoid Android
16. Never Mind the B*ll*cks Here's... - The Sex Pistols
Punk re-charged music for a couple of years from 1976 and a lot of it was just empty, incompetent vessels making a lot of forgettable noise. Along with The Clash though, the Sex Pistols made a lasting mark by having some substance behind their notoriety: they could actually play and compose great songs. God Save The Queen, Anarchy in the UK, Pretty Vacant, EMI are all very strong songs for a debut album from the "we can't play and we don't care" era and Holidays in the Sun, No Feelings and New York are not far behind either. Jones' guitar playing, Cook's drumming, Matlock's bass playing, and Rotten's infamous and distinctive vocals make a very tight band on top punk form.
Stand-out track: God Save the Queen
17. Dire Straits - Dire Straits
Another debut album showing a band's strength when it's lean and hungry. This album has a very warm English feel to it with its name-checking of several London sights, Leeds and the River Tyne which brings back fond memories of a visit I made to London about the time of the album's release. Knopfler's guitar playing is impeccable and highly distinctive and is the core of the band's sound though he's ably assisted by the rest of the band, especially Illsley who was the only other member of this line-up not to subsequently fall by the wayside.
Knopfler's lyrics here though are an equally strong element particularly on the gorgeous Wild West End that recounts a walk around the west end streets of London as warmly, vividly, and intimately as if you were actually there yourself.
Stand-out track: Wild West End
18. Film Noir - Carly Simon
I have to include this if only for the two opening songs that are the most competent renditions of You Won't Forget Me and Every Time We Say Goodbye that you could have the privilege to hear. Although this is an album of cover songs, due to a temporary lapse of her own creative muse, it shows off Carly Simon's gorgeous, deep, sonorous voice to the full. The string arrangements on the whole album are superb and the guest vocals give the whole project added range.
A beautiful album from a beautiful lady.
Stand-out track: Every Time we say Goodbye
19. Tracks of my Tears - Smokey Robinson
Motown carved out its own piece of contemporary music history by inventing its own genre and establishing a factory of talented songwriters who created a soundtrack to much of the 60's and 70's. Smokey Robinson was the best of these individuals, writing all-time classics for himself and famous colleagues and whose ultimate strength is demonstrated by the number of artists who have then subsequently covered them. Tracks of my Tears, Tears of a Clown, My Guy, Ain't that Peculiar, I Second that Emotion, Being with You, My Girl, You've Really Got a Hold on Me, Get Ready, The Way You Do the Things You Do...
An incredible song-writing talent.
Stand-out track: My Girl
20. Revolver - The Beatles
There were so many phases to The Beatles that just one album isn't truly representative of their exceptional talent. The mop-top era doesn't have much to do with the acid-drenched Pepper era which hasn't much to do with the final Abbey Road era. This album is the bridge between the be-suited Fab Four period and the move to experimentation, individuality and a new identity. A very strong catalogue of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison songs: invective (Taxman); surrealism (Eleanor Rigby, Tomorrow Never Knows); balladry (Here, There and Everywhere, For No One); kids' stuff (Yellow Submarine); darkness (She Said She Said); upbeat optimism (Good Day Sunshine, And Your Bird Can Sing); drug-culture referencing rock 'n' soul (Dr. Robert, Got to Get You Into my Life).
Again: diversity, individuality and team-work. Biggest band there'll ever be.
Stand-out track: Here, There and Everywhere
Critical text © NigelDavies.home@Virgin.net