Beirut:

March of the Zapotec/Holland EP: (2009)

This was the first album I heard by Beirut, which is Zach Condon, and really it's not an album, it's two EPs in one package, and they couldn't be more different. March of The Zapotec features a 19 piece brass band from Oaxaca, Mexico. This part of the album spirits you away to another realm, and another time. The other part of the album, Real People of Holland EP, is light and whimsical and electronic. The old and the modern living hand in hand. 

The Riptide: (2011)

This is my favorite Beirut album. This one feels fully realized. The atmosphere on this record is excellent as well, giving each song a wonderful lift. For me the key tracks here are: Payne's Bay, and East Harlem.

Bee Gees:

Bee Gees' 1st: (1967)

Despite the title, this is the group's third album. Now, I'm not the biggest Bee Gees fan, but they have written some good songs, mainly in this early period. And this album contains what I think is their best. I venture to say I think it's one of the all time best love songs ever written. By that, I'm talking about, To Love Somebody. Covered numerous times, my favorite being the Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris version, this is the original. And for being just out of their teens here, they nail it.

The Beatles: part 2

Hey Jude: (1970)

OK, the official Beatles albums are out of the way, so here are these... Hey Jude is one of many Beatles albums that collected odds and ends, and fashioned them into a release. Hey Jude is a fine compilation, with the key tracks for me being Don't Let Me Down, and Paperback Writer. 

The Beatles / 1967-1970: (1973)

Another killer compilation collecting singles, and highlights from the illustrious Beatles' career.

Rock'N'Roll Music: (1976)

Another compilation of tunes spanning their career. Only this time with hideous artwork. Of this artwork Lennon said it, "looks like a Monkees reject."

Live! at The Star Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962: (1977)

There aren't many live Beatles albums, mainly because they quit performing live right as the technology to capture live shows in a clean way was coming around. That said, the fidelity of this album is alright. It definitely captures the energy in the room during these performances.

The Beatles at The Hollywood Bowl: (1977)

This live album contains two live performances The Beatles did at The Hollywood Bowl, one from '64, the other from '65. George Martin oversaw the recording so it's as good as it could be at the time. And in fact, the fidelity is quite good. 

 

The Beatles: part 1

The Beatles' Second Album: (1964)

Any day you can start listening to the Beatles has to be a good day, or at least a good start. There are eleven album sin this section of the collection, well fourteen, because some I have duplicates, just in case. Anyway, it starts with this album, "The Beatles' Second Album", which was just the second that Capital Records released, and in fact the eighth to bare the name Beatles that had been released between 1963 and 1964. Though mostly covers this is just as charming an album as anything they released.

Revolver: (1966)

I'm always blown away at how fast the Beatles evolved musically, it really was leaps and bounds. So Revolver, considered by some to be the best Beatles album, as if that could be quantified. I try to imagine just how out of left field revolutionary these album must have been to hear when they first came out. At this point in history, most are so familiar with their catalogue that the music just seems common place, but when I hear the bass line on Taxman, or the single chord and bird noise on Tomorrow Never Knows, I have to think that if I was a kid who had heard Love Me Do, and rushed to the store to buy this album, I would have my mind blown in a serious way. Oh wait, I did have that experience as a kid, I just had to look through my parents' record collection.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: (1967)

I know this album is supposed to be the penultimate Beatles/60's album, but while I like this album, I don't think it's as strong as some of their other work. Sure it was innovative, and I've enjoyed countless hours reading about it's making, watching video footage etc... I find it to feel a bit forced, unlike Rubber Soul, Revolver, or The White Album. But, again, they were bringing in so many new influences to the pop world that the power of this album can't be denied.

The Beatles "The White Album":(1968)

This, this is my favorite Beatles album. I love how sprawling it is in its musical reach. I love the rawness of it. I feel like this was the Fab Four at their creative zenith. Where Pepper felt labored over, this feels free and organic and the essence of that Rock'n'Roll freedom I admired since I was first hearing this music. If most albums are a train that you get on with the first song to take a journey to the final song, then this album is wardrobe that allows you to step into another dimension. Or maybe that's just my fanciful imagination running away again.

Let It Be: (1970) 

Now, some are going to say, "hey buddy, these are out of chronological order." But, as serious fans know, this album was recorded before Abbey Road, and in my mind if you're listening in order this one should be here. It paints a more accurate picture of the Beatles' evolution, and you can see how they arrived at their inevitable conclusion. That freedom and rawness of the White Album comes to a head on this album, and the tensions bubble over. You can hear it in the vocal performances on I've Got A feeling. I really have always dug the looseness of this record. On this one the Beatles finally reach a place the Stones had gotten to much earlier. A place I love, which is ragged and frayed, desperate almost. 

Abbey Road: (1969)

This is the, "OK, for the sake of all that's holy, we should get ourselves disciplined again, and bring back George Martin, and go for broke to right the ship," album. Which did and didn't work as history shows. It's a timelessly awesome album, I in fact own it in three different media forms (vinyl,cassette,reel to reel, and CD). It's always best to go out on a high. And They did. Anytime a band can call it a day with the final recorded statement, on the final recorded album as a band, "the love you take is equal to the love you make", than you've done your work very well. Obviously the world has thanked them very well for their work. I've always been a firm believer that if the Beatles would've just taken a break from one another, and made solo albums years before the tensions got bad, say right after the White Album, that they would have lasted much longer. But, as my mother used to say, "If 'ifs' were skiffs, we'd all go sailing." 

Count Basie & His Orchestra:

Kansas City Suite, The Music of Benny Carter: (1960)

Sometimes you're in the mood for the feeling that only big band jazz can give. Count Basie specialized in that feeling, and few did it better. That's why he was at the top in his era of music. However, by the time this album was released in 1960, his era was over. Of course he was still good, and played venues all over, but his relevance had slipped. Miles, Dizzy, Bird, Coletrane, and Teddy Edwards had dethroned the Count. This record, for me, conjures up a bygone moment in time, and brings a peaceful mood to the room.

The Band:

The Last Waltz: (1978)

It seems criminal that this is the only piece of vinyl I have by the Band. I have tons of CDs and Cassettes, and there really couldn't be a band that means more to me emotionally. They were the soundtrack to my childhood. Thanks God my folks weren't into Journey or Kenny Loggins. The Band were amazing, every member was so good individually that collectively they could soar like no other, and do it in any genre they wanted. Seriously, if you aren't familiar with the Band, pick up The Last Waltz, which was a recording of their last performances together. Either the album or the movie will suffice. I can't count how many copies of the movie I've given as gifts. Now, I know that they reunited, well some of them, as The Band in the late 80's, but it wasn't the full band and it paled for me, because with out all the ingredients you can make something that looks like a cake, but it don't taste the same. With The Last Waltz, it's interesting to listen to a band try to tell their musical story onstage with guests from different musical walks, all the while weaving in their own material, and succeed at it. I think the thing that impresses me most about the Band, and in particular this album, is how honest the music feels.  

Hank Ballard and The Midnighters:

Singin' and Swingin': (1959)

This album is a killer. A great piece of rough and ready R&B, and it's got the original version of the Twist on it too. That's right, it was not a Chubby Checker original. I also love how dirty the guitar tone is on all the Hank Ballard stuff. Do yourself a solid, and look up Whatsonever You Do. Such a great track. It's easy to see why some consider Ballard to be one of the first Rock'n'Roll artists. While never as recognized as some of his contemporaries, which is why the Chubby Checker release hurt so much, Ballard trudged on making records that kicked ass. He was inducted to the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.