Classic Rock Albums
I had a conversation with a work colleague recently about classic rock and pop albums albums. Her son who is the Upper Sixth (Final Year at school before university, as GP will recognise) aged nearly 18. He is well into indie rock, but has asked his mother (my colleague) to buy him some classic rock and pop CDs for Christmas. She's not into music at all, so asked me for some ideas. Whist I am OK on some ideas for the 60s and 70s, and probably more recent too, there are major gaps in my knowledge for the 80s and 90s, and anyway my view, like everyone's is skewed by what I like. So far I've come up wit Beatles Sgt Pepper, Beach Boys Pet Sounds, Bob Dylan, probably Highway 61 Revisited, maybe Blond on Blond, Neil Young After the Goldrush or Harvest, Bruce S Born to Run, Thriller, Fleetwood Mac Rumours, something by the Jam, probably Beat Surrender, maybe something by the Stranglers. But I should include REM - not sure what though. So I'm open to suggestions. I'm looking to giving her a list of 12-15 CDs, from which she'll choose a number to buy. Thanks in advance for your ideas
Comments
Violent Femmes - S/T (1983)
Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade (1984)
Morphine - Cure for Pain (1993)
Wilco - Being There (1996)
Ok, not heavy on the "Classic" Rock end of things but these are a handful of albums that struck me during those years that could be "safe" for mainstream airplay.
Scratch Gold Rush, go with Everybody Knows This is Nowhere or Tonight's The Night
Scratch Thriller, go with Off the Wall
Scratch Beat Surrender, go with All Mod Cons
Repalcements -- Let It Be
Eurythmics -- Touch
Yaz(oo) -- Upstairs at Eric's
Smiths -- The Queen is Dead
Talking Heads -- Little Creatures
If he's really into indie, I think he'd go for the more ragged records by these artists.
Representing the dinosaurs, I would recommend -
Led Zeppelin - either Physical Graffiti or Led Zep II which is the one I'd take to the desert isle.
Pink Floyd - I wish there was an album that combined the best tracks from Dark Side Of The Moon with Shine On/Wish You Were Here from the Wish You Were Here album, but in lieu of that I'd go with Wish You Were Here. Actually, it's cheating but the 2 disc live album Pulse has all that and more and is one of my favorite live albums (sorry Roger) -
Procol Harum - their first, entitled Procol Harum, but since you're over there if you can find the one I got as an import called The First Four (albums in one set) that would be killer and it was very reasonable.
It has this cover
The Kinks - again since you're there, this compilation (which I picked up at Virgin when they were still here) is hands down the best collection of this perennially underrated band -
I also have an abiding love for The Who - Live At Leeds.
Nirvana - Nevermind
U2 - Joshua Tree
Wu Tang Clan - Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)
REM - Out of Time
Weezer - Blue Album
Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
Fugazi - 13 Songs
Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
Guns and Roses - Appetite for Destruction (I don't even have this, but there's no denying it's a classic of the '80s - '90s) (I should get this)
From the 70s you need a good punk album too - Ramones maybe? Television?
This maybe should have been under "fight club" ...
When I could, I'd sneak away to listen to Ziggy Stardust, Raw Power, Badfinger's Straight Up, Roxy Music's Stranded, and the first New York Dolls album, though of course I had to be careful with some of those because someone might see the album covers and think I was some sort of pansy-wansy (except for Stranded, which they probably would have stolen instead to use as a masturbatory aid). I also had all the Beatles' albums, a copy of the first Herman's Hermits' album (the US version with "I'm Into Something Good" as the leadoff track), and a "Good Vibrations" single that someone gave me for Christmas, which has since been lost. (It probably wasn't collectible anyway, since so many of them were pressed.)
Of course, if your colleague buys any of these for her son, there's a chance his childhood will wind up being similar to mine, which would mean he'll become a bitter, disillusioned cynic with a penchant for behaving derisively towards self-appointed authority figures. So, there's that.
The Police - "Ghost in the Machine"
The Kinks - "Give the People What They Want"
Spacemen 3 - "Perfect Prescription"
Sonic Youth - "Daydream Nation"
Jane's Addiction - "Nothing Shocking"
The Clash - "London Calling"
Tom Waits - "Rain Dogs"
Tom Petty - "Full Moon Fever"
Peter Gabriel - "Security"
- Featuring the awesome Duane Allman on guitar (the guy who played some of the greatest solos on Claptons Leyla album)
Allman Brothers - Whipping Post @ Youtube - (excellent video !)
ETA: it's Duane playing the first solo.
ETA 2: In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
ETA 3: Oh boy Oh boy ! ! !
ETA 4: If you do not at least listen to this track, I will never speak to you again ;-)
- Or the Brothers and Sisters album:
- Or maybe this one:
Blind faith - S/T
- Stevie Winwood, Eric Clapton and was it Ginger Baker ?
BLIND FAITH - Sea of Joy @ Youtube - (Me wonders who plays the fiddle on this track)
Japan - Tin Drum
OMD - Architecture and Morality
(both in some ways a little on the fringe but classic pop nonetheless)
Jayhawks--Hollywood Town Hall or Tomorrow The Green Grass. Or maybe instead of them Uncle Tupelo--March 16-20, 1992.
Van Morrison--Moondance. Astral Weeks is probably too sui generis.
Bob Dylan--maybe an indie kid would like Bringing It All Back Home better than H61R or BoB, I don't know.
ditto for Bruce--maybe Nebraska instead of BtR. Or to go in the opposite direction, Darkness.
Love--Forever Changes (at the risk of sounding like I'm a broken record).
MC5--Kick Out The Jams
Pixies--I've never liked anything they did, but I'm surprised no one else has mentioned them.
Rolling Stones--Exile On Main Street or Let It Bleed
Iain Matthews--If You Saw Thro' My Eyes. Kind of a left field rec, I know.
edits: Anything by the Velvet Underground.
Richard and Linda Thompson--Shoot Out The Lights.
Something by The Raspberries.
Something out of the Nick Lowe/Dave Edmunds/Rockpile nexus.
I was just going to say Rolling Stones too - I'd say Sticky Fingers though.
How about the Best of Diana Ross and the Supremes? Usually not a best of person, but they were so singles based...
And Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man (the Way That I Love You)
And Bjork - maybe Debut?