103. O.G. Original Gangster - Ice-T

103. O.G. Original Gangster - Ice-T (1991) 92/100.  I had heard this a few times in the early 90's and had remembered liking it so I thought I would purchase it on the assumption that I would like it.  I was right.

Ice-T is one of the artists who put gangsta rap on the map in the early 90s and it was this album that brought it to the mainstream.  Not only a great rap album, but gave the introduction of Body Count which would later become the center of controversy for their follow-up album that featured Cop Killer.

This is a classic hip hop album.  It is brilliantly produced and as great a listen now as it was when released twenty years ago.

New Jack Hustler is a great track.  Bitches 2 is another favorite.  O.G. Original Gangster is a classic.  Midnight has been in my mp3 rotation for over a decade (I am a sucker for all things Black Sabbath). Body Count is a nice change of pace.  The Tower is another favorite.  A classic album.

Note: Rage Against the Machine has been a consistent favorite of mine and while Rage formed the same year as Original Gangster, you can hear a lot of O.G.'s influence on them.  Listened: 5/24/2011
Favorite Tracks: New Jack Hustler, Midnight, Body Count

102. I Should Coco - Supergrass

102. I Should Coco - Supergrass (1995) 90/100. A first time listen for me.  In fact, I had never even heard of Supergrass.  They initially reminded me of The White Stripes (and yes, I know that Supergrass came out first so The White Stripes would sound more like Supergrass instead of the other way around, but I never heard Supergrass and had heard The White Stripes so deal with it).  I will say, musically Supergrass is a better band than The White Stripes, but again that has nothing to do with anything.

I really liked I Should Coco.  I wasn't expecting much when I turned it on so I was pleasently surprised by it.  I don't mind Britpop - it's not a genre I go out of my way for but also one I don't run away from either.

But, I wouldn't put Supergrass as straight Britpop.  When I think Britpop, I think Oasis and this isn't Oasis.  This has some punk roots that Oasis doesn't and reminded me a little of The Kinks (who they had said was a major musical influence).

Alright was a highlight of the album.  Strange Ones and She's So Loose were good tunes as well.  We're Not Supposed To had some fun psychedelic-esque sound effects that made the song fun, kind of reminded me of Pink Floyd's, Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict.  I really liked Sofa (Of My Lethargy) - a great, mellow (in comparison with the rest of the album) and probably the most Britpoppish sounding track - but still great.  

Overall, the whole album is pretty good.  It made my list of, "To Purchase Albums".  Good stuff.  Listened: 5/24/2011
Favorite Tracks: Alright, Strange Ones, She's So Loose  

101. Thriller - Michael Jackson

101. Thriller - Michael Jackson (1982)  87/100.  I am one of the few people on this earth, that was alive in the 80's, that didn't have Thriller.  It really never appealed to me.  I didn't watch Michael do the moonwalk, I didn't care much about the Thriller video, and didn't even pay attention to the fact that he had a pet chimpanzee until much later in life.  So, this was a first time listen for me.

Having listened to it, I am still on the fence on whether this is really my thing.  I can say, unlike most that would put this in, I don't have the nostalgia for it - since I never listened to it in the 80's.  Well, I didn't own it, it has been all over the radio for 30 years.

Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' is still a popular (and decent) track on the radio.  Did he just say, "you're a vegetable"?  WTF?!?

Baby Be Mine was an ok track, nothing flashy and also not going to be memorable.  The Girl is Mine is another popular track on the radio and was probably my favorite from the album.  I wonder how the Jackson/McCartney relationship was two years later when Jackson would outbid McCartney for The Beatles publishing rights to their music - I am guessing that ended all hope for McCartney/Jackson live duet.

If you have never heard Thriller, Beat It, or Billie Jean before, welcome to our world.  We have indoor plumbing, air conditioning, and cookies here - enjoy your stay.  It is nice to hear Vincent Price at the end of Thriller as I was a fan of his movies when they would play on Saturday afternoon (before stations decided that the Saturday afternoon time slot would be better suited for things like bowling, golf, and pool - who the hell watches bowling?)  Beat It's strongest part for me, of course, Eddie Van Halen's guitar work.  Billie Jean is Billie Jean.  I still have no real idea what the hell that song is about.

Human Nature is probably my second favorite on the album.  It is a popular track but not nearly as overplayed as the big three from the album.  Just a nice mellow track.

PYT was ok.  I liked the R&B vibe from The Lady in my Life.

Overall, I give the album merit for taking the pop genre to new heights.  It isn't my kind of music but I can still appreciate it.  I do not ever see myself listening to it again, if it were 1982 who knows but in 2011, not going to happen.  Listened: 5/23/2011
Favorite Tracks: Thriller, Human Nature, The Girl is Mine

#100. The Doors - The Doors

100. The Doors - The Doors (1967) 98/100.  I decided to listen to one of my favorite albums as my 100th review - The Doors.  I'm not going to lie, I am a huge Doors fan.  And, this list has a few on there so I will get to relive some of my youth.  Of all of The Doors albums, I probably would say that the debut album would be my favorite.

Now, my favorite doesn't necessarily mean the best.  You could make arguments for Morrison Hotel, LA Woman, and even Strange Days.  And, I probably would agree that those are all good albums.  But, for me...The Doors was THE Doors album.

I hate to have to admit this, but the only reason that I started to listen to The Doors my sophomore year of high school was because of the release of the Oliver Stone movie.  At the time, I actually took what happened in the movie as fact.  It wouldn't be until my junior year, when I read No One Here Gets Out Alive, that I realized that the Stone film was fictitious.  But, fictitious or not, it did introduce the music of The Doors to me so for that I guess I should be grateful - even though the whole dropping acid in the dessert scene was the most insulting thing I had ever seen (later to be topped by Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Joan Jett in The Runaways).

While recorded over just six days, the songs on the debut album had been in circulation from their live shows forever and makes this album feel more like a live performance than their later albums which were more fine tuned on the production side.  If anything, it is that factor that I probably fell in love with when I was in high school.

Well, it was either the tracks had more of a live feel to them or Jim wasn't nearly as out of control in the beginning as he would be in later recording sessions (when he showed).

While Light My Fire and Break on Through (To The Other Side) are the most popular from the album, the other tracks are definitely note worthy.  How can you not like Soul Ktchen, The Crystal Ship, End of the Night, and The End?  I have a soft spot in my heart for Take It As It Comes as well.

To think there was a time when the word higher would have to be censored due to drug connotations.  A great, great album that needs to be heard by anyone that likes rock n' roll.

Feel free to take a look at the two YouTube videos to see some of the liberties Stone made in his movie.  How can you fuck that up?  You had the tape of the original performance, Morrison does not taunt the camera and dance around like a crazy person.  Why would you make him do it in your portrayal that was supposed to be biographical?  Oliver Stone...sigh...you suck. Listened (most recently): 4/19/2011
Favorite Tracks: All of it.

#99. The Genius of Ray Charles - Ray Charles

99. The Genius of Ray Charles - Ray Charles (1959) 87/100.  Not too familiar with Ray Charles outside of seeing the movie Ray.  I don't think that really constitutes having any sort of background in it so listening to this was a definite first time for me.

Overall, it was a lot more mellow than I had been expecting.  I guess I was expecting more rock n' roll and got more jazz and R&B.  It was pretty good, but not something that I would listen to often.

Let the Good Times Roll was a pretty good R&B track.  It Had to Be You was a mellow (as if it could ever be played any other way (a death metal version could be interesting however)) soulful cover.  I really liked Two Years of Torture.  You Won't Let Me Go was another really good tune.  Worth a listen if you never had heard it.  Listened: 4/19/2011
Favorite Tracks: Let' the Good Times Roll, It Had to By You, Two Years of Torture

#98. Rumours - Fleetwood Mac

98. Rumours - Fleetwood Mac (1977) 89/100.  The point of this little 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die project is twofold.  One, to find a bunch of music that I had never listened to prior to taking on such a project and two, to force myself to listen to a band even though it may go against any impressions of bands that I may have.  Fleetwood Mac is a perfect example of the latter.

For some reason, I am not really sure why, I always thought of Fleetwood Mac as an embodiement of cheesy 80's music.  Perhaps because of the popularity of Mirage and Tango in the Night in the 80's or it be just selective memory growing up in the 80's.  Whatever the reason, I never really paid them much mind and would never really give them a second thought.

Until this past weekend when I took a long drive to a friend's party and decided to put in Rumours so that I could cross it off the list.  Now, with a build up like I had given in the first two paragraphs, you would think that I would give some glowing review of Rumours.  Not going to happen.

That being said, the most positive thing I can say, Rumours was better than I would have ever given it credit for prior to forcing myself to listen to it.  I knew that I had previous experience with Go Your Own Way and The Chain but thought that was it.  Until the album started and I realized that a good eight of the eleven songs on the album would make their rounds on Chicago radio over the last couple of decades.  So, a lot of it I had heard before without my knowledge that it was Fleetwood Mac.  And, some of it I didn't mind - such as Second Hand News.

But, the keywords are, "I didn't mind".  Overall, if it weren't for its commercial success, I would have not paid it too much attention.  I like The Chain, that is a great song.  Oh Daddy I thought was a good track.  Same goes for Don't Stop.  But for Q to place it as number three in its Best Albums of the 70s list behind Londong Calling and Dark Side of the Moon?  I don't think so.

In the end, I don't think of Fleetwood Mac with as much disdain as I did prior to listening to this, I am glad I purchased the album and will listen to it again.  Will it be a staple in my rotation?  No.  Good but not great...haters gonna hate.  Listened: 4/16/2011
Favorite Tracks: The Chain, Oh Daddy, Don't Stop

#97. Here's Little Richard - Little Richard

97. Here's Little Richard - Little Richard (1957) 88/100.  Another 50's classic rock n' roll album.  I knew Tuti Fruti, of course, as that is probably the quintessential Little Richard track.  A few of the other tracks I had heard over the years but never really attributed to Little Richard.

This was Little Richard in the usual Little Richard flamboyant style and it was good.  I definitely enjoy the old R&B rock n' roll as opposed to all of the jazz.  I can appreciate the jazz but there would be a much better chance of me putting Little Richard in my car stereo than Duke Ellington.

As for Here's Little Richard, I liked it.  There are some classics from this album including Tuti Fruti, Ready Teddy, Slippin' and Slidin, Long Tall Sally, and Rip It Up.  I liked the bluesy feel to Can't Believe You.  Just good, old fashioned, rock n' roll.  Listened: 4/19/2011
Favorite Tracks: Ready Teddy, Long Tall ally, Can't Believe You

#96. Live Through This - Hole

96. Live Through This - Hole (1994) 92/100.  I hate to be one who falters to preconceived notions but, I have to be honest, I had a big one when I put this on.  When I think of Hole, I think of Courtney Love.  When I think of Courtney Love, I think of the fall-down mess of a woman that she has publicly become the last decade or so.  I don't think of cool, rock star Courtney Love which this album exemplifies.

Right away I was surprised how talented Love actually is/was.  Hole had a cool punk vibe going for them on this album (even though most reviewers consider it to be grunge, but I am going out on a limb to state the line between punk and grunge is a fine one).  Live Through This has so much tragic history behind it that it makes it epic in itself.  Kobain (Love's husband (in case you have lived in a cave the last two decade (if so, welcome))) shooting himself four days before its release, Kristen Pfaff's (the bassist) death two months after its release...the album is drenched in tragedy.

So, outside of the my surprise of Love's talent, I was also surprised at the talent of newcomer drummer, Patty Schemel who was pretty damn good.  I enjoyed the album throughout.  Favorites included Violet, Jennifer's Body, Doll Parts, and Rock Star.  Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and will have to file this one under, don't judge a book by its drunken, heroin induced cover.  

TIL, people generally suck and because the album was good, they figured Kobain had to have written it which is nothing more than unsubstantiated garbage seeing as everyone involved stated that Kobain sang backup on a couple of tracks but Love and Erlandson (the band's guitar player) wrote the album.  Listened: 4/18/2011
Favorite Tracks: Violet, Jennifer's Body, Doll Parts, Rock Star

#95. Fats Domino - This is Fats

95.  Fats Domino - This is Fats (1956) 84/100.  I had nothing but technical difficulties streaming this but refuse to allow a shitty Web site alter my opinion.  Now that I got that off my chest, I was new to this.  I take that back, I knew Blueberry Hill for three reasons, it was one of those songs that would play on the oldies station all of the time, Richie Cunningham used to sing it during moments of joy on Happy Days, and it is the name of a breakfast joint in LaGrange, IL.

This was pretty cool.  Seeing as this is the second rock n' roll album on the list (chronologically speaking with Elvis being the first), it is a nice introduction to the genre.  Again, as I stated in my Crickets review, I am not sure how the folks over at the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die went about picking albums.  There could be arguments for other rock n' rollers from the 50's that could be on the list in place of Fats Domino but I digress.

Outside of Blueberry Hill, What's the Reason I'm not Pleasing you is a good song.  I didn't know it when I put it on, but I did know Blue Monday as well.  Another good track.  La-La was pretty good.  I really liked the Fat Man's Hop and Poor Me.  The whole album is pretty standard, piano driven rock n' roll by today's standards.  Good stuff.

TIL, Paul McCartney wrote Lady Madonna in the style of Fats Domino.  Listened: 4/18/2011
Favorite Tracks: Blueberry Hill, La-La, Poor Me 

#94. Selected Ambient Works 85-92 - Aphex Twin

94. Selected Ambient Works 85-92 - Aphex Twin (1992) 85/100.  First time I had heard of Aphex Twin (the pseudonum for Richard D. James).  As some may know, I have another blog www.geekyclown.com that is, more or less, about video games.  This had a video game music vibe to it so I was instantly intrigued when I put it on.  That and if anyone remembers the "Beyond the Mind's Eye" videos from the 90's, this sounded like music that would be in those movies.  BTW, if you have never checked out the "Beyond the Mind's Eye" videos, they are pretty cool - I'll put one up for you right here.

This is a little hard to review seeing as it is my first experience with ambient techno (with the exception of the background music to the movie Hackers, that was similar).  I guess I should start by saying I liked it.  But, I don't know if I would listen to it too often.  It reminded me a lot of mood music you would hear at a trendy sushi restaurant (I'm looking at you Ra Sushi).

As I was listening to it, the dog was not really digging it.  While trying to sleep there would be one ear popping up and down almost on beat.  Also, the voices that appear in random places on some of the tracks created a mindfuck for me with surround sound.

Pulsewidth and Hellosphan were a good tracks. Green Calx had a video game meets sci-fi movie thing going for it that I dug.  Schottkey 7th Path had a horror movie vibe to it that I really liked.  I wasn't a huge fan of Ptolemy and would probably regard that as my least favorite from the album

The whole album was rather hypnotic and addicting.  Screw it, I now need to have Ra Sushi for dinner even though there are better sushi joints around me just for the ambiance.  Listened: 4/15/2011
Favorite Tracks: Pulsewidth, Schottkey 7th Path, Green Calx  

#93. Roots - Sepultura

93. Roots - Sepultura (1996) 92/100.  Wow, I went from Booker T & The M.G.'s to Sepultura.  Can you say apples and oranges?

This is another recomendation.  I am new to Sepultura but am a fan of metal so this was a great listen.  It took traditional heavy metal and added a tribal flair to it.  The first thing I thought when I started listening to it was, "wow, Korn was influenced a lot by this."  In fact, I can honestly say that the whole Korn, Deftones, Limp Bizkit era of music in the late 90's would have sounded a lot differently if it weren't for Sepultura.

Doing a little research shows that Sepultura had fallen into the cliche rock n' roll drama that happens to too many good bands.  At this point, I believe only the original bassist is still with the band and the founding members Max and Igor Cavalera have gone on to create a new band.

Roots is the last album made with the original line-up (at least the original line-up that were together for nearly a decade).

Roots was a really good metal album.  Musically, I really enjoyed Ratamahatta and Breed Apart.  Lyrically, the whole album is pretty good.  Straighthate was definitely one of my favorites.  Lookaway and Dusted are phenomenal tracks as well.  Great guitar work in Jasco.  Dictatorshit is also a great track.  Good stuff.  Listened: 4/14/2011
Favorite Tracks: Ratamahatt, Straighthate Breed Apart, Dusted    

#92. Green Onions - Booker T & the M.G.'s

92.  Green Onions - Booker T & the M.G.'s (1962) 90/100.  All it took were the first few notes for me to recognize the title track of Booker T & The M.G.'s.  A first time listen.  I was happy to have left some of the jazz behind and get into some R&B, a lot more my style.

Green Onions did not dissapoint.  A great instrumental album.  Unlike a lot of the jazz I had listened to, this never felt like background fodder while I am eating at a fancy restuarant.  Everyone has their own taste and Booker T & The M.G.'s appeals to mine more than you average jazz musician.

The title track is a great tune, one everyone knows.  Don't believe me...

A few songs later, they would bring back the tune with Mo' Onions, a nice touch that gives a live performance vibe to the album.  I Got a Woman is another great track with some fine organ and guitar.  Twist and Shout was Twist and Shout with a few new hooks to it but pretty standard overall.  Behave Yourself and Stranger on the Shore were good mellow changes of pace from the first group of tunes.  One Who Really Loves You is another great tune.

TIL, Booker T & The M.G.'s (whom I had heard of but never really knew anything about) were much more influential than I ever knew.  Not only were The Beatles big  fans, but over the years they had been asked to play wit some of the biggest names in music including Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton.  Also, two of them were in the backup band of the 1980's move, The Blues Brothers.

Good stuff.  Highly recommended.  Listened: 4/14/2011
Favorite Tracks: Green Onions/Mo' Onions, Strange on the Shore, Behave Yourself    

#91. Imagine - John Lennon

91. Imagine - John Lennon (1971) 97/100.  As strange as it is to say, this was a first-time listen for me.   I knew about half of the songs from other recordings/sources but this was the first time I had heard a couple of the tracks and the first time that I heard the album in its entirety.  I know you are scoffing at me under your breath, and it is well deserved.

Needless to say, John Lennon was one of the most influential and talented songwriters ever so, of course, a solo album highlighting his talent in inevitably going to be fantastic.  This doesn't come up short in that regard.  The funny thing about the album was that it still holds up.  Conceptually Lennon talked political and had a rooted longing for something better but didn't tie it down with timely references or cliches.

Starting from the top, the title track has been heard probably by every human being on this earth who has a radio.  Imagine and Stairway to Heaven are probably the two most played songs on the radio (at least around Chicago).  And, for good reason, it is an outstanding song with a helluva message.  Too bad not much has changed since Lennon's dream in 1971.

Crippled Inside is a solid track and Jealous Guy is a favorite.  For me, things really start picking up with I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier and Gimme Some Truth.  Gimme Some Truth is especially poignant since Lennon was able to describe the state of the world in 2011 in 1971. 

Lennon's anger towards Paul comes out a bit in How Do You Sleep?.  Another, really strong track.  How? is a track I have had in my collection forever but still love.  Finally, Oh Yoko! is a good track, probably the weakest of a great group of songs.

If you never heard it, an absolute must.  Listened: 4/13/2011
Favorite Tracks: All of it.

#90. The Atomic Mr. Basie - Count Basie

90. The Atomic Mr. Basie - Count Basie (1957) 86/100.  More jazz.  This time, big band.  Right from the start (it could be my mood) but I really liked it.  It had that swing thing going for it.

Duet was the first track that really got my attention. A solid song with a great bass line.  Kind of reminded me of the music to this...

After Supper was a lot more laid back and mellow than the previous two tracks.  Good overall.  Teddy the Toad was another song I liked a whole bunch.  Whirlybird got my attention, very upbeat, swing track.  Same goes with Splanky (which I believe I have heard in a number of movies over the years).  Fantail had some great drums in it.

Again, as I reiterated several times, this isn't really my thing.  While I enjoyed this more than a few of the other jazz albums I have listened to on here, in the end, it started to become background music while I worked.  It may be that I can only assimilate it with this but it reminded me of music played during dinner at a wedding reception before the band/DJ come back on (Lil' Darlin is a perfect example).  Listened: 4/13/2011.
Favorite Tracks: Duet, After Supper, Whirlybird

#89. White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground

Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Lester Bangs disagrees with my Doors influence I mention in my review.

89. White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground (1968) 90/100.  Being such a fan of The Velvet Underground & Nico (reviewed here - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/03/79-velvet-underground-nico-velvet.html), you would think that I would have heard White Light/White Heat prior to today.  You would assume wrong.

I am not really sure why I never went back and picked up further Velvet Underground albums after the first one, seeing as I was such a huge fan.  That has been rectified and I sat down with White Light/White Heat.

The whole album seemed to have more of a rawness to it than The Velvet Underground & Nico.  It was feedback riddled that seemed more like punk at times than psychedelic or conventional rock n' roll.

The first track, White Light/White Heat was good.  The Gift.  What.  The.  Fuck.  Experimental is a word you could use.  It was different.  It wasn't a song with any real lyrics just prose set to music.  While I probably wouldn't listen to that track too often, I did listen to the story rather intently.  Poor Waldo, you dumb bastard.

Lady Godiva's Operation, Here She Comes Now, and I Heard Her Call My Name are more "poppish" if you can ever use that term to refer to Velvet Underground.  Perhaps using the term "traditional" would be more appropriate.  Solid tracks.  Sister Ray was the most interesting for me on the album.  While lyrically it isn't anything special, musically it is the most experimental and avant garde on the album.  It has that live, spacy, experimental thing going for it that you would expect toward the end of the second set of a Dead show.  A couple of times during the musical climaxes, I kept hearing Jim Morrison yell, "kill, kill, kill" as he does at the end of The End on the first Doors album (review coming real soon) so I suppose I can say there may be a little influence there (Cameron Crowe would disagree with me).

A good album, not as good (in my opinion, of course) as The Velvet Underground & Nico but worth a listen.  Listened: 4/13/2011
Favorite Tracks: Here She Comes Now, I Heard Her Call My Name, Sister Ray

#88. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

88. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (1969) 98/100.  I decided to put on Houses of the Holy and listen to it in its entirety this morning.  After I had listened to the entire album, I came into the office and looked at my 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list and saw it wasn't on there.  While I was in a moment of shock and awe, I decided to persevere and put in Led Zeppelin I since that WAS on the list. 

I am not even going to sort of lie and say that Led Zeppelin is not one of my favorite, if not my favorite, band since I was in high school.  None of the Zeppelin albums will be even remotely a hundredth time listen let alone a first time listen.  I thought I would start simple with the first album.

I happened to be re-reading Hammer of the Gods as well so thought the timing was perfect.  It was strange for me, years later, to read that Page was still contemplating after Led Zeppelin I removing Plant from the band.  In hindsight, what an enormous disaster that would have been.  As for the first Zeppelin album, it isn't my favorite Zeppelin album but  it is still better than 98% of the albums I have heard thus far for this little project.  What is there really to say but look at the track listing alone - Good Times, Bad Times; Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You; You Shook Me; Dazed and Confused; You Time is Gonna Come; Black Mountain Side; Communication Breakdown; I Can't Quit you Baby; How Many More Times.  If you can name one bad song from that list, you are much more critical than I. 

I would say that this is the rawest of the Zeppelin albums (not counting Song Remains the Same) as Page explained that all of the tracks were performed live (in studio) with a little overdubbing in production.  This was the album that started the careers of one of the greatest rock bands of all time, how can it not be good?

TIL, Page listed How Many More Times as 3:30 to trick radio stations into playing it.

Listened: 4/17/2011

Favorite Tracks: All of it. 

87. Joan Baez - Joan Baez

87. Joan Baez - Joan Baez (1960) 85/100.  My only experience with Joan Baez has been from the Woodstock '69 soundtrack and I knew that Forrest Gump's Jenny wanted to be her so to say it is limited is an understatement. This is pretty good.  I am not a complete nOOb to folk music but wouldn't exact call myself a connoisseur either.

I can appreciate her talent on this.  That being said, if you were having a kegger with 25 of your friends, this probably wouldn't be the album that you would throw on, at least not if you would like them to hang around more than through Silver Dagger.  This belongs more in a coffee house hanging with hipsters sipping a latte while chain-smoking Camel Wides.

I liked her version of House of the Rising Sun.  All My Trials is a good tune.  I dug the lyrics to John Riley.  Rake and Rambling Boy reminded me of this....

TIL, Joni Mitchell (who had made a lot of bold statements including Janis Joplin's jealousy of her and that Bob Dylan is a fake and a plagiarist) claims that Joan Baez was so competititve with her that Baez would have broken Mitchell's leg Tonya Harding style in the 60's.  Whether true or not, I found it interesting.

Without Baez, I think later artists such as Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, and Sarah McLachlan would have been different music.  This is not something I could see msyelf listening to over and over but a good listen when in the right mood.  Listened: 3/30/2011
Favorite Tracks: House of the Rising Sun, All My Trials, John Riley

#86. Sunday at the Village Vanguard - Bill Evans

86. Sunday at the Village Vanguard - Bill Evans (1961) 87/100.  More jazz.  This time, a jazz pianist [immature chuckle].  Listening to it I kept thinking that I was really digging the bass and then came to find out that the bass player, Scott LaFaro, died in a car accident ten days after this recording and they picked the tracks that were LaFaro's strongest to make the album.  LaFaro was just 25 years old and had only been playing bass for six years.  To imagine if he had lived a full-life what he could have done to change the way the bass would be played.  Thinking like this puts a different spin on this whole review that could make me get all existential about the depravity and injustices of the world and how delicate life is but I won't go there.

Of the jazz albums I have listened to for the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, this stood out, with Miles Davis, as some of my favorites.  Perhaps it was the LaFaro legacy that had planted some subliminal seed in my head, but I really enjoyed this not only for the bass (which is the standout) but for the piano.  Most jazz piano players I have encountered sound like background music at an overpriced restaurant to give the idea of ambiance but they are simply hacks who would have no problem switching from classic jazz to Billy Joel or Elton John if you put a dollar in their tip cup.  This wasn't like that.  This was, and I have tried to come up with the proper term that doesn't sound so cheesy, cool.

I realize that they wanted LaFaro to stand out but, in all honesty, this isn't a Bill Evans album as much as a Scott LaFaro album.  Bill Evans acts more like a part of the backup band helping to keep fill around the bass.  What really angered me the most about this album was the number of people talking during the performance.  What the hell is wrong with them?  My Man's Gone Now and Alice in Wonderland were standouts but the whole album is solid.  Listened: 3/30/2011.
Favorite Tracks: My Man's Gone Now, Alice in Wonderland

85. Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem

85. Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem (2007) 89/100.  I am brand new to LCD Soundsystem and this is another recommended by my friend Mark.  LCD Soundsystem is an interesting blend of dance, electronic, and punk with a little New Wave thrown in.  For this review, I will just go ahead and put down my thoughts as I listen so most will probably be in the present tense (deal with it) as I will be writing the review while listening.  The dance track Get Innoculous! starts out the album and is a solid track.  North American Scum is a stand out and a direction I would love to see the album turn (I guess I am in a punk mood).  Someone Great has a powerful 80's New Wave vibe that I surprisingly didn't mind seeing as I have not had much luck on this list with New Wave music at all.  Perhaps my New Wave shell is starting to crack and by the end of this list I will be walking around looking like Adam Ant.  All My Friends was ok, kind of forgettable but catchy at the same time.  However, I would put it as the low point of the album thus far.  The beat of Us v Them (not to be confused with the Pink Floyd song Us and Them) is great and the lyrics are damn good.  I am finding the songs that seem to lean more on the punk side are standouts for me.  Speaking of which, I really like Watch the Tapes as well.  Some more of that punk feel to it.  Sound of Silver gave me a little bit of a WTF moment. A strong trance feel behind it, which was pretty cool.  I don't really see how it fit in with the rest of the album but I guess that is punk of in itself.  New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down really made me think of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust.  It just had the type of vibe - Five Years, etc.

Overall, for someone who isn't a big fan of dance music, LCD Soundsystem made the dance tracks, not only listenable, but enjoyable.  There are a lot of types of music and a lot of types of influences on this but put together nicely.  I have to say in the end, I liked this.  I think that I need to give it at least another listen or two before I can make a well informed decision so I may follow this up after I have completed all 1001 with a second review (and a second score) when I can digest the tracks.  Listened: 3/29/2011.
Favorite Tracks: North American Scum, Us v Them, Go Innoculous!

#84. Appetite for Destruction - Guns N' Roses

The original cover for Appetite that was removed because it was too graphic.

84. Appetite for Destruction - Guns N' Roses (1988) 98/100.  Whenever I think of Appetite for Destruction, I think of lines from the movie Casino, "but in the end we fucked it all up. It should'a been so sweet, too.  But it turned out to be the last time that street guys like us were ever given anything that fuckin' valuable again."  How could a band as big and as popular as Guns N' Roses blow it so badly over the course of six years?  They were like the Brewster's Milliions of music.

I had recently read Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N' Roses by Stephen Davis which, more or less, showed a lot of what I already knew - Axl was, and still is, a bipolar, primadonna, control freak and Slash was, and still is, pretty cool.  What I didn't know is the type of control that Axl had on the entire band and his threats to fire people repeatedly kept the band going and failing over time (probably when they shouldn't have seeing as the amounts of drugs some of them were doing).  Well that coupled with Axl's inability to get on the damn stage anywhere near show time led to their failure.  

As for Appetite, well it still holds up as one of the best rock albums of all time.  Some things I learned from the Davis book, Patience was originally going to be on Appetite but they (smartly) decided against it leaving Sweet Child O' Mine to be the only pseudo ballad on the album.  My Michelle was written as an homage to a friend of the band supposedly similar to My Song by Elton John.  While she later claimed to appreciate its honesty, she was looking for, "...and you can tell everybody this is your song" and got, "...your daddy works in porno now that mommy's not around".  The sex acts that can be heard in Rocket Queen were real from drummer Steven Adler's girlfriend who spent some time with Axl during the recording session.  Apparently, this act, brought a rift between Adler and his woman causing her to get heavily into drinking and drugs and also added fuel to a fire between Adler and Axl.  Speaking of Adler, if you have ever watched Celebrity Rehab on VH1, the whole Guns N' Roses experience wasn't exactly good for his drug use.  In retrospect, you could easily make an argument that the loss of Adler played a burden on the Use your Illusion albums as they switched from a predominant punk drummer to an old fashioned, hard-rock drummer.  The drumming alone on the Illusion albums set a completely different tone than those of Appetite or Lies.

Anyway, I can spend hours discussing the problems with Guns N' Roses and the members of the band (both that era and current) but it is a moot point.  These days, Chinese Democracy ended up being an ok Axl Rose solo album (but listed as a Guns N' Roses album), Slash and the others are working on side projects after Audioslave disbanded and we are stuck to look at the memories of a once great album.

Welcome to the Jungle in a lot of ways is the low point of the album for me.  Not that it isn't a good song, it is - just overplayed almost to a fault.  It's so Easy, Mr. Brownstone, My Michelle, and Rocket Queen are all favorites of mine but there isn't a song on this album I don't enjoy and appreciate.  They went from the most dangerous to the most decadent to the most destructive band in the world in six years and, in the end, Appetite for Destruction stands as their only true accomplishment.  Listened: 3/29/2011
Favorite Tracks: All of it.

#83. Tres Hombres - ZZ Top

83. Tres Hombres - ZZ Top (1973) 90/100.  Another suggestion from a friend and, like most fans of rock n' roll, I am a fan of the pre-long beard, pre-synth ZZ Top.  I was familiar with a bunch of this from covers and, of course, La Grange, one of their most popular, but a good half the album was new to me.

Starts out great with Waitin' for a Bus, a good blues track.  I instantly loved Jesus Just Left Chicago (I was familiar with the Phish cover but it honestly doesn't do ZZ Top's version justice (sorry Page; don't hate on me Phishheads)).  Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers has moments of cheesiness that I found a little distracting but enjoyed the guitar work.  I was new to Master of Sparks and it was pretty good and, for some reason, I was reminded of Foreigner's Double Vision who, in my opinion, was influenced by this track ((Foreigner influenced by ZZ Top) and by influenced, I mean ripped them off - I'm looking at you Lou Gramm).  Hot, Blue and Righteous was a good ballad with a Love Hurts type of vibe to it.  Move Me On Down the Line, Precious and Grace, and Shiek are good, old fashioned rock n' roll tunes played with that "ZZ Top sound".  La Grange, not only named after the town next to mine growing up (Illinois not Texas though), is a classic tune.  How can anyone listen to that without singing along, "a haw, haw, haw, haw"?  Have you Heard? is a great, mellow blues track and ended up being one of my favorites from the album.

Good bluesy rock album that I will be picking up soon.  Listened: 3/29/11
Favorite Tracks: Jesus Just Left Chicago, La Grange, Have You Heard?  

#82. Jack Takes the Floor - Ramblin' Jack Elliot

82. Jack Takes the Floor - Ramblin' Jack Elliot (1958) 68/100.  This was ok.  I like folk music but this just bored me.  I found myself zoning out from it more often than not.  But, being a big Dylan fan, I can see how Ramblin' Jack was a strong influence for him.  Grey Goose annoyed me.  Bed Bug Blues is a good tune.  Same for Cocaine.  Not something I would go out of my way to listen to again.  Shortest.  Review.  Ever.  Listened: 3/22/2011
Favorite Tracks: Bed Bug Blues, Cocaine

#81. Brilliant Corners - Thelonious Monk

81.  Brilliant Corners - Thelonious Monk (1957) 75/100. As I just talked about in my Crickets review, there is a lot of jazz on the list in the 50's and 60's.  Thelonious Monk is more of that jazz.  I am going to be honest, this really didin't do much for me.  Maybe I am getting a little burned out on the jazz seeing as it isn't a genre of music I listen to exclusively but I really enjoyed Jimmy Smith and Miles Davis a lot more than Thelonious Monk.  This was just bland in comparison.  Now, to reiterate all of my jazz reviews, if I were a musician, I am sure I would get a lot more out of this than I did.  The saxaphonist for the album mentioned that the title track for the album was so complex, they had to edit the final version together.  I didn't hear that at all.  Later, doing a little research (and by research I mean look it up on Wikipedia (which if you are one of my students, Wikipedia still does not count as research - do as I say, not as I do)) found that this was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame due to its historical significance and was the album that was considered his breakout album.  Not really my cup of tea but I can appreciate the talent of the musicians.  Listened: 3/17/2011
Favorite Tracks: Brillian Colors,   Bemsha Swing

#80. The Chirping Crickets - The Crickets

Note: Is that Gary Busey as Buddy Holly?  You bet your ass it is!

80. The Chirping Crickets - The Crickets (1957) 90/100.  TIL (because I am ignorant to rock n' roll history, I suppose) Buddy Holly was in a band prior to performing just as Buddy Holly and that the name of that band was The Crickets.  On top of that, some of the most popular songs that I would have attributed to Buddy Holly were actually The Crickets.  So, now that I have shamed my knowledge of 50's rock n' roll, on to the review.  Oh Boy!, Not Fade Away, Maybe Baby, That'll be the Day are all Crickets tracks from The Chirping Crickets.  And, they are all really good classic rock n' roll songs.  It makes me wonder how Buddy Holly was elected to the role of rock n' roll descendant from the 50's and not Big Bopper, Richie Valens, or even Jackie Wilson according to the powers that be at the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.  There are a lot of jazz albums from that era on the list but not too many classic rock n' roll.  Having grown up with my mom being a big country music fan (a genre of music I am not overly fond of - especially late 80's/early 90's country) we always could compromise my metal and her country with the oldies channel on the radio and stuff like this so I may have a soft spot in my heart for it.  It is that soft spot that made me give it such a high rating.  Not something I would listen to all of the time but really good stuff.  Just great, old fashioned, rock n' roll.  Listened: 3/17/2011
Favorite Tracks: Oh Boy!, Not Fade Away, That'll Be the Day

#79. Velvet Underground & Nico - Velvet Underground & Nico

79. Velvet Underground & Nico - Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) 94/100.  This has been a favorite of mine since my college days (which would have been quite awhile).  I got my first taste of the Velvet Underground & Nico from the (not very good and not even remotely factual) film The Doors by Oliver Stone.  The film featured Heroin and Venus in Furs plus showed an eerie Crispin Glover performance of Andy Warhol (TIL, not only was he responsible for the cover of the album Velvet Underground & Nico and listed as producer but also acted as the band's manager - Andy Warhol, not Crispin Glover) and the scene featuring Nico in the elevator (which is self explanatory).  A few years later, I would purchase the full album and it hasn't left rotation in my collection since.  While Heroin and Venus in Furs will always be favorites (now for almost nostalgic reasons), other favorites include I'm Wating for the Man; Run, Run, Run; European Son.  The sound on the album is as original as it comes.  That can be attributed by the production and Lou Reed's ostrich guitar (tuning all of the strings to the same note).  The album is also as dark as it comes for the time.  Drug references are all over the place, BDSM, prostitution - not normal topics of conversation in mainstream music in 1967.  A great, great album.  Listened: 3/16/2011
Favorite Tracks: Heroin, I'm Waiting for the Man, Venus in Furs, European Son

#78. The Clash - The Clash

78. The Clash - The Clash (1979) 90/100.  I am going to review the American release of The Clash that actually came out in 1979, not the one that the 1001 Before You Die folks want me to, which is the 1977 UK release.  Some of the songs are a little different but I have the American version so that is the one I will review.  This was a first time listen to me and really my first real introduction to the original wave of British punk.  I have to say, I like the original wave of British punk, or at least my introduction.  The first two tracks didn't really pull me in - they were sort of average (or a learning curve for this type of music).  So, right off the top of my head, I wasn't a huge fan of Clash City Rockers or I'm So Bored with the USA.  It did turn around right around Complete Control.  That, White Riot, (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais (who knew that a harmonica had a place in punk rock), the cover of I Fought the Law, Career Opportunities, Jail Guitar Doors, and Garageland were all standouts as fabulous tunes.  A great introduction to a new type of music.  Listened: 3/16/2011
Favorite Tracks: Complete Control, White Riot, (White man) in Hammersmith Palais

#77. Palo Congo - Sabu

77. Palo Congo - Sabu (1957) 84/100.  This is a second trip down the Latin jazz aisle for me and this project.  The first was Machita's Kenya  (http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/14-kenya-machito.html) but this had a different type of groove going on that I enjoyed more than Kenya.  I just dig the conga, it is such a great sounding instrument and a whole album that has the conga as the central instrument is ok in my book.  One small problem is the fact, I couldn't understand one word on the album so I couldn't really judge it on any sort of lyrical merits.   To reiterate what I mentioned in Kenya's review, there are probably a lot of small musical intricacies here (as in most jazz) that are wasted on my non-trained ear.  A good listen.  TIL, he died at age 49 of a gastric ulcer which I didn't know it was possible to die of an ulcer so a double TIL found that about 6,000 Americans die of stomach ulcer-related complications every year.  Listened: 3/15/2011
Favorite Tracks: El Cumbanchero, Choferito-Plena, Aggo Elegua

#76. The Chronic - Dr. Dre

76.  The Chronic - Dr. Dre (1993) 96/100.  "Hey, did what's his name get at you yesterday?"  The Chronic, the album that launched Snoop Dogg's career and, as I hinted on my Doggystyle review, (here - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/33-doggystyle-snoop-doggy-dogg.html), one of my favorite hip-hop albums so it was an easy listen for the afternoon.  All of the album is solid from beginning to end.  Dre mellowed out hip-hop beats here (compared to N.W.A., Public Enemy, Beasties, etc. from the era) and made a lot of albums that follow in the 90's take on his style.  He also used this as a soapbox to go after former N.W.A. band mate Eazy-E and Ruthless Records.  Fuck Wit Dre Day, Let Me Ride, Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat, and High Powered are personal favorites but there are no bad tracks on here.  Listened: 3/15/2011
Favorite Tracks: All of it

#75. Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters

75. Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters (1995) 90/100.  "Fingernails are pretty, fingernails are good.  Seems that all they ever wanted was a marking."  Wtf you talking about Dave?  TIL, Dave Grohl wrote and played all of the instruments on the first Foo Fighters album (with the exception of one track where someone else played guitar).  That in itself is rather impressive.  If memory serves, Billy Corigan did the same for Siamese Dream.  Anyway, neither here nor there. I was actually surprised how much of the Foo Fighters album I had heard before. The first three tracks This Is a Call, I'll Stick Around, and Big Me have been all over the radio for over a decade-and-a-half.  The problem is, I didn't know the song titles.  This was a first time listen for me which I found to be surprising seeing as I am a big Nirvana fan.  I liked this.  I'll Stick Around and X-Static were solid tracks.  My personal favorite off the album is Floaty.  I really enjoyed its arrangement.  A good album from start to finish and worth a listen to anyone new to the Foos.  Listened: 3/6/2011
Favorite Tracks: This Is a Call, I'll Stick Around, Floaty

#74. Pyromania - Def Leppard

74.  Pyromania - Def Leppard (1983) 82/100.  Back in 2007, I was out of town, a good two hours from home visiting friends.  One evening, I ended up at a local bar with a some friends including a friend of a friend who was the biggest hippie looking guy I had ever seen in my life.  As the night wore thin (and the alcohol wore on) we decided to hit up another locale and my newly acquainted hippie comrade offered to drive.  I began to look forward to the heady music I was in store for in the car ride to wherever the hell they took me.  We hopped in and started out.  I eased back waiting for my musical bliss to kick in.  But, I was in dismay when I had to ask, "is this Pyromania?"  He turned to me and was like "FUCK YEA" and I was like "HuH?".  That story came to mind when I began to listen to Pyromania this morning.  I like to think of Def Leppard like the movie Roadhouse, you know it is going to be cheesy but you can't help but sit back and enjoy it.  So Pyromania, or Def Leppard when everyone had two arms, was one of those albums that I bought in junior high after Hysteria came out and took the world by storm.  I liked Hysteria so much I had to grab Pyromania.  I hadn't seen my CD since I was probably a sophomore in high school - Metallica, Megadeth, and Guns 'N Roses took over and this poppier, "I wanna rock"-esque 80's music just seemed too tame when compared with Dave Mustaine screaming, "Peace sells...but who's buying."  Overall, I suppose this was a good album.  I always really liked Too Late for Love and Rock of Ages.  Foolin' isn't too bad, same goes for Die Hard the Hunter.  I could have done without Comin' Under Fire and Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop).  Speaking of which, what was with Def Leppard and using rock in song titles early in their career - On Through the Night: Rock Brigade; Pyromania: Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop); Adrenalize: Let's Get Rocked.  I guess they rocked and wanted everyone to know it.  Listened: 3/7/2011
Favorite Tracks; Too Late for Love, Rock of Ages, Foolin'

#73. Achtung Baby - U2

73. Achtung Baby - U2 (1991) 92/100.  One thing I learned thus far is that I never gave U2 nearly enough credit.  I always was a fan of The Joshua Tree (review forthcoming) and I have mentioned that I was taken aback at how good All That You Can't Leave Behind was (review here - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/02/55.html).  This was another one that I was impressed throughout.  There is no reason to mention One and Mysterious Ways.  Those two tracks are unbelievably popular.  Even Better Than the Real Thing and Trying to Throw your Arms Around the World are also pretty damn popular tracks.  Considered to be their turnaround album after being critically crucified for Rattle and Hum, Achtung Baby redefined how U2 made albums.  Do I think it is as good as The Joshua Tree?  Hell no.  Do I think it is as good as All That You Can't Leave Behind?  Yes.  I guess at this point, I can officially consider myself a U2 fan. Listened: 3/6/2011
Favorite Tracks: Mysterious Ways, Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World, One

#72. Being There - Wilco

72.  Being There - Wilco (1996) 91/100.  Being from Chicago, Wilco is mentioned as one of the great Chicago bands and gets a decent amount of airtime on Chicago radio.  That being said, I never really listened to too much of their music outside of the radio and a live show or two I have accrued over the years.  The opportunity never really came along until doing this 1001 Albums I Must Hear Before I Die.  I really liked Being There.  Wilco has a great ability of mixing several different genres of music together and making it work.  There is a little country in there, a little psychedelic, and a whole lot of rock styles.  I actually listened to this several times in a row when I first put it in.  I enjoyed it that much (that and my washing machine died so I had plenty of time to kill using someone else's washing machine while they were out of town).  Misunderstood, Hotel Arizona, and Someday Soon were good tracks.  I think that double albums are not fair for this whole thing seeing as this would actually make it 1002 Albums I Must Hear Before I Die.  I highly recomend this one.  Listened: 3/5/2011
Favorite Tracks: Misunderstood, Hotel Arizona, Someday Soon

#71. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John

71. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John (1973) 90/100.   I suppose if you look at one album that you could attribute the most fame to Elton John's (I refuse to call him Sir Elton John, just seems corny) career, it would be Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.  Look at the song titles on here, Candle in the Wind (the Marilyn version, not Princess Di (Diana would have been 12 when this album was released)), Bennie and the Jets, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting - it is practically a greatest hits album in itself.  However, most of my favorites from here aren't the popular tracks.  I like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, that has been a favorite for years but Grey Seal, Dirty Little Girl, Social Disease are all solid tracks.  Overall, there isn't a bad song on here even if you aren't a big Elton John fan.  Listened: 3/5/2011.
Favorite Tracks: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Grey Seal, Social Disease

#70. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy

70. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy (1988) 90/100.  TIL, Flavor Flav is in everything I eat cause everything I eat got Flavor.  Truer words have never been spoken.  For those who were born 1980's and later, Flavor Flav actually did make music prior to doing his reality TV stint.  Anyway, first time listen for me.  When this came out in 1988 I was too involved in Guns N' Roses, Metallica, and Led Zeppelin to even notice.  Anyway, I really liked this. Terminator X was amazing throughout.  Great samples, a very pissed off Chuck D, and Flavor Flav makes a great album.  Bring the Noise, Louder Than a Bomb, and Rebel Without a Pause were my favorites with Rebel Without a Pause easily coming out as my favorite from the album.  I wonder if I am the only one who listens to Show 'Em Whatcha Got and cannot help but thinking to myself, "all I wanna do is a zoom-a, zoom, zoom and a poom, poom."  Listened: 3/5/2011
Favorite Tracks: Rebel without a Pause, Louder than a Bomb, Bring the Noise

#69. Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi

69.  Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi (1986) 75/100 (for nostalgic reasons alone) .  When I was in the sixth grade, Slippery When Wet came out and it was my favorite album at that time (I owned it on casette).  After buying Slippery When Wet, I made sure I owned 7800 Degrees Farenheit and their first album with the song Runaway on it (I don't remember the name and am too lazy to look it up).  My love of Bon Jovi brought me to Whitesnake in seventh grade and Still of the Night and Here I Go Again.  Then eighth grade brought Appetite for Destruction and ...And Justice for All and I was introduced to a little band named Led Zeppelin and I never looked back to Bon Jovi.  Fast forward twelve years and I was on a Greyhound bus traveling from Los Angeles to San Diego with a gentleman who had no problem announcing to the entire bus his love of crack cocaine.  "I love it.  I smoke it, I eat it, I snort it...I do it all man," he announced with glee.  My new crack loving friend also had a very large radio with him and had no problem playing You Give Love a Bad Name and Livin' On A Prayer over and over and over again.  For hours, those two songs were all we heard and no one was about to tell a schizophrenic crackhead to turn it off so we just had to ingest it.  I really never would have thought that Bon Jovi would be good crack smoking music so I guess that was a definite - TIL.  So, one more fast forward - this time thirteen years and listening to Slippery When Wet again for the 1001 Albums I Must Hear Before I die.  Given that their is a certain cheesiness hump that I would have to get over, I sat down and fired up all of Slippery When Wet.  It is hard to be objective but did the best that I could seeing as I have heard this album probably a few hundred times in my life, and most of them were pre-teen.  I wouldn't necessarily call it a nostalgic bliss but there was a nostalgia factor to it.  Well, now that we all know about my history with this album - on to the actual review.  The album was ok.  Nothing that I would be inclined to put in again anytime soon but was worth a listen.  You Give Love a Bad Name, Livin' on a Prayer, and Wanted Dead or Alive are so overplayed they are almost cliche.  I'd Die for You, Let it Rock, and Raise your Hands were respectable.  Overall, nothing I would go out of my way for again.  For 80's hair band, it is good.  I guess there is a sixth grader inside of me that refuses to die no matter how many times I try to kill him - hence my other blog on retro video games (http://www.geekyclown.com).  To that mini sixth grade GeekyClown, I am glad you got to relive riding your bike with your Walkman on listening to Social Disease at top volume.  Listened: 3/4/2011
Favorite Tracks: Wanted Dead or Alive, Let it Rock, Raise your Hands  

#68. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - David Bowie

68.  The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - David Bowie (1972) 91/100.  As a child of the 80's, I don't have a whole lot of experience with David Bowie.  I remember him with Queen doing Under Pressure and doing Dancing in the Streets with Mick Jagger but that was about it.  Oh, I can't forget Space Oddity.  Now that's it.  But, after all I have heard about Ziggy Stardust I was looking forward to sitting down with this.  It was one of three albums that I relistened to right after I heard it (other two being U2 - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/02/55.html and Green Day - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/36-american-idiot-green-day.html) partially because I really enjoyed it and partially because I wanted to try to understand the concept behind the concept album.  It was rather vague but I kind of got it down.  How many drugs did David Bowie do when he came up with his concept of an alien who plays rock to give humanity hope in the last five years of existence remains to be seen.  But, I liked it.  After listening to American Idiot, I could hear how they were influenced by this.  Five Years, Moonage Daydream, Suffagette City were standouts but the whole album was really good.  I highly recommend it.  Listened: 3/4/2011
Favorite Tracks: All of them.

#67. Nothing's Shocking - Jane's Addiction

67. Nothing's Shocking - Jane's Addiction (1988) 96/100.  This was recommended by a friend as a part of his "must listens" but was easy to track down seeing that it has been in my CD collection since the early 90's.  Anyway, this is an old favorite of mine and a must hear for anyone who likes alternative/rock music.  This was the debut album for Jane's and personally I like it better than their follow-up Ritual de lo Habitual.  That is not to say that Ritual de lo Habitual is not a great album, it is.  And, it was commercially a greater success due to the popularity of Stop! and Been Caught Stealing.  But, that is a later review (that I now have to remember to come back to this review and link to it once I actually write it).  What I learned from reading a bit about this is that Perry Farrell demanded 50% of the band's royalties for this album because he wrote the lyrics.  This, of course, didn't bode well for the band's relationship.  But, any tension that this created during recording paid off.  The album is fabulous from start to end.  The only possible down arrow for this may be Standing in the Shower...Thinking but it is still a good track, just not as good as the others on the album.  Had a Dad; Ted, Just Admit It...; Summertime Rolls are my personal favorites but, to reiterate, the whole damn album is great.  Oh, and there is a song called Jane Says on it that anyone who has ever listened to alternative radio has heard at least two dozen times.  Listened: 3/3/2011
Favorite Tracks: All of it.

#66. Abraxas - Santana

66. Abraxas - Santana (1970) 88/100.  One thing that I would have not have heard when listening to Abraxas prior to taking on this project is the influences of Machito on it (see the review of Machito's Kenya here - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/14-kenya-machito.html).  I am new to Santana.  I knew Black Magic Woman, Oye Como Va, and that song the he plays with the dude from Matchbox Twenty but that is pretty much as far as my experience with Carlos Santana goes.  Actually, I take that back, I have a bootleg of him playing with Phish, I believe it is 7/25/92 but am way too lazy to look that up.  Oh, and I saw the Woodstock movie and he was in that.  So, I guess I have a little bit more experience with Santana than I originally thought.  But, I never heard Abraxas before.  It was good.  They are really talented musicians (uh, duh).  TIL, Black Magic Woman was written by Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac and was on their album English Rose two years prior to being on Abraxas.  Also, Oye Como Va was also a cover (Tito Puente in 1963).  That one probably everyone else in the world knew, but I didn't so...what are you gonna do?  Anyway, the two popular tracks (Black Magic Woman, Oye Como Va) were probably my least favorite - more than likely due to them being overly played on Chicago radio.  I really liked the intro and outro (Singing Winds, Crying Beasts and El Nicoya).  I just saw Rusted Root recently and can tell that they were inspired by this album.  Mother's Daughter and Hope You're Feeling Better are other favorites.  Good stuff.  Listened: 3/2/2011
Favorite Tracks: Mother's Daughter, Singing Winds, Crying Beasts, Hope You're Feeling Better

#65. Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys

65. Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys (1990) 96/100.  My second Beastie Boys review (License to Ill here - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/15-licensed-to-ill-beastie-boys.html).  As I stated in that review, I am a big fan of the Beastie Boys and Paul's Boutique is my favorite of their albums.  While License to Ill was commercially the Beasties biggest album (and a top ten best selling hip-hop album ever), Paul's Boutique was their most creative album.  And, with pure record executive mentality, it was initially considered a failure due to its inability to have the record sales of its predecessor.  That is why your average record executive is clueless.  Paul's Boutique is just a more solid album than License to Ill, and I was relieved to see that it made the 1001 Albums list.  It is a more complete album from beginning to end.  The Dust Brothers production was near perfect.  The lyrics (while misogynistic and often times childish) were better.  There isn't a bad track on here.  My personal favorites (which it is hard to come up with just a few) are Eggman, High Plains Drifter, and Looking Down the Barrell of a Gun.  But, there are no poor tracks.  Nothing that brings this down (I'm looking at you Fight for Your Right (to Party)).  If you haven't heard it, do.  If you say, "I still like License to Ill better," hang yourself.  A little harsh?  I don't think so.  Listened: 3/1/2011.
Favorite Tracks: All of it.  

#64. Natty Dread - Bob Marley & The Wailers

64. Natty Dread - Bob Marley & The Wailers (1974) 92/100. - This is my third (and unfortunately last (all of my Bob Marley listening will be for personal reasons)) Bob Marley & The Wailers review (check out Exodus - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/42-exodus-bob-marley-wailers.html and Catch a Fire - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/34-catch-fire-bob-marley-wailers.html).  I enjoyed this about equal with Catch a Fire but not as much as Exodus.  I found the first half of the album fantastic.  Lively Up Yourself; No Woman, No Cry; Them Belly Full (But We Hungry); Rebel Music - just plain outstanding.  The second half isn't as strong.  That isn't to say that it is bad, just hard to compare to the first half.  Natty Dread and Talkin' Blues are great tracks.  The addition of Rita Marley adds a lot to the album as a whole.  A great listen.  Listened: 2/28/2011.
Favorite Tracks: All of side one, Natty Dread, Talkin' Blues

#63. Master of Puppets - Metallica

63.  Master of Puppets - Metallica (1986) 98/100.  I am not going to lie and say that this is anywhere near a first time listen for me.  In fact, I have probably heard this album a good thousand times so this was more of a sing along, way to spend an afternoon, type deal for me.  Anyway, Master of Puppets is one of four Metallica albums on the 1001 Albums you Must Hear Before you Die (I previously reviewed Metallica's Black album - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/3-metallica-aka-black-album-metallica.html) and was really disappointed that they excluded Ride the Lightning.  Anyway, this is my favorite Metallica album and easily would make my top ten favorite albums of all time so...it is hard to not give it a glowing review.  Every time that I hear this I wonder what would have become of Metallica if Cliff Burton wouldn't have died.  ...And Justice for All would be a completely different album (you may actually be able to hear the bass).  Black may not have gone so Bob Rock-ish and the Load nightmares may never have been made.  But, hindsight is worthless.  The whole album is good from start to finish.  Master of Puppets, Thing that Should Not Be, and Disposable Heroes stand out among an album of classics.  Listened: 2/27/2011
Favorite Tracks: All of it.

#62. Ellington at Newport - Duke Ellington

62.  Ellington at Newport - Duke Ellington (1956) 82/100.  I figured since I am new to jazz, I'd be eclectic and listen to the full 1999 release of all 40 tracks of Duke Ellington at Newport (including the outtakes) instead of the five that were released in 1956.  In track two Duke talks about using a "double-bass drum" and I instantly thought, "wow, Lars Ulrich played with Duke Ellington?"  As I have mentioned in a few earlier posts, my experience with jazz resides in some jams by Phish and the Dead so I would not exactly state that I have a healthy palate for it.  As far as jazz goes, this was good.  I preferred Miles Davis' Birth of Cool (see review here - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/31-birth-of-cool-miles-davis.html).  I really enjoyed Jeep's Blues, Tulip or Turnip, and Diminuendo in Blue and Crescendo in Blue.  I chuckled that there was riot prevention at the end of the concert.  My gen-X mind couldn't wrap itself around how this type of music would inspire riotous behavior.  Different times I suppose (somewhere an old man is going, "damn beatniks").  Since I really have only just gotten my feet wet with jazz while doing this 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die thing, I am by no means able to give this the proper critique a jazz aficionado would.  So to jazz aficionados, all I can say is that I liked it even though, as Professor Frink would say, "no you can't play with it, you won't enjoy it on as many levels as I do... Mm-hai bw-ha whoa-hoa. The colors children. Mwa-ha-lee."   Shameless plug, check out my list of the best Professor Frink quotes on my other blog here: http://www.geekyclown.com/2010/11/10-best-professor-frink-quotes.html  Listened: 2/24/2011
Favorite Tracks: Diminuendo in Blue and Crescendo in Blue, Jeep's Blues, Tulip or Turnip

#61. Vol. 4 - Black Sabbath

61. Vol. 4 - Black Sabbath (1972) 91/100.  Album two of three from the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die folks featuring Black Sabbath.  This is the Sabbath coked to the gills album.  Overall, it was a good album.  I didn't find it as good as Paranoid (see the review here - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/23-paranoid-black-sabbath.html) but it is still Black Sabbath.  They are like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin in the fact that I don't believe it is possible for them (original lineup of course) to make a bad album.  Bill Ward said in 2001, "yes, Vol. 4 is a great album but listening to it now, I can see it as a turning point for me, where the alcohol and drugs stopped being fun."  This was the album that created the cracks in the original lineup that would lead to their eventual demise (the original lineup, not Black Sabbath, they are still around today).  The first three tracks are solid.  I am a big fan of Tomorrow's Dream.  FX and Cornucopia I could have done without.  St. Vitus Dance was also really good.  Snowblind, the band homage to cocaine, is a good track as well.  Production-wise, I enjoyed some of the orchestration and a lot of the sound panning through the tracks.  You can't really go wrong with Sabbath.  Listened: 2/23/2011
Favorite Tracks: Tomorrow's Dream, Snowblind, St. Vitus Dance

#60. Nowhere - Ride

60. Nowhere - Ride (1990) 90/100.  TIL, shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative music derived from the fact that members of the band stand detached and still during live performance hence they are standing around gazing at their shoes.  And, apparently Ride is one of the bigger bands to come out of this subgenre of music.  Soundwise, I would consider it a cross between alternative and pop before the world became enamored with the Seattle grunge sound.  Now that I knew what shoegazing was, I had never heard of Ride (kind of obvious seeing as I had never heard of shoegazing).  I really enjoyed this album.  It was very calming but yet had an alternative hook to it.  Paralysed, Beneath, Vapour Trail, and Today were some of my favorites but the whole album was good throughout.  This joined the list of albums that went from listening on Grooveshark to purchase list.  Listened: 2/22/2011
Favorite Tracks: Paralysed, Beneath, Vapour Trail, Today

#59. Songs For Swingin' Lovers - Frank Sinatra

59. Songs For Swingin' Lovers - Frank Sinatra (1956) 88/100. Another crack at Frank Sinatra (1955's In The Wee Small Hours here - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/7-back-in-black-acdc.html). Unlike In The Wee Small Hours, this is more of a Frank Sinatra I had grown accustomed to, the more upbeat, swinging, jazzy Sinatra. I liked this. Again, this is not something that I foresee myself waking up and saying, "I have GOT to listen to Songs for Swingin' Lovers today!" It is just not music I would listen to often.  But, that being said, there were some solid songs on here. I suppose I am breaking the norm since In The Wee Small Hours is considered the critically stronger album since I liked Songs For Swingin' Lovers better. Perhaps it was the arrangements or the positive vibe of it, whatever it is, I just found this to be easier to digest. Cole Porter's I've Got You Under My Skin and It Happened in Monterey are standouts. Listened: 2/22/2011
Favorite Tracks: It Happened in Monterey, Pennies from Heaven, I've Got you Under my Skin

#58. Bat out of Hell - Meatloaf

58. Bat out of Hell - Meatloaf (1977) 80/100.  "This is Bob.  Bob has bitch tits."  It was the first thing that popped in my head when I saw Meat Loaf on the list.  I really didn't have much experience with Meat Loaf.  I knew Paradise by the Dashboard Light and I'd do Anything for Love but that was about as far as it went.  I didn't mind Bat out of Hell.  It wasn't something that I would see myself jamming out to on a daily basis but it deserves the occasional listen.  I thought the melodies, etc. were very good and enjoyed some of the risks that they took trying to throw Springsteen, The Who, and theater together on the same album.  While it seemed at times cheesy and I felt contrite fighting the urge to clap along to You Took the Words Right out of my Mouth it is overall a good listen.  My favorite was the title track with Paradise by the Dashboard Light and You Took the Words Right out of my Mouth were highlights.  I could have done without Heaven can Wait.  Listened: 2/18/2011
Favorite Tracks: Bat out of Hell, Paradise by the Dashboard Light, You Took the Words Right out of my Mouth

#57. Dirt - Alice in Chains

57. Dirt - Alice in Chains (1992) 94/100.  I bought Dirt in 1993 after Alice in Chains released Rooster and I really got into it.  But, I haven't heard it since around my sophomore year of college (when it and about 50 other CDs of mine were stolen while attending a kegger) and it was a happy reunion of sorts.  For some reason, this album doesn't seem to get the early 90's grunge credit that Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten but it is equally as good.  The whole album is dark.  Of course, it is hard not to be a dark album when it centers on drugs, war, depression, and death.  My personal favorites are Sickman, Would?, and Down In A Hole but  there are no bad tracks on Dirt.  A must listen for anyone into good rock music.  Listened: 2/18/2011
Favorite Tracks: All of it.

#56. The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem

56. The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem (2000) 90/100.  The first thing that irked me about this album was Eminem's reference, one of many, to the Columbine massacre and that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold both had machine gunes (which they didn't) in Remember Me?  I don't know why that bothered me and I really don't know why I would think a hip-hop album would be historically accurate.  In my review of the The Slim Shady LP (see here - http://geekyclowns1001albums.blogspot.com/2011/01/18-slim-shady-lp-eminem.html), I mention that I am a big fan of The Marhsall Mathers LP and I still am.  However, I hadn't heard it in a few years and found that some of the references in it were overly timely and just didn't have the same effect that it did in the early 2000's.  Brittney Spears and Christina Aguleira had already self imploded and NSync and Insane Clown Posse have become irrelevant (except for maybe a meme about magnets) so his raps on those topics bored me.  Enough complaining.  It was refreshing having less of the Slim Shady character than the The Slim Shady LP.   My favorite track was probably Marshall Mathers as it seemed the most genuine (and the most controversial with the use of some politically incorrect language throughout).  Also, Bitch Please II is a great track.  As a matter of fact, unlike The Slim Shady LP, I can't think of any poor tracks on the whole album.  It is produced better, lyrically better, and (aside from some irrelevant references) a more honest album.  Listened: 2/18/2011
Favorite Tracks: The Way I Am, Marshall Mathers, Bitch Please II