Your top 20 (non EC) albums of all time.

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Tue Jul 27, 2004 10:09 pm

SoLikeCandy wrote:
Fishbone was/is a band from LA. About 25 or so years ago, 5 black boys got together and started a ska/funk/punk band. They're the (much better) predecessors to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Living Colour, and the contemporaries of Jane's Addiction. Over the years, they've lost all but two of their original members--I saw them last October before the 3rd member left the band. I bought "Reality of My Surroundings" when I was 13 and discovered what good rock sounds like.

And, when I saw them last October, I made out with the lead singer. Wheeee!

Nice hear a good word for Fishbone. I haven't seen them in a decade (or two), but they have definitely been one of the funkiest bands in town for a long time. I would regard them as contemporaries of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and predecessors to Jane's Addiction and Living Colour. Fishbone, Chili Peppers and Jane's Addiction were all a big part of the 80's club scene in L.A. Fishbone and the Chili Peppers were on parallel (and often intertwined) career paths until the late 80's when 'Mother's Milk' came out and the Chili Peppers took off. The two bands played together frequently in L.A. throughout the 80's. Jane's Addiction hit the L.A. scene a few years later (mid-80's) and instantly became a sensation in local rock clubs. It wasn't long before they Jane's was a national act. Fishbone had a moderate hit with 'Party at Ground Zero' in the mid-80's.

Hey SLC, what do you think of Trulio Disgracious? Is Angelo still in the band? Did you make out with him???

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Tue Jul 27, 2004 10:20 pm

Well, I lost count so I've probably exceeded 25, but here are 25 of my favorites. I'm sure I've missed some. They're in no particular order, except #1:

1) The Clash - London Calling

The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Beatles - Revolver
The Clash - The Clash
The Undertones - The Undertones
Shirley Caesar - Live....He Will Come
Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights
XTC - Skylarking
Marvin Gaye - What's Goin' On
Bob Marley & the Wailers - Catch A Fire
Los Lobos - How Will The Wolf Survive?
The Selecter - Too Much Pressure
The Plimsouls - Zero Hour (EP)
Squeeze - Argybargy
Toots & the Maytals - Funky Kingston
Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
The Jam - In The City
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
Black Uhuru - Red
Nick Lowe - Labour of Lust
Lucinda Williams - Essence
Bob Dylan - Bringin' It All Back Home
Bob Dylan - Love and Theft
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Tue Jul 27, 2004 10:23 pm

Uncomplicated wrote: Shoes - Present Tense

Good choice. Don't hear much about Shoes anymore. I haven't listened to them in years, but they were in regular rotation on my turntable back in the late 70's/early 80's. Is much of there stuff available on CD?

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 8:05 am

Unc/Bobby stole my list. great choice on graham parker--stick to me is my fave--the heat in harlem. the raid. watch the moon come down. and great to see so many nick fans.

SoLikeCandy · Post by **SoLikeCandy** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 8:18 am

senior_service wrote:
Hey SLC, what do you think of Trulio Disgracious? Is Angelo still in the band? Did you make out with him???

Trulio pretty much only plays the west coast, so I haven't seen them live. I've heard some of their shows, though, and it's like listening to George Clinton on acid. I've seen George Clinton live, and not even he can match Trulio's energy. I guess that's what happens when you get 20 people on stage...

And, yes. I did indeed kiss Angelo Moore (no tongue, though--so is it still making out?). I've had a crush on him since I was 13 or 14, and while he's aged a few years, he's still a keg of dynamite on stage. We hung out for most of the night while King's X (!!!) played, and I was like a giddy little girl. I got him to take a picture with me right after he got off stage:

He even gave me his cell phone number. Me tink me love he...

Post by **BlueChair** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 8:22 am

Constantly changing.. for ages my Top 5 was the same but now it seems different... only #2 seems to survive as I mature.

1. The Beatles - Rubber Soul
2. Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks
3. Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
4. The Kinks - Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
5. The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street
6. The Beatles - White Album
7. The Beatles - Revolver
8. David Bowie - "Heroes"
9. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
10. Neil Young - Harvest
11. Bob Dylan - Time Out Of Mind
12. The Band - Rock Of Ages
13. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
14. Joni Mitchell - Hejira
15. Elliott Smith - XO
16. The Velvet Underground - Loaded
17. Van Morrison - Moondance
18. The Zombies - The Oddysey & The Oracle
19. Johnny Cash - Unchained
20. Wilco - Summerteeth

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 6:34 pm

senior_service wrote:The Jam - In The City

You're obviously partial to a bit of 'raw and early', but this is quite an unusual choice. Is it because you were a huge fan at the time, or do you still play it a lot? For me, it has 2 or 3 classics on it, and the rest is pretty mediocre. As I worked my way through the superb 5CD Direction, Creation, Reaction box set, I thought 'I won't revisit most of this EVER'. Good considering his extreme yoof, but not good per se, unlike The Clash. All Mod Cons is a more obvious choice, and Setting Sons and Sound affects are also classics. Nice to see someone being original, but do tell us more.

wardo68 · Post by **wardo68** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 6:47 pm

BlueChair wrote:Constantly changing.. for ages my Top 5 was the same but now it seems different... only #2 seems to survive as I mature.

Some fine choices there, Blue. I imagine if I get around to making my own list, many of them would be there.

migdd · Post by **migdd** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 7:20 pm

The top of my list. . .

1.) John Hiatt - Bring The Family
2.) Nick Lowe - The Impossible Bird
3.) Graham Parker - Struck By Lightning
4.) Graham Parker - 12 Haunted Episodes
5.) kd Lang - Shadowland

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 9:40 pm

Otis Westinghouse wrote:
senior_service wrote:The Jam - In The City
You're obviously partial to a bit of 'raw and early', but this is quite an unusual choice. Is it because you were a huge fan at the time, or do you still play it a lot? For me, it has 2 or 3 classics on it, and the rest is pretty mediocre. As I worked my way through the superb 5CD Direction, Creation, Reaction box set, I thought 'I won't revisit most of this EVER'. Good considering his extreme yoof, but not good per se, unlike The Clash. All Mod Cons is a more obvious choice, and Setting Sons and Sound affects are also classics. Nice to see someone being original, but do tell us more.

Truth be told, I probably listen to 'In The City' less than anything else on my list with the possible exception of 'Labour of Lust'. I suppose it was a bit of a sentimental pick, partially attributable to a long weekend in Wales in 1981 in which three friends and I spent most of our time playing my 'In The City/This Is The Modern World' combo tape at quite a loud volume in our rental car's tape deck. I did enjoy the raw energy of the album, especially the title song which is still a favorite of mine. While Paul Weller always wore his influences on his sleeve (and 'In The City' is no exception) he didn't seem quite so "precious" on this album. I thought 'Sound Affects' was brilliant and I liked 'All Mod Cons', but I never particularly cared for 'Setting Sons'. There are a number of songs that I enjoy on 'In The City' (I've Changed My Address, Art School, Non-Stop Dancing, and I still get a kick out of the Batman Theme) though clearly Weller's songwriting was still developing. Anyway, it really comes down to the feeling that this album gives me when I listen to it.

oily slick · Post by **oily slick** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 1:48 pm

"top" only sorta in respect to what i've enjoyed listening to in the various and ongoing phases. i wouldn't take a stab at those from my youth; i couldn't remember the titles anyway. (Along Comes The Association!) which upon review makes me feel almost as old as the "concerts your parents saw" thread.

zevon--excitable boy
tom petty and the heartbreakers--damn the torpedoes
bruce--born to run
sinatra--the main event live
b-52's--wild planet
dire straights--making movies
steve earle and the dukes--exit 0
steve winwood--arc of a diver
bob--blood on the tracks
rickie lee jones
maynard ferguson--chameleon
tubes--the completion backwards principle
supertramp--crime of the century
jimmy buffett--son of a son of a sailor
gino vanelli--brother to brother
alan parsons project--i robot
bowie--scary monsters and supercreeps
bruce hornsby and the range--scenes from the southside
chase--ennea
boz skaggs--silk degrees

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 3:20 pm

senior_service wrote:I never particularly cared for 'Setting Sons'.

Curious, cos this vies with All Mod Cons for my favourite. Some superb songs on here. Good reasons for liking In The City! One of my favourite Jam songs has always been Life From A Window of Modern World. I bet that sounded good in that car.

wehitandrun · Post by **wehitandrun** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 7:41 pm

001. "through being cool" - saves the day
002. "worship and tribute" - glassjaw
003. "stay what you are" - saves the day
004. "everything you ever wanted to know about silence" - glassjaw
005. "argybargy" - squeeze
006. "the places you have come to fear the most" - dashboard confessional"
007. "decadence" - head automatica
008. "masquerade in the key of crime" - the stryder
009. "can't slow down" - saves the day
010. "tell all your friends" - taking back sunday
011. "burn, piano island, burn" - the blood brothers
012. "east side story" - squeeze
013. "i'm sorry im leaving(ep)" - saves the day
014. "40 hour train back to penn" - the movielife
015. "this vicious cycle" - junction 18
016. "we are the only friends we have" - piebald
017. "three hundred" - the stereo
018. "on a wire" - the get up kids
019. "make up the breakdown" - hot hot heat
020. "stillmatic" - nas

Goody2Shoes · Post by **Goody2Shoes** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 3:06 pm

Top 20 in the sense that most of these get consistently regular play. Could change at any time.

I started to put them in alphabetical order, but I kept screwing it up, so these are in no particular order at all.

Paul Simon--Graceland
Beatles--Revolver
Beatles--Rubber Soul
U2--All That You Can't Leave Behind
Dusty Springfield--Dusty In Memphis
Nina Simone--The Best Of Nina Simon-The Colpix Years
Ella Fitzgerald--Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Songbook
The Clash--London Calling
Bob Dylan--Blood On The Tracks
XTC--Skylarking
Ornette Coleman--The Shape of Jazz To Come
Van Morrison--Moondance
REM--Reckoning
John Hiatt--Bring The Family
Beach Boys--Pet Sounds
Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley
Albion Ensemble--Mozart's Serenenade in Bflat, K361
Steely Dan--Can't Buy a Thrill
Pretenders--Pretenders
Aretha Franklin--I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 6:36 pm

Reckoning is an interesting choice. Don't know it. Obviously I should.

WHAR: why do you always go for three digits even if you know you will only need two? It's very idiosyncratic, but I need to know your reasons. Saw an article the other day that compared the vocal stylings of your beloved Daryl Palumbo to Elvis. Do you agree? Is he a fan? Did he turn you onto Elvis?

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 9:23 pm

Otis Westinghouse wrote:Reckoning is an interesting choice. Don't know it. Obviously I should.

'Reckoning is an excellent choice; it's in my REM top 3 along with 'Murmur' and 'Document'. Reckoning includes REM's first hit - So Central Rain - and a number of outstanding songs including 7 Chinese Brothers, Pretty Persuasion, Camera, Time After Time, etc. Michael Stipe was still in his mumbling phase so the lyrics are a bit tricky to pick up.

wehitandrun · Post by **wehitandrun** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 10:33 pm

Otis Westinghouse wrote:Reckoning is an interesting choice. Don't know it. Obviously I should.

WHAR: why do you always go for three digits even if you know you will only need two? It's very idiosyncratic, but I need to know your reasons. Saw an article the other day that compared the vocal stylings of your beloved Daryl Palumbo to Elvis. Do you agree? Is he a fan? Did he turn you onto Elvis?

Otis, yes, Daryl (and is band Glassjaw) is the reason I am an Elvis fan. I love them both. Daryl is the Elvis of our time, he has 4 simultaneously projects in the work- Head Automatica being at the forefront right now. I miss Glassjaw.

I put three numbers because it is a habit I've formed from trying to write my mix cd's an "original" way. Lame, but now I think it looks nice.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 11:56 am

Goody2Shoes wrote:Pretenders--Pretenders

G2S, Been enjoying Pretenders and Pretenders II since Otis had asked about the band. The next one, Learning To Crawl is as good as Pretenders, imho.

Otis, I don't see the non-classics on the early albums as filler at all. Or maybe as good filler. Some have an almost throwaway quality to them but they generally rock. And who can argue with Bad Boys Get Spanked, The Wait, Waste Not Want Not, Thumbelina, I Hurt You, etc...

For anyone wondering about their history (in a nutshell), those first three essentially made up their 'classic' period, before the pretty uninspired Get Close. Then Packed! was a return to form and so were The Isle Of View and Last Of The Independents in the 90's, though obviously without the strong chart dominance. About half of Viva El Amor is very good, and it rocks along nicely, but the rest of it is pretty redundant. Loose Screw is their least rocky album. A lot of it has a slow kind of beat.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:24 pm

Their high points seem so very high, and their low points so mediocre. Maybe I should check out the early stuff again. It's been a long time.

Who did the original 'It's A Thin Line Between Love and Hate'? I love that song, and it popped up in Spiderman 2, at least I assume that was the original. Dead good, like.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 11:16 am

Otis Westinghouse wrote:Who did the original 'It's A Thin Line Between Love and Hate'?

It was a band called The Persuaders that I know practically nothing about.

Goody2Shoes · Post by **Goody2Shoes** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 12:50 pm

Bamboo, I like Pretenders II, too, and Learning to Crawl even better. You are right in saying it's not all high-minded, but sometimes high-minded isn't what's wanted. Tattooed Love Boys, indeed. Sad to say, I lost interest with Get Close and I haven't followed them closely since then. Chrissie Hynde, though, love her. She's just out there and does what she pleases, and no one gasps in shock at her behavior, they just wave it off and say, "Oh, that's just Chrissie." I love anyone who can pull that off.

Otis, yes of course you should get to know Reckoning. What Senior Service said is right on. Very jangly, Byrds-y, incomprehensible mumbling. But it's excellent mumbling.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 6:33 pm

Yeah, I know the famous ones off it, and they're great. I get confused between the early ones ad I only have the fabulous Murmur and the so-so Fables of the Reconstruction.

Anyone with a passing interest in Chrissie should have Last of the Independents, or maybe a compilation with its twin highlights Hollywood Perfume and, especially, the aforementioned Night in my Veins (or perhaps just Isle of View which contains the latter). Great songs, CH sexier than ever. There's some other good stuff (including the alarming '977'), and some horrors like 'I'm a Mother'.

miss buenos aires · Post by **miss buenos aires** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 8:29 am

"Night in my Veins" is also on the Best of...

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 9:30 am

Night In My Veins is on The Isle Of View, but only on the video (or, since last year, the DVD - they also contain a version of Creep) and not on the CD. So it might be preferable to get the DVD of it instead.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 6:00 pm

And that way you get to drool over, sorry, watch Chrissie too. I have it taped off telly somewhere. No creep, but, yes, NIMV. And Damon albarn comes on, though can't remember what for. Very much in Blur's prime.

Elvis Costello Fan Forum

Your top 20 (non EC) albums of all time.

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