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Bulldog · 03-29-2009, 02:37 PM

Time to press on with this then...

14. Peter Tosh - Equal Rights (1977)

One of the true classics of reggae music here, and the album which propelled Peter Tosh to the top of that particular pile significantly enough to rival the achievements of former Wailers bandmate Bob Marley. Having been the most militant of the Wailers, consequently we have a rough-edged record than Marley's Exodus which came out the same year (at least lyrically). Whether he's preaching for unity amongst the African people, protesting against the apartheid conditions rife in South Africa at the time or simply summoning people to stand up for their rights, Equal Rights is a very politically-motivated record indeed. The glory of the record though is that the powerful messages in each lyric do not overwhelm the songs themselves, as the smooth production style opted for delivers some of best songs you'll ever hear on any reggae or otherwise album. It's true that this kind of production does make for a record which strays from roots reggae stylistically, and thus not sounding quite so raw as the finest Burning Spear or Big Youth albums (for example), but this is what makes this into something that non-reggae fans can enjoy. Basically, if you've ever thought of giving reggae a try and have no idea where to start, this is one of the albums you should look to. A superb album boasting great rhythms and deeply evocative lyrics (which thankfully don't stray into Lauryn Hill territory) brought to life by Tosh's angry and forceful vocal style. Not quite the best of the best, but well worth a look.
The best bits: Get Up Stand Up, Downpressor Man, African

13. Black Uhuru - Red (1981)

Alright, it's the only Black Uhuru album I've got (I have been pointed in the direction of their Sinsemilla album before), but aside from the obvious one (which is nestled firmly among the top ten), I can't think of another classic reggae album which instantly left an impression on me. This release from the third incarnation of the Jamaican maestros (their name literally translating from Swahili as 'black freedom') sees their lineup consisting of the then-rising star Michael Rose, Sandra Jones, Derrick Simpson and the Sly & Robbie rhythm section. The presence of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare alone takes this album to the upper echelons of musical greatness, injecting the roots-backbone of the record with modern touches such as synth and electronic drums, resulting in an absolute killer of a record with a real dancehall vibe about it. Sly and Robbie also provide Red with yet more of the finest rhythms I've ever heard and, despite the modern production touches, a much rawer yet complex variation of roots reggae than the aforementioned Peter Tosh album. Consequently, it's a totally different kind of reggae-styled quality, being as it is a much more uptempo affair and lacking in the slower, more contemplative moments on any Tosh or Marley record, but one I'm sure even non-reggae fans will enjoy all the same (hell, I loved it when I first heard it). An endlessly enjoyable album, and very important in bringing roots reggae to the international scene.
The best bits: Sponji Reggae, Utterance, Carbine

12. Can - Tago Mago (1971)

Cripes, where do I even start with this one?! There's this bit in that rather rubbish movie School Of Rock where Jack Black's showing his class a diagram of musical genres, with a massive question mark next to Can's name, which I've always thought of as a pretty neat way to sum them up. Anyway, the album sees the flower of Can's creativity in full bloom here, with Damo Suzuki's inimitable vocal style being but one of the ingredients to a mixture which conjures of the most brilliant yet baffling albums of all time. Boasting three tracks which stray over the ten minute mark, and three more which run for longer than six minutes, it's quite a statement to say that there is not a single wasted note on this album. As it happens, it's also quite an accurate one. Paperhouse kicks off this avante-garde masterpiece brilliantly, going through movements in an almost classical song structure; from the low-key beginnings to a quickly-rolling midsection, before slowing down once again and speeding up to a terrific climax, all the while being textured by razor-sharp guitar tracks and robotic work of human metronome Jaki Liebezeit. It's a terrific start to the album and a vibe carried over to the following songs, the haunting Mushroom and hypnotic Oh Yeah. Then along comes one of the best midsections of any album, starting with the twenty minute rollercoaster ride that is Halleluwah. Genius is a word that's tossed around a lot these days (I remember using it after a particularly tasty Lancashire hotpot once), but it's not remotely out of place when it comes to this track and is present in its purest form - a pounding rhythm section beats out a trance-like and funky beat while Suzuki rants over the top. From a masterclass of rhythm to the almost ambient textures of the nightmare trip that is Aumgn; another brilliant work of composition that floats from speaker to speaker before evolving into the equally harrowing yet slightly more structured Peking O. Comparatively, the complex Bring Me Coffee Or Tea serves as a spot of light relief to wrap up a beautifully difficult yet massively rewarding landmark of an album.
The best bits: Paperhouse, Halleluwah, Aumgn

11. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Lick My Decals Off, Baby (1970)

Another place where the word genius wouldn't be out of place is where you're using it to describe the talents of this gentleman. Since acquiring Beefheart's full discography, I've plenty of albums which would easily grace a list such as this (such as Trout Mask Replica, Safe As Milk or Doc At the Radar Station for example), yet this, the followup to the aforementioned Trout Mask... gets my pick here, if not for the fact that its promotional TV ad was pulled from transmission simply because it freaked so many watchers out alone. While it's true to say that Safe As Milk was quite possibly the best pop album of the 60s, that Doc... is one of the true masterpieces of avante-garde music and Trout Mask... was the opus that showed the world the limits of what could be achieved within the confines of the rock band format, this album takes its predecessor that little bit further, adopting a slightly darker and unified atmosphere while sacrificing neither the complex guitar interplay nor the jazzy rhythms therein. It's also a great place to start for anyone wishing to explore the Good Captain at his most experimental, reining things in a little more to a comparably sizeable fifteen tracks, and still presenting the listener with the totally f*cked jazz-blues mutant of Beefheart's most difficult material, and more importantly one of the albums which does the most to reward repeated listening. Basically, what at first may sound like a random cacophony soon becomes something so much more - upon revisiting, some tracks will start to make more sense than others, as you start to notice intricate little melodies buried beneath the layers of improvisation and Beefheart's playful, cut-and-paste poetry. By the time you make it to around the fifth listen to the album as a whole, the full colour and scope of this avante-garde classic is fully revealed, and you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. That's how it happened with me anyway. Eccentric, ingenious - if you already think so, kudos. If not, what're you waiting for?!
The best bits: I Love You You Big Dummy, Japan In a Dishpan, the Buggie Boogie Woogie

And it's on to the top 10 next, which I'll be doing one by one. I'll just work on a run-down of the list so far and put the mixtape links where appropriate. So, watch this space!

03-29-2009, 02:37 PM	#158 (permalink)
Bulldog why bother? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: UK Posts: 4,840	Time to press on with this then... 14. Peter Tosh - Equal Rights (1977) One of the true classics of reggae music here, and the album which propelled Peter Tosh to the top of that particular pile significantly enough to rival the achievements of former Wailers bandmate Bob Marley. Having been the most militant of the Wailers, consequently we have a rough-edged record than Marley's Exodus which came out the same year (at least lyrically). Whether he's preaching for unity amongst the African people, protesting against the apartheid conditions rife in South Africa at the time or simply summoning people to stand up for their rights, Equal Rights is a very politically-motivated record indeed. The glory of the record though is that the powerful messages in each lyric do not overwhelm the songs themselves, as the smooth production style opted for delivers some of best songs you'll ever hear on any reggae or otherwise album. It's true that this kind of production does make for a record which strays from roots reggae stylistically, and thus not sounding quite so raw as the finest Burning Spear or Big Youth albums (for example), but this is what makes this into something that non-reggae fans can enjoy. Basically, if you've ever thought of giving reggae a try and have no idea where to start, this is one of the albums you should look to. A superb album boasting great rhythms and deeply evocative lyrics (which thankfully don't stray into Lauryn Hill territory) brought to life by Tosh's angry and forceful vocal style. Not quite the best of the best, but well worth a look. The best bits: Get Up Stand Up, Downpressor Man, African 13. Black Uhuru - Red (1981) Alright, it's the only Black Uhuru album I've got (I have been pointed in the direction of their Sinsemilla album before), but aside from the obvious one (which is nestled firmly among the top ten), I can't think of another classic reggae album which instantly left an impression on me. This release from the third incarnation of the Jamaican maestros (their name literally translating from Swahili as 'black freedom') sees their lineup consisting of the then-rising star Michael Rose, Sandra Jones, Derrick Simpson and the Sly & Robbie rhythm section. The presence of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare alone takes this album to the upper echelons of musical greatness, injecting the roots-backbone of the record with modern touches such as synth and electronic drums, resulting in an absolute killer of a record with a real dancehall vibe about it. Sly and Robbie also provide Red with yet more of the finest rhythms I've ever heard and, despite the modern production touches, a much rawer yet complex variation of roots reggae than the aforementioned Peter Tosh album. Consequently, it's a totally different kind of reggae-styled quality, being as it is a much more uptempo affair and lacking in the slower, more contemplative moments on any Tosh or Marley record, but one I'm sure even non-reggae fans will enjoy all the same (hell, I loved it when I first heard it). An endlessly enjoyable album, and very important in bringing roots reggae to the international scene. The best bits: Sponji Reggae, Utterance, Carbine 12. Can - Tago Mago (1971) Cripes, where do I even start with this one?! There's this bit in that rather rubbish movie School Of Rock where Jack Black's showing his class a diagram of musical genres, with a massive question mark next to Can's name, which I've always thought of as a pretty neat way to sum them up. Anyway, the album sees the flower of Can's creativity in full bloom here, with Damo Suzuki's inimitable vocal style being but one of the ingredients to a mixture which conjures of the most brilliant yet baffling albums of all time. Boasting three tracks which stray over the ten minute mark, and three more which run for longer than six minutes, it's quite a statement to say that there is not a single wasted note on this album. As it happens, it's also quite an accurate one. Paperhouse kicks off this avante-garde masterpiece brilliantly, going through movements in an almost classical song structure; from the low-key beginnings to a quickly-rolling midsection, before slowing down once again and speeding up to a terrific climax, all the while being textured by razor-sharp guitar tracks and robotic work of human metronome Jaki Liebezeit. It's a terrific start to the album and a vibe carried over to the following songs, the haunting Mushroom and hypnotic Oh Yeah. Then along comes one of the best midsections of any album, starting with the twenty minute rollercoaster ride that is Halleluwah. Genius is a word that's tossed around a lot these days (I remember using it after a particularly tasty Lancashire hotpot once), but it's not remotely out of place when it comes to this track and is present in its purest form - a pounding rhythm section beats out a trance-like and funky beat while Suzuki rants over the top. From a masterclass of rhythm to the almost ambient textures of the nightmare trip that is Aumgn; another brilliant work of composition that floats from speaker to speaker before evolving into the equally harrowing yet slightly more structured Peking O. Comparatively, the complex Bring Me Coffee Or Tea serves as a spot of light relief to wrap up a beautifully difficult yet massively rewarding landmark of an album. The best bits: Paperhouse, Halleluwah, Aumgn 11. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Lick My Decals Off, Baby (1970) Another place where the word genius wouldn't be out of place is where you're using it to describe the talents of this gentleman. Since acquiring Beefheart's full discography, I've plenty of albums which would easily grace a list such as this (such as Trout Mask Replica, Safe As Milk or Doc At the Radar Station for example), yet this, the followup to the aforementioned Trout Mask... gets my pick here, if not for the fact that its promotional TV ad was pulled from transmission simply because it freaked so many watchers out alone. While it's true to say that Safe As Milk was quite possibly the best pop album of the 60s, that Doc... is one of the true masterpieces of avante-garde music and Trout Mask... was the opus that showed the world the limits of what could be achieved within the confines of the rock band format, this album takes its predecessor that little bit further, adopting a slightly darker and unified atmosphere while sacrificing neither the complex guitar interplay nor the jazzy rhythms therein. It's also a great place to start for anyone wishing to explore the Good Captain at his most experimental, reining things in a little more to a comparably sizeable fifteen tracks, and still presenting the listener with the totally fcked jazz-blues mutant of Beefheart's most difficult material, and more importantly one of the albums which does the most to reward repeated listening. Basically, what at first may sound like a random cacophony soon becomes something so much more - upon revisiting, some tracks will start to make more sense than others, as you start to notice intricate little melodies buried beneath the layers of improvisation and Beefheart's playful, cut-and-paste poetry. By the time you make it to around the fifth listen to the album as a whole, the full colour and scope of this avante-garde classic is fully revealed, and you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. That's how it happened with me anyway. Eccentric, ingenious - if you already think so, kudos. If not, what're you waiting for?! The best bits:* I Love You You Big Dummy, Japan In a Dishpan, the Buggie Boogie Woogie And it's on to the top 10 next, which I'll be doing one by one. I'll just work on a run-down of the list so far and put the mixtape links where appropriate. So, watch this space!