|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
| ||||||||
 | ||||||
| ||||||
| ‹ ‹ ‹ past FEATURE articles |
:: FEATURE :: |
|||||
| ||||||
|
||||||
|
by So Much Critics Team |
||||||
|
||||||
|
This is the list that Kaare built. Some titles are
well known, some are far from it. I'm not your
typical "best of" guy. I like what I like, not what
everybody thinks I should like. There are two
determining factors into what makes an album one of
"Kaare's Favorite Albums." First is how many times I
can listen to it over and over again, usually without
taking it out between plays. Second is whether I can drive
and listen to it; if I can't stay awake while
listening to it in the truck, then it's not on my
list.
|
||||||
|
#10 Sgt. Pepper's usually shows up on these lists, but for
me, Revolver is the perfect Beatles album. On the
sentimental side, I got this album from my Mom for
Christmas and was my first Beatles album. On the
critical side, it is the perfect fusion of the old
school Beatles (Meet the Beatles, Please Please
Me) and new school Beatles (Sgt. Pepper's, The White
Album). Revolver has the happy sounding fun songs
and the introspective songs that made them the
greatest rock band of all time.
|
|||||
 |
#9 This is the newest album on my list (released in
2005). When it came out, I was totally blown away by
how catchy it was; how easily I found myself singing
along to every track - EVERY TRACK. But The
Everglow was more than just a catchy album, it was a
story told of one guy's life through 16 tracks. Other
groups have tried concept albums like this and
either fallen on their face or succeeded halfway. Very
few make a complete album. The few that do leave
listeners with a lasting impression, Mae does that
with The Everglow. To top it off, I got so many
looks from other drivers as I was singing along to
every song while driving!
|
|||||
 |
#8 This is probably one of the greatest jam albums of
all time. There are so many hits on this album, and
so many lengthy instrumentals that you can't help but
drum you steering wheel, play air guitar or whatever
you do to act like you play in a band. From the
blistering seven minute first track, "Ramble Tamble,"
to CCR's fifteen minute rendition of "I Heard it
Through the Grapevine," Cosmo's Factory is the
ultimate CCR album, and an explosion from start to
finish.
|
|||||
 |
#7 Alice is poetry from start to finish. Tom Waits
shows what a brilliant lyricist he is with his
interpretation of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through
the Looking Glass" through song. The songs on Alice
were composed by Waits and his wife Kathleen Brennen
for Robert Wilson's German Opera of the same name.
The songs are not direct interpretations, but rather
based on childhood dreams they had after reading the
books. Alice is pure poetry which equals pure
brilliance. It is one of the most eloquent,
enjoyable, saddest and moving albums I have ever
heard.
|
|||||
 |
#6 In high school, I hated Stavesacre; I thought they
were depressing and melodramatic. But in college a
co-worker suggested I take a listen to Speakeasy and
see if my opinions had changed. Boy did they ever!
Speakeasy is one of the great hard-rock albums of
the 1990's. The album combines blistering
instrumentals by the band and amazing a poignant
lyrics by lead singer Mark Salomon. Songs like
"Freefall," "Keep Waiting" and "Minutemen" are three
songs that I can pop in and listen to anytime when I'm
thinking about life, God or faith. And it's just a
killer album, man!
|
|||||
 |
#5 The argument has been going on
since the release of Vs: Which Pearl Jam album is the
best, Ten or Vs? My vote, after much hardship,
falls with Vs. So many critics and fans thought
that after Ten released that Pearl Jam was just
another grunge band or Nirvana wanna-be's. Vs
showed listeners that Pearl Jam was so much more.
Every aspect of this album is fantastic; Jeff Ament is
one of my heroes because of this album. And Eddie
Vedder can easily be called one of the great vocalists
and lyricists of our time. Vs is a truly cerebral
album because it gets in your head and stays there.
|
|||||
 |
#4 How does a greatest hits album end up on a top 10
list? If your name is Cash, it's pretty easy. This
is by far the definitive collection of Cash's earliest
work through the early 1980's. I bought this album
after a trip to Memphis where I got to see where Cash
recorded those earliest albums. The first disc flies
through at a break-neck pace through hits I know
word-for-word ("Hey Porter," "Big River"). The second
disc gets more introspective, almost like they are
linked to the time period they were written ("Man In
Black," "Ragged Old Flag"). Honestly, this album is
probably one of the most all around great collections
ever put together.
|
|||||
 |
#3 My absolute favorite band; EVER. And by far their
best album; EVER. Old is everything an alternative
rock album should be: it's bold, artistic, loud and
essential. Old is the essential Starflyer album.
It marked a return of sorts to more of a driving rock
sound, while still implementing the more melodic
sounds of their previous efforts. Much like the
Beatles' Revolver, Old perfectly melds two styles
of alternative rock together to make one magnificent
package. If I ever have my "First Heart Attack," I'm
going to be thinking of Starflyer during it because of
that song - ha ha ha!
|
|||||
 |
#2 Everybody raves about Nirvana's MTV Unplugged album.
Me, I'm an Alice in Chains guy. When I was in
college, this is the only album I could listen to
while working on papers. It had to be either
classical music or MTV Unplugged, otherwise I would
get totally distracted. This album took the driving,
dark and gritty sound of Alice in Chains and stripped
it down to the bone. But by doing so, the songs take
on a whole new meaning. The songs take on a more
poetic feel, especially with acoustic guitars and bass
pushing the songs along. I could listen to Down in a
Hole over and over again.
|
|||||
 |
#1 Anybody who knows me well saw this coming a mile
away. This is my absolute favorite album of all time.
Not only is every track fantastic, it just brings back
so many memories for me. Listening to it while
driving in giant cars in college, a certain co-writer
of this site charging down his basement steps when I
kept playing the opening line over and over again
(REALLY loudly), and that same co-writer trying to
steal a CD from Sam Goody - he-he!!! But seriously,
Wyclef proved with this album that he was more than
the Fugees, it's just too bad he has not been able to
reach this peak since The Carnival, but who cares
because to me, the Carnival will go on forever.
|
|||||
|
The Almost Made It List: |
the essentials . . . |
|||||
|
|
||||||
 | ||||||