Fellow Audiohoics- sorry for being late to the dance. Here are my 20 favorite albums that most of you probably don’t have. I really do listen to all of these a lot. As usual- in no particular order:
1. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band- Impossible Dream. Vambo/Man in the Jar should be up there as one of the greatest 2-song segues in music history. Anthem gave me goose bumps at the age of 13, and it still does at 45.
2. Aphrodites Child- 666 This is the farthest thing in the world from satan rock. A look at the apocalypse and the Book of Revelations from Vangelis, before he was doing things like Chariots of Fire.
3. Masters of Reality- How High the Moon The tightness of these guys should truly embarrass most so-called ‘rock bands’. Chris Goss is one of those guitar players and aficionados either know about already, or dream about discovering.
4. Kyuss- Blues for the Red Sun A totally new definition of heavy.
5. Kyuss- Welcome to Sky Valley. A further elaboration of what heavy truly is.
6. Thin White Rope- The One that Got Away Nothing pristine about this live recording. No great ‘imaging’ nor ‘soundstage’. It’s easier to tell you what it’s not rather than what it is.
7. Dredg- El Cielo If I hear one more person state that there isn’t any good rock music anymore, I’m gonna hurt someone. Turn your Clearchannel-infested radio off and go out and listen to something! Put this on your list…
8. Opeth- Blackwater Park It’s ok, really. I know it’s Death Metal, but it’s produced by Steven Wilson. It won’t hurt you. Very much.
9. Eleven- 11 I booed these folks when they opened for Soundgarden. 2 months later I bought the album because I couldn’t get the music out of my head.
11. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (of Natural History) This album scares my dogs. Seriously.
12. Celtic Frost- Into the Pandemonium Lowfi, proto-death metal. Brutal. Intense. …with an opera singer and a small orchestra making an appearance.
13. Orchesta del Desierto (self title) Like Jimmy Buffett for the Stoner crowd.
14. King Crimson- Red Your older brother has it. Or your favorite uncle. You should, too.
15. Porcupine Tree- Deadwing Yeah, I know. I’m phoning this one in. A lot of people are writing about it, and it’s because it’s that good.
16. Ultravox- Rage in Eden Should have been a staple of 80’s radio. Instead, we had Depeche Mode forced upon us. Ultravox is where they ripped it off from.
17. The Catherine Wheel- Wishville Instead of this, we were forced to listen to Bush (the band. I have no political statement to make)
18. Faith No More- King for a Day. My favorite album by this band. The recording is awesome. It even has dynamic range!
19. Klaus Schulze- Audentity I know he probably has better albums, but I think I should really own something that I put on this list. And this is the best KS that I have at the moment. Dark Side of the Moog #7 is on my short list to get.
Bill Ward- Ward One: Long the WayThe recording and mastering of this disc is a little weird. But the combination of Ward, Ozzy and Jack Bruce is exrraordinary.
