Amendments to the Joy of Lists

Well after a few months I’ve thought about my musical lists and thought about some amendments and changes and some new ones.


Let’s get right to it.

TOP 5 ALBUMS PRODUCTIONWISE:
Note, when talking about production I’m not necessarily thinking of the material at hand, though song sequence plays a part. Mostly, when I listen to an album it has to have clarity and I need to hear the varying layers that went into place when the artist was mixing the album.

5. SMiLE (Brian Wilson)
4. The Soft Bulletin (The Flaming Lips)
3. Unorthodox Behaviour (Brand X)
2. A Trick of the Tail (Genesis)
1. Love over Gold (Dire Straits)

The strangest one on here is Unorthodox Behaviour as it is quite obscure. But the drums sound fantastic and the guitars are very crisp and in line with everything else. This is a great background album and headphone album. But The Soft Bulletin takes the cake for headphone albums. It is the quintessential headphone album. Lots of stuff going on coming at you in all directions. It’s like melting chocolate in your ears (that’s a good thing). SMiLE will always have a special place in my heart for various reasons, but what really struck me the first time I heard it was how much it sounded like it was in the 60’s the way it was meant to be. I think a lot of the instrumentation used on the Brian Wilson version were modern and digital and yet still retain the old school analog qualities of the by gone era. A Trick of the Tail has the best sequence of songs, and the best flow of any record I’ve ever heard. Again, the drums sound fantastic. And you can finally hear Steve Hackett’s guitar over Tony’s synth arsenal. So why is Love over Gold first? The only 80’s production on the list and it’s grand. It’s not even my favorite DS album, but Mark Knopfler had a few rootsy albums under his belt already by the time this weird thing came out. It had to be weird. Great atmosphere. That’s all I can really say. If a studio is capable of creating a mood, than Love over Gold is the result.

AMENDMENTS TO TOP 5 GUITARISTS:

Robert Fripp
Gary Louris


Fripp is god. He has a really messed up band—King Crimson does not make any sense to the modern world, and yet I need them in my life to get through those times. Some people have heavy metal when they are feeling some anger. I have Fripp. Everything he plays on the guitar has super tone. Super tone. Gary Louris of the Jayhawks is a subtle player. A lot the their music is overshadowed by the sweet harmonies, but take notice of his very tasty distorted minimalist solos on songs like Take Me With You (When you Go) or Miss Williams’ Guitar. Good stuff for sure.


DESERT ISLAND AMENDMANT

Pinkerton (Weezer)


Can’t believe I forgot this one. Pinkerton is a rare bird in the sense it’s from a band that is known by the masses as this huge ridiculous pop band. Pinkerton is filled with melodies and pop sensibilities and yet it retains a raw character that defined a particular time in my life (1996-1998). I know every word to this album. I play it loud and sing to it. There aren’t too many in my collection like Pinkerton, so it must be on the island with me.


Anyone else?