Month: March 2017

No.3 – The Beatles, ‘Revolver’
Album

No.3 – The Beatles, ‘Revolver’

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Oh, cool, more Beatles, is it? I’m sensing a pattern here.

‘Revolver’ is decent. It’s nowhere near as stunning as ‘Sgt. Pepper’ was for me, but, you know, it’s enjoyable. There are some tracks that really stand out – ‘Eleanor Rigby’, for one, and of course ‘Yellow Submarine’ – but unlike ‘Sgt. Pepper’, it feels like there’s a lot of filler. Looking back over the tracklist right now, I can’t remember the majority of the songs on it.

So, I mean… it’s not really ‘top five best albums ever’ material. If it was in the top 100, I’d probably accept it – but if you stick it anywhere near the top 20, I’m going to have a few questions.

Still, there’s sitars and stuff, and I love that shit.

When to listen to it: Saturday afternoon, when you’ve done your chores and housework for the day and want to sit down for a cup of tea before you have to get ready for your evening plans.

Verdict: Yeah, I like it. Don’t think I top-five like it, but I like it.

6/10

No.2 – The Beach Boys, ‘Pet Sounds’
Album

No.2 – The Beach Boys, ‘Pet Sounds’

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I’m digging this one. We’re definitely off to a good start.

While I wouldn’t say ‘Pet Sounds’ is one of my personal favourite albums, I can see why it’s number two on this list. The influence it’s had on modern music is palpable, for a start, with layers of emotion carefully built up in each song. There’s none of the flash-bang of current bubblegum pop, for instance, but this is where pop gets its emotive heart from.

Also, there’s a goat on the cover, which is an automatic plus from me.

When to listen to it: When it’s the end of the summer, and just a bit too cold to go surfing, and your summer romance is either ending or turning into something serious, and you’re walking along in the evening trying not to feel sad that you can’t really wear shorts any more.

Verdict: I like it a lot, and it gets points for influencing some of my very favourite musicians. And I’ve added it to my Apple Music library. ‘Pet Sounds’ is a goodun.

8/10

No. 1 – The Beatles, ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
Album

No. 1 – The Beatles, ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’

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Good news – we’ve started off well! I’m thrilled to confirm that Rolling Stone’s number one favourite album of all time is indeed a good album. So that bodes well for the rest of the list. And, uh, the future of this blog, actually.

What The Beatles have made with ‘Sgt. Pepper’ is a solid pop album. Every track is listenable, fun, and a little bit different from everything else on there. It feels polished, like the fab four have thoroughly fine-tuned their songwriting skills – which is especially impressive considering this one came so early in their careers.

The thing is, though, I have to question whether this is truly the best album of all time. Sure, it’s good – great, even – but I wouldn’t hold it much further above that.

When to listen to it: It’s an all-purpose record. Stick it on when you’re relaxing, when you’re getting ready to party down – it all works.

Verdict: Did I enjoy it? Yes. Would I listen to it of my own volition? Yes. Is it the single greatest album of all time? Eh… no.

7/10

Interludes

Introduction: Why am I doing this?

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Alright lads.

Thanks for joining me for this blogging adventure. Here’s what’ll happen:

  • I’m going to systematically go through every album on this list of Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 favourite albums of all time.
  • I’m going to review them all, right here on this blog.
  • I’ll start with the no. 1 greatest album of all time (supposedly), to guarantee we start off on the right foot with some records everyone’s heard of.
  • Ultimately, we’ll find out (together! I hope you’re excited) whether the 500 greatest albums of all time really are the greatest albums of all time.
  • I suppose some day I’ll reach the end of the list and run out of albums. At which point… I don’t know. I guess that’s my life’s purpose fulfilled so I’ll have to shed this mortal coil.

So, let’s get an important question out of the way: why exactly am I doing this to myself? Well, my reasons are manyfold:

  • Firstly, to get to know my musical history. There are tons of hugely influential and incredibly popular albums out there that I simply have never heard or am not familiar with. I already have a fairly good grasp on pop music history, but this’ll be like a next-level course. It’s my musical PhD. And this blog is my thesis.
  • Secondly, to discover some sick tunes. If these truly are the greatest albums of all time, they must be good, right? Maybe I’ll find a bunch of new albums, songs, and bands worthy of adding to my collection.
  • And finally, because it’s fun.

To give you an indication of where I stand with the list right now, I’ll tell you this: I only own one album in the top 100, and I’ve only heard around 10 of them all the way through. I’ve got a lot of listening to catch up on.

Cheers for joining me, reader.

A few notes before we get going:

  • I’m listening to all these albums through Apple Music. If Apple Music doesn’t have a record on the list, I’m probably not going to go out of my way to listen to it.
  • Rolling Stone, as the name suggests, skews towards rock music, and it looks like this list does too. I have a feeling that means that some utterly fantastic albums from other genres will get pushed aside to make room for more rock, so let’s bear that in mind as we embark on this challenge.
  • On that note… I have a few, uh, thoughts on how RS has compiled its list, which I may express at some point.

Okay. Let’s do this.