catapult magazine

alright, the “what’s spinnin” topic wet my whistle, but let’s cut the crap and get to the good stuff.

top five albums.

the criteria is whatever you want it to be. i personally have been thinking about this for a couple of days now and have decided that my picks will try and walk that middle ground between personal enjoyment and craftsmanship.

#5: pink floyd “wish you were here”

“dark side..” is probably the better album, but this one is no cream puff. the flow is nice and it never fails to hit me where it counts. (fav. track: “shine on you crazy diamond” all parts)

#4: neil young “after the goldrush”

he whines, he rocks, he thinks about having a yard sale. all the bases are covered. neil shows us that he can jam out (“southern man”) and get pretty (“birds”) all in the context of great song writing. (fav. track: “don’t let it bring you down”)

#3: cream “wheels of fire”:

the “in studio” half of the album keeps it lively by going from the avante (“passing the time”) to the blues (“sitting on top of the world”) to the downright silly (“pressed rat and warthog”) while the “live” half is a blues rock improvisational manifesto. oh yeah, and if i did drugs i’m sure the album cover would be really far out too. (fav. track: studio “deserted cities of the heart” live “spoonful”)

#2: the band “the band”

music americana at it’s very best. made by canadians. it’s folk-rock-progressive-country music and is an album that seems perfect in it’s flaws. a very hard thing to accomplish and type. the genius is that i believe that’s exactly what they were going for. (fav. track: “jawbone”)

#1: led zeppelin “led zeppelin”

anyone who knows me knows that zeppelin had to be #1 and with good reason. on this particular album they do exactly what it is i look for in music. they took a familiar base (the blues) and proceeded to screw it up i their own beautiful way. i firmly believe that good artists create and great artists steal. not to mention the band is powerful and tight like a tiger. (fav. track: “how many more times”)

well, there it is. i applaude anyone who was able to read the entire thing, and would love to hear what you come up with for this top five jive.

I can tell you why I was at the PJ concert. Eddie Vedder is hot. Does that make me a common woman?

You know what rap artist I like? Common.

Sorry if you got the wrong idea, Eddie. The reason I was at the Pearl Jam concert is because I like Pearl Jam. And I think that what makes them so good, which I didn’t realize until I went to the concert, is their ability to speak to a broad audience. I was genuinely surprised that the Pearl Jam concert reminded me of a Springsteen concert because I always thought of Pearl Jam in the context of the anti-audience early nineties.

The reason I wanted to make the separation between Pearl Jam and Led Zeppelin is because I think (Lopez can correct me if I’m wrong) Zeppelin was not loved by many critics and was not known by a majority of music listeners in their time like Pearl Jam is (Pearl Jam was hailed as the next Beatles after Ten came out!) today. And I think Pearl Jam’s emphasis is not on moving music in a new direction so much as communicating to the people and playing the working man’s song (a la Neil Young). Zeppelin will be known as founding fathers of heavy metal and Bonham’s beats will be influential for years to come. I don’t see that sort of thing happening with Pearl Jam, though I respect them and their songs very very much.

And I don’t see what’s so funny about thinking about things. That’s what this web site is about. If we don’t think about things like this, some patsy-of-the-music-industry rock critic will do the thinking for us.

Jason: I like Common too. He’s refreshing.

hey dan what’s up? i see you would like to begin the worthwhile journey into the vaults of classic rock and roll.

well, to start with i would obviously recommend any and all of the selections of my original top 5 list. the only album there that is not from this specific time frame is “wish you were here.”

other great albums from this era:
-anything by zeppelin obviously
-allman bros. band “live at the fillmore” & “eat a peach”
-canned heat “future blues” if you dig blues rock & boogie
-cactus self-titled if you like blues rock boogie on speed.
-dylan. anything and “highway 61 revisited” this guy and
hendrix are two main reasons 68-72 was so great.
-free “fire and water” “tons of sobs” think of it as really good
bad company
-the james gang “yer album” joe walsh before the eagles turned
him into a panzee
-hendrix “axis:bold as love”
-hot tuna “burgers” the good half of jefferson airplane out from
under the evil spell of grace slick and paul kantner
-jethro tull “stand up” “aqualung”. proof, once again that flutes
rock!
-grateful dead “workingman’s dead”
-the rolling stones “exile on main st.” “beggars banquet”
-traffic “low spark of high-heeled boys”. guitar, bass, drums,
flute, saxaphone. tasty.
-yes “the yes album”
-frank zappa “hot rats” “apostrophe/overnite sensation” odd,
with an unmistakable genius
-the mahavishnu orchestra “the inner-mounting flame”. the
ultimate jazz-rock album strictly for those without heart
conditions.

…and countless others

a couple bonus albums by bands that were great during this era and proceeded to lay big musical turds later on in their careers:

-fleetwood mac “then play on” (great thanks to peter green)
-chicago “chicago transit authority” (great thanks to terry kath)

hope this helped you dan. it was certainly fun for me. now go buy them all and i’ll give you a new list next month.

Wow, my first post…and it happens to be parading my music taste among old friends. Greetings! Short and sweet…

5. R.E.M.- Automatic for the people

4. Pink Floyd- Wish you were here

3. 10,000 Maniacs- Our Time in Eden

2. Grateful Dead- Without A Net

1. Beatles- Abbey Road

Honorable mention:
Miles Davis Kind of Blue
Phish Picture of Nectar
- U2- Actune Baby
Medeski, Martin & Wood Combustication

Later, Ginger

GINGER IS THE MAN!! i was just telling tales of you and your legendary hat stalls to a friend the other day.

so g-man, what is it that distinguishes “without a net” for you out of the millions of live dead albums?

Hmmmmm… I don’t own any Dicks Picks, but most of my Dead collection is live. That’s a very good question Lopez. Unlike cheese and wine, I don’t think the Dead aged well in general. “Without a Net” for me is the exception. I enjoy the set list, and somehow the sound of these old guys playing these tunes for the millionth time in their careers sounds good to me. I just seem to gravitate to the album. I wish I could speak more inteligently about it.

Anyway, We’ll have to get together and hack sometime!

-Ginger

Hola all,

I was reading this thread and had to try and narrow down my top five albums, too. so, here is what I came up with:

5. The Oscar Peterson Trio-Last Call at the Blue Note. This is a live recording of maybe the best beebop trio ever. I love it. Some of the most amazing piano and guitar interplay I’ve heard. Really, check it out.

4. Elliot Smith- xo. Okay, so Elliot smith couldn’t exist with out a lot of help from the Beatles and especially Lennon, but this is an outstanding album and I love it a lot. he is sad and down, but it is beautiful.

3. Soul Coughing—Ruby Vroom. One of the most original and unusual bands I know of, and very hard to explain. Beatnik stream of consciousnous poetry sang/spoken over jazzy upright bass, crazy samples and loops, with guitar and piano tossed in. Really great stuff. All three of their albums are good. This one is the best.

2. Bob Dylan. Bringing it all back Home. Subterranian Homesick Blues is the best Track 1 of all time. My personal favorite Dylan album. A lot of great ones.

1. The Jayhawks- Tomorrow the Green Grass. This is my all-time best driving album, and I think my favorite of all time. I can sing this songs forever and not get bored. Alt-country, but really just amazing harmonies and brilliant songs. Beautiful music by a great band.

Honorable Mentions:
Cat Stevens- Teaser and the Firecat
Nick Drake- Pink Moon
Zepplin III
Grateful Dead Aoxomoxoa (love Chinacat)
Over the Rhine- Good dog bad dog

hey ryan, that oscar peterson sounds pretty sweet. what year is that from?

you ever hear “the giants” album with peterson, joe pass and joe sample? awesome.

well, this is somewhat off-topic, but i’ve got a question for you, lopez. You used to live around Chico, right? Are you familiar with the Mother Hips? What do you think of them? I’ve heard a bit by them and I’ve been rather impressed. I know it’s probably not quite your style, but i’d be interested to hear your opinion if you’ve got one (or anybody else’s, for that matter).