-
THE EIGHTH PICK IN THE GREAT ALBUM GAME
Her daddy was C.L. Franklin, a minister at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit. He was a famous preacher man, check out some of his preachings on YouTube and you’ll get an idea of the pipes he had. But his daughter Aretha, well, she was something else. When she sang in the choir, angels sat,…
-
The Sixth Pick In The Great Album Game
Four former art school students formed a band in New York City in 1975, and in ’77, they released Talking Heads: 77. Bassist Tina Weymouth explained what ‘Talking Heads’ meant: “A friend had found the name in the TV Guide, which explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a…
-
The Fifth Pick In The Great Album Game
I know it’s only rock and roll but… had to happen, the Stones on my list. For me, the band was at its best in the Mick Taylor years. While Keith Richards is undeniably great, and Charlie and Bill laid down a foundation upon which rock cathedrals were built, it was Taylor who took the…
-
The Fourth Pick In The Great Album Game
I didn’t discover the wonders of Tom Waits until the mid-’80s, but once I got my head out of my ass, I dove deep into his catalog. Discovering an artist late is good because you can sample his wares and gorge on the buffet he’s produced. This baby is his second album, the title track…
-
The Second Pick In The Great Album Game
He lost his money and he lost his wife, those things don’t seem to matter much to him now. While “Born To Run” was the album that made Springsteen a sensation (he was on the covers of TIME and NEWSWEEK, not too shabby), this one is my favorite one. It’s dark, bleak, brooding, introspective–– with…
-
Forget Politics–– Let’s Discuss Music, Shall We?
I was recently invited on a social media platform called “Facebook” (why not just call it “Cover”–– that’s what the face of a book is!) to participate in a game of selecting ten albums that are important to you. This seemed an innocuous enough task, and I suppose it is if you just make your…