1001 Albums you must hear before you die: Pentangle's Basket of Light

Deja Vu is better. Not just because of Neil - the others are bringing their A game throughout.

 

"Wooden Ships" is nice, though. Also "Helplessly Hoping."

 

Wooden Ships is a very good song. I give them that one.

 

Blood, Sweat & Tears (1968) ? Blood, Sweat &Tears

<img src="http://lyrics.sma****s.com/artwork/60/605c2fa5ce27a2e913a034bf4cb9de86.jpg">

Tracks:

1. Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie (1st and 2nd Movements)
2. Smiling Phases
3. Sometimes In Winter
4. More and More
5. And When I Die
6. God Bless the Child
7. Spinning Wheel
8. You?ve Made Me So Very Happy
9. Blues ? Part II
10. Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie (1st Movement)

I?ve heard BS&T?s debut, Child Is Father to the Man. This is their immediate follow up, but recorded with quite a personnel shakeup, Al Kooper and two other members leaving immediately after the first album was recorded and four replacements being hired by the remaining band members.

My overwhelming reaction to the Child is Father to the Man remains a simple one: overweening pretentiousness married to the occasional cool riff. Even with all the comings and goings, I doubt this one is any less pretentious, given that it opens and closes with jazz rock versions of Trois Gymnopodies.

 

Yeah, and "Phases" in a song title. But the only thing I've heard here, "You've Made Me So Very Happy," is schmaltzy AM radio material in the Three Dog Night mold. I think there's one BST track that has some kick-ass guitar but I might be confusing them with Chicago.

 

I have a soft spot for Blood Sweat & Tears but I've never given their proper albums a listen. Seeing as tracks 3 through 8 all made it on the Greatest Hits CD I have, this must be one of their stronger efforts. Judging by the titles at the start and end, I'd say the pretentiousness is pretty much contained in the bookends, while the middle six are all fairly straight-forward. They're probably not going to win anyone over, but if you're game to play along, they're enjoyable.

If you think "You've Made Me So Very Happy" is schmaltzy, wait 'til you hear "Sometimes in Winter."

Looking at the order the songs are in here, "More and More" has gotta be such a sorely-needed bit of pep.

"And When I Die" plugs along with inane lyrics sung in such a fun way I find myself buying what they're selling. The harmonica is really the key ingredient though.

I can't believe a completely inexplicable Latin instrumental section is what makes "God Bless The Child" work. But that's exactly what happens. And the hilarious part is when it disappears just as suddenly as it appears. It's like one band wandered in on another's recording session, took a minute to realize it, and just ran out without saying anything.

If you listen to much Oldies radio, "Spinning Wheel" is one you've probably heard but not known the title.

I think there's one BST track that has some kick-ass guitar but I might be confusing them with Chicago.

Probably "Go Down Gamblin'", my personal favorite.

 

I like that one. Here's what I was thinking of: Chicago - 25 or 6 to 4. Sounds like Zeppelin with horns.

 

"And When I Die" works for me.

 

The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969) ? Flying Burrito Brothers

<img src="http://www.howlintumbleweeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/album_Covers/20090429A_FlyingBurritoBrothers_GildedPalaceOfSin.jpg">

Tracks:

1. Christine?s Tune
2. Sin City
3. Do Right Woman
4. Dark End of the Street
5. My Uncle
6. Wheels
7. Juanita
8. Hot Burrito #1
9. Hot Burrito #2
10. Do You Know How It Feels
11. Hippie Boy

A foundational album of alt-country and country-soul. Note the two covers of soul classics, Aretha Franklin?s Do Right Woman and the standard Dark End of the Street.

The only song I?ve heard from this album is Christine?s Tune, later renamed The Devil in Disguise after the groupie about whom it was written suffered an untimely death. It?s surely one of the great groupie-bashing songs, right up there with Dirty Diana.

 

Haven't heard *any* of this one.

 

Abbey Road (1969) ? The Beatles

<img src="http://beatles-uk-discography.com/images/albums/abbey_road_album.jpg">

Tracks:

1. Come Together
2. Something
3. Maxwell?s Silver Hammer
4. Oh! Darling
5. Octopus?s Garden
6. I Want You (She?s So Heavy)
7. Here Comes the Sun
8. Because
9. You Never Give Me Your Money
10. Sun King
11. Mean Mr. Mustard
12. Polythene Pam
13. She Came In Through the Bathroom Window
14. Golden Slumbers
15. Carry That Weight
16. The End
17. Her Majesty

I recently heard this album for the first time, after purposely putting it off for several years. I?ll repost my thoughts from the ?What Was the Last Album You Purchased? thread.

It has long been a thorn in the side of many of my friends that I hadn?t heard this album; Dan Golding, TheBoogieMan, particularly used to find it infuriating. I tried to explain that one likes to stagger these things. I?m not of the temperament to dash through the entire Beatles catalogue in a month; I want to have something to look forward to. Well, I?ve been looking forward to Abbey Road for quite a while; I finally listened to it and all my friends were entirely correct about this album. It?s the best of the late Beatles albums and not by just a little either. It is as experimental as Sgt. Pepper, but the experimentation never seems, as it does on Pepper, to be an end unto itself; the best songs here are as good as the best songs on The White Album, and one doesn?t have to listen to a lot of trivia to get to the good songs; as to Let It Be . . . well, it?s just better than Let It Be, let?s leave it at that. It?s the most consistent album since Revolver, I?d say; every song on it is a winner and often in surprising ways. In Because and You Never Give Me Your Money, both Lennon and McCartney craft their most beautiful songs since, probably If I Fell and Yesterday respectively. Octopus?s Garden is probably the best Ringo song of all time and I?m going to go on the record and say that it utterly beats out two more famous nautical Beatles numbers, Yellow Submarine and I Am the Walrus. Yes, Octopus?s Garden is better than I Am the Walrus. The end. Obviously Harrison is in top form too; Something and Here Comes the Sun are probably the two best songs he ever wrote, certainly the best from his tenure with the Beatles; the latter song, in particular, never fails to absolutely suffuse me with an absolute warmth and happiness. The experimental tracks, like I Want You and the medley that takes up most of side two, are brilliant expansions of musicality, having none of the annoying self-consciousness of the experimentation on the vastly overrated and mostly dull Sgt. Pepper. Of course, McCartney can tell a story in under two minutes; some people call She Came In Through the Bathroom Window a song snippet, but it?s no shorter than Eleanor Rigby. And then look at Her Majesty, which isn?t even thirty seconds, but is a demonstrable song, complete with witty lyrics and a hummable melody, not a sketch. I will just dare to say that the ?powerful? final lyric of the Beatles, ?In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make,? is a bunch of utter bunk and b.s. I dunno about you, but I?ve received a heck of a lot more love than I?ve given. This album, for instance, a gift from the universe to me and you that not a one of us earned. A masterpiece. P.S. Why does everyone hate Maxwell?s Silver Hammer? Harrison called it ?fruity? and Lennon said it was ?granny-style,? but they?re both wrong: it?s actually the most perverse song McCartney has ever written and probably his best on Abbey Road.

 

Seriously? Abbey Road?

Tommy (1969) ? The Who

<img src="http://grungehouse.com/cd_cover/007/lg/the_who_-_tommy.jpg">

Tracks:

1. Overture
2. It?s a Boy
3. 1921
4. Amazing Journey
5. Sparks
6. The Hawker
7. Christmas
8. Cousin Kevin
9. The Acid Queen
10. Underture
11. Do You Think It?s Alright?
12. Fiddle About
13. Pinball Wizard
14. There?s a Doctor
15. Go to the Mirror!
16. Tommy Can You Hear Me?
17. Smash the Mirror
18. Sensation
19. Miracle Cure
20. Sally Simpson
21. I?m Free
22. Welcome
23. Tommy?s Holiday Camp
24. We?re Not Gonna Take It!

Probably still The Who?s most famous album, this album tells the story of the deaf, dumb and blind titular character and his travails and triumphs. It is often claimed as the first concept album; this is entirely untrue, of course ? just the year before, The Pretty Things had released S.F. Sorrow, the story of Sebastian Sorrow from birth to death and then there?s Sgt. Pepper and In the Wee Small Hours to contend with, if you stretch the definition of concept album to its breaking point.

Regardless, I have always found this album pretty overrated. The Who?s best album is Quadrophenia, which is also a concept album, but with a story that has some actual resonance with the listener. I?d take Quad over Tommy any day. But the movie and surprising over-praise from the critics has cemented this album as a masterpiece. I?ll disagree and move on.

 

No comments about Tommy either, huh?

In a Silent Way (1969) ? Miles Davis

<img src="http://img.noiset.com/images/album/miles-davis-in-a-silent-way-album-cover-12408.jpeg">

Tracks:

1. Shh/Peaceful
2. In a Silent Way/It?s About That Time

This album contains two suites, both just a little shy of twenty minutes. It is considered one of the most important, and divisive, albums in Davis? repertoire. Davis began to seriously stretch the boundaries of his sound on this album. Tom Macero edited the single recording session to create the suites as they appeared on the album and Davis moved from being perhaps the best jazz artist in the world to being a fusion artist.

Opinion was divided at the time of the album?s release. Many critics didn?t like the fusion of jazz and rock or the editing techniques used on the album. Lester Bangs, speaking for the other side, called it an ?album that gives you faith in the future of music.? Critical and popular opinion have flipped now to one of almost universal praise; but decide for yourself. Davis? fusion period isn?t for everyone; I haven?t heard this one, but I found his follow-up, Bitches Brew, almost unlistenable.

 

Odessa (1969) ? Bee Gees

<img src="http://www.media.wmg-is.com/media/portal/media/cms/images/200909/081227988135_xl.jpg">

Tracks:

1. Odessa (City on the Black Sea)
2. You?ll Never See My Face Again
3. Black Diamond
4. Marley Purt Drive
5. Edison
6. Melody Fair
7. Suddenly
8. Whisper Whisper
9. Lamplight
10. Sound of Love
11. Give Your Best
12. Seven Seas Symphony
13. With All Nations (International Anthem)
14. I Laugh In Your Face
15. Never Say Never Again
16. First of May
17. The British Opera

An epic double album from the Bee Gees and the final album for the original lineup of the group. About a quarter of the way through the sessions, guitarist Melouney left the group and after the album was completed Robin Gibb also left over a dispute about which track to release as the first single. The Bee Gees, of course, kept on trucking to ever greater heights and Robin would rejoin the group in 1970; probably the right decision, as it turned out.

 

It's worth leaving the group over *that*?

 

You know, if I die without hearing the Bee Gees, I'll probably be okay with it.

 

It wasn't an isolated incident - the brothers had been having issues for some time prior to making the album and the disagreement was probably just the last straw for Robin.

 

They're easy to make fun of. Too easy, really. But Saturday Night Fever is an astonishingly great album; I think it has added to my quality of life.

Basket of Light (1969) ? Pentangle

<img src="http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/2127/cover_58662482010.JPG">

Tracks:

1. Light Flight
2. Once I Had a Sweetheart
3. Springtime Promises
4. Lyke Wake Dirge
5. Train Song
6. Hunting Song
7. Sally Go Round the Roses
8. The Cuckoo
9. House Carpenter

The cover is made up of pictures taken during the band?s concert at, as any Alfred Hitchcock fan can tell you, the Royal Albert Hall. Featuring two of the greatest acoustic guitarists of the sixties, Bert Jansch (who we have previously discussed in this thread in regards to his debut solo album) and the somewhat less famous, but no less incredible, John Renbourn, Pentangle was part of the late sixties explosion of British folk music. The album featured a prominent statement on its back cover: ?All the instruments played on this album are acoustic.?

I haven?t heard this one, but, by God, anything with Jansch and Renbourn has to be good.

 

"The Man Who Knew Too Much" x 2.