1001 Album Club

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159 The Temptations - Cloud Nine Aug 12, 2019

Show notes

“Cloud Nine” is an album that would become one of the defining early funk examples, with songs that not only took Motown in a new direction, but helped to shape the genre as well, but only on the first half. The second half shows the temptations right back in their comfort zone, and that is not a bad thing.

158 MC5 - Kick Out the Jams Aug 08, 2019

Show notes

Rather than try to capture their legendary on-stage energy in a studio, MC5 opted to record their first album during a live concert at their home base, Detroit’s Grande Ballroom. From Brother J.C. Crawford’s rabble-rousing introduction to the final wash on feedback on “Starship,” Kick Out the Jams is one of the most powerfully energetic live albums ever made.

157 Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II Aug 05, 2019

Show notes

Recorded quickly during Led Zeppelin’s first American tours, Led Zeppelin II provided the blueprint for all the heavy metal bands that followed it. Since the group could only enter the studio for brief amounts of time, most of the songs that compose II are reworked blues and rock & roll standards. Some of the group fe3els like it was a rushed album and doesn’t have the same teeth as the first but still enjoyable.

156 The Band - The Band Aug 01, 2019

Show notes

The Band, the group’s second album, was a more deliberate and even more accomplished effort, partially because the players had become a more cohesive unit, and partially because guitarist Robbie Robertson. The arrangements were simultaneously loose and assured, giving the songs a timeless appeal, while the lyrics continued to paint portraits of 19th century rural life.

155 Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin Jul 29, 2019

Show notes

Led Zeppelin had a fully formed, distinctive sound from the outset, as their eponymous debut illustrates. Taking the heavy, distorted electric blues of Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and Cream to an extreme, Zeppelin created a majestic, powerful brand of guitar rock constructed around simple, memorable riffs and lumbering rhythms.

154 Quicksilver Messenger Service - Happy Trails Jul 25, 2019

Show notes

Without question, this follow-up to Quicksilver Messenger Service’s self-titled debut release is the most accurate in portraying the band on vinyl in the same light as the group’s critically and enthusiastically acclaimed live performances. The album is essentially centered around the extended reworkings of Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?” and “Mona”. The group finds most of the album boring, and uninspired with the exception of a few of the originals.

153 The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground Jul 22, 2019

Show notes

Upon first release, the Velvet Underground’s self-titled third album must have surprised their fans nearly as much as their first two albums shocked the few mainstream music fans who heard them. After testing the limits of how musically and thematically challenging rock could be on Velvet Underground & Nico and White Light/White Heat, this 1969 release sounded spare, quiet, and contemplative, as if the previous albums documented some manic, speed-fueled party and this was the subdued morning after.

152 Elvis Presley - From Elvis in Memphis Jul 18, 2019

Show notes

After a 14-year absence from Memphis, Elvis Presley returned to cut what was certainly his greatest album. The fact that From Elvis in Memphis came out as well as it did is something of a surprise, in retrospect

151 Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis Jul 15, 2019

Show notes

Hoping to reinvigorate her career and boost her credibility, Springfield signed with Atlantic Records, Home of soul greatest Dusty idolized such as Aretha Franklin. Although she was well versed in R&B and soul songs, she had never released an entire album of R&B material. It was there in American Sound Studios that dusty create one of her best albums.

150 Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left Jul 11, 2019

Show notes

Underrated in his own time Nick Drake had a resurgence after his passing at a young age. On this debut album Drake’s lyrics capture a subtle poetry of emotion while his singing is soft, articulate and sometimes haunting.

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