STING:

The Complete Chicago Sessions (Tracks 8-16) (1991)

Soul Cages (1991)

The Complete Chicago Sessions (Tracks 1-7) (1993)

Ten Summoner's Tales (1993)

That's an incredible four album sequence.

NoVideo said:

SUPRMAN said:

Imaginative said:

Are you into early Bob Welch Fleetwood Mac at all? If you are, there is a lot to like on Heroes. "Silver Heels" alone is amazing. Christine's stuff is also top-notch. But it help to compare it to the past Mac more than to the one coming aroudn the corner, which became a much different band.

Have you heard the Buckingham/Nicks pre-Fleetwood Mac album? Also great.

[Edited 6/24/11 20:44pm]

I'll consider giving them a listen but my Mac history starts with Rumors. I was in junior high.

That explains it! Dude, Fleetwood Mac were around for eight or nine years churning out classics (and a few standards, like "Black Magic Woman," later covered by Santana). How can you say I'm stretching it, when you haven't listened to the albums I listed?

I agree with U on the Stones, but here's another one for ya:

Another side of Bob Dylan 1964
Bringing it all back home 1965
Highway 61 revisited 1965
Blonde on Blonde 1966

And if that is not enough, Bob camera back strongly in his later years.
Time out of mind 1997
Love and theft 2001
Modern times 2006
Together through life 2009

That is 2 rows of great LPs! Try beat that anyone if you can! I Love Bob Dylan as much as I Love Prince!

bobbyperu said:

I agree with U on the Stones, but here's another one for ya: Another side of Bob Dylan 1964 Bringing it all back home 1965 Highway 61 revisited 1965 Blonde on Blonde 1966 And if that is not enough, Bob camera back strongly in his later years. Time out of mind 1997 Love and theft 2001 Modern times 2006 Together through life 2009 That is 2 rows of great LPs! Try beat that anyone if you can! I Love Bob Dylan as much as I Love Prince!

Definitely agree with both of those. I'm a big fan of Dylan as well, and his last 4 have all been great (although Together Through Life is my least favorite of the 4)

Imaginative said:

SUPRMAN said:

I'll consider giving them a listen but my Mac history starts with Rumors. I was in junior high.

That explains it! Dude, Fleetwood Mac were around for eight or nine years churning out classics (and a few standards, like "Black Magic Woman," later covered by Santana). How can you say I'm stretching it, when you haven't listened to the albums I listed?

Probably because the album has never entered my field of reference through reading, word of mouth, listening to radio, album lists, etc.

SUPRMAN said:

elmer said:

Definitely. It's been years since I've listened to U2, but I think for me ZooRopa'd be right up there as well.

Zooropa is not.

There's no supporting evidence for your pronouncement amigo.

Let me just say I'd take Lemon over over anything on Joshua Tree.

TotalAlisa said:

MJ- Off the wall, thriller, Bad, Dangerous

Janet- Control-RN-Janet-Velvet Rope

easily the greatest in the history of music, and the first thing that popped in my mind before i even opened this thread.

Madonna: Like A Prayer, I'm Breathless, The Immaculate Collection, Erotica

If You don't count The Immaculate Collection:

Like A Prayer, I'm Breathless, Erotica, Bedtime Stories

Someone said something about R. Kely earlier:

12 Play, R. Kelly, R., TP-2.com

(If ony TP-2.com wasn't album)

aardvark15 said:

Madonna: Like A Prayer, I'm Breathless, The Immaculate Collection, Erotica

If You don't count The Immaculate Collection:

Like A Prayer, I'm Breathless, Erotica, Bedtime Stories

Someone said something about R. Kely earlier:

12 Play, R. Kelly, R., TP-2.com

(If ony TP-2.com wasn't album)

These were the 4 I had in mind - but TP2 stopped me from posting. Although I liked the cd - it's not in the same class as the first 3 cd's mentioned or the next cd - "Chocolate Factory" - released.

rialb said:

AlexdeParis said:

rialb said: See, The Beatles is the double album I'd call overrated. Even if you ignore "Revolution 9" (and that's certainly what I do), there's a little too much filler to put it on the level of Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, and Revolver. OTOH, I definitely think SITKOL sits with Stevie's best. It is clearly above Talking Book IMO. It has an eclectic yet cohesive feel that makes it the very best double album of all time to me. The length of the songs doesn't bother me because I can see why he wanted to ride those grooves (e.g. "Another Star," "As," "Isn't She Lovely"). I usually put it just ahead of Innervisions and FFF as his best, but they are all so close to my ears.

To me Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is terribly overrated. It's not even in my top five Beatles albums. I think it gets too much credit for the production and not enough fault for the (by their standards) poor songwriting. I have a bit of a bias against their "psychedelic" era so that colours my judgement a bit but the songs on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band have always struck me as being among their weakest (with the notable exception of "A Day in the Life").

I get the complaint, but I personally like the songs on the album. "She's Leaving Home" in particular is one of my favorites. I don't see why songs like "Lovely Rita" and "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" are so oft-maligned. They may be lightweight, but they're still enjoyable listens to my ears.

It's funny that the three "long" songs you mentioned on Songs in the Key of Life are among my favourites. I agree with you completely. I don't think they go on too long at all as they are engaging all the way through. Well, maybe "Isn't She Lovely" goes on a tiny bit too long but the harmonica playing makes up for it. The songs I was referring to were "Love's in Need of Love Today" and "Joy Inside My Tears." If those two songs ended at the three minute mark they would be so much better. The last few minutes of both songs are excruciatingly repetitive! For three minutes straight all he does is repeat the chorus over and over! For me neither one of them is a good song to start with, I find them very slow and lugubrious, but making them much longer than necessary only makes them that much worse. "Black Man" is also a bit too long but I like it much better than the two songs I mentioned above. The horns probably give it a bit of a boost.

They are a little repetitive, but I enjoy the vamps with Stevie ad-libbing. He was in excellent voice back then, so I just can't complain about more singing. "Joy Inside My Tears" is the one I enjoy the most of the crop you listed.

What do you think of the sequencing of the album? Particularly side A? ("Love's in Need of Love Today"-"Sir Duke") That's one aspect of the album that I always found somewhat flawed. He starts the album with three consecutive slow/mid tempo songs which kind of open the album in a very sleepy way. After that we get an instrumental before we finally get a shot of energy with "Sir Duke." Maybe I just have a short attention span but I tend to get impatient with that first side in a way that I rarely do with other "classic" albums.

I listened to it again with this in mind and it still sounds great to me. The three starting songs may be similar in tempo, but they're very diverse in just about every other way. While "Love's in Need of Love Today" sounds like he is practically pleading for a better world, "Have a Talk with God" features a self-assured Stevie who is speaking from experience. Both of those songs are very harmony driven in stark contrast to the bleak "Village Ghetto Land." After that beginning, I think "Contusion" is a marvelous transition to the more upbeat and commercial songs. I fully realize I could just be used to it after years of listening, but I still think it sounds fabulous every time.

Shaolin325 said:

aardvark15 said:

Madonna: Like A Prayer, I'm Breathless, The Immaculate Collection, Erotica

If You don't count The Immaculate Collection:

Like A Prayer, I'm Breathless, Erotica, Bedtime Stories

Someone said something about R. Kely earlier:

12 Play, R. Kelly, R., TP-2.com

(If ony TP-2.com wasn't album)

These were the 4 I had in mind - but TP2 stopped me from posting. Although I liked the cd - it's not in the same class as the first 3 cd's mentioned or the next cd - "Chocolate Factory" - released.

FWIW, TP2.com is definitely my favorite of all his albums. 12 Play and R. (great songs, but too much filler) are the weak links in that sequence IMO.

AlexdeParis said:

Shaolin325 said:

These were the 4 I had in mind - but TP2 stopped me from posting. Although I liked the cd - it's not in the same class as the first 3 cd's mentioned or the next cd - "Chocolate Factory" - released.

FWIW, TP2.com is definitely my favorite of all his albums. 12 Play and R. (great songs, but too much filler) are the weak links in that sequence IMO.

WHAT!!!!!!!! "R" is CLASSIC! It's a double cd so of course not everything was hot, but overall that damn thing was FIRE!!!!

REM

Document

Green

Out of Time

Automatic For the People (their magnum opus)!

[Edited 6/26/11 16:28pm]

phunkdaddy said:

Don't know if this been mentioned yet or not.

Isley Brothers

3+3

Live it Up

The Heat is On

Go For Your Guns

Actually Harvest for the World came out in between "Heat" and "Guns". But I get you point all solid work!

phunkdaddy said:

Don't know if this been mentioned yet or not.

Isley Brothers

3+3

Live it Up

The Heat is On

Go For Your Guns

1973: 3+3

1974: Live It Up

1975: The Heat Is On

1976: Harvest for the World

[Edited 6/26/11 16:27pm]

Of course Miles would have another great run!

1969: In a Silent Way

1970: Bitches Brew

1971: Tribute to Jack Johnson

1972: On the Corner

In case no one mentioned CCR, here goes:

1969: Bayou Country

1969: Green River

1969: Willie & the Poor Boys

1970: Cosmo's Factory

John Fogerty & the boys were very busy back then!!

SUPRMAN said:

NoVideo said:

U2: The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree, Rattle & Hum, Achtung Baby

I'm a U2 fan and 'Rattle and Hum' doesn't do it.

U2 doesn't have a best four album sequence.

Sadly, and again, I have their catalog.

I'm a U2 fan as well. I disagree with u both.

Try

1981: October

1983: War

1984: The Unforgettable Fire

1987: The Joshua Tree (their magnum opus from the '80's)

I totally agree with you on the CCR!

But not on the U2... "October" is their weakest album by far, IMHO.

Shaolin325 said:

aardvark15 said:

Madonna: Like A Prayer, I'm Breathless, The Immaculate Collection, Erotica

If You don't count The Immaculate Collection:

Like A Prayer, I'm Breathless, Erotica, Bedtime Stories

Someone said something about R. Kely earlier:

12 Play, R. Kelly, R., TP-2.com

(If ony TP-2.com wasn't album)

These were the 4 I had in mind - but TP2 stopped me from posting. Although I liked the cd - it's not in the same class as the first 3 cd's mentioned or the next cd - "Chocolate Factory" - released.

Same here. Chocolate Factory is awesome!

AlexdeParis said:

rialb said:

They are a little repetitive, but I enjoy the vamps with Stevie ad-libbing. He was in excellent voice back then, so I just can't complain about more singing. "Joy Inside My Tears" is the one I enjoy the most of the crop you listed.

What do you think of the sequencing of the album? Particularly side A? ("Love's in Need of Love Today"-"Sir Duke") That's one aspect of the album that I always found somewhat flawed. He starts the album with three consecutive slow/mid tempo songs which kind of open the album in a very sleepy way. After that we get an instrumental before we finally get a shot of energy with "Sir Duke." Maybe I just have a short attention span but I tend to get impatient with that first side in a way that I rarely do with other "classic" albums.

I listened to it again with this in mind and it still sounds great to me. The three starting songs may be similar in tempo, but they're very diverse in just about every other way. While "Love's in Need of Love Today" sounds like he is practically pleading for a better world, "Have a Talk with God" features a self-assured Stevie who is speaking from experience. Both of those songs are very harmony driven in stark contrast to the bleak "Village Ghetto Land." After that beginning, I think "Contusion" is a marvelous transition to the more upbeat and commercial songs. I fully realize I could just be used to it after years of listening, but I still think it sounds fabulous every time.

Thanks for the response. Even though we disagree I hope at the very least that I did a decent job of explaining my position. I do agree that Songs in the Key of Life is a classic album but I just think it's not quite as classic as the three albums that immediately preceded it.

As far as the Beatles go I think I will always hold their psychedelic albums in lower esteem than the rest of their catalog. I do enjoy some of those songs but I think they were kind of coasting, John in particular. Also, no one will ever convince me that letting George's "Within You Without You" and "Blue Jay Way" onto an album was a good idea.

AlexdeParis said:

My vote for the best:

1. Talking Book

2. Innervisions

3. Fulfillingness' First Finale

4. Songs in the Key of Life

No weak links, just stone cold classics.

i agree 100 per cent...just amazing run of stunning albums...

.

for me...only the beatles - revolver/st.pepper/mmt/white album and

prince - purple rain/atwiad/parade/sign o the times ..

.

comes close to stevie's run...

blackbob said:

AlexdeParis said:

My vote for the best:

1. Talking Book

2. Innervisions

3. Fulfillingness' First Finale

4. Songs in the Key of Life

No weak links, just stone cold classics.

i agree 100 per cent...just amazing run of stunning albums...

.

for me...only the beatles - revolver/st.pepper/mmt/white album and

prince - purple rain/atwiad/parade/sign o the times ..

.

comes close to stevie's run...

To go back to the OP, I think the Stones series of Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street is every bit as strong, if not better than The Beatles.

mynameisnotsusan said:

blackbob said:

i agree 100 per cent...just amazing run of stunning albums...

.

for me...only the beatles - revolver/st.pepper/mmt/white album and

prince - purple rain/atwiad/parade/sign o the times ..

.

comes close to stevie's run...

To go back to the OP, I think the Stones series of Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street is every bit as strong, if not better than The Beatles.

There are good arguments to be made on all sides. I own just about all of them. To me they're all valuable.

[Edited 6/26/11 20:10pm]

mynameisnotsusan said:

To go back to the OP, I think the Stones series of Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street is every bit as strong, if not better than The Beatles.

It's better.

Nobody in the 60s would have thought it possible for them to come out of the shadow cast by The Beatles.

rialb said:

AlexdeParis said:

Thanks for the response. Even though we disagree I hope at the very least that I did a decent job of explaining my position. I do agree that Songs in the Key of Life is a classic album but I just think it's not quite as classic as the three albums that immediately preceded it.

Oh, I follow you. It made perfect sense to me.

As far as the Beatles go I think I will always hold their psychedelic albums in lower esteem than the rest of their catalog. I do enjoy some of those songs but I think they were kind of coasting, John in particular. Also, no one will ever convince me that letting George's "Within You Without You" and "Blue Jay Way" onto an album was a good idea.

"Blue Jay Way" has a certain charm. I actually never really warmed to "Within You Without You" until I heard the mashup with "Tomorrow Never Knows" on Love. That made me appreciate both songs much more.

AlexdeParis said:

rialb said:

Oh, I follow you. It made perfect sense to me.

As far as the Beatles go I think I will always hold their psychedelic albums in lower esteem than the rest of their catalog. I do enjoy some of those songs but I think they were kind of coasting, John in particular. Also, no one will ever convince me that letting George's "Within You Without You" and "Blue Jay Way" onto an album was a good idea.

"Blue Jay Way" has a certain charm. I actually never really warmed to "Within You Without You" until I heard the mashup with "Tomorrow Never Knows" on Love. That made me appreciate both songs much more.

I haven't heard anything from Love.