Now this requires some serious thought. Don't solely list albums based on popularity or impulsion. The following criteria must be met:

• This is an album you can pretty much play from start to finish. The maximum number of tracks you skip is 3 or less.
  
  
• This album, which may have been released years ago or last week, is an album that you feel will be just as great of a listen 10 years from now.
  
  
• This is an album that is capable of transcending several genres of music

Go!!!

abbatoir blues/the lyre of orpheus by nick cave and the bad seeds.

yes, really.

this is one of those i know i'll be spinning ten years from now. i can feel the care that went into it when they made it...unlike the last couple of albums of theirs (one of which i quite like, but still...).

Grateful Dead's 1975 masterpiece "Blues For Allah". I got it a couple of weeks ago in the "Beyond Description" Box . On it, the group go places they had never been , and never returned to.It's very strong from start to finish.

Im still a newbie as far as the Dead are concerned , but I feel this is probably their finest hour. I never would have thought that a "hippee" band would be so "jazzlike" in their approach . Not that what they play is Jazz by any definition , but what they play and how they get there seems like "fusion" to me....I guess it's the general laid back attitude and improvisational style that impresses me....that and Garcia's playing....

MrTation said:

That's probably what attracted Garcia to the Ornette Coleman collaboration.

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[Edited 11/21/04 18:49pm]

Supernova said:

Im not familiar with that at all, but will probably get around to checking it out eventually.Im constantly amazed by Garcia's versatility.Makes me wish I had paid attention while he was still around....

Probably Jill Scott's latest...

MrTation said:

I heard it on National Public Radio years ago, taped it, eventually erased it, and don't remember what it sounds like. But I do remember I liked it a lot. I just never investigated to see what album it was on.

The Diary of Alicia Keys

Something recent: Bjork's Medulla. She can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned.

Something older: OMD's Architecture & Morality and Pavement's reissues for "Slanted & Enchanted" and "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain".

dragondayz said:

Apparently, if you can stand that wretched "Dragon Days" song

CalhounSq said:

Dragondayz was my favorite on that album. I wish that she would experiment and lean more towards that sound on her next album.

Something was missing in the song but if she worked more on it then more sounds like that from her woud probably be hot.

Supernova said:

Probably this one...



...Virgin Beauty

Jerry only plays on 3 cuts with this band that already consists of 2 guitarists.




(Ornette and Jerry)

I'll admit straight out that i've never understood the fascination with Jerry Garcia's guitar playing.
But if he was good enough for Ornette he had something goin' on.

I did see an interesting documentary focusing on his relationship (playing/personal) with David Grisman called "Grateful Dawg".

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Yoko Ono also collaborated with Ornette.

I'm more of a newbie to the Dead than MrTation, I don't own anything by 'em, I just know of the stuff I've heard by 'em. And their fans might be the most loyal of anybody out there.

dragondayz said:

Something about the hook just bugged the hell outta me That one & "Samsonite Man" The latter has to be the worst title in the history of song titles

Supernova said:

The only album I remember really sitting down and seriously listening to front to back was their 1st.(?)



And that was back in my consumption days.

Thanks for reminding me about the fan thing.
That is something about them i've always been impressed with.
The fact that they can get these hordes of folks to follow them to the ends of the earth is quite impressive indeed.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

I know where you are coming from because, until my recent obsession with the late 60s music scene, I too wondered what all the fuss was about.Even their "Greatest Hits" comps dont give you the whole picture as far as what makes them the great band (and Garcia the great player) that they are. They have so many live show sets out there as well, that I would be unsure of where to tell you where to begin.

Until last week anyway I would suggest that both you and Supernova rent or purchase "The Grateful Dead Movie" that just came out last week on DVD.The film is your average ( but good ) 70s Concert Movie ... but the BONUS is a 90 minute segment of performances from the same shows (at Winterland) ...It is an excellent opportunity to see and hear Jerry and the band at their peak.

Supernova said:

Diamanda Galas also studied piano under Ornette.

theAudience said:

That(1st) album is good ...but not very representative of what they later became.See my other post.

MrTation said:

Agreed.

I'll take your tip on "The Grateful Dead Movie".



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

Im pretty sure you wont be disappointed ...
( but keep your copy of "Jimi Plays Berkeley" handy just in case... )

Oh and somehow I came across a used copy of the Rykodisc version of Bowie's "Young Americans". So I picked it up for a friend that I insisted get this one next. I know it's not one of the most highly regarded, but it's absolutely amazing what he did with that one.

MrTation said:

Is that the film with that amazing animated sequence at the beginning? If so, I saw it many years ago...

As for my timeless album...

I picked up the expanded edition of The Fall’s Live At the Witch Trials about two months ago (the fourth time I’ve picked up this album in assorted configurations). I can certainly listen to this album from start to finish and enjoy every moment of it, and it still sounds as fresh and exciting to me as the day I first heard it. I think this album might fail on your third standard, though – The Fall never transcended any genre. They’ve always been a post-punk indie-rock band and that’s all they’ll ever be (that’s good enough for me).

GangstaFam said:

it's far from one of my favorite bowie albums, but i have a lot of respect for that album - it was such a departure from what he'd done beforehand.

Anxiety said:

I know a lot of fans share that opinion.

But to me, he totally nailed it. Most of his albums before that were highly intellectual, strange and concept-driven. I love that it was just a collection of songs in a completely new style for him. There was absolutely no precedent for that severe of a change within one artist's work. For the first time, Bowie was writing warm, beautiful, (heaven forbid) love songs. His voice was remarkable. The band and the backing vocals totally sell it. I know it was supposedly his 'plastic' soul period, but I get a lot of genuine feeling from that record. All of the kinks he was working out on the 2nd leg of the Diamond Dogs tour paid off. He sounded totally assured and convincing singing and writing in this new style. I love it!

Older album:

I was a little late picking it up (just got it this summer), but it's quickly become my favorite ever REM album. Totally and completely underrated.

Newer album: Well, I don't have it yet (nor have I even heard it), but I'm hoping that the new U2 album will be with me for the long haul.

GangstaFam said:

there are songs on that album i love - WIN, for example - pure bliss...but overall, i don't like the album that much because it starts to sound samey to me after a while. one of the things i love about bowie is how eclectic his albums are, and this one just seemed to have such a limited sound (to my ears, anyway). and that cover of "across the universe" sounds like the result of chronic constipation, eeg.

Anxiety said:

Win is my favorite too.

I guess I tend to love, maybe even prefer albums that stick with one sound throughout. Not necessarily with Bowie, cuz I love almost everything he's done. I actually wish he'd held "Fame" for Station To Station or released it as a one-off single with Lennon with "Across the Universe" as the b-side. Those 2 sound too far removed from the rest of it to me. "Fame" has a harder more electric edge that fits well with STS. And the themes of paranoia and discontent fit better too. Young Americans is too mellow and happy. Why he ever left off "Who Can I Be Now" and "It's Gonna Be Me" is totally beyond me. Those have 2 of the most skyscrapingly beautiful vocals I've ever heard.