Greatest album ever?
- Thread starter Legion
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Oh, this is impossible. I'll go with Sgt Pepper.
When I read the question, two albums immediately came to mind. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours and Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
Kind Of Blue was like capturing lightning in a bottle, it's brilliant and things couldn't have come together more perfectly. Rumours was like an aural diary of what was going on among the members of the band. Things were tense and passionate and it shows. You couldn't ask for more than what was given on this great pop album.
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I was given this album as a gift from a co-worker in 1984. He'd played jazz professionally for 13 years in NYC and described it alternatively as "the most musical" and the "only perfect" album ever made. I've found nothing in the intervening decades to dispute his opinion.
It's simply called "John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman". In Austin, TX I asked a beautiful piano player at a hotel bar if she could do at tune from this album and her eyes widened and she asked "do you play". Its powers go beyond the album the album cover.
This is indeed a wonderful album, I love it. I gave my Mom and Dad this album and they loved it as well. They were both in their late 70's at the time and when my brother first heard that, knowing a bit about jazz, he said, "You gave them a John Coltrane album?!?" This is a bit more melodic than what you might expect from Coltrane given his reputation and this was a great pairing. In jazz, I'm generally not attracted to vocal recordings. I hadn't heard of Johnny Hartman before this album and could hardly believe how rich and smooth his voice was. What a wonderful singer! This album is a winner from top to bottom.
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I second Kind of Blue. There were several I was considering, but Kind of Blue changed what I listened to for years after I first became familiar with it. I never really was in to jazz before hearing it, but the beauty of its improvisations made me seek out other jazz artists. I finally got it. It may be as perfect as an album gets. This thread encouraged me to pull out John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. Astral Weeks is next.
Mike
It's my favorite album.
When you say album you are meaning vinyl right?
My top is:
Harry James: The King James Version (direct to disk recording)
My top is:
Harry James: The King James Version (direct to disk recording)
This is an impossible question. I don't even know where to start. So many styles and categories to take into account. That said, I'm going to cheat a little bit and offer this;
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TIME OUT by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. I have had a copy of this album in some form since I first heard it around 1960/61. I'm not a jazz fan, but there is something about the time signatures of the Brubeck/Desmond/Wright/Morello Quartet that I love listening to.
led zeppelin II
Yeah, this one would be at or near the top of my list.
2112. Or Moving Pictures...
+3 on Kind of Blue...
the rest of these I would agree with too, you guys posted soem awesome stuff! however, there is something about an entire album coming together in one take is just something short of amazing...
the rest of these I would agree with too, you guys posted soem awesome stuff! however, there is something about an entire album coming together in one take is just something short of amazing...
It's tough to be objective on such a subjective topic, but I'll break it into two classes:
Perfect albums, carefully constructed with a theme, and not merely a collection of songs.
Dark Side of The Moon and The Wall, Pink Floyd; Thriller; Sgt. Pepper; Kind of Blue; Quadrophenia, The Who; Fragile, Yes.
Greatest albums (to me), push my buttons on an emotional and psychological level like no others.
Dark Side of the Moon; The Unforgettable Fire, U2; American Beauty, The Grateful Dead; American Recordings, Johnny Cash.
Perfect albums, carefully constructed with a theme, and not merely a collection of songs.
Dark Side of The Moon and The Wall, Pink Floyd; Thriller; Sgt. Pepper; Kind of Blue; Quadrophenia, The Who; Fragile, Yes.
Greatest albums (to me), push my buttons on an emotional and psychological level like no others.
Dark Side of the Moon; The Unforgettable Fire, U2; American Beauty, The Grateful Dead; American Recordings, Johnny Cash.
+1 to Rumours by Fleetwood Mac.
I would also offer Master of Puppets by Metallica.
I would also offer Master of Puppets by Metallica.
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