Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Top 50 Favorite Albums: Part 9

Continuing our climb up the ladder to number one here's another installment.


41. Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash

No one could blame Stephen Stills for claiming this album for his own. Other than a few writing credits and a couple of lead vocals from the others this is his show. And what a show it is. He plays nearly everything and his production touches are everywhere. This band was the American equivalent to Blind Faith. As it turned out their egos were easier to bruise and their vision much broader. A recent listen revealed how the album sounds less dated now than it did a few years after its release.

This type of breezy, almost innocent, mix of harmony and solid songwriting is sorely lacking these days. Some of the arrangements are complex, but are at the same time exhilarating. Stills may be bloated now and his voice shot beyond recognition but this album, and his first solo recording are a different story from a different time and place. Nash contributes some fine vocals and gentle songs full of the wonder lust of his relocation to the states. Crosby is the dead weight he’s always been and contributes the only real low points. The cover photo from Henry Diltz and textured paper on the original cover fit’s the mood of a Saturday spent listening to good music around the house.

42. Furnace Room Lullaby - Neko Case

This album from 2000 will be one of only a couple that came out after the Carter administration on this list. It’s about the only album in the past twenty years that has caused me to get up in the morning and push play before I have my coffee. As pathetic as that sounds I’m at peace with the routine. Case has the rare gift of having an incredible voice and knowing what to do with it. Most vocalists who are blessed with wonderful vocal chords squander their gifts on junk. Barbra, Whitney anyone? Case writes her own songs and tapers them around her voice which she wisely uses as the instrument it is.

She’s made several albums containing many essential songs, this one however is the complete package. Her voice floats through, above and around the songs like some ethereal dream. With the repeat button it’s one of the few dreams we can revisit when ever the mood strikes.

43. Welcome To The Canteen - Traffic

This album is little more than a legitimate bootleg. However, like any great bootleg once you settle into the ambiance you feel like you’re being let in on a secret. For this set current, former and future members of the band reunited for a benefit concert. The return of Dave Mason and the presence of three drummers make this a crowded field but it works for me.

Mason offers up a couple of songs from his then recent solo album “Alone Together” in a semi-acoustic setting. If you like percussion and slightly too loud acoustic guitars this one yields many rewards. The late Chris Wood also shines on flute. A way too long version of “Gimme Some Lovin’” lets the album slip away on a less than stellar note, but the previous selections rescue it and let it grab a spot in my top fifty.

44. Borboletta - Santana

Over the course of hundreds of lineups and probably a thousand or so discs this one still stands out over thirty years after its release. Working with one their most percussive lineups and with guests like Airto they fashioned one of their most ambitious works of the seventies. Carlos is everywhere, but more importantly he’s also in the mix as the vocalists and other musicians are allowed to take center stage.

The critics were cold to this one and it went nowhere on the charts, but for me it endures. Leon Patillo is a soulful vocalist and the addition of Airto and Flora Purim hold up for me. Check out the track “Practice What You Preach” for some swirling sonics and dazzling guitar licks.

45. Rockin’ - Guess Who

Like many other sixties acts that achieved fame on AM radio and the singles charts this bands albums tend to get dismissed. I can’t speak for all of the other bands, but this one consistently offered up first rate albums that happened to contain hit singles. This was their best though. Opening with their ode to aging high schoolers “Heart Broken Bopper” this album revisits their youth more than anything else. That song alone is enough to land the entire album on this list.

The band is relaxed and the selections range from all out rock to country covers and even a faux fifties jukebox medley. It’s a fairly ambitious outing that features some inspired writing and performances. More than a guilty pleasure, this one is a lost treasure.



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