Lately I've been reading a lot of wonderful blogs listing the best songs and CDs of 2005. They got me to thinking about not only my favourite music of the past twelve months, but also the music that I return to year after year. I thought it might be fun to put together a list of my all-time favourite CDs. Since I'm new to blogging, I thought this might be a way to help introduce myself through the music I love.
After going quickly through my CD collection, I had a stack of about 50 discs on my living room floor and realized I'd better come up with some criteria. So the rules for my list were simple: no compilations (i.e. boxed sets, greatest hits, soundtracks, etc) and nothing released after 1999. Not including some of the newer releases was hard, but I wanted to focus on the artists and albums that have stayed with me for at least 5 years. In a sense, these CDs are like old friends so I wanted those that have been long-time companions.
The final list contains 15 titles. Before we get to them (in 2 parts), there were also 10 other discs that I really wanted to include in the final list and had a hard time trying to exclude them.
One final disclaimer. I do not consider these the best albums, just the ones that mean the most to me.
Honorable mention (favourite cuts in parentheses):
Anita Baker, Rapture (Caught Up In the Rapture, You Bring Me Joy, No One in the World, Sweet Love). This album is like a warm blanket.
Black Box, Dreamland (Everybody Everybody, Ride on Time, Open Your Eyes, I Don't Know Anybody Else). Used to dance all night to some of these cuts.
Foreigner, 4 (Urgent, Break it Up, Waiting For a Girl Like You, Girl on the Moon). Love Lou Gramm's voice.
George Michael, Faith (One More Try, Hard Day, Kissing a Fool, Monkey, Hand to Mouth). Strong collection of songs.
Donny Hathaway, In Performance (Sack Full of Dreams, To Be Young Gifted and Black, A Song For You, I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know). This was the first Donny Hathaway album I ever purchased (shortly after his death) and it still remains my favourite. The man just breaks your heart when he sings.
Maxwell, Embrya (Luxury:Cococure, Gravity:Pushing to Pull, Each Hour Each Second Each Minute Each Day: Of My Life). Simply, hypnotic and seductive.
Alexander O'Neal, Hearsay (The Lovers, Never Knew Love Like This, (What Can I Say) To Make You Love Me, Crying Overtime). Sophomore effort exceeded his brilliant debut. Party and romance without having to change the record. :-)
Sting, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (We Work the Black Seam, Fortress Around Your Heart, If You Love Somebody Set Them Free). Stunning solo debut by one of the best songwriters of his generation.
Stevie Wonder, Hotter Than July (Lately, Rocket Love, All I Do, I Ain't Gonna Stand for It). Even when life is wonderful, I can't listen to "Lately" or "Rocket Love" without getting teary. Stevie writes songs with amazing emotional resonance.
Luther Vandross, Never Too Much (She's A Super Lady, A House is Not a Home, Never Too Much). In my opinion, "She's A Super Lady" might be his finest vocal performance. He sings with a freedom that he rarely captured again on record.
The List: #11 to #15
15. Culture Club, Colour By Numbers (It's A Miracle, Miss Me Blind, Church of the Poison Mind, Black Money, Storm Keepers, Victims). The novelty that fueled their first album was replaced by a surprising maturity in both the songwriting and George's vocals. Yeah, the silliness of "Karma Chameleon" and the pop confection of "It's A Miracle" and "Miss Me Blind" might make it easy for some to dismiss this album, but the poignancy of "Victims" and the raw emotion of "Black Money" pulls me back to this set. Culture Club might have been the most talented of all the New Wave bands that emerged in the early 80s. Unfortunately, their self-destructive tendencies were fueled by the massive success of this album. Lost in all of their drama was the fact that this was just a damn good record.
14. Prince, 1999 (Lady Cab Driver, 1999, Little Red Corvette, D.M.S.R.). When I was a teenager, I could not play this album around my parents or my younger siblings. My, how things have changed. I blush at the things my (now grown) siblings listen to and my mom has Prince in her CD changer. What hasn't changed is that Prince's body of work is one of the richest and deepest in the history of recorded music. 1999, while a precursor to some of his most respected work (Purple Rain, Sign O' the Times), is the recording that opened the doors for him to become a household name. His audacity to release a double-album during a recession and a post-disco record sales slump showed moxie. That pop radio embraced it during a time when so few Black artists were getting played on pop stations is a testimony to universal appeal of the songs. While the hits are well known, for me,it was the seductive and sexy "Lady Cab Driver" that made this an instant favourite. It is as sexy as anything one could find on his brilliantly raunchy Dirty Mind album, yet sophisticated enough to incorporate a spiritual element into the lovemaking. Who would have thought a song about getting it on in the backseat of a cab could invoke God and the stars... and makes sense doing it?
13. Hiroshima, East (The Golden Age, Living in America, Thousand Cranes, Tabo, East). Hiroshima, for one album, made a slightly unexpected shift. They added an element of political consciousness that was never there before (and never really appeared again afterward). The anger on "Living in America," sadness and grief on "Thousand Cranes," and an almost desperate plea on "The Golden Age" left a lasting impression on me. If I had to pick a single favourite song of all-time, "The Golden Age" would be the leading candidate. In a sense, it is a prayer asking humanity to consider what it is doing to itself and the earth. Lead vocalist Machun (now Machan) assumed a worried and innocent vocal character (contrast it to the angry tones she infuses into "Living in America") that gave the song an unexpected urgency. Combine that with poetic lyrics and a buoyant arrangement and you have a record that spoke to me on a very personal level. I don't know if anyone else will dial in to it the way that I did, but that is what makes music so amazing. Each song is a very personal experience. Of the thousands of songs I've heard and loved, "The Golden Age" speaks to me like no other.
12. Sister Sledge, We Are Family (Thinking of You, Easier to Love, He's the Greatest Dancer, We Are Family). While most people remember the two monster hits ("He's the Greatest Dancer" and "We Are Family") and the more savvy listeners also remember the minor hit ("Lost in Music"), it is the two "should have been hits" that makes this album one of my favourites. "Thinking of You" and "Easier to Love" still leave me wondering why record companies and radio programmers have so much influence on what gets played. Frankly, they had to be deaf not to think people would not want to hear those two songs. Thankfully, there were enough independent DJs in Southern California back in the late 70s who had the good sense to play those records. As a kid growing up in a poor family, I could not just buy any record I wanted so I had to tape songs off the radio. Recording "Thinking of You" off the air inspired me to borrow that album from a friend who had it. I hated having to give that album back. :-) I think of that friend whenever I hear those songs. To this day, both songs are still very special to me.
11. Patrice Rushen, Straight From the Heart (Forget Me Nots, Remind Me, I Was Tired of Being Alone). If I had to build a perfect record, "Forget Me Nots" would be the template. The tempo is just right for dancing, chillin', screwing (oops! Did I really just write that?), driving, working out, and walking. The musicianship is flawless. Every note is perfectly placed. The lyrics are clever, yet accessible. Poignant, yet hopeful. In a single day, you could play this song when you wake up to get you going, while at work for cool background music, driving home to re-energize you during rush hour, use it to accompany dinner with your wife (you can even dedicate it to her as a reminder of your ongoing love), dance to it later at the club (where you get in trouble for staring a little too long at someone else), dedicate it again to her as a plea for forgiveness for what happened at the club, then use it to help you make up with her when you get home. It is a very versatile record that spearheads Rushen's most successful album.
To be continued....
I've been waiting patiently for part II, but let me just say that Sting's CD was really a slept on effort. That dismayed me. I'm repurchasing it now.
That Alexander O'Neal: I swear to you I believe that that CD was the ultimate classic for me. Lisa Keith really shone on that CD. She's grossly underrated.
...and thanks to one of your CDs up there, I finally have a theme for my OSW....
Posted by: EJ | January 14, 2006 at 07:35 PM
What a great idea! I don't know if I have the patience to compile a list like this - I listen to a LOT of music.
So far, Colour By Numbers, 1999 and We Are Family resonate with me the most. I have strong memories tied to all three. I swear if you put on "Thinking Of You", I'll go crazy. I forbade EJ from putting it on his OSW. It's just that special to me.
Okay, Part II. Where is it?
Posted by: j. brotherlove | January 18, 2006 at 10:01 AM