10 Albums You Should Hear from Start to Finish

Introduction

I listen to a lot of different music, and with my position in having a blog, I find it sometimes useful to consolidate my thoughts about what I’m experiencing when I listen. Hopefully, this might draw some listeners, or change some minds in the process. If I haven’t included your particular favourite album please don’t be offended, I might come around to it in a later article, or you can drop me listening suggestions in the comments. Happy listening!

1) Sade- Promise (1985)

The follow up to ‘Diamond Life,” this is a beautifully put together album with plenty of creative and rich arrangements. ‘Is it a Crime’ is a beautiful introduction to the suave and silky tones throughout ‘Promise’ and Stuart Matthewman’s skills on Sax and Guitar, not to mention his and Sade Adu’s inventive writing are really on show here. This is a great combination of RnB, Pop, Soul and Modern styles, (Sophisti-Pop?) and perfect to have in the background or as a relaxing listen. It is not said perhaps as often as it could be, but Sade as a band and artist are a highly influential and ground-breaking precursor to much of the similar music that followed in the 90s and early 2000s, including some of the more Latin, Neo-Soul, Pop and Rap scenes.

Best Track: “Tar Baby.” Really pretty arrangement and an interesting structural arc and contour that isn’t so common to more accessible pop.

2) Fleetwood Mac- Mirage (1982)

It would be unfair to compare and pit the Peter Green and Nicks/Buckingham/McVie eras of Fleetwood Mac against each other, as the two sounds are of their own universe and following. That being said, the vastly understated brilliance of ‘Mirage,’ compared with its’ sometimes slightly overrated counterparts, is worth a spot on this list. There is a slighter nod to the more American aspects that the new generation of the band brought in, with tracks such as “That’s Alright” providing that jauntier, new-age, country style that is both lively and new, and timeless, all at the same time. Whilst I am more drawn to the songs contained within the first half of the album, there are hints throughout of the parts of the Fleetwood Mac sound, that we had all come to know and love in their previous albums. Also ‘Gypsy’ will always be amongst their greatest tracks and the album overall is a redeeming follow up to the disappointment of ‘Tusk’ in comparison with ‘Rumours.’

Best Track: “Gypsy.” The Fleetwood Mac sound exemplified for the purpose of this album, great vocal delivery and oh-so-easy on the ear.

3) Red House Painters- Red House Painters I (1993)

Something niche and relaxing to get the dopamine flowing has been some part of my listening for the last year or so, and ‘Red House Painters I,’ is the epitome of slow, yet oddly so satisfying. Whilst ‘Sun Kil Moon’ was a far more successful and accessible follow up project for ever-controversial cancel-culture figure Mark Kozelek, this album still manages to be agonisingly relevant to smaller struggles that we have in the day-to-day and draws them out to their fullest. For listening purposes, I am happy to put Kozelek’s issues aside, but it is hard to ignore when his great artistry is a potent reminder of the demons that paint his reputation red.

Best Track: “Katy Song.” Great topline and a sad listen for a rainy day.

4) Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention- Freak Out! (1966)

Before it was on this list, ‘Freak Out!’ was already gracing ‘greatest ever’ lists from all the big publications, and its blunt, continuously relevant jabs at politics, both of nations and of identity, love, music culture and general ‘biz,’ is what keeps people coming back to it.

The 60s was full of great albums, no prizes for saying that, but ‘Freak Out!’ deserves to be talked about just as much as ‘Sgt. Pepper’s,’ or ‘Pet Sounds,’ to create my self-proclaimed holy trinity of the best albums from ‘66-’67. Perhaps if Zappa’s on-the-nose attitude to turning down Woodstock had gone the other way, ‘Freak Out!’ would be cemented in its rightful place alongside the Byrds, the Beatles, The Beach Boys and all the other Bs, but that is now left to history.

When Zappa sings about the government, the arrangement matches to make you feel as though the government is in your room. peering over your shoulder and listening in. When Zappa takes the piss out of love songs and hippies, you kind of agree with him regardless of your opinion prior. When the album introduces aspects of Avant-Garde, Classical, Jazz and Kazoo music to the mix of scratchy guitar tones and doo-wop vocals, you kind of just end up nodding along going ‘yeah.’ It’s good, and the personnel involved know just how good it is. If Zappa was still alive, no doubt he’d be writing songs about Trump and the KKK and social media and telling everyone exactly where to stick it. But at least we have this album as a prime example of his genius and great 60s music.

Best Track: “Trouble Every Day.” Really listen to the lyrics and they are relevant throughout every decade of the 20^th and 21^st century up to present day. In light of February being Black History Month, the song has a commentary that shows how little America has progressed in the way it treats its’ citizens, and the way it encourages its’ citizens to behave towards one another.

5) The Police- Ghost in the Machine (1981)  

High energy, bright, ahead of its’ time but also timeless. ‘Ghost in the Machine,’ is consistently great from start to finish and is perfectly placed in history with its concerns about the rise of technology and how fame comes at a price for Sting, Andy and Stewart. It’s about the poppiest anti-pop album you could hope for and the full force-ness of the band proves just how much they put behind the music.

Best Track: Either “Too Much Information,” or “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic,” but most of the tracks on the album are worthy of that title!

6) Steely Dan- Katy Lied (1975)

I spent a long time religiously obsessing over ‘Aja’ by Steely Dan, thinking that no other album by the band even came close, but then I realised that the band had already encapsulated the feel of ‘Aja’ but in a bite-sized format through ‘Katy Lied’ and that was a great discovery. The concise nature of the tracks makes for a listen that’s really easy on the ear and as is true of all of Steely Dan’s work, the session musicianship is nothing short of excellent. As a guitarist myself, I am especially drawn to the guitar work of Dean Parks on ‘Rose Darling’ and Larry Carlton on ‘Daddy Don’t Live in that New York City No More,’ once again, it is the simplicity of it all that exemplifies the sheer brilliance of each individual element.

Best Track: Hard to choose, but probably ‘Bad Sneakers’ for the overall writing.

7) Weather Report- Mr. Gone (1978)

Jazz fusion is an area of music that many avoid, but Weather Report have the unity and melodic sense to make it more than accessible. The album ‘Mr. Gone,’ lives on the edge between these two worlds, as it is groovy and energetic enough to win over new listeners, whilst having enough interesting and new harmonic exploration to keep the old guard interested. It is easy to see where the rhythm sections of new units like Snarky Puppy and Vulfpeck might have got some of their inspiration, as the dynamic combination of Peter Erskine and the ever-lauded Jaco Pastorius are the perfect underlay for whatever zany work happens between Shorter and Zawinul. It’s instrumental music that exists for the love of the musicians playing and the people listening, a combination that many fusion groups fail to get quite right. I especially love how the melody on “Pinocchio” sweeps upwards and downwards to metaphorise the movement of the puppets’ nose when he lies, what a cool concept! This is great background listening but also great for musicians who want to analyse just what’s going on in the crazy world of Weather Report, if you’re new to this kind of music, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Best Track: “Pinocchio” for reasons stated above, really good!

8) Nick Drake- Pink Moon (1972)

There are few tragic figures in music who as little is known about as Nick Drake. His few albums are the insight we have into his mind and ‘Pink Moon,’ is just about the best, according to many. Drake and his acoustic guitar by themselves manage to be captivating, original and haunting, channelling many earlier singer-songwriter figures of the 60s such as Donovan and Bob Dylan. The album is both lonely and warm and welcoming, as if we are being invited into his house for tea and a cigarette, to watch him play his guitar and sing and then walk back out into the cold. It occupies the part of the mind that sometimes thinks and imagines too deeply but is still painfully aware of the reality in front of it. It’s a strange half hour but one that’s worth giving up.

Best Track: “Things Behind the Sun.”

9) The Band- Music from Big Pink (1968)

Few groups encapsulate the feel of authentic, North American roots rock as The Band and this is a debut album to remember. To describe The Band to those who haven’t previously listened, imagine your community coming together for a festival to sing songs and dance into the night, except your community is a bunch of highly skilled musicians with a whole lotta good old American soul. It’s fun and engaging to listen to, but also allows you to sit and enjoy, in awe of the sheer musicianship and feel that the group brings to each track. Each song feels like a classic whilst none of them stand out above the rest, apart from maybe of “The Last Waltz,” fame, ‘The Weight,’ which is many different great aspects of American culture combined into a decent ‘sing-along.’ Also, these are tracks with simple chord progressions that are great to jam along to on piano, guitar or whatever instrument you can make a noise with, maybe have some fun while you’re at it, because isn’t that what music is supposed to be?

Best Track: ‘The Weight’ or ‘We Can Talk,’ both great in their delivery and writing.

10) Tom Waits- The Heart of Saturday Night (1974)

I could wax lyrical for days about how much I enjoy the music, the character and the art of Tom Waits. He is gritty, unashamed, unfiltered and yet humble, sensitive and introspective in his delivery. He manages to make the mundane seem like the incredibly profound and vice versa, but the slight snarling air of pretention that rests on his unique takes on life is washed over by his honesty and disdain for pretence. I remember a quote from a friend that ‘a lot happens in his music, but very, very slowly,’ which is an apt description of how he makes sure to take it easy in putting forth his two pence, taking perhaps more care to look for the simple things in life, rather than think about what they mean.

“The Heart of Saturday Night,” is the dream album for someone who likes to pick holes and meanings in songs like I do, but all I ended up discovering is that this is exactly the kind of attitude that leaves voices like the one on this album down on their luck and wishing for something more. The Jazz Lounge feel to most of the album is counteracted by Waits’ iconic vocal timbre and the whole feel has a swagger to it that can’t usually be created by either style by itself. You could easily compare it to some big band music like Sinatra or Bobby Darin, just without the hair wax, the shiny teeth and the spotless suit.

Best Track: “(Looking For) the Heart of Saturday Night,” who would have known that ‘knee slap,’ could be credited as an instrument, but it’s so subtly there in the background while Tom Waits groans about ‘barrelling down the boulevard’ in your Oldsmobile, great imagery and the space and taste to paint it perfectly for the listener.