Top 200 Albums of All Time: Tom Petty

Damn the Torpedoes: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1979)
MCA gained control of Tom Petty’s recording contract resulting in a legal battle. Petty was angry over the change in labels and the battle resulted in his bankruptcy. The record company eventually backed down. Damn the Torpedoes proved Petty’s big breakthrough. The title derived from Civil War Admiral David Farragut’s quote “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!”

Key Tracks:
Refugee
There Goes My Girl
Even the Losers
Don’t Do Me Like That

Full Moon Fever: Tom Petty (1989)
Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne wrote a bunch of songs that did not sound like the Heartbreakers. So, Petty recorded them as a solo album. In the end, the Heartbreakers, sans drummer Stan Lynch, contributed to the album as did members of the Traveling Wilburys. The album represents one of the few times a really good album was also a commercial success.

Key Tracks:
Free Fallin’
I Won’t Back Down
Runnin’ Down A Dream
Yer So Bad

Top 200 Albums of All Time: "H" Artists

All Things Must Pass: George Harrison (1970)


The Beatles underutilized George Harrison. As a result, the “quiet Beatle” accumulated an amazing amount of work that he released as a solo triple album in 1970. The release shocked critics and fans who often overlooked Harrison. This is amazing considering Harrison was responsible for some of the band’s greatest work.

Key Tracks:

My Sweet Lord
What is Life
All Things Must Pass

Are You Experienced: The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)

Are You Experienced is the debut album for the Jimi Hendrix Experience. No one had ever heard anything like it before. Hendrix’s use of distortion, feedback, and psychedelic sounds proved revolutionary. At the time, some of rock’s greatest guitarists believed Hendrix spelled their doom. Every guitarist since has tried to be Hendrix whether he knows it or not.

Key Tracks:

Purple Haze
Manic Depression
Hey Joe
Foxey Lady
Fire

Electric Ladyland: The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968)

Hendrix’s last album before his death is one of the few groundbreaking double albums. The band incorporates a number of musical genres into the mix. From psychedelic to blues to pop, Electric Ladyland raised the bar.

Key Tracks:

Crosstown Traffic
Voodoo Chile
All Along the Watchtower

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill: Lauryn Hill (1998)
Lauryn Hill left the turmoil of the Fugees and released a landmark album. The work dealt with her pregnancy, religion, and the drama surrounding the Fugees. Hill incorporates several musical genres including R&B, soul, gospel, and reggae.
Key Tracks:

Doo Wop (That Thing)
Ex-Factor
Everything is Everything

Greatest 200 Albums of All Time: The Beatles

This is the third (and final) entry for the "B" artists. So far, I have listed 35 albums from artists in four posts.


Please Please Me: The Beatles (1963)

On February 11, 1963, the Beatles recorded their live shows on vinyl in about 10 hours. The album is a time capsule capturing the Beatles of the Cavern Club Era. Producer George Martin considered actually recording them at the club, but time constraints dissuaded the effort. The album represented a dramatic change in the sound of pop music and led to Beatlemania and the British Invasion the following year. For one brief moment, rock n roll was the culture's dominate music form.

Key Tracks:

I Saw Her Standing There
Please Please Me
Love Me Do
Twist and Shout

A Hard Day’s Night: The Beatles (1964)

The Beatles’ third studio album was also a soundtrack to a film of the same name. The album demonstrated a marked improvement in songwriting. In particular, “Can’t Buy Me Love” was a monster hit that remains amazingly popular nearly 50 years later. The title came from a malapropism. Ringo inadvertently mentioned his hard day’s night and a title was born.

Key Tracks:

A Hard Day’s Night
Can’t Buy Me Love
Things We Said Today
If I Fell

Help!: The Beatles (1965)

Help! is another soundtrack album. The original release included instrumentals to accompany new studio tracks. The album continues to demonstrate the band’s progression. Among the new songs, “Ticket To Ride” and “Yesterday” enjoyed the most success. “Yesterday” is the most covered song in history.

Key Tracks:

Help!
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
Ticket To Ride
Yesterday

Rubber Soul: The Beatles (1965)

Many consider Rubber Soul the greatest album ever recorded. The album expanded the Beatles sound and incorporated a variety of influences. The Beatles branched out like no act had ever done before. George incorporated world music into American pop music with the sitar on “Norwegian Wood.” This kicked off a sitar craze in rock. The album also featured studio innovations and more introspective songs. “In My Life” represents both these changes. The song was very personal and the piano solo sounds like a harpsichord thanks to producer George Martin.

Key Tracks:

Drive My Car
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
In My Life
Nowhere Man

Revolver: The Beatles (1966)

George Harrison considered Revolver and Rubber Soul as basically the same album. Although it was more electric than its predecessor, Revolver was just as groundbreaking. The album experimented with musical diversity in new and exciting ways. Often when bands attempt this, the albums are unequal at best. However, the Beatles managed to pull it off with song topics ranging from loneliness to tax protests. Additionally, the work introduces psychedelic music to the masses with "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "She Said She Said."

Key Tracks:

Eleanor Rigby
Got To Get You Into My Life
Tomorrow Never Knows
She Said She Said

Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band: The Beatles (1967)

For years, many considered Sgt. Peppers the greatest album ever recorded. In recent years, Revolver has surpassed it in the eyes of many. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band furthered the Beatles’ musical expansion and exploration. By this point, the band abandoned touring to concentrate on recording and writing. It allowed the Beatles to incorporate multiple musical styles into the album. It included rock, jazz, Indian, classical, psychedelic and old style music hall.

Key Tracks:

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band/With A Little Help From My Friends
She’s Leaving Home
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

Magical Mystery Tour: The Beatles (1967)

The Beatles decided to film a television special. The show bombed mostly because most people did not see it in color. However, the album was a success and included many classics. The album included previously released material such as “Penny Lane,” but also showed the Beatles cutting sense of humor. John Lennon wrote “I Am The Walrus” after reading teachers were analyzing Beatles songs in class. He decided to write a song about nothing. “Baby, You’re A Rich Man” slammed their former manager. The album concludes with “All You Need Is Love” which was originally performed live in the first global satellite broadcast. The album is not as even as their previous albums because it is a collection of new and old, but it still was nominated for a Grammy.

Key Tracks:

Hello, Goodbye
Strawberry Fields
Penny Lane
All You Need Is Love

The White Album: The Beatles (1968)

The Beatles released their unnamed double album in 1968. The unofficial title, The White Album, derives from its blank white sleeve. It was their first album after their manager Brian Epstein’s death and ninth overall. The Beatles drew from every potential source including avant-garde, traditional, rock, blues, country, etc. The Beatles provide a complete history of popular music up until 1968 on this record.

Key Tracks:

Back in the U.S.S.R.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Blackbird
Julia
Yer Blues
Helter Skelter
Revolution 1

Abbey Road: The Beatles (1969)

By February 1969, The Beatles were imploding. Amazingly, they managed to record a masterpiece. The album includes George Harrison’s best known works in “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun.” Additionally, the record is split in two. The first portion contains stand alone singles. The second part contains a number of short tunes that transition into each other culminating in the “Golden Slumbers Medley.” Although technically the band released Let It Be in 1970, Abbey Road is the last album the Fab Four recorded making “Golden Slumbers” the Beatles farewell.

Key Tracks:

Come Together
Something
Here Comes the Sun
Golden Slumbers Medley

Let It Be: The Beatles (1970)

The Beatles released Let It Be following their breakup. The band recorded the album before Abbey Road, but did not like the outcome. They brought Phil Spector in to rework the album and decided to film the sessions which became notorious. The film documented the band’s dysfunction as opposed to their genius. It’s hard for a band with three front men to succeed and cameras recorded the end for posterity.

Key Tracks:

The One After 909
Get Back
Let It Be
The Long and Winding Road
Two of Us

#1 The Beatles

The Beatles formed in Liverpool, England in 1960. The band moved from its working class roots to become the most popular and influential group in history. In 1957, John Lennon formed The Quarrymen. Paul McCartney and George Harrison joined soon thereafter. Stuart Sutcliffe and Colin Hanton rounded out the band. Sutcliffe would die of a cerebral hemorrage in 1962. It was Sutcliffe that suggested “Beetles” as a name for the group. Drummer Colin Hanton quickly left the band and was replaced by Pete Best.

The Beatles earned their chops touring Hamburg, Germany. They began earning a name for themselves and soon came to the attention of Brian Epstein. Epstein became their manager in January, 1962. Their new manager contacted producer George Martin. Martin took an interest in the band, but did not like the drummer. The Beatles fired Pete Best and replaced him with Ringo Starr.

In 1963, they experienced modest success in England. In 1964, the world exploded. No English band had experienced success in the United States. The Beatles debuted in the states and Beatlemania was born. People went nuts. Girls would faint and soil themselves. The record companies began searching for other British groups.

Musically, the Beatles represented a British reworking of American Rock n Roll. Rock had been shoved aside due to scandals in the late fifties. With the exception of the Surf Craze, popular music had no edge. Lyrically, the Beatles were nothing extraordinary until they met Bob Dylan. Dylan dug the Beatles sound, but was critical of their lyrics. The lyrics did not say anything. John Lennon took the advice to heart and began writing more personal songs.

After the Dylan meeting, the Beatles work improved dramatically. Rubber Soul and Revolver represent a fundamental reworking of rock music. Meanwhile, the band tired of touring. They could not hear each other on stage and that bothered them. As a result, they stopped touring. This, combined with their popularity, gave them the freedom to do whatever they wanted.
Creativity and freedom led to Sgt Peppers. The band experimented and created a masterpiece. The album changed the rules of the game and other acts scrambled to keep up. It drove Beach Boy Brian Wilson over the edge. The Rolling Stones countered with their own take on the album with Their Satanic Majesties Request. One month after Sgt Peppers’ release, the Beatles performed “All You Need Is Love” for a worldwide satellite audience. It was one of the first satellite feeds to go around the world.

After the worldwide performance, they went to India to investigate the mysteries of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and transcendental meditation. Yogi proved a fraud and the band was disenchanted. At this point, Paul decided to do another movie. Their previous movies were well received. However, The Magical Mystery Tour was perceived as the first real chink in the Beatles armor. The unscripted movie came across poorly to audiences. It lacked direction and most T.V. sets were black and white which meant the colorful film lost its impact.

The Beatles continued to record. They followed the film with Yellow Submarine, The White Album, Let It Be, and Abbey Road. By the end, tensions within the group tore it apart. Many blamed John Lennon’s partner Yoko Ono. However, the real cause appears to be financial. After the Brian Epstein died, the Beatles took control of their finances and had no idea what they were doing. Eventually, they hired Allen Klein. Klein was a shady character and Mick Jagger warned Paul McCartney not to hire him. Paul advocated another candidate, but John, George, and Ringo lined up against Paul. The band eventually fell apart, Paul announced he was going solo and lawsuits followed.

The Beatles reunited in 1995 for the Anthology Project. They released a couple of new songs. Unfortunately, John Lennon was murdered in 1980 amidst rumors of a reunion. George would pass in 2002 of cancer. Paul and Ringo performed at The Concert for George. Ringo continues to record. Paul had a smash hit album in 2007 and scored some minor hits in the 2000s. The Beatles are in Rock n Roll Hall of Fame as a group and John, Paul, and George are in the Hall as solo artists.

Rock n Roll Moment: John claimed the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. He was right.

Essential Beatles:
Please Please Me (1963)
With the Beatles (1963)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
Rubber Soul (1965)
Revolver (1966)
Sgt Peppers (1967)
The White Album (1968)
Abbey Road (1969)
Let it Be (1970)

The Beatles’ Top 10:
Please Please Me
I Want to Hold Your Hand
A Hard Day’s Night
Can’t Buy Me Love
Yesterday
Norwegian Wood
Eleanor Rigby
A Day in the Life
Strawberry Fields
Something
Here Comes the Sun

#52 George Harrison

George was the “Quiet Beatle” and the most underrated. John and Paul ignored a lot of his work. The end result was the seminal triple album “All Things Must Pass.” In 1971, he put together the first major rock benefit concert for Bangladesh. He produced films and recorded into the 80s. By the late 80s, George was everywhere. His “Cloud Nine” album with hits such as “Got My Mind Set On You” was a blockbuster and he joined the Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison. George passed in 2001 from lung cancer and posthumously released the well received “Brainwashed.” His son Dhani continues the Harrison legacy as a performer in his own right.

Rock n Roll Moment: George was the first to put together a major benefit concert.

Essential George:

All Things Must Pass (1970)
The Concert for Bangladesh (1971)
Cloud Nine (1989)
Brainwashed (2002)

George’s Top 10:

My Sweet Lord
What is Life
All Things Must Pass
All Those Years Ago
Got My Mind Set On You
When We Was Fab
This is Love
Cheer Down
God
Cockamamie Business