Top 200 Albums of All Time: S Artists part 1

Never Mind the Bullocks: The Sex Pistols (1977)
The Sex Pistols took punk confrontation to its logical conclusion in 1977. The combat boot wearing spike haired band defined the movement socially, musically, and cosmetically. The band professed anarchy and dissed the queen scaring some record companies and fans. The punk music as a whole confused most people. After all, why would fans want to be spit on?

Key Tracks:
God Save the Queen
Anarchy in the U.K.
Pretty Vacant

Graceland: Paul Simon (1986)
Hard to believe Graceland is 25 years old. The album includes South African influences essentially merging Simon’s personal beliefs, humor, and South African culture. It also provided the classic “You Can Call Me Al.”

Key Tracks:
Graceland
You Can Call Me Al
All Around the World of the Myth of Fingerprints

Bridge Over Troubled Water: Simon and Garfunkel (1970)
Simon and Garfunkel released one of the last albums to close the sixties and open the seventies. They captured a time and place on vinyl, which is why it connected. Like the next entry does for 1992, Bridge Over Troubled Water provides a time capsule to 1970.

Key Tracks:
Bridge Over Troubled Water
El Condor Pasa (If I Could)
Cecilia
The Boxer

Singles: Soundtrack (1992)
If you want to understand 1992, then listen to the Singles soundtrack. The album is loaded with so-called grunge artists as well as classic rockers like Hendrix and Heart. Singles explains disillusionment, youth, and hope that permeated the period and Bill Clinton tapped.

Key Tracks:
Would? (Alice in Chains)
Breath (Pearl Jam)
Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns (Mother Love Bone)
State of Love and Trust (Pearl Jam)
Waiting for Somebody (Paul Westerberg)
Nearly Lost You (Screaming Trees)

Reign in Blood: Slayer (1986)
In 1986, Slayer released the Trash Metal classic Reign in Blood. The album lasts about a half an hour, but fills the listener with Slayer’s brutality. This is the album to listen to if one wants to understand thrash and compare it to classic metal or hair metal.

Key Tracks:
Angel of Death
Raining Blood

#37 Simon and Garfunkel

Folk music became huge in the early 60s between Elvis induction into the army and Beatlemania. Simon and Garfunkel found their calling during this period. The childhood friends decided to do music. After a false start, they recorded “Sounds of Silence” in 1966. They continued to release hit singles. In 1968, they worked on the soundtrack to “The Graduate.” In 1969, “Mrs. Robinson” won the Grammy for Record of the Year. Their last major hit occurred in 1970. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” capped their career. The two split in 1970. Paul Simon continued to record (see #56) and was very successful. Art Garfunkel recorded and acted. Simon was clearly more successful. They’d reunite occasionally through the years including the 1981 Central Park concert, the 2003 Grammy Awards, and a two month tour in 2003. They toured again in 2005 and plan a 2009 tour.

Rock n Roll Moment: They played to 500,000 fans at their 1981 Reunion Concert in Central Park.

Essential Simon and Garfunkel:

Sounds of Silence (1966)
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme (1966)
Bookends (1968)
Bridge Over Troubled Waters (1970)

S&G’s Top 10:

The Sound of Silence
Homeward Bound
I Am A Rock
A Hazy Shade of Winter
Scarborough Fair
Mrs. Robinson
The Boxer
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Cecilia
America

#56 Paul Simon

Paul Simon is of the 100 people that have shaped our world. (At least according to Time Magazine). What do you do when you’re the talented half of the greatest duo in music history? Go solo! Simon was wildly successful through the 1970s with songs such as “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” which struck a chord in a era with skyrocketing divorce rates. His popularity continued into the 1980s most notably with “You Can Call Me Al” featuring a video dominated by Chevy Chase. He also experimented with African music in his much acclaimed "Graceland" album. In the 1990s, he wrote a Broadway Musical. Today, he continues to write and record. His latest, “Surprise” is highly acclaimed.

Rock n Roll Moment: He married Princess Leia and then hippie Edie Brickel.

Essential Simon:

The Paul Simon Songbook (1965-UK, 2004-US)
Paul Simon (1972)
There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (1973)
Still Crazy After All These Years (1975)
Graceland (1986)
The Rhythm of the Saints (1990)
Surprise (2006)

Paul Simon’s Top 10:

You Can Call Me Al
Graceland
Slip Slidin’ Away
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
I am a Rock
Kodachrome
Late in the Evening
Still Crazy After All These Years
Loves Me Like A Rock