Greatest 200 Albums of All Time: Artists Beginning with B

This is the first of three posts with Artists starting with B. The Beatles will get their own post.

Music from the Big Pink: The Band (1968)

The Band backed Bob Dylan on his 1966 tour. In 1968, they released their own work. They combined country, folk, rock, soul, and R&B and created their own distinctive style. The album’s title comes from a pink home they shared in upstate New York. “The Weight” received widespread play and acclaim after its appearance in the movie Easy Rider. The Band’s laid back style influenced Eric Clapton to change his own style and leave Cream. Other major acts were comparably influenced.

Key Tracks:

The Weight
Tears of Rage
Long Black Veil
I Shall Be Released
Chest Fever

The Band: The Band (1969)

The eponymous album, often referred to as “The Brown Album” contains most of The Band’s best known works. The Band hoped to capture an Americana feel with the album which countered the modernity and chaos of 1969. It brilliantly captured an older era. Interestingly, one of the best southern rock songs of all time was written by Canadian Robbie Robertson.

Key Tracks:
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Up On Cripple Creek
King Harvest (Has Surely Come)
Jawbone

Pet Sounds: The Beach Boys (1966)

Band leader Brian Wilson stopped touring and concentrated on writing and recording. This freed Wilson to experiment with various sounds, unconventional instruments, and various musical forms. Wilson was especially determined to one up the Beatles Rubber Soul. Competition bred success and Wilson’s work is often cited as the greatest album in history.

Key Tracks:

Wouldn’t It Be Nice
Sloop John B
God Only Knows
Caroline, No

Licensed To Ill: The Beastie Boys (1986)

The Beastie Boys proved white boys could rap. Licensed To Ill was the first rap album to chart in the Top 200 and was the fastest selling debut album up to that point. The album was powered by the rock parody “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)” with Kerry King of Slayer on guitar. The album contained other classic tracks which demonstrated the Beasties talent and proved they were not a Vanilla Ice or Snow.

Key Tracks:

(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)
No Sleep Till Brooklyn
Paul Revere
Brass Monkey

Ill Communication: Beastie Boys (1994)

The Beastie Boys scored their second #1 album with Ill Communication. The album was supported with a classic video for “Sabotage” placing the band in a 70s style cop show. “Sabotage later appeared in 2009’s Star Trek. The album became a soundtrack for summer 1994.

Key Tracks:
Sabotage
Sure Shot
Get It Together

Truth: Jeff Beck (1968)

Jeff Beck began as a session guitarist in the early sixties. In 1965, he replaced Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds. After being tossed out of the group, Beck formed his own band. The Jeff Beck Group released Truth in 1968. He had recorded before, but this was his first full length album. Truth is regarded as one of the first heavy metal albums and included guest appearances by Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Keith Moon.

Key Tracks:

Beck’s Bolero
I Ain’t Superstitious
You Shook Me
Shapes of Things

Beck-Ola (Cosa Nostra): Jeff Beck (1969)

The Jeff Beck Group broke up four months after releasing Beck-Ola. The album included several blues-rocks works and some covers of Elvis Presley hits. Rod Stewart provided vocals with Ron Wood on bass. The album ends with the listener wanting more as “Rice Pudding” ends in the middle of the song.

Key Tracks:

Rice Pudding
Jailhouse Rock
All Shook Up

Saturday Night Fever: The Bee Gees (1977)

The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack sold 15 millions copies making it the best-selling soundtrack of all time. It was later surpassed by The Bodyguard. The album became a lifestyle and helped breath new life into the waning disco scene. After the movie and album, disco peaked and became a phenomenon. Even Ethel Merman was doing disco! To learn about late 1970s culture, there is no better place to start than this film and its soundtrack.

Key Tracks:

Stayin’ Alive
How Deep Is Your Love
Night Fever
More Than a Woman
Jive Talkin’
You Should Be Dancing

Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath (1970)

Ozzie Osbourne figured that since people spent money to see horror movies, they might spend money to listen to horror music. Black Sabbath went into the studio and recorded the seven songs making up their debut album in a single day. It was perhaps the first true heavy metal record. Black Sabbath included nightmare themes, the supernatural, and even Satan. The critics hated it in 1970, but now consider it a classic.

Key Tracks:

Black Sabbath
N.I.B.
Evil Woman

Paranoid: Black Sabbath (1970)

Sabbath returned to the studio four months after releasing their self titled debut album. The band lacked enough material for a new album and Tony Iommi’s fiddling in the studio led to the title track. The work contains some of Sabbath’s best known songs and is considered their greatest work.

Key Tracks:

War Pigs
Iron Man
Paranoid

Best riffs of the 1970s

Smoke on the Water- Deep Purple

Layla- Derek and the Dominoes

Iron Man- Black Sabbath

Heartbreaker- Led Zeppelin

Walk This Way- Aerosmith

Paranoid- Black Sabbath

Aqualung- Jethro Tull

Brown Sugar- The Rolling Stones

Running with the Devil- Van Halen

La Grange- ZZ Top

Cat Scratch Fever- Ted Nugent

Hey Hey My My- Neil Young

Money- Pink Floyd

Cocaine- Eric Clapton

Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Love- Van Halen

Frankenstein- Edgar Winter

Stranglehold- Ted Nugent

Sweet Home Alabama- LS

In the Evening- Led Zeppelin

Echoes- Pink Floyd

Most Liberal Songs of All Time

American Idiot- Green Day: The song is about the brain dead public going along with the Iraq War.

Beds Are Burning- Midnight Oil: Beds Are Burning is more Euro-focused. Essentially, the West raped and pillaged the third world and now it is time to make amends.

Fight the Power- Public Enemy: The title could lend itself to any ideology. However, this is geared toward militant revolution. The power is society itself and that needs a fundamental transformation.

Fortunate Son- Creedence Clearwater Revival: Fortunate Son is the best of the Vietnam Era anti-war songs. The song tells the story of a man that is not fortunate enough to be born into wealth and privilege and thus can not escape the draft. The song was resurrected during the Iraq War as many tried to paint Bush as the fortunate son.

Fuck the Police- NWA: The title says it all.

Imagine - John Lennon: Lennon’s masterpiece is generally considered a left wing anthem. Although, Lennon was a leftist agitator at times, the song itself ponders a world where everyone can get along. What strikes many as uber-liberal is Lennon’s imagining no religion and no countries. To some, this smacked of Marxist Revolution.

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday- Carole King: The Monkeys made this famous. The song is about conformity and modern life. It’s about how the American dream can become the American nightmare. Instead of enjoying life, people have to keep up with the Joneses and maintain status.

Sleep Now In The Fire- Rage Against The Machine: Rage takes on capitalism, religion, history, genocide, and imperialism. Michael Moore directed the video filmed at Wall Street. The band’s ideology is simple and the song’s understanding of history is clearly lacking. On the other hand, the riff is as good as it gets.

This Land is Your Land- Woody Guthrie: This is the 1930s version of “spread the wealth around.”

War Pigs- Black Sabbath: The song originally was going to be about the witches’ sabbath. However, the band changed the term “Walpurgis” to War Pigs and an anti-war song was born. The song re-emerged during the last decade as some radio stations decided to protest the Iraq

#41 Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath is the first true metal band. They formed in the middle of flower power and decided to incorporate a horror movie shtick into their act. Dark themes and heavy riffs separated them from other bands. While other bands were into peace and love, Sabbath was into blood. The early 1970s witnessed Sabbath's halcyon years. Then came the drugs.

In 1979, Ozzy Osbourne was fired and replaced by Ronnie James Dio. Ozzy embarked on an extremely successful solo career. Meanwhile, Sabbath trudged on with various lineups throughout the 80s and 90s. The originals reunited in 1997. In 2006,the Dio lineup changed their name to Heaven and Hell.

Rock n Roll Moment: When Sabbath formed, flower power was the rage. They decided to do music designed to scare the hippies.

Essential Sabbath:

Black Sabbath (1970)Paranoid (1971)Master of Reality (1970)Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)Heaven and Hell (1980)

Sabbath’s Top 10:

Black Sabbath
War Pigs
Iron Man
Paranoid
Children of the Grave
Snowblind
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Heaven and Hell
Rock n Roll Doctor
Changes