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

Greatest Detroit Sports Moments: Barry Sanders #15

I decided for S&Gs to come up with the greatest sports moments in my life. The first 13 came to me in like 10 seconds. Naturally, I needed to round it out to 15.

#15 is simply titled Barry!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCtNbDOIDzg

Best Riffs of the 80s

Here are the best riffs of the 1980s...not in any order...

Paradise City- GnR

Rock You Like a Hurricane- The Scorpions

Back in Black- AC/DC

Breakin’ the Law- Judas Priest

Master of Puppets- Metallica

Seek and Destroy- Metallica

Photograph- Def Leppard

Sharp Dressed Man- ZZ Top

Money for Nothing- Dire Straits

Start Me Up- The Rolling Stones

Rockin’ in the Free World- Neil Young

Spirit of Radio- Rush

Eminence Front- The Who

Run Like Hell- Pink Floyd

Couldn’t Stand the Weather- Stevie Ray Vaughn

Crazy Train- Ozzy

Eye of the Tiger- Survivor

You Shook Me All Night Long- AC/DC

I Love Rock n Roll- Joan Jett

Sunday, Bloody Sunday-U2

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Worthy Acts Part III

Megadeth

Pro: Dave Mustaine is a great guitarist, original, songs with meaning, great songs

Con: They are not named Metallica; Metal acts get no respect; their name

Motley Crue

Pro: The most Rock n Roll act since the Stones, lots of hits, popularized the power ballad; The Rock Hall was made in part for acts like this.

Con: Considered a hair band, from the 80s, popularized the power ballad

Motorhead

Pro: Lemmy, Ace of Spades

Con: Not top of mind; Metal acts get no respect

Willie Nelson

Pro: Crossover act, Farm Aid, bad ass

Con: Country act

Ted Nugent

Pro: Top act of 1976, great guitarist, Motor City Madman, popular into the 90s and even today

Con: Conservative, NRA guy

Ozzy Osbourne

Pro: It’s Ozzy; Still influential

Con: The Osbournes TV Show

Robert Palmer

Pro: His influence is less musical and more cultural, Rock writer, Influence through video,

Con: Popular Songs sounded alike

Robert Plant

Pro: Nothing groundbreaking until Allison Krause

Con: His groundbreaking work post-Zep was in bluegrass/country

The Replacements

Pro: Critical darlings, representative of a genre, Alternative music leaders

Con: REM is in, popularity

Neil Sedaka

Pro: Major songwriter in 50s and 60s, solid solo career

Con: Legacy blown away by British Invasion

Ravi Shankar

Pro: Influenced Beatles, helped bring Eastern music to pop/rock

Con: Sitar does not fire people’s juice

#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

#74 Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy can barely talk, but for some reason, he can sing clearly. After leaving Sabbath, Ozzie launched a comeback that has never really stopped. In the early 80s, “Crazy Train” proved he could make it on his own. Even after the loss of his guitarist Randy Rhodes in a plane crash Ozzy could not be stopped. In 1991, he released “No More Tears” which produced multiple hits. As he approached 60, he became a cuddly TV dad. I thought he was the Prince of Darkness..

Rock n Roll Moment: He never bit the head off a bat, but he did engage in a snort off with Motley Crue. He snorted a line of ants and even his own piss.

Essential Ozzie: Blizzard of Oz (1980), Diary of a Madman (1981), No More Tears (1991)

Ozzie’s Top 10:

Crazy Train
Over The Mountain
Flying High Again
Mr. Crowley
Suicide Solution
No More Tears
Bark At The Moon
Road To Nowhere
Mama, I’m Coming Home
Shot In The Dark

Quotes of the Year

Here are the best quotes for 2008....not in any order...

"I'm warning you with peace and love, I have too much to do. So no more fan mail." -Ringo Starr

"I go three, maybe four times a year to get tested for sexually transmitted infections and most of the time I don't even need to." -- Kelly Osborne.

“If they knew the plane was faulty, why did they let it fly?" -- A relative of one of the 153 passengers killed in the Spanair crash at Madrid airport.

"I read the script and it's not bad. The message is I'm a dangerous lunatic, and that I'm possessed by monkeys." -- Singer Iggy Pop on a movie based on his life.

"What is the difference between God and Bono? God doesn't wander down Grafton Street thinking he's Bono." -- Louis Walsh.


"If the human race is to continue for another million years, we will have to boldly go where no on has gone before." -- Stephen Hawking


"I saw this crocodile and thought I'd tease it a bit with a small bit of bait, just to get it in quite close to me for the picture. I was playing around, pointing at it, laughing - when it suddenly jumped at me. I didn't realize crocs were so aggressive" -a tourist in Australia that pissed off a croc

"It's not allowed for a woman to sit with a strange man and talk and drink coffee together." -- Saudi Arabia


"Sorry for being topless." -- Carla Bruni of France greeting a British journalist


"Wall Street got drunk." -President Bush