James Brown, Greatest Hits, 1991.
So if you listen to these songs enough, you figure out just what he's saying, and it
often doesn't make much sense at all. But they worm their way into your head, and you
start thinking things like "Can I hit it and quit it?" or "She's got to have a mother
for me" (or whatever), and the only solution is to listen to the whole album again
while you're trying to write your thesis and instead end up jumping around the office
for another two hours.
It stays pretty fresh, and those 20 songs fly right by. The key is that he sounds like
he's having a great time, and so would I if I could just tell a bunch of people with
horns to "hit me" every time I wanted to hear the riffs from "Get Up" or "Super Bad" or
"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." Thank God for my mp3 player!
Boston, Boston, 1976.
Sometimes, those classic rock stations kind of suck. They play the same music over and
over again. When I got this album, I put it on, sat back, and realized that I've
literally heard all eight of the songs on it. All singles on classic rock radio. That
must be some kind of record. I can think of no other album that is so consistently
played (possibly "Led Zeppelin IV," or even "Wish You Were Here," but that's kind of
cheating since it only has five songs).
The A-side of the album is what makes me mad at classic rock stations--"More Than a
Feeling," "Peace of Mind," and "Rock & Roll Band" are fantastic songs, but if I hear
them one more time I'm probably going to throw up. Damn you for overplaying them, and
damn me for not changing the channel! (Not that there was that much choice, in
Columbus...)
Luckily, the B-side is relatively unappreciated, and "Let Me Take You Home Tonight" is
really one of the best songs of its type ever. Hard to describe what type it is, but it
always makes me happy to hear it. I like the fact that the band disappeared into
(mostly deserved) obscurity after this album. Sort of like the Violent Femmes--they
had their shtick, and they hit it big with their debut album, but there's no second
act. They crammed all their talent onto this one glorious album.
Steely Dan, Aja, 1977.
When you actually want to listen to something that you can work to, and I do, nothing
beats this album. It's really hard for me to stop paying attention to music, especially
music as good as this, but I've heard it so many times and I'm so familiar with it that
I can zone out and work and still gain some happiness from listening to one of the best
albums of the '70s. It really never gets old.
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