Bob Dylan- “Blonde on Blonde”
After causing something of a stir by what is now infamously know as his “going electric”, Dylan released two albums (“Bringing it All Back Home” and “Highway 61 Revisited”) in 1965, but it is this album of 1966- with its increasingly surreal lyrics and often woozy mixture of blues, rock and melody- that is considered by many to be one of his finest pieces of work.
Radiohead- “Amnesiac”
Recorded mostly during the same sessions for “Kid A”, Radiohead described these two albums, released in 2000 and 2001, as “twins separated at birth”. Considering that “Kid A” is on fairly good terms with bleakness, it shouldn’t be taken lightly that “Amnesiac” is the creepy, fucked up sibling of the two.
Who's Next - The Who
Does anyone remember their youth? When a good friday night was cheap booze at a dirty party. When you’d hook up with that girl every week. When emotions were as powerful and as short lived as a tsunami. As the youngest member of this super-charged team of bloggers, I remember this well. In fact, now I think about it, all that stuff was still going on last week.
“We don’t care about your reminiscing though. Get onto the long-awaited new installment of Retro Sunday,” I hear you say (quite rudely, if you ask me). Well, let me introduce Who’s Next, the musical incarnation of teenhood, a shimmering rose-tinted mirror held up to the very institution of youthfulness. To summarise, a pretty sound album.
Lindisfarne isn’t a band concerned with reality. Songs about actual events are far too obvious and cliche. No, the band whose first album was titled Nicely Out of Tune, reminisce about times that never were and yearn to go home to somewhere you’ve never been.
Paul Simon – Graceland
It was with amazement that a friend of mine, who is neither ignorant nor uncultured, confessed to having never heard of Paul Simon and to not being able to name a song by Simon and Garfunkel. It is to him therefore that I dedicate this entry/cultural lesson/period of enlightenment.
Steve Winwood – Arc of a Diver
Steve Winwood is a fantastic soul musician. He’s not from Detroit. He’s not from Memphis. He’s from Birmingham. He’s not even black. Guess what? It doesn’t matter in the slightest.
The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
It’s with great disappointment that I don’t introduce this album with “Here’s an album that needs no introduction,” but alas the 21st century is home to the evils of Guantanamo Bay, genocide in Sudan, and people who’ve never heard of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts.
Foreword
Although it may seem like my musical taste revolves around ringtones and squawking, I did infact spend about two years denying the existence of any music released after 1978 (with the exception of Jay-Z strangely). Thus it seems logical that I mention my findings on inftc. So here is the first in a series of many. If I were to name it I might choose The Historical Study of Propa’ Bangin’ Old Skool Toonz or possibly Musical History: Without the Cock. Irrespective of its name, on which I may decide later, I hope you enjoy, learn and listen.
Yes – Close to the Edge
The album opens with birds singing: it’s at that point that you realise you’re in for a treat. Click to read more …