Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Album-by-Album Thread

Remember checking this one out a really long time ago and kind of liking it. "Frankie Teardrop" despite its minimalism is one of the most unsettling blood-curdling songs I've ever heard. And you can really hear it's influence on some of Springsteen's work on the Nebraska album, namely "State Trooper"

 

Suicide - Suicide: This is an album I've heard about since I've really been aware of music outside the mainstream and one that I respect a lot. However, despite the fact that it is minimalist, DIY electronic, and lauded by The Boss, it's one I've never really connected with, though one day I hope to. Saying that, I can't rank it personally, but I'm glad it's in the top 500.

 

Now this one I love --I bought it around 1978 used on Red Star Records. It was unlike anything I had heard before. Not only would it make my top 500, it would make my top 100 rock albums - 4.5/5

 

Suicide - Suicide

So, I'm someone who notoriously likes the vast majority of music. Well, this album is a good example of something not in that vast majority. I first picked this album up a long time ago because of the hype about it--which is deserved to some extent in the guise of its oddity and influence--but it didn't click with me then, and to this day, despite a couple handfuls of tries over the years, it still doesn't. And so this is still the only Suicide (or offshoot) album that I own.

It's an interesting album in that it didn't even remotely sound like anything else coming out in 1977. It's as weird as the first Residents album in that. It's also a bit weird in that despite being rather influential, there is very little in its wake that sounds like it, either--maybe aside from some Ministry/Al Jourgensen stuff. The influence on Jourgensen is very conspicuous. But this is a prime example why interesting/unusual/influential etc. does not equate to good.

I can't stand Alan Vega's vocals and for the most part I don't think that Martin Rev's music is very aesthetically engaging, either. (Though I'd probably appreciate Rev's contributions more with a different vocalist.)

At that, I wouldn't say that the album is a complete loss. "Ghost Rider" kinda works in a way, aided by its brevity. And I like the "breathing" effect--whatever is creating it, exactly--at the end of "Frankie Teardrop." That breathing effect has kind of a drone/ambient aspect that works well, even though aside from that, I think that song is very cheesy in an unpleasant way.

Overall, it's a big PASS for me, even though I should eventually check out some other Suicide/Vega/Rev stuff to see if I dislike it as much as this album.

So definitely not top 500 fodder for me, lol. There are surely at least 500 thousand albums I'd rank above this one.

 

I discovered Suicide via Alan Vega's second solo album Saturn Strip when I was 13, which if you've heard it is a pretty weird way in! I found a used copy of this at one of the used stores near my college around 1989, and even having a fairly extensive background by then in synthesizers, minimalism, and noise, the homemade, DIY quality of this still felt kind of shocking. Aside from the gorgeousness of "Cheree," this is not an album I often listen to for fun, but its influence is undeniable. 3.5/5

I do find it fascinating that up until his death, Alan Vega shaved a decade off his age.

 

Unsettling oddball albums often click with me, but Suicide doesn't. It wanders all over the place yet never seems to go anywhere.

 

I was finding "Frankie Teardrop" super cheesy but Vega ends up pulling it off. I don't really care about the scary value of the album (although I can see why some people find that in it), but it sounds simply brilliant.

"Che" is my favourite track. What a glorious soundscape. So industrial and alienating, yet strangely warm and beautiful.

 

Great thread.

I'm not going to know a vast amount of these albums so a lot of my thoughts are going to be first impressions from cursory listens. I have fairly narrow tastes too so apologies in advance if my early opinions are to negative. I haven't heard any of the first three albums before today so it's been interesting to give them a blast.

500: Arcade Fire - Funeral I borrowed a copy of Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, a few years ago, from a friend who gave me the impression it was a folk-rock album. I snorted in derision through half of it before removing it from my CD player, never to be listened to again and with the opinion that AC were a terrible band. Having heard Funeral, I think I may have been prematurely harsh because, much to my surprise, I've quite enjoyed it. There's lots going on, too much really, for one listen but I might well revisit this one. Currently 3/5 may well go up though.

499: Rufus & Chaka Khan - Ask Rufus I have very fond memories of the later single Ain't Nobody, a real childhood favourite but I've never explored any further. Indeed the whole funk/disco scene is a bit of a mystery although I've heard bits and bobs that I've enjoyed. As above though first impressions are favourable. Chaka's got a great voice and the songs were enjoyable without really sticking in my head, which is fair enough given they haven't had much of a chance. Another one to revisit. 3/5 at the moment.

498: Suicide - S/T Well, I got through it but this sort of thing really isn't for me. I don't claim it's without merit but on my personal rating, I'm afraid it just scores 1/5

 

#497. Various Artists "The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto" (1985)
Producer: various
https://open.spotify.com/album/1DIr8JMRBnm1cZMYIGKb8t?si=6wyrOvfyTRa0CLmMXeedZA&dl_branch=1

"The Indestructible Beat of Soweto, later repackaged as The Indestructible Beat of Soweto Volume One, is a compilation album released in 1985 on the Earthworks label, featuring musicians from South Africa, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Mahlathini."

 

Intriguing selection, will check it out later as I slept in a little this am

 

The Indestructible Beat of Soweto [various artists]

This is an excellent collection of mbaqanga music from South Africa. Mbqanga is a type of music that first developed in the 1960s, where it melded a bunch of traditional African influences with pop, jazz, blues, gospel etc. influences, as well as influences from earlier "fusions" such as township jazz. This is the music (not this particular album as far as I'm aware, but it could have been as it came out a year prior) that inspired Paul Simon to do Graceland. So if you're hesitant to check this out and you dig Graceland, you should like this one quite a bit.

If you're interested in world music, the label this is on for U.S. releases, Shanachie, is one of the more important labels, by the way.

World music is one of the main genres I collect, so I'd surely have a number of world music releases in my top 500, and this one is a candidate, though I have far more candidates than I'd have available slots for, so I can't say for sure that this would make my top 500.

As a trivial "learn more about your fellow Hoffman board posters" aside, my wife grew up "right across the street" from Soweto--or more specifically, Soweto is adjacent to the north side of N12 (a highway that runs through South Africa) and where my wife lived (and where she still has plenty of family) is adjacent to the south side of N12 just below Soweto.

 

Boy this sent Christgau round the bend! It was the hip record to own in 1986. I liked it fine, but preferred and still prefer Nigerian Hi-Life, which is closer to American funk.
3.5/5 -- I wouldn't include various artists albums in my top 500

 

Great compilation! There are better comps of South African music from that era, but they may not be as widely available. I got some from South Africa in the early nineties myself. Mbaqanga, Hi-Life from Nigeria and Ghana, Desert Blues from Mali and Niger, it's all great. But I agree with pig bodine in that I also wouldn't put various artists albums in my top 500.

 

Agreed, it should be a concerted effort by a particular artist(s) and not a hodgepodge. This album is a great representation, maybe even a statement, but it's not a specific vision at a certain time for an artist or group. Same is true for soundtracks and best ofs...just too scattered.

I could also counter my argument, but I don't want to.

 

There are certainly compilations that I would include in my Top 500, because I think the defining unit of pop music is the song, not the album.

I picked up this album on its release, because I had fallen in love with Malcolm McLaren’s Duck Rock, which was partially built on recordings of mbaqanga music. This was an album for the real heads until Graceland came out, and suddenly people were going absolutely mad for African music. Whatever gives it exposure, I guess. I do agree with Paul Simon on one key point: the easiest way into this music is by noticing its resemblance to 50s R&B. 4/5

 

497: The Indescribable Beat Of Soweto. I think, like most compilations, this one is a mixture of the good, bad and indifferent, though with the emphasis on the good. I don't know too much about South African music but I would imagine it would be a pretty accurate snapshot of the scene back in the day. 3/5

 

I have no problems with various artists albums and compilations of previously released stuff in a top 500 (or whatever) list . . . largely because I don't buy into the rockist mythology about albums (necessarily or even usually being "statements"/"artistic visions") in the first place.

On the other hand, though, I could see excluding greatest hits comps, anthologies, etc., and especially excluding massive, multi-disc, 2, 3+ hour comps just to make it a more even playing field and to avoid having a list that's mostly compilations.

 

I've listened to Funeral a few times based on all the hype it has gotten, but it just doesn't click with me. I'm not really familiar with the Ask Rufus or Soweto albums. Suicide I've read quite a bit about but haven't ever taken the leap of adding anything by them to my collection.

 

Unfortunately a number of these are coming, which I almost find to be "cheating" to throw the greatest hits of The Supremes, Bob Marley, ABBA, James Brown, Sly And The Family Stone, etc... in with studio albums because it's practically cheating to throw a "all the hits, no filler" type of collection of singles vs. albums meant as its own work

 

I've avoided looking at the list so as to be surprised along the way, so I have no idea if it's on the list, but there's no way I could argue the inclusion of something like the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack, since it was such a cultural touchstone.

 

I've got no problem with Various Artists or Greatest Hits or whatever. The only thing I might exclude from a 500 best albums for me list would be mega boxes, and even then if I felt that was the way to go rather than any combo of regular albums I would probably include them but at some kind of multiple ranks deal, like a 4 CD boxes equals 2 places in the ranking.

 

I remember the Indestructible Beat being a big deal, but have no idea how it stacks up against other collections of similar music.

 

Suicide - Suicide
This has been on my radar since my desire to get into more Punk formed last month. Finally listening to it, it absolutely does not disappoint. It’s cold and distant, but energetic and inspired at the same time. It takes what a lot of the Punk artists were doing in the 70s and puts it in an electronic setting. Frankie Teardrop is the obvious highlight here, but Girl and Ghost Rider aren’t far off either.

8/10

 

LOL That's exactly the counter argument I wasn't trying to make. But you win.

 

#496. Shakira "¿Dónde Están los Ladrones?" (1998)
Producer: Shakira, Emilio Estefan (exec.), Pablo Flores, Javier Garza, Lester Mendez, Luis Fernando Ochoa
https://open.spotify.com/album/5hcKSTqKOLuzJgYIQileAe?si=0725f260fe324cc4

"¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? (English: Where Are the Thieves?) is the fourth studio album by Colombian singer and songwriter Shakira, released on 29 September 1998 by Columbia Records and Sony Music Latin. After attaining success in Latin America with her major-label debut Pies Descalzos (1995), Shakira met producer Emilio Estefan, who identified her potential to break into the US Latin market, and became her manager. As co-producer, Shakira enlisted previous collaborator Luis Fernando Ochoa along with Pablo Flores, Javier Garza, Lester Mendez, and Estefan, who executive produced the album. Its music incorporates Latin pop styles, additionally experimenting with rock en Español and Middle Eastern music sounds.

Upon its release, Dónde Están los Ladrones? received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its sound and lyrics, with one reviewer comparing Shakira to Alanis Morissette. Commercially, the album was a success, being certified in several regions including Shakira's native Colombia, where it was certified triple-platinum. Additionally, the album peaked at number 131 on the US Billboard 200, and topped the Top Latin and Latin Pop Albums charts. The album received numerous record certifications in various countries, including a Platinum certification in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Dónde Están los Ladrones? won several accolades, and was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album at the 41st Grammy Awards.

Six singles were released from Dónde Están los Ladrones?. Its lead single "Ciega, Sordomuda" reached the top of both Billboard's Hot Latin and Latin Pop Songs component charts, and also reached number one on charts of countries in Central America and Venezuela. Follow-up singles "Tú", "Inevitable", "No Creo", "Ojos Así" and "Moscas en la Casa" peaked within the top thirty and top ten of the charts, respectively. "Dónde Están los Ladrones?", "Si Te Vas", and "Octavo Día" served as promotional single. The album was promoted through several televised performances, including her debut on American television through The Rosie O'Donnell Show. In order to continue promoting it, along with her next release MTV Unplugged, Shakira embarked on the Tour Anfibio, which visited North and South America throughout 2000."