Wow Platypus,

Took the words right now.

Discovery, Rubber Soul, This Year's Model, Kid A, Tri Repetae ... yes, please.

I think Blue is a little closer than Hejira for me, but Joni does have a knack for flawless records, doesn't she?

The only few that haven't been said so far for me are Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska (and if it weren't for that awful circus song, The Wild, The Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle), and Weezer's Blue Album -- when the worst song is "The World Has Turned," you know you've got a great record.

Sufjan Stevens puts together solid albums too; I only wish his pacing were a bit better.

-marc-

quote:

Posted by Jonathan Brisby
I love that record, but if we're talking CAN I think they made a string of perfect albums: Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi, Future Days, and Soon Over Babaluma.

Couldn't agree more, but I was too lazy to write out the full list.
I also think Delay '68 is pretty much perfect, but the run from 68 to 74 is spoiled by Soundtracks which I find pretty uneven.

quote:

Originally posted by Platypus Quest:
Rubber Soul - The Beatles

Michelle is the most annoyingly twee childish song I have ever heard. For me it stops that album being perfect. Still love love Rubber Soul though.

Aaah, a fellow 'Michelle' hater. I feel all warm inside..

You guys are crazy, not only does "Michelle" go well in the scheme of the album but it is one terrific song. If you don't like that song, well, then you don't have a soul.

What's not to like about "Michelle"? I mean, it won a Grammy, how could it not be good?

Of the four Beatles albums I've heard all the way through (Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's, Magical Mystery Tour) Rubber Soul is easily my least favorite. Honestly everything beside Drive My Car/Norwegian Wood I thought fell into the same boring boy band camp as their previous stuff. I don't even remember Michelle honestly, so I must not have liked it much.

quote:

Couldn't agree more, but I was too lazy to write out the full list.
I also think Delay '68 is pretty much perfect, but the run from 68 to 74 is spoiled by Soundtracks which I find pretty uneven.

I like Soundtracks quite a bit, but with the tracks split between Mooney and Damo it does make for an uneven play.

quote:

Endless Summer - Fennesz

Oh yeah, I'd definitely agree that this one's perfect. As for Autechre, I'd go with LP5 but its more of a personal preference.

quote:

Originally posted by Nhazghaal:
Of the four Beatles albums I've heard all the way through (Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's, Magical Mystery Tour) Rubber Soul is easily my least favorite. Honestly everything beside Drive My Car/Norwegian Wood I thought fell into the same boring boy band camp as their previous stuff. I don't even remember Michelle honestly, so I must not have liked it much.

Of all The Beatles albums I've heard, which is all of them (studio + single collections + anthology, etc), Rubber Soul is easily my favourite, I just think Michelle is a bit poor. Not up to par. Sounds like a Wings song (and not 'Band on the Run' Wings, crappy horrible 'Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time' Wings). All of those songs are the pinacle of pop music (except Michelle) and the album is second only too Pet Sounds when it comes to pop. And yes it's (the end of) their boy band era but there's a lot of subtle sudio experimentation that goes unnoticed by most, but actually paved the way for their greater exploration of studio technique on Revolver and Sgt. Pepper. Those albums owe a large amount to Rubber Soul.

But most importantly, you've only heard four Beatles albums? And one of them is Magical Mystery Tour? You're missing out. It'll be alright there's time to save you yet. I suggest you take one Abbey Road and a Please Please Me and see me in the morning.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
You guys are crazy, not only does "Michelle" go well in the scheme of the album but it is one terrific song. If you don't like that song, well, then you don't have a soul.

Good to see that FKA's fighting the good fight over here. Michelle is a lovely little song.

Some people just don't like simple, open emotion, I guess, but you do realize that the singer doesn't have Michelle, correct? He's desperately hot for her, so although it's a love song, it's more about sex.

You know, I've never understood the love Rubber Soul gets. It's a good record, but I'd put it far behind everything that came after it, and it doesn't have the peaks of some of the earlier albums either, even if it's more consistent.

Unlike the previous poster who has only heard four Beatles albums, I've listened to the Beatles. I've heard/devoured/and obsessed over all of their albums, and Rubber Soul may be my favorite of all. Although I'd argue that Revolver is the best of the bunch, Rubber Soul for me at least, is the most enjoyable, and the one I reach for most often.
"Nowhere Man", "In My Life", "I'm Looking Through You" are in the "boring boy band camp"? Really? Along with what, "Yesterday", "If I Fell", "Things We Said Today", "I'll Be Back", "No Reply", "I'm a Loser", "Baby in Black", "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away", "You're Gonna Lose That Girl", "Ticket to Ride", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "She Loves You", "There's a Place", "It Won't Be Long", "All I've Got to Do", "All My Loving", etc.... You're right. They sucked pre-Revolver. I'm glad the expertise of hearing four of their albums in their entirety managed to show me the light.


Sorry for the bluntness of this post. Those who know of my responses here will agree that I typically post in the interest of respecting the opinions of others. There are just certain things an educated music listener doesn't say.

Rubber Soul is also important as it is a key point in rock music evolution. It marks a great leap in complexity for pop/rock music, as the Beatles saw their sound and songwriting ability take a giant leap from Help. I don't think I need to go into details about this, but if someone can't see it, I will argue for it all day.

Obviously, the jump from RS to Revolver is even more pronounced, so it's easy to overlook just how much the Beatles (and rock music in general, as the Beatles basically single-handedly dictated its course) advanced with this record.

Michelle is a classic. Go learn something about The Beatles and then come back and trash the song.

EDIT: Also, try playing it on the guitar once and tell me how inconsequential it is.

quote:

Originally posted by Fitz:
Rubber Soul is also important as it is a key point in rock music evolution. It marks a great leap in complexity for pop/rock music, as the Beatles saw their sound and songwriting ability take a giant leap from Help. I don't think I need to go into details about this, but if someone can't see it, I will argue for it all day.

Obviously, the jump from RS to Revolver is even more pronounced, so it's easy to overlook just how much the Beatles (and rock music in general, as the Beatles basically single-handedly dictated its course) advanced with this record.

Yeah, there's that point too...

Honestly, I don't see why people would get upset over Michelle. I mean, when Revolver, the supposedly "watershed" album, had Yellow Submarine, for god's sake.

(Note: I also love Yellow Submarine.)

Ah, Michelle. As a Beatles nut, I have tried for 29 years to get into and enjoy that damn song. I have played it on guitar, and piano, desperately hoping that one day I would see the light: but no, I remain convinced that its' McCartney's laziest 3 minutes, plodding, musically and lyrically, weak and puerile.

Yellow Washing Machine, on the other hand, mmmmm, yummy.

"Ah, Michelle. As a Beatles nut, I have tried for 29 years to get into and enjoy that damn song. I have played it on guitar, and piano, desperately hoping that one day I would see the light: but no, I remain convinced that its' McCartney's laziest 3 minutes, plodding, musically and lyrically, weak and puerile."

AHEM! Grammar alert. You used its', which does not make sense grammatically. </Grammar nazi>

My contribution? Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense and Name of This Band.... SMS does have one sub-par song (Thank You...) and there are some songs on TNOTB... that I haven't listened to as much as the others, but they're both great albums. I'd also like to include Shihad - The General Electric and Killjoy, because they rule.