Kevin's Watch

I posted this list in my DJ friend's 15 albums in 15 minutes "notes" on facebook.

In no order:
Mahavishnu Orchestra-Birds of Fire
Neil Young-Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
C, S, N & Y-Four Way Street
Todd Rundgren-A Wizard a True Star
Rush-2112
Scorpions-The Tokyo Tapes (version with Polar Nights)
Yes-Tales From Topographic Oceans
Who-Live at Leeds (extended version)
Disturbed-Ten Thousand Fists
McGlaughlin, DiMeola, de Lucia-Passion, Grace & Fire
King Crimson-Red
Weather Report-Heavy Weather
Tool - Aenima
Alice in Chains-Dirt
Camel-Echoes

Ottmar Liebert-Opium, Jeff Beck-Wired, Pink Floyd-Animals, Led Zepplin II, Joe Satriani-Surfing with the Alien, Dixie Dregs (Steve Morse's old band)-Free Fall, David Bowie-Ziggy Stardust and Talking Heads'-Stop Making Sense just missed it.

In no particular order

Operation Mindcrime - Queensryche
Bat Out Of Hell - Meat Loaf
Wicked Sensation - Lynch Mob
Surfing With The Alien - Joe Satriani
4 - Foreigner
Ride The Lightning - Metallica
Synchronicity - The Police
The Wall - Pink Floyd
Boston - Boston
Hi Infidelity - REO Speedwagon
Dreamboat Annie - Heart
Blizzard Of Ozz - Ozzy Osbourne
Toto IV - Toto
The Last In Line - Dio
Machine Head - Deep Purple

I'll restrict myself to one album per group, and no live albums...

Yes - Relayer (well, what did you expect coming from me )
Zep - Physical Graffiti
ELP - Brain Salad Surgery
U2 - War
Who - Quadrophenia
Be Bop Deluxe - Modern Music
Clash - London Calling
Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow
Pearl Jam - Ten
Pink Floyd - Animals
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Steely Dan - The Royal Scam
Spock's Beard - Beware of Darkness
Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual
Talking Heads - Remain in Light

There are way too many more to list the ones that almost made it... maybe I'll just post again in a few days and it'll be a totally different list.

Relayer is, actually, my favorite Yes album. Oceans is a sentimental favorite as I saw the US debut and Yes for the first time (with the mindblowing Dean sets) in '73.

Rush - Permanent Waves
Supertramp - Breakfast In America
FZ - Joe's Garage
Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
David Bowie - Let's Dance
The Police - Ghost In The Machine
Flower Kings - Stardust We Are
Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
The Pretenders - Learning To Crawl
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Joni Mitchell - Shadows And Light
Yes - Fragile
Spock's Beard - Snow

I feel an insane desire to adjust mine almost constantly...I've left so many out in my intense submergence into metal rock.

danlo wrote:Relayer is, actually, my favorite Yes album. Oceans is a sentimental favorite as I saw the US debut and Yes for the first time (with the mindblowing Dean sets) in '73.

The Velvet Underground and Nico-- peel back slowly and see

The Monks-- Black Monk Time
David Bowie-- the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Black Sabbath-- Paranoid
Kiss-- Kiss Love Gun

PJ Harvey-- Rid of Me
The Sex Pistols-- Never Mind the Bullocks

Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band-- Trout Mask Replica
the Beach Boys-- Pet Sounds
MC5-- Kick out the Jams

Genesis-- From Genesis to Revelation
NWA-- Strait Outa Compton
Redd Kross-- Born Innocent

Joy Division-- Warsaw
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of invention-- Freak Out
I cheated here's a 16th album!
Brian Eno-- Here Come the Warm Jets
BONUS: not an album, but one of the best moments ever captured of any recording-- Elvis Presley 1969 comeback Special

Great picks on Velvet U, Zappa ("Susie Creamcheese?"), Beefheart (famous debate back in the day if Beef and Zappa were one and the same), Eno & Harvey-who never gets enough love...I had Lamb and Selling England by the Pound (which should have made my top 15), but have never even heard of that Genesis album!

From Genesis to Revelation is actually their first album. It pretty much sounds *nothing* like anything else they've done. The story is that the producer was trying to get them to sound like the BeeGees (really! remember this was 1969, not Night Fever).

For me it was worth listening to once, for it's historical value. I made up for this disdain by listening to the rest of their albums many many times

Relayer wrote:From Genesis to Revelation is actually their first album. It pretty much sounds *nothing* like anything else they've done. The story is that the producer was trying to get them to sound like the BeeGees (really! remember this was 1969, not Night Fever).

For me it was worth listening to once, for it's historical value. I made up for this disdain by listening to the rest of their albums many many times

I didn't know the producer was trying to make them sound like the Bee Gees! I thought so several times, though. Peter Gabriel sings "Silent Sun" with a voice that is uncannily similar to Robin Gibb!
That's cool to know!

Type O Negative - Slow, Deep & Hard (1991)

Neurosis - Souls at Zero (1992)

Ministry - Psalm 69 (1992)

Misfits - Walk Among Us - (1982)

Negative Approach - Tied Down (1983)

Nausea (NYC) - Extinction (1990)

David Bowie - Space Oddity (1969)

Discharge - Why? (1981)

Motörhead - Motörhead (1977)

KISS - Alive II (1977)

Cock Sparrer - Shock Troops (1982)

The Sisters of Mercy - First And Last And Always (1985)

The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy & The Lash (1985)

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

Sheer Terror - Love Songs For The Unloved (1995)

I could post another 15 with compilation albums.

<sigh> I hate these things 'cause I always forget something.

Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti. Nothing more needs to be said.

Pink Floyd Animals. But to be fair, I just listened to it....it could easily be A Momentary Lapse of Reason, The Wall, or Wish You Were Here.

Iron Maiden Brave New World. Again, I've just been listening to it, but there isn't a bad song on this album. Every song kicks major ass.

Blue Öyster Cult Cultasaurus Erectus. BOC can be really uneven, but this (other than the cheesy Marshall Plan) is a really solid album.

David Gilmour About Face. I wore this album out when it was released. Mired in the '80s from a writing and production standpoint, but just freaking stellar.

Big Country The Seer. Beautiful album by a criminally underrated band.

Foo Fighters The Colour and the Shape. Everlong could easily be the best non-Pink Floyd song of the '90s.

Black Sabbath Heaven & Hell. Truthfully, I could have gone with either Holy Diver or Last In Line in order to get some Ronnie James on here. Based on the strength of the title song and Neon Knights, this one takes it.

Rush Permanent Waves. Though it could just as easily be Moving Pictures.

Judas Priest Defenders of the Faith. With the exception of the faux-anthem of United, the album kicks ass front to back.

Def Leppard High 'n Dry. The best hard rock album ever recorded.

Van Halen Fair Warning. The second-best.

Queen Innuendo. This album simply cuts me to the bone. Aside from the fact that it's a great album in its own right, the fact that Freddie Mercury was dying quickly as he rushed to finish it makes it that much more meaningful to me.

James Gang Rides Again. Joe Walsh, Funk #49. 'Nuff Said.

And I'll reserve # 15 for the one I forgot.

OK, #15 is a toss-up.

It's a rap album, that's for sure. It could be....

Public Enemy Fear of a Black Planet. Fight the Power is one of the hardest songs ever recorded.

Digital Underground Sex Packets. Like a fine wine, this album gets better with age.

NWA Straight Outta Compton. Hard. As. Nails.

No particular order

Beatles - Revolver

Led Zeppelin IV

Van Morrison - Astral Weeks

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

Simon and Garfunkel - The Concert in Central Park

Meatloaf - Bat out of Hell

John Coltrane - Blue Train

Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed

Crosby, Stills and Nash - Daylight Again

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

Frank Sinatra - The September of My Years

Genesis - Abacab

Supertramp - Breakfast in America

Van Morrison - Moondance

This Is A Modern World - Jam

Gilmour - Dave Gilmour

Axis: Bold As Love - Hendrix

Beginnings - Steve Howe

Coryell - Larry Coryell

Sunburst Finish - BeBop Deluxe

Sheer Heart Attack - Queen

Breathless - Camel

You - Gong

For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night - Caravan

Follow You Follow Me - Genisis

Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch - Frank Zappa

Five Miles Out - Mike Oldfield

Joy Of A Toy - Kevin Ayers

Pawn Hearts - Van Der Graph Generator

Beginnings really is a fantastic album, Breathless, wow interesting-I cheated with Echoes on my list it's a double album "best-hits" kind of compilation. My favorite Camel studio is Moonmadness. Pawn Hearts is, without question, the best Van Der Graff Generator album--I could never a find a copy of that back in the day and only owned H to He Who Am the Only One.

Breathless is my favorite play-along-with-Camel album, especially Summer Lightning. Although, after many hours of trying to nail down those tricky beats I could never keep the needle in the red and hit those top speed notes.

I don't play the guitar anymore now. A few weeks ago I took the whole kit and kaboodle to a charity shop. I couldn't keep the thing tuned. Even the humbuckers would slip out of tune...can you believe that!!!!
And after forking out a ton of hard earned cash...Ah well!

Maybe in couple of years I'll try again and figure out how to keep up with Andy Latimer and the boys. ha ha.

Pawn Hearts grows on trees here, you know!

Well, then I'll have to come visit.

My second top 15

Rummelsnuff - Halt durch! (2008)

Spazztic Blurr - Befo Da Awbum (1988)

LARD - The Last Temptation of The Reid (1990)

Slayer - Hell Awaits (1985)

Danzig - Danzig II: Lucifuge (1990)

Agnostic Front - Something's Gotta Give (1998)

Deathcycle - Deathcycle (2006)

Born/Dead - Our Darkest Fears Now Haunt Us (2002)

Johnny Cash - At San Quentin (1969)

Tom Waits - Heartattack And Vine (1980)

Naked City - Torture Garden (1990)

Dropkick Murphys - Live on St. Patrick's Day (2002)

Menace - GLC / I'm Civilised 7" (1978)

Die Toten Hosen - Bis zum bitteren Ende (1987)

Slumlords - On The Stemph! (2006)