My Favourite Albums

Well, this being my first entry, what better way to start it off than by talking about some of my favourite albums?

To start it off is the classic album Let it Be by The Beatles. Now, the original album itself was nothing special, but Let it Be Naked, which is all of the studio tracks unedited, is so much better than the original. It starts off with the classic song Get Back. This song has an amazing chord structure and sound, and the lyrics have an amazing quality. The next track, Dig a Pony has this amazing honky-tonk sound to it that reminds me of a song you might hear in a mid-western Saloon. For You Blue is one of those songs that defies the type it is. It follows the standard blues structure, but it has a topic that is far from depressing, and it's overall sound does not normally remind someone of a blues song. The Long and Winding Road is one of the most popular songs from the album, along with the title track and Across the universe. It has a slow, somber feeling and really, the song's topic is sad and really fits the feeling. Now, I'm not a fan of Paul McCartney and is songs in general, but this song is absolutely beautiful and really fits his voice well. The next song, Two of Us, is one of my favourites. It reminds me of just sitting out in a grassy field and relaxing in the Sun. I've Got a Feeling, the next song, really shows the difference in the writing styles of Lennon and McCartney. McCartney wrote the main parts of the song, while Lennon wrote the vocal bridge that you hear after the first verse. One After 909 is another song that has that honky-tonk rock and roll feeling akin to early rock from the 50s such as Twenty Flight Rock. Don't Let Me Down has a beautiful song with an interesting sync up between the piano and guitar that occurs throughout the verses. I Me Mine has a really good lead guitar and uses an organ in a way that doesn't overpower everything else in the song. Another interesting part is the way they incorporate a honky-tonk piano in the chorus, which seems to be a recurring feature in the album. The next track, Across the Universe, is one of the most beautiful songs that shows just how simple a song can be and still be a powerful song. The song itself has only vocals and rhythm guitar in the background and yet manages to be the most passionate song, simply through John's lyrics. The final track, Let it Be, is a beautiful example again of how all you need is powerful lyrics to make a song beautiful. Again, I'm not the biggest fan of Paul McCartney, but he did a great job with this song.

The next album is Hot by the Squirrel Nut Zippers. This album is like a tribute almost to the big band and jazz of the early 1900s. It incorporates the use of muted trumpet, saxophone, and has the overall feel that just makes me want to jump and do the LINDYHOP! My favourite track off of it called Damnation and is essentially a song about the perils that await those who sin and go to Hell. It has this overall feel that isn't scary, but it makes you feel like something sinister is afoot.

The final album for today is the album Stunt by Barenaked Ladies. This is another one of those albums in which I like all the tracks. Like most of their songs, these have a habit of sounding like one thing and being completely different. For instance, the song Some Fantastic sounds nice and uppity, when in reality, it's about this poor soul's failed attempts at trying to win over the love of his life. The ending track When You Dream is absolutely amazing. It has this feel that is lilting, ethereal and simply marvelous, just like a really good dream you don't want to end.

Now, as you can see, I seem to have a formula set up here, where I will go into major detail about one album, and minor detail about two others. Next time, I'll introduce you to the wonders of the musical band Voltarire.