Classic albums?

[Hermes]

Ehhh, even the most classic of classic albums have one or two, shall we say, "less classic" cuts.

IMO the White Album is probably the greatest album ever, full stop. But I still occasionally hit the FF button through "Wild Honey Pie." And I gotta be in the mood to stick through "Revolution 9."

To me, a classic album is one for which you remember all the songs, and their running order.

I find a quarter of the White Album unlistenable (including "Wild Honey Pie" being just behind Wings' "Wonderful Christmas Time" for my least favorite song ever recorded along with Ob La Di, Bungalow Bill, and Revolution 9 all making my skin crawl), which means I rate it far below Revolver, Rubber Soul, St. Pepper's, Abbey Road and even Let It Be.

I am an outlier in this respect, but there are silly, stupid decisions that were made on that album that really brings it down in my estimation.

 

[CD Boogie]

There are some albums that make it hard to believe there was a time when it didn't exist.

Like, fans of The Who in 1972 knew the band had a new album coming out, so they went to the record store the day it came out and picked up "Who's Next" and went home and put it on and heard "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley" for the first time.

It's hard for me to even imagine that. That's probably a decent sign of a classic album.

Still remember the first time I heard Baba O'Riley. Blew. My. Effing. Mind.

I saw the Who live in 1989 at the Meadowlands. I was 16 and I don't think I've ever been happier in my life than I was at that concert. Obviously a lot of that was naivete, but I remember how that felt and it still stays with me.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

I find a quarter of the White Album unlistenable (including "Wild Honey Pie" being just behind Wings' "Wonderful Christmas Time" for my least favorite song ever recorded along with Ob La Di, Bungalow Bill, and Revolution 9 all making my skin crawl), which means I rate it far below Revolver, Rubber Soul, St. Pepper's, Abbey Road and even Let It Be.

I am an outlier in this respect, but there are silly, stupid decisions that were made on that album that really brings it down in my estimation.

I don't think the White Album makes my top 10 favorite Beatles albums. They only had 12.

 

[typefitter]

There are some albums that make it hard to believe there was a time when it didn't exist.

Like, fans of The Who in 1972 knew the band had a new album coming out, so they went to the record store the day it came out and picked up "Who's Next" and went home and put it on and heard "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley" for the first time.

It's hard for me to even imagine that. That's probably a decent sign of a classic album.

That's a cool idea. Also if you remember where you were the first time you heard it. I remember hearing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and it hit me like a ton of forking bricks.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Still remember the first time I heard Baba O'Riley. Blew. My. Effing. Mind.

I saw the Who live in 1989 at the Meadowlands. I was 16 and I don't think I've ever been happier in my life than I was at that concert. Obviously a lot of that was naivete, but I remember how that felt and it still stays with me.

Same experience for me but a different tour. I was 15 when I saw them in 1982 at the L.A. Coliseum with The Clash opening. It was my second concert. I was a huge fan. Not sure anything will ever top 15 year old me seeing "Won't Get Fooled Again" live.

 

[DanOregon]

I'll throw in Steely Dan "Aja".

Always surprised about the airplay 52nd Street got for Billy Joel. The biggest hits "Big Shot"and "My Life" were probably the worst songs on the album.

Of course - "Rumours" - Fleetwood Mac.

 

[terrier]

"Horses" is more than 43 years old now. Old enough to be a classic.

 

[Huggy]

That's a cool idea. Also if you remember where you were the first time you heard it. I remember hearing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and it hit me like a ton of forking bricks.

U2 "I Will Follow" at the Record Peddler on Queen West in Toronto. To my ears, it sounded like nothing else at the time.

 

[Starman]

I find a quarter of the White Album unlistenable (including "Wild Honey Pie" being just behind Wings' "Wonderful Christmas Time" for my least favorite song ever recorded along with Ob La Di, Bungalow Bill, and Revolution 9 all making my skin crawl), which means I rate it far below Revolver, Rubber Soul, St. Pepper's, Abbey Road and even Let It Be.

I am an outlier in this respect, but there are silly, stupid decisions that were made on that album that really brings it down in my estimation.

I see the White Album as the Beatles retrenchment into the genre of pop/rock music, which they had pretty much abandoned for two years beginning in 1966 after "Revolver," when they morphed into the psychedelic/ orchestrated / fantasy world soundscape of "Strawberry Fields" to "Sgt Pepper" to "Magical Mystery Tour" with the certifiably deranged "I Am The Walrus ('No You're Not,' Said Little Nicola)" the apotheosis; in the process they wanted to show their chops at virtually every form of 'pop rock' extant at the moment, so they dabbled in Dylanesque alt-country folk story songs ("Don't Pass Me By," "Bungalow Bill" and "Rocky Raccoon"), Who/Stones-style heavy power rock ("Helter Skelter"), faux-Caribbean reggae ("Ob-La-Di"), gut-busting British blooze ("Yer Blues"), Creamy melodic blues ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps") and experimentalist audio concrete ("Revolution 9").

Kicking off the album, of course, by slam dunking in the faces of Elvis, Chuck Berry and the Beach Boys with "Back in the U.S.S.R."

 

[micropolitan guy]

Boz Scaggs and The Flying Burrito Brothers. I'm gonna hafta trust ya on those. I'd never even heard of those albums; had to look 'em up.

And "Sweetheart of the Rodeo," by the Byrds, celebrating the 50th anniversary of its release this year. The foundation for country rock, a term I don't really like but everyone understands.

 

[Starman]

And "Sweetheart of the Rodeo," by the Byrds, celebrating the 50th anniversary of its release this year. The foundation for country rock, a term I don't really like but everyone understands.

The Byrds of course were unabashed acolytes of Dylan at that moment, and Dylan had already pushed the envelope in the direction of country rock in 1965-66 with Highway 61 and Blonde on Blonde.
Not to mention "Rubber Soul," which
was very much folk and country influenced. The Byrds definitely played off of that.

 

[Slacker]

In the category of Classic One-Off Cover Songs
By Drunken Rockers Up Past Midnight, I like this one ...