Sonic Youth - Day dream nation

The most instantly appealing aspect of Sonic Youth's music in general, and this album in particular, would have to be their melding of noise and melody. Dense gales of white screech-and-hum sit quite comfortably alongside chiming, pretty notes, harmonics and hooky leads courtesy of either guitarist. But the two-guitar style is not the familiar "rhythm and lead" relationship here. Here, our boys Thurston and Lee wring out a haze of buzzing and humming notes that underscore the leads and chimes put forth by the opposite guitarist. This haze and hook setup, grounded by solid bass and technically excellent yet off-kilter drumming, does wonders to set Daydream Nation apart from every other recording in the rock canon. The band also expands on the structures of Sister with countless overdubs and nearly subliminal sounds, processed guitar wail and subtle percussion touches throughout that make the album a different experience every time through.

Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man

2006
Basic, simple unpretentious. Though many of the interspersed interviews were either extraneous or a little trite, the simplicity and directness of the performancess were almost entirely all very moving. I didn't like Nick Cave that much. And, watching Rufus Wainright struggling to see the teleprompter on one song, was distracting. But all in all, Rufus and the rest of the gang all did very well on everything else. Cohen's experiences at the zen monastery were very interesting. More on this rather than the more mundane of the interviews would have been interesting. Cohen's songs are incredible and the interpretations are genuinely stirring.

The Doors - The Doors

On their 1967 debut album, the Doors more than fulfilled the promise of their infamously challenging gigs around Los Angeles throughout the previous year. Whether belting out a standard like "Back Door Man" or talk-singing such originals as "The Crystal Ship" and "I Looked at You," leather-clad vocalist Jim Morrison exuded both sensuality and menace. The mixture, on the outsize album finale, "The End," helped rewrite the rules on rock song composition. None of this would have worked, though, were it not for the highly visual instrumental work of keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robbie Krieger, and drummer John Densmore, whose work on tracks such as "Take It As It Comes" and the lengthy hit "Light My Fire" virtually defined the rock-blues-jazz-classical amalgam that was acid-rock

Lou Reed - Transformer

Transformer is one of the most ridiculous albums ever released by a rock 'n' roll icon of Lou Reed's stature. For wanton absurdity, perhaps only the Beach Boys' Smiley Smile and some of Lennon's Plastic Ono Band stuff can compare. Unlike those albums, however, Transformer works.Reed's flat, almost spoken delivery makes an appearance, as does his always wonderful lead guitar. And on the opening rocker "Vicious," both sound as potent as ever. Elsewhere, though, Reed's trademarks rub raw against the brassiest, most outlandish arrangements that he, Bowie and Ronson could pry from from their drug-stained cerebella. Broadway-hokey gospel choirs, lounge jazz, Ronson's blaring, overdriven glam guitars, Bacharach orchestral motifs...there's even some oompah in there somewhere. Songs like "Perfect Day" and "Walk on the Wild Side" have become so ingrained in the rock consciousness, it's easy to forget how strangely anti-rock they sound.The Velvets' music obviously lived on the same dark side of town as Reed's seedy lyrical fascinations. But here his tales of killer queens and beauty parlor junkies inhabit an almost jolly musical landscape, and the contradictions make it all even scarier. Transformer is high camp by way of the Bowery, and on "Make Up," and "Goodnight Ladies," Reed sounds like the devil in drag. Outrageous, disturbing and weirdly compelling, this album is an oddity worth owning.

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

After The Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd had reached mainstream success, attaining fame, money, and a large fan base. While this would make most anyone happy, it was extremely troubling for the band. When they went back into the studio to record a follow-up album, their songs were rigid and difficult to put together due to the pressure of following up a huge breakthrough album. Some songs lashed out at the music industry, while others were melancholic tributes to Syd Barret, the band's mentally deteriorating former frontman. Ironically, as they were laying the vocal dubs for one of these tracks, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", Barret had came in the studio; the dissolving of his state of mind in front of the band may have made the album itself even more emotional.

The Clash - Super Black Market Clash


An expanded version of the Black Market Clash EP, Super Black Market Clash adds assorted singles and remixes to the original recording. A couple of tracks aren't that interesting, but the majority of the disc is splendid, featuring some of the band's best but unfortunately overlooked tracks, including "Armagideon Time," "The Prisoner," "Gates of the West," and "Capital Radio."

The Who - Face Dances


Without Keith Moon, the Who may have lacked the restless firepower that distinguished their earlier albums, but Face Dances had some of Pete Townshend's best, most incisive compositions since Quadrophenia. "Don't Let Go the Coat" was one of his better odes to Meher Baba, "You Better You Bet" was a driving rocker, as was the rueful "Cache Cache," while "How Can You Do It Alone" was a solid ballad. While Townshend's songs were graceful and introspective, Roger Daltrey delivered them without any subtlety, rendering their power impotent.

Rolling stones - Sticky Fingers

The new, post-Decca records age of the Rolling Stones began here. Sticky Fingers, released on Rolling Stones Records, a company run by Marshall Chess, saw the birth of the famous red lips on yellow logo. It came housed in Andy Warhol's audacious sleeve depicting a pair of jeans and a real zip. (Hence...Sticky Fingers. Yes, incredibly rude but most people didn't notice that at the time.) It was a new beginning in musical terms, too. Mick Taylor's influence helped pull the band deeper into the blues, while Keith Richard's burgeoning friendship with Gram Parsons brought a country beat to the Stones' heart. Fired by an enthusiasm that would weaken somewhat a week later at Altamont, they converged on Mussel Shoals Studios, deep in Alabama. In three hyper-productive days they pinned down the backing tracks for "Brown Sugar," "Wild Horses" (first recorded by Parsons' Flying Burrito Brothers) and "You Gotta Move." The rich flavour of Sticky Fingers was forged in that brief, early session, recorded in a studio that was buried deep in an old coffin factory. The remainder of the album came from Berkshire (the Rolling Stones' mobile parked next to Jagger's manor house) and Olympic Studios, London. The country/blues theme continued throughout the album, though.

Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left

Five Leaves Left, recorded in 1969, was the first of three albums by British folk musician Nick Drake. Like Bryter Layter and unlike Pink Moon, this album contains no completely solo songs. Nick was accompanied by members of the British folk-rock group Fairport Convention.

Five Leaves Left was ranked 85th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 283 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The title of the album is said to be derived from a contemporary message contained within packets of Rizla cigarette papers, which warned people that only five papers were left in the packet. It is sometimes suggested that this was aimed at people rolling marijuana joints, since many joints required five individual papers in order to be assembled.

Although, there has been some speculation into the name being acquired from O. Henry's short novel The Last Leaf, in which a woman states that she can happily die when all the leaves have fallen from her tree, she states that it will not be long as there are only five leaves left.

Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure

On Roxy Music's debut, the tensions between Brian Eno and Bryan Ferry propelled their music to great, unexpected heights, and for most of the group's second album, For Your Pleasure wants to stay in more conventional rock territory; the nine-minute "The Bogus Man" captures such creative tensions perfectly, and it's easy to see why , the band equals, if not surpasses, those expectations. However, there are a handful of moments where those tensions become unbearable, as when Eno wants to move toward texture and FerryEno left the group after the album was completed. Still, those differences result in yet another extraordinary record from Roxy Music, one that demonstrates even more clearly than the debut how avant-garde ideas can flourish in a pop setting. This is especially evident in the driving singles "Do the Strand" and "Editions of You," which pulsate with raw energy and jarring melodic structures. Roxy also illuminate the slower numbers, such as the eerie "In Every Dream Home a Heartache," with atonal, shimmering synthesizers, textures that were unexpected and innovative at the time of its release. Similarly, all of For Your Pleasure walks the tightrope between the experimental and the accessible, creating a new vocabulary for rock bands, and one that was exploited heavily in the ensuing decade.