Top 10 classic rock albums of all time
J-ROD'S MUSIC WORLD
Justin Rodstrom
Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: Entertainment
It's not often I get to indulge in my favorite era of music. I like to keep the focus on the here and now, but when asked to make a list of classic albums, I couldn't resist.
There's no tallying of votes, no exit polls or data to calculate. This is as subjective a list as you'll get; it's all me. So without further adieu, here's your guide to the top 10 classic rock albums of all time:
"Highway 61 Revisited"
Bob Dylan
As Bob Dylan is often hailed as the greatest songwriter in the modern sense of the word, it is only fitting that he begin the top 10 list of classic albums. (And he'll reappear later.)
"Highway 61 Revisited" is an album of drastic change for the artist whose fans expect moody acoustic guitar, tinny harmonica and challenging lyrics as the acceptable shape for folk music to take.
As the biopic "I'm Not There" let's us know, Dylan was not one for convention, nor was he one for fitting into any mold neatly.
Although there were certainly repercussions for Dylan's stylistic change, the music here is just as challenging, incisive and direct as ever.
The problems are just as tangible as ever with political implication and personal struggle, spoken through the walking-on-egg-shells lifestyle of "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" or the utterly absurdist painting that is "Desolation Row."
"Axis: Bold As Love"
Jimi Hendrix
Oh, how the colors splatter all over the sonic room of one's mind with "Axis: Bold As Love," Jimi Hendrix's most enigmatic, diverse cross section of songcraft.
This is the second of three full-length studio albums from one of the most biographed, short-lived artists from the cultural revolution that was the America in the '60s.
With the idea of revolution in mind, Hendrix was looking to speak in new tongues in the language of sound.
Hendrix conceptualized sound as something malleable to be bent to one's will through the use of studio effects, pedals, feedback and the latest in recording techniques.
There's no tallying of votes, no exit polls or data to calculate. This is as subjective a list as you'll get; it's all me. So without further adieu, here's your guide to the top 10 classic rock albums of all time:
"Highway 61 Revisited"
Bob Dylan
As Bob Dylan is often hailed as the greatest songwriter in the modern sense of the word, it is only fitting that he begin the top 10 list of classic albums. (And he'll reappear later.)
"Highway 61 Revisited" is an album of drastic change for the artist whose fans expect moody acoustic guitar, tinny harmonica and challenging lyrics as the acceptable shape for folk music to take.
As the biopic "I'm Not There" let's us know, Dylan was not one for convention, nor was he one for fitting into any mold neatly.
Although there were certainly repercussions for Dylan's stylistic change, the music here is just as challenging, incisive and direct as ever.
The problems are just as tangible as ever with political implication and personal struggle, spoken through the walking-on-egg-shells lifestyle of "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" or the utterly absurdist painting that is "Desolation Row."
"Axis: Bold As Love"
Jimi Hendrix
Oh, how the colors splatter all over the sonic room of one's mind with "Axis: Bold As Love," Jimi Hendrix's most enigmatic, diverse cross section of songcraft.
This is the second of three full-length studio albums from one of the most biographed, short-lived artists from the cultural revolution that was the America in the '60s.
With the idea of revolution in mind, Hendrix was looking to speak in new tongues in the language of sound.
Hendrix conceptualized sound as something malleable to be bent to one's will through the use of studio effects, pedals, feedback and the latest in recording techniques.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Colin
posted 4/10/08 @ 11:20 AM EST
What, no Secret Treaties by Blue Oyster Cult?
Secret Treaties should DEFINITELY be eligible for consideration on this list. True, BOC never really reached the kind of mainstream success that, oh, say, Sabbath did, but start to finish, Secret Treaties is one of the strongest albums of the early metal era. (Continued…)
Steve
posted 4/10/08 @ 1:58 PM EST
Its hard to criticize this listing, the only quibble might be substituting Sgt Pepper for Abbey Road. Abbey Road is awesome, but Sgt. Pepper is where they took all they had learned and put it to paper, er music. (Continued…)
Joe Mama
posted 4/16/08 @ 2:36 PM EST
Fairly decent list. I cannot let your Eat a Peach myth live on though.
http://www.snopes.com/music/hidden/eatpeach.asp
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