Not One Wasted Second; The Pursuit of the Perfect Album - article discussion

Lots of great albums mentioned on here. For what it's worth, my brief list -

1. Jimi Hendrix "Are You Experienced?". Having been present at Jimi's first official UK gig, at The Marquee Club, and as a consequence having my young teenaged head completely rearranged, I still dig out and play my original mono Track Records copy at least once a week.

2. John Grant "The Queen Of Denmark". Wonderful...

3. Pink Floyd "The Dark Side Of The Moon". I remember this being premiered at The London Planetarium, and reading the critic in the NME a couple of days' later who decided it really wasn't very good and wouldn't get anywhere. I wonder what he went on to do for a living?

4. "Led Zeppelin". I was fortunate to attend an early concert at The Toby Jug, Tolworth. Boy, were they loud, but utterly brilliant.

5. Van Morrison "Astral Weeks". A groundbreaking album from The Man.

6. Prefab Sprout "Jordan; The Comeback". Their pinnacle, recently remixed and stretched over two LPs (the original tried to squeeze too many tracks on). This new copy is absolutely excellent, and essential if you like this album (and vinyl, of course!)

That'll do for now.
 
Moon Safari is a good shout. Have you heard Talkie Walkie?



 
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My personal favourite from Floyd is Animals. Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout is a brilliant album if a little uneven.
 
Lots of great albums mentioned on here. For what it's worth, my brief list -

1. Jimi Hendrix "Are You Experienced?". Having been present at Jimi's first official UK gig, at The Marquee Club, and as a consequence having my young teenaged head completely rearranged, I still dig out and play my original mono Track Records copy at least once a week.

2. John Grant "The Queen Of Denmark". Wonderful...

3. Pink Floyd "The Dark Side Of The Moon". I remember this being premiered at The London Planetarium, and reading the critic in the NME a couple of days' later who decided it really wasn't very good and wouldn't get anywhere. I wonder what he went on to do for a living?

4. "Led Zeppelin". I was fortunate to attend an early concert at The Toby Jug, Tolworth. Boy, were they loud, but utterly brilliant.

5. Van Morrison "Astral Weeks". A groundbreaking album from The Man.

6. Prefab Sprout "Jordan; The Comeback". Their pinnacle, recently remixed and stretched over two LPs (the original tried to squeeze too many tracks on). This new copy is absolutely excellent, and essential if you like this album (and vinyl, of course!)

That'll do for now.
This is a great selection, with a couple of albums I nearly added to my own list.

I stopped short of adding the Hendrix album on the basis that it comes across more of a selection of individual tracks, than a cohesive 'album', but as they're some of the greatest and most groundbreaking rock n roll tunes of all time, I think we can let that one go!

I will be one of more than a few jealous people to hear you've seen Hendrix play. I can only imagine what that must have been like.

Pleased to see Astral Weeks mentioned too. A fabulous album and one that would be on mine if id allowed myself to keep selecting.

Keep 'em coming folks.
 
Hunky Dory by Bowie, Doolittle by thy the Pixies and, most of all Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem. Not a flaw on any of them.
Thats (at least at first glance) an excellent trio you've chosen there.
Hard to make a convincing argument against Hunky Dory and Sound fo Silver, at the very least.
 
Surely it would be hard not to include OK Computer?
I may be an obvious suggestion, or not, I dont know - but for many years after its release it was widely regarded as not only one of the greatest albums of modern times, but also heralded (for some critics) the end of the album as the well thought out, sequenced and thematically consistent album.
 
This is so difficult Ed! I'm genuinely struggling to think of one album where I don't skip at least one song...
Someone else suggested Marvin Gaye's What's going on? and I'd probably 2nd that.

Rumours is another belter. Maybe Thriller, Purple Rain, Nevermind but I honestly don't think I could nail my colours to the mast for any of them. You've properly stumped me with this!

Purple Rain, and Sign O' the Times would be strong contenders certainly.

Though, and this plays to the quirkiness of the question being posed, I'd probably put Whats Goin' On before them - it does flow like water, and is very much a piece in itself.

Not nearly as strong a set of songs as Purple Rain, but Gaye's piece works in good part because of the way its sequenced.
 
Prince ”Sign ‘o’ the times”

PERFECTION

Correct - probably wont make the list, because it might be just as good with very different track sequencing, and isn't strongly thematic.

None of that gets in the way of its greatness as an album, its joyous and has aged well.

Just suspect that Ed's question has slightly different criteria.
 
Arctic Monkeys- AM
Bjork- Vespertine
Kate Bush- 50 Words For Snow
Goldfrapp- Supernature
Black Sabbath- Never Say Die, Technical Ecstasy, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Barbra Streisand- Guilty
Pink Floyd- DSOTM, WYWH, Animals, Meddle, The Final Cut, The Wall
Mozart- Requiem
 
One that defiantly springs to mind is Bonobo - The North Borders, there isn't a bad track on there and it's an album I never get tired of listening to.
 
John Grant "The Queen Of Denmark". Wonderful...
Good to see this (and the great man himself) namechecked, but the trouble is "Pale Green Ghosts" is significantly better - more fully realised, consistent, deeper, darker and moodier.

Mind you, it's always great to hear the title track, "Queen Of Denmark", being blasted out live and there's some magnificent swearing!
 
Scott 4 by Scott Walker. 1969.
Strange but compelling album with some very beautiful moments.

This is my personal favourite track from the album.

 
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This is a good shout.

And on the subject of Paul Simon, Graceland is really only one track away from perfection. Ironic that the album's biggest hit (You can call me Al) is the only one I am inclined to skip when listening to what would otherwise be a perfect album.
I've seen the London Community Gospel Choir performing this album in full and guess which song got the biggest response on the night?;)

My favourite track by a mile is "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes" - that guitar line is just mesmerising! But yes, it is a pretty flawless album that reveals new pleasures on every listen. Fantastic production, too.
 
It has been mentioned a couple times on this thread but Roger Waters, Amused To Death in Q Sound, has to be listened start to finish as one cohesive piece. Simply brilliant in my opinion. Truly the definition of a perfect album. :)
 
It has been mentioned a couple times on this thread but Roger Waters, Amused To Death in Q Sound, has to be listened start to finish as one cohesive piece. Simply brilliant in my opinion. Truly the definition of a perfect album. :)

Never heard that album before. Will give it a listen. 👍
 
Lots of great albums mentioned on here. For what it's worth, my brief list -

1. Jimi Hendrix "Are You Experienced?". Having been present at Jimi's first official UK gig, at The Marquee Club, and as a consequence having my young teenaged head completely rearranged, I still dig out and play my original mono Track Records copy at least once a week.
Incredibly jealous of that statement, great album choice as well.
 
Good to see this (and the great man himself) namechecked, but the trouble is "Pale Green Ghosts" is significantly better - more fully realised, consistent, deeper, darker and moodier.

Mind you, it's always great to hear the title track, "Queen Of Denmark", being blasted out live and there's some magnificent swearing!
The Pale Green Ghosts track's one of my demo plays, for that great bass. But for personal preference the album doesn't quite do it for me. Each to their own...
 
I've seen the London Community Gospel Choir performing this album in full and guess which song got the biggest response on the night?;)

My favourite track by a mile is "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes" - that guitar line is just mesmerising! But yes, it is a pretty flawless album that reveals new pleasures on every listen. Fantastic production, too.

Check this, just the bass line
 
Check this, just the bass line

Well, that was utterly glorious!

You don't often see/hear the slide technique being used on the bass guitar, do you? It's more about feel than note perfection using fretless, too.

The more we discuss "Graceland", the more I realise just how good it is. It's incredible to think now how much Paul Simon was criticised at the time:

"Controversy[edit]
Following the album's success, Simon faced accusations by organizations such as Artists United Against Apartheid,[20] anti-apartheid musicians including Billy Bragg, Paul Weller, and Jerry Dammers,[21] and James Victor Gbeho, at the time the Ghanaian Ambassador to the United Nations,[22] that he had broken the cultural boycott imposed by the rest of the world against the apartheid regime in South Africa.[23] Before going to South Africa, Simon sought advice from Harry Belafonte, with whom he had recently collaborated on "We Are the World". Belafonte had mixed feelings and advised him to discuss the matter with the African National Congress (ANC).[23] At an album launch party, Simon bluntly clarified his opinions on the controversy: "I'm with the artists. I didn't ask the permission of the ANC. I didn't ask permission of Buthelezi, or Desmond Tutu, or the Pretoria government. And to tell you the truth, I have a feeling that when there are radical transfers of power on either the left or the right, the artists always get screwed."[23]

Although supported by the United Nations Anti-Apartheid Committee, as the album showcased the talents of the black South African musicians while offering no support to the South African government, the ANC protested the collaboration as a violation of the boycott.[20] Critics condemned Simon for having potentially damaging solidarity, calling him naive.[23] The ANC voted to ban him from the country, and he was also added to the United Nations blacklist.[10] Simon was removed from it in January 1987,[24] and announced that he had been cleared by the ANC, but this was denied by Dali Tambo, the founder of Artists Against Apartheid. The Graceland concert at London's Royal Albert Hall prompted protests from Dammers, Weller, and Bragg. In 2012, The Guardian wrote that the controversy had been revived to an extent when Simon returned to London for a 25th-anniversary concert celebrating the album.[23]

In contrast, Simon received praise for encouraging South African music from Hugh Masekela, one of South Africa's most prominent musicians and an exiled opponent of apartheid, who subsequently toured alongside Simon and Miriam Makeba.[21] The album's worldwide success introduced some of the musicians, especially Ladysmith Black Mambazo, to global audiences. But Jonas Gwangwa has criticized the notion that Simon was responsible for making South African music popular: "So, it has taken another white man to discover my people?"[23] Some critics viewed Graceland as colonialist, with Simon appropriating the music of another culture to bring to the global market.[25] As stated by Star-Ledger reporter Tris McCall in 2012, "Does it complicate matters to realize that these musicians were second-class citizens in their own country, one groaning under the weight of apartheid? How could Simon approach them as equal partners when their own government demanded that they treat him as a superior?"[25]

According to Simon:

What was unusual about Graceland is that it was on the surface apolitical, but what it represented was the essence of the anti-apartheid in that it was a collaboration between blacks and whites to make music that people everywhere enjoyed. It was completely the opposite from what the apartheid regime said, which is that one group of people were inferior. Here, there were no inferiors or superiors, just an acknowledgement of everybody's work as a musician. It was a powerful statement.[11]
In 2012, Andrew Mueller of Uncut wrote: "Apartheid was of course a monstrosity, but it would be absurd to suggest that Simon's introduction of South Africa's music to the world prolonged it and quite plausible to suggest that it did some small amount to hasten its undoing."[26]

Linda Ronstadt[edit]
Simon's choice to feature American singer Linda Ronstadt on "Under African Skies" was criticized, as three years earlier she had accepted $500,000 to perform at Sun City, a South African luxury resort.[2] Nelson George of Billboard said her inclusion on Graceland was like “using gasoline to put out birthday candles”, and rock critic Robert Christgau wrote: “Even if the lyric called for total US divestiture, Ronstadt’s presence on Graceland would be a slap in the face to the world anti-apartheid movement."[2]

Simon defended Ronstadt, saying: "I know that her intention was never to support the government there ... She made a mistake. She’s extremely liberal in her political thinking and unquestionably antiapartheid."[4] He told Spin he did not think Ronstadt would play at Sun City again, and did not think she was "incompatible" with the record.[27]

Simon refused to perform on the 1985 antiapartheid single "Sun City", as the demo had included a list of names shaming artists who had performed at the resort, including Ronstadt's, and as he felt Graceland would be "my own statement".[4] He said he had refused two offers to perform at Sun City,[4] and drew a distinction between going to South Africa to perform for a segregated audience, which he felt was unacceptable, and going to record.[28]"

(Wikipedia)

I suppose he's been completely vindicated as the gig I went to was sold out and there was a fantastic reaction to the songs and performances. The audience was very diverse too, all ages, races and sexes. It was a wonderful night for music and I was buzzing walking home afterwards.
 
Well, that was utterly glorious!

You don't often see/hear the slide technique being used on the bass guitar, do you? It's more about feel than note perfection using fretless, too.

The more we discuss "Graceland", the more I realise just how good it is. It's incredible to think now how much Paul Simon was criticised at the time:

"Controversy[edit]
Following the album's success, Simon faced accusations by organizations such as Artists United Against Apartheid,[20] anti-apartheid musicians including Billy Bragg, Paul Weller, and Jerry Dammers,[21] and James Victor Gbeho, at the time the Ghanaian Ambassador to the United Nations,[22] that he had broken the cultural boycott imposed by the rest of the world against the apartheid regime in South Africa.[23] Before going to South Africa, Simon sought advice from Harry Belafonte, with whom he had recently collaborated on "We Are the World". Belafonte had mixed feelings and advised him to discuss the matter with the African National Congress (ANC).[23] At an album launch party, Simon bluntly clarified his opinions on the controversy: "I'm with the artists. I didn't ask the permission of the ANC. I didn't ask permission of Buthelezi, or Desmond Tutu, or the Pretoria government. And to tell you the truth, I have a feeling that when there are radical transfers of power on either the left or the right, the artists always get screwed."[23]

Although supported by the United Nations Anti-Apartheid Committee, as the album showcased the talents of the black South African musicians while offering no support to the South African government, the ANC protested the collaboration as a violation of the boycott.[20] Critics condemned Simon for having potentially damaging solidarity, calling him naive.[23] The ANC voted to ban him from the country, and he was also added to the United Nations blacklist.[10] Simon was removed from it in January 1987,[24] and announced that he had been cleared by the ANC, but this was denied by Dali Tambo, the founder of Artists Against Apartheid. The Graceland concert at London's Royal Albert Hall prompted protests from Dammers, Weller, and Bragg. In 2012, The Guardian wrote that the controversy had been revived to an extent when Simon returned to London for a 25th-anniversary concert celebrating the album.[23]

In contrast, Simon received praise for encouraging South African music from Hugh Masekela, one of South Africa's most prominent musicians and an exiled opponent of apartheid, who subsequently toured alongside Simon and Miriam Makeba.[21] The album's worldwide success introduced some of the musicians, especially Ladysmith Black Mambazo, to global audiences. But Jonas Gwangwa has criticized the notion that Simon was responsible for making South African music popular: "So, it has taken another white man to discover my people?"[23] Some critics viewed Graceland as colonialist, with Simon appropriating the music of another culture to bring to the global market.[25] As stated by Star-Ledger reporter Tris McCall in 2012, "Does it complicate matters to realize that these musicians were second-class citizens in their own country, one groaning under the weight of apartheid? How could Simon approach them as equal partners when their own government demanded that they treat him as a superior?"[25]

According to Simon:


In 2012, Andrew Mueller of Uncut wrote: "Apartheid was of course a monstrosity, but it would be absurd to suggest that Simon's introduction of South Africa's music to the world prolonged it and quite plausible to suggest that it did some small amount to hasten its undoing."[26]

Linda Ronstadt[edit]
Simon's choice to feature American singer Linda Ronstadt on "Under African Skies" was criticized, as three years earlier she had accepted $500,000 to perform at Sun City, a South African luxury resort.[2] Nelson George of Billboard said her inclusion on Graceland was like “using gasoline to put out birthday candles”, and rock critic Robert Christgau wrote: “Even if the lyric called for total US divestiture, Ronstadt’s presence on Graceland would be a slap in the face to the world anti-apartheid movement."[2]

Simon defended Ronstadt, saying: "I know that her intention was never to support the government there ... She made a mistake. She’s extremely liberal in her political thinking and unquestionably antiapartheid."[4] He told Spin he did not think Ronstadt would play at Sun City again, and did not think she was "incompatible" with the record.[27]

Simon refused to perform on the 1985 antiapartheid single "Sun City", as the demo had included a list of names shaming artists who had performed at the resort, including Ronstadt's, and as he felt Graceland would be "my own statement".[4] He said he had refused two offers to perform at Sun City,[4] and drew a distinction between going to South Africa to perform for a segregated audience, which he felt was unacceptable, and going to record.[28]"

(Wikipedia)

I suppose he's been completely vindicated as the gig I went to was sold out and there was a fantastic reaction to the songs and performances. The audience was very diverse too, all ages, races and sexes. It was a wonderful night for music and I was buzzing walking home afterwards.
Thank you for the concise covering of the controversy over the making of Graceland. I believe that the criticism was overblown, and Simons' "explanation" reasonable.
On a slight side note, I have been a fan of Hugh Masekela for many years, & was lucky enough to see him live, in a beautifully intimate Concert setting very close (3 km) to where live in Germany, a few years ago. A really memorable evening, & I am so grateful that I got to see him perform live before he passed.
 
A couple of pics from the Concert taken from above just to get a good angle - I was sat downstairs close to the Stage for the rest of the time. :)
Hugh Masekela 3.jpg

Hugh Masekela 1.jpg
 
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Tears for Fears - Songs from the big chair
Prince - Purple Rain
Peter Gabriel - So
Ultravox - Vienna
 

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