1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die was first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Edited by Robert Dimery, it contains a chronological list of albums chosen by a panel of music critics to be the most important, influential, and best in popular music between the 1950s and the 2000s. It was reissued in 2008 with a revised list, and again in 2011, 2013 and 2016. From first publication the list has been a topic of much debate, with some disagreement regarding albums left out or included; however, it is widely regarded as a very useful starting point for the main musical references of the late 20th century. As the 2005 book is the first and has the most impact, that is the list I've used here.
I'm working my way through the list, and also comparing it with other lists.
Albums marked $ are ones I agree with (12)
Albums marked + are ones I have added to the list (47)
Albums marked + are ones I have added to the list (47)
Albums marked XX are ones I have removed (11)
Total recommended albums: 70
Total recommended albums: 70
Albums marked RS are on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums 10 albums
Albums marked MC are on Mojo's 100 Records That Changed The World 4 albums
Albums marked CCC are on Robert Christgau's Core Collection 2 albums
Albums marked C4 are on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Albums 2 albums
Albums marked NM are on NARM The Definitive 200 4 albums
Albums marked G50 are on The Guardian 50 Albums That Changed Music 3 albums
Albums marked UC are on Uncut's 200 Greatest Albums Of All Time 0 albums
Albums marked NME are on NME's 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time 1 album
Albums marked Q are on Q's 100 Greatest Albums Ever (2006) 1 album
Albums marked ATT are on Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1,000 albums
JZ = Jazz (jz indicates some jazz content or influence) 15 albumsFK = Folk (including folk-rock) 4 albums
CW = Country 3 albums
Syn = Synthpop/Electronic 1 album
SL = Soul 1 album
EB = Electric blues (British and American) 3 albums
BL = Blues
1929
+ Charley Patton - Paramount Recordings (The Best of, etc) (FK) (BL) The Blues is an African-American folk music whose origins are obscure, but are considered to derive from African folk music blended with American hymns. Patton is one of the earliest Blues performers to have been recorded. Score: 7
***
 |
| 1940 |
+ Woody Guthrie - Dust Bowl Ballads [FK] (MC) (CCC) Guthrie underpins Bob Dylan and the whole singer-songwriter genre. He made folk music important and cool, and gave it social significance and political importance. His influence cannot be overstated, though is often under looked. Though some critics assert that St Peppers was the first concept album, Dust Bowl Ballads came over 25 years earlier, and is a proper, fully conceived concept, dealing with a significant event - the Dust Bowl droughts in mid-America between 1934 and 1940, and gives the affected people a voice. It is one of the earliest albums of popular music. It was released on six 78 rpm discs in two folders or "albums". Aside from its cultural and social significance, this is also a work that is artistically strong, and still sounds fresh and vivid nearly 80 years later. Score: 10
+ Lead Belly - The Midnight Special and Other Southern Prison Songs Singer, song-writer (or adapter, hard to tell from the records how much he wrote original songs compared to adapt existing but largely unknown songs), and guitarist. He had a brief and largely unsuccessful music career, interspersed with time in prison for violence, including killing a relative. The folk music collector John Lomax discovered him during one of his prison spells, and secured him an early release in order to record him and put him on tour. This is the second album he and his son recorded of Lead Belly. The first was Negro Sinful Songs (1939). This is a good quality recording with professional production and choral accompaniment, and stands out from other crude field recordings. Score: 6
***
 |
| 1941 |
+ Josh White - Southern Exposure (1941) Civil tights music. Josh (or Joshua) White was a black man singing openly and strongly against the Jim Crow racial segregation laws. Score: 5
***
 |
| 1945 |
+ Glenn Miller - Glenn Miller [jz] Released in 1945 shortly after Miller's death as a 4 disc set of 78s with two tracks on each disc, this was one of the first best selling albums on the newly created Billboard album chart, staying at number one for 16 weeks. Glenn Miller was the most famous, popular and acclaimed big band leader of the 20th century. Many jazz critics dismiss his style of smooth swing as too commercial, preferring the snap and energy of Benny Goodman and Count Basie. I see what they mean, but I don't see the need to dismiss the one or other as both have their place and both require skill and artistry, just of a slightly different sort. The album linked to on Spotify is a 2010 release with 18 tracks, so is not the original 1945 album which only had eight tracks. Score: 7
+ Louis Jordan - The Best of Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five (2019) Jordan is one of the band leaders who bridges the link between the big bands playing swing, and the small bands playing rock and roll. He was a particular influence on Little Richard and Chuck Berry - with Berry taking Carl Hogan's intro on Louis Jordan's 1946 song "Ain't That Just Like a Woman" and using it for his 1958 "Johnny B Goode". This collection was released in 2019, and consists mainly of his 1940s hits, though some lesser tracks from the early 1950s are are included. It misses out on "Saturday Fish Fry", but, on the whole, is a decent compilation of his main work. There are many other single disc compilations - some better than others - and I have a fond recollection of one I had in the early Seventies which had a similar name, but which I cannot find now online. But this will do for now. Placed in the 40s, as that was Jordan's main period. Score: 7
+ Louis Jordan - The Best of Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five (2019) Jordan is one of the band leaders who bridges the link between the big bands playing swing, and the small bands playing rock and roll. He was a particular influence on Little Richard and Chuck Berry - with Berry taking Carl Hogan's intro on Louis Jordan's 1946 song "Ain't That Just Like a Woman" and using it for his 1958 "Johnny B Goode". This collection was released in 2019, and consists mainly of his 1940s hits, though some lesser tracks from the early 1950s are are included. It misses out on "Saturday Fish Fry", but, on the whole, is a decent compilation of his main work. There are many other single disc compilations - some better than others - and I have a fond recollection of one I had in the early Seventies which had a similar name, but which I cannot find now online. But this will do for now. Placed in the 40s, as that was Jordan's main period. Score: 7
***
 |
| 1950 |
+ Benny Goodman - The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (original on YouTube) Live at Carnegie Hall 1938 Complete (49 track CD on Spotify) [JZ] Recorded in 1938 when Benny Goodman was at his height as a big band leader of jazz, this was released in 1950 as a two vinyl disc album, and went on to sell over a million copies. Benny Goodman is regarded as the most important bandleader of the thirties, and hugely influential on the development of jazz music. The Carnegie Hall concert, the first jazz concert in that respectable venue, has been considered as potentially the most significant jazz concert of all time as it gave jazz both respectability and a wider audience. The original album release is the one to listen to rather than the overblown 49 track "Complete" release. The 12 minutes "Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing)" is sublime; even if you dislike jazz, you'll love this. Score: 9
***
 |
| 1951 |
+ Various - Folkways Music of The World's Peoples Vol 1 World music genuinely starts here, though the marketing and terminology would not get underway until after the release and success of Paul Simon's Graceland in 1986. The Folkway label was started by the extraordinary Moe Asch, one of the earliest record label owners. He had a huge curiosity and a generous spirit. He allowed people to record in his studio for free. And he went around the world on a quest to record the music of the world. This is the first volume of Music of The World's People, the first album to bring ethnic music from around the world to a Western audience; and in addition to this series, he also produced and released the hugely influential Anthology of American Folk Music, as well as hundreds of other recordings of world, blues, folk and jazz genres including Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly and Pete Seegar. Seminal and fascinating. If you have any interest in world music, seek out this album and the rest in the series. Score: 7
+ Various Artists - Anthology of American Folk Music (YouTube) [FK] (MC) (RS) This Folkways collection is of cultural significance as the music contained here are the roots of pop, rock, folk and country - the four main music genres of the 20th century. The album was hugely influential on early Sixties folk artists, particularly Bob Dylan. As such it underpins not just American music, but world music. Score: 6 1/2
+ Gene Autry - Christmas Album [CW] Autry was a very popular old fashioned Country & Western singer who had a series of hits in the Thirties and Forties, and became known as "The Singing Cowboy". He moved into TV and film in the Fifties, continuing to enjoy hits, especially with Christmas songs. He retired in 1964. Despite the date of this Spotify album saying 1947, I don't think he made a contemporary album of his Christmas songs. Indeed, some of the songs were first recorded after 1947. There are a number of compilation albums of his Christmas songs. This one is as good as any, and 1952 is I think the latest date for any of the songs included. Score: 6
+ Professor Longhair - New Orleans Piano (1972) (RS) Instrumental in creating the New Orleans sound we associate with Fats Domino and Dr John. The album was released in 1972, but was composed of tracks previously released in the 40s and early 50s. Neither the Spotify nor the YouTube albums are the exact one, but the nearest I could find. Score: 7
+ Hank Williams - Memorial Album [CW] Hank Williams' significance is such that no list of 20th century music should be without him. This album - a posthumous compilation - was the first successful country album, and changed record buying habits. A modern compilation, 40 Greatest Hits (1978), is also useful, and contains "I'm So Lonesome I could Cry", which Bob Dylan sings in Don't Look Back. Score: 7
$ Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours (YouTube) (RS) (MC) (NM) (NME) Another "concept" album created long before critics used the term. Score: 7
+ Julie London - Julie Is Her Name [jz] In the 50s and early 60s jazz was a dominant form of music, and London's smooth, smoky, intimate approach, backed by Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Leatherwood on bass, was hugely popular and quietly influential - it can be heard down the years in various singers. Contains "Cry Me A River", her most famous song. Score: 6
+ Fats Domino - Rock and Rollin' with Fats Domino Debut album which includes the hit single "The Fat Man" which is one of the songs considered as possibly the first rock and roll song, and "Ain't That A Shame", for which, along with "Blueberry Hill" (not on this album), Domino is most known. Score: 5
+ Bill Haley - Rock Around The Clock / Shake Rattle and Roll The first rock and roll album. Originally released in 1955 as Shake Rattle and Roll it was re-released in December of that year under the title Rock Around The Clock, with a slightly changed song list, after the success of "Rock Around The Clock" as a single (which is a much sanitised version of "My Man Rocks Me" by Trixie Smith from 1922). Has cultural significance and the songs are entertaining. Score: 5
***
1952
+ Various Artists - Anthology of American Folk Music (YouTube) [FK] (MC) (RS) This Folkways collection is of cultural significance as the music contained here are the roots of pop, rock, folk and country - the four main music genres of the 20th century. The album was hugely influential on early Sixties folk artists, particularly Bob Dylan. As such it underpins not just American music, but world music. Score: 6 1/2
+ Gene Autry - Christmas Album [CW] Autry was a very popular old fashioned Country & Western singer who had a series of hits in the Thirties and Forties, and became known as "The Singing Cowboy". He moved into TV and film in the Fifties, continuing to enjoy hits, especially with Christmas songs. He retired in 1964. Despite the date of this Spotify album saying 1947, I don't think he made a contemporary album of his Christmas songs. Indeed, some of the songs were first recorded after 1947. There are a number of compilation albums of his Christmas songs. This one is as good as any, and 1952 is I think the latest date for any of the songs included. Score: 6
***
1953
+ Professor Longhair - New Orleans Piano (1972) (RS) Instrumental in creating the New Orleans sound we associate with Fats Domino and Dr John. The album was released in 1972, but was composed of tracks previously released in the 40s and early 50s. Neither the Spotify nor the YouTube albums are the exact one, but the nearest I could find. Score: 7
+ Hank Williams - Memorial Album [CW] Hank Williams' significance is such that no list of 20th century music should be without him. This album - a posthumous compilation - was the first successful country album, and changed record buying habits. A modern compilation, 40 Greatest Hits (1978), is also useful, and contains "I'm So Lonesome I could Cry", which Bob Dylan sings in Don't Look Back. Score: 7
***
 |
| 1954 |
+ Louis Armstrong - Plays W.C. Handy [JZ] Armstrong was a highly popular and respected jazz trumpeter who remain prominent for a considerable period - recording and performing from the 1920s to the 1960s. He had two heydays - the 1920s and 1930s when Dixieland or Trad jazz, his style, was popular, and the 1960s when he moved into mainstream pop more as a singer than a jazz musician. The 2004 compilation, The Essential Louis Armstrong sums up his entire period very well, without being excessive, including "Cake Walking Babies" (1925) and "What A Wonderful World" (1967). However, this 1954 album, which was recorded at a time when Armstrong was being challenged and criticised by the new and progressive bebop jazz stars, displays Armstrong at his finest, combining his most sublime trumpet playing with some well placed singing. For many people Armstrong was one of the most important figures in 20th century music, this album gives more than an adequate clue as to why. Score: 7 1/2
+ Johnnie Ray - Live At The London Palladium Hugely popular white singer. Emotive, energetic, young, cheeky. He appealed to the young, especially women, and his stage style and presence was influential on early rock musicians such as Elvis as well as later musicians such as Morrisey and Kevin Rowland of Dexys. This is a crude yet effective recording of a live performance by Ray at the peak of his popularity. Score: 6
***
+ Julie London - Julie Is Her Name [jz] In the 50s and early 60s jazz was a dominant form of music, and London's smooth, smoky, intimate approach, backed by Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Leatherwood on bass, was hugely popular and quietly influential - it can be heard down the years in various singers. Contains "Cry Me A River", her most famous song. Score: 6
+ Fats Domino - Rock and Rollin' with Fats Domino Debut album which includes the hit single "The Fat Man" which is one of the songs considered as possibly the first rock and roll song, and "Ain't That A Shame", for which, along with "Blueberry Hill" (not on this album), Domino is most known. Score: 5
+ Bill Haley - Rock Around The Clock / Shake Rattle and Roll The first rock and roll album. Originally released in 1955 as Shake Rattle and Roll it was re-released in December of that year under the title Rock Around The Clock, with a slightly changed song list, after the success of "Rock Around The Clock" as a single (which is a much sanitised version of "My Man Rocks Me" by Trixie Smith from 1922). Has cultural significance and the songs are entertaining. Score: 5
$ Frank Sinatra – Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (RS) (C4) (G50) (ATT) This album has been famous for years. It has such style. Sinatra is one of the most significant and influential singers of the 20th century, and this is his best album. Score: 8
+ B.B. King – Singin' The Blues [EB] Debut album. A lot of people feel his 1965 live album, Live at the Regal, is his most significant, but by 1965 his influence had already been felt, and those guitar players who were inspired by King - such as Clapton, Beck, and Page, had already taken his ideas and developed them further. The Yardbird's debut album was released in 1964, and albums by the Stones, Them, and the Who were all out before King's Regal album. Added to which, the recordings here are much crisper than the live album. Score: 7
$ Louis Prima – Wildest [jz] Bags of energy. Prima is one of the figures that straddles the big band era and the rock and roll era with elements of both genres in his music. Score: 7
$ Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (RS) (CCC) (G50) (NM) (ATT) Presley's debut album. The recordings were made for RCA, Presley's second label, and are more pop focused than the edgy and interesting rockabilly records he made for the Sun label, but the recordings he made for RCA in the 50s are the ones that most people knew at the time and are the ones still associated with him. The more interesting Sun recordings would be released on album later. There is some musical value here, but this album is listed more for the cultural importance of Elvis as a white boy making R&B popular, and for helping, along with Johnnie Ray, create the template of the sexy and rebellious rock performer. Score: 6
$ Louis Prima – Wildest [jz] Bags of energy. Prima is one of the figures that straddles the big band era and the rock and roll era with elements of both genres in his music. Score: 7
$ Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (RS) (CCC) (G50) (NM) (ATT) Presley's debut album. The recordings were made for RCA, Presley's second label, and are more pop focused than the edgy and interesting rockabilly records he made for the Sun label, but the recordings he made for RCA in the 50s are the ones that most people knew at the time and are the ones still associated with him. The more interesting Sun recordings would be released on album later. There is some musical value here, but this album is listed more for the cultural importance of Elvis as a white boy making R&B popular, and for helping, along with Johnnie Ray, create the template of the sexy and rebellious rock performer. Score: 6
+ Lonnie Donegan - Lonnie Donegan Showcase [FK] Folk and blues musician who emerged from Chris Barber's Jazz Band with an energetic yet casual approach to performing, often using everyday or home made instruments such as a tea chest bass, he termed skiffle, which may have related to an earlier form of music, though this is uncertain. His energy, directness, and simplicity was particularly appealing to British teenagers who formed their own skiffle bands. Very important culturally to the development of rhythm & blues and rock music in the UK. And his songs are entertaining. This was his first proper solo album. Score: 6
+ The Platters - The Platters Probably the greatest of the 50s vocal groups. Score: 6
+ Perez Prado - Havana, 3 a.m. [jz] (YouTube) Cuban music would have a distinct influence on jazz and pop, and - slightly less so but still distinctive - on rock music. Tito Puente's 1958 Dance Mania was, albeit slowed down and smooth, fairly authentic, and was a big hit - but this is earlier, and 100% authentic. No compromises made here. This is powerful and gritty music. Perhaps both albums are needed. Score: 5 1/2
+ The Platters - The Platters Probably the greatest of the 50s vocal groups. Score: 6
+ Perez Prado - Havana, 3 a.m. [jz] (YouTube) Cuban music would have a distinct influence on jazz and pop, and - slightly less so but still distinctive - on rock music. Tito Puente's 1958 Dance Mania was, albeit slowed down and smooth, fairly authentic, and was a big hit - but this is earlier, and 100% authentic. No compromises made here. This is powerful and gritty music. Perhaps both albums are needed. Score: 5 1/2
$ Duke Ellington – Ellington At Newport [JZ] (ATT) Live album, which when originally released consisted of five tracks, but on the re-released 1999 CD contains 38 tracks. The main track to listen to is the 14 minute "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" with tenor sax played by Paul Gonsalves. People like the energy and swing. Kept because of the acclaim for this track and this album, and because Ellington is widely regarded as an important early swing-jazz band leader - often regarded as more important than Benny Goodman. Score: 5
+ Big Joe Turner - Boss Of The Blues [jz] Blues, jazz, boogie-woogie, and early rock n roll - there is little distinction on this album. Important in showing how related these genres actually were at the time. This is close in style and comparable to Louis Jordan. Turner is part of the transition from big bands to jump blues to rhythm and blues to rock and roll. Score: 5
+ Harry Belafonte - Calypso [FK] (YouTube) The first million selling album, the first African-American pop star, and the roots of folk-rock. Score: 5
+ Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Gospel Train Score: 5
+ Billie Holiday - Lady Sings The Blues (C4) [jz] (YouTube) While I personally don't appreciate Holiday's voice or the type of songs she sings, her status is such that an album of her recordings should be on this list; however, I'm not sure that Lady In Satin is the right album, as it was recorded right at the end of her career when most folks consider her voice to be not at its best, there are sentimental strings all over the place to compensate, so any sense of her earthy Blues or sophisticated Jazz intonations are swamped by kitsch. I considered her first album Billie Holiday Sings (1952), but decided on Lady Sings The Blues because many regard it as the best compilation made during her lifetime - the songs are selected by Holiday herself, and include most of her legendary performances, such as "God Bless the Child", "Love Me Or Leave Me", and "Willow Weep For Me", which are missed out on Lady In Satin. Score: 5
+ Ravi Shankar – Three Ragas Shankar's debut album, recorded and released in London. His global influence starts here. Score: 5
+ Johnny Cash - With His Hot and Blue Guitar A solid and impressive debut album. This is a collection of a number of his major recordings with his first recording company, Sun Records, and was the first LP released by Sun (Elvis' first album in 1956 was with RCA). It contains "Cry! Cry! Cry!", his first single, released in 1955; "Folsom Prison Blues", also from 1955; and "I Walk the Line" from 1957, his first Country Music No 1, and his first Popular Music top 20; it also contains his cover of "Rock Island Line". It's a strong and beautiful album. Score: 7
+ Billie Holiday - Lady Sings The Blues (C4) [jz] (YouTube) While I personally don't appreciate Holiday's voice or the type of songs she sings, her status is such that an album of her recordings should be on this list; however, I'm not sure that Lady In Satin is the right album, as it was recorded right at the end of her career when most folks consider her voice to be not at its best, there are sentimental strings all over the place to compensate, so any sense of her earthy Blues or sophisticated Jazz intonations are swamped by kitsch. I considered her first album Billie Holiday Sings (1952), but decided on Lady Sings The Blues because many regard it as the best compilation made during her lifetime - the songs are selected by Holiday herself, and include most of her legendary performances, such as "God Bless the Child", "Love Me Or Leave Me", and "Willow Weep For Me", which are missed out on Lady In Satin. Score: 5
+ Ravi Shankar – Three Ragas Shankar's debut album, recorded and released in London. His global influence starts here. Score: 5
***
 |
| 1957 |
+ Chuck Berry - School Session (YouTube) There has to be a Chuck Berry album, the man is so important. Chuck Berry Is on Top is his third album, and is a contender purely through the choice of songs which at first glance might give it the impression of a greatest hits compilation, except it was genuinely his third album, and was released in 1959. Rolling Stone and Christgau selected The Great Twenty-Eight, a 1981 compilation. My selection is this, his debut album, because it has the significance of being his debut, plus it contains his early, groundbreaking singles and their b-sides which covers a range of music styles - blues, R&B, calypso, and rockabilly, displaying Berry's subtle musical skills. Score: 7 1/2
+ Sam Cooke - Songs of Sam Cooke [SL] The debut album of the singer widely seen as the originator of soul music. It starts here. Contains "You Send Me". Sublime. Score: 7
$ Little Richard – Here's Little Richard (RS) (ATT) Explosive. Essential. Score: 7
$ Buddy Holly and The Crickets – The Chirping Crickets (RS) (ATT) Still not sure about this. OK then. Score: 6
$ Little Richard – Here's Little Richard (RS) (ATT) Explosive. Essential. Score: 7
$ Buddy Holly and The Crickets – The Chirping Crickets (RS) (ATT) Still not sure about this. OK then. Score: 6
+ Nat King Cole - After Midnight [jz] Hugely popular and influential middle of the road pop singer - almost defined the genre. Informed by his jazz background, he gently swung and swayed through the 40s and 50s. Score: 5 1/2
+ The Coasters - The Coasters (1957) Falling between doo-wop and early rock n roll, The Coasters were an outlet for Leiber and Stroller, the prolific and significant rock n roll song-writing and production team. This was their first album. They had a number of novelty hits after this, including "Charlie Brown", "Along Came Jones", "Yakety Yak", and "Poison Ivy", but this album is tighter and more interesting than later compilations. Score 5 1/2
$ Sabu Martínez – Palo Congo [JZ] Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist. There's something attractively tribal and African about the sounds. Not sure that this is an important album though - it seems there were more important figures in the Afro-Cuban jazz movement. I like it though. Yes, go for it. Score: 5
+ The Coasters - The Coasters (1957) Falling between doo-wop and early rock n roll, The Coasters were an outlet for Leiber and Stroller, the prolific and significant rock n roll song-writing and production team. This was their first album. They had a number of novelty hits after this, including "Charlie Brown", "Along Came Jones", "Yakety Yak", and "Poison Ivy", but this album is tighter and more interesting than later compilations. Score 5 1/2
$ Sabu Martínez – Palo Congo [JZ] Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist. There's something attractively tribal and African about the sounds. Not sure that this is an important album though - it seems there were more important figures in the Afro-Cuban jazz movement. I like it though. Yes, go for it. Score: 5
+ James Brown - Please Please Please Debut album of the Godfather of Soul. Score: 7 1/2
+ Jean-Jacques Perrey - Prelude au Sommeil [Syn] Perrey is mostly known for his recordings with the Moog synthesizer in the late 6os - early 70s. This is his first recording; using the Ondoline, the forerunner of the Moog, he creates dreamy ambient music utilising drone and repetition. Significant in the history of electronic/synth/ambient music. Fascinatingly modern and attractive to listen to. Score: 6 1/2
+ Elizabeth Cotten - Folk Songs [FK] Cotten was a 11 year old black servant who saved her cleaning money to buy a guitar. She was left handed and taught herself to play the guitar upside down. She wrote "Freight Train" around this time. But then she got married, had a child, and gave up guitar playing. Many years later she took a cleaning job for the Seegar family, which included Pete Seegar, and while there sneaked into the kitchen when everyone was out to play one of Seegar's guitars. She was heard, and the family encouraged her to keep on playing, and Mike Seegar recorded this album on a reel to reel machine in her house. Her unusual picking style became known as "Cotten picking", and has been influential on a number of guitar players. Score: 6
+ The Everly Brothers – The Everly Brothers (1958) Energetic and engaging debut album of a popular vocal harmony rockabilly duo whose close harmonies influenced the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel, among others. (Album tracks are shown with the wrong names, but the album does play in the correct order of the original album) Score: 6
+ Jackie Wilson - He's So Fine (YouTube) The debut album by this hugely popular and influential R&B/Soul singer. Contains "Reet Petite". Score: 5 1/2
+ Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley Score: 5 1/2
+ The Kingston Trio - The Kingston Trio (YouTube) [FK] Hugely popular acoustic folk trio who paved the way for folk-rock, and who made the long playing album a popular format. This is their debut album. Score: 5
+ Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Jack Takes The Floor [FK] A folk interpreter rather than writer, Elliott bridges the gap between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, keeping Guthrie's songs alive long enough for Dylan to hear them and be influenced (Guthrie sings on "New York Town"). Elliott was an American who performed and recorded in the UK, and was an important influence on the folk revival in both countries. Score: 5
+ André Popp - Delirium in Hi-Fi Quirky easy listening musique concrète which plays around (playfully) with various recording techniques whilst wandering through upbeat pieces of child-like music. Score: 5
+ Henk Badings - Electronic Ballet Music "Cain And Abel" There are other electronic pieces of music by classical composers around this time, more serious and sombre than Popp, such as Bading's "Cain And Abel", and Edgard Varese's Poeme Electronique, György Ligeti's Artikulation, and Stockhausen's Gesang der Jünglinge. I've selected Badings as a temporary example. I may swap it for the Stockhausen later. Score: 5
$ Count Basie – Atomic Mr Basie [JZ] (ATT) I don't like jazz, and I expected to remove this listing because Basie tends to be presented as jazz, but the energetic and rhythmic nature of this album gave me pause for thought - this is big band music with an emphasis on swing, rather than straight jazz, so is more melodic and appealing. Count Basie is a big figure in big band swing & jazz, and his best period appears to be around 1957 when he cut this album as well as April In Paris and Count Basie At Newport, two other highly regarded albums worth checking out. Score: 4 1/2
+ Jean-Jacques Perrey - Prelude au Sommeil [Syn] Perrey is mostly known for his recordings with the Moog synthesizer in the late 6os - early 70s. This is his first recording; using the Ondoline, the forerunner of the Moog, he creates dreamy ambient music utilising drone and repetition. Significant in the history of electronic/synth/ambient music. Fascinatingly modern and attractive to listen to. Score: 6 1/2
+ Elizabeth Cotten - Folk Songs [FK] Cotten was a 11 year old black servant who saved her cleaning money to buy a guitar. She was left handed and taught herself to play the guitar upside down. She wrote "Freight Train" around this time. But then she got married, had a child, and gave up guitar playing. Many years later she took a cleaning job for the Seegar family, which included Pete Seegar, and while there sneaked into the kitchen when everyone was out to play one of Seegar's guitars. She was heard, and the family encouraged her to keep on playing, and Mike Seegar recorded this album on a reel to reel machine in her house. Her unusual picking style became known as "Cotten picking", and has been influential on a number of guitar players. Score: 6
+ The Everly Brothers – The Everly Brothers (1958) Energetic and engaging debut album of a popular vocal harmony rockabilly duo whose close harmonies influenced the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel, among others. (Album tracks are shown with the wrong names, but the album does play in the correct order of the original album) Score: 6
+ Jackie Wilson - He's So Fine (YouTube) The debut album by this hugely popular and influential R&B/Soul singer. Contains "Reet Petite". Score: 5 1/2
+ Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley Score: 5 1/2
+ The Kingston Trio - The Kingston Trio (YouTube) [FK] Hugely popular acoustic folk trio who paved the way for folk-rock, and who made the long playing album a popular format. This is their debut album. Score: 5
+ Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Jack Takes The Floor [FK] A folk interpreter rather than writer, Elliott bridges the gap between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, keeping Guthrie's songs alive long enough for Dylan to hear them and be influenced (Guthrie sings on "New York Town"). Elliott was an American who performed and recorded in the UK, and was an important influence on the folk revival in both countries. Score: 5
+ André Popp - Delirium in Hi-Fi Quirky easy listening musique concrète which plays around (playfully) with various recording techniques whilst wandering through upbeat pieces of child-like music. Score: 5
+ Henk Badings - Electronic Ballet Music "Cain And Abel" There are other electronic pieces of music by classical composers around this time, more serious and sombre than Popp, such as Bading's "Cain And Abel", and Edgard Varese's Poeme Electronique, György Ligeti's Artikulation, and Stockhausen's Gesang der Jünglinge. I've selected Badings as a temporary example. I may swap it for the Stockhausen later. Score: 5
$ Count Basie – Atomic Mr Basie [JZ] (ATT) I don't like jazz, and I expected to remove this listing because Basie tends to be presented as jazz, but the energetic and rhythmic nature of this album gave me pause for thought - this is big band music with an emphasis on swing, rather than straight jazz, so is more melodic and appealing. Count Basie is a big figure in big band swing & jazz, and his best period appears to be around 1957 when he cut this album as well as April In Paris and Count Basie At Newport, two other highly regarded albums worth checking out. Score: 4 1/2
+ Screamin' Jay Hawkins - At Home With A jazz standards/RnB singer with an unusual approach. Not a great singer, but quite theatrical. Considered an influence on other theatrical singers such as Alice Cooper, Screaming Lord Such and Alex Harvey. A curiosity. Score: 4
+ Mary O'Hara - Songs of Ireland [FK] Influential Irish folk singer who emerged during the folk revival. Score: 4
+ Duane Eddy - Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel Eddy underlines the importance of the electric guitar to popular music, and rock music in particular. His twangy sounds were a bit limited and had no lasting influence, but that individualistic approach to making sounds with the guitar would follow him through guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix to shoegazing and beyond. Score: 4
+ Mary O'Hara - Songs of Ireland [FK] Influential Irish folk singer who emerged during the folk revival. Score: 4
+ Duane Eddy - Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel Eddy underlines the importance of the electric guitar to popular music, and rock music in particular. His twangy sounds were a bit limited and had no lasting influence, but that individualistic approach to making sounds with the guitar would follow him through guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix to shoegazing and beyond. Score: 4
***
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| 1959 |
+ Howlin' Wolf - Moanin' in the Moonlight (YouTube) (RS) [EB] This is Chicago blues - gritty, urban and electric. This is the basis for modern blues, and this sound would be replicated by many bands throughout the 60s and 70s. Astonishing sound - earthy, primeval, exciting, sexual. Hugely influential. Score: 8
+ John Lee Hooker - I'm John Lee Hooker [EB] From the first crackle and howl of that electric guitar I'm hooked. Awesome! Score: 7
+ Various - Loud, Fast & Out Of Control: The Wild Sounds Of '50s Rock (1999) A comprehensive 4 CD collection of 50s rock n roll, has the best of Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, etc, plus a round-up of lesser known artists who were part of the rockabilly feel of the late 50s. Very useful. Score: 6 1/2
$ Dave Brubeck – Time Out (NM) [JZ] Wow! I've just come to this from Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool as another example of cool jazz. I can hear the cool jazz here, and the reaching into the future. This is so much more advanced than that album. OK, there are something like 10 years separating the recordings, but it feels so much more than that. The Davis album feels stuck in the past, narrow, lacking style, melody and ambition compared to this. Time Out is so modern - it sounds in places like a Seventies jazz fusion band, like something by Weather Report. There seems a real joy in playing, and an understanding of music as a pleasure, rather than a mathematical exercise. This is fine stuff! Score: 6
+ Various - Loud, Fast & Out Of Control: The Wild Sounds Of '50s Rock (1999) A comprehensive 4 CD collection of 50s rock n roll, has the best of Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, etc, plus a round-up of lesser known artists who were part of the rockabilly feel of the late 50s. Very useful. Score: 6 1/2
$ Dave Brubeck – Time Out (NM) [JZ] Wow! I've just come to this from Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool as another example of cool jazz. I can hear the cool jazz here, and the reaching into the future. This is so much more advanced than that album. OK, there are something like 10 years separating the recordings, but it feels so much more than that. The Davis album feels stuck in the past, narrow, lacking style, melody and ambition compared to this. Time Out is so modern - it sounds in places like a Seventies jazz fusion band, like something by Weather Report. There seems a real joy in playing, and an understanding of music as a pleasure, rather than a mathematical exercise. This is fine stuff! Score: 6
$ Ray Charles – Genius of Ray Charles (RS) (ATT) Brassy swing delivered with soul. There's a sense he's taking on Sinatra, and not quite cutting it, the arrangements are bold and brassy, but just a tad simple and obvious compared with Sinatra. His voice is warm and soulful and he can be quite strong with it, but his timing and delivery is usually a little predictable. I can see why he was popular, but this appears to be commercial entertainment more than meaningful music. Score: 5
+ Cliff Richard (and The Shadows) - Cliff (contains "Move It") Why listen to this? The success and popularity of Elvis Presley influenced young men (and pop Svengalis) to copy him. Cliff Richard was the first and most popular copyist in the UK, and continued to be a pop favourite throughout the 20th century. His backing band, The Shadows, were formed during the making of this album under the name The Drifters, and became the first big guitar band in the UK, creating the first guitar heroes in Jet Harris and Hank Marvin. Their four piece guitar-led set up, and their plunky playing style, influenced a generation. The song "Move It" is widely regarded as the first rock and roll song recorded outside the USA. The album was recorded in Abbey Road studios in front of an invited audience in order to create a live atmosphere. Score: 5
+ John Fahey - Blind Joe Death Later released in 1965 to some acclaim though in slightly a slightly different version as The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death, this is the original do-it-yourself version which was only pressed in an edition of 100 copies for Fahey's own invented record label, very few of which sold. Blind Joe Death was an imaginary guitar player who supposedly plays on side one while Fahey plays on side two. Finger-picking blues done in a bold and brassy manner. Idiosyncratic. Bold. Unique. The first punk album? Score: 4 1/2
$ Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (YouTube) (RS) (MC) (NM) (G50) (Q) (ATT) [JZ] A milestone in modern jazz. Hugely respected. It's smoky cool, with just the odd bit of stretched trumpet and sax - mostly it swings in a surprisingly poppy and listenable manner, though it can be a little boring and attention can wander. However, this was modern jazz rediscovering melody. Score: 4
+ John Fahey - Blind Joe Death Later released in 1965 to some acclaim though in slightly a slightly different version as The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death, this is the original do-it-yourself version which was only pressed in an edition of 100 copies for Fahey's own invented record label, very few of which sold. Blind Joe Death was an imaginary guitar player who supposedly plays on side one while Fahey plays on side two. Finger-picking blues done in a bold and brassy manner. Idiosyncratic. Bold. Unique. The first punk album? Score: 4 1/2
$ Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (YouTube) (RS) (MC) (NM) (G50) (Q) (ATT) [JZ] A milestone in modern jazz. Hugely respected. It's smoky cool, with just the odd bit of stretched trumpet and sax - mostly it swings in a surprisingly poppy and listenable manner, though it can be a little boring and attention can wander. However, this was modern jazz rediscovering melody. Score: 4
+ Ruth Brown - Rockin' In Rhythm: The Best of Ruth Brown (1996) Significant early R&B singer who was so important to the success and development of Atlantic Records that they nicknamed the label "the house that Ruth built", and Brown was the first singer to be called "The Queen of R&B". Her key period was the 50s. She has a pleasant voice, commercially effective, but nothing particularly special. There is a blend of 50s blues/jazz ballads with some popular R&B that is on a trail to modern R&B, though on the whole this feels more like music of its time, than stuff that's still relevant and appealing today. Score is more for social impact given her contemporary success. Score: 3 1/2
Benny Goodman - The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (1950) [Score: 9]
Frank Sinatra – Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (1956) [Score: 8]
Howlin' Wolf - Moanin' in the Moonlight (1959) [Score: 8]
Chuck Berry - School Session (1957) [Score: 7 1/2]
James Brown - Please Please Please (1958) [Score: 7 1/2]
Various - Folkways Music of The World's Peoples Vol 1 (1951) [Score: 7]
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (1956) [Score: 6]
Top albums
1940s
Woody Guthrie - Dust Bowl Ballads (1940) [Score: 10]
1950s
Benny Goodman - The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (1950) [Score: 9]
Frank Sinatra – Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (1956) [Score: 8]
Howlin' Wolf - Moanin' in the Moonlight (1959) [Score: 8]
Chuck Berry - School Session (1957) [Score: 7 1/2]
James Brown - Please Please Please (1958) [Score: 7 1/2]
Various - Folkways Music of The World's Peoples Vol 1 (1951) [Score: 7]
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (1956) [Score: 6]
***
Continues:
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| The Sixties |
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| The Seventies |
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| The Eighties |
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| The Nineties |
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| 21st Century |
