7) Jimi Hendrix: Are You Experienced?

What an incredible debut album, possibly the best in history. Everyone who knew Hendrix knew that he would be a hit, but I doubt they knew that he would put out one of the most influential albums any guitarist let alone person has ever listened to. Nearly every song is just an instant classic, and on the newly revised version of the album which I’m going to be reviewing there are A LOT of songs. The album opens up with possibly the most well known Hendrix song “Purple Haze” that begins with the constant pounding of Mitch Mitchell’s drums. The album really has it all and shows how incredibly talented Hendrix really was, not just in terms of being a psychedelic guitarist or rock guitarist but he shows such great knowledge of many genres and plays each genre as if they were his specialty. As stated earlier the incredibly advanced psychedelic songs like “Purple Haze,” “Fire” and “Manic Depression” from the bluesy work of my personal favorite “Hey Joe” and “Red House.” Not only was Jimi Hendrix the greatest guitarist the world has ever heard he also was an incredible songwriter and quite a poet. The amazing lyrics can be seen in the incredible “The Wind Cries Marry.” Among the incredible songs I’ve mentioned there are even more classics like “Foxey Lady,” “Stone Free” and “Third Stone From the Sun.” It’s is amazing to say the least that someone could come out and release such an amazing album on their first shot. Even the most important artists took a few tries to get it right like “The Beatles,” Bob Dylan” and “Pink Floyd.” Hendrix may have honed his guitar work more with time but this definitely takes the front seat in overall song quality. Even if you don’t like the incredible music of Hendrix you can never take away from his talent and importance.

1. Purple Haze
2. Manic Depression
3. Hey Joe
4. Love or Confusion
   
5. May This Be Love
   
6. I Don't Live Today
   
7. The Wind Cries Mary
   
8. Fire
   
9. Third Stone from the Sun
   
10. Foxey Lady
    
11. Are You Experienced?
12. Stone Free
13. 51st Aniversary
14. Highway Chile
15. Can You See Me
16. Remember
17. Red House
    

8) U2: The Joshua Tree

U2’s fifth album “The Joshua Tree” crafted all the positives of their past albums into their best work of art. U2 decided to take a step back from the politically charged music a bit and look towards newer topics. Although taking a step back from the political songs they did not completely neglect them. In “The Joshua Tree” Bono and crew looked towards more spiritual and personal songs which most definitely worked in their favor. Opening up the album is the enduring classic “Where the Streets Have No Name.” The song opens up with surreal sounds of an organ followed by an echo of arpeggios from The Edge. Aside from “Where the Streets Have No Name” this album is rather haunting and gloomy. There are some brighter songs but those don’t quite have the strength that the gloomier songs have. Songs like “With Or Without You” and “Running to Stand Still” best sum up the album as a whole. “With Or Without You” is a song that could bring anyone to tears, the way Bono is able to convey his commanding lyrics makes this song what it is. The highlight of the album is a haunting song to say the least. The politically charged “Bullet the Blue Sky” captures such an incredible emotion. It gives such a surreal feeling of anxiety and passion, it really gives the listener the feeling that they are on the front lines of a battle. It’s haunting and chilling and hits the point better than nearly any U2 song ever recorded, not to mention it is the centerpiece of their live shows where Bono showcases his incredible stage presence. “Bullet the Blue Sky” best shows the strength of lyrics and passion that U2 has. Next there is “Running to Stand Still” which is another powerful song that is so beautiful. The album ends with the fitting song “Exit” which has a strong build up and then followed by “Mothers Of The Disappeared” which has the haunting sound which in essence sums up the album. The one thing you can take away from “The Joshua Tree” is how powerful it is and the incredible lyrics it contains. It was pretty difficult to write this review because there are only so many ways to say powerful and I feel that I couldn’t say it quite enough. This is a must have album!

1. Where The Streets Have No Name
2. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
3 With Or Without You
4. Bullet The Blue Sky
5. Running To Stand Still
6. Red Hill Mining Town
7. In God's Country
8. Trip Through Your Wires
9. One Tree Hill
10. Exit
11. Mothers Of The Disappeared

9) The Who: Who's Next

The Who had struck gold when they created “Who’s Next.” When I first listened to it I wondered if it was a greatest hits album, and it really has that feel. “Who’s Next” contains hit after hit and although it wasn’t a concept album like “Tommy” it easily surpassed it musically. The album opens up with the definitive rock anthem “Baba O’Reilly” and does not let up one bit from there. The album displays The Who’s amazing versatility along with their musical maturity. Following “Baba O’Reilly” is the excellent and upbeat “Bargain.” The album slows down a bit from the hard rock of the first two tracks with classics like “Love Ain’t For Keeping,” “My Wife,” and one of my person favorites the emotionally charged “Getting In Tune.” The album goes back onto the more upbeat mood that it displayed in the beginning with another The Who classic in “Going Mobile.” The album closes with two of the best songs The Who has ever written, “Behind Blue Eyes” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” “Behind Blue Eyes” best showcases The Who’s versatility with the slow ballad like intro then turning into a heavy rocker, not only is this song one of their best musically but it also shows the great lyrics at their height. The final song “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” clocks in over eight minutes but yet it still receives heavy radio play and rightfully so. It’s a classic song that completes the album making it go in what feels like a cycle, the heavy beginning the ballad like middle and the heavy end. The Who certainly has some of the most unique and talented individuals in the world. The fantastic individual talents and personalities of the band came together perfectly to create a masterpiece which will always be regarded as one of the best albums of all time regardless of whose list it is. On an interesting note this album was supposed to be a sci-fi overly elaborate rock opera called “Lifehouse.” It is a good thing that creation was abandoned because in return the world received “Who’s Next.”

1. Baba O'Riley
2. Bargain
3. Love Ain't For Keeping
4. My Wife
5. The Song Is Over
6. Getting In Tune
7. Going Mobile
8. Behind Blue Eyes
9. Won't Get Fooled Again

The Smashing Pumpkins Are Back?

According to BillyCorgan.org The Smashing Pumpkins are back and are set to release a new album in April called "Drawn." Rumors have been floating around saying they will play Coachella this summer and possibly going on tour. I am not sure about anybody else but this is some of the best news I've heard in a long time! I love the Pumpkins and would sure love to see them live along with some new material. Billy Corgan has expressed his concern in many intervews about bringing the band back together but I can't help but to be a little doubtful. Seems rather soon for the album to come out, I just pray that this isn't a hoax. I also am hoping to have the next album on the countdown posted by tonight. I've been very busy lately and often have not had access to the internet.

10) Bob Dylan: Bringing It All Back Home

Oh yes, the album where Dylan picked up the electric guitar and lost many of his die hard fans. The question for Dylan is “Was it worth it?” OF COURSE IT WAS! It led to a masterpiece which I regard as the 10th best album of all time. “Bringing it All Back Home” opens up with the historic “Subterranean Homesick Blues” where Dylan rambles his great poetry faster than he’s ever done before. I guess you could actually call it the first rap song if you’re willing to go out on a stretch. Dylan couldn’t have picked a better way to open up the album. By choosing this song to open up he put his new electric material on the front line and quickly the audience realized that Dylan had evolved and opened up a plethora of new directions for himself and his music. Dylan didn’t completely abandon his folk roots with this album leaving half open for acoustic material. Even the angriest of Dylan fans can’t downplay the folk songs on this album, without a doubt some of his strongest and best folk songs. Although Dylan decided to try new things his talent didn’t disappear, the most important thing about Dylan is his lyrics and they were just as strong as any of his previous albums and future ones. Dylan really hit listeners with all emotions on this album. Some of his best love songs can be found here like “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” and “She Belongs to Me.” He catches the anger with “Maggie’s Farm,” and happiness with “Mr. Tambourine Man.” The song that really stands out on this album is one of his folk songs “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” It’s a fiery song filled with surreal paranoia, the song also stands out as the longest track on the album lasting over seven minutes. The album ends with “It's All Over Now, Baby Blue” a beautiful song about change, it’s acoustic and is best fit for the ending of an album that gave a glimpse of the new and evolved Bob Dylan. It is a shame that this album often gets put on the backburner because of his other classic albums like “Blonde on Blonde” and “Highway 61 Revisited” but it most definitely deserves much respect.

1. Subterranean Homesick Blues
2. She Belongs to Me
3. Maggie's Farm
4. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
5. Outlaw Blues
6. On the Road Again
7. Bob Dylan's 115th Dream
8. Mr. Tambourine Man
9. Gates of Eden
10. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
11. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

10 Greatest Albums of All Time

I decided that I would make another countdown similar to the one which I started the blog with. This time I'm going to make a list of the 10 greatest albums of all time. I should post the first album sometime this week so check in for it!

Awards of 2005

So it's been quite awhile since I've lasted posted and this is due to the fact that I'm on my winter break but it will be over in just a week. I figured I'd give out some year ending awards and for 2006 I'll start another countdown... I'm just not too sure what that countdown should be, if anyone has any ideas definitely let me know! So here we go

Best Band: System of a Down - with two number one albums this year I find it pretty hard to give it out to any other band. Both albums were incredible to say the least and each one was amazingly unique. Without a second thought I give band of the year to System of a Down.

Best Album: The Mars Volta: Frances the Mute - The moment I heard this album I fell in love with it. I purchased it the day it was released and when I put it in the car all I was hearing was music sung in Spanish but now I can sing every song. It's great to see the Progressive Rock hasn't died, if anyone is looking for a great album I highly recommend it.

Best Tour: U2's Vertigo - This is another no brainer, it was the top grossing tour of 2005 and I heard that it made 1/3 of a billion dollars. U2 did such a great deed by adding dates to it's tour because of the fact that there was a complication within the fan club. The amazing thing is the tour isn't even over yet and it started way back in March. On top of being the highest grossing tour of 2005 it was the greatest concert I have ever seen. I still day dream about it!

Comeback Band of the Year: Weezer - It was great to see Rivers and crew came back to release such an unforgettable album. I would have named Weezer's "Make Believe" the best album but The Mars Volta's masterpiece barely edged it out. It is rumored that this is Weezer's last effort but lets all pray that it's not, and with Weezer you never quite know.

Worst Band of the Year- New Found Glory - I'm not quite sure if they released anything or did anything musically this year but regardless I'd rather listen to nails scratching against a chalk board for an hour than five seconds of New Found Glory. The worst band of all time!

That just about wraps it up for the year ending awards and hopefully 2006 can top 2005.