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Classic Album Discussion Thread: The Kinks-Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Pt. 1 (4 Viewers)

Going back to X, only knew of Los Angeles when I saw them play last year for free at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles. Really liked seeing them. Nausea is my favorite.

 
Blind Faith (1969)

Had to Cry Today

Can’t Find My Way Home

Well All Right

Presence of the Lord

Sea of Joy

Do What You Like

Our second Clapton record was a one shot collaboration with Steve Winwood (although the two did get together for a pretty good live album in 2009), with Ginger Baker along for the ride. This short album is a blues rock masterpiece. “Had to Cry Today” and “Presence of the Lord” feature some of Clapton’s best ever guitar work, while “Can’t Find My Way Home” is one of the best acoustic songs of the era. Steve Winwood was always hit and miss for me but here his vocals are superb. 

 
High quality album - just wish the guys had done more. "Sea of Joy" IMO is the underrated gem on the album. I think "Do What You Like" is the weaker spot relative to the rest of the tunes - seems like they needed to fill out the album and didn't quite have enough material.

 
I like some of the outtakes from this LP, especially the electric version of "Can't Find My Way Home".  The released acoustic version is superior but the electric version is excellent too.

"Do What You Like" could have been a pretty good song if the middle section with bass and drum solos were edited out.

 
I am not a big Clapton fan, so a whole week dedicated to him doesn't do much for me. 

That said, Disraeli Gears is probably the one album he's on that I will spin once in a while.  Most of the other songs I like by him (or one of his bands) are on albums where I can do without most of the rest. 

 
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Love it.  Everybody had this album when I was in college - which was 7 years after it came out.  An eternity in those days.  

Had no idea the redhead on the cover was only 11 (just looked it up).  

 
Ghost Rider said:
I am not a big Clapton fan, so a whole week dedicated to him doesn't do much for me. 

That said, Disraeli Gears is probably the one album he's on that I will spin once in a while.  Most of the other songs I like by him (or one of his bands) are on albums where I can do without most of the rest. 
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Have said on other threads, but I like Clapton as a driving force in his former bands, but not particularly as a solo artist.

 
timschochet said:
According to the Wiki page that was a huge controversy at the time. A lot of people complained. 
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At first they just plastered the new cover over the nekkid one, so you could peel it off if you were clever. It was so controversial that not only was it banned in my school (the others were LZII - for lyrics - and Disraeli Gears - for promoting LSD use with its pink & orange bubbles, i guess - i got suspended for bringing both these to school) but it remained banned after the reissue

 
Ghost Rider said:
I am not a big Clapton fan, so a whole week dedicated to him doesn't do much for me. 

That said, Disraeli Gears is probably the one album he's on that I will spin once in a while.  Most of the other songs I like by him (or one of his bands) are on albums where I can do without most of the rest. 
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For casual fans who only want one cd, this is pretty good retrospective of EC.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cream_of_Clapton

 
Derek & The Dominos- Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970)

I Looked Away

Bell Bottom Blues

Keep On Growing

Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out

I Am Yours

Anyday

Key to the Highway

Tell the Truth

Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad? 

Have You Ever Loved a Woman? 

Little Wing

Its Too Late

Layla

Thorn Tree In the Garden

Clapton’s magnum opus, recorded in Miami with his buddies from Delaney & Bonnie, Bobby Whitlock, drummer Jim Gordon, and on 11 songs, Duane Allman. The band formed was George Harrison’s band for All Things Must Pass, and recorded this record, widely considered one of the greatest rock albums of all time. It’s certainly one of my very personal favorites: I love the title song, “Bell Bottom Blues”, the cover of “Little Wing”. Just so good. The whole album is infused with Clapton’s tragic love for George Harrison’s wife Patti. 

Special mention must be made, sadly, about Jim Gordon, then one of the most famous session drummers in rock music. He is credited with having written the piano sequence in “Layla”, though some claim he stole it from his then girlfriend Rita Coolidge. Gordon heard voices in his head and in 1983 he murdered his own mother with a hammer. He was sentenced to a psychiatric hospital in Northern California and is still there to this day. 

 
timschochet said:
Derek & The Dominos- Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970)
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Top 10 album for me. The dueling guitars from Clapton and Allman are incredible and while I agree with the sentiment that solo Clapton efforts aren't all that great, the pain and passion in his voice works very well here.

 
Another fantastic album with Clapton as the glue but with tremendous support. “Little Wing” is my personal favorite - with all due respect to Jimi, D&D take the tune to another level. Those wailing guitars by Clapton/Duane - damn.

 
zamboni said:
Another fantastic album with Clapton as the glue but with tremendous support. “Little Wing” is my personal favorite - with all due respect to Jimi, D&D take the tune to another level. Those wailing guitars by Clapton/Duane - damn.
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Agreed. This version of "Little Wing", IMO, tops Jimi's (already great) original. It seems like it's so short, but is so intense you wonder how the band made it that long before dying.

"Bell Bottom Blues" has one of my all-time favorite melodies.

This whole record kills it. It's Clapton's high point, IMO.

 
timschochet said:
Special mention must be made, sadly, about Jim Gordon, then one of the most famous session drummers in rock music. He is credited with having written the piano sequence in “Layla”, though some claim he stole it from his then girlfriend Rita Coolidge. Gordon heard voices in his head and in 1983 he murdered his own mother with a hammer. He was sentenced to a psychiatric hospital in Northern California and is still there to this day. 
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Sad story. Great drummer. Played on all kinds of huge albums - I like him most for Pretzel Logic (Steely Dan)  - he did all the tracks but one, Ricky Don't Lose That Number included.

He got his own chapter in this book on "The Wrecking Crew" I just read recently. 

 
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Such a strange name for an album - I always thought it was a compilation till many years later when someone told me it was the name of a studio album.  I agree that Layla is Clapton's greatest achievement ever, with Duane Allman killing it as well on the guitar in this song.  It is often referred to as one of the greatest songs of all time, and I cannot disagree with that.  Bell Bottom Blues has always been a favorite of mine as well. 

 
Derek & the Dominos  reminds me of making out with whoever would make out with me cuz all i wanted to do at that time was make out and cup breasticles. i bet i would have done so with our basketball team's equipment manager if he had asked.

can't believe Eric Clapton week went by so quickly.....

 
Bell Bottom Blues is great.

Useless trivia, the piano Gordon used on the Layla session is the same one Mike Mills recorded Nightswimming on.

 
Madonna (1983)

Lucky Star 

Borderline

Burning Up

I Know It

Holiday

Think of Me

Physical Attraction 

Everybody

Burning Up

Lucky Star (“New” Mix) 

One of the most successful debut albums of all time, Madonna took over MTV and the airwaves beginning with the catchy singles “Borderline” and “Lucky Star”. “Burning Up” became an instant standard at dance clubs and “Holiday” was yet another big hit. Madonna’s sense of “boy toy” fashion inspired middle school and high school girls everywhere- she became an immediate superstar with this record and has been one ever since. 

 
timschochet said:
Madonna (1983)

Lucky Star 

Borderline

Burning Up

I Know It

Holiday

Think of Me

Physical Attraction 

Everybody

Burning Up

Lucky Star (“New” Mix) 

One of the most successful debut albums of all time, Madonna took over MTV and the airwaves beginning with the catchy singles “Borderline” and “Lucky Star”. “Burning Up” became an instant standard at dance clubs and “Holiday” was yet another big hit. Madonna’s sense of “boy toy” fashion inspired middle school and high school girls everywhere- she became an immediate superstar with this record and has been one ever since. 
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Really solid pop album and Borderline is probably still her best song IMO. 

 
timschochet said:
Madonna (1983)

Lucky Star 

Borderline

Burning Up

I Know It

Holiday

Think of Me

Physical Attraction 

Everybody

Burning Up

Lucky Star (“New” Mix) 

One of the most successful debut albums of all time, Madonna took over MTV and the airwaves beginning with the catchy singles “Borderline” and “Lucky Star”. “Burning Up” became an instant standard at dance clubs and “Holiday” was yet another big hit. Madonna’s sense of “boy toy” fashion inspired middle school and high school girls everywhere- she became an immediate superstar with this record and has been one ever since. 
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This album, Madonna, and her "look" too over when this came out.  Madonna was everywhere.    

 
So let me digress a little bit about Madonna and this album: 

Earlier we reviewed Cyndi Lauper’s She’s So Unusual, which came out in the same year, 1983. I think the two albums should be considered together because they represented a significant change both in music and American culture. Obviously Lauper did not have the lasting influence that Madonna would (spanning over 3 decades) but we didn’t know that at the time. In 1983 these two performers were the leaders of a new direction, in two significant ways. 

The first way is that they were in the forefront of artists to recognize the power of the music video and MTV, and that, from this point forward, visual presentation would be just as important as sound in selling records. For most of those of us who grew up listening to the classic rock of the 60s and 70s, this was not a positive development. I would argue it actually signaled the beginning of the end of the classic album era that is the point of this thread- even more that the technological changes we see today. Although there are many classic albums post the early 80s (and we have already reviewed several), the video era began its decline. But in any case, Madonna and Cyndi Lauper were among the first artists to recognize this change and master it. 

The second and far more important revolution they began was an empowerment of young women. I would argue that Madonna throughout her career, and Cyndi Lauper for a brief period in 1983-84, were more important to the feminist cause in this country than Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and all of the leaders of NOW put together. 

 
This self titled album was a good start, but....

True Blue, Like A Prayer and my personal favorite Ray Of Light, are all better albums IMO. She really hit her wheelhouse in that period.

 
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timschochet said:
The second and far more important revolution they began was an empowerment of young women. I would argue that Madonna throughout her career, and Cyndi Lauper for a brief period in 1983-84, were more important to the feminist cause in this country than Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and all of the leaders of NOW put together. 
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Indeed, in my mind, they broke out "women" in music in a big, big way. Before that there were girls of course, but most seemed to have men with / around them (or were almost "one of the guys" in terms of musical style.)

But Madonna and Lauper... they were girls doing their thing. Cute / sexy / feminine / trend setting... much different feel than Janice, Joni, Grace, The Wilson sisters, Ronstadt, Nicks, etc.  

 
This album was good, and the singles ("Borderline," "Lucky Star") paved the way and got her name and image out there, but "Like a Virgin"was the album that really put her in the global stratosphere. That was her "Joshua Tree."

 
Mr. Mojo said:
This self titled album was a good start, but....

True Blue, Like A Prayer and my personal favorite Ray Of Light, are all better albums IMO. She really hit her wheelhouse in that period.
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This x 100!! 

Her self-titled debut is good, and Borderline is easily one of her best songs, but her artistic phase from 1989 through the late 90's featured most of her best work, Ray of Light being her best record by far; that record is damn good from start to finish. 

 
Kumerica said:
This album was good, and the singles ("Borderline," "Lucky Star") paved the way and got her name and image out there, but "Like a Virgin"was the album that really put her in the global stratosphere. That was her "Joshua Tree."
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I'd take Like A Virgin first amongst her catalog, somewhat (o.k. a lot) because it had heavy involvement from the Chic crew and it showed. But her debut and the others mentioned so far are excellent albums also.

 
Bob Dylan- Blood On the Tracks (1975) 

Tangled Up In Blue

Simple Twist of Fate

You’re a Big Girl Now

Idiot Wind

You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

Meet Me In the Morning

Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts

If You See Her, Say Hello

Shelter From the Storm

Buckets of Rain 

A comeback album, his strongest since the mid-60s. This is the work of a mature artist, and nearly every song is brilliant. One of my personal favorites is “Idiot Wind”, which might have the cruelest lyrics ever written. I also love the romantic “You’re a Big Girl Now” and “If You See Her, Say Hello”. 

One of the near unique aspects of Bob Dylan is that every single one of these songs has an endless amount of cover versions. So I want to mention two of my favorites here: the Indigo Girls’ “Tangled Up In Blue”, and Brian Ferry’s “Simple Twist of Fate”. 

 
timschochet said:
The second and far more important revolution they began was an empowerment of young women. I would argue that Madonna throughout her career, and Cyndi Lauper for a brief period in 1983-84, were more important to the feminist cause in this country than Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and all of the leaders of NOW put together. 
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More important, maybe, but I think they hurt it more than helped it, if you take the second wave feminism's goals (Steinem, Friedan, NOW) at face value, which valued true liberation over choice. Actually the second wave has sort of an ongoing dialectic with both women, where the sort of lesbian insistence of the more radical fringes of the second wave has mutated into a glamorized bisexuality within culture. No accident that pleasure rather than the rather dour thoughts of communal revolution took the day. 

And the more communitarian goals of the second wave got subsumed into a capitalist nightmare for women, where housework is still unpaid and women do the majority of it, among countless other issues that would be anathema to the second wave, if we're looking at it from a Marxian angle. 

But I digress. I dislike both albums, actually. Well, not so. I like Lauper's a whole lot better.  

 
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I love everything about Blood on the Tracks., It was the 2nd Dylan album I bought and played it to death. It is still endlessly replayable for me.

 
I think Blood on the Tracks is Dylan's strongest top to bottom.  Not a song that I'd consider a clunker on there.  On covers, I liked the Italian version of "If You See Her, Say Hello" by Francesco de Gregori that appeared on the Masked & Anonymous soundtrack.  

 
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Don Quixote said:
I think Blood on the Tracks is Dylan's strongest top to bottom.  Not a song that I'd consider a clunker on there.  On covers, I liked the Italian version of "If You See Her, Say Hello" by Francesco de Gregori that appeared on the Masked & Anonymous soundtrack.  
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I think you are right. Blonde on Blonde has more great songs but it's a double album and has some filler (as much as Dylan ever had filler). HW61R is pretty tight with BotT but I think the latter has more universal themes and more mature writing. 

 
I don't think I've ever listened to this album front to back.  Huh. I have nothing to add other than I love Shelter From The Storm. 

 
I fully acknowledge's Dylan's influence and songwriting, but I am not a fan.  I always find it interesting that covers of his song are way better than his originals, although I am sure some of his fans will strongly disagree.  It's just something I've noticed.

 
Blood on the Tracks is one of my favorite Bob Dylan albums. I like all of the songs on it, and out of all of his albums, I've listened to this one the most. "Tangled Up in Blue" is my favorite track on it. 

 
Ghost Rider said:
I fully acknowledge's Dylan's influence and songwriting, but I am not a fan.  I always find it interesting that covers of his song are way better than his originals, although I am sure some of his fans will strongly disagree.  It's just something I've noticed.
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I think many of his songs have better cover versions. I do think his own version of "Knocking on Heaven's Door" is the best. 

 
It's a masterpiece. What music was meant to do. What art is meant to do. Covers? The Jerry Garcia Band Simple Twist of Fate from the 1991 release is stunning even if it requires forwarding through a bass solo.

Lots of great covers but nobody can do Tangled Up in Blue like Bob. Some things just demand the author's voice.

 
Ghost Rider said:
I fully acknowledge's Dylan's influence and songwriting, but I am not a fan.  I always find it interesting that covers of his song are way better than his originals, although I am sure some of his fans will strongly disagree.  It's just something I've noticed.
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Depends on what you are listening for.

 
Ghost Rider said:
I fully acknowledge's Dylan's influence and songwriting, but I am not a fan.  I always find it interesting that covers of his song are way better than his originals, although I am sure some of his fans will strongly disagree.  It's just something I've noticed.
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I will disagree.  I prefer Dylan's originals to most covers.  Dylan music is sort of like good scotch.  It has a unique, distinctive flavor.  It is an acquired taste.  Blood on the Tracks is a fantastic album.  I can listen over and over (as I can with most Dylan material).  Idiot Wind is one of my personal favorites on this album...one of his masterpieces!

 
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