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Post by Kapitan on Jul 27, 2020 21:32:55 GMT
Here goes! I'm only going with rock and roll (broadly defined) albums. If I were considering jazz, too, I'd have some different favorites and really tough decisions! 1962 Surfin’ Safari v Ray Charles, Modern Sounds in Country & Western MusicGotta go with Ray on this one. I don't like Surfin Safari, to be honest...
1963 Surfin USA, Surfer Girl, or Little Deuce Coupe v James Brown, Live at the ApolloI surprised myself with this one, but I do like Surfer Girl more than any of the Beatles albums or my favorite non-Beach Boys album of that year, James Brown.
1964 Shut Down Vol 2, All Summer Long, or Christmas v Beatles, A Hard Day's NightReally close with All Summer Long, which I think is really great. But "Carl's Big Chance" and "Our Favorite Recording Sessions" just don't stand up to the weakest stuff on the Beatles' best album of that year.
1965 Today, Summer Days & Summer Nights, or Party v Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back HomeSDSN is my pick from the Beach Boys' offerings, but I have to give the edge to what I think is arguably Dylan's best album.
1966 Pet Sounds v the Beatles, RevolverArguably my favorite album ever, yet it's surprisingly close with several competitors. Talk about a great year for music! Speaking of that...
1967 Smiley Smile or Wild Honey v the Beatles, Sgt. PepperAlso one of the best years in music history, also one of my favorite albums ever. But the Velvet Underground, the Doors, Hendrix, Leonard Cohen, the Kinks, Aretha Franklin...
1968 Friends v Frank Zappa & the Mothers, We're Only in it For the MoneyI love Friends, but there are probably as many as 10 albums from 1968 I'd take over it. Just a great year. And WOIIFTM is one of the best ever by anyone.
1969 20/20 v The Beatles, Abbey Road.Another of those hard-to-pick years, but 20/20 definitely wouldn't make my top dozen. Velvet Underground's s/t, the Band's s/t, Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica, and Zeppelin II were definitely up there.
1970 Sunflower v Velvet Underground, Loaded
I absolutely LOVE Loaded, far, far more than most VU fans do. Zep III, Simon & Garfunkel, Plastic Ono Band were in contention.
1971 Surf’s Up v Led Zeppelin, IV Another really good year! Lennon, Nilsson, the Kinks, the Stones, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Carole King, T Rex, Sly Stone...but it has to be Zep's most iconic album.
1972 Carl & the Passions, So Tough v Randy Newman, Sail AwayThe Stones, Paul Simon's solo debut, Nick Drake's best, Lou Reed's best...good year!
1973 Holland v Gram Parsons, GP
1976 15 Big Ones v Modern Lovers, s/tThe Beach Boys would not make my top 20 for this year. Queen, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, KISS, David Bowie...plenty of greats.
1977 Love You v Elvis Costello, My Aim is TrueThis one is just my idiosyncracy. There are so many great album from that year, but what can I say? I want to hear Solar System, Ding Dang, Good Time, Mona, The Night Was So Young, I'll Bet He's Nice, etc.
1978 MIU v Van Halen, s/t Uh, not close. I'm sure there are dozens of albums from 78 I'd take over the BBs.
1979 LA v Led Zeppelin, In Through the Out DoorAgain, not close
1980 Keepin the Summer Alive v Queen, The GameQueen and about 100 other albums...
1985 The Beach Boys v Tom Waits, Rain Dogs1989 Still Cruisin’ v Lou Reed, New York1992 Summer in Paradise v Tom Waits, Bone Machine2012 That’s Why God Made the Radio v Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel...Maybe I feel bad for the past few albums, maybe I'm just sentimental. But this was a really good album.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 27, 2020 23:24:35 GMT
I'll start with 1967. Take your pick for the Top Album of 1967 - Sgt. Pepper, The Doors (or Strange Days), The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, Are You Experienced, The Velvet Underground And Nico, Days Of Future Passed, and on and on.
Take your pick out of all the above. They are ALL better than Smiley Smile. I don't know if it's because of those albums' strengths or Smiley Smile's weaknesses. Probably both. Smiley Smile is short. It's a hodgepodge. It lacks energy. It's poorly mixed/mastered. And, the best songs - "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes And Villains" - don't fit. All of the above albums are...the opposite. Brian went with his muse, and it cost him and the group big time. In my opinion, he and they never recovered.
BTW I think The Doors is the best album of 1967, with Sgt. Pepper coming in second.
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Post by kds on Jul 28, 2020 12:09:14 GMT
Well, you've done it. You've made me pick Love You.
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Post by kds on Jul 28, 2020 12:35:11 GMT
Just for S&Gs, here's mine
1962 Surfin’ Safari v … Roy Orbison - Crying
I've giving the nod to Roy here, edging out the Boys' debut.
1963 Surfin USA, Surfer Girl, or Little Deuce Coupe v … Phil Spector - A Christmas Gift for You
I'd probably pick SG over this essential Xmas album, but giving the nod to Phil vs SUSA and LDC
1964 Shut Down Vol 2, All Summer Long, or Christmas v … Johnny Cash - I Walk the Line
Beach Boys - They were really hard to beat from 1964-66
1965 Today, Summer Days & Summer Nights, or Party v … The Yardbirds - Having a Rave Up
Boys
1966 Pet Sounds v … The Rolling Stones - Aftermath
BOYS
1967 Smiley Smile or Wild Honey v … The Doors - S/t
The Doors for both
1968 Friends v … Hendrix - Electic Ladyland
I like Friends, but going with Jimmy here.
1969 20/20 v … The Beatles - Abbey Road
I could've easily pitted the Boys against the Beatles for the entire decade, but that would be unfair. Beatles easy winner here.
1970 Sunflower v … CCR - Cosmo's Factory
CCR's album has many more highlights than the really good SF album.
1971 Surf’s Up v … The Who - Who's Next
The Who all the way.
1972 Carl & the Passions, So Tough v … - Deep Purple - Machine Head
Deep Purple vs the Boy's most inconsistent album of the early 70s. DP.
1973 Holland v … Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Sorry, no contest - Floyd
1976 15 Big Ones v … Queen - A Day at the Races
This is getting ugly. Queen.
1977 Love You v … Billy Joel - The Stranger
Billy Joel's peak vs well, not Brian's peak. Billy
1978 MIU v … Van Halen - S/T
Game changing VH album clobbers paint by numbers BB.
1979 LA v … AC/DC - Highway to Hell
I'm actually starting to feel a little bad. AC/DC.
1980 Keepin the Summer Alive v … Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
Sabs
1985 The Beach Boys v … Motley Crue - Theater of Pain
Crue's weakest 80s offering beats the Boys' best 80s offering
1989 Still Cruisin’ v … Aerosmith - Pump
One comeback was successful, the other.....not as much. Smith.
1992 Summer in Paradise v … Bon Jovi - Keep the Faith
I was tempted to put a grunge album here to give SIP a win. But, Bon Jovi with one of the last remnants of glam metal.
2012 That’s Why God Made the Radio v … The Darkness - Hot Cakes
Two reunion albums. But, the Boys get the nod, ending their losing streak.
Final Score
Beach Boys - 9
Everybody - 18
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Post by B.E. on Jul 29, 2020 1:19:57 GMT
All right, this was a lot of fun. To refresh my memory, I found a useful website which listed the top 25 "best" albums by year (and sortable by genre). So, for the record, I considered many albums by many artists, but I can't help what I like most! 1962 Surfin’ Safari v Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan
This is a close call, but I'm going with the variety, fun, and charm of Surfin' Safari. Song for song, I think Dylan's debut wins, and he outperforms any individual Beach Boy, but this exercise reminded me of the strength of the group over the artist. Particularly, with respect to variety. 1963 Surfin USA, Surfer Girl, or Little Deuce Coupe v Bob Dylan, The Freewheelin' Bob DylanThis one also surprised me. And, was very difficult. Both Beatles albums were also in contention. 1964 Shut Down Vol 2, All Summer Long, or Christmas v The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night
"I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" opened the door, but not quite enough. Sorry, ASL. 1965 Today, Summer Days & Summer Nights, or Party v The Beatles, Rubber SoulMan, this is tough! Today and Rubber Soul are two of my all-time favorite albums. "Bull Sessions" and "Help Me, Ronda" hurt Today, but I also think the lyrics of Rubber Soul are better on the whole. Side 1 of Today, by comparison, comes off as slightly immature/teen-oriented. Nothing wrong with that - OK, I admit, I'm grasping to differentiate these great albums. 1966 Pet Sounds v The Beatles, RevolverHonestly, it's getting harder to deny Revolver in this matchup, but I'm still hanging on to Pet Sounds. 1967 Smiley Smile or Wild Honey v The Beatles, Sgt. PepperSgt. Pepper might not be my favorite Beatles album. It might not even be top 5. But, it's fucking awesome! 1968 Friends v The Beatles, The BeatlesI love Friends, but there's not nearly enough there to make this a fair fight. 1969 20/20 v The Beatles, Abbey RoadHonestly, I was looking to pick something else here, but I just can't deny how great Abbey Road is, even if it's not quite among my favorite Beatles albums. 1970 Sunflower v John Lennon, Plastic Ono Band
And, for the first time since 1966, a Beach Boys album is in serious contention. Unfortunately, not only did the Beatles explode with Let It Be, POB, and All Things Must Pass, but Led Zeppelin III was right there as well. 1971 Surf’s Up v John Lennon, Imagine Okay, while Surf's Up stood no chance, this was one of the toughest decisions I had to make. Imagine VERY narrowly defeated the Doors' L.A. Woman, Cat Stevens' Teaser and the Firecat, Paul McCartney's Ram, and Led Zeppelin IV.
1972 Carl & the Passions - So Tough v Neil Young, HarvestThis was my biggest surprise of all. 1) Of all the BBs albums to get a win, as much as I love it, I wouldn't have predicted CATP. Of course, it didn't win, but it's very, VERY close. If it had one more good song, that would have been more than enough. Considering all the great music released in the early '70s, I'm shocked I couldn't find more favorites from 1972. This leads me to my other surprise: 2) Selecting a Neil Young album for the win. I'm a pretty big fan of Neil Young, and I think he's got a lot of very good albums (with Harvest near the top), but I don't think any of his albums are that great (i.e. 9s or 10s). Still, I don't want to oversell this - "Out On The Weekend", "Heart Of Gold", "Old Man", "The Needle and the Damage Done", "Harvest", etc. This album brings the goods. The Eagles debut, Cat Stevens' Catch Bull at Four, and Harry Nilsson's Son of Schmilsson were next up. 1973 Holland v Paul McCartney, Band on the Run1976 15 Big Ones v Bob Dylan, Desire
Dylan's third appearance and first win! Not amongst my very favorite of his, but we're playing on the Beach Boys terms. Still, I love Desire. The Eagles' Hotel California was knockin' on the door (and ringing the bell ). 1977 Love You v Dennis Wilson, Pacific Ocean BlueBoy, am I clever? Seriously, though, these are my two favorite albums of 1977 and it's a VERY close call. Finally the Beach Boys are back on the board. 1978 M.I.U. Album v Bruce Springsteen, Darkness on the Edge of Town I had always considered this album a favorite of mine, but it had been a while since I listened it...my god! It's incredible. Neil Young's Comes A Time was runner-up. My favorite album of his.
1979 L.A. (Light Album) v Tom Petty, Damn the Torpedoes1980 Keepin' the Summer Alive v Bruce Springsteen, The RiverI considered Queen's The Game, but I just don't have the history with it. (I had also considered A Day At The Races and News Of The World in '76 and '77.) 1985 The Beach Boys v Tom Petty, Southern AccentsOkay, this is sad. While I *like" both of these albums, I do not rank either very highly. It's a close call. 1989 Still Cruisin’ v Tom Petty, Full Moon FeverNow, this is a stone cold classic worthy of victory! 1992 Summer in Paradise v Bruce Springsteen, Lucky TownNot quite a stone cold classic, but I'm not ashamed. I really do like this album. And, obviously, I prefer it to Human Touch, which was released on the same day. 2012 That’s Why God Made the Radio v Bob Dylan, Tempest
All right, the fifth and final win for the boys. While Tempest is new to me, I do think I prefer it to the field.
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Post by B.E. on Jul 29, 2020 2:08:51 GMT
1962 Surfin’ Safari v … Roy Orbison - Crying I've giving the nod to Roy here, edging out the Boys' debut. Good call. I've never listened to the album, but I see it includes "Crying", "Love Hurts", "Lana", and "Running Scared". So, it's got some heavy hitters.
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Post by kds on Jul 29, 2020 12:11:53 GMT
1962 Surfin’ Safari v … Roy Orbison - Crying I've giving the nod to Roy here, edging out the Boys' debut. Good call. I've never listened to the album, but I see it includes "Crying", "Love Hurts", "Lana", and "Running Scared". So, it's got some heavy hitters. I've never listened to it all the way through either. In fact, I realized when looking up albums from 1962 that there are very few LPs from that year I've heard in full.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 29, 2020 12:43:39 GMT
2012 That’s Why God Made the Radio v Bob Dylan, Tempest
All right, the fifth and final win for the boys. While Tempest is new to me, I do think I prefer it to the field. I have no problem with this. TWGMTR is a solid effort, where Tempest is uneven. Bob's vocals were very rough, rougher than usual and there is a lack of highlights songwriting-wise.
I'm not familiar with the other albums released in 2012.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 29, 2020 12:49:37 GMT
2012 That’s Why God Made the Radio v Bob Dylan, Tempest
All right, the fifth and final win for the boys. While Tempest is new to me, I do think I prefer it to the field. I have no problem with this. TWGMTR is a solid effort, where Tempest is uneven. Bob's vocals were very rough, rougher than usual and there is a lack of highlights songwriting-wise.
I'm not familiar with the other albums released in 2012.
I was more disappointed with Tempest than I've ever been with a newly released Dylan album. (Note: I wasn't following his new releases until Time Out of Mind, so I did have a pretty good streak of new studio albums from there on...) Outside of "Duquense Whistle," I just thought the songs were really weak.
Some of the other 2012 albums I liked were:
Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel... Brother Ali, Mourning in America...
The Noisettes, Contact
The Shins, Point of Morrow
Rufus Wainwright, Out of the Game
It really was a weaker year than those around it, though. In my case, even a lot of the groups I usually like quite a bit (Of Montreal, Mountain Goats, Leonard Cohen, Magnetic Fields) put forward subpar albums.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 29, 2020 15:20:44 GMT
1965 Today, Summer Days & Summer Nights, or Party v Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back HomeSDSN is my pick from the Beach Boys' offerings, but I have to give the edge to what I think is arguably Dylan's best album.
For 1965, I think Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home is the best of the bunch, but I would put Today! and Summer Days (And Summer Nights) over Rubber Soul - THE most overrated Beatles' album. Now, Help!, that might be better than the Beach Boys' 1965 albums.
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jul 29, 2020 17:05:32 GMT
These last few posts are reminding me that I need to get back to listening to full albums again. I really miss doing that back college when I had nothing else to do. Of course, part of that nostalgia was regularly discovering new music.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 29, 2020 17:12:07 GMT
I used to be almost exclusively a full-albums guy. Even in my purchasing, I wouldn't usually get greatest hits. Listening was all by the album.
But as first online storage in computers, then streaming quality improved, I went away from CDs and soon even just straight-albums online. I'm getting back into it some lately, but my past decade has been overwhelmingly shuffle, individual tracks, playlists, etc., more than albums.
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Post by kds on Jul 29, 2020 19:11:52 GMT
I've been trying to get back into it. But, 2017 was a wrecking ball to my listening habits. I moved, and still have not found a place to put my CDs, so they're still in boxes. I discovered Spotify, so a lot of my listening has been based on playlists I've created on there. And, I had a kid, so that obviously cut into the time I used to devote to listening to music.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 31, 2020 21:15:08 GMT
This might be a stretch for the concept--and if so, TCK, just let me know and we can make it its own thread--but what about this one?
Compare the individual Beach Boys' solo studio debuts. If you want to pick one as the winner, great. If you want to rank them all, even better! They are, I believe:
Blondie Chaplin, Blondie Chaplin, 1977 Al Jardine, Postcard From California, 2010
Bruce Johnston, Surfin' Round the World, 1963
Mike Love, Looking Back With Love, 1981 David Marks, Work Tapes, 1992
Brian Wilson, Brian Wilson, 1988 Carl Wilson, Carl Wilson, 1981 Dennis Wilson, Pacific Ocean Blue, 1977
That's right, this one is the Beach Boys versus the other Beach Boys.
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Post by B.E. on Jul 31, 2020 21:37:51 GMT
I’ll need to listen to Blondie’s and David’s debuts. Blondie’s is on Spotify, but I can’t find David’s. I‘ll report back in a day or two with a mighty accurate ranking. 😎
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