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Influential Albums: 1311-1317
Sat., Dec. 16. 2023 5:11pm EST
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the latest entries in the "albums that influenced me" series I started writing in May 2020.
Note: Just because an album appears on this list doesn't mean I give it a blanket endorsement. Many of the secular albums on this list are mainly there because they wound up being spoofed by ApologetiX.
1311. Complete Greatest Hits - Foreigner
Foreigner had 16 Top 40 hits; Complete Greatest Hits contained 15 of them. Does anybody besides me sense a disconnect? The surprising thing is that Rhino Records had a hand (or a hoof) in putting together this anthology (along with Atlantic Records), because if there ever was a record company for completists, it was Rhino. Anyway, if you know Foreigner's hits, every one of 'em is here except for "Break It Up," which reached #26 as the fourth single from Foreigner's fourth LP, 4, in 1982. Yes, the song selectors had a great thing going ... why did they have to break it up? It's not like they were worried about overrepresenting that album, because Complete Greatest Hits did include another cut from 4 that never charted, "Girl on the Moon." It also featured a tune that just missed the Top 40, "Women" (#41 pop), plus "Headknocker," "Heart Turns to Stone" (#56 pop, #7 mainstream rock), and the incredible "Soul Doctor" (#5 mainstream). Complete Greatest Hits came out on May 7, 2002. It reached #80 on the Billboard 200 and sold a million copies in the United States, one of which was mine, despite my whining. In 2006, Atlantic/Rhino finally got it right by putting "Break It Up" on The Definitive Collection without omitting any of the group's other Top 40 hits ... and sticklers like me could heave a collective (pun intended) sigh of relief. ApologetiX has spoofed seven of Foreigner's hits, and you can find them all on both of those compilations: "Feels Like the First Time" (#4 pop), "Cold as Ice" (#6 pop), "Hot Blooded" (#3 pop), "Double Vision" (#2 pop), "Dirty White Boy" (#12 pop), "Urgent" (#4 pop, #1 mainstream for four weeks), and "Juke Box Hero" (#26 pop, #3 mainstream).
1312. Grace Period - ApologetiX
In early June 2002, a theologian and New Testament scholar named Mark Allan Powell published the massive Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music. I bought that book and was delighted to find an entry for ApologetiX therein. The info on us was already a little out of date by then, as things were happening very quickly for this little Christian parody band. Two and a half months later, we released our eighth LP, Grace Period. It featured 20 parodies, two of which hit the Top 40 on the R & R Christian charts after they were released as singles — "Smooth Grandmama" (September 2002) and "How You Rewind Me" (July 2003). Other popular cuts included "Corinthians," "YHWH," "Devil Went Down to Jordan," "Don't Fear the People," "Tom Saw Ya," and children's favorite "Baa! We're Lambs." Meanwhile, ApologetiX was the subject of a lengthy feature story in the Los Angeles Times on August 17, 2002. Although I was the band member they interviewed for the article, my two favorite quotes in it came from other sources. The first was from Michael Shishido, program director at KAMI-FM (95.5), a Christian rock station in Honolulu: "Whenever an new album comes out, we jump on it. Our listeners just eat it up. A lot of the words are relevant to a Christian, and it's just downright funny." The second was from Matthew Turner, editor of CCM magazine, which reports on the Christian entertainment industry: "It's a concept that is incredibly cheesy, but they do it really well." Turner's testimonial may have been a backhanded compliment, but I still got a big kick out of it. We got to meet Michael Shishido and the staff at KAIM in person a month later when ApologetiX played a couple concerts with FFH in Honolulu. While in town, we also made live appearances at the radio station, a mall bookstore, and a local school. It was quite an exciting time. However, the most thrilling thing about 2002 for me was the arrival of my second daughter, Heather, in May. Lisa and I felt very torn, leaving our four-month-old bundle of joy in Pennsylvania when we went to Hawaii, although we knew my parents were loving and capable babysitters ... which brings me to another favorite quote. One of the times I called home to check on Heather, my mother said the following: "She's a determined little monkey." That baby girl is a young woman now, but she's still a bundle of joy. Heather eventually sang her first backing vocals on an ApologetiX recording in 2014 and has done lead vocals on a number of our parodies since 2020.
1313. 40 Licks - The Rolling Stones
I'd owned my fair share of Rolling Stones compilations before, but this one was different than all the others, because it was the first to combine the material they did for Decca from 1964-70 with the stuff they put out on their own record label from 1971 on. Released on September 30, 2002, 40 Licks contained 40 songs from the group's 40-year (at the time) career, although not every track was a Top 40 hit. Most people probably think of the Stones as more of a rock band than a pop band anyway, but they'd actually notched 41 U.S. Top 40 singles by the time this collection came out. Not all them made it onto 40 Licks (they wouldn't have fit anyway), but each of their eight #1 U.S. hits did: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction), "Get Off My Cloud," "Paint It, Black," "Ruby Tuesday," "Honky Tonk Women," "Brown Sugar," Angie," and "Miss You." So did four others that just missed the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100: "19th Nervous Breakdown" (#2 Billboard, #1 Cash Box, #1 U.K.), "Start Me Up" (#2 Billboard), "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (#3 Billboard, #1 Cash Box, #1 U.K.), and "Emotional Rescue" (#3 Billboard). 40 Licks also contained a couple #1 U.K. hits that didn't fare as well in the States — "It's All Over Now" (#26 U.S.) and "The Last Time" (#9 U.K.). Those were already two of my favorite Stones songs regardless of chart position. Not all of the band's U.S. Top 10 hits were on 40 Licks, either. It didn't have "Harlem Shuffle" (#5), "Time Is on My Side" (#6) and "As Tears Go By" (#6), but it did include "Mixed Emotions" (#5), "Tumbling Dice" (#7), "Mother's Little Helper" (#8), "Beast of Burden" (#8), "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing in the Shadow" (#9), "Undercover of the Night" (#9), and "Fool to Cry" (#10). Of course, the Stones have had many famous non-Top 40 songs, too, like "Under My Thumb," "Let's Spend the Night Together," "Gimme Shelter," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Street Fighting Man," and "Sympathy for the Devil," all of which made it onto 40 Licks, along with classics like "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)" (#17 pop), "Happy "(#22 pop), and "Wild Horses" (#28 pop). There were even four new songs, although none of them hit the Hot 100: "Don't Stop" (#21 mainstream rock), "Keys to Your Love," "Stealing My Heart," and "Losing My Touch." ApologetiX has spoofed eight songs on 40 Licks: "Satisfaction" (twice), "Let's Spend the Night Together," "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (twice), "Gimme Shelter," "Brown Sugar," "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll," "Beast of Burden," and "Start Me Up."
1314. Greatest Hits 1970-2002 - Elton John
Elton John's Greatest Hits 1970-2002 came out about a month and a half after the Rolling Stones' 40 Licks. Like that collection, this one spanned an iconic artist's entire career in a way previously prevented by the fact that different eras of their music were controlled by different record labels. Released November 11, 2002, it sold six million units in the United States and two million in Europe, reaching #12 on the Billboard 200. The North American edition had 38 tracks, but the European edition had 45. For some reason, the North American edition didn't include Elton's cover version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," despite the fact that that single had hit #1 on the U.S. Hot 100. It was on the European edition, however, even though it only went to #10 in England. Neither edition contained the first half of Elton's biggest single, "Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight" (#1 for 14 weeks U.S., #1 for five weeks U.K.), although both editions had the original 1973 version of "Candle in the Wind" (#11 U.K. only), and the U.S. edition also had the 1987 live version (#6 U.S., #5 U.K.). Both editions featured both hit versions of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" — the '74 studio recording (#2 U.S., #16 U.K.) and the '91 live remake with George Michael (#1 U.S., #1 U.K.). ApologetiX has spoofed nine Elton John tunes, seven of which were on the North American edition of Greatest Hits 1970-2002. The European edition had them all: "Daniel" (#2 U.S., #4 U.K.), "Crocodile Rock" (#1 U.S., #5 U.K.), "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" (#12 U.S., #7 U.K.), "The B**** Is Back" (#4 U.S., #15 U.K.), "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (#1 U.S., #10 U.K.), "Pinball Wizard" (#7 U.K. only), "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" (#4 U.S., #22 U.K.), "Island Girl" (#1 U.S., #14 U.K.), and "Little Jeannie" (#3 U.S., #33 U.K.). I read Elton's autobiography, Me, soon after in was released in 2019. I had previously read and enjoyed Philip Norman's 1992 biography, Elton John, and former Elton guitarist Caleb Quaye's 2006 autobiography, A Voice Louder Than Rock & Roll, which talks quite a bit about the 10 years he spent playing with Elton. Quaye became a Christian in 1982 and has since served in various capacities in ministry, including worship leader, associate pastor, and evangelist. I highly recommend his book.
1315. The Best of 1980-1990 - U2
U2's first greatest hits album came out in November 1998, and buyers could choose between a single-disc or double-disc version. The Best of 1980-1990 had 15 tracks; The Best of 1980-1990/The B-Sides had 30. I bought the simpler set, which went to #45 on the Billboard 200, but the expanded edition went to #2. If it had come out when I was younger, I might have opted for the one with the B-sides. I owned a few U2 singles in the '80s, including "New Year's Day" (#53 pop, #2 mainstream rock), "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (#33 pop, #2 mainstream), "With or Without You" (#1 pop, #1 mainstream) and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (#1 pop, #2 mainstream) ... plus several of their albums, which I've written about earlier on this list. The Best of 1980-1990 featured all six of the band's U.S. Top 40 hits from that era — the three I already mentioned plus "Where the Streets Have No Name" (#13 pop, #11 mainstream), "Desire (#3 pop, #1 mainstream, #1 alternative), and "Angel of Harlem" (#14 pop, #1 mainstream, #3 alternative). It also featured the Top 10 mainstream hits "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (#7 mainstream) and "When Love Comes to Town" (#68 pop, #2 mainstream, #10 alternative) plus the classics "I Will Follow" (#20 mainstream), "Bad" (#19 mainstream), "The Unforgettable Fire," "All I Want Is You" (#83 pop, #50 pop airplay), and "October." On top of that, there was an new recording of the 1987 song "Sweetest Thing," which was released as single in '98 (#63 pop, #31 mainstream, #9 alternative). ApologetiX spoofed "Desire" in 2013. If I were making my own expanded "best of" for 1980-1990, my bonus disc would include "Gloria," "I Fall Down," "Two Hearts Beat as One" (#101 pop, #12 mainstream), "Surrender" (#27 mainstream), "'40,'" "11 O'Clock Tick Tock (Live)" (#30 mainstream), "The Electric Co. (Live)," "Wire" (#31 mainstream), "Elvis Presley and America," "In God's Country" (#44 pop, #6 mainstream)," "Red Hill Mining Town," "Trip Through Your Wires," "One Tree Hill," "Van Diemen's Land," "Hawkmoon 269," and "God Part II" (#8 mainstream, #28 alternative).
1316. The Best of 1990-2000 - U2
U2's second greatest hits album arrived in November 2002, with single-disc (16 tracks) and double-disc (30 tracks) options like its predecessor. Once again, the two-CD set charted higher (#3 vs. #34), but I bought the simpler one. The Best of 1990-2000 featured seven Top 40 hits: "Mysterious Ways" (9 pop, #1 mainstream rock, #1 alternative), "One (#10 pop, #1 mainstream, #1 alternative), Discotheque (#10 pop, #6 mainstream, #1 alternative), "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" (#16 pop, #1 mainstream, #1 alternative), "Beautiful Day" (#21 pop, #14 mainstream, #5 alternative), "Staring at the Sun" (#26 pop, #2 mainstream, #1 alternative), and "Even Better Than the Real Thing" (#32 pop, #1 mainstream, #5 alternative). Other charting cuts included "Until the End of the World" (#5 mainstream, #4 alternative), "Numb" (#18 mainstream, #2 alternative), "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" (#61 pop, #12 mainstream, #15 alternative), "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (#52 pop, #35 mainstream, #35 alternative), and the new song "Electrical Storm" (#77 pop, #26 mainstream, #14 alternative). My personal expanded "best of" from this era would have also included "The Fly" (#61 pop, #2 mainstream, #1 alternative), which actually made it onto the Japanese edition, and "Elevation" (#116 pop, #21 mainstream, #8 alternative). ApologetiX hasn't spoofed any U2 songs from the '90s yet, but we did do a parody of their 2004 hit, "Vertigo" (#31 pop, #3 mainstream, #1 alternative). Thus far, however, I haven't seen any signs of The Best of 2000-2010 or The Best of 2010-2020, although U2 did release all-new studio LPs in 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2017 — all of which reached the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. In fact, three of them made it the whole way to #1.
1317. Best of Bowie - David Bowie
Like U2, David Bowie put out a "best of" in mid-fall 2002 with both single-disc and double-disc editions. The single-disc edition proved far more popular on the Billboard 200 (#4 vs. #108) and sold about a million copies, including mine. But dig this: Best of Bowie came out in 21 different territories internationally, and each territory had a different track listing, because the content was determined by what songs were more popular in that particular area of the world. The U.S./Canada version had 20 tracks on one CD or 39 tracks on two CDs. Other territories had similar amounts, but the variation meant that a total of 63 different tracks were used in one place or another. The record company placed a small national flag on the spine of most of the editions (aside from the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, and Argentina/Mexico) to differentiate them. By 2002, Bowie had achieved 13 Top 40 hits in the United States, and the first 11 made it onto the U.S./Canada version: "Space Oddity" (#15), "Young Americans" (#28), "Fame" (#1), "Golden Years" (#10), "Under Pressure" with Queen (#29 U.S.), "Let's Dance" (#1 U.S., #1 U.K.), "China Girl" (#10), "Modern Love" (#14), "Blue Jean" (#8), "This Is Not America" with The Pat Metheny Group (#32), and "Dancing in the Street" with Mick Jagger (#7). The only two missing were the 1987 singles "Day-In Day-Out" (#21) and "Never Let Me Down" (#27), neither of which was ever "must have" music for me. "Space Oddity," "Let's Dance," "Under Pressure," and "Dancing in the Street" were all U.K. #1 hits, by the way. The other nine tracks on the U.S./Canada single-disc edition were "Changes" (#41), "Suffragette City," "Ziggy Stardust," "The Jean Genie" (#71), "Rebel Rebel" (#64), "'Heroes,'" "Ashes to Ashes" (#101), and "Fashion" (#70). I was extremely happy to see my favorite Bowie song, "'Heroes,'" on the track listing but was mortified to discover that it was the single version, which clocked in at 3:35, rather than the 6:07 album version I was accustomed to. Major bummer, Major Tom. The two-disc edition had a few other favorites of mine, "TVC15" (#64), "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)," and the slow, moody version of "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" (#67) from the movie soundtrack. Some others I would have liked to see included would be: "Oh! You Pretty Things," "Starman" (#65), "Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)," and "Without You" (#73). ApologetiX has spoofed: "Suffragette City," "Ziggy Stardust," and "Rebel Rebel," and I wouldn't mind doing some others. I read Rob Sheffield's 2016 book On Bowie in 2023.
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