|
Influential Albums: 1395-1401
Sat., Mar. 9. 2024 2:21pm 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.
1395. Two Against Nature - Steely Dan
If Steely Dan's eighth studio LP seemed a little rushed, keep in mind that it came out just 20 years after their seventh. That's a joke, of course; nobody besides Donald Fagen and Walter Becker ever thought anything Steely Dan did was rushed. Released on February 9, 2000, Two Against Nature sold a million copies and went to #6 on the Billboard 200. Nothing from it hit the Hot 100, but "Cousin Dupree" did go to #30 on the adult contemporary chart. Two Against Nature wound up winning four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. That last Grammy was for the "Cousin Dupree," which is arguably the catchiest song on the album. It would have been my favorite, but the titular character is morally reprehensible. Of course, what do you expect from Steely Dan? So I'll give the grand prize to "What a Shame About Me," a song with a similar premise to Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne" and Harry Chapin's "Taxi" and "Sequel," but not nearly as happy an ending, because ... well, again, it's Steely Dan. Three other tunes with memorable music are "Gaslighting Abby," "Jack of Speed," and "Janie Runaway." And the lyrics to "Almost Gothic" are well crafted.
1396. Everything Must Go - Steely Dan
After a two-decade gap between Steely Dan's Gaucho and Two Against Nature albums, imagine my surprise when they only took three more years to put out their ninth studio LP. Released June 10, 2003, Everything Must Go might not be as perfectly polished as the previous two (that's for more qualified people than yours truly to decide), but it has three songs that I thought had a really strong lyrical-musical one-two punch. The first is a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek allegory for the end of the word called "The Last Mall." The other two look back at failed relationships, "The Things I Miss the Most," and "Everything Must Go." A fourth cut that I like just mainly for the music is "Blues Beach." Everything Must Go went to #9 on the Billboard 200 but did not even go gold. It wound up being the final Steely Dan studio LP; Walter Becker died on September 3, 2017, from esophageal cancer at age 67.
1397. Gold - Kiss
This 40-track Kiss compilation came out on January 11, 2005, and covers the band's career through the summer of 1982. All nine of the band's studio LPs are represented — from their eponymous 1974 debut through the controversial 1981 concept album, Music from "The Elder" — plus the 1982 import compilation, Killers, and the live albums, Alive and Alive II. Not only that, there's a song from each of the Kiss solo albums that were simultaneously released in 1978. Back then, I bought the 45s for two of those — Ace Frehley's "New York Groove" (#13) and Gene Simmons' "Radioactive" (#47) — and used to play them to death. For some reason, Gold does not include Paul Stanley's lone solo hit, "Hold Me, Touch Me" (#46)," but features the non-charting "Tonight You Belong to Me" instead ... along with a Peter Criss' "Don't You Let Me Down," which was released as a single but did not crack the Hot 100. Although I've owned a lot of Kiss collections, this was the most comprehensive, at least for covering the initial run with the original lineup. However, like all the others, it did not include the Frehley-penned "Rocket Ride" (#39), their only Top 40 hit with him on lead vocals. I'm not sure why, because Gold did include two other songs Ace wrote and sang, "Shock Me" and "Talk to Me" (a Top 10 hit in Switzerland), plus three he wrote or co-wrote but did not sing, "Parasite," "Cold Gin," and "Rock Bottom." Not surprisingly, the albums with the most selections sampled were Kiss (5), Destroyer (5), Alive (4), and Love Gun (4). Contrast that with Music from "The Elder", which only had one, "A World Without Heroes," although that single was mildly successful (#56). It was one of three Hot 100 hits on Gold that I'd never owned before. The others were "Sure Know Something" (#47) and "Shandi" (#47).
1398. The Best of Kiss Volume 2: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection - Kiss
Released June 15, 2004, The Best of Kiss Volume 2: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection picks up where Gold left off, with a dozen tracks from the fall of 1982 through 1989 — two songs each from these six albums: Creatures of the Night, Lick It Up, Animalize, Asylum, Crazy Nights, and Hot in the Shade. As the cover suggests, most of that music was made without the make-up (not that I think they ever recorded studio projects in full regalia, even when that was their public persona). ApologetiX drummer Jimmy met his wife, Eve, at a Kiss concert during this era. If you think Gene, Paul, and the crew had exhausted their supply of hits by then, think again: The Best of Kiss Volume 2 includes their second highest charting pop single overall, "Forever" (#8 pop, #17 mainstream rock), plus "Heaven's on Fire" (#49 pop, #11 mainstream), "Tears Are Falling" (#51 pop, #20 mainstream), "Reason to Live" (#64 pop, #34 mainstream) "Crazy Crazy Nights" (#65 pop, #37 mainstream), "Lick It Up" (#66 pop, #19 mainstream), "Hide Your Heart" (#66 pop, #22 mainstream), and "I Love It Loud" (#102 pop).
1399. Super Hits of the '70s - Have a Nice Day Volume 4 - Various Artists
I first found out about Rhino Records in the '80s, when they reissued so much hard-to-get music I loved from the '60s ... but I think their crowning achievement may have happened in the '90s, and it involved music from the '70s. The Super Hits of the '70s - Have a Nice Day series included 25 volumes. The first 15 came out in 1990, followed by seven more in '93, and three more in '96. Each installment featured 12 tracks, for a total of 300. I never set out to collect them all, but over the years, it seems I owned at least 18 of them at one time or another, because they sometimes were the only places you could find quality recordings of the original versions of a number of '70s hits, especially those artists with careers that weren't exactly wall-to-wall hits. I can't remember if I ever bought any Super Hits of the '70s - Have a Nice Day LPs in their first 15 years of existence, but I'd been looking them over in record stores for years. However, in 2005, I decided to try to recreate my old collection of #1 hits digitally — which I gradually expanded to #2, #3, #4, and #5 hits — and there wasn't anywhere near as much available on iTunes back then as there is today, so I bought a bunch of these collections through third-party sellers on Amazon. Consequently, I know when I ordered them, so they'll start appearing in spurts now that we've reached 2005 on the list, but there were will be others popping up periodically through 2009. Although I love the way you can feel time go by if you listen to those playlists at length, they weren't just entertaining ... they also were great to listen to when I was brainstorming for new parody projects. The next several entries on this list are from the first batch I bought, in mid-August 2005. With a focus on '70 and '71, Super Hits of the '70s - Have a Nice Day Volume 4 featured no #1 hits, but it did have "Put Your Hand in the Hand" by Ocean (#2) and "Rose Garden" by Lynn Anderson (#3) for my lists. It also had a few other tunes I remembered fondly from my past, such as "Sweet Mary" by Wadsworth Mansion (#7), "Mr. Bojangles" by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (#9), "One Toke Over the Line" by Brewer & Shipley, and "Silver Bird" by Mark Lindsay (#25). The sleeper hits for me on this one were "Yellow River" by Christie (#23), "Woodstock" by Matthews' Southern Comfort (#23), "I Ain't Got Time Anymore" by The Glass Bottle (#36), and "For the Good Times" by Ray Price (#11). ApologetiX spoofed "One Toke Over the Line" in 2018. For a complete track listing, go to https://www.discogs.com/master/956605-Various-Super-Hits-Of-The-70s-Have-A-Nice-Day-Vol-4
1400. Super Hits of the '70s - Have a Nice Day Volume 9 - Various Artists
Super Hits of the '70s - Have a Nice Day Volume 9 featured Top 40 tunes from 1972 and '73. The highest-charting singles on it were "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass (#1), "Frankenstein" by Edgar Winter Group (#1), "Clair" by Gilbert O'Sullivan (#2), and "I'd Love You To Want Me" by Lobo (#2). "Brandy" became an absolute all-time favorite for my second daughter, Heather. Other cherished gems and jams from my past on Volume 9 included "Beautiful Sunday" by Daniel Boone (#15), "Popcorn" by Hot Butter (#9), "Rock and Roll Part 2" by Gary Glitter (#7), and "I Believe in Music" by Gallery (#22). It also featured "Speak to the Sky" by Rick Springfield (#14), his first Top 40 hit and the last one he'd have until Jessie's Girl topped the Hot 100 in 1981. For a complete track listing, go to https://www.discogs.com/master/733237-Various-Super-Hits-Of-The-70s-Have-A-Nice-Day-Vol-9
1401. Super Hits of the '70s - Have a Nice Day Volume 13 - Various Artists
An alternate title for this album could have been Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods' Greatest Hits. The group had two Top 20 hits — "Billy, Don't Be a Hero" (#1) and "Who Do You Think You Are" (#15) — and they're both on Super Hits of the '70s - Have a Nice Day Volume 13. It's the only installment in the series to include two tracks by the same artist on the same disc, but this was Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods, after all. If you don't agree with the decision, well ... who do you think you are? Bo and his boys actually had one other Top 40 hit, "The Heartbreak Kid" (#39), but that might have been a bit much, even though all three singles were from 1974, as were the other songs on Volume 13. However, space was needed for a star-studded roster that included three other #1 smashes — "The Night Chicago Died" by Paper Lace, "Rock Me Gently" by Andy Kim, "I Can Help" by Billy Swan — plus "Beach Baby" by First Class (#4), "Please Come to Boston" by Dave Loggins (#5), "Midnight at the Oasis" by Maria Muldaur (#6), "Keep On Smilin'" by Wet Willie (#10), "My Girl Bill" by Jim Stafford (#12), "Radar Love" by Golden Earring (#13), and one of my all-time favorites, "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me" by Reunion" (#8). ApologetiX spoofed "Billy, Don't Be a Hero" and "Beach Baby" in 2024, on the same single, no less.
|
