FUN BREAK: TEN GREAT ALBUMS

You likely never heard of

In compiling lists like this, one thing stands out—-there are NO great albums for the last 10 years, as putting together an album no longer works in the age of iTunes and Spotify. That’s not to say there haven’t been some good songs in the last decade: anything by McFly (“Just My Luck,” “Five Colors in Her Hair”) is good; Billie Eilish has actually had some very nice songs (“Birds of a Feather,” “Bad Guy”), and songs like “Help Me Run Away” by St. Lucia or “Memory Gospel” by Moby are awesome. But they are one-offs.

Here are some older albums, that, if you haven’t listened to, you should. To me they are 10/10 albums where there is no bad track.

*”Surrealistic Pillow” by Jefferson Airplane. Raw, psychedelic, Grace Slick, Marty Balin, and well written songs that includes “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love,” but the rest are equally great.

*”Dream into Action” by Howard Jones. Once again, largely unknown, but this album has no weak spots and was highlighted by his hit, “Id’ Like to Get to Know you Well.”

*”Gaudi” by Alan Parsons, written about the architect Antoni Gaudi who designed “La Sagrada Familia,” the album paid tribute to the marvelous cathedral and Gaudi’s life.

*”Moby Grape,” by Moby Grape, one of the earliest 60s San Francisco bands who fell victim to bad managers and drugs. But again, while their hit “Omaha” may be known, they had a bunch of great songs on this album.

*”Bossa Nova USA” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. This is jazz—-OLD jazz that was soothing, relaxing, where you could get lost in Paul Desmond’s sax solo, not new Miles Davis jazz. Every song on this album is a keeper.

*”Vital Signs,” Survivor. Vocalist Jimi Jamison killed it, and the guitars are memorable on every song, including their hits “I Can’t Hold Back” and “High on You.”

*”Camouflage,” Rod Stewart. Just before he went into singing show tunes, Rod had one great rock album left and this was it. Jeff Beck’s incredible guitar lines grace many of the songs, of which “Bad for You” and “Infatuation” were the hits, but his rendition of “All Right Now” is awesome with the Tower of Power horns.

*”Speaking of Tower of Power, their “Tower of Power” is a gem. Not a bad song. Such incredible killers as “What is Hip?” and “So very Hard to Go” grace this album.

*Although it is, essentially, a compendium, the live Michael W. Smith album “Worship” is fantastic, and Smith himself said it was his best-selling album ever.

*”Phoebe Snow” by Phoebe Snow was an unbelievable debut album, never matched by any of her successor albums. “Poetry Man” was only one of numerous amazing songs here.

*And, if I might, our “Rockin’ the Wall” motion picture soundtrack is excellent, with songs from Rare Earth’s Peter Rivera, Vanilla Fudge’s Mark Stein, Mother’s Finest, and two songs (our best) from my band, “Rampage.” Can’t go wrong.

*”Abraxis” by Santana is a no brainer.

*While you might not have heard of Cactus, I especially liked their half-studio/half-live album, “‘Ot ‘n’ Sweaty".” You won’t find a better rhythm section in rock.

That’s it! Enjoy.

Larry Schweikart (@LarrySchwe94560)

Rock drummer, Film maker,NYTimes #1 bestselling author

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