Thirty-Four Albums That You Might Not Own but Probably Should, and Slim Rectangular Images of Household Objects

Thirty-Four Albums That You Might Not Own but Probably Should, and Slim Rectangular Images of Household Objects
by Jeff Lewis

Tikiman: Deadbolt

This is "The Scariest Band In The World's" magnum opus, the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band of voodoo rockabilly. A must for Halloween or your next bender. It begs the question, "Who the hell is Mrs. Valdez?"

Try Whistling This: Neil Finn

After outstanding tenures as the lead singer of Split Enz and Crowded House, Neil Finn released this, his first solo album, in 1998. Every song on the album is excellent and interesting.

Bombay The Hard Way: Guns, Cars & Sitars: Dan The Automator

In the sixties and seventies, a number of Indian movie studies borrowed music from American funk musicians, adding some Indian flair. For this album, Dan The Automator repackaged fifteen of these tracks, with some dialogue and contemporary funk beats.

Dirt Track Date: Southern Culture On The Skids

S.C.O.T.S. mixes rockabilly, surf guitar and silliness in an upbeat, appealing manner. This is their best album; if you like this, consider buying Ditch Diggin', as well.

Operators Manual: The Buzzcocks

It might just be me, but I hear the Buzzcocks influence in a lot of bands that followed them, and not just punk bands. This is a solid greatest hits collection.

Ballads: Dexter Gordon

This is what most people think of when they hear the word jazz: a soulful tenor sax just out of rehab, playing standard in what is obviously a very smoky room.

The Best Of Chet Baker Sings: Chet Baker

Baker may not have been the greatest singer of all time, but many of the tracks on this album of standards have never been bested, even by the likes of Sinatra, Fitzgerald and Eckstine. This is a particularly good listen if you are either in love or heartbroken.

Curtis/Live!: Curtis Mayfield

I cannot get enough Curtis Mayfield, which is why I own nearly every album he recorded. This is my favorite, a live album from 1971, just before he recorded the Superfly soundtrack.

Grace: Jeff Buckley

All Music Guide describes this as "a Led Zeppelin album written by an ambitious folkie with a fondness for lounge jazz." Plus, it has a bit of medieval choral music thrown in.

The History Of Hip Hop Vol. 1: Kurtis Blow

This is a collection of Kurtis Blow's favorite break beats. Despite the title, it only has one rap song, "Personality Jock" by King Tim III and Fatback, the first rap song to grace vinyl. This is one of the best funk compilations out there.

The Harder They Come Soundtrack: Various Artists

A good introduction to Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytals and Desmond Dekker, this album is marvelous. If you haven't already heard it, you'll still recognize many songs, as they are covered often by other artists.

Baja Session: Chris Isaak

It's hard not to feel like you are on vacation when listening to this album. You can practically taste the lobsters and beans that will await you when you finally drag yourself off the beach.

First Take: Roberta Flack

This is a beautiful, understated album with a great version of Les McCann's "Compared To What." You'll be hard pressed to find a lovelier song than "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face."

Cafe Atlantico: Ceseria Evora

Evora is a native of Cape Verde, and her music is a mixture of African, Brazilian, English and Portuguese music that, in my experience, appeals to everyone.

Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde: The Pharcyde

This is a classic, so if you like hip-hop, you probably are well aware of this album. I include it in this list, though, because it is one of the more popular hip-hop albums among non-rap fans. Essentially, it is an album for those of you who, when asked whether you like hip-hop, say, "I liked 'Rapper's Delight.' Also, De La Soul's first album was pretty good."

Fresh: Sly and The Family Stone

This is one of my five favorite albums. It is gurgling funk that oozes out of the speakers and mesmerizes. Warner Brothers released it after Sly's peak in popularity, just before he dropped out of the music scene.

Dock Of The Bay: Otis Redding

If you have ears, you should own an Otis Redding album. This is a good one to start with before you move on to a boxed set.

Inspiration Information: Shuggie Otis

Although this contains a good deal of what I like to call "boopy music," in which Shuggie twinkles around on his moog, I still recommend it highly. You've probably heard a cover of this album's second best track, Strawberry Letter 23 by either Bobby Womack or The Brothers Johnson. I like the title track so much that I often need to listen to it twice in a row.

Apple Venus Vol. 1: XTC

Inventive, melodious, skillfull, moving, happy, unique, catchy. It is an album for days when you'd like to feel your age. A good companion to Finn's Try Whistling This.

Medusa: Annie Lennox

The only thing that tops Lennox's performance is her choice of material. These are great, great songs from the likes of Al Green, Neil Young, The Pretenders and the Clash, and Lennox's voice is up to the daunting task of reinterpreting them.

Facing Future: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

How can any man, not to mention a 700 pound one, have such a pretty voice? There are a few cheesy songs on this album, but at its best—such as his "Wonderful World/Somewhere Over The Rainbow" medley—it warms the cockles. I have read that N Dis Life is his best album, but haven't heard it yet.

Shadowlands: kd lang

This is another beautiful album, albeit a sad one. Full of torch songs, this is the album to play after The Best of Chet Baker Sings, if you aren't quite done wallowing in sorrow. To be fair, before you buy this album, you should first purchase a Patsy Cline greatest hits package.

King Of The Gypsies: Django Reinhardt

Everyone should own a Django Reinhardt album; they should be handed out by the hospital at birth. I bought mine for two pounds off a street vendor in Sheffield. Because the music takes you back to pre-WWII Paris, its ambience is improved by the poor recording quality.

Verve Jazz Masters 13: Antonio Carlos Jobim

If the hospital has an ample budget, Jobim's music should be included in the stork's package as well. His sixties-era bossa nova is timeless.

JBs Funky People (Part 2): Various Artists

While it's a given that everyone should own James Brown's greatest hits box set, Star Time, I realize that some people may not own it. This is a good backup, in case you don't want to spring for four disks.

Way To Blue (An Introduction To Nick Drake): Nick Drake

You almost certainly have heard Drake's music on a car commercial, if you haven't yet heard it come out of a hi-fi. This is a good compilation of his short, sad folk career in the late sixties and early seventies before his untimely death. Like Kurt Cobain's music, you can hear the artist teetering on the edge of suicide, although in Drake's case, it is a rather melodic experience.

T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M.: George Clinton

I'm assuming here that you already own Up For The Downstroke and Motherhsip Connection, and would like some of Clinton's more recent work. If you'd like to feel the awesome power of a fully operational mothership, buy this album. The critics and the buying public didn't really go for it, but both myself and Chris Kennedy—a funk connoisseur—love it.

Tuku Music: Oliver Mtukudzi

This is another album that should appeal to everyone, and is a good entre into African music, specifically the music of Zimbabwe.

Just As I Am/Still Bill: Bill Withers

Nobody has written two songs better than "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean On Me." This album has those two and many more examples of great songwriting; it is a combo of Withers's two best albums, from the early seventies.

Jurassic 5 EP: Jurassic 5

This EP is short and sweet, with 1987-style rapping, inventive samples and much joie de vie.

Ultra Lounge Vol. 1, Mando Exotica & Vol 2, Mambo Fever: Various Artists

The entire Ultra Lounge series—which repackages big band lounge music from the fifties and sixties—is top notch. These are my favorite of the lot, although I highly recommend the Space Capades, as well.

Eye Of The Cyclops: Mix Master Mike

When I'm working at my computer and a song from this album comes on, it is physically and psychologically impossible for me not to start dancing in my chair. This album makes the body move.

The Unforgettable Nat King Cole: Nat King Cole

While it is really unnecessary to recommend Nat King Cole, I still include this album in this list because it is so good that I can listen to it four times in a row without tiring of it.

Jeff can be reached at jeff@babblog.com.