Album of the Year – The Top 100 Reviews

What a Top 100 Album Should Be.

Multiple good songs with great lyrics in a unique sound that impacted culture along with high record sales. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM.

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Rolling Stone’s Ranking: #25/100
My Rating:

Not every Rolling Stone Top 100 Album is a good listen. There seems to be cognitive dissonance about having too much music that’s enjoyable to listen to, as if heralding it will encroach on the art form itself and cause it to self-destruct. So albums that have some “high art” angle get elevated, even if the work as a whole isn’t good (take the inclusion of Frank Sinatra’s “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” over his better albums because it’s “artsy”).

Rumours is a rejoiceful reminder that music that has memorable compositions with ear-worm hooks can be every bit as impactful as some avant-garde release, and hell, it might even be enjoyable to listen to!

Continue reading “Top 100 Album Review: #25 – Rumors, Fleetwood Mac (1977)”

The Song Writer’s Breakout

Tapestry, a sprawling epic including hit after hit, was a chance for Carol King to show off her own material.

Carol King with her cat Telemachus, named after the son of Odysseus from the Greek Mythology story the Odyssey.

Rolling Stone’s Ranking: #36
My Rating:

If you are over 50 or like any type of old music, you’ve heard Carol King’s work.

Between her writing career and people doing covers of her songs, King has given hit singles to several other well-known artists, including James Taylor, Quincy Jones, The Animals, The Drifters, Roberta Flack, and more. Known as a prolific song writer in the 60s with her then husband Gerry Goffin, King didn’t have any platform of her own as her pervious band “The City” was disbanded between label switches and her debut album “Writer” did not make much movement on the Billboard charts.

Then Tapestry released. Carol King was launched into another stratosphere as one of the most successful, solo-female acts.

Continue reading “Top 100 Album Review: #36 – Tapestry, Carol King (1971)”