428 - Radiohead - Kid A

Adding slide guitar and a violin doesn't make a rock band a alternative country or Americana band. Adding a horn section doesn't turn your rock band into a jazz fusion band. Adding sequencers and a more atmospheric sound doesn't make your rock band electronic or ambient. That isn't an issue with Kid A.

The tracks on the album weren't rock songs with electronic elements thrown in. They were equally influenced by the likes of Seefeel, Aphex Twin, and the Autechre just as much as Pink Floyd, Joy Division, and R.E.M. Pop song framework is mostly gone, but the use of guitar riffs, lyrics that hint at a verse/chorus structure that was broken into bits, and keeping tracks between 3-5 minutes differentiate this music from what you'll hear on NPR's Echoes or Hearts of Space.

I must admit that I enjoyed Kid A quite a bit. The more I listened to it (and with headphones), the more I enjoyed songs I previously noted I was unimpressed with. I really love "National Anthem" and its use of free jazz styled horns. "Treefingers" sounds like a Brian Eno or Harold Budd track to me. I was prepared to be bored from sad-sack overkill or too-spacey music. There was just enough variety to the sounds of the tracks to keep me from being distracted from the music and yet the whole album had a good, consistent musical atmosphere to it. However, I'm not certain I would listen to the album much if I bought a copy. I don't really have any times where I sit around and brood with music anymore. In my teen and first half of my 20's this may have gotten more attention from me. Now, it just doesn't fit into what I dedicate my music-listening time to hear and feel. Kid A doesn't have the humor or optimism that brightened Eno's Another Green World's sleepier second half.

Songs I knew I liked: None

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Kid A," "National Anthem," "Treefingers," "Optimistic," "Idioteque" (which took a few listens before I really embraced it), and to a lesser extent "Motion Picture Soundtrack"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: "In Limbo," "Morning Bell," and (untitled final track) weren't displeasing as much as they made no impression on me at all.

427 - The Ronettes - Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes

Thank you again, Rolling Stone for making a wacky list. Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes may be a good album. I can't know for certain because the album has been out of print for decades and has never been released as a CD. Since I'm not about to dole out $175-200 for one of the remaining vinyl copies, I had to piece together the tracks the best I could from Ronettes and Phil Spector compilations. Alas, I couldn't find their cover of Ray Charles's "What'd I Say" and "How Does It Feel?" for me to listen to for my review. Because I'm not listening to a release of the album but a collection of songs from a few compilation albums, I don't feel comfortable judging the sound of the recordings.

Now that I have that HUGE disclaimer out of the way, what is left to say? The songs are a showcase for Spector's Wall of Sound - layers of sound that fill the entire audio spectrum from the drop of the needle to the groove between tracks. This is accomplished by a layer of percussion (and usually lots of tambourine, bells, and chimes) that is treated with echo, backing "shoo-wop" and "ooo-ahh"-type vocals...also treated with echo, bouncing piano that is mixed to about the same volume as the percussion, sometimes with horns reinforcing the backing vocals, and the main vocals sitting at the same level as much of the other sounds. Now, when I say "treated with echo," in those analog times that meant using an echo chamber. Would you believe that the studio would have a bare-walled basement space with speakers that would play the tracks and microphones that would capture the sound of those tracks bouncing around the echo-filled room? Now-a-days, you just punch a button for the computer to simulate the same thing.

In the end though, I don't know why this album is on the Top 500 other than it being a showcase for the Wall of Sound and the greatest example of that sound (and one of the best pop songs ever recorded), "Be My Baby." The rest of the songs reinforce the sound of the full-sounding girl group, but don't indicate anything of particular importance of the singers or songwriting, just the recording and production of the album.

Songs I knew I liked: "Be My Baby" and "Chapel of Love"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Baby, I Love You" and "(The Best Part of) Breaking Up"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: Any song not listed above...although I would love to hear the studio version of their cover of "What'd I Say." The live versions I found on YouTube were pretty nice.

426 - Rage Against the Machine - Battle of Los Angeles

This isn't going to be a long review. Battle of Los Angeles sounds quite a lot like the band's debut album. Tom Morrelo has grown some and has additional effects and techniques on guitar. Otherwise, this sounds the same. What I find particularly annoying is that this is the THIRD album. By the third album there should be some evolution. Zack de la Rocha has two settings on his voice: whisper and shouting. He still has the power on this album, but his vocal delivery limitations really grated on me when placed in songs that sound the same, too. I guess this album does things for the folks that just wanted the band to maintain their sound over time.

Songs I knew I liked: "Guerrilla Radio"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Calm Like a Bomb" and "Maria"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: I can easily skip ever hearing this album again.

425 - David Bowie - CHANGESONEBOWIE

*insert comment about my annoyance with greatest hits albums on the Top 500 list here*

If you are going to listen to a greatest hits collection that was released during the career of a band/artist, I think CHANGESONEBOWIE is one of the best collections of that nature (The Eagles Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 being my absolute favorite mid-career collection, followed closely by The Cure's Standing on a Beach/Staring at the Sea). In this collection, you get all of his glam rock/Ziggy Stardust releases. This is the big stuff in his career.

Why a Bowie greatest hits collection is on the list when the guy has some great studio releases just puzzles the hell out of me. Oh, if you have CHANGESBOWIE on CD, this release from 1976 is basically the first half of the CD (up to "Golden Years") except with the original version of "Fame" instead of the 90's remix.

Songs I knew I liked: I have CHANGESBOWIE on CD and am very familiar with all of the songs.

Songs I didn't know but now like: See previous item.

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: Nope, I love these songs.