326 - The Cure - Disintegration

If this album didn't ride up the American charts because of the popularity of "Lovesong," would this album be at this place on the list? Disintegration is possibly one of the most consistent sounding albums released by The Cure, but is it "great" and better than their other releases?

Don't get me wrong. "Fascination Street" and "Lullaby" are easily two of my top five songs ever recorded by The Cure. But once "Fascination Street" is done, just after the halfway point, I tend to stop the album. The songs that follow maintain the mood, but don't stand out to me other than how "Disintegration" is a tiny bit more uptempo than the surrounding tracks.

Instrumentation on the album seems to focus on creating a sound with little to no edges. Everything is echoed or muffled into smoothness. Many of the songs sound as if there is a steady rain falling in the background and are constructed by layers upon layers of basic keyboard tracks - much of it of the single-finger variety with an occasional chord being held for several bars. The guitars are barely distinguished from the keys with all the the reverb and drone. The drums frequently sound as if someone threw a sheet or blanket over the kit.

I can't help but think that the strong singles combined with Disintegration's complete embrace of sadness is why this release gets so much praise. The album exemplifies the stereotype of what The Cure's music was to much of the public. It is more iconic in that way, IMO, instead of being a particularly great album.

Songs I knew I liked: "Lullaby," "Fascination Street," and "Pictures of You"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Disintegration"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: Most of the second half, but "The Same Deep Water As You" and "Homesick" in particular.

325 - Eric Clapton - Slowhand

Slowhand hits you with the three singles right off the bat ("Cocaine," "Wonderful Tonight," and "Lay Down Sally"). On my first listen, I got worried about the album dragging on because the unfamiliarity and slow tempo of the two songs that followed. "The Core" caught my attention and I listened to the rest of Slowhand with eagerness. After a second listen, I can state that I enjoy this album. I don't know that I would buy it, but would certainly put it in the list of top contenders if it is a listening option with friends.

So, what's so special about it? Eric and the band just sound so tight. Yeah, the first three songs are truly great and the other songs may just be "good," but all are performed so well that it kind of elevated how much I enjoyed the experience. The musical style and attitude varies quite a bit from the rockin' "Cocaine" opener to the soft instrumental "Peaches and Diesel" at the end.

Now, I must confess that each time I listened to "The Core," I became convinced that much of 80's and 90's CCM has this song as it's foundation (minus the horns, organ, and guitar solos). There something about the vocal delivery (maybe just how high the vocals are in the mix - easily overpowering the rest of the band) that reminded me of a stereotypical CCM song from last century.

Songs I knew I liked: "Cocaine," "Wonderful Tonight," and "Lay Down Sally"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "The Core," "May You Never," and "Peaches and Diesel"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: None

324 - Linda Ronstadt - Greatest Hits

Alright! Fine! Technically, the Rolling Stone Top 500 Album list has The Very Best of Linda Ronstadt at 324. But I'm calling "BULLSHIT!" and "Shenanigans!" The Very Best of Linda Ronstadt was released one year before the list was published by Rolling Stone and has only sold about 400,000 copies since then. Meanwhile, Linda Ronstadt Greatest Hits was released during the holiday season of 1976 and is her best selling album - accumulating over 20 million copies sold. I have a hard time believing that the people filling out the ballots meant to include the recently (at the time) Rhino-released compilation instead of the landmark collection that my parents and nearly all of my friends' parents had on vinyl. So...on with the review.

I love this album. I really do. It was a constant presence in my parents stereo during the second half of the 70's and until they made the full conversion to country music with the emergence of Alabama (the band) in the early 80's. This album covers the same pop/country/rock territory wandered by The Eagles and Graham Parsons. With the genre-crossing country acts out now, I often wonder how many of them are What is particularly striking is that many of these songs are covers...and not obscure covers, either. Linda had a voice and was able to execute these songs in a manner that made them all her own. The judges on American Idol talk to the contestants constantly about making songs their own. Those folks could learn a lot by listening to this album.

Linda sings with such earnestness and emotion. Several of these songs express a longing that makes me ache when I listen - especially "Long Long Time." And Linda sounds so peppy on the uptempo songs - such "Silver Thread & Golden Needles" and "When Will I Be Loved."

Songs I knew I liked: All of them

Songs I didn't know but now like: See above

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: None