312 - Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

This is one of those albums that broke completely free of its genre and captured a chunk of the nation for a year. The soulful singing here certainly fits in with other artists that pulled off the same genre-exploding feat with Grammy rewards - especially Tracy Chapman with her debut and Adele with 21. But did that year of love for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill survive the years since then?

Miseducation must credit Lauryn's voice for both its beauty on delivering a soul song and for her ability to also rap - not just credibly, but rap with the force, flow, and wordplay that some full-time rappers are incapable of doing. Unlike other artists that rap or sing but must bring in guests to perform the other role, Lauryn did it all and she did it so well. The album does a great job of showcasing her talent.

Where it is lacking for me is in actual album "construction." JD and I own this CD, but I have rarely listened to it after the year it was released because I just can't sustain an interest in the songs, although I enjoy hearing them when shuffled with other music. The two problems are typical hip hop ones:

1. Just because you can put 80 minutes of music on a CD doesn't mean you have to fill all of that time. There is a sameness that causes me to drift off and stop paying attention to the album during a couple of stretches. I've gone back and listened to songs that I noticed I had zoned-out on and upon starting with them, realised the song was fine, I had just been lulled by the fact it sounded very similar to the tracks around it.

2. Intermissions between the songs mess with the flow. Miseducation doesn't have as many skits and such as most of the other rap/hip-hop albums I've reviewed while going through the Rolling Stone Top 500 albums list, but I found the few intermissions on this album particularly distracting. The instance that is very annoying to me is the "class discussion" between "To Zion" and "Doo Wop (That Thing)." There is a great beat in "To Zion" that would segue nicely into the following track, but the intermission completely erases the rhythm from your mind and seems to make the gap between songs seem much longer than it actually is.

Songs I knew I liked: "Doo Wop (That Thing)" and "Everything Is Everything"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "To Zion"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: As I mentioned previously, I found the "classroom discussions" between some of the tracks to detract from the flow of the music.

311 - Nirvana - Unplugged in New York

Capturing one of the most inspiring concerts of MTV's Unplugged series, Unplugged in New York has importance not only for Nirvana, but set a high bar for later performers on Unplugged that couldn't be met. This isn't a collection of acoustic versions of Nirvana's hits (in fact, the lack of Nirvana hits was a sore spot for the MTV execs). There is far more to this album that practically makes it a stand alone album and not a compilation.

Some backstory that may also enlighten listeners is what Kurt was going through at the time. According to others, he was suffering with depression and drug withdrawal during the days of rehearsals and the final performance. It was only a few months later that Kurt ended up committing suicide. Looking over the songs on the album (especially the covers), it is easy to see that he was depressed and contemplating death. According to one of Kurt's biographers, when asked about decorating the set for the concert, he basically said he wanted it to look like a funeral. With that mindset, it is easy to see how Kurt's aching vocals on "Jesus Doesn't Want Me For a Sunbeam," "The Man Who Sold the World," and "Lake of Fire" got their emotional tone.

But one of the great things about this album is that it strips away much of the "grunge" sound one associates with Nirvana's songs and highlights the songwriting and emotional capabilities of Kurt and the band. The acoustical instruments, use of a single cello, and Dave's softest drumming EVAR gave the band a scrappy blues sound (which is further reinforced with the Lead Belly cover at the end).

If Kurt had lived, could this album have been seen as part of a transition on Nirvana's sound?

Songs I knew I liked: "Come As You Are," "The Man Who Sold the World," "Pennyroyal Tea," "Something in the Way," "Lake of Fire," and "All Apologies"

Songs I didn't know but now like: I have the album, but have barely touched any of my Nirvana albums this century. It was nice to rediscover - "Jesus Doesn't Want Me For a Sunbeam," "Polly," "Oh Me," and "Where Did You Sleep Last Night."

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