300 - Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet

Fear of a Black Planet continues the emergency news broadcast started in the previous Public Enemy albums. Yes, you can count me as one of the millions of middle-class white boys that bought this album and blared it in the early 90's. I had it on tape and listened to it frequently. But as I moved to CDs, the tape disappeared and I haven't listed to this album since the mid-90's. I was glad that the songs stood the progress in time and there were several songs that thrilled me as I rediscovered them during these listens this past week.

The samples are ample, layered, and used in a way that helps to give an atmosphere of urban chaos...with a beat. The album rocks even when it isn't looping the wail of Prince's guitar from "Let's Go Crazy." The Bomb Squad put together a superb selection of music samples and spoken word (from speeches, stand-up routines, and movie clips) that makes the sampling such an important part of this album. There is so much variety of sample sources and how they are looped and used in Fear of a Black Planet that an "instrumental" version of this album would really kick ass.

Chuck D's vocals are frequently delivered in a baritone holler like a modern-day town crier. But he does have volume control and can deliver conversational raps as well as a slow, quiet-storm voice that has made people wonder who does the vocals on "Pollywanacracka" instead of him. Nope, folks, that's really Chuck D! And let us not forget Flava Flav's role in all of this. He still serves as an MC that jumps in and out of the songs, but he also gets to shine on his own in "911 is a Joke" (and, IMO, less successfully in "Can't Do Nuttin For Ya Man").

Songs I knew I liked: "911 is a Joke," "Burn Hollywood Burn," and "Fight the Power."

Songs I didn't know but now like: I rediscovered - "Brothers Gonna Work It Out," "Welcome to the Terrordome," "Pollywanacracka," and "Who Stole the Show."

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: None I would want to avoid, but I'm not a fan of "Can't Do Nuttin For Ya Man."

299 - Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors

I've enjoyed Dolly Parton's music, but this was my first time to listen to one of her albums (well, since the 70's when my parents played their copy of Here You Come Again). I was very pleasantly surprised by this album. Sure, it is short (less than 30 minutes) but during those 10 songs, we hear country-boogie ("Traveling Man"), ballads ("If I Lose My Mind"), spirituals ("The Mystery of the Mystery"), and the full breadth of what could be considered country music. Yes, there are songs about a cheating husband. OH! And not just a man that walked out on her. In "If I Lose My Mind," Dolly tells her momma - "But he done things to me I couldn't understand/ Why he made me watch him love another woman/ And we tried to make me love another man."

If you are going to have a Dolly Parton album (not just a hits collection), then Coat of Many Colors really deserves to be the album you get.

Songs I knew I liked: "Coat of Many Colors"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Traveling Man," "My Blue Tears," "She Never Met a Man (She Didn't Like)," and "A Better Place to Live"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: "The Mystery of the Mystery" - not a fan of the lyrics and I didn't even have to look at the songwriting credits to hear Porter Wagoner's voice in those words.