149 - Santana - (eponymous)

I kinda stalled out with the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums because I hit a patch of albums which I enjoy. The first of which is the self-titled Santana album. It is a beautiful melding of rock, blues, Latino-influences, and jazz. Sure, “Evil Ways” grabbed my attention and stood out, but the album has consistently slipped into an accompaniment to my day; a very enjoyable partner for my ears, though. I have done a lot of work over the past couple of months with Santana as my soundtrack. I really don't want my use of the music as background to lessen the greatness that I hear. This is an outstanding collection of a jam band sounding like a jam band and not one forced to record soundbites of lengthy compositions they do live. I feel like I got a complete feel for what the band was like during that period.

Songs I Knew I Liked: “Evil Ways”

Songs I Now Like: “Shades of Time”

Songs I Don't Want to Ever Hear Again: None

148 - Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy

Well, the first thing I learned when I did my initial listen: I know lots of Led Zeppelin songs without knowing their titles...and many of those songs are on Houses of the Holy. Sure, I recognized titles such as “Over the Hills and Far Away” and “Dancing Days,” but I hadn't the foggiest idea what songs they were. And then when I listened, I kept having “OH, this is that song!” moments. Such repeat experiences made this seem like a volume 2 greatest hits for Zeppelin; admittedly because most of my familiarity is via the first four albums.

There is an intriguing diversity in song styles. “The Crunge” with its James Brown funk is a particular standout for me. I can see how older fans may have felt a little put off by the experimentation the band does on Houses of the Holy, but I find the shift as interesting.

Songs I Knew I Liked: “The Song Remains the Same,” “The Rain Song,” “Over the Hills and Far Away”, “Dancing Days,” “D'yer Mak'er”, “The Ocean”

Songs I Now Like: Other than identifying unknown Zepp songs I've liked, I can't say there is a new "like".

Songs I Don't Want to Ever Hear Again: None

147 - Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young - Deja Vu

I have completely fallen in love with this album. I haven't been a big fan of “Teach Your Children” or “Our House” in the past. I respected them, but would typically skip or ignore them when I hear 'em. In context of Deja Vu, I never felt a need to skip to the next song. I will confess that just a few months ago, I downloaded Weird Al's most recent album. One of my favorite tracks from that album is the CSNY-inspired “Mission Statement”. I listened to that song on repeat often, so when I clicked play on Deja Vu and “Carry On” sounded very much like “Mission Statement”, I was instantly put in a good mood.

Over the course of the album, each member of the group pulls gets a chance to highlight his sound, but the harmonies help tie the varying sounds together. This is another one of the group albums where each songwriter has such a different approach that the album has a loose compilation feel to it. While there have been times where I felt the song sequence may have been adjusted to lessen some of the jumps in sound, it's not like I felt any of the songs didn't belong with the others.

Deja Vu will continue to get listens from me on Spotify and a purchase of the CD is going to happen before 2015 comes to a close.

Songs I Knew I Liked: “Teach Your Children” and “Our House”

Songs I Now Like: “Carry On,” “Woodstock” (I skipped this song so much growing up that when listening to it on this album, it felt like a new song to me), “Deja Vu,” and “Country Girl (suite)”

Songs I Don't Want to Ever Hear Again: None