Heard of Scaruffi's Greatest Rock Albums
Submitted by wshogren on Fri, 04/28/2006 - 12:59
Tags:
- 9.5/10
- Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica (1969)
- Faust - Faust (1971)
- Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom (1974)
- 9/10
- Tim Buckley - Lorca (1970)
- Butthole Surfers - Psychic Powerless (1985)
- Captain Beefheart - Safe As Milk (1967)
- Nick Cave - Good Son (1990)
- The Doors - The Doors (1967)
- Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde (1966)
- John Fahey - Fare Forward Voyagers (1973)
- Foetus - Nail (1985)
- Fugazi - Repeater (1990)
- Diamanda Galas - Diamanda Galas (1984)
- Lisa Germano - Geek The Girl (1994)
- Gun Club - Fire Of Love (1981)
- Hash Jar Tempo - Well Oiled (1997)
- Jon Hassell - Dream Theory In Malaya (1981)
- Husker Du - Zen Arcade (1984)
- Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam (1991)
- Minutemen - Double Nickels On The Dime (1984)
- Morphine - Good (1992)
- Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (1968)
- My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (1991)
- Neu - Neu! (1972)
- Nico - Desert Shore (1971)
- Pere Ubu - Modern Dance (1978)
- Pop Group - Y (1979)
- Popol Vuh - Hosianna Mantra (1973)
- Red Crayola - Parable Of Arable Land (1967)
- Red House Painters - Down Colorful Hill (1992)
- Residents - Not Available (1978)
- Royal Trux - Twin Infinitives (1990)
- Klaus Schulze - Irrlicht (1972)
- Slint - Spiderland (1991)
- Soft Machine - Third (1970)
- Bruce Springsteen - The River (1980)
- Suicide - Suicide (1977)
- Third Ear Band - Third Ear Band (1970)
- Type O Negative - Slow Deep And Hard (1991)
- Vampire Rodents - Lullaby Land (1993)
- Velvet Underground - White Light White Heat (1967)
- Velvet Underground and Nico - Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
- Frank Zappa - Uncle Meat (1969)
- 8.5/10
- American Music Club - California (1988)
- Amon Tobin - Bricolage (1997)
- Babes In Toyland - Fontanelle (1992)
- Syd Barrett - Barrett (1970)
- Big Black - Atomizer (1986)
- Black Tape For A Blue Girl - Remnants Of A Deeper Purity (1996)
- Tim Buckley - Starsailor (1970)
- Built To Spill - Perfect From Now On (1997)
- Nick Cave - From Her to Eternity (1984)
- Chrome - Half Machine Lip Moves (1979)
- Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Leonard Cohen (1968)
- Cop Shoot Cop - Consumer Revolt (1990)
- Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables (1980)
- Constance Demby - Novus Magnificat (1986)
- Dirty Three - Ocean Songs (1998)
- Dogbowl - Cyclops Nuclear Submarine Captain (1991)
- Dream Syndicate - Days Of The Wine And Roses (1982)
- Peter Gabriel - Passion (1989)
- Gong - Flying Teapot: Radio Gnome Invisible (1973)
- Jon Hassell - Vernal Equinox (1977)
- Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers (1969)
- King Crimson - In the Court Of The Crimson King (1969)
- Lightwave - Mundus Subterraneus (1995)
- MC5 - Kick Out The Jams (1969)
- Van Morrison - Moondance (1970)
- Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (1994)
- Pandora’s Box - Original Sin (1989)
- Phish - A Picture Of Nectar (1992)
- Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967)
- Pixies - Surfer Rosa (1988)
- Popol Vuh - In Den Gaerten Pharaos (1972)
- Steve Roach - Dreamtime Return (1988)
- Klaus Schulze - Cyborg (1973)
- Soft Boys - Underwater Moonlight (1980)
- Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1996)
- Von Lmo - Cosmic Interception (1994)
- 8/10
- 60s
- Band - II (1969)
- Tim Buckley - Happy Sad (1968)
- Sandy Bull - Fantasia For Guitar & Banjo (1963)
- Colosseum - Valentyne Suite (1969)
- Holger Czukay - Canaxis 5 (1969)
- Deviants - Ptooff (1967)
- Doors - Strange Days (1967)
- Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
- Family - Music In A Doll's House (1968)
- Grateful Dead - Anthem Of The Sun (1968)
- Grateful Dead - Live Dead (1969)
- Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced? (1967)
- Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland (1968)
- Holy Modal Rounders - Indian War Whoop (1967)
- Jefferson Airplane - After Bathing At Baxter's (1967)
- Kaleidoscope - Beacon From Mars (1968)
- Love - Da Capo (1967)
- Nico - Marble Index (1968)
- Pearls Before Swine - Balaklava (1968)
- David Peel - Have A Marijuana (1969)
- Pink Floyd - A Saucerful Of Secrets (1968)
- Stooges - self-titled (1969)
- United States Of America - self-titled (1968)
- Who - Tommy (1969)
- Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)
- Frank Zappa - Freak Out (1966)
- Frank Zappa - Absolutely Free (1967)
- Frank Zappa - We're Only In It For The Money (1967)
- 70s
- Amon Duul - Yeti (1970)
- Amon Duul - Tanz Der Lemminge (1971)
- Aphrodite's Child - 666 (1970)
- Kevin Ayers - Shooting At The Moon (1970)
- Robbie Basho - Venus In Cancer (1970)
- Robbie Basho - Song Of The Stallion (1971)
- Can - Tago Mago (1971)
- Can - Future Days (1973)
- Captain Beefheart - Mirror Man (1971)
- Clash - Clash (1977)
- Contortions - Buy Contortions (1979)
- Kevin Coyne - Marjory Razorblade (1973)
- David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name (1971)
- Nick Drake - Pink Moon (1972)
- Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy (1974)
- Brian Eno - Before And After Science (1977)
- Brian Eno - Music For Airports (1978)
- John Fahey - America (1971)
- Faust - IV (1973)
- Germs - GI (1979)
- Peter Green - The End Of The Game (1970)
- Hampton Grease Band - Music To Eat (1971)
- Henry Cow - Unrest (1974)
- Henry Cow - In Praise Of Learning (1975)
- Michael Hoenig - Departure From The Northern Wasteland (1978)
- Rickie Lee Jones - Rickie Lee Jones (1979)
- Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh (1973)
- John Martyn - Inside Out (1973)
- Stephan Micus - Implosions (1977)
- Joni Mitchell - Blue (1971)
- Joni Mitchell - Hejira (1976)
- Mnemonist Orchestra - Mnemonist Orchestra (1979)
- New York Dolls - New York Dolls (1973)
- Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (1973)
- Penguin Cafè Orchestra - Music From The Penguin Cafè (1976)
- Pere Ubu - New Picnic Time (1979)
- Jean-Luc Ponty - King Kong (1970)
- Public Image Ltd - Second Edition (1979)
- Ramones - Rocket To Russia (1977)
- Residents - Meet The Residents (1974)
- Residents - Eskimo (1979)
- Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street (1972)
- Roxy Music - Roxy Music (1972)
- Klaus Schulze - X (1978)
- Patti Smith - Radio Ethiopia (1976)
- Taj Mahal Travellers - July 15 1972 (1972)
- Talking Heads - 77 (1977)
- Tangerine Dream - Zeit (1972)
- Television - Marquee Moon (1977)
- This Heat - This Heat (1979)
- Throbbing Gristle - Second Annual Report (1977)
- Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts (1971)
- Velvet Underground - Live (1974)
- Wire - 154 (1979)
- Robert Wyatt - End Of An Ear (1970)
- Yes - Close To The Edge (1972)
- Neil Young - Tonight's The Night (1975)
- Frank Zappa - Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970)
- Frank Zappa - Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970)
- Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon (1976)
- 80s
- Ambitious Lovers - Greed (1988)
- Angkor Wat - When Obscenity Becomes The Norm (1989)
- Bad Brains - Rock For Light (1982)
- Band Of Susans - Love Agenda (1989)
- Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic - Magnetic Flip (1984)
- Bitch Magnet - Umber (1989)
- Black Flag - Damaged (1981)
- Blind Idiot God - Blind Idiot God (1987)
- Bongwater - Double Bummer (1988)
- Butthole Surfers - Rembrandt Pussyhorse (1986)
- Camper Van Beethoven - Telephone Free Landslide Victory (1985)
- Camper Van Beethoven - Camper Van Beethoven (1986)
- Nick Cave - The Firstborn Is Dead (1985)
- Cocteau Twins - Head Over Heels (1983)
- Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth (1984)
- Cows - Daddy Has A Tail (1989)
- Cramps - Songs the Lord Taught Us (1980)
- Dead Can Dance - Spleen And Ideal (1985)
- Death Of Samantha - Strungout On Jargon (1986)
- Deuter - Silence Is The Answer (1981)
- Dinosaur Jr - You're Living All Over Me (1987)
- Djam Karet - Reflections From The Firepool (1988)
- Einsturzende Neubauten - Zeichnungen das Patienten OT (1983)
- Enya - Watermark (1988)
- Faith No More - Introduce Yourself (1987)
- Forrest Fang - The Wolf At The Ruins (1989)
- Fear - Record (1982)
- Feedtime - Feedtime (1986)
- Feelies - Crazy Rhythms (1980)
- Fetchin Bones - Cabin Flounder (1985)
- Flaming Lips - Telepathic Surgery (1989)
- Fleshtones - Roman Gods (1981)
- Flipper - Generic (1982)
- Foetus - Hole (1984)
- Peter Frohmader - Through Time And Mystery (1988)
- Diamanda Galas - The Litanies of Satan (1982)
- Galaxie 500 - On Fire (1989)
- Godflesh - Streetcleaner (1989)
- Green - White Soul (1989)
- Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction (1987)
- Peter Michael Hamel - Colours Of Time (1980)
- Peter Michael Hamel - Transition (1983)
- Jon Hassell - Aka-Dabari-Java Magic Realism (1983)
- Hugo Largo - Drum (1987)
- Husker Du - New Day Rising (1985)
- Michael Jones - After The Rain (1988)
- King Snake Roost - Things That Play Themselves (1988)
- Laughing Hyenas - You Can't Pray A Lie (1989)
- Legal Weapon - Death Of Innocence (1982)
- Metallica - Kill 'Em All (1983)
- Metallica - Master Of Puppets (1986)
- Stephan Micus - Ocean (1986)
- Ministry - The Land Of Rape And Honey (1988)
- Misfits - Walk Among Us (1982)
- Missing Foundation - 1933 (1988)
- Mission Of Burma - VS (1982)
- My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything (1988)
- Colin Newman - A-Z (1980)
- Sinead O'Connor - The Lion And The Cobra (1987)
- Mary Margaret O'Hara - Miss America (1988)
- Pere Ubu - Art Of Walking (1980)
- Pop Group - For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder (1980)
- Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)
- Public Image Ltd - Flowers of Romance (1981)
- Rapeman - Two Nuns And A Pack Mule (1989)
- Red Temple Spirits - Dancing To Restore An Eclipsed Moon (1988)
- Lou Reed - New York (1989)
- Replacements - Let It Be (1984)
- Replacements - Tim (1985)
- Stan Ridgway - Big Heat (1986)
- Rip Rig & Panic - God (1981)
- Steve Roach - Structures From Silence (1984)
- Henry Rollins - Hot Animal Machine (1987)
- Savage Republic - Customs (1989)
- Jane Siberry - No Borders Here (1983)
- Sonic Youth - Bad Moon Rising (1985)
- Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (1988)
- Mark Stewart - Learning To Cope With Cowardice (1983)
- Swans - Filth (1983)
- Swans - Cop (1984)
- Swans - Children Of God (1987)
- Tackhead - Friendly As A Hand Grenade (1989)
- Talk Talk - Spirit Of Eden (1988)
- David Thomas - The Sound Of The Sand (1982)
- David Thomas - Monster Walks The Winter Lake (1986)
- Richard Thompson - Shoot Out The Lights (1982)
- Tiny Lights - Prayer For The Halcyon Fear (1985)
- Tragic Mulatto - Locos Por El Sexo (1987)
- Tuxedomoon - Half Mute (1980)
- Univers Zero - Heatwave (1986)
- Unrest - Tink Of Southeast (1987)
- Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (1982)
- Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones (1983)
- Tom Waits - Rain Dogs (1985)
- X - LA (1980)
- 90s
- Add N To X - On the Wires of Our Nerves (1998)
- Air Liquide - The Increased Difficulty Of Concentration (1995)
- Ant-Bee - Pure Electric Honey (1990)
- Atari Teenage Riot - Delete Yourself (1995)
- Aurora - Dimension Gate (1994)
- Autechre - Incunabula (1993)
- Autechre - Chiastic Side (1997)
- Bardo Pond - Bufo Alvarius (1995)
- Barkmarket - Vegas Throat (1991)
- Bark Psychosis - Hex (1994)
- Black Heart Procession - 2 (1999)
- Bugskull - Phantasies And Senseitions (1994)
- Calexico - The Black Light (1998)
- Church - Magician Among The Spirits (1996)
- Codeine - Frigid Stars (1991)
- Cul De Sac - China Gate (1996)
- Dadamah - This Is Not A Dream (1992)
- Dead C - Harsh '70s Reality (1992)
- Doldrums - Acupuncture (1997)
- Don Caballero - 2 (1995)
- Dream Theater - Images And Words (1992)
- Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime (1994)
- Heather Duby - Post To Wire (1999)
- Earth - 2 (1993)
- Eden - Gateway To The Mysteries (1990)
- Ed Hall - Love Poke Here (1990)
- Eels - Electro-Shock Blues (1998)
- Fear Factory - Demanufacture (1995)
- Flying Luttenbachers - Gods Of Chaos (1998)
- Edith Frost - Telescopic (1998)
- Fugazi - Red Medicine (1995)
- Gallon Drunk - You The Night And The Music (1992)
- Gastr Del Sol - The Serpentine Similar (1993)
- Lisa Germano - On The Way Down From Moon Palace (1991)
- Lisa Germano - Excerpts From A Love Circus (1996)
- Ghost - Lama Rabi Rabi (1996)
- Girls Vs Boys - Venus Luxure No.1 Baby (1993)
- Gravitar - Gravitar (1995)
- Grifters - So Happy Together (1992)
- David Grubbs - The Thicket (1998)
- Bernard Gunter - Un Peu de Neige Salie (1993)
- Hash Jar Tempo - Under Glass (1999)
- Paul Haslinger - World Without Rules (1996)
- Juliana Hatfield - Hey Babe (1992)
- Robin Holcomb - Robin Holcomb (1990)
- Honeymoon Killers - Hung Far Low (1991)
- Lida Husik - Bozo (1991)
- Lida Husik - The Return Of Red Emma (1993)
- Jarboe - Thirteen Masks (1992)
- Peter Jefferies - Substatic (1998)
- Jesus Lizard - Goat (1991)
- June Of 44 - Four Great Points (1998)
- Mark Kramer - The Guilt Trip (1993)
- Kyuss - Blues For The Red Sun (1992)
- Labradford - Labradford (1996)
- Laika - Sounds Of The Satellites (1997)
- Lambchop - I Hope You're Sitting Down (1994)
- Mark Lanegan - Whiskey For The Holy Ghost (1993)
- Lightwave - Tycho Brahe (1993)
- Low - I Could Live In Hope (1994)
- Lullaby For The Working Class - Blanket Warm (1996)
- Lycia - A Day In The Stark Corner (1993)
- Lycia - The Burning Circle And Then Dust (1995)
- Magnetic Fields - The Charm Of The Highway Strip (1994)
- Mainliner - Mellow Out (1996)
- Mercury Rev - Boces (1993)
- Mo Boma - Myths Of The Near Future (1994)
- Roy Montgomery - And Now The Rain Sounds Like Life Is Falling Down Through It (1998)
- Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill (1995)
- Morphine - Yes (1995)
- Motherhead Bug - Zambodia (1993)
- Nation Of Ulysses - Plays Pretty For Baby (1992)
- Neurosis - Through Silver In Blood (1996)
- Kenneth Newby - Ecology Of Souls (1993)
- Orb - U.F. Orb (1992)
- Orbital - II / Brown Album (1993)
- Ozric Tentacles - Erpland (1990)
- Pain Teens - Destroy Me Lover (1993)
- Dave Pajo - Live From A Shark Cage (1999)
- Pegboy - Strong Reaction (1991)
- Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville (1993)
- Phish - Lawn Boy (1990)
- Phish - A Live One (1995)
- Polvo - Exploded Drawing (1996)
- Portishead - Dummy (1994)
- Pram - Helium (1994)
- Primus - Frizzle Fry (1990)
- Rake - The Art Ensemble Of Rake (1995)
- Red House Painters - Red House Painters / Rollercoaster (1993)
- Red Red Meat - There's A Star Above The Manger Tonight (1997)
- Steve Roach - World's Edge (1992).
- Steve Roach - The Magnificent Void (1996)
- Rocket From The Crypt - Circa Now (1993)
- Rodan - Rusty (1994)
- Henry Rollins - End Of Silence (1992)
- Run On - Start Packing (1996)
- Paul Schutze - New Maps Of Hell (1992)
- Scorn - Vae Solis (1992)
- Seam - The Problem With Me (1993)
- Sepultura - Roots (1996)
- Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - Dim The Lights Chill The Ham (1992)
- Shellac - At Action Park (1994)
- Jane Siberry - When I Was A Boy (1993)
- Six Finger Satellite - The Pigeon Is The Most Popular Bird (1993)
- Sky Cries Mary - This Timeless Turning (1994)
- Slowdive - Just For A Day (1991)
- Smog - Julius Caesar (1993)
- Azalia Snail - Snailbait (1990)
- Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom (1994)
- Space Streakings - 7-Toku (1994)
- Stereolab - Transient Random Noise Bursts With Announcements (1993)
- Subarachnoid Space - Almost Invisible (1997)
- Sugarsmack - Top Loader (1993)
- Supreme Dicks - The Emotional Plague (1996)
- Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind (1996)
- Techno Animal - Ghosts (1990)
- Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 - Mother Of All Saints (1992)
- Today Is The Day - Willpower (1994)
- Today Is The Day - Temple Of The Morning Star (1997)
- Tortoise - TNT (1998)
- Trance Mission - Trance Mission (1993)
- Unrest - Imperial f.f.r.r. (1992)
- Unsane - Unsane (1991)
- Unwound - Fake Train (1993)
- Vampire Rodents - Premonition (1992)
- Vampire Rodents - Clockseed (1995)
- Vas Deferens Organization - Transcontinental Conspiracy (1996)
- Windy & Carl - Drawing Of Sound (1996)
- Yo La Tengo - May I Sing With Me (1992)
- Yume Bitsu - Yume Bitsu (1999)
- 00s
- Dirty 3 - Whatever You Love You Are (2000)
- Roy Montgomery - The Allegory of Hearing (2000)
- Lofty Pillars - Amsterdam (2001)
- Mars Volta - Frances the Mute (2005)
- Joanna Newsom - Ys (2006)
- Shit and Shine - Ladybird (2005)
- Solex - Low Kick And Hard Bop (2001)
- Spring Heel Jack - Disappeared (2000)
- Vladislav Delay - Anima (2001)
- Compilations and EPs:
- 8/10
- Atari Teenage Riot - Burn, Burn, Burn! (1997) {compilation}
- Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - Beat of the Mesozoic (1986) {EP}
- Butthole Surfers - Butthole Surfers (1983) {EP}
- Current 93 - Calling for Vanished Faces (1999) {compilation}
- DNA - A Taste of DNA (1981) {EP}
- The For Carnation - Marshmallows (1996) {EP}
- Fugazi - Fugazi (1988) {EP}
- Gun Club - Death Party (1983) {EP}
- Lydia Lunch - The Agony is the Ecstasy (1982) {EP}
- Meshuggah: I (2004) {EP}
- Derrick May - The Innovator (1997) {compilation}
- Teenage Jesus and the Jerks - Everything (1995) {compilation}
- CW Vrtacek - Silent Heaven (1996) {compilation}
- From Scaruffi's avant-garde page:
- 9/10
- Meredith Monk - Songs from the Hill/Tablet (1979)
- Meredith Monk - Dolmen Music (1980)
- Steve Reich - Works: 1965-1995 (1997) {compilation}
- 8.5/10
- Borbetomagus - Barbed Wire Maggots (1983)
- Harold Budd - The Pavilion of Dreams (1978)
- 8/10
- Time Berne - Fractured Fairy Tales (1989)
- Glenn Branca - The Ascension (1981)
- Marty Ehrlich - Traveller's Tale (1990)
- Bill Frisell - Before We Were Born (1989)
- Meredith Monk - The Key (1973)
- Meredith Monk - Turtle Dreams (1983)
- Butch Morris - Current Trends in Racism (1986)
- Steve Reich - Drumming (1974)
- Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians (1978)
- Steve Reich - Octet; Music For Large Ensemble; Violin Phase (1980)
- Steve Reich - The Desert Music (1985)
- Steve Reich - The Cave (1996)
- Frederic Rzewski - Piano Works: 1975-1999 (2002) {compilation}
- Elliott Sharp - String Quartets - 1986-1996 (2003) {compilation}
- Spring Heel Jack - Amassed (2002)
- LaMonte Young & Marian Zazeela - The Theater of Eternal Music: Dream House 78:15 (1974)
- John Zorn - Cobra (1987)
Author Comments:
Included at the bottom are compilations and EPs that Scaruffi's given 8/10s to, and albums from his avant-garde page that he's given 8/10s to, or higher. Neither are listed on his greatest albums page.
I got a lot of info from this page.
There are two Diamanda Galas albums that he rates 8/10 and 9/10.
Yeah, but I don't think Galas is considered a "rock" artist by Scaruffi. She's on his avant-garde page and classified as "vocals" (along with Meredith Monk, who has two 9/10 albums and two 8/10 albums, which would make her the highest rated rock artist, ahead of Captain Beefheart). It's not like Steve Roach or Constance Demby are rock artists either, but since Galas doesn't appear on the list, I don't think she qualifies. The ones left off the list I mentioned are more or less "rock" artists (Swans, Phish, For Carnation).
the avant garde artists which appear in the rock history are the ones he gave number ratings, instead of the ***** star system.
galas was a late addition, so that might explain why it's not on the older lists.
it's not important though. i just don't want people to miss those high rating albums, regardless of classification.
That's true, classification of genre is pretty useless. I'll add all albums he's given 8/10 or higher to.
Nice list! The only one of the 8/10 albums not on his "rock" lists that I've heard and might call "rock" is Ascension. The others quite clearly belong to other genres, if you ask me. But then, that's true of some albums Scaruffi listed as rock, for example Jon Hassel.
Goodness, I hope somebody releases some La Monte Young music. I ain't shellin' out $500 for The Well-Tuned Piano, and most of his other works haven't been released on a digital format ever, far as I can tell.
Borbetomagus: Barbed Wire Maggots (1983)
this one makes Metal Machine Music sound like easy-listening
I keep forgetting to check out Borbetomagus -- everything I've heard about them makes me believe I'd love their 'music.'
From the sound clips I've heard of their stuff, that sounds like an apt description, although I haven't anything off of Barbed Wire Maggots. I think I'll tackle the avant-garde albums last, some of them look to be pretty tough sledding.
BTW, Amassed is great, probably my favorite album of the decade so far. Masses and Live are also very good.
It sounds like an interesting album. I have yet to hear a Spring Heel Jack album all the way thru, but I should probably soon (along with a lot of other music, as always).
Scaruffi considers Disappeared a "rock" album, whereas Amassed is a "jazz" album (thus it's not part of his rock list). Do you think a distinction should be made between the two?
Yup. I think Disappeared is still a "jungle" album with heavy doses of free jazz. But starting with Masses, Spring Heel Jack made a pretty clean break with "jungle", and the music is jazz, through and through, albiet mixed and mastered more like electronica.
It is tricky to classify music these days, especially the type of music that interests Scaruffi.
Got any votes for Best "Rock" Album Not Mentioned By Scaruffi? hellsarse mentioned The Heart of the Congos and Playing with a Different Sex. I'd add Docteur Faust and Young Liars. Got any recommendations?
Lol, minutes after this post, I notice that Scaruffi has added a TV on the Radio profile in the last couple days.
Hmmm, can't think of anything very good that hasn't been mentioned on his site. It's just too damn comprehensive. I'm sorta surprised that he hasn't mentioned Au Pairs at all, though.
I'll try to think of a few more. There are probably some on my lists that he doesn't mention
A few half-decent albums from the '60s that aren't on his site:
Sagittarius - Present Tense
Kaleidoscope - Tangerine Dream (he has a page about the american kaleidoscope, but not the british one)
Kaleidoscope - Faintly Blowing (same band)
Electric Prunes - Stockholm '67
Goldenrod - Goldenrod
Millennium - Begin (is mentioned in the old italian version, but nowhere else)
Misunderstood - Before The Dream Faded (ditto)
Judy Henske & Jerry Yester - Farewell Aldebaran
Mighty Baby - self-titled (is listed by Giampiero Fleba on the psychedelic page, but nothing by scaruffi)
Friendsound - Joyride
albums in bold are worth a listen
Some from the 1970s:
Folke Rabe - What
Roy Wood - Boulders
Wizzard - Brew
T2 - It'll All Work Out In Boomland (only mentioned in the old italian history)
A few interesting '70s singer-songwriters not on his site:
Perry Leopold, Simon Finn,
Emitt Rhodes, Meic Stevens.
I'm still waiting eagerly for some on your lists for the 80s-2000s that Scaruffi fails to mention!
What are your favorite artists of the past 20 years?
Was this directed to someone in particular?
wshogren, though I'd love to hear anyone's answer.
You're asking about music artists, right?
If so, I'd include, off the top of my head, Slint, Fugazi, Swans, Steve Roach, Nick Cave, Talk Talk, My Bloody Valentine, Dead Can Dance, Built to Spill, Bill Frisell, others I'm forgetting...
I'm not well versed in much jazz or classical music of the past 20 years, so I'm probably leaving out a fair number of good artists. Also, none of the artists I've heard from the past 20 years would rank among the century's greatest, in my book. They pale in comparison to people like Stravinsky, Bartok, Shostakovich, Coltrane, etc. Which probably means I haven't been listening to enough good recent music.
How about you?
Vampire Rodents, Tortoise, Autechre, and Spring Heel Jack are some of my favorites. I've only heard about a dozen non-Spring-Heel-Jack jazz albums from the past 20 years, so I can't speak much about that. As for classical, I love Osvaldo Golijov. I'm waiting to hear Stockhausen's Licht (his main occupation of the past 20 years) until it is performed (and hopefully, recorded) in its entirety in 2008. But yeah, I can't name anybody I'd put with Stravinsky, Bartok, Shostakovich, or Coltrane.
We might actually be experiencing a kind of Long Tail effect on the creativity of music, not just its commercialization. What I mean is that, in the past, a very few people had the special combination of money, education, contacts, genius, and luck to write music like Pierrot Lunaire. Now, there are infinitely more composers than in the 40s, more of them are better educated, and more of them are experimenting with crazy ideas. There's also less need for quality since music production is so cheap. So, the great musical ideas of the last 20 years are spread across a far greater span of works and artists than in the past, whereas before the greatest musical ideas were repeatedly the province of a few composers like Stravinsky, Janacek, Bartok, Cage, Messiaen, etc. Maybe.
I think that's a pretty convincing argument as to why there are no musical "giants" of the past 20 years. I guess, then, we'd have to stop looking for them, and instead focus on particular groups of artists, or whatever.
For you, are there any pieces of music from the past 20 years that rank with the greats of the 20th century?
Btw, I've heard Golijov's Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind and found it to be an interesting listening experience. I guess I'd desrcibe it as klezmer chamber music. I'll have to track down more of this guy's stuff.
Well, it's an unfair comparison, because it often takes quite a while for music to be recognized for its importance. Rite of Spring and Pierrot Lunaire weren't thought of as highly as they are now. Even Citizen Kane wasn't so revered until the mid 50s (which is hard to believe, comparing it to every other film of its era). We may need to wait another 20 years before we can see clearly enough to recognize the greatest music of the last 20 years.
I was just about to say that (or something close to it.) I'm so glad that you did.
I remain doubtful of long tails or the diluting effect of greater spans. But I will try to reinforce what you've just said by saying that it might be a requirement for great works (music, art, film, whatever) to go unrecognized and unappreciated at the time they are created. If "greatness" is instantly recognizable then it seems that the value of "great" is pretty cheap.
Then again (by going back two decades) things might look pretty good if you take the long view of art and the careers of artists and not necessarily individual works of art. In 1986 Bill Murray and Robin Williams each had just a single dramatic role under his belt... their belts. The Coen Bros. had made a single movie. Johnny Depp hadn't started 21 Jump Street (and Keira Knightley was less than a year old.) Bob Dylan had just released Biograph. R.E.M. was still signed to I.R.S. Buddy Guy was fifty years old, Wynton Marsalis was twenty-five, Sinéad O'Connor twenty, Midori fifteen and Britney Spears was five...
And nobody had ever heard of "Hip-hop." There must be greatness somewhere in that time frame... along with a lot of my personal favourites.
True enough, I withdraw my question.
I was sort of looking for, if you were to make a list of your favorite works of the 20th century (and a little bit beyond), would anything from the past 2 decades make it close to the top? But I guess we'll have wait and see if anything recent stands the test of time.
Oh, I'm an idiot. For some reason I thought this was your own Scaruffi list, which was why I was confused that you would just ask that question to no one in particular in the discussion of your own list.
Of course, I have done that before...
Please tell me what evidence you have that Meredith Monk's albums are considered rock. Especially Dolmen Music. As far as I can see, Scaruffi considers it (and her others) classical music. More or less opera.
It's really important to me if it is considered some odd offshoot of rock, since I would then consider Dolmen Music one of the greatest albums of all time and would be adding it to my list without hesitation (I'm not considering classical music for my greatest albums of all time list but am considering all forms of rock and jazz).
Please get back to me on this!
I wouldn't really consider Meredith Monk a "rock" artist at all, although you could say her stuff influenced some rock (like the Cocteau Twins). The artists at the bottom of this page, including Monk, are taken from here, and none of them are really rock; they just have 8+/10 number ratings. I included them mostly because hellsarse (what happened to that guy?) suggested I include Diamanda Galas on this page. I felt like if I were to include her, I might as well include all avant-garde artists.
Good then, because I couldn't figure out how it could really fit. I asked Scaruffi last night and he agreed: definitely classical. The name of your post says "rock" albums so it can get kinda confusing with some of these. I would suggest putting them in a separate category like "avant-garde/classical", "avant-garde/rock" and so forth, or something like that.
If Dolmen Music were a rock or jazz album (and I was really hoping you'd have something by Scaruffi that showed it somehow was) it would likley make the top ten on my greatest albums of all time list. It's really amazing. And I think Biography (track #4) has got to be one of the most incredible compositions ever created in any genre, anywhere.
Ohhhhh...
I just now realized you do have them separated. 8/10 albums not on the rock list. Ahah!
Didn't catch that before.