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Mahavishnu Orchestra ‘Birds of Fire’ (1973)
Led by jazz fusion legend John McLaughlin, Mahavishnu Orchestra was one of the pre-eminent jazz fusion groups operating in the early 70’s. Prior to the band’s formation McLaughlin had played in jazz icon Miles Davis’ band during the bulk of the 1960’s, and after going out on his own to form a solo career, formed…
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Paula Cole ‘This Fire’ (1996)
This Fire was self-produced and self-written by Paula Cole following her stint as a backing vocalist for Peter Gabriel in the early 90’s. This matters because the album breaks a lot of traditional molds we’re accustomed to in modern pop music (will get into that in a minute) and I’ve found it quite impressive Cole…
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The Story So Far ‘Proper Dose’ (2018)
Walnut Creek’s The Story So Far has been a part of the new wave of pop punk bands for going on about a decade now, bringing an emotive and earnest approach to songwriting that pays homage the foundations of the pop punk genre while updating that sound for a new generation of listeners. What sets…
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Boston ‘Boston’ (1976)
A landmark of classic rock radio, Boston’s self-titled 1976 debut has an incredible backstory that has been described as “one of the most complex corporate capers in the history of the music business.” The Boston sound started an unlikely marriage between head producer Tom Scholz and lead singer Brad Delp. Boston famously came together in…
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Trinidad James ‘Don’t Be S.A.F.E.’ (2011)
When I was in my young 20’s fresh out of college there was probably a three-week period where I listened to “All Gold Everything” 10 times a day. I don’t know what exactly it was about that song that captured my attention so much, but much like the meteoric rise of Bobby Shmurda during that…
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Dwight Yoakam ‘Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.’ (1984)
Dwight Yoakam’s debut album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. is a perfect encapsulation of what has made Yoakam such a mainstay in the country music industry for forty years. His love for the traditional honky tonk sound, and undisguised disdain for the more pop-oriented focus that was coming out of Nashville at the time (and is…
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Kindergarten Cartel ‘Kindergarten Cartel’ (2024)
About a year ago I was driving in the car with my two-year old daughter and newborn son, listening to PinkFong’s rendition of “Baby Shark” for what felt like (and was certainly most likely) the 23rd time in a row, and thought to myself “there has to be a better way.” For a young father…
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Duran Duran ‘Rio’ (1982)
Duran Duran’s second studio album Rio is somewhat of an amalgamation of what made the 80’s so insane. There is samples of crackling ice cubes, cigarettes being lit, background vocals of people yelling, saxophone solos, synthesizer leads, disco beats aplenty, and utterly bizarre lyrics– lead vocalist Simon Le Bon gushes over a woman who is…
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Nat King Cole ‘Just One Of Those Things’ (1957)
Nat King Cole’s prodigious career for three decades was somewhat of a watershed moment for America. During a period of significant racism and social upheaval, Cole broke the color barrier in various ways during his career– despite facing intense discrimination Cole recorded over 100 songs that landed on the pop charts, became the top-selling act…
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Sam & Dave ‘Hold On, I’m Comin” (1966)
Along with having an iconic horn section hook that kicks off the song, Sam & Dave’s iconic “Hold On, I’m Comin’” has a really great backstory. Written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter who ran the southern soul music powerhouse Stack Records in the 60’s , the song was born out of a enthusiastic yell…
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Crowded House ‘Crowded House’ (1986)
Australian pop rock band Crowded House’s self-titled debut features one of the best New Wave songs of all-time “Don’t Dream It’s Over”, which has been featured in a wide variety of 80’s media. The song is a wonderful little treatise on nostalgic longing that can be applied to a variety of life events– for me…
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Vicente Fernández ‘¡Arriba Huentitàn!’ (1972)
Nicknamed “The Idol of Mexico”, Vicente Fernández was a legendary Mexican artist singing in the traditional Ranchera style. It’s impossible to understate how big this guy was in Mexico during his heyday– he sold over 50 million albums worldwide, won four Grammy’s, and an astounding 14 Lo Nuestro Awards (basically Latin America’s version of the…
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Wolves of Glendale ‘Wolves of Glendale’ (2024)
Yesterday we covered my love for musician/comedian Tom McGovern and we’re back again today for another round with his band Wolves of Glendale self-titled debut album. Unlike his short-form album Two Hour Tuesdays, Wolves of Glendale is a full-fledged effort clocking in at 45-minutes long and covering a wide array of sonic ground– smooth yacht…
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Tom McGovern ‘Two Hour Tuesday’ (2020)
For those unfamiliar with musician/comedian Tom McGovern, I feel sorry for you. He’s one of the best things on the internet right now, dropping 80’s ballads that question what the ground steam in New York City is actually comprised of (seriously wtf is happening here) to his recurring segment “Good Band Name, Bad Band Name”…
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Sonny Rollins ‘Way Out West’ (1957)
Called “the greatest living improvisor” for his masterful ability to improvise over just about everything (which frankly is one of the best nicknames you could give a jazz musician), jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins’ chops are indisputable. On Way Out West Rollins drags you into deep waters, utilizing a style known as “strollin’” for the first…
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JUVENILE ‘400 Degreez’ (1998)
When I was in middle school our local community center held dances once every few months. These were exciting days for a handful of reasons– the onset of puberty was in full overdrive, hormones raging, and there was an electricity in the air about meeting and dancing with girls at these mixers. And it was…
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The Civil Wars ‘Barton Hollow’ (2011)
The Civil Wars debut album Barton Hollow is filled with tales of love, loss, and longing that find a way to burrow deep into your soul immediately when the first note hits. Comprised of singer-songwriters Lucinda Williams and John Paul White, the pair inexplicably find a way to tug at the tender notes of romantic…
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The Long Winters ‘Putting The Days To Bed’ (2006)
The Long Winters never fail to remind me of my college years for a handful of reasons. Putting The Days To Bed was released during my senior year of high school and was a mainstay during that summer as well as my freshman year in the Francisco Torres dorm rooms (6th floor represent!) at UC…
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Luke Combs ‘This One’s For You’ (2017)
Luke Combs debut album This One’s For You took the country world by storm when it was released in 2017, staying at Number 1 for 50 weeks which ended up being an all-time record for a male artist. It’s easy to understand why– Combs is an incredible vocal talent, filled with tone for days and…
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Meet Me @ The Altar ‘Past // Present // Future’ (2023)
Along with having perhaps some of the most impressive uses of typographical symbols in both their band name and album title (the dual solidus in the Past // Present // Future is a chef’s kiss, frankly) Meet Me @ The Altar turns in a refreshing rendition of 2023 pop punk throughout their debut album. All…
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Green Day ‘Nimrod’ (1997)
While not as artistically impactful as their pop-punk powerhouse 1994 album Dookie, or as critically lauded as their commercial smash-hit American Idiot in 2004, Green Day’s 1997 album Nimrod is a seminal album that would have a massive impact on the punk rock genre as a whole and frankly could be considered a magnum opus…
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Television ‘Marquee Moon’ (1977)
Television’s Marquee Moon was a landmark album in music history despite receiving little in the way of commercial popularity, similar in that sense to Beach Boys 1966 album Pet Sounds. Its influence on the musical direction that would follow in the 1980’s is vast and wide-ranging– the stripped-down production of the album that gave clear…
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Something Corporate ‘Leaving Through The Window’ (2002)
In the early aughts pop punk scene Something Corporate stood out for one distinct reason– lead singer and songwriter Andrew McMahon. His use of piano as both a composition tool and for lead hooks was unique in the genre and immediately set the band apart from their peers sonically in a way that was similar…
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Weezer ‘Blue Album’ (1994)
Weezer’s debut album Weezer (more commonly known as the Blue Album) took nerd rock into the mainstream and kicked off what has since been a massively successful career. The album was produced by the great Ric Ocasek of The Cars fame, and his power pop influence can be heard extensively throughout the record in all…
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Pierce The Veil ‘Collide With The Sky’ (2012)
Pierce The Veil’s third studio album Collide With The Sky saw the band take their brand of post-hardcore and screamo to new heights, incorporating power pop hooks and massive arrangements into their torrent of guitar hooks. This album has everything that’s fun about the emo genre– high pitched vocals, massive drums, and abrupt dynamic changes…
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Teenage Halloween ‘Till You Return’ (2023)
Teenage Halloween has exploded onto the underground pop punk scene in recent years backed by their earnest and fervent take on growing up as a young person in America who doesn’t quite fit in. Till You Return is an explosion of energy, encapsulating thematic subject matter that ranges from self-identity (the vast majority of the…
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Pearl Jam ‘Ten’ (1991)
Born from the ashes of Seattle grunge outfit Mother Love Bone following the death of lead singer Andrew Wood to a drug overdose, Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten is a rare debut album from a band that didn’t really know each other all too well upon entering the studio. Guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff…
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The Temptations ‘The Temptations Sing Smokey’ (1965)
The Temptations were one of the defining acts of Motown in the mid-60’s, bringing their impeccable harmonies that sounded like smooth silk alongside a soulful big band flair to deliver some of soul music’s most iconic hits over the decade and defining the entire genre in the process. Their 1965 album The Temptations Sing Smokey…
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Godspeed You! Black Emperor ‘Lift Your Skinny Fists’ (2000)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor has built a pretty hardcore cult following over the past two decades for their blissfully meandering chamber rock. We’ve discussed previously how some music is felt not necessarily heard (see Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago for a sterling example) and Lift Your Skinny Fists To The Sky Like Antennas to…
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The Alan Parsons Project ‘Eye In The Sky’ (1982)
For those unfamiliar with The Alan Parsons Project you’ll immediately recognize the first song off Eye In The Sky entitled “Sirius”. It’s ubiquitous with American sporting events, first becoming popular during the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls dynasty in the 1990’s and later as any introduction during an entrance to any big sporting event, and it…
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Peach Pit ‘Being So Normal’ (2018)
As a guitar player I sort of hate listening to Being So Normal by Peach Pit because it’s such a goddamn perfect guitar record. Neil Smith and Christopher Vanderkooy absolutely shred their way through the entirety of the album with dynamic and unique lead and rhythm parts– it’s in their phrasing, note selection, rhythm, and…
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Alkaline Trio ‘From Here to Infirmary’ (2001)
Alkaline Trio has always held a special place in my heart for one simple reason– their obsession with the macabre. Combining relatively simple and straight forward skate punk chord progressions with references to corpses, rotten milk, scars, chainsaws, and alcohol (yes, lots and lots of alcohol) has always been a recipe for success for primary…
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Every Time I Die ‘Radical’ (2021)
Any time I’m looking for a shot of straight adrenaline to get the juices flowin’ there’s few bands I’ll turn to more regularly than Every Time I Die. Their 2007 album The Big Dirty is a personal favorite of mine (“We’rewolf” being the best song in their entire discography in my opinion), but despite that…
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The Delfonics ‘La La Means I Love You’ (1968)
I just watched Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown for the first time a few days ago (yes, I’m aware I’m a little late to the party) and as anyone who has seen the movie before is aware, The Delfonics played a massive role in the movie. They effectively serve as the soundtrack throughout the film for…
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Carmen ‘Fandangos In Space’ (1973)
When you think of flamenco and prog-rock it’s usually not in the same sentence. And yet here we are. And you’ll be happy you came. Carmen’s decidedly out there (and utterly excellent) 1973 album Fandangos In Space is something only the wild early 70’s prog-rock explosion could produce, and the world is absolutely better off…
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Journey ‘Frontiers’ (1983)
Not to be a contrarian, but Journey’s best song isn’t “Don’t Stop Believin’”. It’s a total banger and an iconic late night closing down the bar song, but the distinct honor of best Journey song undoubtedly goes to “Separate Ways (Worlds Away)” which kicks off their 1983 album Frontiers. It features all the best Journey…
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About the Author
Jason Matthew Plank listens to copious amounts of music and writes about one album each day. He is currently active in the bands Related to Strangers (post-hardcore) and Kindergarten Cartel (punk covers of children’s nursery rhymes).
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