Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Rationales favorite albums list: MATT

Here is what Matt had to say in response to the assignment:

Alright, so you all know I have pretty weird music taste, so I tried to gear it towards rock and folk, though I veered off a good bit... Anyway, here are 15 albums that I like a lot and that inform the way I think about American music. They are in choronological order in terms of when I came across them.

1) Graceland - Paul Simon
My dad used to dance across the floor with me on his shoulders to the horn solo in Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes.

2) The Last Waltz - The Band
My first introduction to rootsy classic rock.

3) Pearl - Janis Joplin
One of my favorite albums growing up. Now I also realize it also has some of the best keyboard/organ playing I've heard on a classic rock album.

4) Autumn Leaves - Bill Evans Trio
An album that majorly influential in forming the modern idea of a jazz trio.

5) Pieces Of Africa - Kronos Quartet
Wild time and African harmony played by Kronos Quartet - one of the great interpreters of modern music.

6) Senor Blues - Taj Mahal
Sparse forceful blues from one of my favorite players. This is my favorite of his albums.

7) Shoot Out The Lights - Richard & Linda Thompson
A Richard Thompson classic - probably the first album I appreciated songwriting on.

8) If I Should Fall From Grace With God - The Pogues
Weaving rock badass-ness with celtic badass-ness worked out to be pretty friggin badass... Or maybe that's just Shane MacGowan...

9) Discography of SAR Records - (2 disk set of the full recordings of Sam Cooke's record label)
This is an amazing picture of gospel music in the 50s and 60s.

10) Solo Piano - Sun Ra
A little out there I admit (or a lot), but hearing him solo makes his craziness a lot more cohesive.

11) Soundtrack of The Harder They Come - Various Artists
So thats what reggae is...

12) Simple Gifts: Shaker Chants and Spirituals - Boston Camerata
Haunting all-vocal melodies in the American tradition.

13) O - Damien Rice
A mix of folk and experimentation - beautiful songs. Also, Lisa Hannigan's voice is super sexy.

14) Notes From The Underground - Medeski Martin and Wood
A mix of hard-core groove and improvisation.

15) Hello Starling - Josh Ritter
This is a new development. Now that I'm in the rationales I'm actually paying attention to songwriting... and man this guy is good. He's my new heart-throb.

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