Music magazine giant Rolling Stone recently updated their ‘500 Greatest Albums of All Time’ list, and after a very, very long read, Platform’s Adam Baker had some stern words…
The 500 greatest albums of all time. It’s a bold claim, isn’t it? I mean, how do you even measure that? Do you go by popularity, genre, ‘hidden gems’, influential, scary, baby, sporty, posh? I don’t know. Then there’s the time aspect. All time? Surely not – tastes have changed since the 16th century.
Well, that doesn’t seem to have bothered the people at Rolling Stone Magazine – they’ve gone and done it anyway! And they seem about as bothered with a theme or structure as Boris Johnson’s hairdresser as far as I can work out. But anyway, I’ve gone through the 500 so that you don’t necessarily have to. Don’t let that stop you, of course, but that will make my work feel completely useless and ultimately make me redundant. Again, don’t let me stop you.
I’ve been on Twitter to scroll through some of the many reactions to the list and as you’d expect, it’s been a very measured response. Such things as, “I’m in shock and utter confusion”; “Ok I thought #Debates2020 was the worst” and “This is my least hated #Cream album”. Lots to unpack there.
Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True (#430)
Image Credit: Universal Music Enterprises
But I have to say, there are some rather decent albums on the list. There is a fairly good mix throughout the list – I would say there’s a bit too much repetition of artists though. The Beatles appear nine times as well as some of their solo work (apart from Ringo’s, obviously). I don’t have to be persuaded that they were great albums, but that’s too many and I’d question whether some of their very early work should actually feature – it was integral for their development as a band in order to eventually make things like The White Album and Abbey Road but the earlier stuff is a little bit bubble-gum.
I’m glad that some blues music has been featured in there like Muddy Waters The Anthology and some Howlin’ Wolf because as well as being great albums, they’re formative for a lot of modern music principles. And there are some surprises in there, like Eli and the 13th confession by Laura Nyro, who is largely forgotten. It’s not what I’d typically listen to but it’s an interesting album with different time signatures, orchestral pieces, vocal layering, etc. For 1968 it’s quite experimental for a folk-pop-y-soul album and Stoned Soul Picnic is a prime example of that.
Another stand-out for me is Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True. One of the most nastily eloquent lyricists I have come across. The album sounds rough around the edges and unfinished in some places but it adds to his general displeasure and shouty-venom. It’s an important genre to include in the list because you can see how this sort of thing came out of influences like The Velvet Underground and filtered into modern rock and pop.
Kiss – Alive (#305)
Image Credit: UMG Recordings
There is a wide array of genres in the list. I’ll commend that. Can’s hypnotic Ege Bamyasi is everyone’s favourite avant-funk Krautrock. I know, I had to google that too but even so, don’t let those Dadaist descriptors put you off. The song Vitamin C featuring on this album sounds like it should feature on a perfume advert where a man and a woman ride a motorbike to a waterfall and throw white roses in it or something – you know the sort of thing I mean. But that said, it’s been added to my playlist.
I know everyone has different tastes in everything, especially music, so it’s unsurprising that I disagree with some of the choices. I have just praised the inclusion of avant-funk, so, unfortunately, Alive by Kiss doesn’t quite do it for me. They’re incredibly important for stage-performance, face-painters and all-in-one shiny outfit makers but I’m not sure this album quite deserves to be in the top 500 of all time. I like that it’s a live album – the crowd interaction and such adds to the listen – but I’m struggling to think of a reason for it to feature amongst the competition.
Especially if you put it up against something like Maggot Brain by Funkadelic, At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash (still one of the best names for an album I can think of) and Back to Black by Amy Winehouse. They all have a bit of extra something about them. Amy Winehouse didn’t need face-paint because the painful lyrics over old-fashioned soul/jazz gave her all she needed to entertain.
Joni Mitchell – Blue (#3)
Image Credit: Warner Records
There are plenty more of these albums I’d like to go into great detail about: Dusty Springfield’s Dusty in Memphis; Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks and Nina Simone’s Wild is The Wind but I simply don’t have the characters, so you go away and listen to those and I’ll carry on with my opinions on the top few. Because that’s what everyone is interested in really – who won.
Apart from maybe Blue by Joni Mitchell, it gets a bit predictable towards the top (The Beatles, Nirvana , Fleetwood Mac, The Beach Boys etc). Until we get to who’s in first. Yep, you guessed it… What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye. I guarantee you’re thinking “Really? Is that the greatest album of all time?”. I know I did. But then I listened to it on repeat and I’ve decided it’s excellent. It’s relevancy today, considering it’s from 1971, is undeniable. What’s Going On was written as a reaction to police brutality. Mercy Mercy Me is a song featuring lyrics about environmentalism and the damage we’re doing to the planet. It’s an album of substance but regardless of that… They’re just great songs.
That said, I don’t really like the idea of the list in general. I don’t really see the point in it if everyone has a different taste in music. I suppose for music exploration it’s good to have a definitive list to choose from but it’s mainly just going to divide people on Twitter about what they like and listen to and I don’t see the point in that. #MakeTheListShorter #FedUpOfScrolling
By Adam Baker
Editor’s note: The fact that Metallica’s Master of Puppets was beaten by Drake’s Take Care is a shambles.
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