May
2026 Album Challenge (Home Link)
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
Format: Apple Music
Fiio FT-1 Headphones
Notes: A great, but dated, album from one of country/pop music's finest voices and guitar players. Campbell was one of the kings of the 70's and this record is a showcase of his talents. Favorites are the title track, along with "The Straight Life" and "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife".
Jim Sullivan - UFO
Format: Apple Music
Fiio FT-1 Headphones
Notes: Found this treasure through a mention on a Charley Crockett record. A tight 30 minute record with every song as good or better than the last. His history is quite interesting and I honestly mean it would consider it a big miss for me musically if I hadn't discovered this record. "UFO", "Rosey", and "Roll Back the Time" are the standouts on a record full of great tunes.
Jim Sullivan - Jim Sullivan
Format: Apple Music
Fiio FT-1 Headphones
Notes: The follow up to UFO and another solid record. If you catch UFO and like it, then ease into this one next.
Jim Sullivan - If The Evening Were Dawn
Format: Apple Music
Fiio FT-1 Headphones
Notes: Yeah, I was on a Sullivan streak! This is an album comprised of demos. All acoustic, but has a raw, barroom, feeling to it. This album on vinyl is available for a good price, so I picked it up....glad I did. A very intimate and interesting listen, comprised mainly of songs from his first records, but without any additional vocals or instrumentation.
Merle Haggard - Big City
Apple Airpods 2
Notes: I've always been a Haggard fan, as I enjoy older country, including the "outlaw" subgenre, which I consider him a part of. A straight up authentic album full of tunes that would be at home on any Haggard record. "My Favorite Memory" is top notch.
Paul Cauthen - Room 41
Apple Airpods 2
Notes: A throwback country artist with an edge and a chip on his shoulder. The voice sets him apart from the run of the mill male country singer these days, but his songs are the bedrock. The album starts off with a bang ("Holy Ghost Fire", "Prayed for Rain", and "Cocaine Country Dancing") and never looks back.
Paul McCartney & Wings - One Hand Clapping
Bose 700
Notes: This album made the rounds as a bootleg for decades and it finally got a proper release. It may be a "violation" of my rules, but a worthy one. Wings performing in the studio, rolling through some of their best music ("Band on the Run", "Live and Let Die") as well as a few Beatle standards. A double album worth the listen for any Beatle/McCartney fan. A more stripped down version and a spontaneous feeling.
Sturgill Simpson - Dood & Juanita
Apple Airpods 2
Notes: A nice little country concept album Simpson did just before he took a hard right turn into his Johnny Blueskies alter ego. A visit from Willie Nelson on "Juanita" is a highlight and the record feels like a cousin of Willie's "Red Headed Stranger".
Marty Robbins - Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs
Stereo
Notes: I enjoy Robbins in short bursts or in mixes, but hadn't previously listened to a full album. This one seemed to be the "best" by most accounts, so I put it on one lazy Sunday morning. Great songs, of course, but I found it a bit redundant at times. That said, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone that enjoys that old country/western sound. The cream of the crop here is "Big Iron", " Cool Water", "They're Hanging Me Tonight" and of course "El Paso".
Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger
Stereo
Notes: I kind of got in a rut. Listening to a couple of country "concept" records back to back, I had to go with "The Red Headed Stranger" to cap it off. This album doesn't need much hype. It's fantastic, with a great narrative and just enough edge to make it at home on any dive bar around. The highest recommendation to anyone that hasn't heard it. Not a background record, it is served best front to back, top to bottom with your full attention. Notables include "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain", "Red Headed Stranger" and "Remember Me".
Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell
Stereo
Notes: I stuck with a theme....still doing concept records, but this time moving over to the pop/rock genre. A great voice and at times it feels like a "rock opera". Produced by the great Todd Rundgren, this album hits right from the start. One of the best selling albums ever, it has earned it's place in rock history. It doesn't get any better than "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad".
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Fiio FT 1 Headphones
Notes: Not the best Pink Floyd album, but when you have a run of records like they had in the 70's, it doesn't mean at all that this isn't worthy of their hall of fame discography. Another concept record, this one dives into the psych of lyrical genius Roger Waters. Hitting themes of loss, paranoia, and narcissism, it delivers a satisfying deep, intimate listen as good as any album ever made, despite the intended "isolation" undertones meant by Waters. If you don't have the patience for it all, I recommend "Comfortably Number", "Young Lust", and "Run Like Hell".
The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Stereo
Notes: Perhaps the most important pop album ever made....or at least the first most important. Remember when Dorothy goes from black and white to color in the Wizard of Oz? This record did that for music in the mid 1960's. It's regarded as a concept album, though John Lennon has been dismissive of that at times. An eclectic mix of rock, standards, Indian, and psychedelic music the songs themselves can be overshadowed by the instrumentation and arrangements, which elevated music from mere entertainment to art.
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Stereo
Notes: This is one of the first albums I ever bought. It was the "jam" everyone was playing when I was a freshman in high school. It still holds up pretty well, despite having a lot of the musical trappings of the time. "Billie Jean" will still be a great song a hundred years from now!
Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
Stereo
Notes: My dad used to play this frequently when I was a child. Neil Young was a big favorite of his and over time I began to appreciate the level of artist that Young was and is. Great lyrics, a knack for creating fresh melody, and he's a great raw guitarist. "Pocahontas", "Powderfinger", and "Thrasher" are classics in his catalog.
The Replacements - Tim (Ed Stassium Mix)
Stereo
Notes: A fantastic album from the mid 80's when college/alternative rock was emerging into some mainstream circles. Originally produced by Tommy Erdelyi (Ramone), it never really sounded as good as it should have. Flat in many areas, it needed a revamp to bring it back to life. Enter Ed Stassium, who remixed the album and has turned the "new" edition into the definitive way to hear the album in my opinion. Instruments are given space, Westerberg's voice feels alive....just a pleasure to hear with or without headphones.
Paul McCartney - The Boys of Dungeon Lane
Fiio FT-1 Headphones
Notes: Well....I gotta admit, I was pleasantly surprised by how great this record is. I love McCartney, but I have been a bit hot and cold on his solo records. Some, I can listen to straight through with enjoyment, while others I just choose a few songs. This latest release is pretty much a straight through listen for me. Thematically it works as an aging (elderly?) Paul looks back on his pre-Beatles life, paying homage to lost love, his parents, hanging with his mates, and the place he grew up. It's as eclectic as McCartney has been for awhile, in the sound. It feels as though he is influenced by some modern pop artists such as Foster the People and Portugal the Man. Pleasant melodies, tempo changes, and at times, some searing guitar work. He played 17 different instruments while creating this and the songwriting is spot on and I think that was helped by him sticking with the aura of the album.
I really enjoyed McCartney III and thought it was probably as good as he could do at this point, but I was wrong. All of my Beatle "fanboy" stuff aside, this is a very solid record and sounds contemporary. Not a relic trying to reach back for a comfortable sound, but an experienced musician that has awoken and expanded sonically in a way he hasn't done for awhile.
The strongest tracks are "As You Lie There", "Ripples In A Pond", "Come Inside", and "Mountain Top". He also has a cool little duet with Ringo that is a highlight.
No comments:
Post a Comment