The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Music is – or at least used to be – at once a very shared and a very personal thing.  And truth be told the only thing I’ve spent more time doing in my life than listening to music is sleeping.  Music has informed my life since I was a kid and continues to do so, although to a lesser degree now that I’m a family man.  So it’s time for me to give credit where credit is due, and list the 20 albums that had a bigger impact on me than any others.

Some of these records opened my eyes to a new style of music.  Some of them resonated on a deep, emotional level.  Some were just too good to be ignored.  Some are wrapped in nostalgia now and nothing more.  But they are all critical to my development as a music lover in one way or another.

#20 – Queen, The Game

Memory is a tricky thing, especially when you try to recall stuff from early childhood.  But I swear I remember lugging a tape player to nursery school and listening to this album nonstop.  It’s a good thing I got into them when I did too, as in a few short years Queen became painfully uncool in the States (thanks a lot, Hot Space) until their post-Wayne’s World resurgence.  But dammit, I was already a fan!

And what’s not to love about The Game?  It marks the first use of synthesizers on a Queen record, and they’re used to great effect on the opening title track.  It’s also the last Queen album with no real weak points (“Don’t Try Suicide” comes close, though).  Freddie Mercury’s cigarettes hadn’t caught up with him yet and he’s still in fine voice, and the rest of the band is also at the top of their, um, game.  “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” introduced a whole new generation to rockabilly, but for my money the best songs (other than the title one) are the funky “Dragon Attack” and the excellent Brian May ballad “Sail Away Sweet Sister”.

#19 – Seals & Crofts, Summer Breeze

That’s right my friends, I wasn’t afraid to explore my mellow side even as a kid.  This was part of my family’s record collection, and I fell in love with it instantly.  Most people are familiar with the title song, but there is a lot else to love about this collection.  The songwriting and playing is top notch, and the arrangements are deceptively complex.  But what really sells this is the powerful vocal harmonizing of Jim Seals and Dash Crofts.  You needn’t go any further than the first song, “Hummingbird”, for proof of all of this.

Incidentally, it wasn’t until some time in the ’90s that this classic record finally made it to CD.  Let’s just say I was pretty jazzed when I stumbled across it. You know, back when I still bothered with CDs.

#18 – Kiss, Creatures of the Night

One fine day in 1982 (maybe 1983), my late grandfather favored me with a trip to the local record store.  He told me to pick out whatever album I wanted, and he’d buy it.  As I didn’t have a roster of favorites to choose from I kept looking until something caught my eye.  Before long I happened upon a cassette with four painted, darkly lit faces staring back at me.  I picked it up, and an obsession was born.

I was fortunately oblivious to the fact that Kiss was in the midst of a commercial dead period, and that many of their longtime fans had deserted them.  I didn’t know about all the albums that came before, and I knew nothing of the Kiss mystique.  I also had no way of knowing that many Kiss fans, as well as the group itself, was ready to move on from the makeup that attracted me in the first place.  All I knew was that an album with a cover that cool had to contain something worthwhile.

Without writing an in-depth review, let’s just say that this album kicked my ass.  And it continues to do so, almost 30 years later.

#17 – Iron Maiden, The Number of the Beast

Speaking of musical obsessions…

My Iron Maiden phase began thanks to my older brother, who introduced me to them right around the same time I was getting into Kiss.  While I would grow to love other Maiden albums more (the first one and Somewhere in Time to name a few), this megaton metal masterpiece was the true beginning of my headbanging phase; a phase which lasted well into high school, incidentally.

In a way this album spoiled me for a lot of heavy metal, because it forever impressed upon me the need for good melody and strong vocals in addition to killer riffs.  That means a lot of modern metal, while musically strong, loses me with those damn Cookie Monster vocals.

Anyway, by late 1983 I had the first two slots in my holy trinity of music filled – Kiss and Iron Maiden.  And albums #18 and #17 are huge reasons why.

#16 – Run-D.M.C., Raising Hell

Is it even possible to overstate the importance of Run-D.M.C. in rap/hip-hop?  Not even a headbanging preteen from suburban New Jersey was immune from the greatness of this album, and it was the only rap album in my collection for years to come.  Hell, this album even helped make Aerosmith cool again (whether that was a good thing is up for debate).

While this album couldn’t make me stray from my chosen metal path, for one moment it broadened my horizons considerably.  And even if the lyrics seem rather quaint by today’s standards (not many hip hip acts would dare record an homage to their sneakers), back in the day I almost believed it when D.M.C. yelled “I’m the kiiiiing of rock!”  And it would be over a decade before another hip hop act (The Roots) captured my imagination like Run-D.M.C. did on Raising Hell.

#15 – Kiss, Alive!

If Creatures of the Night made me a Kiss fan, then the group’s seminal 1975 double live album made me a Kiss Army recruit.  A decade or so after it made stars of Kiss, I played the cassette in a seemingly endless loop on my Walkman.  The energy, the crowd noise, the crunch of the guitars, even Paul Stanley’s well-rehearsed and corny stage raps all captivated me but the pinnacle of the Alive! experience for me was and always will be the extended version of “100,000 Years”, featuring a Peter Criss drum solo that I’m sure thousands of Kiss fans have memorized to this day.

Even finding out years later that Alive! wasn’t the untouched, complete concert experience I thought it was hasn’t diminished my love of this album.  It’s still the standard by which I judge all live rock records.

#14 – Rush, A Farewell to Kings

I tried, I really did.  I tried to not like Rush and for a long time I succeeded.  That dude’s screeching voice, those weird lyrics, the decidedly un-catchy songs.  Who would bother with such garbage?

But I was a fair man in junior high, if nothing else, and so I kept on listening in the hopes that I would find some evidence to support my older brother’s love of Rush.  One evening I put on a cassette of A Farewell to Kings – recorded from the vinyl no less – and it happened.  I had decided that I very much liked this band by the end of the opening song (the title track), and by about halfway through the second (“Xanadu”) I had a new love.

Before long the Canadian power trio had earned their loftiest achievement – a place in my personal pantheon of Bestest Bands Ever – right next to Kiss and Iron Maiden.  The trinity was complete, and I was on my way.  But more importantly Rush marked the beginning of a new phase in my musical life, my introduction to progressive rock.

#13 – Miles Davis, Kind of Blue

Yeah, I know, what a bold choice.  The thing is, this album really did help to shape my view of jazz more than almost any other.  It was not just a bunch of notes in search of a melody, it could actually be just as evocative, structured, and emotional as pop/rock.  Who knew?!  Rarely does an album heaped with such praise earn every bit of it, but Kind of Blue does.  This is the ultimate late night jazz record, and it actually spoiled me for other jazz albums for quite a long time.  I searched high and low for another recording that could match the mood, effortless grace, and overall sound of this one and failed.

This was another gateway album for me, as it introduced me to piano legend Bill Evans.  If you listen to no other jazz tune this year, check out his work on “Blue in Green”.  It is the sound of a heart breaking, and it needs to be heard.

#12 – Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Pictures At An Exhibition

This is an important album for me for two reasons.  One, it got me hooked on ELP and two, it served as my gateway into classical music.  Oddly enough, when I purchased this album it was really a mistake.  I was looking for another ELP song altogether but I didn’t know the name (this was pre-internet, mind you).  So I picked this up and my initial reaction was, “crap, a lousy live album.”  When I had finished listening to their interpretation of Modest Mussorgsky’s masterpiece my reaction was, “holy crap, I need to listen to this again.”

In many ways this suite was the perfect choice for ELP, as it allowed the group to showcase some of their best traits – it’s bombastic and loud in parts, intricate and subtle in others.  Greg Lake even upped the ante by adding a wholly new piece to the suite, a beautiful acoustic piece called “The Sage”.

If you’re convinced you don’t like classical music, listen to the “Pictures” suite or ELP’s adaptation and you may think differently.

#11 – various artists, Jazz Master Files

Score one for budget compilations.  Back in the dark ages before the internet became a ready reference tool for music, I needed a quick and cost-effective way to explore as much jazz as possible.  So when I stumbled across this three-disc set for 10 bucks I snatched it up.  And while many budget compilations contain crap, this was a goldmine of vintage jazz that I used as the foundation for further exploration.

Although this set focuses more heavily on pre-War material, it’s still chock full of tunes that no jazz fan should be without.  There’s a particularly hot version of “St. Louis Blues” by Louis Armstrong, and a rendition of “Love for Sale” by Stan Kenton’s orchestra that boils over with excitement.  But there is some great bop stuff too, like “Charity Rag” from the oft-overlooked Bud Shank and a great version of the Charlie Parker classic “Bird Feathers” (also known as “Crazeology”).

While the sound quality on these songs isn’t uniformly great, many of the performances are and this album was invaluable to me as a jazz touchstone for a few years.

Sigh.  Once again there’s so much music and so little time.  In fact, most of albums on this list can’t properly be considered “new” anymore, but that’s life.

Dave King – Indelicate (Sunnyside Records)

King has already established himself as a jazz percussionist par excellence with the Bad Plus and Happy Apple, but here he decides to carry the entire load himself.   While I’d love to say that Indelicate is a prime example of a talented artist finally allowed to break free from the shackles of the group format, that isn’t really the case here.  King’s muscular and primal rhythmic approach to the drum kit carries over to the piano but it becomes clear fairly quickly that while King has a number of good ideas (among them the simple but engaging “Homage: Young People” and the bouncy “I Want to Feel Good”), he really needs someone like an Ethan Iverson to translate them into something more.  In the end, Indelicate feels more like an experiment than an album and while I’m sure it’s artistically rewarding, it doesn’t really make for a consistently rewarding listening experience.

One notable instance where King trades brawn for subtlety is “I See You, You See Me”, which offers a glimpse that he does have a melodic touch.  I do also dig the unsettling and appropriately named piano solo, “The Black Dial Tone of Night”.

Midlake – The Courage of Others (Bella Union)

It was probably inevitable that I would be a bit let down after the superb The Trials of Van Occupanther.  But really, The Courage of Others is a good effort from the Denton, Texas quintet.  There is a real sense of single-minded purpose on this album, it just lacks the “wow” moments that Van Occupanther had in spades.  Or to be more blunt, it lacks the songs.  The opening cut, “Acts of Man”, plops you in medias res into the album’s palette of subdued but lush folk rock dourness (I swear that on “Fortune” the group channeled the spirit of Peter, Paul and Mary).  There really isn’t a lot of deviation from that formula throughout the record’s 42-minute running time, so you’ll know by the third track if you want to stick it out to the end.  If you’re not inclined to do so, at least check out “Rulers, Ruling All Things” and “The Horn”, which do manage to distinguish themselves.

Stone Temple Pilots – Stone Temple Pilots (Atlantic)

The fact that we even have a new STP album to listen to is in itself a minor miracle.  As band devotees know, frontman Scott Weiland seems to be forever flirting with disaster, and his extracurricular activities have robbed the band of a lot of prime music-making and touring time.  As a result, it’s been nine years since the group’s last effort, the underrated Shangri-La Dee Da.  But in truth, the heart of STP has always been the DeLeo brothers, Robert and Dean, anyway.  The brothers’ knack for hooks is keen indeed, so how have they fared on this eponymous release?

For the most part, pretty good.  The energy is there, and the musicianship is top-notch as always.  The only major change is one of approach.  This record sounds like STP-lite in most places.  The beefy, muscular hard rock of past albums is eschewed in favor of a leaner, poppier sound.  For those needing a point of reference, this record most resembles Tiny Music…Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop in sound, although minus the freaky-deaky musical detours and psychedelic dabblings.

“Between the Lines”, the album’s first single, is vintage DeLeo craftsmanship.  It storms in, worms its way into your brain in under three minutes, and then it’s done.  The album continues in this vein, throwing in a bit of ’70s Aerosmith on the excellent “Huckleberry Crumble”.  At the halfway point comes the first letdown, “Cinnamon”.  It’s generic contemporary pop rock and sounds like something you’d hear on the soundtrack to an American Pie movie.

The group recovers from that misstep, but the album never really regains its early momentum.  You can’t blame that on Weiland, who sounds strong and confident on every song.  Perhaps the missing ingredient on this release is producer Brendan O’Brien, who is replaced behind the board by the DeLeo brothers.  Gone with O’Brien is the forcefulness and aggression that propels much of STP’s best material (even poppier tracks like the classic “Interstate Love Song” have a certain bombast that is essential to their success).  All that said, Stone Temple Pilots is a respectable entry in the band’s catalog and does nothing to diminish my appetite for more from the group.

Backyard Tire Fire – Good to Be (Kelsey Street Records)

On “Roadsong #39″, opening salvo of the fifth studio effort for the Ed Anderson-fronted trio, Backyard Tire Fire adds a whole lot of spit, grit, and groove to their alt-country sound.  Things settle down from there, though, and the rest of the album feels a lot more like the group’s last several releases.  Still, there are some welcome sonic changes, thanks in part to new producer Steve Berlin (of Los Lobos) – the arrangements are more expansive and nuanced, and not as dry and direct.  It was a bit jarring hearing the orchestral-esque backing on “Learning to Swim” at first, but it’s a nice addition on second thought.

Ultimately BTF sinks or swims on the strength of Anderson’s songwriting, which shines in spots on Good to Be.  The aforementioned “Roadsong #39″ is a gem, and the poppy choruses on “Estelle” are a pleasant surprise.  There are some songs that feel a little too familiar, though, such as “Food for Thought”, the title track, and “Hell and Back”.  It’s a testament to Berlin that some of the more predictable songs still engage.

Maya Beiser – Provenance (Innova)

The term “rock star” isn’t really applicable to the world of the cello, but if it was then Maya Beiser would be one.  She has toured and collaborated with the likes of Tan Dun, Philip Glass, and Brian Eno, and she’s been the featured cellist on the soundtracks to movies such as The Happening, The Great Debaters, and Blood Diamond.  Beiser’s latest effort, Provenance, manages a neat trick.  It’s chock full of rich textures that unfold slowly, but is always engaging and listenable.  Her quest on the record was to transport the listener back to the golden age of Medieval Spain – a period when Muslims collaborated and lived with Jews and Christians.  Whatever her intentions, this music sounds timeless but never dated.  The last track, a cover of Led Zeppelin’s classic Middle Eastern-tinged “Kashmir”, doesn’t rock quite as hard but adds some additional authenticity that turns it into a fresh take.

Beiser’s skill with the cello is undeniable – she seems to be able to wrench a wide range of emotions from her instrument, to the point that it sounds like a de facto vocalist (her take on the aforementioned “Kashmir” is very reminiscent of Robert Plant’s vocal melody).  This release should appeal equally to fans of contemporary classical, world music, or really anyone who just enjoys listening to great music performed with equal parts skill and devotion.

Trombone Shorty – Backatown (Verve Forecast)

Wow.  Just wow.  This is the album you should force someone to listen to if they complain that there’s nothing good or fresh about today’s music.  Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews has crafted an early contender for album of the year, and he does it by brewing an intoxicating blend of rock, jazz, blues, hip hop, metal(!), and soul.  There’s no lengthy exercises in musical skill, as no track cracks the four-minute mark.  It’s just round after round of exciting and engaging music.  Hell, Andrews should score points just for getting Lenny Kravitz to sound relevant (“Something Beautiful”).   This is a bold, brassy, and beguiling album that will probably be overlooked for much safer fare.  A damn shame, really.

Hank Jones, Newport Jazz Festival, 7/14/05 (credit Ed Newman)

Although I knew this day would come, it doesn’t make it any easier to handle.  Hank Jones, the man most responsible for sparking my love of jazz, has died at age 91.  Jones’ always tasteful and elegant brand of swing may not have blazed any musical trails, but it always made for good listening. The music was a reflection of the man – gentle, thoughtful with a touch of humor, and never self-important.

Jones was the last surviving member of an immensely gifted trio of brothers – Thad (1923-1986) made a name for himself as much for his trumpeting acumen as for his compositional skills, and Elvin (1927-2004) was one of the most respected drummers in the genre.  Hank’s understated style made him the least flashy or famous of his brothers, but he was always my favorite.

You can find any number of Hank Jones biographies online and in print, so I won’t recycle them here.  I’ll just relate a little bit about how I was touched by his genius.

About ten years ago or so, I started my exploration of jazz in earnest.  I had no idea where to start, so I started listening to the local jazz radio station, WBGO, to see if anything caught my attention.  Much of it sounded the same – some good, some not so good.  Then, out of the background, I heard a song that stood out from the rest.  Something about the style and arrangement spoke to me.  It was “Interface”, from a 1990 Jones release called The Oracle.  I immediately set out to buy the album but, of course, it was long out of print (a common problem with jazz artists who never hit it “big”).  I made do with a live version off another Jones disc for many years until I was finally able to track down a used copy of The Oracle.  Sure enough, I still love that song.

From there I branched out in many different directions of jazz, but I always return home to Hank.  He was never as acrobatic as Art Tatum, as sublime as Bill Evans, as idiosyncratic as Thelonious Monk, as flashy and complex as McCoy Tyner, or as versatile as Herbie Hancock.  But he was always, always a joy to listen to and to my ears he never played a bum note in his life.  You can’t help but be put immediately at ease from the chord of any of his songs.

I had the great privilege of seeing Hank perform not too long ago, during a week-long celebration of his 90th birthday at Birdland in New York City.  He was on top of his game and fulfilled every expectation I had going into the show.  At the end of the concert he was presented with a birthday cake, and the audience got to express their appreciation for Hank with a round of “Happy Birthday”.  Of all the performances I’ve attended, it was one of my favorite by far.  I’m so glad I got the chance to see him live and bring my love of jazz and his music in particular full circle.

If you even think you like classic jazz, or if you just have some time to listen to one of America’s greatest all-time entertainers, get thee over to Popdose now.  There you’ll find a top-notch bootleg of a Louis Armstrong & His All Stars show from 1954.

Before I unleash my awe-inspiring year-end album wrapup, I thought I’d share with you a mixtape featuring ten of my favorite songs from 2009.  The only restriction I’m placing on myself here is that I won’t be double-dipping from any artists, although some could have easily taken up half this list.  And away we go!

…keep digging Gray Flannel Mixtape: The Best of ’09

OK, so maybe I need to change the title of this series based on the increasing infrequency of posts in it.  But whatever.  I just had to resurrect it when I saw the latest entry at one of my favorite .mp3 blogs, My Jazz World.  It features a great one-two punch of cheesy wordplay in the title and some freaky cover art.  It’s 1973′s Flute of the Loom, by flautist Frank Wess.

Man, I take a short break from updating the site and, just like that, I’m buried under a pile of new music releases.  Not to mention, of course, the Beatles remasters.  So with no big preamble, let’s get right into it…

Ace Frehley – Anomaly (Brooklyn Born Records)

Peter Criss couldn’t do it, Paul Stanley almost did it, and who the hell knows what Gene Simmons was trying to do.  I’m speaking, of course, about original Kiss members putting out a solo album this decade that even approached their best work from previous decades.  So how does the Spaceman fare on his first release since George Bush Sr. was president?  Pretty decently, by and large.  Sure the album art is…well, it sucks.  It’s just bad.  But who even notices such things anymore?

The music’s the thing, and Ace acquits himself rather nicely over the course of a dozen tracks.  “Foxy & Free” kicks things off, and it’s as intense a slab of hard rock as you’re likely to hear this year.  Frehley intimated in interviews promoting Anomaly that he purposely was trying for the vibe of his outstanding 1978 solo record.  I can hear that in places, but mostly this album is another serving of the tuneful, meat and potatoes hard rock Frehley churned out in the ’80s with Frehley’s Comet.  That’s not a bad thing, mind you, but what surprised me was how Ace managed to stretch his formula out a bit – witness the Middle Eastern (OK, Led Zep Middle Eastern) flavor of “Genghis Khan”, the starkly confessional and heartfelt lyrics on “A Little Below the Angels”, and the laid back philosophizing and relaxed arrangement of “It’s a Great Life.”

Ace is indeed back, and I told you so.

Muse – The Resistance (Warner Bros.)

Depeche Muse anyone?  Now look, I’m all about bands trying out new sounds and taking their music in new directions.  The problem with this album is that for the most part Matthew Bellamy and friends don’t sound like they’re sure what direction they want to go, and as a result it has twice the indulgence of Black Holes and Revelations with half the impact.  Kicking the album off with “Uprising”, an electronica Gary Glitter anthem for the 21st century, was a bold move and I can dig it even with Bellamy’s cockamamie populist conspiracy lyrics weighing it down.

…keep digging New release roundup (Ace Frehley, Muse, and more…)