The Search for the Perfect Record

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Clams
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by Clams »

beantownbubba wrote: Born to Run, maybe Darkness, definitely not The River
.
How about Nebraska?
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

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John Prine-S/T
Steve Forbert-Alive On Arrival

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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by ramonz »

BB King - Completely Well
AC/DC - Back in Black
JJ Cale - Troubadour

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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

sactochris wrote:Metal Machine Music
I came SO close to posting this. I would also include New York
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Clams wrote:
beantownbubba wrote: Born to Run, maybe Darkness, definitely not The River
.
How about Nebraska?
I would go Darkness and The River for sure, Nebraska pert near, and Born in the USA "not even"
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by beantownbubba »

Clams wrote:
beantownbubba wrote: Born to Run, maybe Darkness, definitely not The River
.
How about Nebraska?
This falls into that space between "great" and "perfect" for me. Nebraska, and The River for that matter, are great albums by my standards. The River is not perfect because there are too many songs that don't quite measure up (the usual problem w/ double albums anyway). Nebraska, OTOH, might well be a perfect album or it might fall a little short but since I can't really say what a perfect album is I can't really say why I'm not sure about Nebraska.
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by beantownbubba »

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:
sactochris wrote:Metal Machine Music
I came SO close to posting this. I would also include New York
Do you guys actually listen to MMM?

Yeah, New York is not one that came immediately to mind but it belongs on the short list.

And how could i forget the Ramones? I suspect purists might go w/ the first album but to me Road to Ruin is pretty much perfect. And I meant to include E. Costello's This Year's Model on my original list & was surprised it wasn't there when I looked this morning, lol.

I thought about Dusty in Memphis but it's kinda like Nebraska (and how many times will you ever read that in a sentence?) in that I love it, it's great, but I'm not sure it's perfect. Soul albums other than comps always get short shrift in the "greatest album" discussion because so few were even made as albums as we usually talk about them. And for similar reasons, even the few great soul albums that come to mind aren't really perfect. Which is sad in a geeky way.

Joni Mitchell's Blue and Court and Spark might both belong as might Jackson Browne's Late for the Sky.
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by beantownbubba »

scotto wrote:Richard and Linda Thompson, Shoot Out the Lights
Dylan, Blonde on Blonde
The Band, Big Pink
Joni Mitchell, Blue
Eric Dolphy, Out to Lunch
Miles, Kind of Blue
Marvin Gaye, What's Goin' On
Neil Young, After the Goldrush
Mingus, Mingus Ah Um
The Sex Pistols, Never Mind the Bollocks
Somehow missed this post until just now. This is a great list. No surprise, scotto.
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by Smitty »

tinnitus, don't dick on Ventilator Blues. It doesn't work on its own, but on the record it's perfect. With that said, I still think Exile is perfectly imperfect and I wouldn't list it.

Nebraska is my favorite Boss record, but for some reason I can't exactly articulate, I wouldn't call it "perfect".

ramonz, I prefer Naturally to Troubadour, but I would have to think a bit before I called it perfect.

4sooner, I think the perfect Prine record is Souvenirs but considering it's all rerecordings I don't think it qualifies...

JR, I completely agree about Old No. 1. Not a thing I would change about that one. Another masterpiece in that vein is Terry Allen - Lubbock on Everything.

Shoot Out the Lights, Blue, Big Pink and Goldrush are all great choices, scotto.

If I were to choose a Lou record, I would probably go for Coney Island Baby over New York (although it would be close).

what about Janis Joplin - Pearl? I know she's somewhat polarizing, but I love that record.

Grace and In an Aeroplane Over the Sea might be worth discussing, as either perfect records or the most overrated :lol:

Perfect live record? It's Great to Be Alive, Live at the Star Room (The Killer), Live at the Apollo (James Brown), Live at the Philharmonic (Kris Kristofferson), Live at Folsom or San Quentin.

If compilations count, Hank's Forty Greatest Hits is the alpha and omega.

Not an authority on hip hop, but as far as the classics go, Illmatic is one of the few that I can appreciate and understand the greatness of.

I would also add Richard Buckner - Devotion + Doubt.
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by Clams »

beantownbubba wrote:
Clams wrote:
beantownbubba wrote: Born to Run, maybe Darkness, definitely not The River
.
How about Nebraska?
This falls into that space between "great" and "perfect" for me. Nebraska, and The River for that matter, are great albums by my standards. The River is not perfect because there are too many songs that don't quite measure up (the usual problem w/ double albums anyway). Nebraska, OTOH, might well be a perfect album or it might fall a little short but since I can't really say what a perfect album is I can't really say why I'm not sure about Nebraska.
Thanks for clarifying :lol:
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by beantownbubba »

Clams wrote:
beantownbubba wrote:
Clams wrote: How about Nebraska?
This falls into that space between "great" and "perfect" for me. Nebraska, and The River for that matter, are great albums by my standards. The River is not perfect because there are too many songs that don't quite measure up (the usual problem w/ double albums anyway). Nebraska, OTOH, might well be a perfect album or it might fall a little short but since I can't really say what a perfect album is I can't really say why I'm not sure about Nebraska.
Thanks for clarifying :lol:
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by Smitty »

Big Star - No. 1 Record.

it's my least favorite Big Star record, but I do think it's perfect for what it is.
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by Smitty »

I can understand why there's a shortage of aughts records (it's harder to judge when records are that recent), but there's a serious lack of 90's records in our lists. 80's are scarce as well, but I think production values highly factor in that regard (I know they did for me) but surely there should be more albums from the 90's.

Two I can think of that might qualify are Gentleman and Wildflowers. Maybe Unplugged in New York (if live records count)
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

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Car Wheels
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by Smitty »

Clams wrote:Car Wheels
Done mentioned it.
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by 4sooner »

Todd Rundgren-Something/Anything
Not one of my personal favorites but definitely belongs in this discussion.
Edited to add Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs.
That one is a personal top 10

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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

If you're looking for the aughts I'd add

Everything You Thought Was Right is Wrong Again- Slobberbone
Love You Just the Same- Centro-Matic

And from earlier has Goodbye Yellow Brick Road been mentioned?
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by beantownbubba »

Tequila Cowboy wrote:Everything You Thought Was Right is Wrong Again- Slobberbone
Love You Just the Same- Centro-Matic
Really? Not just personal favorites? Not merely Top 100 or 200 albums? But absolutely perfect?

Like I said, I'm not sure what a perfect record is but these don't feel like it to me.
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

beantownbubba wrote:
Tequila Cowboy wrote:Everything You Thought Was Right is Wrong Again- Slobberbone
Love You Just the Same- Centro-Matic
Really? Not just personal favorites? Not merely Top 100 or 200 albums? But absolutely perfect?

Like I said, I'm not sure what a perfect record is but these don't feel like it to me.
Yes, I think the reason why we struggle to find perfect records past the early nineties is that there is no longer a shared zeitgeist for music. I would define a perfect record thusly:

An album that exists as an un-flawed whole based on the criteria at hand. In other words a record where nothing enhances or detracts from the individual works contained. All the songs have to either add to the whole or augment those that do. In other words the songs, arrangements, sequencing and production exist in a true union with none outshing the others.
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

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I know I am way in the minority here, but I find Car Wheels to be vastly overrated. I don't think it's anywhere near as good as Sweet Old World and the eponymous, much less being at the masterpiece level it is generally given. Not saying it isn't a great record, I just don't think it's her best/my favorite
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

beantownbubba wrote:
whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:
sactochris wrote:Metal Machine Music
I came SO close to posting this. I would also include New York
Do you guys actually listen to MMM?
I do and when I do I make sure my lunkhead neighbor does as well!

I have also been known to bust out the Grateful Dead drums/space record Infrared Roses, though only when my wife isn't home :lol:
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

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Some Girls
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Night Moves
Harvest
The Joshua Tree
My Aim is True
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

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Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Purple Rain, absolutely no question

Sign O' the Times, debate is allowed but in my book it's perfect (especially when compared to some of the albums listed in this thread)
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by Zip City »

To start with, I have to love every single song on an album to deem it perfect. There isn't even a DBT album where I can say that
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by Flea »

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:I know I am way in the minority here, but I find Car Wheels to be vastly overrated. I don't think it's anywhere near as good as Sweet Old World and the eponymous, much less being at the masterpiece level it is generally given. Not saying it isn't a great record, I just don't think it's her best/my favorite
I'll go far beyond and say that World Without Tears is better than any of those 3.
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by beantownbubba »

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
beantownbubba wrote:
Really? Not just personal favorites? Not merely Top 100 or 200 albums? But absolutely perfect?

Like I said, I'm not sure what a perfect record is but these don't feel like it to me.
Yes, I think the reason why we struggle to find perfect records past the early nineties is that there is no longer a shared zeitgeist for music. I would define a perfect record thusly:

An album that exists as an un-flawed whole based on the criteria at hand. In other words a record where nothing enhances or detracts from the individual works contained. All the songs have to either add to the whole or augment those that do. In other words the songs, arrangements, sequencing and production exist in a true union with none outshing the others.
Doesn't "great," "exceptional, "essential" or words to that effect have to fit in there somewhere? Though I'm sure you don't mean it that way, as stated that sounds as much like a definition of mediocrity as it does of perfection.
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by Clams »

Flea wrote:
whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:I know I am way in the minority here, but I find Car Wheels to be vastly overrated. I don't think it's anywhere near as good as Sweet Old World and the eponymous, much less being at the masterpiece level it is generally given. Not saying it isn't a great record, I just don't think it's her best/my favorite
I'll go far beyond and say that World Without Tears is better than any of those 3.
You two are high. Those three are great but they ain't Car Wheels great.
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

Clams wrote:
Flea wrote:
whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:I know I am way in the minority here, but I find Car Wheels to be vastly overrated. I don't think it's anywhere near as good as Sweet Old World and the eponymous, much less being at the masterpiece level it is generally given. Not saying it isn't a great record, I just don't think it's her best/my favorite
I'll go far beyond and say that World Without Tears is better than any of those 3.
You two are high. Those three are great but they ain't Car Wheels great.
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Re: The Search for the Perfect Record

Post by chuckrh »

that would be "disintegration" by the cure

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