Okay JJuggle and you other music obsessives, here’s one we can beat to death. Let’s have some nominations (and commentary) for the best “first albums” in history. Bands are ok, but it might be interesting to start narrow, then expand. What is narrow? Well, how about self-titled first albums by individual artists?
No laundry lists please…let’s stretch this one out a bit.
First nominee: Joan Armatrading (1976)
I think it’s one of the better first albums in the folk/pop genre, and certainly has one of the best “opening songs” in Down To Zero. From the first chords of that one it was clear there was a new force on the scene.
I’d have to say without a moments hesitation Bob Dylan (1962). His covers of “Man of Constant Sorrow” and “House of the Rising Son” (in which he sings from the woman’s point of view) are gorgeous. His cover of “Baby, Let Me Follow You Down” gives me goosebumps every time. And the original material is beautiful, too.
Rickie Lee Jones. Released in 1979.
I absolutely loved this album, everything about it. Her songwriting, her singing, the production, the caliber of musicians etc., etc., etc. Her name, the cover photo of her, eveything.
I loved her follow up “Pirates” but I don’t think she ever came close to that first album, it was perfect. I’ve liked alot of her stuff over the years, even got to see her in concert since, but the magic that first album held for me has never been duplicated.
I still listen to it, still love it.
Not all bands are silly enough to self title their first album. I think ‘This Was’ by Jethro Tull (1969) is a pretty decent first album. I think ‘This Was’ makes a far more interesting album title, since in conversation it comes out sounding real strange in context. It’s got their original guitarist before he left to follow a solo career. Also some crazy-flute. The cover art is pretty out of it too.
I loved that concept…like the cover photo was supposed to be taken 50 years in the future, showing the old men that made up the band Jethro Tull when they were younger. Hence not “this is”, but “this was”.
Since bands are now fair game: The Subdudes (1989)
This just has to be one of my favorite albums of all time. Almost all new and original tunes, that somehow also sounded like they’d been in the fabric of New Orleans R&B for decades. The mostly sparce arrangements without a lot of overdubs let each musician and their instruments (guitar, accordian, bass, percussion) be clearly heard. “Tell me what’s wrong”–a classic song of both longing and loss–starts strong and just keeps building additional layers of harmony. Plus they get bonus style points for finding Freebo and giving him a tuba solo on “Need Somebody”.
The Modern Lovers (1976). Hospital, Roadrunner, Astral Plane and who could forget these lyrics:
Some guys try to pick up girls and get called assholes.
This never happened to Pablo Picasso.
He would walk down the street
and girls could not resist his stare.
Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole.
Jonathan Richman still plays the St. Valentines night show at the Bottom Line near Washington Square park every year as far as I know.
I’m not a musical obsessive but my favorite band’s first album was self titled: Dire Straits.
I think Knopfler is an absolute geneous as a lyricyst.
Granted Sultans of Swing is a great song and got the air play but the lead track, Down To The Waterline is so cool, starting off with the fog horn and just building. Lyrics:
Sweet surrender on the quayside
You remember we used to run and hide
In the shadow of the cargoes I take you one at a time
And we’re counting all the numbers down to the waterline
Near misses on the dogleap stairways
French kisses in the darkened doorways
A foghorn blowing out wild and cold
A policeman shines a light upon my shoulder
Up comes a coaster fast and silent in the night
Over my shoulder all you can see are the pilot lights
No money in our jackets and our jeans are torn
Your hands are cold but your lips are warm
She can see him on the jetty where they used to go
She can feel him in the places where the sailors go
When she’s walking by the river and the railway line
She can still hear him whisper
Let’s go down to the waterline
A couple of my favorite lines from later albums are:
“I’ve run every red light on memory lane” from Telegraph Road and from Romeo & Juliet:
“and all i do is miss you and the way we used to be
all i do is keep the bat and bad company
all i do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme*
julie i’d do the stars with you any time”
i got money for nothing with most of the good tracks on it and listened to it 4 or more months almost strait in my car and never got bored once, still don’t. as for my favorite first album it would Dream Theater: Images and Words
Dream Theaters first album was When Dream and Day Unite. It had Charlie Dominic as vocalist and it was released 1989. And I really don’t think it was such a good album.
that is a good point, i had forgotten about that. iamges and words was the first i heard tho but thats not really an excuse. from finland, do u listen to any Stratovarius?
Not much. I somehow don’t find Tolkki’s guitar playing too exciting. And there are too many bands like Stratovarius. Wigwam is lot better. It’s not any kind of metal but progressive rock.
Wigwam started in 70’s. It’s a little bit like Jetthro Tull or King Crimson. Of the newer bands I’d say it’s a bit like Flower King’s or Transatlantic.
I scored this album off of Amazon.com’s find it service overpaying a bit ($18). I couldn’t seem to win any Ebay auctions for it and I suppose for an out of print CD that’s not a bad price.
I’m also getting a used copy of The Pogues (second I believe) album, Rum Sodomy and the Lash. I’ve not heard this record since I owned the vinyl years ago, but remember it fondly. The title, by the way, refers to how Churchill(???) described the British Navy. It has the brilliant anti-war song, “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” which I often hum to myself to this day. (Gee, what a surprise). This one I got for a mere $10.
I saw The Pogues once at one of the pier concerts in New York City. They sucked live. Some of them, particularly the lead singer, Shane McGowan, were so drunk they could barely function. Perhaps in a club when the audience is similarly pissed this is fun. In an outdoor arena, however, one wishes for a bit more professionalism.
Sorry to go off topic, but I can’t stop. Actually, it’s on topic if the topic is now “drunken vs. professional musicians”. I saw “acoustic guitar pioneer” John Fahey in a small jazz bar in Tempe, Arizona somewhere mid-1980s. There were maybe 60 people in the house, all Fahey fans. He came out, played solo acoustic, and chug chug chugged away at his free drafts from the bar. My introduction to him was about 20 minutes into the show… He was in the middle of what promised to be a very long acoustic piece…he seemed a bit lost. I headed for the men’s room–which was just off stage right–to lose my first beer. In the midst of that, Fahey came crashing in, and with a “Oh, hey…” pulled up to the pissoir next to me. What I found out from my girlfriend after I got back to my seat was that he stopped playing mid-song to go take a leak. I told her she was full of it…it must have been the end of a song, and it just didn’t sound like the end of a song. She said “right…we’ll just see.” Sure enough, about 20 minutes later he was droning on through a long song and just kinda stopped, said “Be right back”, and ambled off-stage into the men’s room. He left the stage a total of four times during the show to go pass his beer. His playing also continued to deteriorate through the night. I was pretty bummed, because he was in fact a pioneer with some fantastic records (Railroads…) under his belt, and this was the only time I ever saw him play and he was just a drunk with a guitar who in his past life was a pioneer.
On a quasi-related note, I’ve also seen David Bromberg on stage too drunk to really play. Then he stopped performing for 20 years or so. I saw him last weekend and he just ripped. Seemed totally sober, and still riding the edge even at 55 (or thereabouts).
The greatest self-titled album I have ever had the pleasure to repeatedly listen to was that of Queens of the Stone Age. There isn’t a single song on that album that I wouldn’t count as my favorite on most other albums. The fact that their later albums have some even better stuff only serves to reinforce my love for QOTSA.
I’d say System of a Down, but the first album really didn’t measure up. Later on they got really good, but their start seemed somewhat uninspired in comparison.
And as for non-self-titled first albums, there’s no way anyone can dispute the greatness that was Nevermind by Nirvana.
Just a little perspective on the last ten-fifteen years or so …
Still, the greatest first album of all time (not that I’ve heard it in it’s entirety, but I don’t need to) was whatever Jimi Hendrix released first.
