Ten Top Albums
Written by Chad Orzel
Published November 07, 2002
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  • Top Album Bought Because of an In-Store Performance. Awake by John Wesley Harding. I wandered into Borders looking for something else, and John Wesley Harding was playing in the record section, down in the basement. I was curious to see what sort of music you'd get from a guy who named himself after a Dylan album, so I went and listened. He was a very funny guy, and didn't seem at all distressed by the fact that he was playing to a crowd of about fifteen people in the basement of a bookstore in Gaithersburg. It's a good album, too, but I would've bought it just for the show, and the rant about how Titanic is the dumbest movie ever.

  • Top Obscure Album Bought on the Strength of One Song and an Interesting Band Name. A very competitive category, this-- Fountains of Wayne are strong contenders (though I was tipped into buying that one by the song titles "Leave the Biker" and "Please Don't Rock Me Tonight")-- but I'll give the nod to Mono by the German band Fury in the Slaughterhouse (which is probably all one big word in German), because I can also give them Worst Follow-Up to an Obscure Album I Liked for The Hearing and the Sense of Balance. The former, I bought because WHFS was playing the single "Every Generation Got Its Own Disease" quite a bit, and it was a nicely moody generic-alternative song that fit my mood well at the time. The rest of the record turned out to be pretty good, so I bought the follow-up, which was really dire (or at least I remember it that way-- I haven't listened to it since just after I bought it).

  • Top Album Bought on the Strength of One Song That Sounded Nothing Like the Rest of the Album, Damnit. In the same vein, this award goes to Rocket by a guy who billed himself as "Primitive Radio Gods." You know the song I mean-- that one with the B.B. King sample ("I been downhearted, baby/ Ever since the day we met") and the faintly dream-like lyrics. The rest of the album is nothing like that, and is, in fact, amazingly awful. The "Parental Warning-- Explicit Lyrics" sticker should've been a tip-off. Buying this was a huge mistake, but still, the one song is really good...

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    • Keep reading for information and comments on this article, and add some feedback of your own!
    Buy from Amazon.com
    1965 1965
    The Afghan Whigs
    Music,
    Take off Your Pants and Jacket Take off Your Pants and Jacket
    blink-182
    Music,
    Strange Days Strange Days
    Acoustic Junction
    Music,
    Play Each Morning Wild Queen Play Each Morning Wild Queen
    Music,
    Awake: The New Edition Awake: The New Edition
    John Wesley Harding
    Music,
    Mono Mono
    Fury in the Slaughterhouse
    Music,
    The Hearing & The Sense of Balance The Hearing & The Sense of Balance
    Fury in the Slaughterhouse
    Music,
    Rocket Rocket
    Primitive Radio Gods
    Music,
    Shoot Out the Lights Shoot Out the Lights
    Richard & Linda Thompson
    Music,
    Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971
    Various Artists
    Music,

    Ten Top Albums
    Published: November 07, 2002
    Type:
    Section: Music
    Filed Under: Music: Alternative Rock, Music: Folk, Music: Hard Rock, Music: Pop, Music: Hip-hop, Music: Rock
    Writer: Chad Orzel
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    Comments

    #1 — November 7, 2002 @ 12:12PM — Nigel [URL]

    The only Richard and Linda Thompson album I have is "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" but I'd recommend it wholeheartedly.

    #2 — November 7, 2002 @ 15:13PM — The Theory

    "I hate the "So, you're buying this for... your kids?" look from the tattooed high-schooler at the record store. I'll order the next one of these I buy on-line."

    Eh, don't worry about what tattooed highschoolers think. Their opinion shouldn't matter to you. Do what you like. It's the joy of being human.

    peace.

    #3 — November 7, 2002 @ 16:10PM — Bill Sherman [URL]

    Shoot Out the Lights is my favorite Linda and Richard album, though all of 'em have their pleasures. Richard followed Lights up with perhaps his greatest solo album, Hand of Kindness, which is also worth tracking down.

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