June 13, 2007

Albums that Define


This post was inspired by Bob Vinyl's excellent commentary over at Whole Lotta Album Covers which talks about one of my very favorite albums of all times (you'll have to check it out)

I love it when that happens because lately I haven't had a whole lot to say. Here are three questions for you.

1. Think of one (or 2 or 3) of your favorite bands. If you could suggest only one of their albums to someone that had never heard them, which would it be?

2. Of these bands, which of their albums do you think defines them:

The Doors, Rush, Zeppelin, Metalica, Queen, Van Halen,
Bruce Springsteen, The Stones, The Who

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Springsteen: Darkness on the Edge of Town
Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street
www.foryoubruce.com

Anonymous said...

Couple of my favorite bands...
Rush- I'll say "Moving Pictures"
Queensryche- "Operation: Mindcrime", although "Empire" brought them a wider audience.

The Doors- their debut album
Rush- see above
Led Zep- ZOSO(or Led Zep IV)
Metallica- if you're talking mainstream, then the Black album is it. If you're talking pre-mainstream; most point to "Master of Puppets"
Queen- "Night at the Opera"
Van Halen- Despite the fact that Diamond Dave left the group after this one, I'll say "1984".
Springsteen- "Born to Run"
The Stones- "Exile on Main Street",
The Who- I'm going to say "Who's Next"

taotechuck said...

Favorite bands and their one defining album?
Massive Attack Mezzanine (I wrote about this one on today's Whole Lotta Album Covers)
Death Cab for Cutie Transatlanticism
U2 Achtung Baby

As for question number 2:
Doors: The Doors
Rush: Moving Pictures
Zeppelin: Hard to choose, but probably IV, or maybe II, or possibly Houses of the Holy.
Metallica: Master of Puppets
Queen: A Night at the Opera
Van Halen: Probably I, but Fair Warning is my favorite.
Rolling Stones: This may be a cop out, but the first Hot Rocks defines the best parts of the band better than any other album.
The Who: Who's Next

bob_vinyl said...

1. Beatles - Abbey Road, Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy, Clash - London Calling, Black Flag - Damaged, Bad Brains - I Against I, Madness - One Step Beyond, I coudl keep going and going...

2. The Doors - s/t; Rush - 2112 or Moving Pictures, tough call; Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy; Metallica - Master of Puppets; Queen - another tough call, but I'll go with Queen II even though it'd be just as easy to many of their albums.; Van Halen - I; Sringsteen - Nebraska is my favorite, but I'd probably say the River defines him, because it's deceptively ambitious; Stones - Steel Wheels, because most of their career has been a meaningless attempt to remain relevent (yes, I'm being sarcastic, because I ahte the Stones); The Who - Who's Next which is probably the definitive rock album.

David Amulet said...

The albums that define these artists to the popular culture ... and then what I wish defined them.

The Doors: The Doors ... agreed, it's The Doors

Rush: Moving Pictures ... I prefer 2112 or Fly by Night

Zeppelin: IV ... I prefer Physical Graffiti

Metalica: Black album ... I prefer Master of Puppets

Queen: A Night at the Opera ... I prefer I or II

Van Halen: 1984 ... I prefer Van Halen

Bruce Springsteen: Born in the U.S.A. ... I prefer Darkness on the Edge of Town

The Stones: Exile on Main Street ... I don't have any selection, because the Stones, unlike The Who, never released a definitive album, to my mind

The Who: Who's Next--and I agree

-- david

Mike said...

1. Like Bruce, I say Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime. This is a great concept album that should get more recognition.

2. OK this is hard:
The Doors - The Doors
Rush - Moving Pictures
Led Zeppelin - Debut Album
Metallica - Definately Master of Puppets
Queen - A Night at the Opera
Van Halen - Debut Album
Springsteen - Sorry, never was a huge fan, but I'll say Darkness on the Edge of Town
Stones - Exile on Main Street
The Who - Who's Next

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

OK, here goes Ms. Layla...

1 Allman Brothers: Eat A Peach I know many would say Live Fillmore East, but Eat has the two sided (on the album at least) Mountain Jam, which shows off Duane's slide work like no other song...the bird chirps and the furry are amazing)

2) Grateful Dead - Europe 72 a great collection of songs...a tremendous album package with a booklet containing so many great photos of the tour...

3) Hot Tuna - Hot Tuna Not their first album, this has a blurry red picture of Jorma and Jack on the cover...It contains classic performances by the band.

Doors: THE DOORS
Rush: MOVING PICTURES
Zeppelin: DEBUT ALBUM
Metallica: Never a huge fan
Queen: A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
Van Halen: VAN HALEN
Springsteen: THE WILD, THE INNOCENT & THE E-STREET SHUFFLE
Stones: STICKY FINGERS
Who: LIVE AT LEEDS

BeckEye said...

1. Think of one (or 2 or 3) of your favorite bands. If you could suggest only one of their albums to someone that had never heard them, which would it be?

Pearl Jam - Vs., Squeeze - East Side Story, Springsteen - Born to Run

2. Of these bands, which of their albums do you think defines them:

The Doors - not really a fan, but it's a toss-up between their debut and LA Woman
Rush - Moving Pictures
Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II. I think most people would say Led Zeppelin IV (maybe because of the presence of "Stairway/") but I'm with David anyway... my personal favorite is Physical Graffiti!!
Metallica - Master of Puppets isn't who they are now, so I have to go with the black album
Queen - A Night at the Opera
Van Halen - Van Halen
Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
The Stones - Let it Bleed
The Who - Who's Next

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