You had the grace to hold yourself while those around you crawled

Continuing my trip up Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time...

#112 : Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John (1973) 

Elton John compared this double album to the Beatles’ White Album, and why not? He was by this point the most consistent hitmaker since the Fab Four, and soon enough he would be recording with John Lennon. Everything about Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was supersonically huge, from the Wagnerian-opera-like combo of “Funeral for a Friend” and “Love Lies Bleeding” to the electric boots and mohair suit of “Bennie and the Jets.” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” was strutting rock & roll, “Candle in the Wind” paid tribute to Marilyn Monroe (and later, Princess Diana), and the title track harnessed the fantastical imagery of glam to a Gershwin-sweet melody.

Another album my Dad owned, so I must have heard it, but probably not since the year of release, so please forgive me if my memory is slightly hazy, given that I was only 5 at the time.  I am very aware of the singles, but given that three of them appear in the first four tracks, there were still vast swathes of this 76 minute behemoth I wasn't familiar with.  And most of it is pretty good - the singing and piano playing is obviously to the fore, but it's backed up well by the other musicians involved across a reasonably diverse selection of songs.  Highlights for me are the title track, "Candle In The Wind" (yes, somehow I still like it!) and "I've Seen That Movie Too", but most of the other tracks are perfectly fine - although I'd have to say I'm very unconvinced indeed by "Jamaica Jerk-Off" on several fronts.

Wikipedia has surprisingly little to say about the album other than it was supposed to be recorded in Jamaica (but wasn't) and that it was very successful, reaching #1 in the UK and the US.  It also mentions the 40th anniversary edition which includes a load of cover versions by contemporary artists, which I was tempted to investigate - and let's just say only Emeli Sande emerges with any credit.  Avoid.  

This is our last visit with Mr John on the list - he only gets two entries (this was the other) which feels somewhat harsh on the lad, especially since I've liked them both (and considerably more than a lot of stuff from around that time).  His Wikipedia entry is a thing of beauty and it wouldn't be fair for me to try and pick a highlight or two, but it's safe to say the man has lived.  And then some.  "Customers also listened to" Billy Joel, David Bowie and Harry Nillson - some reasonably good company for the lad there.  Overall, I liked this album and I was amazed at how it hadn't dated - it was definitely of its time, but it's still remarkably listenable now.  And happy birthday to the man for last week - please keep entertaining us all because we definitely need it.

#111 : Control - Janet Jackson (1986) 

If properly, successfully maturing in pop after a childhood in the spotlight is an artform, then Janet Jackson is Michelangelo and Control her statue of David. The youngest member of the Jackson family released her third studio album while on the cusp of her twenties. Working with the dream team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jackson made an assertive, hook-y, and powerful proclamation of her star power on sparkling, sculpted electro-pop dance songs like “Nasty,” “The Pleasure Principle,” and the title track. Control remains the blueprint for any young artist looking to find their own voice.

Somewhat mystifyingly, this is our third visit with Janet on this list.  This has to be the last, right?  And it's fair to say my expectations were firmly in the "bearable" league - and they were solidly fulfilled.  None of it is terrible, but that's hardly the definition of a great album now, is it?  Of all of her albums of hers we've seen, I'm "happiest" with this one appearing on the list - "What Have You Done For Me Lately" in particular is a fine track (with a very fine spoken intro - "But what has he done for you late-leeee?").  But otherwise it's all just so "meh" - you might as well have Paula Abdul on the list.

Wikipedia has a lot to say about how successful and influential the album was - it was a slow starter, debuting at #84 in the US album charts but climbing steadily to get to #1 after 20 weeks, selling over 10 million globally in the end.  But I still don't get it, I'm afraid - although (as covered here) I do accept that she paved the way for a lot of successful female singers who followed her and, like Prince Harry, she did well to escape the family (look at me being all topical!).  "Customers also listened to" Chaka Khan, Madonna, Bobby Brown (do people seriously still listen to his stuff?) and Soul II Soul - a somewhat random selection.  I liked this more than the other Janet albums on the list and if this had been her only entry at #300 or so, she'd had gotten away with it - but 3 entries and this at #111 just feels wrong to me, I'm afraid.

#110 : Court And Spark - Joni Mitchell (1974) 

Joni Mitchell followed up Blue with the underrated For the Roses, a set of harmonically and lyrically complex songs. Court and Spark is, in comparison, smoother and more straight-ahead; it became the biggest record of her career, hitting Number Two. Working with saxophonist Tom Scott’s fusion group, L.A. Express, Mitchell settled into a folk-pop-jazz groove that remains a landmark of breezy sophistication, particularly on the Top 10 single “Help Me.” Strange but true: A cover of “Twisted,” by the scat-jazz vocal group Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross, closes the album — with stoner comics Cheech and Chong singing backup.

We've had a couple of Joni Mitchell albums so far, and I think we can safely say whilst I admire her undoubted talent, I've struggled to warm to them - and so I was expecting more of the same.  Which I pretty much got (although "Twisted" is a peculiar track) - but I think I'm starting to understand part of the problem.  She's got a lovely voice which delivers interesting and intelligent lyrics and she can play that guitar beautifully, but it doesn't always feel like the voice and the guitar are performing the same song.  She's so good at lengthening or compressing words or phrases to make them fit to the available notes that it's almost as though she writes sets of lyrics and sets of music and then randomly assigns one to the other and just makes it work.  Which I'm sure is very skilful (let's face it - I can't write the words or the music) but it's not a skill I particularly like - and if that makes me a bad person, then I guess I'm a bad person.  I'm still hoping to find an album of hers I actually like - I've got two more chances left!

Wikipedia tells me I'm wrong - this is her most successful album (which surprised me but what do I know?) and "Help Me" was her most successful single (her only top 10 hit in the US).  It was another album that peaked at #2 - kept off the top by Dylan, Streisand and Denver, so it appears she was unlucky with her release timing.  But I don't get it, I'm afraid.  "Customers also listened to" an odd mix, but hidden away in there is Tapestry which I'm looking forward to rhapsodising over - it feels like the sort of album Joni could have chucked out in an afternoon, but instead she did stuff like this.  Which I don't hate, but (in case you hadn't guessed) I don't love either.

So, three solo artists and generally one of the women would be a shoo-in for me - but not this time around.  For me, Elton is way ahead both in terms of the best album and the best tracks - but maybe it was just the early brainwashing that did it for me (although, if that was the case, I'd be asking where all the Chris de Burgh albums were)

#115-113 - I struggle to understand why
#109-107 - An interesting mix