You've got to live for yourself - yourself and nobody else
Continuing my trip up Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time...
#67 : Reasonable Doubt - Jay-Z (1996)
Before there was Jay-Z the mogul, the legend, the Beyoncé boy toy, there was Jay-Z on his do-or-die hustle, trying just to get a seat at the UNO table. “Forever petty minds stay petty/Mine’s thinkin’ longevity, until I’m 70,” he rhymes on the virtuosic “22 Two’s,” his earliest experiment in toying with standard rap structures. When he raps about drug dealing and not trusting women, the details are specific and self-aware. Jay’s charisma and comic insouciance are evident even on small touches like his taunting laugh in the chorus of “Ain’t No Nigga,” a gloriously funky track that lit up dance clubs. Here, he planted a flag in the underground — within two years, the pop hits followed and the hustle went worldwide.
Our second visit with Mr Carter and last time I found nothing to help me resolve the mystery as to why people think he's so great. Maybe this one would help me see the light? Or maybe not - if anything it's less impressive because he doesn't even have "99 Problems" on this one. The backing tracks seem to be done well enough, but I found the rapping either offensive or dull (although he never achieves N.W.A levels of offensive). What am I missing? It also feels like a verrrry looong album (although it's "only" 55 minutes).
Wikipedia doesn't have a lot to tell me about the album, other than that it's a landmark album in hip-hop and many (including himself) consider it to be his finest work (so, obviously, I'm REALLY looking forward to listening to his last one on the list). It was a slow seller rather than a huge hit but shifted over a million units in the end - but I'm afraid I'm none the wiser as to how or why. His Wikipedia entry is still lengthy and I still couldn't be bothered reading it - but he's a man with many fingers in many pies.
"Customers also listened to" some bizarre hip-hop "old school best ofs", Nas, Mobb Deep and a load of people I've never heard of. I didn't hate it, I just don't understand the appeal - maybe someone can explain it to me?
#66 : A Love Supreme - John Coltrane (1965)
Two important things happened to John Coltrane in 1957: The saxophonist left Miles Davis’ employ to join Thelonious Monk’s band and hit new heights in extended, ecstatic soloing. Coltrane also kicked his heroin addiction, a vital step in a religious awakening that climaxed with this legendary album-long hymn of praise. The indelible four-note theme of the first movement, “Acknowledgment,” is the humble foundation of the suite. But Coltrane’s majestic, often violent blowing (famously described as “sheets of sound”) is never self-aggrandizing. Coltrane soars with nothing but gratitude and joy. You can’t help but go with him.
Oh dear, this is going to be another album I just "don't get", isn't it? (although last time it does appear some enjoyment was involved, although I can't claim to remember it). But this time, I'm afraid any enjoyment passed me by and left me with a "huh?". There's undoubtedly a huge amount of skill on display and I suspect that if I could play an instrument, I'd appreciate it even more. But, I just can't imagine ever sitting down and listening to this - although at a mere 33 minutes, it fair whizzed by!. I really want to say more about it, but I just don't have anything to say - either good or bad.
So let's see what Wikipedia has to say about it. Apparently it's a "through-composed suite" (as opposed to strophic form, obviously) "intended to represent a struggle for purity, an expression of gratitude, and an acknowledgement that the musician's talent comes from a higher power". But we all knew that, right? Everyone agrees it's his masterpiece and it was also surprisingly successful, selling over 500,000 copies in the US (his albums generally sold around 30,000). Apparently it sold so well because "hippies loved it" (although, amusingly, I first typed this as "hippoes loved it" - which would have been a much better reason). It also tells me that they recorded a version of "Acknowledgement" without him chanting "a love supreme", which I found a very incongruous element to the album, but he decided he liked the sound of his own voice. As I previously mentioned, his Wikipedia entry gives the impression he was a decent guy, so I don't begrudge him his success and am pleased he took the opportunity to sort out his life out - but I remain somewhat mystified by the whole thing.
"Customers also listened to" other names that I recognise but couldn't tell you anything about them - other than those I've seen on this list and I think we all know my knowledge isn't much greater regarding those albums. I didn't like this, but I don't hold that against the album - I'm quite prepared to believe that those in the know could explain exactly why it's great. Not to me, obviously - but to others in the know, at least.
#65 : Live At The Apollo - James Brown (1963)
This may be the greatest live album ever recorded: from the breathless buildup of the spoken intro through terse, sweat-soaked early hits such as “Try Me” and “Think” into 11 minutes of the raw ballad “Lost Someone.” It climaxes with a frenzied nine-song medley, and ends with “Night Train.” Live at the Apollo is pure, uncut soul — and it almost didn’t happen. James Brown defied King Records boss Syd Nathan’s opposition to a live album by arranging to record a show himself — on October 24th, 1962, the last date of a run at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. His intuition proved correct; Live at the Apollo, the first of four albums Brown recorded there, charted for 66 weeks.
And a third second visit in this round - last time I appreciated rather than enjoyed his output, so I was expecting the same here, although I was hoping for slightly more enjoyment than I've managed from the other two albums in this round. And yeah, that's pretty much what happened - the performances were tight and it sounded like a good gig to be at (there were some proper screamers in the audience), but I'm not sure the atmosphere was really fully conveyed sat in my living room. I would have to say the atmosphere was way better than the one time I saw him live, which was 41 years later - let's just say I didn't see the best of him. The original recording was only 31 minutes (of which 2 minutes are taken up by some guy saying "Are you ready for James? Well, here he is!") - but Amazon played me the extended version which added a whole 9 minutes more and there are plenty of people who could learn a valuable lesson from this.
Wikipedia doesn't provide much more detail than the description above - although there's some extra detail around the master tapes having been lost, so it wasn't available on CD until 1990 because (and you may be able to guess this) the master tapes were found. Do stories get any more exciting than that, I wonder?!? One curiosity is hidden away in there - because the album was so short, but featured an 11 minute track, the break between the sides on the vinyl original happened in the middle of this song - which must have made for a strange listening experience. Again, we'll skip over James' entry other than note that he's been a busy boy, but not always the nicest man in showbiz.
"Customers also listened to" a strange mix of soul, rock and blues - I guess I can understand that those that love James don't just stick with soul because he did push them boundaries. I didn't mind this album, but enjoyed it more as a historical curiosity rather than something I'd revisit.
Not the best selection for me, I'm afraid. I don't understand the fuss about Jay-Z's offering and I just don't understand John Coltrane's offering at all - so it's going to James for an acceptable offering, but not one I went wild for. I considered playing the joker, but you'll soon see that really wouldn't have helped matters in the slightest.
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