Ah, the journey continues…
I’m going to try and bang out two of these a week as I continue what’s turning out to be a marathon when it comes to listening to music. I’ll say this: even though there’s probably a lot of chattering about this list, one thing that can’t be denied is that it’s a diverse collection of records.
For about 13 years, I worked in Adult Contemporary radio where artists like Boyz II Men were in high to medium rotation since this record came out in 1994. I’ll admit that I’ve never listened to the entire album (only the singles). However, I gotta say that II is, from start to finish, extremely well-crafted soul — which is clear because the album spent over a month at the number one slot. The tracklist is well ordered with a strong opener (“Thank You”), a solid middle section, winding down with the group’s huge hits — and closing with the Lennon & McCartney standard, “Yesterday.”
Here’s another album where I’ve only heard the group’s singles — but never experienced the entire album. Bracketing the whole wall of sound thing that Phil Spector is known for a moment and focusing on the songs, I have to say that this record really surprised me. This is The Ronettes’ one and only album, but boy what a debut. Most songs have Spector’s fingerprints on them (sharing co-writing credits on all the songs except two), but the performances are really fantastic. Because I have 500 albums to listen to, I don’t have much time to go back and re-listen to records again, but on this one I did. If you want an album that will lift your spirits, this one will certainly do the trick.
As many have noted, this is Marvin Gaye’s divorce album. It was also a commercial failure when it was released in 1978. It’s not the most groundbreaking record, but I supposed there’s something about time that can ripen a record that make people come back and say, “Huh. Actually, this is pretty good.” For me, Here, My Dear is a little too mid-tempo for my tastes. Not much stands out musically, nor are Gaye’s vocal performances all that stellar. So while I can understand why later generations would find this album something of a lost gem, for me, I think I have to give it more time to reveal its charms.
Everyone loves a comeback story, and Raitt’s certainly makes for a good one. 1989’s Nick of Time gave her a second life, with a number one album, three Grammys, and plenty of radio airplay that cemented her as an artist who avoided “has been” status. Credit a brief career assist from Prince, and then a huge career assist from Don Was for helping to rescue Raitt’s career. The songs on Nick of Time are pound for pound great. Indeed, there’s probably not a bad song on this record that seems to center on being a 40-year-old Boomer (if there’s a theme to be discerned). I’ll admit to being burned out on this record — mostly because many of its songs were on the radio a lot, and I played the CD a lot, too. But in the decades that I’ve given it a rest, it was a sincere joy to re-listen to the album again.
Fine Line by Harry Styles was the surprise album of this group. I was never a fan of One Direction, so I was skeptical about Styles’ ability to be a solo singer-songwriter. And while he’s credited as co-writer of every song on this 2019 record, a glance at the personnel listing shows he had an unusually large team of musicians, engineers, and programmers working alongside him. I was truly thrilled by the use of real instruments (especially guitar, bass, and drums) in the service of each song — making Fine Line less a collection of songs and more of a personal statement by the artist. My reaction is likely due to the fact that the record fits into my musical tastes. So, in a way, Fine Line is a throwback album that blends styles from the album era with some of the personal issues he’s experiencing at this point in his life.
