dusty fingertips

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It probably took me too long to get to this one, but here it is… the TENTH studio album by Gaye, but the first to be solely produced by the artist. A concept album about returning home from the war in Vietnam, this album has long been considered the best soul album ever made, an opinion that is hard to debate. Sometimes an album speaks for itself; this is a rare occasion where I cannot begin to do an album justice with words. A masterpiece.

Mike B.

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I was really torn between each of Norman Cook’s (aka Fatboy Slim) first three albums, as each one is really quite well done. Ultimately, I chose his second album because that one was the big breakthrough for him as an artist. Big beats, great hooks, and the “f” word 108 times… This album had 5 hit songs and one amazingly quirky video, and propelled Fatboy Slim to the forefront of the big beat movement. Although he was a staple in record crates long before this album, he really took off as a featured remixer right after this went huge. I can’t remember a single coming out, in the year after this album was released, that didn’t have a Fatboy Slim remix on it. And seriously, how genius are “The Rockafeller Skank” and “Praise You?”

Mike B.

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Did you ever hear an album and hope you are the only one who knows about it… like it’s your special secret that you want to tell everyone about but at the same time want to keep all to yourself? That’s how this album was for me; an amazing discovery that I made in 2001 that I wanted to keep from everyone else but, ultimately, could not stop talking about. Great, stripped-down rock tunes, catchy hooks, clever lyrics and grit. This is the kind of “warts-and-all” type of recording that you wish other artists would strive for… they took away the need for studio wizardry by keeping their live takes simple and tight, with minimal overdubs and little to no need for post production. Good stuff.

Mike B.

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Although popularly regarded as the flagship album for the “grunge” sound coming from Seattle, this album was actually an attempted departure from the “grunge” sound for Nirvana, as Kurt Cobain tried to write songs that were more melodic and poppy. Although he followed the typical quiet/loud/quiet formula that defined the Seattle “grunge” sound, he wrote songs that did not rely on the formula so much as they advanced the sound in a new direction. This album dethroned Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” as the number 1 album of 1992, and launched thousands of bands to success.

Mike B.

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I felt like featuring two albums today, and since I’ve been on hip-hop the last few days I thought I would throw you a curveball. This is another example of an album that was originally poorly reviewed by critics, only to go on to amazing commercial success. Brubeck experiments a lot with timing signatures, which is the theme connecting all the songs on the album (“Time Out,” get it?). A must own album for anyone who considers themselves a fan of jazz.

Mike B.