CD's That Still Sound Good Years Later
Posted: March 12, 2004 12:24 pm
By NEIL STRAUSS
New York Times
While it can feel like Christmas every day, reviewing music can also
be a Sisyphean task. As soon as one week of releases has been
listened to and evaluated, a new week begins, bringing with it
another half-dozen mail crates full of new music.
So the reviewer's perspective is different from that of the average
CD shopper. The reviewer craves something fresh, something that
grabs one's attention on the first listen. That's why young artists
who offer novelty often become critics' favorites, be they Dizzee
Rascal, Sigur Ros or the Fugees.
The true test of a CD's merit, however, comes when the blush of the
new wears off. If the music still sounds just as good a year later,
then it might even be deemed great.
In 10 years of writing this column, I've listened to thousands of
CD's. In retrospect, however, perhaps the most important years for
music of that decade were just before it, in the late 80's and early
90's. That was when Public Enemy, Nirvana, Dr. Dre, the Pixies,
Pavement, Jane's Addiction, Guns N' Roses and the Aphex Twin all
released seminal CD's that defined their genres, from gangsta rap to
alternative rock to electronica.
Yet every now and then in the last 10 years one album has stood out
and remained in steady rotation in my CD player or, nowadays, on my
iPod. And there have been many of those. They may not be among the
most important or the most popular releases of the last decade; they
are simply personal favorites, listed below in no particular order,
that have charmed their way to the top of my listening pile and are
highly recommended as permanent additions to almost any CD
collection or iPod playlist.
'CESARIA EVORA,' Cesaria Evora (Nonesuch, 1995): No matter what
genre of music you prefer, it's hard to deny the beauty of this
happy-sad CD of the music of Cape Verde. The rhythms are sensuous;
the arrangements are impeccable; and Ms. Evora's voice rings
plaintive and all-feeling above it all.
'CAR WHEELS ON A GRAVEL ROAD,' Lucinda Williams (Mercury, 1998):
Whatever you call this CD — alt-country, folk-rock or bonafide
Southern twang — it sits at the apex of the genre. The song that
tugs the heart every time is "Drunken Angel," in which Ms. Williams
shows her love for the songwriter Blaze Foley (who was shot in a
fight) by getting angry at him for his senseless death.
'MTV UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK,' Nirvana (DGC, 1994): I find myself
listening to this atypical Nirvana CD more than their
classic "Nevermind." Perhaps this is because rather than being
musically immediate (like "Nevermind"), "Unplugged" is emotionally
immediate, with Kurt Cobain turning cover songs like the Meat
Puppets' "Lake of Fire" and Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last
Night" into blistering lamentations of his own.
'GRACE,' Jeff Buckley (Columbia, 1994): One of the most impressive
debuts of the last decade, "Grace" showcased the depth, sensitivity
and heaven-kissed voice of a timeless talent who never lived to see
the release of his next CD. His version of Leonard
Cohen's "Hallelujah" is so heart-stopping that the wonderful
original version is now second best.
'AQUEMINI,' OutKast (LaFace/Arista, 1998): Where the other genius
rap and R&B producers of the last few years — Neptunes, Timbaland,
R. Kelly — have produced perfect singles, OutKast has delivered full
CD's that don't let up. OutKast may have cleaned up at the Grammys
and on the pop charts this year with the wondrous sprawl
of "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," but "Aquemini' is this
irrepressible Atlanta duo's inventive masterpiece.
'MOON SAFARI,' Air (Source/Caroline, 1998): Combining electronic
dance, French chansons and lounge music with an ear for analog
instruments and immaculate production, this French duo created the
best easy-listening music CD with substance of the 90's.
'THE BENDS,' Radiohead (Capitol, 1995): Both this CD and its follow-
up, "O.K. Computer," are among the most virtuosic, spellbinding rock
releases of the last decade, blazing a path that other bands can
watch from a distance. And though "O.K. Computer" is a better work
of art, the more rock-driven "The Bends" has the better songs.
'TO BRING YOU MY LOVE,' P. J. Harvey (Island, 1995): Raw, slow and
intense, this CD is as close to a blues dirge as any white British
woman has ever come.
'HEARTBREAKER,' Ryan Adams (Bloodshot, 2000): It took an old soul to
write a breakup album as classic-sounding as this, with depth, hurt
and attitude in equal measure. Four years and hundreds of listens
(not to mention Mr. Adams's subsequent celebrity girlfriends hoping
to be the next to inspire a CD this beautiful) have not dimmed its
poignancy in the least.
'DR. OCTAGON,' Dr. Octagon (Bulk/Mo' Wax, 1996): Between the in-his-
own-world raps of Kool Keith and the virtuoso beats, samples and
scratches of the Automator, this futuristic CD of melted brain candy
may just be the pinnacle of alternative rap so far.
And my honorable mentions:
"As Heard on Radio Soulwax, Part 1," 2 Many D.J.'s (Waxed Soul, 2002)
"Unearthed," Johnny Cash (Lost Highway/American, 2003)
"The Marshall Mathers LP," Eminem (Web/Aftermath/Interscope, 2000)
"Woody Guthrie and Songs of My Oklahoma Home," James Talley
(Cimarron, 1999)
"Reasonable Doubt," Jay-Z (Roc-A-Fella, 1996)
"There's Nothing Wrong With Love," Built to Spill (Up, 1994)
"Time Out of Mind," Bob Dylan (Columbia, 1997)
"Party Music," the Coup (75 Ark, 2001)
"White Blood Cells," White Stripes (Sympathy for the Record
Industry, 2001)
"Dummy," Portishead (Go! Discs/London Records, 1994)
"The Sophtware Slump," Grandaddy (V2 Records, 2000)
"Danse Macabre," the Faint (Saddle Creek, 2001)
New York Times
While it can feel like Christmas every day, reviewing music can also
be a Sisyphean task. As soon as one week of releases has been
listened to and evaluated, a new week begins, bringing with it
another half-dozen mail crates full of new music.
So the reviewer's perspective is different from that of the average
CD shopper. The reviewer craves something fresh, something that
grabs one's attention on the first listen. That's why young artists
who offer novelty often become critics' favorites, be they Dizzee
Rascal, Sigur Ros or the Fugees.
The true test of a CD's merit, however, comes when the blush of the
new wears off. If the music still sounds just as good a year later,
then it might even be deemed great.
In 10 years of writing this column, I've listened to thousands of
CD's. In retrospect, however, perhaps the most important years for
music of that decade were just before it, in the late 80's and early
90's. That was when Public Enemy, Nirvana, Dr. Dre, the Pixies,
Pavement, Jane's Addiction, Guns N' Roses and the Aphex Twin all
released seminal CD's that defined their genres, from gangsta rap to
alternative rock to electronica.
Yet every now and then in the last 10 years one album has stood out
and remained in steady rotation in my CD player or, nowadays, on my
iPod. And there have been many of those. They may not be among the
most important or the most popular releases of the last decade; they
are simply personal favorites, listed below in no particular order,
that have charmed their way to the top of my listening pile and are
highly recommended as permanent additions to almost any CD
collection or iPod playlist.
'CESARIA EVORA,' Cesaria Evora (Nonesuch, 1995): No matter what
genre of music you prefer, it's hard to deny the beauty of this
happy-sad CD of the music of Cape Verde. The rhythms are sensuous;
the arrangements are impeccable; and Ms. Evora's voice rings
plaintive and all-feeling above it all.
'CAR WHEELS ON A GRAVEL ROAD,' Lucinda Williams (Mercury, 1998):
Whatever you call this CD — alt-country, folk-rock or bonafide
Southern twang — it sits at the apex of the genre. The song that
tugs the heart every time is "Drunken Angel," in which Ms. Williams
shows her love for the songwriter Blaze Foley (who was shot in a
fight) by getting angry at him for his senseless death.
'MTV UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK,' Nirvana (DGC, 1994): I find myself
listening to this atypical Nirvana CD more than their
classic "Nevermind." Perhaps this is because rather than being
musically immediate (like "Nevermind"), "Unplugged" is emotionally
immediate, with Kurt Cobain turning cover songs like the Meat
Puppets' "Lake of Fire" and Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last
Night" into blistering lamentations of his own.
'GRACE,' Jeff Buckley (Columbia, 1994): One of the most impressive
debuts of the last decade, "Grace" showcased the depth, sensitivity
and heaven-kissed voice of a timeless talent who never lived to see
the release of his next CD. His version of Leonard
Cohen's "Hallelujah" is so heart-stopping that the wonderful
original version is now second best.
'AQUEMINI,' OutKast (LaFace/Arista, 1998): Where the other genius
rap and R&B producers of the last few years — Neptunes, Timbaland,
R. Kelly — have produced perfect singles, OutKast has delivered full
CD's that don't let up. OutKast may have cleaned up at the Grammys
and on the pop charts this year with the wondrous sprawl
of "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," but "Aquemini' is this
irrepressible Atlanta duo's inventive masterpiece.
'MOON SAFARI,' Air (Source/Caroline, 1998): Combining electronic
dance, French chansons and lounge music with an ear for analog
instruments and immaculate production, this French duo created the
best easy-listening music CD with substance of the 90's.
'THE BENDS,' Radiohead (Capitol, 1995): Both this CD and its follow-
up, "O.K. Computer," are among the most virtuosic, spellbinding rock
releases of the last decade, blazing a path that other bands can
watch from a distance. And though "O.K. Computer" is a better work
of art, the more rock-driven "The Bends" has the better songs.
'TO BRING YOU MY LOVE,' P. J. Harvey (Island, 1995): Raw, slow and
intense, this CD is as close to a blues dirge as any white British
woman has ever come.
'HEARTBREAKER,' Ryan Adams (Bloodshot, 2000): It took an old soul to
write a breakup album as classic-sounding as this, with depth, hurt
and attitude in equal measure. Four years and hundreds of listens
(not to mention Mr. Adams's subsequent celebrity girlfriends hoping
to be the next to inspire a CD this beautiful) have not dimmed its
poignancy in the least.
'DR. OCTAGON,' Dr. Octagon (Bulk/Mo' Wax, 1996): Between the in-his-
own-world raps of Kool Keith and the virtuoso beats, samples and
scratches of the Automator, this futuristic CD of melted brain candy
may just be the pinnacle of alternative rap so far.
And my honorable mentions:
"As Heard on Radio Soulwax, Part 1," 2 Many D.J.'s (Waxed Soul, 2002)
"Unearthed," Johnny Cash (Lost Highway/American, 2003)
"The Marshall Mathers LP," Eminem (Web/Aftermath/Interscope, 2000)
"Woody Guthrie and Songs of My Oklahoma Home," James Talley
(Cimarron, 1999)
"Reasonable Doubt," Jay-Z (Roc-A-Fella, 1996)
"There's Nothing Wrong With Love," Built to Spill (Up, 1994)
"Time Out of Mind," Bob Dylan (Columbia, 1997)
"Party Music," the Coup (75 Ark, 2001)
"White Blood Cells," White Stripes (Sympathy for the Record
Industry, 2001)
"Dummy," Portishead (Go! Discs/London Records, 1994)
"The Sophtware Slump," Grandaddy (V2 Records, 2000)
"Danse Macabre," the Faint (Saddle Creek, 2001)
