Hendrix, Santana highlight list of top-10 rock albums
posted December 17, 2004
by Trevor Bisset and Kevin Chen of Campanile
Every once in a while, when the true spirit of rock music is lost in another pop music sell-out, it is the responsibility of any respectable publication to revive the creative flames of the immortal artists that codified the phrase "rock and roll" in the holy scripture of music history.
Therefore, we feel it necessary to declare the 10 greatest rock albums of all time, the 10 most inspired, influential and beautiful albums ever recorded, to remind our readers of what rock music is really about –the ultimate and unrivaled expression of human emotion. It is needless to say that such a task is difficult, but after hours of reliving the moments that have forever changed music, 10 albums that are the quintessence of this art have emerged. Intuitively, these albums ought to be ranked, but this thinking conflicts one of the guiding principles of rock and roll. Rock music was never about making money, being the best or competition, it was always about finding one's true voice and sharing it with a willing audience. And guided by this noble purpose, rock has become one of the cornerstones of American society. So re-live with us the greatest works of this sacred art.
<b>The Eagles</b>
<i>Hotel California</i>
What can be said about the Eagles' 1976 classic that has not been repeated 10 million times already? Hotel California hit the rock scene like an atomic bomb with three chart-topping hits and enough great songs to keep it in the spotlight for several decades.
Most people in our young generation haven't heard anything on this album besides the title track, but the rest of the songs are on par with the best rock music listeners have ever heard. The Eagles play it slow, they play it fast, they play bluesy and country-style and in-your-face rock and they play it with more skill and soul than most musicians could muster. The only thing they don't play is bad music.
This album is a must-have for anybody who considers rock to be worth even half a damn. The Eagles' timeless music never ceases to impress even the most devoted fans.
<b>Bruce Springsteen</b>
<i>Born to Run</i>
Anthem rock is a difficult type of music to play. Only a few great bands in history have successfully reproduced this unique form of rock – certain songs from names like AC/DC and Queen come to mind, but the true master of this field is Bruce Springsteen with his album Born to Run.
However, unlike many rock musicians of his day, Springsteen's music does more than just convey a message; his music takes a hint from popular country songs and tells a story.
Born to Run instills a sense of duty in listeners, boldly pounding out passionate lyrics with assertive, in-your-face guitar playing, along with some great ‘80s-style drumming and a wailing saxophone solo here and there.
He represents a side of America that, while not conventionally patriotic, was an integral part of our culture during the ‘60s and ‘70s. The social tumult in the United States during the Vietnam War is reflected in Springsteen's passionate singing.
<b>Jimi Hendrix</b>
<i>Axis: Bold as Love</i>
Jimi Hendrix was already a sensation after his debut with Are You Experienced?, but his true artistic genius shines in his second album with The Experience, Axis: Bold as Love. Axis, while it retained the psychedelic guitar pyrotechnics of his first album, focused more on Hendrix's roots – the blues – and used them to further evolve his own music and rock and roll in the process.
Visionary pieces such as "Spanish Castle Magic" and "If 6 was 9" continue to dazzle audiences today, while the delicate "Little Wing" eludes the grasp of all imitators. Arguably the greatest guitarist of all time, Jimi Hendrix lives on in Axis: Bold as Love.
<b>Red Hot Chili Peppers</b>
<i>Blood Sugar Sex Magik</i>
Blood Sugar Sex Magik is aptly named – listeners encounter an intense, bittersweet roller coaster ride through the minds and hearts of Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante and Chad Smith, more commonly known as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Playing the album allows one to embark on a 73-minute experience spanning pain and love, lust and joy, fear and passion and everything else that makes for good music.
This record takes the Chili Peppers' most sultry blues, their purest rock and funkiest jams and fuses them all together to create what has become a cornerstone for 1990s rock music. Blood Sugar Sex Magik paved the way for experimental rock later in the ‘90s without sacrificing the psychedelics and soul embraced in previous decades. It showcases the incredible talent of Frusciante and Flea and serves as a standing reminder as to why the Chili Peppers have been big since their debut in 1984.
<b>The Beatles</b>
<i>Abbey Road</i>
In the words of Joe Perry, "I don't think there's anything musically that the Beatles haven't done at some point." Throughout their career, the Beatles single-handedly revolutionized every area of music that they ever pursued, and redefined rock and roll with each new endeavor.
But the years of exploration eventually manifested themselves in the Beatles' single greatest artistic work, Abbey Road. The masterpiece contains the finest music from all areas. From the painstakingly delicate ballad "Something" to the experimental bluesy tune "Come Together," the music of Abbey Road is timeless, reaffirming that the band that started it all is still the greatest.
<b>The Rolling Stones</b>
<i>Exile on Main St.</i>
With Exile on Main St., the Rolling Stones gave the world authentic rock and roll. Drawing directly from the rhythm and blues of pioneers like Chuck Berry, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger delivered an album of straight-up, no-nonsense rock music.
The album spawned energetic anthems like "Rocks Off" and "Happy," and showed the industry the importance of the roots of rock and roll. Furthermore, the Stone's "keep it simple" approach earned them the title of the "Greatest Rock and Roll Show on Earth."
<b>The Who</b>
<i>Who's Next</i>
Throughout the 1970s, the Who were regarded as the loudest, most energetic rock band in the world and their 1971 album Who's Next captured the rebellious spirit of rock for the ages. The relentless guitar strumming by Pete Townsend, thundering vocals of Roger Daltrey, tasteful bass lines of John Entwhistle and the fierce, speed-demon drumming of Keith Moon all come together on the album to produce the Who's fantastic "live" sound.
The band's sheer power is channeled through the majesticpower chord melody "Baba O'Reilly," the anguished assault of "Bargain" and "Won't Get Fooled Again," the quintessential anthem for teenage defiance for all ages. But what heightens the appeal of Who's Next is the contrast of the fantastic energy of these tracks with the romantic ballads "Behind Blue Eyes" and "The Song is Over," which reveal the tremendous compositional skill of the group.
<b>Led Zeppelin</b>
<i>Led Zeppelin IV</i>
When Led Zeppelin emerged in 1969 with its self-titled debut album, the world was faced with a form of rock and roll that it had never seen. Synthesized from a variety of musical forms but retaining its own distinctive tone and sense of taste, Led Zeppelin's music would lay the foundation for "hard rock." In 1972, the super-group released its masterpiece – an eight-song album lacking a title, but commonly referred to by fans as Led Zeppelin IV. The album contained "Black Dog" and "Rock and Roll," two compositions that would become archetypes for the rock genre.
But the pivotal fourth album exemplified the band's finesse with folk-inspired tracks like "Going to California" and "The Battle for Evermore."
Finally, and most importantly, the album contained "Stairway to Heaven," the song that, according to guitarist Jimmy Page, "crystallized the essence of the band." "Stairway" is the ultimate testament to Led Zeppelin's musical versatility as well as its creativity.
The song opens as a romantic ballad, builds into a fanfare containing one of the finest guitar solos of all time, and ends with in a thundering jazzy finish. In many ways, "Stairway to Heaven" reflects the album and the essence of the band – a collection of different musical elements fused to yield a single beautiful voice.
<b>Pink Floyd</b>
<i>Dark Side of the Moon</i>
Dark Side of the Moon is repeatedly discovered and rediscovered by generations old and new. It is a timeless classic, one of the most intense collections of rock music ever produced.
Pink Floyd take the best aspects of poetry, social criticism, rock and hallucinogenic drugs and fuse them together under the incredibly intense guitar playing of David Gilmour and sensitive bass lines and singing of Roger Waters.
Dark Side is home to several classic Pink Floyd songs, like "Time," "Money" and "Us and Them," along with many others. These songs have survived the eras of grunge rock, techno, hip-hop and pop and are still among the most listened-to songs around. The music is evocative and emotional, and paints pessimistic and beautiful pictures of a planet ravaged by wars. The individual songs are astounding, but when the album is digested from start to finish, one learns why so many people are obsessed with it. Every song flows into the next one and carries the dark themes through the album.
Pink Floyd had a profound impact on the music world with this album, and they definitely raised the bar for future rock music.
<b>Carlos Santana</b>
<i>Abraxas</i>
No list of groundbreaking albums would be complete without the silky yet spicy playing found on Santana's sophomore masterpiece, Abraxas. This album is the work of a Latin genius during times of war, social realignment and civil rights advancements, and the music reflects all the tumult and passion of the times.
When bands like David Bowie and Aerosmith were flourishing, Santana charged onto the scene with an entirely different album, experimenting with Hendrix-esque psychedelics and classic rock chords reminiscent of Cream, all the while staying true to his Latin roots.
Abraxas hosts classics like "Oye Como Va" and "Hope You're Feeling Better," but will surprise listeners with songs that would top charts even today. Think Clapton covering a Hendrix song about Mexico.
Abraxas was the vehicle that Santana rode onto center stage in the American rock and roll scene, and is one of the best albums ever created.
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How could you not have included Nirvana's "Nevermind" on this list? "Nevermind" was more influential than half the albums on this list. Did you just not think of it, or did you consciously decide that these ten albums were better than Nevermind?
In response to the observation that "Nevermind" is absent from this list, Mr. Bisset and I feel that we have several warranted reasons to explain this discrepancy. But first and foremost, I would like to establish that that Nirvana is a respectable band that launched an entire genre of music--grunge--into the mainstream. This response is by no means a criticism of Kurt Cobain, but I will also choose not to sugar-coat this justification.
1. The impact of these ten artists far outweighs the relatively insignificant effect of Nirvana on rock at this time. Maybe in ten years, there will be greater appreciation for the group's impact. But to make it on our list, you need to have an enduring, lasting influence--Kids today are still annoying the hell out of guitar shop ownners by playing their own renditions of "stairway to heaven", a song that was phenomenally praised decades before they could even walk! Nirvana might be on a list in 2015 if garage bands that generation try to cover "Smells like teen spirit"
2. There would be no Nirvana without half of these artists. Most of these musicians are godfathers of the rock music that we hea today. Power-chords, wailing leads, heavy-metal gallop, psychedelia; all of these things were pioneered by the Beatles, the Who, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and other greats. I highly doubt that Kurt Cobain would be writing angsty lyrics if the Who hadn't done it first.
3. Musically speaking, Nirvana cannot be considered outright revolutionary. I realize that they started grunge, this entire genre is simply power chords strummed angrily. For the same reason, we chose not to place the Rammones (forgive my spelling) on this list. Regardless of how important Johnny Rammone was to punk rock, all he was doing was strumming away three chord, two and a half minute, ballads. On the flip side look a U2's the Edge. While he didn't make out list, the Edge's simplicity was musically more revolutionary than that of Nirvana's. Listen to the "Joshua Tree" album to sample his signature "textured" guitar sound--simple arpeggios and chords overtubbed, mixed, enhanced with a dizzying array of effects, and tastefully combined with Bono's brilliant voice to make U2 a stellar sonic experience.
I hope this clears up any misunderstandings. Like I mentioned earlier, no hard feelings, and I promise that if you take the time to listen to each of these albums all the way through, you will understand why we chose them as the finest masterpieces of rock and roll.
Few things are more aggravating than a person who mistakes influential for good. Adolf Hitler was extremely influential. Enough said.
On a more serious note, there is merit in saying that Nirvana was influential. However, what they created was crap and it only influenced further crap. In the past twenty years rock has lost nearly all of its musical value, and bands like Nirvana are a testament to that fact. The purpose of this list was to remind people that in the good old days rock music was more than simple power chord progressions and incoherent screaming. To put it bluntly, it will be a cold day in Hell before Nirvana appears on the same list as Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Santana, and Led Zeppelin.
In case you're still confused, yes it was consciously left out.
I agree with most of this list, but the Red Hot Chili Peppers do not deserve the honor of one of the top ten rock albums of all time. They are mediocre at best. Just keep the timeframe in mind. The nineties was a particularly ugly period for rock music, so the argument that they were one of the best rock bands of the nineties has little merit. When sandwiched between Axis: Bold as Love and Abbey Road it should be readily apparent how much the Chili Peppers do not deserve such honor.
I think that 'Nevermind' is a very influencial album and that it deserves a spot on the list. But, with that in mind, it would mean you would have to remove one album from that list, and that would not be just. And what about the Ramones or Sex Pistols? How about Bob Marley? The list is too long to be confined to 10 albums. Maybe a top 50 would do.
In response to the second post, Blood Sugar Sex Magik influenced a lot of good bands of the 90's: Korn, Incubus, No Doubt, Rage Against the Machine, to name a few. Also, it is musically superior to Nevermind, just listen to it.
I like Nirvana too, but I don't think they are more influential than the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The Chilis are one of the greatest bands of all time. Not only did they put rock-rap into the mainstream, but they also created their own style which is still around today after 21 years.
BSSM definately ranks among the best CDs of our time.
You should of put the Ravorblad romance album with the song 'Sweet 666' on it. That is an all-time amazing song. And where is Iron Maiden? They are all-time classics.
Although I like the chilis more. Abbey road should be higher than blood sugar sex magic.
Why is it that so many people think Nirvana was the one who started grunge? Maybe they were the ones responsible for making grunge so popular, but they weren't the first. Nirvana formed in 1987 and released their first album in 1989, called "Bleach."
Alice in Chains formed, and released their independent single release "We Die Young" in the UK in 1987.
But the one who really started grunge was Soundgarden, who formed in 1984 and were the first grunge act to sign to a major label. They released their first independent single releases, "Screaming Life" and "Fopp" in 1986 and 1988 respectively, and released their first major album "Ultramega OK" in 1987/1988.
I do have to say that I am disappointed in your list. Though you have good bands and albums listed, you've left off very important albums and artists that influenced rock 'n roll musically and as a genre.
For instance, why not include the Beach Boys? I am not a fan of them, but they are due respect for creating the very first concept album called, "Pet Sounds." Also, you left off a Beatles album that had more influence than "Abby Road." "Sgt Peppers and the Lonely Hearts Club" was highly influential to how albums are packaged today. The album was the second concept album in rock 'n roll history and it was also the first album to contain art on the album cover as well as the first album to have lyrics in the album cover.
When you make the distinction that you are going to make a top ten list of the influential albums in rock history, you have to consider what those albums did for rock.
Can't argue with Who's Next, Zep 4, Dark Side, Abbey Road and Exile. Those albums can never look out of place on a top ten list and they're from arguably the five greatest bands rock has ever seen.
Now for Abraxas. It's a great album. But it's wrong to credit it to CARLOS Santana. It's a Santana album. As in the band. Also, it was released in 1970. Aerosmith didn't release an album until 1973. David Bowie didn't hit his stride until 1972. If you think Abraxas was released when Aerosmith and David Bowie were flourishing, then you need to go back to rock 'n' roll high school.