Conference mr1pst::music

    Alan,
    
    Excellent list. Not in that I agree with all of it, but in the effort you
    put into making it.
    
    I was thinking about putting together my own list and suddenly realized
    that of all the CDs I bought last year (I'd say in the order of 100), I
    could barely come up with 10 albums that qualified as "new". The only
    10 new albums I bought does not make for a "best of" list, so I'll skip
    it.
    
    I did have a "good" year backfilling my collection. About half the
    stuff I bought I already had on record or tape. Among my favorites were
    the reincarnated King Crimson albums, the early Queen albums, older
    recordings by Yes, Frank Zappa and Gentle Giant and some "best of"
    retrospectives.
    
    I continued to search, in vain, for a CD pressing of the first UK
    album. If Santa Claus is listening... :-)
    
    Happy Ho Ho's everyone!
    
    Brian

    I've heard some praise for Julian Cope's _Peggy Suicide_, released in
    1991. 
    
    I recently received _My Nation Underground_; definitely has its moments
    of intensity. 
    
     

> Excellent list. Not in that I agree with all of it, but in the effort you
> put into making it.

Thanks Bri! I was hoping that I would start a trend, and poeple might put
in some of their favortie albums also..... I really was disappointed with 
a lot of stuff I heard this year, and was hoping for some other people
to point out some "hidden jems" I might want to try. (The Julain Cope 
from -.1 sounds like it might be interesting!)

alan

     
    "SOUL CAGES".......STING
      Yet another awesome piece of work from the ex-policeman.
    "INNUENDO".........QUEEN
      Even before Freddy's passing I loved most of this album.
    Now I seem to like it all. It's almost like a suicide note
    in album form. A definate must for Queen fans.
    "OUT OF TIME"......R.E.M.
      A different approach from their earlier works with mostly
    laid back melancholy songs. "Losing my religion" and "Half a
    world away" are two of my faves of the year.
    "ROLL THE BONES"...RUSH
      Great songs, great lyrics, great band, great......etc
    "WOODFACE".........CROWDED HOUSE
      At first listen I thought it was weak, especially compared to
    the first two albums. The more I listen, the more it grows on me.
    "DEDICATED" + "TWO ROOMS"
      With most music and record companys being predictable, these two
    releases are like a breath of fresh air in a landfill. Warren Zevon
    singing "Casey Jones",The Who/Saturday night's alright for fighting,
    Eric Clapton/Border song, what could be more interesting?
    "THE FIRE INSIDE"....BOB SEGER
      A little bit of dissapointment after a 4 or 5 year absence, but
    it's still one of ten best.
    "ON EVERY STREET"....DIRE STRAITS
      Mark Knopfler could arrange a soup jingle and make it a top ten song
    if he wanted to. Luckily he picked more conventional songs here.
    "VACATION IN EDEN"....MARILLION
      Available only as an import but well worth it. If you like early
    Genesis mixed with a nineties sound, you'll love this one.
    
    I'd probably include the new U2 and GENESIS also, but I have'nt
    heard them yet. 
    
    Clark C.

    ...first of all, Merry Christmas to ALL you noters......here's two
    that blew me away......
    
    Happy Mondays "thrills, pills, and bellyaches"......never lets you
    down,the best of the year from a band some still don't know about...
    you want a last minute release for the music nut in your life,pick
    this up!!!!!
    
    Queen "Inuendo"....I got this for my B'Day back in March, still can't
    take it off my box!!!Many are flocking to pick it up now that Freddie's
    giggin' with the boyz and girls upstairs,but it deserves more than
    that...one of Queens' best.....
    
    Happy Holidays to All and to All a Good Rockin' new Year!!!!
    
    Mac
    

    I know the 90s :== "Box set mania", but Buck's Best Bet Box Set vote
    without a doubt goes to "The Clash -- Clash on Broadway".  An
    outstanding compilation, with top notch packaging to boot!  A solid
    *****!!

    I'm not sure if I even *bought* ten albums that were released this
    year.  But here goes:
    
    Van Morrison "Enlightenment" (Mercury)
    
    OK, he's not everybody's cup of tea, but for me Van's been on a roll
    for the last few albums and with the kick off of "Real Real Gone" this
    one was constantly in my CD player.
    
    Claudia Schmidt "Essential Tension" (Red House)
    
    While this one pretty much abandons all pretenses to traditional folk
    music, it may be Claudia's best effort.  This time around she wrote all
    the songs and her neo-jazz style works much better than, say, Rickie
    Lee Jones.  There is so much pure emotion here it's hard to not like
    it.
    
    Henry Kaiser "Hope You Like Our New Direction" (Reckless)
    
    Kaiser is known as an avant-garde noisemeister, but here he runs the
    gamut from smooth folk-rock to Arabian music to Appalachian folk to
    Beefheartisms to Hawaiian music to some serious *squonk*.  It sounds
    sort of like a smapler, it's hard to beleive one guy is fluent in all
    these styles.  For the adventurous only.  For subscribers to "Guitar
    Player" magazine, the identity of mystery columnist Buckethead is
    revealed here, as he plays on one track.
    
    Sugar Ray and the Bluetones "Don't Get In My Way" (Bullseye)
    
    This is the second and final Bluetones album (the band vaporized in
    1990 when guitarist Kid Bangham quit) but unlike most swan songs this
    showcases a band at the height of its powers.  My favorite blues
    release of the year.
    
    Reissues:
    
    Thunderclap Newman "Hollywood Dream" (Polydor)
    
    This has been out of print for too long.  To get the three singles in
    addition to the original album is icing on the cake.  One of the few
    perfect rock albums ever.  If you like late sixties British rock, you
    should own this.
    
    James Brown "Star Time" (Polydor)
    
    Not perfect (what box set can ever be?) but still excellent.  For those
    who don't own any JB, this is essential.  For those that do, this
    covers a lot of holes and just plain sounds great.  The programming is
    fantastic, ecah of the four disks could stand on its own.
    
    Singles:
    
    Crash Test Dummies "Superman Song"
    
    Honorable Mention:
    
    Sonny Sharrock's "Ask the Ages" (Axiom)
    
    I couldn't find it in the stores but kept hearing it on the radio and
    it sounded great. 
    
    						Brian

I'll agree that 1991 was not the year for pop music that 1990
was.  No album that I heard stood out the way that albums
by Poi Dog Pondering, Was (Not Was), and Paul Simon did in 1990.

Plus, some of the new releases were disappointing.  On first
listening, John Mellencamp's and Fred Small's new albums are
their weakest in many years.  Still some good stuff, but not
up to their recent standards.  Perhaps they'll grow on me.
Bob Seger's new album was OK, but it can't even crack the
top 5 Seger albums, much less the top 5 of 1991.  John Wesley
Harding's new album was also good, but still overproduced by
Andy Paley.  Please John, get a new producer for 1992!

But enough kvetching.  Here are my top 5 albums from 1991,
each of which gave me lots of enjoyment.

Joe Jackson - Laughter and Lust

  One of Joe's best albums ever, and my favorite pop album
  of the year.  Nearly every cut is a highlight.  And a great
  show in the Orpheum on one of the hottest nights of the year!

Stevie Wonder - Music from "Jungle Fever"

  Stevie's back with what I think is his best album in 15 years.
  From poignant songs like "Lighting Up the Candles" and "These
  Three Words" to great rockers like "Fun Day" and the title
  track, Stevie is in great form.  The movie was memorable, too.

Bruce Cockburn - Nothing But A Burning Light

  A step back from his rock albums of the 80's to more of the
  feel of his 70's work.  For the most part a spare, haunting
  album that has really grown on me with repeated listenings.
  Instead of the same banal rock-and-roll Christmas tunes, why
  couldn't stations have played "Cry of a Tiny Babe"?  Bruce
  also turned in an excellent show at the Orpheum this year.

Prince - Diamonds and Pearls

  In the "I don't get it" note, db asked why Prince gets tagged
  as a "musical genius" in the rock press.  Probably it's because
  the musically illiterate English majors in the rock press still
  can't believe someone can play all those instruments, and write,
  and produce.  But Prince also does some great things in his
  writing, especially in harmony vocals which don't stay in strict
  tonality.  Examples on this album include the microtonal vocals
  on "Gett Off" and the great harmonies that come in towards the
  end of "Strollin'."  But musicology aside, this is great rock
  music from someone who knows how to write melodies, harmonies,
  lyrics, and arrangements and make it singable as well as danceable.

Leonard Bernstein - Candide

  Not a rock album, but great musical theater from one of the premier
  musicians of our century.  In 1989, Bernstein finally recorded
  Candide himself in a version that perhaps is truer to his intentions
  than any other.  The cast is great, especially Jerry Hadley and
  June Anderson as Candide and Cunegonde.

    My top 4 albums released in 1991:
    
    1) Hymns to the Silence - Van Morrison
    
       (Re .8, I loved Enlightenment, also, but it was released
        in 1990.  Loved "Real, Real Gone", too.)
    
       My favorite on Hymns to the Silence is "Not Feelin' It
       Anymore" - a great song.  And, also, "Peace of Mind" and
       "Why Must I Always Explain."  I agree that he has been on
       a roll in the last 3 years with this album, Enlightenment,
       and 1989's Avalon Sunset.  I think these albums are right
       up with some of his older ones, such as, Into The Music,
       Wavelength, Astral Weeks, Tupelo Honey, and Moondance,
       as far as quality goes, and are, I think, among the best
       albums ever recorded by anybody, ever.  I love his voice,
       his lyrics, the music, and the arrangements.  
    
       Saw him in concert this past August and thought he was
       wonderful.  He's the only short, fat, middle-aged, bald
       man, I can think of, that I would like to meet!  :-)
    
    2) Achtung Baby - U2 - I like all almost all the songs and
                           think that anybody who likes U2,
                           which I do, would like the album.
                           I think the lyrics are good, too.
    
    3) Into The Great Wide Open - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
                           I've been a fan for a long time and,
                           while I don't think this album can
                           compare to their best (Damn The Torpedoes,
                           Long After Dark, Hard Promises), it
                           was good enough to give me a fix of
                           their sound, and I enjoyed it.
    
    4) The Ghosts that Haunt Me - Crash Test Dummies
                           I especially liked Superman's Song, and
                           was impressed by the lyrics of several
                           of the songs.  The lead singer's voice
                           could get annoying after awhile, I think,
                           but sounds good on most of the songs.
    
    
    
    Lorna
     

    
     To get off of the subject for a minute;
    
     When did Steve Marriott die, and from what?

    
    Re: -1
    
    Burned to death.  Smoking in bed after a night out drinking.
    
    -Ed
    

    My top pick:
    A mystery tape that is a compilation of three albums by Juan Luis
    Guerra, an artist from the Dominican Republic, that was sent to
    me by Alfonso Canella. Ninety minutes of superb melodies and
    arrangements, with everything from haunting ballads to hot
    dance tracks, in a wide variety of Latin music styles. Sat in
    my tape deck for a long time. There were also some African and
    zouk influnces in this stuff.
    
    And, I can't understand a word of it, as I don't speak Spanish.
    
    "The Future" by Guy. Some bone-crunching funk here in this mixture
    called the New Jack Swing; producer Teddy Reilly serves up some
    very original production. Great ballads, great singing by Aaron
    Hall.
    
    more later.....
    
    
    -roger