It's Certainly A Thrill: 'Sgt. Pepper' Is Best Album (Better than the White Album?!)

usa today ^ | 11-17-03

[steppenwolffe]

To everyone's complete lack of surprise, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has been anointed the best album ever in a new Rolling Stone poll.

The Beatles' consecrated 1967 classic tops ''The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,'' a collector's issue on stands Friday. Though typically the odds-on favorite for such rankings, Sgt. Pepper wasn't a slam-dunk.

''There was a horse race,'' says Rolling Stone music editor Joe Levy. ''Early on, any number of albums in the top 10 were in the lead. The final result is no shock, but there's a reason for that. The Beatles, after all, were the most important and innovative rock group in the world. And Sgt. Pepper arguably set the tone for what an album could be.''

The Beatles have four albums in the top 10. Predictably, the list is weighted toward testosterone-fueled vintage rock. The top solo female is Joni Mitchell, whose 1971 Blue is No. 30.

The newest entry is this year's Elephant by the White Stripes, landing at No. 390. The most current disc in the top 20 is Nirvana's 1991 breakthrough, Nevermind. Recent albums by Coldplay and The Strokes also made the cut, as did all three Eminem releases and a wide range of hip-hop.

''A classic record proves itself over time,'' Levy says, ''so it's gratifying and surprising to see so many newer records on the list, considering they're competing against such beloved and titanic records as Rubber Soul and Dusty in Memphis.''

Rolling Stone asked musicians, critics, historians and key industry figures to rank their 50 favorites. The 273 participants included Beck, U2's The Edge, Jackson Browne, Art Garfunkel, Missy Elliott and members of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Linkin Park and The Doors. The Ernst & Young accounting firm devised a point system to weight votes for 1,600 submitted titles.

Voters were invited to identify favorites from any period or genre, allowing a smattering of country (Johnny Cash), jazz (Miles Davis) and seminal blues (Howlin' Wolf). The list also accommodates greatest hits collections and live recordings; four James Brown picks include two sets of hits and Live at the Apollo (1963). Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank Williams, The Drifters and Loretta Lynn, who flourished during the era of 45s, are represented only by hits compilations.

''Artists whose best works were singles are not going to be well represented,'' Levy notes. For example, he adds, ''Disco is under-represented because it's a singles-driven genre.''

[Skooz]

Yeah, he wasn't really a hell-raiser or trash-the-hotel kind of guy. He was pretty low-key and always about the music. A true musician. Ron Wood fits in perfectly, and is a heckuva guitar player, but I think Mick Taylor is the finest guitarist the Stones have ever had.

[Mr. Mojo]

I saw Marley at the Roxy (on the Sunset Strip in L.A.) . in '78, and it was great. ....although I was probably a couple years too young to fully appreciate it. No one has ever come close to him in the reggae genre .....not even close.

[Mr. Mojo]

Catch a Fire .....nice spliff.

[FreedomCalls]

How could you have a top-100 list and not mention Frankie Yankovic?

[Fresh Wind]

In fact, they should have phrased the question..... "Other than "Satisfaction", what's the greatest Rock and Roll song?"

Kind of like asking "Other than Sgt. Peppers, what's the greatest Rock Album?"

[FreedomCalls]

.....not even close.

Amen. I hear you.

[Fresh Wind]

[Mr. Mojo]

I saw Taylor only once (in the early 80's), when he was playing with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. ....They were the opening act for someone, but I forgot who. Always stayed within himself as a player.....nothing flashy, just great blues. ... and got an amazing tone outta that Les Paul).

[SamAdams76]

When I set my mp3's playing randomly, I can hear Count Basie, The Rolling Stones, Anonymous 4, Pink Floyd, Beethoven, Ella Fitzgerald, The Cars, and the The Sons of the Pioneers in succession. Having ripped every disk I have (vinyl and CD), I just love having all this stuff right here in one place where I can just have my player run for days on end without repeating a turn. Isn't technology wonderful?

Sure is. I've spent most of the past year turning my massive record collection into MP3s. I take them on the road with me with my MP3 player but mostly I just listen to them at random on the computer. I have nearly 15,000 tracks and I am discovering and re-discovering music from classical to blues to vintage rock. It's a lot of fun. I've even grabbed some of those 99 cent songs off the web.

BTW, I have the Symphonic Pink Floyd. That's been out for some years now. Good stuff.

[eddie willers]

Kind of like asking "Other than Sgt. Peppers, what's the greatest Rock Album?"

Yep. No question
Though the Parlophone version of "Revolver" is my favorite Beatles album.
Go figure.

[Mr. Mojo]

Ping to the quarterly album thread.

[Alberta's Child]

I'm talking Rock & Roll....Summertime...Cruising Cadillac Convertible . . .

Oh, I see. In that case, you'd have to add tunes like "Boys of Summer," "Hollywood Nights," and "Sultans of Swing" to your list. LOL.

[Senator Pardek]

The problem with that album is that it sounds like it was recorded at the bottom of a pond - terrible sound quality.

IMHO - this album showed that the boys had matured to be among the greats...

[Alberta's Child]

For the record, Boston's self-titled album is the best ever.

Hmmm -- now there's one that has been overlooked on this thread. I remember hearing somewhere that "More Than A Feeling" is the most often-requested song in the history of FM radio in the U.S.

[thrcanbonly1]

The last Polka

The Shmenge Brothers farewell tour.

[Alberta's Child]

Boston's Tom Schultz apparently lost any chance of securing another record contract when he spent five years perfecting the sound of Boston's first album. Engineering and music don't mix, I guess (Schultz was an MIT student at the time, if I recall).

[Alberta's Child]

Boston's album is the greatest concentration of recognizable songs on a single album.

I have to disagree with that one -- I believe The Eagles Greatest Hits would fit that bill.

[One_American]

Cattle Call

Simply stated........Slim Rocked!

[Senator Pardek]

Boston's Tom Schultz apparently lost any chance of securing another record contract when he spent five years perfecting the sound of Boston's first album.

It still paid off in spades. This was '76 mind you - a couple of years earlier, folks were rocking to Grand Funk albums.

The unique production value of that album changed the whole equation - no rock album sounded like that prior to that time (not to mention it was a debut release).

[JakeSladder]

For the Pink Floyders: ' Piper at the Gates of Dawn '...words cannot describe..aw hell, yes they can...BLECH!!