Recommended CDs
I have over 300 compact discs that I've collected over the past 13 years; these are some of the best. I like lots of different types of music, but the CDs that I play over and over tend to feature breathy, angelic, female vocals. If you like that sort of stuff too, then you'll probably get some use out of this page.
If you decide to buy one, please follow the link and order it from Amazon.Com, since I make money when you do! It's not a lot, but every little bit counts! If you buy any CDs that I've recommended, please let me know what you think of them.
OK Computer
Radiohead
OK Computer is a unique album in my experience, a disc so perfect that I never
seem to tire of listening to it. It is certainly one of the best albums of
modern times. It seems to be an ode to the futility and cynicism.
This CD feels as if Radiohead labored over every minute, with all the notes
contrived to produce just the right effect at the right moment.
What's the Story, Morning Glory?
Oasis
Oasis is so British that when I listen to this CD, I feel like I'm living back
in my flat in Soho, London. For awhile I thought that it was just the
music, but the more I looked at the cover, the more familiar it seemed.
Then I realized that it is a photo of Berwick Street in Soho, facing south.
I lived on this street, about five blocks south of where this cover photo was
taken, only by the time it reached my apartment, it was called Rupert Street.
The tall apartment building in the distance has a supermarket on the first floor
(at least what passes for a supermarket in Soho), where I bought most of my
groceries. Aside from that, I really dig this CD. The production is
grandiose and the music is bristling with energy; the tunes all sound loud
even when you have it turned down. Oasis will pick you up if you're feeling
down.
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Smashing Pumpkins
Billy Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins's tour-de-force is everything that a double
album should be. From quiet piano solos to fuzzed-and-flanged-out
china-rattlers, this CD has something for everyone.
Whenever I look through reviews of a double album, someone always opines that the band could have cut out half the material and made a stronger single album. I consider that statement to be the mark of an inferior writer. Obviously, every recording will have some parts that are better than others, and you can always make the case that by removing the lesser parts, you can make the remaining whole "stronger." Why stop at reducing double albums to "stronger" single albums? Why not reduce LPs to "stronger" EPs or singles? Obviously reducing an LP to a "stronger" single would destroy the creative vision of the artist. A double album is a creative work that carries on for two hours rather than the usual one. It's a movie instead of a television show. Removing the slow parts from a movie doesn't make the movie better; it just makes the movie different. Similarly, removing half the material wouldn't leave a "stronger" version of the same album; it would leave a different album. And that would be too bad, because Mellon Collie is fantastic just the way it is.
Little Earthquakes
Tori Amos
This is a hauntingly beautiful album. Most of the songs are sad, and if you are
feeling down when you listen to them, they will probably make you even more depressed, but
if you are in a good mood, you can appreciate the depth of Tori's compositions and her
versatile and dynamic voice.
Evita: Music from the Motion Picture
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
I have to say that I didn't know that Madonna had it in her. I like musicals (and by
extension, soundtracks of musicals) because I like vocals, and musicals usually feature
extraordinarily high quality vocalists, people who have been singing since before they
could talk. I didn't think that Madonna would be able to keep up, but in truth she
leaves Julie Covington (who played Evita on the original concept album) in the dust.
My mother, hardly a Madonna fan, upon hearing me playing this CD, asked
me, "Who's the woman singing?" But as unlikely a vocalist as Madonna is,
her co-star, Antonio Banderas, is even more unlikely. At least we knew that Madonna
could sing! But Banderas' performance is every bit as good as Madonna's, with
his slight Spanish accent providing an appropriate South American flavor. Evita, the
movie, took some heat for being more of a 2 1/4-hour music video than a proper musical,
but when you take away the screen show (and unfortunately, nearly an hour of music),
you're left with a fantastic CD.
Happily Ever After
Rose Chronicles
Listening to Happily After Ever, I feel like I'm listening to a soundtrack to something,
either a movie or a musical, but it's just a standalone CD. Most of the songs
feature heavy, thick guitar tracks, with lots of chorus, delay, and reverb, the trademark
sound of guitarist Richard Miranda, making it difficult to believe that the entire
instrumental section of this band consists of one guitar and one bass, though to be fair,
the drums are doing a lot more than keeping time. Rising above the mass of guitars
and drums is the wonderful voice of Kristy Thirsk, which varys from breathy to belting,
sometimes at the same time! Kristy Thirsk has an unofficial site called Vox, maintained by her fans, which is better
than some some artists' official sites.
Urban Hymns
The Verve
This CD didn't do that well in the US, the only single to gain any recognition being Bittersweet
Symphony, the only track not written entirely by the band. But here in the UK
it was huge, and with reason! The CD is just really good. It's a bit like
Happily Ever After (above) in that the vocals are swimming in a sea of layered guitars,
but the songs are more emotional and personal. (As noted, HEA sounds more like a
soundtrack to something.)
Last updated December 06, 2001