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Albums that you consider "perfect"...

#641
rydogg_sc2 said:
I think it is funny that these threads really just end up being most people listing their favorite albums and not perfect albums. Perfect albums are very rare and some years I do not think that any are even released.

For an album to be perfect it does not even mean that I have to love it. For instance I feel that Miles Davis Kind of Blue is a perfect album but it is not one of my favorite albums of all time. I do not listen to it regularly but I can appreciate how flawless and complete it is from the first note to the last. There is not a moment on the album that could be done any better than it already is.

One band that has been mentioned numerous times in this thread is Tool. I do not see how a band like Tool could ever put out a perfect album. Their albums have too much filler be it just noise or some guy speaking at me in German. It is interesting the first time you hear it but I guarantee it is skipped almost every time thereafter.
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I think that there's something in this, but when I posted my feeling was that "perfect album" means an album that works as a total experience, not simply a collection of ten or twelve great songs, but that you really need to listen to from track one and keep going to the end.
 
#642
rydogg_sc2 said:
I think it is funny that these threads really just end up being most people listing their favorite albums and not perfect albums. Perfect albums are very rare and some years I do not think that any are even released.

For an album to be perfect it does not even mean that I have to love it. For instance I feel that Miles Davis Kind of Blue is a perfect album but it is not one of my favorite albums of all time. I do not listen to it regularly but I can appreciate how flawless and complete it is from the first note to the last. There is not a moment on the album that could be done any better than it already is.

One band that has been mentioned numerous times in this thread is Tool. I do not see how a band like Tool could ever put out a perfect album. Their albums have too much filler be it just noise or some guy speaking at me in German. It is interesting the first time you hear it but I guarantee it is skipped almost every time thereafter.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. This thread should be called "Your Favorite Album"
 
#643
Rush - Moving Pictures, Do I even have to say why? The bass tones aren't my favorite, but drums and guitar tones kick ass. Not to mention, the writing is out of this world, my all time favorite album.

Rush - Hemispheres, My second favorite Rush album, the guitar sound is incredibly crunchy, and Hiwatt-like. the Bass sounds like a slightly overdriven SVT, and the drums sound thick and meaty. La Villa Strangiato is a work of art, and the Trees has the best breakdown/buildup bridge I've ever heard IMO.

Switchfoot - Oh! Gravity, I'm sure not many people have heard of it, but all of the tones are incredible for a more modern rock sound. I love the feel-good writing sytle of it, and it's overall perfect. I can't think of any downsides to it.

Runners up:
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
 
#653
Weather Report - Heavy Weather (guess who...)
Brecker Bros - Heavy Metal Bebop (Neil Jason)
Rush - Moving Pictures
Mike Mainieri - Wanderlust (Marcus Miller, Tony Levin)
Stanley Clarke - School Days
Michael Brecker - Pilgrimage (Patitucci)
Chick's Elektric Band - Eye of the Beholder (Patitucci)

Just some of the best AT their best...!!
 
#658
The Butcher's Ballroom - Diablo Swing Orchestra. Truly amazing how a relatively unknown band from Sweden had such great sound production on their first album.

Tool - Lateralus. Simply perfect, in every way imaginable.

Frank Zappa - Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch. It blows me away each time to hear the last three tracks straight through, because they transition so smoothly you don't know when it happens.

Buckethead - Kaleidoscalp. Absolute mindf*** insanity, and perfectly produced to amplify that effect to the nth degree. I've never had an acid trip before, but I can safely bet this is what one would be like.

ohGr - Devils in My Details. Very, very haunting and gripping album. The vocals are not very clear on some tracks, but I think that was intentional, as they are often used as sound textures as much as lyrical vehicles.

Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power. A true display of power, if there ever was one.

Rob Zombie - Educated Horses. While not the cleanest of Zombie's records (which isn't saying anything,) I love how different this one sounds. The first time I listened to it, it sounded so foreign from The Sinister urge that I questioned if it was really Zombie behind it all. But it was, and that unique flavor is what sets this apart from his past efforts.

Anoushka Shankar - Rise. I'm not very experienced with Indian music, so I'm not sure what the production standards are, but this is a phenomenal-sounding album that does justice to the utterly amazing music contained within.
 
#659
rydogg_sc2 said:
One band that has been mentioned numerous times in this thread is Tool. I do not see how a band like Tool could ever put out a perfect album. Their albums have too much filler be it just noise or some guy speaking at me in German. It is interesting the first time you hear it but I guarantee it is skipped almost every time thereafter.
Click to expand...

Are you aware of the idea of the "concept album," that the entire album is a work of art in addition to the songs contained? The thing with Tool is, they craft each album to be an experience in its entirety and in its own. It's not how most albums are today, with people just taking whichever tracks they want and the experience never souring. With a Tool album, as well as other progressive/art rock artists, the whole album is the experience and that's what it's engineered for.

So, yes, an album can be perfect if it has filler, so long as you believe a perfect album is one that has the quality of being a standalone work of art. Don't think that you have some special definition of "perfect" that supersedes all others; I doubt you have the composition or production chops to gain that level of authority.
 

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