Album #91: Run Devil Run by Paul McCartney

1.      

Sound: 50’s rock n’ roll with an edge

Mood: Upbeat

Important Songs: Run Devil Run; All Shook Up

One Song You Must Hear:  She Said Yeah

Quote:  “Run devil run—the angels havin’ fun making winners out of sinners.”

Notes: After Linda McCartney passed away, Paul eventually went back into the studio, but he wasn’t able to write yet.  So he and his studio band just played a number of the classic 50’s rock tunes he loved growing up.  Some of these were covered by the early Beatles, but not with this power.  "Run Devil Run" is the name of a real store McCartney saw in the Southern U.S. which sold pharmaceuticals and witch doctor charms. 

Album #92: Chase the Kangaroo by The Choir

1.     

Sound: 80’s electronic

Mood: Mildly depressed

Important songs: Sad Face, Chase the Kangaroo,

One Song You Must Hear: Clouds

Quote:  “A sad face is good for the heart; maybe right now I don’t understand…”

Notes: The Choir is still around, but this is their best album.  It was written by the drummer after his wife had had three miscarriages in a row.  It reflects both his faith and the circumstances that was crushing his heart.

Album #93: So Runs The World Away by Josh Ritter

Sound: Modern Folk

Mood: Literate

Important songs: Folk Bloodbath; Another New World; Lark

One Song You Must Hear: Another New World

Quote: “I’m hoping it ain’t true that the same God who looked over them looks over me and you.”

Notes: If Paul Simon was just starting out today, I bet he’d sound like Josh Ritter.

Album #94: In The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra

1.      

Sound: Jazzy balads

Mood: Sad, lonely musings

Important songs: I Get Along Without You Very Well; In the Wee Small Hours

Quote: “When you’re alone, who cares for scarlet skies?”

Notes: Frank Sinatra is a classic performer, and here he is at his melancholy best.

Album #95: The Mission Soundtrack by Ennio Morricone

1.       

Sound: Classical/Tribal

Mood: Dramatic

Important Songs: On Earth As It Is In Heaven; Penance

One Song You Must Hear: Gabriel’s Oboe (2^nd version)

Notes: An amazing soundtrack. The mix of music styles is marvelous.  I don't have a lot to say about it, but I listen to this more than one might think.

Album #96: Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys

1.       

Sound: Surfer music with everything plus the kitchen sink

Mood: Personally reflective and occasionally playful

Important Songs:  God Only Knows; Wouldn't It Be Nice

One Song You Must Hear: I Know There's An Answer

Quote: “I keep looking for a place to fit where I can speak my mind; I’ve been trying hard to find the people I won’t leave behind.”

Notes: The Beach Boys most varied and yet focused album.  It has something for everyone but the overall impression is some somber personal reflection that is both difficult and joyous at the same time. Brian Wilson's masterpiece.

Album #97: Tommy by The Who

1.   

Sound: Early Rock Opera

Mood: Pointed storytelling with some sly humor

Important Songs: Pinball Wizard, I’m Free

One Song You Must Hear: We’re Not Gonna Take It

Quote: “I’m the gypsy, the Acid Queen… I’m guaranteed to tear your soul apart.”

Notes: Famous for being the first rock opera (which is debated), this Who album not only tells a compelling story, but has some powerful music by the Kings of Mod themselves.  There are some compelling, disturbing and thoughtful themes here.

Album #98: S&M by Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony

1.       

Sound: Metal and John Williams

Mood: Chaotic, frantic, angry

Important Songs: The Call of Ktulu/Master of Puppets

One Song You Must Hear: Master of Puppets

Quote: Shouted by crowd: “Master… master!”

Notes: This album is a celebration of two powerful forms of music, metal and symphonic.  Together, they make a powerful statement. It is a live album with almost no new Metallica material, but what they do with the old material is amazing.  The only reason this album isn't up higher is because it never reaches the heights of the first three songs.  Still, I hope you aren’t driving in front of me when I listen to this album.  Who knows what I will do.

Album #99: Eye In the Sky by The Alan Parsons Project

1

Sound: Brilliantly produced 80s rock

Mood: Nihilistic

Important Songs: Sirius/Eye In The Sky;  Old and Wise

Quotes: “Nothing to live for, nothing to die for, we’re lost in the middle of a hopeless world.” 

“Someday, in the midst of time, they will ask me if I knew you, I’ll smile and say you were a friend of mine.”

One Song You Must Hear: The Silence and I

Notes: There are a variety of styles, and not all of them work.  But the first side of this album is a masterpiece, and the final song, Old and Wise, makes an almost optimistic coda to this most pessimistic of albums. 

Album #100: If I Left the Zoo by Jars of Clay

1.      

Sound: Progressive folk with some 60s electric touches

Mood: Somber

Important Songs: Goodbye, Goodnight; Collide
One Song You Must Hear: Collide

Quote: “You never minded calling me a child… well, I guess that’s how I acted all the while.”

Notes:  This is as close as Jars of Clay comes to really rocking.  This album doesn’t hold together as a unit as some of their others, especially their first, but great songs here.