Sunshine Superman

This album's artwork to me really epitomizes the psychedelic vibe. The art-nouveau style on the american release is one of my favorite designs ever (maybe sans the photo of Donovan in the middle). I don't think Donovan gets enough cred. This album, Mellow Yellow, and Hurdy Gurdy Man, all classics. Supposedly, John Paul Jones and John Bonham both played on the Hurdy Gurdy sessions.

Donovan - Sunshine Superman
Epic - 1966

The Velvet Underground & Nico

I know, another obvious one, but its got the peel-off banana sticker cover, "Venus in Furs", and really is the true intersection of the art and music world in the 20th century. For those of you that don't know, Andy Warhol is credited as producer, though he's been said to be more of a catalyst and facilitator. Whatever, the fact that Lou Reed, John Cale, and Andy Warhol all happened to appear in the universe at the same time, and in New York City, no less, is nothing short of a miracle, and this is the untarnished record of that cosmic alignment. It goes from dark songs like "Venus in Furs" to the tenderness of "I'll be your mirror" to the lament of "Femme Fatale" in under 50 minutes. Few have made a bolder statement since. A moment of silence, please :)

Ege Bamyasi

From the first note of "Pinch", you know you are going somewhere new with Can on this record. They didn't have a very long period of making music this good, in fact, this and Tago Mago are the only ones I listen to over and over, but they were doing something so forward-thinking, far out, and yet really slamming rhythmically, that this record not only holds up, but is that rare gift of an album that is always revealing more of itself to you with each listen. I also love that they recorded it in a disused cinema near Koln. The cover art is great in that its both a play on the band's name and is like their nod to the Velvet Underground with their Warhol cover. In no particular order, check out Vitamin C, I'm So Green, Spoon, and Pinch.

Can - Ege Bamyasi
United Artists - 1972

Some Girls

OK, I love the track "Miss You". I mean, Shattered is great, too, but Miss You has all the elements, the hook, the harmonica, the four-on-the-floor beat. Perfection. Again, the image here isn't the original cover (featuring apparently unlicensed photos of Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, and Lucille Ball), which I have yet to track down. I suppose it's becoming obvious that I really just aspire to having all these rare discs, and that I'm hoping the internet gods will somehow cause them to come my way... We'll see!


Rolling Stones - Some Girls
Atlantic 1978

Diamond Dogs

Bowie. Diamond Dogs. Yes. Love that he plays guitar on this one. Not that I don't love Mick Ronson, but there is nothing more badass than Bowie playing a Gibson L-5 cranked to 11 at the top of "Rebel Rebel". The ballads on this record (Sweet Thing, We are the Dead) are masterpieces as well. This album is also the reunion of Bowie with Tony Visconti, one of the most fruitful partnerships in rock history. The artwork pictured above is the g-rated version, which had been airbrushed to remove genetalia from the "hybrids". So, anyone have one of the few originals they're dying to part with?

David Bowie - Diamond Dogs
RCA - 1974

Odessey and Oracle

I feel like the first few dozen of my posts are going to be a bit on the obvious side, but I need to get them out of the way nonetheless. Odessey and Oracle is noteable for a bunch of reasons (the least of which is the misspelling of the title). First, it was the first album to be recorded at EMI's Abbey Road studios by a non-EMI/Capitol artist. The Beatles had just finished Sgt. Pepper prior to work commencing on this album. The band broke up before it was released in the U.S., and the U.S. release was in stereo, which required a lengthy remixing process. The original release on CBS in the UK had been mono. Does anyone have an original UK version, which has the uncropped album cover art?

I will say that the recent re-releases of this record on cd have been great, in that they include a ton of material that was left off the record, like "Walking in the Sun", and "She Loves the Way They Love Her"

The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle
CBS - 1968

Synchronicity

All right, this is a cry for help. Before I get into what is so great about this record, I know that there were 36 differend versions of the original artwork. I only have 2 (one being a signed copy bought from a former A&M executive). Does any crazy fan out there have ALL of them? I would love images of all the covers, and to know if there are any other differences, track sequence, bonuses, etc., that might not be widely known.

It's easy to say that all the Police albums are classics, but there's an intensity to this record, along with Hugh Padgham's fantastic production (recorded at AIR Montserrat!) that still sounds really modern. None of the awful reverbs I tend to associate with early 80's production. It's lean, and very open sounding, and in contrast to Ghost in the Machine, Sting's lead vocals aren't double-tracked on every song, which makes songs like "King of Pain" feel a bit more raw and intimate. Whatever, can't say anything bad about this record, with the exception of "Mother". As much as I revere Andy Summers, its hard to get through that one :)

The Police - Synchronicity
A&M 1983