29. Muddy Waters - At Newport 1960

1. I Got My Brand on You

2. I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man*

3. Baby, Please Don't Go

4. Soon Forgotten

5. Tiger in Your Tank*

6. I Feel So Good

7. Got My Mojo Working*

8. Got My Mojo Working, Part 2

9. Goodbye Newport Blues

A

I actually really like the sound of Chicago blues. By which I mean that I used to own a Howlin' Wolf best of that I was quite fond of. Muddy Waters' sound is a lot more polished than Wolf's, and his voice doesn't have Wolf's death rattle evilness. That said, they both relied a lot on songwriter Willie Dixon, so there are a few commonalities in their sound. 

And indeed, Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man" is one of the highlights of the album. But then again, this is an album composed entirely of highlights. There isn't a bad song on it. The playing is impeccable throughout. The rhythm section stumbles along like a mammoth on the slower, bluesier tracks, and then switches to a breakneck shuffle for songs like "Tiger in Your Tank" and the delightful "Got My Mojo Working (Parts 1 & 2)". It's not really hard to describe what this album sounds like - just imagine what you think the electric blues sounds like, and you're probably right. Waters was apparently the chief architect of the sound, and this album shows him as a master of the form.

If I do have one complaint, it's that while the piano and harmonica playing is excellent throughgout, it also has a tendency to drown out the guitar, Which is annoying because the bits of guitar you can hear are pretty great.

Apparently this, along with the previously released The Best of Muddy Waters, was the album that helped to introduce the electric blues to a broader White audiences - particularly in Britain. So without it we might never have had Hendrix, Cream, the Rolling Stones or The Them. In a way, this album changed music, and is one of the most important ever released. Thankfully its quality matches its importance. This album is a blast throughout.

Unfortunately, by introducing the blues to a wider audience, it also that created that most insufferable creature - the middle aged white guy who is way too into the blues. So I guess no man is without sin.

28. The Incredible Jimmy Smith - Back at the Chicken Shack (1960?)

1. Back at the Chicken Shack *

2. When I Grow to Old to Dream

3. Minor Chant

4. Messy Bessy *

B-

This is another example of the Book failing to play by its own rules. I looked into it and while this album was recorded in 1960, it wasn't actually released until 1963. This is odd to me, because apparently Smith did release a well-regarded album in 1960 cut from the same sessions as this one. So I don't know. I think they probably included this one because of the amusing title and cover (although I suspect many of the albums ended up in here purely because they happened to be in the Editor's record collection). Or because they wanted to provide context for albums released before 1963. The ways of the Book are inscrutable.

That out of the way, I didn't much care for this. It's the perfect example of a good idea stretched to breaking point. The title track is a fun, funky jazz experiment, and then every other song on the album is basically the same. Oh, they'll quote a melody at the start or something, and two of the tracks feature very fine electric guitar, but really this is jazz at its most self-indulgent. There's also the fact that, while many people apparently admire saxophonist Stanley Turrentine's playing on this album, I found it annoying and out of place. I can only listen to a guy noodling along with impeccable technique and absolutely no sense of melody for so long before I start to pull my hair out.

It's annoying, because the central idea of this album is pretty good. And when Smith and the rhythm section lock in on a groove everything falls into place and it's a great listen. If I put this on in the background like I did the other day I quite enjoy it, as you don't really have to pay much attention and it creates a warm and soulful atmosphere. Listening to it again just now on headphones, from start to finish, I became very frustrated. And really, it all comes down to that bloody saxophone. It just doesn't mesh with the rest of the music. The moments when Kenny Burrell lets loose on his guitar (the asterisked tracks) show what this could have been. Then again I suppose what I think it could have been is a Booker T. & the M.G.s album, so what do I know.

This is worth listening to, mind. I do like the organ as an instrument, I just didn't enjoy the aimlessness of the compositions. And really I don't feel too bad about only giving it a "B-" - a contemporary review from Downbeat only gave it three out of five stars, after all.

If you're the sort of person who's in ecstasy listening to long, noodling saxophone solos that drown out an excellent rhythm combo (check those toe-tapping walking basslines!), this is for you. Personally, I loved the first and last tracks but found the rest of the album didn't have much to offer.

27. The Everly Brothers - A Date With The Everly Brothers (1960)

1. Made to Love

2. That's Just Too Much

3. Stick With Me Baby

4. Baby What You Want Me to Do

5. Sigh, Cry, Almost Die

6. Always It's You *

7. Love Hurts *

8. Lucille 

9. So How Come (No One Loves Me)

10. Donna, Donna

11. A Change of Heart

12. Cathy's Clown *

B+

With a title like A Date With The Everly Brothers you'd expect a lot of sultry crooning and paeans to the power of romance. Instead, most of the songs on this album are about the pitfalls of love. In "Love Hurts" and "Cathy's Clown", you even have two of the truly great songs about just how much love can suck. The rest of this album can't even come close to matching the greatness of those two songs, but it still manages to be a fun (if largely forgettable) listen.

The twin strengths of the Everlys are peerless close-harmony vocals and a commitment to interesting arrangements. The result is an album that is incredibly pleasant to listen to. The Brothers twist and twine their way through some very innovative vocal melodies. The band has a rich, layered sound that takes the many disparate elements of rock and country and then applies a Big Band-esque complexity to the arrangements, with results that sometimes seem to anticipate Phil Spector's famous Wall of Sound. And on songs like "Love Hurts" and the incredibly pretty "Always It's You" the results are gorgeous. 

Unfortunately most of the material fails to be a match for the incredible musical ability on display. "Made to Love" is a brilliant slice of sunshine pop, but it's kind of hurt by having incredibly outdated lyrics - namely, that girls are made to love, and that if you're ever in doubt about whether you should kiss one, you should just remember that fact. It's unfortunate, as the song is very catchy. The rest of the songs are the typical grab bag of "She Done Him Wrong" and "Why Does No One Love Me" nonsense. It's all very pretty but kind of uninteresting lyrically, although as a lonely sad sack I couldn't help but be moved a bit by "So How Come (No One Loves Me)".

So I guess this is a pretty typical pop album, with all the good and bad that entails. You have a couple of truly brilliant songs carefully positioned amidst a bunch of OK ones. The whole thing is fun and pretty but not very engaging on a lyrical level for anyone who isn't a teenage girl in 1960. And I was only ever a teenage girl for a few minutes in 1997 (don't ask).  The level of craftsmanship on display is jaw dropping, and on a musical level it's a very impressive album, but not impressive enough to elevate the "I just bought a rhyming dictionary" lyrics. Still, "Love Hurts" is everything good about 60s pop, and "Cathy's Clown" stands alone on this album as a dark and mature look at the little hells romance can drag you into.  

If you like this sort of thing, I'd definitely recommend it. It really is quite a good album. 

26. Miriam Makeba - Miriam Makeba (1960)

1. The Retreat Song*

2. Suliram 

3. The Click Song*

4. Umhome

5. Olilili

6. Lakutshn, Llanga

7. Mbube*

8. The Naughty Little Flea

9. Where Does It Lead

10. Nomeva

11. House of the Rising Sun

12. Saduva

13. One More Dance

14. Iya Guduza

B

So before I started this project I knew nothing at all about Miriam Makeba. Upon reading her Wikipedia page I discovered that she was actually quite an interesting and important woman. She introduced African music to the West, was a tireless civil rights activist, and became the Queen of Afropop, known simply as "Mama Afrika". All of which is pretty impressive. What isn't impressive is this album. 

Now I knew starting this that there would be albums I didn't like for purely personal reasons. You can't expect a person to like every kind of music. And this couldn't be further from the sort of music that I habitually listen to. In fact it would be fair to say that I dislike South African music in general. I can't stand Soweto, for example, and I have never made it all the way through Paul Simon's Graceland. So that's on me I suppose. Can't be helped.

Ironically, the African songs on this album are the ones I liked the best. "The Click Song" and "Mbube" are big, rhythmic numbers and tremendous fun. And I liked "Umhome", which is an unaccompanied vocal piece which really shows off the awesome power of Makeba's voice. No, I may have reservations about African pop music, but what really lets this album down are the songs in English. "Where Does It Lead", a sort of folk ballad with bass and guitar accompaniment, is nice enough at first but doesn't really go anywhere. "The Naughty Little Flea" is a calypso number but basically just a stupid novelty song. Makeba's version of "House of the Rising Sun" is completely bloodless, and drops several verses, and is really just a poorly conceived attempt from start to finish. But the song that really pissed me off was "One More Dance", which is one of the most annoying things I've ever heard. It's a stupid song to begin with, but it's made worse by being a duet with a man who can't stop laughing. It's fucking terrible.

So I would recommend this album, but warn people that it is kind of a mixed bag. The range of styles Makeba attempts - traditional African, South African pop, calypso, folk, jazz, Indonesian lullaby, and Western pop - is pretty damned impressive, but unfortunately not all the experiments succeed. I guess there's also the problem of the non-English numbers often being most interesting for their novelty. I mean, I don't speak the language, and as a consequence have no idea what they're about, and so can only judge them as interesting and exotic pieces of music. So I don't know.

I wanted to like this more, and I did really enjoy many of the songs, but it's really just not my thing.

25. Elvis Presley - Elvis Is Back! (1960)

1. Make Me Know It

2. Fever *

3. The Girl of My Best Friend *

4. I Will Be Home Again

5. Dirty, Dirty Feeling

6. Thrill of Your Love

7. Soldier Boy

8. Such a Night

9. It Feels So Right

10. Girl Next Door Went A-Walking

11. Like a Baby

12. Reconsider Baby *

B+

One of the fun things about listening to these albums exclusively, one at a time, and in order, is that I tend to appreciate them more. If I'd just popped Elvis is Back! on one day I probably wouldn't have cared much for it, but after several jazz and folk albums it was a real breath of fresh air. True, this is not a perfect album. It is, however, a pretty good one. There are a couple of duds but generally the song choices are good and they're all well-performed. There are even a couple of genuine classics.

My favourite song on the album is definitely the version of "Fever". It follows the Peggy Lee version pretty closely, but where Lee's is all coy, worldly sophistication, Presley's version just drips sex. Every copy sold should have come with a free pair of flame-retardant underpants. 

Right after that you have "The Girl of My Best Friend", which sees Elvis stretching himself a bit and recording a genuine pop song. And honestly, it's great. In a lot of ways it's just an ordinary teen pop song of the kind you'd expect of the Everly Brothers, but it has a great tune, Elvis nails the emotion of the song, and he really stretches himself as a vocalist (apparently he underwent vocal training during his downtime while in the Service with the explicit goal of broadening his range). The strange doo-wop backing by the Jordanelles which is omnipresent on this album also manages to avoid seeming out of place.

My third favourite song is probably "Reconsider Baby", which comes right at the end of the album and is a slow, gritty blues number at odds with the rest of the album. Apparently Elvis played lead guitar on this, and he's actually pretty good.

There are some other good songs here, too, I suppose. "Girl Next Door Went A-Walking" is pretty catchy, as is "Such a Night". But then there are those duds I mentioned. "Soldier Boy" is fine for what it is, but "I Will Be Home Again" and "The Thrill of Your Love" don't have much to recommend them. Nor do I have much fondness for "Like a Baby". You also have "Dirty, Dirty Feeling", which is a great rockabilly number musically but which has some decidedly non-PC lyrics about dragging women home and chaining them to the wall. I think it's all meant to be a joke but honestly it's not that funny. So I guess just listen to the music.

I haven't really gone through an album song by song before, but I guess that's because Elvis  Is Back! is very much an album in the sense of a collection of songs, rather than there being any real unifying theme. It's kind of an "everything but the kitchen sink" sort of album, dealing with all sorts of genres with moderate success. That said, the good stuff on here is really good, and the tracks are ordered so that there's plenty of variety when you listen through from start to end.  There's also a really great energy on this album. You can tell Elvis was excited, after two years in the Army, to be back in the studio and trying new things, even if those new things probably alienated a few of his fans. The result is an album that is immensely likeable. Even when it doesn't quite work, it's fun to have on just to experience its vibe.

24. Joan Baez - Joan Baez (1960)

1. Silver Dagger*

2. East Virginia*

3. Fair Thee Well (1,0000 Miles)

4. Hiouse of the Ruising Sun

5. Alll My Trials

6. Wildwood Flower

7. Donna Donna

8. John Riley

9. Rake and Rambling Boy

10. Little Moses

11. Mary Hamilton*

12. Henry Martin

13. El Preso Numero Nueve

A-

Joan Baez has a beautiful voice. Unfortunately she also has a tendency to launch said voice into the stratosphere, and engage in operatic warbling that feels like a knife in the ear. But she can also lower her voice to a gorgeous whisper that trembles and quavers most beautifully. This was her first album, and I suppose she hadn't quite learned to rein in her vocal excesses. The result is an album that is very beautiful but occasionally strident. I honestly really enjoyed this. There are some great choices on here, all well performed. "East Virginia" and "Mary Hamilton" are beautifully done. By covering "The House of the Rising Sun" Baez takes a story of a youth wasted iin debauchery and turns it into a story of a young woman forced into prostitution. And honestly, what do you make of an album by an attractive woman in 1960 that opens with "Silver Dagger", as dark a proclamation of voluntary spinsterhood as you could care to hear.

There are also a few beautiful religious songs on this album, in "All My Trials" and "Little Moses", and Baez's personal views on personal freedom shine through on the gorgeous "Donna Donna", a dark song about calves led to slaughter and the swallows that fly free over them.

Honestly I can't recommend this album enough. If you can get past the fact that this is the ultimate stereotyped of the folk singer, blasting thees and thous in an operatic soprano, then this is great. t's doubly impressive as Baez accompanies herself throughout on impressive guitar.

23. The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out (1959)

1. Blue Rondo a la Turk*

2. Strange Meadow Lark

3. Take Five*

4. Three to Get Ready

5. Kathy's Waltz

6. Everybody's Jumpin'*

7. Pick Up Sticks

B+

I'm struggling to find anything of depth to say about this album. Its importance from a technical standpoint comes from its innovative use of time signatures, about which I know nothing. From a purely musical point of view, its not all that interesting to me aside from two obvious standouts.

 "Blue Rondo a la Turk" is a deeply strange but incredibly fun track. It seems to owe just as much to classical music as it does to jazz, and is really sort of two pieces in one. It alternates between a rapid, technically dazzling passage in an odd time signature that repeats a strange sort of herky-jerky melody first on piano and then on saxophone, and a series of laid-back cool jazz solos in 4/4 time. It's hard to explain but tremendous fun.

The other big track on this album is "Take Five", which is a piece I'm sure most people have heard and which I won't bother describing. One thing I liked when reading about this album is the quote from Dave Brubeck "'Take Five' was never meant to be a hit. It was meant to be a Joe Morello drum solo". And it's true that, while the piano vamp and wonderful saxophone melody are the best remembered parts of the track, the real star is Morello, for whom the song was written as a showcase, and in which he delivers one of the classiest drum solos you'll ever hear.

I also liked "Everybody's Jumpin'", which features some great passages where Brubeck hammers on the chords of his piano to the point where the track stars to sound like something by Steve Reich.

Other than that, while there's a lot here to like, I didn't find much to get excited about. The pieces are all beautifully played and recorded, and I liked the Classical elements, but overall this just isn't the sort of jazz I go for. Possibly the other tracks suffer in comparison to "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo...", which really do tower over the other compositions. I'm always caught when dealing with an album like this between giving it a rating based on my enjoyment and giving it the rating I think it deserves. Maybe I should just abandon the whole rating system altogether. Actually no, I won't do that, but it's nice to know I could.

So anyway, two brilliant tracks everyone should hear and five pretty good ones it's ok to skip.

22. Marty Robbins - Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs

1. Big Iron

2. Cool Water

3. Billy the Kid

4. A Hundred and Sixty Acres\

5. They're Hanging Me Tonight

6. The Strawberry Roan

7. El Paso

8. In the Valley

9. The Master's Call

10. Running Gun

11. The Little Green Valley

12. Utah Carol

A-

When I was a kid, my dad used to play an oldies station from Melbourne that focused on pop songs from the 50s and 60s. It was on this station that I first heard "El Paso" and fell in love with it. Not only does it have a great rhythm and melody, but unlike most of the music I'd heard up to that point, it told a story. This was music as short story, and I was fascinated.

Many years later I found a copy of Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs in a charity shop. It's scratchy and warped, but I still have it, and it's great. The best songs on this album are fascinating narratives, all conveyed by Marty Robbins' truly extraordinary singing voice. And the best songs are all penned by Robbins. "Big Iron" is a classic lawman-vs-outlaw tale that captures the excitement and drama of the Old West (at least, as we like to think of it) perfectly. "El Paso" is a movie in miniature, the story of a guy who shoots someone who tries to steal his love away, has to flee, and is drawn back to his doom by his love. And then you have "His Master's Call", a story of finding redemption in Christ, which features one of the most beautiful vocal melodies I've ever heard.

The rest of the album is pretty solid, too. Honestly, the reissue is probably better than the original, as it features great songs like "Saddle Tramp" and "The Hanging Tree", but the original can hold its own. This is country music, but not the sort most people think of. The stories are fun and exciting, the vocals are clear and magnificent. It many ways it owes as much to pop music as it does to country and western. This is especially true of "They're Hanging Me Tonight" which features slightly Latin guitar and a gently melody and which, if not for its lyrics, could be an Everly Brothers tune.

The main thing to take from this album is that it's fun and cool. True, it's cool in a very 1950s way, and there are some tracks which people who dislike country might consider stumbling blocks, but it's a great album. I've been complaining for a while now about how most of the songs on the List up to this point have just been silly love songs, and so to have an album of genuine lyrical depth, telling stories and dealing with unusual subject matter, is a real joy. The thing I'm taking from the music I'm listening to for this list is that country music, both musically and lyrically, was a significantly greater influence on rock and pop than the conventional narrative would have it. It's songs about real life, about tragedies and adventures, and it's great.

21. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959)

 1. So What *

2. Freddie Freeloader

3. Blues in Green *

4. All Blues *

5. Flamenco Sketches

A+

I've been kind of dreading writing about this album. I mean, what do you say about an album widely regarded as perhaps the greatest ever recorded? An album that completely rewrote the rules for popular music. For many people, this is THE jazz album. Miles Davis would still be revered if he'd never recorded it, but in many ways his stratospheric reputation rests on these five tracks. 

I suppose the simple thing is to remember I'm not Robert Christgau. I'm not writing a review for the ages, that will influence millions. I'm recording my observations for a blog which, in all probability, no-one will ever read. So with that out of the way, on we go.

I really think the MVP on this album is bassist Paul Chambers. The soloing by Coltrane, Davis and Adderley is beautiful and melodic, and Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly do a great job on the piano, but everything here is held together by the subtle interplay between Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Their playing is understated and simple, but it provides a perfect base for the incredible soloing of the rest of the players. And I mean, look at "So What". Maybe the greatest jazz recording of all time, and the first thing I always think of when reminded of it is Chambers' immortal bass riff. Then you have a track like "All Blues", which is entirely built around a simple variation between two notes (with a few detours along the way). Which isn't to detract from the rest of the band. I just love rhythm sections - my favourite jazz musician is bassist Charles Mingus.

So anyway, if you've never heard this album then go out and buy a copy. Or download one - I don't care. It's pretty magnificent. Its charm lies in the way it manages to be quietly experimental. At a time when jazz was getting more and more technical, Davis threw all the complexities away and adopted an understated improvisational approach that relied on scales and modes instead of increasingly complex chord changes. The result is an album that is incredibly listenable. You can have it as background music, play it in an elevator, or play it on headphones and be blown away by the subtle interplay of the musicians. And it's beautifully recorded, too - there's a perfect balance between the players, creating a marvellous ambience. This record sounds incredible.

Anyway, enough gushing. Truth be told, I don't actually listen to this that often. "So What" is one of my favourite pieces of music, but I really have to be in the mood to enjoy this album. I think the problem is that I tend to listen to music that reflects my mood, rather than letting music alter my mood, and so since I rarely feel laid-back and gently swinging I tend to overlook this one. Still, it's not often you can claim an album is perfect. This is one of the few truly perfect albums in existence.

20. Ray Charles - The Genius of Ray Charles (1959)

1. Let the Good Times Roll

2. It Had to Be You

3. Alexander's Ragtime Band

4. Two Years of Torture

5. When Your Lover Has Gone

6. Deed I Do

7. Just for a Thrill

8. You Won't Let Me Go

9. Tell Me You'll Wait for Me

10. Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'*

11. Am I Blue *

12. Come Rain or Come Shine *

A-

I know a lot of strange purists will get annoyed with me, but I generally prefer CDs to vinyl. The sound is clearer, and you don't have to get up and turn the damn thing over, wipe the needle, and suffer through a bunch of hisses and pops. Although I suppose records are less likely to skip. Anyway, one thing I do like about vinyl is that the LP format lets artists release, in effect, two twenty minute mini-albums that can be listened to independently. This is what Ray Charles did with The Genius of Ray Charles (a slightly hubristic title, though mostly warranted). The first half is all brassy big band arrangements, while the second half brings things down a notch with a string section and backing choir (amusingly described in the Book as "sexy mermaids", which is pretty apt).

Apparently this is soul music. I'm not really sure what that means. To my ears, the album has one foot in the past and another in the future. Rather than the sort of Nelson Riddle arrangements we've heard so far, the first half of the album is all raucous, jazz-inspired trumpets and thunderous rhythm sections that owe as much to R&B as they do to swing. The arrangements are all danceable, even on the softer numbers, and it's clearly a party album . "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Alexander's Ragtime Band" are absolute monsters, widescreen technicolour songs that leap out of the stereo, grab you by the shoulders , and force you to dance. It's pretty great.

Side two, however, is where the really good stuff is. Ray Charles doesn't have the world's greatest voice, but what he does have is a truly extraordinary ability to communicate the emotion of a song. The whole second half of the album is world-weary and poignant, full of ruminations on the highs and lows of love. And the last three tracks are some of the most beautiful ever recorded. Charles' vocal on "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'" perfectly captures the resignation and bitterness of someone cutting someone loose. On "Am I Blue", his voice quakes and quavers through the lines "There was a time I was your only one/Now I am the sad and lonely one", transforming a fairly unremarkable lyric into a heart-wrenching declaration of loss. And then there's "Come Rain or Come Shine", which is just a beautiful song, although I can't listen to it these days without thinking of its use in The King of Comedy.

Anyway, all the songs on this album are good, but not all of them are particularly good, and that's why I'm only giving this an A- instead of an A+ (plus then what would I give Pet Sounds? An A++?). In addition, the album is kind of scratchy-sounding, and the arrangements occasionally overwhelm the songs. This is part of its charm, though - Charles and Co take some serious risks with this music, and while it doesn't always pay off the rewards are well worth it.

19. Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book (1959)

 Top Tracks:

- But Not For Me

'- Nice Work If You Can Get It

- They All Laughed

- Treat Me Rough

- Isn't It A Pity?

-Boy! What Love Has Done To Me!

- I Got Rhythm

B+

[I've eschewed a full track list on the grounds that this album runs to three CDs, and I don't feel like typing that much out. For similar reasons, I only listened to this once even though I've been making a habit of listening to the albums on this list two or three times to get a feel for them and give them a fair chance].

I like Julie London. I like Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan. I like Chet Baker and Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra. But for some damn reason something about Ella Fitzgerald just pisses me off. Then again, this is the only album of hers I've heard, and it's possible she's better on other releases. And to be fair, she's pretty good here. It's just one of those things - an irrational annoyance with someone that we all experience sometimes. I feel the same way about Seth MacFarlane's face. And really, on a lot of these songs it kind of sounds like Fitzgerald is phoning it in (although the extent to which a singer of her calibre can phone things in is I suppose up to debate).

Luckily, George and Ira Gershwin wrote pretty great songs. There are only a couple here that don't really work, and that could be a problem with interpretation. Add to that that you have the marvellous Nelson Riddle providing stellar arrangements, and I was able to overlook Fitzgerald's irritating tone for the most part and enjoy this album just as a piece of music.

That said, aside from a few standouts this is still just "funny love song" territory. They are frequently very funny love songs, though, filled with goofy rhymes and wry observations. And every now and then you get a real gem like "Isn't That A Pity", which is a beautiful song about two lonely hearts that met late in life, or the timeless "Embraceable You". There's also the remarkably cheeky "Treat Me Rough", which is pretty much about exactly what you'd expect, and sees Fitzgerald throwing herself into the lyric with all the sexiness she can muster. But then you have something like the truly awful version of "They Can't Take That Away From Me", which murders both the rhythm and the melody. So it's a mixed bag.

One thing that did bug me a little was that apparently Fitzgerald was urged to rein things in and perform slower versions of a few tracks. That's annoying, as her no-holds-barred rendition of "I Got Rhythm" shows that this could have been a very different, much more passionate and swinging album. There's also no version of "Summertime", although apparently she had recorded that previously. Oh well.

18. Sarah Vaughan - At Mr. Kelly's (1958)

1. September in the Rain

2. Willow Weep for Me*

3. Just One of Those Things*

4. Be Anything (But Be Mine)

5. Thou Swell

6. Stairway to the Stars

7. Honeysuckle Rose

8. Just a Gigolo

9. How High the Moon

10. Dream

11. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down (And Write Myself a Letter)

12. It's Got to Be Love

13. Alone

14. If This Isn't Love

15. Embraceable You

16. Lucky in Love

17. Dancing in the Dark

18. Poor Butterfly*

19. Sometimes I'm Happy

20. I Cover the Waterfront

A

[I should probably start by pointing out that, as with Ellington at Newport, I've gone with the reissue which contains significantly more material - something I'm OK with as it's tacitly endorsed in the entry in the Book.]

Seventeen albums in and this is only our second female artist. Well, I suppose a few women lent their vocals to Palo Congo but I'm not sure that counts. It's annoying foir me as I generally prefer female vocalists. And really, why couldn't they have put Julie Is Her Name on this list? It's at least as good as that Tito Puente album, and Julie London has been hugely influential in her own way.

Anyway, there is a very fine backing band on this album, consisting of piano, bass and drums; but the main draw is Sarah Vaughan's incredible vocals. She would have to be one of the finest singers I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. True, she doesn't always ace the emotional tone of the song she's singing, but that could just be because she's playing to a nightclub crowd and wants to keep the mood up. From a technical standpoint, however, she's unimpeachable. And thankfully, unlike so many godawful divas over the years (Mariah Carey, I am looking at you), she doesn't let an obsession with technical wizardry overwhelm the songs. Though capable of vocal pyrotechnics, it's all in service of the musicality of the piece. She can also be quite sexy at times, which I suppose shouldn't be surprising given the existence of her recording of "Whatever Lola Wants".

My main complaint about a lot of these singers we've been having, and I suppose with the music of the 1950s in general as it is represented in this book, is that the formidable technical ability of the performers is seldom matched by appropriately impressive lyrics. Almost every song so far has been a love song, and few of them were especially deep ones. They've been witty, or funny, or sad, but never especially penetrating. You can see why the youth turned to folk music, with its songs about real life, and how Bob Dylan could make such a big splash.

I don't mean to detract from the music we've had so far by saying that. All the albums have been good, and At Mr. Kelly's is quite frankly brilliant. This is another one of those "hang out" albums, where I felt like I was relaxing in the company of funny, talented and charming people. And really, "charming" is the best word to describe At Mr. Kelly's. Vaughan has a funny, easy-going stage persona. She also makes the best of a bad situation - screwing up and finishing early on "Willow Weep for Me"", forgetting the words and attempting to scat on "How High the Moon", and bravely soldiering through "Dream" despite neither she or the band really knowing it very well. Indeed, she brings a warmth and likability to everything she does. The band are also great - in particular pianist Jimmy Jones. It's a great little jazz combo that perfectly complements Vaughan's vocals.

Well I sat down thinking I wouldn't have much to say, but there you go. The next album is Ella Fitzgerald's Gershwin Songbook, so it might take me a while as that is three CDs worth of material. But anyway, on I go.

17. Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Jack Elliott Takes the Floor (1958)

1. San Francisco Bay Blues

2. Ol' Riley

3. Boll Weevil*

4. Bed Bug Blues

5. New York Town

6. Grey Goose

7. Mule Skinner Blues*

8. Cocaine

9. Dink's Song*

10. Black Baby

11. Salty Dog

B+

Well there hasn't been a lot of good guitar on this list so far, but this album more than makes up for it. Jack Elliott plays a wonderful mix of blues, country and folk with remarkable fluidity. The title of this album is pretty apt, as it sounds less like a studio release than a live album minus the audience applause. Elliott introduces the various songs with rambling, humorous little explanations. The only accompaniment is his guitar, and a harmonica on one track. It makes for a very intimate album.

I don't have much to say about this. The song choices are great, ranging from prison music to humorous songs to more modern compositions by Elliott's contemporaries. "The Boll Weevil" is hilarious. "Dink's Song" is heart-breaking. On one track Elliott parodies Woody Guthrie to humorous effect, and then on "Black Baby" he brings things down with a mournful lullaby. There's a great amount of variety on this album.

You can see why folk took off in the 1950s and 60s. The music has an immediacy and a raw quality that stands in stark contrast to all the other albums so far. This is a wandering, imperfect album that works largely because of its sloppiness. Elliott is a great interpreter of songs. 

16. Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin (1958)

1. I'm a Fool to Want You*

2. Heaven's Sake

3. You Don't Know What Love Is

4. I Get Along Without You Very Well*

5. For All We Know

6. Violets for Your Furs

7. You've Changed

8. It's Easy to Remember

9. But Beautiful

10. Glad to be Unhapopy

11. I'll Be Around

12. The End of a Love Affair*

A

I fully expected to hate this album. The first time I heard it, back when I first attempted this project some ten years ago, I found it unlistenable. So I was prepared to declare this the worst kind of emotional pornography, an exploitative document of a woman on the edge of death. But as it turns out, it's a lot more than that. In fact it's actually quite good.

Holiday's drug problems were famous by the time this was recorded. The singer would die of cirrhosis of the liver a year after Lady in Satin's release. And the obsession with excess and addiction that runs through most popular music clouds this album. It's very difficult to separate the genuine musical qualities from the frission created by knowing about Holiday's personal life. Is "The End of a Love Affair" a beautiful reflection on personal foibles sinking a relationship, or is the line "So I drink a little much, and I smoke a little much" a dark reflection by Holiday on her own excesses? Or is it both?

Purely musically, this is a pretty great album. Holiday sounds ten thousand years old, and when that's embedded in the incredibly lush string-and-choir arrangements of the songs it creates a wondewrful contrast. When I first heard this album I thought Holiday was unlistenable, but I've both lived a lot more and heard a lot more music since then and now I appreciate her antediluvian rasp. At times she sounds like Etta James, if Etta James smoked three packets of smokes and downed a bottle of whiskey before recording "At Last".

I don't really know how to approach this album. It's a heart-breaking document of the price of excess, and at the same time it draws power from that to become a genuinely beautiful album. As Holiday herself sings, "I'm so unhappy, but oh so glad".

15. Tito Puente - Dance Mania (1958)

1. El Cayuco

2. Complicacion

3. 3-D Mambo

4. Llego Mijan

5. Cuando Te Vea*

6. Hong Kong Mambo*

7. Mambo Gozon

8. Mi Chiquita Quiere Bembe

9. Varsity Drag

10. Estoy Siempre Juno a Ti*

11. Agua Limpia Todo

12. Saca Tu Mujer

B+

I've decided that "B+" is my official rating for "I didn't like it, but I can see why other people did".

I've learned something valuable about myself - I do not like mambo. I'm a little disappointed, really, as I enjoyed the previous Latin jazz albums on this list. But this just doesn't grab me.

That's not really fair, I suppose. It would be more accurate to say that this album doesn't get good (for me, at least) until "Cuando Te Vea". So it's half a good album. 

There is some impressive musicianship on display, but it's all almost too perfect. There are no wild solos, no sudden departures. The vocal-focused "Estoy Siempre Juno a Ti" was quite good, and I liked the vibes (or is it marimba?) led track "Hong Kong Mambo".

I don't know. Listening to this album all I could think about was the movie Dirty Dancing, where Wayne Knight reals off all the hot dance styles you can take part in at the resort. 

This is a good album but just not my thing.

Although I have it on repeat and it's started again, and now I like it more. I guess I just have to be doing something while I listen to it to enjoy it. Maybe if I danced?

14. Little Richard - Here's Little Richard (1957)

 1. Tutti Frutti*

2. True, Fine Mama

3. Can't Believe You Wanna Leave*

4. Ready Teddy

5. Baby

6. Slippin' and Slidin'

7. Long Tall Sally*

8. Miss Ann

9. Oh Why?

10. Rip It Up

11. Jenny, Jenny

12. She's Got It

A+

"Classic" doesn't begin to describe this album. It is to the preceding albums on this list what a hydrogen bomb is to a firecracker. As someone whose previous exposure to Little Richard was mostly limited to guest spots on Sesame Street and the movie Predator, this was a revelation. There's a brilliant backing band here, but what really grabs attention is Richard's incredible singing voice. Not only does he twist, wail and belt through rockers like "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally", but he reins things in for incredible proto-soul numbers like "Oh Why?" and "Can't Believe You Wanna Leave".

Honestly, I'm not sure what to say. Every song on this album kicks ass. Add to that that Richards, a bisexual Black man, is ballsy enough to sing a song like "She's Got It", which is clearly about a White woman (although I suppose there are a few African women with blue eyes). And he does it all over a rhythm section best described as "Fats Domino on meth". 

Honestly if you can listen to this album without wanting to jump out of your skin with joy I don't know what's wrong with you. This is everything great about rock and roll. Doubly impressive is that Richards actually wrote like half the songs here. 

After this album, Richards would suffer a sort of breakdown during a tour of Australia and renounce secular music, instead studying at a seminary and becoming a gospel singer. As an Australian, I really don't know how to feel about that. All I can say is that this country tends to have that effect on people.

13. Machito - Kenya (1957)

 1. Wild Jungle*

2. Congo Mulence

3. Kenya

4. Oyeme

5. Holiday

6. Cannonology

7. Frenzy

8. Blues A La Machito*

9. Conversation

10. Tin Tin Deo*

11. Minor Rama

12. Tururato

A-

The biggest, loudest horn section you've ever heard, playing thunderous chords over a rock solid Afro-Cuban rhythm section, all interspersed with tuneful soloing and wonderful melody lines. This is the biggest, loudest, most rocking album on the list so far. From the instant "Wild Jungle" starts you know you're in for a good time. This is a party album, pure and simple. 

What's interesting is that the name isn't just some lame late-50s grab at the Exotica brass ring. I don't know a lot about African music, especially of the 50s, but there are songs on here that sound like early Fela Kuti, and others reminiscent of Ethiopian jazz. Machito and musical director Mario Bauza clearly knew their stuff. They blend influences from African, Latin and Blues music into a bizarre rhythmic monster that kicks ten kinds of ass. Then again this is new to me. Possibly there was loads of this stuff around at the time. I doubt it, though.

There are so many great moments on this album. Like the massive, repetitious horn stab on "Blues a la Machito" that sounds like it'll never end. Or the brief percussion intro to "Oyeme", which sounds like it was beamed back in time from a late-90s IDM album. Or every moment of "Wild Jungle", the clear album highlight. The easiest way to describe it is "Duke Ellington meets Yoko Kanno's 'Tank!'".

There are a few weak tracks that don't do anything particularly interesting, and I think it might have been nice to include a vocal track, but otherwise this is great. It's exactly the sort of album I was hoping to be introduced to by doing this list.

12. Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool (1957)

1. Move*

2. Jeru

3. Moon Dreams

4. Venus de Milo*

5. Budo

6. Deception

7. Godchild

8. Boplicity*

9. Rocker

10. Israel

11. Rouge

12. Darn That Dream

 

A+

This is kind of a cheat, really. The book states that no compilation albums will be included, and then includes Birth of the Cool - which is a compilation of singles recorded by Miles Davis and his band in the late Forties and early 50s. In addition, it doesn't even recommend the original 1957 release, instead going with the 1970s "complete recordings" reissue. Which wouldn't bother me, really, if not for the fact that the "no compilations" rule means that the Buzzcocks' Singles Going Steady and Minor Threat's Complete Discography are omitted, with inferior albums by both bands recommended instead. 

But whatever. It's a minor gripe. I wouldn't want Birth of the Cool excluded. It's a beautiful album and completely deserving of all the nice things people have said about it over the years. Indeed, there are still some people who believe this to be Davis' best work. I can see why, although I don't entirely agree. Every track on this album is a little miracle. Working with the three minute 78 rpm format meant that a whole lot of inventiveness had to be packed into each song. The result is an album that bubbles and fizzes with creative energy. It may be called Birth of the Cool, but it's fast and swinging and dizzyingly inventive. True, to modern ears a lot of what's going on here might seem pretty unremarkable (even if it is tremendously well-executed) but that's mostly just because of how influential this album has been. I remember reading a quote from Miles Davis somewhere where someone underestimated him, and he responded "Don't you know who I am? I've changed music four or five times!" It sounds hubristic, but it's true. 

Still, while this was a hit with Jazz composers and proved quite influential, it failed to strike a chord with listeners when originally released. That's not hard to understand, really. There are no obvious singles on this album. The tracks are too idiosyncratic. When the band were first playing and recording, one critic opined that their music wasn't even Jazz - that it had more in common with classical music. Listening to it these days, that sound preposterous - this is one of the quintessential jazz albums - but at the time it really did mark that degree of departure from the norm. 

The one misstep on this album is unfortunately a major one. The vocal track "Darn That Dream" is godawful, and I assume was only included for reasons of completism. 

Anyway, this isn't the last we've heard of Miles. The long strange trip he took that somehow led him from the cheery, pretty music of Birth of the Cool to the serious head music of On the Corner and Get Up With It has only just begun.

11. Sabu - Palo Congo (1957)

1. El cumbanchero *

2. Billumba-Palo Congo

3. Choferito-Plena*

4. Asabache

5. Simba

6. Rapsodia del Maravilloso*

7. Aggo Elegua

8. Tribilin cantore

A-

The late Forties and early Fifties were not kind to Sabu. Gone were the years with the Korda brothers, and his turn in the Powell & Pressburger classic Black Narcissus. Film roles had dried up, and he was beginning to wonder what he'd even come to America for. But as luck would have it, a chance encounter with traditional Cuban musicians while filming the mostly forgotten pirate film Blue Caribbean in Havana in 1951 set off a spark in Sabu's mind. Turning his back on acting, he dedicated himself to becoming a conguero. A stint playing with Dizzy Gillespie soon followed, and in 1957 Sabu struck out on his own, forming the band Palo Congo and releasing their landmark eponymous album.

All of which is clearly bullshit.

I won't pretend to understand this album. I've had very limited exposure to Latin and Afro-Latin music (by which I mean - I've listened to Buena Vista Social Club a couple of times). And to be honest, at first I was ready to dismiss it. These songs are repetitive and droning. But after a while I realised that was kind of the point. What I'd considered repetitious was actually hypnotic. I've listened to this album half a dozen times now and I'm still not tired of it. True, the drums tend to settle into a groove and just sort of sit there, but this adds a driving quality to the songs and provides a lush bed for the chanted and/or call and response vocals (I can't discuss the lyrics - I speak about ten words of Spanish). If you're like me, you love a rhythm - and this album is nothing but rhythm,

That said, while most of the tracks feature singing and guitar, some are just guys yelling over drums. I find they expand the palette of the album, but some might feel otherwise.

One thing I particularly like about this album is the guitars. There are two - a tres, which is an odd sort of Cuban rhythm guitar, and a more conventional electric guitar. Both mostly play ostinados, but the electric guitar frequently breaks out of this pattern to engage in melodic and rhythmic explorations that I found captivating. There hasn't been much good guitar on this list so far, and to hear a slightly distorted electric riffing and noodling was a real pleasure. 

So. This album isn't always on, but when it is it's really on. This was a pleasant surprise, and I can only hope there are more such surprises in my future. 

10. Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners (1957)

 

1. Brilliant Corners*

2. Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-Are

3. Pannonica*

4. I Surrender, Dear*

5. Bemsha Swing

A+

One of my favourite quotes by Thelonious Monk was heard by way of Tom Waits, who in an interview about his favourite music said (roughly) "'There are no wrong notes, only how you resolve them'. Sure sounds like a kid learning to play piano, doesn't it?"

The title track bears this out brilliant. Strange, staggering and atonal, it consists of repeated deconstructions of a lopsided and incredibly intricate theme. While Monk plays sharp piano chords that rest on the outside of making any harmonic sense, the saxophones twist and turn through their variations, dissolving into atonal noodling only to suddenly resolve back into the theme. It's exactly the sort of strange music that detractors of jazz imagine when they think of the genre, and yet it's also surprisingly pretty and (from a modern viewpoint) listenable. It's an astonishing track. Apparently it took over twenty-five takes across three sessions to record, resulting in the alto sax player having a minor breakdown. In the end it had to be stitched together out of the various recordings, which only adds to its scatter-brained and lopsided feel.

The rest of the album is more conventional bop, although it still pushes the boundaries of conventional harmony. "Pannonica" is a swooning ode to Monk's patroness that features celeste playing. "Bemsha Swing" is probably the most "normal" song. "I Surrender, Dear", however, is a gorgeous showcase for Monk's piano playing. Despite his influence these days, many people derided Monk at the time as being unable to play the piano. And it's true that he had an idiosyncratic style. On "I Surrender, Dear" the Tom Waits quote mentioned above really comes into play. He meanders through the whole track, taking strange turns and constantly frustrating the listener's expectations of how the melody will resolve itself. The result is a strange little journey where you have no idea where you'll end up.

And I think that actually describes this album as a whole. By modern standards it might seem pretty tame, but it's still vital, challenging music that manages to be extraordinarily pretty and resonant at the same time. And really, for me at least, that's what the best music is about.

9. Count Basie - The Atomic Mr. Basie (1957)

 

B+

You know, I think maybe I just don't like Big Band that much. This is a very fine album for what it is, but what it is happens to be a genre of music that doesn't really grab me. Despite the title, which promises an explosive listening experience that to be fair many of the tracks deliver on, I found myself drawn more to the quieter songs. That said, "The Kid from Red Bank" and "Whirly-Bird" are both delightfully over-the-top.

I don't know. This is a very well-played album, and it's beautifully recorded. There's also a lot more prominence given to the bass and drums, which as a fan of rhythm sections I can only approve. And Basie's piano playing is very simple but also very enjoyable.

Look, there are 1001 albums in this book, and I guess I just have to accept that I'll have absolutely nothing to say about some of them. This is a nice listen. If you enjoy big band and swing you'll probably enjoy this. I like it as background music. I don't find it especially rewarding as a deep listen, but having it play while I'm doing something else I find it quite nice. I just don't really enjoy how every other song is "quiet passage> tuneful solo> big loud horn riffing". It's enough to induce listener fatigue. If anything it sounds like it should have been a vocal album but they forgot to dub the singer in. Which probably shouldn't be surprising given that Basie did a lot of work as a backing band for jazz singers throughout his career. 

Which is a long and complicated way of saying that I'm not really qualified to judge this. It's good, it's just not my cup of tea. I can see myself warming to it with time, but especially after living with Ellington at Newport for several days I'm just not in the mood for it.

Best Songs: "The Kid from Red Bank"; "Duet"; "Lil' Darlin'".

8. The Crickets - The "Chirping" Crickets (1957)

 A

I'm quite fond of Buddy Holly. I only had his greatest hits collection, though, so it's nice to hear one of his albums in full. 

Honestly, it's hard to know where to start with an album like this. What do you make of a record that has "Oh Boy!", "Not Fade Away", "Maybe Baby", "I'm Looking for Someone to Love" and "That'll Be the Day" on it? And the rest of the tracks aren't even filler. The only real misstep is the schmaltzy "An Empty Cup (And a Broken Date)".

It was a true loss for music when Buddy Holly died. I mean, the guy was only 22 and he'd already written or co-written countless great songs. He pioneered the studio as an instrument. His music blended rock & roll, R&B and country so thoroughly that it practically created a new genre. I mean, talk about range - the guy recorded both "Heartbeat" and "Rock Around with Ollie V". And he was both a great singer and a great guitar player (just checkout the intros to "That'll Be the Day" and "Rock Me My Baby"). This is a wonderful album, and well worth seeking out.

Incidentally, if you're a fan of Buddy Holly then you owe it to yourself to see the wonderful Six-String Samurai, in which the singer wanders a post-apocalyptic USA wielding a katana as Death and the Soviets attempt to stop him from being crowned the new King of Rock & Roll. And no, I'm not making that movie up.

Best Songs: "Not Fade Away"; "Oh Boy"; "That'll Be The Day"

7. Frank Sinatra - Songs for Swingin' Lovers (1956)

 

A

One of the most frustrating aspects of getting older is realising that most pop music is aimed squarely at young people. You can only listen to a twenty-something go on about the anguish of young love so many times before you give up, pop a Werther's Original and put on a Steely Dan album. So one of the nice things about doing this project is being introduced to genuinely adult pop music. While the 50s saw the Youth rise to prominence, it was also a golden age for genuinely mature, intelligent pop songs that managed to be fun without being juvenile. I would never, ever want to have to live through the 1950s, but it did produce a lot of great music.  

Songs for Swingin' Lovers is much more in line with what you'd expect from Frank Sinatra. It's a collection of big, brassy pop standards, all performed with great verve and beautifully arranged by Nelson Riddle. This is exactly the sort of album you'd put on at a swanky cocktail party. It's fun, many of the songs are danceable, but at the same time you can let it exist as background music. True, there's not much depth to it  - this is in many ways just a collection of silly love songs. But while it lacks lyrical depth it's nearly flawless musically. Sinatra's voice is gorgeous, and he interprets the songs with a sort of world-weary knowingness that still has plenty of humour behind it. Nelson Riddle's arrangements, on the other hand, are just astonishing. I'm not sure if I'm right about this, but it seems like he basically invented the sound that we associate with classy 50s Swing. On some tracks, he takes a back seat and lets the vocals take the lead, but then you have something like "I've Got You Under My Skin", which starts as a minimal, jazzy groove only to build into a wonderful cacophony of strings and horns. Sinatra's name's on the album sleeve, but quite often the show belongs to Riddle.

Anyway, there's not much more to say about this. If you're fond of the Great American Songbook, or if you want a classy & intelligent pop album, this is indispensable. As someone who for many years despised Sinatra, knowing him only as the drink-toting Rat Packer who belted out the execrable "My Way", being exposed to his earlier work has been a real pleasure.

Best Songs: "You Make Me Feel So Young"; "Makin' Whoopee"; "I've Got You Under My Skin"