Is there such a thing as a Rock "Masterpiece'?

[doity]

I was thinking back recently on what a great album that Kansas "Leftoverture" was/is. Totally inspired lyrics, great musicianship, vocals, etc. And not a bad song to be found on the album. And that got me wondering if I could classify any other rock albums as "Masterpieces". I like the first Saga album and there is not a weak tune on there, but I am not sure if the production was top notch enough to be classified as such, and some of the lyrics are fairly insipid.

I know people will say stuff like Dark Side Of the Moon, Sgt. Peppers, etc. but in the case of the Beatles they always seemed to have one or two songs on each album that were purely filler material and I am just plain burnt out on Pink Floyd seeing as how classic rock radio has played them into the ground. I never really took to them anyway so maybe there is something there that I have overlooked. How about Hendrix.....The Beach Boys......The Who....The Kinks??

[vinyldavid]

I can't find one song on Dark Side that's filler material. They're ALL great.

You should check out:
Rush-2112
Moody Blues-Days of Future past
Moody Blues-In search of the Lost Chord
Nektar-Remember The Future
Alan Parsons Project-I Robot (maybe)
Emerson, Lake and Palmer: Brain Salad Surgery
Emerson, Lake and palmer: Pictures at an Exhibition
Triumvirat-Spartacus
Triumvirat-Pompeii
Styx-Paradise Theater (at least for me, I like every song on there)

[doity]

I can't find one song on Dark Side that's filler material. They're ALL great.

I have heard most of those records that you quoted. While there is some good stuff there, I was referring to a MASTERPIECE!! While Dark Side might be considered a masterpiece in the eyes of many, for me the lyrics were just too much of a downer for me to fully appreciate the rest of the music.

As far as the Beatles, if you replaced Good morning and When I'm 64 from Sgt. Peppers with Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields from the album following, I think you would have a unbeatable classic. The Kansas album that I mentioned previously was a classic on so many different levels, least of which was that Kerry Livgren seemed to have been channeling some kind of higher power when writing the material for the album.

[Flyquail56]

Here's a good list from which to choose:

http://www.timepieces.nl/Top100%27s/2006WFPKradioLouisville.html

[speakerman1]

The Who "Quadraphenia"

[JaeTee]

Maybe I've been into electronica too long, but I would think that the "rock" designation is almost too broad. You could probably segment that into several differnent eras/types and come up with quite a few lists.

As a kid who really came up listening to music in the 80's, Masterpieces of Rock for me, would include:

ALBUMS:
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
Def Leppard: High & Dry
Scorpions: Love at First Sting
AC/DC: Back in Black
Journey: Frontiers
Foreigner: 4
Queen: Killer Queen

Masterpiece Songs that just immediately jump into my brain are:
Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
The Wall - Pink Floyd

At what point do you stop calling something Rock and call it Heavy Metal?

[BlazeES]

I would contend that Abbey Road out does Sgt Peppers only in that it sonically trumps all prior Beatle albums and the 2nd side is a great interweave. Did you know that the delayed cut on side two, Her Majesty, was orignally intended to be juxtaposed to Mean Mr. Mustard but they ripped it out at the last minute. Try rebuilding that on a recompile tape and test if you can be quick enough with the finger on the pause button (or cheat with a 1st up CD mastering on the front end).
I also agree that if selections that made it onto M.M.Tour that were originally recorded during the Peppers sessions had suplanted the songs mentioned or at least been added back into the original mix, Sgt. Peppers would have been pretty much "complete". That's why I have a MFSL compilation mixed as such. To set things right...

Not many people realize that Alan Parsons got his early start being an engineer on Abbey Road, which leads me to my next suggestion:

Tales of Mystery and Imagination ~ Alan Parsons. As much as I-Robot was killer, Tales is a generally overlooked piece in the vein of Concept albums. I highly recommend this album for anyone that can score a 180 gram LP. Not very often you can find an artist that excels in the art of engineering like Alan. Lots of finer nuanses to be heard on Tales, like most Parsons albums.

Dark Side of the Moon is a diehard pick and another (ironically) endeavor that Alan Parsons had a hand in. I too find it kind of depressing coming off the heels of Meddle, which I believe is more "traditional" Floyd, and a preferred taste. Echoes is a song I won't ever get tired off - the organ layer is outstanding! That said, Dark Side - Wish You Were Here and The Wall always seem to be get admirable mentions and accolades but another overlooked album IMHO is Animals. Dogs and Pigs rule. LMAO Here's a mix tip; try a dice and splicing of David Gilmours 1st solo album and Animals onto a tape; there's some "time relative" pieces on that solo album that fully compliment Animals - and were certainly session outtakes.

Since I seem to be on a "buck the trend" path here, I would counter anyone that tosses up Fragile by Yes as the best with, have a close listen to Relayer. Another fine example of the concept album and one of a handful of examples that when ported from the remastered CD to high quality tape, transforms rather nicely.

One more blurb from me and then I'll stfu! LOL
Give a listen to America's 1st two albums; the self titled one and Homecoming.
I tend to pay less attention to the popular cuts off the albums and focus more on other stuff. One thing America did right was to employ sound engineers that had a keen awareness of how to capture acoustic guitar in proper balance to well harmonized vocals. I think their 1st album also won awards for sound engineering back in '72 as well...

Peace Out!

[doity]

Yeah I don't know why Sgt. Peppers gets all of the attention as the Beatles best work. After my initial post I was thinking of Abbey Road and how that does qualify as a masterpiece, only if you overlook stuff like Octopuses Garden, etc. The album does sound very good and it makes you wonder what the Beatles would had come up with had they not broken up afterwards.

[Naknut]

Just a short list off the top of my head.
John Hiatt-Slow Turning, great songwriting front to back and a incredible recording to boot.

Beatles- Rubber Soul, if I could only have one Beatles album this would be it.

The Who-Who's Next, the epitome of a Rock album.

Elvis Costello-My Aim is True, I can't think of a song on here that doesn't work. Alison,Watching the Detectives,I'm not Angry, Mystery Dance,etc. IMHO the best debut album ever.

Pretenders-Pretenders, the second best debut album ever. No filler. Chrissie Hynde kicks ass.

Paul Simon-Paul Simon, a coming of age recording for the songwriter and for me too.

[doity]

Here's a good list from which to choose:

http://www.timepieces.nl/Top100%27s/2006WFPKradioLouisville.html


Great list. I didn't think of Steely Dan Aja which is on the list mid-way. That would definetly qualify as a masterpiece in the pop/rock/jazz genre. Mabye even the Don Fagen solo album The Nightfly also.

Someone else mentioned Rubber Soul, which is my overall favorite from the fab four but I am not sure if I would call that a masterpiece as there were 2 distinctly different versions if I am not mistaken, and it had songs like Run For Your Life, etc. which were album fillers for sure.

[imasoundhound]

Here's a good list from which to choose:

http://www.timepieces.nl/Top100%27s/2006WFPKradioLouisville.html

interesting list. it's kinda amazing that most of the albums are rock and roll. i guess the jazz, blues, country, etc. fans don't buy that many albums. here are a few i haven't seen mentioned:

allman brothers "reach for the sky"
al stewart "year of the cat"
atlanta rhythm section "champaigne jam"
bad company "self-titled"
billy joel "the stranger"
black crowes "shake your money maker"
bob seger "night moves"
boston "self-titled"
charlie daniels "fire on the mountain"
chicago transit authority
cry of love "brother"
deep purple "machine head"
doobie brothers- several of them
eagles "hotel california"
eric clapton "unplugged"
firefall "self-titled"
fleetwood mac "self-titled"
foreigner "self-titled"
free "fire and water"
grand funk "closer to home" "self-titled" "survivor" "on time" "phoenix"
head east "flat as a pancake"
heart "magazine" "barracuda" "little queen"
jackson browne "running on empty"
jethro tull "aqualung" stands out from the crowd
jimmie hendrix - most of them
john fogerty "blue moon swamp"
john prine "bruised orange"
kansas "song for america" "point of know return" "masque"
lynyrd skynyrd -all of the older ones and "twenty"
molly hatchet "flirtin' with disaster" and "beatin' the odds"
nazareth "hair of the dog"
pure prairie league "bustin' out"
robin trower "bridge of sighs" and "long misty days"
rush "2112" and "fly by night"
santana "abraxas"
steve miller band "greatest hits '74 to '78"
stevie ray vaughan -all of them
storyville "piece of your soul"
styx "grand illusion"
supertramp "breakfast in america"
ten years after "a space in time"
thirty-eight special "ww30"
zz top "deguello"

of course, i left out a bunch of them...

[Fast Forward]

Heart ---Dreamboat Annie
Sting ---10 Summners Tales
CSNY ----So Far
Ruby Starr---all of them
Steven Stills--- Manassas

[Scorpion8]

Heart ~ Little Queen
Deep Purple ~ Machine Head
Aerosmith ~ Rocks
Boston ~ first s/t LP

[gamve]

Gene Clark - No Other
Eagles - Hotel California
Supertramp - Most albums
Alan Parsons - Most albums
Lots more but this will do for now

[stuartypoorty]

Rocks - Aerosmith
London Calling - The Clash
Killer - Alice Cooper
Secret Treaties - Blue Oyster Cult
My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello
Violator - Depeche Mode
Spilt Milk - Jellyfish
II - Led Zeppelin
Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd
Sheer Heart Attack - Queen
Marquee Moon - Television
Tres Hombres - ZZ Top

[stuartypoorty]

John Hiatt-Slow Turning, great songwriting front to back and a incredible recording to boot.

Bring The Family and Slug Line are by John Hiatt are excellent, the backing line up on BTF comprising Nick Lowe, Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner make this a great recording.

[Flyquail56]

interesting list. it's kinda amazing that most of the albums are rock and roll. i guess the jazz, blues, country, etc. fans don't buy that many albums...

You're right, and probably like any list, some entries seem a little screwy. As I recall, the list was compiled from listeners submissions of their top 5 albums. The station deejays also voted, but their votes were "weighted" higher. They didn't disclose all the particulars since it was mostly for fun anyway. As for who was doing the voting, WFPK is one of three local public radio stations, and plays AAA format.

Looking at some of those albums, I have wonder if there was some ballot box stuffing. I'm a Floyd fan and, as good as Dark Side Of The Moon is, I would submit Piper At The Gates Of Dawn as a rock masterpiece. However, it was way down on WFPK's list (surely I wasn't the only one who voted for it!), and yet Obscured By Clouds and Syd's The Madcap Laughs made it into the top 100. Huh? When was the last time you saw a top 100 list of any kind of albums that included Obscured By Clouds? *hypnot*

[Emo-Fan]

I'll leave out anything by ELP, because as my user-name suggests, I'm probably biased. But how about:

YES: Tales from Topographic Oceans
Close to the Edge

Jon Anderson's lyrics are a bit arcane (to say the least) and full of grammatical errors (on purpose?), but these works insist on a lot of pondering after a good listening session. Like walking away from a Wagner opera. You have to ask yourself: "What was THAT all about?"