In response to our discussion on the January 14 post, “What Makes an Album Great,” a reader sent in this link to a CNN article on “Albums That Shaped Your Lives” (thanks much, Greg T).  It was a fascinating read…and an important one.  I, for one, have often felt the intensity and importance of a lyric within a song, something strong enough to have changed a tenet of my philosophy on life.  And I’m sure many have discovered the same thing. 

At some point, you find an album so compelling – musically and/or lyrically – that it never leaves you.  The album remains as fresh as the day you heard it.  The article uses several examples from real people with interesting reasoning behind the attachments.  Some cite a single album as being life-changing, and others cite several compelling albums.

Once again, this brings me to the current day and age, a time I am often in dismay over.  And before I get thumped over the head again, it is not that today’s music isn’t any good (I love lots of it – LOTS!), it is that much of today’s music is vapid and usually devoid of serious looks at life.  Oh, to be fair, every decade has more than its share of such music.  It is just that the New Millennium seems to have much more of the lyrically unimportant.  You can recognize good lyric (with accompanying great music) when it shows up.  Recently, I reviewed such an album by The Enemy UK with its very mature “Your Song,” a tune that speaks of disenfranchised youth and the effects of change, good and bad.  But it takes a special individual with a flair for words and a deep understanding of despair, feelings, and other such things to craft a song that sticks.

You would think that this time would be full of such thoughts and ruminations and that it would spill over into music.  Are today’s youth so pampered and protected that they cannot feel such disturbances and reach out with songs others can identify with?  I think that I’m now beginning to understand the reasoning behind why we cannot find much in the way of important music anymore.  Possible?  Yes, it is.  Albums can’t have longevity if it has no hooks and we forget about them while we listen to the next one.

Look back at the classics of the past and you’ll find albums that addressed the mood of the listeners.  Albums that said something about the way we felt -  the despair, the love, the distrust, the view of governments, of war, of hate, and of sadness.  Quadrophenia from The Who.  Important.  Townshend taped into the psyche of youth over 4 sides and Daltrey voiced it, Entwhistle played it, and Moon pounded out its urgency.  Nevermind, and In Utero by Nirvana.  Important.  Cobain was disturbed by life and his songs let us in, we identified and we connected.  The Stones made those kinds of albums.  The Beatles made those albums.  Lennon wrote those songs.  Dylan was/is our consciousness singing.  The Band. Leonard Cohen. U2.  So many more personas and bands; not enough space.

Even the less important songs tapped in because we could identify.  “A Beautiful Morning” by The Rascals found our peaceful mode, as did The Young Rascals’ “Groovin’”.  You have the idea.  So many great albums in the past reflected our moods and feelings, and defined our philosophies.  I haven’t seen much of that lately over the last decade and that could explain why we have no strong memories of albums that released during that timeframe.

Perhaps we have protected our young too much and we’re seeing the results artistically?

Your turn.

I'd also like to know if any particular album or set of albums have changed your life and how.

We will not have a post up on Monday (apologies) but will return on Wednesday with the results of the Aerosmith poll (which is woefully under-participated in).  Regardless, we have a few more days and so hopefully more will provide their selections.  What we did receive were strong votes for albums across the spectrum of their career.  Those votes were followed by commentary that revealed dedicated Aerosmith fans, which gives me an idea for another topic down the road.

We also have no reviews for today. We'll see you again next Wednesday - January 21. Have a great set of days until then!

We have several things to kick-off the New Year with. The first is our Annual Reader's Choice 'Best of 20xx' picks. In this case, you'll be picking the Best of 2008. i always look forward to these picks because it gives me a fast way to check up on things that I have missed over the year. I have always made new gains to my library with the arrival of these lists and I'm sure to do so again. You guys know the rules by now. Just send a list of the Best that graced our players over the course of 2008. We'll run this through January and then post results in February. Send them here at The Best Albums of 2008.

Also, we haven't forgot the fun Poll that picks the best album from a band's career. We're gpoing to kick off this new year with one for Aerosmith. Now Aerosmith is a band that rose to peak, crashed and burned, redefined, rose to another peak before silently fading away. Yes, the band still exists and still make recordings but not to the same degree of popularity that we have seen from them...twice. I suspect that we're going to see several schools of opinion here. Those that love the albums that began their career, those that love the second period of their revival, and those that just loved the band no matter what they did. I have a favourite. It is easily their second album, Get Your Wings. Full of high-energy bluesy rock, it was very hard for me to get back on track to anything that have done since then. However, I did love their works afterward, it was all measured against the power of that second album. So send us your choice for the Best Album for Aerosmith. You are invited to add commentary as to why you think your choice is the right one. Send them to the Best Album of Aerosmith at this easy-to-use email link. We'll post results in two weeks on January 19.

In addition, and to start the New Year Out, we have several more things before moving on. The first is a new band introduction, found below in the reviews section. They are called The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Be sure to scroll down for that. the second is that we have (tried) to launch a Facebook set of pages. We have a button for you to click on and befriend us and we hope that you will. We have a personal TAP page (because Facebook insists). And we also have a Business page and a Group page. I know...complicated. And it is. But we'll figure which to use in the long run but until then, check them all out. They are a bit different in content. I do suspect that it will be the personal page that you'll want to frequent most often as it easily leads to both of the other pages. I'm still trying to make one singular page the most impactful but haven't figured how to do it yet. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. There's nothing worse than being a 'noob' trying to produce a bit of usefulness...and not succeeding very well at it. There are some new things that we can do with it. For example, there is plenty of room there to discuss in an open forum. For those that wanted this to happen, here's an opportunity to guage it. In addition, there may als obe extra content there, capsule-like reviews, etc. This is an experiment to see what happens. You might have to sign up to check us out...I don't know. Forgive any problems that might arise from this but we'll get it figured out somehow.

For the long promised Albums You MUST Hear Before You Die! list (#30), I will be posting a letter each post until exhausted (there were only 17 21 25 27 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 40 emails).  Some were only a few titles, some only one.  But there were more than a few that were massive and a few extended, well-detailed lists.  I’ll post them as I received them.  For today's post, sometimes one is just so compelling.

Rubber Soul - Beatles

We're going to keep the Best Album of ALL Time up for a long while as we continually update it. But I'll say this: The Beatles took the lead with not only The White Album but also the fact that they have been selected with two albums. Like The Albums You MUST Hear Before You Die! run, which does not show signs of stopping (I'm still getting emails, which I have no problem with and encourage - Send Them In), I'm hoping that this new thing stays strong. Send in your selection (one only, please) for the album that is the ruler of all.

If you have missed the last As The Disc Spins (updated), check it out here.

To access the previous site and catch up, click here.

For fans of game soundtracks, be aware that the Original Soundtrack for Ensemble Studios’ Halo Wars will be released on February 17 on Sumthing Else Music Works label (Nile Rodgers).  The 2CD set is scored by Stephen Rippy and contains over 50 minutes of original score music.  The second disc is actually a DVD, containing nine bonus tracks, as well as providing 5.1 Surround mixes of the original tracks.  There will also be several trailers, and a ‘behind the scenes’ film.

I know that many of you are fans of Bruce Cockburn, who is set to release a Live album on March 31.  It will be called Slice O Life – Live Solo, and will be released by Rounder Records.  We’re very excited by this release ‘round these parts and hope that you’ll be just as excited.  The album will feature 25 solo acoustic tracks, familiar to fans.  Amongst those 25 tunes is a new song (“The City is Hungry”) as well as three tracks recorded at sound-checks along the acoustic tour. 

Rounder Records also has an exciting and anticipated release arriving from Madeleine Peyroux, whose silky jazz voice is the essence of previous extraordinary albums.  The new album is to be called Bare Bones and will be released on March 10.

Rounder/Zoe Records have another interesting disc on the horizon in April.  This one is from Vienna Teng, whose new album to be called Inland Territory, which follows her Dreaming Through the Noise debut release, will be released on April 7.

MVD Visual will release a DVD called Iggy Pop – Lust for Life.  The DVD was filmed in 1986 during the Blah Blah Blah album.  The DVD features an interview with Ron Asheton, and will release on February 10.

Note that Experience Hendrix will reissue Smash Hits by Jimi Hendrix Experience in an Eco-Pak (Green Packaging) on February 17.

In March, there will be several interesting arrivals that include two Live at the BBC title CDs, one for BB King, and the other for Steve Earle.  Those are scheduled for March 10.

Other March 10 music includes a Deluxe Edition for Motorhead of their Live album, No Sleep Til Hammersmith.  Also, Universal will release The Definitive DVD for Rick James, same date.

Joni Mitchell’s The Fiddle and The Drum is a production that will be released on DVD from Koch Vision and slated for February 10.  The DVD will not only feature the performance but will include ‘behind the scenes’ footage, and an 8-page booklet with Mitchell-penned liner notes as bonus inclusions.

On March 31, there will be a ‘best of’ issued for The Wallflowers. 

Watch for a 2CD Gold series title compilation for Bobby Brown, planned for March 31.

The previously slated for October CD and DVD of the Stevie Nicks Chicago dates (Live in Chicago – DVD, The Soundstage Sessions – CD) are currently scheduled for March 24 from Reprise Records.

Fans of Odessa, the recently reissued Deluxe Edition of the Bee Gees classic, will be happy to know that Odessa will be released on vinyl LP, scheduled for March 24.

Rhino Home Video will release a 7DVD Box for Phish called The Clifford Ball.  This Box is scheduled for release on March 3.

Rounder Records will release Throw Down Your Heart – Tales From the Acoustic Planet, Volume 3 for Bela Fleck.  It is planned for March 3.

VH1 Classics will release another Thin Lizzy set, this one a Live set called Still Dangerous – Live at the Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977.  It is being scheduled for March 3.  It is also slated to release as a vinyl LP, same date. 

Nebula has enjoyed a career with a few changes. With the release of Peel Sessions, the band adds a feather in its discography that should please fans and collectors.

Late of the Pier is a UK band, whose debut release, Fantasy Black Channel is a strong selection for one of the Best of 2008. Now, as of January 13, the album is available in the US with two bonus tracks.