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Conference napalm::heavy_metal

Title:	HEAVY_METAL - Talent Round-Up DayDay
Notice:	Rules-2.,Directory-7.,Roster-3.,Garbage-99.
Moderator:	BUSY::SLABB

Created:	Wed May 04 1988
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1238
Total number of notes:	65616

907.0. "Top Ten Albums for 1992" by DPE::STARR (Love and hope and sex and dreams) Mon Dec 28 1992 13:42

(I wrote this up for the MUSIC confence, but thought I'd post it here
also, since many of you don't read MUSIC..... alan)

It's that time of year again, time to pick out my favorite albums of the
year. It was another somewhat weak year for music, in my opinion (although
not quite as weak as last year). Although there was a lot of good music
released, there wasn't a lot of *great* music released; at least not to 
my ears, from what I've heard.

But that never stops me from finding 10 that I like a lot, and without further 
ceremony, here they are:

Pearl Jam - 10
--------------
Simply put, this is the best hard rock debut album since Guns and Roses 
'Appetite For Destruction' in 1985. This is a "rock band" in the purest 
sense of the words. They play riff-oriented music with killer hooks and
interesting lyrics. Combined with both an explosive live show and their
triumphant appearance on MTV's Unplugged, and you have America's best hope
for a great hard band in the 90's. 

Already one of the top sellers of the year, the album contains hits like 
"Alive", "Evenflow" and "Jeremy". Those are all great songs, but there's
also even more worth listening to (check out "Black" and "Porch"). Unlike
most bands that have 1 or 2 decent songs, this album is strong from beginning 
to end.

Lindsey Buckingham - Out Of The Cradle
--------------------------------------
I already posted a pretty in-depth review of this album in the notesfile 
already (see Note #260.6). A pop music masterpiece.

Melissa Etheridge - Never Enough
--------------------------------
The best album of her career so far! Combines the great songwriting of the
earlier albums with some experimentation into updating her music to the 90's,
and it all works. Check out the techno-funk of "2001" for an example.
There's also the stunning "The Letting Go", and the usual assortment of
acoustic rockers like "Meet Me In The Back". (This album was also backed
up with a *fantastic* live show at the Orpheum!)

Black Crowes - Southern Harmony and Musical Accompanionment
-----------------------------------------------------------
Retro. Unoriginal. Rolling Stones clones. Faces clones. It's all been done
before. Blah Blah Blah. You've heard all the complaints about this band 
(some of them in this notesfile probably). But when all the smoke clears,
it comes down to this - the Black Crowes are one damn fine rock and roll
band. Strong songwriting, even better execution, and a "cool attitude"
all help make this the best bar band in America since the Georgia 
Satellites broke up.

Neil Young - Harvest Moon
-------------------------
Simply put, a beautiful album, ranking as one of Neil's best.

Megadeth - Symphony of Destruction
----------------------------------
The heaviest of the heavies. Forget Metallica, who have become overblown
with themselves and seem about as heavy as Poison nowadays. Dave Mustaine
might be an egotistical jerk, but he is at the helm of one mighty band. And
their latest album is easily the best in the genre since Metallica's 
'Master Of Puppets'.

John Cougar Mellencamp - Whenever We Wanted
-------------------------------------------
I remember reading a quote from JCM, saying that after he took a two year
hiatus, he went back and listened to his last two albums. And his main
thought afterwards was "Where's the guitar?". Well, from the monster riff
of "Love and Happiness" that opens this album, it's ovbious that John
put the guitar back into this music! This album is a bit of a step back
for him, more towards the 'Scarecrow' and 'American Fool' days. But that's
ok for me - as much as I liked the later albums, it's always good to hear
just some plain, rock-solid music from him too.

Sonic Youth - Dirty
-------------------
Noise. Noise. Noise. That's about the best way to sum up Sonic Youth. Although 
they've been around forever, I had never gotten a chance to hear them before.
Shame on me - if 'Dirty' is any indication, I've got a lot of catching up
to do! This album is not for the faint of heart at all, and it sometimes
even grates on me, but I really like it (although I must admit that I usually
listen to it in small amounts, rather than the whole album all the way 
through). "100%" is the single and really catchy, but my personal favorite
is "Swimsuit Issue", where bassist Kim Gordon slowly reels off the names
of famous models.

Izzy Stradlin' and the JuJu Hounds
----------------------------------
Guns and Roses' ex-rhythm guitarist teams up with ex-Georgia Satellites lead
guitarist Rick Richards, and they produce an album that sounds more like
Keith Richards than Keith does! Maybe not the glorious album that I was 
hoping for, but still a very nice album that slowly grows on you. Check out
"Shuffle It All" for a good example of the music. Also check out the Clash
influence on their version of "Pressure Drop" - sounds like it is right
off the 'London Calling' album!

For tenth place, I'm gonna just quickly mention some of the other albums
that have caught my ear over the past year:

Love/Hate - Wasted In America: great garage metal with cool hooks. 
Robbie Robertson - Storyville: nice album, though not as good as his first
Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch/Lucky Town: might have made my Top Ten, but
		    I haven't heard them enough to really judge 'em. I love
		    what I hear on the radio though!
Eric Clapton - Unplugged: Unlike most, I *like* the rework of "Layla"! The
	       rest of the album is just a bonus! Not quite as stunning as
	       the '24 Nights' collection, but a nice side-track for EC.
Sass Jordan - Racine: a very promising debut album! 


And a quick listing of a couple of the better shows I saw this year:
Melissa Etheridge/Jeffery Gaines - Orpheum (incredible!)
Peter Frampton - Paradise (guilty pleasure)
Eric Clapton - Great Woods (as always)
Elton John - Great Woods (first time I'd seen him)
Ringo Starr - Great Woods (fun!)
Lou Reed - Magic and Loss

alan

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
907.1	ps, DT rules! :')	CONTRA::BEL_KWINITH	Dust fills my eyes...	`Mon Dec 28 1992 13:50`	5
	nice writeup! too bad i could only deal with ONE album in that entire list :')
907.3	What BAD music....	DECAGE::HOWES	Angels wake up with a kiss....	`Mon Dec 28 1992 15:29`	10
	I think I am the only person in the world who hates Pearl Jam... Pearl Jam and The Black Crows annoy me so much. I don't understand what people see in them..... But TEHO! -Seth
907.4		MSBCS::MCBRIDE	A Dog Took My Place	`Mon Dec 28 1992 15:36`	13
	All a matter of taste, I suppose, Seth, but it is obvious that you have none. Bwahahahaha! All kidding aside, I agree with you on the Pearl Jam call, but I must disagree with you on the Black Crowes. I think they're great. Now, Buck, what's this with you and the Bee Gees? Are we gonna have to run you outta this conference? :-) -- Kevin
907.5	Here's mine. Black Crowes Suck!	BUSY::ESCOBAR	Clouds Roll By...	`Mon Dec 28 1992 15:49`	66
	Metallica - Metallica --------------------- Yeah, Yeah, I've heard it before. They've sold out, ect... well I still love album. A new direction for Metallica which at first left even me a bit bewildered. But once you get into the new groove, you have to love it. Definitely my favorite album of 1992. Shotgun Messiah - Second Coming ------------------------------- I wanna know where the hell they came from. I was caught by suprise at how much I liked these guys. Harry Cody RULES. I love is riffs. Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction ---------------------------------- Finally Megadeth has put out a clean cut finely produced album. Mustaine has finally learned that you don't have to sing every lyric with an attitude. Although I like the guitar work on RIP much more, this album is still rippin'. Testament - The Ritual ---------------------- Not as good as Practice What You Preach but still a fantastic album. They took away the speed and continued with the heaviness. They produced another dark and melodic ballad worth a million bucks: Return To Serenity Pearl Jam - 10 -------------- I don't like everything off the album. But imho Pearl Jam will be the only 'seattle' band to go on to an amazing career. The singles were just a bit on the commercial side so they'd sell. I'm looking forward to the follow up album Queen - Greatest Hits II ------------------------ They removed "Flash" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" and added "I want to break free" and "Body Language". Like Buck said, even though I heard the songs many times before on different albums. All of the collected in one place makes it amazing! Queen - Classic Queen --------------------- Picks up after GH. Starting in '85 with material from A Kind Of Magic and ending (how ironic) with material from Innuendo. It collected the best of Queen during the late 80's. If you don't have any Queen albums, I recommend buying this one! Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark ------------------------------ I've heard the crappy tar pits over and over, but I think this album is great. I love every song on here. (Except the horrible "Weekend Warriors") Sure Bruce's voice is shot, but it sounds cool with the tone they tried to set. So shut up or the tar pits will gobble you up. Dream Theater - Images And Words -------------------------------- Do I have to say? I think you know why Gamma Ray - Sigh No More ------------------------ Everything fits. The singer's voice is incredible. The guitar work is amazing. The drumming is fantastic. The lyrics are great. Buy it!
907.6		CONTRA::BEL_KWINITH	Dust fills my eyes...	`Mon Dec 28 1992 16:28`	10
	re: .3 i agree with you completely. fear of the dark??? when did THAT come out?? i dont recall ever even hearing of that one. maybe ive just forgotten the title of the latest...
907.2		POWDML::BUCKLEY	Let the light surrounded	`Tue Jan 05 1993 09:30`	83
	This is a re-post. While compiling my original post, I kept thinking I was forgetting something really important -- I was. Below Ireplace Queen with Arrested Development! Here is my Top 10 album list of 1992 -- in no particular order: Annie Lennox - Diva ------------------- Hauntingly soulful tunes from one of my favorite female vocalists! Her strong vocal style shines through much clearer on this release than on the previous releases with the Eurythmics. Highly recommended! Shotgun Messiah - Second Coming ------------------------------- Yeah, this is your average pop-metal band, but I like their punk-influenced metal riffs, which have been incorporated into well-crafted, AOR songs. This, imho, was one of the stronger releases in it's genre for the past few years. Bee Gees - Box Set ------------------ An outstanding collection of some oustanding compositions from one of the best British bands ever (imho)! Pearl Jam - 10 -------------- Strong and simple. The quintessential rock formula taken into the 90s with a fresh sound and outlook. One of the bands to watch in this decade. Black Crowes - The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion --------------------------------------------------------- One of the other bands to watch in this decade. While many pawn this band off as a 'clone/rehash' band, I think the crowes are one of THE best bands to emerge onto the rock scene in years! The sound may be familiar to themes of past, but oddly enough they're right in keeping with the current trends in the fashion world. Although, whereas fashion trends change, I think the Crowes will stay loyal to their roots. Alice in Chains - Dirt ---------------------- Another ground-breaking band out of Seattle. AiC hits hard and heavy, with a strong rhythm section topped off with excellent vocal work (odd for bands of this genre imho)!! Lou Reed - Magic and Loss ------------------------- Lou's strong lyrical poetry and odd sense of harmony is not everyone's cup of tea, but this is one of Lou's strongest statements to date!! A very heavy album (mentally). Dream Theater - Images and Words -------------------------------- Sure, these guys can play, and then some. But it's the manner in which these 5 outstanding musicians have harnessed their talent and chops into a melodic mixture of songs which lends itself to the ears of the general public. Enough bebop lines and timing chanes for the jazz purist at heart, enough crunch for the metalist at heart. Another band I think will go places in the 90s. Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes ------------------------------ Maybe a tad mellow for this bunch, but this is one GREAT album!! Sort of reminds me of the latter Til Tuesday stuff, but with a bit more maturity. Arrested Development - ...in the life of... ------------------------------------------- I'm not a big rap fan, but this is a SMOKIN album!!! Groovin R&B-laced rhythm section vibes strongly support lyrical and haunting rap lyrics, which feature a STRONG moral and social message!! This is a very upbeat and belodic album ... highly recommended... Disappointments of the year: Metallica - Metallica Kix - Hot Wire Widowmaker - Widowmaker Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer
907.7	J.C's Top Ten of 1992 - Never heard of half of em?	CSLALL::JJDONOVAN		`Fri Jan 08 1993 10:44`	29
	Top Ten of 1992 - Countdown 10. Monster Magnet - "Spine of God" 9. Bad Trip - "Fear and Loathing" 8. Paradise Lost - "Shades of God" 7. Starkweather - "Crossbearer" 6. Into Another - (self titled) 5. Only Living Witness - "Prone Mortal Form" (demo) 4. Helmet - "Meantime" 3. Beastie Boys - "Check Your Head" 2. White Zombie - "La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1" 1. Tool - "Opaite" ( Absolutly Amazing!!)
907.8		SUBURB::COOKS	automatic mojo	`Fri Jan 08 1993 12:36`	23
	10. Suicidal Tendencies - Art of Rebellion 9. Ministry - Psalm 69 8. Faith No More - Angel Dust 7. Meat Puppets - Forbidden Places 6. Meat Puppets - Mirage 5. Meat Puppets - Huevos 4. Meat Puppets - Under the Sun 3. Fish Bone - Realities of my surroundings 2. Violence - er,2nd album 1. Heathen - er,the 2nd album That`s in no particular order,btw.
907.9		GOES11::G_HOUSE	Big cheese, MAKE me!	`Fri Jan 08 1993 13:36`	6
	re: Stu Meat Puppets put out THREE albums in '92? Man, they must be in the studio all the time! gh
907.10		SUBURB::COOKS	automatic mojo	`Mon Jan 11 1993 08:07`	6
	er,no. The album were from `85,`87 and `91,but i bought them all in `92. Should i have only picked albums that were released last year? Shilly me.
907.11		NEWOA::DALLISON	G string tuned to A	`Tue Jan 12 1993 05:16`	9
	Top 5 albums of this year for me were ... 1 - Shotgun Messiah, Second Coming 2 - Mr Big, Lean into It (or was that 91?) 3 - Ozzy Osbourne, No More Tears 4 - Shakespears Sister, Hormoniously Yours 5 - B52's, Good Stuff
907.12	top 5.	TROOA::RATTMAN	My brain is liquid metal.	`Tue Jan 12 1993 08:12`	9
	Top 5 for me: 1. Trouble-Manic Frust. 2. Blind Melon 3. Stone Temple Pilots 4. Megadeth-Countdown 5. 5440- Dear Dear
907.13	hoptop	STKAI2::VAKTMASTERI	Older, budweiser!	`Tue Jan 19 1993 06:01`	10
	- Bad Religion Generator - Pantera Vulgar display... - Danzig III - Alice in Chains Dirt - Robots Surfin' That's it! -H-