The six hundred and sixty-second album: #662 Jungle Brothers - Done by the Forces of Nature
While we just covered some sample-heavy, produced albums, Jungle Brothers uses a lot more original material, with thoughtful lyrics and a more mature sound. It's here to tell a story and give a message, but works as a strong set of songs as well.
The six hundred and sixty-first album: #661 Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation 1814
While her brother was the more known king of pop, Janet Jackson shows on Rhythm Nation 1814 how much she brings as well. Heavily layered, her vocals work really well with a lot of different songs, from heavy rock tracks to ballads and the very danceable funkier tracks. There's a lot of production in this, but I do feel her stamp is on this work. The lyrics feel very personal, which adds to the sensitive feeling of a lot she sings about.
The six hundred and sixtieth album: #660 De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
The legal issues surrounding sampling really changed the face of hip hop, where this older album really uses a lot of it - songs made up of samples, with few or no original vocals included, mixed with songs with rap tracks that have the sound and feel of the era, without complex lyrics. It's not a challenging album but it's got a good party vibe to it.
The six hundred and fifty-ninth album: #659 Soul II Soul - Club Classics: Vol One
In a major step up in the visibility of R&B, Soul II Soul introduces its distinct sound that feels fresh in its era here. The rap and songs work and create a very danceable set of tracks, especially as it flows into heavier dance tracks as the album progresses.
The six hundred and fifty-eighth album: #658 Fugazi - Repeater
By this point, punk has gone, and we're in the post-area of various underlying streams of the genre. This follows the hardcore vibe, calling back to past garage rock, angry and dark, droning but more written than before. It feels almost improvised at times, but then goes into bigger themes where there's clearly more thought put into it. It's not going to hit for everyone, and a full album of it was a bit more than I could stomach, but it's still a decently good sounding album.
The six hundred and fifty-seventh album: #657 Bonnie Raitt - Nick of Time
As a heartfelt Americana album, Nick of Time does a lot right. There's a real folk rock root here, often without too much instrumentation but instead focuses on nearly acoustic sounds. It's a stripped down sound that allows you to focus on the emotional songs, something that feels like a real insight into how Bonnie Raitt was feeling. It avoids the gimmicks for something more real.
The two hundred and thirty-sixth TV show: #43 Canzonissima
After we've already looked at the Eurovision Song Contest before, here's one of the many shows that offered the national selection for the series. For a large part of this show's run, the winner went to represent Italy in the song contest, and the songs here are one of the focuses of the show. What it also brings are the bigger musical numbers, as well as a few too many bits and sketches to fill the time between songs. It's fine to see some of it to get a feel for it, but language aside, the age of the program means that the music is as dated and just not as interesting.
The six hundred and fifty-sixth album: #656 Pixies - Doolittle
There's a lot of post punk in this album, the short tracks and at times heavy music clearly deriving from that style. It's combined, however, with harmonies and much more authored touches that make it more deliberate. It's a nice album that's a burst of energy in its own right.
The six hundred and fifty-fifth album: #655 Aerosmith - Pump
I think it's fair to say that Pump does what you'd expect an Aerosmith album to do: a lot of glam rock, adjusted for the late eighties, with a nice mix of ballads and harder tracks. It shows an act that's evolved with its time while not having let go of what they do well and still sounding like themselves.
The six hundred and fifty-fourth album: #654 Barry Adamson - Moss Side Story
It's weird to listen to the sound track for a non-existent movie, a jazzy rock track with electronic embellishments that sets the mood for a story that doesn't exist, with track titles that match this. Incidental vocals give snippets of a setting, but the impact comes from the images and emotions they invoke regardless. It's different, but it works.