The two hundred and ninety-second album: #292 Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
Luckily, anticipating an album pays off often enough to feel worth it. The Dark Side of the Moon is one of those famous albums that I've been looking forward to listening to. It doesn't disappoint, either. It's one where everything comes together, featuring a unified sound with still clearly defined track, making some different choices in the music without losing sight of what makes them work.Whether it's the intros, either spoken word or with odd sounds, or the deeper rock sounds when a track gets started, it all works, it doesn't jar, it creates a work that really stands out. For me, this has already been one of the highlights of the list to listen to.
The one hundred and sixty-seventh TV show: #570 Queer As Folk
While the series doesn't seem as progressive now - there are plenty of queer dramas around now or varying quality - seeing a gay drama in 1999 was quite a big change. I might not connect with the Manchester gay scene of the late nineties - neither the partying or the general setting - but the feeling of inclusion and addressing issues in the community does do so. The whole show feels accessible in a view it has on gay life that other shows don't have and something like Will & Grace pointedly does its best to ignore. It's exaggerated, sure, but while the series is missing a bit of a full arc, the experience is really good.
The one hundred and twenty-first classical recording: #199 Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Trio in D major, op. 70, no. 1, "Ghost"
There's a sensitiveness to this piece that doesn't entirely fit its "Ghost" moniker, more a sad mood than a presence or remembrance. The complexities build well, never overwhelming, but I also keep finding new things in there. It's a nice sound, a slow journey through its emotions, , melancholic and dark, and a great mood piece for those darker days.
The two hundred and ninety-first album: #291 Waylon Jennings - Honky Tonk Heroes
When I look at the country that has been in recent entries of the list, it's clear that rock changed the genre a lot and that when I think of country music, especially country music I'd hear in the 70s, I think of country rock. Hearing this album feels like so much of a throwback to the old days that itjars a bit, as something that doesn't belong in this era.I think that, with rock having moved along, these classic throwbacks don't have as much of an effect anymore. It's fine, it does what it does, but it doesn't have that much of an appeal to me.
The two hundred and ninetieth album: #290 Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy
I liked Steely Dan's previous album and while this one became bigger, the added production doesn't dominate. Instead, it's a nice collection of rock songs without too much fanfare, sounding good and making for an enjoyable album to casually listen to or dive deeper into. They're good, nice jams with some content, nothing overstaying its welcome or pushing it too far, the right pop rock point for me.
The one hundred and twentieth classical recording: #812 Samuel Barber - Violin Concerto
Samuel Barber's violin concerto is a lovely, delicate piece that doesn't have any great themes and avoids the sweeping movements, but instead stays small and feels sensitive. It's never quite as evocative as other pieces, but it's good at what it is.
The two hundred and eighty-ninth album: #289 Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
There is something really infectious about Elton John's brand of rock and roll that's on display here. It's glam, a big sound that really hits you and something I've enjoyed listening to. It's the first disc that obviously has the big, show stopping numbers that really take their time to develop and set up a theme, but it works as well, if not more so, in the second half that has pop songs of a more conventional length, making some easily listenable pop that mostly seems cheerful and just makes you happy. Of course the title track isn't quite there, and while it is a masterpiece in the way it's performed, there's this longing that the music brings across so well. Elton John never loses the optimism and happiness, but it's transferred so well to this different feeling that it continues to work here.
The two hundred and eighty-eight album: #288 Todd Rundgren - A Wizard, A True Star
As a shorter double album, A Wizard, A True Star actually starts off with a number of really short tracks - taking a minute or two to explore a song or concept before moving on to the next, never quite dwelling on the different parts of its pop music. Nothing overstays its welcome, but then again, nothing in those early tracks has a lot of staying power either. It pays off when you get to the first longer track, Zen Archer, which also has a tendency to flit around but keeps its focus and roots as it moves through them.
I would still argue that while there are a lot of interesting, smaller elements here, by the short nature of them none of them have real staying power. It works well as an album and a showcase of Rundgren's music, and that nature is interesting enough.
The one hundred and nineteenth classical recording: #570 Frederick Delius - Brigg Fair
Brigg Fair is a short piece, creating an orchestral song for a folk song. It's a nic epiece, exploring variations on the theme with some quite rousing elements, but without being familiar with the original I guess some of the impact might be lost. It's the final where it really pays off, going from gentle with some stirring segments to a large finale, not as big as you might hear in other works, but big for the gentle, I suppose country life-appropriate style of the piece. It never goes big, but it knows its setting and where to go from there.
The two hundred and eighty-seventh album: #287 Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
Not knowing anything about Tubular Bells going in, the opening immediately gave me goosebumps as the standard tension music used in childhood favourite TV series Bassie & Adriaan. The slow, simple build really works well to create tension. Outside of the Netherlands and Dutch-speaking parts of Belgium this was of course more known from the Exorcist, but luckily I have a more friendly association with the music.
The album has two instrumental tracks, with very few vocal performances ready - the introduction of the instruments at the finale of the first part stands out, surprising you with their presence as a choir comes in afterwards. They're quite a contrast to the demonic-sounding vocals that appear in the second part and create an aggression that's otherwise not quite as present on the album.
While there are only two tracks on here - more two halves of the same track, split because of technical constraints - the album feels like a full journey. There are no different parts to the songs, but at the same time they go on a journey with enough changes that it doesn't get boring. While these long concept tracks often don't work for me, in Tubular Bells they're tuned to perfection, immensely listenable and making for a good experience.