Personally I wouldn't have chosen any of them... (Top 10 Albums)

Member Name: shanecahill

Product:	Top 10 Albums
Date:	21/10/01 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: I picked them

Disadvantages: Are you kidding me?

Ladies and gentlemen, please relax. Yes, I know you've been waiting for my top 10 albums since I first displayed my huge writing talent on Dooyoo, but come on, is the screaming necessary? So anyway the rules are:

1. No compilations or Best Ofs because I hate them.
2. Difficult though it was, I've limited myself to 2 albums per artist.
3. No particular order because it's far too difficult to say which ones are my favourite.
4. Favourite track from the album must be included.

So, let's begin:

David Gray - White Ladder
Yes, I know people are fed up of seeing it in Top 10 lists (myself included) but for me it is a truly stunning album. With the outstanding Please Forgive Me, the magnificent My Oh My and the mammoth Say Hello, Wave Goodbye, this album really sums up David Gray. Simple songs made into masterpieces by a gravelly voice and some excellent production. Also, does everyone know about the extra track on this album? If you rewind Please Forgive Me on your CD player you get a Bob Dylan-esque track which is not too shabby.

Favourite track: Tough one, but probably My Oh My

Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
There may only be nine tracks on this album, but I'll be damned if this isn't one of the greatest albums of all time. It kicks off with the classic Like A Rolling Stone, which has everyone screaming "How does it feeeeeeeeeeell" in unison, and continues on with the huge Tombstone Blues with the famous line "The sun's not yellow, it's chicken". It sure is. Also including such masterpieces as Ballad Of A Thin Man with its haunting organ, It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry with some outstanding vocals, and, of course, climaxing in the 11 minute and 18 second long Desolation Row, one of my favourite songs of all time. Tremendous.

Favourite track: It would have to be Desolation Row

U2 - The Joshua Tree
It's
no secret I'm a huge U2 fan, so it won't surprise people who know my reviews to see this pop up its head. Out of my 9 U2 albums, this is the one I find easiest to chuck on and switch off to. At times slow and soothing (With Or Without You, Running To Stand Still), at others the definition of rock (Bullet The Blue Sky, Where The Streets Have No Name) this album has it all and much more. Packed with so many classics it should be banned, this is a worthy addition to the CD collection of anyone who calls themself a music fan. By The way, I was at Slane (-: Read my review of it, make me 5p richer (-;

Favourite track: Gotta be With Or Without You, doesn't it?

Primal Scream - Screamadelica
Not doing badly so far - four albums, four different artists! This one's very different, I'm not even sure how to describe it. It won the very fist Mercury prize way back in '92. This may sound like a bad thing, but I always fall asleep to this album. It's so relaxed and chilled out, with tranquil sounds and peaceful vocals. It doesn't start this way however with the bouncy Movin' On Up, which you'll be singing along to after the first listen. It gets progressively slower however, and has some of the most peaceful songs ever written: Higher Than The Sun, Damged, Shine Like Stars. But for me the finest moment of the album comes in the form of Come Together, a 10 minute epic. First of all it has a sample which has the famous line "On this stage you will hear gospel, and rhythm AND blues AND jazz. All those are just labels, we know that music is music" and ends with the excellent female vocals singing "Commmmme tooo-gether as one". Beautiful.

Favourite track: Come Together, believe it or not!

Radiohead - Kid A
Slammed by critics but (mostly!) adored by fans, this was Radiohead taking rock in a whole new direction. Lately this has been vying with OK Computer for title of Radiohead
9;s best album. The showpiece Everything In It's Right Place starts off the album and is followed by such classics as the mystical yet marvelous title track, the thumpin' The National Anthem, the severely depressing yet superb How To Disappear Completely, and the frankly frightening Idioteque. A masterpiece from start to finish, this has barely left my stereo in the last year and a half.

Favourite track: It's close between How To Disappear Completely and Kid A, but I'll plump for the first one.

Led Zepplin - Physical Graffiti
Led Zepplin. Famous for unbelievable riffs, woman-like vocals and Stairway To Heaven, and they're all on this (except Stairway To Heaven, of course). This 2Cd masterpiece showcases the sheer talent of this band. The first CD has 6 tracks with an average track length of about 5.42 (I worked that out myself). It includes one of the most amazing riffs ever (Trampled Under Foot), a song to rival Stairway To Heaven (In My Time Of Dying) and a song that was sampled by Puff Daddy?(Kashmir). The 2nd CD is not quite as good as the first yet it has enough quality songs like In The Light and Ten Years Gone to make this a must-have and a true classic. They just don't make 'em like they used to.

Favourite track: In My Time Of Dying, at 11.04 takes 1st prize

Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde
What can I say about this album that hasn't been said before? Dooyoo is jam-packed with Bob Dylan fans and if you've listened to this album you'll know why. From the hilarious Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35 (C'mon sing along "Everybody must get stoned"!) to the emotion filled 10.45 that is Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands, this album is unnaturally good. Visions of Johanna with it's amazing harmonica and vocals, the outstanding Stuck Inside A Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again... they're all here. Nuff said. Just buy it. Or if you already have, listen to it.

F
avourite track: Sad Eyed Lady was close but Visions Of Johanna pips it at the post.

The Beatles - Abbey Road
A truly classic album from the musicians that changed the world. Although there are one or two novelty songs, like Maxwell's Silver Hammer, even these are enjoyable enough if you're in the right mood. But that's not what this album is about; it's about the sheer songwriting talent on display in The End, I Want You (She's So Heavy) and the high point of the entire album Oh Darling! which mixes outstanding vocals and musical ability to form one of my favourite Beatle's songs. This album is so good it hurts.

Favourite track: Oh Darling!

U2 - Achtung Baby
With this album, U2 took rock by it's feet, shook it firmly and told it to be better than the 80's. It was, and this album is, in my opinion, U2's best album. When you compare the last U2 song of the 80s (All I Want Is You) and the first of the 90s (Zoo Station) you realize the extent of the difference. Back to the album, and what a cracker it is. It not only has my favourite song of all time, One, but Edge displaying his masterful guitar talent on The Fly and Love Is Blindness. It also has such classics as Even Better Than The Real Thing and the emotional Acrobat. A truly outstanding album from one of the greatest bands ever.

Favourite track: Mmmmm... it might just be One.

And last but not least...
Radiohead - OK Computer

At one time it would have been my undisputed favourite album but in the words of Bob Dylan "Things have changed". It's still well up there, and its not hard to see why. From the first notes of Airbag to the last of The Tourist, this album just rocks, plain and simple. From the downright threatening Karma Police ("This is what you get, when you mess with us". Oo-er!) to the deeply depressing yet magical Lucky, this album just doesn't leave us a second to ca
tch our breath. An absolute classic.

So there it is, and there it was. Hope you liked it. No top 10 list would be complete without near misses, so here they are:

Coldplay - Parachutes
U2 - Zooropa
Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home

Feel free to comment, I want to hear YOUR views on my brilliant list (as long as they're complimentary)

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