Besides Dark Side of the Moon.
London Calling by the Clash.
Their past two albums were amazing and ground breaking, but all firmly footed within one genre: state of the art 70s punk. One-two-three-four.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, London Calling comes along, and just jumps all over the place. Ska. R&B. Jazz. Folk. Rockabilly. Reggae. Whatever the hell Lover’s Rock is. It just goes everywhere. And even weirder, it’s all fucking fantastic.
In terms of songwriting it’s equally insane, covering issues such as the Spanish Civil War (Spanish Bombs), the life and times of Montgomery Clift (The Right Profile), a murder investigation among a bunch of fucked up junkies (Jimmy Jazz), the tale of Staggar Lee (Wrong 'em Boyo), contemporary problems of gang and police violence (Guns of Brixton), how we all end up as slaves to the same system we start out trying to defeat (Clampdown), and how little room there is left for humanity in modern living (Lost in the Supermarket).
Or, perhaps most tellingly, the title track itself: a distress call, nodding back to BBC wartime broadcasts starting with “this is London Calling”. The song fittingly kicks off the album with a doomsday scenario declaring the death of punk itself, coming from the most important band in the genre at the time. It’s the end of the 70s, the hype around punk is over, if it was ever real to begin with.
London Calling
Now don’t look to us
Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dustWhat an amazing freaking album.
This is really well said, and would have been my pick, as well. I was not yet 10 when this album came out and only ever listened to it after hearing Combat Rock, which is an absolutely groundbreaking record in its own right (side 2 of Combat Rock defies any attempts at pigeonholing it in a genre - it’s masterful).
But once I’d heard their earlier albums and then London Calling, my though whenever I listen to this album is, “how the fuck did that happen???” It’s hard to say whether it happened because of, or despite Guy Stevens (the producer), but one thing is clear: he pushed them to do things that they might never have done without him wandering about the studio throwing ladders around or whateverfuck he was up to during recording.
Lost in the Supermarket was written just as the consumerism began to hit the shelves, if you’ll allow the shitty pun, and could just as easily have been written today. Absolutely timeless, spot-on, chillingly accurate portrayal of the beginning of the end as we decided we needed stuff more than we needed community.
Great pick, and really wonderful explanation.
I was going to say Combat Rock as well
“I wasn’t born as much as I fell out”. It’s just too good.
And speaking of being born - I didn’t even see the light of day before more than a decade after London Calling was released. I’m still not entirely sure how I ended up stumbling into 70s punk in my teenage years, but I’m glad I did.
Combat Rock is another insane album. Starved in metropolis, hooked on necropolis. Come on. And it all starts so innocently with Know Your Righs as well.
I don’t have the time or brainpower to write something as nice as these two comments, but if you love those albums for these reasons you have to check out Sandinista!, it’s a bit messy and overstuffed with ideas at 3 vinyls in length, but the best 2 vinyls worth of music the Clash ever did is in there imo
Funny, it just hit me that “supermarket” isn’t being used here as a synonym for “grocery store” and that there was a time before these massive grocery stores we’re used to now.
The album Scatman’s World by Scatman John.
One of the most upbeat and positive albums humanity has ever birthed. Scatman John spits jazz scat with a eurobeat backing, all while singing about a land of love, Scatman’s World, that lies between your deepest dreams and your warmest wishes. An unlikely pop icon, a beacon of positivity, who’s reach extends far beyond the jazz or dance scenes.
“I hope that the kids, while they sing along to my songs or dance to it, feel that life is not that bad at all. Even for just a minute.” - Scatman John
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The Operation Mindcrime album by Queensryche. The story is engaging and the anti-fascist message is timeless.
Damnation by Opeth. It’s a goddamn mood. Listen to the album in its entirety on a night by the fire or somewhere dimly lit. Put away your phone and just go into it. You would never guess they’re a prog death metal band (or idk what they are now but it’s a great contrast to Deliverance).
How is it different?
Damnation was released as an accompaniment to Deliverance… and they are polar opposites in music style. The imagery conjured by the album titles is in contrast to the material on them… Whether, befitting the genre or not, it works both ways! Deliverance is a typical opeth album (pre Heritage) whilst Damnation was an amazing, essentially acoustic easy listening album… but still with the lyrical genius. IMO
Screamadelica by Primal Scream
Why?
That would depend on what you define as transcending their genre, but Screamadelica in particular is an oft cited example of a record that is hard to pin down in genre. Just the wikipedia article lists the following genres for that record: Alternative rock, alternative dance, neo-psychedelia, Madchester, dance-rock, acid house.
I love the album to bits, for as much of a hipster as that makes me.
I will have to try it out.
To Pimp a Butterfly for sure
Mama Said by Metallica. I know the Load/Reload period of the band is dismissed or seen as a joke, but there are some good tracks on those albums. Mama Said is a country rock ballad that would’ve been unfathomable in pre-black album era Metallica.
I enjoy load and reload as a seperate piece…it was such a shift from earlier Metallica, but on their own together, they are solid albums. Some great tunes there
I became a Metallica fan when Load came out. It got a ton of radio play at the same time that I was building my own musical preferences as a young teenager. I’m a huge fan now of old and new Metallica, but Load was my introduction. Bleeding Me is probably one of my favorite Metallica songs.
Pretty much every thing these guys did, but this song in particular
https://open.spotify.com/track/2OIca10vMnqiJyDELHiPJb?si=1AiptlMbSRyhqiBVkGvq-w
Definitely.
Fear and Trembling by Gang of Youths is equal parts piano led indie, Americana, rock and a bit of punk/emo in the chrous. It also prefaces what is an incredible album.
Bon Iver’s 22, A Million is a synth industrial indie folk rock album that I find hard to fit into a genre.
Madvillainy - Madvillainy, Madlib, MF DOOM
Why?
Madlib took a musically innovative approach in the beats and DOOM’s intricate rhyme patterns complemented that so well making it a record ahead of it’s time, which has definitely transcended the sound of hip-hop imo.
Anything Mac Miller
How so?
The Cars. Their album “The Cars” is a banger from beginning to end.
Dub Qawwali by Gaudí + Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Can’t say I am a huge fan of Sufi devorional music or of London/Jamaica dub, but this album truly transcends both of those genres.
One of my favorite albums, and a unique musical artifact.
I think Colors by Between the Buried and Me is truly a transcendent piece of art. Channel Orange by Frank Ocean is another good one
