By SB (205.186.128.59) on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 05:43 pm:

The below albums were monumental in their scope and impression in my opinion. They all had a huge affect on each one of my senses. I loved them all - and feel that they are timeless and spaceless. Will Marvin's especially always stand the test of time? And if not - isn't that a sad fact?

Any more? And what truly made/makes the below albums great?


1. "What's Going On" - Marvin
2. "Songs In The Key Of Life" - Stevie
3. "Superfly" - Curtis
4. "Wake Up Everybody" - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
5. "Stand" - Sly & The Family Stone
6. "Body Heat" - Quincy
7. "(Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below - We're All Gonna Go" - Curtis
8. "Abbey Road" - Beatles (My Fave by them)
9. "Family Reunion" - O'Jays
10. "Psychedelic Shack" - Temptations
11. Puzzle People" - Tempts - (Know I had to go here - twice)
12. "Purple Haze" - Jimi
13. "Thriller" - Michael

By STUBASS (205.188.209.109) on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 05:54 pm:

THRILLER...THRILLER...THRILLER!!!...NO PROJECT EVER HAD SO MUCH INFLUENCE ON THE INDUSTRY...AS THAT ONE ALBUM BROUGHT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY BACK FROM THE BRINK OF DISPAIR IN THE 80'S!!!...HONORABLE MENTION TO "WHATS GOING ON"...IN THAT IT IMPARTED SUCH A PROFOUND MESSAGE AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME!!!..."SGT PEPPERS LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND" AND THE BEACH BOYS "PET SOUNDS" WERE ALSO PROJECTS OF PROFOUND SIGNIFICANCE!!!...STUBASS

By SB (205.186.128.59) on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 06:01 pm:

Hey STUBASS - I started to pick "Sgt. Pepper." I really did, but I loved "Come Together", so much & "Something" & "Here Comes The Sun." I dug the 'ell out of those songs. We were in Germany partying back off of 'em. Even folksie "Here CTS" - was heavy when it was all sung and done. LOL!

And of course - "Thriller", was outstanding and did indeed revive the music industry. Wasn't nothing really big out there until that tip.

I'll holla back. Got to go pick up my mother from the airport.

Later.

By Eli (172.129.3.165) on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 06:14 pm:

Here are some which have affected me in various ways in no particular order:

Innervisions...Stevie
I Am...EWF
Spirit...EWF
The Last Poets
All Eyez On Me ...Tupac
Come To My Garden...Minnie
Legend..Marley
Heaven.. Bebe and Cee Winans
Donny Hathaway's Greatest Hits
First Take...Roberta
Led Zep one
The Carpenters greatest hits
Bread's greatest hits
Patsy Cline's Greatest hits
Blue Magic(first album)
Otis Blue
Hold On I/m Comin..Sam and Dave
Where did our love go..The Supremes
What's Goin On..Marvin
Songs in the key of life..Stevie
Waiting to exhale..Sdtk
Iyanla Van Zandt..In the meantime
Cymande

By Des (81.152.238.57) on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 06:52 pm:

As far as this thread allows for " and we the people" I can add those albums that seriously influenced my life (and still do) :
What's Goin' On - Marvin....the shock to hear the ambition,the quality and the scope of this album when I'm only 13 was awesome.Full appreciation only achieved as the years went on.
Can't Buy A Thrill - Steely Dan
As above !!!
Music Of My Mind - Stevie
As above
There's A Riot - Sly
Fabulous album.Way,Way ahead of its time.
Caravanserai - Santana
Didn't know a guitarist could make an axe sing like Carlos could - cf "Song Of The Wind"
Bitches Brew - Miles
Complex,dark and very leftfield for a teenager like me to have under his arm (I caught up with this album also in 1972)
Birds Of Fire - Mahavishnu Orchestra
John McLaughlin intrigued me post-Miles and I was a fan through this,their best,Mah.Orch. album
Pieces Of A Man - Gil Scott Heron
The title tack made me cry first time I heard it and Lady Day & John Coltrane made me smile and was Gil at his hippest

I got some more,but I gotta hit the sack soon.
G'night
Des

By Edgar (200.46.132.136) on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 07:12 pm:

Good lists... I would put in mine:
1. What's Going On? / Marvin Gaye
2. Songs In the Key of Life / Stevie Wonder
3. Cloud Nine / The Temptations
4. Dusty In Memphis / Dusty Springfield
5. I Hear a Symphony / The Supremes
6. Abraxas / Santana
7. Shaft / Isaac Hayes
8. Peter Gunn / Henry Mancini
9. The 5th Dimension / Stoned Soul Picnic
10. Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 / The Jackson 5
11. Still Waters Run Deep / Four Tops
12. Love Is the Message / MFSB
13. Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band
14. Funky Divas / En Vogue
15. Forever, For Always, For Love / Luther Vandross
16. Diamond Life / Sade
17. That's A Plenty / The Pointer Sisters
18. Siembra / Rubén Blades & Willie Colón
19. Two Sides of La Lupe / La Lupe
20. Imagination / Gladys Knight and the Pips.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 07:21 pm:

The albums that had a tremendous effect on the industry & us as a people IMHO:

What's Going On - Marvin Gaye (made us think....)

Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye (sex & soul upfront and uncut)

Purple Rain - Prince & the Revolution (big influence on how the 1980s would sound)

Shaft Soundtrack - Isaac Hayes (busted wide open the use of R&B and soul in soundtracks; earned Isaac an Oscar)

That's The Way Of The World - Earth Wind & Fire (soul & spirituality breaks through to mainstream America)

Thriller & Off The Wall - Michael Jackson (the first saved the record industry's collective tails, the second an artistic achievement for Michael & Quincy)

The Beatles (a/k/a The White Album) (you could hear the band breaking up at this point)

Rubber Soul - Beatles (the Fab Four meets Motown
& Stax)

Let It Bleed/Beggar's Banquet - Rolling Stones (their blend of rock & blues finally came together - soundtrack for a disenchanted generation)

Stand! - Sly & The Family Stone (their funkiest and political as hell; calling for all the races to get their s--t together)

There's A Riot Goin' On - Sly & The Family Stone (Sly at his moodiest but still trying to keep a smile on his face)

EVERY ALBUM STEVIE WONDER RECORDED BETWEEN 1972 AND 1980!!! (he just kept getting better, stretching his imagination further and using the best musicians on the planet!)

Dream Of Blue Turtles - Sting (bringing ska, pop, jazz & rock together on one album - great lineup of musicians [Nathan East, Greg Phillinganes, Omar Hakim & Branford Marsalis])

The Stylistics (first album) - soul meets elegance and taste; kudos to Russell & Co., Bell & Creed and MFSB)

Love Is The Message - MFSB (great message, excellent musicianship & arrangements, brought people to the dance floor & helped "Soul Train" earn its props).

Ship Ahoy - O'Jays (funky as a mutha..., great message - title track brings tears to my eyes)

Superfly - Curtis Mayfield ("Freddie's Dead" and this album scared me away from drugs at a very early age. Thanks, Curtis)

ANY ALBUM BY PARLIAMENT/FUNKADELIC!!! (veiled messages - and unveiled messages! uncut funk! The Bomb!)

Supremes Live At The Copa (breakthrough moment for a Motown act - the first to do so)

Supremes/Temptations - TCB Soundtrack (spectacular TV special with a soundtrack that was in stores the day after broadcast - shrewd marketing move by Gordy & company)

Temptations Live! (excitement from the Roostertail's Upper Deck; great performances and Paul Williams killing 'em with "Don't Look Back"; Peggy Lee - who played the main room while the Tempts were upstairs - didn't stand a chance....)

That'll do for now...

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Caleb (171.75.84.93) on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 11:48 pm:

What about the Saturday Night Fever movie soundtrack?Big Time results slash impact in terms of sales anyway.

By Livonia Ken (165.121.210.87) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 12:06 am:

Bob Dylan - Bringing it All Back Home

He freaked out his core audience by plugging in, and bringing brainy obtuse folk music to the rock masses. His subsequent two albums, Highway 61 Revisited and Blond on Blonde are pretty influential to this day, too.

Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul

Pretty much the prototype for the soul album that is more than just a collection of singles. Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder would pick up the ball and run like hades with it in subsequent years.

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

The one jazz album that everbody seems to own and both casual and hardcore jazz fans consider a masterpiece.

Regards,
Ken

By Rhythm and Blues Showcase (68.134.97.247) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 01:24 am:

What's Going On -Marvin Gaye
Let's Get it On -Marvin Gaye
Triumph -The Jacksons
Thriller -Michael Jackson
Rhythm Nation -Janet Jackson
A Song For You -The Temptations
Truly For You -The Temptations
Phoenix Rising -The Temptations
Spinners -The Spinners (Atlantic)
Purple Rain -Prince
Wake Up Everybody -Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Saturday Night Fever -Soundtrack
Grease -Soundtrack
Barry White -Ultimate Collection
Al Green -Ultimate Collection
Aretha -Everything
Neither One of Us -Gladys Knight & Pips
James Brown -Box set
Stevie Wonder -Greatest Hits part 2
Family Reunion -O'jays
Stylistics -Rock N Roll Baby
Whispers -Best of
Stylistics -Stylistics

By Livonia Ken (136.1.1.101) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 09:00 am:

Yikes! My previous post is all the proof anyone will ever need that I can't spell or punctuate after midnight.

Regards,
Ken

By Handsome (170.118.157.134) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 10:19 am:

Hey SB!

Great Thread. Not be redundant, my choices would have to be:

Marvin Gaye-What's Going On
Stevie Wonder-Innervisions/Songs In The Key Of Life
Michael Jackson-Thriller
Isley Brothers-Harvest For The World
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes-Wake Up Everybody
George Benson-Breezin'
Anita Baker-Rapture (and The Songtress, though many fans didn't catch on to Anita until the 2nd album-Rapture)
Deniece Williams-This is Niecy
Diana Ross Presents The Jackson Five

By douglasm (68.113.13.31) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 10:39 am:

A friend and I were discussing this one night, and we concluded Meet The Beatles was one of the most influential LP's of all time. It essentially killed doo-wop, and changed the nature of Rock And Roll from group harmony with insturmental backing to the self contained 4 piece combo sound that is the basic root of the rock as we know it today. And note, please, that there are exceptions to this (Motown, for example), and when I refer to "rock" I'm doing it in the Keener 13 all inclusive sense......

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 10:53 am:

Doug:
I don't think "Meet The Beatles" killed doo-wop since vocal group harmony reinvented itself during the soul/R&B era which took place at the same time the Beatles arrived in the USA.

What "Meet The Beatles" did do was sound the "death-knell" for the manufactured teen-idol movement that was spearheaded by folks such as Dick Clark for a number of years (Bobby Rydell, Fabian, Frankie Avalon). Even Jerry Lee Lewis said in an interview years ago, "Thank God for the Beatles - they brought rock 'n' roll back to the people."

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By douglasm (68.113.13.31) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 11:11 am:

Kev....
....the exception is noted (Motown, for example), but yea, your explination is probably better than mine. It was an absolutely landmark LP, though. Jerry Lee Lewis was right......

By stephanie (64.63.221.61) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 11:19 am:

Most of you have named the albums I was going to name but in terms of sales and importance I would have to add Carole Kings - Tapestry album it paved the way for the singer songwriter era to get some attention and notoriety for people like
Carly Simon, Jim Croce, James Taylor and Neil Diamond and so on and so forth, that Al Green album when he is sitting in the white chair!!!

I saw that album in every black household and everyone was making love to it a very influential album when it came to the black soul man or soulster image.

Now when it comes to the greatest black soundtrack for me the more socially important album is Superfly by the great Curtis Mayfield and instrumentally that honor goes to Shaft...
Those are the two greatest in my opinion and honorable mention would have to go to
Lady Sings the Blues with Diana Ross and Trouble Man which although it did Ok on the charts I think its an overlooked GEM,,
Stephanie

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 11:34 am:

Stephanie:
Right on regarding Carole King...she and James Taylor ("Sweet Baby James") as well as Joni Mitchell benefitted from the singer-songwriter movement.

I gotta give props however to LAURA NYRO. She was really one of the first to launch the singer-songwriter movement with her albums "More Than Just A New Discovery" and "Eli & The Thirteenth Confession." The 5th Dimension, Three Dog Night and Barbra Streisand mined Laura's material like it was no tomorrow ("Stoned Soul Picnic", "Sweet Blindness", "Wedding Bell Blues", "Eli's Comin'" and "Stoney End" to name a few).

BTW - The Al Green you're referring to is "I'm Still In Love With You", released in the fall of 1972. Showed off the softer side of Memphis Soul and contained great songs ("Love & Happiness", "Look What You've Done For Me" and the title track).

I dig the "Lady Sings The Blues" soundtrack just for the elaborate packaging.

Your "husband" ,
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By SB (205.186.128.151) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 05:18 pm:

Eli - I loved that album by Bebe and CeCe Winans. I also love and have their "Relationships", CD.

Here is a tip for you all. I bought a CD a couple of years ago by a Native American named, "John Huling." One can get it at Amazon of course. It is absolutely fantastic. Talkin' about a Spiritual music style. Nothing but flutes and the like - for it is all instrumental. It is very deep and pleasing to the ears and spirit. In a couple of records - one can hear the birds and what not. The title is "Return To Spiritlands." It also proves how culturalistic some music can be indeed. Check it out. On Amazon - one is allowed to hear a few snippets.

So many of you have named some fantastic albums. There are too many memorable and mentionable ones to mention and exclaim about - so all I can do is - thank you. I will admit though - that I was trying to think of "Purple Rain" & "Shaft", but they didn't come to me as I posted.

Another super album of all time is "Why Can't We Be Friends." Would we all not agree? Both groups - War and Sly & TFS had members that were black and white, and Jimi Hendrix. Right on! "Ebony & Ivory."

By M.McLeanTech (66.218.40.239) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 07:22 pm:

What a bunch of cone-heads! I'll show you what great albums are all about:

Funkedelic - Maggot Brain
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Beatles - White Album (Rocky Racoon!)
Crosby, Stills, and Nash - The album with "Suite Judy Blue Eyes"
Miles Davis - "Sketchs of Spain"

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 09:37 pm:

Mike!
It's great to hear from you! We "coneheads" miss your posts!

I had the Beatles' White album and all of Funkadelic's LPs on my list, too!

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By TD (68.69.127.129) on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 06:16 am:

Mike You beat me to the punch. Number one is definitely Dark Side Of the Moon.
I would also ad the following

Revolver
Pet Sounds
Whats Going On
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Breakfast In America
Rubber Soul
Harvest Moon
Can't Buy a Thrill
Bookends
All Things Must Pass
Eldorado
Band On the Run
Avolon Sunset
Swordfishtrombone
Keeper Of The Castle
Electric Ladyland
Tonite
Holiday
On The Third Day
White Ladder
Yhosima Battles The Pink Robots
Indistructable

TD

By stephanie (64.63.221.37) on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 10:03 am:

I totally forgot about Dark Side of the Moon although some would say its an acid trip album but musically its a great album along with the Beach Boys Pet Sounds,,,
Steph