Best three album run?

[arf-boy]

 

I was wondering when someone was going to mention Emmylou Harris. When it comes to Country, she's as good as it gets IMO.

 

Ry's a monster too. I never really was into Cat Stevens very much. Sorry...

 

Last summer, at Tanglewood in Massachusetts, I saw Cooder and Harris as a twin bill. Fun! I saw Cooder a few weeks before and I had seen him a couple of years ago, backing up Ricky Scaggs and The Whites. He doesn't tour much, so I'm awfully glad I got to see those shows.

 

Harris had good runs earlier in her career, too. My choices are from the '90s through the mid-aughts, when her albums included mostly songs she wrote; eariler ones were nearly all covers, albeit with her golden voice and impeccably hot pickers in her band. I also like the album she did with Mark Knopfler.

 

Admittedly, I'm a folkie. But I find myself going back to those three Cat Stevens records. I like the songs and arrangements, the stop-and-start drumming. Perhaps it's musical comfort food for me.

 

Good thread.

[NOS68]

Hank III

 

Risin' Outlaw

Lovesick, Broke and Driftin'

Straight to Hell

 

 

[AlamoJoe]

The Three you love the best....Are the Best.

Bottom line.

We are all validated by the only judge that matters....Our musical hearts.

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

The Three you love the best....Are the Best.

Bottom line.

We are all validated by the only judge that matters....Our musical hearts.

 

Excellent point Joe. It's certainly subjective, and a matter of personal preferences.

 

So which three albums in a row are your favorites?

[AlamoJoe]

 

Excellent point Joe. It's certainly subjective, and a matter of personal preferences.

 

So which three albums in a row are your favorites?

 

Jeez....It would be a draw between:

 

Rubber Soul

Revolver

Sgt.. Pepper's

 

and,

Are you Experienced

Axis:Bold As Love

Electric Ladyland

 

and

 

Can't Buy a Thrill

Countdown to Ecstasy

Pretzel Logic

 

 

Hell....I could probably fill pages....

 

 

 

 

 

[t_e_l_e]

depending how you count and what you count, neil young had more than once 3 great albums in a row, e.g. the first 3 crazy horse albums

 

i'm a big fan of led zeppelins first 4

 

i would say u2

joshua tree

rattle and hum

achtung baby

zooropa

are a great run, yes i know wide awake in america is between rattle and hum and joshua tree, but does this live album count?

but i think this run is special because their music has drastically changed over these for albums but they all were distinct u2

 

muse showbiz origin of symmetry absolution and black holes... i personally did not like the resistance othwise the streak would continue

 

also i think

r.e.m.

out o time

automatic for the people

monster

were great in a row...

 

 

 

 

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

 

i would say u2

joshua tree

rattle and hum

achtung baby

zooropa

are a great run, yes i know wide awake in america is between rattle and hum and joshua tree, but does this live album count?

but i think this run is special because their music has drastically changed over these for albums but they all were distinct u2

 

 

 

If I was going to pick a three-record run for U2, I'd probably go with

 

War

The Unforgettable Fire

The Joshua Tree

 

 

 

 

[t_e_l_e]

 

If I was going to pick a three-record run for U2, I'd probably go with

 

War

The Unforgettable Fire

The Joshua Tree

 

 

 

 

i will not disagree, but in front was also october and after zooropa came pop which i also think are great....

i personally lost interest in what came after pop, my favorites are still the 4 i listed above...

 

but i must admit u2 is not that often in my play list anymore, as it was 15 or more years ago

[Zooey]

 

If I was going to pick a three-record run for U2, I'd probably go with

 

War

The Unforgettable Fire

The Joshua Tree

 

 

 

 

I would do the same.

 

U2 may not be a great candidate for 3 album runs. Achtung Baby deserves to be part of the three, but you can't do it without including Rattle & Hum or Pop, which do not belong.

 

EDIT: maybe there's a case to be made that Rattle & Hum is a soundtrack, which is distinct from an album? In that case, you've got Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, and all is right with the world.

[Zooey]

I don't know if you guys did REM since this was moved.

 

I guess it would go: LIfe's Rich Pageant, Document, Green

 

Hipsters would probably end with Life's Rich Pageant.

 

Top 40 fans would probably start with Out of Time.

[t_e_l_e]

I don't know if you guys did REM since this was moved.

 

I guess it would go: LIfe's Rich Pageant, Document, Green

 

Hipsters would probably end with Life's Rich Pageant.

 

Top 40 fans would probably start with Out of Time.

 

i did start with out of time above, woud not call me top 40 fan, but yes mtv generation, and too young to listen to them already in the eighties...

 

 

you seem to like u2, but you don't lile rattle and hum, interesting, can you explain?

 

and rattle and hum is more than a sounds track, its a musical journey with half of never released before tracks on it

[Zooey]

 

i did start with out of time above, woud not call me top 40 fan, but yes mtv generation, and too young to listen to them already in the eighties...

 

you seem to like u2, but you don't lile rattle and hum, interesting, can you explain?

 

and rattle and hum is more than a sounds track, its a musical journey with half of never released before tracks on it

 

Out of Time, isn't bad, it just has some of the sillier songs on it. Losing My Religion is about a minute too long for the amount of ideas that are in that song. I think REM albums are about the deep cuts anyway. I would include Automatic for the People as one of their best due to the inclusion of a handful of really great songs.

 

I like Rattle and Hum OK when it came out, but U2's take on American roots music has kind of a pretentious quality to me that hasn't aged well.

 

 

[t_e_l_e]

 

Out of Time, isn't bad, it just has some of the sillier songs on it. Losing My Religion is about a minute too long for the amount of ideas that are in that song. I think REM albums are about the deep cuts anyway. I would include Automatic for the People as one of their best due to the inclusion of a handful of really great songs.

 

i'm biased, out of time was one of the first cds i ever bought, without knowing what REM had done before, so i like it for several reason. automatic is great too but not so much loved by me. what i really dig is the monster album

 

I like Rattle and Hum OK when it came out, but U2's take on American roots music has kind of a pretentious quality to me that hasn't aged well.

 

 

i hear you, maybe its also different if you are european or american.

i think europeans have a different view on american roots music than amercians have,cause europeans will always look at it form the outside and not be able to look it from the inside, and inside views from different americans will also differ a lot....

 

but also in the movie, i think it was a strong talk, when bono talked about the irish in america and how they talk about the revolution in ireland, and that they talk about things they don't know and than they started sunday bloody sunday... prententious? yes maybe also, but with the political situation in GB and ireland in the eighties maybe also a necessary message to be said.

 

 

 

[coopersonic]

Oh, there's loads! Here's some all-time favorites:

 

AC/DC Bon Scott era (pick any three - my personal vote would be from Dirty Deeds to Powerage

- TNT/HighVoltage

- Dirty Deeds ...

- Let there be Rock

- Powerage

(- If you want blood (live))

- Highway to Hell

 

Iron Maiden (I apologize to the traditionalists for not including the first two albums but I am an Air Raid Siren guy so I'd go for no. 666 upwards):

- The Number of the Beast

- Piece of Mind

- Powerslave

 

Queen - (just my 4 to 5 personal faves here):

- A Night at the Opera

- News of the World

- Jazz

- (Live Killers)

- The Game

 

 

... and now for something a little less straightforward:

 

New Order

- Movement

- Power, Corruption & Lies

- Low Life

- Brotherhood

+ all surrounding non-album 12"publications

 

Stiff Little Fingers

- Inflammable Material

- Nobody's Heroes

- Go for it

 

Del Amitri

- Waking Hours

- Change Everything

- Twisted

 

 

Gary Clark jr. (have 'em with or without live albums)

- Blak and Blu

(- Gary Clark Jr. Live)

- The Story of Sonny Boy Slim

(- Live/North America 2016)

- This land

 

Blur

- Parklife

- The Great Escape

- Blur

- 13

 

Ghost

-Opus Eponymous

- Infestissumam

- Meliora

- Prequelle

 

 

.. and something (you may find) truly exotic:

 

The Jazz Butcher

- Bath of Bacon

- A Scandal in Bohemia

- Sex & Travel

- (Hamburg (Live))

- Distressed Gentlefolk

- Fishcotheque

 

Hope you like it and get some inspirations...

[Phil O'Keefe]

Wow - great list! Thanks for posting that, and welcome to HC!

[kbeaumont]

I still think fondly of my teenage years, I had all of these:

 

Pink Floyd

Dark Side of the Moon

Wish You Were Here

Animals

 

Frank Zappa

Over-Night Sensations

Apostrophe

One Size Fits All

 

Jethro Tull

Aqualung

Thick as a Brick

Passion Play

 

Steve Miller Band

The Joker

Fly Like an Eagle

Book of Dreams

[Phil O'Keefe]

I still think fondly of my teenage years, I had all of these:

 

Pink Floyd

Dark Side of the Moon

Wish You Were Here

Animals

 

Frank Zappa

Over-Night Sensations

Apostrophe

One Size Fits All

 

Jethro Tull

Aqualung

Thick as a Brick

Passion Play

 

Steve Miller Band

The Joker

Fly Like an Eagle

Book of Dreams

 

 

Excellent selections IMO.

 

 

I wonder if anyone's been inspired by this thread to pull a few old records out and give 'em a listen. I sure hope so!

 

 

[AlamoJoe]

 

 

Excellent selections IMO.

 

 

I wonder if anyone's been inspired by this thread to pull a few old records out and give 'em a listen. I sure hope so!

 

 

Well yeah Phil I was....But it happened that it was "Otis Redding's greatest Hits". Two records. I've been listening to the vinyl for two days running now.

 

haven't ripped it yet....thinking maybe I shouldn't. Too much enjoyment just putting the platters on the deck and appreciating the music up here in the bunker.

 

Marveling at it really. Probably haven't listened intently to it in 30 years.

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

 

Well yeah Phil I was....But it happened that it was "Otis Redding's greatest Hits". Two records. I've been listening to the vinyl for two days running now.

 

haven't ripped it yet....thinking maybe I shouldn't. Too much enjoyment just putting the platters on the deck and appreciating the music up here in the bunker.

 

Marveling at it really. Probably haven't listened intently to it in 30 years.

 

Otis was amazing, wasn't he?

 

Unfortunately, Stax Records never really recovered from his premature death.

 

FWIW, I don't rip anything anymore... most of the stuff that I have that isn't on Spotify is already converted. In fact, only one of my computers (my main DAW) even has an optical drive now - one of my Macs didn't come with one, and I pulled them out of a couple of MacBook Pro laptops and put second SSDs in their place because I just never use them anymore. I do most of my music listening via streaming now. Now if they'd just crank up the 5G bandwidth and go full-resolution on the streaming, I'll be all set...

 

 

[pogo97]

I'd say the first three Bruce Springsteen albums.

 

"Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ" is a strong debut album with some excellent songs and a novel (at the time) return to a big rock band sound

"The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle" has a pretty good first side, but the second side is probably my favourite side in rock and roll -- fabulous arc.

"Born to Run" was his breakout album, of course, and basically defined a sound for rock anthems

 

I was once asked to play "Thunder Road" on piano at a wedding as the bride walked up to the altar. She was moving away and I'm so glad I didn't have to sing the line "It's a town full of losers, I'm pulling out of here to win."

[bill5]

cant buy a thrill

 

countdown to ecstacy

 

pretzel logic

 

actual the streak goes on with Katy lied Royal scam and Aja

 

Beat me to it. I'd toss Gaucho in there too.

 

Someone probably mentioned this one too, but Billy Joel - The Stranger, 52d St, Glass Houses. I think he is in a 3-horse race with the Dan and the Beatles for consecutive excellent albums, but that's the best 3 in a row from him.

 

Even among my fav artists, I can't think of anyone else who can rival that kind of streak. Pat Metheny maybe, if we extend across all genres.

[sirfun]

On 3/20/2019 at 11:55 AM, Zig al-din said:

Don't want to run afoul of the classic rock orthodoxy here at HCPP but:

 

Mr Bungle:

Mr Bungle

Disco Volante

California

 

The Fall:

This Nation's Saving Grace

Bend Sinister

The Frenz Experiment

 

The Stooges:

The Stooges

Raw Power

Funhouse

 

David Bowie:

Low

Heroes

Lodger

 

X:

Los Angeles

Wild Gift

Under the Big Black Sun

More Fun in the New World

 

Jesus Lizard:

Goat

Liar

Down

 

ZZTop:

Rio Grande Mud

Tres Hombres

Fandango

 

The Stooges released three studio albums: they followed up “The Stooges” with “Fun House,” in 1970, and “Raw Power,” in 1973. The first two albums are chaotic, desperate, and bold. “The Stooges,” which was produced by John Cale, of the Velvet Underground, is the band at its most economic. By the time that they made “Raw Power,” James Williamson was playing lead guitar and Ron Asheton was on bass, and they had rebranded themselves as Iggy and the Stooges. Dave Alexander had been fired in 1970, for showing up too drunk to perform. (He died in 1975, at age twenty-seven, from complications from pancreatitis.) “Raw Power” was mixed by David Bowie, and it contains two songs, “Gimme Danger” and “I Need Somebody,” that might reasonably be described as ballads.

The Stooges fell apart shortly thereafter, for all the usual reasons: drugs, clashing agendas, poor sales. The band’s final performance of the nineteen-seventies was at the Michigan Palace, in Detroit, in 1974. Pop was antagonizing the room, and being pelted with beer, whiskey bottles, bras, and shoes. In 1976, a recording of the show was released, titled “Metallic K.O.” In 1977, Lester Bangs wrote about the record for the Village Voice: “Nobody gets killed, but ‘Metallic K.O.’ is the only rock album I know where you can actually hear hurled beer bottles breaking against guitar strings.”

 

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/02/the-survival-of-iggy-pop

 

I remember when The Stooges were new !! )