My Eight Favorite Albums Of 1997
Author: Marvin J Markus
1997 is possibly my favorite single year for music ever.
For some reason or another many of the albums that I
consider to be among the best albums ever recorded were
released in 1997. In this article you will read about my
favorite eight albums.
Some of these seven are almost universally acclaimed like
Radiohead's OK Computer. Others have been panned by most
like Oasis' Be Here Now. Still others are largely unknown
to the public at large such as Primal Scream's brilliant
Vanishing Point.
The eight albums will not be in a particular order as I've
found it hard enough to cut it down to just eight, much
less putting them into some sort of arbitrary order.
Without further ado are my eight favorite albums of 1997.
1. Radiohead - OK Computer.
Any list of best albums from '97 that doesn't have OK
Computer on it can pretty much automatically be discounted
as garbage. It's as simple as that really. OK Computer is
one of the greatest albums ever. It's basically flawless.
It revolutionized the way many people listen to music in
the first place. It's filled with so many brilliant songs
that songs that would normally be the highlight of a great
album such as "Subterranean Homesick Alien" are mostly
ignored by people who talk about the album.
Songs like "Paranoid Android," "Let Down," "Karma Police,"
"No Surprises," & "Exit Music (For a Film)" still sound
just as incredible today as they did 11 years ago.
2. Ween - The Mollusk
No, Ween is not a "joke band." If you listen to The Mollusk
and still think they are a "joke band" then you need your
ears examined. This is a fantastic album.
Ween can play almost any style of music known to man
convincingly. But they don't just mimic different styles,
they make them their own.
They also create songs that are of no genre known to this
world such as "Mutilated Lips" which is one of my all time
favorite Ween songs.
Weird? Sure. A joke? No. No, not really. At least not in
the Weird Al sort of way.
If you've never given Ween a real honest listen, I implore
you to listen to them with an open mind. They are one of
the best bands in the world. Incredible songwriting,
amazing singing, brilliant ideas, insane production, and
awesome musicianship are all part of what makes Ween great.
And this may be their very best album (of many great ones.)
3. Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in
Space.
This album is so good and so epic, it's just absolutely
mind blowing. It's sad to me to know that more people
haven't heard this album. It's an absolute stunner.
Possibly not only one of my favorite 7 albums of 1997 but
of all time. It's that good.
It's one of the most psychedelic albums I've ever heard,
and I make an effort to listen to a lot of psychedelic
music. If you like music that trips you out but not in a
flimsy sort of superficial way, then this is for you. This
is deep soulful music. The type of music that will pull
your heart out of your chest. No, not in some schmaltzy
Hollywood way. It's so much more than that.
4. Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind
Of Dylan's last three albums, this is my favorite. While
others said that Love & Theft was his "comeback," I was
like "What? Don't you remember Time Out of Mind?"
This isn't only good for recent Dylan material, it's good
for any Dylan album. It's one of my favorite albums by him,
and that's certainly saying a lot.
It's a very sad, intense album. Actually to the point where
I can't listen to it too often as it effects me in a
strange way. But it is a very powerful album that I highly
recommend to anyone that likes powerful music.
5. Oasis - Be Here Now
While I can understand all of the complaints about Be Here
Now and how it's way too long and it's overblown and all of
the other complaints, I still love this album. In fact I
actually thing all of the things that are admittedly wrong
with the album, are also all of the things that are right
with it.
It's over the top bombast is welcome from time to time. Yes
the 7 minute long songs can wear thin and the 42 layers of
guitars for no particular reason. But even with all of it's
faults, I think it's very enjoyable album. Not their best,
certainly. But a cool album and one I still enjoy listening
to from time to time.
6. Cornershop - When I Was Born For The 7th Time
There's something about this album that makes it endlessly
listenable to me. Out of it's 15 tracks, it's really only
got about 5 proper "songs" the rest are instrumentals of
some kind or another. And there's the one spoken word track
featuring Allen Ginsberg.
Cornershop is a lot more than "Brimful of Asha," in fact
that's my least favorite song on the album. They're a great
band that deserves a lot more respect than they get,
particularly for this album which is a true masterpiece.
7. Primal Scream - Vanishing Point
Primal Scream is one of the ultimate psychedelic bands and
they've released three ultimate psychedelic albums that are
each very different from the other. This is one of those
three. The other two are 1991's Screamadelica & 2000's
XTRMNTR.
In my opinion all three are must own albums for anyone who
loves "tripped out" music.
8. The Flaming Lips - Zaireeka
In some ways this is the most intense musical experience of
any of the albums listed here. Zaireeka can only be heard
properly with 4 CD players as the album has only been
released on 4 separate CDs which are to be played on 4
different CD players all at once.
Sound insane? It is. But it's not just noise like you might
imagine it'd be. You see it was all designed to be played
back like this. It's truly a great experience for those
willing to go to the lengths necessary to hear it properly.
There are now mixed down DVD-Audio versions available
online (although not officially just yet) which can play on
a properly set up home theater system. While it's not quite
as amazing as hearing it from four different CD players, it
does come close. It's a great experience and I do recommend
seeking it out if you are interested in experiencing music
in different ways.
About the Author:
Marvin J. Markus loves this music blog -
http://www.MusicByDay.com
Author: Marvin J Markus
1997 is possibly my favorite single year for music ever.
For some reason or another many of the albums that I
consider to be among the best albums ever recorded were
released in 1997. In this article you will read about my
favorite eight albums.
Some of these seven are almost universally acclaimed like
Radiohead's OK Computer. Others have been panned by most
like Oasis' Be Here Now. Still others are largely unknown
to the public at large such as Primal Scream's brilliant
Vanishing Point.
The eight albums will not be in a particular order as I've
found it hard enough to cut it down to just eight, much
less putting them into some sort of arbitrary order.
Without further ado are my eight favorite albums of 1997.
1. Radiohead - OK Computer.
Any list of best albums from '97 that doesn't have OK
Computer on it can pretty much automatically be discounted
as garbage. It's as simple as that really. OK Computer is
one of the greatest albums ever. It's basically flawless.
It revolutionized the way many people listen to music in
the first place. It's filled with so many brilliant songs
that songs that would normally be the highlight of a great
album such as "Subterranean Homesick Alien" are mostly
ignored by people who talk about the album.
Songs like "Paranoid Android," "Let Down," "Karma Police,"
"No Surprises," & "Exit Music (For a Film)" still sound
just as incredible today as they did 11 years ago.
2. Ween - The Mollusk
No, Ween is not a "joke band." If you listen to The Mollusk
and still think they are a "joke band" then you need your
ears examined. This is a fantastic album.
Ween can play almost any style of music known to man
convincingly. But they don't just mimic different styles,
they make them their own.
They also create songs that are of no genre known to this
world such as "Mutilated Lips" which is one of my all time
favorite Ween songs.
Weird? Sure. A joke? No. No, not really. At least not in
the Weird Al sort of way.
If you've never given Ween a real honest listen, I implore
you to listen to them with an open mind. They are one of
the best bands in the world. Incredible songwriting,
amazing singing, brilliant ideas, insane production, and
awesome musicianship are all part of what makes Ween great.
And this may be their very best album (of many great ones.)
3. Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in
Space.
This album is so good and so epic, it's just absolutely
mind blowing. It's sad to me to know that more people
haven't heard this album. It's an absolute stunner.
Possibly not only one of my favorite 7 albums of 1997 but
of all time. It's that good.
It's one of the most psychedelic albums I've ever heard,
and I make an effort to listen to a lot of psychedelic
music. If you like music that trips you out but not in a
flimsy sort of superficial way, then this is for you. This
is deep soulful music. The type of music that will pull
your heart out of your chest. No, not in some schmaltzy
Hollywood way. It's so much more than that.
4. Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind
Of Dylan's last three albums, this is my favorite. While
others said that Love & Theft was his "comeback," I was
like "What? Don't you remember Time Out of Mind?"
This isn't only good for recent Dylan material, it's good
for any Dylan album. It's one of my favorite albums by him,
and that's certainly saying a lot.
It's a very sad, intense album. Actually to the point where
I can't listen to it too often as it effects me in a
strange way. But it is a very powerful album that I highly
recommend to anyone that likes powerful music.
5. Oasis - Be Here Now
While I can understand all of the complaints about Be Here
Now and how it's way too long and it's overblown and all of
the other complaints, I still love this album. In fact I
actually thing all of the things that are admittedly wrong
with the album, are also all of the things that are right
with it.
It's over the top bombast is welcome from time to time. Yes
the 7 minute long songs can wear thin and the 42 layers of
guitars for no particular reason. But even with all of it's
faults, I think it's very enjoyable album. Not their best,
certainly. But a cool album and one I still enjoy listening
to from time to time.
6. Cornershop - When I Was Born For The 7th Time
There's something about this album that makes it endlessly
listenable to me. Out of it's 15 tracks, it's really only
got about 5 proper "songs" the rest are instrumentals of
some kind or another. And there's the one spoken word track
featuring Allen Ginsberg.
Cornershop is a lot more than "Brimful of Asha," in fact
that's my least favorite song on the album. They're a great
band that deserves a lot more respect than they get,
particularly for this album which is a true masterpiece.
7. Primal Scream - Vanishing Point
Primal Scream is one of the ultimate psychedelic bands and
they've released three ultimate psychedelic albums that are
each very different from the other. This is one of those
three. The other two are 1991's Screamadelica & 2000's
XTRMNTR.
In my opinion all three are must own albums for anyone who
loves "tripped out" music.
8. The Flaming Lips - Zaireeka
In some ways this is the most intense musical experience of
any of the albums listed here. Zaireeka can only be heard
properly with 4 CD players as the album has only been
released on 4 separate CDs which are to be played on 4
different CD players all at once.
Sound insane? It is. But it's not just noise like you might
imagine it'd be. You see it was all designed to be played
back like this. It's truly a great experience for those
willing to go to the lengths necessary to hear it properly.
There are now mixed down DVD-Audio versions available
online (although not officially just yet) which can play on
a properly set up home theater system. While it's not quite
as amazing as hearing it from four different CD players, it
does come close. It's a great experience and I do recommend
seeking it out if you are interested in experiencing music
in different ways.
About the Author:
Marvin J. Markus loves this music blog -
http://www.MusicByDay.com
