2022 Albums

Essential Albums List, 2022

Highway 61 Revisited, Bob Dylan

Listened to the album, or part of the album, every day in January. I was most familiar with Like a Rolling Stone, of course, but really fell in love especially with Tombstone Blues, Ballad of a Thin Man, and Desolation Row. Dylan was an absolute genius lyrically, and I appreciate his unconventional voice as well as the sometimes circus-like instrumentation. He created an environment with his albums, and this one seems to point to the chaos, confusion and possibility of the 1960’s, both in terms of politics and social movements. 

Thelonius Monk

I started the month aiming to focus on just one of Monk’s albums, but in the end decided to listen to as many as possible, including a number of his live recordings. These are some of the albums I took in this month: Straight No Chaser, Brilliant Corners, Round Midnight, Monk’s Dream, Live in Paris, Underground, Live in Zurich.

What a brilliant musician and performer, surrounded of course with many other incredible jazz performers. I haven’t appreciated jazz before in quite the way I should. Listening to whole albums at a time, and especially the discography of such a supremely talented artist as Monk, really helps. You start to hear the themes he and the others develop, the way they play with and around the melody, the syncopated way the instruments come together (especially with a pianist like Monk, who had such a unique, percussive approach to the piano) and the beauty of the lengthy solos. The melodies are there, but sometimes they are more implied than played. This is music that asks you to do some work, and I like that. Jazz doesn’t spoon-feed you like pop does. You have to be attentive, to train your ears and heart to catch the movement, the switches, and as Monk liked to say, the notes that aren’t played. He was sometimes criticized for playing wrong notes (though he was incredibly skilled in multiple genres on the piano), but he never thought a note was “wrong”. Or if he did, he wanted to make sure he played the right wrong notes. 

Essential Hip Hop Albums: 

Illmatic, Nas (1994) - Quintessential East Coast NYC rap. Incredible lyricism, and really clear delivery and flow (unlike today’s mumble rap). Feels like a bridge album from 80’s hip hop to the more hard core rap of the 90’s. Really love Ruhrpott State of Mind and It Ain’t Hard to Tell.

3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul (1989) - feels like a concept album, mostly chill rapping with lots of flowering instrumentals and relaxed beats in the background. There are a number of “skits” interwoven throughout the album and lots of humour and experiments throughout, but it also includes socially conscious and uplifting material. You can feel it veering towards the more awake sounds and ideas of the 90’s. Can hear the connection with the Canadian hip hop group, The Dream Warriors. 

Aquemini, Outkast (1998) - Atlanta-based rap that came in and changed the game when everything was focused on West Coast/East Coast. Speed-rapping from Big Boi and experimental instrumentation and flow from Andre 3000.

Supa Dupa Fly, Missy Elliott (1997) - Wow. Produced by Timbaland, featuring Lil Kim, Da Brat, Busta Rhymes, Aaliyah and more, this intro album by Missy is just ridiculous. The Rain is such an absurdly good song, so far ahead of its time in every respect, and it was her debut single. The combination of Timbaland’s epic beats and Missy’s rapping and singing is really unmatched, in my opinion, by most artists working today. 

The Score, The Fugees (1996) - This was one of my jams in the mid-90’s. Laid-back, groovy, funky, melodic, and with some killer rhymes and social conscience. Lots of powerful refugee and Haitian references, but also a couple of “skits” that didn’t really age well. MCs also love talking about how they are destroying all the other sucka MCs, which I believe comes from the culture of rap battles and diss circles. Feels like a pretty competitive world.

Midnight Marauders, A Tribe Called Quest (1993) - This album totally escaped my notice in the 90’s, not terribly surprising. Hip-hop heads - and I am not numbered amongst them, though I am growing in my appreciation - justly number this album in the top 5 all time. And it is truly remarkable. It feels very fresh, not dated (some of the references, such as the one to Mr. Belvedere, are bound in time, but the sound is still extremely current). The beats are complex and fascinating, as is the background instrumentation. Smooth rapping flow, and again very socially conscious lyrics: not every MC is about the negativity.” There are “skits” throughout, but they aren’t disruptive - they are brief and tend to carry the theme of the album forward, which is refreshing (one of them gives info about the growing rates of HIV infection in black and hispanic communities).

The Chronic, Dr. Dre (1992) - Obviously a classic, and a real achievement in composition, lyric, beat and instrumentation (the latter of which was influenced by A Tribe Called Quest). I am not really a fan of gangsta rap though. I fully accept that I don’t like it because it does not speak to my reality, and that the reality it does speak to is real. “The Day The N***** Took Over” about the LA riots is important. And this album also introduced Snoop Dogg to the world in a serious way.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill (1998) - One of my favourite albums of all time, with such gems as Zion, Doo Wop (That Thing), Forgive Them Father, Lost Ones, and more. Incredible rapping and singing, so smooth, so funky and groovy. 

Black on Both Sides, Mos Def (1999) - "Yo Mos, what's gettin ready to happen with Hip-Hop?" (Where do you think Hip-Hop is goin?) I tell em, "You know what's gonna happen with Hip-Hop? Whatever's happening with us…We are Hip-Hop, Me, you, everybody, we are Hip-Hop, So Hip-Hop is going where we going, So the next time you ask yourself where Hip-Hop is going, Ask yourself: where am I going? How am I doing?" This is from the opening song, Fear Not of Man. Apparently we all collectively decided to go to mumble-ville? Anyways, such an incredible song and album. 

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Public Enemy (1988) - Another of the most important, socially-conscious rap albums of all time. Public Enemy really were scary to people, but in a different way than NWA. They didn’t glorify gang life, drugs (Night of the Living Baseheads) or sex, used very little profanity, but still rapped lyrics that challenged the mainstream and the black community both. This album calls for Black America to step up in its dignity and potential, and calls for the tearing down of anything that stands in the way - especially the Media. Also, Flava Flav yells “Yeah Boi” a lot.

Ready to Die, The Notorious B.I.G (1994) - Biggie Smalls’ debut album. Biggie is considered by many to be one of, if not the, greatest rappers of all time. He has incredible flow, but it is difficult to listen to his violent and misogynistic lyrics after spending time with the public uplift and challenge of Public Enemy, Mos Def, Lauryn Hill, et al. Things Done Changed is a really powerful song, and One More Chance is so smooth, a massive banger from the summer of 94. 

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Wu-Tang Clan (1993) - Well, they definitely bring the mother-lovin’ ruckus. I tried to listen more to the beats, the sampling, and the wide variety of rapping styles amongst the many members of the Wu-Tang Clan, and less on the lyrics. They definitely lean into the “Wu-Tang fighting style” motif. 

Run D.M.C., Run D.M.C. (1984) - This is really one of the essential, foundational albums from some of the pioneers of modern hip-hop. Run D.M.C. and Jam Master Jay provided the soundtrack for any and every roller skating rink I ever attended. This was the crossover hip hop album, which really started mixing in not just beats but also rock riffs behind the rap. It’s Like That, Hollis Crew, Rock Box, Wake Up and more are absolute classics. 

good Kid m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar (2012) - This is a later album obviously, a masterpiece that somehow lost the Grammy to Macklemore. Oh well. Kendrick is the real deal, telling true and powerful stories. I dig To Pimp a Butterfly maybe even more, but the lyrics and ideas and musicality is beyond compare. Kendrick’s flow when he gets going is entrancing. B**** Don’t Kill My Vibe is probably my favourite song on the album.

All Eyez On Me, Tupac, 1996 - Tupac’s fourth studio album, and the last to be released during his life (or is it?) All the misogyny and violence typical of the albums at the time, but lots of truth-telling throughout as well. And very chill beats and background music. Tupac’s rapping was very smooth and restrained, with a very unique sound. California Love, I Ain’t Mad At Cha, Only God Can Judge Me, and Ambitionz az a Ridah are amazing songs.