Phil Spector, the producer of this album, is currently on trial for murder. He was brought in by Alan Klein to finish the project, originally compiled by the engineer, not George Martin. Spector added the strings and choir to "The Long and Winding Road" which upset Paul, as he had not Spector was on the project.

This 1970 David Bowie album has the songs and music I remember, but what happened to the cover? The one I bought at K-Mart in the early 70's had a black & white photo of Bowie with a huge accoustic guitar, leg scissored up like a Rockette, or perhaps a denizen of Suffragette City? Title cut was covered by Kobain, unplugged.

Guitarist Dave Stewart and vocalist Annie Lennox put together a stellar sound, and 1983 was the year they really broke through, and since it was 1983, that meant you must have a video. Very moody, hinting at decadence, yet it was all merely implied. This song will no doubt be used next time a film is set in 1983.

Miles Davis was way into boxing, and his Tribute to Jack Johnson is heartfelt. Made for a documentary on legendary fighter, Jack Johnson, it gives them a chance to stretch out. John McLaughlin on guitar, Michael Henderson on electric bass, and Billy Cobham on drums throw down a steady beat that pushes Miles onward and upward. A knockout.

1970 was the year, Loaded was the question. Or rather, Loaded was the album by the Velvet Underground. "Sweet Jane" is here in its original incarnation, before Reed 'transformed' it to a heavy metal epic. "Me, I'm out on the corner, lookin' for Miss Linda Lee." I've got my "Head Held High"

Every Picture Tells a Story, and every song paints a picture on this album. "That's All Right" updates Elvis by way of Cruddup. "Maggie Mae" is a story we can all relate to. "Mandolin Wind" is bluegrass a la Stewart, "I'm Losing You" is blue eyed soul. "Reason to Believe" gives me reason to believe that Rod Stewart was one of the best Rock Singers.

Mellow Yellow, released in 1967, is Donovan’s 4th album, and his second with producer Mickey Most. Sunshine Superman was the first produced by Mr. Most. The title track exemplifies the eclectic sound of Mr. Leitch. He is a jazzy crooner, but he is also a folksy troubadour. “The Observation” is like a beat poem, “Young Girl Blues” says “Café on, milk gone, such a sad light, unfading…”

Out of Our Heads has some classic Rolling Stones songs: “Satisfaction,” “The Last Time,” “Play With Fire,” and “Spider and the Fly.” It also has some pretty good songs that I enjoyed back in the day: “Good Times,” “Cry to Me,” and “The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man.” Much ado has been made over the riff to “Satisfaction” but there is also a killer riff on “The Last Time.”

November 11, 1971, and Pink Floyd were sans Syd Barrett, but their unique sound was starting to gel. In “One Of These Days” a riff throbs through space at warp factor ten. “Fearless” foreshadows the dreamy sounds of Dark Side of the Moon. “Seamus” features a dog howling along to the music in yet another example of sound textures. “One of these days I’m going to cut you into little pieces.”

This 1979 release by John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten)'s band post Sex Pistols is another concept album, but a flawed one. The vinyl records actually came in a metal box, but it was impossible to get the record out of the box without scratching it. Jah Wobble’s reggaesque bass rules. “Poptones” tells of a murder that takes place as an insipid pop group chirps on. PIL are the antithesis of Poptones.

Paul Anka wrote the English lyrics for “My Way” and the theme for Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. Then he did a duet of “You’re Having My Baby,” but he almost made up for that faux pas with this. Did you ever hear the Sinatra parody that Joe Piscopo did before he dosed up on steroids? This is almost that good, with my fav being “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Curt Kobain wishes he had done it this good.

This 1968 release has 2 classic songs, and a cover drawn by the great R. Crumb. Janis Joplin was a fabulous rock singer with great pipes. “Ball and Chain” and “Piece of My Heart” are 2 of the greatest rock songs, ever. I like her “Summertime,” except she totally missed the chords and melody. She only used the lyrics. Why even pay royalties? Why? Ignorance? Laziness? “A Combination of the Two.”

One of Zappa’s best albums. It was anti-hippie at a time when this was all the rage, in 1968, but in retrospect, perhaps Zappa was right. The cover was a parody of Sgt. Pepper’s, and it also featured The Mothers in drag. What a bunch of ugly mothers they made. We would memorize the lyrics, but never tried to, the words just stuck in our heads. “Let’s Make the Water Turn Black.”

Jefferson Airplane’s sophomore effort of 1967 is very good. Vintage psychedelia by another great band from San Francisco. Grace Slick was a great rock belter, and she shines on “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love.” Marty Balin did some great ballads and “Coming Back to Me” is one of his best. “Embryonic Journey” is a great instrumental, with fantastic acoustic guitar.

This is the first album by The Rolling Stones, and there are two versions, one for England, and one for the US. It was supposed to be eponymous, but the US version added England’s Newest Hitmakers. “Tell Me” was an original Jaggers/Richards composition, but the rest are by Slim Harpo, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, and others. “Can I Get a Witness?”

1969. The first Alice Cooper album doesn’t sound like their later stuff. This and Easy Action were kind of an experimental phase. They were signed to Frank Zappa’s label, and he liked to put out fringe artists. Beefheart and Wild Man Fischer, for example. Titles like “Swing Low, Sweet Cheerio” and “Ten Minutes Before The Worm” give you some idea of the sound. They were “Changing Arranging.”

Fish Net Stockings; Wild Saxophone; Ubangi Stomp; Jeannie Jeannie Jeannie. Oh yeah, a couple of hit singles here too (Stray Cat Strut and Rock This Town). February 1981, though the style sounds more like 1956.

Easy Action is kind of a double entendre, but it is also a quote from West Side Story. “Shoe Salesman", "Below Your Means", "Return of the Spiders", and the short but cool "Refrigerator Heaven" are all good tunes. This 1970 LP is their second, and their last on Zappa’s label. It is a transition from weird cult music to weird hard rock that would catapult them to the top on Capitol.

Recorded just 17 months before her death, her once honeyed voice now the cawing of a crow, its ravages juxtaposed by the 1958 session's clean audio and the contrasting "satin" of Ray Ellis' sweet string arrangements. "I'm a Fool to Want You," "You Don't Know What Love Is," and "The End of a Love Affair.” Holiday reduces them to their core of pain and longing.