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Initially I intended to name only one album per singer/group, but in certain cases I found it simply impossible to do so...
 | The Beatles: "The Beatles" (a.k.a.: "The white album"); EMI Records, 1968.For all you people out there who think of "I want to hold your hand" and
"Yellow submarine" whenever they hear the word "Beatles": listen to this double-CD and you will never talk
in a disparaging way of the Fab 4 again.
 The Brand New Heavies: "The Brand New Heavies"; Acid Jazz, 1990.I have (of course) every BNH CD and therefore 3 different versions of "Dream come true", 2 of
"Ride in the sky" and 2 of "Stay this way". The best versions of these songs are all on this CD, which - just like
the 1992 album - actually has no title.
 Jamiroquai: "Emergency on planet earth"; Sony Music, 1993.I like it. I listen to it.Having been a fan for a long time I remember one day in 1995 searching the internet for further information and finding not a single web site devoted exclusively to this meanwhile pretty popular band...
 Jazzkantine: "Heiss & fettig"; BMG Ariola, 1995.Yes, I sometimes also like to hear words sung in my mother-tongue. Jazzkantine
stands for the perfect blend of hip-hop, jazz and German rap.
 Lenny Kravitz: "Mama said"; Virgin Records, 1991.Incredible but true: During his concert on March 12 1996 in the "Wiener Stadthalle" I touched L.K. with my right hand ! Iīve never washed that hand ever since...I had to make a choice between this one and his last album, "Five" (1998). I chose "Mama said" because it contains the song which in fact made me become a Lenny Kravitz fan: "Always on the run".  Led Zeppelin: "Led Zeppelin II"; Atlantic Records, 1969.Four talented musicians at their best.
Listening to this album simply is a "whole lotta fun".
 The Alan Parsons Project: "The turn of a friendly card"; Arista Records, 1980.When I met Alan Parsons I asked him if he could tell me why the single-LP version of "The turn of a friendly card" (which is more or less a "fusion" of "part 1" and "part 2") was not available on any CD. His answer: "I never liked that version. The way it is on the album is the right way."Other hits on this album are "Time" and "Games people play". As I pointed out elsewhere, I also consider "Pyramid" (1978) to be one of APPīs best albums.  Queen: "Sheer heart attack"; EMI Records, 1974.Having released 15 studio and 3 live albums with a dramatic change in their
musical style over the years, it was no easy thing to decide which one I considered Queenīs best album.
I chose "Sheer heart attack" because "Killer queen",
"In the lap of the gods part 1" and "Bring back that leroy brown" are some of my absolute favourites.
 Steely Dan: "The royal scam"; ABC Records, 1976."The fez" must be one of the funkiest songs ever written about safe sex. Apart from that, this album contains 8 more great songs, including one about the fate of American immigrants (the title track), one about someone who killed his father and now holds off a swat team ("Donīt take me alive"), and not least my absolute S.D. favourite: "Green earrings".
 Sting: "Bring on the night"; A&M Records, 1986.If most live albums suffer from the fact that the songs sound just the same as they do on the studio album, with the occasional applause of the audience being the only difference, then this is not true for "Bring on the night". This album features completely different versions of "Police"-songs and one Sting composition you wonīt find elsewhere: "Another day".In my view, Stingīs best studio album is "Ten summonerīs tales" (1993).  Toto: "IV"; Columbia Records, 1982.Including hits like "Rosanna" and "Africa", I know of course that this is a very commercial album. But a great one nonetheless. |