After several weeks of predictable Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan selections, it’s nice to see another Random Weekend selection that actually feels random.
This is probably just the second time I’ve heard the opening track from Jude’s self-released 2004 album, Sarah. I downloaded the album from CDBaby.com (where it apparently holds the title of the site’s most downloaded album ever — a fact that says more about CDBaby.com than Sarah) but I was unimpressed after my initial listen.
When I recently counted down my list of favorite 70s albums, Blood on the Tracks was the only Bob Dylan album to make the cut. I considered adding The Basement Tapes and especially Desire to that list but ultimately decided to make room for other artists.
Listening to ‘Black Diamond Bay,’ today’s Random Weekend selection, I find myself rethinking that decision. Desire is a fabulous collection, as lyrically rich and sonically beautiful as anything Dylan has recorded.
I backed into my appreciation of Simon & Garfunkel after discovering Paul Simon as a solo artist. So I always kind of looked at the duo as the opening stages of a brilliant career and less as a groundbreaking unit in its own right.
But over the years I’ve come to understand just what an impact they had on the musical landscape.
This marks the first appearance by The Rolling Stones on this list, but not the last. This band has released close to 40 albums over their careers and I own five of them — all excellent. I can’t think of another band that’s so clearly begging for further exploration.
Granted, the Stones went through period where their releases were met with indifference by critics and audiences alike. They are not a model of consistency. But they have released a good dozen or so albums considered classics.
Considering I was born in 1972, all of my associations with 60s albums have nothing to do with the actual 1960s. I heard some of the records on this list as a kid, some in high school, some in college and some in my 30s and 40s.
The Velvet Underground’s self-titled album (which was actually their third release) is very much a college album. I first discovered it during my freshman year at the University of Florida, when I would make runs to the local used CD shop to discover new (and old) music.
