My theory is that any “great” album has to have at least three great songs. If the rest are ok, and exhibit the same general style as the great ones, the whole album will earn a solid reputation.
Guns N’ Roses 1997 debut, Appetite For Destruction, is a good example. It features an all-time classic in ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and two other greatest hits-worthy tracks in ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ and ‘Paradise City.’ The rest of the songs are entirely forgettable.
This track from Loretta Lynn’s 2004 album Van Lear Rose is an excellent example of what makes that record so great.
Lynn paired with producer Jack White to deliver a collection of songs that expertly blended their styles: his hard-driving blues grunge, and the rootsy authenticity that makes her the matron saint of traditional country music.
Continuing my ranking of Taylor Swift’s albums…
The more time I’ve spent with Taylor Swift’s 2019 Lover, the clearer it is to me that this is her very best album. That it is also her newest bodes very well for future releases.
Lover was teased as a blend of pre- and post-pop Taylor, and on a surface level it fulfills that promise. Most of it is less overtly poppy than 1989 or Reputation, but the production does have an edge and sheen that wasn’t present in her earlier work.
Continuing my ranking of Taylor Swift’s albums…
If Taylor Swift heavily flirted with pop music on 2012’s Red, she climbed into bed with it on 2014’s 1989. And the result was her most electrifying album to date.
This album felt like a strange detour at the time, but in retrospect I think it was a giant leap toward a sound Swift had in her all along. Though 1989 trails Fearless in overall sales, it’s the album on which she truly emerged as a global superstar.
Continuing my ranking of Taylor Swift’s albums…
Yesterday I wrote that my biggest surprise in this assessment of Taylor Swift’s discography was the relatively low placement of Speak Now. Well, I was equally surprised by how high I wound up ranking 2017’s Reputation.
This is an album I brashly dismissed as Swift’s worst when I first heard it. And here I am placing it in the top three. So, what changed?
Meet Me In Montauk 