A few years back, following David Bowie’s death, I did a deep dive into his catalog. It was my first real exposure to a lot of his work, which I mostly knew through the hits.
1973’s Aladdin Sane emerged as a favorite, alongside Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust, the two albums that preceded it. It’s funny how so many of the albums I’m writing about were part of successful streaks. The early 70s were a gold mine for new music from some of the greatest pop artists of all time.
In 1973, Al Green released Call Me, the album widely considered his finest. Featuring soul classics such as the title track, ‘Here I Am (Come and Take Me), and ‘You Ought To Be With Me,’ as well as covers of country hits ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’ and ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,’ this is am excellent introduction to the range and silky smooth sound of the Reverend.
Soul isn’t my genre, so I haven’t given Call Me as many listens as it deserves, but every time I do it’s a transporting experience.
This week I’m looking at five more albums from 1973 that I know and like, but not as much as I know and like the five I covered last week. Next week I’ll get to albums I don’t know well at all.
Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions was his 19th album, released when he was just 23 years old. It came right in the middle of a five-year streak among the greatest of all time: Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life. I’m not a Stevie Wonder fanatic — I appreciate more than love his music — but the genius of that run of albums is undeniable.
The Random iTunes Fairy has a knack for sniffing out the hits. I’m always surprised that she seems to settle on the best-known tracks from an album when randomness would suggest the deeper cuts have a better chance of surfacing.
Regina Spektor’s 2006 album Begin to Hope produced one hit, its first song and lead-off single ‘Fidelity.’ In fact, this is the only Spektor song to ever chart in the U.S. And the Random iTunes Fairy targeted it like a guided missile.
‘Suedehead’ is the first single from Morrissey’s first solo album, 1988’s Viva Hate. The Smiths had released their final album and split up the year before.
The song, about a brief fling that leads to an unwelcome obsession, wound up charting higher than any song The Smiths ever released, and higher than any song Morrissey would ever release as a solo artist.
Meet Me In Montauk 