THE 200 MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUMS. This post: #90-86. Continues: later this week.

Caffé Latté presents the  all-time

200

MOST ESSENTIAL

ALBUMS

90

DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED

MOODY BLUES

1967

The Moody Blues' 2nd studio album 'Days Of Future Passed' defied categorization. It wasn't strictly a classical album, nor was it a pop album, It wasn't prog rock or art rock. 

Ably supported by the London Festival Orchestra, the Moody Blues delivered a beautiful collection of songs for this concept album. It presented a British expression of psychedelia. 

The tracks cover an entire 24 hour period. Opening with "The Day Begins", the album continues into "Dawn: Dawn Is A Feeling". "The Morning: Another Morning" precedes "Lunch Break: Peak Hour". Each period is represented by a different mood. The day continues with "The Afternoon: Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?) / Time To Get Away" which leads us into "Evening: The Sun Set / Twilight Time". The LP closes with the majestic "The Night: Nights In White Satin".

O

89

ABBA

ABBA

1975

By 1975, ABBA had established its own sound. On previous albums, the Swedish band explored possibilities as it continued to counter the Eurovision backlash. Most commentators had already dismissed the group as a cheesy one-hit wonder act after "Waterloo" claimed the top prize at the Song Contest. 

It is appropriate that this album was entitled 'ABBA' as it was on this disc that the 4 members positioned themselves in preparation for global domination. By now, the 2 females were the visual focal point. They were now singing lead on the bulk of the songs. Agnetha Faltskog and Frida Lyngstad were fully recognized and utilized as assets. Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson remained the principal architects of the strengthened ABBA sound. 

This album was packed with the 3 #1 hits "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do", "Mamma Mia" and "S.O.S." and singles "Rock Me", "So Long" and "Bang-A-Boomerang". ABBA gave "Tropical Loveland" a reggae feel. "Hey, Hey Helen" was injected with glam. Funk powered "Man In The Middle". Andersson shines on the classical piece "Intermezzo No. 1". "I've Been Waiting For You" is a sweet ballad.

'ABBA' turned the group's fortunes around. It took some time for the world to catch on, but, after the aforementioned trifecta reached the top of the Australian charts, the group began to storm the charts in Britain and in numerous other countries.

O  

88

 ELEPHANT

THE WHITE STRIPES

2003

The Detroit duo The White Stripes gave rock music a jolt with the release of its 4th and most acclaimed album. 'Elephant' kicks off with "Seven Nation Army", one of the integral songs of the current century. 

As producer on 'Elephant', Jack White injects an urgent relevance to each track. With offsider Meg White, the duo brought blues, indie rock and punk together to form a new hybrid.

As well as the single, other key tracks include: "I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart", "Black Math", "Hypnotize" and a remake of Burt Bacharach & Hal David's "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself".  

There's a treasure trove of references to rock music history, from The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Stooges to the New York Dolls while at the same time, the music on 'Elephant' sounds fresh and original.

O

87

 FIRST TAKE

ROBERTA FLACK

1969

On her debut album 'First Take', Roberta Flack helped usher in the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Armed with the legacy of Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, Flack staked her claim for a place in that league.

It took Clint Eastwood and the movie 'Play Misty For Me' to turn the track "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" into a worldwide #1. Flack moves effortlessly between soul and gospel. 

Also worthy of note are the songs "Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye", "Compared To What", "Ballad Of The Sad Young Men", "I Told Jesus", "Tryin' Times" and "Angelitos Negros".

O  

86

 HARVEST

NEIL YOUNG

1972

After collaborating with Crosby, Stills & Nash in the 1960s, Neil Young focused attention on his solo career. 1970's 'After The Gold Rush' expanded his audience. Young followed that LP with 'Harvest' 2 years later. 

 The album was one of the best selling LPs of 1972, finally declaring Young a unique legendary musician. 'Harvest' came out just as the singer-songwriter era was flourishing. Young's brand of country rock became a radio staple, bolstered by the album's #1 hit single "Heart Of Gold". 

Other noteworthy tracks include "Alabama", "Old Man", "The Needle And The Damage Done" and "There's A World". Young penned all of the tracks and applied different approaches to each song.

O