I often think back on 1997 and think it's the single best year in the history of recorded music. Now that may be because of my age at the time (20) but I like to think it has some objective validity. What follows are my picks for the best 8 albums from this fantastic year in music.
Some of these seven are almost universally acclaimed like Radiohead's incredible OK Computer. Others have been panned by most like Oasis' Be Here Now. Still others are largely unknown to the public at large such as Primal Scream's brilliant Vanishing Point.
The eight albums will not be in a particular order as I've found it hard enough to cut it down to just eight, much less putting them into some sort of arbitrary order.
Without further ado are my eight favorite albums of 1997.
1. Radiohead - OK Computer.
Any list of best albums from 1997 that doesn't include Radiohead's OK Computer is pretty easily dismissed as garbage. It's as simple as that really. OK Computer is one of the greatest albums ever. It's basically flawless.
It revolutionized the way many people listen to music in the first place. It's filled with so many brilliant songs that songs that would normally be the highlight of a great album such as "Subterranean Homesick Alien" are mostly ignored by people who talk about the album.
Songs like "Paranoid Android," "Let Down," "Karma Police," "No Surprises," & "Exit Music (For a Film)" still sound just as incredible today as they did 11 years ago.
2. Ween - The Mollusk
No, Ween is not a "joke band." If you listen to The Mollusk and still think they are a "joke band" then you need your ears examined. This is a fantastic album.
Ween can play almost any style of music known to man convincingly. But Ween doesn't just mimic different styles (see: 12 Country Greats and many of their songs), they make any style they try their own.
They also create songs that are of no genre known to this world such as "Mutilated Lips" which is one of my all time favorite Ween songs.
Weird? Sure. A joke? No. No, not really. At least not in the Weird Al sort of way.
If you've never given Ween a real honest listen, I implore you to listen to them with an open mind. They are one of the best bands in the world. Incredible songwriting, amazing singing, brilliant ideas, insane production, and awesome musicianship are all part of what makes Ween great. And this may be their greatest album (of many great ones.)
3. Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space.
This album is so good and so epic, it's just absolutely mind blowing. It's sad to me to know that more people haven't heard this album. It's an absolute stunner. Possibly not only one of my favorite 7 albums of 1997 but of all time. It's that good.
It's one of the most psychedelic albums I've ever heard, and I make an effort to listen to a lot of psychedelic music. If you like music that trips you out but not in a flimsy sort of superficial way, then this is for you. This is deep soulful music. The type of music that will pull your heart out of your chest. No, not in some schmaltzy Hollywood way. It's so much more than that.
4. Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind
Of Dylan's last three albums, this is my favorite. While others said that Love & Theft was his "comeback," I was like "What? Don't you remember Time Out of Mind?"
This isn't only good for recent Dylan material, it's good for any Dylan album. It's one of my favorite albums by him, and that's certainly saying a lot.
It's a very sad, intense album. Actually to the point where I can't listen to it all that often as it effects me in a strange sad way. But it is a very powerful album that I highly recommend to anyone that likes powerful music.
5. Oasis - Be Here Now
While I can understand all of the complaints about Be Here Now and how it's way too long and it's overblown and all of the other complaints, I still love this album. In fact I actually thing all of the things that are admittedly wrong with the album, are also all of the things that are right with it.
It's over the top bombast is welcome from time to time. Yes the 7 minute long songs can wear thin and the 42 layers of guitars for no particular reason. But even with all of it's faults, I think it's very enjoyable album. Not their best, certainly. But a cool album and one I still enjoy listening to from time to time.
6. Cornershop - When I Was Born For The 7th Time
There's something about this album that makes it endlessly listenable to me. Out of it's 15 tracks, it's really only got about 5 proper "songs" the rest are instrumentals of some kind or another. And there's the one spoken word track featuring Allen Ginsberg.
Cornershop is a lot more than their hit single "Brimful of Asha," in fact that's my least favorite song on the album. They're a great band that deserves a lot more respect than they get, particularly for this album which is a truly brilliant album.
7. Primal Scream - Vanishing Point
Primal Scream is one of the ultimate psychedelic bands and they've released three ultimate psychedelic albums that are each very different from the other. This is one of those three. The other two are 1991's Screamadelica & 2000's XTRMNTR.
In my opinion all three are must own albums for anyone who loves "tripped out" music.
8. The Flaming Lips - Zaireeka
In some ways this is the most intense musical experience of any of the albums listed here. Zaireeka can only be heard properly with 4 CD players as the album has only been released on 4 separate CDs which are to be played on 4 different CD players all at once.
Sound insane? It is. But it's not just noise like you might imagine it'd be. You see it was all designed to be played back like this. It's truly a great experience for those willing to go to the lengths necessary to hear it properly.
There are now mixed down DVD-Audio versions available online (although not officially just yet) which can play on a properly set up home theater system. While it's not quite as amazing as hearing it from four different CD players, it does come close. It's a great experience and I do recommend seeking it out if you are interested in experiencing music in different ways.
Marvin J. Markus listens to music of all kinds but is particularly interested in psychedelic music both modern and classic. He suggests Buying A Peavey Guitar because they are cheap & starting a rock band as soon as humanly possible. Or you could
buy a BC Rich Guitar
and start a heavy metal band.
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