(May 2016) I have completed episode 84 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s complete discography. This edition: CREAM. The first supergroup refined blues rock and set the stage for hard rock and jam bands. And Eric Clapton.
Favourite album: Disraeli Gears
Favourite song: White Room
Special sauce: Jack Bruce
Compared to expectations: ↑
(April 2016) I have completed episode 83 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s complete discography. This edition: THE BANGLES. Don’t laugh. Strip away the 80s veneer, you find some catchy songs inspired by their power pop and garage band idols. (The silly Walk Like an Egyptian is an exception not the rule.)
Favorite album: All Over the Place
Favorite song: Hero Takes a Fall
Compared to expectations: same
(April 2016) I have completed episode 82 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s complete discography. This edition: THE BYRDS. Very influential, first in the development of folk rock and jangle rock (want proof? listen to Revolver), and later in country rock (and on into the California Sound of the 1970s). Amazingly, they put out 12 albums in 8 years.
Favorite album: Mr. Tambourine Man
Favorite song: I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better
Worst Album (and title): Byrdmaniax
Compared to expectations: same
(April 2016) I have completed episode 81 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s complete discography. This edition: CROSBY STILLS & NASH (& YOUNG), plus CROSBY-NASH. Their first two albums are classics, so much so that my cassette tape wore thin back in the day. But there is no need to listen to anything after those. No one has gotten as much mileage off the fumes of a 1960s heyday as these guys (excepting Neil Young, who still brings it).
Favorite album: Crosby Stills & Nash
Favorite song: Helplessly Hoping
Worst Album: American Dream
Special sauce: Neil Young
Compared to expectations:↓
(March 2016) I have completed phase 79 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s complete discography. This edition: BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD. More than a launching pad for Neil Young and Stephen Stills, Buffalo Springfield made an indelible contribution to the explosion of music in the mid-1960s.
Favorite album: Buffalo Springfield Again
Favorite song: Mr. Soul .
Special sauce: Neil Young
Compared to expectations: same
(March 2016) I have completed phase 78 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s complete discography. This edition: SUPERGRASS. Never understood why this effervescent, talented British alt-band with a sense of humor never gained wider attention. Try it.
Favourite album: Life on Other Planets
Favourite song: Alright
Compared to expectations: same
(March 2016) I have completed phase 77 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to an artist’s complete discography. This edition: DAVID BOWIE. Catalyzed by his passing, this effort newly exposed me to the wide variety and creativity of his work. While not every recording has aged well, Bowie never settled on a patented sound; rather, he kept innovating until the end.
Favourite album: The Man Who Sold The World
Favourite song: Ziggy Stardust
Favourite period: 1969-1973, which also speaks to the guitar and arranging talents of Mick Ronson
Also great with a very different sound: the ‘Berlin Trilogy,’ 1977-79, which shows that what Brian Eno touches is gold
Worst albums: the 1980s
Special sauce: Mick Ronson
Compared to expectations: ↑
(February 2016) I have completed episode 76 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to an artist’s complete discography from start to finish. This episode: NINE INCH NAILS. Trent Reznor’s rage-laden tecnho/industrial sound wears thin fast. But The Downward Spiral still blows my mind every time.
Favorite album: The Downward Spiral
Favorite song: I Do Not Want This
Compared to expectations: same
(February 2016) I have completed episode 75 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s full discography from start to finish. This episode: AUDIOSLAVE. If you like Soundgarden or Rage Against the Machine, you’ll probably like Audioslave, but less than you like Soundgarden or Rage Against the Machine.
Favorite album: Audioslave
Favorite song: Show Me How to Live
Compared to expectations: ↓
(February 2018) I have completed episode 74 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s complete discography from start to finish. This episode: QUEEN. As a fan, I’ve always been puzzled by the critical scorn. After this run-through, I see their point. Lots of empty calories. However, few bands can offer a Greatest Hits collection that is a more fun, sing-with-the-windows-down glamfest than Queen. I love Brian May’s innovative work (in the 1970s), and Freddie’s voice of course. Just don’t bother with anything from the 1980s or later.
Favourite album: Night at the Opera
Favourite song: Bohemian Rhapsody
Favourite heavily-layered mini-opera that is not Bohemian Rhapsody: The March of the Black Queen (from Queen II)
Favourite Period: 1973-75
Worst Album: Flash Gordon (soundtrack)
Worst Album that is not a soundtrack: anything after The Game (1979)
Special sauce: Brian May
Compared to expectations: ↓
Opus Project 