MarkI’ve made a list of over 17,000 albums to listen to, which should map out a history of Rock music in a rough chronological order. These are the ones I either rate highly or consider important to the story of Rock music. All albums can be found on my Musicboard profile linked in bio
King of the Delta Blues Singers by Robert Johnson
Whole lot of spirit on this album. The speed of Johnson’s playing is mixed up, with his voice adding another layer of interest to the songs. Several songs may follow the same basic blues pattern but there’s more than enough going on to hold your attention
#greatalbums #robertjohnson #rockalbums #kingofthedeltabluessingers
Complete Jazz Series 1938-1939 by Pete Johnson
Excellent collection of piano based boogie jazz. An hour long compilation that flies by. The Boogie aspects of these songs really stands out, and of course just makes this a really fun listen
Leadbelly Vol. 1 1939-1940 by Leadbelly
Huddie Leadbetter has one of the finest recording voices I’ve ever heard. The man can sing super softly and bellow when needed, and has an incredible sense of rhythm in his voice. Oh and he’s a fine guitar player too. Everyone should check him out at some point in their lives
Les Paul’s New Sound, Vol. 2 by Les Paul with Mary Ford
Unlike the first volume, this one has Mary Ford’s beautiful vocals, which make these songs, and the record as a whole, a lot more emotion than New Sound Volume 1.
A strong mix of upbeat songs and slower, heartfelt ballads. There’s a country flavour splashed around, and an almost skiffle sound to some which adds a little energy. I’d recommend this to people interested in music of the time
Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Derby Sticks McGhee
Fun time songs drenched in wine. Stick McGhee has a crisp voice that always has a twinge of happiness just under the surface. I find it hard not to just sit back and enjoy this. Opening title track is a song I’ll be listening to for the rest of my life
The Hit Makers by Les Paul and Mary Ford
How High The Moon is a joy, the rest of this album is another showcase for Paul’s and Ford’s obvious talents
Classics in Jazz by T-Bone Walker
A great swirling mix of blues and jazz, which makes one nice album. A real good way of spending 35 minutes
Jumpin’ with Pete Johnson by Pete Johnson
The clue is in the title - an album mostly of jaunty jazz piano songs with some blues thrown in for good measure, ordered nicely and a fun way to spend 25 mins
#greatalbums #rockalbums #JumpinwithPeteJohnson #PeteJohnson
T-Bone Blues by T-Bone Walker
The first 2/3 or of this album is a really nice mix of jazz and blues songs where it’s hard to pick holes at. I think the version I listened to has bonus tracks so it’s longer than the regular record. Mean Old World is a typical blues number where you almost expect the guitar to burst out of the regular beat but doesn’t quite make it, yet it still sounds all in place
Musings of Miles by Miles Davis
Recently knowingly heard Miles Davis for the first time (Kind of Blue) so was happy this was the next album on my list.
Great opener, sad second song, jumpy cool third. Miles Davis is great. Every song here is excellent, and this album should be played more often
Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and his Comets
Rock Around The Clock and Shake, Rattle & Roll both still sound like the fun early rock songs they are. And there’s a few more like that here which suits me fine, and a few others which I’m sure were massively appealing to American teenagers in the 1950’s. Good singles collection
The single Rock Around the Clock is also the biggest selling single world wide ever
#greatalbums #rockalbums #RockAroundTheClock #BillHaley #billhaleyandhiscomets
Frisco Bound by Jesse Fuller
Wow, this is excellent and really surprised me as it sounds much more jumpy and rocky than most other acoustic acts I’ve heard from this time, and any. A true one man band, this collection of some of his 1950’s recordings has been excellent and definitely something to recommend anyone with an interest in this period of music to check out.
I hear the influences this had on Led Zeppelin at least, and I imagine a whole bunch of prog bands were into this as well
