5 Of Our Favourite Must Have Vinyl
Following the launch of our Film Collector’s Hub at Rarewaves.com last week, we follow suit on the musical side with our Must Have Albums collection! Whether you’re a veteran collector or a newbie starting to amass your records and need a little direction on where to start, or where to continue, we have you covered!
With that, let’s take a look at 5 albums from our collection of must-haves, that you must have!
Black Sabbath- Paranoid
When it comes to must-haves, especially for you metal heads out there, no collection would be complete without Ozzy Osbourne’s are-you-sure-he-isn’t-using-a-synthesizer voice on a Black Sabbath record!
Now we know what you’re thinking: Sure, but which one of their 19 studio albums would make me want to bite the head off a bat the most? Well, we’ll tell you (and we also don’t condone biting the heads off bats).
Black Sabbath’s second 1970 studio album Paranoid is regarded by many to be their best, and it is also considered one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums of all time. Heavy metal as a genre began to emerge in the late 60s and Paranoid is a key factor in how it was shaped. Interestingly, its title track and one of their most iconic was written as an afterthought according to drummer Bill Ward. He said: “We didn't have enough songs for the album, and Tony [guitarist] just played the guitar lick and that was it. It took twenty, twenty-five minutes from top to bottom.”
Betty Davis- They Say I’m Different
Not the actress, that’s Bette Davis. Betty Davis was described as “a wildly flamboyant funk diva with few equals, who combined the gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futurist fashion sense of David Bowie, and the trendsetting flair of Miles Davis.” Now if that list of comparisons isn’t worth an eternity of bragging rights, then I don’t know what is.
Davis’s second album They Say I’m Different came in 1974 and whilst as with her debut, was not a major success, she attained a strong cult following due in part to her controversial stage persona and lyrics, which were shamelessly sexual. Whilst she saw success in Europe, it was a bit much for the U.S, and she was barred from performing on television in the U.S. and her songs weren’t played on the radio (oh how times have changed, huh?)
The album did make it onto The Wire’s list 100 Records That Set the World on Fire (While No One Was Listening) and fellow musician Carlos Santana recalled her as "indomitable – she couldn't be tamed. Musically, philosophically and physically, she was extreme and attractive."
Dr John- Gris-Gris
Moving onto talismans and voodoo doctors, the debut album of Dr. John a.k.a. Mac Rebennack introduced us to his persona inspired by a real-life Senegalese prince, conjure man, herb doctor, and spiritual healer residing in New Orleans. His original full stage name was Dr. John, The Night Tripper, and his music combined New Orleans R&B with psychedelic rock and his stage shows were elaborate akin to voodoo religious ceremonies.
Interestingly the Dr. John persona was not originally supposed to be portrayed by Rebennack, but fellow New Orleans native Ronnie Barron, but Barron was advised against it by his manager Don Costa, claiming it to be a bad career move.
Dr. John’s 1968 debut album, titled Gris-Gris after a Voodoo amulet that is believed to protect the wearer from harm, was initially not a hit record, and it’s only recently that the album has received high praise, making it onto Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. And it should also be in your list of must-haves!
Fiona Apple- When the Pawn…
Fiona Apple’s second studio album came in 1999 and followed her Grammy-winning debut Tidal. Whilst When the Pawn… missed out on a Grammy, it has appeared on multiple lists as one of the best albums of all time by the likes of Spin, Slant Magazine and Rolling Stone. But more importantly than all of those, it also at one time held the record for the longest Album title of all time.
So if you were thinking to yourself “What’s with the ellipses?” Well, dear reader, the ellipses simply make the 444-word-full title of the album a lot easier to slap onto magazine covers and articles like this one. Can you imagine how absurd it would be to talk about When the pawn hits the conflicts he thinks like a king, What he knows throws the blows when he goes to the fight, And he'll win the whole thing 'fore he enters the ring, There's no body to batter when your mind is your might, So when you go solo, you hold your own hand, And remember that depth is the greatest of heights, And if you know where you stand, then you know where to land, And if you fall it won't matter, cuz you'll know that you're right using it’s full title? Madness.
If you’re wondering what exactly that title that you didn’t even read just now is, it’s a poem that Apple wrote in response to unfavorable reactions from readers of an unfavorable Spin cover story about her. In any case, Fiona Apple’s When the Pawn… is definitely a must-have.
Linkin Park- Hybrid Theory
As Linkin Park usher in a new era with Emily Armstrong, what better time is there to take it all the way back to the beginning and re-visit their debut and most beloved album, Hybrid Theory.
Released in 2000, Hybrid Theory features some of the band’s most successful songs, including their single most recognisable, “In the End.” The lyrical themes of the album mostly deal with problems experienced by Chester Bennington in his youth including substance abuse, which resonated with disaffected teens of the time.
Although it became a defining work of the nu-metal era, Hybrid Theory draws from several inspirations, and of course brought the world the rap-metal combo of Bennington’s harsh vocals and Mike Shinoda’s slick rapping.
Hybrid Theory became the highest-selling since Guns and Roses’s Appetite for Destruction over a decade prior in 1987, beginning the reign of one of the most successful bands of all time.
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