Music: Best Albums of the Year Series: 1997

[Saturated Fats]

1965: The Beatles - Rubber Soul
1966: The Beatles - Revolver
1967: The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
1969: The Beatles - Abbey Road
1970: Black Sabbath - Paranoid
1971: Led Zeppelin - IV
1972: Neil Young - Harvest
1973: Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
1975: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
1976: Eagles - Hotel California
1977: Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
1979: Pink Floyd - The Wall
1980: AC/DC - Back in Black
1981: Rush - Moving Pictures
1982: Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
1984: Metallica - Ride the Lightning
1985: Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair
1987: Guns 'n Roses - Appetite for Destruction
1988: Metallica - ...And Justice for All
1989: Pixies - Doolittle
1991: Nirvana - Nevermind
1992: Alice in Chains - Dirt
1995: Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
1996: (TIE) Soundgarden - Down on the Upside // Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire
1998: (TIE) Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill // System of a Down - System of a Down
1999: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
2000: Radiohead - Kid A
2001: The Strokes - Is This It
2002: Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
2004: (TIE) Madvillain - Madvillainy // The Killers - Hot Fuss // Green Day - American Idiot
2005: Coldplay - X & Y
2006: Tool - 10,000 Days
2007: Radiohead - In Rainbows
2010: The National - High Violet
2011: No definitive winner
2012: (TIE) Kendrick Lamar - good kidd, M.A.A.D. city // Deftones - koi no yokan
2014: Behemoth - The Satanist

1974: Supertramp - Crime of the Century (11 votes)

2nd Place: Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets/Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) - 8 votes
3rd Place: Neil Young - On the Beach (7 votes)
4th Place (TIE): 4 albums with 6 votes

Pretty cool result. I went back and listened to Crime of the Century for this, and it holds up really, really well. Better than Breakfast in America. In fact, a lot of the albums I re-listened to for this year were outstanding. Eno, Young, Kraftwerk, even the Stones album. Guess it was a better year than I thought?

1997 is a tricky year. On one hand, I think we all know who the favourite is. But there are a lot of really, really strong albums on the indie undercard, as well as some popular albums that will undoubtedly leech votes. Nonetheless, I don't expect much of a surprise here.

10/30: 2009
11/1: 1986
11/3: 1968

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[Cas]

1997 was a weird and kind of weak year.

Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
Gamma Ray - Somewhere Out in Space
God Dethroned - The Grand Grimoire
Iced Earth - Days of Purgatory compilation
Immortal - Blizzard Beasts
Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy
Ulver - Nattens Madrigal
Vader - Black to the Blind

I voted for Anthems, but of these I probably most enjoy Somewhere Out in Space. I'm not even that much of a power metal fan, but Gamma Ray was on a roll in the late 90's, the big thrash bands were practically dead, and the return of traditional heavy metal was still a decade away. Plenty of good black and death metal, but I think most of it just missed 1997.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

Others:

Veruca Salt-Eight Arms to Hold You
Rammstein-Sehnsucht

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

More than amazing year. Phenomenal. Top-3 are generational talents (could all be #1 in most years). It stays very good throughout the whole list, the HMs are full of gems, and even the curiosities are well worth a listen. Love this year, too bad Radiohead's gonna win it!

1. Mike Patton – Pranzo Oltranzista (adaptation into music of a futurist cookbook by Marinetti)
2. John Frusciante – Smile From the Streets You Hold
3. Merzbow & Ladybird – Balance (should be listened to on speakers and not headphones – the “balance” will let you decide how much noise or how much ladybird you want in your mix... could be a great introduction to noise)
4. Oblivians – ...Play 9 Songs With Mr. Quintron
5. Ruins – Refusal Fossil
6. Flaming Lips – Zaireeka (Okay, I'll admit that I've never experienced the “real thing”... what an ambitious project)
7. Les Joyaux de la princesse – Douce France (it's only 16 minutes, but it's too good to be dropped in the curiosities)
8. Guapo – Towers Open Fire
9. John Zorn – Duras: Duchamp (one of the many very good Zorn albums, but it's also the only one of his major works that I've seen performed live even though I've seen him about half a dozen times, so I have a special attachment to it)
10. Laddio Bolocko – Strange Warmings of Laddio Bolocko
11. Various Artists – Great Jewish Music: Serge Gainsbourg (obviously uneven, but clearly the best take at Gainsbourg's music – Marc Ribot's Black Trombone and Anthony Coleman's Ce mortel ennui are favorites of mine)
12. Various Artists – Angelica 1997 (some have it as a 1998 release, but the bandcamp of the record company has it as 1997 – it's recorded live, but it's really amazing, the only collaboration I know of between Jean Derome and Mike Patton, and an overall out-of-this-world cast – I had to include it)
13. Bantam Rooster – Deal Me In
14. Genocide Organ – Remember
15. Ween – The Mollusk
16. Bran Van 3000 – Glee (Couch Surfer must be the coolest song of the year, with The Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony coming second)
17. Supersilent – 1-3
18. Bisk – Strange or Funny Ha Ha?
19. Virgil Moorefield – The Temperature in Hell is Over Three Thousand Degrees
20. Roy Nathanson & Anthony Coleman – I Could've Been A Drum

HMs:
Spiritualized – Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (could have been higher still if not a little uneven – mostly great, but parts are kind of lame)
Bardo Pond – Lapsed
Noel Akchoté – Lust Corner
Fred Frith Guitar Quartet – Ayaya Moses
Long Fin Killie – Amelia
Ghédalia Tazartès – Voyage à l'ombre
Lake of Dracula – Lake of Dracula
Cyro Baptista – Vira Loucos (this is amazing, just a little too soft and world-musicky for me – should be higher)
Cavity – Somewhere Between the Train Station and the Dumping Grounds
Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects – Sol Niger Within
Cheer-Accident – Enduring the American Dream
Harvey Milk – Courtesy and Good Will Toward Men
Sepultura – Blood-Rooted
Kazutoki Umezu – First Deserter
Hash Jar Tempo – Well Oiled
Robert Wyatt – Shleep
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – F#A#∞
Marc Ribot – Shoe String Symphonettes
Faith No More – Album of the Year
Yo La Tengo – I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

Curiosities:
Étant donnés – Mort aux vaches (the whole Mort aux vaches series was kind of a big deal in the 90s in the trading circles, but I remember this one being a particularly hot item... listening to it today, it has its moments, but it's mostly meh, “lyrics” are ridiculous)
Negativland – Dispepsi (sometimes pretty good, but mostly hilarious)
The Conet Project – Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations (this stuff is weird, and becomes a little hypnotic if you stick to it)
Yasunao Tone – Solo for Wounded CD
Guitar Wolf – Planet of the Wolves
Bob Ostertag – Fear No Love
Skeleton Crew – Etymology (pretty big project, certainly interesting, but no fun)
Cibo Matto – Super Relax
Faxed Head – Exhumed at Birth
The Legendary Pink Dots – Hallway of the Gods
Terry Riley & Stefano Scodanibbio – Lazy Afternoon Among the Crocodiles
Blood Box – A World of Hurt

 

[Hockey Outsider]

6. Flaming Lips – Zaireeka (Okay, I'll admit that I've never experienced the “real thing”... what an ambitious project)

Neither have I, but this has been on my musical bucket list for a very long time now.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Clumsy - Our Lady Peace

 

[Langdon Alger]

What’s the general feeling on U2’s “Pop”?

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

What’s the general feeling on U2’s “Pop”?

I think it's about as average/uneven as most U2 albums... I like Discothèque quite a bit.

 

[Langdon Alger]

I think it's about as average/uneven as most U2 albums... I like Discothèque quite a bit.

But it was a different style for them wasn’t it? More of an experimental album? I’m just wondering how most U2 fans felt about it, or if critics liked it.

I liked Discotheque as well.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

But it was a different style for them wasn’t it? More of an experimental album? I’m just wondering how most U2 fans felt about it, or if critics liked it.

I liked Discotheque as well.

Wouldn't call it experimental. It certainly sounds different than what they were doing 10 years before, but it doesn't even seem like a real break in their production of the time. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me was recorded 2 years before.

 

[Ceremony]

Young Team, The Colour and the Shape

 

[Langdon Alger]

Spent most of the summer of ‘98 listening to OK Computer. Damn, that’s a good one.

 

[kihei]

Pat Metheny/Charlie Haden: Beyond the Missouri Sky
Portishead: Portishead
Pat Metheny Group: Independence Day
Paul McCartney: Flaming Pie
Radiohead: OK Computer
Oasis: Be Here Now
The Verve: Urban Hymns
Suzanna Baca: Suzanna Baca
Caetano Veloso: Livro
The Buena Vista Social Club: The Bueno Vista Social Club

The top five albums have become personal staples, so good year by my standards

 

[Teemu]

Radiohead - OK Computer
The Offspring – Ixnay on the Hombre
Smoking Popes - Destination Failure

 

[Oxbow Lakes]

Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
Camp Lo - Uptown Saturday Night
Björk - Homogenic
Ween - The Mollusk
The Oblivians - Play 9 Songs with Mr. Quintron

Company Flow - Funcrusher Plus
The Spaceshits - Winter Dance Party
Radiohead - OK Computer
Lungfish - Indivisible
Built to Spill - Perfect From Now On

 

[Mescaleroman]

the Catherine Wheel - Adam & Eve
Paul Weller - Heavy Soul
Ocean Colour Scene - Marchin' On
the Verve - Urban Hymns
the Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
Matthew Good Band - Underdogs
Silverchair - Freak Show
Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Let's Face It
Ben Folds Five - Whenever and Ever Amen

 

[plank]

1. Straightaways - Son Volt
2. The Colour and the Shape - Foo Fighters
3. El Corazon - Steve Earle
4. Stranger's Almanac - Whiskeytown
5. Give It Back! - The Brian Jonestown Massacre
6. The Dandy Warhols Come Down - The Dandy Warhols
7. Must've Been High - Supersuckers
8. Miles From - Richmond Fontaine
9. Reverb Deluxe - The Derailers
10. Surf-N-Burn - Blue Stingrays
11. s/t - Songs: Ohia
12. Throwin' Rocks at the Moon - The Backsliders
13. East Of Yesterday - The Hangdogs
14. Full Force Galesburg - The Mountain Goats
15. Water Ave S. - Damien Jurado
16. 24 Hours a Day - The Bottle Rockets
17. Plastic Seat Sweat - Southern Culture on the Skids
18. It Had to Happen - James McMurtry
19. Time Out of Mind - Bob Dylan
20. Either/Or - Elliot Smith
20. Too Far to Care - Old 97's
21. Lipstick, Lies and Gasoline - Fred Eaglesmith
22. s/t - The Amazing Royal Crowns
23. From Our Living Room to Yours - The American Analog Set

 

[Langdon Alger]

No love for Matchbox 20, Smash Mouth or Chumbawumba?

 

[Saturated Fats]

No love for Matchbox 20, Smash Mouth or Chumbawumba?

Define 'love'.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Define 'love'.

Ha, I was only joking. It’s just all three of those artists had songs on the radio that year. I wouldn’t call myself a fan of any of them.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Other:

Hatebreed - Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire

 

[Azathoth]

Voted Emperor and Other

Ulver-Nattens Madrigal
In Flames-Whoracle
Children of Bodom-Something Wild
Symphony X-The Divine Wings of Tragedy

 

[Saturated Fats]

So I'm gonna flash my nerd card here and say that my favourite album of 1997 (and I can so-call it, as I've owned a CD copy of it since I was 10) is the Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu. What that man does with MIDI and minimalism is nothing short of miraculous. I recognize that some of my love for this is tied into nostalgia for the game - but I would have qualms with anyone who listened to the soundtrack and suggested that the work wasn't brilliant. The complexity, diversity, and atmosphere of the various tracks is something exquisite and truly, truly special. It is followed very closely behind by Mogwai Young Team, which is inarguably my favourite post-rock record of all time

1. Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack
2. Mogwai - Mogwai Young Team
3. Björk - Homogenic

4. Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out
5. Matthew Good Band - Underdogs
6. Radiohead - OK Computer
7. Destroyer 666 - Unchain the Wolves (a deeply-underrated metal album)
8. Rotting Christ - A Dead Poem
9. Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West (maybe the best opening song of all time, though)
10. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞

 

[Our Lady Peace]

Clumsy - Our Lady Peace

I approve

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Love Robert Wyatt's Shleep.