Friday, August 15, 2008

Greatest albums of all time

A couple weeks ago, Yahoo listed the "20 greatest albums of all time." Of the 20, I've heard parts of two (both of them Beatles albums).

Numbers 1, 2, and 3 on Yahoo's list are by Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd, and Michael Jackson, respectively. I repeat: Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd, and Michael Jackson. Obviously, we need a list for grown-ups. I couldn't think of 20 off the top of my head, however, but I can offer 9. In no particular order:
  • Leontyne Price, Arias: Verdi and Puccini (The "Blue" Album)
  • Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Porgy and Bess
  • Oscar Peterson Trio, West Side Story
  • A wonderful old Tommy Dorsey album. I can't remember the title, and I can't find it on iTunes.
  • Jussi Bjorling and Vittoria de los Angeles, La Boheme
  • Ray Charles, The Genius of Ray Charles
  • Glenn Gould, The Goldberg Variations (the 1955 recording)
  • Yo-Yo Ma, Bach: Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello
  • Placido Domingo and Julia Migenes, Carmen
Footnote 1. True, the list is in no particular order, but if it were ordered, the top four would have to include Goldberg, the Blue Album, Yo-Yo Ma, and Bjorling/de los Angeles.

Footnote 2. After coming up with my list, I downloaded Oscar Peterson's West Side Story (which I hadn't heard in 50 years) from iTunes. So wonderful in my memory, I have to say it's now just OK. (I also downloaded some stuff by the Modern Jazz Quartet. Fifty years ago I thought it was just OK, but I have to say, it has held up really well.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I didn't notice the awe inspiring, rhapsodic classic of "Splish Splash, I was Takin a Bath" by Bobby Darin. What are you some kind of pinko wierdo Commie or something ?

Jack