You Can Only Take 10 With You... Five at a Time

So a friend and I were talking the other day about top 10 lists. He is a fellow music lover and had an interesting thought. If you were only able to have 10 albums for the rest of your life, what would you choose. I typically do not participate in lists like that, but as I thought more about it, the more interesting it became. I found it difficult to narrow a list down to just 10. I have a wide variety of musical interests as music is is a major part of my personal and professional life.

So as I embark on my list, I have just three rules. As much as I would like to include multiple albums from some of my favorite artists, I am only allowing myself to list one per artist. I also want to avoid greatest hits or various artists records. That is just too easy to do. Additionally in that same vein, no live albums. So here we go with the first five. I will post the next five in a few days. 

In no particular order:

1) Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon - Well, I simply could not live without this CD. There was a big question here because I love The Wall as well. But since I could only choose one from the artist, Dark Side won out. This classic record is one of the top selling albums of all time and a true masterpiece of musical genius. It is a CD that does not ever come out of my current play list. I could literally put it on repeat and listen to it for an entire day.

2) Beethoven - Symphony No 9. in D Minor "Choral" - Without question this is the greatest classical piece ever composed... and he did it while he was almost completely deaf. I have seen this performed by fantastic symphonies many times, but nothing beat one performance that was put together by James Judd from the now defunct Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. It was a performance which included a Beethoven character acting and a stunning conclusion where all instruments one by one went silent.

3) Garth Brooks - No Fences - While I am not a huge country music fan, there are some artists that I do really like. Garth Brooks along with Travis Tritt, Alan Jackson and Hank Williams Jr. make my short list. I went to college in Tennessee. While I was there I really got sick ofg hearing country music. But actually when I left, I missed it. No Fences by Garth Brooks is probably my favorite country record. With classic tracks like "Friends in Low Places," "Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House," "The Thunder Rolls," and "Unanswered Prayers" this has to be on the list.

4)   Bob Marley and the Wailers - Uprising - This is a tough one as it is mainly here for one particular song. I absolutely love "Redemption Song" from Bob Marley. While I am a huge Marley fan in general, it would have been my preference to use this slot for Legend. But I made up the rules... no greatest hits. Uprising does include some other great songs and I have to have Bob Marley on my list.

5) Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind - Without a doubt one of my favorite bands is Iron Maiden. Again it would have been easy to put "Live After Death" here as it contains some of their classic hits. Piece of Mind was a great record. I believe Iron Maiden was one of the trail blazing bands that brought heavy metal into the mainstream in the 1980's. While a lot of people tend to give Judas Priest the nod when talking about the greatest band from the British Invasion, I like Maiden much more. Musically I really enjoy the long guitar solos from Adrain Smith and Dave Murray along with Bruce Dickinson's vocals and Nico McBrain's pounding beats. But the driving force behind Maiden as everyone knows is Steve Harris.. period. 

Roger Water: The Wall Live 2.0

Roger Waters has announced that he is tearing down The Wall all over again. The 30 year anniversary of one of the best selling rock records of all time will get a brand new showcase tour through the US starting in September 2010. It is the first time that the full show has been performed in its entirety since the concert that Waters performed on July 21st 1990 in Berlin.

Pink Floyd's "The Wall" was originally released in 1980. Roger Waters composed and wrote most of the material on his own with guitarist David Gilmour providing his signature guitar parts and haunting vocals on classic tracks like "Comfortably Numb" and "Hey You." The two record release was followed by a feature film in 1982 starring Bob Geldof as Pink. The film was heralded by film critic Roger Ebert as "one of the great modern musicals."

According to Water's official website the long awaited concert tour will combine music with state-of-the-art staging, lighting and sound. The centerpiece will be a 240-foot-wide and 35-foot-high Wall that is built and broken down during the concert.

The performance will be accompanied by elaborate large-scale video projections and theatrical staging to underscore and accentuate the power of the music. For sound buffs, the music will be delivered using a high tech 3600 quadraphonic sound system that will immerse the audience in a 3-dimensional audio experience

Roger Waters 2010 Tour Dates:

09/15 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre

09/16 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre

09/20 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
09/21 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
09/26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Consol Energy Center
09/28 – Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
09/30 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
10/05 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
10/08 – Buffalo, NY @ HSBC Arena
10/10 – Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
10/12 – Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
10/15 – Hartford, CT @ XL Center
10/17 – Ottawa, ON @ ScotiaBank Place
10/19 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
10/22 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
10/24 – Detroit, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
10/26 – Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center
10/27 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
10/29 – St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
10/30 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
11/03 – Meadowlands, NJ @ IZod Center
11/08 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
11/09 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
11/13 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center
11/16 – Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum
11/18 – Atlanta, A @ Philips Arena
11/20 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
11/21 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
11/23 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
11/26 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
11/27 – Phoenix, AZ @ US Airways Center
11/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
12/06 – San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion
12/10 – Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place
12/11 – Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
12/13 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Centre

Justin Bieber is Really on Top of Things

My World 2.0, the March 23 release from teen heartthrob Justin Bieber has hit the top of the Billboard 200 Album chart. The teenager’s sophomore release sold 283,000 copies in its first week of release to propel him to the No.1 spot. With the achievement, he becomes the youngest artist (age 16) to reach the top spot since a 13-year-old Stevie Wonder spent a week at the peak position back in August of 1963.

His first CD, My World, debuted at No. 6 last November. This week it rose to a new high by jumping from No. 10 to No. 5 giving Bieber two albums in the top 5 at the same time. He is the first artist to concurrently chart two albums within the top five of the Billboard 200 since October 2004 when Nelly ranked at Nos. 2 and 4 with Suit and Sweat.

Album Review from Andy Kellman, All Music Guide: Within two months of release, My World went platinum and two of its singles hit the Top 20, making Justin Bieber an almost inescapable teen pop phenomenon. This ten-song disc, which follows its seven-song predecessor by just over four months, is intended to be the second half of his debut rather than a true follow-up. It’s a shrewd ploy that benefits his insatiable following -- much of which could be into something else by 2011-2012 -- and, in turn, his sales.

The two releases are certainly of a piece, filled with upbeat R&B-flavored pop songs with a few ballads that might be termed adult contemporary if the singer happened to be of age. Bieber makes all the right, charming moves for a teen, and he covers all the bases. The dance-pop songs are light on the ears yet memorable; the unrequited material sounds deeply felt; the ballads have all the necessary us-against-the-world teen-love dramatics (though the references in “Stuck in the Moment,” featuring Bonnie & Clyde and Sonny & Cher among other doomed couples, make zero sense on a song voiced by a peppy 16-year-old in 2010).

As with My World, everything is age-appropriate. “She says she needs a little company,” sung with the slightest wink in the eye, is as racy as it gets, and even then, Bieber projects an image that is utterly harmless.

Sir Elton and the Queen of Soul

It's time for another installment of musical superstars with the same birthday. For March 25 we have 2 Legendary Popular Music Performers: Elton John (1947) and Aretha Franklin (1942). Talk about big names, these artists are royalty. In 1998 Elton received a knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services" and Aretha is commonly known as the "Queen of Soul."

Sir Elton John was born in Pinner, Middlesex, England. His career spans some 40 years beginning with the 1969 release of his first album, Empty Sky and includes number one songs, albums, and performances.

His 1997 remake of Candle in the Wind, as a tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, sold well over 33,000,000 copies. In addition to his numerous multi-platinum selling albums, Elton has a distinguished Broadway and film repertoire. On Broadway he has penned songs for Lion King, Lestat, Aida, and Billy Elliot the Musical. On the big screen he wrote songs for Lion King (1994 Academy Award Winner for Can you Feel the Love Tonight) and The Road to El Dorado

His long list of awards include the 1991 Best British Male Artist Brit Award, 5 Grammy Awards (1986-2000), 2001 Grammy Legend Award, 2004 Kennedy Center Honor, 11 Ivor Novello Awards (1973 – 2000), 7 Tony Awards, and 1994 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Elton was inducted into Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

The Queen of Soul was born on the other side of the pond from Elton in Memphis, Tennessee. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You was the breakthrough album by Aretha Franklin. It was released in 1967 and included her signature song, Respect.

The debut release established Franklin as a superstar and a major force in the recording industry. In addition to her successful recording career, Aretha has appeared in the memorable role of Mrs. Matt "Guitar" Murphy in The Blues Brothers. In the cult classic film she performed the sing-along hit tune Think.

Aretha has compiled an impressive list of awards. She has won 18 Grammy awards, including the 1995 Lifetime Achievement Award as well as a Living Legends Grammy Award, a 1984 American Music Award, the 1984 Ebony Magazine American Black Achievement Award, Black Entertainment Television’s (BET), 2003Walk of Fame Award. She was the first woman inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - Movie Trailer