OK, got a day off, let's bust out another update.....
23-Pete Townshend-Empty Glass(1980)
Ok, this will be a long one. First a quote from Pete about what he means by Empty Glass…
"And when I did my first solo album, I called it 'Empty Glass', 'cause of this idea that when you go to the tavern -- which is to God, you know -- and you ask for His love -- He's the bartender, you know -- and He gives you a drink, and what you have to give Him is an empty glass. You know there's no point giving Him your heart if it's full already; there's no point going to God if your heart's full of Doris."
This album I feel is when Pete started empying his glass. It drips with personal emotion and soul, and could perhaps be the most personal album I know of that an artist has written. The majority of it was written during the Who Are You sessions, but the subsequent death of Kieth Moon is all over it, and really gives the album its rawness and emotional edge. The opener, Rough Boys, drips with homoeroticism, and has been interpreted in a million different ways. Following are a few deeply spiritual songs, And I Moved and Let My Love Open the Door, both referencing God from the very religious Pete. Jools and Jim is his song for Kieth, a frustrated piece at the fact that the world keeps moving, kids keep dropping, even with glowing examples of death like Keith’s. It finishes with two incredible songs, A Little is Enough and Empty Glass, more reflections on spirituality and love. This album is so honest it still scares me.
"My life's a mess, I wait for you to pass, I stand here at the bar I hold an empty glass."
Suggested Songs:Let My Love Open the Door, A Little is Enough, Jools and Jim, Empty Glass
22-IQ- Frequency(2009)
Some of you were probably wondering when I would get to IQ. This is my first installment from the band that I am closest with, the one that really speaks to my soul. To me, even though other IQ albums are more personal, I feel that this is musically their best. All players are hitting on all cylinders, and Peter Nichols is at the top of his game. Though not officially a concept album, it has strong thematic elements like most of IQ’s albums do, and like most IQ albums, they are written loosely enough to be interpreted in many ways. Aside from two soulful songs, One Fatal Mistake and Closer, which both touch me deeply every time I hear them, the rest of the album to me is just killer IQ music, one of my favorite bands peaking.
"Remember all the promises you planned on, the only one who's arms you ever ran from, the best of you was locked away for so long, don't wait another day. Imagine all the mysteries your made of, the great adventures you would love, the wanderlust and all you dared dream of, don't wait another day." Damn man, right to the heart.
Suggested Songs:Frequency, Province of the King, Closer, Ryker Skies
21- Marillion-Brave(1994)
A girl is found on a bridge, not talking, just staring out into the water, and is taken into police custody. This real life event inspired Hogarth to write the speculations on why she was there. So begins Brave, a brilliant concept album. It covers different reasons on why she is out there, what she went through to put her in such a desparate situation. From a broken heart(Hard as Love) to abuse(Runaway), many of the scenarios of the disenchanted are covered. Aside from a concept that I absolutly loved, and could relate to in many ways because of shit I’ll spill later in the list, the thing that stood out to me was a level of production that I hadn’t heard before. The nuances, the subtleties, they were brilliant to me. This album taught me to listen very closely, and I have been since. I should note that this is probably also my all time favorite album cover, I absolutely love it.
"See her sadness, in your face, she's inside you and she's crying."
Suggested Songs:Runaway, The Great Escape, Living with the Big Lie, Made Again(yep, I put it up there, love the song, deal with it)
Topic: lonestar's Top 50 Albums v. The Soundtrack of My Life-Honorable Mentions.... (Read 48779 times)