@bdp24 Love The Kinks. Generally go for them over Stones, can’t say necessarily the same w/Beatles. Beatles are just…too good. I could certainly, however, produce a “short novella” on my love of The Kinks.
I consider Sgt. Pepper’s long-held status as #1-all-time-worthy incommensurate with the actual songs. The studio innovation, sure. Songs, not so much. I consider “She’s Leaving Home” gorgeous, brilliant, haunting, indelible and impervious to overplayedness. “A Day in the Life” is just…incredible (I also enjoy the early takes on Anthology 2…Jesus…).
Obviously this is all subjective but, “Way over half of the White Album is unlistenable”…boy…
“Dear Prudence,” “Glass Onion,” “Bungalow Bill,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” “Martha My Dear,” “I’m So Tired,” “Blackbird,” “Piggies,” “I Will,” “Julia,” “Mother Nature’s Son,” “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey,” “Sexy Sadie,” “Helter Skelter,” “Long, Long, Long,” “Honey Pie,” “Savoy Truffle,” “Cry Baby Cry,” “Goodnight.”
20 of the 30 tracks that are as sublime as pop music gets.
Legit avant-garde songs like “Wild Honey Pie,” “Revolution 9.” Super ballsy to put stuff like that on an LP by the biggest band in the world. Irrespective of artistic courage, I still consider those tracks sonically and artistically remarkable.
Rod Temperton (author of Heatwave, Brothers Johnson, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones classics), Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff (authors of and producers of too many glorious records by way too many incredible artists to begin to mention), the brothers Gibb, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson, Giorgio Moroder, and Niles Rodgers (author of Chic, Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, David Bowie) may have something to say about someone using the word “disco” as merely a pejorative.
The primes of Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and Bach ended a lot more than fifty years ago. This has no bearing on whether their art was good.