Earworm

Published on 20/09/2024.

Nothing is perfect – or so the old adage goes. I had that debate with a friend the other day: whether or not the concept of perfection could be applied to the aural universe – stalemate if you are wondering. He was of the belief that there is not a single record out there that could live up to the ultimate level – no unmitigated masterpieces of the musical mode with the ideal concoction of song-writing, storytelling, experimentation, expression, and creativity that goes into writing an album.

Being the meticulous debater I am, or ‘argumentative bastard’ as friends and family have previously put it, I decided to do a little research on the matter; thus I ended up trawling once again through my music collection, pondering the postulation of perfect albums. With a little time and effort, I actually believe I have found double digits of examples. Let us dive into five albums I want to offer as my entrée on the subject.

The Albums

1. Let It Bet – The Beatles
2. Some Girls – The Rolling Stones
3. American Idiot – Green Day
4. Master of Puppets – Metallica
5. Ain’t that Good News – Sam Cooke

Let It Be – The Beatles

I think even those living under a rock for the last hundred years will be aware of The Beatles’ incredible oeuvre. All of the members of the band were gifted song writers – yes, even Ringo Starr – and I do not think anyone will be surprised that the Liverpudlian lads managed to make my list of perfect albums. That being said, I am sure choosing Let It Be over something like Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band will have some of my lovely readers scratching their heads.

The reason I expect Let It Be will be a controversial choice is that it was released in 1970 after The Beatles had disbanded and with heavy involvement from Phil Spector in the mixing stage after the band members themselves had seemingly given up on the editing process. Spector’s involvement included extra orchestral elements that were never intended for the final cut and which Paul McCartney seemed dead against after the album’s release, resulting in Macca releasing the 2003 alternative mix Let It Be… Naked.

How in God’s name can I say that the original album is therefore perfect? That is easy! Despite the unfettered frustrations of the band with each other, which is very evident on the various versions of the documentary of the recording sessions, the finished sound is raw, powerful, fun, and experimental whilst quintessentially a Beatles album. Think back to the absolute joy of passers-by that first heard the songs from John, Paul, George, and Ringo belting out the likes of I Got a Feeling and Get Back from the roof of their recording studio – greatest moment in rock and roll history in my opinion – and you have all the answer you need.

Some Girls – The Rolling Stones

At this point, some readers may think I have gone off the deep end by including Some Girls over the more fashionable likes of Exile on Main St., Let It Bleed, or Sticky Fingers. Before you write me off as a musical mad man, however, let us give Some Girls a chance.

First and foremost, the album delivers all of the lovely grit the Stones had to offer whilst giving you something new and innovative. Want sweet licks over sour power chords? You have When the Whip Comes Down. Want a sultry ballad with a tinge of slow disco flair? You have Miss You. Want Jagger’s gruff emotions over Richards’ gently jangling guitar? You have Beast of Burden. The band even went old school and threw in a cover song for good measure; and I dare say that the Stones’ version of Just My Imagination (Running away with Me) is so good that you may even forget The Temptations first recorded it seven years before.

Then there is the final bit of controversy to my argument for Some Girls: the artwork. The original cover art by Peter Corriston and Hubert Kretzschmar is one of my all-time favourites. Sure, it had to be changed due to a lawsuit over the unauthorised use of the likenesses of famous celebrities of the day – Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, and Lucille Ball to name a few – but the vibrant colours and cut-out images of the band members make the tacky into something spectacular. I would even go as far to say that the Some Girls cover knocks the one for Sticky Fingers out of the water – sorry, Andy Warhol!

American Idiot – Green Day

Perhaps I am biased because I have fond memories of buying this album at HMV – the first CD I ever owned – on a day trip with my Grandparents to Walsall when I was around 11 or 12. Perhaps I am biased. Then again, perhaps I am not because it is an absolute cracker over an album – albeit my Grandparents probably thought little of it when they graciously let me listen to it on the car ride back to their house.

I think it is difficult to compose an album as a complete concept rather than simply a collection of new songs. Tommy by The Who is a perfect example of that – yes, I wrote that and stand by it! American Idiot is an exception to that rule because each song flows from one into the next. The record starts with the roar of Billy Joe’s guitar work on the title track through to Are We the Waiting? when things slow down. The pace keeps changing from St. Jimmy to Whatsername, but nothing feels out of place. Everything makes sense. The energy on the songs may feel frenetic, but the composition of the album is undulating and gorgeously written.

You also have to consider that, whilst commercial success may not be the be all and end all of the critical value of an album, ChartMasters.org reports that it is the 137^th best selling album of all time. That includes outstripping the likes of Abba, Billy Joel, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and many more. In 2009, American Idiot was also turned into a Broadway musical that ran for 422 performances.

Still not convinced? Listen to the 2013 Reading Festival performance of Boulevard of Broken Dreams. The crowd is enamoured with the band; the band are enamoured with their audience. It is a striking example of how beloved the songs on the album are and how American Idiot deeply moved a generation of music lovers.

Master of Puppets – Metallica

I wanted to add a quotation to the start of this section, but I was not sure how to stylise my humming to the instrumental flamenco introduction to Battery, nor how to convey the wild headbanging and air guitar that often accompanies me listening to Master of Puppets. Guess I had better just dive into the album’s genius instead.

Metallica were already on a roll in the early 1980s: their critically acclaimed début album and follow-up, Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning respectively, were already very much pulling in the heavy metal fans. I can not imagine if the feeling of fans at the time for what could come next was one of sheer hope or cynicism based on the quality of albums released in their career to that point, but in 1986, Metallica delivered an all-time classic in Master of Puppets. I have already spoken about the power of the first two tracks to suck in listeners, but an album that contains the dreamily scornful commentary on totalitarianism in Welcome Home (Sanitarium), the guitar-chugging critique on the expendable treatment of military personnel in Disposable Heroes, and the Lovecraftian horror story of The Thing that Should Not Be screams perfection.

To highlight the widespread love for Master of Puppets, the album has received six platinum awards in the USA, has been voted amongst the 100 greatest albums by TIME magazine, and was covered in its entirety in 2006 as part of a 20th anniversary tribute album. The title track was even used as an integral part of the season four climax of Netflix’s Stranger Things, with the official clip having over 12 million views on YouTube at the time of writing. Finally, for the fact that Master of Puppets may be one of few records in the world that can have its cover art slapped on a black T-shirt that would be happily worn by teenage girls, middle-aged men, and anyone in between, I think it is fair to say that Metallica make fair contenders for having had a perfect album.

Ain’t that Good News – Sam Cooke

Certainly compared to the other records on this list, Ain’t that Good News is an album less of what my Mother would call ‘chow row’. It is nonetheless still packed to the brim with Sam Cooke’s usual energy and the track list is off the charts.

Ain’t that Good News was Cooke’s 11^th and final studio album, but it is fair to say the soul singer went out in style. The LP is chock-full of classics, including the eponymous opening track, Meet Me at Mary’s Place, Good Times, Rome (Wasn’t Built In A Day), Another Saturday Night, and what I consider to be the best version of Tennessee Waltz – that will put the cat amongst the pigeons for die hard Otis Redding fans. Ain’t that Good News also offers a more jazzy side of Cooke with a polished delivery of Home (When Shadows Fall) that gives Dean Martin a run for his money.

Then we come to the pièce de résistance of the album: A Change Is Gonna Come. Inspired by Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind and voted the third greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, the civil rights anthem shows off Sam Cooke’s extraordinary song-writing skills and his capability to convey his lyrical message with a huge vocal performance. It is personal, poignant, and powerful, and it is no wonder that the single was selected in 2007 for preservation in the US Library of Congress by the National Recording Agency.

Final Thoughts

This is just a handful of the many albums I could have chosen, but I think this smorgasbord of sound helps reveal that it is possible to find perfection through music. Seeing as I have many more albums for consideration, I will be reviewing this topic again in the future, but in the meantime, please let me know if you agree or disagree with my list in the comments below.

Written by Lewis Brown.