Elvis picks the 500 Greatest Albums Ever

Vanity Fair, 2000-11-01

- Elvis Costello

COSTELLO'S 500

From Abba to Zamballarana, and from Mozart to Eminem, one of rock's finest talents has identified 500 albums essential to a happy life. It was a long, tortuous undertaking, but the man knows music - and his aim is true

BY ELVIS COSTELLO





I had intended to add a word or two of praise or explanation after each entry on this list. I made a sparkling start.





ABBA: Abba Gold

Fast songs: for nights entertaining your Australian friends, or playing with the dressing-up box. Slow songs: a pop-music version of Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage.





Then I thought, That's enough of that nonsense. How many times can you write "Superb," "Beautiful," "Stomping," or "Absolutely tangerine" before it loses all meaning? How many times do you need to read: "Masterpiece"? Or, better still "Masterpiece . . . ?"

Instead, I decided to also name the tracks that make these albums special to me. So, if nothing is written, head straight for the title track or assume that the whole damned thing is irresistible. When in doubt, play Track 4-it is usually the one you want.

Here are 500 albums that can only improve your life. Many will be quite familiar, others less so. Ever needed to get rid of unwanted guests in the early hours? Just reach for Dirk Bogarde's Lyrics for Lovers, on which the actor inhales audibly on his cigarette before reciting Ira Gershwin's "A Foggy Day" amid a swathe of violins. Then there are the good records.

It was impossible to choose just one title by Miles Davis, the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Dylan, Mingus, etc. How can you say Miles Ahead is "in" and Sketches of Spain is "out"? It looked that way for a while. I knew I would need the space for In a Silent Way and On the Corner. In the end Sketches of Spain did make it, but only at the expense of Someday My Prince Will Come. That is the pleasure of a list like this. Everyone will disagree with your choices.

Sometimes an album contains just one indispensable song. Shot of Love may not be your favorite Bob Dylan record, but it might contain his best song: "Every Grain of Sand." Other albums are like sets of chairs. You can't break them up. This is true of the Band's first two records and also of Tom Waits's trilogy of albums, which began with Swordjshtrombones.

There are plenty of "Best of" and "Greatest Hits" collections. That's not just taking the easy way out. Many of these people really only made "singles." No one "album" will give you all the Smokey Robinson and the Miracles or George Jones songs that you need. I've also gone for some less well-known titles by famous artists, but they are records that dig a little deeper.

You should be able to find most of this music, but you may have to go out of your way to locate the records of David Ackles, perhaps the greatest unheralded American songwriter of the late 60s.

This is also a list of where I began and where I stopped listening. There are huge gaps and blind spots. Unsurprisingly, I favor songwriters over players, but any hit parade of great singers would have to include Johnny Hodges. Making this list made me listen all over again.

If your shelf can stand it, I recommend a few boxed sets. Anthology of American Folk Music, compiled by the great Harry Smith from rare 78s seems like a trip to another planet, yet it is really just humans singing and playing in the not-so-distant past. The RCA Ellington set runs to 24 CDs, and the Schubert lieder collection is only a little smaller, but they are a bit like having a Complete Works of Shakespeare close at hand.

The Yazoo label's Secret Museum of Mankind series gives a glimpse of the early days, when HMV or the Gramophone Company would send out recording engineers to gather music from the world for the new, curious audience. These editions are not compiled by country. So, they may begin in the Society Islands, travel to Mongolia via Bulgaria, and end up in Nova Scotia. The world that you will hear probably isn't there anymore.



I sometimes torture myself by considering all the musicians who were still performing during my lifetime but whom I failed to see because I was too stupid, too timid, or too preoccupied with some passing fancy. Records can fix some of that. It's a form of time travel. You can hear Lester Young or Bing Crosby close in on the microphone in a way that we now take for granted and regularly abuse. The 30s recordings of Stravinsky reveal him directing a band of musicians who are clinging to the edges of his new, frightening music. Ornette Coleman's "Peace" is a thing of beauty that was once a minor outrage.

The classical recordings are listed by composer; that is not to say that any version of that piece will do. Great vintage recordings sit alongside new releases by artists whom you can actually hear in concert. These are the performers who opened up this music to me. In the end, it is the music of forgiveness in the last act of Le Nozze di Figaro or the way an incomplete Schubert sonata breaks off in a devastating way that matters more than whether the performance was captured digitally or with some sealing wax and a knitting needle. There is a song setting by Hugo Wolf, "Alles Endet, Was Entstehet." The text concludes:

"We too were men joyful and weary like you, and now we are lifeless, we are only earth, as you see. All that is created must end. All, all around us must perish."

These words are by Michelangelo.

The minute this list goes to press I will think of 20 records that I left out. There are no comedy records, unless you count Louis Armstrong's magnificent nine-minute performance of all of the verses of "Let's Do It." In fact, no real spoken-word recordings are included - it was too hard to choose among Richard Pryor, T. S. Eliot, and Bill Hicks. Groucho Marx makes it on the strength of his rendition of "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady."

If you look in the C's, you won't find anything with my name on it. This is not false modesty. There are at least 500 records better than everything that I've made. I do make a few walk-on appearances as vocalist or producer.



Y ou will see that some very famous names are missing completely. There is nothing at all by Led Zeppelin, the Doors, Michael Jackson, or Sting. You may love them. They just don't do it for me. There's not too much disco or dance, except the mighty Chic. If you want something from Los Angeles in the early 70s, I suggest you purchase the first Jackson Browne record; it will save you buying all those Eagles albums. The "Fleetwood Mac" herein is the great group led by Peter Green, not the Californian mob with Stevie Nicks. There is nothing to speak of from the 80s, the decade that music forgot, except for Robert Wyatt. Not many "Divas," except for Callas and Aretha.

As for the hit records of today, maybe some of them will sound just fantastic in 20 years' time. It's your life. So! No Marilyn, Puffy, Korn, Eddie Money-sorry, Kid Rock-Limp Bizkit, Ricky, Britney, Backstreet Boys, etc., etc.

The best record of today that I could find was The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem, faster, funnier, and, in an odd way, more truthful than most records. It's up there with the best of The Simpsons, and I mean that as the highest compliment.

There are probably songs being composed right now that will eclipse every entry on this list in somebody's heart or mind. It is my experience that music is more like water than a rhinoceros. It doesn't charge madly down one path. It runs away in every direction.

5 0 0 A L B U M S Y O U N E E D

ABBA: Abba Gold (1992),

"Knowing Me, Knowing You,"

DAVID ACKLES: The Road to

Cairo (1968), "Down River";

Subway to the Country (1969),

"That's No Reason to Cry."

CANNONBALL ADDERLEY:

The Best of Cannonball Adderley

(1968), "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,"

AMY ALLISON: The Maudlin

Years (1996), "The Whiskey Makes

You Sweeter."

MOSE ALLISON: The Best of

Mose Allison (1970), "Your Mind

Is on Vacation."

ALMAMEGRETTA: Lingo (1998),

"Gramigna."

LOUIS ARMSTRONG: The

Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven

Recordings (2000), "Wild Man

Blues," "Tight Like This,"

FRED ASTAIRE: The Astaire Story

(1952), "They Can't Take That

Away from Me."

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH:

The Well-Tempered Clavier (Edwin

Fischer; 1934); The Six Cello

Suites (Pablo Casals; 1936); Six

Partitas BWV 825-830 (Andras

Schiff; 1984); Mass in B Minor

(conductor: Otto Klemperer; 1999).

BURT BACHARACH: The Look

of Love: The Burt Bacharach

Collection (1998), "Alfie."

CHET BAKER: The Best of Chet

Baker Sings (1989), "The Thrill Is

Gone," "You Don't Know What

Love Is"; Broken Wing (1978).

THE BAND: Music from Big Pink

(1968), "Tears of Rage"; The Band

(1969), "The Unfaithful Servant."

DAVE BARTHOLEMEW: The

Monkey (1985).

BÉLA BART�K: Six String

Quartets (Emerson String Quartet;

1988).

CECILIA BARTOLI: If You Love

Me, 18th Century Italian Songs

(1992) Alessandro Parisott-

"Se Tu M'Ami," Antonio Vivaldi-

"Sposa son disprezzata."

COUNT BASIE: The Atomic Mr.

Basie (1957), "Li'l Darlin'."



THE BEACH BOYS: Pet Sounds

(1966), "Don't Talk (Put Your

Head on My Shoulder)," "God

Only Knows"; Carl and the

Passions-So Tough (1972), "Cuddle

Up"; Holland (1973), "The Trader";

Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of

the Beach Boys (boxed set; 1993),

"Surf's Up, " "Wonderful."

BEASTIE BOYS: Paul's Boutique

(1989), "Shadrach."

THE BEATLES: With the Beatles

(1963), "You Really Got a Hold on

Me"; A Hard Day's Night (1964).

"Things We Said Today"; Help!

(1965), "You've Got to Hide Your

Love Away"; Rubber Soul (1965),

"Girl"; Revolver (1966), "And Your

Bird Can Sing," "For No One";

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club

Band (1967), "A Day in the Life";

The Beatles (White Album; 1968),

"I'm So Tired"; Past Masters, Vol. 2

(1988), "Paperback Writer," "Rain."

BECK: Odelay (1996), "The New

Pollution."

BEE GEES: Best of Bee Gees

(1969) "To Love Somebody."

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Otto

Klemperer Live at the Concertgebouw

(1954), Symphony No. 9; Piano Sonatas Op. 109, 110, 111 (Sviatoslav

Richter; 1965); Symphony No. 7

(conductor: Carlos Kleiber; 1975);

Late Quartets (Budapest String

Quartet; 1997); Violin Concerto

(soloist: Yehudi Menuhin; 1997).

DEREK BELL: Derek Bell Plays

with Himself (1981).

TONY BENNETT and BILL EVANS:

The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album

(1975), `Some Other Time."

ALBAN BERG: Violin Concerto

(soloist: Anne-Sofie Mutter; 1993).

HECTOR BERLIOZ: Damnation

of Faust (conductor: John Eliot

Gardiner; 1987).

AGNES BERNELLE: Father's Lying

Dead on the Ironing Board (1995).

LEONARD BERNSTEIN: West Side

Story (1957).

CHUCK BERRY: Chuck Berry's

Golden Decade (1967), "Don't Lie

to Me."

BJÖRK: Debut (1993), "Venus as a

Boy"; Post (1995), "Hyper-ballad."

RUBÉN BLADES: Buscando

America (1984).

BOBBY BLUE BLAND: Two Steps

from the Blues (1961).

BLONDIE: The Best of Blondie

(1981), "In the Flesh."

BLUR: 13 (1999), "No Distance

Left to Run."

DIRK BOGARDE: Lyrics for Lovers

(1960) "A Foggy Day."

DAVID BOWIE: Hunky Dory

(1971), "Life on Mars?"; Station to

Station (1976), "Wild Is the Wind";

Low (1977), "Always Crashing in

the Same Car"; Heroes (1977).

"Joe the Lion."

JOHANNES BRAHMS: Ein

Deutsches Requiem (conductor:

Otto Klemperer; 1962).

JOHNNY BRISTOL: Hang On in

There Baby (1974).

BENJAMIN BRITTEN: Serenade

for Tenor, Horn and Strings (soloist:

Ian Bostridge; 1996).

CHARLES BROWN: Driftin' Blues:

The Best of Charles Brown (1992),

"Black Night."

CLIFFORD BROWN: Clifford Brown

with Strings (1955), "Yesterdays."

JAMES BROWN: Live at the Apollo

(1963), "I Found Someone";

Star Time (boxed set; 1991),

"Talkin' Loud & Sayin' Nothing."

JACKSON BROWNE: Jackson

Browne (Saturate Before Using)

(1972), "My Opening Farewell."

ANTON BRUCKNER: Symphony

No. 9 (conductor: Gunter Wand;

1990).

JEFF BUCKLEY: Grace (1994),

"Corpus Christi Carol."

HAROLD BUDD and BRIAN

ENO: Ambient 2: The Plateaux of

Mirror (1980), "Above Chiangmai."

BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD:

Retrospective: The Best of Buffalo

Springfield (1969), "Expecting to Fly."

BULGARIAN STATE RADIO &

TELEVISION FEMALE CHOIR: Le

Mystere des Voix Bulgares (1990).

T BONE BURNETT: Proof

Through the Night (1983), "Fatally

Beautiful"; T Bone Burnett (1986),

"River of Love"; The Talking

Animals (1988), "Image."

THE BYRDS: Younger than Yesterday

(1967). "So You Want to Be a Rock

`n' Roll Star"; The Notorious Byrd

Brothers (1968), "Goin' Back,"

"Artificial Energy"; Sweetheart of the

Rodeo (1968), "Hickory Wind."

JOHN CALE: Music for a New

Society (1982), "Taking Your Life

in Your Hands."

MARIA CALLAS: Five Heroines-

Operatic Extracts (1990), "Vissi

d'arte."

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND HIS

MAGIC BAND: Trout Mask Replica

(1969), "The Dust Blows Forward

'n' the Dust Blows Back"; Clear Spot

(1972) "Big Eyed Beans from Venus."

HOAGY CARMICHAEL:

Hoagy Sings Carmichael (1956),

"Rockin' Chair."

JAMES CARR: At the Dark End

of the Street (1987), "Pouring

Water on a Drowning Man."

JOHNNY CASH: The Essential

Johnny Cash (1992), "I Still Miss

Someone."

JUNE CARTER CASH: Press On

(1999), "Tiffany Anastasia Lowe."

RAY CHARLES: Modern Sounds in

Country and Western Music (1962),

"You Don't Know Me"; A Life in

Music (1982), "I Believe to My

Soul," "Just for a Thrill."

CHIC: Chic's Greatest Hits (1979),

"My Forbidden Lover."

FRÉDÉRlC CHOPIN: Piano

Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (pianist,

conductor: Krystian Zimerman;

1978).

THE CLASH: London Calling

(1979), "Rudie Can't Fail";

The Singles (1991), "(White Man)

In the Hammersmith Palais."

PATSY CLINE: Greatest Hits

(1973), "Sweet Dreams."

THE COASTERS: The Ultimate

Coasters (1986) "Shoppin' for

Clothes."

LEONARD COHEN: The Best of

Leonard Cohen (1976), "Who by

Fire"; More Best Of (1997), "The

Future," "Tower of Song."

ORNETTE COLEMAN: The Shape

of Jazz to Come (1959), "Peace."

JOHN COLTRANE: My Favorite

Things (1961) "Every Time We Say

Goodbye"; The Impulse! Years

(1993), "A Love Supreme."

RY COODER: Paradise and Lunch

(1974), "Married Man's a Fool."

SAM COOKE: Night Beat (1963),

"Get Yourself Another Fool."

DON COVAY: Checkin' In with

Don Covay (1989), "It's Better to

Have than Not Have."

NO�L COWARD: The Master's

Voice: His HMV Recordings (1993),

"The Stately Homes of England."

BING CROSBY: His Legendary

Years (1993), "Gigi."

DAVID CROSBY: If I Could Only

Remember My Name (1971),

"Laughing."

CROSBY, STILLS, NASH &

YOUNG: D éjà Vu (1970) "Helpless."

CROWDED HOUSE: Temple of

Low Men (1988), "Into Temptation."

D'ANGELO: Voodoo (2000),

"Devil's Pie."

MILES DAVIS: Birth of the Cool

(1956), "Boplicity"; Miles Ahead

(1957) "My Ship"; Porgy and Bess

(1958), "Bess, You Is My Woman

Now"; Kind of Blue (1959) "All

Blues"; Sketches of Spain (1960);

My Funny Valentine (1964); In a

Silent Way (1969), "Shhh"; On the

Corner (1969), "New York Girl."

MILES DAVIS and STAN GETZ

and LEE KONITZ: Conception

(1975), "Ezz-thetic."



CLAUDE DEBUSSY: Pell é as et

M é lisande (conductor: Claudio

Abbado; 1992); Preludes (Krystian

Zimerman; 1994).

ALFRED DELLER: William Byrd and

His Age (1956), "Ye Sacred Muses."

DESTINY'S CHILD: The Writing's

on the Wall (1999), "Say My Name."

BO DIDDLEY: His Best (1997),

"Crackin' Up."

DR. JOHN: Dr. John's Gumbo

(1972), "Junko Partner."

ERIC DOLPHY: Outward Bound

(1960), "G.W."; Iron Man (1969),

"Come Sunday.

LEE DORSEY: Ride Your Pony

(1966), "Get out of My Life,

Woman," "Wonder Woman"; Yes

We Can (1970), "Tears, Tears and

More Tears."

JOHN DOWLAND: Awake Sweet

Love (The Deller Consort; 1965),

"Flow My Tears"; Dowland: The

Collected Works (Consort of Musicke;

1980), A Pilgrimes Solice.

JOHN DOWLAND and

WILLIAM BYRD: Night's Black

Bird (Fretwork; 1989).

HENRI DUPARC: Melodies (baritone:

Bernard Kruysen; 1971), "Phidyle."

JIMMY DURANTE: September

Song (1963).

IAN DURY: New Boots and Panties!!

(1977), "Sweet Gene Vincent."

DYKE AND THE BLAZERS: So

Sharp (1983).

BOB DYLAN: Bringing It All Back

Home (1965), "Subterranean

Homesick Blues"; Blonde on

Blonde (1966), "Most Likely You

Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine";

John Wesley Harding (1968), "All

Along the Watchtower"; Planet

Waves (1974), "Dirge"; Blood on

the Tracks (1974), ,"You're a Big

Girl Now"; The Basement Tapes

(1975), "Nothing Was Delivered";

Shot of Love (1981) "Every Grain

of Sand"; Time out of Mind (1997),

"Not Dark Yet"; Bob Dylan Live

1966: The "Royal Albert Hall"

Concert (1998), "Like a Rolling

Stone," "I Don't Believe You."

EDWARD ELGAR: Symphony

No. 1 (conductor: Edward Elgar;

1957); Cello Concerto (Jacqueline

Du Pr é ; 1965).

DUKE ELLINGTON: Anatomy of

a Murder (1959), "Haupe"; . . . And

His Mother Called Him Bill (1968),

"Blood Count"; The Centennial

Edition: The Complete RCA Victor

Recordings (boxed set; 1999),

"East St. Louis Toodle-oo," "In a

Sentimental Mood," "Tonk"

DUKE ELLINGTON with

CHARLES MINGUS and MAX

ROACH: Money Jungle (1962)

"Wig Wise."

EMINEM: The Marshall Mathers

LP (2000) "The Way I Am."

THE BILL EVANS TRIO: Waltz for

Debby (1961), "Waltz for Debby."

THE GIL EVANS ORCHESTRA:

Out of the Cool (1960), "Where

Flamingos Fly."

THE EVERLY BROTHERS: It's Everly

Time (1960), "Sleepless Nights."

THE FAIRFIELD FOUR: I Couldn't

Hear Nobody Pray (1997), "There

Must Be a City."

MARIANNE FAITHFULL: Blazing

Away (1990), "Strange Weather."

GEORGIE FAME: Sound Venture

(1966), "Funny How Time

Slips Away."

GABRIEL FAURÉ: L'Horizon

Chim é rique (baritone: Gerard

Souzay; 1999).

MORTON FELDMAN: Madame

Press Died Last Week at Ninety

(1991) (conductor on "American

Elegies": John Adams).

ELLA FITZGERALD: Ella

Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter

Songbook (1956), "Miss Otis

Regrets."

ELLA FITZGERALD and LOUIS

ARMSTRONG: The Complete Ella

Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong on

Verve (1997), "Let's Do It."

FLEETWOOD MAC: Greatest Hits

(1971), "Man of the World."

THE FLYING BURRITO

BROTHERS: The Gilded Palace of

Sin (1969), "Juanita."

THE FOUR TOPS: Anthology

(1974) "Bernadette," "Seven

Rooms of Gloom."

ARETHA FRANKLIN: I Never

Loved a Man the Way I Love You

(1967), "Do Right Woman-Do

Right Man," "Dr. Feelgood (Love

Is a Serious Business)," "Soul

Serenade," etc., etc.; Aretha's Gold

(1969), "I Say a Little Prayer,"

"Chain of Fools," "(You Make Me

Feel Like) A Natural Woman";

Amazing Grace (1972).

BILL FRISELL: Quartet (1996),

"Egg Radio."

FUGEES: The Score (1996),

"Ready or Not."

FUNKADELIC: One Nation Under

a Groove (1978).

MARVIN GAYE: Super Hits

(1970), "The End of Our Road";

What's Going On (1971); Let's Get

It On (1973); Here, My Dear (1979),

"When Did You Stop Loving Me,

When Did I Stop Loving You."

MARVIN GAYE and TAMMI

TERRELL: Greatest Hits (1970),

"You Ain't Livin' till You're Lovin'."

STAN GETZ: Stan Getz Plays

(1952), "Stella by Starlight."

STAN GETZ and ASTRID

GILBERTO: Getz/Gilberto (1963),

"Desafinado (Off Key)."

DIZZY GILLESPIE: Perceptions

(1961), "The Sword of Orion."

ALLEN GINSBERG: The Lion for

Real (1989).

GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION:

Release Yourself (1974)

GRANDMASTER FLASH

AND THE FURIOUS FIVE and

THE SUGAR HILL GANG:

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious

Five vs. the Sugar Hill Gang (1997),

"The Message."

GRATEFUL DEAD: Workingman's

Dead (1970), "Dire Wolf";

American Beauty (1970), "Box

of Rain"; Europe '72 (1972),

"Tennessee Jed"; Wake of the Flood

(1973), "Stella Blue."

AL GREEN: Call Me (1973); You

Say It! Raw! Rare! and Unreleased!

(1990), "I'm a Ram."

EDVARD GRIEG: Lieder (soloist:

Anne Sofie von Otter; 1993),

"Haugtussa."

CHARLES HADEN and HANK

JONES: Steal Away (1995), "Hymn

Medley: Abide with Me, etc."

MERLE HAGGARD: The Best of

the Best of (1972), "No Reason to

Quit."

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL:

Marian Cantatas (mezzo-soprano:

Anne Sofie von Otter; 1994);

Heroes (countertenor: Andreas

Scholl; 1999), "Ombra mai fu"

from Serse.

TIM HARDIN: Tim Hardin (1966),

"Hang On to a Dream."

SLIM HARPO: The Best of Slim

Harpo (1997), "I'm a King Bee."

EMMYLOU HARRIS: Elite Hotel

(1976), "One of These Days."

PJ HARVEY: Rid of Me (1993),

"50 Ft. Queenie."

COLEMAN HAWKINS: Body and

Soul (1988); Rainbow Mist (1993),

"Yesterdays."

JOSEPH HAYDN: Complete

Piano Sonatas (Alfred Brendel;

1987); String Quartets (Quatuor

Mosaïques; 1990).

TUBBY HAYES: Tubby's Groove

(1959), "Embers."

RICHARD HELL AND THE

VOIDOIDS: Blank Generation

(1977), "New Pleasure."

JIMI HENDRIX: Smash Hits (1968),

"Wind Cries Mary"; Electric

Ladyland (1968), "Crosstown

Traffic"; Live at Woodstock (1994),

"Star Spangled Banner."

THE HEPTONES: Night Food

(1976). "I've Got the Handle."

DAN HICKS AND HIS HOT

LICKS: Last Train to Hicksville . . .

the Home to Happy Feet (1973),

"It's Not My Time to Go."

LAURYN HILL: The Miseducation

of Lauryn Hill (1998), "Ex-Factor."

JOHNNY HODGES: Passion

Flower (1995), "Day Dream."

BILLIE HOLIDAY: Lady in Satin

(1958), "Glad to Be Unhappy,"

"I'm a Fool to Want You"; The

Billie Holiday Story (1972), "The

Man I Love," "Body and Soul";

The Complete Decca Recordings

(1991), "Don't Explain."

THE HOLLIES: The Best of the

Hollies (1978), "Look Through

Any Window."

HOWLIN' WOLF: His Best (1997),

"Hidden Charms."

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Super

Hits (1976), "Behind a Painted

Smile."

CHARLES IVES: The Unanswered

Question for Orchestra (conductor:

Leonard Bernstein; 1998).

JACKSON 5: Greatest Hits (1971),

"I Want You Back."

THE JAM: All Mod Cons (1978).

SKIP JAMES: The Complete Early

Recordings of Skip James (1994),

"Devil Got My Woman."

LEO� JAN�CEK: String Quartets

(Talich Quartet; 1994).

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE: Crown of

Creation (1968), "Greasy Heart."

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN:

Psychocandy (1985), "You Trip Me

Up."

ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM: Jazz

Masters 13 (1995), "Insensatez."

LITTLE WILLIE JOHN: Free at

Last (1970), "Leave My Kitten

Alone," "Need Your Love So Bad."

ROBERT JOHNSON: Complete

Recordings (1990), "Love in Vain."

GEORGE JONES: Anniversary:

Ten Years of Hits (1982), "The

Grand Tour"; Cup of Loneliness:

The Classic Mercury Years (1994),

"Mr. Fool," "Window Up Above,"

"Relief Is Just a Swallow Away."



OUM KALTSOUM: Anthologie de

la Musique Arabe, Vols. 1-8 (1989).

THE KINKS: The Ultimate Collection

(1989), "Waterloo Sunset," "Dead

End Street," "Where Have All

the Good Times Gone?"

RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK:

The Inflated Tear (1968).

ERICH KORNGOLD: From the

Operas of Erich Korngold (1993),

"Gl�ck das Mir Verblieb" from

Die Tote Stadt (conductor: Erich

Korngold).

THE LA'S: The La's (1990), "There

She Goes."

PEGGY LEE: Miss Peggy Lee

(1998), "Don't Smoke in Bed."

JOHN LENNON: Plastic Ono

Band (1970), "I Found Out";

Imagine (1971), "How?"; Shaved

Fish (1975), "Instant Karma!"

ALAN JAY LERNER AND

FREDERICK LOEWE: My Fair

Lady (1956), "I've Grown

Accustomed to Her Face"; Gigi

(1958), "I'm Glad I'm Not Young

Anymore."

JERRY LEE LEWIS: Rockin' My

Life Away (1991), "Rita Mae,"

"Don't Let Go."

LITTLE FEAT: Sailin' Shoes (1972),

"Willin'"; Feats Don't Fail Me Now

(1974), "Rock and Roll Doctor."

LITTLE RICHARD: Here's Little

Richard (1957), "Slippin' and

Slidin' (Peepin' and Hidin')"; The

Explosive Little Richard (1967),

"Commandments of Love."

THE LOUVIN BROTHERS: When

I Stop Dreaming: The Best of the

Louvin Brothers (1995), "My

Baby's Gone."

THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL:

Anthology (1990), "Six O'Clock."

NICK LOWE: Jesus of Cool (1978),

"36 Inches High"; The Impossible

Bird (1994), "Shelley My Love."

DONAL LUNNY: Donal Lunny

(1987), "Declan."

LORETTA LYNN: The Best of Loretta

Lynn (1999), "One's on the Way."

MACHITO AND HIS

AFRO-CUBANS: Cubop City

(1992), "Si Si, No No."

MADNESS: The Rise and Fall

(1982), "Tomorrow's Just

Another Day."

GUSTAV MAHLER: Symphony

No. 1 (conductor: Klaus Tennstedt;

1968): "Kindertotenlieder & Lieder

Eines Fahrenden Gesellen."

THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS:

A Gathering of Flowers (1970),

"I Saw Her Again Last Night."

AIMEE MANN: Whatever (1993),

"4th of July."

BOB MARLEY AND THE

WAILERS: African Herbsman

(1972), "Small Axe"; Natty Dread

(1975), "Lively Up Yourself."

THE MARVELETTES: The Return

of the Marvelettes (1970), "No

More Tear-Stained Make-Up."

GROUCHO MARX: An Evening

with Groucho (1972), "Lydia, the

Tattooed Lady."

MASSIVE ATTACK: Protection

(1994), "Karmacoma." ,

MATCHING MOLE: Matching

Mole (1972), "0 Caroline."

CURTIS MAYFIELD: The Very Best

of Curtis Mayfield (1996), "Move On

Up," "(Don't Worry) If There's a

Hell Below We're All Going to Go."

CURTIS MAYFIELD and

THE IMPRESSIONS: The Anthology

1961-1977 (1992), "Keep on

Pushing," "I'm So Proud."

PAUL MCCARTNEY: McCartney

(1970), "Maybe I'm Amazed";

Flaming Pie (1997), "Little Willow."

KATE AND ANNA

McGARRIGLE: Kate and Anna

McGarrigle (1975), "Go Leave."

TOMMY McLAIN: The Essential

Collection (1997), "Sweet Dreams."

THE METERS: The Best of the

Meters (1975), "Cissy Strut."

MINA: Gli Anni d'Oro (1984),

"Un Bacio e Troppo Poco."

CHARLES MINGUS: Blues and

Roots (1959); Mingus Ah-Urn

(1959), "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat";

Pre-Bird (also known as Mingus

Revisited) (1960), "Weird

Nightmare"; Mingus at Antibes

(1960), "What Love?"; Mingus

Plays Piano (1963), "Myself When

I Am Real"; Let My .Children Hear

Music (1971), "Don't Be Afraid,

the Clown's Afraid Too"; Epitaph

(1990), "The Children's Hour

of Dream."

JONI MITCHELL: Blue (1971),

"The Last Time I Saw Richard";

For the Roses (1972), "Cold Blue

Steel and Sweet Fire"; Court and

Spark (1974), "Down to You"; The

Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975),

"Shades of Scarlet Conquering";

Hejira (1976), "Amelia"; Taming the

Eger (1998), "Man from Mars,"

"Stay in Touch."

THE MODERN LOVERS: The

Modern Lovers (1976), "Pablo

Picasso," "Someone to Care About."

THELONIOUS MONK: Genius

of Modern Music, Vol. 1 (1951),

"Off Minor"; Brilliant Corners

(1957); Monk's Music (1958),

"Abide with Me," "Off Minor."

BILL MONROE: The Music of Bill

Monroe (1994), "Walls of Time."

CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI:

L'Incoronazione di Poppea

(conductor: John Eliot Gardiner;

1993).

MOONDOG: The Story of

Moondog (1957).

VAN MORRISON: Astral Weeks

(1968), "Beside You"; Moondance

(1970), "Into the Mystic";

His Band and Street Choir (1970),

"Street Choir"; Veedon Fleece

(1974), "Linden Arden Stole

the Highlights."

JELLY ROLL MORTON: Birth

of the Hot (1995), "Dead Man

Blues," "Wolverine Blues."

THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION:

We're Only in It for the Money

(1968), "Who Needs the Peace

Corps?"

THE MOVE: The Best of the Move

(1974), "Blackberry Way."

WOLFGANG AMADEUS

MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 20

(pianist: Clifford Curzon; 1970);

Requiem (conductor: John Eliot

Gardiner; 1986); Quartets Dedicated

to Haydn (Quatuor Mosaïques;

1991); La Clemenza di Tito

(conductor: John Eliot Gardiner;

1993); Le Nozze di Figaro

(conductor: Karl Bohm; 1993).

MODEST MUSSORGSKY: Songs

and Dances of Death (soloist: Sergei

Leiferkus; 1995).

ROY NATHANSON: Fire at

Keaton's Bar and Grill (2000),

"Bend in the Night."

OLIVER NELSON: The Blues and

the Abstract Truth (1961), "Stolen

Moments"; Straight Ahead (1961),

"Images."

WILLIE NELSON: Stardust (1978),

"Moonlight in Vermont."

BOB NEUWIRTH: Back to the

Front (1988), "Annabelle Lee."

AARON NEVILLE: Greatest Hits

(1990), "Tell It Like It Is."



RANDY NEWMAN: Randy

Newman (1968), "Cowboy"; Sail

Away (1972); Good Old Boys

(1974); Trouble in Paradise (1983).

"Real Emotional Girl."

NEW YORK DOLLS: New York

Dolls (1973), "Personality Crisis."

NIRVANA: Nevermind (1991),

"Lithium."

LUIGI NONO: Fragmente-Stille an

Diotima (LaSalle Quartet; 1983).

NRBQ: NRBQ (1969), "Rocket #9."

LAURA NYRO and LABELLE:

Gonna Take a Miracle (1971),

"The Bells."

ROY ORBISON: The Orbison Way

(1966), "Crawling Back."

AUGUSTUS PABLO: El Rockers

(2000), "Black Gunn."

GIOVANNI PALESTRINA: Missa

Viri Galilaei (direction: Philippe

Herreweghe; 1992).

CHARLIE PARKER: The Complete

Savoy Studio Sessions (19781.

"Ko-Ko."

VAN DYKE PARKS: Discover

America (1972), "Jack Palance."

GRAM PARSONS: GP (1973),

"We'll Sweep Out the Ashes in the

Morning"; Grievous Angel (1974),

"Hearts on Fire."

ANN PEEBLES: I Can't Stand the

Rain (1974).

DAN PENN: Nobody's Fool (1973),

"Raining in Memphis."

DAN PENN AND SPOONER

OLDHAM: Moments from This

Theater (1999), "It Tears Me Up."

SAM PHILLIPS: Martinis and

Bikinis (1994), "Same Rain."

THE POGUES: Rum, Sodomy

& the Lash (1985), "The Old Main

Drag," "I'm a Man You Don't

Meet Every Day."

DULCE PONTES: Caminhos

(1998), "0 Infante."

IGGY POP: The Idiot (1977),

"Nightclubbin'"; Lust for Life

(1977), "Some Weird Sin."

PORTISHEAD: Dummy (1994),

"Sour Times," "Glory Box";

Portishead (1997), "Western Eyes."

FRANCIS POULENC: Melodies

(baritone: Pierre Bernac; 1950),

"Hotel."

BUD POWELL: The Best of Bud

Powell on Verve (1994), "April in

Paris."

ELVIS PRESLEY: The Sun Sessions

(1976), "Blue Moon of Kentucky";

The Memphis Album (1987),

"Power of My Love."

PRETENDERS: Pretenders (1980),

"Kid," "Precious"; The Singles

(1987), "Message of Love."

PRINCE: Around the World in a

Day (1985), "Pop Life"; Parade

(1986), "Kiss"; Sign of the Times

(1987), "If I Was Your Girlfriend."

JOHN PRINE: John Prine (1972),

"Sam Stone."

SERGEY PROKOFIEV: Romeo and

Juliet (conductor: Charles Dutoit;

1998).

PULP: Different Class (1995),

"Sorted Out for E's and Wiz."

HENRY PURCELL: Dido and

Aeneas (Dido: Dame Janet Baker;

1993); Fantasias & in Nomines

(Fretwork, 1995).

RADIOHEAD: The Bends (1995),

"The Bends"; O.K. Computer

(1997), "No Surprises."

BONNIE RAITT: Give It Up (1972),

"Love Has No Pride."

OTIS REDDING: The Vevy Best of

Otis Redding (1992), "Mr. Pitiful."

JIMMY REED: The Best of Jimmy

Reed (1962), "Take Out Some

Insurance on Me Baby."

LOU REED: Berlin (1973), "The

Kids."

R.E.M.: Reckoning (1984), "Pretty

Persuasion"; Green (1988), "Orange

Crush."

THE REPLACEMENTS: All Shook

Down (1990), "Nobody."

MARC RIBOT: Marc Ribot y 10s

Cubanos Postizos (1998), "No Me

Llores Mas."

CHARLIE RICH: Feel Like Going

Home: The Essential Charlie Rich

(1997), "A Woman Left Lonely."

JEANNIE ROBERTSON: The

Queen Among the Heather (1998),

"Son David."

SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE

MIRACLES: The Anthology (1973),

"Going to A-Go-Go."

THE ROLLING STONES:

Aftermath (1966), "Stupid Girl,"

"Take It or Leave It": Between the

Buttons (1967), "My Obsession";

Let It Bleed (1969); "You Can't

Always Get What You Want";

Some Girls (1978), "Shattered."

SONNY ROLLINS: Saxophone

Colossus (1964), "St. Thomas."

DIANA ROSS AND THE

SUPREMES: The Ultimate

Collection (1997), "Reflections,"

"I'm Living in Shame."

GIOACCHINO ROSSINI: Rossini

Arias (mezzo-soprano: Cecilia

Bartoli; 1989), "Assisa a piè d'un

salice."

OTIS RUSH: His Cobra Recordings

(1989), "It Takes Time."

GEORGE RUSSELL: The Jazz

Workshop (1956), "Ye Hypocrite,

Ye Beelzebub."

SALT'N PEPA: The Best of Salt'N

Pepa (1999), "Whatta Man."

SAM AND DAVE: The Best of

Sam and Dave (1969), "When

Something Is Wrong with My Baby."

FRANZ SCHUBERT: B-flat Major

Piano Sonata, D. 960 (Alfred

Brendel; 1971); F-sharp Minor

Piano Sonata (fragment), D. 571

(Andras Schiff; 1993); Winterreise

(Wolfgang Holzmair; 1996); 22

Lieder (boxed set; 1997), Dietrich

Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald

Moore, "Meerestille."

JIMMY SCOTT: Heaven (1996).

RAYMOND SCOTT: Reckless

Nights and Turkish Twilights (1992);

Manhattan Research Inc. (2000),

"Limbo: The Organized Mind."

ANDRES SEGOVIA: Andres

Segovia and His Contemporaries,

Vol. 6 (1999) (Maria Luisa Anido:

Bouree BWV l009, J. S. Bach).

THE SEX PISTOLS: Never Mind

the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols

(1977), "Pretty Vacant."

RON SEXSMITH: Ron Sexsmith

(1995), "Wastin' Time."

DMITRY SHOSTAKOVICH: Cello

Concerto No. 1 (cellist: Mstislav

Rostropovich; 1959); The String

Quartets (Brodsky Quartet; 1991);

24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87

(pianist: Tatiana Nikolayeva; 1995);

Shostakovich Plays Shostakovieh,

Cello Sonata, Op. 40 (cellist: Mstislav

Rostropovich; pianist: Dmitry

Shostakovich; 1998); Symphony No.

14 (soloists: Dietrich Fischer-

Dieskau and Julia Varady; 2000).

PAUL SIMON: Paul Simon (1972),

"Congratulations," "Peace Like a

River"; There Goes Rhymin' Simon

(1973), "American Tune."

SIMON AND GARFUNKEL:

Bookends (1968), "Overs."

NINA SIMONE: The Best of Nina

Simone (1969), "Mississippi

Goddam," "I Loves You, Porgy."

FRANK SINATRA: In the Wee

Small Hours (1955), "Dancing on

the Ceiling," "When Your Lover

Has Gone"; Songs for Swingin'

Lovers (1956), "I've Got You Under

My Skin"; Only the Lonely (1958),

"Good-bye"; No One Cares (1959),

"I Can't Get Started"; Live in Paris

(1962), "Without a Song."

FRANK SINATRA and ANTONIO

CARLOS JOBIM: Francis Albert

Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim

(1967), "How Insensitive."

PERCY SLEDGE: When a Man

Loves a Woman (1967), "Out of

Left Field."

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE:

Anthology (1981), "Stand!,"

"Family Affair."

THE SMALL FACES: The Immediate

Years (1995), "Itchycoo Park."

ELLIOTT SMITH: XO (1998),

"Waltz #2."

THE SMITHS: The Smiths (1984),

"Still Ill."

SON VOLT: Trace (1995), "Loose

String."

THE SPECIALS: The Specials

(1979), "Blank Expression."

PHIL SPECTOR: Back to Mono

(1991), the Crystals, "He's Sure the

Boy I Love."

THE SPINNERS: The Best of the

Spinners (1978), "Rubberband

Man."



DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: Dusty in

Memphis (1969), "I Don't Want to

Hear It Anymore," "Just One

Smile"; Greatest Hits (1979), "I

Close My Eyes and Count to Ten."

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: The Wild,

the Innocent and the E Street

Shuffle (1973). "The E Street

Shuffle"; The River (1980), "Point

Blank"; Tunnel of Love (1987),

"Brilliant Disguise"; The Ghost of

Tom Joad (1995) "Galveston Bay."

SQUEEZE: East Side Story (1981),

"A Woman's World."

THE STANLEY BROTHERS:

The Complete Columbia Stanley

Brothers (1996), "Gathering

Flowers for the Master's Bouquet."

STEELY DAN: Countdown to Ecstasy

(1973), "Show Biz Kids."

ROD STEWART: The Mercury

Anthology (1992), "You Wear It

Well."

RICHARD STRAUSS: Der

Rosenkavalier (conductor: Carlos

Kleiber; 1934); Four Last Songs

(soloist: Gundula Janowitz; 1996).

IGOR STRAVINSKY: L'Histoire du

Soldat (conductor: Stravinsky;

1938); Le Sacre du Printemps

(conductor: Leonard Bernstein;

1958); Igor Stravinsky Edition

(conductor: Stravinsky; 1963).

THE STYLISTICS: The Best of the

Stylistics (1975), "People Make

the World Go `Round."

JUNE TABOR: Abyssinians (1983),

"A Smiling Shore."

HOWARD TATE: Get It While

You Can (1967), "I Learned It All

the Hard Way."

ART TATUM: 20th Century Piano

Genius (1992), "Love for Sale."

JOHNNIE TAYLOR: Raw Blues

(1968), "That's Where It's At."

TELEVISION: Marquee Moon

(1977), "See No Evil."

THE TEMPTATIONS: Anthology

(1973), "Just My Imagination,"

"Ball of Confusion."

JOE TEX: The Best of Joe Tex

(1965), "Love You Save (May Be

Your Own)."

THEM: The Story of Them (1997),

"Don't Look Back."

IRMA THOMAS: Ruler of Hearts

(1989).

RICHARD AND LINDA

THOMPSON: I Want to See the

Bright Lights Tonight (1974),

"Calvary Cross."

HENRY THREADGILL: Easily Slip

into Another World (1987) "Black

Hands Bejewelled."

T.L.C.: Fanmail (1999), "Unpretty."

MEL TORME: Easy to Remember

(1979), "They Didn't Believe Me."

TRIBE CALLED QUEST: Anthology

(1999), "Check the Rhime."

TRICKY: Maxinquaye (1995),

"Overcome."

LENNIE TRISTANO: The New

Tristano (1960), "Requiem," "Line

Up," "Turkish Mambo."

BIG JOE TURNER: The Very Best

of Big Joe Turner (1998), "Honey

Hush."

U2: The Unforgettable Fire (1984),

"Pride (In the Name of Love),"

"Bad"; Achtung Baby (1991),

"One"; Pop (1997), "Please."

THE UNDERTONES: The

Undertones (1980) "Teenage Kicks."

VELVET UNDERGROUND: The

Velvet Underground & Nico (1966),

"Femme Fatale."

THE VERVE: Urban Hymns (1997),

"The Drugs Don't Work," "Neon

Wilderness."

ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER:

Wings in the Night (1996), "De

Vilda Svanarna."

RICHARD WAGNER: Tristan and

Isolde (conductor: Wilhelm

Furtwangler; 1952); Der Ring des

Nibelungen (conductor: George

Solti; 1983).

PORTER WAGONER AND

DOLLY PARTON: The Right

Combination: Burning the Midnight

Oil (1972), "Her and the Car

and the Mobile Home."

TOM WAITS: Swordfishtrombones

(1983), "16 Shells from a Thirty-

Ought-Six," "In the Neighborhood";

Rain Dogs (1985), "Jockey Full of

Bourbon," "Time"; Frank's Wild

Years ( 1987). "Innocent When You

Dream," "Hang on St. Christopher";

Bone Machine (1992), "A Little

Rain," "I Don't Wanna Grow

Up"; Mule Variations (1999),

"Take It with Me," "Georgia Rae,"

"Filipino Box-Spring Hog."

SCOTT WALKER: Tilt (1995),

"Farmer in the City."

DIONNE WARWICK: The

Windows of the World (1968),

"Walk Little Dolly."

MUDDY WATERS: More Real

Folk Blues (1967), "Too Young to

Know."

DOC WATSON: The Essential Dot

Watson (1973), "Tom Dooley."

ANTON WEBERN: Complete

Works (conductor: Pierre Boulez;

2000).

KURT WEILL: 0 Moon of Alabama

(1994), Lotte Lenya, "Wie lange

noch?"

KENNY WHEELER with LEE

KONITZ, BILL FRISELL and DAVE

HOLLAND: Angel Song (1997).

THE WHO: My Generation (1965),

"The Kids Are Alright"; Meaty,

Beaty, Big and Bouncy (1971),

"Substitute."

HANK WILLIAMS: 40 Greatest

Hits (1978), "I'm So Lonesome

I Could Cry," "I'll Never Get out

of This World Alive."

LUCINDA WILLIAMS: Car

Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998),

"Drunken Angel."

SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON:

The Best of Sonny Boy Williamson

(1986), "Your Funeral and My

Trial," "Help Me."

JESSE WINCHESTER: Jesse

Winchester (1970), "Quiet About

It," "Black Dog," "Payday."

WINGS: Band on the Run (1973)

"Let Me Roll It."

HUGO WOLF: Lieder (soloist:

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; 2000),

"Alles Endet, Was Entstehet."

BOBBY WOMACK: The Best

of Bobby Womack (1992), "Harry

Hippie."

STEVIE WONDER: Talking Book

(1972) "I Believe (When I Fall

in Love It Will Be Forever)";

Innervisions (1973), "Living for the

City"; Fulfillingness' First Finale

(1974), "You Haven't Done Nothin'."

BETTY WRIGHT: The Best of

Betty Wright (1992), "Clean Up

Woman," "The Baby Sitter,"

"The Secretary."

ROBERT WYATT: Mid-Eighties

(1993), "Te Recuerdo Amanda."

LESTER YOUNG: Ultimate Lester

Young (1998), "The Man I Love."

NEIL YOUNG: Everybody Knows

This Is Nowhere (1969), "Down by

the River"; After the Goldrush

(1970), "Birds"; Time Fades Away

(1973), "Don't Be Denied";

On the Beach (1974), "Ambulance

Blues"; Freedom (1989), "The Ways

of Love"; Ragged Glory (1990),

"Fuckin' Up."

ZAMBALLARANA: Zamballarana

(1997), "Ventu."

S O U N D T R A C K S



Betty Blue (Gabriel Yared; 1986);

Big Night (Louis Prima et al.;

1996) Claudio Villa, "Stomelli

Amorisi"; The Harder They

Come (Jimmy Cliff; 1972),

"Many Rivers to Cross"; High

Society (Cole Porter; 1956),

Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby,

"Well Did You Evah?"; One

from the Heart (Tom Waits; 1982);

Torn Curtain (Bernard Herrmann;

1978); The Wood (1999),

Mystikal & Outkast, "Neck

uv da Woods."

V A R I O U S