20 extraordinary albums turning 50 this year
By Jonathan Eig
18. Do Your Thing But Don’t Touch Mine by Goose Creek Symphony
Goose Creek began releasing albums in 1970. They put out a dozen or so new recordings over the next four decades, rotating through a lot of different players, without ever having much mainstream success. But their fans loved the blend of music they offered. Do Your Own Thing...begins with the funky "Teresa," with sax wailing the whole way through, before moving on to the title track – a bluegrass fiddle-driven hoedown.
They made their intentions crystal clear a bit later: “We like country music – We like rock and roll” before concluding with the song’s title “Everyone Wants to Boogie.” The album also features the joyful 18-minute “Saturday Night at the Grange” medley and the anthemic “Pick Up the Tempo,” which could comes straight from the hills in Ireland.
17. Sally Can’t Dance by Lou Reed
Reed had a complicated relationship with his fourth solo album. Well, maybe it wasn’t all that complicated. He professed to hate it. And according to those with him in the studio, he didn’t invest very much time and energy into the production. Despite that, it boasts some outstanding songs, like the funky “N Y Stars,” the jazzy “Animal Language,” and the harrowing, angry vitriolic pushback at the mental health establishment, “Kill Your Sons.” And he might not thought much of it, but the title track remains great fun.
He may have resented the success, since it was his most commercial solo album, selling better than genius works like Transformer and New York. Seems it was a blessing and a curse to be as freakishly gifted as Lou Reed was.
16. Tasty by Good Rats
They were legends in New York. They were almost completely unknown everywhere else. Tasty was their second album and probably their best chance to break into the mainstream. But it never really happened. So we just have to console ourselves with sensational pop songs like “Back to My Music” and “Fireball Express.” Peppi Marchello’s brilliant title track is a beautifully restrained comment on the band’s evolution.