We’re back with Volume 2 of AJ’s Favorite Albums!
At the beginning of the year, I did a list of some of my favorite albums. This article is a continuation of that list.
Keep in mind that this isn’t supposed to be a list of “the best” albums or anything, just a list of my personal favorites (hence the title). They’re also not in any real order, I’m just listing these as they come to me.
6. Hannicap Circus by Bizarre
I fucking love Bizarre.
The former D12 rapper never quite got out from under Eminem’s shadow, but he definitely made a valiant effort with his first solo studio album, Hannicap Circus.
Some would say early Eminem was known for his edge. Bizarre didn’t just take it to the edge, he drove off the edge at 100 MPH in a stolen car, then jumped out of the car and into the sloppiest swan dive you’ve ever seen. Seriously, the guy was (and still is) nuts. That’s why most people don’t like him, but it’s also why I do. Bizarre doesn’t give a fuck, he just goes apeshit on every track, rapping about things like impregnating his pitbull or licking the ass of transvestites taking shits.
Hannicap Circus is full of great tracks. Much like Eminem’s Slim Shady LP and Marshall Mathers LP, the album opens up with a “public service announcement” from Jeff Bass. It also includes a couple of skits, including a joke session between Bizarre and fellow Detroit rapper Fatt Father, as well as a parody of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
When performing with D12 the other rappers don’t really stand out, mostly because they’re standing next to Eminem (“My Band” is basically about this). With Hannicap Circus though, we finally get to see Bizarre fully in his element, exercising both his creativity and a sense of humor that’s, well, bizarre. My favorite track by far is “Bad Day”, a parody of Ice Cube’s classic “It Was a Good Day”. It’s fucking hilarious. Instead of Ice Cube’s positive and uplifting message about a good day he had, Bizarre raps about his bad day, which involved waking up with a fishing rod stuck to his ass, finding out that his best friend is gay, getting his ass whooped by cops, and getting made fun of for his yellow dirt bike. Instead of saying “Ice Cube’s a pimp”, the lights of Bizarre’s Goodyear blimp read “Bizarre ain’t shit”. It’s a funny and clever little parody that, in my opinion, should have gotten way more recognition.
Other favorite tracks of mine are “Rock Star” and “Hip Hop”, both of which were co-written with Em. “Rock Star” is a continuation of D12’s “My Band”, following Bizarre’s solo career after leaving “the band”. “Hip Hop” is about rap beef and how stupid and pointless it can be, and also the weapons charges Em caught.
Bizarre definitely isn’t for everyone though. He has an entire song about raping Justin Bieber and another one dissing Arby’s. I love this crazy surreal shit, it’s hilarious.
7. Storm Front by Billy Joel
Oh man, where do I even start with this one?
There’s so many great tracks on Storm Front that I don’t know where to begin.
If you were to ask anyone to name a random Billy Joel song off the top of their head, at least half would say “Piano Man”. The other half would say “We Didn’t Start the Fire”. “We Didn’t Start the Fire” may very well be my favorite Billy Joel song of all, so much that I remember being 10 years old and trying my hardest to memorize the lyrics. It’s also one of my go-tos for karaoke.
The title track “Storm Front” is good. There’s also “Downeaster Alexa”, a fisherman’s lament. But perhaps one of the most interesting tracks on the album is “Leningrad”.
“Leningrad” is the story of a clown that Billy and his family met while Billy was touring the Soviet Union in 1987. The clown, a man named Viktor, grew up in the Soviet Union after losing his father in the siege of Leningrad during World War 2. The song essentially tells the story of Viktor’s rough life, while contrasting it to Billy’s relatively comfortable American upbringing. The story told in “Leningrad” is profound and emotionally powerful, and only someone like Billy Joel could tell it while capturing that.
Billy Joel is great at telling meaningful stories with his music, it’s one of the best things about him, and it’s why he’s consistently one of my favorite musicians of all time.
8. Plastic Hearts by Miley Cyrus
I’ll give you a second to reread that one.
That’s right, I said Miley Cyrus.
Miley has come a long way since her days as pop star Hannah Montana, and Plastic Hearts encapsulates that.
As she’s aged, Miley’s voice has taken on a mezzo-soprano tone. This heavy tone has allowed Miley to evolve beyond bubblegum pop into a very talented and respectable performer. It’s also perfect for doing hard rock and metal. Need proof? Just listen to Miley’s cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”. She does the song a justice that you don’t really see in most covers. Even Tarja Turunen’s cover of “Unforgiven” pales in comparison.
Plastic Hearts appears to have been a transition point for Miley’s career. While there’s still some pop-ish songs on the album (from what I read, some tracks from an unreleased album were used), most of the album is primarily rock-based. There are some influences of her country roots in there, along with a bit of new wave. There’s even a sprinkle of punk rock thrown in, with Joan Jett making an appearance on the track “Bad Karma”. Stevie Nicks also makes an appearance on the track “Edge of Midnight”. And if that’s not enough, the album also includes Miley performing a live rendition of The Cranberries’ hit “Zombie”, in a cover that honestly sounds better than the original.
I enjoy it when artists step into other genres, and if Plastic Hearts is any indication I think that Miley Cyrus has a very bright future in rock ahead of her.
9. No Prayer for the Dying by Iron Maiden
I’ve been pretty vocal about my love for Iron Maiden over the years, and it all started with No Prayer for the Dying.
When I was still in high school, I would browse various internet forums. I kept seeing people talking about this awesome metal band called “Iron Maiden”. I wasn’t really much of a metalhead, so I had no idea they were in the top echelons of their genre.
Finally one day I had enough and decided it was time to check them out for myself.
I lived near a music store, so I went down there and looked at their selection of Iron Maiden albums. For reasons I don’t remember, the one that stood out the most was No Prayer for the Dying. I bought the CD and listened to it the next morning on my bus ride to school.
Holy fucking shit.
I was blown away at how awesome Iron Maiden sounded! I’d eventually go on to check out their entire discography, and they’d be in my top five favorite bands for a while (I don’t know if I’d still place them there today, maybe top ten now).
Maybe it’s just the memories associated with the album, but to this day it’s one of my favorite Maiden albums. Sure, Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind are great too, but No Prayer for the Dying has so many underrated gems. There’s “Holy Smoke”, a song about predatory preachers who make fortunes stoking hellfire. “Tailgunner” is sung from the perspective of a World War 2 fighter pilot. “The Assassin”, my favorite song from the whole album, is about an assassin stalking his prey. “Mother Russia” is a somber song about the tragedies of the Soviet Union and the hope of the Russian people after its collapse. The most popular track from the album, “Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter” is also really good too.
If you’re looking for an intro to Iron Maiden, I’d probably recommend Number of the Beast over this, but if you’re looking for some good lesser known Maiden, No Prayer for the Dying is the album you’ll want to listen to.
10. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is and always will be my go-to Beatles album, and it has everything to do with my childhood. Specifically, watching the Yellow Submarine movie.
Not only did I love the trippy animation (I still do), I also loved the music. While not all of Yellow Submarine‘s soundtrack was from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, what little main plot there was drew from the album. The Blue Meanies invade Pepperland, Pepperland’s version of The Beatles (who are called “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”) wear the famous Sgt. Pepper outfits, and towards the end of the movie they play the album’s title track and its subsequent song “With a Little Help From My Friends”. “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” is also played, and meshes well with the trippy animation. A couple other tracks from the album also appear in the Yellow Submarine movie, but I don’t want to turn this into a review of the movie so I’ll put that in my back pocket for a future article.
Pretty much every track on this album is great, and there’s a billion other sites out there that can break them down way better than I can (seriously, I think they have entire college courses dedicated to studying The Beatles). I legitimately don’t feel qualified enough to talk about the finer points of the album, so I’ll settle for saying that my favorite songs are “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”.
What always stood out to me the most though was the album cover. Entire thesis papers have been written on the symbolism of the album cover, so again, I’m not going to add to the collection. I just want to say that when I was younger I spent quite a bit of time figuring out everyone who was on the cover. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band has one of my favorite album covers of all time, there’s just so much going on here even without going into the deeper meanings of everything.
I also love the Sgt. Pepper outfits. They’re colorful and vibrant without being gaudy, and probably my favorite Beatles get-up. If someone says to me “Hey, we’re going as The Beatles for Halloween”, I’m showing up in Ringo’s classic pink dress uniform. For me, the Sgt. Pepper costumes are the most iconic Beatles outfits, and what I’ll usually think of when I think of the band.
I’m not going to pretend that Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is the best Beatles album ever released, nor will I try to speculate which album is. But the album is one of my favorites, and that’s what this whole list is about, right?