CARLTON FLETCHER: Ten great albums that deserve a new listen

Bring over some of your old Motown records.

— Rod Stewart

Don’t know if it was a blast of nostalgia, boredom or just the call of the music that drew me to them in the first place, but I spent some time over the weekend going through my album collection, looking at those wonderful covers again and listening to some of the music that will always be part of the soundtrack of my life.

For some reason, a few of the vinyl discs stood out as somewhat forgotten classics in this age of instantly forgettable pop music that is released with about a two-week use-by date.

In no particular order:

— SONGS FOR BEGINNERS by Graham Nash. Top tracks: Military Madness; Wounded Bird; I Used to Be a King; Chicago. Easily the sweetest voice of the powerhouse Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young quartet, this 1971 solo work is amazing, start to finish. CSNY fans will claim “Chicago,” one of the band’s staples, but Nash’s solo version gives it a little more passion. He was joined on this album by, among others, Phil Lesh and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead and Dave Mason.

— SAVE THE DANCER by Gene Cotton. Top tracks: Like a Sunday in Salem; She’s Sweet, She’s Somebody; You’re a Part of Me; Save the Dancer. Cotton had a couple of minor hits, particularly “You’re a Part of Me,” on which Kim Carnes dueted, but he never won the acclaim that some of his softer-rock contemporaries (Paul Davis, Dan Hill, England Dan & John Ford Coley) did. This 1978 LP, though, is him at his best, particularly on the title track and “Sunday in Salem.”

— THE WORLD IS A GHETTO by War. Top tracks: The Cisco Kid; The World Is a Ghetto; City, County, State; Four-Cornered Room. War never received their just due, but use of many of their early ’70s hits (“Cisco Kid,” “Low Rider,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends”) in current movies and even TV ads (yes, that’s “Low Rider” playing over that idiotic Crestor spot and “Why Can’t We Be Friends” promoting Pepsi) shows the band’s staying power. With Lee Oskar on harmonica, 1972’s “Ghetto” is a perfect blend of rock, Latin rhythms and jazz.

— ANGEL CLARE by Art Garfunkel. Top tracks: All I Know; Another Lullaby; Old Man; Barbara Allen. The most beautiful voice in rock music shows that he can do just fine, thank you, even without the genius of longtime partner Paul Simon. “All I Know” and “Lullaby” have to rank among the most hauntingly lovely songs ever recorded. J.J. Cale, Jerry Gracia and Garfunkel’s aforementioned partner all contributed to this 1973 gem.

— CALL ME by Al Green. Top tracks: Here I Am (Come and Take Me); Jesus Is Waiting; Call Me; You Ought to Be With Me. This 1973 classic captures the Rev. Al at the height of his soulful power. He was, at the time, caught between the worlds of the secular and the spiritual, but he bridges them quite well, especially with “Jesus Is Waiting.”

— SUN SECRETS by The Eric Burden Band. Top tracks: Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood; Ring of Fire; It’s My Life; When I Was Young. Fans of Burden’s former band, the way underrated Animals, will recognize classic titles like “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and “It’s My Life.” But they won’t immediately recognize the guitar-fueled rocking version of the songs on this LP, nor will they believe how Burden reimagines Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” This little-heard 1974 album deserves to be among the top of everyone’s rock LP Top 25.

— DIAMOND DOGS by David Bowie. (Ironic that I would learn of this great singer’s death while compiling this list. Don’t get his new album out of mourning, get it because initial release “Black Star” is a really cool song. RIP, you Thin Ziggy White Stardust Duke.) Top tracks: Rebel Rebel; 1984; Diamond Dogs; Big Brother. Further proof that the late ’60s and early ’70s are the absolute platinum age of rock and roll. This 1974 classic is amazing from beginning to end.

— JOHNNY CASH AT SAN QUENTIN. Top tracks: I Walk the Line; Boy Named Sue; San Quentin; Folsom Prison Blues. The man in black knew a few things about prison life, from the inside and the out. This live set, particularly the blistering put-down of the prison where it was recorded, drove the inmates wild. The 1969 classic is one of country music’s best albums ever.

— FUNKENTELECHY VS. THE PLACEBO SYNDROME by Parliament. Top Tracks: Bop Gun; Flash Light; Funkentelechy; Sir Nose D’Voidoffunk. Take anyone who claims they understand funk but hasn’t experienced George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker and the boys, and school them by playing this 1977 classic. It doesn’t get funkier than this.

— AFTER THE GOLD RUSH by Neil Young. Top tracks: Southern Man; After the Gold Rush; Oh, Lonesome Me; Don’t Let It Bring You Down. If you want to understand the genesis of country rock, this 1970 Young album is as good a place to start as any. He got some guitar help from future E Street Band member Nils Lofgren, but the primary instrument here is Young’s haunting voice.

Email Carlton Fletcher at [email protected]. Follow @ABH_Fletcher on Twitter.