The 11 Best Live Albums

Alright, I'm going to come out and say it...Live albums suck. Every time one of my favorite bands puts out a live album, I get excited with anticiapation. I run out to the store the day it comes out and buy it. Pop it in my CD player ten seconds later and I'm completely disappointed. Why? They are the exact same songs I love when they were recorded in a studio. Well, the more I thought about it...I realized I just answered my own question. They are the exact same songs that are on a recorded CD. They are no different and sometimes maybe just slightly different. What's the fun in that? Obviously, when you go to the show, the live energy is completely different. You sucked into the mood of the show. But on CD, none of that emotion and energy is present. So why listened to that over the recorded versions? Answer: There's no reason. That's why I buy live albums, listen to them once...and never listen to them again.

Now argue with me if you want...but let me ask you two questions.

1. Of all the live albums you own, how many of them do you listen to on a regular basis?
2. And what percentage of music do you listen to is live?

When you think about it, I think you will realize, it's much smaller than you thought. Now I'm not talking about a cool live track of your favorite band covering a Bob Dylan or Christina Aguilera song...I'm talking about full albums.

So what makes a live album...listenable on multiple occassions. Number one, it has to be different recordings then the ones we're used to listening to on CD. Because if they are the same versions...then what's the point? Number two, there has to be audience participation. Because if we can't hear the crowd then it's not a live CD...it's just another recorded album. Number three, it has to be groundbreaking. It has to take your music to another level. If not, it's just pandering to the record labels, and the fans will see through it in a heartbeat.

So, here is my list of the 11 Best Live Albums (based on the above credentials - NOT based on performance):

1. The Band - The Last Waltz (4 CD box set) - The perfect concert, guest stars, covers, alternate versions and fan favorites.
2. Nirvana - Unplugged - The band's performance was groundbreaking on many levels and will forever be associated with Kurt's death as his final swan song.
3. Kiss - Alive - Without this album, Kiss would be nothing more than the 70s version of Gwar.
4. Depeche Mode - 101 - Rarely does a live album define a generation. But this album was the album that define the alternative generation of the late 80s. If you didn't own this and had it memorized...you weren't cool.
5. Jay-Z - Unplugged - Not only groundbreaking, but a reinvention of the rap genre...this album is still to this day, years ahead of it's time.
6. Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense - Tied with the movie, it changed the Talking Heads from an underground success to a mainstream stalwart.
7. Metallica - S&M - Metal fused with a concert hall orchestra. A one of a kind performance.
8. Bob Dylan & The Rolling Thunder Revue - Live 1975 - Bob Dylan performs his acoustic classics with a full frolicking vaudeville band.
9. Pearl Jam - Live in New York, July 8th & 9th, 2003 (5CD) - Pearl Jam's concert for NY, post 9/11 is epic on scale and a zenith for the band.
10. Led Zeppelin - Song Remains the Same - Not just a must for the Zeppelin fan, it's a photgraph of the band at its peak.
11. The Cure - Entreat - A European only album finds the band performing its masterpiece Disintegration in a grandiose fashion. Robert Smith hitting 20-second high howls and the band jamming on 10-minute songs. It doesn't get better than this.

The 11 Best My Morning Jacket Songs

What more indie rock than recording in a barn? How about recording with mother f**in' CC Deville from Poison? Yeah, I kid you not. My Morning Jacket recorded with CC Deville for their masterful EP, Chocolate and Ice. They party with Cameron Crowe...they have beards. Is there nothing about this band that doesn't rock? Their new album is a double disc live concert that is supposed to be phenomenal. Too bad I hate live albums, so the chances of my buying it are about 100 to 1. Instead, I'll stick to what I do best...










Here are the 11 Best My Morning Jacket Songs:

1. O Is the One That Is Real (Split EP w/ Songs: Ohia)
2. Golden (original) - (It Still Moves) & the acoustic version on (Acoustic Citsuoca)
3. Lowdown (At Dawn)
4. Cobra (Chocolate and Ice)
5. By My Car (Tennessee Fire)
6. Sooner (Chocolate and Ice)
7. One Big Holiday (It Still Moves)
8. Where To Begin (Elizabethtown Sdtk.) MP3
9. The Way That He Sings (At Dawn)
10. Dondante (Z)
11. Rocket Man (Ch. 1: The Sandworm Cometh)

The 11 Best Song by DJ Shadow

I worked in college radio when Shadow's first CD (Entroducing...) came out. The guy who ran the Sunday School (our day of pure hip-hop programming) said it was one of the best CDs he had ever heard. I was shocked...how could a DJ make a good CD, isn't he just mixing up other people's music? The programmer looked at me and said, "Exactly!" Well, I didn't get it until I listened. DJ Shadow was part of a new generation of musicians who took sampling to new levels. Creating new songs, using pieces of other songs. And on his first at-bat, he hit a home run. 10 years later, Shadow took the more cautious route on his new CD, packing it full of guest singers and rappers. And unlike the fresh and unique sound of his first CD, it sounds ordinary. I guess you can really only be original and groundbreaking once.

Here are the 11 Best DJ Shadow songs:

1. Blood on the Motorway (The Private Press)
2. Midnight in a Perfect World (Entroducing...)
3. Rabbit in Your Headlights (U.N.K.L.E. - Psyence Fiction)
4. The Number Song (Entroducing...)
5. Six Days (The Private Press)
6. You Can't Go Home Again (The Private Press)
7. High Noon (PreEmptive Strike)
8. Organ Donor (Fully Extended Version) - (PreEmptive Strike)
9. Building Steam With A Grain of Salt (Entroducing...)
10. March of Death w/ Zac de la Rocha (Internet Only)
11. Stem / Long Stem / Transmission 2 (Entroducing...)

DJ3:

1. Smooth Rock Beats (Live From Austin)
2. Red Bus Needs To Leave (B-Side)

The 11 Best Jewish Rock Stars

Happy New Year!

1. Bob Dylan (Robert Allen Zimmerman)
2. Lou Reed (The Velvet Underground)
3. The Beastie Boys (Adam Yauch, Michael Diamond, Adam Horowitz)
4. Billy Joel
5. Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Hymen)
6. Gene Simmons (Chaim Weitz)
7. Art Garfunkel
8. Perry Farrell (Peretz Bernstein) - Jane's Addiction, Porno For Pyros
9. Geddy Lee (Gary Lee)
10. Red Hot Chili Peppers (Anthony Keidis, Hillel Slovak, Michael Balzary-Flea)
11. Marc Bolan (Michael Feld) - T.Rex

The 11 Best Songs By The Band ELECTRONIC

When Electronic came out, I was dating a girl who loved New Order. Well, I did, too. That's pretty much why I was dating her. There wasn't much more to relationships in high school. But she hated Electronic, she saw the band as a sell-out. So, naturally, I hated them, too. Then we broke up. And a few months later, I started dating a girl who liked both New Order and Electronic. And guess what? I started liking them, too. (Yeah, I know, I'm a cheese ball)

Electronic is that rare supergroup that found success on its own. There's a high hurdle for super groups. For the most part, members of a super group have usually come from other groups who have achieved substantial success on their own. And then when they combine forces, the expectations are usually sky high. But over the years, supergroups have tended to be less successful than the some of their parts. Rarely do they find success in their own right. Reason being, music groups are successful for one very simple reason. Chemistry. Either it's there or it's not. It doesn't matter how good the artists may be individually, if personalities don't mesh...then the music tends to suck.

But with New Order's Bernard Sumner on vocals, the Smiths' Johnny Marr on guitars/keyboards, and Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennent on drums/keyboards the ingrediants were there.

Tuesday saw a solid greatest hits release by this band. It contains mostly good selections from their few three albums but they tended to be stronger out of the gates then later on down the road. So, here is my list.

The 11 Best Songs By The Band ELECTRONIC:

1. Second Nature (Raise The Pressure)
2. Tighten Up (Electronic)
3. Disappointed (Cool World Sdtk.)
4. Reality (Electronic)
5. For You (Raise The Pressure)
6. Getting Away With It (Electronic)
7. Vivid (Twisted Tenderness)
8. Warning Sign (Twisted Temderness B-Side)
9. Imitation of Life (Raise The Pressure B-Side)
10. Late At Night (Twisted Tenderness)
11. Patience of A Saint (Electronic)

Eminemp3:

1. Lucky Bag (B-Side)

The 11 Best Jane's Addiction Songs Not on the Greatest Hits Album

It's rare when the record labels get it right. Or are at least close to perfect. This week saw the release of Jane's Addiction Greatest Hits. Oddly, (the original line-up) Jane's Addiction had a mere 3 hits - Stop!, Been Caught Stealin', and Jane Says. So instead of padding the disc with other forced and unplayed singles (Ex: So What!), the label smartly went in and grabbed some of the most popular and loved songs from the band's career only extracting 2 songs from the reunion album and no songs from the seldom mentioned demo album. But Jane's was a band of many great songs. If you want a strong sampling of mostly their best stuff...pick up the GH disc. And if it tickles your pickle, herer are:

The 11 Best Jane's Addiction Songs Not on the Greatest Hits Album

1. 1% (Jane's Addiction)
2. Ripple (Deadicated) MP3
3. Then She Did (Ritual de lo Habitual)
4. My Time (Jane's Addiction)
5. Suffer Some - original 1988 demo (Bootleg)
6. Obvious (Ritual de lo Habitual)
7. Standing in the Shower (Nothing's Shocking)
8. Trip Away (Jane's Addiction)
9. City (Kettle Whistle)
10. L.A. Woman/Nausea/Lexicon Devil (Ritual de lo Habitual B-Side)
11. Kettle Whistle (Kettle Whistle)

The 11 Best Everclear Songs

Yes, that's right, I'm blogging about Everclear. And believe it or not, there was a time when they didn't suck. I'm serious. It was a brief moment in time...but there was a time. I swear. Sure, lead singer, Art was about 50 years old....sure, they lied about where they were from...Seatlle, LA, San Diego...sure, they sounded like a knock-off of every grunge band that came before them...but you cannot escape the fact they wrote a handful of some very excellent rock songs. Basically, you have to look at Everclear as the cool guy in high school who graduated and went on to work in a 7-11. For four years, he was the coolest thing since sliced bread. And since, you'd prefer to avoid him like the ebola virus. But during high school...well, here's to looking back.

The 11 Best Everclear Songs:

1. Heroine Girl (Sparkle and Fade)
2. The Swing (Scream 2)
3. So Much For the Afterglow (So Much For The Afterglow)
4. Our Lips Are Sealed (Radio Promo) MP3
5. You Make Me Feel Like A Whore (Sparkle and Fade)
6. Electra Made Me Blind (Sparkle and Fade)
7. Sparkle (World of Noise)
8. Everything To Everyone (So Much For The Afterglow)
9. I Want To Die A Beautiful Death (Slow Motion Daydream)
10. Local God (Romeo + Juliet)
11. My Sexual Life (Sparkle and Fade)

The 11 Best At The Drive-In Songs

Not since the Sex Pistols has a band met stardom with a "middle finger in the face" break-up. It was kind of like the opening scene in Cliffhanger when Stallone drops the girl to her death. Right when you get into the movie, it goes in an entirely different direction. Just like ATDI, who broke up right as they finally received mainstream success they deserved. The members went onto form two bands: Sparta and Mars Volta (who release a new CD today). ATDI played frantic, high-speed songs, pulsating with kinectic-laden energy that left listeners out of breath. Their career was short but the legacy they left behind is a strong one.

Here are the 11 Best At The Drive-In Songs

1. Chanbara (In Casino Out)
2. One Armed Scissor (Relationship of Command)
3. Proxima Centauri (Vaya)
4. Pattern Against User (Relationship of Command)
5. Rascuache (Vaya)
6. Sleepwalk Capsules (Relationship of Command)
7. For Now..We Toast (In Casino Out)
8. Extracirricular (Relationship of Command B-Side) MP3
9. Arcarsenal (Relationship of Command)
10. Porfirio Diaz (Acrobatic Tenement)
11. The Night Has Opened My Eyes (This Station Is Non-Operational)

The 11 Best Songs From Soundgarden

They were better than anyone gives them credit for. Hiding in the shadows of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Alice in Chains...were Seattle's most talented...a little band known as Soundgarden. "Black Hole Sun" made them popular for the wrong reasons. And hence, they never received the true credit they deserved. Putting out 3 of the 50 best albums of the decade in Badmotorfinger, Down The Upside, and Superunknown, they have since faded into obscurity since their 1997 break-up. Singer Chris Cornell lives on with Audioslave...but why haven't we heard anything from Soundgarden?...not a live album, a rare tracks disc, a box set (and they deserve it), just a pandering greatest hits with one measely new song (but a fantastic one at that). They were pegged as Sabbath knock-offs in their day...but as time as marched on, their music sounds more alive and sharper than ever. It's time kids today rediscover one of the 90s best kept secrets...and here's a start.

The 11 Best Songs About Soundgarden:

1. Searching With My Good Eye Closed (Badmotorfinger)
2. Burden In My Hand (Down On the Upside)
3. Birth Ritual (Singles Sdtk.)
4. Like A Suicide (Superunknown)
5. Fell On Black Days (Superunknown)
6. Hands All Over (Louder Than Love)
7. Bleed Together (A-Sides)
8. Slaves and Bulldozers (Badmotorfinger)
9. The Day I Tried To Live (Superunknown)
10. Outshined (Badmotorfinger)
11. Big Dumb Sex (Louder Than Love)

Don't forget about MP3...

1. Cold Bitch (Superunknown outtake)

The 11 Best Rage Against The Machine Songs

This week saw the release of Audioslave's third album. Though amazing that this side-project/supergroup (conprised of Rage Against The Machine and Soundgarden) would have made it through 3 albums...what's more amazing, is that in a mere 3 years the band has managed to record more original songs that Rage Against The Machine recorded in their entire 10 year career. (RATM's 4th album was all covers) Don't believe me? Go look it up. And while you're doing that...

Here are the The 11 Best Rage Against The Machine Songs:

1. Killing In the Name of... (unedited version) - Rage Against the Machine
2. Bulls on Parade - Evil Empire
3. Guerilla Radio - The Battle of Los Angeles
4. Know your Enemy- Rage Against the Machine
5. Bombtrack - Mark Goodier "Evening Sessions"
6. People of the Sun - Evil Empire
7. Sleep Now In The Fire - The Battle of Los Angeles
8. Bullet in the Head (remix) - Bombtrack (limited edition EP)
9. Down Rodeo - Evil Empire
10. Testify - The Battle of Los Angeles
11. Hadda Been Playing on the Jukebox - Live and Rare

and one cover...

1. Fuck da Police (live) MP3

The 11 Hottest Indie Rock Albums Coming Out in Fall 2006

Indie Rock may serve as the last arena of good music. Uninhibited by money and fame, it's just a bunch of musicians trying to make good music. And the results tend to me far more satisfactory than their major label counterparts.

Here are the 11 Hottest Indie Rock Albums Coming Out in Fall 2006:

1. TV On the Radio - Cookie Mountain (9/12) - Already out in the UK, it's being touted as the album of the year across the boards. (Quality Potential: 90%)
2. Clinic - Visitations (10/17) - Their last release was a letdown after Walking With Thee received so much praise. On their newest album, they are aiming to go back to their roots. (Quality Potential: 45%)
3. Yo La Tengo - I'm Not Afraid of You (9/12) - Anytime these guys release an album, it's an event for vinyl playing audiophiles everywhere. (Quality Potential: 65%)
4. The Rapture - Piece of the People We Love (9/12) - Dance rock hooligans are back for hijinxs. Press play and hilarity ensues. (Quality Potential: 75%)
5. Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire (9/26) - Almost 10 years since a proper album release. Will he follow in his father's or mother's footsteps? (Quality Potential: 40%)
6. The Dears - Gang of Losers (10/3) - A 6 foot 6 black singer who croons like Morrissey. Still living off the underground popularity of their song "Lost in The Plot," can their whole album match this emotional level? (Quality Potential: 60%)
7. Scissors Sisters - Ta-Dah (9/26) - Elton John's reincarnation takes a second shot at the dance floor and mainstream radio. (Quality Potential: 50%)
8. The Decembrists - The Crane Wife (10/3) - Last year's album pulled then out of obscurity into college radio darlings, this year promises big things. (Quality Potential: 75%)
9. Robert Pollard - Normal Happines (10/10) - GBV singer goes solo to much hoopla. (Quality Potential: 40%)
10. The Pernice Brothers - Live a Little (10/3) - Their last album went away from their Smiths' influence and was seen as a disappoint. Will they be able to regroup and make a Louder Than Bombs impression this time around. (Quality Potential: 30%)
11. Sparklehorse - Dreamt For Light Years (9/26) - It's been almost 6 years since this low-fi wonder has been heard. It's almost a guarantee the result will be underwhelming. (Quality Potential: 60%)

The 11 Hottest Hip-Hop Albums Coming Out in Fall 2006

After watching the MTV loser awards this past week, nothing came across more pathetic and in a sadder state of affairs than mainstream hip-hop. Can anyone even understand what the hell rappers are saying anymore? At least when Eazy-E was jackin' bitches and slappin' hoes, I could understand the words coming out of his mouth. But there may be a light at the end of the tunnel with one of these artists.

The 11 Hottest Hip-Hop Albums Coming Out in Fall 2006

1. Young Jeezy - The Inspiration (10/31) - To anyone in the hip-hop world, he's the next Jay-Z...to the rest of us...he's just tomorrow's contestant for Dancing with the Stars.
2. The Game - The Devil's Advocate (11/7) - The Game's humble gangsta style was sharp on his debut and with more Dre beats behind him, there is little doubt he will continue to impress.
3. DJ Shadow - The Outsider (9/19) - Only his third album but the buzz behind it is stronger than the praise that came from the 10 anniversary re-issue of his first release. Also, loaded to the rim with guest stars.
4. Ludacris - Release Therapy (9/26) - Lud puts his acting career on hold to go back to his roots and cut some music. Although I prefer his acting...
5. Mos Def - Tru3 Magic (9/26) - Pharrell and Kanye West produce. That's like finding Wonka's golden ticket...twice. Early word is that this could be the second coming of Black Star...and those are big shoes to return to.
6. Lady Sovereign - Public Warning (10/17) - If Eminem and Mike Skinner had a baby girl, it would be Lady S. Picked as the "most likely to take the hip-hop world by storm..." so far her bite has been less than her hype but time will tell.
7. Snoop Dogg - Blue Carpet Treatment (11/21) - He's been around the block too many times to count but he still is one of rap's finest charismatic wordsmiths.
8. Akon - Konvicted (12/12) - His first album debutes at number one. His second album boasts Snoop and Eminem. The only new release that week in December basically guarantees a 2-for-2.
9. Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor (9/19) - Maybe the most hyped rap debut of the fall....which means, check for it in the used $2.99 bin by summer.
10. Sleepy Brown - Mr. Brown (10/3) - Outkast's partner in rhyme gets his due on his debut solo disc. Half rap and half soul, the album is sure to have it's own sound...but will it have a hook?
11. Xzibit - Full Cirlce (9/19) - Will anyone remember that the world's most famous automechanic is actually a rapper?

The 11 Hottest Pop Albums Coming Out in Fall 2006

Why is pop so terrible, yet, it's the music everyone buys. Do people actually still listen to their Backstreet Boys and Nsync records? Does anyone remember that Mandy Moore even had a singing career at one time? Pop can be good at times...but mostly it's a canker sore that needs to be eliminated...and I'm the man who needs to do it. With the good and the bad...it all has had it's day and now it needs to go.

The 11 Hottest Pop Albums Coming Out in Fall 2006

1. Justin Timberlake - FutureSex (9/12) - Maybe the only truly talented member of the pop core. But now he's singing about sexy backs. Who cares if someone has a sexy back? As long as they shave it...that's all that really matters. Hey, JT why don't you sing about how the careers of rest of Nsync's members have crashed and burned. That's a CD I'd buy. (Quality Potential: 70%)
2. Beyonce - B'Day (9/5) - Okay the woman can sing...but only what she's told to sing. But when the people who are writing your songs for you are morons...no gives a crap. Have you heard her new single? Yeah, neither have I. (Quality Potential: 40%)
3. Maroon 5 - TBA (11/14) - I still think these guys are really just Third Eye Blind reuniting under a different name. Anyone checked these guys' I.D.s? (Quality Potential: 35%)
4. Diddy - Press Play (10/17) - Stop changing your name and start writing some good music. The last hit you had that anyone remembers was when Biggy died. (Quality Potential: 18%)
5. Taylor Hicks - TBA (11/14) - American Idol's silver fox will now butcher his own songs just as badly as he tarnished the Doobie Brothers. (Quality Potential: 15%)
6. Fergie - The Dumbass (9/19) - Your London Bridge reference makes no sense. If you have a sexual body part that has the power to move up and down, that's not a clitoris...that's a penis. You're an idiot, I hope you get ass herpes. (Quality Potential: 1%)
7. Clay Aiken/Fantasia/Ruben Studdard/Chris Daughtery/Katherine McPhee - (all the f**kin time) - And people wonder how George Bush got re-elected. (Quality Potential: 10%)
8. Janet Jackson - 20 Y.O. (9/26) - I heard to get some publicity she's going to let Beyonce rip-off her bikini bottom during the World Series. Be afraid. Be very afraid. (Quality Potential: 23%)
9. John Legend - Once Again (10/24) - Okay, he's cool. He gets a free pass. (Quality Potential: 75%)
10. Omarion - 21 (10/31) - He was that guy in that show Punk'd who got Punk'd. Yeah, I don't know who he is either. (Quality Potential: 21%)
11. America - Here and Now (10/17) - Yes, that's the original pop rock masters back to show "they can do magic." Loaded with guest stars like Ryan Adams, Ben Kweller, James Iha and Sister Golden Hair riding a Horse With No Name down Ventura Highway. (Quality Potential: 40%)

The 11 Hottest Alternative Rock Albums Coming Out in Fall 2006

What's alternative about music that's mainstream? Nothing...but what else are we going to call that genre?

The 11 Hottest Alternative Rock Albums Coming Out in Fall 2006

1. The Killers - Sam's Town (10/3) - Vegas' sexiest mormons try to avoid the sophomore slump by betting on black. (Quality Potential: 50%)
2. Beck - The Information (10/3) - Has there ever been a bad Beck album? (Quality Potential: 80%)
3. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (12/19) - Johnny Marr joins the band. Need I say more? (Quality Potential: 74%)
4. Mastadon - Blood Mountain (9/12) - Heavy metal returns from the grave in a down and filthy way, this time...without the rapping. (Quality Potential: 65%)
5. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade (10/24) - Mock goths singing mock goth music. When your music makes "Friday I'm in Love" sound depressing...you're doing something wrong. (Quality Potential: 40%)
6. Jet - Shine On (10/3) - Australia's rock ambassador's first single is already being ignored by radio. Not a good sign. (Quality Potential: 30%)
7. Audioslave - Revelations (9/5) - It's a novel concept. Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine...but the novelty was already wearing off on the last album. (Quality Potential: 38%)
8. The Lemonheads - The Lemonheads (9/24) - First album in over 10 years. It's big news...to bad they were never that big to begin with. (Quality Potential: 20%)
9. Incubus - Light Grenades (11/21) - The one time most popular alternative band in America, is back...the question is...will anyone notice? (Quality Potential: 41%)
10. The Mars Volta - Amputechture (9/12) - Punk Floyd is back with more sit-com length songs that travel between slamming rock songs and song that make you say,"what the hell?" (Quality Potential: 70%)
11. Sparta - Threes (10/24) The second half of At The Drive-In delivers an album that apparently tries to sound more like their Mars Volta brothers than their own signature cut loose sound. - (Quality Potential: 50%)

The 11 Hottest Classic Rocks Albums Coming Out in Fall 2006

We've just hit September...and you know what that means? It's the last stretch for albums by big artists to hit the streets before the holiday buying season. For the next few days, I will take a look forward at what we have to expect by looking at hip-hop, alternative, indie rock, pop, and classic rock.

Kicking it off, here are the 11 Hottest Classic Rock Albums:

1. Jerry Lee Lewis - Last Man Standing (9/26) - Springsteen, Jagger, Clapton, Starr, Young, and Robertson throw in their music talents to this Sun records musical legend. It's like musical crack.
2. Elton John - The Captain and The Kid (9/19) - The sequel to EJ's 1975 release Captain Fantastic. Will the 31 year wait be worth it?
3. The Who - Endless Wire (10/30) - The first Who studio album in 24 years. Even at only 50% strength...need I say more?
4. Willie Nelson and the Cardinals - Songbird (10/31) - Ryan Adams produces country's elder statesman with Adams' back-up band lending a hand. It's going to be a 10 CD box set, released as 200 individual singles...I'm kidding...maybe.
5. Bob Seeger - Face The Promise (9/12) - "Against The Wind" auteur returns with a disc that's 10 years in the making.
6. Yusuf Islam - An Other Cup (11/14) - The most famous muslim American rock star...better known as Cat Stevens returns with an album of pop songs. Guess that Islam thing isn't working out too well for him.
7. Solomon Burke - Nashville (9/26) - Burke follows his surprise comeback and jounrneys into country with guests Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Gillian Welch.
8. Paul MacCartney - Ecce Cor Meum (9/26) - The Beatle goes classical with an orchestra, choir, and Latin lyrics. Roll over Beethoven...
9. Paul Stanley - Live To Win (10/24) Kiss frontman releases his first solo album in 29 years. Noticing a trend here?
10. Rod Stewart - Still The Same (10/10) - More covers by Mr. Stomach Pump.
11. Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell 3 (10/31) - Seriously, it's not a joke.

The 11 Best Bob Dylan Songs (Part 3 of 3)

Bob Dylan is a unique artist in a thousand different ways. But what I find especially intriguing about him is that he has lived long enough to pass into a stage of his career that very few muscians ever reach. The retrospective stage. For most of Dylan's career, his songs were comments on life and its eccentricities...but now, weathering 60 years of trials and tribulations, his songs have become comments on his own life. It all started with his song "Things Have Changed" from the Wonder Boys sountrack. It's a song that only one man was capable of writing...Bob Dylan. The perfect introspective companion to "Times They Are A-Changin'" from the beginning of his career, because "Things" is an analysis of the future predictions laid out in "Times." It signified a new starting point, a rebirth, where the songs were darker and brighter at the same time. Tales from a man who lived through the best of times and the worst of times and is ready to share his thoughts with the world.

Here are the 11 Best Bob Dylan Songs from Time Out of Mind forward:

1. Things Have Changed (Wonder Boys sdtk.) MP3
2. Not Dark Yet (Time Out Of Mind)
3. Bye and Bye (Love and Theft)
4. Love Sick (Time Out Of Mind)
5. Tweedle Dee (Love and Theft)
6. 'Cross The Green Mountain (Gods and Generals)
7. Thunder on the Mountain (Modern Times)
8. Honest With Me (Love and Theft)
9. Trying To Get To Heaven (Time Out Of Mind)
10. Mississippi (Love and Theft)
11. Ain't Talkin' (Modern Times)