Metallica

Artist: Metallica

In October 1990, Metallica entered One on One Studio to record the follow-up to …And Justice for All. At a cost of over one million dollars, after three remixes, and ending three marriages, Metallica was released on August 13, 1991. The album (referred to as The Black Album) instantly went to number one on Billboard charts, selling over 650,000 copies in its first week. It has since gone on to sell roughly 20 million copies worldwide, and is considered one of the greatest heavy metal records of all time.

The Black Album marks the beginning of a long and successful relationship between Metallica and producer Bob Rock. Rock approached the band after attending several of their concerts; remarking, “I’ve seen what you guys do live, but you’ve yet to capture that on record.” Feeling that they still had their best album in them, Metallica hired Rock initially to produce their next record. However, early on the band decided to also have the Canadian producer mix the album, seeking a more commercial and sonically polished sound severely lacking in the album’s predecessor.

Bob Rock did more than simply focus on the technical aspects of recording the album, layering track after track of guitars, drums, vocals, bass, and sound effects (like the gun-cocking noise in “The God that Failed”) The producer, who had helped bands such as The Cult, Bon Jovi, and Mötley Crüe achieve a pristine, radio-friendly sound, pushed Metallica to explore alternate tempos and song arrangements than the band had in the past. The result was slower and more groove-oriented than the band's earlier work. However, this album is arguably far ‘heavier’ than anything the band had done previously.

Every aspect of this record was meticulously groomed by Rock’s trained ear. Even the album’s lyrics could not escape tweaking. The songs on Metallica deal with more general themes and emotions that appeal to a broader audience. Singer James Hetfield wrote more personal and introspective lyrics than those of previous Metallica albums. “The God That Failed” deals with Hetfield's mother's death from cancer and her Christian Science beliefs which kept her from seeking medical treatment. “Nothing Else Matters” is another example, which is a love song Hetfield wrote about missing his girlfriend while on tours.

Due to both Metallica’s and Bob Rock’s persistent efforts, The Black Album was responsible for bringing Metallica to the attention of mainstream radio and a wider audience that had never heard of the band before. Subsequently, the record has been certified 15 times platinum in the United States, making it the 26th best-selling album in the country.

This is arguably Metallica’s best work. However, many diehard fans that have been following Metallica since their first record Kill ‘Em All would argue that The Black Album marks the point where the band ‘sold-out’ to commercial success. Although I really like most of the albums in Metallica’s catalogue, and would consider myself a big fan, I still think that this album is their best. Not only is it sonically perfect, heavy, and features great song writing, but it is also easily accessible to those who have never heard of the band before. In fact, Metallica was the first album I listened to by the band, and led me to discover the rest of their work.

Rating: 5/5

Hysteria

Artist: Def Leppard

Released in August of 1987, Hysteria would become Def Leppard’s bestselling record with over 20 million copies sold world-wide. The album features seven hit-singles; and at the time, was the longest rock album ever released as a single LP or cassette. Additionally, the album also set a record for one of the longest creation periods, taking over three years.

After the success of Pyromania, Def Leppard decided that the follow-up album should have an even more commercial sound. Unfortunately, the project, again produced by “Mutt” Lange, would be plagued with accidents and mishaps. Drummer Rick Allen’s auto accident, in which he lost his left arm, would be the most serious of the band’s setbacks; and the surrounding media frenzy inspired Allen with the album’s title.

After recording sessions finished, Lang took an additional three months to mix the record. This time he would add even more ‘hype’ to the backing vocals, resulting in this record’s pristine and glossy sound. Additionally, the band decided to largely dump clichéd guitar riffs and solos, and use the instrument in a way that emphasized the rhythm and ‘feel’ of the songs as a whole. Furthermore, the drums were recorded into a sampler and then triggered later once all of the other tracks had been cut. This allowed multiple drum hits to be stacked on top of each other, which is responsible for the huge rhythm sounds on the record. By the time the album was completed, the band would have to sell over seven million copies just to break even.

Despite the band’s aim at making a commercially successful record, with every song being a potential hit-single, they still managed to make an album that appeals to many hard-rock fans and guitar players. However, there are many that consider Pyromania to be the band’s final album before ‘selling-out.’ I think that it is more accurate to recognize that with Hysteria Def Leppard just took all of the things that made Pyromania so good and turned them up to 11.

With the release of Hysteria, the band finally realized their dreams of success in England; the album went to number one in its first week on the charts. However, the band had somewhat greater difficulty in America, where the long wait between albums had caused the band to lose momentum. Finally, nearly a year after its release, radio play of the song “Pour Some Sugar on Me” would propel the band back to the top of the charts, with both the number-one album, and the number-one single “Love Bites.” Hysteria would go on to dominate charts around the world for three years.

This album definitely sets the standard for production and song-writing among rock records. The fact that the album’s seven hits are still played daily on classic-rock radio is a testament to the amount of work the band put into the album’s creation. In 2004, the album was ranked at number 472 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Rating: 5/5

Pyromania

Artist: Def Leppard

Pyromania is the record that broke Def Leppard into main-stream stardom. Released in 1983, it spent two weeks in the number two position on Billboard charts – behind Thriller, the best-selling record ever. This album has gone on to sell over 10 million copies, a testament to its popularity and wide-spread appeal.

This album was produced by “Mutt” Lange, who had earlier worked with AC/DC and Foreigner. Lange was known for his perfectionism and polished sound, which is responsible for this album’s ‘sheen.’ Despite being a heavy metal record, Pyromania’s polished and commercial sound allowed it to be acceptable to a wider range of listeners – not to mention being extremely radio friendly.

 Of course much of the album’s success can be attributed to hits like “Photograph”, “Rock of Ages”, and “Foolin’.” These were all top 40 singles, and can still be heard daily on rock radio. Again, “Mutt” helped to fine tune these songs with his background in country music – using techniques that are not necessarily common to the metal genre to increase their commercial appeal.

Although this album was a huge success for the band, the fact that they received relatively little critical acclaim in their native England, as compared to America, was found a bit troublesome by the band. Although riding high on success during the time following the record’s release, the band would keep this disappointment in mind when they finally returned to the studio to cut their follow-up – Hysteria.

This is one of my favorite albums – as all of the records I will be reviewing here – and while I too like the hits from this album, like everyone else, I do particularly like some of the B-side material. “Action! Not Words,” in particular appeals to me. I like the somewhat looser feel of the song, and it has a certain quality to it that reminds me of some of the band’s later work on Hysteria.

Rating: 5/5

Boston

Artist: Boston

This album was largely recorded by Tom Scholz (guitars) in his basement. The former Polaroid senior product design engineer’s now legendary perfectionism drove him to create one of the best rock albums of all time. Never satisfied with just mediocre performances, Scholz labored for months doing countless overdubs and re-takes for his masterpiece. In the end he created one of the best, if not the best, guitar-records to come out of the seventies.

The production on this record is stunning. Every instrument fits perfectly in the mix, and the overall sound is simply stunning. This record still sounds fresh and alive thirty-five years after it was released. This is all pretty amazing considering Scholz’ limited equipment, some of which he made himself, and his lack of any formal education in audio engineering.

Even if you’re not a ‘classic-rocker’ you’ve no doubt heard at least one of the eight songs on this record. They are featured in numerous commercials, and all of them are classic-rock radio staples. The album is the second best-selling debut album of all time, and has sold 17 million copies as of 2003.

Even though I’ve heard these songs hundreds –if not thousands– of times over the course of my life, I never change the station when one comes on. In fact, I usually find my hand cranking up the volume. Yeah, they’re all that good.

When making my own recordings, I always compare them to this album. Not only for the technical reasons that I mentioned earlier, but because despite the fact that it is a “guitar player’s record,” it is widely accessible and popular with non-musicians because of its energy and vibrancy. This album raised the bar for all rock records, and still remains at the top over three decades later.

Rating: 5/5

Wish You Were Here

Artist: Pink Floyd

            Released on September 12, 1975, English progressive rock group Pink Floyd’s ninth studio album could not be printed fast enough to meet demand. Wish You Were Here was the band’s follow up to the hugely successful Dark Side of the Moon, and was the fastest selling album released by the band. It reached number one on the Billboard charts in its second week, and would go on to sell 13 million copies worldwide.

            Despite early criticism from the industry (read: Rollingstone), Wish You Were Here is one of the greatest records of all time. All of the album’s five songs receive regular play on classic rock radio, albeit that “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” is broken into two songs that open and close the record. This nine part composition is a tribute to former Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett, whose drug use resulted in his departure from the band.

            This is not my favorite Pink Floyd record, and this is probably no surprise to anyone familiar with the band’s discography.  This album cannot escape the shadow of its predecessor, or the world’s third best-selling record: The Wall. That being said, this is a great album.

Rating: 4/5