Essential albums......What are the most important socially/politically-tinged albums ever?

[marmar]

I picked three that are very important to me:

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Almost anything by Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, the Weavers/Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie.

[rurallib]

8. listening to some Baez right now.

Been turning to her,Seegar, Guthrie and Dylan a lot lately.

[OneBlueSky]

74. "Waist Deep In The Big Muddy" is a Seeger classic . . .

1. Oh Yes I'd Climb (The Highest Mountain Just For You) 4:12
2. Seek And You Shall Find 7:52
3. The Sinking Of The Reuben James 2:45
4. Waist Deep In The Big Muddy 2:57
5. Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream 2:53
6. Down By The Riverside 3:16
7. Nameless Lick 1:00
8. Over The Hills 1:41
9. East Virginia 2:36
10. My Name Is Liza Kalvelage 4:00
11. My Father's Mansion's Many Rooms 2:27
12. Melodie D'Amour 1:53
13. Those Three Are On My Mind 3:05
14. Come All Ye Fair And Tender Ladies (Previously Unreleased) 4:02
15. Los Quatros Generalas (Previously Unreleased) 2:56

Waist Deep In The Big Muddy -- by Pete Seeger, 1967

It was back in nineteen forty-two,
I was a member of a good platoon.
We were on maneuvers in-a Loozianna,
One night by the light of the moon.
The captain told us to ford a river,
That's how it all begun.
We were -- knee deep in the Big Muddy,
But the big fool said to push on.

The Sergeant said, "Sir, are you sure,
This is the best way back to the base?"
"Sergeant, go on! I forded this river
'Bout a mile above this place.
It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging.
We'll soon be on dry ground."
We were -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

The Sergeant said, "Sir, with all this equipment
No man will be able to swim."
"Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie,"
The Captain said to him.
"All we need is a little determination;
Men, follow me, I'll lead on."
We were -- neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

All at once, the moon clouded over,
We heard a gurgling cry.
A few seconds later, the captain's helmet
Was all that floated by.
The Sergeant said, "Turn around men!
I'm in charge from now on."
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the captain dead and gone.

We stripped and dived and found his body
Stuck in the old quicksand.
I guess he didn't know that the water was deeper
Than the place he'd once before been.
Another stream had joined the Big Muddy
'Bout a half mile from where we'd gone.
We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy
When the big fool said to push on.

Well, I'm not going to point any moral;
I'll leave that for yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
You'd like to keep your health.
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We're -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.

Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
Tall man'll be over his head, we're
Waist deep in the Big Muddy!
And the big fool says to push on!

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

2. Good Ole Boys, Armed Forces, some Buffalo Springfield album...

Not all "important" in effect, but I'm just mentioning some stuff.

[hlthe2b]

3. Marvin Gaye is always the top of my list...

Most of everything Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young have ever done--I'd be hard pressed to pick one over the others....

[Touchdown]

4. The The: Mind Bomb

[CrownPrinceBandar]

53. Feck yeh.........

"Infected" is still pretty prescient as well.

[rug]

5. One of many.

[Fumesucker]

6. Steppenwolf, Monster..

A history lesson in song..

[rampart]

51. steppenwolf got it right

the image of the usa as a hungry monster eating its own children is appropriate for every generation.

this one is not on many juke boxes.

[malaise]

7. Marvin's What's Going on for sure

But Survival is way more political than Exodus


Don't forget Sam Cooke and Curtis Mayfield were way ahead of all of them and you can never leave out Lennon's Imagine Album.

[marmar]

11. True....Survival is one of those Marley discs I always forget for some reason.

And it is very political.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Several

Zappa Overnite Sensation


War All Day Music


Randy Newman Sail Away

[griffi94]

10. Copperhead Road album

Steve Earle

[SoxFan]

70. Good choice

An overlooked masterpiece. Too rock for country radio, too country for rock radio, but brilliant in its own way.

[Vickers]

12. Gang of Four - Entertainment!

Some great choices posted already, though.

:thumbsup:

[Recursion]

13. "Fear of a Black Planet" and "At Folsom Prison" NT

[marmar]

14. Forgot about Fear of a Black Planet.......

..... and also:

[Recursion]

16. You might like Just Plain Ant

http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/Just_Plain_Ant

[Frank Booth]

73. It Takes a Nation of Millions has to be right at the top.

Except for the Flava Flav songs, the album was all politics.

Public Enemy's about the only band to do all-political music consistently good. Others have tried, like KRS-One, Bad Religion, or Rage Against the Machine, but Public Enemy's the only one who managed to always sound intelligent and innovative and to produce great music.

[Number23]

36. I was just about to type Fear of a Black Planet

That tape cemented my undying love for Chuck D.

I was listening to "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back" in the car a few days ago. Classic.

[Radical Activist]

39. I was thinking of which PE album to name

and I think you nailed it.

[Recursion]

50. I had to flip a coin NT

[Elwood P Dowd]

15. Marvin Gaye

It's even more important today than back in 1971.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9BA6fFGMjI

[BBbats]

18. My Picks.

Great choices!  Here's a couple of my picks that are often
overlooked.

Power in the Darkness - Tom Robinson Band.

There's no place like America Today - Curtis Mayfield.

Agree with everyone elses especially early Dylan,Gang of
Four& Marvin Gaye.

[scheming daemons]

17. Green Day, "American Idiot" ... comes to mind

[BBbats]

21. Green Day Indeed!

American Idiot is great! Sums it all up!

[TBF]

26. My Green Day pick would be Holiday ... but they've got many. nt

[Initech]

19. My picks:

[greendog]

20. Probably need some Gil Scott-Heron and Leon Rosselson in your collection.

[marmar]

22. I've got Gil Scot-Heron.....another one I forgot about when I posted this.

nt

[BBbats]

23. Gil-Scott Heron ! How could I forget! The Last Poets as well.

[Radical Activist]

42. Oh yeah.

Definitely Gil Scott-Heron.

[Elwood P Dowd]

24. There is also James McMurtry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbWRfBZY-ng

[pitohui]

25. more songs abt building and food, talking heads

nothing aga. baez, dylan, the clash, marvin gaye, bob marley, et all, in fact i might have most of the dylan, clash, and marley albums ever produced but...

if you want quietly subversive you can do no better than "more songs about building and food"

[jefferson_dem]

28. Agree with you 100% on the talking heads.

Building and food, Remain in light, Fear... all high quality, extremely influential records.

[sendero]

54. While I love..

.. the three Eno-produced TH albums, I never really thought of them as political. Well, perhaps Remain in Light, the best of the three and a truly underappreciated recording IMHO.

[jefferson_dem]

27. Here are a few that immediately come to mind (sorry...once I got started, it was hard to stop)

[warpigs]

29. Rage Against the Machine and Operation Mindcrime-Queenscryche

[NC_Nurse]

30. Dead Kennedys...Bedtime for Democracy, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetable, Give Me

Convenience or Give Me Death... pretty much their whole catalog.

[frylock]

34. plastic surgery disasters..

yep, the entire DK catalog to be sure.

[Jello Biafra]

63. Mine too......

[msongs]

31. game changer... (sorry don't know how to get a pic tho)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26137631@N08/4939724429/?click

[guitar man]

32. Neil Young

Freedom

[bvar22]

33. Bob Dylan

Bringing it All Back Home (March 1965)
&
Highway 61 Revisited (August 1965)

"He not busy being born,
Is busy dying."

These two albums changed my life.



Its Alright, Ma. (I'm only bleeding)
Darkness at the break of noon
Shadows even the silver spoon
The handmade blade, the child's balloon
Eclipses both the sun and moon
To understand you know too soon
There is no sense in trying.

Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn
Suicide remarks are torn
From the fool's gold mouthpiece
The hollow horn plays wasted words
Proves to warn
That he not busy being born
Is busy dying.

Temptation's page flies out the door
You follow, find yourself at war
Watch waterfalls of pity roar
You feel to moan but unlike before
You discover
That you'd just be
One more person crying.

So don't fear if you hear
A foreign sound to your ear
It's alright, Ma, I'm only sighing.

As some warn victory, some downfall
Private reasons great or small
Can be seen in the eyes of those that call
To make all that should be killed to crawl
While others say don't hate nothing at all
Except hatred.

Disillusioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Made everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It's easy to see without looking too far
That not much
Is really sacred.

While preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have
To stand naked.

An' though the rules of the road have been lodged
It's only people's games that you got to dodge
And it's alright, Ma, I can make it.

Advertising signs that con you
Into thinking you're the one
That can do what's never been done
That can win what's never been won
Meantime life outside goes on
All around you.

You lose yourself, you reappear
You suddenly find you got nothing to fear
Alone you stand with nobody near
When a trembling distant voice, unclear
Startles your sleeping ears to hear
That somebody thinks
They really found you.

A question in your nerves is lit
Yet you know there is no answer fit to satisfy
Insure you not to quit
To keep it in your mind and not fergit
That it is not he or she or them or it
That you belong to.

Although the masters make the rules
For the wise men and the fools
I got nothing, Ma, to live up to.

For them that must obey authority
That they do not respect in any degree
Who despise their jobs, their destinies
Speak jealously of them that are free
Cultivate their flowers to be
Nothing more than something
They invest in.

While some on principles baptized
To strict party platform ties
Social clubs in drag disguise
Outsiders they can freely criticize
Tell nothing except who to idolize
And then say God bless him.

While one who sings with his tongue on fire
Gargles in the rat race choir
Bent out of shape from society's pliers
Cares not to come up any higher
But rather get you down in the hole
That he's in.

But I mean no harm nor put fault
On anyone that lives in a vault
But it's alright, Ma, if I can't please him.

Old lady judges watch people in pairs
Limited in sex, they dare
To push fake morals, insult and stare
While money doesn't talk, it swears
Obscenity, who really cares
Propaganda, all is phony.

While them that defend what they cannot see
With a killer's pride, security
It blows the minds most bitterly
For them that think death's honesty
Won't fall upon them naturally
Life sometimes
Must get lonely.

My eyes collide head-on with stuffed graveyards
False gods, I scuff
At pettiness which plays so rough
Walk upside-down inside handcuffs
Kick my legs to crash it off
Say okay, I have had enough
What else can you show me?

And if my thought-dreams could be seen
They'd probably put my head in a guillotine
But it's alright, Ma, it's life, and life only.---Bob Dylan

[PJPhreak]

35. Pink Floyd "Animals"

Sheep:
Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away;
Only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air.
You'd better watch out!
There may be dogs about
I looked over Jordan, and I've seen
Things are not what they seem.

That's what you get for pretending the danger's not real.
Meek and obedient you follow the leader
Down well trodden corridors into the valley of steel.
What a surprise!
A look of terminal shock in your eyes.
Now things are really what they seem.
No, this is not a bad dream.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me down to lie
Through pastures green He leadeth me the silent waters by.
With bright knives He releaseth my soul.
He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places.
He converteth me to lamb cutlets,
For lo, He hath great power, and great hunger.
When cometh the day we lowly ones,
Through quiet reflection, and great dedication
Master the art of Judo,
Lo, we shall rise up,
And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water.

Bleating and babbling we fell on his neck with a scream.
Wave upon wave of demented avengers
March cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream.

Have you heard the news?
The dogs are dead!
You better stay home
And do as you're told.
Get out of the road if you want to grow old.

Pigs:
Big man, pig man, ha ha, charade you are
You well heeled big wheel, ha ha, charade you are
And when your hand is on your heart
You're nearly a good laugh
Almost a joker
With your head down in the pig bin
Saying "keep on digging"
Pig stain on your fat chin
What do you hope to find?
When you're down in the pig mine
You're nearly a laugh
You're nearly a laugh
But you're really a cry.
Bus stop rat bag, ha ha, charade you are
You fucked up old hag, ha ha, charade you are
You radiate cold shafts of broken glass
You're nearly a good laugh
Almost worth a quick grin
You like the feel of steel
You're hot stuff with a hat pin
And good fun with a hand gun
You're nearly a laugh
You're nearly a laugh
But you're really a cry.
Hey you Whitehouse, ha ha, charade you are
You house proud town mouse, ha ha, charade you are
You're trying to keep our feelings off the street
You're nearly a real treat
All tight lips and cold feet
And do you feel abused?
.....!.....!.....!.....!
You gotta stem the evil tide
And keep it all on the inside
Mary you're nearly a treat
Mary you're nearly a treat
But you're really a cry.

[tishaLA]

37. We Insist! Freedom Now Suite

by Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln



And Mississippi Goddamn by Nina Simone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUR9yWzN3zc

[Radical Activist]

38. Rage Against the Machine's first album

Self-titled. That's the first to pop in my head.
Pick a Bigger Weapon by The Coup is one of my favorites but it isn't well known.

[Steely_Dan]

40. Cult Of Personality...

"When leader speaks, a leader dies."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxgRUyzgs0

'nuff said.

[Radical Activist]

41. Jerusalem by Steve Earle and Never mind the Bullocks here's the Sex Pistols

They're two of my favorites.
Woody Guthrie's Struggle. The Best Best of Fela Kuti.

[flvegan]

43. Rise Against "Siren Song of the Counter Culture" to begin

I have to add Emimen's "Encore" for just the one song, "Mosh" which basically calls everyone out.

Anything Rage Against the Machine has ever touched. Same with Tom Morello.

Public Enemy gets the same pass, as does Billy Bragg. Jason Isbell's "Dress Blues" does as well.

Beastie Boys had that whole "In a World Gone Mad" that sorta backed up their "To the 5 Boroughs" CD where they called everyone out. Again.

[Radical Activist]

44. Black, Brown and Beige - Duke Ellington

I guess the album was too subtle to shock people but it was his statement made during a time when it was very difficult to do so.

Also, the recordings of Benny Goodman's smaller, integrated groups, including with Charlie Christian. Of course, those wouldn't have been full albums at the time.

[dixiegrrrrl]

46. I applaud your taste.

and have the albums.

[thelordofhell]

45. Here's a few more that spring to mind

United Artists Against Apartheid----Sun City

Midnight Oil----Diesel And Dust

Farm Aid: Keep America Growing Vol. 1

No Nukes: The Muse Concerts For a Non-Nuclear Future

Henryk Górecki----Symphony No.3 (Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

68. My vote would have been "No Nukes"...

...my first choice when I read the thread title. It was a masterpiece, a real snapshot of politically active artists at that time.

[ConsAreLiars]

47. Glad to see Phil Ochs first listed here, as well as all the others.

I suspect few know his words - Read a little here: http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/lyrics.html

Youtube some here: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=search_videos&search_query=Phil+Ochs+Lyrics&search_sort=relevance&search_category=0&page=

(edit to fix typo)

[Warren DeMontague]

48. I looked for it. And I found it.

[Scuba]

49. Gil Scott-Heron ... The Revolution will Not be Televised

[era veteran]

52. # 1/Stevie Wonder, Innervisions (Living for the City)

#2/ Dick Gregory, "Kent State, What Happened and Why" #3/ "A Tribute to Woody Guthrie" (various artists) Dylan, Odetta, & more

[taterguy]

55. Woody Guthrie: This Land is Your Land: The Asch Recordings Volume I

Minutemen: Double Nickels on the Dime

The Essential Lynyrd Skynyrd (seriously)

[unapatriciated]

56. Right Here..

Have a listen...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7678699283388177257#

NOFX
The Decline (1999)
The Decline

Where Are All The Stupid People From?
And How'd They Get To Be So Dumb?
Bred On Purple Mountain Range
Feed Amber Waves Of Grains
To Lesser Human Beings, Zero Feelings

Blame It On
Human Nature, Mans Destiny (Mans Destiny)
Blame It On The Greediocracy (Greediocracy)
Fear Of God
The Fear Of Change
The Fear Of Truth

Add The Bill Of Rights, Subtract The Wrongs
There's No Answers
Memorize And Sing Star Spangled Songs
When The Questions
Aren't Ever Asked
Is Anybody Learning From The Past?
We're Living In United Stagnation

Father What Have I Done?
I Took That 22
A Gift To Me From You
To Bed With Me Each Night
Kept It Clean
Polished It Well
Cherished Every Cartridge, Every Shell

Down, By The Creek, Under Brush, Under Dirt
There's A Carcass Of My Second Kill
Down, By The Park, Under Stone, Under Pine
There's A Carcass Of My Brother William
Brother Where, Have You Gone To?
I Swear, I Never Thought I Could
I See So Many Times
They Told Me To Shoot Straight
Don't Pull The Trigger, Squeeze
That Will Insure A Kill
A Kill Is What You Want
A Kill Is Why We Breed

The Christians Love Their Guns
The Church And NRA
Pray For Their Salvations
Prey On The Lower Faiths

The Story Book's Been Read
And Every Line Believed
Curriculum's Been Set
Logic Is A Threat
Reason Searched And Seized

Jerry Spent Some Time In Michigan
A Twenty Year Vacation, After All He Had A Dime
A Dime Is Worth A Lot More In Detroit
A Dime In California, A Twenty Dollar Fine

Jerry Only Stayed A Couple Months
It's Hard To Enjoy Yourself While Bleeding Out The Ass
Asphyxiation Is Simple And Fast
It Beats Seventeen Fun Years Of Being Someones Bitch

Don't Think (Stay)
Drink Your Wine (Home)
Watch The Fire Burn (Be)
His Problems Not Mine (Safe)
Just Be That Model Citizen

I Wish I Had A Schilling
(For Each Senseless Killing)
For Every Senseless Killing
I'd Buy A Government
America's For Sale
And You Can Get A Good Deal On It
(A Good Deal On It)
And Make A Healthy Profit
Or Maybe, Tear It Apart
Start With Assumption
That A Million People Are Smart
Smarter Than One

Serotonin's Gone
She Gave Up, Drifted Away
Sara Fled, Thought Process Gone
She Left Her Answering Machine On
The Greeting Left Spoken Sincere
Messages No One Will Ever Hear

Ten Thousand Messages A Day
A Million More Transmissions Lay
Victims Of The Laissez Faire
Ten Thousand Voices, A Hundred Guns
A Hundred Decibels Turns To One
One Bullet, One Empty Head
Now With Serotonin Gone

The Man Who Used To Speak
Performs A Cute Routine
Feel A Little Patronized
Don't Feel Bad
They Found A Way Inside Your Head
And You Feel A Bit Misled
It's Not That They Don't Care, Yeah

The Television's Put A Thought Inside Your Head
Llike A Barry Manilow, Jingle
I'd Like, To Teach The World To Sing
In Perfect Harmony
A Symphonic Blank Stare, Yeah
It Doesn't Make You Care (Make You Care)
Not Designed To Make You Care (Make You Care)
They're Betting You Won't Care (You Won't...)

Place A Wager On Your Greed
A Wager On Your Pride
Why Try To Beat Them When, A Million Others Tried?

We Are The Whore
Intellectually Spayed
We Are The Queer
Dysfunctionally Raised

One More Pill To Kill The Pain
One More Pill To Kill The Pain
One More Pill To Kill The Pain
Living Through Conformity

One More Prayer To Keep Me Safe
One More Prayer To Keep Us Warm
One More Prayer To Keep Us Safe
There's Gonna Be A Better Place

Lost The Battle, Lost The War
Lost The Things Worth Living For
Lost The Will To Win The Fight
One More Pill To Kill The Pain

Na Na Na Na Na
La Na Na Na Na
Na Na Na Na Na
Na Na Na Na Na

The Going Get Tough, The Tough Get Debt
Don't Pay Attention, Pay The Rent
Next Of Kins Pay For Your Sins
A Little Faith Should Keep Us Safe

Save Us
The Human, Existence
Is Failing, Resistance
Essential, The Future
Written Off, The Odds Are
Astronomically Against Us
Only Moron And Genius
Would Fight A Losing Battle
Against The Super Ego
When Giving In Is So Damn Comforting

And So We Go, On With Our Lives
We Know The Truth, But Prefer Lies
Lies Are Simple, Simple Is Bliss
Why Go Against Tradition When We Can
Admit Defeat, Live In Decline
Be The Victim Of Our Own Design
The Status Quo, Built On Suspect
Why Would Anyone Stick Out Their Neck?

Fellow Members
Club "We've Got Ours"
I'd Like To Introduce You To Our Host
He's Got His, And I've Got Mine
Meet The Decline

We Are The Queer
We Are The Whore
Ammunition
In The Class War
We Are Worker
We Love Our Queen
We Sacrifice
We're Soilent Green

We Are The Queer
We Are The Whore
Ammunition
In The Class War

[superduperfarleft]

57. What do you mean by "most important."

Do you mean influential, or just personal favorites?

[Erose999]

58. Refused: The Shape of Punk to Come. Its like an hour long socialist manifesto.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enkwaH-CrUQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQFX6NP8s3E

Hard to believe this came out back in 1998. It sounds like it could have been made last week.

[wookie72]

59. Here's my 2 cents

More an artist than an album, but everything he did is worth checking out.





Gospel, yes, but one of the essential artists of the civil rights movement.




There is no Western artist who can compare with Fela. Imagine James Brown crossed with John Lennon and Jerry Garcia (plus Yukio Mishima).

[MonkeyMama]

60. Fortunate Son

Can't leave out CCR...

[bikebloke]

61. UB-40 - Signing Off

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

62. Have to add Quicksilver Messenger Service

From "Who Do You Love" album.

"Fresh Air" and "What About Me"

[Fumesucker]

64. Pink Floyd..The Wall.. and. Animals..

[harun]

65. Uprising, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Víctor Jara's stuff,

Wizard of Oz Soundtrack.

[Joe Fields]

66. Here are a few of mine, in no particular order,

The Concert for Bangladesh, Bob Dylan's Times, They are a Changin', The Beatles "Revolver," Jimi Hendrix "Are You Experienced?"

All of those albums changed the social and political conscience of our society to a large degree.

[Bluerthanblue]

67. CSN&Y four way street-

Jesse Colin Young's american dream

Joni Mitchell's dog eat dog

Jackson Browne's world in motion

[KittyWampus]

69. Maybe something by John Lennon

[bigmonkey]

71. Neon Bible

Arcade Fire

[Warren DeMontague]

72. OK, lets try that again:

[JCMach1]

75. Billy Bragg- Well almost anything...

But how about, "Talking with the Taxman about Poetry"