Finest Worksongs

You can listen to Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, YouTube, and Amazon, although it's probably best on vinyl.

Follow us on social media @finestworksongs

Lucinda Williams' fifth album, released in the summer of 1998, not only cemented the artist as a bonafide songwriting juggernaut, but it solidified her place among America's best storytellers. "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" would go on to be named The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop (critics) Album of the Year, and to date it is among Rolling Stone's top 500 albums of all time. And for good reason. Williams bemoans (and even moans) about love and loss in songs like "Right In Time," Lake Charles" and "Can't Let Go." And she brilliantly illustrates pain in the title track and also on tunes like "Drunken Angel," "Concrete and Barbed Wire" and more. Williams also captures the Deep South about as good anybody before or since. And because of that, this album is truly "2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten."

Follow us on social media @finestworksongs

In 1994, heavy metal and hard rock were on the way out and grunge ruled supreme. But that mattered not to a young, quick-witted songwriter named Rivers Cuomo. Raised on KISS, Iron Maiden and the rest, Cuomo and his band Weezer brought forth an amalgamation of rock that embraced the angst of grunge with the chops of metal -- all framed by the disposition and perspective of a loner. Weezer's self-titled debut (aka "The Blue Album") set the music world on fire with radio and MTV hits "Buddy Holly," "Say It Ain't So" and "Undone - The Sweater Song." But beyond the veneer of those hits was an album that spoke to the rockers and the geeks alike. And it proved -- like Weezer -- that they two can live in harmony.

Follow us on social media @finestworksongs

How does a young songwriter come back from releasing a mega hit that EVERYBODY knows? For Van Morrison, he followed the success of "Brown Eyed Girl" with two different approaches. First came "Astral Weeks," an album built on and around Morrison's jazz upbringing. Next came "Moondance," which bridged the gap (eventually) between his love of various genres of music with a nod to a more pop-friendly format. It worked. Like "Brown Eyed Girl," the title track has since become a standard, but the album is so much more than that. "And It Stoned Me" tells the nostalgiac story of a trip when he was younger -- in a way that only Van could tell it. "Crazy Love" is a blueprint for how a love song should be written. "Caravan" fused Morrison's love of blues and soul to create a timeless tune. And "Into the Mystic" is among Rolling Stone's top 500 songs of all time. And that's just side 1 of the album. With  "Moondance," Morrison further established himself as one of his generations' great troubadours.

Follow us on social media @finestworksongs

You can listen to Under Construction by Missy Elliott on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, YouTube, and Amazon, although it's probably best on vinyl.

Follow us on social media @finestworksongs

Sure, prior to 1992 there had been combinations of rap and rock. But they were mostly of the novelty variety - a way to offer a safe crossover of different genres and audiences. When Rage Against the Machine unloaded their debut album in 1992, they kicked the crap out of the novelty and drew a line in the sand that told the world that playtime was over. This wasn't "Walk this Way" or "I'm the Man." Tom Morello, Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford laid down some of the heaviest, grooviest music around -- which was perfect for Zack de la Rocha's growls, screams and diatribes against oppression, racism, authority -- and anything else on his mind. "Bombtrack," "Killing in the Name," "Take the Power Back"  and the rest take the spirit of 1960s protest songs with the added element of a world where everyone can see that the revolution was televised. Rage provided the uncensored and unfettered soundtrack.

Follow us on social media @finestworksongs

Perhaps no band benefited from the beauty of the mix tape better than the Violent Femmes. However, you could argue that no other band led to the proliferation of the art form of creating a mix tape more than the Femmes. The simpleness of song structure (and production) and the adolescent lyrical content (one reviewer calling it "uber-elementary sing-alongs") were absolutely {chef's kiss} to represent frustrated, angsty teenagers of the 1980s and '90s. It makes sense -- chief songwriter Gordon Gano began writing much of these tunes when he was 15, after all. Their debut 1983 album includes classics like "Blister in the Sun," "Gone Daddy Gone," "Kiss Off," "Add It Up" and more -- all songs that hit the nerve of what it means to be a young person. It's no surprise that the Violent Femmes can still be heard on "mix tapes" (aka playlists) even today. 

Follow us on social media @finestworksongs

Few artists have enjoyed a resurgence in appreciation over the past decade like Dolly Parton. But in the 1970s, she fought against the perception that she was just a sidekick to Porter Wagoner ... or just a pretty face. It also goes without saying that a lot of people think of other things first when thinking about Dolly, instead of thinking about her talents as a songwriter, singer and musician.  But Dolly has remained true to her roots and to herself, and in recent years, she has begun to enjoy an elevated level of respect as an icon, a musician and an unbelievable person. But she's been crushing it for a LONG time. No better example than 1974's album "Jolene," which includes the title track and "I Will Always Love You." Perhaps you've heard of them? While the rest of the songs may not reach the level of those two, other tunes are elevated by Dolly's lilting, east Tennessee voice, her ability to bring emotion to a story, and her songwriting prowess.

Follow us on social media @finestworksongs

With his 1971 album, "What's Going On," Motown staple Marvin Gaye turned the R&B world -- and the pop music world for that matter -- upside down, smashing conventional ideas about pop songs, album topics and even song themes. It's an album -- and one you really should listen to from start to finish -- about a Vietnam vet returning from war to find an America weighted down by racism, drugs, hatred and injustice. Not surprising, Gaye had to fight hard to have his vision come to life. It was deemed to be a concept album without any radio hits. It was too dark -- especially coming from the voice of such hits as "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," and so many more. But in the end, Gaye got his way -- and our world is better for it. He even had the last laugh as the title track went to No. 2 on the Billboard Soul charts, and "Mercy Mercy Me" and "Inner-City Blues" both charted in the top 10. Oh, and in 2020, Rolling Stone listed it No. 1 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. "Right On."

Follow us on social media @finestworksongs