Sounds of CineMcCollough

Rob, as usual, is the wildcard in that you never know WHAT genre he is going to pick --- while Jay is reliably rocking, and Butch is reliably easier listening in comparison, Rob can hit to all fields. This week he pulled a real gem of a diamond album, George Michael's absolute giant solo debut, 1987's "Faith."

Having achieved superstardom already as the singer and songwriter for Wham!, Michael decided to head out on his own without bandmate Andrew Ridgely, and put together an album that he wrote, produced and performed all on his own (with the assistance of a large group of instrumentalists, of course). The result continued Michael's unbelievable run of top 10 (seven) and number one (four) hits,

Now obviously, while Faith is a giant album, it is not for everyone - but the question is, aren't you just the least bit curious? Give the fellas a listen and compare notes!

TRACKS: 11

RUNTIME: 53:58

CERTIFICATION: 10x platinum

As usual, Butch's job is to bring the temperature and the tempo down a notch (or six) with his album pick. This time, he has decided to spin perhaps his top album of the 1980s, yet another album that took the artists to new heights - "The Joshua Tree" by Irish rock band U2.

In Butch's defense, the band intended this album to have a harder sound than their previous efforts, which it perhaps achieved. But what it did achieve was an album chock full of singles and rich with album tracks that sound like they could have been singles in their own right. It gave the band momentum to sustain yet another shift in tone with their next few efforts before finding themselves, by the end of the millennium, ensconced in the catbird seat as arguably the biggest band in the world.

But don't take Butch's word for it - listen to what Rob and Jeremy have to say and compare it to your thoughts.

TRACKS: 11

RUNTIME: 50:11

CERTIFICATION: 10x platinum

Back to the top for Jay's third album pick and he is keeping it hard with the 1991 massive hit eponymous album by metal band Metallica. Commonly referred to as "The Black Album," this disc definitely broadened the audience for the band, which is another way of saying that while it is definitely their biggest hit commercially, it was not the album that pleased all of their long-time fans. However it not only proved a pure metal band like Metallica could go 'mainstream' but it ALSO demonstrated that the mainstream audience was gaining ever more respect for hard rock.

Let's join the boys and listen track by track as they evaluate and rank them!

TRACKS: 12

RUNTIME: 62:31

CERTIFICATION: 20x platinum

Rob makes his second pick of the podcast, and ends round two of our picks, with a hard rock band from down under you've likely heard of -- "B "Back in Black" By AC/DC. It was the band's seventh studio album, but their first with new lead singer Brian Johnson, replacing the deceased Bon Scott. Would the band manage to maintain their edge and success?

I guess that depends on your taste in some ways, but sales wise, this is their biggest hit album, achieving the elusive diamond album status so few albums manage to reach. It achieved instant success in sales, and also received positive reviews that gave the band momentum in moving into the Eighties, and sold an ungodly number of albums along the way.

But will the three of us all agree on this one? Listen in as Jaya and Butch react to and discuss Rob's pick.

TRACKS: 10

RUNTIME: 42:11

CERTIFICATION: 27x platinum

Some albums take the world by storm when thy are released, and some albums never quite achieve full thrust... and then there are those rare albums that attain a life of their own and remain relevant for far longer than anyone expected - or, in the case of Butch's second diamond album selection, longer than anyone imagined possible. Pink Floyd's eighth studio album, The Dark Side of the Moon, was released in 1973 and entered the Billboard album charts... and it stayed there for a record 996 weeks, or 19 YEARS of continuous presence on the album sales chart.

The album's influence exceeds even those startling sales numbers, however - it was one of the first 'theme' rock albums... both intended themes, as well as (possibly) imagined themes, such as the theory that there is a connection to the play order and the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939). It spawned several all-time classic songs, and became an indelible part of the fabric of the music industry. Even the album cover has become ubiquitous!

But it turns out that the three of us are NOT of the same mind on this album... obviously Butch likes it (which is why he picked it) -- but what do the other co-hosts think? Give us a listen as we rank and discuss the whole thing track by track.

TRACKS: 10

RUNTIME: 42:54

CERTIFICATION: 15x platinum

We come back around for another pick from Jeremy on the Sounds, and he pulled from the sleeve, for our listening pleasure, our next diamond album, and another debut album - the Bestie Boys' "License to Ill." Released in 1986, it became just the second rap album all time to achieve platinum status, eventually achieving diamond in 2015. Columbia refused to release the album under its original homophobic name, which is a good portent for the tone of the album.

The album spawned SEVEN singles, including the band's largest hit by far, "Fight for Your Right." It expanded a burgeoning trend of sampling works by other artists.

So we give it a spin and compare notes and rankings on all the tracks. Give us a listen and see if you agree!

TRACKS: 13
RUNTIME: 44:32
CERTIFICATION: 10x platinum

Rob's pick for our third album is "Purple Rain" by Prince and the Revolution. Released in 1984 as the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, it was Prince's sixth studio album but would become the greatest achievement and biggest success for the Minneapolis rocker. It would become a number one album in just four weeks, and spend nearly half a year at that spot on the charts. The album launched Prince to the pantheon of 80s pop/rock music stardom.

Pull up a set of headphones and give us a listen as Rob, Jay and Butch go through the album track by track and compare their favorites.

TRACKS: 9

RUN TIME: 43:55

CERTIFICATION: 13x platinum

For their second album review, Butch gete the pick and chooses something completely different... "Rumours", the eleventh studio album by Fleetwood Mac. This is the album that truly shot the band to superstardom and became one of the defining albums of the 1970s.

Fleetwood Mac was formed as "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac" in 1967, and then had undergone significant lineup changes, not the least of which was the addition of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham the previous album. This cauldron of twisting and shifting relationship dynamics combined for something that came out of nowhere, an amazing collection of songs that would take the world by storm and endure even to today.

Join Butch and Jay and Rob and give our review a listen to see if you agree.

TRACKS: 11

RUN TIME: 39:03

CERTIFICATION: 21x platinum

The inaugural album pick for the Sounds of CineMcCollough is the smash hit debut album "Appetite for Destruction" by Guns n Roses, released in July of 1987, right before our senior year of high school. One of the highest selling debuts of all time, its cultural impact was arguably even greater, heralding in a harder, grittier, dirtier edge to rock music near the end of the Decade of Excess.

Picked by Jeremy, listen in as he and Rob and Butch take you through track by track to pick their favorite tracks and discuss them.

TRACKS - 12

RUN TIME - 53:52

CERTIFICATION - 18x platinum RIAA