With our fingers permanently ready to press ‘skip’ and our playlists set on ‘shuffle’, we rarely listen to albums from start to finish. Yet with many of us working from home, and having to stay put for hours at a time, has there ever been a better time to embark on musical journeys with new albums?
Since the start of COVID-19 restrictions, my husband, my four year-old daughter and I have set up a breakfast ritual. The three of us sit down with a cuppa and a piece of toast and listen to albums we didn’t know or had forgotten about.
The rules are: the albums need to be less than an hour long (some of us have short attention spans), go back to the 1950s and early 1960s and make the three of us feel good. In doing so, we have (re)discovered fantastic albums. We have also realised that it does set a peaceful tone for the day and helps us concentrate better on our respective tasks.
The following six albums are all under 40 minutes long and make an easy listen when juggling phone calls, emails and Zoom meetings. Each one of the albums will probably end up turning your day into something more than what you had in mind when you woke up. Enjoy!
1. Best to listen to in the morning as you log in, gearing up to face the avalanche of night emails: Louvin Brothers, Tragic Songs of Life (1956)
The name might have given it away, but the themes of this album are not light. Tragic songs of life tells tales of heartbreak (‘I’ll Be All Smiles Tonight’), longing to return home (‘Kentucky, Alabama’), tragedy (‘Katie Dear’) and murder (‘Knoxville Girl’).
Yet there is something incredibly light and magical about Ira and Charlie Louvin’s close harmony singing. With two polar opposite temperaments, the duet could spend months without talking to each other.
However, once on stage, their voices would unite into one single body of emotions. Even if you’re not into country music, the two brothers’ high harmonies will move you to the bones. You will get a feeling of peace out of these beautiful songs telling horrific stories.
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Length: 36 minutes
Check out Louvin Brothers, Tragic Songs of Life (1956)
2. Best to listen to while putting away legos and cubby houses so your four year old’s bedroom appears as a perfectly respectable backdrop to your conference call: Otis Redding, Otis Blue: Otis Redding sings soul (1965)
Really, this is an album for any day, any time. Otis Redding’s emotion-filled vocals and fantastic music by Booker T and the MG’s give the 11 tracks of the album such a unique vibe it’s hard to believe most of the songs are covers (‘Respect’ is however one of the only two songs on the album written by Redding).
The rendition of Satisfaction is so inhabited that many people thought the Stones’ version was the cover version. Otis Blue gives listeners a direct line into the singer’s soul, his heartache (‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long’) hopes (‘A Change is Gonna Come’) and happiness (‘My Girl’).
His energy and emotions are bursting, they’re in the room with you. You could listen to the album on repeat for hours and still feel like you’re hearing it for the first time each time. This album will make you feel on top of the world and full of energy. So much you could scream.
Length: 33 minutes
Check out Otis Redding, Otis Blue: Otis Redding sings soul
3. Best to listen to if you’re having a bad day / after a tough work conversation: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue (1959)
If you think jazz might be too crazy or complex for you, give this album a listen. Often cited as the biggest-selling jazz album of all times, it features some of the best musicians of the time performing as the Miles Davis Sextet, including John Coltrane playing saxophone and Bill Evans playing the piano.
Davis, disillusioned by the increasing complexity of bebop jazz, used a new “modal” approach to jazz for Kind of Blue. Today all the songs we listen to use this approach. The album relies entirely on improvisation, with the final 12 minute long Flamenco Sketches recorded in one single first take.
Because it focuses less on chord changes and more on modes, Kind of Blue is a very atmospheric album, with subtle shifts in the music. Feeling your mood move alongside the music is a great joy. At home, it does wonders at turning tantrums into a nice down time before bedtime stories too.
Length: 35 minutes
Check out Miles Davis, Kind of Blue
4. Best to listen to when you hit that afternoon dip: Stan Getz and João Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto (1963)
Sit down at your desk with a coffee and your cluttered brain and let the soothing rhythms of bossa nova take you on a magical half an hour journey. The first few notes of The girl from Ipanema and the soft vocals of Astrud Gilberto will instantly transport you to the faraway shores of Brazil.
The encounter of Jazz saxophonist Getz and “father of bossa nova” João Gilberto, known for his laid back vocals, results in eight intimate and elegant tracks. The album will help you find your groove back, whether it is to the sound of international successes such as Desafinado, or to the dreamy sound of lesser known tracks such as Corcovado (Quiet nights Of Quiet Stars).
Length: 34 minutes
Check out Stan Getz and João Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto
5. Best to listen to when the connection is down, the urgent emails are not coming through and that person never called you back: Bert Jansch, Bert Jansch (1965)
Aaah, the places a man and his guitar will take you. Neil Young once said that Scottish folk singer songwriter Bert Jansch was to acoustic guitar what Jimi Hendrix was to electric guitar.
Raw pain, loss and doubt are everywhere in this album, beautifully highlighted by Jansch’s acoustic guitar. Oh how strong is your love is about a young father overwhelmed by his new responsibilities, who questions whether or not he should leave his wife and child before disappointing them.
Real-life inspired ‘Needle of Death’ talks about a friend whose “trouble young life had made him turn to a needle of death”. The spirit of folk songs stems from their history and how they have travelled through centuries to reach us today.
Bert Jansch’s album combines this spirit with the quiet yet incandescent energy coming from his delicate finger picking to support the tragic tales being told. Jansch’s voice and his guitar will definitely strike a chord with you, even as you are trying to work through email connection issues or clunky video conference trouble.
Length: 39 minutes
Check out Bert Jansch, Bert Jansch
6. Best to listen to on Friday afternoon, while finishing things off, before picking the kids up and while visualising the weekend ahead: James Brown, Live at the Apollo (1963)
If you only listen to one live album, make it this one. James Brown, who had unsuccessfully pitched the idea of a live album to his record label, had to fork out the money to record the Apollo concert himself.
The energy from the band, the crowd and of course James Brown are so infectious that you will start grooving at your desk before you have time to say Zoom call. It might start by a small kick of the feet on I’ll go crazy, then a subtle swing on ‘Try mMe’ to the background vocals of the ‘Famous Flames’. By the time ‘Please, Please, Please’ comes up in an insane nine song medley, you will be going as wild as the sea of screaming women in the audience.
Hearing the crowd react and respond to ‘Lost Someone’ is an exhilarating experience which defines the term “soul music” better than any word or picture. This album will energise you as much as a full body workout. After this, you are ready for anything.
Length: 31 minutes
Check out James Brown, Live at the Apollo
