HondoJoe's 60 Favorite-ish Albums

  #8: Billy Joel--Songs In the Attic  (1981) \ Top-Notch Tracks:  "Summer, Highland Falls," [ HJ200  #19], "She's Got a Way," [ HJ200  #71], "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out On Broadway,)" "The Ballad of Billy the Kid," "Everybody Loves You Now," "You're My Home," "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" Album Depth:  "Streetlife Serenade," "Los Angelenos," "I've Loved These Days," "Captain Jack" Weak Links:  Previously recorded (not) in front of a live, studio audience. Stand-Out Lyrics:  "They say that these are not the best of times, but they're the only times I've ever known."--"Summer, Highland Falls" "She's got a smile that heals me. I don't know why it is, but I have to laugh when she reveals me."--"She's Got a Way" "They said that Queens could stay. They blew the Bronx away. And sank Manhattan out at sea....

#9: Tom Petty--Full Moon Fever  (1989) Top-Notch Tracks:  "Free Fallin'," "Yer So Bad," "I Won't Back Down," "Running Down a Dream," "Alright for Now," Album Depth:  "A Face In the Crowd," "Zombie Zoo," "Feel a Whole Lot Better," "The Apartment Song," "Love Is a Long Road," "A Mind with a Heart of Its Own," "Depending On You" Weak Link:  No videos featuring Elle Macpherson. Stand-Out Lyrics:  "My sister got lucky, married a yuppie. Took him for all he was worth. Now she's a swinger, dating a singer. I can't decide which is worse."--"Yer So Bad" "Sometimes you're so impulsive, you shaved off all your hair. You look like Boris Karloff and you don't even care."--"Zombie Zoo" "She's a good girl, crazy about Elvis. Loves horses, and her boyfriend, too."--"Free Fallin'" "No, I...

  #10: Billy Joel--An Innocent Man  (1983) Top-Notch Tracks:  "Tell Her About It," [ HJ200  # ], "The Longest Time," "Christie Lee," "An Innocent Man," "Keeping the Faith," "Leave a Tender Moment Alone," "Uptown Girl," "Easy Money," "This Night" Album Depth:  "Careless Talk" Weak Link:  No videos featuring Elle Macpherson. Stand-Out Lyrics:  "Listen, boy, it's good information from a man who's made mistake. Just a word or two that she gets from you could be the difference that it makes."--"Tell Her About It" "If you said goodbye to me tonight, there would still be music left to write."--"The Longest Time" "The man's name I don't remember. He was always Joe to me. But, I can't forget the woman. She was always Christie Lee."--"Christie Lee" "Some people stay far away from a door if there's a chance of ...

  #11: Queen--News of the World  (1977) Top-Notch Tracks:  "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions," [ HJ200  #4], "Spread Your Wings," [ HJ200  #88], "All Dead, All Dead," "It's Late," "Fight From the Inside," "Sheer Heart Attack" Album Depth:  "Who Needs You," "Sleeping On the Sidewalk," "My Melancholy Blues" The Weakest Link:  "Get Down, Make Love" Stand-Out Lyrics:  "Buddy, you're a boy. Make a big noise. Playing in the street, gonna be a big man some day. You got mud on your face. You big disgrace. Kicking your can all over the place."--"We Will Rock You" "I've taken my bows, and my curtain calls. You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it. I thank you all."--"We Are the Champions" "Since he was small, had no luck at all. Nothing came easy to him. Now it was time, he made up his mind. 'This could be my...

  #12: Midnight Oil--Diesel and Dust  (1987) Top-Notch Tracks:  "Beds Are Burning," [ HJ200  #13], "The Dead Heart," "Warakurna," "Bullroarer," "Sometimes," "Dreamworld" Album Depth:  "Put Down That Weapon," "Arctic World," "Sell My Soul," "Whoah" Weak Link:  No one named "Bruce" in the band; lack of schmaltzy love ballads. Stand-Out Lyrics:  "The time has come, a fact's a fact. It belongs to them. Let's give it back."--"Beds Are Burning" "We don't serve your country, don't serve your king, know your customs, don't speak your tongue. White man came, took everyone."--"The Dead Heart" "There is enough, for everyone. In Redfern as there is in Alice. This is not the Buckingham Palace. This is the crown land. This is the brown land. This is not our land."--"Warakurna" "In the desert in the dry, befo...

  #13: Styx--Pieces of Eight  (1978) Top-Notch Tracks:  "I'm O.K.," "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights,)" "Pieces of Eight," "Queen of Spades," "Renegade," "Great White Hope," "Sing For the Day" Album Depth:   "Lords of the Ring," "The Message," "Aku-Aku" Weak Links:  Nope. Stand-Out Lyrics:  "Ladies and gentlemen! Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please! In this corner, wearing white. from the city of the big shoulders, the number one contender in a ten round exhibition for your entertainment. So when the bell sounds, prepare yourself for the main event!"--"Great White Hope" "It's six o'clock, good morning sounds are everywhere. The warmth of spring, a gentle breeze blows through my hair. I hurry through my life never stopping to see how beautiful it was meant to be."--"Pieces of Eight" "Give me a job, give me security. Give me a c...

  #14: The Orchestra--No Rewind  (2001) Top-Notch Tracks:  "No Rewind," [ HJ200  #28], "Can't Wait to See You," "Jewel and Johnny," "Over London Skies," "If Only," "Say Goodbye," "I Could Write a Book," "Twist and Shout" Album Depth:  "Let Me Dream," "Before We Go" Weak Link:  Lack of distribution by a major label. Stand-Out Lyrics:  "Stumbling through my back pages, what was I thinking of?"--"No Rewind" "Parenthetically, thank God that you still love me! (Thank God that you still love me!)"--"Can't Wait To See You" "I don't know how much longer I can watch you leave my life."--"Over London Skies" "Every time I see the clouds go by, I hope they're heading to your part of the sky."--"Can't Wait To See You" "Now his world is crashed in seconds flat. He's down on his knees."--...