BEST BY AGREEMENT,….not quite

BEST BY AGREEMENT,….not quite

and nor should they be says Norman Warwick

I love to hear enthusiasts express their expertise as much as I love to express their enthusiasm.

That one of my favourite music journalists, Matt Mitchell at Paste on-line magazine trundled through all the previous award winning albums at the annual Grammy awards there were only nine examples from all the decades for which he didn´t feel to compel his own ´should´ve won´award.

The nine albums he named as deserving of the title were

Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour (2019)

Mitchell said The greatest country album of the 21st century winning Album of the Year just feels good. I’m glad that it happened, and I’m glad it happened to Kacey Musgraves—whose LP Golden Hour was a surprise stroke of brilliance that turned her into the matriarch of the genre overnight. And, in a category filled out by Janelle Monáe, H.E.R. and Cardi B, the record’s greatness feels even more massive and Musgraves’ victory feels even more hard-earned.

Simon & Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water (1971)

The field of nominees in 1971 was interesting, largely because it featured a stacked line-up of artists, Matt Mitchell informed us—Simon & Garfunkel, Chicago, Carpenters, Elton John, James Taylor and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Crazily enough, only two of those acts were nominated for the best album of their careers, and Simon & Garfunkel ended up taking home the brass for Bridge Over Troubled Water over CSNY’s Déjà Vu. It’s a win that was earned, as Bridge Over Troubled Water was a brilliant coda to the duo’s career together. Likewise, it’s one of the greatest folk-rock albums of all time.

7. Stevie Wonder: Innervisions (1974)

The greatness of Innervisions would have trumped whatever field it was lumped into, the Paste writer suggested,  but 1974 was a weak year of nominees anyway. It was, truly, Innervisions and everything else. The next-closest pick would have been Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly With His Song, but the Grammys got it right this time, no matter how impossible it was for them to screw it up.

Michael Jackson: Thriller (1984)

Michael Jackson won eight Grammys in 1984, including Album of the Year for Thriller, and Matt says I don’t think there was ever a shred of doubt that MJ was going to walk away with it, though the Police’s Synchronicity and David Bowie’s Let’s Dance were both good records. Thriller, however, is one of the best-selling albums ever and songs like “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and the title track are immortal for a reason.

Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1999)

All hail Ms. Lauryn Hill, he says,  whose Album of the Year victory in 1999 for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill only further cements the record as one of the greatest of all time. And looking at her competition—Madonna, Shania Twain, Sheryl Crow and Garbage—it speaks volumes that the Grammys got it right and awarded such brilliance. To only drop one album in your career and have it win the top prize at music’s biggest night and endure as immortal far beyond that, it could have only been done by Ms. Hill.

Carole King: Tapestry (1972)

If you think George Harrison should have won Album of the Year in 1972 for All Things Must Pass, Mr. Mitchell won’t argue with that. It’s a brilliant record that separated Harrison from the shadow of the Beatles. But, so is Carole King’s Tapestry, which is—top to bottom—a perfect, immortal, timeless LP.

Fleetwood Mac: Rumours (1978)

Had the music journo been alive in 1978 and been forced to choose between Rumours, Aja and Hotel California, he might  have simply combusted. Three of the sharpest rock records of the 1970s stacked against each other on music’s biggest night—what could go wrong? Rumours winning was an easy pick, and I’m not sure either of the other four nominees had much of a chance to begin with. Fleetwood Mac would never snag an Album of the Year nod again, but they scored when it mattered most.

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band (1968)

On this album Mitchell excels as he heaps adulation on to the winders and tosses a cup of condemnation on the awards.

No album gets considered the greatest of all time more than Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Considering that, it’s miraculous that the Grammys gave it Album of the Year in 1968. They almost never award timelessness so highly. Considering that the next best nominee was Bobbie Gentry, I guess it’s not so surprising after all. But, when you look at all 66 Grammy winners on this list, you can’t argue against the Beatles and you certainly can’t argue against Sgt. Pepper’s.

Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life (1977)

For as bad as the Grammys can be and often are says Mitchell, the fact they did award five of the greatest albums of all time their most-coveted prize is a refreshing relief. Songs in the Key of Life, the best double-album ever, beat out George Benson, Chicago, Peter Frampton and Boz Scaggs—which, on paper, isn’t the toughest lineup, sure. But, Stevie Wonder’s magnum opus endures as such. Its existence is marvelous, and its placement at the top of this list is non-negotiable.