{"id":19746,"date":"2024-03-26T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/?p=19746"},"modified":"2024-03-25T09:52:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T09:52:00","slug":"best-by-agreement-not-quite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/best-by-agreement-not-quite\/","title":{"rendered":"BEST BY AGREEMENT,\u2026.not quite"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BEST BY AGREEMENT,\u2026.not quite<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

and nor should they be says Norman Warwick<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love to hear enthusiasts express their expertise as much as I love to express their enthusiasm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00b4t feel to compel his own \u00b4should\u00b4ve won\u00b4award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nine albums he named as deserving of the title were<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour<\/em> (2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitchell said The greatest country album of the 21st century winning Album of the Year just feels good. I\u2019m glad that it happened, and I\u2019m glad it happened to Kacey Musgraves\u2014whose 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 Mon\u00e1e, H.E.R. and Cardi B, the record\u2019s greatness feels even more massive and Musgraves\u2019 victory feels even more hard-earned.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Simon & Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water<\/em> (1971)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The field of nominees in 1971 was interesting, largely because it featured a stacked line-up of artists,<\/em> Matt Mitchell informed us\u2014Simon & 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\u2019s D\u00e9j\u00e0 Vu. It\u2019s a win that was earned, as Bridge Over Troubled Water<\/em> was a brilliant coda to the duo\u2019s career together. Likewise, it\u2019s one of the greatest folk-rock albums of all time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Stevie Wonder: Innervisions<\/em> (1974)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greatness of Innervisions would have trumped whatever field it was lumped into<\/em>, 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\u2019s 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<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Jackson: Thriller<\/em> (1984)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Jackson won eight<\/em> Grammys in 1984, including Album of the Year for Thriller<\/em>, and Matt says I don\u2019t think there was ever a shred of doubt that MJ was going to walk away with it, though the Police\u2019s Synchronicity and David Bowie\u2019s Let\u2019s Dance were both good records. Thriller, however, is one of the best-selling albums ever and songs like \u201cBillie Jean,\u201d \u201cBeat It\u201d and the title track are immortal for a reason.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill<\/em> (1999)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All hail Ms. Lauryn Hill<\/em>, 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\u2014Madonna, Shania Twain, Sheryl Crow and Garbage\u2014it 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\u2019s biggest night and endure as immortal far beyond that, it could have only been done by Ms. Hill<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carole King: Tapestry<\/em> (1972)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think George Harrison should have won Album of the Year in 1972 for All Things Must Pass<\/em>, Mr. Mitchell won\u2019t argue with that. It\u2019s a brilliant record that separated Harrison from the shadow of the Beatles. But, so is Carole King\u2019s Tapestry, which is\u2014top to bottom\u2014a perfect, immortal, timeless LP<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fleetwood Mac: Rumours<\/em> (1978)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had the music journo been alive in 1978 and been forced to choose between Rumours, Aja<\/em> and Hotel California<\/em>, he might  have simply combusted. Three of the sharpest rock records of the 1970s stacked against each other on music\u2019s biggest night\u2014what could go wrong? Rumours winning was an easy pick, and I\u2019m 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.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper\u2019s Lonely Heart\u2019s Club Band<\/em> (1968)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this album Mitchell excels as he heaps adulation on to the winders and tosses a cup of condemnation on the awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No album gets considered the greatest of all time more than Sgt. Pepper\u2019s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Considering that, it\u2019s 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\u2019s not so surprising after all. But, when you look at all 66 Grammy winners on this list, you can\u2019t argue against the Beatles and you certainly can\u2019t argue against Sgt. Pepper\u2019s.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life (1977)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2014which, on paper, isn\u2019t the toughest lineup, sure. But, Stevie Wonder\u2019s magnum opus endures as such. Its existence is marvelous, and its placement at the top of this list is non-negotiable.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u00b4t feel to compel his own \u00b4should\u00b4ve won\u00b4award.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[78,45,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-music","category-performing-arts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19746"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20224,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19746\/revisions\/20224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}