A-Z CDs - Day 51

419. Soundgarden - Superunknown (last listen: 5+ years) - "Black Hole Sun," "Fell On Black Days," and "Spoonman" made this album a hit back in '94.
420. The Spinners - Very Best Of (last listen: 5+ years) - "I'll Be Around" ("whenever you call me, I'll be there / whenever you want me, I'll be there . . ."), "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love," "Then Came You" (with Dionne Warwick), "They Just Can't Stop It The (Games People Play)," and their cover of the Four Seasons' "Working My Way Back To You" are probably the most popular songs from this soul group who had a pretty solid string of hits in the '70s. I am also a fan of "It's a Shame."
421. Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (last listen: 0-3 months) - This is the second album from The Boss. "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" is my favorite Springsteen song. Overall, it's an okay album. My main beef with it is that the shortest song is 4:31, and there are four (of eight) songs over 7 minutes. It's a good album, but not great, like . . .
422. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run (last listen: 3 months to 1 year) - Springsteen's third album broke him into superstardom, and rightfully so. This is easily one of the top five American albums of all-time, in my opinion. The songs are impassioned, fueled by a frantic "I have to get the fuck out of here right now or else I'm gonna be stuck here forever" attitude, showcasing Springsteen's excellent songwriting ability. The title track and "Thunder Road" are the most well-known songs off the album, and the latter is probably my second favorite Springsteen song (I love the line "You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright"). "Night" is an awesome song, as is "Backstreets," and "Jungleland" is a flowing 9 1/2 minute epic about gang violence with a sweet sax solo by Clarence Clemons. You should own this album.
423. Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A. (last listen: 1-2 years) - If you were alive in the '80s, you know how huge this album is. Between the title track, "Dancing in the Dark," "Cover Me," "I'm on Fire," "Glory Days" (my third favorite Springsteen song), "I'm Goin' Down," and "My Hometown," the album spawned 7 Top 10 hits. "Working on the Highway" is catchy, as is "No Surrender." And of course there's also "Darlington County," which The Dark Horse Pub picked as the theme for Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid.
424. Bruce Springsteen - Greatest Hits (last listen: 1-2 years) - "Badlands" is my favorite song off of this one that I don't have on other albums.
425. Sponge - Rotting Piñata (last listen: never) - Another CD that didn't make it to Dubai. This is Sponge's debut, featuring their lone hit, "Plowed." The rest of the CD is mediocre grunge.
426. Sponge - Wax Ecstatic (last listen: never) - Apparently Australian architects who move to Dubai aren't huge fans of early Sponge. I was reading one of the reviews of this album on Amazon, and this gem appeared: "By the time Velveteen comes around you'll find yourself feeling sorry for the transvestite protagonist, trust me." He's right.
427. Stillwater - Stillwater (last listen: 3 months to 1 year) - Stillwater is, of course, led by guitarist Russell Hammond and lead singer Jeff Bebe (formerly of the Jeff Bebe Band). This six-song compilation features some of their biggest hits. "Fever Dog" was their huge hit, providing the impetus for their 1973 Rolling Stone cover story by then-unknown journalist William Miller, who was only 15 at the time. "Chance Upon Me" is another solid song. "Love Thing" (which may or may not have been written about Hammond's groupie girlfriend, Penny Lane), "You Had To Be There," "Hour of Need," and "Love Comes and Goes" are all good, too. Interestingly, many of Stillwater's songs were written or co-written by Heart's Nancy Wilson, Humble Pie's Peter Frampton, and/or director/producer/writer Cameron Crowe.