Board 8 > Rank the Tracks 109: Bob Marley & The Wailers - Exodus (+Pearl Jam results)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Competitive week, sorted by artist (Snake5555555555/Raetsel_Lapin/Seanchan):
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
vs.
Grimes - Art Angels
vs.
Misfits - Static Age

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_2
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_3

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points. For albums with greater than 15 tracks, everything ranked below #15 will be given 0 points and the scale for the top 15 will be the same as a 15-track album. For albums with more than 20 tracks, you only have to list your top 15 (with 16-20, I still like having the average rank listed)
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Sunday, April 9 at 4:00 PM Central Time; the future week poll will close earlier, when I am putting up the next topic
7. You can sign up to be added to the user cycle (a new user will be added to the end of the current cycle as long as there are four weeks remaining) - the next person on the list will choose 3 albums which the other users will vote on for the next topic.
7a. To ensure people are being given an actual choice, the three nominated albums must be by different artists. You can otherwise stick to a similar sound or era.
7b. The tiebreaker for these polls will be whichever is listed first in the poll options - make sure to deliver the results in order of your own preference (which will hopefully have the added benefit of influencing people toward your first choice if they can't decide).
7c. I have added a tiered vote structure - the least popular album will be removed and its backup votes distributed to the other two entrants.
8. Starting with the next cycle, every four weeks will be a competitive week where those listed choose a single album to face off against others.
9. Skits and tracks under 40 seconds will be excluded from the rankings unless argued otherwise

Bob Marley and the Wailers - Exodus track list:
1. Natural Mystic
2. So Much Things to Say
3. Guiltiness
4. The Heathen
5. Exodus
6. Jamming
7. Waiting in Vain
8. Turn Your Lights Down Low
9. Three Little Birds
10. One Love/People Get Ready

Current cycle:
4/9: RyoCaliente (The Smiths - The Queen is Dead)
4/16: darkx (Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy Up the Girl)
4/23: Snake5555555555/Raetsel_Lapin/Seanchan
4/30: neonreaper
5/7: Great_Paul
5/14: jcgamer107
5/21: Giggsalot/MetalmindStats/rwlh
5/28: ChichiriMuyo
6/4: BlueCrystalTear
6/11: rwlh
6/18: NFUN
6/25: HBJDubs/firefdr/NFUN
7/2: StifledSilence
7/9: MaxGalactica

Future cycle:
7/16: MetalmindStats
7/23: HBJDubs
7/30: Raetsel_Lapin
8/6: competitive week
8/13: Steiner
8/20: Snake5555555555
8/27: Jesse_Custer
9/3: competitive week
9/10: ZaziGuado
9/17: firefdr
9/24: Johnbobb
10/1: competitive week
10/8: VeryInsane
10/15: FoolFantastic
10/22: Seanchan
10/29: competitive week
11/5: Giggsalot

Grimes - Art Angels > The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds > Misfits - Static Age

Part of the reason Grimes falling into Musk's circle was so devastating is because Art Angels just might be the greatest electronic pop album ever recorded, with a lot of heart and vulnerability. Pet Sounds, meanwhile, is listed as the single greatest album of all time by Acclaimed Music - this is largely due to its revolutionary recording techniques, but still a phenomenal album in its own right (...if probably not to board 8's particular tastes). Both sit in my all-time top 100. I unfortunately know nothing about Static Age.

If you took the most generic form possible of all popular genres, reggae might win out as the best. The problem is, it has such a narrow definition that it is difficult to stray too far from that sound. If you turn on a reggae record, I will probably enjoy it, but I will largely struggle to differentiate between the tracks. Exodus has a few songs that fall into that pit, but it also features several of the most iconic pieces from the genre. I think what gives Marley the edge is the way he utilizes his backing vocalists.

My ranking:
One Love/People Get Ready
Jamming
Three Little Birds
Exodus
Waiting in Vain
Natural Mystic
Turn Your Lights Down Low
So Much Things to Say
Guiltiness
The Heathen

Grimes - Art Angels > The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds > Misfits - Static Age

Will get to this album later this week, wanted to get votes in while I was thinking about it.

Hi everyone! As mentioned last week, I thought it would be fun to try a genre we haven't touched yet. Anyone hearing this for the first time, you're not alone! As part of a nerdy personal project to fill in my musical blindspots, I listened to this for the first time about a month ago. As soon as I heard it, my slight sheepishness about never having properly checked out Bob Marley became full-fledged embarrassment. From my very first listen, this was one of the best, most flawless pop albums I've ever heard.

All of the big hits here are on side B, but I think the quality is exceptional throughout. The darker, slightly overlooked songs on the first half really provide the album with gravitas, and every single one of them have moments of pure brilliance. There are so many things I love about this record - the bass lines, the bluesy guitar licks, the simple but evocative lyrics, the vocal harmonies, the fact it ends at the perfect time without overstaying its welcome.

This feels as much like a greatest hits than any studio album I know, just a ludicrous flex of songwriting talent. Entirely deserving of its massive reputation, this is one of the best albums of all time.

Jamming
One Love/People Get Ready
Three Little Birds
Guiltiness
Exodus
Natural Mystic
So Much Things to Say
Turn Your Lights Down Low
The Heathen
Waiting in Vain

Oh, and the poll this week is funny - those are three albums that I absolutely adore certain songs from, but I find inconsistent and slightly overrated overall.

Let's go Pet Sounds > Art Angels > Static Age

Pet Sounds > Art Angels > Static Age

I've not heard it before (in full) but Pet Sounds is considered one of the greatest albums of all time. I'm not sure if I'll actually enjoy it but we should absolutely cover it.

Misfits > Grimes > Beach Boys

please don't make me listen to a whole album of the beach boys

First listen done.

Man, that's just an album that goes down smooth. Loving the vibes, even if I'm sure there's more there lyrically than I was paying attention to.

After listening to Exodus, I felt an enormous pull to listen to 2 songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5CCvdEpxGc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEbjiLMGUyk

1: Turn Your Lights Down Low
2: Jamming
3: Waiting In Vain
4: Three Little Birds
5: Natural Mystic
6: Guiltiness
7: So Much Things to Say
8: The Heathen
9: Exodus
10: One Love/People Get Ready

Hopin' Even Flow wins

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds > Misfits - Static Age > Grimes - Art Angels

Don't worry, about a thing. Because every little bump, is gonna be all right.

Art Angels > Static Age > Pet Sounds

I've never cared for religious music, largely because most religious music often tends to be repetitive and lazy (Christian rock has to be the single most boring genre of music that exists). But I've also always maintained that Bob Marley is one of the biggest exceptions to that. Most of his music is very directly religious, but never in the generic "god is great" kind of way designed to be easily digestable on mass. It's moreso about how the direct influence on his life and culture, like in So Much Things To Say where he ties the crucifixion to modern day minority oppression or in Jamming, where he sings about how singing and dancing both in the name of equality and his faith.

1. Jamming
2. Exodus
3. Three Little Birds
4. So Much Things to Say
5. One Love/People Get Ready
6. The Heathen
7. Waiting in Vain
8. Turn Your Lights Down Low
9. Guiltiness
10. Natural Mystic

1. Three Little Birds
2. One Love/People Get Ready
3. Waiting in Vain
4. Jamming
5. Natural Mystic
6. Exodus
7. Turn Your Lights Down Low
8. So Much Things to Say
9. Guiltiness
10. The Heathen

A pretty great album. Slightly repetitive at points but when I'm enjoying the general sound it hardly matters.

Art Angels > Pet Sounds > Static Age

1. Waiting in Vain
2. Three Little Birds
3. Exodus (lol at 0:13, 0:27, etc.)
4. Turn Your Lights Down Low
5. One Love / People Get Ready
6. Jamming
7. Natural Mystic
8. The Heathen
9. So Much Things To Say
10. Guiltiness

Pretty solid album. Reggae is very one-dimensional with little nuance, so it's difficult to get variety in an album like this. It's a nice style regardless. Only the bottom 3 in my rankings didn't capture my interest much.

Posting mine soon

Three Little Birds
One Love/People Get Ready
The Heathen
Waiting In Vain
Exodus
Natural Mystic
Turn Your Lights Down Low
So Much Things to Say
Jamming - to me this was the theme song of 90s entitled neocon college kids. Its irrational and unfair for me to do this, I know
Guiltiness

Waiting In Vain
One Love/People Get Ready
Guiltiness
Exodus
Jamming
Natural Mystic
The Heathen
Turn Your Lights Down Low
So Much Things To Say
Three Little Birds

Reggae is a genre that I can put on a playlist and chill but I'm not into it enough to seek out specific songs to listen to. If any of these songs came up randomly I would know it's Marley but would probably never remember what song it actually is. Cool album though, it serves its purpose of being something to chill out to.

MaxGalactica posted...

Reggae is very one-dimensional with little nuance, so it's difficult to get variety in an album like this.

This is a pretty unfair blanket statement! There's zillions of variety in reggae when you account for the whole dub scene and even the more out there roots stuff (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Kb8YGhXCw), and I think Exodus is no less varied than most pop-tinged albums in other genres too.

Maybe the way I worded it made it sound harsher than I meant it to be. I was more or less echoing Fools and others comments saying that due to reggae having a fairly narrow definition, its hard to get a ton of variety out of it, but Marley does a great job of it despite the constraints.