Vie’s Verses – Criteria For A Perfect Album
We’ve all heard the term bandied about before. A lot of us have even used it to describe some of our favorite records. “A perfect album.” Critics and disc jockeys have been using those words for decades, but what does it really mean? Have you ever stopped to think what really constitutes a perfect album?
I know that I’ve rated a few albums as perfect in my time. AC/DC’s Back In Black, Kiss’ Destroyer, Meatloaf’s Bat Out Of Hell, to me, they are all perfect. But why are they perfect? What makes these particular albums so much better than anything I’ve ever listened to? The definition of a perfect album really does vary from person to person and critic to critic. And while there are many albums that most people will agree are great albums, getting people to agree on perfect albums is an entirely different process.
My criteria for an album being perfect are pretty simple, but meeting those standards is tough. A perfect album is when each song on the record is so fantastic that you want to listen to the current song as much as you want to play the last song. That’s it. What that really means is that each song on the record is so fantastic you want to listen to it over and over and over again. Each song is such a masterpiece that you can’t stop playing it no matter how badly you want to hear the next track.
There aren’t many albums in existence where all the songs are that good. I’ve already listed a few, but there are others. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, By The Way, Pearl Jam’s Ten, and the self-titled debut from Boston all come to mind. In the history of rock music, these are some of the very best of the best and to me, they have all scored a 10. The reason for that is because each song is as brilliant as the last. Every time that I play those records, I want to hear the next song as much as I want to replay the last song.
A perfect album is a precious gift that does not come around very often. There are several amazing bands that have never accomplished the feat. Black Sabbath has never had a perfect album (although they have come close). Kiss has only done it once. The Beatles have never recorded a perfect album. Rating an album as perfect is a serious statement, and those records have to really earn the title. Each song on the record has to be perfect. Near perfect won’t get the job done. Each song has to be a masterpiece.
When you think about all of the albums that have been recorded throughout history, it’s hard to believe that there haven’t been more perfect albums, but then, that’s the beauty of a perfect album, the rareness of it. It’s like pitching a perfect game in baseball. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it is pure gold (or platinum).
As a rock music critic/blogger, I am always on the lookout for that next great thing. I always want to find an album that can be perfect. And even with all of the great music that has been recorded recently, perfect albums are almost impossible to come by. As much as I love the first two records from Pop Evil and the debut album from Dead Sara, none of those records are perfect. They have all come close, but they haven’t met the criteria. They all had one song that was just a little too weak to be a masterpiece. Thinking about that makes me smile every time I play Back In Black. Here is an album recorded in my lifetime that is perfect—an album that will be enjoyed years after I’ve passed away. That’s an awesome
thought.
What about you? What are your criteria for a perfect album? What albums do you consider to be perfect?
Follow RyoVie on Twitter at Twitter.com/RyoVie
Leave A Comment ↓
Hard Rock Hideout 
Nice concept…the perfect album. I always try and rate my top 20 bands, rather than albums, but I will be buried with Kiss Alive. Every moment is perfect to me. Van Halen’s first record follows, then Aerosmith Rocks, Rush A Farewell to Kings, Beatles Abbey Road. Man, there are a lot of let’s say…9’s though!
I don’t think you can make the “perfect” call until the well after the fact. If you still go back to the album regularly 10 years later with that same feeling of perfectness that you did the first time you heard it, then and only then do you start to consider the record perfect. I think it would also transcend genre. Your tasted may change in general, but the perfect record is still perfect.
Back in Black is definitely on the list for me. Van Halen’s first album also. Maybe Pyromania, although I’d have to think about that one a bit.
I am sure every fan has their own idea as to what the perfect album is, and there are very few that I would deem perfect, but two that always stick in the back of my head that are timeless, that I can listen to from beginning to end, and never want to skip a song, are Tesla’s Mechanical Resonance, and AC/DC’s Back In Black. I am sure there are others, but those come to mind right off of the top of my head.