9. Count Basie — The Atomic Mr. Basie (1957)

It’s Lit

1. Nearing the end of the first 1% of these albums, and it’s inevitable that my reactions to some will be apathetic at times. Here we have perhaps the first such album in the list; a totally fine jazz record that inspired neither the surprise and joy of Louis Prima nor the disdain of the Louvin Brothers. I like Hot Takes, and I just don’t have any here.
2. I do love the song titles here though. “Flight of the Foo Birds.” “Double-O.” “Teddy The Toad.” “Whirly-Bird.” “Splanky.”
   …
   SPLANKY! I’m glad this is my favorite song on the disc.
3. Another great work of album art, as well. This record really is pretty explosive, especially compared to the next one in the list, and it’s nice that the art reflects that. I also love the jazzy lettering on BASIE. They don’t make ’em like they used to.

No need to devote more pixels than necessary. If this record ends up right around the median point of my overall 1,001 rankings, it’ll have been a great experience.

One Essential Song:

Listen on Spotify: