Reasonable listening for unseasonable weather: 5 great rainy day albums

June 17, 6:46 PMSalt Lake City Pop Culture ExaminerVince Font

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Sylvian's "Beehive" tops the list of best rainy weather albums.

Sometimes the best remedy for unseasonable weather is to surrender to it. Like it or not, Mother Nature's going to have her way. Why not enjoy it? Presented for your consideration: five great rainy weather albums, all guaranteed to provide the perfect soundtrack to the perfect storm.

David Sylvian - Secrets of the Beehive (1987)
Sylvian, former lead singer for Japan (the band, not the country), has accomplished more and reached far greater creative heights in his solo career than most departed frontmen, and nowhere is this more evident than on his third album, a beautifully produced and eloquently executed collection of songs rich on acoustic guitar, fretless bass, piano, muted trumpet and ghostly atmosphere. Sylvian's delivery is mournful and smoke smooth, with lyrics ranging from struggling optimism ("I wrestle with an outlook on life that shifts between darkness and shadowy light") to mournful despair ("On the waterfront, the rain is pouring in my heart"). Not necessarily recommended for the weak of spirit, it is nonetheless a gift to those with an affinity for the music of the heart.

Pink Floyd - Ummagumma (1969)
Recorded in 1969 and capturing what some say was the peak of Pink Floyd's creativity, the live portion of this double-album is a snapshot of a band in transition from their roots in the underground psychedelic movement to the stadium superstars they would eventually become. Roger Waters' bass is the rolling thunder to guitarist David Gilmour's lightning, and Richard Wright's chill-inducing keyboards are the mist accompanying drummer Nick Mason's pounding rain. Warning: Has been known to induce rain in otherwise cloudless skies; play with caution.

Marillion - Misplaced Childhood (1985)
Anyone who watched MTV in the summer of 1985 should be familiar with "Kayleigh", the breakaway hit single from this unusual yet enduring progressive rock band. With guitarist Steve Rothery at the helm, the band creates a sometimes rocking, sometimes ethereal sonic backdrop for lead singer Fish (not his real name) and his autobiographical lyrics about heartbreak, hedonism, and the rediscovery of youth. The album was recorded in West Berlin in the middle of monsoon season, and is the perfect counterpart to a day spent wallowing in puddles of regret.

Low - I Could Live in Hope (1994)
Husband and wife team Alan Sparhawk (guitar, vocals) and Mimi Parker's (drums, vocals) first album defined the musical style of slowcore and appealed to a new era of music fans more content to sit and listen rather than scream and dance at live shows--no greater gift for those born with feet of stone. The songs move with the speed of a slow rising tide, but are laced with an undercurrent of energy that even amid the album's quietest moments threatens to explode into a cacophony of wild instrumentation. The band's demonstration of restraint amid raging emotion is their greatest success, second only to their phenomenal vocals.

Nick Drake - Pink Moon (1972)
Nick Drake's final album, recorded over the course of just two nights, is a short, understated masterpiece that took 35 years to find an audience. The arrangements are raw, and stripped to the bone; the only instrument apart from Drake's guitar appears on the title track, a five-note piano accompaniment that, like Drake himself, is gone before you even know it's there. Its status as a Great Rainy Weather Album comes with a caveat that it should only be listened to by the emotionally strong, or avoided on especially dreary rainy days. Drake delivers a vocal performance that's both lighthearted and incredibly sad at the same time, and hints at the depression that would eventually lead to his untimely death two years after the album's completion.

For more info: Listen to Prog'opolis, a progressive music podcast.