Reviews (page 6 of 7)
I bet marching band teachers love this album
3 Interesting
3.5
Environment : work Attitude : green tea buzz, optimistic Review : Jazzy with a touch of pop
3.5
Several songs or at least parts of them sounded familiar. It wasn't bad. It wasn't great. I will round up.
Really enjoyed this 🩸 🥵 😭
It's kind of a jazz rock thing, but definitely more poppy than, say, Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I think I like ELP more, but this sounds good and the instrumentation is great.
Intriguing at times, experimental, but still cohesive, and in the end just average album by Blood, Sweat and Tears. Great compositions in intro and outro parts, few interesting piano solos, great bass line over the course of the album, a part here and there sounded like an awesome jam session. Otherwise, average vocal, and quite boring songs in-between. All in all, average experience.
Perfect jazz classic 70s for the beach.
I had never listened the an entire B,S & T album and I'm assuming this is their best. It contains some of their classic, well-known tunes I've previously heard on the radio and many songs I hadn't. Overall, the hits really are the best tracks and the rest of the record didn't keep my interest. A range in styles and genres that were fine, but really, a lot of it felt like filler.
Weird mix between jazz, rock, and folk.
A great singer, a disjointed album. The mood of the album fluctuates so much and never quite lands but the energy and passion is clear.
This reminds me of a cross between 'Chicago', with the jazz rhythms and interludes, and the rock opera stylings of 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. Also, the singer sounds a lot like Judas from the 1970 motion picture. Those are both great musicals and although Judas gets a lot of bad press, he does have a cracking set of pipes. So in my book this is a good review. Not a record to be taken seriously, but weirdly enjoyable overall. Rating: 3/5 Playlist track: Spinning Wheel Date listened: 29/06/23
Not convinced by this one. Usually, I'm all for genre mash-ups. This one just doesn't feel like a coherent whole though. It seems more like an automated spotify playlist of pleasant but not noteworthy background listening tracks from different styles.
I dig the vibe.
This was both familiar and new at the same time. Pure songwriting and great musicians.
I always think of BST as a disco group, probably getting mixed up with Earth Wind and Fire. I listened to this in the car with my Dad and it was a nostalgic listen for him, so this was a positive listening experience. They seem like another of the long line of 1968/69 generic country-blues-jazz-psychedelic rock groups that evolved into prog and 70s easy rock.
I had really high hopes liking the 3 major hits. It's a mix of rock, funk, jazz, and much more. "And When I Die" has bluegrass, and "Sometimes in Winter" is a classically-infused prog. For innovation, it's highly impressive, coming before most prog and jazz fusion bands like Chicago and King Crimson. It's bright and lush, but the compositions feel rushed and all over the place. Let's look at one song: "God Bless the Child." What the hell is with the transition at the 2-minute mark? It doesn't even sound like the same song. Then a minute later it suddenly turns into a Latin jazz dance craze. Abandons that Latin when the horns break in, then returns to that beginning theme, and having a weird bluesy ending. It's complex and impressive but feels meant for people with short attention spans. They throw all these ideas together and hope it turns out ok. "Sometimes in Winter" feels like it belongs on a prog album like Jethro Tull or Moody Blues but has no right being sandwiched between these high-energy jazz tracks." The only similar tracks are the Erik Satie opener and closer. There are plenty of cool moments I enjoyed, even in the weaker tracks, but most of that is due to the varied instruments that come in and out suddenly. "Blues Pt 2" is an extended jazz jam session that's mostly boring and at times feels like they're messing around with instruments, eventually deciding to become a funk song near the end, but there was some moments that grabbed my attention. On the bright side, none of the songs were forgettable, with each having things that stood out and left an impression. Best songs are the technologically impressive "Spinning Wheel" and the emotional "You've Made Me So Very Happy." The song "Spinning Wheel" shows what they were trying to do but failed with the other songs.
Just fine. But some real shining moments in the more orchestral parts.
Decent classic rock album.
Honestly didn't enjoy this as much as I expected to, and it had all the ingredients that would go into an album that I would absolutely love. It was still quite good, and I'm not even sure entirely what was missing for me. Just one of those things where it didn't fully connect for me
Interesting and refreshing music but ultimately fails to leave a lasting impression
1968 is never a cause for celebration here, cover doesn't give anything away. Beatles-esque nonsense? Ok no it's definitely American, like a jazzy take on the pop music of the time? Not too bad, but got boring and became background noise after a while. 3/5.
Decent bluesy rock. Most of it kind of drifts on by without making much of an impression though. 5/10
Rock
Some weird cross between dad rock and...
Taking the fact that it's from 1968 into consideration, this was relatively enjoyable. It did get a bit bland and repetitive after a while, though. I was hesitating between 2 and 3, but I'll give this a benevolent 3 to average it out a bit, as my group is taking the piss with rating this a 1
La banda que millor va saber fusionar jazz i rock. Com a mínim en la seva versió més complexa, ja que Steely Dan li va donar un toc comercial i melòdic que B,S&T mai van assolir. Aquest segon disc excel.leix per les versions que fa de clàssics de Traffic, Billie Holiday, Laura Nyro i, sobretot del 'You've Made Me So Very Happy' de Brenda Holloway. A més, una intro i outro obviables, i alguns temes propis interessants, inclós una jam de jazz rock de gairebé 12 minuts
I’m very confused it kinda sounds like the music from the legend of Zelda gone wild
It was pleasant enough, but unremarkable.
I just found this really middle of the road to be honest 3/5.
A bit too eclectic and not enough hooks. Still a good listen but not one I’m yearning to return to.
pretty cool album. I didn't know some, but I knew a few by heart (Spinning Wheel, You've Made Me So Very Happy)
Disco sesentero con canciones tranquilas y relajadas. Instrumentalmente, con predominio de instrumentos de viento. En ocasiones, un tanto psicodélico
- Never heard of Blood, Sweat & Tears before - Enjoyed it, a good mix of different genres - Got a bit repetitive towards the end - Fav songs: Smiling Phases, More and More, Sometimes in Winter
3/5 This was the Jazziest Rock I've ever heard. I didn't like the beginning tracks, but I did like the songs I knew. It felt like it started off as one album, but ended as a completely different one. It definitely had levels which some albums don't, but it also felt all over the place. I will probably only ever listen to one song off it again.
I found this to be weird. It started out with classical music but then evolved into some kind of mess. Erratic and scattered album, not fully horrific but not to my taste.
its a fun, schlocky classic rock meets 60s game show music album. the vocals are strong and vibrant. mellow meets energetic, abounding energy, fuck the extra live tracks. you wont be disappointed or overwhelmed. lifts its head from the run of the mill by a tiny margin.
Technically a jazz album, but Blood Sweat & Tears spice it up with elements of rock and folk plus a robust brass section. They’re not reinventing the wheel, though there’s a pleasant time to be had regardless.
This was not what I expected. It did not meet expectations. One of them sounds like Tom Jones. Another one sounds pretty. Another one sounds rock. I dunno. There are some good songs, but it's just a mixed bag. I don't like the gospel sound. It's still a technically good album, I just don't really like it.
When I first saw this album was next up I rolled my eyes. Don’t know much about BS&T but I didn’t have high hopes. I gotta say, I really liked a few of these songs. And When I Die had a movie soundtrack feel vibe to it. Like that one slot. Spinning Wheel was the only song I was familiar with and it’s solid, but goofy. More and More was another great one. I’ll take that drum/organ solo over jazzy stuff any day. Smiling Phases is just….fun. Until it got jazzy. I’m just not digging the jazzy. A couple of boring songs, a couple of jazz songs that I’ll skip in a heartbeat in future listenings, too. You’ve Made Me So Happy is half good/half gross. It ends with Blues #2 which is just jazz and just not my thing. Overall, I half dig this, half hate it, lol. So it gets a 3. The good parts get a 4, the bad parts get a 1. Overall, 3 from me, dawg.
Honestly couldn’t have told you what they sounded like before listening. Not my favourite but worth a go.
This sounds like the soundtrack to a musical that was written for Tom Jones to star in.
Kinda confusing listen. Start with a classical rendition of Erik Satie then we go into Jazz Rock? Why? Just start on "Smiling Phases". Is it a "Aha, gotcha!" moment where the listener expects more classical-type music due to the instruments? Didn't work for me, but maybe cause it's not 1968 anymore.
This album reminds me of Chicago's sound and I am not sure who came first. There is a variety of sounds on this album and it feels pretty unfocused.
the sound itself is great, but the album is sooo all over the place that it's not as enjoyable to listen to as it would be otherwise. also just not crazy about the guy's voice in general
This was all over the place and relatively unremarkable, but it was solid and I enjoyed it for what is was. It also put me in my feels because Gymnopedie No. 1 is on the Barnard playlist I made my senior year of high school so that I could envision myself walking through Morningside Heights to my Women in Revolutions class, headscarf in hair and matcha latte in hand, as I listen to the Velvet Underground through wired headphones. Oh what could have been.
This is one of the those 3's that I'll play non-stop for days, addicted to it. It'll remain a 3, but this sucker took me for a ride. What a great album.
5/10 I liked it a lot at first (the horn arrangements are cool!) but after awhile it started to sound really…gimmicky I guess?
ima dobrih stvari, ngl
A couple great songs that I knew but most songs were just "too 70s" for me. Which is odd because I love the 70s
With their original bandleader Al Kooper gone, heralding an near-constant revolving door of line-ups, the nine-piece Blood, Sweat & Tears make an ambitious, confounding album that barely holds itself together. Restless, convoluted and virtuosic, it's certainly a fun listen but also a frustrating one at times. Many of the songs here are covers, and so a main draw of "Blood, Sweat & Tears" is hearing them interpreted by a large brass ensemble and a group of very talented session musicians. Sometimes this works well: the rocking cover of Traffic's "Smiling Phases", or a concise and reasonably faithful rendition of "You've Made Me So Very Happy." However, other times it's a little bit hackneyed. Erik Satie's "Gymnopédie" is a lovely piece in its own right, and I'm not sure how much I needed to hear it on classical guitar and flute, bookending the album. Later, an incredibly bombastic "Sunshine for Your Love" and "Spoonful" both make appearances in the yawning "Blues, Pt. II", while Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child" is extended with an aimless jazz-rock jam crowbarred into the middle. Covers don't usually bother me, but in this instance I end up with a nagging suspicion the band had to rely on other artists' work before sprucing them up with their technical chops and passing it off as an "improvement". This comes across most of all on "And When I Die", a beautiful song which I'd never heard before. The original recording by Laura Nyro (she wrote it at 16!) is profound, moving and already displays impressive musicianship. This one gets a little lost in showing off, as the band butcher it into a hokey Broadway cabaret tune with baffling tempo changes and pregnant pauses. All style and no substance, foreshadowing Yes's treatment of Simon and Garfunkel's "America". With principal songwriter Al Kooper gone, the originals are also a mixed bag, and it's perhaps telling that they weren't the biggest hits of the album. However, while "Sometimes In Winter" is maudlin and distracted, I did enjoy "More and More" and "Spinning Wheel": both good fun, with tremendous use of the brass section. For all my quibbles on the song selections and treatments, I really can't fault the performances here: they're all very strong, particularly the rhythm section who contend with changes all over the map. Bobby Colombey's jazz-influenced drumming patterns and Jim Fielder's all-over-the-place-in-the-best-way bass are two of the record's strongest assets, and of course the brass section gives the band a signature sound to set them apart from many of their peers. David Clayton-Thomas's searing lead vocals give some much-appreciated bite. Overall this is a good listen, if a bit uneven: the arrangements are so dense and complex that they will likely grow on me more with time, and I wouldn't be opposed to hearing it again.
It’s an ok album as a whole. My mother lists the band as one she liked in her youth. I knew Spinning Wheels beforehand, but I never listened I to this or any of their albums.
👍🏻 6.5/10 qsy
Too much noodly jazz, not really my thing.
Mid
Great playing, but I saw these guys live in the late 80s and hated them. Hate this album just as much.
I do very much like the lead singers voice. I also like the two known songs from this album…..the others? Meh.
1968 jazz rock, sounds like chicago Spinning wheel You've made me so very happy
Somehow I got two jazz-inspired rock albums in a row and this is less compelling than Steely Dan's Aja.
I love the funk/R&B but it's just too much jazz for my taste...
Hatte echt nette, grovige Parts, aber im generellen werde ich einfach nicht wirklich warm mit Jazz.
It’s a rock twist of jazz and I should like it but it’s rather boring and a bit sanitized. It’s the sort of stuff that probably turned people off of jazz for a while.
This is sometimes OK and sometimes really cheesy. And When I Die is a great example of utter cheese. I recognize Spinning Wheel but it's also a pretty dumb song. I like a lot of acid rock but this album may often be too much drugs. Also, a lot of these songs are just covers, which kind of drops my opinion another notch. 2/5
I suppose they're great musicians but that shit is so cheesy. Might as well be listening to Tom Jones.
Schmaltz rock!
I knew a couple of the tunes, but it's not really my thing. Clearly the musicians are very good, though.
There was something very familiar about this psychedelic funk jazz rock from the late 60’s… and then near the end of the album, ‘Spinning Wheel’ and ‘You’ve Made Me So Very Happy’ played. Aside from those hits, not really my thing. 2.5/5.0
Music for nerds (baby boomer nerds)
Mixed feelings about this. “You’ve Made Me Feel…” is maybe the best song on the album, and I love the musicianship on “Blues, Part 2” and maybe in a couple of other spots. Love the sound and sound of the lead vocals. However, overall is sounds too vaudeville to me throughout. Understand how they’re blending jazz influences and horns pre-Chicago in, but a lot sounds like “Tommy Can You Hear Me?” (which may have come later) on every song. In summary, has its good moments in spots but not overall. I wouldn’t get this on vinyl.
Boring country music
A mixed bag of lounge bar music.
And When I Die God Bless the Child Spinning Wheel You've Made Me So Very Happy
not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue
This album has an identity crises. It’s all over the map musically with nothing to tie it together. Individually some of the songs are good but they just don’t make sense together.
I am growing weary of white people with organs and brass sections… music for older couples to scrapbook by …
Mess of an album, very disappointing. Blood, Sweat, and Tears can definately jam when they choose to, they have a great vibe and good songs. This album doesn't portray that at all, there a few good ones on here but most of the album doesn't have that great jam bar band feel they do so well.
interesting blend of sounds tbh, saved 0/12
This is a rare record where there are just two flugelhorn players. I usually don't mess around with bands that have less than 3 guys on the fluge. I mean if you're serious about music, you've got your flugelhorn boys, you've got at least two people in what I like to call "bassoon corner" and then if there's room on the bus, you can have drums or whatever. Seeing this band is so "stripped down" I was hesitant to push play, and that hesitation was punished by a beautiful intro and then of course deeply validated by the stinky 70's singing throughout this bad boy. We've got eerie keyboard passages and some wicked jazz tracks, but the actual "song songs" are rock bottom Las Vegas pageantry. The only way I can describe them is "gross." Like they feel as though they stink. How can music literally stink? Well, Blood, Sweat & Tears attempt to answer the question with an affirmative. The relatively musky odour of this release has me wondering if even a third flugelhorn would've saved this. Oh who am I kidding? Of course it would've. 1.5-2 HIGHLIGHTS: Somebody really has to wash out this van
This is a right old melange of jazz, rock, pop and more besides, creating something...confusing. Right down to the song titles, it makes almost no sense at all. It's a shame that none of it is quite good enough to really warrant further inspection.
Look, I am going to be upfront and honest about this review....... I HATE Blood, Sweat & Tears. I hate that guys voice. Is this a fair rating? Maybe not but they are my reviews based on how I feel about them. 2 stars and thats being generous. This is one of the few popular bands I will actually get up instantly to turn off.
More classic rock to fill out this list. This genre is all over this list at the expense of other genres like the vast array of electronic genres. I mean it's ok but there are far better albums out there that aren't classic rock.
A really confusing listen. I mean…quadruple platinum? Really? At the time it was probably considered to be progressive, but this one was all over the map for me. Just when they want you to get down and funky, the wispy flutes come in making me think I need to frolic around the forest like a jazz rock wood nymph.
Non
197. ok
Bit all over the place
Nothing about this really stood out, but I feel like this is base of a sound that I would go on to like once it got refined later.
They really did just play the same thing for over an hour. The theme was cool, but not for that long...
Hm nah I appreciate the idea of the album, but it didn't hid it right
Just wasn’t feeling it as a whole experience. Songs are fine on their own but as an album it kinda sucks
ugh
The instrumentation is great, but there's better versions out there of everything they attempt here. Bit of a skip, nothing stood out to me apart from Blues pt. 2.
no thanks. as much as I love a playful organ its a little too much. It annoys me, because I know my argument is going to sound stupid. There is just too much music going on in here. Also this ethereal storytelling psychadelic rock type stuff just loses me so quickly. I really do appreciate aspects of the production, the organ, harmonica, percussions all sound great.The horn section comes in hot, even though it sounds like a marching band at times, but it completely eclipses the yell-talking of the vocals, and the lyrics themselves are nothing really to write home about. And When I Die was probably my favorite song here, and I wish this was the tone they stuck with, even though its a little ragtimey.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I certainly wasn't expecting this bizarre lounge rock confection. It has bits of every kind of music jumbled together and coated in layers of cheese. I guess it is never boring, but I can't say I enjoyed it. And why did they open and close with bits of Erik Satie, a composer whose sparseness could hardly be further removed from this excess?
Best Track - "You've Made Me So Very Happy"
Sounds like a movie theme. Not unpleasant but quite hard to find a mood for this. The variation theme is a known one
Didn't do much for me beyond the first track
Experimental in ways good and bad. You can hear the genesis of something like prog rock in here, but it’s incredibly unfocused and doesn’t really cohere as an album. Way too many cases of them just kind of noodling on their instruments to seemingly no real end, some deeply cheesy vocals even by the standard of the time. Glad I got to listen to this one and kind of fill out some music history, but probably not one I’m coming back to.
Dad rocks final boss
I've come to the realization that I don't really care for Blood, Sweat & Tears
I like the hits I know, the others not so much.
Variations on a theme had me worried, it reminded me of the day someone got a classical music cd by a disco orchestra for my dad by mistake (we laughed a lot that Christmas). This is middle of the road easy listening (and i like easy listening a lot)
Nestled amidst the well produced jam sessions turned songs, there is little here to revisit. I can't decided whether the philosophical, homespun, folk religious ponderings are serious though weak, pretentious and false, or parody. And in the end, I didn't care.
I can't listen to that kind of music, I'm not sensitive enough, don't understand, not in my field of interest, just no.
People got it right with Chicago lite. Chicago is already a two don from soul groups of the day with their neo-soul masked as pop. This is just a more boring version. It was a time of exploration.
I had been aware of this and seen it in used record stars as long as I can remember, but had never listened. It was fun to recognize the sample for Public Enemy's "Nighttrain" on the ooookay "Spinning Wheel," but I pretty much completely agree with the Rolling Stone review by Jon Landau: "The listener responds to the illusion that he is hearing something new when in fact he is hearing mediocre rock, OK jazz, etc., thrown together in a contrived and purposeless way."
Spinning Wheel is decent, the rest is pretty meh. I'll go 2.5 - round down because 3 is too high.
Kind of interesting, in a this is exactly what people think of the 60s kind of way. But exciting enough for me. The best tracks were the Satie rendition and a version of 'You Make Me So Very Happy' which is far inferior to Alton Ellis'.
Too bombastic for my taste, guess I like lower key jazz. Did enjoy And When I Die though
C+
60s vibes
1. erik - 3 2. zmiling - 1 3. uuinter - 2 4. more - 1 5. die - 1 6. child - 2 7. uuheel - 1 8. happy - 3 9. bluez- 2
Aimless circus music. I liked Blues Part II tho and can’t deny the talent.
Very eclectic and ambitious album. But doesn’t do anything for me.
wow they really just didn’t have to make this … and yet they did! what correlation do any of these songs have to each other? they’re not even distant cousins… i’m so confused. musically there’s a lot of talent but i just don’t know what i’m meant to be feeling when i listen to this and that kinda frustrated me.
Last thing I needed was a soft jazz version of In A Gadda Da Vida fronted by the guy from The Commitments.
alright, not my thing
Strong start but this really didn’t hold me, learning that was the original spinning wheel was nice though!
This was really fun
Not sure this aged well
This became annoying really quickly. There's one and a half good songs here, surrounded by self-indulgent tedium. I will always maintain that there is no place for a drum solo on any studio album, it's just there to waste time.
I found this mostly forgettable and occasionally annoying. The hits were all well and good, but the mid NOLA jazz and some of the cheesy covers brought this down. 2.4/5 -> 2/5
Just solid late 60s classic rock. Nothing special. A few hits. 2.85
I’m sure someone likes this kind of music but I don’t
I really hear different facets of this band’s sound depending on my mood. I can appreciate the soul influences and the big band/ brassy orchestral flourishes in spots, but today it just sounds like Tom Jones or some other Vegas schlock.
Only knew Spinning Wheel, didn’t care much for the rest of the album.
Meh
I don't fully understand what is going on with this album. There doesn't seem to be any sort of cohesiveness.
An all over the place album. It has enjoyable moments overall but lacks cohesion. It was a fairly interesting listen. 7/10 [DROP]
This was just... not for me I guess, usually I would be all over the jazz influence and genre mixings but it felt quite flat here tbh. 4/10
What a strange and unappealing album. I don’t get it. It’s all over the place with some not so great cover versions and the odd classical interludes. I mean good for them and they’re clearly good musicians but it does not make a good album. Baffling
I thought I would love this. But I didnt.
A mix of an album. Some good and some not so good. 2 stars. Fave track. Spinning wheel
First and last songs were good, everything in between was not interesting
Inoffensive jazzy rock.
Umm... no. I don't want to spend all this time just to listen to "You've Made Me So Very Happy", which is the only truly good song on the album. The whole thing feels like Tom Jones with a full orchestra, and everyone gets a solo, the songs stretch on too long and don't go anywhere. My rating: 2/5
Nothing could sound more 70s a.m. radio riding around in Mom’s 10 Chevy nova than this. Doesn’t resonate with me. It’s professional. I am going to check out the Al Kooper led debut to see if it’s got a little swing and grit to it but if has this seventies sheen then it’s in the toilet for me.
I was very confused when this album opened with my alarm song. The WTF moments didn’t stop there. Rocking out, then switch to some quiet flute. Throw some country into a jazzy track. Spinning Wheel is a BST original? So confused. Some great musicianship on display, but I’m not into it. 2/5
This is Emerson Lake and Palmer for jazz fans, and it is very mediocre throughout.
Couldn’t really get into it. I appreciate it but I more so appreciate I’m not into it
There’s something a bit charming about this, probably in large part because of Spinning Wheel (and its place in the heart of all CanCon lovers) but still, it’s kinda silly. And the performances are so tight - rhythm section admirably so - I don’t get the sense they were entirely conscious of how goofy it is.
bronk bo bonk bor bo ronk brooo aaaa aa aBRAAHH BRONK BOMNKKK
This record left me mostly indifferent, although I can't really explain why, since it should be right up my alley on paper. The band is certainly talented, but getting through the whole thing felt like a chore, I just didn't vibe with it. Maybe I couldn't get past the stylistic mess - they seem to be trying pretty much anything and everything to see what sticks, and can't make up their mind about what they want to do. Each musician is pretty good individually, with solid drums and competent vocals. There are also some tight arrangements all through the album, no doubt about that. But the jazz, country, soul and psych rock parts never really come together in my opinion, they just alternate from track to track with no clear direction. Spinning Wheel and Blues Part II are pretty much the only songs I truly enjoyed. I might give the album another try in a few weeks, but I'm not optimistic. 4/10
Ist mir zu durcheinander, nicht mein Ding.
Album má zaujímavé momenty, ale asi sa k nemu už nevrátim.
I am gonna love this when im accepting social security checks
Occasionally catchy, but still soulless cheese, really.
This is definitely an album on this list.
More jazz similar to temptations but too long , I’m not a big jazz guy.
nah
Not really sure what to make of this. It's really all over the place. Starts off with an instrumental relaxing song, then goes to some soft rock? This album doesn't know what it wants to be. Although I had a total blast listening to And When I Die. Best song: And When I Die
A little too jazzy for me. Favorites: And When I Die, You've Made Me So Very Happy Would I listen to it again: No (except the two songs above)
Meh, too much boring brass. Parp!
What in the Tom-Jones-meets-Chicago is this? Throwing Satie at the top is such a strange flex.
Did not do much for me, but can see it grow
Matige pop songs verbloemd met jazz intermezzos en solo's. Het is niet boeiend. Nog wel twee sterren omdat muzikanten technisch goed zijn.
Wel leuk, goeie muzikanten en vond de live sessies op t laatst het leukst. Ik heb mooie jazz dingetjes gehoord. Ik vind de zanger alleen een erg vervelende manier van zingen hebben en overal klinkt het als een soort feestband op North sea jazz, een festival waar ik alleen naar toe zal gaan als iemand gratis kaartjes over heeft.
I was surprised how much I didn't enjoy this album as much as I thought I would. Normally jazz rock is right up my alley, but this album felt very disjointed and uneven. I didn't connect with the A side at all past the first track, and the B side was better but not by much. Maybe needed more guitar and less horns
Цікавий альбом в плані жанру і музики, але він вийшов не дуже цільним
I immediately recognized the first song as a part of the Trigun soundtrack. This album had some great musical ideas but it felt more like a brain dump of music than an arranged album. This is probably one of the best 2 star albums from my ratings though. Very listenable.
I just couldn't get into it
Nothing too memorable. Sounded fine but not impressed.
176/1089 saw that the first track would be a classical variation and was pleasantly surprised (and relaxed) when i recognised it it then went in a different direction to what i was hoping from that, not bad necessarily but not as interesting to me going through this album a bit bored but liking it enough as background music while i cook and then randomly hearing that very familiar brass hook in Blues, Pt. 2 was fun variations and blues were my favourites, the rest were alright and decent listening just not particularly exciting or engaging to me 48/100
Interesting music, a little jazzy. But not great overall
Eh. Not all bad, but more bad than good, imo.
Felt very disjointed and many of the songs made no sense on their own let alone alongside the rest of the ones in the album. A few were fun but not nearly enough to put up with the rest of the album.
2 1/2. A couple of very good songs.
Not what I was expecting.
(43/100)
Not my thing but recognized the theme from movies, although I guess it was the original version rather than this one.
It’s a 3 on a good day. It is not a good day
Tituleres på spotify som "rocke-gruppe"... eehm..
Not bad, but just not my style.
Very variable. A couple of great tracks, a couple of trip inspired nonsense.
Wasn’t really sure what to make of this
So much variety here in brilliantly - executed jazz, rock and classical. And individually some of the songs are quite enjoyable. But, just like fish and sugar, it doesn't work very well when it's put together.
They're good musicians but the songs aren't there and his voice is annoying. Plus, is this a Christian album? Lot of overtones suggest that. Overall, a mess.
Technical Musicianship - 5; Artistic Sensibility - 1. Their ability to pass back and forth between styles is impressive. But it's so specifically arranged and deftly performed that the overall effect is of a television orchestra. It's like the 50 year old musical director of NBC decided to do a side-project to show all of the kids how hep he was. But what makes any artistic project worth auditioning is a point of view; and I can't find one here. Thank God the Stooges and New York Dolls came along to save us from all of this showmanship.
A lot of blood, sweat & tears went into me suffering through this one. I have always felt the 70's were unique musically in that for every great rock record produced there was a bunch of filler garbage that was a result of expanded studio capabilities that were deployed in a terrible way. At least we got Hank's musical number off this one. https://youtu.be/zUwSaO2SnHQ?si=b1gPUzmIecyMelP0
2,4 - Joa, das war ein Album. Lief gut durch, an manchen Stellen aber dann auch arg nervig. Highlights: More and More, God Bless the Child
No es el tipo de música que me gusta. No disfruto del todo el frenesí en los solos que tienen varias canciones, la mezcla de sonidos puede ser un arte maravilloso sin embargo, no soy alguien que lo pueda encontrar en el caos.
Yikes. This was all over the place. I'm 470-ish albums into the project now, and I can usually predict whether an album will be averaging more or less than 3. I'd have put good money on this being less than 3, but I'm surprised to see it's currently 3.1-something. I'm afraid I thought it was terrible. Being able to play really well has, sometimes, elicited a third star from me, even when I haven't really enjoyed an album. But not here. Yes, they can play. But the songs are mostly delivered in such a way as to sound really bland, if not hilariously bad at times. Trying to be positive, I liked the random salsa burst in the middle of God Bless the Child and one or two other trumpety moments. For me, no matter whose songs they're singing, they generally managed to make them sound very bland or excessively drawn out. It all needed to be dirtier.
непримечательный
I dunno man. I don't know. Decent. But. I have to hear this before i die? Im not sure i do? Fine Blues p2 absolutely sucks, waste of time and takes away the positives. Insipid
The horns are cool.
Couple ok songs but the whole like orchestra production doesn’t really do it for me the way its done here.
I like jazz, I can handle rocking soul, but the two together here did almost nothing to me. Can’t say there’s anything I would want to revisit, though it has the odd good jazz breakdown or shouty chorus.
Not my style of music, even for that era
A little bipolar. At one end is the buttery smoothness of Sometimes in Winter, at the other the toe curling barndance jiggery of And When I Die. I don't know.
Loud, bombastic, and full of energy. The frontman sure sounds like he’s having the time of his life. I just can’t really say the same. It’s inoffensive, but still kind of falls into that category of big band brassy music that you kind of have to love to really be on board with it. I give BST a soft 2/5. ⭐️⭐️
1,9/5
3 Couldn’t finish it, was doin me bloody tree in tbh
not for me.
5/10
Super corny and hate the production and arrangements
Early rock.
meh 2/5
I thought this was fine. Perhaps too over the top for me. 4/10.
Did not really like this one. Pretty endless and repetitive - although I'm sure it was influential. 2.5
Eh
fun but not something id listen to again
Jazz-rock mix žanras man nėra itin artimas, tačiau albume labai patiko variantion on the theme by erik satie: first movement. Pačios grupės pavadinimas ankščiau buvo girdėtas kažkur, tačiau jų muzika ši kart buvo pirmas kartas. Galbūt tam tikru momentu kitokioje aplinkoje (ne vasaros dienos metu) klausyčiau dar kartą.
It wasn't bad, but it just got boring.
What is this album supposed to be? I never figured it out.
The rating feels a bit harsh - This isn't a bad album necessarily. There's nothing wrong with it musically, it can be catchy. I found it incredibly boring though. Now, granted that this was '68, maybe the genres this is playing in weren't as developed as what I'm more familiar with - Especially the jazz and funk influences. But that's a generous assumption on my part, and I'm not sure that's true. It just feels really basic. It would be a fine album as background music in the extreme periphery of whatever I'm doing, but listening to it directly felt like a whole lot of nothing. Lets take for example the album 'The Kids & Me' by Billy Preston. This was 6 years later and it feels like the mid-70's, but it has a much better handle at how to make music like this sound fun and engaging. That's not a terribly complex either, its feel-good pop music. But I hard time accepting that just 6 years later there was some radical re-imagining of how music like this was made. And even if that was true, there is plenty of more engaging music from the 50's and 60's this could have drawn influence from. I guess to my ears it sounds like protestant kids trying to get in on some genres that they really don't understand, and through proximity of their own tepidity, due in fact to how watered down the music is, this made it a bigger hit in American pop culture where mainstream listeners already shared the same sensibilities.
Look, I can kinda understand why people really love this album, and if I squint and turn my head and maybe lay down sideways I can maybe see how it’s good. But it has some of the absolute worst production values known to man, with everything so thinned out as to be unlistenable. The music is pure technique and zero soul, with absolutely no punch or drive whatsoever. As someone in the artist notes put, this is a band that can’t decide if they’re an ultra pretentious pop band with horns or a jazz section masquerading in pop circles, and that’s it’s biggest failure. It’s not the worst album because the music is incredible on point. But when everyone coming after you improves on your sound, maybe your sound isn’t very good.
such a weird blend of influences i kept questioning who this was for. then the saloon organ solo came in & i realized the answer was no one. sunshine of your love interpolation im gonna kill myself
Very middle-of-the-road record to my ears. There are some nice progressive and jazzy ideas here and there, but as a whole, the music just isn’t compelling enough for me, and at times, I found it downright annoying. A good example is the Laura Nyro cover, "And When I Die". How did they take such a beautiful song and turn it into this? Their rendition of "God Bless the Child" is nice enough, though. I must be missing something with this one, but the only positive I got from listening was that the playing was pretty solid throughout. Still, I have no intention of revisiting it. 2.5/5
This album was either being excellent or shit, so I’m not quite sure what to give it. It was shit a good bit more though
2.5/5
This was musical whiplash. Chaotic changing of genre with almost every track. This did not feel like a cohesive album to me. It’s not *bad* but it’s certainly bizarre
The first song I thought this was some experimental classic band, then switch to some 60’s prog rock then switched to some Christian rock, then almost alt country then some bluesy song then to some free-form jazz jam band. Way too many directions. I would have given it one star but I somewhat liked "You've Made Me So Very Happy", "Spinning Wheel" and not sure about "And When I Die". Don’t need to hear this again.
Spinning wheel most listened to for good reason
smiling phases TOPP.
They're obviously talented, but for whatever reason, these guys never resonated with me.
1960s jazzy. Medium for my taste. I dont like very much but i dont hate as well.
Big heavy thumping clumsy rock n’roll n’all that jazz. Once I’d finished the record – or, really, once it had finished with me – I remembered the Satie at the top and had a genuine chuckle. It’s a bit of very well done fun (though I might have had a cringe at some of the vocal intonations). Che-yeah! 2.5.
I found the album fine to listen to but it didn't really move me in any way, shape or form. I thought it was quite a safe blend of jazz/rock without any real standout moments. Pretty bland overall. 2.5/5
2.75
Hey, not as bad as a post Al Kooper outing coulda been, and this is just so well known now with Spinning Wheel et al. Prefer.Little Milton's More and More. Some nice jazzy touches, but fairly MOR US stodge all up.
This was my parent's thing, they seemed to mention the band often but I don't really remember hearing them at home. I have never listened to this album or even their best of collection - but everyone knows "Spinning Wheel" which still gets a decent amount of airplay today & "You've Made Me So Very Happy". It hasn't aged all that well, it sounds older than 1968 to me ("Sometimes In Winter" for example). First thing I noticed was that a few of the songs should have been 3+ minutes but rang in at over 5 minutes ("Smiling Phases", "God Bless The Child") and that the horns were out in front of the vocal (poor mix). This is more jazzy than rock 'n rolly. I went into this hoping to learn something about a band I've been hearing about for 40 years but I was disappointed from start to finish. This doesn't hold up well and I can't imagine how it made this list; it's not cutting edge even for 1968, it has two hits, the band isn't a name mentioned in the halls of Rock & Roll, zero influence from what I know, by most accounts they're a two hit wonder. Not worthy. Disappointingly, 2 stars is all I can muster up for this album. I didn't enjoy the experience and can't determine why it made the Top 1001.
I like the horns that keep popping up but otherwise I think the album is boring.
I'm just not really sure what that was
Not bad per se but very unmemorable
Unique blend of instrumentals. Neat to hear the brass. Not really for me.
NO IDEA why I know the opening track but I do?? Must’ve been used in some Film or TV that I have seen. Sadly it is easily the best part of the album, and by Blues Pt. 2 the pretty flutes from the opener have turned to ugly farts.
Bit jazzy
Too much blues. Good recording, though.
This album just feels chaotic. What the fuck are they doing? What the fuck are they talking about? How did this beat out Abbey Road for album of the year in 1970? Especially considering the majority of it wasn’t written by them. Vocals aren’t particularly attractive either. Instrumentation is good if that’s the type of thing you’re in to, but classic rock jazz gets on my nerves unless Chicago is doing and, by the fucking way, there isn’t a single thing they do on this album that Chicago hasn’t done better. The only bit I really enjoyed was the part of “Spinning Wheel” when he says “and show you the colors that are real” and his voice gets all weird on the word ‘real’. On the whole, though, it all feels self-congratulatory. If this is the best they have to offer, I’ll go elsewhere. 2/5
★★½
Not uninteresting but it's mostly aimless, all over the place without much cohesion.
2.25
Jazzier than I expected. Sometimes beautiful yet sometimes rambling on like jazz.
Nah
It’s like the high school jazz band won nationals and got to be guest performers at a Vegas show. The best song is an original, but so is the worst. The rest of this record— literally every other song— is just meaningless covers. Sure, they’re covers by extremely talented musicians, but they’re still covers. On principle alone, this isn’t essential because it’s a cover album. In practice, it’s not essential because it’s boring and forgettable.
I fell asleep twice.
So...many...cheesy 60s cliches. The word cheesy kept coming to mind with almost every song. Particularly cheesy: Sometimes in Winter (cheesy music, cheesy lyrics), And When I Die (sounds like a cheesy Broadway track), You've Made Me So Very Happy (oh, so cheesy), and the cheesy horns in Blues Part II during Sunshine of Your Love. Rare exceptions: Spinning Wheel (except for the cheesy last minute, but the verses have a cool funky groove), God Bless the Child (good because the song is good, but there are much better versions out there). More and More was borderline...it has potential, but I think I was just too cheesed out. I hoped the album would get better as I listened a few times, but nope.
If you start your album by messing with Gymnopédie, the album bloody better impress me - and this, for the most part, did not. It's fine jazz funk pop rock... Stuff... But nothing stellar outside of And When I Die, and mostly it just feels like a slightly more pretentious version of Chicago. Meh, not coming back here I don't think.
This is the first artist generated here that I have seen perform live: Park 96, Calgary, 2007, about 1.5km as the crow flies from where I'm sitting writing this. I was 11. I remember feeling like something cool was happening! This won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1970, notably beating The Beatles' Abbey Road. The album's highly proficient and deeply inessential. I'm a sucker for Satie's Gymnopédie — maybe the most beautiful melody ever composed — but, come on.
nice enough but i just dont get it
So far it's decently mid across both days. Can't say I was too impressed with this album. Maybe it just hasn't aged well over the last 50 years but it wasn't hitting.
uhhh okay. yeah. yeah this was okay. i’m probably never gonna listen to this again. this is what i imagine every other song sung by the “don’t you forget about me” guy sounds like. like. yeah. okay. debating bw 2 and 3 but i think we’re going w 2 because of how bored i was
Pre-listening thoughts: this is the third day in a row we’ve gotten an album from 1968, and the seventh album from the 1960s in 9 days. What is going on. Post/during listening thoughts: ok so this literally just started but the Erik Satie intro is really beautiful. In terms of the rest of the album, it is… quite all over the place. I don’t know that I’d call this genre fusion; more like genre warfare. What is going on. 4/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: no Fav tracks: Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie (both of em), Sometimes in Winter Least fav tracks: Smiling Phases, And When I Die, Blues Pt 2
'You've Made Me So Very Happy' was kind of good, but that's about it.
Got Chicago’s first album AND this, all in the same week! So many horns! So many flashbacks the summer I worked at the mall and the same music played on a three hour loop! (I don’t care for this.)
Lite för jazzigt.
From the artwork I was expecting a pretty dour roots/blues album, so it was a welcome surprise to hear some sprightly brass and jazz mixed in too. Even so, I lost interest during the more meandering sections. Plus it’s mostly covers (although the best track, Spinning Wheel, is a notable exception), so I don’t feel it deserves more than 2.5 stars.
Never liked this - even when I was eight.The 'big band' blues style - on the surface it's authentic looking, but underneath it's just schmaltzy & showbiz. Similar to Chicago.
Standout Track: And When I Die
pretty thin - a hippy take on the idea of a soulful big band, but there is not much more here than a couple of nice arrangements by Al Kooper
It was okay
Nope. I see the historical relevance but nah, not my vibe. I’ll round waaaaaaaaay up cuz I didn’t hate it
GUT
Talented musicians but not my style
A great opening track, and a great closing track (even though it's just a reprise of the opening track). But everything in the middle is boring as hell.
Didn't connect with this one. Thought it was going to be promising from the first half of the Satie, but then it was mostly half big band jazz, half rock singing, didn't meld for me, felt like a pub band.
Spinning Wheels is a good listen. Otherwise, this one isn’t for me.
Can't say this isn't a fun listen. It's schlocky - I kept thinking is this Tom Jones or Engelbert Humperdinck. But there are at least three songs I knew most of the words to without any memory of hearing much less actively listening. They're just in the ether. There are moments of great musicianship but I there are too many Vegas inspired horn flourishes.
This is a weird one. I expected to like it, but found it was more of a slog. I like jazz, and I like pop, but this felt too 70's to me.
Bit boring really.
I hated this. It would’ve been better without vocals
Ein bisschen Blues, Jazz, Big-Band und Rock im Stil der späten 60er. Also würde man „The Who“ & „Simon & Garfunkel“ mischen. Vieles von den Stücken überzeugt nicht. Interssant klingt „And When I Die“, ein typischer Song ist „Spinning Wheel“ und fast unhörbar ist „Blues Prt.2“. Ingesamt halte finde ich das Album schlecht.
Cool musical arrangements, similar to Chicago. But, I don't much like this sound and the religious stuff bugs me.
Dpinning wheel go hard
Not bad
Bit of a mess, and there's a drum solo.
Memories of years ago. While they are a great band something about them just never resonated with me.
Too much noodling. Too much genre jumping. Too much flute.
Weird album. 2 very good songs, the rest are meh.
Song good songs and probably incredibly influential on all the different genres it covers, but is a bit of a mess
Not my style.
Classic rock is classic even if it leans a bit too much into interminable jazz solos.
Really cheesy, but some great sample ideas
Not my thing
Didn't care for this at all. I get the appeal back in the 60s, but jazz rock is pretty bad. 1.5/5
Too jazzy
Aside from the fact I didn't expect renditions of classical music to bookend this album, the rest of it was just passive music that I could barely muster any attention to. Nothing remarkable or entertaining, but nothing horrible.
There were a few good songs on it, but a lot of it just didn't connect with me.
Cool name. Thats about it.
An above average jazz band decides to, for some inexplicable reason, to infuse low effort pop into their music. 2 wasted potentials out of 5
Loved some parts, hated some.
Good but not for me
He turmelevat itseään jazzahtavalla jammailulla, mutta heidän rootsahtavampaa hupailuaan on paikoin oikeastikin hauska kuunnella. You've Made Me So Very Happy on kelpo sävellys.
Some of it was ok but other bits were too jazzy
didn't get on with the guy's voice, that kind of boomy 60s soulful singing just doesn't do it for me
This album was fun at the beginning but it got stale later on. The jazz parts aren't good and don't help with my listening experience. I think the vocals are too sparse and overwhelmed by the solos. "Smiling Phases" was alright and the saving grace of the album. The final track "Blues Pt. 2" is like an ELP song that's been bogged down. 2 stars for "Self Titled".
This album has a little bit of everything that was hokey about the late 60s.
good start - everything else was there i suppose !
I like aspects of songs, but there are sections that, for me, ruin the vibes in every song. I think it’s really interesting, not something I’ve heard much of, but misses the mark for me when it comes to what I’m looking for in an album/song. Also everything sounds slightly the same... 2/5 for me.
it's fine but boring i don't have a lot to say, much like this album spinning wheel is by far the best track but even that didn't really grab me 2/5 perhaps a 1.5/5
Starting off with a song that could easily be played by a Gelfling from The Dark Crystal isn’t what I’d call a “hot start” to an album. This really doesn’t get better in my opinion. Again, as I’ve stated before, I can’t give this a 1 star because it is musically far better than that Grimes album I heard. It’s a 1 star as far as real artists go. Though I did like the musical breakdown of More and More. Choice Cut: More and More
The drums on Smiling Phases is very energetic. And then you get Sometimes in Winter. This album does not age.
Giving it a higher mark because the album contains a few old classic tunes BUT too much low energy unfocused tracks. Barely listenable because of that…
Not bad, but all over the place.
2/5. There are a lot of influences from other bands here but doesn't feel like a fully practiced sound. Like, the song arrangements are not very well made despite a lot of loud sounds to seem like it. It kind of feels like B-side Chicago songs. To be fair, I do enjoy some of these songs but not an album I would vibe with. Best Song: Spinning Wheel, God Bless The Child, Blues Part 2
The instrumentals on this album were phenomenal, but I couldn't stand the vocals. Probably just a product of the time, the lyrics were astoundingly stupid, unfocused, and meandering. The last two, mostly instrumental tracks were my favorite.
Ohh, soft rock, this is pretty beige. I did enjoy some of the musicianship, bass playing in particular but the content was bland.
Early rock sound, heavy on instrumentals.