hs favorite

A perfect album that came out at the right time to prove to the world real rock wasn't dead.

Wow

Easily recognized the influences on rock bands after. Especially the grateful dead riffs. The beginning of the album eases into their sound with songs that reflect pop rock of late 60s. By the middle of the album is when I was really drawn in to a new unique jam sound. I feel this is when The Band is at their best, mixing rock and a little country with a blues jam style.

The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Joni Mitchell. A very obscure poem based jazz rock fusion album. I can feel the connection between this album and artists like Bjork or even Portishead altho THoSL is absolutely reflective of the time it was recorded. With flowy orchestral sweeps under spacey synths this music is caught between pop and far out expressionism. The parts I enjoyed were over shadowed by the majority of music that possibly just went over my head. Maybe I wasn't high enough. 2/5

A psychedelic journey. Loved this album.

There are literally books written about the story and significance of the 3rd studio release by the New York duo Run-D.M.C. Going into this album I had already heard the first couple of tracks countless times. Growing up and recording "Walk this Way" on a tape was a proud moment when I finally got a good cut without radio announcer. Today I focused on the beats and lyrics of the album, and honestly beyond the significant singles you may already know, I wasn't too impressed with their "B-sides." A few throw away tracks like Perfection and Dumb Girl to me weighted the album down, although to be fair I could hear how these more fraternity raps would lead way to the Beastie Boys down the line. What really gives this album a homerun is the last track Proud to be Black. If the lines in Dumb Girl made me doubt their lyrical skill, Run-D.M.C. proves themselves with Proud to be Black. After all this album wasn't significant in the history of music solely for it's lyrics, but its combination of rock and hip hop. With Aerosmith at the peak of their career they shared the spotlight with two rappers out of New York, and the rest is history. 4/5

Amazing

Wow

A perfect album that came out at the right time to prove to the world real rock wasn't dead.

Everyone gets their own solo, for better or worse. No denying the talent in this album, but a lot of the solos or jams were simple chords and not complex enough to draw me in. Somehow I wanted more and less of the songs. I hate to focus on the drummer but this album could of really gone that extra mile if they had focused on percussion as much as they did their leads. 2/5

Very good. At times seems dialed in, the story of how this was created kinda lends a hand to that idea. Talented musicians for sure. Near flawless, yet didn't capture my attention fully.

At first listen, if youre not familiar with the sound of Elvis Costello like I was, you may get hung up on his almost abrassive voice. If given a chance, you'll quickly find something to love in his simple yet at times complex music. The lyrics to most songs are just about as literal as you can get. Many songs paint an exact picture of events or stories, yet Costello always has a way to make even something like a Clown Strike seem universal.

Not bad but not particularly a standout

Jazz in your face. Spontaneous, loud and a bit jarring in great ways.

hs favorite