Journey Complete!
Finisher # to complete the list
985
Albums Rated
3.18
Average Rating
90%
Complete
Rating Distribution
How you rate albums
Rating Timeline
Average rating over time
Ratings by Decade
Which era do you prefer?
Activity by Day
When do you listen?
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Samba
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
91
5-Star Albums
64
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
Genre Preferences
Ratings by genre
Origin Preferences
Ratings by country
Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duck Rock | 5 | 2.65 | +2.35 |
| Djam Leelii | 5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
| Songs The Lord Taught Us | 5 | 2.84 | +2.16 |
| The Gilded Palace Of Sin | 5 | 2.93 | +2.07 |
| Car Wheels On A Gravel Road | 5 | 2.99 | +2.01 |
| Nighthawks At The Diner | 5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
| Imperial Bedroom | 5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
| Savane | 5 | 3.02 | +1.98 |
| La Revancha Del Tango | 5 | 3.04 | +1.96 |
| The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway | 5 | 3.08 | +1.92 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off The Wall | 1 | 3.78 | -2.78 |
| American Idiot | 1 | 3.77 | -2.77 |
| Appetite For Destruction | 1 | 3.74 | -2.74 |
| The Joshua Tree | 1 | 3.67 | -2.67 |
| The Number Of The Beast | 1 | 3.59 | -2.59 |
| Licensed To Ill | 1 | 3.56 | -2.56 |
| 1984 | 1 | 3.51 | -2.51 |
| The Marshall Mathers LP | 1 | 3.49 | -2.49 |
| Nilsson Schmilsson | 1 | 3.43 | -2.43 |
| ...And Justice For All | 1 | 3.43 | -2.43 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 7 | 4.71 |
| The Who | 5 | 4.8 |
| David Bowie | 9 | 4.22 |
| Leonard Cohen | 5 | 4.4 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 5 | 4.4 |
| Talking Heads | 4 | 4.5 |
| The Doors | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Velvet Underground | 3 | 4.67 |
| John Lennon | 2 | 5 |
| The Clash | 2 | 5 |
| The Police | 2 | 5 |
| Ali Farka Touré | 2 | 5 |
| PJ Harvey | 4 | 4.25 |
| R.E.M. | 4 | 4.25 |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4.25 |
| Neil Young | 4 | 4.25 |
| Tom Waits | 4 | 4.25 |
| Bob Dylan | 7 | 4 |
| Stevie Wonder | 3 | 4.33 |
| Johnny Cash | 3 | 4.33 |
| Neil Young & Crazy Horse | 3 | 4.33 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3 | 4.33 |
| Simon & Garfunkel | 3 | 4.33 |
| Peter Gabriel | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Aerosmith | 3 | 1.33 |
| Iron Maiden | 2 | 1 |
| Bee Gees | 2 | 1 |
| Eminem | 2 | 1 |
| Slipknot | 2 | 1 |
| Morrissey | 4 | 1.75 |
| Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band | 2 | 1.5 |
| Rufus Wainwright | 2 | 1.5 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| U2 | 4, 1, 2, 5 |
| Green Day | 4, 1 |
| Deep Purple | 5, 2 |
5-Star Albums (91)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Napalm Death
1/5
The only enjoyment I got from this was reading the review about the brothers in Dresden and their lovely and talented tattooed friend.
137 likes
Coldplay
2/5
I will risk being called a math nerd but I need to use that side of the brain to try to show why the number of Coldplay listens on Spotify is so confusing. So - some simple math. On Spotify The Scientist has 1.2 billion - that's with a B - listens. That's more than 15% of the world's population. I can't believe more than 1 in 10 people want to hear this song. But wait - it's far worse! Spotify has only 200 million subscribers. So on average, each Spotify subscriber has listened to this song six times and if only 5% of subscribers (being 10 million which sounds way too high) actually like - and listen to - this song, then those soup lovers have listened to this 120 times each. Why would anyone do that? Who are these people? Do you know any? I know none of my friends listen to it. Ditto for my enemies. But those people must exist. There can't be just one Gen Yer playing it over and over 24 hours per day.
81 likes
Iron Maiden
1/5
Two things I must say about this one. First, it's a very good example of heavy metal from the late 70s early 80s. Second, I hate heavy metal from the late 70s early 80s.
63 likes
Eminem
1/5
Thanks to these Eminem clowns, I'm no longer a glass half full guy.
I had a 30 minute drive so thought I'd start listening to this in the car. Quick search for Marshall Mathers and hit play. As expected, shitty rap made by dumb ass white guys wasn't doing it for me. I took a quick look and saw the playing time was north of 70 minutes. Sometimes with 1001 you just have to do the hard time and hope it passes quickly. I get through 8 songs and later at home flip the album on Spotify to finish my sentence.
But - something's wrong. I notice the playing time is a little less than what I was playing in the car. It was a 78 min album in the car and a 72 min album at home. I'm confused.
The unfortunate explanation for my confusion is that there is another Eminem album called The Marshall Mathers LP 2 and I mistakenly listened to 30 minutes of the wrong Marshall Mathers album. The horror! If you thought 72 minutes of this shit was heavy lifting, try 102 minutes. The glass half full guy I was until today might say: "Hey I could have listened to the full Marshall Mathers 2 album before finding out," but no, I can't be that person today. Those extra 30 minutes were too painful. My glass is half empty.
62 likes
Guns N' Roses
1/5
I hate this band. They were pumping out metal years after the genre should have been shot and pissed on. I I rented a place on the beach at Lake Simcoe where the per capita Guns & Roses fans may be a Canadian record high. I played this outside as I was firing up some dead animal on the BBQ. I was waiting for a neighbour to saunter over with a spliff glued to his lower lip and say " Fuckin Eh Man"
31 likes
4-Star Albums (287)
1-Star Albums (64)
All Ratings
M.I.A.
3/5
Some of the fusion with world beats works very well. I just find that aside from a couple of highlights, the album doesn't work for me.
James Taylor
3/5
Fire & Rain is excellent (even though it reminds me of those awful AM radio days). There are also some other nice songs like Country Road and the LP also has some wicked licks thrown in for good measure such as the blues licks on Steamroller and Ok Baby Don’t…”.
If I were listening to this in the 60s it would be above 3 but the 60s are long gone so this has to stand in a retrospective light. As such, I have only so many 4/5s to hand out to singer songwriters and those premium ratings will go to Bob and Leonard.
Gene Clark
3/5
Were it not for this App I would've never listened to this LP. I had to google his name to learn he was from the Byrds. Even then, while I knew there was a band that spells Birds with a "y", aside from Eight Miles High and their covers of Mr. T Man and Turn Turn Turn I really don't know them. I suppose that Crosby was the only legacy Byrd to become a household name (Perhaps Gram Parsons also is; I suppose it depends on your household)
White Light is a very enjoyable listen. I was well into the album and fully expecting not to recognize any of the songs and then his cover of Stand By Me pleasantly surprised me. Gene is very talented. It's a shame the vast majority will never hear it.
Thin Lizzy
2/5
I'm not a fan of this one. There is so much guitar/bass/drums music from the 70s, I really had enough of it. I can only remember fondly or listen to G/B/D bands that had something really special (originality or virtuoso musicians). And this isn't the case with this group and album.
Yeah the guitar, bass and drums are good but there are many better and moreover there is nothing original about the instrument playing or songwriting that makes me want to keep listening.
The 70s had guitar phenoms so good they could that they could make a band that's not original stand out. Jimmy Page was so good he made Led Zep good. (Overplayed to the point I can't listen to them anymore but that's another story). The guitars don't get Thin LIz there.
The bass player is also good but what is he doing that Entwistle hadn't done years earlier and a lot better? The drummer's slapping the gong at the end of Southbound puts a cherry on my point that they are followers rather than leaders. I thought even Kiss was ringing the gong before Thin Liz. How embarrassing is that?
I'm was a little surprised to learn there are two guitar players but I did hear duelling solos. This would have been fun to see in concert but having two guitars also gives the opportunity for consistently good rhythm and there is really not much rhythm guitar to get excited about. I planned to listen until they played Boys are Back in Town but ended up listening to it all. Unfortunately, I was reminded of the worst part of 70s rock concerts: the tiresome drum solo. The 2+ minutes of TL's drum solo are minutes I will not get back and could've spent listening to more of the 1001 albums I need to listen to. Fothermucker!
Apologies to any TL fans out there. Also apologies in advance to fans of "The Song Remains the Same" if that's on the 1001. That bad boy will get max 1 star based solely on the length of the drum solo.
Nirvana
3/5
He sent an album I owned them listen to a lot. This is it. It’s interesting in that well it’s a bit of a reversal of the direction the band was going. They seem to never mind was a little more user-friendly for the General population. Definitely not pop but more user friendly. In neutral reverse the trend and got back to the grunge. They recall that a lot of stores required this CD not to be publicly displayed because the words “rape me “Ronit. Not sure if the Justin Bieber loving authorities we’re grouping the grunge guys with the skinheads and I thought that the song was endorsing glorify and rape. The words make it obvious that that wasn’t the case. I can’t think of better words to show how a victim feels than the words “I love to lick your open sore. I just can’t forget I can’t imagine ever forgetting those words.
Nirvana most had the originality to continue to be listenable and.
Suede
3/5
I don't know this band. It's a good listen. The tempo switches gears a lot as guitar volumes are turned up, down and off and go from rock and roll style to a more mysterious and cryptic Robert Fripp like style. The distinctive Bowie like voice keeps continuity throughout the gyrations.
I like the album cover. OK, first and last time I ever say I like a photo of a guy's arse. The photo really captures the tone of the album.
I guess this is what some folks were listening to while I was listening to Nirvana in the 90s. Hey we all did what he had to do to escape CHUM.
Daft Punk
2/5
I listened to this while I was searching for posts on Silver from the WallStreetsBets crowd. Methinks this album was more intended for listening to at clubs.
btw, when the clubs reopen they will offer senior discounts?
OutKast
2/5
The first album we see with a Parental Advisory. I was wondering why at first since it was rap for the radio. Once the bills were paid, the gangsta came out to play. I wasn't a big fan.
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
I liked this within the first 10 seconds. The vocals are a combo of folky, lovely and depressing. I like how the different well played instruments move in and out and the many style changes including a very captivating electronic tune (Elec Ren) after which the instruments really come alive on “Could be dreaming”. To top it off, just when I was thinking I had it w ambience, Mary Jo ended and did Tigermilk.
It's nice to see cool school projects that don't involve blowing shit up.
The Strokes
3/5
I quite like the raw energy album. The it may be because it sounds a bit like The Jam and Lou Reed (although not as stoic).
Beatles
4/5
’m a much bigger fan of John than Paul mostly due to the Beatles post touring years. Regardless, a John dominated LP suits me just fine. Very solid album with only a few minutes of filler. And HDN is from the days when few bands (particularly white bands) putting out a lot of pumping music.
Coldplay
2/5
There were a few songs near the beginning where the acoustic guitar licks were quite enjoyable. I found the rest of it not to be that interesting. I was listening while I was cooking so I didn’t really pay a lot of attention to the lyrics so I might come around to it if their lyrics were so amazing they could save the day.
Fugees
3/5
The Score is very powerful particularly given Ray Floyd et al. and the heightened profile of BLM. “Killing me softly . . .” makes me chuckle. As a kid I couldn’t stand the brutally overplayed original but when this was released I kinda liked it.
Air
3/5
This is a sexy album. It conjures the vision of a chic lounge sparsely filled to capacity with beautiful, well dressed Parisians. Perhaps tonight I will dream of being invited in.
Dwight Yoakam
1/5
I was wondering how long it would be before I gave my first 1or 5. I’m a C&W fan - Hank, Steve Earl, Kristofferson, Cash but not this brother. Dwight sounds like he was born and always lived in comfort so he never got the obligatory raspiness.
About 4/5 songs in there’s a cool Mexican sounding song with accordion but it was too late. The 1 rating was already locked and loaded.
Elastica
3/5
Their sound is reminiscent of New Wave / punk sound from the early 80s like early Devo, B52s, Runaways, Banchees, etc. The energy level is as high asThe Ramones (with lobotomies). Nobody's energy is as high as the Brothers R.
The Flaming Lips
2/5
One minute into the LP and I got my Sharpie out and prepared to mark it a "1", but the song then made a genre like change and became enjoyable. There are many other substantive style swings both inter song and intra song. There are many classic songs with intra song style changes. A Day in the Life comes to mind where we are forced to listen to Paul's verse in the middle.
Gear changes aren't always fatal but, in this case, it sounds like the band couldn't decide what sound they wanted so they threw everything at this LP including the kitchen sink. If asked, I'd say I had an open mind with avant-garde music but perhaps not so much. It could be my loss.
The singer's voice sounds like Wilco's or, if I can be less decade specific, like Neil Young's. While I quite like both Jeff and Neil, it's not because of their voices.
Muddy Waters
4/5
Great to see the name Muddy Waters not referring to the hedge fund.
I was wondering why they edited out the crowd noise and was surprised to find it wasn’t live. Crosseyed Cat is my fave on this LP. As the penultimate track it clearly shows there is no filler. “Can’t be Satisfied” is insane. After a steel guitar solo, the broken coke bottle typically gives way to the guitar pick to take the rhythm. Not here though; the steel keeps rolling .
Q: What song on this LP did the Stones played at the El Mocambo w Maggie T watching?
A: Track1
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
Ella is an amazing singer and this is shown throughout (OK I didn't make it through all 73 songs but it's safe to assume this didn't change). Great music and orchestra. A strange thought is there were too many good things and fewer instruments would be less distraction from the main event. Of course I never think this when listening to Pavarotti so my POV is likely due to my being used to her having smaller bands.
Pulp
3/5
I hadn't heard of this band. When I saw "THIS IS HARDCORE" I thought, oh lord, not hardcore music. It's a little weird to say, but I sure am glad they were referring to the other type of hardcore. Fuck the roses and doves, nothing says Happy Valentines Day like a bit of Hardcore!
The Cure
3/5
The majority of this album has aged well. Wiki tells that this LP featured a new bass player; his melodic bass lines are a feature. Talk about hitting the ground running.
Jerry Lee Lewis
4/5
I don't think I ever listened to this before but know all the songs. It defines ass kicking. I scored it a 5 but automatic 1 point deduction for liking 13 year olds. What a creep.
Steely Dan
4/5
This album was prob the first to fuse jazz and rock this well. The sax throughout exemplifies this particularly on Deacon Blues.
Steve Gadd’s drumming on Aja (the song) is mind blowing. His two solos on that track are played like guitar solos - ie played while the band provides rhythm- rather than Bonham style snoozer solos.
Thanks to mgravelle59 for bringing it home circa 1977.
Black Sabbath
3/5
War Pigs is a phenomenal song in the Vietnam War area. Not sure why this wasn't a single. I thought complaining about the US bombing countries half way around the world had become fashionable by then but I guess only by exception. I heard W Pigs first when I was 9 years old so I liked the song but didn't yet get the lyrics. I also don't remember the drumming on that song being so good. Moon was clearly influential. The song Paranoid proves that an ass-kicking opening riff gets a song a long way towards being a hit. Sorta like Tumbling Dice among so many others. Tony was quite an accomplished guitar player and it must've been tough to get that good given he played left handed. I guess Jimi was also on that team. He could do worse lol. You might guess that as a 9 yo War Pigs was the shit. This song, however, is likely a key influence for so much of the heavy metal that I hated in the years to come.
David Bowie
5/5
David takes a short intermission, returns to the stage wearing a cocaine white suit and opens the second set with Station to Station. How many years ago was that? Fuck if I know but I remember it like it was yesterday. During that set Mick Ronson joined the band for Jean Genie. Bowie said he invited him when he bumped into him at the Four Seasons that day. Mick wasn't prepared and didn't even bring a guitar. He grabbed Earl Slick's guitar, strummed a bit and then just swung the guitar around rather than play it.
On a day when I’m not a complete Bowie cheerleader I'd admit the extended opening of St 2 St didn’t age very well. But the rest is still magic. Golden Years was the “hit” and it along w TVC15 have aged quite nicely.
The timing of this album selection couldn’t be better. I’ve been listening to Wild is the Wind every day for the last week or so since I’ve been learning to play it on guitar. Bowie's vocals are on Gldn Years and Wild is the Wind are among his best.
Sorry for the long review Mike but I didn’t say a thing yesterday. And this is David
Stereolab
2/5
First song was quite enjoyable. Gets you shaking your hips. 2nd tune was a little tired and I worried they front ended the good stuff and the list of goodies would, unlike my Sunday morning coffee, be short. Was I being too judgemental on a Sunday morning? Track 3 said "yes" as the album returned to form. Noise of Carpet briefly changed the tone of the album in a positive way. But overall the album was inconsistent and more off than on. There are a few goodies to mix in a playlist but overall the album had one thing in common with my Sunday coffee: not strong enough.
The Verve
3/5
I guess it might be just a little more musically interesting to live in London rather than Toronto. Bands like this just come with the territory.
Rage Against The Machine
3/5
The energy level is impressive. Their sound is like the heavier songs the Red Hot Chili Peppers' did but with more piss and vinegar. I did find it a little tough to handle the full speed right at you onslaught for the first 15 minutes. My kingdom for a ballad. Settle for Nothing was a change of pace but it wasn't a strong song. Bullet in the Head folded Hip Hop into metal very effectively. That was a good tune but then they returned to the full out pace they started with.
The Fall
3/5
This is an interesting album from a time when desperately needed new sounds had finally emerged. I never heard of this band. Not surprising since, other than college radio stations, there was zero chance a station (especially in Northern Ontario) would pick this up. I quite like the drumming and read that Karl Burns was fired from The Fall multiple times. Their loss (and gain when rehired!)
James Brown
3/5
What a concert to attend.Apparently it was a tough ticket to get. The band is very tight. Not sure if you watched any of the videos but there were a lot of band members to keep tight. He had quite the high pitch screams but the low quality recording didn't do them justice. I thought by the late sixties live recordings were better quality. Might have scored higher if recording quality was better.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
I never owned any CCR but liked them. This album is mighty fine Bayou sound
The Fall
2/5
I just listened to this as background music while distracted. Generally speaking I wasn't a big fan.
T. Rex
3/5
I thought this was a solid album.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
I have a hard time enjoying too much back to back soul music since the non stop barrage of high pitched male vocals wears on me. There are lots of good beats / percussion. I do like some of these songs and would like more if the vocals didn't sound like they were being sung by a castrated Italian boy.
Fiona Apple
3/5
I liked this one. Lot of edge and attitude
Air
3/5
Unlike Moon Safari, this Air album doesn't evoke daydreams where Christian Louboutins are the perfect cherry on nubile limbs. Shockingly, I gave Virgin Suicides the same rating as Moon Safari. I must have rounded down when I rated Moon Saf.
Faith No More
4/5
I liked this one. The heaviness factor gyrated and occasionally got too heavy but most the time I was digging it. I'm rounding up here but wtf
Rod's early stuff just doesn’t hold a candle to Do Ya Think I’m Sexy. lol What a great band. While Rod eventually descended to great heights, every one of the other musicians and the producer ended up playing, and in Ronnie Lane’s case co-writing, with either the Stones or the Who. That says all that's needed about the quality of these musicians.
Fela Kuti
5/5
Given Ginger Baker was involved, this must have been widely available in 1971. I can't understand someone hearing it and not searching for more musicians from Nigeria. I ended up finding Miriam Makeba before finding Fela. In both cases it was mixed feelings. So glad to have made the discovery but unhappy I hadn't found them a decade or two sooner. What a fabulous LP.
Jethro Tull
3/5
Anthony Perry was my best friend when I was 12 and his older sister had this album. As 12 yo brats we didn't need to hear much more than "Snot is running down his nose" and "watching as the frilly panties run" to declare this album "amazing". As I listen to the album today, I'm not sure we ever got past the title track. Anyway, the word "amazing" no longer trips off the tongue the way it did back then. At the midpoint I was starting to worry about the bad karma that comes with giving less than a "3" to a cult album. Fortunately, the album ended strong and earned its 3. I hope Perry agrees.
Fela Kuti
4/5
I was going to say, as a joke, that a nice change from the Fela album we heard a few days ago is the half dozen or so of his wives who joined to sing back up vocals. But after reading wiki, they might all actually be his wives. Fuck I'm funny! On general principle, I can't give the same same artist two 5s in one week even though I like Zombie more. I feel like the boxing judge who is worried he scored an early round wrong so makes up for it by fudging the score in a later round.
Eels
4/5
I have a thing for artists that make me say "You must be quite fucked up to write this stuff" . Nova and Susan's House fit perfectly. I really like how the dreamy almost fantasy like music camouflages the angst. Think of a suicidal Mr. Rogers. The Guitar sound on Rags2R, Not Ready and Mental is quite amazing. Not sure if this shows producer rather than guitarist talent. Anyone notice the words “Winston Churchill in drag” on Your Lucky Day in Hell. The brother must be a fan of Supper’s Ready and P. Gabriel.
Hugh Masekela
3/5
My first time in Jo’Burg was just after Apartheid ended. I went out to watch live African jazz. I quite like Hugh. Great easy listening African jazz.
Queen
3/5
I listened to my original vinyl copy of this album. I didn’t have Queen’s earlier stuff but recall this album had a new sound - glam rock as it’s called. We now know they still had another gear or two to ramp up the glam. The liner notes give Freddie the credits for “vocal extravaganzas”. How 1974 is that? I don’t recall Killer Queen being in the recent(ish) Boh Rap movie which surprised me since it was a big hit. While I had this LP for 45 years, the vinyl is in great shape which means I didn’t play it much. Aside from Killer Q and Now I’m Here, I don’t really remember the other songs. I thought "Flick of the Wrist" was a vg song but it was like today was the first time I heard it. I appreciate the historical and transitional significance of this LP for Queen but the fact I can’t remember 11 of the 13 tracks means I can’t justify a rating north of 3.
Haircut 100
3/5
There are some positives and negatives imho. Positives: The lads know how to play and they lay down some very good rhythm. Negatives: Some of the songs didn't age very well and were probably a little to "pop-ish'' to start with. Marine Boy is a good example. The rhythms are reminiscent of a Carlos Alomar led rhythm section blended with very capable horns, woodwinds, bongos / congas, and other alt percussion that Talking Heads brought to their sound around this time. But when the singing comes back, it sounds like music you might expect on a Love Boat episode. Fortunately, only half the songs suffer from the "vocals jealous of the rhythm section" condition. It was impossible not to love the New Wave since it was such a relief from all that disco crap that overstayed its welcome. The sound was fresh and fun when it started but some of it did end up being pop that didn’t age well. Notwithstanding my Love Boat reference, I enjoyed the listen.
Love
2/5
I couldn't find whatever it was that got this LP to the top 1001. It would be harsh to describe it as bad, but it was definitely boring.
Mike Oldfield
5/5
Another one my brother bought but I don’t know where this vinyl ended up. I remembered the music was widely known since it was in a popular movie. The wiki notes reminded me it was The Exorcist. It’s quite impressive that he was still a teenager when he wrote and played all the instruments. One thing I didn't remember is how good he was at playing guitar.He lays down some good shit The end of side 1 is priceless when the introduction of the instruments builds to a climax as we eagerly await the introduction of the tubular bells. The timing of this release could not have been better since the use of Hallucinogenics was reaching new heights.
I have to call this a masterpiece.
The B-52's
4/5
We start at 3 based just on Rock Lobster. The females' screeching near the end of Rock L is a shout out to Yoko Ono. If you didn't know Yoko got shout outs, now you know. I didn't remember there was a cover version of Downtown on the LP. This was just a year after Syd Vicious took My Way for a ride up the charts.
Jeru The Damaja
3/5
I gave this a listen but I was multitasking and didn't really pay attention to the lyrics. I find with RAP in particular you can't really say you like or hate something without listening to the lyrics. Oh well, I didn't hear any "Yo Bitch" or comments on Cristal Champagne so that's a 3 right?
ABBA
1/5
I was a little worried when the album started. I actually liked the first song and didn't mind the second. I was thinking "Oh lord, don't tell me I'm going to give Abba a good review. What will the neighbours think?" Fortunately by the third track they returned to where I expected them.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
The sound is very similar to Nirvana's. My initial thought was that the sound is a more user friendly mix of In Utero. (Both released the same year) To be sure, it's heavy and nobody would accuse it of being happy, but it was able to appeal to those not clinically depressed as well as those who own shirts that aren't plaid. One of the top LPs of the Alt Rock era.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
I enjoyed this. I like Elvis but never had many of his vinyl. I know there are some tunes of his I like more so will vote in the middle on this one.
Nick Drake
2/5
That was so exciting I could barely contain myself! OK practicing my delivery of April Fools Day jokes. I'm sure there is something wonderful hidden behind the mysterious lyrics. It's just hidden a little too deep for me. If I can't find the lyrics I'm left with a boring album. Perhaps if I listened to this 500 times and figured it out, it would be my favourite album. Unfortunately I doubt I'll ever hear it 5 times let alone 500.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
I have to give one Led Zep album a great rating and I can still stomach this one as it's only overplayed rather than massively overplayed. I never owned this although it was around the house for a while - perhaps borrowed long term? I'm kinda shocked that every song is familiar. Started thinking 5 but paused when I listened to the lyrics more purposely - they're a little fluffy for a 5. Led Zep is on the map because of Jimmy. Yeah JPJ and JB can play and Plant is an adequate front man but they would be lucky to play Massey Hall if it weren't for Page's magic on the ole 6 stringer. Side 3 is where you typically encounter excess filler on double (studio) LPs. What's impressive is that Jimmy can make the filler good. eg he saves the day quite nicely on Bron-Yr-Aur and Ten Years Gone. OK for Jimmy we bring out a 5.
B.B. King
3/5
That was a fine live album. His vocal range is quite impressive.
John Lee Hooker
3/5
Steely Dan
4/5
I'm questioning how well I know this album. I know Rikki, Pretzel Logic, Any Major Dude and East St. L . . very very well but the rest - not so much. Perhaps I had a Greatest Hits LP? At one point I looked up whether Haitain Divorce (From their The Royal Scam LP) or Frampton Comes ALIVE was released first to see if Becker was the Talk Box leader or follower. I found that they were both released in 1976 but I forgot that Becker also Talk Boxed on East St. L. Becker wins!
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
I like how it starts with a gospel vibe and then takes off in a million different directions before the first song ends.
I was surprised to see how many musicians play on this. With it's being a first album one would think they would make do with just one drummer/ percussionist rather than the four listed. I see they also have a brother who plays the sinubla - whatever the fuck that is.
The production is really quite amazing. His laughing in Wishing Well is a miracle of production technology. Ditto for the other shouts and talking (in that tune and others) that are made to sound like he backed up from the mic.
The LP started to wear on me after 5 / 6 songs. Perhaps a little too fastidious for too long.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
I really like Nick but the last album of his I got was in the late 90s. This is really quite good. He starts out by kicking you in the teeth - I'd be disappointed if he didn't. The shift from the Abattoir to the Orpheus disc is hard to miss as the string of ballads floats out. I prefer that he did this rather than mix the ballads amongst the charged up tunes. It's reminiscent of the many Buddha Bar double CD releases that labelled one CD "dinner" and the other "dance". You might be in the mood for Nick's ballads one night so you can choose the disc that gives this. And if you're in the mood for a kick in the teeth, Disc 1 is waiting.
T. Rex
3/5
Enjoyable but not mind blowing
The Kinks
3/5
I consider myself a Kinks fan but the only album I remember having is the double live album they released in 1980. Having that as my reference point influences my comments. The 1980 live performance, and particularly Ray Davies' performance is very high energy and I picture him leaping into the mosh pit. On The Village Green . . . I picture Ray Davies singing while he sits on a stool at the back of the stage. The songs are quite good but Ray's vocals don't grab your attention the way they do when he plays live. I don't know if this is a result of the mixing. It may just be that the Kinks have a hard time getting charged up to play the 17th take on their 14th hour in the studio that day. I remember John Entwistle said "Playing live is like making love with a beautiful woman while playing in the studio is like wanking"
Ice Cube
3/5
The linkage of this album to the Rodney King related race riots in LA struck a nerve. There were 5 reported incidents of racism at my kids' school since Jan. so I listened to this album intently. There are a lot of powerful messages delivered very aggressively. It's not comfortable for a white old fart to hear but understand that black folks had enough of their message not being heard and needed to consider ways to turn up the volume. On the other hand, the inability to refer to their gf by any term other than "bitch: or "ho" waters down their message.
Living Colour
3/5
I think I saw this band live as a warm up to a dinosaur band. It might have been the Stones? I'm falling behind on my 1001 homework so had a chance to play this but didn't really have a chance to listen.
Faust
2/5
Krautrock. I was so excited to learn about this genre. That is, until I listened to it. Part way through the first track I labelled this electronica for boring people and decided their following must be from Frankfurt rather than Berlin. I liked Track 2 and became hopeful. Alas, track 3 reminded me that hope is the lowest form of consciousness. The only other song I liked was the last one. Oh well. Happy Easter Skinheads
--
Talking Heads
5/5
Fabulous album. My brother had this on vinyl back in the day. When I bought my first car I figured its CD Player needed a friend so I bought F of M on CD. In retrospect it’s quite amazing how creative this is. How could a group led by a pasty white boy make Zimbra? There must have been something in the water at Mud Club?
Life During Wartime is a classic. I recently thought Taking Heads (or perhaps Weird Al) should remake it as Life During COVID. “Have sanitizer, some toilet paper to last a couple of days. But I got no face mask, ain’t got no haircut, ain’t got CERB from CRA.” This trips off the tongue quite easily.
Unlike Side 1, there are a couple of mediocre songs on side 2 but not so much to move it off a 5
Aerosmith
1/5
I thought heavy metal had outstayed its welcome by the mid to late 70s. This was painful to listen to. I expect all of us have said out loud "if it weren't for the 1001 App I would have never heard this LP" It's most often a positive comment. This time - not so much. I had to force myself to keep listening after Side 1 but wanted to hear the song "The Other Side" so I would have perspective if Michael jumps all over their sorry asses for melody pinching.
The Beau Brummels
3/5
At less than 30 min. this is a reminder of how much shorter albums used to be. Track 2 sounds like King Crimson might sound without Robert Fripp's guitar. I guess this LP was released before King Crimson's first so this could be the influencer rather than influencee. Track 1 and the vocals in general sound like Bobby Dylan. This is a lovely contribution to the short but sweet psychedelic era. I'm glad the psychedelic era didn't overstay its welcome. I guess the record company execs had not yet started to reward music created by formulae. On the last track psychedelic is left behind as the album ends with an excellent foot stompin, bourbon drinkin, good ole boys tune. I have no clue where that came from but I'm glad it dropped in.
Randy Newman
4/5
So I finish my review of Beau B with the words "Good Ole boys" and 5 seconds later see the title of this album. First couple of songs have me saying "Fuck Yeah!" When I heard Birmingham I couldn't help but think this is what Tom Waits would sound like if he didn't drink or smoke. There are many brand names playing on this album. I did a double take when I saw that Randy Newman also conducted the orchestra. This good ole boy knows music better than most and it shows. Funny thing is a friend came over and said it sounds like a song from the movie Toy Story. Correctamundo!
Talking Heads
4/5
I'm surprised every song on this LP is familiar since I didn't own it and for sure haven't listened to it in over three decades. It's interesting to see how much their music evolved from this album until Speaking In Tongues. Their music ended up being a much bigger sound with many different layers. For sure they got better this is also very good.
I didn't have to decide if it was 4 or 5 since, if a 5 I would need to invoke my Fela rule and not give two 5's to the same artist in a week.
Donald Fagen
3/5
It's hard not to compare this to Steely Dan which isn't fair. Good luck if your first LP has to look good compared to Aja. For the first solo album to really be a home run it should validate why you needed to leave. The music fan should see something really different in the sound (like Sting's first solo album added many instruments and a completely different sound) or should understand that you wanted to write songs that would have been out of the old band's capabilities / comfort zone (I can't imagine Roger Daltrey singing songs about Ecclesiastes in Empty Glass or I am an Animal). This album sounds like SD w/o Becker. To be sure, it's quite good but imo Fagen missed an opportunity to tap his potential in a ground breaking way - like he did with SD when they fused jazz and R&R . (Perhaps he did this lyrically and I missed it.) I'm stuck comparing this to Aja.
Stereo MC's
3/5
Not what I would typically describe as up my alley but I enjoyed this one
Os Mutantes
4/5
Many people would be surprised at how open Brazilian musicians are to fusion with different styles. When I travelled to Brazil over the years I was fortunate to befriend a couple of music buffs who took me to some excellent concerts that demonstrate the wide variety of sounds. So the fucked up distorted riffs fused with samba in A Minha Menina seem par for the course. Some of this LP is wacky and wonderful while other bits are completely ridiculous. In the latter category is Ave Genghis Khan. It is so disjointed with insane riffs and I get the sense that even if I knew Portuguese the lyrics would still be meaningless. The name Ave Genghis Khan is ridiculous enough to make me rewind to Track 1. I love this album!
Adam & The Ants
3/5
I always liked Adam Ant without really knowing his music that well. This is a fine display of why I like it and possibly also explains why i never got to know it that well. It is a major thump-a- thon - high energy right at yeah. The easiest to hear lyrics are often amusing. Not too much drama; just good fun. Adam has a way to grab hold of you without being arrogant or obnoxious It's a great party vibe and a band meant to be seen live or heard at parties where you're so fucked up you can't hold a normal conversation anyway so why not spin the Ants. The last half of the album did seem to start to fade.
Elvis Costello
3/5
Weird to hear a mid nineties Elvis C album. w a voice like his it's hard for the sound to change too much. Not sure why the pause but it's solid EC
U2
4/5
After the WAR LP I lost interest in U2 so was one of the few who had no time for Joshua Tree. I thought they had started to simply repeat previous formulas. Actung Baby is a welcome step away from their past. And the hits are quite good. eg the rhythm guitar on One is mind blowing.
Rod Stewart
3/5
Maggie is a fabulous song. The rest of the album chas its moments but leave Maggie off and I can't imagine it making many Top ___ lists.
Fairport Convention
4/5
When I saw the cover I was a little worried I was looking at the band. Nothing could be further from reality. Richard and Sandy had just turned 20 when they recorded this! I am shocked that anyone can be so good by that age. The guitar is quite good (Not sure if Richard or Simon deserves the accolades). Fiddling on Sailor's Life is mind blowing. If time were free I'd spend some finding and listening to whatever else Dave Swarbrick did. Bonus points for getting to hear a couple of Bobby Dylan's buried treasures that I would not have ever found. Still trying to figure out whose grandparents are on the cover.
Frank Black
3/5
I like the energy of this album. I knew the Pixies but not well enough to know the band members' names. 22 songs is a lot. Having guest lead guitarists on almost all of tracks 15 - 22 gives badly needed wild cards to make the length more manageable and makes the second half of the album more interesting musically. The lead work on Pie in the Sky is reminiscent of Earl Slick. I quite like this LP musically. I might have got to a four but on the few tracks I paid attention to the lyrics, the lyrics were shall we say juvenile.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
I guess the double album is an anachronism. The studio doubles in particular were fun to compare and discuss. I like to think about how good of a single album the band could have released. For example, Who's Next was initially going to be a double album called Lifehouse. That bad boy worked quite well as a single LP. I wonder how good double LPs like Exile on Main St, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and Sandinista! (a triple!) would have been if half was left on the mixing room floor. Some doubles needed to be doubles to have time to tell the story eg The Wall, Tommy and Lamb Lies Down . . . Finally, some, like London's Calling are so darn good I just can't think what to cut.
Songs in the Key is a beauty for sure, but I really think there was a 5 here if it were a single LP.
Super Furry Animals
3/5
I was falling behind on my thousand and one homework so had to cram the two Super Furry Animals albums this afternoon. I thought the Fuzzy Logic album was OK with a few good rock songs. Rings Around the World was a little lame. Kinda like music you might hear on a soap opera.
Super Furry Animals
2/5
I was falling behind on my thousand and one homework so had to cram the two Super Furry Animals albums this afternoon. I thought the Fuzzy Logic album was OK with a few good rock songs. Rings Around the World was a little lame. Kinda like music you might hear on a soap opera. I must admit I didnlt get passed Track 8 on Rings. Perhaps it got better. Who knows?
Iggy Pop
4/5
I saw Iggy live in mid 80s and again in the mid 90s. He did not look at all like the brother on the cover of Lust for Life. I guess I have to believe it’s his picture but if it is, the decade after releasing this album were hard years.
This album is very good. Seeing Izzy live was easily a “5” both times but I don’t think I have a 5 for his studio albums.
Beastie Boys
3/5
I guess instruments can be replaced by a mouse. And this was technology 30+ years ago. I didn't get through the entire LP. After 5-Piece Chicken Dinner I figured they couldn't possibly do anything better so double clicked an early demise to Paul's Boutique. (The B-Boys must understand that the mouse giveth and the mouse taketh away.) While I couldn't finish the job, I still think that this album is a lot of fun. I hate to say this and wouldn't want the word to spread, but I liked it - kinda - a little bit - sorta - maybe.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
A lot of hits on this one. The band knows how to play and are very tight.
The Auteurs
3/5
On the first listen, I really didn't like most of the LP. I liked the first track but then they lost me for a while but I also liked the last three tunes. This was somewhat bizarre since the Spotify numbers show that nobody ever listens to (read likes) those last three tracks. I thought I should listen to it again and the second time through most of the songs from the dreaded middle section of the LP were OK. It kinda grew on me -kinda the way you start liking the jingle in a McDonald's commercial. Perhaps I was thrown by the name "New Wave" and was expecting something else.
Iron Maiden
1/5
Two things I must say about this one. First, it's a very good example of heavy metal from the late 70s early 80s. Second, I hate heavy metal from the late 70s early 80s.
Cream
3/5
I had high hopes but was let down by this LP. Perhaps the 1001 algorithm sent us a little too much Psychedelic music lately. The first two tunes, which were the singles, are enjoyable as are the blues tunes Outside Woman Blues and Take it Back. The six song Psychedelic midsection didn't really work for me.
Mother's Lament is a fun way to end the LP. It sounds like a good dose of British humour mixed with a few too many pints. As young Englishmen, they must have had fun making their accents sound like their grandparents did when they got home from the Pub on a Friday night.
It sure sounds like Iron Butterfly "borrowed" the opening riff from Sunshine of Your Love and plopped it in In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Is it just me?
5/5
Here we go - song by song for the 1st time
Sgt Peppers . . . I love how raw the opening guitar riff is. What a great way to start the album. I understand Paul took lead guitar duties away from George on the Sgt Pep. song. He lays down some excellent lead. I can’t imagine George was happy about he mates in the sandbox that day.
With a Little Help ... This is the most famous song Ringo sang. He makes it so much fun as only he could do.
Lucy in the Sky. This is a wonderful Lennon tune. Lucy and Day in the Life are the two highlights of the LP. (I know, you guys probably think When I’m 64 is the shit. Call me crazy). Listening to Lucy makes me feel like I’m stoned. Paul lays down some interesting bass flows and some intricate finger work particularly during the last few seconds of the fade out. (I need to give Paul compliments early before I say what I really think about some of his songs to come).
Getting Better. Paul’s Fluff-O-Matic songs begin! OK not complete fluff. The harmonies and George’s tambura playing make it a damn good song. The tambura seems to be made to generate feedback.
Fixing a hole: Paul’s fluff factor is turned up a couple of notches Again the upbeat guitar work makes the song good. The guitar solo between versus around half way through is conspicuous but more interesting is the solo while Paul is signing the verses. Ahh, Paul taking one for the team to make the song better.
She’s Leaving Home I always liked this one especially the last verse where the parents wonder what they did wrong. It’s a kinder / gentler version of Yusuf Islam’s (aka Cat Stevens) Father and Son written a few years later. Paul sure can hit the high notes on the chorus. I doubt Paul would attempt to hit these when playing live but if he could he would be in the same building as Art Garfunkel. Not the same floor as Art, but the same building.
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! For all of John’s songs on this LP I wonder where on earth he came up with the bizarre lyrics. Mr. Kite is a great example. Apparently he is singing about a random circus he read about. ??
Within You and Without you. This song is crazy. The rock and roll world wasn’t ready for the sitar. I remember George assembled some sitar players for a benefit concert a few years later. The audience broke into an ovation after the musicians finished tuning their sitars since they thought the tuning process was the first song. Whoops! That demonstrates how foreign the instrument was.
When I’m 64 This is complete, 100%, unadulterated fluff from Paul. But totally cute I guess. Perhaps one day I'll have grandkids named Vera, Chuck and Dave.
Lovely Rita Another whack of Paul's fluff. The short piano solo is sick! This solo is one of many snippets of absolute brilliance on this LP. Also, the moaning at the end of the song is priceless. I guess Lovely Rita took a short break from writing parking tickets that afternoon. Hmmm. May I enquire discreetly?
Good Morning Good Morning Another excellent guitar solo. It sounds like the guitar Paul played on Sgt Pep. Perhaps more mumbling, bumbling and stumbling from George about that sandbox. That guitar has such a vicious sound. The animal sounds at the end are wonderfully ridiculous. The rooster segue to Sgt Pep. reprise is a joy to behold! I'm glad that little rooster wasn't too lazy to crow today.
A Day in the Life is a masterpiece. Well, except for the middle eight that Paul wrote and deposited between verses 3 and 4. The good thing about Paul’s bit being slipped in is it highlights how amazing John’s verses are. This song demonstrates how John's writes his songs in a way that invites the other players to be at their creative best. Ringo’s drumming on the Sgt Pep LP is at its creative peak during A Day in the Life. More specifically, during John’s verses on this song. (His drumming is kinda lame during Paul’s contribution. When in Rome . . . - or shall I say when not in Rome . . .). The intricate drum work on A Day in the Life was also possible only because Ringo uses Pearl drums. That amount of drum strokes on a fairly quiet song would have been infuriating if he used less subtle drums.
I’m probably at a 4 based solely on the music but give it a 5 due to how influential this album was. It opened another musical door that copious amounts of excellent music walked through. I understand that "Their Satanic Majesties Request" also walked through that door but I can't hold back the 5 because of that. OK Alright OK Alright.
Charles Mingus
3/5
Something about this didn't work for me. Perhaps it's a horn / woodwind overdose. There are frequently one or more horns and woodwinds soloing concurrently and also having to compete with multiple horns / woodwinds blowing out the rhythm. This forces the soloists to go out on a tangent to be heard which exasperates the situation. I get that these are excellent musicians and I really like the few minutes where only one horn / woodwind is playing. I just find it a challenge to listen to most of it.
Paul Simon
3/5
Nice fur head on the cover. He looks like Kabib Nurmagomedov. lol.
A great songwriter paired with a great vocalist is a formidable combination. Art G was quite the arrow to have in his quiver.
The Sound of Silence would not have been anywhere near as good without Art. We can all convince ourselves we can sing OK when we fumble along trying to sing Paul's part of the harmony on Sounds of Silence but try singing Art's.
I can see how having to write exclusively in a way that allows Art's voice to be showcased would be limiting. Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard is a good example of the direction his music can go without Art.
This album is good but Paul needed to refill his quiver with other arrows to make great albums. He eventually did this but not on this album.
Soft Cell
3/5
This was cool back in the day. The sound is distinctive as are the vocals. I just think when you have a distinctive voice like this album can't be more than 45 min. Vinyl was great in this way since groovage creates an absolute maximum (45 - 50 min - ish) that could be crammed on before it compromised the sound. Of course if the LP was a 5 then I wouldn't complain about length but this isn't a 5 so it wore on me. --
Butthole Surfers
4/5
I gave this a cursory listen and was about to mark it “1” and move on but the last few songs on the LP grabbed me. I liked the Asian sounding guitar work that kicks off Kuntz. Also, the last song (22 Going On 23) is powerful. It sounds like a radio show where a very hurt and / or deranged woman calls in and the host has nothing useful to say to her. It’s pure magic how the guitar playing captures the mood of the talk show dialogue. These two tunes motivated me to listen again and pay more attention and I'm glad I did.
The album starts w Sweat Loaf. I quite like it but can’t for the life of me figure out why. The song transitions back and forth from quiet and almost whisper like to aggressive and heavy. Nirvana later did this very effectively on Heart Shaped Box. The lyrics on Sweat are measured. This the case on most songs on this LP. No excess verbiage, no references to Greek Philosophers or obscure contributors to the Bible. Nothing here is even one inch pompous and, if I remember correctly, being pompous was quite fashionable in 1987.
In Graveyard, I like the distorted voice. It’s reminiscent of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man but I couldn't for the life of me (pardon the pun) understand the lyrics without my friendly internet connection. It’s a dark and creepy song which is up my alley. Another angst filled song I also like is Human Cannonball (although Human Cannibal seems to be the better name???) By the time we get to U.S.S.A. and The O-Man the LP has disintegrated to the stage that all that remains is noise. The lyrics to U.S.S.A. are by any definition terse. The words are: U.S.S.A, U.S.A, U.S.S.R, U.S.S.A. No Pulitzer Prize coming anytime soon but I doubt they'd want one. The interesting part about using such terse lyrics is the listener can decide what the song's about. The words do evoke thought and I can think they have a meaning related to the Bay of Pigs while another person can think they relate to the different kinds of poverty and crime in the two then super powers. The beauty of simple lyrics is that the customer is always right.
This is also the second album sent to us in the last week where barnyard sounds figure prominently. Hey if it’s good enough for Sgt Pepper . . .
I told a friend about the LP tonight and as I was doing so I couldn’t help but worry that the fact I like this LP so much might cost me a friend. lol.
The Band
4/5
I was surprised I didn't like this more. I guess I'm comparing it to The Last Waltz. At least I now know The Weight is the name of the song about Fanny. I can now stop going through life thinking it was about Annie or Brandy. I also now know that the Nazareth reference in The Weight is to the US town where Martin guitars are made. I'm rounding up to 4 since the brothers are Canadians and Martin guitars are the shit.
Cat Stevens
4/5
I really like the hits on this LP and they are not overplayed to the extent that I can't listen to them anymore. The rest of the album is also decent although not well known to me. Hard Headed Woman and Miles From Nowhere stand out favourably among the songs that weren't hits
Father and Son is special imo for two reasons. First, I expect we all noticed how the voice he uses when he sings the father's dialogue is different from the voice he uses when singing the son's dialogue. There is more to this than meets the ear. If you want to change the key in which you are singing, you also have to change the key you play the guitar which means changing the chords to be consistent with the different key. Kris Kristofferson does this on The Pilgrim Chapter 33 where he sings and strums the first half of the song in the key of G but just before the second verse he switches things up and starts to strum and sing in the key of D. (This will make even the best Karaoke singers sound foolish once the second verse starts if they don't know what's about to happen.) But I digress. In Father and Son, the chords don't change from verse to verse which means the key stays the same. Cat Stevens delivers the different voice by singing the Son's dialogue a full octave higher. Having the vocal range to sign a song in two different octaves is impressive. The second reason the song is special relates to how the meaning of the song to his audience has changed in the decades since its release. Initially his audience in the 70s must have thought "the old man doesn't get how the world works these days" but later in life this may have changed to "the son should accept the wisdom he's being offered." Personally, I now think both father and son were right.
This is one of these LPs where his actions outside of music help justify a high rating. As a teenager growing up in Sudbury I recall the reaction when he went from being Cat to being Yusuf. The common view was he had succumbed to a cult and / or had gone crazy. In those days the media would not help frame things differently. I think his turning to Islam caused at least some of his fans to think more freely, become more accepting and by now hopefully hold the view that his name change from Cat to Yusuf is no more deserving of negativity than his name change from Steve to Cat was.
Beth Orton
3/5
I like her songwriting and she has a distinctive voice that has a certain amount of vulnerability that works well with her folky songs. The single Stolen Car has a very different sound and feel than the rest of the LP. It sounds like they knew they needed a single and pulled out all the stops and production expertise to get the guitars to sound just right for the airwaves. I'm not saying it's contrived. Ok maybe it's a little contrived but it's still a really good tune. Her LP kinda reminds me of PJ Harvey and early Sinead 'O'connor in that they all put their hearts out there for all to see. (Sinead's first album also had Mandinka which was produced to sound the way a single is supposed to sound.)
Blur
4/5
I never heard of this album and don't really know any of the songs. Perhaps I was sleeping? I would not describe myself as a synthpop fan but do like the first track Girls and Boys. The next four songs (to Bank Holiday) seem intended to give a bird's eye view of normal everyday life in England. The theme continues a few tracks later with London Loves. They were quite effective painting this picture. The best example (by far) of an album capturing the essence of a location is Lou Reed's New York.
When I hear songs like Debt Collector I wonder why? It's a marching tune without lyrics. I can't for the life of me understand why, but the song works. Trouble in the Message Center moves and is also quite slick. These are the songs that fill out the LP between the hits and do so quite well.
Overall, the production is top rate and the LP quite enjoyable. We are definitely in the 90s. One of the songs used the German phrase "vorsprung durch technik" which means progress via technological advancement. This phrase summarizes the production effort on this one.
Simple Minds
3/5
I was surprised to see this was their 5th album! This album was lots of fun back in the day but, for me, it hasn't aged particularly well. I know 40 years is a long time but other LPs from that era, like Zenyatta Mondatta and Fear of Music, have aged far more gracefully. I would have given it a 4 if asked on the dance floor in 1982 but not in 2021.
David Bowie
5/5
So my first COVID mask (other than plain coloured Costco specials) had Bowie sporting his Aladdin Sane lightning bolt makeup. Guess you know where this rating is heading. This one of four Bowie albums that I claim is my all time favourite whenever I play it.
Mike Garson's piano playing is nothing short of amazing. Highlights are the title track as well as Time and Lady Grinning Soul. I also think Mick Ronson delivers some of his strongest playing as his playing style is perfect for the raw glam sound of this album. His solo to start Prettiest Star as well as his solos on Cracked Actor and Time are quintessential Mick Ronson. His acoustic playing on Lady Grinning Soul is also impressive.
Drive-in Saturday is my favourite song on the album. But like my favourite Bowie LP claims, take it with a grain of salt since it's playing as I write this. How can you not love a song that has the words like "it's a crash course for the ravers" ? Also, I have a painting of Twiggy in my living room so the words " she sighed like Twig the wonderkid" seal the deal. I also like how he sucks up to Mick Jagger in this song by referring to Mick as the sex symbol who the futuristic sexless society is trying to emulate.
As is typical with great albums, it's hard to say whether side 1 or 2 is better. Side 2 starts w Time. It's pure genius how the words "sniper in the brain, regurgitating drain" capture the horror of an early demise by overdose. I suppose in another decade, the words "goddamn you're getting old; you'll sneeze and catch a cold cause you left your coat behind" will resonate more with me.
I would have bet lots of money that Let's Spend the Night Together was on Pinups. Hmm. I guess its being on this album is consistent with the "sucking up to Mick J'' theme on Aladdin Sane.
As is the case with all my four favourite Bowie albums, this one also ends with a ballad, Lady Grinning Soul, the beautifully haunting song about the hauntingly beautiful Claudia Lennear. It's also another connection to Mick J since he was another of this lady's grinning souls and he also wrote a song about her, although his name for her - Brown Sugar - made his song just a wee bit less romantic.
Missy Elliott
3/5
Ahhh world famous slickly produced rap. Rap has come a long way from the pre Rick James days.
Justice
4/5
I really liked this. It was nice that my 28 yo son and I like the same music every now and again.
Lots of good pace and attitude.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
I don't really know Pet Shop Boys well. I recall a hit or two (West End Girl and that WIlly Nelson song) that were fun but not so much to make me seek out other music by them. I kinda like what they did on this album. A lot of synth pop now sounds dated but this is listenable. By mid album, I found the songs were starting to wear me out. I initially speculated that this was due to the singer always sounding the same but on reflection, any singer's voice will sound the same throughout an album. Think of the David Byrne or David Bowie albums we had recently. Their voices sound the same in each song which makes sense; they only have one voice. I then thought it must be that he sings at the same pitch. But after replaying some snippets, this is also not the case. His voice has good range and he displays that. What I did find is that the album starts with an onslaught of songs played in Minor keys. While there are many exceptions, Minor keys are historically used to make songs sound sad and major keys used to make songs sound happy. (eg, Happy Birthday is written in a Major key - F Major I think - although the best versions are when each person sings in a different key!) Of the first 6 songs on this album, only To Face the Truth is in a Major key but it still sounds sad. This may be why it wore on me by mid point of the album.
The album ends with songs in the major key with So Hard, Nervously . . . . Did anyone else find So Hard a pleasant change? The album ends with Jealousy. This is definitely not a happy song lyrically, but is played in a Major key so it sounds happy. The Smiths were masters at writing manically depressed lyrics but pairing those lyrics with music in Major keys so the songs sounded happy.
I probably would not have put this much thought into this album were it not for having time on my hands due to the COVID lockdown. I really don't like Pet Shop Boys that much.
Johnny Cash
5/5
I have a T- shirt from this concert - a shirt with the photo of him giving the finger to the filming crew during the show since they were blocking the audience's view. I have ultimate respect for Johnny doing the series of concerts at jails. He was likely the only person of substance who gave respect to inmates who he didn't know. Before "Don't Know Where I'm Bound" Johnny says that an inmate wrote that song and gave it to him the day before. Johnny played the song and gave the inmate songwriting credit. Respect. Zeppelin and others could learn from him.
San Quentin is a powerful song about the problems with the prison system. Of course the inmates loved it. Johnny was able to give the hard message about the prison system while being careful not to blame the particular prison or disrespecting the guards.
It's hilarious how Johnny mentions to the crowd that he might play "Boy Named Sue" and gets no reaction. I guess this concert is when he first recorded it so the audience had no clue. Great idea to release the live version of this single since the audience reaction hearing it the first time adds a special dimension. Johnny would know that the prison audience would relate more to this song than other audiences since a substantially higher portion of prisoners are raised without their fathers.
Many headline artists get musicians who have independent careers to play with them on tour. Most, however, don't let them sing their own songs. Johnny not only had Carl Perkins, Statler Brothers and Carter Family sing their own songs, but also left the stage so as not to distract the audience. Johnny still did this with his bandmates when I saw him in the early 90s. When I saw him he also brought his reverend on stage and said anyone who was having problems with life could talk with him afterwards. He also introduced his reverend at San Quentin after "Outside Looking In".
The medley to end the show is amazing. Johnny lets the others on stage sing the final songs. June singing the first verse of Folsom is the highlight. As much as I complain about drum solos, I quite like the quick solo in the medley. The show ends with Johnny giving a shout out to the prisoners who, probably for safety or disciplinary reasons, couldn't leave their cells to watch the show.
I give the album a 4 based on the music but +1 for the respect he shows everyone (well, perhaps not the filming crew but to everyone else.)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
An album that's only 12 years old! Wow! A yoot!
The weekend was too busy to get through even the first half but I was kinda digging what I heard.
Marty Robbins
2/5
Gotta love the title of this album not to mention the cover. I have a fantasy based interest in the era where people wrote songs about gunslingers so I was a little excited to see a whole album seemingly on point. Alas, this album has convinced me to let the fantasy go. I just couldn't get into it. +1 for the cover
The Teardrop Explodes
3/5
I started to listen to this yesterday and couldn't get into it. It wasn't that I disliked it, I just wasn't in the mood for it. When I played it today I quite liked it. Julian's a voice reminds me of another artist but I can't quite place it.
Miles Davis
4/5
I quite like how much chaos is going on w so many different instruments playing at the same time and how good the jamming sounds. I had a problem with Mingus' album due to its chaos but the chaos on this one works for me.
Hawkwind
2/5
This is another one I couldn’t get into when I first gave it a spin. I decided to give it 24 hrs and try again. It was a little better but still not really rocking my boat.
Is Dino Rock a genre? They sound like a dinosaurs band before being old enough to be called such. Some was OK but it lacked consistency.
The Cure
3/5
This is a dark album and lightyears away from being formulaic. I didn't have a chance to really listen to the lyrics but the tone of the music says in no uncertain terms that if you're looking for uplifting you got off at the wrong stop. I'm guessing which songs were the singles based on the Spotify stats on number of listens. Unlike their earlier singles, none of these will inadvertently make you smile. That part of it sits well with me. I like hits as much as the next guy (more accurately, say, half as much as the next guy) but also appreciate talented musicians choosing to make music without regard for how well the singles will do. Remember that I'm the one who liked the Butthole Surfers.
Thundercat
4/5
The bass on Uh Uh is an excellent example of how well Mr. T-Cat knows how to play that bad boy. He plays a six string bass and moves his left hand up and down the neck with the ease a virtuoso four string player has. Doing so with the extra strings allows a much higher range of notes than regular bass (Duh) but this must be tricky with a six stringer since bass strings are much thicker so the neck of the guitar also needs to be thicker, which means his fingers really need to "stretch" to hit all the range of notes. What is completely insane is that he also plays barre chords on the bass. I've never seen another bass player do this.
Many iconic rock and roll bands (e.g. The Who, Jimi Hendrix Experience and Led Zep) produced all the sound that was needed with three people playing instruments. This album confirms three is enough, albeit with piano substituted for the regular 6 string guitar in rock and roll.
It's bizarre that the title song is not a single and is buried at slot 21 of a 23 song album. I did get a chuckle that the second song following it was DUI.
To be sure, this album has its ups and downs. I listened to it two times back to back and some of it did wear on me. The virtuoso six string bass playing gets +1.
Cocteau Twins
2/5
I had a hard time getting into this album but, strangely, I wanted to like it. I like her voice. The frustrating part was that I couldn't understand the words she was singing. I still wanted to like this album so I looked up the lyrics. Unfortunately, finding the lyrics did not help my understanding of the lyrics one inch. The music sounds like it's being played on a cloud and reading the lyrics made me feel like my brain was a cloud.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Well there’s no doubt this band knows how to jam. Crazy Horse is a band that’s just not made for the studio so they somehow figured out how to make a studio album with a sound that is very raw and sounds live. This includes many songs ending with guitar feedback. No gentle fade outs here.
There’s not a lot of variety in the songs although I guess if you want some ballads, Neil has many other LPs that will scratch this itch.
Green Day
4/5
I remember this album positively. I saw them as a punk resurgence although, as I'm learning from 1001, there was no shortage of punk and new wave resurgences. I like their energy and in particular am impressed by the sheer speed of the drummer's drum strokes. The hits on this album were a lot of fun. I grew weary of their subsequent albums as they became more and more CFNY and this was after CFNY became less and less CFNY. I do like this one.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Getting back to the ones I missed, Jimi rules!
This album is special since, of the 493 albums in his discography, this is actually one of the two or three original albums! It goes without saying that his guitar playing was pure magic. What really validates this is the accolades he got from really good guitar players of the day - like Clapton. They all wanted to see what Jimi was up to.
The Who covered Hey Joe on their 1989 tour. Ok Pete had lost 80% of his hearing by then but still: Townsend playing a Hendrix song on a Clapton designed guitar - Fucking orgasmic!
While everyone knows Jimi, the drumming is quite good also. eg on Manic Depression.
Since I'm late getting to this one I'm not sure which version of the album you were given. I spun my vinyl which is the American version with Purple Haze. I think the European version did not have this. Hey Joe, Purple Haze, Foxy Lady. How is that not a 5? Might be a 4 if Purp Haze was not on the LP. OK, Are You Experienced sounds dated+. I remember thinking that tune was dated in the 70s. But the LP's still a 5.
Lauryn Hill
3/5
I think a full album of hip hop is too much. Ditto for a full album of soul most of the time. This was a nice blend which worked for me. I also like the guitar solos thrown in which I wasn't expecting with the genres but worked. I'm almost at 4 except I think I've been giving too many 4s lately so deflation has set in.
David Bowie
3/5
I can't believe I'm giving Bowie a rating I would give to mere mortals. The hits never really rocked my boat which resulted in my not listening to the album much. It's a good listen but, for me, I can't give a higher rating.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
The first song surprised me since the sound wasn't the sound I associated with them. I think of them a soul / funk but I guess if you were releasing an album in 1969 it needed an obligatory psychedelic song
I like the jamming on Sex Machine. It sure sounds like a talk box on that tune as well as earlier on the album. I tried to research it and googled "Sex Machine". I wouldn't necessarily recommend searching that term. No judgment. You may want to be sure nobody is looking over your shoulder before doing this particular google search.
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Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3/5
Apologies for the hiatus. I'm back in business!
This was a strange one for me to review. I remember having Frank Goes to Hollywood on vinyl but the cover of this one wasn't at all familiar and I can't imagine buying any records after this one. It turns out I had an EP (is that an anachronism or did EPs tag along with the vinyl resurgence?) The EP had four tracks and all four were cover versions. Just kidding - only cover was WAR. On the vinyl EP, the artwork that surrounds the spindle hole had a head shot of Ronald Regan and the spindle hole went right through his forehead. Execution style!
The EP was the right amount of Franky. I really don't get why they felt it necessary to make a double album. The title track is over 13 minutes and is nothing other than a far too long introduction to the next song, Relax. It's like having half a dozen burgers as an appetizer before a dover sole main course. I also think there are a few too many cover versions on this bad boy. This led me to think about when cover versions are OK and not OK. Allow me to get distracted; think of it as giving my ADHD some love.
Johnny's musings on cover versions:
1. In the 60s multiple cover versions were done frequently so covers were OK then. No limits.
2. Cover versions are also OK when it's jazz because, well, they don't call them covers - they're standards. (I never bought into to that "rose is a rose . . ." nonsense.)
3. A cover is good when it uses a completely different genre than the original. I'm thinking of Syd Vicious' version of My Way. Ditto for Paul Anka's cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit. It does exist! If you haven't you should give it a listen. It's particularly funny given what Syd did to Paul's song. Perhaps Paul groups grunge and punk in the same tent so was satisfied with this touché.
4. You can cover a song that isn't a hit or top of mind. I'm thinking Nina Simone's and later Bowie's covers of WIld is the Wind and Jason & the Scorchers cover of Absolutely Sweet Marie although Jason also meets Rule 3.
5. One cover version per album is also allowed cause wtf let's not be too rule orientated - he says on Rule #5 of 9 lol
6. No limit on covers on live albums. It might be the only chance to hear them.
7. I would give a 5 star rating to John Lennon's Rock and Roll album from the mid seventies which was entirely covers. But this album is exempt since its cover versions were the music that influenced the most influential musician in our lifetime. (Wow that's a fucking statement and a half! But I still don't like Fame.)
8. Other than that, fuck off with the cover versions!
9. I reserve the right to exempt other cover versions I like.
I'll say the cover of War is OK. The song itself isn't played particularly well but the Reagan voices make it OK. (Rule 9) But why would they cover Springsteen? Born to Run was a smash hit less than a decade earlier. What exactly did they do with the song that made them think: "Yeah Baby, let's slap that brother on our first album"? Ditto for Fury, San Jose and Ferry. I was going to say ditto Power of Love but this a an original! I was sure it was a cover. Now I need to find whose version of the song I like.
I really liked the hits (Relax, Two Tribes) when the dance floors found them back in the day so I can't rate this too low but there are some seriously low points.
Cornershop
3/5
This album certainly starts strong. Writing the words "on the 45" into the chorus makes it obvious that they wanted ``Brimful of Asha'' to be a hit single. It's a very catchy tune. I actually looked up the chords and might try to play it one of these days. After the first few songs the album falls into a dearth of filler. It's kinda cool that Allen Ginsberg's poetry recital is on this - silly me but I would have given good odds that he was dead by then. RIP.
Things do pick up again after Ginsberg. "Good to be on the road back home again" is quite good. Paula Frazer's vocals really add something special to that one. I'm sure there's a good story behind how she met these guys. We fall back to filler again with Indian Tobacco. I like the rap on Candyman. Not sure if it's just me, but I thought if you wrote the lyrics you could always figure out how to rap them yourself. You don't need a black belt in Pavarotti to rap. I must be wrong since Tjinder outsourced the rap duties. I wonder if Paula Frazer introduced them to the MC, lol.
The album ends with a lovely cover version of John's classic Norwegian Wood. (Cover version allowed under Rule 5.)
This album was 54 min. Back in the vinyl days when albums were typically not a lot over 42ish minutes, one had to be more careful with track selection. If we could eliminate 10 - 12 minutes of filler, this would be a 4 imho. It's a shame really.
Queen
4/5
I don't really know this LP as the first Queen album I bought, or some say, my brother bought, was Sheer Heart Attack. The cover looked quite familiar given I never had the album. My son Dylan reminded me that the Queen II album cover was used in the Bohemian Rhapsody video and he showed me the part of the video with the lads' picture lip syncing part of the tune.
Queen at this stage was definitely more hard rock and less glam rock but you can get a glimpse of the glam avalanche to come. This is particularly so with the four Freddie compositions on side 2 (ie starting with Ogre Battle). Nevermore, one of those Freddie songs, really showcases his piano playing and vocal range although the best demonstration of his vocal range is The March of The Black Queen. The brother sure could hit those high notes. The March of The Black Queen is an excellent song and is the high point of the album imho. It's like Bohemian Rhapsody but not as ridiculous eg no "mama mia"s
This was quite an enjoyable listen. It's interesting to hear a band that we know later became superstars but aren't there yet, have no laurels to rest on and are playing their hearts out. Seeing the early hints of what was to come is fascinating.
Joy Division
3/5
I didn't get a full second listen to this so I will be brief and middle of the road. The album gets off to a great start with excellent percussion and roaming avant garde guitars. I appreciate they kicked off the Manchester scene and were influential. Truth be told, I'm a bigger fan of New Order as they took the Joy Division sound and made it danceable. Songs like 24 hrs make me think I might have ranked higher if I gave it the time it deserves but, alas, my ranking is my middle of the road
Louis Prima
4/5
Ahh memories of the Reservoir Lounge. We would go there after squash league every week for a couple of years. Bradley and the Bouncers was the house band on the night we played. I got to know Bradley quite well. They always played "Just a Gigolo" and he would let me, and any other inebriated squash guy who was up for it, "help" sing the ``I ain't got nobody" line. I kept bugging Bradley to let me sing the "Babadebabadebabaduloop" part but he strictly followed the first rule of letting a patron sing. That rule is to hold the mic near the patron but NEVER NEVER let go of the mic. Needless to say my short singing career never did include singing the gibberish part of the tune. Bradley was a wise man.
Buona Sera is another classic Louis P tune.. I had a soundtrack to the movie "The Big Night" which was about some Italians from the old country who had a restaurant in New York. The soundtrack was classic Italiano and included a few Louis P tunes including Buona Sera and Oh Marie.
I can't go less than 4 given the great memories of the Res as well as the glory days of squash. Thanks in advance to Mike for keeping his views on our relative squash abilities to himself.
Guided By Voices
2/5
I liked the sound of the album when it started. The first song was good but as soon as I said "I like this" the song ended?? Ditto the second song. These brothers clearly like to avoid certain formulas in music. This is usually positive for me but, as much as I hate to admit it, I guess I like some formulas in music: For example, I like the norm of not abruptly ending a good tune before the 1 minute mark. Call me crazy! I was shocked when I took a look at Spotify and, after what seemed like less than 10 minutes, we were on Song 13 (Closer You Are). I quite liked that song too but it also left the room before we had a chance to properly introduce ourselves. My loss again. It begs the question: Who wins?
After listening to Queen recently, it's interesting to compare Queen's over-dub-athon to this Guided by Voices' album that sounds like a high school project in a poorly lit basement. I don't mind their choice not to go over the top with production. It would have been nice if they devoted a bit more time to work on the songs and perhaps even finish writing a few of them. The lack of production time also results in all the songs sounding the same. I know all bands "sound the same" in one way or the other, but the production function can bring out some nuances that reduce the number of times you say "Oh Lord, don't tell me I have to listen to another song with that same sound". By the end of the album I was saying this a lot. At least when I had to say this, I could be happy knowing the next song might not be over 30 seconds long. Yes there were three songs that were 30 sec or less.
PJ Harvey
4/5
I have some of PJ's stuff from a few years later but never had this one. It's mighty fine. Sheela-na-gig is a beauty. The words "wash that man right outta my hair" are lodged in my memory bank for some reason. An old jingle for a TV commercial perhaps or maybe an old movie. My memory bank is cloudy but the memory is that it was sung in a girly girl way. Not so much this time; in fact about as far from girly girl as one can get.
Is "femme angst" a genre? If it's not, it should be. After all, male angst is a genre. It goes by the moniker "grunge".
Dirty Projectors
3/5
The sound is immediately recognizable as more modern than most of the 1001 LPs.
I like the way the guitar plays the rhythm without strumming. I appreciate the originality of how they accomplish this. There is something in their sound related to the transitions within the songs that you might label unusual or creative (depending on whether you like it) . It's not only the vocals or guitars coming in unexpectedly, although this is done a fair bit, but also other jumps within the songs. I can't describe these maneuvers well and certainly can’t explain how they get the listener to heed the jumps but the fact they accomplish this with the listener validates their creativity.
While I appreciate the music and the creativity, I find the "sleight of hand" in their music cumbersome and, at the end of the day, exhausting.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
I liked this one. As with the last Elvis C album sent to us, it's recorded later than the time frame I associate with his sweet spot but it was an enjoyable listen.
Van Morrison
5/5
I really liked this one. I've always thought there was something special about the title track. Its rhythm bounces around and he makes it seem very natural for the vocals to start and stop in unnatural places. The keyboards are quite really good too. Just a quick comment on the title song but there are so many more positive things about the album.
Parliament
4/5
OK, another story. In my high school days, Sudbury would not be mistaken for diverse. Of course we thought it was diverse since it had Italians AND French Canadians!.
There were very few people of colour. One of my friends was black and when I crashed at his place he played a bunch of funk which, at the time, was a million miles away from what I was otherwise listening to. The only band name I remember was Brothers Johnson but who knows, he could have been spinning Parliament too. This album certainly sounds like the stuff we were listening to back in the day.
It was influential for me so whether or not it was Parliament I have a good rating for the genre and the year of release.
Lou Reed
4/5
The opening tune is a great way to start an album. The listener is immediately taken to Berlin. Allan Macmillan's piano playing on the song Berlin has always been among my favourites. It's not the technical ability as much as the sound of his piano. If I bought the same piano would simple notes sound that good? Life's great mysteries.
I quite like Lou Reed. The songs on his early albums are much better live since I find his band at that time didn't really let go in the studio. It's still fabulous as Lou always is but the 5 stars will have to wait for his later records. (as I cross my fingers that 1001 will include those later albums)
Elliott Smith
4/5
I quite like this album. This first listen through it was quite depressing but the 2nd time through I cranked the volume and the gloom and doom rolled right off me.
I recall Elliott saying something along the lines that ever since his first suicide attempt people assumed his songs were depressing. He also clarified that his songs about drug addictions were not sad songs about down and out addicts: he was just using metaphors. OK then. I’ll guess I’ll play this one at 11:40 PM next New Year’s Eve.
The Electric Prunes
3/5
A mosquito was buzzing at me as the insect sounds at the beginning of the album started. I almost turned the flyswatter on Spotify. Perhaps I should have.
I really have had enough of psychedelic. I like the stuff that some bands were doing in that time period but what I'll call fringe psychedelic is wearing on me. I always thought I would have enjoyed being 18 - 21 yo in the Summer of Love but now I wonder. Perhaps the brown acid would have made the fringe psychedelic more bearable.
When the Electric Prunes leave the Psych Ward they play some fun stuff. Toonerville Trolley, the last track, is a bit of ragtime and quite enjoyable.
Final note: They weren’t doing themselves any favours when they chose the band’s name.
OK it's the weekend and I'm in a generous mood so, because of Toonerville and, more important, because the album is only 29 min long, I'll give it a +1.
Elton John
3/5
The vast majority of Elton’s tunes I’ve heard in the last decade + were songs I knew so it was unusual to listen to this album given I didn’t know most the songs.
I understand session musicians were used extensively. This isn’t positive since the band seems to be missing the team like sound. It isn’t fatal since the piano man and the singer know each other well, lol , but there isn’t the natural ability to jam. Razor Face is a noticeable exception as there is a great jam in that one helped along by Rick Wakeman’s excellent organ playing. Wakeman also played keyboards for Bowie on Life on Mars around the same time. I guess he hoe’d himself out a far bit before his days with Yes.
It sounds like Elton has his church choir singing back up on All the Nasties. Perhaps Wakeman introduced a few session singers from the warehouse where he stores his organ.
It’s a fine album but Elton’s best was to come later so I will hold back the high ratings for later treats from Elton & Bernie.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
4/5
Ramblin Jack's the shit. In the opening to the first song it’s obvious why he was nicknamed “Rambling” . This is a man and his guitar providing an onslaught of wonderful music and storytelling. Jack sure does know how to pick. If an album recorded more recently had a singer who was picking so well, we could be 99% certain the guitar and singing were recorded separately. With Ramblin Jack I doubt that's the case.
When I listen to the intro to Salty Dog I can't help but think how stylistically similar those opening licks are to those in Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant. I guess Jack and Woody hung out a lot and Arlo picked up the style by osmosis.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
I always had mixed feelings about CSNY. My best friend Rick (RIP) was THE biggest Neil fan in the world and always went on about how they disrespected him eg by positioning him out of the spotlight during concerts. Neil eventually demonstrated very clearly that he was the best of the four. Neil was too good and too cool to be on the outside looking in.
I guess it's best to look at this as a CSN LP with a couple of songs thrown in by an outcast. Looking at it that way, I can say that CSN have excellent harmonies and wrote some charming and fun songs. Oh yeah, I can also say that one of those outcast songs (Helpless) happens to be the best song on the album.
Sisters Of Mercy
3/5
Sisters Of Mercy would be a great band to see at an after hours club where most of the patrons are pasty white and their hips ramble effortlessly with attention seeking indifference. I have fond, albeit evanescent, memories of such establishments. So I do like this, on a certain level, but I'm apathetic overall.
Two final thoughts:
1) This Corrosion, and in particular the guitar, has a sound reminiscent of Bowie's Scary Monsters; and
2) I expect I would've gone through the rest of my life without ever thinking about the name Jim Steinman!
The Beach Boys
4/5
wtf is up w album cover? I guess this validates the adage that says "you can't judge a book by its cover"
The Beach Boys seemed so wholesome and so damn American that I ignored them until recently (of course, 20 years ago is recently in Beach Boys terms). It eventually became impossible for me not to concede that God Only Knows is a fucking masterpiece. God Only Knows has numerous chords that are unrecognizable to most which is probably a good thing since this ensures it doesn't get butchered by campfire guitar hacks (like me). While that song is the clear highpoint, the low point is the song Pet Sounds which is almost as bad as the cover of Pet Sounds. Was having a bad cover and bad song with the same name part of their sense of humour? If it was intended to be a joke, it's not very funny.
Some of the orchestral songs don't really do it for me. I could say God Only Knows equals five stars regardless of the rest. I could say that - but I won't.
Kate Bush
3/5
I quite liked this one, especially side 1. Running up that hill .. . is a damn good hit and remains easy to listen to decades later. Her vocals were also very strong.
Jacques Brel
3/5
I have readily accepted music with vocals in languages other than English although this was typically due to the beats / global rhythms. Of those that didn’t have the beats, hardly any were in French. One exception is Edith Pilaf's La Vie En Rose which I quite liked. I never did seek out other French songs that I might have liked as much and perhaps it's my loss. This album isn't at Edith's level but some of the songs are very powerful and full of emotion. I do hope he's not singing about Bugs Bunny episodes but I don't have a clue and I'm not going to check. Just in case the songs are about the Wascally Wabbit, I better not rank too high.
Fleet Foxes
3/5
This is an interesting one to review. Then vocals are quite good - Oliver James is a good example although I'm bound to be favourably disposed to that song based on the song name only. As for the music, on the one hand it has at times a bit of an Irish folk sound which I like. But on the other hand, many songs sound like a hymn you might hear in a church that doesn't have an organ.
I can sense that there is something special here that I could probably figure out if, instrumentally, the tunes were in my wheelhouse. But they're not.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
The phases of my listening experience were:
Phase 1: (1st 3 songs) I love this shit.
Phase 2: (Next 3 songs) Are these brothers going to mix it up a bit?
Phase 3: (Track 7) They mixed it up! Yippee!
Phase 4: (Track 8) I like that they mixed it up but don't care for what they mixed it with. I'm getting bored. I hope they go back to the Track 1- 6 style.
Phase 5: (Track 9 - Life is sweet) Sweet is not the word that comes to mind. I'm struggling. (Track 10) I'm not going to make it through the whole album.
Phase 6: (Track 11) Hey that's Beth Orton. We like her. I think I'll make it through the whole album!
Being able to finish listening to the whole album is not my test for a 3 rating. Let's just say the album didn't end strong. I did like the dance club stuff at the start - or more accurately, I project that I would have liked all six tracks if I were listening to it in a dance club in the mid 90s rather than listening to it in my kitchen in the early 20s.
Laura Nyro
3/5
This album is very simple and speaks to a kinder gentler time when music was far less sophisticated. The songs have one intention which is to entertain a live audience. Her voice is impressive as it bounces effortlessly up and down the scale. Many of the songs are flush with tempo changes that keep things moving along nicely. Unfortunately there are a number of other songs that seem to stagnate.
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
If I had to list my top 5 genres, synth pop wouldn't make the cut. Not that I don't like it; most of it just doesn't levitate the genre to the top of the heap. This album, however, is top shelf. Why is this? Having vocals that aren't an afterthought really helps the genre imho. Putting into words the reason the music, rather than than vocals, works is harder. With rock I can talk about how good the guitars or drums are and if I say it fast enough, it sounds like I sorta know what I'm talking about. I can't do that with programming. Let's just say the band has a certain amount of confidence and attitude that shows and it drives the tunes. I will seek out other LCD albums to spin. I just need to find a time when I can play them LOUD which is definitely needed. Yeah there were some not so strong points but overall this was solid. 4 or 5 was a coin toss.
ZZ Top
3/5
Later ZZTop albums were in the era where I started to get picky about guitar denominated tunes. This stemmed from getting sick of most heavy metal and other heavy guitar dominated music. ZZ Top wasn't that heavy but they were in the neighbourhood so I kept my distance. This album was before I switched off but I didn't listen to this until now.The first three tracks show that these lads know how to play and it's fun enough to keep my review and rating polite. In track 4 they start to cross the line to the stuff I hate but they got back to the bluesy boogie stuff. The opening to The Grange sounds like the old Slim Harpo tune "Shake Your Hips". I guess blues is blues is blues.
I enjoyed this album. It's a decade away literally (and a century away figuratively) from their hits and accompanying videos with spinning guitars and enough hotties that it could be mistaken for a beer commercial.
1/5
It’s been said that Elvis died musically when he reported for duty after receiving his draft notice. U2 died musically with Joshua Tree.
The rating is not based on the music which is better than my rating. It’s a 1 because it marked the death of an excellent band’s music and how big of a letdown that was. Their first album Boy came when exciting music was staring to make its way to Sudbury. I expect MG procured Boy since I recall having it on cassette. I stayed a U2 fan for their first three albums picking up what I could on cassette. I saw WAR on release in the local record store, bought it on the spot and it was my favourite album. I was a big U2 fan. They were getting better known and their music kept getting better. They had a hard driving original sound, were exploring new areas, playing w passion and had an original and provocative sound. WAR was better than prior albums and they were on an insanely good trajectory. I could only dream about what might come next. Spoiler Alert
Then came Joshua Tree. They simply followed what worked on WAR. They died musically. I think they realized this and tried to get back on the trajectory but never did. The ship had sailed. Of course the record buying public rewarded them which didn’t help.
Its hard not to think of Joshua Tree when I hear the song American Pie.
Bob Dylan
4/5
While there are so many Dylan songs I don’t know, I thought I knew Dylan's capabilities. Simple Twist of Fate showed me a part of Dylan I didn’t know. He actually has a vocal range! Shocking.
Tangled up in Blue is fairly upbeat especially considering it's a sad song. As I was listening I was thinking how cool Lily Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts was. All the folk types venture to the Country and this is an excellent country song. When I went to Spotify to get the name of the song, I noticed that, of songs on that album, it has the fewest number of listens on Spotify.
This is a very good album of Dylan tunes and one I didn't know. He just turned 80 so there may not be too many more to come. At least I still have many more to discover.
The Kinks
3/5
I always loved the song David Watts. This song sets a great tempo for the album. This is the type of Kinks stuff I like. Uptempo and fun songs.
The Kinks are a classic band so I feel there must be some 4s / 5s in the mix somewhere. This one just isn’t consistent enough to get there.
Everything But The Girl
2/5
I had a hard time getting into this. It wasn't for me
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
I quite liked most of Side 1 of this album. Jigsaw Feeling is excellent. Overground - not so much. My favourite might be Carcass - a song that it seems most people passed over. The thundering in your face bass lines do the trick for me. I have a habit of commenting on cover versions so I must say that The Banshees' cover of Helter Skelter is excellent. Side 2 doesn't start strong but again I liked the less popular songs Metal Postcard and Nicotine Stains. The driving bass lines in Nicotine Stains make the song. On the home stretch, Suburban Relapse and the first half of Switch were a little hard to listen to.
Listening to this was a little bizarre since, before playing it, I thought we were easily heading to 4 or 5 territory since I remember liking this band. At the end of the day, I'm rounding up which is deserved imo since they influenced many bands I like, in particular bands fronted by females.
Missy Elliott
3/5
Another Missy Elliott.
Not much to add to my comments on the 1st Missy E album we had.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
The start, Song for Lindy, had my attention but he lost me for the next two songs. I was starting to write some negative shit based on where I thought this was headed but then Going out of my Head also worked for me. I'm such a big "Can't Explain" fan I had to take myself with a grain of salt. The next couple of songs on the album kept moving in good directions. One thing that piqued my curiosity was the song title "Everyone Needs a 303". FBS is a brit and certainly doesn't look like the type to make songs about rifles. It turns out a 303 is also a bass synthesizer and presumably provides the excellent bass lines on the track.
10th and Crenshaw was a low point on the album; it was noisy and lasted for way too long. The album didn't recover from that. I found most of the distorted voices on various tracks to be largely boring.
I was pleasantly surprised by the bits I liked but a higher rating was never contemplated.
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
This was quite an enjoyable album from an important time and music scene. I found it to be a fusion of punk and ska. The vocals are a punk growl that is Johnny Rotten like while the horns remind me of The Skatalites.
Sade
2/5
I was never a big Sade fan. Something about her voice makes the songs all sound a little too sappy. In hindsight, this is probably why I didn't like Everything but The Girl since their voices are similar.
With Sade, it didn't help that the hits were so overplayed by the pop stations. I just don’t have time for it anymore.
The Go-Betweens
2/5
was listening along and wondering who this band is that I never heard of. I'm thinking I don't know too many Aussie bands and they're at least as good as Men At Work. Not sure this is enough to float north of a 2 rating. Then Streets of Your Town comes on and it's like: " Hey! I know this song!" Not sure I like it but I know it.
"Was There Anything I Could Do?" is quite enjoyable. The violin on that tune is a nice touch. It's pretty cool to have acoustic music where the violin player is playing the violin rather than the fiddle. Unfortunately, the cool violin playing starts and stops here. For the rest of the songs, the violin is relegated to the background and really doesn't need to be there. It's like OK we have a violin player in the studio so I suppose she can play something as long as it's not too interruptive. So if I were a betting man, and I am, I'd bet $2 that the singer / songwriter met a cute, very good violin player and asked her to join (or they formed?) the band, planning to figure out how to work the violin in the music in due course. They figured it out on Was There Anything . . . but did not on the rest of the album.
Beck
3/5
I wasn't expecting to like this one. Not sure why but perhaps it's because Beck was liked by too many people who I thought had bad taste in music. It wasn't that bad. I kinda liked the genre smorgasbord as he rolls from Hip Hip to Alt throwing in a good dose of synths, harps and various percussion. If I had to listen to too many Beck songs of the same genre I probably would have lost it.
I worry that I subconsciously feel I should like Rap since it's been happening for over 40 years. I can't get into the real Rap but I'll accept the White Boy watered down rap so I can check the box. Anyway, I enjoyed this one.
Johnny Cash
4/5
I suppose my detailed comments on the San Quentin review apply here. I have loads of respect for Johnny doing these prison shows. Giving something to people who have nothing deserves our respect. As was the case at San Quentin, he performs a song written by a prisoner in the audience and gives him credit and a piece of the royalties. The song is Greystone Chapel which is a bible thumpin song. Normally not my thing but Johnny used religion to help him get off drugs and booze so it's understandable that this made him a tad evangelical about his religion. I'll leave my different opinion on religion at the door.
Highlights from the first 5 songs (I stopped the list after that):
Folsum Prison Blues( one of his best songs ever)
Cocaine BLues,
25 Min to go
Since I gave San Quentin a 5 I can't give another 5 to Johnny.
Pavement
3/5
I liked the first couple of songs. Good energy level and indie attitude. The third song - not so much. Cut Your Hair just sounds like someone told them " Hey make a song with a little less of This and a little more of That and you might actually get a hit. I guess it worked. After a short nap the album recovers with Unfair as the 'tude comes back. Range Life is also good.
My listening experience is sort of like listening to a Wilco album. I probably thought of this analogy since the bands sort of sound alike but that's not my point. The similarity I'm referring to is that some songs are easy to like on the first listen - generally speaking the easy to like ones are the tunes with some pace. Others need to be listened to for longer than the 24 hours we are given to rate. With Wilco, I typically end up liking those question mark songs especially on the RFG albums like "being there". The same might have happened with Pavement's question mark songs but who knows.
Guns N' Roses
1/5
I hate this band. They were pumping out metal years after the genre should have been shot and pissed on. I I rented a place on the beach at Lake Simcoe where the per capita Guns & Roses fans may be a Canadian record high. I played this outside as I was firing up some dead animal on the BBQ. I was waiting for a neighbour to saunter over with a spliff glued to his lower lip and say " Fuckin Eh Man"
R.E.M.
4/5
I don't think I ever had this album but know many of the songs. The guitar playing is a highlight as lots of intricate picking is incorporated into the rhythm. I recall an article saying they were one of the first bands that had a major label secured for their debut album but still managed to tell the suits to go fuck themselves when it came to their sound.
There are some gems in this album. Quite the debut.
Violent Femmes
5/5
I know this album inside out and and just about every lyric. I’m still at Lake Simcoe with the young ones so planed ahead to sneak in a quick listen. I decided to sing along and change some of the words. It worked. Example: “Why can’t I get just one DUCK - must have something to do with luck. . . “ When one of the boys did a double take and gave me a look, I explained it was a hunting song and the singer is the only guy who had yet to shoot any dinner. Did he buy it? Hah - He folded like a cheap suit.
When people want to be negative about an album or band they often say "they play only three chords." This is often said figuratively rather than literally. If you wanted to throw this dagger at the femmes, you could make it literal if you said you could play the first three songs with only four chords: G, C, D and Em. If you throw in Bm, A and E you can also play Add it up and Prove my Love and probably some others. But I don't want to insult them. This deranged mess of Gordon Gano in his yoot is one of my favourite albums ever and is made better by all of its blemishes (including one on his forehead on the back cover if I recall correctly).
I often wonder if you have to be deranged to write such deranged music or can you simply act the part? I'm guessing you have to be fucked up to write this shit. If you are of this view, then a scary thought is that this was not their most deranged album. The Derangeometer on their second album easily surpasses this one. And if may digress, neither holds a candle to Nick Cave's Murder Ballads which is possibly the most deranged album ever.
Anyway, I understand why many will rate this a 1. I really do.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
An album from my Yoot.
I hadn’t heard this in years. I totally forgot that they had an earlier album with Rhiannon and Landslide. My memory said they were all on one album.
As a teenager, this album (and the prior one) were played at every party and, in general, everywhere. It’s one of the albums that the girls liked and the boys were also OK with.
Stevie Nicks was the most popular band member at the time but my SO-phisticated taste in music preferred Christine McVie’s songs.
They made a good pop album but these brothers also knew how to play. e.g. Buckingham’s guitar work on Go Your Own Way.
Listening to this was a wonderful trip down memory lane.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
I guess this band would fall into the category of "one hit wonder". Quite the hit though and one that has not worn on me. It's a decent LP with good flow and a good variety of instruments with the strings and horns. While the strings and horns sounded like they were all one big happy family, I read that the horn players all quit after the strings were invited on board and a fair amount of arm twisting was required to keep them around for a few concerts to promote the album. A sign of a good musician is to forget about the drama when instruments are in hand.
Led Zeppelin
2/5
There are some songs that I quite enjoy - e.g. Since I've Been Loving You and Gallow's Pole. Just for fun I dug up Lead Belly's version of this song, aka Gallis Pole, (circa 1940) and I kept listening to Lead Belly; it was more enjoyable than listening to Led Zep III! Lead Belly also did Black Betty. Apologies if you were hoping never to think about Ram Jam again. OK, Time to reign in my ADHD.
I like when virtuoso electric guitar players display their acoustic abilities. e.g. one of the reasons Tommy is such an excellent LP is Townshend's acoustic playing on Side 1. (I'm getting initial drafts ready for when the algorithm starts sending Who LPs!) Page's acoustic work isn't as consistent as it is on other albums such as Physical Graffiti although it's ass-kicking on Bron - Y- Aur Stomp. (Isn't that song name also on Phys Gr?) The acoustic slide work on Roy Harper is also impressive although the song doesn't really work. Whatever technology game they were playing with Plant's voice hasn't aged well - or perhaps wasn't good to start off with.
I never really liked Immigrant Song.
It's nice to listen to a Zeppelin LP that isn't overplayed but I don't like the hit, don't like the other rockers and only half like the acoustic / blues songs.
Tangerine Dream
2/5
I searched through my old high school yearbooks but couldn't track down my drug dealer from back in the day. Pity. This album would have been great on acid.
Alice In Chains
2/5
I'm not sure what it is that I'm supposed to like about this album. If asked, I'd say I like grunge but perhaps the truth is that there are a few grunge bands I liked but that's where it started and stopped.
Mercury Rev
2/5
I listened at night and thought it was a little too ambient so tried again today. Same answer.
I flipped the first few songs to a friend and asked what she thought. She said it sounded like a wave of music designed to be played for your plants to listen to. I wasn't aware of such a genre but the first few songs seem to fit in nicely.
The beginning was painfully ambient but I like some of the tunes when they pick it up a bit. Examples: Opus 40 and Hudson Line. Happy End transitions to experimental / avant garde which didn't work for me.
Overall, most of it isn't rocking my boat.
Oasis
4/5
Oasis is heavy enough but not too heavy. Goldilocks R&R if you will. They are sufficiently well known that most everyone will know their popular songs. I like these guys but never sat and listened through this album before. The band is tight and the guitars kick. Side 3 is my favourite starting off with the hit and then followed by Bring it on Down and Ciggs & Alch which are two really good ass kicking rock and roll songs.
The Beach Boys
2/5
I'm struggling a bit to find positive things to say but I'll try. Given how pathetic I am at whistling I always like songs with a whistling solo. So Disney Girls works for me. I guess the lack of CSNY style harmonies is also a nice change.
On Feel Flows, was that a guitar solo? Some might think that a guitar solo is a little out of the ordinary on a Beach Boys tune. In theory it was a good idea but it's too bad the solo sucked. Didn't any of these guys have Clapton's or Page's phone number? It's unfortunate that so many bands have a pride of workmanship that gets in the way of bringing in hired guns. Clapton's solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" tremendously improved the song. Hats off to George et al for being open to the "outsider". On this album it seems the B Boys were trying to throw out their "apple pie" image. The should've replaced the apple pie with a slice of humble pie and brought in a hot shot.
The Zombies
4/5
Two thoughts before I even listened to this: 1) Since the 1001 App has hit us with so much Psychedelic, I get noxious when we are sent an album with a release date in the late 60s. 2) The choice of the band's name might not be the worst band name ever but second only to The Electric Prunes.
Given the above, this album had to start the race 10 meters behind the starting line.
The keyboards figure prominently. I don't think the organ works particularly well on songs like Butcher's Tale but the piano playing on some of the songs (e.g. Rise for Emily, This Will be our Year, et al.) makes some lovely ballads that are similar to what Bowie did a year or two later with Life on Mars. No accusations but, come to think of it, Zombies have a song named "Changes" and two years later Bowie releases a hit w the same name. Still no accusations. Now if his 1969 hit was called "Space Odeyssey" (sic), Bowie would need to do better than say that he went to the same grammar school that Argent and White went to. lol
I find some of the songs tried to create too big of a sound. Care of Cell 44 is a fabulous song. It starts with vocals and keyboards but more sound keeps being added. First some very talented bass as well as drums which work well. They should have stopped there but it sounds like an orchestra is then added in the background. I expect this was Mellotron since that instrument was the bright new shiny object that everyone wanted to play around with at that time. Rather than helping the overall sound, it makes it cheesy.
A lot of songs use harmonies extensively. The Zombies' harmonies are humble rather than being pretentious pursuits of perfection like CSNY's and the Beach Boys'. They end up wearing on me eventually but around half the time they are enjoyable the same way Queen's harmonies are.
I didn’t remember that the song Time of the Season had the words "Who's your Daddy". The flavour of the song would have changed if it were released today. Given this line I figured it must be the sampling gift that keeps on giving to hoards of MCs. I couldn’t resist utilizing Google and the first
hit from my search was Necro “The Sexorcist” I can’t make this stuff up. Check it out but probably not when there is anyone around who is too young, too old or too white.
I have an unusual rating dilemma. I want to give a 4 for how the songs are written but a 3 for how they’re performed. If you don’t believe the songs are better written than they are performed you should track down Elliot Smith’s version of Care of Cell 44.
wtf I’ll round up this time.
Good news: While I'm not sure I'll smile, I’ll probably not grunt when the 1001 App sends us more hippy shit
Ash
3/5
So I'm listening to the first song at blow your speakers volume while I start to peruse the wiki notes. First thing I notice is the Wiki notes say that say Ash was influenced by Abba and Paul Mcartny and Wings. I said: “Pardon?” This must be a joke right?
Wiki also says they got the name Ash from reading the dictionary. As a kid I remember thinking I should read the dictionary. I never got past A either. I'm surprised they got as far as the word Ash. I wonder if the Zombies got their name when they were reading the dictionary but started at the back. It would explain the brutal choice of name.
Anyway, I found this album to be the heavy enough to grab your attention but not so much to be grouped in outdated and painfully boring heavy metal genre.
Madonna
3/5
I wasn't a Madonna fan back in the day. I recall in the late 80s my friend SK had tickets to Madonna's Toronto concert and asked if I wanted to go. I looked at him like he had two heads. A couple of years later (around the time JP II was lighting her up) some work mates were discussing Madonna and one of the church going brothers said " It's bad enough that she does such things, but why did she have to name herself Madonna." That got the rebel in me thinking that perhaps I should check her shit out a bit more.
Anyway, I came to like her dance floor hits. While I never did go to a Madonna concert, I saw a documentary about one of her shows and can see that the hits from Like a Prayer were perfect for the show she put on and she put on an excellent show. I liked the way she could stir the pot with her comments and fashion. It's a little sad to see her still making comments that she hopes will raise eyebrows and controversy but do nothing other than cause head shaking and sniggering that says her time has passed.
Except for Prince's excellent guitar work on Act of Contrition, I don't have much positive to say the songs that weren't hits. The hits are infectious and can't stop myself from grooving. If I could go back in history, I'd go to the concert with SK.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
3/5
What a fabulous name for a band. The folks who came up with the name "The Electric Prunes" must be particularly embarrassed when they see how cool a band name these toothless bluegrass brothers came up with. While I knew the band's name, I had no clue who they were and what kind of music they played. When Track 1 started, I liked it.
I'd like to be a fly on the wall watching these brothers jam. These good ole boys know how to play and when I hear tunes like these I can't help thinking about the movie "Oh Brother Where Art Thou". I kept hoping one of the 42 songs would be The Soggy Bottom Boys.
I know you guys will remember the era when you could find hidden messages from spinning vinyl backwards, so you probably know the old joke that goes
Q: What do you get when you play a country record backwards?
A: You get your wife back, your dog back and your truck back.
Spotify plays in one direction only so there is no coming back! I don't have a wife, dog or truck so I could take my chances, but anyone who does should stay away from CD2 in particular. I've never been so happy to hear the song "Will the Circle be Unbroken" since I figured the title song must mean the album's almost done. I rated this 2 because it was so long it was like work but gave +1 because the band's name is so cool. If this album were a third the size, the 3 could have been legit. It's a good cross section of music styles within a specific genre but there is just too darn much of it. A number of special guests are brought in to mix it up but it doesn't change the fact that 42 songs is overkill. I know the good book says to share (or at least someone told me it said something along those lines) but sharing 42 bluegrass songs is like feeding the hungry the way the French feed their foie gras ducks.
R.E.M.
5/5
This album has lots of punch. The band understands the importance of a good riff. Even the acoustic songs have good opening riffs. Two great examples are the acoustic riffs to start Drive and Monty Got A Raw Deal. The vocal melodies make for memorable songs. An example is the catchy melody ("Call me when you wake her) on The Sidewinder . . .
It's hard to read about this album for more than two minutes before a name dropper mentions John Paul Jones and his contribution to the songs in the form of orchestration. My only negative comment on the album is that it would be better without him. I like when the electric guitar comes in on Drive and don't understand how making the guitar compete with strings helps the song.
Star me Kitten reminds me of the way the set list is put together for a live gig. You want to play something that lulls the crowd to sleep before playing your magical song so it will sound even better. It worked! Man on the Moon is a gem!
The band's first album was good. These guys developed into a music making machine.
Regardless of the strings and a song or two of filler I still have a 5 for them.
X-Ray Spex
3/5
This album begs the question: Is Poly Steve Jones' or Johnny Rotten's sister? lol
It is kinda neat to see a female fronted band banging out this genre with conviction. While the Sex Pistols' LP will get top marks, it will not be because of Steve's guitar playing or Johnny's vocal range. So how do we rate the influencee as opposed to the influencer?
Ray Charles
3/5
Wiki notes say his debut album was released in 1957 and this 1959 record was his seventh. He's pumping out a lot of music.
I am not a fan of the orchestration since I'd prefer if his piano playing was front and centre rather than buried. Two Years of Torture is typical of this. I can't really hear any piano until the solo which is more than halfway through the song. Yeah the trumpet solo is good but if I'm spinning Ray C I'm spinning it for the piano. Just for a Thrill also has excellent keyboards outside of the solo but the orchestra tries to hide them.
I wrote the above after my first listen. The second time through was more enjoyable since I knew what to expect and really appreciated the piano and his vocals when they came. Come Rain or Shine is a wonderful way to end the album as he shows excellent control of his velvety voice. Coin toss for 3 or 4
808 State
3/5
I listened to today’s 1001 offering while sweeping up the backyard. I was thinking it wasn’t the best music choice when working in the yard and my neighbours quickly indicated they concur. I must say my sweeping pace was much faster than usual. I doubt that yard cleaners was the target audience for this LP
but it works.
I like what I'm hearing. Cobra Bora and Pac 202 and 80808080 are hot songs. I didn't realize this type of music was going on in 1989. A strange thought: someone around 40 years old might label this "Old fart's music" or "Shit my parents would listen to". Doesn't sound right does it?
Perhaps it's a little dated now but I can only imagine how fresh and leading edge this would have been on release.
Thelonious Monk
4/5
Music from the days when bass and drums had their place, at the back of the stage, and didn't interrupt the main event, which in this case is excellent piano and sax. Sure they pretend to allow bass solos (in Ba-Lue for example) but it's only done as a way to let them get applause specifically directed at them. I'll applaud when I see live jazz and the bass gets the short solo spot but I know, and they know, the applause is really for the work they do the rest if the time keeping the tempo for the principal soloists.
The piano and sax work on this album is extraordinary.
The title track seems not to follow the mould. There are lots of tempo changes and the parts where the play speeds up must be tricky to pull off. At the end I wouldn't have been surprised if one of them yelled "I got blisters on my fingers" John Lennon style. The drum solo is a little too long for my liking (Some things never change)
Listening to I Surrender, Dear makes me wish I could play piano. No instrument can create an all encompassing sound like the piano does and TM hits it out of the park. Pannonica starts like a sound track from a bad movie. To be sure, it picks up with the sax solo. The celeste solo is also cool but only because it's an unusual instrument. It sounds like a xylophone without the speed of play. While interesting, it's best that it does not stay for more than one song since it does not allow the magic that the piano does.
Great soloing throughout.
John Lennon
5/5
This is a phenomenal album with some of John's best songwriting. It's debatable which of John's songs is his best but Imagine would certainly be on the short list. This song as well as the ballads Jealous Guy and Oh My Love are all done with piano accompaniments rather than guitars resulting in the album having a soft touch. The guitars are saved for the rockers.
Most Beatles trivia buffs will say John's last public performance was in 1974 when he joined Elton John to play a few songs after losing a bet but the real trivia geeks will say his last "public performance" was in 1977 when John was bored in a Tokyo hotel so took out his guitar and played Jealous Guy while sitting near the elevator. The way I heard it, nobody who saw him knew who he was or cared!
Crippled Inside is an excellent tune. It has a hint of country and excellent keyboards contributed by Nicky Hopkins. The opening piano on Crippled Inside is reminiscent of the beer barrel piano style on the intro to Paul's song Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da which I understand John contributed even though he hated the song!
Side 2 starts with some venom with Gimme Some Truth. The political message in this song is obvious hasn't changed much in 50 years. John knew how to dish out venom when he felt it was warranted. Of course he saves his best insults for Paul in How Do You Sleep. In this song Paul is the target of his venom as John returns fire after the salvos Paul aimed at John and Yoko on "Too Many People" from his second album. Perhaps the most clever is John's comment on Paul's post Beatles' songs when he says: "The sound you make is muzak to my ears". I expect this would have been devastating for Paul to hear. As they say, the truth hurts. Lesson for Paul: Don't use lyrics as a weapon when fighting with John.
Oh Yoko is another love song to Yoko. I'm guessing Paul would have preferred if John had contributed this love song to Abbey Road rather than the far less commercial / user-friendly I Want You (She's So Heavy). John's harmonica at the very end is random but a very good way to end an excellent album.
Dusty Springfield
2/5
I think of Dusty as a "one hit wonder". Before listening to the album, my view was that Son of a Preacher Man was good enough to get a 3 no matter what the rest of the album was like. I changed my mind after listening. The soulful songs So Much Love and Don't Forget About Me are good tunes but I found the rest of them painful. Breakfast in Bed is also OK but only if you hear the voice but don't listen to the words. When you pay attention to the words, you realize how lame these songs are. There is no doubt that her voice is superb but I really can't get into her using her lovely gift to sing soap opera lyrics over insipid orchestration It's just a little too white for this white guy.
Doves
3/5
I liked some of the heavier stuff, like Pounding, on this. The dreamier stuff, like Last Broadcast, wasn't working for me.
The Shamen
3/5
I'm travelling so I didn't have a lot of time to spend listening to this. Move Any Mountain is full of energy and fun beats so grabs your attention at the start. Hyperreal Orbit is a better song imo better but surprisingly has over 90% fewer listens on Spotify. Ditto Lightspan.
Generally speaking, I prefer music with lyrics but the lyrics on Human NRG and Omega Amigo don't add much so I would rather they left them aside. I like the vocals on Possible Worlds but, having said that, I'm not 100% sure they are vocals as opposed to synths. Regardless, I like that track too.
This was an interesting listen. I like more trucks than I dislike for sure but still not sure.
Supergrass
3/5
Some of the songs were quite good like In it for the Money and Richard III. This band just doesn't seem to be made for ballads. It's Not Me is hard for me to enjoy.There are some songs such as Late in the Day that are in between and likeable.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
It’s a quirky album with some of Simon & Garfunkel's best songs. It starts w a short bookends teaser that segues into a very loud song, by Simon & Garfunkel standards. Old Friends is a beautiful song but I prefer the live versions without the orchestration. I find the orchestration added to that song is like putting a racing stripe on a Ferrari.
I’m a little surprised that Paul Simon didn't write much over the years that had a political message or social undertone. America has a little of that with the theme that the old America is gone but the message is very subtle and diluted.
Voices of Old People is a little bizarre. It’s like he felt he needed to make it painfully obvious to the listeners that there was a theme to Side 1 so put this "song" before Old Friends to be sure everyone would realize there was a connection between the songs. In a way it's similar to when the play Glengarry Glen Ross was made into a movie and the director invented an additional character (played by Alec Baldwin) to make sure the average movie going knucklehead would get what the plot was.
Side 2 has one major gem in Mrs. Robinson. I've liked this song for a long time but never realized it contained the words "put it in your pantry with your cupcakes." Trust me, I'm gonna start sliding that line into casual conversation. Side 2 is strong albeit most songs aren't well known. Songs like Old Friends, Bookends, America and Mrs. Robinson are so well known they simply sound like Simon & Garfunkel songs more than sounding like songs from a particular time. Songs like A Hazy Shade of Winter and other Side 2 Songs besides Mrs. R sound like 60s songs - good 60s songs.
The combo of hits and fun less known 60s songs makes this album a winner.
Bob Dylan
5/5
I really like this album. There are some very well known songs but the real enjoyment comes from the lesser known songs. In fact I think I like Mr. Z’s 115th Dream more than Mr T Man. It’s good to see his sense of humour.
She Belongs to Me as well as Mr. T Man and others continue his knack for cryptic lyrics or some might say his knack for fucking with us. It’s hard not to like the lyrics to Mr. T Man but who knows wtf the song is about and Mr. Z will take the song’s meaning to his grave. It’s kinda cool in that it allows you to ascribe a meaning that works for you.
Subterranean Homesick Blues is an excellent offering from his non-acoustic.
I had initially decided that I had only one 5 rating for Mr. Z and that was reserved for Hwy 61 Revisited.
Rules are meant to be broken.
Kraftwerk
3/5
The opening track is great. It's insane to think that this was released in 1977 which is the same year The Clash and The Sex Pistols' released their first (only) album. Meanwhile, in 1977 the bars I was going to preferred to play that other 1977 release: Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever. It sucks to be us!
Hall of Mirrors follows and seems a little off tempo. Perhaps if I didn't listen to Siousie & The Banshees' amped up cover version first I would not think this. Kinda like how I started thinking Paul Anka's My Way was a little off tempo after hearing Sid's cover. The tempo picks up again with Showroom Dummies and the title track starts off Side 2 and keeps the goodness going. Then, much to my surprise, Franz Schuber starts. Did I lose two songs somewhere?
One could say this now sounds dated, but these guys deserve kudos for bringing out these tunes in the late 70s so I feel one of their offerings should get bonus points. Arguably a subsequent album (such as Man-Machine) is more deserving.
Pink Floyd
4/5
I remembered Shine on you Crazy diamond had a long intro and was worried it might sound a little dated these days. Sort of like the long intro to Station to Station (made around the same time) kind of does sound dated. But the Shine on intro really didn’t sound dated and in fact sounds great. This is a testament to David Gilmour’s guitar playing.
The first words in that tune are great with the vocal effects on the laughing at the end of the first phrase. I realize vocal effects are a lot better these days but it’s still good.
I remember Dick Parry hitting it out of the park w his sax solo on Money but forgot that he also kicked it on Shine on you Crazy Diamond.
Wish you Were Here is a classic. I particularly like it since it’s a great song for a hack guitar player since the opening riffs are easy to figure out and everyone will recognize them and know the song before the words start.
Have a Cigar is another classic. I never realized that an outsider sang it and the story behind that. Who knew ?
Simply Red
1/5
I always Money too Tight to Mention. Guess that's a death blow for this album
Keith Jarrett
4/5
I'm glad there was a piano concert included in the 1001. This guy is amazing and if I read the notes correctly he did it with his piano out of tune.
Ravi Shankar
4/5
One of life's great mysteries has been solved! I couldn't for the life of me understand why a sitar has at least twice as many tuning pegs as it has strings. Now I know! There are strings that run under the strings that are picked and each of these other strings is attached to a particular fret and needs a separate tuning peg. I learned this by clicking on the word sitar on the wiki page for this album. I didn't get it from Ravi's instructional comments before each song. All I can say for Ravi's comments is "sounds good to me". I suppose George Harrison would have understood what Ravi meant but I doubt anyone other than a music scholar could make heads or tails of it.
George Harrison is responsible for the western world hearing a sitar for the first time, but Ravi's playing speaks for itself. His sitar playing is exotic and magical. It's no wonder all the hippy rock stars travelled to India to find this music. The influence on 60s music deserves +1.
I'm equally interested in the drums, called tabla, played on this album. My disdain for drum solos by no means extends to the tabla. If you never have, dig up some solo tabla music. It's extraordinary. Tabla are also tuned but they have no strings. Another one of life's great mysteries but this one remains unsolved.
Bob Dylan
5/5
Desolation Sound is my favourite song. I frequently play it on guitar and sing all the versus except one. The chords are simple, as they are in most of Bob’s tune, and the lyrics are among his most cryptic. I feel that if I sing a song like this I have to have something lucid to say if asked about the lyrics. So if someone says, for example, “why the fuck are Cinderella and Romeo in the same verse?” I can’t say that Romeo was out looking for Juliette, took the wrong turn at Albuquerque and ran into Cinderella. Fortunately, there is lots of good (and bad) analysis of these lyrics on the internet so rather than saying the nonsense about Albuquerque I can say that Cinderella is Stalin and Romeo is Hitler. Stalin kicked Hitler’s ass in Russia and at the end was the only one left to sweep up the mess.
I don’t have a clue what the verse with Casanova and Phantom is about so that’s the verse I don’t sing.
That’s a lot of verbiage dealing with the one acoustic song on the album best known for Dylan going electric. I don’t really get why so many were pissed that he went electric. Like a Rolling Stone is just barely electric. It’s not like anyone would mistake it for a Who song.
The album is full of excellent songs and they are played with many different styles. Some bluesy and some country. I guess electrification was a new toy for Bob and he wanted to try lots of different styles.
Every song on this album is excellent. Songs such as Rolling Stone, Ballad of a Thin Man and the title song have been my favourite song on the album at one time or another. Desolation Row will probably be my fave for the balance of this incarnation.
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
I listened to this back in the day. If you went to a party and they had this album it elevated the party's cool status. Back then I didn't fully appreciate how great Greg Allman was at playing guitar. He is up there among the best. The harp on Done Somebody Wrong is stellar; just slightly better than Dylan's harp playing, lol. Brother D also throws in some excellent organ. The sub 10 minute songs are great. The album would be so much better if the two long songs were shortened substantially. The guitar playing in You Don't Love Me that is truly solo - ie playing when no other instruments are present- is as boring as drum solos are. Whipping Post is such a great song. This version is amazing for the first 10 min but the next 12 minutes are painful.
If this were a single album with both the big boys limited to 10 minutes each it would be a 5.
Wild Beasts
2/5
I half listened to this once. I really couldn't get into it.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
The album cover is a good indication that a fucked up adventure is about to start. This album defines the term"angst filled Fothermucker". The music isn't that good but it's not supposed to be and doesn't need to be. It's the canvas; the lyrics are the art. So what about the lyrics? They certainly draw out emotions. It takes me from feeling angry at the same people he is, to feeling bad for society and the folks who are down and out. But mostly, I feel sad for him. There's no way someone can just write this unless they're in a terrible place. RIP
Beyoncé
3/5
Until today, the only time I ever listened to Beyonce on purpose was when I was learning to play Redemption Song so I was searching for live covers and found a version with her singing while Eddie Vedder handled the guitar. I quite liked that cover but I was never attracted to her own music; although from what I can see on this album, she doesn't write any of what I just called "her own music".
I was expecting to hear some "poppy" songs, as might be typical for someone so popular but there aren't many here. I guess one positive thing to say is "At least it's not pop." Perhaps there is some magic in the lyrics which I didn't really pay attention to on my first listen. Since Charlie Watts passed today I'd rather play some Stones than spend another hour listening to this album to see if the lyrics justify a higher rating. Even if the lyrics are top shelf, they aren't her lyrics so I'm not sure they should move the needle higher.
Steve Earle
4/5
I'm a SE big fan but like his folkier stuff more. I'm guessing a brother like Steve will not have multiple offerings on the 1001 list so feel I better give my overall SE ranking to this one.
Van Halen
3/5
Some positives and negatives for this one. The two main negatives: 1) This album was heavy metal being released at a time when I hated heavy metal, and 2) David Lee Roth is a dough head.
On the positive side, Eddie sure can play guitar. I'm almost certain that I just recently said in another review that a guitar solo (literal speaking) is as lame as a drum solo. Eruption is an exception. It's really fucking good. I also really like the two cover versions. The Kinks' cover is made by Eddie's guitar work and Ice Cream Man is just plain old fun.
So how do we rate a band that has a phenomenal guitar player that would have been nothing without said guitar player? I am remembering my Led Zep ratings (incl a 5) since my view is that Led Zep would be nothing without Page. Led Zeppers will cling to the view that Plant, Bonham and JPJ are good enough but this is delusional. For Van H, I doubt anyone can even name all the other members and nobody, other than David Lee Roth perhaps, is delusional enough to think they could have made it without Eddie. One thing that is clear is that Led Zep's band members other than Page run circles around their equivalents in Van H.
Not sure why I felt the need to justify my not giving a 5 Regardless of how good Eddie is, 4 isn't even on the table.
Moby Grape
3/5
Another band name that makes you shake your head. They and the Electric Prunes must have been sampling the brown acid when they came up with their band names.
I had to chuckle when I saw the album was made in 1 1/2 months for $11,000. I remember the Ramones saying Phil Spector made them spend 12 hours recording the opening chord to Rock & Roll High School.
I like the raw and biting sound of the guitar solos on songs like Mr. Blues. It is similar to the sound Keef was laying down on solos in the mid 60s. (e'g. on She Said Yeah from Dec Children.)
This was an enjoyable Psychedelic album.
Killing Joke
3/5
I have to keep reminding myself that this was made 4 decades ago. If you forget everything that has happened in music since 1980, this LP sounds very original and interesting. While songs like Requiem are quite good, a number of songs sound like work in progress.
It's punchy and can be effective to make each line in a stanza a separate sentence but an entire album consisting of sentences limited to no more than three or four words can be tiring
Billy Bragg
4/5
Uncovering these treasures half a century after they were written is a fascinating storyline especially since they were offered to Dylan decades earlier but when he got to their house they couldn't find them.
Natalie Merchant provides wonderful harmonies with Billy on the very cute song Way Over Yonder . . . . It's very entertaining when a singer who doesn't sing that well sings a line such as "There ain't nobody who can sing like me". It reminds me of L. Cohen's very charming line on Tower of Song "I was born with the gift of the golden voice". Nathalie also knocks it out of the park with her haunting lead (and back up?) vocals on Birds and Ships.
I saw both Billy Bragg (at the Music Hall) and Wilco (at RPM) shortly after Mermaids was released. I enjoyed Wilco a lot more and the highlight of the concert was when all five grabbed guitars and lined up at the front of the stage playing California Stars. (OK it might have been only four but you get the picture.)
I didn't enjoy Billy's concert as much since he spent too much time between songs doing long rants about how wonderful unions were. I wanted to yell "Just play 'I Guess I Planted' and let Woody's words do your yapping" but they stocked the pond with union folks so saying such things might have got me tossed.
The star of the album is Wilco's California Stars but my second fave is Billy's "The Unwelcome Guest". He, unfortunately, didn't have time to play this one when I saw him. I always thought it was Jeff Tweedy singing the backup vocals on this track but the wiki notes are silent. Neither Billy nor Jeff is a great singer but their harmony is magical.
This album would get rated 2 if it included Billy's side notes the way Ravi's album did. Thankfully it doesn't.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
The two songs opening each side are excellent and very well known hits. For me, Superstition is his best song.
Ray Parker will always be better known for his Ghostbusters song but his guitar on Maybe Your Baby is top shelf and really works well with the funkiness. Stevie delivers the electric piano and clavinet that makes Tuesday Heartbreak. I've never heard those instruments deliver a cool and funky vibe like this. Stevie's vocals on You and I might be his best on the LP.
Jeff Beck's guitar on Looking for Another . . . is also quite good as one would expect from Jeff.
I didn't know Stevie for his political songs. Big Brother is quite good and the words "You've killed all our Leaders" are particularly poignant given this album was made less than 5 years after Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were murdered.
Different songs on this LP have very different features that make them soar. They are all good songs for very different reasons. An album that pulls this off meets my definition of a 5.
As an afterthought, it's a great picture on the cover.
The Doors
4/5
My vinyl of this bad boy was chewed up to shreds. I searched high and low for it. The continual snap-crackle-pop made it difficult to listen to and I expect I may have sent it off to heaven a decade or so ago. This much wear and tear on an album is a badge of honour. Sure Roadhouse Blues and Peace Frog are insane but the song with the second lowest number of listens by Spotify's count is Ship of Fools which is also an amazing song.
This album is raw and sounds like it was made to play live. Since I'm a big Doors fan, I need to reign in my "5s for all y'all" instinct. By way of comparison, while I quite like the line "When I was back there in seminary school . . . " on The Soft Parade, Morrison Hotel is superior by a long shot. But it just isn't in the same league as their first album.
The Doors
5/5
I guess my last review telegraphed that I'd be heading upstairs with my rating for this one. Who knew we would get it the next day. It's a solid album top to bottom. imo The End is The Doors' best song. The lyrics show Morrison as a cross between a literary intellectual and a Rock and Roll brat. An interesting perspective is that this was released before Sgt Pepps. Lennon's Tomorrow Never Knows and She Said She Said were released around a year earlier. The End is in the same neighbourhood as those two songs. I can't say that about many other songs. Also of interest is that the song was 11 1/2 min. which is long by any standard. Many long songs from back in the day now sound too long. The End has aged wonderfully and when it ends I wish it would keep going.
3/5
I had to do a search to find the uncensored intro to the title track. With a 2021 lens, such language isn't such a big deal, but saying motherfucker in 1969 was quite racy. I initially thought the music was quite heavy for 1969 although Led Zep's 1st two albums were that year and Hendrix and The Who were also playing heavy then so they had company.
While I have a distaste for heavy rock from the late 70s and later, I still enjoy heavy stuff from 69 and the early 70s. I generally think this album is well recorded for a '69 live album (comparing it to Live at Leeds for example) but the production seems to fail badly e.g. I assume the guitar solo at the end of Rocket Producer wasn't supposed to sound that kerfuffled. Also, the mixing makes the lead guitar a wrecking ball. I guess having the vocals being overpowered is OK since the guy can't sing that well and we wouldn't be able to understand what he was saying anyway. The one track where we can understand the lyrics is Motor City is Burning since the verses are played like a ballad so we can hear the lyrics. I expect this was intentional since it's the song that delivers an important political message.
It is historically significant to hear the music that defined the protest movements at that time. I haven't been in Detroit for a while but the downtown area remained gutted for at least 25 years (+?) after the race riots hat are the topic of Motor City. I'm not entirely convinced this album was influential for the punk movement - the lineage to The Who is more obvious - but I will defer to the experts who see the link. These two points deserve a +1 but I'm not feeling generous enough to give the race riot connection and punk influence each a +1.
Jeff Buckley
3/5
I realize he is a good singer but I find his music boring. His cover of Hallelujah is good and I’ve even heard people say it’s better than Lenny’s version. Blasphemous!
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
This is a darn good album. I really don’t think I’ve listened to the acoustic side previously Of course I know My My Hey Hey but don’t think I had heard Thrasher before and it’s a mighty fine song.
The electric side I know inside out. Powderfinger, Sedan Delivery and HHMM Pt 2 are all classics. I always thought HHMM was released a few years after the Sex Pistols‘ only album (released Q4 1977) but am surprised to find out HHMM was recorded in 1978. I can’t imagine Neil Young fans during that tour having a fucking clue who Johnny Rotten was.
There are already at least 2 Neil LPs that I know I’ll be giving 5s to. This wasn’t on that list. It made a valiant effort to elbow its way on but I’m holding my ground.
Koffi Olomide
3/5
I was instantly attracted to soukous when I first heard it decades ago. In the late 90s I got a pair of tickets to a soukous show at a very intimate venue. It was hard to find someone to come with me. The typical reaction was: "wtf is soukous?" I eventually found someone but from the looks of it many others attending the show were less successful finding a date; there were only around 50 people there.
Travelling to another continent is much harder when you’re from the DRC. I expect the musicians that played that gig have to pursue a detailed Visa process from just about everywhere they travel to and it's unfortunate that a multicultural city like Toronto couldn't find more than a handful of people to attend. Unlike Mali and South Africa, DRC never had a Ry Cooder or Paul SImon to tell the North Americans they should check this out.
I don't remember who was playing at the gig I went to, but they were much better than Koffi imo. The guitars were sizzling that evening. I'm not a big fan of the ballad-like songs that Koffi plays so only like half the songs. Nonetheless, the guitar licks that the soukous players all seem to have in their repertoire make this an enjoyable listen.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
What a joy to find my favourite Stones album in the inbox today.
I'm not even half was through the 1st tune and already three classic lines:
1) "The Sunshine bores the daylights out of me." (I use that one all the time)
2) "I come every time that she pirouettes on me." (I always think of that line when I meet a dancer but I wisely don't let it move from the brain to the tounge.)
3) and of course the line that I'm sure is also your favourite: "Plug in, flush out, and fight and fuck and feed."
Then we move to the 2nd song which contains the classic line: "Dick and Pat down in old DC, they're gonna hold some shit for me."
I could go on like this for every song. My ability to understand Mick's slur is no better than anyone else's but I bought the Japanese press of this album which included a loot bag of extras including a lyric sheet. In those pre-Google days this meant I was the only kid in town who knew the words.
I remember an interview with Charlie where he said he didn't like being in the South of France for so long since he couldn't find Branston Pickles. Yeah that's the same reason I've never been to the south of France. lol
This is the album, when Keith started playing his guitar with Open G tuning and only 5 strings - tossing the low E string (most bass string). This made it tough on the bar bands since they couldn't get the riffs to sound right on most Stones songs that followed.
Side 2 is my favourite side. One hit and the rest is excellent jamming with all instruments on fire and really good harmonies, especially considering none of them knows how to sing. Tumbling Dice is an excellent example of how an opening riff can make a song. This was Keith's specialty. Torn and Frayed is a good example of Charlie's drumming prowess (RIP).
Also Bobby Keys is at his best with Sweet Virginia being his highlight. I will never find too many live versions of this song from concerts in the Bobby days. (RIP). If you're a Bobby Keys fan check out the G rated version of Sweet Virginia on You Tube. It's an afternoon concert in front of the Nashville library (I think). Since there are lots of kids running around within earshot he changes the words to " Got to scrape the 'stuff' right off your shoe." Sweet Virginia is one of the few songs played with regular guitar tuning and all six strings so the guitar hacks can play something from this double LP. Although it really doesn't sound that good without the sax and harp solos.
Side 3 is also very good starting with Happy, the best known song that Keith sings. When I saw him play it he couldn't remember the words which was hilarious given he only sings lead on one song. Oh well, at least he took his guitar playing seriously which is the main thing.
Fabulous album!
Japan
3/5
If I heard this in 1979 upon release I probably would have dismissed it since my hatred for disco had, by that time, extended to almost anything played to fill a dance floor. The first few songs are quite good.
I have one question about the ballads: Why? The album recovers a bit with All Tomorrow's Parties but I wish they had more dance floor stuff on this LP. I just made 1979 Johnny cringe.
Bauhaus
3/5
I had some Bauhaus on vinyl back in the day. I thought they were good but not great. My view hasn't changed.
The Stooges
5/5
This album is a full-on assault on the listener. Those who have seen Iggy live can confirm that the energy in his concerts is even higher than this assault. I guess giving 100%+ at all times is the only way you can be confident that someone will break your fall when you leap off the stage.
I quite like the guitar. It sounds like the same guitar Keith Richards played then. When "I Need Somebody" started I laughed my head off. I couldn't believe these guys would have a ballad in their repertoire. I guess Iggy needs one or two ballads to get let his heart rate recover to 170 during his live shows.
Yeah it's noise, yeah it's loud, yeah I have no clue what the lyrics are and yeah I love it!
Deep Purple
5/5
Deep Purple in Rock was the first album I ever bought. My brother bought (or borrowed long term) qMachine Head shortly after. The cover screams I'm stoned.
The marker of a Deep Purple classic is a song with a guitar solo followed by (or preceded by) an organ solo. This is the case on Highway Star, Lazy, Pictures of Home and Smoke on the Water (although in Smoke . . . the organ was just on the fade out as Ritchie did an extended guitar solo.) Ritchie Blackmore was a very capable guitar soloist but all bands had one of those. Jon Lord's organ playing is the unsung hero of this band and what set Deep Purple apart from the many three instrument bands.
I'm not sure this band would have been as successful if they were from an era when songs had to be no more than 3 or 4 minutes long since they need 5 minutes to allow both an organ and guitar solo and need even longer to have a third instrument solo which they do with the mighty fine harmonica solo in Lazy.
I like how in the lyrics to Smoke on the Water they call the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio the "The Rolling Truck Stones thing”. Guess they didn't feel the need to give The Glimmer Twins any free advertising in their song.
They wanted to record in a place that gave this album the energy they had when playing live. imo using the Rolling Truck Stones Thing accomplished that goal.
Roxy Music
3/5
I've always been a fan of Do the Strand. It's a killer song. Editions of You is also quite good. I have no clue what instrument does the first solo after the second verse. When in doubt, attribute it to the synth? The rest of side 1 doesn't work that well for me. I include in this group In Every Dream Home a Heartache. Perhaps one needs to have the British sense of humour to enjoy songs about blow-up dolls. I like the instrumentation just before the fake fade but overall I don't think this song has aged well.
On the other hand, the avant garde feel to The Bogus Man remains really cool. It's interesting that the lyrics are done less than half way through this 9:20 min song. I guess they were having fun and kept jamming. The sax, harmonica and guitar solos in Grey Lagoon are excellent. Another good jam. Side 2 ends with another avant garde song but this one didn't age so well.
Interesting note on the cover picture being BF's gf. I recall Roxy Music's album covers having eye candy but I didn't know they were girlfriends.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Scarborough Fair is one of their best songs. Art's signing capabilities boggle the mind. I wasn't aware of the legal issues mentioned in Wiki. Since we started 1001, we've read about royalty avoidance on a number of songs. Scarborough Fair is a traditional song arranged by S & G. For whatever reason they didn't note it was traditional but since it is, they're no royalties to avoid. Much ado about nothing.
Homeward Bound Is one of my favourite S & G songs. Memorable opening riffs on acoustic songs are rare; this song has one of the best and most recognizable acoustic opening riffs. Of interest is that the acoustic riff that opens Cloudy is very similar. This shows that a clever opening riff augments, rather than replaces the need for, good verses and chorus. Most of the top shelf in the S & G library are songs that Art sings lead vocals on but Homeward Bound is a notable exception.
The Bright Green Pleasure Machine is also a catchy and fun tune. It's sort of like the Beatles style in their Yellow Sub timeline.
Feelin' Groovy felt dated when they sang it at Central Park almost 40 years ago. One of them even started laughing when they sang the chorus. It's hard not to sound dated when you say the word "groovy". Nonetheless, it's still a fun song.
A Simple Desultory Philippic is immediately recognizable as a Bob Dylan-like song. The song title indicates that Paul is poking fun at Bob and the lyrics confirm this. It's not clear if it's tongue in cheek or if he truly wanted to fire missiles at Bob. One could understand that in those days Paul would feel that he had written some brilliant lyrics but his songs were getting next to no respect while Dylan's borderline nonsensical lyrics resulted in his being treated like royalty.
Silent Night with the background news is special. It's a beautiful and peaceful Christmas song with the background news telling the harsh reality of the day. Canadians have Leonard Cohen so we are well acquainted with Jewish brothers singing songs about Christ but when Simon and Garfunkel released this, I expect some listeners must have found this confusing (especially those who didn't know who Allen Ginsberg was). S & G sing it brilliantly.
Depeche Mode
3/5
Never Let Me Down AgainBehind the Wheel
Nothing
I guess I liked Strangelove back in the day but it is so overplayed it's hard to stomach.
For the rest I could attribute not really liking them to the songs not aging well but this might just be an excuse. I liked these guys enough back in the day to buy their first album. tbh, I don't think I listened to it too much since I only liked a few songs. Sounds familiar. Anyway, liking three songs gets a 3.
Incredible Bongo Band
2/5
Yeah it sure does have that funky soundtrack sound for a movie in the early 70s. I keep anticipating Issac Hayes piping in with:
You see this cat Shaft is a bad mother (Shut your mouth)
But I'm talkin' about Shaft (Then we can dig it)
After two songs I was wondering why it's called "Bongo Rock '' Yeah, I get it, there are bongos playing but nothing to justify naming the album Bongo Rock. The Bongos stepped up on Bongolia and again on Bongo Rock where they really do sizzle but in general I don't see anything special percussion wise. I guess if the only drummers you had heard play were Charlie Watts (RIP) and Ringo, the percussion might sound unusual enough to be impressive. I'm more impressed by the percussion on the Ravi Shankar album we listened to and the tabla playing on that LP was a footnote rather than the main billing.
I'd prefer an a track of tabla soloing over the song Dueling Bongos any day of the week. Watching Dueling Bongos live might be fun but listening to it is as much fun as listening to some knucklehead mow his lawn. Ditto the solo in In-A-Gadda_Da_Vida although the jamming after the solo is quite good. Also, I'm far more impressed with the lead guitar playing than I am with the Bongo playing on Last Bongo in Belgium.
I might consider a 3 if it weren't for the bongos. Given the name of the band, a 3 is off the table.
Fatboy Slim
4/5
This is better than the last FBS album. The question is whether it's enough to get it a higher rating. I think it is and I also like the cover.
Screaming Trees
2/5
I only half listened to this one yesterday. My first impression was that the singer's voice was irritating and the music was painfully boring. I thought it would be polite to have a second listen but whenever I opened Spotify I would grunt and close it. I just couldn't convince myself to spend another 45 min. with these brothers.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
Little Miss Strange and Long Hot Summer Night aren't typical Jimi songs in that the guitar is not the main event. It's a nice change and they are good songs.
The three big songs (Voodoo, Crosstown and Watchtower are excellent) but there is a bit too much filler on this one (especially side 3) to get a higher rating. There should be a song called The Double Album Blues.
Miriam Makeba
5/5
If I had to put together a short list of the musicians who had the most influence on my taste in music, she would be in the top 5. I didn't fall in love with African music until I bought Miriam Makeba's Welea album, Frustrated with most of the music I was being fed by radio, I was sifting through the "Music I Never Heard Of" section in the local record store and randomly picked this since she looked like a warm and interesting woman who I hoped would play music that would be more interesting than FM. Her music was peaceful and optimistic which in itself is quite remarkable given her life. I would play that album before going to work when I knew I had stressful meetings.
I later found the Click song, among others, and learned that she played with Harry Belefonte, played at the concert festival held in conjunction with the Rumble in the Jungle, and backed up Paul Simon on his Graceland tour.
There are many lovely songs on the 1001 offering. The Click Song is charming and her story about the name is cute. Saduva is one of my favourite songs. She had a longer (and better) version with excellent instrumentation on her Welea album. Lakutshon and One More Dance, both innocuous musically, demonstrate how beautiful her voice is.
At the end of the day I like Welea more than the 1001 offering but this is her first album and her role in bringing South African and other African music to western audiences is second to none. Yeah Paul Simon played a big role and touched more people in North America and Europe but he likely was influenced by her.
John Coltrane
3/5
I realize he is an excellent musician. I just find all the high notes he plays on the sax to be grating so I can't really enjoy it.
Björk
3/5
Whether or not you like the dreaminess of the vocals is personal preference. Regardless, she sure can sing and I doubt even those giving 1 ratings with the most entertainingly obnoxious comments would dispute that. The little beats and drifts in the music are good but enjoying them requires listening intently or else you miss the nuances. This album is all about the nuances. I'd like to listen to this album with headphones in a dark room or see her in concert so I could keep the level of focus needed to enjoy the music. When playing it at home it's easy to get distracted.
Some songs like Hidden Place, Pagan Poetry and Unison are enjoyable without headphones or a concert ticket since the beats are more intricate / noticeable. Most of the other songs require hard work to keep focused.
Wilco
4/5
I bought three of Wilco's albums before this one. While I never bought Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, I was given as a present the documentary on making this album.
There was a lot of drama around this album with the drummer leaving just before the recording and guitarist / co-songwriter Jay Bennett leaving just after. To top it off, Reprise (their label) refused to release the record. Wilco paid Reprise peanuts to buy out their rights to the record and then signed with the label Nonesuch who paid Wilco much more than Wilco paid Reprise. fyi, Warner Brothers owns both Reprise and Nonesuch. GONG!
On the first song the drums are more conspicuous than on any other Wilco song; the drummer clearly wanted to let everyone know there was a new sheriff in town. lol
The album has a smattering of upbeat songs and many of the typically very quiet introverted ballads that populate Wilco’s albums. The experimental music in the last 30 sec. of Poor Places and all of Reservations doesn't work for me. It was worth a try I guess; I understand musicians wanting to try new things but this didn't work for Wilco and should have been left on the cutting room floor. The experimental accents on I'm Trying to Break Your Heart are quite good. The differentiator between this song and Reservations is that the experimentation is an accent rather than the main course.
Jeff's pensive voice on ballads is an acquired taste. On “Being There", Wilco’s second album, the songs with strong rhythms were so good you were motivated to play the whole album and invest the time to get to know (and get to like) the ballads.
There are good songs with strong rhythms on this album, including Kamera, Heavy Metal Drummer and I'm Trying to Break Your Heart. War on War is also good. I can imagine that previous iterations of this song sounded like a nice Jeff Tweedy ballad that all but devoted Wilco fans would hate but it was then engineered to produce a catchy and experimental beats oriented tune.
While the songs with strong rhythms are good, they're not on par with Wilco's best.
David Bowie
5/5
“And the clock walts so patiently on your song”
Listening to him sing Lazarus is so sad. We love Bowie and he made this album for us on his deathbed. I've been trying to learn Bowie's "Soul Love" on guitar recently so I have been listening to it on Spotify. It has only half the number of plays that the song Deathstar does. If I could put my objective hat on, I would question if Bowie fans really don't like Soul Love as much. But I can't get my objective hat on today; it just doesn't fit.
Rather than spending his last 6 months with his loved ones he spent the time making an album for us.
Wire
3/5
Albums like this remind me how harsh the music business can be. These guys have a decent sound and easily piqued my interest. They are not following a neat and tidy roadmap that was set out for them. The album was released in 1977 so the roadmap wasn't yet written. Sure they're not in the same league as Talking Heads, The Clash, et al but they should have sold a few more albums and I should have at least heard of them. Tough business.
Peter Tosh
3/5
I remember listening to Legalize It back in the day and thinking "This guy actually thinks they will legalize weed. What's he smoking?" 25 years after he died he is smiling in his grave.
Tosh also wrote some tunes on The Wailers' albums before he moved on. It seems Bob had a one or two song cap on Tosh tunes per LP similar to the cap John and Paul gave George. There are some good tunes on this one including Burial and No Sympathy in addition to the title track. Till the Well Runs Dry is very clever with the verses and solo done in a blues style and the chorus in a Reggae style. He lays down a good solo in No Sympathy and his guitar work makes this song much better than the version previously released with The Wailers.
Around the time this album was released Bob released Exodus. I suppose comparing these two albums validates the two song cap.
10cc
2/5
I didn't find anything about this original or particularly interesting.
Queen
5/5
I never owned this one but this was one of those albums you didn't have to buy since it was played so much at all the parties.
Side 1 doesn't have THE song, but it is still a strong side. The Side 1 songs I remember most from the parties where this LP was spun are "You're my best Friend" and "I'm in Love with my Car". You're My Best Friend still sounds great. Death on Two Legs is also musically good and lyrically full of piss and vinegar to say the least. Wiki just taught me that this song was with respect to their management that they fired at the time over financial and contractual issues. I recall the Bohemian Rhapsody movie made it seem like the old label was fired because they wouldn't agree to make THE Song a single because it was too long for radio. I guess this was a better storyline for the movie than the legal one. It also allowed the brilliantly casted scene where Dana Carvey plays the record company exec who gives a diatribe about how bad Bohemian Rhapsody was. I can't watch that scene without thinking of Dana and Mike Myers bobbing their heads in the car while they lip sync THE Song.
There is a lot of genre hopping in this LP:
On Seaside Rendezvous I keep waiting for the tap dancing solo, lol,
39 is a cool folk song,
Good Company is a funky Ragtime song,
The Prophet's Song has a 2 1/2 minute capella segment, and
THE Song brings us opera.
One could argue whether or not the music itself brings this to a 5 but, imo, Queen's ability to record good songs in so many off the beaten path genres gets it there.
CHIC
1/5
I cringed when the first song started. The dreaded disco that I hated with passion and now I have to listen to it. I always thought there was a special place in hell reserved for the bands that played this. But wait! I'm starting to like the first song. This can't be. Am I going to hell too?
Fortunately, after half liking the first song I truly hated the rest. No postmortal global warming for me
Sebadoh
1/5
I listened to this once and had the weird feeling that there might be something here that I like but at the same time I couldn't point to anything good about what I was hearing. Listened to it again and the weird feeling that I might like it was gone. Completely gone.
Elton John
5/5
With all the toing and froing about double albums and whether or not they're a let down, this one is solid throughout and I have no complaints about filler. It has four hits (five if you count Harmony) which is more than the normal number of hits for a double album and the hits are all top shelf. This album is a 5. With that out of the way, I'll now turn to my usual rambling.
There are many more songs that were not singles but very good nonetheless. The 11+ min Funeral for a Friend is an excellent kick off and sets the stage for the quality of the other songs on this album that weren't singles. There is also some creative dabbling like Jamaican Jerk-Off which sounds like music from the island. It has some Reggae / Island music accents but isn't Reggae. Likewise Roy Rogers has a country twang to it but I wouldn't call it a country song. It just has a creatively done country accent.
This album also has a number of really good rockers such as All The Girls Love Alice which ends Side 3 and Your Sister Can't Twist which starts Side 4. The best rocker on the album is Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting. It would have been the best song to describe Saturday nights at bars in my hometown of Sudbury were it not for Stompin Tom's Sudbury Saturday Night.
There are a couple of songs about gay and lesbian relationships on this album and this was released long before Elton "came out". The song about a gay relationship is Goodby Yellow Brick Road. Surprised? I was. This song has been played on the radio forever and I've always liked it but never really understood the lyrics. A few months ago I decided I wanted to play the song on acoustic guitar so I focused on learning the lyrics and found out the song is about a relationship between a wealthy man and a younger man who no longer wants to be his "boy toy". The other song, which is obvious from its title (and confirmed by its lyrics), is All The Girls Love Alice. In 1973 I wouldn't have figured this out. I was a big Alice Cooper fan back then and the apeth 12 year old version of me would have thought it was about his groupies. I wonder if that song had anything to do with the name of the Toronto bar called Slack Alice which was quite popular with lesbians back in the day.
This album is the gold standard for double LPs.
The Clash
5/5
Yankee detectives are always on TV.
The killers in America work seven days a week.
When I saw the Clash, the second song they played was I'm So Bored With The USA. Etched in my memory is Joe Strummer singing while one hand pressed against his cheekbone and temple as if the state of things his lyrics described was so sickening it was giving him a headache. He couldn't play guitar with one hand covering his face but a Clash concert was never about the guitar playing was it?
Listen to the bass playing on Hate And War. Not too shabby given Paul Simonon didn't know how to play the instrument when they got to the studio.
The cover versions in this and the US version of the album give some hints of where the band was musically with Police and Thieves being a Reggae song and I Fought the Law being Rockabilly / Country.
Yeah their later albums are arguably better as they embraced ska, et al, understood their instruments more fully and had more than 4K to spend recording and producing. A quieter version of Career Opportunities was redone on a later album, (Sandinista?) but I still prefer the raw version. This raw version of The Clash has a place in The Clash's top shelf and played a lead role in shifting music from the ugly rut it was in. A bonus for those who like this LP is that you will never have to make that grunting noise we all make when we first hear elevator music versions of songs we like.
Tito Puente
3/5
Just noticed that I rated the last five albums either a one or five. Such an extremist! Well this album will be neither.
I quite like Cuban music. This is Cuban right? Wiki notes that Tito is an American musician. Who am I to question but let’s just say that when Gordon Gano sang “Do you like American music” I highly doubt he meant Mambo.
This is soft Cuban music and during the first few songs it’s impossible not get the hips swerving. The Xylophone was also kinda neat and they respected the unwritten rule that says only one Xylophone song per album. This is quite good and well recorded for the 50s but I think some of the Cubans who followed the American had more to offer.
Sonic Youth
4/5
I know this band a bit but never listened to an album. I get that some will say it's noise. I agree it's noise but I like it anyway. Teen Age Riot kicks off the festivities in style and is as close as they get to a song that people without a deranged taste in music might like. Total Trash isn't in that user friendly zone. It's noise but it's meant to be noise. They are playing fucked up sounding guitars on purpose to create "noise art". One minute I get it and the next minute I say "C'mon". It comes so close to going over the edge and landing in a cesspool of noise that can't be listened to but, imo, it doesn't go over that edge.
I realize 70 minutes is a lot of any band in one sitting. I surprisingly didn't do my first "K - how much is left?" time check until midway through the trilogy. . . . and I'm 60 for christ's sake. Full transparency: I tapped out 30 secs into when Eliminator Jr.
I like these guys and wish I had listened to their albums years ago.
Moby
3/5
The song I know best from radio play is Porcelain but I'm not a fan. It has a structure reminiscent of some of the uninspiring (albeit lucrative) songs U2 was doing earlier that decade. South Side, another radio friendly song, is quite good with some decent lead guitar mixed into spoken versus and a floral chorus.
I guess there were a lot of singles from this album. Some of the songs that didn't make the cut to be a single are interesting. Rushing which is heavy (by Moby standards) has a good tempo and fuses in rap quite nicely. The album seemed to have lost steam and the last third of it was lacklustre.
The only time before today that I listened to a Moby album was when a friend was flipping through my music and found an unopened Moby CD. I have no clue where it came from but we gave it a spin. I didn't mind it but I never spun it again. If I had found Play I would have spun it again. There are some cool songs on this one, some good guitar playing as well as interesting samples and genre hopping. In the 1st 2/3rds of the album anyway.
The Magnetic Fields
3/5
Yeah that sure was 69 songs. If finding this album resulted from a google search of the term "love songs" because you couldn't remember the precise name of McCartney's "Silly Love Songs" or you were looking for a good song to play at a wedding, you will soon conclude that you knocked at the wrong door.
I like the plethora of instruments. including the washboard, the gong, the marxophone and. of course, the always popular spirit chaser. The many different instruments and lead vocalists keep things from getting too monotonous. Kinda critical for an album that's three hours. What I like most is the wry sense of humour. The final song, Zebra, is a great example of this.
Culture Club
2/5
That sure was sappy. I don't even like the big hit Karma Chameleon although I can't stop humming the chorus. They should have been in the TV commercial jingle business.
One positive comment is that Boy George ventured in new territory by dressing so feminine. Doing this in 1983 was a big deal and could have had a bad ending. I know in the prior decade the New York Dolls et al were gender bending trailblazers in another way by dressing in drag but I still view Boy G as a pioneer since he was trying to get (and succeeded at getting) mainstream audiences to buy his records and go to his concerts.
I'll give him +1 for pulling it off but the music really does suck.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Side 1
Under My Thumb and Mother's Little Helper are fine songs. Technically MLH is an anti-drug song but not on purpose. The Glimmer Twins were writing a song to insult middle aged women and ridicule the older generation's view that pool hall drugs were bad while equally or more addictive drug store drugs were fine. The anti-drug message was completely unintended.
I'm sure Stupid Girl would be guaranteed lots of air play if released today lol.
Goin Home reflects a desire to make a really long song. They succeeded! Unfortunately, the song is boring. A great thing about seeing bands in concert is that they can elongate a song so their fans hear something "new" when they see the band live. The last 8 minutes should have been saved for their concerts.
Side 2 starts solid with lesser known rockers (Flight 505, High and Dry and Out of Time) that display what the Stones do best.
When asked to comment on the similarity between the cover of Sgt Peps and Her Majesties Satanic Request, John Lennon said: Yeah whenever we do something new the Stones always do similar things 6 months later. Take it or Leave It is an excellent example of this as it moves away from what the Stones did best (the first 3 songs on the side) to gentler melodies the Beatles were doing. The band seems awkward doing this. The song also incorporates an exotic instrument from the Far East (Brian plays Koto). Hmmm, what other band was incorporating exotic instruments in the six months preceding Aftermath? Hint: The band's name would be an insect's name if you replaced the A with an E. A similar comment could be made about Lady Jane.
Bob Dylan
3/5
On the opening track he says "I'm sick of love; I wish I'd never met you." Dylan is known for his cryptic lyrics but on Love Sick - not so much.
The good thing about being Bob Dylan is that many very good musicians want to play with you and they end up making some gems out of your songs. Dirt Road Blues is an example. Cold Irons Bound is another example showing excellent bass.
Boy, we've had a lot of Dylan albums. Of the five, this one excited me the least.
The Cardigans
3/5
On the first song the dreamy background vocals ( la la la la la la) were borderline irritating but the guitar and lead vocals made a positive impression. I quite like Being It; I understand liking this song might be a Canadian thing. Lovefool is an excellent hit.
When the Cowboy Junkies covered Sweet Jane I remember being pleasantly surprised that a mellow version with a female vocalist would word. Let's multiply that by a gazillion for the lovely cover of Iron Man.
Her voice is kinda cool. I heard a flute a couple of times but don't see a credit.
I like the name of the album but question the name of the band. Yeah I wear a cardigan occasionally but never thought of them as cool.
The Verve
2/5
I can't say they don't know how to play their instruments but I can say I will never listen to this again. I'm not a fan of dreamy music like this.
Ice Cube
3/5
I like to listen to the 1001 offerings twice to make sure I didn't miss any nuances the first time through. With this album, I'm pretty sure there were no nuances to miss. It's about as subtle as a brick that hits you in the head.
His Fuck You voice really suits the gangster rap genre. He has some important messages and delivers them in a way that leaves little doubt about what the message is. His delivery style does make it hard to play the album when company is over or children are within earshot. I suppose my children and dinner guests tonight were not his target market anyway. Oh well, Happy Thanksgiving.
Suzanne Vega
3/5
She wrote some very intricate lyrics. Marlene on the Wall is a good example. I like how dynamic the musical shifts are in the lyrics in that song. The notes she sings are flying all around and it really works. Also, she's quite the story teller. The Queen and the Soldier is a good example. There are some neat things here instrumentally. The whacked out violin solo on Some Journey is quite good as is the jamming on Neighbour Girls although the guitars are mixed far in the background. Perhaps they were worried about what the neighbours would say.
5/5
This is Bowie at his best. It's not only my favourite Bowie album but also my favourite album overall. (OK before we're done with 1001 I might say that about another album or two but no more.) Bowie wrote an excellent batch of songs. This album is all about the vocals. Bowie's ability to sing sets this album apart from the pack.
Five Years is an amazing song and a beast vocally. I like how the different vocal tracks talk to each other. Soul Love has Bowie doing a sax solo. I think he played sax on the Serious Moonlight tour but I can't remember which song.
Since Rick Wakeman checked out of this album, Ronson was able to show his stuff and he shines - particularly his solos at the end of Moonage Daydream. He really knows how to make a raunchy sound and make the notes hang until almost distorted.
Many albums with a string side 1 start tailing off by the middle of side 2? Not this bad boy. The best songs might be the last three on Side 2.
If we didn't know better we might think that verse one and verse two of Ziggy Stardust were sung by two different singers. He doesn't change key or anything; he just sings like two different singers. Two different and excellent singers. A version of this song with the vocals isolated is easy to find on the internet. Apparently Bowie laid these lyrics down in one take.
In the fade of R&R Suicide it's clever how the lead vocals sing "You're not alone" while the back up vocals sing "Wonderful' and then the lead vocals finally come around and also sing "Wonderful" What an ending to a fabulous album.
Boards of Canada
1/5
Fuck Ziggy Stardust. This is the one!
Green Day
1/5
We already had a Green Day album. What do I get for being polite the first time? A concept album. If that's not bad enough, they have a character named St. Jimmy? Doesn't at all sound like Dr. Jimmy.
Pete Townshend at 80 y.o. is still infinitely cooler than these nerds with tats.
Ice T
1/5
Two ICE T in a week. That's enough ICE T to make kombucha taste good.
Björk
4/5
The app claims the day to day selection is random and this weekend's two albums validate this as we moved from Ice-T's Original Gangster on Saturday to Björk's Debut on Sunday. I had my 8 year old twins so could spin OG only when they were on another floor. Of course one quietly returned and said "Hey Dad: Why did they say O.G? Those are my initials." My initial response: "You're not an every day type prankster. You're O.G. The original gangster." I then dove to stop the playback before the next "motherfucker" lit up the lyrics.
On Sunday, as if the angels made a special delivery, Bjork arrives for my two cherubs and me. Her voice is soothing. Intra-album genre hopping sometimes drives me nuts but on this album it works. I can't say too much about the lyrics since, except when they were simple, they were hard to understand.
That actually is a harp on "Like Someone in Love" It's not often that I say "harp" and don't mean harmonica. The tabla playing, courtesy of Talvin Singh in the last minute of Come to Me, is a nice touch.
Thanks to 1001 for half the weekend's selections. Enjoying music has a lot to do with what you're in the mood for, so I might have rated Bjork higher than I would next weekend.
Miles Davis
5/5
I've been busy the last couple of days with little time for listening to the music sent to us. There was no way I was going to slap a "did not listen" on this bad boy so have adopted the "better late than never" adage.
A well played but not too loud trumpet played over subtle rhythms is magical. I could listen to a song like Blue in Green all night long and not get tired of it. The trumpet playing would be enough, but we also get to enjoy sax playing that is arguably as good.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
3/5
By far the best thing about CSNY was Y. Without Y they are a one trick pony; they have the lovely harmonies but not a lot else. In particular, the songs on this LP written by C or N are weak.Some of Stills' songs are good and their harmonies make those songs very good. This is the case with Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. The four songs that follow can't be saved by the harmonies. I kind of like Wooden Ships, probably because it sounds like a Neil Young song, lol. I suppose Stills lays down the lead guitar on that track.
We must give credit where it's due. Helplessly Hoping is beautiful and the best song on the LP imo.
I just don't think a couple of good songs can get the LP north of 3.
PS I do like Teach Your Children but didn't let it influence my rating since it's a bolt on to the 2006 re-release and more appropriately considered a Deja Vu track.
Beastie Boys
3/5
It's interesting when you have a knowledgeable (or opinionated) friend over while listening to the 1001 album de jour. When they know the album better than you do, it can be hard not to let their views influence your rating. Last night a friend who is a big fan of the B Boys was over. As a result, the LP was well received initially. The album did wear on me. I understand their music is diverse but this was one of the times where I don't think genre hopping works that well.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
VU's first album is the obvious one to get a 5 rating given how influential it was and how it redefined avant garde. This third album one was also a game changer and transformational for Lou Reed. This was the start of what we all think of as Lou Reed's sound as Lou's speaksinging became the main attraction and a lot of the White Light / White Heat experimentation with sounds not really made by the instruments were tossed.
The cover photo is hilarious with Lou looking so young and wholesome. He doesn't look like a guy who two years earlier wrote a song about his heroin dealer always showing up late.
Candy Says is a fine song although Lou does fuck with my memory with Candy Says, Caroline Says, Lisa Says, etc. I can't remember which woman says what but I like them all. Pale Blue Eyes is probably the best song on the album.
I like the Christian trilogy starting with, duh, jesus and continuing on Side 2. I'm sure some will say they aren't a trilogy and who knows if Lou intended this but hey the customer's always right! Lou sums up his religious experience so well in I'm Set Free:
"Let me tell you people what I found.
I saw my head laughing, rolling on the ground"
I'm guessing our Jewish friend either didn't find jesus after all or didn't like the religious narrative he found wrapped around jesus. Hallelujah Mr. Reed.
After Hours is a great way to finish the album and works so well with drummer Mo's haunting voice.I even like Murder Mystery. All the talking over each other is quite rhythmic.
It's interesting that the album has the same name as the band. Many bands have an eponymous first album. Examples include the first albums by Elvis Presley, The Doors, Miriam Makeba and Black Sabbath. When bands get around to their second album, they usually give it a name. The VU's second album had a name (White Light/ White Heat) but its third album reverted to being eponymous. It's much less common not to give a separate album name to later albums. One other case I can think of is the Beatles' eponymous ninth album. I guess Pater Gabriel also did this but all of his first four solo albums were eponymous. He was on a roll!
I like the 6 CD set that the 1001 app leads to on Spotify. This allowed me to listen to the live versions of most of the songs. I know this isn't how we are supposed to play this game but Lou is so much better live especially in the early days when his studio budgets were tight.
The Soft Boys
4/5
I never heard of these guys although we probably all know Rew's post Soft Boys' composition Walking on Sunshine. His one hit wonder band sold more records but his no hit wonder band makes the 1001 list.
On the first track, Wanna Destroy You, the band is on fire. What a song! On Positive Vibrations I really like how both guitarists play lead. They don't take turns doing a solo but during some segments continually come in and with a new riff and have very different sounding guitars. This is really well done.
I Got the Hots wasn't doing it for me but the Earl Slick-like guitar in the last minute is quite good although for some reason the last 20 seconds are mixed down to almost zero volume. I don't get it.
The Psychedelic stuff like Queen of Eyes is kinda neat since it fuses in some riffs of the day but I'm still sick of Psychedelic (Blame the App for sending too much in a short time). The album never recovers to the level of I Wanna Destroy although Old Pervert comes close and the title track is a strong finish to the album. There's also lots of excellent off the beaten path guitar on the less strong songs and this gets the LP over the 3 hump.
The cover is so cool it might even be better than the song.
Hüsker Dü
2/5
There is nothing interesting or notable other than decent heavy rock and roll guitar playing. That and $5 will get you a ham sandwich.
Queens of the Stone Age
2/5
The first song has an indie / garage sound which I'm sometimes good with but it reminds me of songs CFNY would play after it went downhill. While the first song was nothing to write home about, things quickly got worse. They sound like boring metal from over a decade earlier. To be sure, there is decent guitar playing but the "ham sandwich" comment from my Hüsker Dü review applies equally in this case.
Common
3/5
I'm guilty of profiling this one. I saw the parental advisory and immediately concluded it was rap. OK, I was right, but I'm still guilty.
This rap is soulful and much easier to listen to than the gangster rap we were inundated with a couple of weeks ago. There are lots of ebbs and flows and sweet melodies sampled into the tracks. If I were a big fan of the genre I can imagine having this on regular rotation.
Ananda Shankar
2/5
I'm a big fan of Uncle Ravi but Ananda, not so much. Jumpin Jack Flash doesn't really work. The jamming on Metamorphosis is the highlight of the LP and the cover of The Doors is OK. Sugar, especially the first half, misses the mark. The bass guitar and synths don't add to it. The second half of the song picks up but the first half was a long 8 minutes.
At the end of the day I don't think Ananda's Sitar capabilities or his tabla dude's capabilities are close to Uncle R's and his band's capabilities so he can't use those instruments to save the songs. It was a brave attempt at fusion and perhaps his efforts indirectly led to the excellent fusion bands in later generations. If so I should have rated higher, but I think that music would have come regardless of Ananda's cover of Jumpin' Jack.
Aphex Twin
4/5
This is mellow beats sounds that are good and not interruptive. I also have a soft spot for precocious musicians. Not too shabby for a recording damaged by the family cat's urine.
Eagles
3/5
There are lots of popular songs that I never liked that cause me to change the channel when they are played. There are a handful of songs that I really liked initially but were so overplayed that hearing them now makes me noxious. The two most extreme examples are Stairway to Heaven and Hotel California. If a cab driver were playing Hotel Calif I'd insist he change the music and hope I don't get kicked out of the cab, like The Dude did when he informed the cabbie that he "hates the fucking Eagles".
Based on what I originally thought of the title track, the first three songs get the album off to a good start but I find the album drops off considerably after that. Most of the songs following those first three songs are sappy. These include songs like Wasted Time, where the excessive orchestration makes it sappy, and the last three songs on side 2 (although Joe Walsh's guitar solo saves Try and Love Again but the vocal harmonies during the fade can make you forget how good the guitar was.)
Three big songs might get a four in some cases but I can't get there.
Ian Dury
4/5
I gave this a quick listen and quite liked it. I need to listen again but got busy with Halloween festivities. His voice is one that makes it hard for him not to be entertaining. I'm sure I would get to a 4 if I had the time to listen again but since The White Album is on deck, I need to move on. That's as detailed as I'll get this time but I'll make up for it w the Beatles.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
It's a nice album but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how it got on the 1001. Then I realized that Brian Eno was one of the three producers and I remembered one of the rules is that an album is automatically included in the 1001 if Brian Eno does as much as sneezes on the album.
Beatles
5/5
This is an amazing album and it was made at a time the band was incredibly dysfunctional. There are a number of gems and imo this album contains John's best songwriting.
While John’s songs are the highlight, Paul also has a couple of good songs. To be sure, he also has a lot of hot dog songs. Paul is still Paul.
Side 1
The album kicks off with a bang w Paul’s Back in the USSR.
I recall pointing out previously (I think in comparing John's and Paul's parts of A Day in The Life) that John's writing, being so much more creative, attracts / allows his bandmates to be creative. Dear Prudence is another example of this as Ringo lays down some killer drumming. (Same comment on Ringo's drumming applies to I’m so Tired)
It's unfortunate that Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da made it on this album. Paul sure does write some weenie stuff. I would have preferred they left this one off and made Revolution 9 three minutes longer lol
While my Guitar . . is my favourite Harrisong. Clapton's guitar playing is top shelf.
Happiness is a Warm Gun is the best song on the album. It's a beast and a strong finish to Side 1.
Side 2
Side 2 starts with another of Paul's weenie songs but wakes up with I'm So Tired. The song makes me feel sleep deprived and I can hear the colour grey when I listen to this track.
Black Bird is a powerful anti-black racism song by Paul. This message was as appropriate as ever in 1968 but the message was so subtle I never got that it was anti-racism until someone told me years later. Was it just me? Part of me thinks that Paul was camouflaging the message since the listeners who might not approve of the anti-racism message were probably the same folks who would buy songs like Uncle Albert after the inevitable split with John. Bob Dylan, known for having cryptic lyrics, was far less subtle with his anti-black racism message in the opening line of Blowing in the Wind. Paul was always more of an Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da type of guy.
George's Piggies is less subtle and his anti-establishment message is loud and clear.
OK some might label Rocky Raccoon fluff but I really like that song.
Ringo's singing on his composition Don’t Pass Me By really is very good and entertaining. Our Canadian brother Jack Fallon lays down some excellent fiddle on this tune.
Why Don't we do it in the Road? OK, mom always said "if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all". For one song I will bite my lip and take this advice.
I Will is a hot dog song but Paul’s voice on this ballad is at it’s best. Julia is John's beautiful ballad about how he misses his mom. I understand Paul made the decision on ordering the songs and purposely put John’s ballad Julia after I Will since the different tempo and relative singing makes John's voice sound comparatively bad. What a weiner.
Side 3
Yer Blues is one of the best rock and roll songs ever recorded. This song might, on its own, justify a 5 for this double LP. If you have a chance, check out the live version of this song performed by The Dirty Mac. Great song by a great band but it’s the only song the band ever recorded. Our loss.
On Sexy Sadie Lennon displays his venom to the Maharishi in the way only John could. I read that the Maharishi was trying to get some of the American women between the sheets. I know it was the sexual revolution and all but one of the things about being in the enlightenment business is you can't bang the hot Americans who visit you. I read that when the Maharishi asked why they were leaving, Lennon responded "Your the one who is suppose to be so fucking cosmic, why don't you tell us why we are leaving." John's song hits the point so well but, unfortunately, he was still in trouble for his “We’re more popular than Jesus” comment so decided not to stir the pot and changed the word "Maharishi" to "Sexy Sadie". Too bad for everyone named Sadie since they now have a vicious song written about them.
Helter Skelter is a good rocker by Paul. The false endings are fun and the song eventually ends with the classic line "I got blisters on my fingers" I recall years ago reading that John screamed those ending words but later saw an interview where Ringo says the words were his. This makes more sense. You get calluses rather than blisters from playing guitar too much .
Side 4
Revolution is an excellent song. I like this acoustic version more than the hard rock version released as a single.
Revolution 9 is still bizarre but much less bizarre today than it must have been in 1968. I recall Revolution 9 and Helter Skelter were Charles Manson's favourite songs. I wonder if Paul was more pissed that his song was associated with a mass murderer or that somebody liked his song and Revolution 9 the same amount. (He's such a TubeSteak.) The best thing I can say about Rev 9 is that it makes the following song such a welcome change.
Good Night is the lullaby I have sung to my children forever. When I play this LP, the needle always comes off the album around 8 minutes before Good Night starts. (DUH - I wonder why?) I completely forgot what album this song was on and haven't heard anyone other than me sing it for decades. It was so nice to hear Richard Starkey's lovely version.
Circle Jerks
1/5
This is kinda like rating William Shatner’s cover of Mr. Tambourine Man. It’s not his worst song, but all his songs are putrid.
Similarly, as far as the hardcore genre goes, there are worse albums than Group Sex, but the entire genre is a 1.
You’ll get a good laugh if you find William Shatner’s cover of Mr.Tambourine Man on You Tube. Then at least something positive will come from having to listen to Circle Jerks.
Your welcome.
--
Dusty Springfield
3/5
The last Dusty album we reviewed ]had "Son of a Preacher Man" which is a song that can positively influence your rating and cover up a lot of blemishes. For this LP, we will find out what we really think of her.
When this starts, I can't help but think she was influenced by white musicians from the Bobby Sox era. There are some songs where she tries to embrace Motown influences but she sure does sound white when she does this. If she wants to venture to Motown, shouldn't she get a guitar player and someone who can play either the trombone or sax rather than continuing with the orchestra? It's hard to pull off a Motown sound when you're relying on a dude in a suit with a baton. For perspective, this LP was released in 1964 and the Beatles didn't release albums with their first covers of Smokey Robinson until 1963/64 so it's not like there was a lot of guidance on how to adopt the sound. While I can cut her a bit of slack, there is no excuse for the baton still being in the house.
Side 1: Anyway, "You Don't Own Me" is a very good song and there is no denying how good her voice is. The LP then moves onto the second tier songs. "Do Re Mi" and "When the Love Light . . ." have decent melodies although it's hard not to label Do Re Mi a weiner song. "My Colouring Book" put me to sleep but "Mockingbird" is fun.
Side 2: The song "Nothing" is quite good and demonstrates she can sing songs that are uptempo and loud (by Dusty standards). "Wishing and Hoping" validates my point on her needing to move on from the suit with the baton. "Don't Ya Know", the Ray Charles cover that concludes the album, is fabulous and the best song on the LP. She is accompanied by band that can play this type of music and they sound like they are having a whack of fun.
Final thought: She wasn't born with the name "Dusty Springfield"; she picked it and it's an incredibly cool name. How could she pick a name that cool and a hairstyle that lame? Ringo looked cool with that hairstyle but Dusty, not so much.
My feelings about this album are really mixed. She has a great voice and I really want to like her more.
The The
4/5
I have a soft spot for artists who rebel against the music industry. These guys did it with the band name. They also made some good songs to dance to that weren't dance music.
The album kicks off and finishes strong w "I've been waiting . . ." and "Giant" both edgy uptempo songs. "This is the Day '' and "Uncertain Smile", the two most well known songs on this album, are beasts. On "This is the Day" the lyrics don't start until the one minute mark but it works. Doing this with the single again shows their rebellious side. Of the two big songs, I probably like the songwriting better on This is the Day but the 3+ minute piano solo on Uncertain Smile is killer.
The singing skills are nothing to write home about but I find they work well with the storytelling nature of the lyrics.
I recall having some The The on vinyl but don't remember what I had and didn't feel like basement dwelling to dig it up. It had "Perfect Day" a great song w the words "Oh what a perfect day to think about myself . . . " I can't find that song on Spotify. Too bad. It was another beast.
AC/DC
2/5
There was enough boring hard rock in the late 70s before this album was added to the heap.
There is some interesting guitar playing on this LP long after the title track.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
4/5
This is another band I came across quite randomly when searching for something different. I went to browse the foreign section of a record store and picked the one LBM LP they had (it wasn't the one 1001 sent us) since, based on the cover photo, they didn't look like they would be playing the same crap the radio stations were force feeding us. The picture sung a thousand words!
Their singing is beautiful and they create lovely melodies without instruments. My personal music culture makes it tough to listen to an entire album of a capella.
In the late 90s they put out an album that had Dolly Parton on lead vocals. On that LP they had instruments on the DP song and some other songs which mixed it up nicely.
Fats Domino
4/5
This album makes me want to go to the Reservoir Lounge. Well to New Orleans really but The Res is much closer.
To see how important Fats was, one needs only to look at the artists that covered him. The list includes those who changed music in a significant and positive way including John Lennon.
His rolling piano (B Berry Hill being a great example) is classic and his voice is also excellent. This album is quite good but I'm not sure why this album was picked for 1001. It's a compilation which is probably the right way to go with an artist like FD but could they not find a compilation or live album that had more of his popular songs like The Fat Man, Ain't that a Shame and I'm Walking? The songs on the album are good but they don't include so many of the hits which I thought was the purpose of a compilation.
Randy Newman
3/5
Sail Away is another addition to the long list of songs that could be a genre labeled "Talking to Americans" if Rick M didn't already own that title. It reminds me of seeing Springsteen and the biggest US flag imaginable dropped as he opened with Born in the USA. Of course if you just saw the flag and listened to the chorus, you might think the song was pro USA. Hell, Reagan invited Bruce to the White House to perform it. Sail Away contains a similar facade of the wonderful USA and if you don't know either the relevance of Charleston Bay or what the word "wog" means, you might replace your poppy with a Stars and Stripes lapel pin, put on your MAGA hat and go about about your day with blissful ignorance.
Eagles
1/5
The Dude abides
Finley Quaye
2/5
This album is like a plane that taxis to the runway but doesn't take off. It seems like the pieces are there and I kept waiting for it to get good but it didn’t come together.
2/5
It's wild that a bootleg album made it to the 1001 list. I Buying bootlegs of my favourite bands' live performances was my only real indulgence in the early 80s. You had to know the one or two stores in town that carried them. The place in Toronto was The Record Peddler. Sudbury had a place, called Recycled Records, that would place orders for me. Knowing the names of the stores wasn't enough. You had to know the secret handshake to get the store owner to show you the goods. The bootlegs were never kept in the bins with the "legal albums" as the owner was always paranoid that Law Enforcement would find out and put him out of business. If a stranger asked the guy at the Record Peddler where the bootlegs were kept, he would probably deny even knowing what a bootleg was. If you didn't have the right connections at the store, the other option was mail order although half the time I tried this route my money disappeared and I received nothing. Let's just say that finding a bootleg was much harder than finding half a gram.
When you finally got your hands on a bootleg, it came with serious sticker shock. A bootleg would cost three times the amount a legal album costs and the price did not guarantee quality. Many bootlegs sounded like they were recorded on a $10 dictaphone like the brothers on Madmen use. Other bootlegs, however, were recorded by the guys on the mixing board and the quality of these was better but still nothing like the quality of a legal live album. The exorbitant price applied regardless of quality so you had to do your homework.
There was a book called Hot Wacks that was dedicated to bootleg reviews so you could know, before parting with your cash, whether the quality was good. Having the latest edition of Hotwacks was as critical to a bootleg buyer as having Robert Parker's Bordeaux bible would be to a wine snob heading to a wine auction.
The difficulties finding a decent quality bootleg added to the mystique. A decent quality bootleg of your favourite band was your most cherished vinyl possession. You would be happy with the lower album quality since you had a treasure that (almost) nobody else had.
In those days, bootlegs were magic. In 2021, I can peruse YouTube and easily find loads of bootleg quality live recordings for free. The magic that was there in the early 80's is gone and when you take away the magic, all that is left is a live recording that is mediocre quality.
Portishead
4/5
Had a weekend with loads of kids and early mornings at hockey rinks. I gave this a quick half listen so have nothing specific to say. It's really good.
Sonic Youth
4/5
I like Kim's songs in particular. I wasn't aware Karen Carpenter died from anorexia related problems at age 32. Tunic's a good song and it's cool that this topic is addressed in song. Kool Thing is also a good song and it's brave to attack the Black Panthers.
The second half of the album starts to experiment more with noise. The solos and, in particular, the long fade in Mote are good examples. My views on noise change over time. I have learned to understand that musicians have an ability to hear and appreciate sounds that us mere mortals will never be able to appreciate. I'm good with most of the noise on this one.
Kacey Musgraves
1/5
So they expanded the initial 1001 list so we could include this?
I like country music but not the white collar variety. She says John Prine is one of her main influences. I'll take JP but his influence seems very well composted under piles of white collar and Las Vegas styles of country.
Blue Cheer
3/5
These guys sure do sound like Hendrix and The Who did at that time. Summertime Blues is a dead ringer for The Who's live version. Let me guess, these guys saw Hendrix and The Who at the Monterey Pop festival (down the road from where they live), started to play like them and rushed an album out in time for the new wave of heavy metal?
I like late 60s heavy metal. This is where it all started and it was original and exciting back then. I'm just not sure how much of the wave can be attributed to influence from these guys. They deserve a few points for how fleet footed they were jumping on the bandwagon.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
Little Wing might be my ATF guitar picking song. Jimi is at his finest. Shame they decided to fade early and keep the song at less than 2 1/2 min. Jimi's live versions keep it going for another minute. This song is a perfect showcase for guitar players to strut their stuff. Clapton's live version was 3 x as long to allow more soloing time. Stevie Ray did a 7 min cover version and he never got around to singing the verses.
Some of the experimental stuff, including the first track " Exp", was worth a try but didn't really work imo. "If 6 was 9" is an interesting experiment. Could we label this the precursor to the drum & bass genre? It's nice that Jimi gives his bass player and drummer a chance to be front and centre.
The psychedelic drumming and bits following the false stop in Bold as Love are enjoyable as are the two castle songs. Overall not Jimi's best LP but still quite good.
Gene Clark
1/5
I like the last Gene C album we were sent (White Heat). It had a nice mix of country and folk and he sang with passion. This album, however, misses the mark. The folk has all but disappeared and the country sounds like it's influenced by the Eagles' first album. We now have permanently etched in our minds His Dudeness' classic line; "I hate the Fuckin Eagles"
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Leonard's lyrics have always been the best of the best but, except for the album Phil Spector produced, the instrumentation on his LPs before Various Positions was rudimentary. While some of this is due to his music drifting away from pure folk in later years, I expect another reason is that Hallelujah brought him money so he could afford more studio time to add more layers to the sound. Joan of Arc, my favourite song on the album, is an excellent example. You can see how the song evolved by comparing the album version and the version on his 1994 LIVE album.
Avalanche is a haunting song and the instrumentation doesn't need to evolve one inch. It's my favourite song on the album. Leonard plays the classical guitar. His guitar playing is underrated and he was somehow able to play this and sing at the same time when they played this live. Last Year's Man is another gem lyrically. It's also my favourite song on the album. I like how the children's choir is brought in to sing back up but just for the sixth minute of the song. I guess they didn't have any more rehearsal time lol. The children make another cameo in the last quarter of Dress Rehearsal Rag.
Side 2 has Famous Blue Raincoat which is definitely definitely definitely my favourite song on the album.
The songs that I didn't mention as my favourite are also quite good. Esp Dress Rehearsal Rag, Diamonds in the Mine, and Sing Another Song Boys.--
Bee Gees
1/5
How bout that opening track? The album really gets off to a good start - LOL.
I find it hard to like anything on Side 1. The start of Side 2 is hopeful as the banjo comes out and they venture to the country on Marley Put Drive, but there is way too much fussing over the vocals for the country sound to work. In the next track, Edison, they decide to repeat the phrase "Edison Came to stay" 100 times. I don't get it. Whisper Whisper ends the side. The keyboards, percussion and guitar in that song are fun. Is this the turning point for the album? Nope. Side 3 starts with Lampshade which is hideous.The fiddle comes out for Give Your Best as they return to country. The fiddle is fine, but the Bee Jees ruin it.
This would have been a hard listen if it were a single album. As a double, it's painful.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
There is no "trying to make an album like Sgt Pepper" bullshit here. This album is a lot of raw energy poured into blues and country driven rock and roll. Nobody does this better than Keith and the boys. There is no pretension with the skinnied down version of the band. Keith stepped up to the challenge and was front and centre.
Gimme Shelter is a classic. It shows how excellent Keith's rhythm guitar playing is. He is also the best, bar none, at opening riffs that grab you and make the song.
Love in Vain is a killer good song with excellent sliding. In fact there’s a lot of good sliding on the album which is interesting since Brian used to contribute the slide in the past and Ron Wood added his own sliding in that later incarnation.
Country Honk sounds like a spoof. I now like it more than I like Honkey Tonk Woman.
Live with Me gives us the slimy Stones lyrics we've come to love. This would be a song I could take or leave except Bobby's sax solo makes it a keeper..
Let it Bleed is another great example of the raw rock and roll sound that Keith can deliver.
Midnight Rambler is a killer song. Keith's opening riff once again makes the song. I prefer the live version (from Get yer ya yas out) as the last 2 1/2 min. (starting with “Ya heard about the Boston“) is much stronger and more entertaining.
You Got the Silver is the first in a long line of classic songs sung by Keef.
Monkey Man is a great jam but the song itself is just OK and Mick's screaming in the fade is irritating.
Stones fans would find it sacrilegious to say anything negative about You Can't Always Get What You Want, BUTTTTT I never understood what the choir added to the studio version. I quite liked seeing them play it live (sans choir). Once the choir does its business, the song properly begins with yet another classic opening riff by Keith. I guess the choir kicking it off makes it a good song to play at a funeral. In fact, if this song isn’t played at my funeral, then I’m not going. (I feel like I stole that joke but if not then: Fuck I’m funny!)
Mekons
4/5
As this started I thought it's not bad but it's also not that good. Then by the 3rd / 4th tracks (Hard to be Human Again and Darkness and Doubt) it gets very weird but in a good way. I'll probably be the first to ever draw this parallel but the weirdness reminds me of that Brazilian psychedelic band Os Mutatntes. The weirdness is extensive and covers not only the lyrics and melodies but also the singing and the instrumentals. This LP is definitely weird. Nothing wrong with weird; there is good weird and bad weird. For me it's good weird.
3 ratings are so middle of the road I feel I need to avoid a 3 since it doesn't work for weird bands.
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
I listened to less than 10 min of this at home and it wasn't doing much for me but I had to drive to Ajax tonight so I tried again in the car. I used the YouTube link which I later learned was a remastered extended version. Something about the car stereo and being in an enclosed space made it quite enjoyable. This music is made for headphones.
The only parallels I can draw are that some of the extended mix sounded like laser fire on that ancient video game called Galaxia and the last half of Pt 5 sounds like the music played on 1970s porn. What's not to like?
David Bowie
4/5
I know the Berlin trilogy has many die hard fans and Heroes is my favourite of the Berlin trilogy. Truth be told: I'm a bigger fan of the cocaine trilogy (Ziggy, Aladdin and Station to Station).
The sound in Beauty and the Beast is stylistically similar to what he did for a few albums to come. For example, it's similar to Scary Monsters. Bowie was looking for a certain sound from his lead guitarist. It wouldn't be accurate to say his guitarists all sounded the same but there are certainly some stylistic similarities between Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew and Earl Slick. They all had an avant-garde style to their solos and they all like to use the vibrato arm to make their long notes sing.
Side 1 is fabulous and is in the same neighbourhood as the cocaine trilogy. Side 2 is a lot more instrumental. V-2 works for me but I get lost with Sense of Doubt, Moss Garden and Neukoin. Are we sure he wasn't doing drugs in Berlin?
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3/5
The hip hop songs It's Nasty, It's a Shames and, especially, The Message are the main event. It's great to hear a rapper dealing with substantive matters rather than rapping about getting more ass than a bedpan.
A friend introduced me to funk in high school so the first track works well. Scorpio sounds dated but was it original in 1982? The distorted vocals are the same as talk box sounds that were around long before 1982. Digging a little deeper, the song does have some really cool synth rinsed percussion but the synth created laser sounds were done previously on Rock the Casbah (The King called up his jet fighters . . .).
I could live without the "romantic" songs ("Dreamin" and "You Are") but I understand others like such songs.
The cover photo is a work of art. I remember having a boom box that I would carry with me when I walked / took the bus to the beach.
Derek & The Dominos
4/5
The recording session for this album was the inaugural meeting of Eric and Duane's Mutual Admiration Society. Having Duane in the studio probably made it more of a "just jammin" atmosphere and this album feels like a live recording. Also, I expect Clapton wasn't the type of guy who liked to spend weeks on overdubs and making chords sound just right.
The D & D version of Key to the Highway is the best version. Duane and Eric trading solos is as good as it gets. They even solo over each other after the 5 min mark. and again after the 7 min mark. This rarely works but it sure did on this song.
The guitar playing on this album is second to none. The best guitar work is on the covers (Nobody knows you . . . Key to . . ., When a Man Loves . . . and Little Wing) which I guess makes sense since Duane and Eric would both know these songs inside out so Take 1 would be amazing solos rather than feeling things out.
The Youngbloods
2/5
This album is something you could play if your mother in law was coming for dinner. I didn't say it was boring but the music is certainly unobtrusive. This album would also be a good choice if you had a need to play something with a 60s sound that nobody knows.
These are clearly not ringing endorsements.
The Who
4/5
When we started the 1001 journey I immediately decided all Who albums were getting a 5 but I never thought Sell Out would be on the list. This is a bizarre album by an excellent band and the LP has always had a cult following. It is a spoof on pirate stations that were quite popular in London in the 60s and 70s. The BBC had a monopoly on broadcasting so these stations would pop up to provide diverse music and points of view. This loose concept is probably what made this album have such strong support from the recording industry types.
There are some good songs on this mixed with very legitimate sounding jingles and commercials. I Can See For Miles is Pete's sole contribution to Psychedelic music and, imo, is THE best psychedelic song. Yes I think it's even better than California Dreamin. I Can See . . . also has Moon taking his already insane drumming style to another level as he really attacks his drums and sets the stage for things to come. It's also bizarre to see one of the best guitar players ever do a guitar solo that repeats just one note.
I always liked Mary Ann With The Shaky Hand. It brings back memories of adolescence and summer nights, lol. It's funny to see such a juvenile song written by a geezer who's now in his mid 70s. Tattoo is another excellent song. Pete plays electric and acoustic and shows remarkable picking and strumming skills that continued to improve for the decades to come. Roger's voice is also at its best. The lyrics are deep compared to Pete's other songs to that time. I wonder how often someone getting a tattoo thinks "I expect I'll regret you but the skin graft man won't get you. You'll be three when I die Tattoo."
I hope you listened til the end since at around the 3 1/2 min mark of Rael there is the first tease of what becomes the Underture from Tommy.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
This is such a good album. I remember dismissing it when it came out since my hatred for disco made me turn away from anything dance floor oriented. I fortunately got over that and have loved this album for a while.
Bob’s move to London resulted in his music getting fused with music from the London club scene at the time. This set the stage and trajectory for reggae in the 1980s and 90s and allowed sub-genres of reggae such, as dancehall, to be more easily accepted.
Pere Ubu
3/5
The first lyrics you hear are "I got these arms & legs that flipflop flip flop" which sets the stage for what direction the Weirdometer is heading. This album starts out weird but good - and it ends just weird. Songs like Blow Daddy-O make me wonder how their brains would decide to make these particular sounds. I get that they are purposely making their music ugly. I just don't get how they can figure out how to do it so well. It's a talent that very few have (and we are fortunate that not many others have it)
Part of me is impressed by artists who create music that is so far from what others are doing. The songwriting skill in general leaves me perplexed, but this is multiplied for songwriters who write lyrics like: "I went out and stirred the air (My soup was steeped in strange ideas)" . I can at least imagine how Pete Townshend came to the place where he could write the lyrics to "My Generation" but I can't understand in any way how someone could come up with these lyrics.
Finally, is David Thomas' (the vocalist's) voice really that bad? He got a job being lead singer in a band so he must know how to sing. Perhaps his singing this way is just another arrow in the quiver used to make the music ugly.
Yeah the album's ugly but I kinda like it anyway.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
I'm doing my best to be open minded towards noise but still can't get north of 3.
LCD Soundsystem
5/5
There are some real gems on this album. My faves are North American Scum, All My Friends, Us V Them, and New York . . .. Thanks to Wiki for letting us know that James Murphy and Tyler Hope both play the fun machine on Us V Them. How can you read that and not want to find out what a fun machine is?
For the last LCD-S album sent to us, I waffled between a 4 and 5 and landed on 4. I like this LP at least as much and on this album they play the fun machine.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
I generally like this. While some of the songs are lame, Frank makes them good. He has a hell of a voice but also has charisma.
You don't have to see Frank to see his charisma. His charisma is there when you listen to his records and also evident from his pictures.
Incubus
2/5
Double platinum. I don't know what the sales number needs to be for that but it's a lot of sales. The album is a Pearl Jam 10th anniversary sound alike project. I don't get what the big deal is.
Nirvana
4/5
Nirvana's and Clapton's unplugged albums are the only two unplugged albums that should not be in a trash pile. The "Let's do an unplugged album" strategy got to be so excessive and such an obvious money grab. The "blame" for this lies squarely with Clapton since he made an amazing unplugged album that deservingly sold a shitload of copies but unfortunately started the trend. MTV was quite happy to enable all the others to jump on the bandwagon.
Nirvana's unplugged album allowed a very different take on their songs. Also, when you have such good lyrics, it's nice to be able to decipher them. Pennyroyal tea might have my favourite Nirvana lyrics: "Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld, so I can sigh eternally."
I suppose it shouldn't be a great shock that Kurt liked Bowie but who would have guessed they would cover The Man Who Sold The World? This song is one example of another aspect of this album that makes it stand out from all the bandwagon jumpers on - that being the big "Fuck you" to MTV by not playing their big hits and having the Meat Puppets be their special guests.
The final part that is special is that this album feels like Kurt's swan song. I think they were on tour when they did this recording and continued to tour afterwards but the accessibility of this concert footage made it feel like the last concert. RIP
Napalm Death
1/5
The only enjoyment I got from this was reading the review about the brothers in Dresden and their lovely and talented tattooed friend.
Isaac Hayes
4/5
This album is all about the bookends. Half way through Walk on By I was convinced that Isaac Hayes was a magician. Dionne Warwick sang this song beautifully and, I would think, sang it exactly how Burt Baccarat had intended. Along comes Issac who turns the song upside down and creates a 12 minute funkasized soul masterpiece.
In the other bookend, By the time I get to Phoenix, he shows what a fabulous story teller he is as he spends over 8 minutes telling a story about what the song is about. The listener doesn't need any help understanding the song; the lyrics are plainspoken. The story is quite easy to listen to regardless. When the song starts he shows his excellent voice as he belts on this ballad. As an old white fart I naturally love Glen Campbell's 1967 cover of this song but I now like Issac's version more.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
2/5
There is nothing bad to say about the musicians but the sound just isn’t as good as the jazz that going on around the same time. I guess I never really got into this genre.
The tunes that Spotify auto played after this were quite good. Something about the Count doesn’t work for me.
Paul Simon
4/5
I had great expectations for this based on memory. This LP could be summarized as 1) a bunch of mediocre songs made good by a few South African musicians or 2) an excellent album featuring excellent ZAR musicians. I choose #2 but acknowledge that #1 is also true.
The songs (e,g. Homeless) featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo are excellent and this is a good amount of a cappella for an album.
You Can Call Me Al was the big hit but for me it's not the strong point of the album. Graceland, the other hit, is quite good and made so by Ray Phiri's guitar playing in the Soweto style. Diamonds on the Soles ... is a great tune that would be average were it not for the excellent intro by LBM. Likewise I Know What I Know would be a fairly lame song without the ZAR guitars and bass. It's true, the lyrics about the cinematographers party would not, by themselves, have carried this song. Crazy Love Vol II continues with the ZAR sounding guitar riffs.
There was lots of politics around this LP. It's said that Paul should not have broken the boycott by going to ZAR to record. This argument makes sense. He probably should also have taken a pass on having Linda Ronstadt sing on the album. There are also accusations that Paul took advantage of the musicians. That sounds like a nonsensical argument made by the wingnut section of any Socialist party and was probably led by the likes of Billy Bragg. I bought a lot of records by South African musicians like Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Joe Mafela, Miriam Makeba, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, etc. Paul Simon wasn't directly responsible for my liking their music but I would not likely have found material from LBM in the record stores were it not for Paul. Paul created tremendous interest in and benefits for South African musicians.
--
Massive Attack
3/5
Protection is a pretty good song w cool guitars and haunting vocals. I would have bet a lot of money that the second song wasn’t the same band. It’s also a fun song.
The rest of the album continues its genre surfing. It’s one of those cases that genre surfing works.
Gil Scott-Heron
4/5
This album is quite enjoyable. The minimalist well played piano coupled with excellent vocals and relevant lyrics really works.
Abdullah Ibrahim
4/5
On one of my first visit to Cape Town I was having a drink with a black man who was a local. He pointed at a person with brown skin across the room and, said ¨the coloured guy over there is a good friend.¨ He was incredulous when I told him that in my country the term ¨coloured¨ was a derogatory term for a black man. He informed me that under the Apartheid regime, people were segregated into Blacks, Whites (mainly Afrikaans) and Coloureds (which were everyone else). Those terms are still used to describe people but are not considered racist and the severe ramifications of being in one group or the other are no longer proscribed by the government. Abdullah Ibrahim would have been a coloured person.
The Wiki notes for this one are quite limited. As one can tell from the names of some of the songs, there is a political side to this. The song Mandela is an obvious one given he was sitting in Robben Island at the time this was released. Mannenberg Revisited was a well known and highly political song. I read that a copy of the record was snuck onto Robben Island and when Nelson Mandela heard it he remarked that ¨liberation is near¨.
Mannenberg is about the forced removal of those defined as coloured people from a downtown neighbourhood to the suburbs of Cape Town.
What boggles the mind is that these songs effectively conveyed the message of protest and uprising without lyrics.
Song for Sathima is about his wife Sathima Bea Benjamin If you're interested, Spotify has a wonderful EP called African Songbird with three of her tunes including Africa which is an avant garde jazz sung with love for her Africa.
Michael Jackson
3/5
I always liked Billie Jean but aside from that song I wasn't a fan of the rest of this album on release or of Michael Jackson in general. After he died and we were bombarded with all the music he made I warmed up to him.
I enjoyed listening to Beat It today. Truth be told, I know the lyrics to Weird Al's Eat It much better than I know the lyrics to Beat It. I remember Ray Davies introduced Lola as the song Van Halen made famous. For me, Beat It was the song Weird Al got me to like. Go figure.
Vincent Price makes an appearance on Thriller. It's OK but his role pales in comparison to his role introducing Black Widow on Alice Cooper's Welcome to my Nightmare LP.
There are a few too many weenie songs on this album. Human Nature and The Lady in my Life are good examples of songs that are so weenie they're hard to stomach. The worst though is This Girl Is Mine. It seems Michael was trying to adopt a cool image with the red leather jacket, etc. Who told him a duet with Paul McCartney would be cool? Makes ya wonder.
George Jones
1/5
I could tell just by looking at him that I would hate this album, but I clicked to open it anyway. Spotify's algorithm will unleash severe consequences. Fothermucker!
The Who
5/5
Other bands that describe their albums as "concept albums" sure sound silly after you hear Tommy. I can't believe Pete was only 23 when he wrote this masterpiece.
He is also one of the best acoustic players and has the knowledge of music and the guitar that allows him to compose and play things that few others can. The strumming after the initial vocals in the Overture shows his prowess on acoustic.
Amazing Journey is one of the best songs ever written and was made for a live Who performance as there are lots of short pauses between chords so Pete can windmill and jump, plenty of 5 second breaks from singing so Roger can twirl the mic, and ample opportunities for ass kicking drum and bass sequences. When they played Tommy live, Amazing Journey is when the rocket that is a Who concert blasts off.
Tis the season . . . The song Christmas is amazing. Moon is on fire.
Cousin Kevin is an excellent song about the school bully. Pete asked John to write the two songs that addressed bullying and molesting since John was better at creepy songs. I guess Boris the Spider was the creepy example pre-Tommy. John stepped up and wrote two good creepy ones.
The Acid Queen was perfect for the times given the popularity of experimenting with acid.
Sure the underture is a little too long but this really is a musical so it comes with the territory.
The two opening chords to Pinball Wizard are iconic. Since Pete is as far as you can get from a three chord wonder, the two chords are difficult for mere mortals. The fingering for the two opening chords are: 7x997x and 7x987x so the 1st and 5th strings must be deadened. This means strumming the other four strings very quickly while making sure the 6th string is in play but the 5th and 1st aren't. Next time a guitar is nearby, ask the best player in the room to try and make those chords sound right. And wish him luck.
Some of the lesser known songs are now among my favourites. Songs like Go To The Mirror! and Sally Simpson with excellent keyboards that I think were played by Pete?? (I wouldn't have been surprised to see an Ian Stewart credit but there are no credits for him or anyone else.) We're Not Gonna Take is an amazing finish. Yeah See Me Feel Me gets a little long the 5 millionth time I heard it. But hey, the sun rose at Woodstock when they played this song. After Jimi upstaged them by burning his guitar at Monterey, time was their friend as they evened the score at Woodstock.
Who fans will tell you that this album fails to capture the energy the Who has live. Anyone who assumes the studio version of Tommy is The Who's sound would find the Live at Leeds album eye opening since it contains some of the non-Tommy songs The Who played on the Tommy tour and gives a hint of how Tommy was played live. I had a bootleg called Gather Your Wits (a line from the Acid Queen), that was the full concert from the Tommy tour and the difference in rawness and energy was unbelievable.
It's interesting that Pete gave Moon the songwriting credit for Tommy's Holiday Camp since Pete wrote it. I expect it was a way for him to give Moon some extra cash from the royalties. Pete also had an obscure unreleased Keith Moon composition be the B side for the Tommy single which would have also been a financial windfall for Keith.
Germs
1/5
I’m double vaccinated so didn’t think I’d have to put up with Germs.
My first reaction was this sounds very basic and I can't understand the lyrics but the same could be said for The Clash's 1st album (which I rated 5) so I thought I should give it a chance. I looked up the lyrics to a few songs (including Communist Eyes and Lexicon Devil). Lexicon Devil seems to be about a dictator (possibly Hitler); it’s not necessarily taking a positive view but not taking a negative one either. The lyrics coupled with the violence incited at their concerts indicate that Darby was a nihilist. (I haven’t heard anyone being called a nihilist since The Big Lebowski).
I immediately booked my booster shot so this is hopeful the last of the Germs showing up.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
He has a silky smooth voice with an impressive range. The positive part of having a voice like this is that it is so well suited for ballads. On the other hand, the negative part of having a voice like this is that it is that it is so well suited for ballads.
I really like him, but I just can't handle so many ballads.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
I hadn't heard of Bruce until the Born to Run LP. I saw Bruce and the E street band twice but I saw him play Thunder Road, my favourite Springsteen song, only once. The die hard Springsteen fans will say this isn't possible since T-Road has a permanent spot on the playlist. Read it and weep.
I moved to Toronto in 1985 and lived in a high-rise apartment building that overlooked Ryerson Theater. On the day I moved a few people started to hang around the Ryerson entrance and by the next morning those folks were joined by a 100 more. I went and asked what they were doing and found out that two days later Springsteen tickets were going on sale. So if you had the time and inclination to stand in line for two days, you could get a seat in the first 10 rows. I called a couple of friends from Sudbury and asked if I should get a few tickets. They were ecstatic so I got the tickets and a month or so later we went to see Bruce.
The crowd went crazy when he started to play Thunder Road and it was amazing how many people knew all the words. This song is a long one and it doesn’t have a chorus. Every line is unique. When Bruce was a few lines into the song, around “Roy Orbison singing for the lonely'', the crowd was signing louder than Bruce was. By the time the second verse started, Bruce tapped out and just let the audience sing alone from the line “Don’t run back inside” until the line “You ain’t a beauty but hey you’re alright”. Bruce had to cut back in with a long and loud “Oh” since there is an unusually long pause before “that’s alright with me” and the audience would have sung it too early and fucked up the musicians’ timing. Even with Bruce singing again, you could hear the crowd sing the rest of the words. To be sure, the crowd singing this song isn’t like the crowd singing the chorus to “I want to rock n roll all night” at a fucking Kiss concert. There were a lot of words to know and the crowd knew them all. I was impressed by the die hard Bruce fans.
Fast forward to 2013 and I am in Rio for business the week that Rock in Rio is on. A local who is a good friend says I should stay an extra day as he has concert tickets. I say "shut up and dance" even before he tells me The Boss is headlining. There must be 500,000 at this gig. I knew Bruce would play Thunder Road at some point and was ready to howl every word. It was around 300AM, he had been playing for around 2 hrs and he just finished playing the full Born in the USA LP. He finally starts to play some stuff from Born to Run. Great news! Or not.
My friend's new girlfriend says she is tired and wants to leave. Fothermucker. I couldn’t believe we had to leave before he played Thunder Road but I couldn’t be unhappy. She was a typical Brazilian woman- you know a complete smokeshow. If someone who looked like her asked me to take her home then, I would have pulled a Houdini in about 10 seconds.
C'est la vie.
The Pharcyde
3/5
The 1001 App sometimes gives me the urge to name new sub-genres. If I could, I would label this "accessible hip hop" or "user-friendly hip hop". It had nice melodies and the rappers didn't sound angry or full of attitude.
I kinda liked this one.
Sepultura
2/5
Finally some uplifting music. lol
It's interesting that these brothers played at Rock in Rio in 1991. I expect my Rio friend's gf would have wanted to bolt a little before the band played three quarters of their set.
Yeah the music is fucking noisy although I do get a small amount of enjoyment from some of the percusision and guitar playing. This and the fact it’s the time of year to be generous uplifts it.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
1001 already sent us Bowie's Blackstar album recorded in the last year that he was looking at the blades rather than the roots, and now we get Leonard's similar offering. I never thought that so many artists spent there last year recording a final album. I know John Lennon also did this but it's not quite the same case.
This album is reminiscent of his early albums in that the arrangements and production are very simple.
Gotta love the line in Traveling Light: "I use to play a mean guitar" That's right up there with "I was born with the gift of a golden voice"
I was surprised to see Alison Krauss doing background vocals on "Steer Your Way". I'm not sure what the story is behind her and Leonard becoming acquainted but he has always managed to find excellent background vocalists.
Neil Young
4/5
This was one of the three Neil LPs I had aside from compilations and live albums. That's not a lot of his stuff and it's hard to imagine how this got on my short list and into my collection but I'm glad it did. It's a fringe album and there were no hits really. I think the title track is the best known and that song was not the attraction for me. It shows a special side of Neil.
My favorite songs are:
1. C'mon Baby . . ., Good ole rock n roll.
2. Roll Another Number, - Lyrics like "I long to hear that lonesome hippie smile" really talk to me.
3. Lookout Joe
4. Tired Eyes. Best song on the album. This song defines singing from the heart. "Open up your tired eyes" means: Stop being dead. Merry Fucking Christmas.
Given the significance of the mirror in Tommy, our recent listen to that album has got me to start a playlist with songs that refer to mirrors. Artists use the mirror to deliver very powerful messages. Tired Eyes will be the contribution from this album. ("What do you mean he had bullet holes in his mirror?"). I am a little worried that it will be a depressing playlist but I will see how it goes.
Various Artists
4/5
I've had this on vinyl for decades and it gets brought up from the basement with the tree stand every year. The legendary Wall of Sound makes this head and shoulders above other Christmas albums from the era. I unfortunately don't have the very rare and valuable original pressing and would take the money in a heartbeat if I did. It's unfortunate that Phil was such a whack job. He sure did make good music.
Duran Duran
2/5
Embarrassed Embarrassed.
When I have had the original vinyl of an album that has been sent by the App, I have stated this with a sense of pride. I knew it was just a matter of time until I would prefer that nobody knew.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
"We are ugly but we have the music". (from a song L. Cohen wrote about his time with Janis)
Summertime, Piece of My Heart and Ball and Chain are classics - sure Ball & Chain is a bit too long but it is legit live rather than aspartame live.
Summertime provides a unique experience since it's not too often you can listen to a song that Billie Holiday also covered and say "Yup, this one is better than Billie's version." The guitar licks to start and throughout that song provide a quintessential psychedelic feel while Janis' vocals are poured into every word.
While the highlights are all covers, some of the original songs, like I Need a Man to Love and Turtle Blues are also good.
It's interesting that this album is faux live. I like Janis but always thought studio Janis was a mere fraction of what live Janis would be. If the customer wants a live album, here you go, sort of.
The Young Gods
2/5
The album starts innocently with sounds you would hear at a midway. I guess that is the genre referred to as dark cabaret. It then moves to industrial. I'm guessing the industrial genre is something you either really like or really hate, so a lot of 1s and 5s. I really like it for spurts but hate it at the same time. I can't explain but it's a 2.
Like the Jacques Brel album, I have no clue what they are singing about but, unlike last time, there is no risk whatsoever that they're singing about the Wascally Wabbit.
Fishbone
4/5
This album is a roller coaster ride. You would never guess that it was all the same album. My favorites are the ska song Ma and Pa and the funk tune Bonin in The Boneyard - btw, what a song name! The guitarist sounds like he is simultaneously trying to sound like Earl Slick and Eddie Van Halen. This of course isn’t possible but he sounds good trying. Some of the stuff, like Subliminal Fascism, doesn’t work for me but that comes with the territory with so much genre hoping. The next tune Slow Bus Movin' brings me back.
The one bizarre thing is that the bass seems to be mixed way too far in the background. Many of these genres need the bass more up front. I tried to bring it forward as best I could with my amp but that doesn’t negate the production. Perhaps it’s due for remastering.
Emmylou Harris
3/5
Emmylou falls into the "i know of her" category. I don't have any of her albums and couldn't tell you what her hits were, but she has performed with a laundry list of my favourite performers such as Steve Earl and Neil Young.
The song Red Dirt Girl is very powerful. She has a gift for writing lyrics and her singing is also very good. I just find her music doesn't grab me. Perhaps it would if I had more time to listen to it.
AC/DC
2/5
This is the second best selling album of all time. I wonder how many of the top 10 best selling albums I actually like? I don't like this one.
Teenage Fanclub
2/5
Bob Dylan won the coveted Pulitzer Prize "for his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." (https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/bob-dylan) I'm sure Norman Blake is expecting the same for his brilliant and provocative lyrics to "What You Do To Me." For a joke I searched lyrics meaning for that song to see if anyone could find something useful to say, One dude pointed out that he says knee rather than knees once. Profound for sure.
So Spin Mag voted this 1991 album of the year ahead of Nevermind. Hmmm. Whoever made that decision must feel silly especially when they see the verdict the learned listening audience of the 1001 App. rendered on the relative standing of these two albums.
When I listened I couldn't help but think that this is a glaring example of formula music that was adopted by the radio stations that used to have EDGE. Those stations clung to the term "alternative rock" and convinced their listeners it was alternative rather than same old, same old formulae music. Anyway, I had lots of extra time today so I listened to this album three times. I'm sad to report that the formula actually works and it was downright scary to watch it work on me. On the third time through, I actually started toe tapping and the formula resulted in a +1 to my rating. Pure Evil!
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
What's the best antonym for shell shocked? Whatever the word is, it would best describe the feeling when buying the Nick Cave CD that followed Murder Ballads (so expecting more songs like "O'Malley's Bar'') but getting The Boatman's Call. Don't get me wrong, there are some great lyrics on this album - "Into My Arms" and "West Country Girl" are excellent songs. It's just hard to get into 12 deeply personal ballads. I just want him to toss the keyboards for a sec and play Deanna although I expect PJ is happy the song about her, qua Nick's ex, was West Country Girl rather than the vicious offering that Deanna got.
One thing about the ballads is that he has an opportunity to show how good his voice is. He's also pretty good at tapping the 88 keys. I will have 5s for some of NC's albums but not this one.
Ryan Adams
2/5
How did Ryan Fucking Adams meet C.C. White ?
I had never heard of C.C. White but her vocals on tracks 8 and 15 are so good I searched and found her album "This is Soul Kirtan." She continues to impress. I'd give C.C. White's album a higher rating than R. F. Adams' album. If you're interested in her album, listen to "Karuna Sagari Ma" and "The Maha Mantra" to start and if you like them, try "Om Namah Shivaya" but, fair warning, OMS gets going as quickly as a Nusrat Khan song does, LOL
Oh yeah this is supposed to be a review of an album by R.F. Adams. The more popular songs, "New York New York" and "When the Stars Go Blue" lack impact and, overall, the lyrics on this album don't get me excited. The playing on some of the less popular songs is enjoyable. For example "Gonna Make You Love Me" and the bonus track "Rosalie Come and Go" are good little jams. "Nobody Knows" and "Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues" are also good and are the two songs where C.C. White sings.
Sex Pistols
4/5
The typical middle aged Londoner's renowned stiff upper lip must have stiffened to the point of shattering when they first heard the Sex Pistols.
They didn't know how to play but nobody cared. Musicianship wasn't the primary (or secondary) selling point. They were all about stirring things up and with their one album they succeeded. Talk about bang for the buck.
Julian Cope
3/5
I've always had a soft spot for wingnut lefties, especially when I have a pause button.
Nick Drake
3/5
I expect this guy has lots of fans. The lyrics I could figure out are quite good and he sings from the heart. With folk music, the music is typically nothing to write home about. The lyrics are the main event so the music can't be too interruptive. I find the music often is too interruptive on this album. If I had lots of time to listen to this, then the lyrics might get me there, but after listening to this twice, I only know what two songs are about. I haven't invested the time to really figure out the lyrics so can't get to a higher rating.
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
I guess it’s not bad as far as punk music that was released 20 years after punk started. But it’s still punk released 20 years after punk started. Sex Pistols 1) couldn’t really play but 2) they were relevant. These guys meet just one of the two. I feel charitable giving a 3 but it sounds like they did some fun stuff in concert.
Pixies
4/5
A good amount of energy and attitude make this a winner.
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
The album that makes me ask: "Whatever happened to all that hippie shit?"
Brian Eno
4/5
This is a wild album. Eno has a knack for the bizarre while Byrne had just recorded Zimbra. You can hear both their contributions and they worked very well together. I wish Eno would have focussed on having his music on albums like this rather than on side 2 of Heroes. It fits so much better here.
I quite like what would have been side 1 (the first 5 songs incl the one Spotify hid) and also like Moonlight in Glory. The remaining songs were hit and miss for me but that comes with the territory with music that is a little out there.
1/5
Per Wiki notes, the band's ambition was to create music that was more sophisticated but still had some attitude.
Grade: F.
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
I can't put it in words but there's something about the singing style in Senegalese music that is quite soothing. He sings this way and is also able to hit notes in an expanded range. My favourite bits are songs with the traditional African guitar melodies as in Taaw. While this album has lovely percussion throughout, the album doesn't hit its potential since the production doesn't do justice. I need to use my imagination to think how amazing his singing on Pitche Mi must be live or with recording / producing capabilities from even 10 - 20 years later.
I quite like Senegalese music and would have a 5 for music from that country but I feel like I'm rounding up here.
The Undertones
3/5
So-called pop punk was a necessary tweak to keep punk going. You can only make angry, face spitting music for so long. The mid 70s recession had gone and by 1979 Thatcher was Prime Minister and the weary Sex Pistols fans stopped hitting the streets to burn shit and started to pop pills instead. The time was right for pop punk!
This sub-genre of punk is probably the one I know best. A lot of my favourite bands like The Police, The Jam, The Pretenders, Joe Jackson were part of this and were getting traction in 1979. The Clash had been around for the angry years but they were getting more traction than ever as they embraced pop punk.
I like the Undertones and the genre but the bands I note above will get the 4s and 5s. The Undertones are a few floors below.
Barry Adamson
2/5
So he wrote a sound track to a movie that was a figment of his imagination. imo, that means he should go on a vacation to a place where all the people he talks with will be wearing lab coats.
The Boo Radleys
3/5
Time was not my friend. I only half listened to this. I thought it was OK.
Elliott Smith
4/5
Brilliant lyricists who are arrogant or crass are irritating but are accepted because it often comes with the territory and we just have to take the good with the bad. Every so often we are graced with an artist like Elliott Smith who was a powerful lyricist and was also humble. When he is upset at someone he was in a relationship with he doesn't say "You ain't nothing but a hound dog". Rather, he uses the cultivated and more powerful insult: "You're just somebody that I used to know."
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
I used to listen to this band and had one of their albums back in the day. I probably would not have ever looked them up to listen again. Not that I disliked them. They were a product of their time and were influenced by 60s and 70s rock and roll as well as late 70s punk. They produced a decent sound and generated some excitement but not enough to get to the next level.
Pixies
4/5
In yesterday's review of Jesus and Mary Chain I said they generated some excitement but not enough to get to the next level. This Pixes album has the level of excitement that JMC did not have. This album is also better than their first.
Don McLean
3/5
The title track is a beast. It made it to and had a long stay on the charts which is quite an accomplishment given how long it is. On the single, half the song was put on each side.
There is lots written about the meaning of the lyrics. We all know what "the day the music died" refers to but there are all kinds of other gems like "No angel born in Hell Could break that Satan's spell" refers to the Stones' concert at Altamont where the Hell's Angels were hired as "security" and ended up killing a black guy while the band played Sympathy for the Devil.
The album falls off a cliff after the excellent opening song. The lyrics are good but the songs lack the melodies that also define the title track. Everybody Loves Me Baby livens things up a bit but it was a long wait.
Travis
2/5
I found this hard to get into. I'm not sure what the attraction is.
New Order
3/5
I kinda like New Order but this album isn't the NO stuff that interests me. After the album ended Spotifiy segued to their song Shellshock which is more my New Order sweet spot.
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
I didn't get much of a chance to listen. I was expecting to really like the offering but found it just OK
Otis Redding
4/5
I find listening to a full album of soul is often difficult even with excellent signers. This album didn’t have that problem since there's a lot of diversity both in tempo and his vocal ranges.
It’s mostly covers but that was the era. It’s interesting that one of the few originals is Respect which is the song that is perhaps best known for the cover Aretha Franklin later did. I remember the Stones covering “I’ve been loving you too long” on a terribly mixed recording that was their first live album. It’s interesting that the Stones cover of Otis and Otis’ cover of Satisfaction came so soon after the originals were released. Did they do a pinky swear? Damn his version of Satisfaction is good.
The Specials
3/5
This album was a lot of fun.
Crowded House
2/5
The goal seems to be to rely on the harmonies to carry the band but this just doesn't work. The fades on "Chocolate Cake" and "Weather With You" simply repeat the chorus over and over. It's like they ran out of ideas. There is some very capable harmonica playing on Chocolate Cake and There Goes God but it's lost on this album. Italian Plastic is kinda fun but it's too late. The reliance on harmonies to carry the load results in a collection of dull weenie songs.
Cypress Hill
3/5
I'm tapping out. I just don't low rap well enough to know how important this was or wasn't.
TV On The Radio
5/5
This album has brilliant and moving lyrics that explore our values (or lack thereof). Family Tree is a tragic love song about a black / white relationship. The image of a black person (the black woman in this case?) hanging from a tree is a powerful depiction of society's character defects. Dylan used this image in the opening verse of Desolation Row.
I also like the experiments with noise such as at the end of Shout Me Out and, to a lesser extent, Crying. The percussion is also very good and carries the melody in DLZ which is one of the best songs on the album.
PJ Harvey
4/5
The transition from near whispering quiet to in your face loud really works on Rid of Me. This is reminiscent of the low to loud technique the Butthole Surfers used on their Locust Abortion Technician album. I hear that in the late 80s PJ worked as a mantis abortion technician so it's no surprise that she would be drawn to that B Surfer's album for inspiration.
It's great that the App sent us her albums in order. Rid if Me is better than Dry. The only real personnel change is that Albini produced it. I thought this really worked but Albini never produced for her again and she had a wholesale change of bandmates for her next album. Not sure why such major changes were needed but her third album is even better than this one.
The Young Rascals
2/5
I’m sure their parents and girlfriends at the time would say they were just as good as The Beatles but couldn’t get a fair shake since they weren’t from England.
Yeah right.
Jamiroquai
4/5
The funky soul tunes remind me of a refreshed Stevie Wonder and the jazz tunes show that the band knows how to play. They play a wide range of styles and even mix some disco in with funk in Revolution 1993 and, I hate to say it, but I like the disco bit too.
The Byrds
2/5
A Byrds album without Eight Miles High and Mr. Y Man isn't so interesting.
Suede
2/5
The album art is as good as the last Suede album we reviewed as we have moved from a photo of a guy's arse to some lebanese smooching. Musically, I think a little less of this one than I did of the first Suede offering. There are a few OK tunes but not much to get excited about.
Tim Buckley
3/5
I guess there was a lot of folk music in the 60s. I like the songs that have the jazzy electric guitar playing quietly. The rest of the songs sound like more folk songs from the 60s
Tricky
4/5
I like how this album moves and grooves. The percussion is consistently good throughout. Black Steel mixes in some really cool fuzzy guitar work. The guitar on that tune is credited to FTV. Hummm, that clarifies.
The flute is a peculiar instrument. It pops its head up on select albums from time to time, hangs around for one song and then returns to hibernation. Its cameo on Aftermath is quite good.
Sonic Youth
3/5
That was good early 90s heavy guitar oriented attitude
Morrissey
3/5
Morrissey has a distinctive voice. I quite liked it at first but by the time the Smiths were done, his voice was starting to wear on me. Some of the louder songs such as Glamorous Glue and The National Front Disco are enjoyable partly since the heavier sound is different for him and done well but also since the louder music disguises his voice.
The National
2/5
The first couple of songs are hard to get into. The third song (Percussion Ghosts) has percussion beats that make it interesting but I find most of this album challenging.
The Monks
4/5
Songs from albums released in 1966 that the App has sent us include Scarborough Fair, God Only Knows and California Dreamin' and we add to the 1966 class list I Hate You from The Monks. As they used to sing on Sesame Street: "One of these things just doesn't belong."
I can't believe The Monks made music like this in 1966.The only thing harder to believe is that Polydor signed them. How could anyone think that shit kicking music like this was going to sell back then?
I Hate You was on The Big Lebowski soundtrack. If The Dude likes this it is no surprise he hates the fuckin Eagles.
Van Halen
1/5
Eddie is a decent guitar player but no guitarist is good enough to carry these songs. Jump is OK but the rest of the songs define obtuse. (And no Less Nessman, I don't mean rounded at the end.) At least the last Van Halen album we were sent had two well written songs - being the two songs they covered.
3/5
Another I had just half listened to so will give a rating based on little thought.
Erykah Badu
3/5
It starts off with a 60s throwback sound to it. Didn't Cha Know is a lovely soulful album that has a good sway to it.
I like this Ok but it's not the type of music that can keep my attention for too long
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
Some of the loud experiments bordered on irritating but most of it was OK.
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
Johnny Rotten lives! This one certainly isn't as well known as the SP's only LP. After all the aggravation getting the SP's album done this must have seemed like a cakewalk. I quite like it.
Gorillaz
4/5
I didn’t get a chance to listen but a friend I work with at the Food Bank said it was her favourite album. Also it’s the only band the App sent that my son Dylan went to see in concert without me. Prob not the best rating analysis but 4 it is.
Garbage
3/5
I didn’t know the band well but when I saw the name I didn’t think I liked them. Perhaps it was their later music that I didn’t like or it might also be that the name of the band doesn’t help with first impressions. They're leading with their chin in that regard.
Anyway this was a decent listen.
Sent from my iPhone
Les Rythmes Digitales
2/5
This album was kinda fun but in a lame and mindless way. Music Makes You Lose Control reminds me of Devo.
The album quickly got repetitive and at the end of the day I felt no great need to seek out the four songs that Spotify didn't offer. Eight songs was enough.
The Divine Comedy
1/5
The "crooners with a dreary orchestral background" genre is the last genre that needs to be revisited. Overall I wasn't a fan of the 60s / 70s recordings that were this style. I do enjoy some of those older recordings where the singer was something special but this genre got very tired by the mid 70s and Burt Bacharach et al. were handed their fedora and shown the door. By the late 90s the genre went from being tired to being boring.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Leonard never was the most photogenic guy around but his banana photo sure does work.
This album was a continuation of Leonard trying to freshen up his sound. This and Various Positions are the two original studio albums of his that I played the most. So I guess that means the fresh sound worked for me although I never really liked First We Take Manhattan and Jazz Police which are the most freshened up.
There are some monster songs on here. Everybody Knows, I’m Your Man and Tower of Song are classics and showcase his sense of humour. The best lyrics from a purely artistic sense are in Take This Waltz. It’s the masterpiece on this album.
Tom Waits
4/5
Truth be told: I'm a big fan of his Tom and piano style. He is such a good storyteller and this is less conducive with the louder style although he nails the storytelling on ballads like In The Neighbourhood where the piano is replaced with horns, etc.
The album is very good and he has some classic songs with this louder experimental style. I guess he couldn't do only Tom and Piano forever. This is a good transition album but the 5s are reserved for Tom and his piano.
Mj Cole
2/5
I can imagine enjoying this if played very loud while in a substance induced state of cheerfulness that, to the naked eye, appeared to be melancholy. Since I'm never in that state, I have to consider my actual enjoyment level and it is far lower than my hypothetical enjoyment level. The reality is that the high pitched vocals stay in that lane for too long and make me worry that actual melancholy might occur if I don't turn the darn thing off. The dub stuff is fun though
Songhoy Blues
5/5
Not sure how many others could say this and mean it, but I'm a big fan of the Timbuktu music scene. I'm serious! Ali Farka Touré, an amazing guitar player, is also from the Timbuktu region. He got his university degree in Music from Timbuk U. (OK that's a joke.)
It doesn't say if Songhoy Blues guitarist Garba Touré is related to Ali Farka Touré. He's not related to the other Touré's in the band so perhaps it's a coincidence. I like how the band has refreshed the dessert blues sound that Ali Farka Touré and others introduced outside of Mali. They have modernized the sound but kept the traditional guitar licks and style and also play the n'goni - a stringed instrument that marries so well with the guitar licks.
Fugazi
3/5
This likability of this was on the cusp and went back and forth from being noise I like. The cusp dwellers get 3 at the most.
Eminem
1/5
Thanks to these Eminem clowns, I'm no longer a glass half full guy.
I had a 30 minute drive so thought I'd start listening to this in the car. Quick search for Marshall Mathers and hit play. As expected, shitty rap made by dumb ass white guys wasn't doing it for me. I took a quick look and saw the playing time was north of 70 minutes. Sometimes with 1001 you just have to do the hard time and hope it passes quickly. I get through 8 songs and later at home flip the album on Spotify to finish my sentence.
But - something's wrong. I notice the playing time is a little less than what I was playing in the car. It was a 78 min album in the car and a 72 min album at home. I'm confused.
The unfortunate explanation for my confusion is that there is another Eminem album called The Marshall Mathers LP 2 and I mistakenly listened to 30 minutes of the wrong Marshall Mathers album. The horror! If you thought 72 minutes of this shit was heavy lifting, try 102 minutes. The glass half full guy I was until today might say: "Hey I could have listened to the full Marshall Mathers 2 album before finding out," but no, I can't be that person today. Those extra 30 minutes were too painful. My glass is half empty.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Our first album that was pulled from Spotify for Rogan reasons! It was easy to find a version that didn't result in her getting royalties from Spotify. I doubt she will need to hit the Food Bank anytime soon. Ahh, to be a jacuzzi socialist.
There are some good songs on this album. Carey is a classic. Funny thing is I know This Flight Tonight because some dinosaur band whose name I can't remember did a cover that was massively overplayed decades ago.
I appreciate that she can sing very well and hits some notes that few others can. Truth be told, I don't like the sound of anyone singing at that atmosphere. I'm not sure how many albums she has in the 1001 but I feel I should give one of her albums a rating above 3. Blue seems to be the logical choice given that Rolling Stone gave this 3rd best album of all time,
Pretenders
5/5
Brass in Pocket was a good hit with lyrics that weren't serious but Chrissie shows that she is good at dealing with tricky topics. Kid is a conversation a mother has with her child when the child finds out her mother is a prostitute.
It's a solid album top to bottom. Quite the debut. The two songs that start w a P are fab. Private Life is great instrumentally. Precious is the song I most identify with Chrissie Hynde. Full of confidence, edge, spunk and don't fuck with me attitude. I'm precious . . . fuck off!
Donovan
3/5
Cool to see that Bobby Orr played the drums on Sunshine Superman. Who knew ole #4 knew how to hammer the tubs. Another proud moment for Parry Sound. I guess he had to give up drumming when he started with the Bruins later in 1966.
When Sunshine Superman started I was wondering if I mistakenly started to play an Austin Powers movie. If I were 20 years old when this was released and a cutie with a peace symbol embroidered on her shirt said she liked the song, I would probably agree, but it doesn't sound so special anymore.
The second song is lame and had me worried the rest of the album would be torture. I'm glad to say I was wrong. Some of the later songs pleasantly surprised me. There is some cool percussion and sitar on Three King Fishers and Ferris Wheel as Donovan picked up the musical trends of the day. Also, Season of the Witch is a good guitar driven tune.
Donovan was picked on back in the day for copying rather than setting the trends. The sitar on this album exemplifies that since it's a year after Norwegian Wood. Many say the early bird gets the worm. While that may be true, it's also true that the second mouse gets the cheese and Donovan got a belly full of Anster.
Spacemen 3
3/5
This album was putting me to sleep until song 5. Revolution did wake me up and was a good dose of noise with excellent bass lines. Suicide is also quite good and would be excellent for an escape scene in an action movie.
The original album has nine songs. Once these songs are out of the way, the music is better. There are some gems in the three bonus songs and the 2nd disc. For example, the cover of "May the Circle . . .”and both the alternate and live versions of Suicide are quite good as are some others on disc 2. Why didn’t these songs make it to the main card?
I should be rating this 2. If I make my own 45 min. album with greatest hits from both discs I get to a 3. Holy too generous Batman.
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
The two most popular positives people say for this album are that it was rap that folks in the suburbs liked and that Aerosmith was on the album. I think of those as the two biggest negatives.
I guess there is some guitar playing and it’s interesting to have that fused with hip-hop
Morrissey
2/5
There are some songs on this album that I would like if someone else sang them. In my review of the last Morrissey solo album we were sent, I said his voice had worn on me by the time the Smiths blew up. Getting another Morrissey solo album so soon after the first is like rubbing vinegar in the wound. No way this brother should have two solo albums in the 1001. If he has a third it's getting a 1.
William Orbit
4/5
I quite liked this one. The ambient stuff has a good groove and when they kick it up a notch it really moves. Good to see Beth Orton singing on this album. She has had special guest appearances on a number of the albums on the 1001.
Liz Phair
3/5
There are a number of decent songs on this. The first 5 come to mind. After that it's hit and miss. It would be higher rated if they had culled some of the filler rather than making a 56 min album. The indie stuff had a role in the music scene but some of it is boring.
Coldplay
2/5
I will risk being called a math nerd but I need to use that side of the brain to try to show why the number of Coldplay listens on Spotify is so confusing. So - some simple math. On Spotify The Scientist has 1.2 billion - that's with a B - listens. That's more than 15% of the world's population. I can't believe more than 1 in 10 people want to hear this song. But wait - it's far worse! Spotify has only 200 million subscribers. So on average, each Spotify subscriber has listened to this song six times and if only 5% of subscribers (being 10 million which sounds way too high) actually like - and listen to - this song, then those soup lovers have listened to this 120 times each. Why would anyone do that? Who are these people? Do you know any? I know none of my friends listen to it. Ditto for my enemies. But those people must exist. There can't be just one Gen Yer playing it over and over 24 hours per day.
Gillian Welch
3/5
Her voice is very soothing. Perhaps her voice being so fragile necessitates the music being scant. Keith Moon attacking the drum kit just wouldn't work. Regardless, Mr. Rawlings is very capable picking the 6 strings.
I don't really know her music except for the gospel song "I'll Fly Away" which she sang as a duet with Alison Krause on the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack.
Björk
3/5
The album is decent but her voice is starting to get to me. I appreciate the notes she can hit but it’s still getting to me.
Iron Butterfly
4/5
In grade 5 Anthony Parry's sister got this album on release. I remember we were locked out of his house one day after school and were climbing in through an unlocked window since we knew we would have the stereo, and her albums, all to ourselves. One of the neighbours saw us and called the cops so we ended up in handcuffs until they connected with his parents to confirm we were not robbers.
Back then we were so intrigued by the psychedelic bands. Iron Butterfly had that hippie cool look and everyone's parents hated that look and didn't like the music. Also, the cover was so cool and they had just one song on Side 2. These added to the magic. Parry and I were a couple of wide eyed 10 year olds and probably scratched the hell out of side 2.
Rating this one is tricky. Most psychedelic albums haven't aged well. This aged better than average but still . . . . On the other hand it was certainly influential. First the organ playing influenced the sound of many bands (like Deep Purple and Yes) over the next few years and into the 70s. Iron Butterfly helped the momentum of this but arguably was not the trailblazer since Ray Manzarek was already moving the organ to a place of prominence by 1968. Songs like "Are You Happy" were also influential for the heavy rock to come but again Hendrix was already doing this. On the negative side, I think drum solos are pompous and I worry the 2+ min drum solo on Side 2 might have made them common place. The solo does have an African influence -some say influenced by Missa Luba who I quite like. This which reduces the drum solo pain.
Anyway, for old time's sake I'll give +1.
John Cale
3/5
I really want to like this album. Velvet Underground were the shit and Lou Reed's post VU was also great. While I'm not crazy about John Cale's voice, he did the seminal cover version of Cohen's Hallelujah including three verses that Leonard had sung live but had not released. As much as I want to like Paris 1919, I have a hard time saying this is much more than OK. Andalusia is a pretty song and the asskicking Rock and Roll song MacBeth is also good. (I guess this one needed to be the last song on the side since it is so explosively different from the rest of the songs.) I like the arrangement on the song Paris 1919 and if I could listen to it enough to figure out what his message is on the Treaty of Versailles, it might be top shelf. Ditto Child's Christmas in Wales if I could figure out what his message is on - Christmas? The lyrics are quite cryptic and if I listened to it more, I'm sure it would grow on me. But for now . . .
The Stooges
3/5
I could go three for the music plug hand +2 for the energy level but I think I’ve previously given him enough pluses for energy
The Pretty Things
3/5
I had an awareness of this band for two reasons. First, I heard the claim that the album gave Pete the rock opera idea that resulted in Tommy. That claim was rubbish. Pete had composed A Quick One, While He's Away, a mini rock opera that was released two years earlier and moreover on Rael (the last song on The Who Sell Out released in 1967) one of the musical themes from Tommy appears around the 3 1/2 minute mark. Both these facts show that Pete was all over the idea of rock operas and specifically Tommy long before SF Sorrow came along.
The second reason I was aware of The Pretty Boys was that Bowie covered a couple of their songs on his Pin Ups LP, which was an album that comprised covers of the songs that influenced him in the early days - I'm one of the few who had that one.
SF Sorrow is OK. It's quite a change from their previous albums and I prefer their earlier stuff which, btw, is the stuff Bowie covered. I doubt there will be another album by these brothers on the 1001 so I won't rate it below 3 given the influence the band's earlier music had on HIM.
Billie Holiday
4/5
I liked this more than the Ella / Gershwin album. I found the orchestration less interruptive. I understand that her voice was no longer hitting the range it did earlier but it is still mighty fine. So my obvious question: Why were these later orchestration versions of Billie (and Ella) included in the 1001. I would much rather listen to Billie with Oscar Peterson tapping the 88 keys.
Tina Turner
2/5
This album is a little too commercial for my liking. 1984 was prime time for Prince, The Smiths, Talking Heads, The Police, Eurythmics and others so there were lots of quality influences for someone looking to make a crossover. I'm glad that she was able to make some money at an age when breakthroughs aren't typical and I guess making a formula album was the ticket. If you don’t write your own music you need to take direction from whoever steps up to manage and fund the LP.
She certainly knows how to sing. I'm impressed with her vocals on Let's Stay Together. Given how amazing Al Green sings the original very few will be brave enough to try to cover it. She pulls it off no problem. The vocals on Private Dancer start flat but come around by the end. The cover of Help is an interesting take and the sax solo is a neat touch.
Aside from the fact Private Dancer was released in 1984, I can’t understand why she covered Bowie's song 1984. It’s not a good take and she didn't add anything interesting to it. I guess this was around the time she recorded her duet with him on Tonight. Her vocals on Tonight were quite good although they were mixed into the background in his studio album. Check out the version on Tina Live which is true co-lead vocals with HIM.
The Beatles and Al Green cover are good but otherwise the album is lame probably because the programmed percussion and synths are kinda cheesy.
Beatles
5/5
I like how on the cover and John is always looking down at you regardless of where you hold it.
This was released around my 5th birthday and Michelle got a lot of airplay. I remember someone who was six at the time running around the house singing "Michel Gravelle . . ."
It was a very influential album that brought the Beatles to their next level. I even have accolades for one of Paul's songs. Drive My Car is quite good and included Ringo doing some creative drumming that he usually saved for John's songs. My favourites: Nowhere Man, In My Life, Girl and Norwegian Wood. There really aren't any songs not to like. OK, perhaps one exception. I recall when an interviewer asked John about Run For Your Life and he said "I always hated that song". If he says so.
On Girl, John put the capo on the 8th fret which is unheard of. Check it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPYXC-CtU5A To top it off he plays a barre chord that far up the neck which is near impossible. The only other song I know with a capo anywhere near that far up is Sound of Silence which has it at the 6th.
Afrika Bambaataa
3/5
I enjoyed this one. The hip hop and electronica fusion works. Of interest is that I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it in 1986. I'll say my music taste has progressed although some might say the opposite.
Drive-By Truckers
4/5
A country rock opera? I called bullshit on SF Sorrow influencing Pete Townshend's Tommy but am glad to let SF Sorrow take the credit for influencing this one. lol
It's long so I only listened to it once and didn't have time to sort through the lyrics. There is a lot of good jamming and some good ole southern harmonies. Very guitar dominated rock but with messy long sleeve shirts rather than messy long hair.
The Police
5/5
You could gain a great amount of knowledge by reading up on the topics Sting refers to in his songs. Contrast this to the amount you might learn from reading up on things David Lee Roth mentions in his lyrics: "Might as well Jump!" Draw your own conclusion from the fact that the Van Halen LP with "Jump" sold more copies in the US than Synchronicity did. At least Syncro outsold it in Canada - Eh!
Tea in the Sahara is based on the novel "The Sheltering Sky". Sting is very much the intellectual and used this LP to remind everyone that he is. He mentions Mephistopheles, Scylla and Charibdes - and that name dropping is from just one song. The name of the album (and title song(s)) also show his knowledge of psychiatry and psychology (or some may say fringe psychology). This was the only of the five Police LPs that included a lyric sheet. I recall Sting saying lyric sheets were pompous. He must have hoped that some listeners might want to find out who Scylla and Charibdes were and knew that it would be near imposssible to find anything without the proper spelling back in the pre-internet pre-spell check days.
I prefer Side 1 which is bookended by the two Synchronicity tunes. Walking . . . and Oh My God are two other gems that fill in the middle of Side 1. Miss Gradenko is Stuart's contribution and is easy to like since Ringo trained us to listen to the drummer's song, politely clap and move on. Andy's song "Mother" is hideous but I guess they had to give him his three minutes. When you hear the haunting and creatively avant garde guitar he laid down on Tea In the Sahara you realize you must take the good with the bad.
Side 2 starts with Every Breath . . . the monster hit which imo is not as strong as Syncr II - but hey it sold a shit whack of records and is probably the best known Police song. Side 2 has the two other big hits and ends with what is probably my favourite song on the album: Tea in the Sahara - or at least my vinyl ended with that. It's nice to see Murder By Numbers included in the re-release. That was a pretty good song to be excluded from the album. Leaving that song off and including Mother must have driven Sting bee-shit crazy.
Sonic Youth
3/5
The first song sounds a little mellow for these guys but by the second song things were much more Sonic Youth like.
Par for the course for these lads.
Sam Cooke
4/5
Sam is a mighty fine musician and from what we can hear on this nine an excellent performer. We did lose him way too early.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
Pet Shop Boys was a band that wasn't that good but they had a trendy sound. For this album they decided they didn't want to have the trendy sound anymore so all that's left is a band that wasn't that good.
Mike Ladd
3/5
So he is fusing hip hop and avant-garde. I guess someone had to try it but I'm not sure the experiment paid off. Did it?
Yes
3/5
There are some fine songs on this but the band hasn't really hit their stride yet imo. Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround and Heart of Sunrise are quite good. Back in the day I recall Howe's use of harmonics at the beginning of Roundabout had everyone awe struck. They aren't really hard to play especially if you have the luxury of multiple takes. Nonetheless they sure were fun. If this was the first rock recording then it's quite the legacy since they continued for many years - e.g. at the start of Neil's Harvest Moon.
Rick Wakeman doesn't take long to make his presence known with the excellent keyboards jumping in in the first minute of Roundabout and his solo around the 6 minute mark. As much as I liked Wakeman's keyboards on Life on Mars, he was much more in his element with Yes and Bowie was arguably better served by Mike Garson. Nice to see a win win.
Like Wakeman, Howe and Squires are quite capable players. Squires shows this on Long Distance Runaround and elsewhere. Heart of Sunrise starts great but they seem to go back to the well on the one cool riff about twenty times too many resulting in the three minute into being 2 1/2 minutes too long.
I prefer Yes' post Bruford era since Alan White hit the drums very well. I never really liked Anderson's high pitched voice. It seemed to fit with the prog rock of the day but it's kinda irritating.
Cheap Trick
1/5
There was a certain consumerism magic about Japan in the mid to late 70s. All the trinkets sold in dollar stores said "made in Japan" rather than "made in China'', the energy crisis had people turning away from the North American gas guzzlers and buying Honda Civics, and the most sought after Beatles bootleg was called "Five Nights in a Judo arena" which was also recorded at Budokan. Cheap Trick's live album was perfectly timed to benefit from the thirst for all things from Japan. Too bad the album sucks.
The Human League
4/5
For Christmas one year didn't George Costanza hand out cards that said "A donation in your name has been made to The Human League."
Anyway, "Don't You Want Me" sure was a kick ass song. It was played like crazy during university but I'm still not sick of it. Some of this album sounds a tad dated now but it sure was cool back in the day. Another notch in Virgin's pistol.
Janelle Monáe
4/5
During the first song I was worried we had another offering from the "soundtrack without a movie" genre. After hearing Barry Adamason's Moss Side Story, I thought that one offering from this "genre" was one too many.
Once the Suite II Overture is over the album picks up with Dance or Die and some lovely melodic R&B and other adventurous fusions. Cold War and Tightrope and others are all quite good. The album does drift in and out of the "soundtrack without a movie" genre but generally stays strong.
Franz Ferdinand
3/5
When the tempo picks up half a min into the album it gets the toes tapping. It's decent and the single is good but there is not enough excitement to keep my interest.
I saw U2 at Skydome with the roof open. To be sure there was no doubt about how rich and how famous they were, lights bordering the elevator banks on the CN Tower lit up at the exact time the chorus of Elevation started. Did I forget to mention that I was impressed?
I rated Joshua Tree a 1 since it was such a let down. U2's first three albums delivered a ground breaking sound and they had so much promise which is what made Joshua Tree such a let down. By the time "All that you . . . " was released I was well beyond being let down by U2. This is another middle of the road album made by four gazillionaires that were previously ground breaking. Not a let down; it delivered what was expected.
David Holmes
3/5
There is some interesting stuff on this but also some questionable stuff. Like why sample the James Bond soundtrack?
Anyway, kinda fun
Bob Dylan
5/5
Well over two decades ago was the night that caused my hearing problems. There was a fabulous show upstairs at the El Mocambo that evening. My ears were rInging for two weeks after that show and the moment when they started ringing was during the song Absolutely Sweet Marie and more specifically when the lyrics "to live outside the law you must be honest - Dawlin!" were whaled into the mic and the inbred drummer thrashed the cymbal with superhuman strength - he was trying to show his manliness since he was quite obviously sweet on my friend Julie - a fact which her husband found more entertaining than the concert.
No it wasn't a Dylan concert. It also wasn't George Harrison's much better known but painfully boring cover version. It was none other than Jason and the Scorchers. My brother probably doesn't remember sending me a tape of Jason's music during university and probably hasn't thought about that band for decades. I, on the other hand, think of the band every time I say "pardon". If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't change a thing
We've had so many Dylan albums I really didn't think I had a five left for him, but I dug one up thanks to Jason, Warner and the inbred drummer.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
I was never a fan of Family Affair so the biggie on this album was a negative. It moved well enough as one would expect from Sly but it wasn't as good as the last Sly offering.
Television
4/5
I like the Wiki notes about the debate on what genre this is. Basically, the argument is they can't be punk since they actually know how to sing and play their instruments. Too funny. To that point, the guitar playing - both solos and particularly the rhythm on the title track - is strong. I have a soft spot for punk from the CBGB days and might rate this higher if they didn't play so well. lol
Beastie Boys
1/5
These days I'm not the type who would be labelled "woke" and I expect I was less politically correct in 1986. Still, I would not have floated the original album title. I don't get it. Stories like this dilute whatever positive impressions I had for these guys and I didn't have that many positive ones to start with.
Astor Piazzolla
2/5
Once the second song starts it's clear the musicians know how to play and if there's any doubt, the title track reinforces the point.
I guess I'm glad someone had the skills to make this and I'm sure there are those who really like the music. For me, I quite like it if one song featuring a vibraphone is mixed into an album but a whole album of it is a little hard to listen to.
Radiohead
3/5
I didn't closely follow Radiohead but I liked what I knew. I was a little surprised with how ambient this was. I was anticipating more songs that were heavy like Bodysnatchers is. Second listen was better since I knew what was coming.
Talk Talk
3/5
They have the sound that use to be really cool back in the day. As far as aging well goes, this is neither the best nor the worst.
When the album finished, Spotify’s algo flipped me to Wang Chung’s Dance Hall Days. There’s a band I would have never thought about again. I could probably say the same about Talk Talk but it was a fun listen in a nostalgic way.
Neil Young
5/5
This might be my favourite Neil album. I'm kinda glad he is off Spotify since it motivated me to dig up the vinyl, which is still in quite good shape, along with the hand written lyrics sheet.
Heart of Gold is a great song and may be his best selling but I think the title track with its cryptic and terribly personal lyrics is perhaps his best song ever. Harvest is also the song from this LP that I play even though Heart Of Gold is much easier. I quite like the Stray Gators so "Are You ready for the Country" is another highlight.
No disrespect for the LSO but the LP's only real negatives are the two songs that feature the LSO. "A Man Needs A Maid" is easy not to like even before you hear it since the title is so outdated - it was already outdated on release. If you check out the sans LSO version on his Massey Hall album, recorded before Harvest was released, the song is much easier to enjoy as it is very simple with just Neil and his piano.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River and Cowgirl are three monster songs and are so good that the rest of the tracks could be Justin Bieber songs and the LP would still get a 5.
Now I'll digress: In 1985 I saw Neil during the Canadian National Exhibition. He was touring in support of his Old Ways LP, a country album that nobody bought. He had a 500 lb fiddler who easily bowed his weight and lit up the country songs. As soon as we heard the opening chords to Down by the River, my buddy Rick (RIP) and I immediately thought the same thing: What on earth is the 500 lb fiddler going to do during this song? We quickly concluded the best bet was that he would skip out to the CNE's Food Building; after all he had a good 15 minutes. But nooooo. He stayed on stage and bowed something that wasn't too interruptive while the rest of the boys kicked it hard.
Röyksopp
3/5
I often complain about Burt Baccarat songs but the first song will be an exception. I guess I just don't dig the songs that are played the way he intended them to be played. The album has its highlights but lacks consistency. Both times I played it I really like the songs that the Spotify algo played after this album finished. This album is really good for segue purposes but that's a backhanded compliment rather than a reason for +1.
The xx
3/5
There were a few songs like Crystalised and Intro that have tempo and are really good. On the other hand the ambient songs are not so interesting and there sure are a lot of them.
MC Solaar
3/5
An album of rapping in French made it to the 1001. Who knew? I don't understand the lyrics but I doubt they are a translation of "bitch", "ho" and the N word. It sounds a tad more sophisticated. There is also a jazzy sound to some of the songs that makes it cool and and Ragga Jam sounds like Eek-A-Mouse. Remember him? This is enough to get it to at least a 3.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
The funky songs on this album are among his best. One is Living for the City but the best example is Higher Ground which is also the name of my favourite radio show.
DJ Shadow
4/5
My son saw DJ Shadow at the Music Hall and gave me an intro. DJS's ability to weave together all these samples is remarkable. I guess a personal collection of 60,000 records is the enabler that makes this possible. I like how eclectic this album is and the continual shifting of gears makes each song a new adventure and keeps the excitement level up.
Talking Heads
5/5
I Zimbra from Fear of Music was the first step towards the band's next level and set the tone for what was possible. Remain in Light delivered this next level.
The quality falls on the last half of Side 2 but the rest is magical. Adrian Belou delivers wonderful licks
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
I had this CDE on release. It was one of the sidetracks I was on when I was expanding the countries I was following musically. I really liked it on release but it actually seems less impressive now.
Hanoi Rocks
4/5
Normally I wouldn't give the time of day to heavy guitar oriented rock from the early 80s but something about this caught my interest. At the end of the day I'm happy Spotify had only half the tunes available since I would have likely got bored if I had to listen to an hour of this.
Hole
3/5
In the mid 90s I would say out loud that it was funny how the quality of Courtney's music went downhill after her ghostwriter offed himself.
Plus 1 for my being so insensitive back in the day but even with the +1 . . .
Dolly Parton
3/5
Dolly Parton is one of those artists I want to like. I like her story and the title track is sweet and full of love. I just can't get into her but I also can't give her less than a 3.
Patti Smith
4/5
Pattis is a cool artists who actually cares. She was quite influential on, many artists I really like such as PJ Harvey. The punk OGs like the Ramones were also influenced by her but it's not like this album and the Ramones had the same sound. Not even close.
This is an excellent debut album.
Tortoise
3/5
It would be so easy to say "post rock's not my genre", give it a 1 and move on but I sense that if I listened to this more I might find something pretty cool going on here. On the other hand, I might find that it's a complete snoozefest. I'll listen to this again sometime and, who knows, I might even end up forming a point of view. Until then, 3
--
The Velvet Underground
5/5
I've heard that in Waiting for my Man he described perfectly the attire of the late 60s heroin dealer '' ... he's all dressed in black; PR shoes and really big straw hat." (PR is short for PRFCs meaning Puerto Rican Fence Climbers - shoes with a narrow point that enable fence climbing if needed to make a quick exit.) The next lines in that song tell how dealers are always late (another very accurate comment - or so I've heard): "He's never early; he's always late. The first thing you learn is that you always gotta wait"
My favourite song is Heroin. Both these addiction songs are anti-drug but even mentioning drugs was enough to get the stations to ban the songs.
While my personal favourites are the addiction songs, the album also has songs with transgender and kink themes. More excellent topics to generate radio play lol.
I like the Eno quote that the album sold hardly any copies but everyone who bought it started a band.
Magazine
4/5
The keyboards on Definitive Gaze remind me of Tony Banks playing around that time. This band plays well together
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
This would be a tough album to make given the success of Rumours. Looking for a different sound was probably the right decision so they would avoid falling into the formulaic music trap. The album is good but it is certainly not the type of album that would get a lot of airplay at house parties in the late 70s. It just didn't have the magic that Rumours and the preceding Fleetwood Max album had.
Grateful Dead
3/5
This is the first time I ever listened to a Grateful Dead album. I find that shocking since they are a well known band with lots of die hard fans. In fact I just met someone last week who talked about a vacation in the 90s when he went to a number of Grateful Dead shows.
I previously said that it's hard to like more than a handful of folk bands. You need to dedicate time to really get to know them. These guys deserve one rating in the 4/5 category since they are legendary but this isn't the album to dole it out.
Neil Young
4/5
I like this era of Neil's albums. The lack of polish on this album and Tonight's the Night works so well with the somber lyrics. I never knew the three post Harvest albums were called the "ditch trilogy". Great term.
I know this album quote well especially given I never owned it. The sides are different but both are very good. I always liked Ambulance Blues - probably since I was a juvenile delinquent when I started listening to it so the words "You're all just pissing in the wind" worked for me. I also like Motion Pictures which is dedicated to Carrie Snodgress who is also the likely subject matter of my favourite Neil song (and album) - being Harvest.
Primal Scream
3/5
I only got half way through this but was enjoying it. Time is not my friend.
KISS
3/5
I had their Live album that everyone went crazy over. Destroyer came out next which featured Beth. The guys had no time for that song but the girls liked it so the boys could play the albums more. Sounds like a brilliant strategy although the Wiki notes say Beth wasn't released as a single until the first three singles didn't get traction. Oh well, better to be lucky than smart.
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
Big Poppa and Juicy remind me that I sure am white.
Tracy Chapman
4/5
I'm almost certain I had this CD back in the day but haven't listened to it in eons. My loss.
The first five songs include the three hits and are an excellent listen. In 1988 we were ready for a new singer songwriter to enter the scene. While one could say we didn't need another folk singer, we did need a female black folk singer and she was just so darn cool. The album photo describes her music. On Fast Car she uses her sober voice to beautifully sing about drunkards. After the first five songs the album expands musically. Mountains O Things has excellent percussion while She's Got Her Ticket features excellent electric guitar.
I tried playing Fast Car on guitar. It's a Lovely song but I didn't think it would work with a male singer. Khalid proved me wrong with his heartfelt cover on BBC. Of course he skips the verse that has the words "And I work in a market as a checkout girl" LOL
The Hives
2/5
I liked this type of music 20 years before this album was made but in 2001 there is one obvious question: Why?
The Temptations
3/5
I was hoping I'd like this more. There are better Temptations songs, imo
XTC
2/5
I'd tell anyone who asked that I like XTC but this album isn't doing it for me. Dear God is a phenomenal song - the kid singing the first verse give me chills - but they decided to leave this song off the album! You've gotta be kidding.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
. . . it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
I wanna find one face that ain't looking through me
I wanna find one place
I wanna spit in the face of these BADLANDS
Is anything else needed to get to a 5?
The Prodigy
3/5
These guys are full of piss and vinegar. In a good way for a couple of songs but not for a full album. At least not in the daylight. I'm being generous today.
The Smiths
4/5
I was enjoying a Deluxe chicken dinner, a Sudbury speciality, when I turned my mind to Meat is Murder.
While I like the songs more on the Smiths 1st album, Marr's guitar playing is stellar on Meat is Murder.
Post listen I'm off to Tarini's to get one of their signature porchetta roast.
Meat is Murder is a dam good album but I guess I missed the point..
Wilco
5/5
I got this album on release. A couple of funny things: 1) I thought it was their debut album and 2) I didn’t remember it was double CD. As I said on the last Wilco album we reviewed, their up tempo songs are easy to like and the ballads take a few listens to figure out but once the time is invested they are also pretty good. I think this album has the best up tempo songs they have made. Songs like Outtasight Outta mind, I Got You, the country song Dreamer in my Dreams and my all-time favourite Wilco song Kingpin.
Since I’ve listened to this album many times I also really like the ballads such as Misunderstood and Was I in your Dreams. I like every song really.
This album highlights the positive influence Jay Bennet had on the band and his parting ways with Jeff was a major loss. This was the best album from the JB era and their best album overall.
Jorge Ben Jor
5/5
This album is an excellent example of how adventurous Brazilian musicians are and how open they are to fusing musical styles. This is a real treat.
Public Enemy
4/5
This album was a lot of fun and would be great to spin at a house party.
Aerosmith
2/5
This was one of the albums on constant rotation at the house parties Shirley hosted at her folks' house in Sudbury every weekend during high school. When I went back home last weekend I was saddened to see that her house was gone. I don't mean it's not recognizable due to an addition or renovation. It's gone and there's nothing in its place. Her parties were so legendary perhaps the house was lifted and brought to the Smithsonian.
Anyway, I expected to completely hate this album but I kinda liked Last Child. It has a neat melody. The rest of the album is putrid.
Chicago
4/5
I didn’t think I knew Chicago but I know some of the tunes from this one. Does Anybody Know . . . is an excellent song and shows how to do a hippy song properly. The vocals on this LP really stand out. Questions 67 and 68 is an excellent example.
The barrage of horns in the first few songs starts getting to me a little so when the relief comes it’s not too late. I like how they bring in the other instruments such as the isolated percussion at the end of Beginnings and the guitar solo in Questions but that solo is too short (and the Solo that takes up the first half of Poem 58 is too long - there’s just no pleasing some people lol.)
The Jimi style guitar work on the second half of Poem 58 is great but the Jimi style distortion fest on Free Form Guitar is tough to listen to. Similarly, the songs that have 5+ minute guitar solos (eg Liberation) don't work. Kath is a good guitar player but, unless you're Hendrix, a 10 minute guitar solo is pompous.
The positives about this album are very positive but the painfully long guitar solos drag it down. The last 2 minutes of Liberation bring back the horns and vocals and convince me to round up to 4.
The Slits
2/5
So if it weren’t for them we would’ve never had the Go-Go’s Hmmm.
Jeff Beck
3/5
As far as former Yardbirds go, Beck is behind Page and Clapton. It's a strong bronze medal but still a bronze.
He shows his stuff on a few of the songs and he has some stellar guests making appearances such as JP Jones and Moonie. I had no clue that Rod Stewart did an album with Jeff Beck. The 1001 is making me appreciate Rod and Ronnie more.
I find the album a little disjointed which keeps it from being rated higher.
Arctic Monkeys
2/5
I conferred with my son Dylan about this one. Our conclusion is that we don't dislike it but if we listened to it more often we would probably hate it.
The Cars
4/5
When I talk about albums that were in constant rotation in the late 70s, I've had more bad than good comments.The Cars' first album is one I remember favourably. It was a welcome change from the hair bands of the day. The picking in the intro to "My Best Friend's Girl' had this sound that, back then, was quite unusual and the electronic drums were also kinda cool.
I only know the four hits but the rest of the album isn't obnoxious
The Temptations
4/5
I like this one more than the last Temptations album we were sent. They were testing out the fusion of psychedelic and soul which must have been exciting for them. They made the new genre work and Cloud 9 is an excellent example of this. They also had a new singer after an acrimonious split with the last guy, so they must have been particularly motivated to make an ass kicking album. They succeeded.
Pulp
2/5
Common People was a decent song but overall I found this album lame.
Happy Mondays
3/5
I don't think this makes sense, but this music is dreamy and heavy at the same time. The rhythm guitar playing is strong - Wrote For Luck being the highlight. Playing it really loud on the dance floor would be a blast I'm sure.
Any consideration to give a 4 evaporated as soon as I read they made a song that sounded like Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da. If you're going to rip off a Beatles song, at least rip off one that isn't lame. Something like Ticket To Ride for example. lol
Ali Farka Touré
5/5
Around 30 years ago, I was working with a client that had a gold project in Mali. I was intrigued with the country and sought out some local music. This is how I found Ali Farka Toure and his splendid guitar licks. He was a legend and the artist who attracted me to West African music. His album with Ry Cooder's in the mid 90s brought him well deserved exposure in North America. After this, he retreated to Timbuktu to revert to playing weddings and spend his "fortune" fixing sewers near his home town.
What a man.
His final musical offering is as good as they get.
RIP
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
This is mighty fine. Pump it Up and Radio Radio are both killer tunes but the whole album is solid.
Radiohead
3/5
This was quirky. Some too ambient quirky but also some good quirky. Like Nat Anth and Optimistic, Idioteque.
Fever Ray
4/5
This is a groove that I could stay in for hours. Unlike a lot of other electronic music, one can hop in that groove without even thinking about drugs.
The second half tailed off which cost it a 5.
Michael Jackson
1/5
I accept that Thriller had to be part of the 1001. I get it. But this bad boy? C'mon. Give your head a shake.
Soundgarden
3/5
There's a lot of heavy stuff and early 90s stuff that I hate but this one is OK
The Charlatans
2/5
I'm sorry the fothermucker died, condolences to the family, etc, but I still don't like Britpop.
Beatles
4/5
An album like this one makes you realize how good the Beatles later became. This album is good but it's hard to get too excited.
All My Loving might be my favourite original song on the album. I know, it's a Paul song, but I said it "might be" my favourite. Actually, John's Little Child is the best original tune. It's cool having John sing lead and background vocals and play harmonica all at the same time. How does he do it? lol The harmonica might be the highlight as it continues through the verses and chorus - all the way nonstop from beginning to end.
There are many interesting covers. I never knew George sang Roll Over Beethoven. What a great cover. The cover of Money is considered a John Lennon classic due to his howling lyrics. Interestingly, this cover is done almost exactly like Barrett Strong's original. The cover of Till There Was You is the exact opposite as John's sad George's duelling classical guitars make it night and day different from the original.
Nice LP. I'm rounding up.
Bobby Womack
4/5
OK this album appears today and my first question is "Who on earth is Bobby Womack?" quickly followed by "Why are a third of his songs not available on Spotify?" He sure doesn't look like Neil Young.
So I start to listen and, wow, this guy is good. His music moves and he has a deep powerful voice that I could listen to all night. I still have no clue who Bobby Womack is but I now know how good he is.
Led Zeppelin
2/5
The live version of Dazed & Confused, with the 5 hr. drum solo, is as boring as watching paint dry. The album version, on the other hand, is only 4 minutes too long. Using a violin bow to play a guitar solo sounds like a fun idea but it doesn't sound any good. The cherry on top is that they stole the song. The whipped cream around that cherry is that they stole it from a TV commercial jingle writer. Why would anyone steal from a poor sum bitch like him? btw, this is but one of many stolen songs on this LP and they don't just steal from poor jingle writers; they also steal from former band mates.
Communications Breakdown tells all you need to know about this band musically. Page carries the song with excellent leads and Bonham's playing is quite competent and entertaining. Jimmy's acoustic work on Black Mountain Side is top shelf. Likewise, Communications Breakdown would be a lame song if it weren't for Page's solo and his solos on I Can't Quit You Baby make the argument that his playing is in the same league as Hendrix's. Plant wouldn't have made it past Horseshoe size venues without Page.
The last song on side 2 is a slot where you often find filler. No exception here. Am I the only one who, half way through the song, thought that it should be named "How Many More Minutes"?
Definitely mixed feelings on this one. Page's guitar playing is too good for this rating but the song thievery and all the yawning brought on by the last songs on each side don't leave me in a generous mood.
Malcolm McLaren
5/5
I've told anyone who cares to listen that my favourite genre is Soweto music from the 80s / 90s. As such, this album had me excited and clicking around to find some ZAR tunes to intersperse with the songs on Malcom's LP. I also learned the proper name of the genre I like is mbaqanga. I'll forget that by tomorrow.
Wiki says he didn't give credit to Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens for vocals. It's more than just vocals isn't it? It sure sounds like Mahathini's lead guitarist Max Mankwane's licks on Double Dutch. (Listen to Gazette by Mahlathini and you'll see what I mean.) I suppose David Birch, the only guitar player credited, could have played this style of guitar. He lived in South Africa and was John Lennon's cousin so he has the resume / lineage to have studied and learned the style.
A moderate amount of rapping comes out to play on World Famous and is well received. To close, Duck for the Oyster brings out the fiddle and gets the ole barn floor rockin. Finally, the faux radio show clips are kinda fun.
This was bizarre but it's my kind of bizarre.
Le Tigre
4/5
Their music has lots of attitude and lyrics have edge. No girly band shit going on here.
Bonnie Raitt
3/5
Wow there is a lot of acclaim for this album. I like Bonnie Rait and I like this album, but if this won album of the year, it must have been a slow year.
It sounds like a C&W album to me but when I read the definition of Americana, the genre assigned by Wiki, I think that shoe fits better.
Amy Winehouse
5/5
She had a wonderful voice, and poured her soul into writing and recording her songs. Too bad the demons got her. Assholes.
Caetano Veloso
3/5
I have liked most of the Brazilian fusion but this one didn't work as well for me. I find the ballads less interesting than the more upbeat fusion other Brazilians brought to the table.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
I'm not a jazz aficionado by any stretch, but I know what I like. I like this album and now know it belongs to the cool jazz genre. Cool.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
From a historical perspective, it's interesting that this Sinatra release started the LP revolution. I recall interviews with Kieth Richards and other big stars from the 60s and they used the term "record" to refer to a single rather than a 12 inch. (They call a 12 inch an LP). Since my vinyl buying started in the early 70s, I never bought 45s and never understood why someone would buy one. I thought of it to be the same as buying a six pack of beer; why not get a case? I suppose we have come full circle since Spotify allows us to "buy" just the single and ignore the other songs on an LP. I'm not sure which LP has the most copies sold (and I don't want to know since it would probably make me noxious) but that record will likely stand for decades given the new buying trends.
Now to Frankie's LP. I have said many times that I don't like pop, but this isn't accurate. I like Frankie's pop. I like it a lot more than the tunes on this LP. His voice is amazing; I get it - but give us some songs that move. When the album ended, Spotify segued to his cover of Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin". Now that's the Frankie I like.
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
Some of the undertones were quite cool.
Richard Thompson
3/5
Some very fine English campfire music.
Paul Simon
2/5
There are some songs that have decent melodies but it's hard to say if any of the songs would be much to write home about if they weren't souped up by the very talented musicians he has playing with him. He became quite accomplished at hiring session musicians who could make the melodies for him and not take songwriting credits. This strategy reached its peak on his next album, Graceland.
Jurassic 5
4/5
I thought this one was a lot of fun. There are very haunting melodies flying around. I didn't really listen to the lyrics but perhaps some day...
Maxwell
1/5
This is the type of soul that drives me nuts. I just can't handle all this wishy washy weenie singing.
Carpenters
1/5
Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple all owe royalties to The Carpenters. We were forced to listen to The Carpenters' dribble when AM stations were the only option. They are the main reason that our Christmas and birthday lists were full of requests for The Coop, Sabbath, etc.
Karen Carpenter's story is tragic and I sincerely hope that she rests in peace. But the music still sucks.
Pixies
3/5
Call me crazy but after reading the name of the album I was expecting, well, Bossa Nova. Silly me.
Anyway, it's a good off the beaten track album that is very heavy, raw and energetic. I wouldn't be interested in this every day, but it works for me today.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
Tuesday's Gone is an excellent ballad. You have to be very confident with your soloing to put a guitar solo before the first verse. The solo after the first verse is also mighty fine as are the good 'ole boys' southern rock harmonies.
Things Going On is quite clearly an anti-segregation song. This is interesting given that one of the band's slightly more popular songs led to allegations that Ronnie was pro Wallace.
Some of the "filler"on side 2 is really quite good. The Mississippi blues song Mississippi Kid shows their prowess with the broken coke bottle and the anti-alcohol song Poison Whisky has is also an excellent jam.
Free Bird is the best song in the album and the band's second best song overall - next to that tune about folks in Birmingham loving Wallace.
Alice Cooper
4/5
Grade 7. St. Francis middle school. We had to do a project on Hounds of the Baskerville. Could anything be more boring? Rudy G. and I decided to team up and figure it out. Upon reading the fine print of the assignment, we learned that we could do a song rather than a book report. Hmmm. In 15 minutes, our assignment was done. We had a tape recorder and while "I love the Dead" was playing in the background, Rudy and I whaled " I Love The Hounds" and howled like nobody's business during the drumming bits. The teacher, realizing we took the easy way out, decided to play the tape for the class. We prepared to be embarrassed and teased but - no - the class loved it and girls who wouldn't normally give the time of day to the likes of Rudy and me, were telling us how original, charming and funny we were. Win, WIn, WIn. Later that year when the school was getting us prepared for our confirmation they told us we had to pick a "confirmation name". I picked Alice as my confirmation name. That didn't go over so well with the principal and his warped sense of love thy neighbour.
+1 for making the School of the Bleeding Heart of Jesus more bearable.
ZZ Top
1/5
The music is far lower quality than La Grange, their first album , which was on 1001. Eliminator was made for and shows the impact of MTV. Good music was replaced with long beards, spinning guitars and enough hotties that you might think you were watching a 1980s beer commercial.
On Spotify all that's left is the music.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
I never heard this album. Bob's move away from Bunny and Peter paid dividends a few years later as his new band embraced London music of the day and let it fuse their reggae in a subtle way. His album called Live! had many of the same tracks at Natty D. There must be a story about the reasons for separate live albums so close together.
Merle Haggard
4/5
I prefer the Nashville style over the the Las Vegas style of country music any day. Merle is all Nashville.
Kanye West
4/5
I remember a joke Dave Chappelle made about his friend Kayne. Dave had noticed that Kayne seemed distracted and couldn't figure out why. It became clear when he found out that Kayne woke up one morning and had a second mother-in-law. Too funny although Dave eventually started to get in trouble for such jokes.
Everyone knows the name Kayne but I really didn't know his music and when I would see him on a media clip I always thought he seemed too cool for school. Obama summed it up by saying: "What a jackass." Well - I like this album which must be from his pre-jackass days. Humour replacing anger makes it a welcome change from gangsta rap. Until today, if anyone asked what my favourite hip hop subgenre was I'd be a deer in the headlights. But after today, I'll look them straight in the eye and say: "Chipmunk soul - of course." Glad 1001 settled that for me.
Kraftwerk
3/5
It's a good album, has its place and was influential. Kraftwerk were pioneers of electronic music but when listening to them years later, it's hard to ignore that by 1974 the prog rock bands were also kicking the synths pretty hard and the proggies's music also had relevant lyrics. So I have to keep this in perspective.
I plan to be in Germany in a couple of weeks and if I'm driving a Merc on the highways, I will definitely be playing this.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Sorry Zep fans but this album ain't a 5 - not even close. I'm rounding up to get to a three.
Whole Lotta Love: Great opening riff - Page makes this band - followed by a great opening rip off. Did they think Willie Dixon wouldn't notice? A retrospective of this band shows they consistently held the view that stealing is only wrong if you get caught. Also, I forgot how bad the noisy interlude is. The exit from the noise features a Bonham drumming bit that everyone knows. I think we are so happy the interlude of noise is over that we remember and think fondly of that drumming bit.
Thank You: The last song on Side 1 brings us the first really good solid song. Thank you.
The harmonies are good and the drumming is quite impressive and almost Moon like quality.
Heartbreaker: I always liked the opening riff and also the transition to Living Loving …
Money Dick? My hatred of drum solos made me forget this hideous song. At least when you’re at a concert and a pompous drum solo breaks out, you can take the opportunity to hit the washroom and not miss anything important. A drum solo on a studio album is pure agony.
Bring it on Home: A very nice song to end the album.
I quite liked this album when I was in high school but a combination of excessive airplay and maturing have killed it for me.
Elvis Presley
5/5
So this was his 1st album! That's what I call hitting the ground running. Lots of really good songs on here: Blue Suede Shoes, I Got A Woman, Tutti Frutti, but my favourite is the less know song Blue Moon. (The Blue Moon Boys was the nickname of the band on this album)
He is the King and this is one of the precious few LPs before he went to the army and died.
Neu!
4/5
The first track is ambient but the drumming is quite strong and gives it pace. The next two songs are a little snoozy. Then we flip it over to side 2 and holy %#*! Hero is excellent as is the final track. This is hot. I recall that most of my favourite bands - Bowie, The Stones and The Who - were underperforming in the mid 70s. Side 2 of Neu! '75 has some great tunes that I could have been listening to in 1975. My loss.
Milton Nascimento
2/5
I had a hard time getting into this. It was like Brazilian AM radio
4/5
I had the live album Yessongs which was released one year after Close to the Edge and had all three songs from that album. Years later, at a used record store, I found a copy of Close to the Edge that had my name written on it - literally. I can't make this stuff up. So, wtf, I bought it even though I already had the three songs on vinyl.
This is Yes' best stuff. Rick Wakeman is in prime form as his solo around the 15 min mark of Close to the Edge shows. Steve Howe is also peaking.
My challenge with Yes is their lyrics are so deep I doubt the authors even understand them. This album starts with "A seasoned witch could call you from the depths of your disgrace . . .". The words Depths of Despair" fit with the song's / album's title. OK I get it, I think, but by the 4th / 5th lines of the song I'm scratching my head.
Howe and Wakeman are in such fine form. If there is a Yes album that can get a 5, this is it.
Miles Davis
4/5
I wish I had more time to listen to this more than once. What I heard was excellent.
Lana Del Rey
3/5
An album name like this one makes me like it before I start listening to it.
It's a nice piece if American folk sung incredibly well. Was this released after we started the 1001 voyage?
The Kinks
4/5
I don’t know any of these songs but really like them. It’s very innocent 60s and remains easy to listen to. This album helps me understand why there are so many die hard Kinks fans.
It’s interesting that other artists released some of these songs as singles before The Kinks released the LP. I suppose it’s similar to The Byrds releasing Mr. Tambourine Man before Bob did (I think). This is a practice that is long gone.
Ride
2/5
I guess we have to cover this genre in 1001. Too bad
Sleater-Kinney
3/5
If I had to compare them to the far more commercially successful Pac NW band Hole, I'd take Sleater K any day. They have a good energy level and attitude.
Muddy Waters
4/5
Not a lot of time on my side this week but I did give this a quick listen. Good renditions of Hoochie Koochie and others. Interesting story about the concert too.
This album doesn't have a lot of his gems. I assume Muddy won't have any others on the 1001 and he deserves a 4 for his contribution to the Chicago blues scene.
Radiohead
4/5
I like the album but . . .
I like the album, but don't like the big hit which is a step down from the first two songs, isn't it?.
I like the album, but don't like the genre. They stay just far enough away from the dreadful Brit Pop style.
I like the album, but don't like the bands that were influenced by it - such as Coldplay.
I like the album cover, but - no buts - I really like the album cover.
+1 for the cover; -1 for making Coldplay such a bad band.
The Damned
3/5
Bringing in the lads from the Clash in to clap their hands on track 2 pulls it all together. lol
I'm glad there's a bit of rock mixed in. All punk would be a tough listen. I guess the influential part is the influence on hardcore? Since I doesn't like hardcore this fact doesn't get an uplift in my books.
The Go-Go's
4/5
Guess I now have to admit that I liked The Go-Go's back in the day. Had the hots for Jane Weidlin big time.
The album aged reasonably well. The hits are still fun and some of the others are also OK. I didn't know that Jane co-wrote Our Lips Are Sealed w the frontman from The Specials.
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
The only country Joe song I knew was the classic Feel I’m Fixing to Die on the Woodstock album.
There is a lot of good playing here. Decent psychedelic and some jamming that sounds like it could be The Doors sans Ray.
Kanye West
3/5
I understand why he is more popular than the rest - his music is more approachable than most hip hop.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Yeah it was OK. I guess
Goldfrapp
3/5
The music is chilled out but but still moves and compliments her angelic voice
The Cramps
5/5
I know the name and some people who like them but really didn’t know what to expect. This album is a lot of fun. Rolling Stone’s description of their music as Phsychobilly fits perfectly.
The lead guitar is simple but is played on a guitar that is a beast and played to sound hollow. To be sure, this is a compliment.
Santana
3/5
The first track is hard to listen to. It’s long and not much happens. Black Magic Woman is a classic.
Hope You’re Feeling Better isn’t a great song per se but Carlos’ guitar playing makes it good.
Prince
4/5
The hits are still amazing, especially When Doves Cry but, aside from Nickki Darling, most of the rest hasn't aged that well. Also, the asskicking guitar he is known for doesn't come out to play except on the first songs of each side. I know Rolling Stone had this as #8 all time which should mean 5 but I can't get there.
Slint
1/5
There were i in o redeeming qualities
Electric Light Orchestra
2/5
I didn’t like these guys in the late 70s and nothing has changed.
Iron Maiden
1/5
As soon as I saw the album I thought “oh no -another American heavy metal band that I hate. But I was wrong. The band’s English.
TLC
4/5
I would have a hard time sticking with an album that was 56 minutes of hip-hop. Ditto an album that was 56 minutes of R&B. The variety is what makes this album special. Mixing in the hip-hop makes the R&B better and the R&B makes the hip-hop better. Other variety factors that keep it interesting and exciting are having a male and female rappers in the same song and having duets on the R&B segments.
There are some traditional full on soul girl group songs such as Diggin' On You and Take our Time where they show how well they sing and harmonize. Also, society's declining ability to censor allows for much more provocative lyrics (eg Red Light Special) than those sung by the more famous soul girl groups from preceding decades. Finally, Waterfall is an excellent song. (RIP Left Eye)
2/5
The messages in her songs are chosen to resonate with woman. Perhaps my maleness got in the way and has subconsciously had a negative impact, but I find that most of the songs on this album, including title song, don't really do anything for me and haven't aged well. Tomorrow Never Comes shows that she can sing, even if the song is lame.
Her vocals are also highlighted on I'm Living in Two Worlds which I like. I also like The Devil Gets His Due.
I never did see Coalminer's Daughter so don't know her story. I heard it's a good movie so perhaps I should watch it if I'm going to give her another listen.
Raekwon
2/5
Mixing in R&B with hip hop and mixing male and female vocals was the variety that made the TLC album good. This Raekwon album shows us why variety is needed.
Dire Straits
4/5
I think So Far from Me is my fave. There is something magical about ballads with such good lead guitar playing. He does the same on Why Worry with acoustic. He is a mighty fine guitar player.
Money for Nothing Is overplayed for sure but still listenable. Excellent opening riff and drums. Yeah I know one of the words needs to be replaced. I read that he later replaced it with "little queenie" when singing it live. I can't believe Sting gets a writing credit. It's not that close to Don't Stand So . . .
I guess Sultans of Swing isn't on this album. Music blends together after a few decades.
The album fades on side 2 which should mean it's a 3 but his guitar playing keeps it levitated.
Gotan Project
5/5
This album is slick. Hard to believe it's over 20 years old. It takes me to the bar at Hotel Costes and I’m sure Triptico was on one of CDs that bar’s DJ Stéphane Pompougnac released. I could listen to this stuff all night long.
Flamin' Groovies
3/5
Yeah these guys know how to play. I get Mick’s comment that it sounds like Sticky Fingers but the Stones were playing styles that were borrowed from others. It wasn’t original but Keef and the boys just executed it incredibly well. Flaming Groovies copied the way Keef plays. So they are guilty but The Stones can’t gripe since they weren’t being original.
Some simple but good lyrics like on Doctor Boggie: #You gotta mow the lawn if you want to get along w me.”
The cover versions on the bonus tracks are also interesting. The copying of other bands continues since Shaking All Over sure sounds like The Who’s version of that song on Live at Leeds but Pete can’t gripe since The Who’s version sounds like The Guess Who’s version. An interesting aside, in the mid 60s when both The Who and The Guess Who were playing at bars, the crowd would confuse the two bands since their names were similar. The crowd would yell for The Who to play Shaking all Over so they learned the song and added it to their set. Similarly, The Guess Who learned to play My Generation to satisfy requests from bar crowds that didn’t realize there were two different bands. Good fun.
Adele
4/5
This is the first time I listened to an Adele album. Her voice is incredible. Take that voice, add a pound of emotion and stir and you’re bound to end up with a decent album.
Her voice gets it to a 4 but I can’t get to 5 since the instruments aren’t really there. I compare this to Aladdin Sane that I rated 5, Adele and David are both great signers but on the cover song, for example, David let Mike Garson play to his best abilities. Adele keeps her backing group in the background. I have a 4 for her voice but wound’t give her another 4 without her pushing the envelope musically.
Cee Lo Green
4/5
This album falls in my TLC rule. They combine soul and hip hop in a way that makes listening to this not being a chore. Hate to phrase a compliment in a negative way but it's late and my vocabulary is sleeping.
Radiohead
3/5
I was clicking around to start to play this album and I mistakenly played the first 1/2 hr of their In Rainbows album. That's a mighty fine album. Then I started to listen to Amnesiac.
Radiohead's music grows on you. Their songs are frequently more enjoyable the second or third time they are listened to. By the same token, I think Amnesiac was more enjoyable since I got primed with 30 min of In Rainbows. Still not sure I can get to a 4 on this. But I will have a 4 for In Rainbows!
Fred Neil
3/5
When this started I was thinking it would be a hard listen. At least I had "Everybody's Talking" to look forward to. It ended up being a decent listen especially the second time through. His voice has a velvety tone that beautifully moves up and down the scales and he has a way about him that makes him an excellent storyteller
Def Leppard
1/5
I always wanted to know what an album with one armed drummer sounded like. But not this badly. Got through 3 songs.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
I kinda get why they were pressured to drop Brown Sugar from their live setlist. Yeah Keith says it's anti-slavery but is it? Is it proslavery? Is it about Bowie's Lady Grinning Soul? Is it about brown heroin? Smart money says Keith doesn't remember so yeah stop playing it live. Great song though - assuming it's not pro-slavery
Apparently Keith was MIA from both Sway and Moonlight Mile - just the two Micks on guitar. The jam at the end of Sway has Mick Taylor's best solo. Little known fact: Pete Townshend sang backup vocals on Sway.
Wild Horses is a crazy good song. One of the Stones best acoustic songs.
When I listen to most of the songs from this era with long jams tagged on I think the jam should have been left on the cutting room floor. Can You Hear Me Knocking isn't a good song until the jam starts and Bobby Keyes enters. He still can’t save the song.
You Gotta Move, is excellent. I like how the Stones threw in the odd cover during this era and also like how they mixes unrecorded covers into their live shows
After Bitch the album really gets good.
I Got The Blues is another excellent ballad with lots of depth and breadth including an insane hammond organ solo that I assume is Billy Preston. This is at least tied for best song on the LP.
The haunting Sister Morphine is a beauty. Nothing like an anti drug song written by drug addicts. It just doesn't get any better than this.
Dead Flowers is one of my top 10 Stones Songs. Fuck their hits.
Moonlight Mile is a sleeper. I like it more each time I hear it.
Michael Kiwanuka
3/5
It starts off with sounds of South African riffing. It then gets a little like Paul Weller's "My Ever Changing Moods" (which isn't a compliment). The horns give it a bit of an irritating flowing 60s sound but when they take out the guitars and put the dam horns away, they sound quite good. "Hero" and "You Ain't the Problem" are good examples.
The background vocals on songs like Light sound like hymns you might hear on Sunday morning religious programming. There is a live version of him singing Light (at the Mildmay Club) that has none of the Pray TV style of background vocals. It exposes this song for what it is - an excellent song sung by a man with a wonderful voice. Too bad this is hidden under the overproduced studio version.
Pink Floyd
5/5
I was living in the Soo in 1979 and the local radio station announced Pink Floyd was releasing a new album and the station would play the entire album the day before The Wall was released in the record stores. Before it started, my buddy Arnie and I discussed how the band had gone downhill; Animals was a big step down from Wish You Were Here and DSOTM. We listened to The Wall that night and couldn't get into it. Couldn't say we "felt the warm thrill of confusion - that space cadet glow." We concluded Pink Floyd was continuing their downhill slide.
A fews days later Arnie called and said he bought the album to give it another chance. Why not? Sure enough, by the 4/5th listen we both loved it.
The album is Roger's masterpiece. The movie version with the cartoons and Bob Geldof's excellent acting effort, and the 1988 concert in Berlin have made this album bigger than Pink Floyd itself. Funny thing is, if I had written this review after my first listen back in 1977, I would have given it a 2. lol
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Title song is a classic. The few others that Spotify had were neither here nor there.
Aerosmith
1/5
No thanks
The Byrds
2/5
This was tough slugging. It's one of those albums that I'm sure was cool on release but it now sounds old and way past its best before date.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
There are some great songs on this album. As far as Rio de Janeiro goes, I'll take Ipanema over Copacabana any day. Frankie's cover of that song by Jobim, et al. is excellent although, imho, the original with female vocals sounds better. Change Partners is also a lovely Irving Berlin Song. Frank hits a wide range of notes but he just doesn't seem comfortable / confident singing it. The same could be said about many of the songs.
It appears that this was widely acclaimed on release but I don't think this one has aged well. On most of the tracks, Frank doesn't have the passion he has on Girl From Ipanema. It seems he isn't comfortable with the genre. In addition, this album is billed as a Bosa Nova album. Bosa Nova has evolved so much and in positive ways since 1967 that the 1967 version hasn't aged well. At the end of the day it comes across as having a fair amount of filler.
Fiona Apple
3/5
An album recorded during covid. Does that qualify for +1? Even with it's hard to rate this one too high.
Todd Rundgren
2/5
I recognized the first couple of songs but never thought Todd Rundgren did those songs. I always thought he was better than that. Perhaps we can attribute some of the weenieness to a poor attempt to fit in the psychedelic scene at the time. I had the 1 rating locked and loaded and then side 4 started. There are a few good rockers like Couldn’t I Just Tell You. Rick D also lays down some good ‘ole guitar on Dust … The side 4 goodness comes to a screeching halt with the next hit which is a return to hotdog songs.
Alanis Morissette
4/5
The photo of her on the cover makes her look model like beautiful. In reality, she looks quite normal - good looking but normal - which, in her case, makes her music more sensible.
Her voice drove a lot of people crazy. I eventually agreed but not until after this album. One Hand in my Pocket is an excellent song - squeaky voice and all. I like the other hits and most of the songs. Today, you would have to pay me to see her live but when this album was released I quite liked her. My rating is based on where I was with her in 1996
David Gray
2/5
As I said previously, you can only like so many folk artists. Since the music / riffs usually are nothing to write home about, you can like them only if you invest time with the lyrics. If you don’t invest the time, you will never start liking them regardless of how how good they are.
I didn’t invest the time with this English brother.
Johnny Cash
4/5
When I took guitar lessons as a 9 year old, the song Streets of Laredo was in the songbook. I should probably mention that to my therapist.
I can't say Give My Love to Rose is his best jailbird song since it doesn't have lyrics about shooting a man in Reno, but it’s a beauty. Bridge Over Troubled Water is one of the songs that defines Art Garfunkles' prowess singing. Paul Simon tries to sing it when he tours solo but the song sounds terrible. I love how Johnny and his barely existing vocal range sounds so darn good. Fiona Apple, who could nail these vocals, adds lovely accompanying vocals.
The First Time I Ever Saw You is a song that I always hated. Johnny takes the weenie out of the Roberta Flack version. Personal Jesus and In My Life are excellent. I could keep going on about the other covers on this album.
Until the mid sixties it was common to make albums full of songs that others wrote but once 1970 came around this was no longer fashionable. Johnny may be the only one who could pull this off in 2000.
RIP Mr. Cash
Shuggie Otis
1/5
I always wanted to know where the riffs came from on the soundtracks from 1970s porn. Now I know! The audio without the video just doesn't do it.
Adele
3/5
First few seconds of this album I thought she was going to do a Lionel Ritchie cover. Thank goodness that mission was aborted.
Her voice is amazing but the songwriting would be nothing without her voice. Also, her musicians are kept on a tight leash in all but a few songs. It's too bad that her singing is trapped in a one dimensional world.
I'm rounding up due to her voice.
4/5
The opening track sounds like dated prog rock although it redeems itself with a good whack of noise at the end. The second song, Starlight, sounds contrived - like it was intended to be "the single". I was surprised to read that it was the second single. With the singles out of the way, the album gets better again. Assanin starts the same way as the opening track but redeems itself much sooner. The trend continues with most of the other songs (Knights of Cydonia being an excellent example) where the vocals sound like prog rock but the music is fresh and cookin' with attitude. They experiment with a lot of different sounds and this really works. For example the solo in City of Delusion has an exotic sound that is far less heavy than the rest of the song.
Most the songs have 5 potential. There are a couple of plain vanilla songs which isn't fatal, but the one thing that is tough to deal with is the vocals reminding me of prog rock. I'm not talking about PG era Genesis prog rock; they remind me of the prog rock that still causes nightmares - like Styx. This makes the 5 fall to a 3 but I'll bump to 4 since I do like the majority of the music and the 3 rating won't make my nightmares turn into The Grand Illusion.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
The guitar work really makes this album. Reminiscent of the guitarists Bowie had in this era
Genesis
4/5
Firth of Fifth the best song on the album? Probably. Banks has done so much on different types of synth-ish keyboards, it's interesting to see how good he is on straight up piano. PG's flute coming out to play is also a treat.
This is top notch prog rock. The Lamb is prob my favourite so I will settle on 4 for this bad boy.
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
This was an interesting history lesson for me. I didn't know Neil and Stills recorded three LPs pre Woodstock. This makes CSNY more understandable.
Anyway, I know and quite like all the Neil Young songs and none of the others.
The Only Ones
3/5
Some songs were good but it lacked consistency.
Dead Kennedys
3/5
The name Dead Kennedys was a good name to choose since I knew the name of the band in the early 80s even though they got zero airplay in Sudbury circa 1980. The lead singer's choice of surname was also good since I know that Biafra was the name of a country in Africa. My friend's parents would try to guilt him into eating overcooked broccoli by informing him that "children are starving in Biafra". Mix that overcooked broccoli with some Jello and you can't help but think of this band.
Decades later a neighbour lent me a Dead Kennedys' record since I had a turntable and he didn't. I moved from the neighbourhood, still have the loaned record and have never played it. I don't know why I never played it - well, now I know.
I have no idea why, but I'm giving this a 3.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Ok
Sheryl Crow
3/5
There are a few nice songs and she has the country singer’s raspiness that makes songs like “Leaving Las Vegas” work.
The Pogues
4/5
Fusing Celtic with punk ass music was one of the very cool things happening in music in the mid 1980s. If someone did this before The Pogues did it would be news to me. Also, "Fairytale of New York" is one of the few Christmas songs I look forward to hearing when Dec. roles around.
The Fall
3/5
I expect I would have liked this in 1985 but it sounds dreadfully dated these days.
Lucinda Williams
5/5
I got this album on release. As soon as I heard her lyrics refer to the "Drunken Angel" as a "derelict in duck tape shoes", it easily became my favourite album I bought in years and one of my ATF country albums. She was loaded with angst at the time she wrote this and poured her soul into it. The subsequent albums she made (that I've heard) haven't come close to this gem. I guess she became happier. Good for her.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
4/5
Someone told me we aren't suppose to like Eric Clapton anymore. Can't remember why. Anyway, he sure is good guitar player.
Sparks
4/5
I guess I like glam.
This album is fun and the cover is so cool. Interesting to learn that one of the models was the lead vocalist on the fabulous opening track on Scary Monsters.
Some really good lead guitar floated in there. I normally don't go for high pitched male vocalists but this one works.
Suicide
3/5
It's easy to dismiss this today but I would have found this ground breaking in the late 70s. In the late 70s a friend gave me a tape of a LA radio station program that introduced me to the song "Warm Letherette" which I never forgot. It was a minimalist synth-pop one hit wonder that had quite the cult following in the late '70s. It was so out there and so cool back then. I would have thought the same about Suicide; both bands were OG. If I knew Suicide in 1977, I would probably rate them higher. But I didn't.
Eurythmics
4/5
I was a big Eurythmics fan back in the day. I thought they were leading edge back then but if I think about it objectively, they really weren't. As far as electronic / synth pop goes, they weren't groundbreaking. Even Gary Numan's album was 5 years old when Sweet Dreams was released. There was just something about Annie Lennox that was so fucking cool. I saw them in concert a year two after Sweet Dreams was released. She had a boy cut, and wore a man's coat - this androgynous look was beautiful but not sexy. I expect this was the objective although she took off her coat and shirt and wore only a red bra for the encore. I guess she thought she should set the record straight before the show ended. Dave Stewart also had a good look and it was cool that the band's name didn't start with "The".
The title song was quite good in the day but has been overplayed. "This is the House" was not overplayed and might be my fave song today. The South American girl's vocals make it.
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
Eurythmics had me in a mid 80s frame of mind but Echo and the B could not keep me there. I sensed struggling in the vocals perhaps due to trying to figure out how to make the vocals work with the new found orchestration. The music wasn’t interesting enough to save the vocals.
Pavement
3/5
The sound kind of reminded me of Lou Reed. But not as good
Joan Baez
3/5
I know I like some of her stuff but this album is a tough one. It's a little too low budget. If it were more complex than a singer and her guitar, the recording strategy it would be a disaster.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
The album gets off to a very good star with Coyote. I like that her music developed beyond folk. The rhythm section is very competent and she lets them wander. They end up miles away from where folk music rhythms usually hang out. The guitars are very loose and continue to float all over the place even during the verses. In theory, loose wandering guitars shouldn't work with folk, but they do. Kinda the way Keith Moon's drumming isn't supposed to work, but it does.
Nirvana
5/5
The '90s. A time when the word "Lithium" didn't make you think of electric vehicles.
The wiki notes also say this album is credited with ending the hair metal era.That's good enough for me
Kelela
4/5
My main complaint with soul is that it's often one dimensional and needs to be fused with other styles. Kelela does that very well with a unique fusion with electronic. I still have some challenges keeping interested since the tempo especially during the versus remains homogeneous. But it's a good attempt to solve my problem so it gets +1. Cover photo doesn't do any harm either.
Foo Fighters
3/5
I knew Grohl was Nirvana's drummer. Another drummer who transitions to lead singer in a financially successful way. Kinda like Phil Collins. Sorry Dave. lol
Kurt Cobain thought Nevermind was a little too poppy so I get why Grohl did not want to slide a song like "Big Me" on the table in his Nirvana days. The volume is turned up dramatically once they get the hits out of the way.
Overall the album is a bit of a "So what?"
Solomon Burke
4/5
Fun songs from an era long gone. The picking is excellent and reminds me of how Brian Jones played. The intricate picking continues through the verses in a way that isn't interruptive. The ability to do this impresses me.
Laibach
3/5
When it starts I’m think what is this. Next phase is: this is cool. Then a few songs later the sound starts to wear.
A couple of songs would work in a playlist.
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
It's October and I now have the perfect album to play while handing out goodies on Halloween. Excellent! But there's no way it's getting rated higher than 1.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
5/5
This was an important album for me. I shunned Funk since to me it was a little too closely related to disco. This album reintroduced me to funk, cleared my musical pallet and dealt with my disco hangover that had lasted a decade. The ballads are also pretty cool.
Madonna
3/5
I never heard of this album. It's decent, as far as Madonna albums go.
I like the beats she added although she was over a decade late to the party.
Steve Winwood
2/5
Steve Winwood is one of those names I know well but I couldn't name a song he sang. After hearing the first song, which was the single, I was glad I knew his name rather than his songs. The album got better and it's impressive that he plays all the instruments. I like his guitar and bass playing.
Willie Nelson
3/5
His 18th album was released in 1975! Wow he must be old.
The album is very simple and shows off something he is not known for which is how well he plays guitar.
Taylor Swift
2/5
I like the cover photo
Steely Dan
3/5
I have this album and one or two other Steely Dan albums on vinyl but never realized they had a second lead singer on this one. Side 1 kicks off with Do it Again which is one of Steely Dans’best songs and has two excellent solos: guitar followed by keyboards. Side 1 kicks off with Reeling in the Years, another excellent song. Aside from these two songs, the album is weak.
There are some artists that don’t have an album that’s a game stopper, but the artist is so relevant that they deserve to have an album on the 1001 list. As we have been on the 1001 journey for over a year, I’ve noticed that In such circumstances the authors recognize this and, almost by default, they pick the artist’s first album. Some examples of this are Steve Earl’s and Miriam Makeba’s first albums. I might not think their first album was their best but I get it and will rate generously.
If SD didn’t have later albums on the list, I would understand this logic applying to their 1st album Can’t Buy a Thrill and rate it generously. But Aja is on the list so Can’t Buy a Thrill needs to stand on its own merits. On this basis, it has only two good songs. The two are good enough to get to a 3 but I can’t go any higher.
Harry Nilsson
1/5
Side 1 is an onslaught of weenie songs that's near almost impossible to listen to. Side 2 kicks off with another weiner: "Without You" . On that one he shows that he can sing, but I hate the song. Coconut is a fun novelty song - weenie but fun. He thankfully keeps away from the hotdog stand for a few songs but returns for the finale. I couldn't make it through the last song.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
The title song beautifully allows Art to show how well he can sing. I saw an interview where Art recalled how Simon had written only two verses and that Art and the producer talked him into writing the third and "happy ending" verse that they sing in two part harmony. "El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)" is one that I remember from its overplayed AM radio days when I didn't have much time for it. In retrospect, it's interesting to think of the time and place and the influence that global rhythms were having on progressive musicians. With this in mind, we can shine a different light on the Peruvian rhythms in this song and the congas in Cecilia. Keep the Customer Satisfied is a fun rocker and the Frank Llyod Wright song is kinda cool with the the flute and bosa nova stylings. I read that the song is about Art rather than Frank.
Side 2 starts with The Boxer, which is another beast, although I like the live versions much better. I find the orchestration a little much. Baby Driver is another good rocker. The live cover of the Everly Brothers tune is quite cool. I expect they have been playing this song together since high school.
Simon and Garfunkel's final album was their best as they mix up the tempos so effectively.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
I like the first song as the LP starts off with some well played Mississippi blues. The album soon starts to drag. I didn't know Ry Cooder's history so this aspect was interesting.
Overall it's so-so 60s stuff. I know my point of reference for 1967 comparisons is releases like the White Album which isn't fair but, hey, who said life was fair?
--
Ryan Adams
3/5
After the other one of his albums on the 1001 I was dreading having to listen to this. I was pleasantly surprised. It had a good raw, noncommercial sound that worked
The Roots
4/5
I really liked "Thew Roots Come Alive" which was my intro to The Roots and released just before Phrenology. What I like about their style of hip hop is that they aren't afraid to play actual instruments. Crazy kids!
Phrenology doesn't welcome me in right away but by the time we get to Thought@Work and The Seed they return to the style that hooked me to ..Comes Alive.
I give it +1 on the basis it's probably the only The Roots album that made it to the list. The album goes on a little too long to get an honest 4.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
2/5
One of those mid 70s guys who was neither here nor there. There are a few spots where he lays down some decent guitar but there isn't much here to get excited abou
The Who
5/5
This album provides a telling historical perspective of where The Who came from and also provides a glimpse into where they were to go. They were the original punks and the raw energy and attitude shows why the punk bands to come in the latter half of the 70s viewed The Who as their inspiration and the OGs. There are a few onslaughts of drums, bass and feedback that is their signature. It's one thing to have this onslaught in The Ox, but to have this in the last minutes of My Generation, their single, shows they wanted the message of who they really were to be LOUD and clear. The more extreme onslaught of noise is in The Ox which was the inspiration for Jimi's experimentations with feedback and also led other OG's, such as Velvet Underground to experiment with noise on White Light / White Heat.
Loud and insane was what The Who was about and this album gives a glimpse into the insanity that would have been a Who concert at the time. Their subsequent albums were toned down as Pete's writing became more sophisticated but their live shows remained more like this album. Live at Leeds was ultimately released to show that their live concerts remained true to their roots.
To put this LP in perspective, at the time this album was released, The Beatles released Eight Days a Week. The Who clearly had a different brand. The James Brown covers highlight their branding at the time which was "Maximum R&B. Pete's solo on Please, Please, Please shows his original and underrated abilities.
The Kids are Alright was always an enigma. It’s a great song and a lot of Who fans love it. As a single it did well but the band never played it live until at least the 90s (probably their fifth tour after their final tour - lol) The song was the title of the movie about their live concerts but the song wasn’t played in the movie. I guess the tune was a little too user friendly and not consistent with the loud guitars and sloppy drums attitude that they wanted to be known for.
The modus operandi of the day was to release singles that were never included on albums. From a historical perspective this dilutes the quality of the albums. In this regard The Who released two singles I Can't Explain and Substitute just before and just after the LP. These were the first two songs to start their live shows for decades.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was such an excellent LP I couldn't believe Peter Gabriel split from Genesis after that one. He was always the weird one in Genesis with the costumes, crazy acid induced lyrics (see Supper's Ready) and singing style. This made him the easy one to like. When his first solo album arrived I remember reading the song names before playing it and seeing the first song was "Moribund the Burgermeister". That made me so happy. I had no clue what this title and that's what I liked about it. It was weird which meant Peter was back in business.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
4/5
We take for granted the lovely global rhythms available to us at the click of a mouse. In 1978, were there hipsters with no roots in South America who listened to this? I like to imagine there were but I doubt there were many.
The Afghan Whigs
2/5
When I first moved to Toronto in 1985, CFNY played Alternative and it was good Alternative. A couple of years later they abandoned Alternative in favour of drivel. Around 5 years after that, they decided to embrace Alternative again but by that time Alternative had become mainstream drivel. That would be around the time this Afghan Whigs album was released.
Blondie
3/5
I liked the hits - even the disco song! The rest was mediocre though.
New York Dolls
4/5
I can't believe they were playing like this, not to mention dressing like this, in 1973. Talk about OG. Compared to Sex Pistols, these guys could actually lay down some decent guitar.
Willie Nelson
3/5
I generally speaking hate albums of pop covers. But this is Willie and he gets a little leeway.
The Waterboys
4/5
Good ole fiddling at its finest. The songs have great pace and are another good celtic offering from 1001.
Baaba Maal
5/5
After shirking my 1001 duties for a week, this is a mighty fine album to return to. Baaba Maal was another one of the artists who were key to getting me hooked on African music. I didn't have Djam Leelii but bought his next album Baayo - (which is also excellent). Thankfully my copy is still in good shape since I can't find the full Baayo LP on Spotify or YouTube.
The guitars and his voice are quite amazing. Not much else to talk about but that is definitely enough.
Love
3/5
You don't have to listen to this for more than a few seconds to easily identify this is 1960s California. (if the band's name didn't already get you there). It has some pretty good instrumentals including guitar and harmonicas.
Billy Joel
4/5
A lot of hits on this one. I have the vinyl in the basement and am almost certain it was stolen from my brother. Whenever I see the LP, I think of our mom which means a 2 or 3 rating ain't happening. I remember her in the kitchen signing the songs and being so happy and feeling cool since she was listening to modern music. I expect one of the reasons she took a shine to Billy is that she thought he was a fellow Italian. Trust me, in 1977 Sudbury, no wop would know that Joel meant Jewish. There weren't any Jews in Sudbury then - except, perhaps, the lovely and talented Elisa Sch. but I didn't figure that out in 1977. I wonder how she's doing? I digress.
My favourite songs are Scenes from an Italian . . , and Moving Out. The sax and clarinet work are excellent and work so well with the piano interchanges. As a good ole Catholic, half Italian boy, I've heard every line on Only The Good Die Young so many times over in the hood and could see the song play out on every street corner in Gatchell. I even like the ballads. I could understand people using the "weinie" label on "Just The Way You Are" but his vocals are so genuine it makes the tune likeable.
Big Star
3/5
Holy Melancholy Batman!
The songs remind me of the Wilco songs I have a hard time getting into. I know that's not a ringing endorsement but, with enough time, I often end up liking the Wilco songs. One day isn't enough to know if the same could be said for the Big Star songs. Femme Fatale was a pleasant surprise. +1 for that.
Elvis Costello
4/5
It's hard not to like this album and impossible not to like the story about this album. Yup, the record company gave him a £150 advance and a tape recorder and that's all it took to sign a contract. Another £2,000 and, voilà, we have this album.
It seems like he is overflowing with song lyrics. The chorus in Less Than Zero has enough words to be verse. Reminiscent of Neil's song Harvest.
Great album.
Good album and better is coming with his second album. I hope 1001 will Pump it up
The Jam
4/5
Start and That's Entertainment are killer songs. Nice LP from these lads
Marvin Gaye
3/5
My problem with soul is present here but it’s Marvin
George Harrison
4/5
I could be given a 3 second glimpse at the album cover from 5 meters away and be able to name the album, but I don't remember ever listening to the whole album or even an entire side. My loss. This is a very good album with contributions from Rock and Roll's royalty and production by Mr. Wall of Sound before he became Mr. Fuckhead. Well, perhaps he was already Mr. Fuckhead, but he was not yet the gun slinging murdering Mr. Fuckhead.
I can't talk about all the songs but will mention a few: My Sweet Lord is a classic and the nod to the hare krishnas wasn't a minute to late for the most ridiculed religion of the day. Yeah people still shook their heads and sighed when they would see them but at least they had the validation from this wonderful song. Wah-wah is also quite good although I admit I have a thing for songs written to torture Paul.
Happy Birthday Johnny. I didn't know that song. It's only a month until my birthday. Timing is everything.
Three albums worth huh. Most of his compositions were dismissed by John and Paul for so many years, I guess once the seal was broken, there were a lot to pour out.
The Black Keys
3/5
When I saw the band's name my first thought was that I knew them and they were a bunch of ninnyhammers playing Alternative that I hate. I'm pleased to say that they weren't that bad. Some neat and nasty sounding guitar playing. The first half is better. The second half doesn't quite keep up but it's not a dud. The blues influences show themselves in many places such as I'm Not The One. The one cover they have is a soul song that I expect few of us know. They nail it and the one song genre hop works well.
Tom Waits
5/5
This is the first Tom Waits album I had. I didn't buy it - since I had no clue what a Tom Waits was - and don't remember who gave it to me. I need to find out and thank them since it is one of my ATF albums. The first words Tom slurs are " An inebriated good evening to y'all". This perfectly sets the stage for what is to come.
There are some classic songs like "Better off Without a Wife" with the timeless lyrics "she's been married so many times she has rice marks all over her face". As good as the song is, it plays second fiddle to the intro which has such classic lines as:
"maybe you whistled it but ya lost the sheet music!";
"by about 2:30 in the morning you end up taking advantage of yourself";and
"makin the scene with a magazine".
I can't think of a better album about drunken debauchery. I expect the songs came to him without much effort and were simply songs about what happened last week. "Eggs and Sausage" and "Warm Beer and Cold Woman" are two other classics both of which also have excellent intros. Warm Beer . . . includes the line: "I kinda reached the end of an emotional cul de sac one evening." and also includes the moniker "Last Ditch Attempt Saloon" that I've borrowed umpteen times to describe watering holes around the world. The line " . . . getting a lot of verbal and visual insubordination . . ." is another one I've borrowed repeatedly.
The best song on the album is Putnam County. This bad boy would never make it onto any respectable list of all time greatest songs, but it's at the top of my list. With lines like "swizzle stick legs jackknifed over naugahyde stools" and "mixed feelings over mixed drinks" it should be on everyone's GOAT list.
Animal Collective
3/5
One of these albums that I need to listen to a few times. I did have the time today so ended up liking it.
The Blue Nile
2/5
On some of the albums with cult followings, I'm part of the cult, and think: ya Baby! I can't believe nobody's with me on this one. On other cult albums, I'm on the outside looking in and need to tap whatever generosity I have not to give it a "1"
Metallica
1/5
It's been over 40 years but I still remember how I thoroughly enjoyed the first time I heard the Al Pacino character's line:
"The prosecutor is not going to get that man today
because I'm going to get him."
The film ". . . And Justice for All" is one of my ATF.
The album ". . . And Justice for All" - not so much.
OutKast
3/5
I had my little guys in the house with colds all weekend so spinning an album full of F bombs was tricky.
I like that they brought more melody to rapping which was an important part of the transformation. I couldn’t listen to enough of it to move the rating away from the middle.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
1/5
I never heard of this brother and the album is disjointed and hard to listen to.
His story of mental health and addiction problems is sad for sure and is similar to Syd Barrett's story. Syd, however, founded one of the most significant bands ever and his mental health challenges forced Roger Waters to learn how to be the principal songwriter. So Syd's story is relevant to music lovers and makes his first solo album appropriate for inclusion in the 1001 list even if you don't like it.
Skip Spence, on the other hand, was not part of one of the best bands. He was recruited to the pre-Grace Slick version of Jefferson Airplane since the band thought they should have a drummer who looked like he did. He left the band before the album was released.
To make a long story short, I didn't need to hear Skip’s depressing story. We have our own problems to worry about.
Gang Of Four
4/5
They were a good band adding to the sound from the late 70s. Yeah the album's not as good as the albums the Police or The Clash were putting out then - all those albums are 5s - but it's better than a lot of other decent albums from that era.
The Birthday Party
2/5
This album was hard to enjoy. It does have a song called Big-Jesus-Trash-Can, so there must be more to this band than is shown after one listen.
Sabu
4/5
I always thought that not much creativity was happening in music before I was born. I suppose it's easy to fall into that trap.
This album shows that Afro beats and Cuban music were being fused creating the Afro Cuban genre before I was born. That's wicked. I wonder who was listening to it? We know our parents weren't that cool.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Noise 101
The Beatles' first use of distortion was I Feel Fine. They approached distortion with white gloves on and everybody listened to it. The Who whacked distortion in the face with boxing gloves on in their song The OX. Nobody listened to it. They also mixed some lighter distortion in their songs they hoped would be hits and they got radio play. Lou seemingly couldn't give a fuck about radio play and gave us this opera of distortion sledgehammer style.
Overall, the album feels like it's half baked although I guess noise is supposed to sound that way. Side 1 is, relatively speaking, tame. Side 2 is the ugly noise side. "I heard her call my name" ramps up the distortion level and Sister Ray is a full-on assault of noise. When listening to this, it's hard to imagine that four years later he would record Transformer and six years later, on Rock 'n' Roll Animal, he would show that he recognizes the benefits of musicians who can play, in the more typical definition of the word.
I've come to realize that musicians have greatly advanced hearing so hear things that mere mortals like us don't. After so many years I can appreciate the noise assault on this album. I'm still miles away from Metal Machine Music and doubt I can ever take enough baby steps to get there.
The Crusaders
3/5
Great piano solo of over 1 minute starting at 3:45 into the first track. The first track is quite good notwithstanding the disco hints. The rest of the album doesn't hit the same level.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
It's the weekend and my cheerfulness kept stopping me from getting into this album. I'll have to take it out again on a rainy Monday.
Dizzee Rascal
3/5
The music critics lived this one. That says I’ll never fulfill my dream of
being a music critic.
The War On Drugs
3/5
It is very 80s like. Since I already lived through the 80-s, it's hard to get too excited about 80s2.1
Turbonegro
3/5
I've said many times that by the 80s / 90s I had grown weary of heavy guitar dominated rock but something about this 1998 Euro version of guitar heavy glam works for me.
How can you not like the song "Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker". I don't care what it sounds like, I'm liking that song. On "Get it On", it sure sounds like they pinched the "like it, love it . . ." from Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen".
It did get a little tiring though and I admit I had to pass on 5 of the last songs to jump to Suff City.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
I had heard ELP's version of the Nutcraker before but otherwise don't know this album. I appreciate the initiative but prefer to have a little Brain Salad Surgery.
Eric Clapton
2/5
I like a lot of Clapton's guitar playing but his playing on this album doesn't measure up. I'm also a big Bob Marley fan but the one song of his I can't stand is "I Shot The Sheriff"
Nitin Sawhney
4/5
The topic of this album was timely given the shit show the US and Russia are causing in Ukraine.
I didn’t known much about Oppenheimer but I concurred with Bob Dylan’s view in Desolation Row that Einstein was the good smart guy and Oppenheimer, aka the “jealous monk”, was the bad smart guy. Kinda interesting that the WW2 analysis led me to conclude the German dude was good and the American dude was bad.
This album made me read more about Oppenheimer. The things he said around the time of the Trinity detonation and things he said in the years following make me see a different side of the Jealous Monk.
The last song contains Oppenheimer’s powerful recital of the passage from the Bhagavad Gita.
Wow.
The Style Council
4/5
I got this album on release since I liked the Jam and wanted more music like that. Typical good news / bad news scenario. Bad news: they didn’t sound anything like The Jam. Good news: I really liked it. On release I liked every song on the album except the two singles. Over the years I gave this vinyl a spin occasionally but play side 1 only to avoid the singles. 1001 made me listen to side 2 again and, surprisingly, I now like the singles.
I like the genre hopping on this album. The jazz is quite good. The old school is kind of funny so many years later.
My favourite song is Paris Match. I particularly enjoy the “glass half full” lyrics: “Empty skies say try to forget. Better advice is to have no regrets“ Tracey Thorn sings this song beautifully. It might be her best singing ever. It’s interesting how some singers deliver better than ever on an album that isn’t their own. The same could be said of Maria McKee’s vocals on “If Love is a red Dress . . .” on the Pulp Fiction sound track
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
These guys play well together. The bass and piano soloing over each other sounded great. The thing I didn’t like was all the bass solos. Nass solos are almost as pompous as drum solos.
Sufjan Stevens
3/5
So his plan was to write an album about each state. I wonder if anybody who isn't American thinks that's a good idea.
We all had school assignments requiring us to write about people and events that we researched in history books, but getting an A on a school project is not the same as being able to write song lyrics about the topics. He does this brilliantly. The music on the other hand is a little too dreamy for me.
--
Deerhunter
3/5
I enjoyed a few songs but this was another one where the music was a little too dreamy. I didn't really get around to the lyrics.
Orbital
4/5
Our last two albums used the word "halcyon": on yesterday's it was the album's title and on today's it was a song title. I guess most musicians and definitely most songwriters have a better vocabulary than the average Joe. Call me crazy, but I think most of the members of the last two bands have a vocabulary that's even better than David Lee Roth's.
This is a very good techno album.
Bad Company
2/5
This is rock and roll from the early 70s although they clearly weren't in the same league as The Who, the Stones or Led Zep. The lead guitarist and bass player are quite good at playing their instruments but the songs aren't very interesting. I can't understand why they would think it was a good idea to make a song titled (and having the slowly sung chorus) "Don't Let Me Down" given Lennon's classic was released only a few years earlier.
This album has aged like a 1974 Chateau le Vinaigre.
Ray Price
1/5
Around the time that people started finding hidden messages when they spun a vinyl album backwards, there was a fun joke circulating:
Question: What happens if you play a country music record backwards?
Answer: You get your car back, your dog back and your wife back.
While I thought this joke was clever, I also considered myself at least a pseudo country fan so didn’t really agree with it. This Ray Price album validates that joke. If you listen to albums like this, your dog will definitely run away, your wife will leave and your car will be repossessed. No doubt about it.
Beck
3/5
Holy Melancholy Batman!
This introspective and vulnerable side of Beck makes this album easier to like than the other offering from 1001.
Black Sabbath
4/5
I recognize this album cover. I’m pretty sure MG bought this one on release.
Tony’a guitar playing is quite good and the drumming is also top shelf. Hard to believe they pulled this off drunk and stoned.
I like the ballad on this album too.
I made a rookie mistake and rated the War Pigs album too low so will bump this one.
Rush
3/5
The opening high tech stuff sounds a little silly now but it was cool back in the day. The song goes on for a bit before the opening lyrics “and the meek shall inherit the earth”. It’s interesting that this song is where I know that line from. Nine years in Catholic school and countless Sunday masses left no memory of this line although I’m sure I heard it said by countless old farts before I heard Gary said it. Lennon was right when he said “we’re more popular than Jesus now.” and this is just Rush.
I don’t remember side 2 at all. Perhaps I never had this album and just know side 1 since it’s also on their live album, All the World’s a Stage” which I definitely had on vinyl.
Good memories hearing this again but my rating can’t get too lofty.
Brian Wilson
2/5
“Lying in Bed Just like Brain Wilson Dead”
I understand Brian Wilson covered this Bare Naked Ladies’ song on one of his tours.
Why wasn’t there room on the 1001 for a Bare Naked Ladies’ LP? They could have left this Brian Wilson album off the list.
Carole King
4/5
There are a lot of good well known songs on this one. I know the many hits she wrote that others have sung. She signs in a way that sounds like she is at peace. After one listen, I would have been willing to give good odds that her wiki story would not include tales of substance abuse.
The Smiths
2/5
I’m not sure you could be sad that The Smiths stopped making albums. Morrissey’s voice worked for a while but by this time it started to be irritating. I guess he didn’t get that since he made so many solo albums after.
Supergrass
3/5
Cool pinky like sound with good energy
Manic Street Preachers
2/5
What a great name for a group. Too bad about the music.
The Mars Volta
4/5
I didn’t know the meaning of two words in the album title. Thanks to 1001, I now know what the words “in” and “the” mean.
This is quite heavy and full of energy but not the same old / same old heavy and not the same old / same old prog rock. The first five or so songs are exceptional as are the cover and alternate cover.
Spiritualized
3/5
The Typical fluffy sound of Space Rock without drums is not my cup of tea. The first song had me worried. The songs on this album that have drums, raunchy guitar playing and an avante garde sound work nicely although I could have survived without hearing minutes 10-17 of Cop shoot Cop.
a-ha
3/5
Take on Me is one of those 80s synth pop songs that I liked. The next track has the same sound although I don't remember it. I was ready to call them a one hit wonder but thought I should check first and discovered that they released 10 albums. Who knew? Speaking of Who, this album was recorded at the boathouse converted into Eel Pie Studios which was owned by Pete Townshend. (Pete liked it since he could drive his boat there after his driving license was taken away.)
The 80s sound starts to wear and the backing vocals on tracks like Blue Sky drive me nuts. The Sun Always Shines on TV kicks it up a notch which works.
This album was noted as influencing Coldplay. I considered -1 for this but let it go.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
This was a nice album. I'm close to a 4 but the dreamy stuff got to me.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
5/5
This album is so good. I would give a 10 rating to 5 of the first 6 songs.
Mudhoney
4/5
This sounds like early Nirvana which I like. If I have my dates straight, this was released before Nirvana’s first album which gives them OG status for the Seattle scene.
Peter Frampton
4/5
This was a classic and played at every party back in the day. Frampton brought the talk box to the masses with this one. He was also a good guitar player. The jam in the 12th minute (post talk box) of “Do You Feel …” shows they really know to play and are tight.
The Killers
2/5
There are a couple of hits I recognize but I can’t get really get into this one.
Tears For Fears
3/5
I remember these hits so well. They were that pop new wave band that were kinda cool. Probably also kinda irrelevant in the long term but fun back in the day.
MGMT
2/5
This is from a decade when I was working and travelling so much that I didn’t spend much time seeking out new music. I recognize a song or two from this album and there isn’t much
to get excited about.
Depeche Mode
3/5
It’s the holidays so I had time to listen to the songs 2+times. The hits Pers Jesus, Enjoy the Silence and Policy of Truth are quite good. As for the rest, the darker songs like Halo were harder to listen to the second time through. The three hits are good so, for a second, I considered rounding up - but only for a second.
Death In Vegas
3/5
The sound is decent but not enough to keep my interest for the full album. They have some adventurous cover versions for sure.
Stephen Stills
2/5
So the month after this was released Rolling Stone mag decided not to put Stills on its cover and instead decided to put Keith Partridge on the cover. What a dis.
Stills getting away from pure folk and multipart harmonies that defined CSN was a good thing. The country tunes and Byron Berline's capable fiddle playing make for some excellent toe tappers. On the other hand, this album is the poster child for the need to remove albums from the 1001. It's important that the list is refreshed as new years come and go since we would otherwise have a stale list. Also with the goal of keeping the list from getting stale, albums that are no longer relevant need to be yanked. This album is a good candidate.
Music is a 3 but -1 for losing to Keith Partridge. Man that's gotta hurt.
Machito
3/5
Another Cuban hitting NYC and finding cool fusions in the 50s. I have the last one a high rating although who knows who was first. Oh well the 1001 order influences the ratings.
Ute Lemper
3/5
I had a busy day and had to listen to this as background music while talking with others. This is definitely not the right way to listen to this bad boy. I wanted to get the New Year off on the right foot and not be behind on my 1001 homework so 3 it is.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
4/5
The lyrics deliver simple messages on important topics and a lyric sheet isn’t needed to figure out what the words are or what they mean. Television is an example of this. I understand that some might negatively label the lyrics as simplistic rather than simple. If you want your message to be understood, simpler is better. Sure Mr. Tambourine Man is a great song but nobody other than Bob knows what the lyrics mean.
The music is more interesting than on other hip hop albums on the list. The Avant garde horns (whether they be real or programmed?) on Satanic Reverses are a good example of this.
Overall it’s one of the hip hop highlights on the list
5/5
This era was peak PJ. On her previous albums she would toggle between distortion infused rockers and ballads that were barely there. On this album she has shined up the ballads a bit which elevates those ballads.
Kate Bush
3/5
I like Kate Bush but only so much. To be sure, this album is well done. It's just a little to artsy for me.
The Specials
4/5
This is a good raw sound. It puts more edge on the Jamaican ska sound of the Skatalites and others. It is "under-produced" which works well. It wouldn’t have worked so well otherwise.
Devendra Banhart
4/5
Devendra Obi Banhart - born in Texas.
His first name was chosen by his parent’s guru and his middle name was from, you guessed it, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I can’t make this up.
With this etymology, we have a quirky, artsy, original, intelligent singer - songwriter who sounds like an early days Tom Waits but sober.
The White Stripes
3/5
Dum
Dum Dum Dum Dum
Dum
Dum
Everyone knows the riff and it’s one of the easiest riffs ever. The KISS principle is alive and well.
This riff led to a big following for these guys but I never really understood
Todd Rundgren
4/5
In the 70s it wasn’t uncommon for
someone to describe an album as being “good to listen to on acid”. This album would be one of those albums so described.
This album is so bizarre and he plays very well. I think I’ll head to the pool room, score some blotter and give it another listen.
Orbital
4/5
Compared to the previous
Orbital album, this one has a little more variation with less club music. The club music is still the highlight and very well done.
Blur
2/5
Can a song with a sharp opening riff be a hit even if the lyrics are mockingly nonsensical? If you think it can, yell “Yoo Hoo!”
Dennis Wilson
1/5
This was a tough listen.
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
4/5
I liked what Public Image did; this album is completely different but also very enjoyable. Jah Wobble is a very good bass player. Too bad they don't list the other musicians on the album. I read that the female vocalist on Visions of You is Sinead O'Connor. The other female vocalist (on Erzulie and several other songs) is amazing. The Arabian beats work beautifully with her vocals.
Little Richard
5/5
This collection of Little Richard‘s songs greatly influenced the British invasion in the 1960s. It’s interesting that when the Beatles covered songs in the early days, they really didn’t change much. Long Tall Sally is an excellent example of that as Paul even slurs the same words that Little Richard did.
The Beatles are just one of the long list of Rock and Roll’s finest that were influence by Little Richard. He also broke music’s colour barrier as both black and white folks attended his concerts in the early 1960s.
Stan Getz
4/5
I don't know how one can make a sax sound so clean and mellow. At other times when he pays high notes he makes it sound like a trumpet played very gently.
To top it off, I'm a bossa nova fan so have respect for the Brazilian OGs.
1/5
This is not what I had planned for the weekend.
Roxy Music
4/5
I remember this album being around. I don’t recognize any songs but do remember the album cover. I would have been around thirteen when the album came out so I suppose the cover being memorable isn’t surprising.
The album has some rockers and also has some story telling songs that remind me of early Kinks albums.The rockers All I Want is You, Casanova and Prairie rose are highlights.
A solid 3 1/2. I’m not rounding up for the cover. Well maybe.
Pink Floyd
5/5
OK Roger's a left wing whacko. I am too when it comes to being anti-war but we can agree to disagree on many of his views on capitalism. As a result, I really like Money but Us and Them is my favourite song on the album.
Who hasn't played the air drums to the drum bits at the start of Time?.
Clare Torry makes the song "The Great Gig in the Sky '' but I can't agree with giving her songwriting credit.
The lyrics throughout the album are relatively easy to figure out although the talking between some of the songs is a mystery. What on earth is a fader eleven? (mumbled at the end of Time)
The Black Crowes
3/5
Middle of the road road and roll. My guess is that their influences were Rolling Stones and ZZ Top.
I remember Hard to Handle being a hit for them but never understood a single word of the lyrics including the words Hard to Handle.
Nothing here to upset anyone but also nothing to get to excited about.
Richard Hawley
4/5
This album was valiant. Sure records from this genre have been made every which way and the genre is tried and true, but the tried and true records were 50 years ago.
While the album is chronologically misplaced, it's in no way stale. He dusted off a genre from decades earlier and recorded songs produced with superior recording and production technology of the day. The songs are mostly original compositions but you can hear the sounds of yesteryear. For example, the steel guitar on "Hotel Room" is reminiscent of the steel guitar on Paul Anka's “Put Your Head on my Shoulder”.
I enjoyed listening to this and will keep it in rotation.
Taylor Swift
2/5
I was toe tapping. This is so embarrassing. I hope the Spotify algorithm was sleeping when I listened to this.
The Stone Roses
3/5
I’m surprised this was so well regarded. It’s a decent sound and Sugar Spun Sis is a good song but I don’t get why it was so popular. Perhaps in 1989 it didn’t sound so vanilla.
Elizabeth My Dear made me laugh lSimon and Garfunkel took composer credit for Scarborough Fair when they released it even though Simon didn't write it. They did make it popular though and it is so fitting that The Stone Rises includes a sub 1 min. version with no mention of the or the name Paul Simon or the title Scarborough Fair .
Aretha Franklin
4/5
I don’t think I ever listened to a full album by her before. Her voice is quite good, which I already knew.
Drive Like Jehu
2/5
I couldn’t get through all of this but what I did hear wasn’t working for me.
JAY Z
3/5
The accolades for this album are pouring from every cranny. What am I missing? I know I'm white but it's not like I shop at the GAP.
This album was one of the most extreme "yesterday I was wrong" ranking resets in the Rolling Stone Mag's best albums list. It went from #486 on their 2003 version of the list to #50 in the 2020 iteration. The music is interesting to listen to but if I were in charge of Rolling Stone, I would have stuck with my initial ranking.
Weather Report
3/5
This sub-genre of jazz works and doesn't work for me depending on -- who knows? This one wasn't my favourite although I appreciate that they play well. This sound likely influenced acid jazz to come in the following decade.
Spotify's algorithm fed me Zappa's Hot Rats after this. I hadn't heard that in ages and quite enjoyed it.
Ray Charles
3/5
This is another album credited with breaking the colour barrier. To be honest, I prefer Ray's music that the white folks weren't interested in. I like the originals of the country tunes, especially Hank's songs, so that's not the problem but orchestration filters on these songs brings them a step down from the originals. The arrangements leave little room for Ray's piano playing and velvety voice to shine through. Hey if it made him famous, who can argue with its being in the list.
Public Enemy
3/5
I don't know what to say anymore. It wasn't bad. How's that?
Bon Jovi
4/5
I wasn’t a fan of this when it came out and it’s not my genre but the album has grown on me. I went to Rock in Rio in 2013 and Bon Jovi played one of the nights. I didn’t attend that night but all the concerts were streamed throughout the city. I enjoyed seeing them play some of the songs from this album.
Living on a Prayer is an anthem that I quite enjoy these days. Also, this album is the favourite of one of my sons. Enough said.
4/5
I read that this album was done prior to Tommy and that it should be considered the rock opera OG. I see that Tommy was recorded and released before Arthur. Hmmm. Perhaps Davies had the Arthur story line worked out before Townshend sorted out Tommy. Who knows? Anyway, apparently S.F. Sorrow beat both Pete and Ray to the punch but it doesn't hold a candle to either album.
The songs are really well written and played and this album might be Ray's pinnacle. The guitars and harpsichord wonderfully capture the sound of the late 60s. An excellent example of both these instruments is on "She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina". Victoria is a great sucker punch for the British Empire years. When I heard the verses of that song today I couldn't help but think their singing was similar to Canned Heat
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
Cyndi sure was a heck of a lot of fun back in the day. She has a funky voice and can really belt it out. I can understand how it would be labelled irritating. I can't disagree but I still like it. She also also had the look, and dance moves that worked well for the all important MTV decision makers.
The cool cover of He's So Unusual made it fun to learn the genesis of the album's name.
I liked her back on the day - not enough to buy this album or anything but I liked her. If it weren't for 1001 I would have never listened to her again. I did enjoy listening to her songs today but probably won't ever listen to them again.
Sound like a 3?
Destiny's Child
3/5
Pop music from a genre that’s not up there for me would normally get a lower rating but they do sign well and I get that this was influential. So . . .
Lou Reed
5/5
There are two examples on this album where, rather than finding words that rhyme, Lou just uses the same word twice. The first everyone knows:
“But she never lost her head
even when she was giving head”
and the other from Vicious:
“Hey, why don't you swallow razor blades?
You must think that I'm some kind of gay blade
I understand he would write lyrics very quickly and not go back to make any changes. This is consistent with his persona of not taking himself too seriously. Why not use the same words? They rhyme with each other - lol.
Anyway, both are excellent songs from this excellent album
and the title is fitting since it transformed Lou.
The Who
5/5
It’s such a good album that it doesn’t seem sensible that it was salvaged from a trash bin overflowing with the colossal failure that was the Lifehouse Project. Pete was devastated - at least until he cashed the first $10 million cheque from Who’s Next.
I could easily write a para on each song but I’ll just give a couple of highlights on lesser known songs
When listening to the song Bargain, try to imagine how Ringo or any other decent drummer from the era would have played. Two or three taps on the high-hat followed by a tap on the snare and then rinse and repeat; this is how one drums on a ballad right? Not Keith. His drumming throughout the song is brilliant and night and day different from what any other drummer was doing. Around the 4:15 mark, is that supposed to be a synth solo? Nope - it's non-interruptive synth humming that's put there as the canvas that Moon uses to splatter away with his paint brushes disguised as drum sticks.
The Song is Over shows how Pete's vocals improved (as they continued to through the solo albums he released in the 1980s). It also features excellent keyboards by Nicky Hopkins (RIP) who was probably the best rock and roll and ballad keyboardist around at the time. Pete wanted him to join the band but Hopkins had health issues that made touring impossible. Hopkins also lays down some seriously good keyboards on Getting in Tune.
This is The Who’s best album imho.
Arcade Fire
3/5
As far as the Indie genre goes, this wasn’t bad. The first song had a bit of a Neil Young ballad sound and the album also mixed in some much heavier stuff. They sound like they would be fun t see in concert.
Jungle Brothers
4/5
I feel so out of the loop on this genre. I get some of the stuff I read on wiki. What U Waiting For sounds like Brothers Johnson hip hoppin so, yeah, like wiki says, this is hip hop with a funk vibe. I just don’t know how important it was overall.
Oh well I should give the odd hip hop rating that’s above 3 so here is a random 4.
The Stooges
4/5
On this album Iggy was testing waters that the rest of the music world wasn't testing in 1969. Nonetheless, one still hears some 1969 flavours like psychedelic. I wonder what the San Fran summer of love types would have thought about this album.
The first two songs are insane and are the highlights. We Will Fall reminds me of the quieter spooky parts of The End. The End, unlike We Will Fall, built to a crescendo which is what made that song so amazing musically. We Will Fall could have been as good if The Stooges put a little " meet me at the back of the blue bus" into this song. I could say the same about Ann although it thinks about hopping on the blue bus near the end but then changes its mind.
No Fun is pure punk. It's crazy that Iggy was doing this in 69. No Fun and Not Right are pure fuzz fests and it really works
It's telling that Spotify algorithm played Janie Jones after this album.
Jefferson Airplane
4/5
This album oozes San Fran Summer of Love. Do they even need to have verses for Somebody to Love? That song and Slick's composition White Rabbit are quite good.
Who knew the rhythm section wouldn't fall apart without Skip on drums - lol. I'm glad they included one of his compositions, My Best Friend, which is nicely done and very psychedelic.
This album makes Jefferson Airplane heavily associated with psychedelic and Haight Ashbury - not at the level of the Grateful Dead and Big Brother and the Holdco but up there. These were the good days of psychedelic. Peace.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
This was an excellent debut album. What a wonderful voice. It's not in the same league as Back to Black.
D'Angelo
3/5
As I've said many times, a whole album of soul without fusion is painful. Fortunately, this album fuses. The title track is quite good because of the fusion with hip hop. The drum beats on Allright are another good example and Bob Power's guitar playing including on Shit, Damn, MF is quite good.
The fusion is good in general but the reliance on super high pitched male lead and background vocals typical in soul makes it difficult to handle the full album.
King Crimson
4/5
Aspic Rodeo anyone?
Headphones are the way to go with this one. First, the headphones are critical to avoid the verbal and visual insubordination of family members who are within earshot. On my first attempt to listen without headphones, before the first song was done my son came home and bribed me by saying he would cook us dinner as long as I turned the damn thing off. I was kinda hungry so . . . .
Also, I was not getting into it since it's terrible background music. With headphones though it's a completely different story. The drums / timbales and strings on The Talking Drum are excellent. It has a middle eastern feel to it - even though the album is apparently Eastern Europe influenced. Fripp is a master at getting his guitar to make sounds that other guitar players only hear in their dreams. He is also very good at making his guitar make normal guitar sounds as he shows on Book of Saturday.
I invented a game called Aspic Rodeo to play when company comes over. I'll play this album and whoever lasts the longest before asking me to turn it off wins.
Sister Sledge
2/5
Oh man I hate disco.
To begrudgingly give credit where it's due, Nile Rodgers does lay down some good rhythm guitar and that gets it over the starting rating of 1 that applies to all disco albums.
Brian Eno
2/5
Every airport has that dreaded customer service desk between security and the gates. This is where you find the most irate people in the airport since the only people who use that desk are ones who, because of a late connecting flight or their own tardiness, missed their flight and need to line up to get more bad news. If this album were played at the airport, I expect the amount of yelling and swearing at this customer service desk would decrease, but the lines at this desk would be longer since people would fall asleep in the airport and miss their flight. I don't like this album but I can't give it a 1 since, as boring as it is, it's infinitely better than muzak.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
At Rock in Rio I saw the first time the band played this entire album in order. I also saw Bruce in Toronto in 1985 when this album was just released. The show started with them playing the title song with a big US flag being a back curtain. Regan wanted this to be his campaign song. Whoops! I guess he didn't check the lyric sheet.
Reagan's quote from his campaign trail:
"America's future rests . . . in the message of hope in the songs of a man so many young Americans admire - New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen"
Alas, the bromance was one sided as Springsteen, speaking to the audience just before playing Badlands on the day after Reagan was elected said: “I don’t know what you guys think about what happened last night, but I think it’s pretty frightening,"
It has some other really good songs such as Glory Days and My Hometown and Darlington County is a heck of a lot of fun live. This is his best selling album but I can't get to a 5 since I never really liked Dancing in The Dark and there is a wee bit of filler. I'll save the 5 for the album with the rest of the songs he wrote at this time.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Nice collection of songs and jamming. I never knew this was called swamp rock but when you hear the term it so obviously fits. Their prior album was mainly covers but this one has just one cover - a fine version of Little Richard's Good Golly Miss Molly - as Fogerty takes over song writing. (Little Richard returned the favour by covering Born onThe Bayou.)
The songs stripped down would be just OK but the band plays very well and many of the songs break into excellent jamming sessions.
Hookworms
4/5
Drone rock. Wow another genre moniker that fits perfectly. This is hard driving good beats by a band that I never heard of. They must have liked Kraftwerk back in the day. I didn't get time to discover too much of the lyrics but I did check out lyrics to Negative Space; they deal with emotions and hallucinations after a good friend dies. Very well done.
I like that the list is augmented with recent stuff and I will be generous with rating more recent albums that I like. When we're done and we look back at our ratings, I don't want all my 4s and 5s to be bands comprised of old grey haired fothermuckers like me.
Bob Dylan
4/5
I think it was Sam Cooke who, after hearing the first line of this album, rallied his fellow black musicians by saying something like: I can't believe this line was written by some skinny ass white guy rather than by me or another black musician.
Bob is the GOAT when it comes to lyrics. So far I have given three of his albums 5 ratings. This album has made me think more about his music, excluding lyrics, and to observe that it's nothing to write home about. To make my point, consider how many cover versions of his songs are substantially better than the originals. An obvious example is Jimi's cover of All Along The Watchtower. One could say that's not a fair comparison given how good Jimi is on guitar but there is more to his version than his licks. A far less known example that may be a more fair comparison is to look at Bob's song "Girl From The North Country" from this album and compare it to Pete Townshend's "North Country Girl". Bob took songwriting credit for this song although it's been said that this is a traditional song arranged by Bob. Townshend took the same song and made his own arrangement. Give it a listen; it's substantially better than Bob's version and since they both started with the same traditional song, the difference is due to the relative music writing capabilities. Yeah it's due to the playing abilities too but Pete's arrangement is better regardless.
I've given Bob a lot of 5s and considering my above thoughts, he needs a couple of 4s mixed in.
Serge Gainsbourg
2/5
I feel like someone read a story to me and I didn’t understand a word - since it’s in French. Duh
The guitar playing is quite dramatic at times but that doesn’t help me understand the story. Apparently it’s about an old dude with a 15 year old girl. How would that go over at major record companies these days? Back then, it was less than a decade after the film Lolita was released so I guess that taboo was manageable then? If it were a comedy that would help make it marketable. Is it a comedy? I have no way of
knowing since, as I previously said, "it’s in French". I think I also previously said "Duh".
Funkadelic
4/5
Getting old sucks! Yes there are the hairs that start to pop up on your ears but far worse is the requirement to have a colonoscopy. Yesterday was the day! 1001 decided I should spend that special day with Funkadelic. That was fun. The album that is - not the dreaded camera angle. The guitar work was quite good and the overall sound was good to have in the background while I was focussing on other things. I will definitely listen to this album more often than I revisit the cameraman.
Even before I click the vote button, I can hear you saying "Thanks for sharing".
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
4/5
I remember having Brain Salad Surgery and the two Works LPs but don't think I listened to Tarkus that much. It's a good prog rock LP with plenty of creative keyboarding by Keith. Is the advent of the synth and other electronic forms of keyboards what started prog rock? The album also has the obligatory 20+ minute song which seems to be part of the big prog rock band admission fee. Try to name a top prog band that didn't have one of these? Supper's Ready, Close to the Edge, Echoes, Lizard.
System Of A Down
2/5
From what I read I would be on the same page as the lyrics but I just can't listen to them.
Paul Weller
4/5
This is another post Jam album where PW shows his versatility. The first half dozen or so songs have the hits, some folk-ish vibes and what imo is the best song on the LP: Can You Heal Us (Holy Man).
5th Season could easily be an early 70s song complete with Bill Preston style organ playing. The Weaver continues with the 70s-esque style and Holy Man reprise has a gospel feeling. On Foot of The Mountain he shows that he knows how to play acoustic as he lays down some very tricky chord progressions.
The only downside is the album production is a little too slick. The songs are very good as we expect from PW, but the live versions are so much better.
--
Deep Purple
2/5
This band is known for playing well live but the album has too much navel gazing. The 6 minute intro to Lazy is 4 minutes too long and the 6 minute drum solo on the Mule is 6 minutes too long. Don’t get me started on Space Trucker.
I took a pass on the additional
songs Spotify offered in the deluxe package including around 17 versions of Black Night.
I really don’t get this album.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
This is a really good 1960s rock sound and I expect they had the same musical influences as the Beatles, Stones, Animals, etc. It must have felt strange being American and having to play second fiddle to the British invasion bands.
There's Always Tomorrow and several other songs show that they were quick to incorporate the nascent Psychedelic sound. (Eight Miles High was released just a few months before this Raiders album.)
Since I never really followed this band it's hard to get too excited about them almost 60 years later.
Nick Drake
4/5
I like the basic acoustic version rather than the flowery arrangements on the last ND album we had.
The Sonics
3/5
This is a good example of garage rock / proto-punk from the first half of the 60s. The Witch is as heavy as The Who's My Generation album albeit without the feedback, and My Gen was released a year later. The album has covers of two songs that the Beatles also covered on their first album. On one, Roll Over Beethoven, the singing follows Chuck Berry's original which is also how Harrison sang it. On the second, Money, Lennon's singing didn't stray from the original but The Sonics' did. This is interesting and although it didn't stray that far, I thought it worked.
The Sonics also cover Walking The Dog which also strays from the original. Their version is, however, close to The Stones cover of this song. I'm not sure who copied whom or if it was a coincidence.
The shouting seems to be overdone. I think it's better to shout on fewer songs so the shouts have an impact. By the time we got to Strychnine I found myself thinking "Oh Lord, not another "EEOOOHHH!"
Motörhead
3/5
So they are a cross between late 70s heavy metal and late to the party punk. As such, I was expecting to hate this. It wasn’t as bad as I feared.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
She starts to flirt with Jazz flavours and moves away from acoustic folk. This makes her music have so much more depth. She takes this furthest on Twisted and the Cheech and Chong cameo is a bizarre touch that works.
The hits on this album are quite good. Back in the day I didn't like Raised on Robbery since it was overplayed to death. I liked it today. Robbie Robertson's electric guitar transforms the song to rock and roll. In hindsight, I also like how she was able to sufficiently camouflage the lyrics so the officious AM radio censorship narcs didn't notice that the song was about a prostitute and allowed it on the airwaves.
Miles Davis
3/5
I didn’t think albums were made with only one song per side until the Prog rockers. Who knew?
I like jazz but don’t know it well enough to appreciate the nuances of the esoteric side of it.
The Yardbirds
2/5
If you ask 100 people who are leaving a rock concert who Jeff Beck is a majority will know the name. If you also ask them if they know who Keith Relf is you will not need your second hand to count the number of yesses. You probably won't even need your first hand. (Before reading on, I'll let you in on a secret: he was the Yardbirds' lead singer.)
Great guitar players need a lead singer who can do two of the following three: 1) sing, 2) entertain, and 3) write music. All three are not needed but two of the three are. Pete Townshend found Daltrey who could do 1 and 2. Keith Richards found Mick who can do 2 and 3 and Jimmy Page found Plant who can do 1 and 2.
Keith Relf couldn't do any of the three. The result is excellent guitar playing (Jeff Beck’s in the case of this album) being stranded in a wasteland of songs that, from all other perspectives, are painfully mediocre.
To finish with a cherry on top, the best song on the album is "Jeff’s Boogie". It has no vocals. I rest my case.
R.E.M.
4/5
The two monster songs on this are, well, monsters.
I surprisingly don't have an REM song I play on guitar. I considered playing "The One I Love". It's a catchy tune and so easy to play but I just can't sing songs that are so mean. I read that bf/gf's will ask DJs to dedicate this song to their better half when they are having a huggy bear / kissy-face moment. I understand that the song is even played at funerals. I guess a lot of people get a nice warm feeling from the title and the first two stanzas so they ignore the third stanza.
I considered playing "It's the end of the World . . .". It's also easy to play on guitar but nailing lyrics is too daunting. The lyrics are great and the pace is intense. It's funny that the lyrics are basically finished after 2 1/2 minutes but they just keep singing the chorus for another 1 1/2 minutes rather than ending the song. I guess they had what would normally be four minutes worth of lyrics but just decided to sing them in 2 1/2 minutes so may as well keep it a four minute song, lol. Michael Stipe must have a blast singing it live especially seeing audience after audience try (and fail) to sing the lyrics at his pace.
Christine and the Queens
4/5
When reading reviews I had to laugh at how the reviewers' pronoun confusion led to almost exclusive use of non gender specific pronouns - for example, "I love Chris' singing." Better safe than sorry - lol. When you change your moniker from Christine and the Queens to Chris you have to expect some confusion to result. He changes his moniker to "Redcar" on his next album so the confusion is staying.
Do I like this synth pop? In the early / mid 80s - yeah but not recently. Do I like this album? Yeah. He makes some bopping tunes. A lot of reviews point out Michael Jackson influences but I think Eurythmics influence is more accurate.
He's a good singer, made a decent album and has a personality that keeps things interesting.
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
This is Paul's best album. Side 1 is decent and I might actually listen to it every 10 years or so. Side 2 is back to normal Paul stuff filled with a mix of his trademark weenie songs and other tunes with insipid lyrics.
Let's start with the positive: Band on the Run is a great song. Yup I'll give credit where it's due; Paul hit one out of the park. Denny Laine adds a great opening riff and another good riff while the chorus (? song title) is repeated. The strumming and bass playing interchange throughout keeps the song moving nicely.
Jet is also a good tune but the lyrics are from the bargain basement bin where we expect to find Paul.
Bluebird is a nice tune but the song's title makes it a letdown. Paul's song Blackbird was a good anti-racism song, even though the message was cryptic. The similarity of the two bird songs' names makes me expect more. The tune is good but lyrically it's another of Paul's hotdog songs.
Let me Roll It is a good tune with a good riff. Paul uses the same ruffian (or sore throat) vocals he used in Oh Darling which I quite like.
Side 2 is a dud. 1985 is a cool tune but the lyrics are weak. He can't even come up with lyrics for the bridge so instead just does a WOOOOOOOOOO.
The White Stripes
3/5
I liked this more than the last White
Stripes LP we had. I expect it’s recorded after the other one so they probably got better at what they do. Or perhaps I was in the right mood for it this time around.
Korn
2/5
I don't like hip hop and don't like metal. Why not try to put them together? While I like the fusion more than the component parts, the album lacks substance and it's tough slugging to listen to more than a few songs. I like that the name of their tour in support of this album was called "The Family Values Tour". Gotta love the sarcasm. Didn't we have a Cheech and Chong cameo on a recent album. Here we go again on the last track.
I'm in favour of new fusions with music and particularly with hip hop so wtf, +1.
Sigur Rós
2/5
Some of this album is easily ignorable ambient which is hard to either like or dislike that much. When they pick up the pace on songs like "Ný batterí" it's quite good. Unfortunately there is not much of this. The lead vocalist can sing although in a very atypical male voice. Some of the songs, like "Hjartað hamast" bury the lead vocals in a cloud which is a waste of a talented singer. The high pitched male vocals and the album overall wear out their welcome long before the end of this drawn out album.
Megadeth
2/5
This isn’t my gig. I guess it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
Ministry
1/5
One of the reviews characterized this as theomockery. Great term. The thought of +1 for that entered my mind but then quickly exited.
Massive Attack
3/5
I only had a chance to listen to this casually as I was driving around doing errands. I enjoyed it albeit superficially.
Janis Joplin
5/5
The band name works! What was with that holding company nonsense?
When driving up the coast of California on vacation we took a detour to have lunch in Salinas just cause it was where Bobby McGee slipped away. It's interesting that Janis changed Bobby's gender. I expect she would have been comfortable singing it with Bobby being a woman - as the song was written. Janis added the words "I'm gonna call him my lover . . ." and, since she was bi-sexual, she probably would have sung that just fine too but this would have been a little too risky for radio at that time. I read that this is one of the first or second posthumously released songs to hit #1. I always said I prefer Chris' original version but listening to it again I'm not sure.
The playing and production on the album is excellent. In addition to Bobby, there are two other monster hits. I think Cry Baby is my favourite Janis song.
Neneh Cherry
3/5
There is something groovin on this blend of hip hop that makes it OK. Not much veering off the formulae though.
Brian Eno
4/5
Funny to see Phil Collins included with the cool kids invited to play on this album. They recorded this just after the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour ended. Back then Phil was a cool guy to have in the Stu-Stu-Studio.
The record buying public passed this off as weird and "not my style" when it was released. I also think it's weird and it's not my style. I don't think it was anyone's style when it was released. It wasn't supposed to be. It is a highly creative and well played album.
The Who
5/5
NewWhoBrewToDoYouThru
I know every note on the original album but I enjoyed finding all the live versions of other songs on the various extended editions. The quality of the full Tommy tour material is so much better than on Gather Your Wits, the best known bootleg from the Tommy tour, and my only source of those songs for decades.
A lot is made of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound but the sound created by Pete and John, the best lead / bass combo ever, and Moon being not only the best but also completely insane, makes this album the real wall of sound
The Who are the best live band ever so it's no surprise that this is the best live album ever. Mixing the bass on one side and the lead guitar on the other is a silly idea except when it allows Entwistle's bass to be isolated. His bass playing kept improving with Quadro arguably being his pinnacle.
Can I rate this higher than 5?
Joan Armatrading
4/5
Is this folk? Sort of but it grooves a lot more. She sings so well and her voice by itself can make it groove which is wicked. This describes most of side 1. On Side 2 the groove is delivered by instruments tag teaming with her voice. After my first listen, I was between 3 and 4 but the second listen with headphones made the choice clear.
.... and her birthday is Dec. 9. Giddy up!
Dr. Octagon
3/5
So this is a concept album about a homicidal, extraterrestrial, time-traveling gynecologist. Any questions? Didn't think so. Class dismissed.
The Streets
2/5
There are a lot of different styles of music but I did not know there were rap concept albums. Half way through, I came up with a name for the genre: "art hop". Then I checked wiki and the genre listed is "rap opera". Yeah OK that's a good one too.
Rap is spoken word and words spoken with an English accent always sound a bit more sophisticated. But only a bit. If I wanted to invest time understanding this my rating might be higher, but I just don't want to invest in this one. Now if the genre was called art hop, it would be a different story.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
I never had this album but know all of the songs except two. I’m surprised at how many classic LC songs are in this one.
While it changes from time to time, my current favourite of the songs on this LP is One of Us Can’t Be Wrong which is loaded with killer lyrics such as
“ . . . and then I confess that I tortured the dress that you wore for the world to look through.”
On a live DVD I have he says the song is about a blond woman he met in a nazi poster. Gotta love Leonard.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
I consider myself a Springsteen fan but I guess I'm not a die hard fan as I thought since I wasn't aware that he didn't make an album with the E Street Band for 18 years.
This album isn't up to the standard of his previous E Street stuff. The album is decent but it doesn't feel like it's the same band. The guitar licks to start the songs aren't at the same there are no kick ass Clarence solos. It just feels like an album a rocker makes after they get old or get rich - or both. On the other hand, maybe it's me who got old. My 31 y.o. walked in while Mary's Place was playing and he knew the words. His comment was that this was much better than the "Dad music" he was making in the 80s.
When I hear Mary's Place I can't help but think Mary is the same Mary from Thunder Road. My son doesn't know what Thunder Road means. C'est la vie.
The Everly Brothers
2/5
I like many artists who were influenced by the Everley Brothers, but this album doesn't do it for me. Their harmonies would have influenced bands like the Beatles but on this album the harmonies start to drive me nuts after the first couple of songs; they don't have the music writing / instrument playing abilities the Fab Four had. All I end up thinking of is the awful albums that resulted from bands being influenced by their harmonies. Remember Bee Gees' Odessa album that 1001 made us endure before we die?
There is some cover version association that doesn't do this album any favours. For example, Nazareth's painful and overplayed cover of Love Hurts makes the Everley Brothers' version hard to listen to. Also, EB's cover of Lucille should have been left on the cutting room floor. Their doing this song with two part harmony is sacrilege for Little Richard fans and a waste of one of the only good guitar bits on the album.
I like Wake Up Little Susie. If that song was on this album it might have helped my rating.
Prince
3/5
After Janet Jackson’s nipple said hello to world at the 2004 Super Bowl, the NFL decided it needed to be more controlling to maintain their wholesome reputation. The following year Paul McCartney was chosen since he’s the last person who would want a wardrobe malfunction in public.
Two Super Bowls later, Prince was the half time show so the level of diligence had to be ramped up. During the last song, the lights projected his silhouette on a white sheet. While he played his solo he turned his guitar sideways and placed it at a 45 degree angle from his waist to make it phallic.
Apparently when Roger Goodell saw that part of the show he said “Yup- that’s a penis”.
Prince: 1
Church of the Sacred Bleeding Heart of Jesus: 0
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
This was OK. It seemed to have good rhythm and vibe.
Britney Spears
1/5
With everything Britney's been through she deserves, just one more time, to be on a list of the 20 _____ _____. This album's 2.68 rating is too high to make the cut for the 20 lowest rated albums on 1001. The rating needs to be lower than 2.48 to make the list. Let's give Britney some 1 rating love to help her make this list. It's the least we could do.
Christina Aguilera
2/5
Britney Spears yesterday and Christina Aguiler today. It was impossible to find anything positive to say about Britney until today when I found that having listened to Britney yesterday made Christina sound better! With that as a kickstart, I got through half of the album. I like how she fuses Latin music into other genres. The album is way too long.
Traffic
3/5
Does anyone else find it funny that Winwood plays so many instruments but Winwood doesn't play a woodwind?
I like the first track with its jazzy stylings. The piano is quite nice as is the sax. Winwood plays piano but not the sax. Told ya. The second track uses the flute nicely. The flute was quite popular with the long hair hippy freaks in the 1970s. I can't say I understand how that happened but I like it. Track three takes the organ out to play and the title song does English folk very well. This LP's a nice assortment and a welcome change from the last three albums we had.
The Jam
4/5
At work when someone would announce we got a new client / contract / other good news, I would say:
"Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba"
Once, and only once, someone responded: "Hey - that's David Watts". Nobody else ever knew it or admitted to knowing it.
This is a good early Jam punk album.
Iggy Pop
3/5
I've heard of this album and know a few songs but never listened to it. There are some strong songs such as Nightclubbing but it sounds like a Bowie album rather than an Iggy album. It's great if this helped Iggy crawl out of a hole but if I want to listen to a Bowie album I prefer the ones listed under "Bowie".
The The
3/5
I like this band and this album is decent. I'm surprised they have more than on album on the 1001.
The Libertines
3/5
As background music it has some good hooks. I liked it more than the average British indie band on the 1001. The 3 rating covers a lot of ground.
The Icarus Line
2/5
This reminds me of some of the 70s heavy rock that I liked merged with a noisy grunge backdrop. The guitar sound on the title track is so managed by the production team it would be difficult to come close to it live. The speedy stuff is tiring and I don't see these guys adding much to what was on set on the table before them.
2/5
The only Blur song I know is the “Wooo Whooo” song. This album is a little better but I’m surprised Blur has more than one album on the list.
Genesis
5/5
I started having summer jobs at age 12 or 13 and the Lamb was released around my 14th birthday. My earnings were burning a hole in my pocket so what better use was there than buying this album on release? I still have the vinyl and it’s in very good shape. The cover on the other hand is tattered. The lyrics and Gabriel’s story of Rael were written inside.
This album is “peak Genesis”. The band was playing at their best and Gabriel wrote a cool story about a dude named Rael.
Side 1
The title song kicks things off wonderfully. I don’t get why this wasn’t the lead single. Who in the band thought Carpet Crawler was a better song?
Fly on a Windshield starts with acoustic strumming and then Hackett lays down a very Fripp like solo while Phil’s drumming hits new levels. I remember as a kid wondering who on earth Lenny Bruce and Carl Chessman were. Life preGoogle!
Cuckoo cocoon is another strong melody that has more stellar guitar
playing that is Hackett (I think)
In the Cage is where the plot thickens. The song starts with a heartbeat and Banks’ keyboards carry the song. It’s the only song Genesis played from the Lamb when I saw the post Gabriel version of the band at the CNE later in the 70s.
The Grand Parade …. ends side 1 with its swipe at consumerism. What a side!
Side 2 starts w Back in NYC. This would have also made a good single. (Why did they choose Carpet Crawler as a single? ) Gabriel played this as the encore on his first solo tour.
Hairless Heart is one of those prog rock songs that hasn’t aged well although the ambient tone makes Counting Out Time more enjoyable. This song is hilarious and a cute tune. Eno does his magic on Hackett’s solo.
Carpet Crawler is next. Why was this the single?
This side also ends on a high note with The Chamber…. The bits starting with the lyrics “I’d rather trust a country man than a town man” and other lyrics on the theme of trust are cleverly written.
Side 3
Lilywhite is a nice song and we then get into some instrumental drug taking prog. Anyway is another really well written song with Banks playing a regular piano and Hackett giving another kicking guitar solo. He continues with another great solo on the next track.
As a teenager Lamia was the song on the album that intrigued me the most. I’m so impressed that artists have the Greek knowledge that allows them to write songs about Lamia. Gabriel is an excellent story teller and Hackett lays down what might be his best solo on the album.
Side 4 starts with the Colony of Slipperman. The Asian flavours to start are quite clever. This song has the most heavy lifting as far as the plot goes. Let’s see, in that one song Rael meets a grotesque creature and finds out he looks like him - this was the result of having his orgy with the Lamia. Rael then gets castrated since that’s the only cure to being grotesque but he is allowed to carry his “package” around with him until a raven swoops down and takes it. There is a chase scene and as soon as he gets close the raven drops it in a fast moving river. That all happens in the first song on Side 4. The pictures I’ve seen from the concerts show Gabriel in some wicked costumes and the Slipperman costume is insane. It’s a shame that there isn’t any decent quality video of this tour.
Riding the Scree is Banks best performance on the album imo.
.
The album ends with “it”. it also would have been a killer single. Carpet Crawler. C’mon. The story “ends” when Rael puts great effort into rescuing his brother John in the river but finds out that he rescued himself rather than John. Wow - where does the story go next? Let’s see if Gabriel takes some drugs and keeps writing. Nope - the band as was knew it ends with “it”.
The Undertones
3/5
A voice and sound that was typical around then. If you must have everything from the era then you need this, if not . . .
Lorde
2/5
I listened twice since I thought it sounded like someone but I couldn't figure out who. Madonna, Morissette, Aguilera (without the vocal range). No no no.
I think I figured it out. It's formulae music that tries to sound like everything and anything that worked in the past.
That's exactly what I'm looking for!
Arrested Development
4/5
I really liked this one. The album starts with the obligatory scratches on vinyl that's hit the turntables many many times. The fusion of the southern style rhythms kicks in a works well. The harmonica on Mama's Always on Stage is Exhibit 1.
The singer vocalist seems to be in a good space as opposed to so many MCs who come across as being full of attitude. Dionne Farris' vocals on Tennessee are really good.
FKA twigs
4/5
My first listen was as background music and my second listen was with headphones. There was a major difference. The avant garde stylings with quality production have a lot of nuances that are best enjoyed with headphones. The sounds bounce from side to side and change depths frequently. This was quite enjoyable. The percussion is simple but quite good for no reason other than how far it is off the beaten track.
Her voice eventually starts to drive me nuts which gave me pause but I stuck with the 4.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Leonard made a few questionable decisions in putting his teams together over the years. It's not a surprise that he didn't get along with David Crosby and he fortunately pulled the plug before it was too late. A few albums later Leonard hired Phil Spector as producer to give his Wall of Sound a shot on Death of a Ladies Man. Phil was a whack job and that album really didn't work. Without the right team to bring the additional layers, we end up with a very stripped down album. There are a few classics like Bird on a Wire, The Partisan and Lady Midnight but this, his second album, is not to the same standard as his first and third albums.
David Bowie
3/5
This sounds like the Berlin trilogy albums so the cover is appropriate. I've given Bowie so many 5 ratings that the slope is steeper for him. I like the sound of this album although the songs don't have the originality and aren't up to the admittedly high standard of the Berlin trilogy or cocaine trilogy albums.
Yes
4/5
For all intents and purposes, “Eurythmics” and “The Eurythmics“ mean the same thing. The same cannot be said for “Clap” and “The Clap”
Joe Ely
1/5
On the cover he has his capo on his guitar strap. So cool. I will definitely copy that.
Talking Heads
4/5
This was the beginning of the Eno era. I see this album as hitting at batting practice and Fear of Music was hitting the home run.
Grateful Dead
3/5
Time has not been this album's friend. It was leading recording technology at the time but over 50 years later it's hard not to think "Could've fooled me"
Dylan and the Mothers kicked off rock and roll double albums a couple of years before this and by 1969 a double LP seemed to be the thing to do. Zappa's double also had a side with only one song although this practice didn't hit its stride on studio albums until the prog rockers. The Dead decided to have two songs that each took a full side on this album. This hasn't aged well. The Allman Brothers did the same on their live at the Fillmore East album a couple of years later but the Allmans had Duane and Dickey trading licks so were better equipped to pull this off; even with the two of them, those sides of that Allman Brothers' album sound a bit tired these days.
This album shows us that Gerry can play and validates the Deadheads complaints about how far down he is on the various lists of greatest guitar players. Regardless, time has made sides with just one song tedious.
Experimenting with noise was what the cool kids were doing in the late 60s but the experimentation with nearly 8 minutes of noise on "Feedback" is terrible even when compared to other late 1960s experiments like "Revolution 9" or VU's "White Light / White Heat."
At least there's not a 5+ minute drum solo.
Supertramp
4/5
This is another album on constant rotation at every house party back in the day.
It still sounds decent. The keyboard melodies carry the tunes. Fortunately I don’t listen to the stations that play 70s stuff over and over again so it hasn’t worn out it’s welcome.
The Prodigy
3/5
"Smack My Bitch Up" So those are the lyrics. Who knew?
Primal Scream
3/5
I'll call this the ambient industrial genre. The songs are off the beaten track which is good for the time when this was released.
The 13th Floor Elevators
3/5
It's fine as far as Psychedelic goes but I've heard enough Psychedelic already.
The Offspring
2/5
I never understood what the 1990s US punk revival was about since the bands of that era didn't add anything to what came over a decade earlier. Offspring was able to get the formulae right for the large audience FM stations with songs like Self Esteem and Come Out and Play but this isn't really a compliment.
Basement Jaxx
4/5
A friend came to Canada in the decade after the fall of the Berlin wall. Like hundreds (probably thousands?) of Eastern European women in the 19-23 age range at that time, she was able to get a visa to work in the, shall we call it, exotic dancing profession. Apparently, there was a lot of Canadian demand and a lack of Canadian supply back then. I guess you could say that in the 1990s we were getting bombshells from Eastern Europe whereas these days we are sending bombshells to Eastern Europe.
I didn't meet her until after her exotic dancing days although I've seen pictures from then and they're fabulous. She and I were hanging out yesterday and I put on Basement Jaxx. When the first song started she said "Hey - I used to dance to this song at For Your Eyes Only".
Mudhoney
3/5
This is not normally my type of music, although something about the heaviness and the speed worked for me for a few songs, and saved it from a sub 3 rating
Hole
4/5
There’s no reason boys names Kurt should have a monopoly on grunge flavoured angst. The first half dozen songs are good tunes. The lyrics of Violet and Miss World are good and the mocking lyrics of Olympia quite entertaining. Also, there’s something about how she sings “I wanna be the girl with the most cake” that makes Doll Parts shine.
Boston
3/5
Like the recent Supertramp LP, this was in constant rotation at every house party back in the day. I haven’t listened to this for decades but still know every song and every lick. The recordings make the songs sound as good as they possibly could. Nothing like playing songs live for a couple of years before recording - practice makes perfect.
While the album got the airtime, I preferred Supertramp back in the day and wouldn’t have ever listened to Boston again were it not for the 1001.
It’s a good example of mid 70s Arena Rock and, for old times sake, won’t be too hard on it.
The Stranglers
4/5
I'm not sure I know this band. Too bad. I quite like them. They fit in while with the sound back then.
King Crimson
3/5
Hard to believe that the song "The Court of the Crimson King" was written to be a country song. The colourfulness of the lyrics makes me want to call "Bullshit!". Country songs don't typically reference colours like purple (piper), (ever)green, yellow (jester) and, duh, crimson. But the song also references gray (mornings) and, the ultimate country and western colour, black (queen); so on second thought, perhaps I'll buy it.
I looked up the word schizoid to be sure. The Mayo clinic's definition helped me understand how powerful the lyrics of 21sr Century Schizoid Man are. There are a mere 54 words in that 7:22 song. Oh yeah, this is seen and the kick start of prog rock.
I appreciate the band's contribution to prog. I gave their other album a 4 after listening to it a couple of times with headphones. My headphones weren't handy for this one.
PJ Harvey
4/5
I bought PJ's earlier albums but had lost touch with her by 2011. My loss. This is a very powerful anti-war / anti-imperialism album which is normally in my sweet spot. In true PJ fashion, the words are gruesomely brilliant.
I like how she she half borrowed Eddie Cochran's line in Summertime Blues when she finishes "The Words That Maketh Murder" with the line "What if I take my problem to the United Nations?" creating a juxtaposition of Eddie's use of the words in the context of the first world problem of young man's angst and PJ's poignant statement of how the UN is there only to serve powerful countries.
Meat Loaf
3/5
Paradise by the Dashboard Light is timeless with Ellen Foley's singing that's dripping with sexuality as the baseball play by play builds to a crescendo. Holy cow I think he's gonna make it! Brings back memories of summer nights and the 1972 Scamp.
I thought I knew the album but didn't know that Todd Rundgren produced it, Edgar Winter plays sax, the baseball play-by-play was done by a longtime Yankees announcer (and shortstop) and that the drummer and pianist from the E Street band played on the album. The Springsteen-like rolling piano licks around two minutes into the album make a lot more sense.
There is no doubt that Meatloaf can sing. He has a powerful voice and excellent range. Ditto Ellen Foley for her performance on Paradise. But aside from Paradise, this album doesn't have the excitement level I thought it had back in the day.
N.E.R.D
4/5
I played this a few times while doing different things with two of my adult kids. They knew it and also knew Pharrell’s other projects. I never heard of them. I was also told that NERD stands for “no one ever really dies.“ We were hiking and cutting through a graveyard when I was told this so I had a hard time getting it.
When I first saw the album I mistakenly thought it was another hip hop offering. Glad to learn that I like rap rock more. There’s some fun stuff on this. I’ll round up.
Digital Underground
3/5
My friend and I were driving as I put this on and when it started we both said "Hey some old school". Upon checking we learned it was "GoldenAge". Oh well, off to horse riding shaking our heads at our lack of knowledge of hip hop subgenres.
This was was fun - juvenile but fun. It kind of reminded me of The Who Sell out with the pseudo talk show format.
Jazmine Sullivan
2/5
We have an LP that explores feminism, sexuality, classism, and body-shaming. As I read all the boxes this album was ticking I was hoping it might also tick the “albums I like” box.
I’ll rate it politely
Steely Dan
3/5
This was a mix of good and middle of the road. When it comes to gems though, My Old School is a beauty.
Bodhisattvas is also cool and has ass kicking guitar solo. Show biz kids is also quite good with the fuzzzy guitar making it. Your Gold Teeth also had a good solo but the rest of the song isn’t much.
Nothing else to note.
Bert Jansch
3/5
His guitar picking is quite good compared to many other folk artists but it’s another folk album that I don’t know.
For folk with good guitar picking, I really just want to listen to Gordon Lightfoot’s Summer Side of Life.
RIP Mr. Lightfoot.
Tim Buckley
3/5
That was a nice sounding album that nobody ever bought.
Marianne Faithfull
4/5
Simply being alive after what she went through in the 1970s would be cause enough for celebration. We are all incredulous about Keith Richards' survival skills but Marianne endured the same toxicity without the supporting family and gazillionaire's bank account that Keith had. Those dark days and her shattered vocal chords didn't stop her from putting out a fine album.
The highlights: Broken English, The Ballad of Lucy Jordan, Why'd ya do it and her excellent cover of Working Class Hero. One thing that always impressed me about John's original was how intense it was given it's just him and his acoustic. Marianne adds instruments and keeps the intensity.
Elvis Presley
4/5
This is the definition of crooner. His voice is the highlight. He shows he has a wonderful and versatile voice for country, blues and regular Elvis tunes.
Booker T. & The MG's
3/5
This reminded me of the riffs one should play when trying to learn guitar.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
5/5
I noticed that the further we are into the 1001 the more I only give top ratings to albums I know. Since I don't want to be that person who thinks good music is made only by bands that I have been listening to since high school / university, I'm so pleased that I really like this album that I never listened to before. I heard of the group's name before but would never take any positive steps to listen to it since their name was too wonky.
Well, I really like it. Gram Parsons is an excellent song writer. The music from this album has influenced many bands I quite like such as Wilco and The Jayhawks and also seems to have been an influence on songs like Neil Young's "Roll Another Number" and other tunes from Tonight's The Night. The country styled twangy vocals in "not even trying to be perfect" harmony work very well.
Frank Zappa
4/5
This album is insane. He had a couple of albums like this one where he left his potty mouth behind and just played the crap out of his guitar. His guitar playing is top shelf and the way he fuses with jazz is extraordinary. Zappa plays his best, imo, on Willie the Pimp which is the only song that had lyrics. Leave it to Zappa.
I saw that his son Dweezil was touring playing this album but it was either Covided or I never got a chance to get tickets.
U2
5/5
This album was U2 at its creative best, taking on important social messages and driving a creative original sound. The first three songs are as good an opening threesome as on any album on the 1001. The originality on this album was repackaged ad nauseam in their albums that followed. They made a shit-whack of money from this album but that amount is trivial compared to the amounts they made from their subsequent unoriginal albums. Bono now hangs out with the world's elites at Davos. Did I forget to mention that I was impressed?
This album is so good that it makes it a glaring testament to how far they have fallen.
The Louvin Brothers
2/5
It's interesting to have The Louvin Brothers the same week we had the Flying Burrito Brothers since the Flying BB's were clearly influenced by The Louvin Brothers. The Burritos fused the Louvin's country twang with rock and bluegrass and the result was quite good. The stripped down sound that the Louvins had badly needed that hippie shit added to it. This album is also of interest in that it shows how country music was tied to Christianity back in the day. Johnny Cash was doing the same in the mid / late 1950s and was probably influenced by The Louvins.
If I compare The Louvins and The Flying Burrito Brothers, one similarity is that I like the many bands that both groups influenced. One contrast is that there were actually blood relatives in The Louvin Brothers but a more relevant contrast is that The Louvins twang is really hard to listen to.
Grant Lee Buffalo
2/5
Tome was not my friend so I only half listened to this. What I heard wasn't working for me
Stan Getz
5/5
Was this the second or third album 1001 sent us that had The Girl From Ipanema? The male and female vocals on this version are excellent. It’s hard to believe this was the first time Astrud sang professionally.
This album was made only five years after the bossa nova genre started. It’s hard for kids like us to have this perspective. The music on this album is very quiet but it moves. I like Steve Getz’a soft almost whispering sax on The Girl from Ipanema and a couple of other songs on this album.
CHVRCHES
3/5
This was some more recent pop music. Nothing either overly exciting or brutal. Of interest os that I preferred the music the algorithm provided following the album.
The Monkees
2/5
Wow this is fluffy. At least the 1002 App didn't make is watch the TV show.
David Bowie
3/5
The only CD burner I ever had is my fireplace. My brother had a CD burner and burned this CD for me circa the Napster days and presented it to me complete with a replica of the jewel case cover. From afar the CD looks legit but if you look closely or open the jewel case the subterfuge falls apart.
This album is a decent listen and it's certainly adventurous. I do think there is a better use than ambient for a side of Bowie vinyl but it was trying something new which I appreciate.
I don’t think this was as good as the next album w Emo and I still prefer the cocaine trilogy to the Berlin trilogy.
Paul McCartney
2/5
I’ll start with the good - and it won’t take long. Maybe I’m Amazed is a really good song. Apparently Paul plays all the instruments so he lays down the solo which is really good.
Every Night is a cute little meaningless love song and Paul typically knows how to do those since he has the voice for it and can write simple melodies for ballads. This one is a good example; the music is written in a key that works perfectly with his voice. The problem: he didn’t finish writing the song so the chorus is just some: woo woo woo woo’s. Really? I would think a professional song writer could come up with a chorus for a ballad especially when he specializes is weenie songs.
The rest of the album is drivel.
Slipknot
1/5
There might be the occasional day where a combination of distraction and laziness would keep me from turning this off before the end of the album. Today wasn’t the day.
Madness
3/5
There were only a couple of songs on Spotify and I couldn't be bothered to find the rest. With over 750 days of this grumpiness is setting in.
Saint Etienne
3/5
There wasn't anyone named Etienne and I couldn't identify any saints.
There was a really good Neil Young cover though.
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
I like the production. There is the orchestra mixed in but it doesn’t define the songs. There are also all kinds of weird noises mixed in that give the songs texture. The result is an album of songs that have a lot of drama - in a good way.
4
David Ackles
3/5
I understand why Bernie Taupin would like this guy. He is like Tom Waits might have been in his early days if he had been sober (but he isn't at all like Tom Waits when he actually was sober). I hope that makes sense.
Mott The Hoople
2/5
I know the band's name but never knew any songs they did or if I liked them. Thanks to 1001 I now know some of their songs and know that I don't like them.
Shivkumar Sharma
3/5
Five minutes into listening to this and I had to go book a massage. The back massage was excellent and the price was right. Gotta love the $60 per hour Chinatown rate. On the negative side, I had a had time getting her to zero in where I needed it most. I really don't think Google Translate got the translation of "second vertebrae" right since when I showed her the Chinese translation she motioned for me to turn over and asked for a $50 tip. Funny how good her English was when it came to numbers. Who knew? I'll have to get a Chinese friend to help with the translation and get my neck taken care of next time.
I was able to get her to play Call of the Valley over the parlour's speakers during the massage. Fortunately, Google Translate nailed that one.
Michael Jackson
3/5
This is supposed to be the album where he moves away from the high pitched vocals but there are still a few too many high pitched “woo”s for my taste.
Dion
2/5
Interesting to think that Spector produced three John Lennon albums (Plastic Ono Band, his Imagine LP in 1971 and his Rock and Roll album released in 1975) and these are widely regarded as his best solo albums. Around the same time Spector was a complete asshole when working with Dion on this album and when working with Leonard Cohen a couple of years later, and produced albums both those artists hated. I guess Lennon had the personality and resume to put Spector in his place when they recorded.
Nonetheless, there are some good bits notwithstanding Dion’s self evaluation. I know a lot of horn players are noted as performing in the LP but my money says that Bobby Keys is playing the sax on the first song. It makes the song.
Dion’s voice shines as he belts it out on In and Out if the Shadows.
Other than that . . .
Arcade Fire
4/5
This was quite good. The vocals are quite distinctive. Not sure if this is something to worry about later since Morrissey's vocals were also distinctive.
There is good pace to this album.
Joy Division
4/5
Wow this was 1979. This is a good album and one of the OG's for the post punk sound.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
3/5
If I had to describe the album with one word, I would pick obscure. If I had to describe the album with invented words, uninvasive and tuneoutable seem to work.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
I'll start by saying that Shoegaze isn't my go to genre. I understand Bloody Valentine put this genre on the map. The album is far more enjoyable than a lot of the followers. It has a certain rawness and unlike many followers, it's not over-produced.
1/5
If I had a tattoo on my face I might give this a 2 rating.
Gang Starr
4/5
I kinda liked this one. Easy to to listen to and groove to. I feel the need to give 4/5s to some hip hop even though it’s not my go to genre, and this meets the cut.
Silver Jews
3/5
This was a fun pseudo country album. I like the sense of humour with lines like ". . . getting paid by the teardrop"
Mylo
3/5
This was a fun album. Good beats and samples.
k.d. lang
4/5
I don't know her music that well but I now understand what all the fuss was about. She has a wonderful voice with great range that makes the country songs sound wonderful. (Waltz me) once again . . . sounds similar to what Amy Winehouse did decades later.
1/5
I think this is the worst album we've had so far. It probably isn't since we have had a few doozies but in recent memory . . .
Tom Tom Club
4/5
I liked this one. Sure they borrowed from Talking Heads but you can't steal from yourself right? It has a good groove and I really liked the percussion - more specifically - the tom-toms. Who would've guessed that would be their strong suit?
Jimmy Smith
4/5
So Jimmy is the guy responsible for bringing the organ era into jazz clubs and ultimately bringing the Hammond into rock and roll and later into prog rock, by way of handing the baton to the Moog. That's good enough for a 4.
Who would guess there isn't a bass in the band. He covers off the bass lines flawlessly while at the same time producing at least two handfuls of other notes. I can't even imagine how complicated the keyboards and pedals networks are to negotiate.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
I played this late at night with the volume LOUD. We have vocals, drums and guitar. That's it? They deliver quite the sound. The wiki notes say Karen O sounds like PJ; the album starts off a lot more punked up and the vocals are quite shouty but yeah I understand the PJ comment. On songs like Maps she sounds more like Chrissie Hynde so yeah I'm all in on this one. Karen comes across as artsy, with loud angst and a good dose of attitude but can also sing a ballad.
I like the pun in the title "Y Control" - meaning being controlled by a man (ie the Y Chromosome) and at the same time asking "Why control?" That's enough to meet the "art rock" definition. I never really listened to the other YYYs LP in the 1001 but will have to.
Beatles
5/5
An interesting perspective is that this album was being recorded while the Woodstock festival was on.
Side 1
Track 1. Come Together is one of John's best songs. "Here come ole flattop" was "borrowed" from Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me". Chuck couldn't care less but Lennon was sued by Morris Levy, a fine gentleman, except for the fact that he was a scumbag known for swindling poor black musicians and was later convicted with extortion. Levy owned Chuck's songs and went after Lennon for a pound of flesh. I understand Lennon settled by agreeing to include You Can't Catch Me on his Rock'n'Roll LP which would have given Levy a shit whack of royalties.
The drums on Come Together are iconic and are both intricate and muzzled. Pearl Drums were critical to pull this off as the drums would be too overwhelming if Ringo played any other drum kit.
Track 2 Ditto Ringo's Pearl drums as he continues to deliver creative drumming on Harrison's Something which is a phenomenal song. The first two songs are insanely good.
Track 3 And next . . . Yup, here comes fucking Paul with Bang Bang whatever.
Track 4 OK I really do like Oh Darling. Paul's singing is amazing and the guitar sounds like the guitar he used on the song Sgt Pepper. The chords are easy insofar as the strumming pattern goes - couldn't be easier really - but how someone makes those chords have that biting sound is a mystery to me. It may be the 5th Beatle working his magic.
Track 5 Octo Garden is fun and par for the course Ringo stuff. The wiki notes mention that George helped Ringo write the melodies and also mention that John helped George write Something. I like how neither John nor George wanted song writing credit for their contributions. It seems like the three of them were solid friends.
Track 6 A note for the kids out there, in 1969 you would be complimenting your girlfriend if you said "She's so heavy"
Side two
Here Comes the Sun: is the most streamed Beatles song on Spotify. That surprises me, It's a great song - but it still surprises me. 1 billion plays is serious. It's unfortunate that seeing this reminded me that Coldplay's The Scientist had even more plays. See my review of Cold Play's A Rush Of Blood To The Head to see how I used my MacBook to give Coldplay a kick in the balls.
Because: So Lennon heard Yoko playing Beethoven and thought they should play the chords in the reverse order; this ended up being the song Because. Imagine how great music would sound if you could hear the things that John Lennon heard when he listened to songs.
The medley
I found this interesting to listen to for the first time in decades. It is intended to be a mini concept montage but there is no concept or sensible lyrical connection that I can glean. I just don't think the Beatles could do a real concept album. A concept album needs a principal songwriter to take control and write the story and the bulk of the lyrics. Pete wrote Tommy, Peter wrote The Lamb and Roger wrote The Wall. While I'm sure Paul would want to take control of a Beatles concept album, he wasn't good enough at writing meaningful lyrics that could tell a story that has a beginning, a middle and an end. John was good enough but I don't think he could be bothered. Layered on top of this is that neither Paul nor John would ever let the other take the lead which is needed for a concept album.
The medley on Abbey Road is a bunch of unrelated odds and sods being Frankensteined together. It sounds like a mini concept album if you don't listen too carefully. Lyrically there is no story that hangs together. "Sunday's on the phone with Monday; Tuesday's on the phone with me. Oh Yeah". Should be "Oh no". Musically, however, it does hang together as a concept. The faux overture of "You never give me your money" reappears as "You never give me your pillow . . ." and musically it works. The jamming with the guitar solos is top shelf and Ringo pulls out some creative drumming on Paul's songs for the first and last time. Lyrically though it makes you wish someone told Paul to give his head a shake.
Musically, the medley is an excellent example of how songs can be put together to make the whole better than the sum of the parts. Is this Paul's genius? Or is it the genius of the fifth Beatle? George Martin was a master at making the Beatles' music sound its best. He unfortunately had no ability to make Paul's lyrics have personality.
Her Majesty is too much fun. I decided to learn to play it on guitar thinking it would be easy. Wrong. There are 17 different chords in that 25 second song. Not an easy one to learn properly.
David Bowie
5/5
A casual Bowie fan may not know any song besides Changes but this is an album full of wonderful songs. He was 24 when he recorded this. How can someone be this good at that age? When I was 24 I was a complete dough head.
Life on Mars is probably the second best known song. Was he referring to John or Vladimir when he said "Lennon's (or Lenin's) on sale again"? He took that one to the grave with him. There are other lyrical gems in this song such as ""see the mice in their million hordes". I think I saw a T-shirt that said that but that might have been a dream.
Quicksand touches many buttons because of, among other things, the names mentioned and the overall darkness. It's a song that has so much depth and so many deep messages. I have the mental capacity to understand some of the lines like "Can't take my eyes from the great salvation of bullshit faith" but I have trouble figuring out most of this song. For example I have no idea what he's saying about Himmler and Churchill. Like the Lennon vs Lenin question, it's too late for him to explain but perhaps he will tell us all about it on the next Bardo.
The album also has a lot of clever keyboard playing by Wakeman. His piano on Fill Your Hard and Quicksand really shows his prowess and he sticks to the piano on this album leaving the synths, meletrones, etc. for his Yes years. The freedom Bowie allows his pianists shows on Fill You Heart as Wakeman soars adding so much personality to that song. Bowie did the same with Mike Garson, generating the same result, on the title track to Aladdin Sane. Mick Ronson also shows his brilliance on songs like Eight Line Poems.
Queen Bitch is the album's trans / crossdresser song which was a topic a lot of artists addressed around then. If I understand this one, Bowie is checking out Sister Flo, a trans woman, saying how swishy she looks and saying "I can do better than that". When touring his next album, Ziggy wearing a miniskirt proved he could look better than Flo.
The Doors
5/5
Their first and last albums are their best. This one is consistent top to bottom.
The Residents
2/5
We were just coming out of the dark days of music. Disco sucked and many bands were trying different things. Some of these attempts to be different worked and others were like this album. Plus 1 for trying.
Beatles
5/5
There are two insanely good songs being She Said She Said and Tomorrow Never Knows. These two songs are on a different level from anything The Beatles (or anyone else) had done before. As is the case on most Beatles albums, Ringo is at his most creative on John's most creative songs. The vinyl that I have is the American version which has these two songs as the only songs by John. Why anyone would leave I'm Only Sleeping off the album is beyond me. The chorus and solos on I'm Only Sleeping sound like insomnia. I'm not saying they make you feel sleep deprived; they sound like how you feel when you're sleep deprived. How they figured out how to do that boggles the mind.
I had read that Tomorrow Never Knows was based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead so, being a big John fan, I bought the book. Trying to read this bad boy was as tough as anything I ever read and I never got close to even half way through. I just found out from the Wiki notes that the song was actually based on Timothy Leary's book "The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead." Duh! Timothy would be a much easier read.
George's Taxman and his Hindustani song are also excellent. There are even some very good songs by Paul. For No One is a very good ballad as is Eleanor Rigby. I even like Here, There and Everywhere.
Interesting that this album was released before their final tour but they didn't play any songs from this album on tour. I guess the album was a little too sophisticated to tackle live with only guitars, bass, drums and screams.
Big Black
1/5
I didn't want to listen to this since I knew it would be a 1 or 2 rating and on Day 887 I have more respect for my ears and brain and won't make them go through that. Since honesty is a virtue, I wouldn't hit "did not listen" and also give it a 1 or 2 rating - not sure the App allows that anyway. So I had to listen to the first song.
Motörhead
2/5
I can't say that I like this but I think I would enjoy being in the band and playing it live. I would not enjoy being in the audience but it would be fun to play. I doubt this makes any sense.
The Sugarcubes
4/5
I like this more than her solo albums. Bjork's vocals coupled with music that has more pace is a great combination. The instruments fly all over the place and would make dance floors in Iceland hot. This is Alternative music before the genre became so-called Alternative music.
Morrissey
1/5
No bluffing.
Copied and pasted below is my review of the last Morrissey album we had:
"There are some songs on this album that I would like if someone else sang them. In my review of the last Morrissey solo album we were sent, I said his voice had worn on me by the time the Smiths blew up. Getting another Morrissey solo album so soon after the first is like rubbing vinegar in the wound. No way this brother should have two solo albums in the 1001. If he has a third it's getting a 1."
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
Musically they kinda reminded me of Elliott Smith. I didn't have time to focus on lyrics so I need to go middle of the road.
Madonna
2/5
I was planning not to like this which probably isn’t the right way to approach the 1001 offerings. Let’s say it was better than my low expectations and I found myself grooving a bit at the beginning. Still, there was nothing original here. I was excited for the cover of American Pie but it was underwhelming.
Goldfrapp
4/5
The songs with more beat are really good - songs like Human with its mystical beats, Oompa Radar with its carnival ambience and Utopia. The down beat songs like Deer Stop are made good by the excellent vocals.
The title of the album describes it perfectly.
Cowboy Junkies
4/5
Unless there is some obscure live album recorded at the Music Hall, this would be the album on the 1001 that was recorded closest to where I live (5 1/2 kms).
I remember seeing Cowboy Junkies at Ontario Place's spinning stage. After standing for the first song, Margo sat on her stool just as some bozo in the audience yelled out: "Play some Zeppelin". Margo responded "Yes I always sit down to play heavy metal"
I always thought that CJ's were the first to do the slow version of Sweet Jane but wiki informed that Lou did that version live in 1969. Lou said CJ's version was his favourite version of the song.
Their version of the standard Blue Moon is breathtaking with Margot's voice stealing the show. The additional lyrics they added transformed the song from a happy song about meeting your soulmate to a song about losing your soulmate. I prefer the song as a happy song but hey when you sing and play as well as they do, you have earned your creative license.
Misguided Angel is the best original song on the album and I guess it's a happy song although not obviously. 200 More Miles is beautiful musically and lyrically. The others are good musically and Margot's voice is amazing throughout but I find they are lacking lyrically.
Can
3/5
One of the main positive aspects benefits to my musical knowledge from our 1001 journey was the exposure to the OGs of ambient and electronic. This falls squarely in that category.
50 Cent
3/5
I was so close to taking a pass but my son told me some cool stories about the guy so I gave it a go. No real comment on the album or reasons for my rating.
Al Green
4/5
I strongly recommend against trying to sing Let’s Stay Together at Karaoke. Al Green can sing and has an amazing range.
I don’t recall hearing this album before. He handles different styles of songs very well. There is lots to enjoy besides the hits.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
She can belt it out like no other. This was a pleasure to listen to
Scissor Sisters
3/5
It's fun to take a non-disco song from the disco era and do a disco cover. I'm sure a lot of Pink Floyd fans cringed but I liked it.
Gram Parsons
3/5
He could be properly described as a musician’s musician. The album title is classic and there are some good songs but I liked Flying BBs more.
The La's
2/5
I downloaded and listened to this on headphones while hiking today. This was a prime listening environment and the album would sound as good as it possibly can. The album entered this environment and delivered plain vanilla.
The Band
4/5
The two hits are really good. The music has good pace and the harmonies are excellent. Once we get passed the two hits, I like the songs with tempo but don’t like the ballads. I’m between 3 and 4 on this one and will round up to show the Canucks some love.
Orange Juice
3/5
This sounds like it’s influenced by Bowie, The The, et al. I would have liked listening to this in the early 80s. These days it sounds dated.
Fairport Convention
4/5
Wonderful 1969 LP. Good vocals and the band plays well together.
Skunk Anansie
3/5
The metal was more bearable than most metal. That's not to say that I liked it but it was bearable
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
This album makes me worry that I really am that old. If my rating is less than 3 then maybe I'm not. Holy mid-life crisis Batman!
The Vines
3/5
I had enough of garage so the garage revival wasn't something that I got too exited about.
Kings of Leon
3/5
When I saw the name I groaned. I think it might have aged well which is unusual given it was a Beaujolais rather than a Bordeaux.
The Clash
5/5
This might be my favourite album of all time. Certainly top 5. I loved the album top to bottom the first time I heard it. There were so many things to like about it.
The raw noisy punk was tamed by fusing with multiple other genres that all worked so well.
Joe's politics were on display.
As a Who fan I thought the cover was killer good and,
If you are ever wondering how to spell the last word(s?) of "The Right Profile" the lyrics printed on the album sleeve confirm that the proper spelling is " ARRRGHHHGORRA BUH BHUV DO ARRRRGGGGHHHHNNNN!!!!"
Dr. John
3/5
Gumbo Ya YA and Mama Roux are great names to tell the flavour of the songs.
I'm digging the Looziana sounds but the songs that are playing to the psychedelic flavour of the day aren't working for me.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
The two big songs are iconic. The rest of the album is similar to Side 2 of Exile on Main Street with a variety of genres nailed. There is a good dose of humour mixed with their bad boys image in songs like Dear Doctor. No Expectations is an excellent song and the only one to feature Brian Jones' lead as he shows his sliding prowess.
I was surprised to see a restaurant on the Danforth named after Factory Girl. It made me check the place out but I doubt many others know the song. It's a great tune with Charlie banging the tablas and also some haunting fiddle.
Keef was able to fill in the lead guitar role competently. Keef's the GOAT at rhythm guitar but he's middle of the pack at lead. To see what I mean compare his lead on Stray Cat Blues to Mick Taylor's lead on that song on Get yer ya yas out. Not having a lead guitar player on all but one song takes the 5 off the table.
Lambchop
2/5
This dreamy stuff doesn’t rock my boat.
Bebel Gilberto
4/5
Bebel's vocals are warm and the sound is so clean it sounds like you are listening on a $50,000 sound system rather than my 20 year old NAD.
This part of Bossa Nova's royal family is gently fusing bossa nova with electronic. It's too bad the 1001 didn't spread its wings a little further away from the family tree and have music that stretched deeper into electronic with bands like Bossacucanova. Given that we are over 900 days into this, I doubt we will be getting into such bands or other Brazilian genres such as Brazilian country called Sertanejo that was popular with the non-mainstream types the last time I was there. I digress. Tanto Tempo is a good and I will listen to it more in the future
Khaled
4/5
The first two songs sizzle and the second song is one of his best. These are followed by a simple ballad that is hard to really get onto when you don't understand the language. Khald's version of Imagine doesn't add much to the excellent song - except of course for Arabic lyrics. I guess songs like this need to form part of the playlist for pop stars from any country. With Trigue Lycee they return to form.
It's good to see some Arabic artists making the cut on the 1001
Eminem
1/5
I'm getting ready to tap out
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
The genre hopping really works on this one. The guitar playing (eg on I can't Get With That) is quite good and the sample from the Pumpkin and Honey Bunny scene in Pulp Fiction is classic. We Have All The Time ... is an interesting choice of cover and the band's name is so good.
Antony and the Johnsons
3/5
IT's a very cool album albeit from what's, for me, a take it or leave it genre.
Kraftwerk
4/5
This has some good stuff. It sounds dated but not dated for 1978. I'm sure the fellow grey haired folk will understand what I mean.
M.I.A.
3/5
This was released when Black Eyed Peas were over the top popular. I can see how M.I.A. would have fit in back then. This has a sound made for dance floors and has style due to the fusing of Eastern influences although their next album does that a kittle better.
Nina Simone
4/5
Her voice is near perfect which makes it hard not to give a 5 but there are a lot of songs on this album that are mediocre except for her.
Four Woman, the only song she wrote, is quite good. So much so that I'm surprised she didn't write more songs but she did write new arrangements for many songs so displayed her creative talents that way. She is so good at singing that her excellent piano playing doesn't get as much praise as it would if she didn't sing so darn well.
Funny story: I listened to Bowie's up tempo version of the title song so much more, when I hear her cover I expect the words to come before they do.
Skepta
2/5
The British "accent" even makes hip hop sound more sophisticated. Still not good though.
Mariah Carey
2/5
She is one of these pop icons whose name is known to just about everyone but I didn't recognize any songs on this album. I really couldn't get into it and can't understand what the fuss is all about. I suppose her voice is good enough to keep the rating above 1.
Spiritualized
2/5
Some was OK but the Space action was not working today
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
This was a fun album with lots of hits. It feels a little too old for me
The Flaming Lips
2/5
It was tough to get into
Goldie
3/5
Re D &B in general, I don’t know much about the nuances of this genre let alone the D&B sub-genres but, because some friends were into it, I went through a stretch where I listened to part of a local radio D&B hour once a week so got to like it. I was always impressed by the speed of the drumming although after reading up I understand this was sometimes achieved by increasing the recorded tape speed. Oh well, it still sounds good.
I liked this but I couldn’t get through a double album of it.
Joanna Newsom
3/5
She reminded me of Victoria Williams in that she has a fragile voice that works well with story telling type tunes.
It would take a few more listens than I had time for to have a POV for a story teller.
Sepultura
2/5
I said previously that 1001 has sufficient depth but not enough breadth of Brazilian music and I wish they had explored other Brazilian genres. Hmmm. Perhaps I change my mind on that, lol
There are some interesting fusions of Brazilian styles with metal but I'm just not a fan of thrash which is the backbone of this album.
Hot Chip
3/5
I don't like it as much as some of the other technos but it's OK
Pere Ubu
3/5
Late 70s was an interesting time for music. The cool musicians were leading the charge to trying to get run away from disco as fast as possible. This coupled with economic woes resulted in an environment ripe for creativity and change. This album was one of the results. Sure there is a lot of noise and at times it sounds like a novelty act but it’s still a good example of the creativity that came out of that period.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
I guess the first album of a band as big as the Stones has to be included. It falls short compared to the Beatles and The Who’s first albums since it lacks the creativity those other debut albums had and doesn’t have a meaningful original tune. I always thought of the Stones as followers rather than trend setters - darn good followers but followers nonetheless. This album validates that.
Bill Callahan
2/5
The songs are something I picture a dad singing to his kids at bedtime and they like them until they turn 10. I'm over 10 years old and not his kid.
Portishead
4/5
I'm glad 1001 introduced me to these folks. It's a fab album with lots of twists and turns and creativity. They have an industrial sound that is listenable.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
It's a really good album but I just don't like high pitched male vocals. Figure I better give one of his three 1001 offerings a rating above 3
Elbow
3/5
His singing ability is decent and he sounds like Sting. Grounds for Divorce has personality and An Audience with the Pope is also good but for the rest it’s tough to get into at least with only one listen.
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
There are a couple of decent songs but I’m just not a Rufus fan.
Tim Buckley
4/5
I like this version of TB. His psychedelic bits are quite and he gets to showcase his range of vocals.
Scritti Politti
1/5
Until now I never knew any bands that were influenced by ABC. The Lexicon of Love is the gift that keeps on giving.
Duke Ellington
5/5
The background comments on Dimenuendo are classic as Paul Gonzolas is egged on to continue his solo until he collapses.
This album is overflowing with excellent solos. You can really feel the crowd’s energy even on the studio recordings -lol.
I didn’t know jazz audiences (or any audience in the 50s) got so unruly.
Christina Aguilera
2/5
This album was certainly better than the last C Ag album 1001 threw at us. The funky and gospel infused music that were the first few songs was easier to handle than the pop from the other album. After the first few songs the album unfortunately reverted to pure unadulterated pop. I couldn’t get past the first half dozen or so songs.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
The serious “don’t fuck with me“ look they all have on the cover makes the high pitch vocals a surprise.
I generally don’t like high pitch males singing soul but the raunchy lead guitar in That Lady tells me it will be different this time. The instrument playing sets this album apart from the pop soul I can’t stand. I expect That Lady‘s influence is what led to Michael Jackson having Eddie Van H contribute the solo to Beat It.
The instrument playing throughout puts this album a level higher than other soul and makes it enjoyable.
Emmylou Harris
4/5
I always thought Emmylou was one of those musicians loved by her peers but ignored by the record buying public. It’s nice to learn that she also sold some albums.
Her voice is majestic. It’s so good that she can cover well known songs that are high risk to cover. One example is For No One which she sings brilliantly at a much slower tempo. This was a risky one to cover since it’s well known and Paul sang the original beautifully.
I would normally draw a negative inference from their being only one original but the one is a wonderful song about a drunken angel and her feelings of love and, I think, guilt.
David Crosby
1/5
John’s, Paul’s and George’s first solo albums after the Beatles broke up were included on the 1001 list. While John’s and George’s arguably get there on their own merits, Paul’s first solo album sucked but I understand why 1001 was compelled to put Paul’s album on the list. The Beatles were very influential and four of their albums are in the 1001 top 20. Deja vu was a fine album but not good enough to justify Crosby’s first offering getting a free pass to the 1001 club.
This Crosby album sucks. The one song I like is Cowboy Movie but it sure sounds like Down By The River. Both heavily use Em / Em7 chords and both songs sound like they are in the same key (key of Em or key of D - I have a hard time figuring this stuff out). So the only song I sort of like sounds sort of borrowed.
Ramones
4/5
The Sex Pistols gained more
notoriety but Ramones are the OGs of punk. Since I’m a big fan of this era, it seems strange not giving it a 5 but bands like the Clash that were influenced by Ramones created much better music.
Big Star
2/5
This album kinda reminded me of Boston. I quite liked Boston on release but its shine was gone when 1001 slipped it in my inbox. I didn’t know Big Star but might have liked them back in the day. Who knows? They do nothing for me now.
Tom Waits
4/5
In his initial years he was a charming barfly and was likeable for the same reasons Bukowski was. By the time of Bone Machine he was still charming but not in the barfly way. He was an ecclectic musician taking his story telling lyrics on a new journey accompanied by a strange assortment of things that he turned into instruments, distorted vocals that range from creepy to longing and haunting guitar playing that fits in no particular genre. We would be pissed off at most successful musicians who made an album like this but Tom makes it work. “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up”
is exactly what we expect from an early 40s Tom but the song that follows it is equally enjoyable as he makes noise work.
Meat Puppets
4/5
Rumours swirled when Nirvana said special guests would appear at their acoustic MTV concert. Would this be another “Last Waltz”with rock and roll royalty?Would Scorsese make the film? Confusion and a chorus of “wtf’s” were rampant when the special guests turned out to be The Meat Puppets.
The fast pace of the first song reminds me of Jim Carroll’s “People Who Died”. Given his high pitched voice I surprised myself by enjoying this. The album them delves into songs influenced by country and other weirdness. It’s reminiscent of the Wilco and perhaps Chilli Peppers. The MPs have enough of the “We don’t care if we’re popular“ attitude that I can see why Nirvana liked them.
There’s even a whistling song appropriately called “The Whistling Song” and some fine guitar playing.
4/5
Wonderall is an amazing song and very much an album maker. The album also has a few other goodies like Champagne Supernova. They are (were?) very overplayed but I can't hold this against them. This is prob the best album to come out of Britpop.
Waylon Jennings
3/5
Waylon is the country artist camp that I like - the camp with Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, etc. For whatever reason, I never bought any of his stuff or listened to him much.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
2/5
There's a track that shows they know how to play the piano and jam but the music is very AM sounding psychedelic that didn't age well. This sounds like the soundtrack from an Austin Powers movie.
Elvis Presley
3/5
Title should have been Elvis Is Back (At The 7/11).
I sure do like Elvis' rock more than his pop. Side 1 had me considering a 1 (which I would have bumped to 1 since it's Elvis a 1). Fever is a good song but it sounds so much better sung by a female. The second and 3rd songs on Side 2 rescued the rankionh and I also liked the two bluesey songs that finish off the album.
Sinead O'Connor
4/5
I bought her first album but didn't get this one. The Prince song really helped her career. Her SNL appearance - not so much. She was ahead of her time in calling out the church for all it's bullshit and cover ups and I have a lot of respect for that. I just don't think people really understood what her message was until it was way too late. RIP.
Van Morrison
3/5
The musicians on this album are quite good playing live. It sounds like a good gig. Looking back at my old ratings I gave another album of his a rating that is embarrassingly high in our early days so not going high again.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
1/5
I liked that 1969 double album about the kid who couldn't see, had hearing and vocal problems but nonetheless was good at pinball. That doesn't mean all double albums released in1969 should be on the list.
The Gun Club
3/5
If I had this album on release, it might’ve been my favourite album but I didn’t have it on release.
The Byrds
3/5
This album has Gram Parsons’ written all over it. I already have given him ample credit for the country rock sound so won’t uplift the rating again.
Herbie Hancock
3/5
I don;t much much about HH or the genre but the album is hot
Nightmares On Wax
3/5
I like this genre but don't really know the players.
Rufus Wainwright
1/5
We just had a Rufus Wainwright LP and it was painfully mediocre. I'm not listening to another.
4/5
I knew this band back in the day and still have one of their albums in my vinyl cellar. MG likely introduced me to them. I really enjoyed their style, energy and attitude back in the day. It would probably be harder to like if I were listening to them for the first time in 2023 and my rating is for old times' sake.
Sugar
2/5
I'm prob the one in our group who likes this genre the most but even I have had enough.
Bee Gees
1/5
The last Bee Gees album we had on 1001 (Odessa) is one I am not likely to forget since it was mind boggling how such a bad album could make it to 1001. Trafalgar is also very hard to listen to. It is an example of the terrible music that was AM radio.
The strange thing about these two Bee Gees albums is that I like the genres; I just hate the albums.
Giant Sand
4/5
They sound like a cross between PJ Harvey and Lou Reed but this is just the starting point. They wander around to a number of strange places stylistically and it really works. Now the two hour version on Spotify is too much but the original album is right sized.
Pink Floyd
3/5
I’m sure if I were a young acid user living in London in 1967 this would have been the best album ever. In my reality, I have a hard time getting my head in the right space to listen to this. This album does show tremendous creativity that continued post Syd and this requires me to have a 3 level of respect for Pink Floyd’s first album.
Rahul Dev Burman
2/5
The fact this is a soundtrack is negative. I like the genre but put it in a soundtrack (especially from a 70s movie) and you inevitably end up with lame orchestration and soupy ballads.
Radiohead
3/5
Not bad. I’m a little over-Radioheaded.
Klaxons
3/5
The combination of production quality and their attitude were making this a winner for the first few songs and this was heading towards a 4. Production capabilities improved so much by 2006 that the producers can really make an album sound good - especially on headphones. The album stopped working by the last half. It sounded too repetitive and the high pitched background vocals started to wear on me.
The Byrds
3/5
My first listen through indicated it's another middle of the road 60s folk album and I'm thinking this genre is over represented on the 1001. In any event, Eight Miles High is an excellent song and if this was the song / album that set the psychedelic genre in motion then I feel I shouldn't be trouncing it.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
There were some smash hits on this one for sure. I don’t find they added much to the sound they had years earlier on Blood Sugar…
The Dandy Warhols
2/5
A couple of songs are likeable but sound like post-punk leftovers. I might have stomached them better if they were released over a decade earlier. Fun name for the band. I’ll give them that.
Anthrax
1/5
Not for me
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
This was peak Springsteen. He wrote so many songs that year. A whack of them went to Born in the USA LP and another whack of them stayed acoustic and form Nebraska. The radio friendly Born in the USA was the favourite of the public and his best selling album while Nebraska was the favourite of fellow artists and his fans who spend more time listening to the lyrics. This era of writing did a couple of things: 1) It elevated his status as a songwriter for the blue collar at a time when the US was ravaged by recession, plant closures and deficits. The title song along with Atlantic City and Johnny 99 are three of his best songs ever. Atlantic City and Johnny 99 both contain the same statement to explain the blue collar man's transition to criminal behaviour: I got debts no honest man could pay. 2) This era also showed how good the E Street Band was. For example take an acoustic version of a song like Darlington County, recorded acoustically as a simple G-C-F-D chords played using only the first few frets, and compare that to what the E Street Band did with the song. It's quite impressive. Too bad Bruce decided to go away from E Street after these sessions and the Born in the USA Tour.
Lenny Kravitz
3/5
Lenny is an artist that I forget about. I could have a million conversations about music but would never think to mention him. When his music is playing I quite like him. I saw him in concert and enjoyed the show but only went since someone else got the tickets and invited me.
He fuses rock and soul very well and incorporates the right amount of organ in the right way. His voice on some songs reminds me of Lennon’s more obscure solo material and on other tunes reminds me of Lou Reed. Not sure why I don’t listen to him more.
Leftfield
4/5
As we get ointo the last couple of months of our 1001 journey I wonder how long it will be until we start to react to another electronic album the way one of our group members reacts to another acoustic folk album. This electronic album didn't cause that reaction with me anyway. I quite liked it especially the way African / Jamaican sounds were fused in. Johnny Rotten was also a nice touch
Pantera
1/5
Vulgar display of something
Minor Threat
1/5
I bought one Hardcore album back in the day thinking I might end up liking it as much as early Clash or something. Never happened.
Traffic
3/5
This was a good 60s jam
Robert Wyatt
2/5
I realize there isa good contingent of musicians pitching in but I had a hard time getting into it.
Coldcut
3/5
The first song sounded like disco which had me worried but they then went off on a couple of electronic tangents that were quite good and had cool percussion. They then dabbled in some areas that were less interesting.
The Beach Boys
2/5
Do You Wanna Dance is a a great song but not an original. Help me Rhonda is a good original.
When the album switches to ballads it sounds like high pitched Beatles ballads that Paul wrote that weren’t good enough to make their albums.
Jack White
2/5
It was ok but hard to get too excited
Calexico
3/5
This album was interesting and adventurous. I particularly liked the Tex Mex style tunes but I wasn’t kept locked in.
The Dictators
3/5
I like a lot of the bands they influenced. In fact I like the bands they influenced a lot more than I like them.
John Lennon
5/5
This album is so raw and personal it’s no surprise that it got next to no airplay. It has four tunes I'd put in the fabulous category: Mother, Love, Working Class Hero and God. The first three have all been covered but God probably can never be covered due the part of the song after the list. The rest of the songs are largely unknown but also quite good.
My Bloody Valentine
1/5
i think it's cool to make sentences without capital letters so i really like how they did this with the list of songs
i like that writing style much more than i like this album
The Bees
3/5
I was liking the percussion and reggae flavours. It was weird but cool. The beats and the album seemed to fall off a cliff after A Minha Menina
Dire Straits
3/5
Sultans of Swing is a beast. The rest of the songs don’t really do it for me although the guitar playing is excellent throughout. Is this a case where one really great song is enough to get a four? Nope.
Happy Mondays
3/5
Funny that a band called Happy Mondays has a song called Donovan.
I liked some of there stuff but found there was a bit too much filler.
Ozomatli
4/5
After so many decades of rap, fusion is needed to make it bearable. This fusion with Latin music works for me. I’ll keep this in the Thanksgiving weekend rotation.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
2/5
I guess these guys thought they should cash in on the popularity of their prior endeavours. The album didn’t work for me.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Just a thought but when the band's a one hit wonder perhaps 1001 should include only the album with the one hit.
There are some nice jams like "One of Those Things" but nothing original or ground breaking.
Baaba Maal
4/5
I found Baaba when I was randomly searching the Western African section of the CD store looking to expand my Western African music. Yup - this hit and miss approach was the 1990s equivalent of the Spotify algorithm.
He has an excellent voice and there are some decent guitar rhythms. His attempt to fuse didn't quite make it but it's still quite good. I'm rounding up
Slipknot
1/5
Wiki notes say the genre is nu metal and the definition of nu metal says it " . . . rarely displays . . . musical technique". I guess I prefer music that actually displays musical technique.
The title of the second song had me laughing out loud but I can't bring myself to +1 for that.
Ms. Dynamite
4/5
Dinamitee had interesting beats and flowed quite nicely. I also like Put Him Out and It Takes More which have which have a dancehall flavour. The album settles down into a lot of soul oriented sounds which were far less interesting.
So I really liked some of it and found some of it boring. Hmmm. I’m in a good mood so will round up.
The Zutons
3/5
Yeah not was a plain old rock and roll album with nothing to add from a new sound perspective but it wasn’t bad.
Dagmar Krause
3/5
I wonder if I found the right right album to listen to? I don’t mean this and an insult but what I listened to doesn’t sound like something that would be on the 1001. I listened to the two files I found on YouTube since the playing time was close but they had a number of songs in French so they don’t seem to fit.
In any event, I found it amusing to think about what the typical American would have said about the French songs around the time “Freedom Fries” were introduced to the American lexicon.
The White Stripes
3/5
My first reaction was "too many White Stripes LPs on this list." I gave it a listen - eventually - and there was some decent stuff on here
Aimee Mann
3/5
A few neat little tunes in here. I'm not sure I knew her music but hey I've forgotten lots of music from this era.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Funny - I had his first two albums, quite liked them and never bought another one of his albums. Unlike his prior LP, I could actually listen to some of this one on the radio.
GWF and Biko are both beasts and enough to get a 4 but there are also other goodies on this one like I Don't Remember.
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
This album was recorded in March 1966! This was not only before the White Album and the Velvet Underground's first album were released but also before even Revolver was released. Frank clearly wasn't influenced by Michelle and Norwegian Wood. He was on his own trailblazing.
It is a wild album. Some of it is a little tough to get into these days but it set the table for a lot of wacky stuff that FZ delivered over the following decades.
Justin Timberlake
2/5
My usual soul / R&B dislike for high pitched male vocals applies again. By the 2000s I can only listen to this if it’s fused with something cool. The fact it’s a new genre for JT does nothing for me.
Django Django
3/5
The first listen as background music while with company was not enjoyed but I liked the second one more as I heard more nuances.
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
I quite liked their first album, particularly because it was done while they were students and was done on an ultra low budget and pre-record label contract. This album is around the same quality but is post record label contract which takes away some of the excitement.
Pentangle
2/5
It sounds like some good campfire songs. Not sire why it made the 1001 though.
3/5
The funky tunes were quite good but I couldn’t get into the mellow stuff
Throbbing Gristle
1/5
After listening to a couple of songs I said out loud that I would be very surprised if this album's global score was over 2. Do I know my 1001 or what?
Dolly Parton
2/5
I'm a country fan so I feel like I'm suppose to like this but there was something about the harmonies that didn't work for me
Queen Latifah
4/5
This was the golden age of hip hop. The Queen made a positive contribution to the genre.
Ghostface Killah
3/5
The album doesn't get off to a good start as the opening skit is (fill in blank). There are some songs where the background music really makes the song move. Ditto background singers. Also, some of the lyrics deal with important subject matters. I can imagine someone who isn't me really liking this.
Soul II Soul
4/5
Fun and fun it beats. This was enjoyable.
Prefab Sprout
2/5
I remember music being decent in my university years and was my last year of university but I couldn't really get into this. Perhaps 1985 was a transition year for music.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
All contractors in the country listen only to radio stations that relentlessly overplay the songs from this album. It's like no hardware store will sell you a bag of grout unless you show a piece of paraphernalia with ZOSO written on it. This album is the reason why I had to learn to try to fix shit by myself.
Sure Page is an excellent guitar player but the band wasn't creative musically, were followers rather than leaders and continually stole music without giving credit. If you don't think that applies to this album, have a listen to Taurus by Spirit (Credit the Aug. 27, 2022 review of this album. See Led Zep: Was that so hard?)
Their lasting influence on music was a bunch of other bands that were also followers but that didn't have Jimi Page playing guitar so were just plain boring. Not a great legacy.
Side one had the three songs, Black Dog, Rock and Roll and Stairway, that set the standard for the term overplayed.
Side Two is far less overplayed. Going to California is the only song on the LP I can still listen to. Very nice acoustic work by Page. Four Sticks and When the Levee Breaks are really kinda boring and they're long songs. Add to these two clunkers Battle of Evermore, which is also nothing to write home about, and we're talking north of 40% of the album's playing time. I can see the big three songs on Side 1 getting this album to a 4 but I really don't get how this bad boy makes it to the 1001's top 5 albums.
They get -1 for the legacy of crappy bands they influenced and should get another -1 for the state of disrepair my house is in. I'll rate this generously.
SAULT
4/5
I started off really liking this. It was a good mixture of African and urban sounds. It also has a soul sound that I like. The album seemed to fade at some points. I will round up since it's from this millennium.
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
I like Frank and in particular like his silliness but this one is just way too out of date for me to like today.
LL Cool J
2/5
Not my gig.
Minutemen
4/5
This era is in my sweet spot. It's like early Joe Jackson / The Police songs like Next To Me and crossed with Lou Reed / Tom Waits American stylings.
The Cult
2/5
I could handle these guys a little bit more than the other heavy bands in the day. They had a good song, Sanctuary. Too bad it's not on this album.
Janet Jackson
2/5
I don't remember any of these songs but I do remember when she flashed her breast at the Superbowl. That probably says more about me than it does about this album.
4/5
It definitely didn't age that well but back in the day this album was a lot of fun. Ridiculous but fun. The cover of Satisfaction and name of the album are examples of this.
Rush
3/5
I always liked Tom Sawyer and had no clue it was co-written w one of the Max Webster dudes. Neil Peart's drumming is top shelf and highlighted on this album.
They're a band playing three instrument rock / prog rock in the 80s and not adding anything new and interesting to the sound. I'm close to a plus 1 for Peart but Gary's consistently high pitched vocals take the bump off the table.
Small Faces
3/5
OK 60s stuff but nothing to write home about.
Jane's Addiction
2/5
I was never a big fan of these guys
Brian Eno
4/5
I wish I had known this album a long time ago. It's so creative - weird for sure - but also creative. The wiki bit that best describes this says that he is able "to coax unexpected results from the various musicians." I decided to give it a 4 and then, for fun, thought I'd listen to the last Roxy Music LP Eno was on. That album was slick and made Eno's rating harder to justify. Anyway, I had already decided on a four so am sticking with it.
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
I was expecting to hate this but I was pleasantly surprised and only disliked it. They're imitators of grunge but they add a spoonful of sugar to make it easier for the general public's ears. The album has its well known hits and is painfully long.
Jane Weaver
4/5
There were some really good songs on this like Loops . . . and the Architect. As has become my norm, I’ll give 4 to recent albums that have some good stuff.
LTJ Bukem
3/5
Yeah we needed D&B to be represented on the 1001 and I would be zero help at picking such albums.
Peter Gabriel
5/5
I knew the hits from this one - who doesn’t really - but listening to the full album highlights some of the other gems like Don’t Give Up, the duet with Kate Bush.
2/5
XTC albums usually have a few catchy songs that carry the album for me. I didn't find the spark on this one. It didn't help that it wasn't on Spotify and I had to endure YouTubeMusic's commercials after every other song.
The Darkness
2/5
If this album had been released in the 70s, I probably would’ve liked it. As it is it the few decades late and a few dollars short.
Astrud Gilberto
4/5
Apparently some critics said it was too “pop”. As someone not from Brazil it’s the right amount of pop for me. This showcases her voice beautifully.
Snoop Dogg
4/5
This is Gangsta Rap on prozac which is much better than Gansta Rap without prozac.
I'll give Doggystyle some love for starting the West Coast Hip Hop genre.
The Incredible String Band
3/5
This is a tough one. I really like the onslaught of avant garde sounds and the wide assortment of instruments especially given that it was recorded in 1967. The downside is the songs - they really aren't doing it for me.
Soft Machine
3/5
The first song got the album off to a bad start. The first 7 minutes of avant- guard intro was hard to take. It was better when it got into the psychedelic stuff and the later songs that were more jazz were quite good.
Girls Against Boys
2/5
This was another tough one. I don't get what this album adds to the music scene
Ali Farka Touré
5/5
This is probably my favorite African music album. I can't believe this was almost 30 years ago.
Bonde is such an excellent song to kick off the album and let’s you know where the ride will take you.
The beginning riff to Soukora grabs your attention and the song settles down into a slow groovin magic with AFT's soothing vocals and then features guitar solos played over each other. Pure magic. This and the haunting Ai Du are my two faves. I could put those two songs on repeat and listen to them all day.
The wiki notes say the genres are Malian Folk and Hip Hop. Hip hop? Really? Is Gomni considered a hoop hop song? Not buying that one Mr. Wiki.
Morrissey
1/5
I was just in Geneva and verified that making us listen to this would be against the Geneva convention. The Smiths had worn out their welcome by the time of their third album on the 1001. Adding four Morrissey solo albums to the 1001 is cruel and unusual punishment.
Kings of Leon
3/5
Not a big fan of the genre.
Scott Walker
3/5
I don’t know most the songs by this crooner. I think I like Jacques Brel’s album in the 1001 more but perhaps that’s only because I can’t understand what he’s singing.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
1/5
I 'm willing to give noisy stuff a chance. I gave it a chance but won't give it a second chance
The Cure
4/5
This was intense and dark and worked for me today. I can imagine other days when it wouldn't work.
The KLF
3/5
The trance was fun and unusual but other than a few songs it was nit so interesting
John Grant
3/5
That chicken song was fun. Other than that it seems to be the type of album that requires a few listens to get into and I only listened once.
Everything But The Girl
3/5
A scan of the reviews says that a lot of folks hate this one. EBTG's take on the genre hasn't aged well and the music isn't memorable, at least not in a positive way, but the vocals are something special. Tracey Thorn's voice is excellent. The opening tune, I Don't Want To Talk About It, I knew as a Rod Stewart tune back in the day. Tracey nails it wonderfully. I also think her vocals on Paul Weller's The Paris Match, released a few years before this, was amazing. It's perhaps telling that my two favourite songs she sings are written by others.
I prefer their songs like missing as well as the other album on the 1001 although I rated that one lower for some reason.
Stephen Stills
2/5
Of the legacy CSNY members, I wish Stills was the one who boycotted Spotify.
There are some decent, albeit dated sounding, tunes on this and some excellent guitar work by the special guests that keeps the rating from falling further.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
2/5
There are a few good tunes but sensational ain't the first word that jumps to mind.
Common
2/5
Not working for me.
Alice Cooper
4/5
In grade 7 or 8 I got this album on release with the vinyl wrapped in panties. I remember my uncle taking the panties and putting them on our doberman. That's a glam rock moment!
I can still recite from memory every line from the West Side Story bit in Gutter Cat vs The Jets. Yup - my culture for musicals (or lack thereof) started with the Coop.
This album doesn't sound anywhere near as good as it did when I was 12 but I'm giving it a 4. I don't care if you don't agree with it; I don't agree with it either - but I'm giving it anyway.
UB40
4/5
I remember listening to this back in the day. It’s quite good.
The Police
5/5
This is a great album with several excellent songs. It's three lads playing well together and is the last album done before Sting's ego became the fourth Cop.
G. Love & Special Sauce
4/5
At this stage of the 1001 if we get more hip hop it better be alt. This one is and is enjoyable even as background music which is how I listened to it
Red Snapper
4/5
Never heard if this and kinda like it. Good mix of ambience and electronics for shaking
The xx
3/5
One description said this was atmospheric. That seems spot on. I like the songs like Violent Noise that have the male and female vocals sang separately rather than in duet. They both sing well.
The Associates
2/5
A bit of a Bowie wannabe group. I couldn't find too much that I would describe as original or mind blowing.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
Nick decides he wants to make an album about murder and invites two of his ex girlfriends (Anita and PJ) and his current girlfriend (Kylie) to sing. You can’t make this stuff up.
I remember the first time I heard The Kindness of Strangers and the the line about Mary Bellows: “They found her the next day cuffed to the bed, rag in her mouth and bullet in her head”. This is sung while there is haunting weeping / whimpering in the background (provided by one of his exes of course).
Just when you think the level of depravity could not get more extreme, O’Malley’s Bar comes on. Jerry Bellows (perhaps Mary Bellow’s dad?) is taken care of in that song. This is done by using an “ashtray as big as a fucking really big brick” to split his skull in half. Wow. How could you not conclude that Nick was one weird motherfucker?
The album ends with a Bob Dylan song that nobody ever heard of and I see that song as a helpful message to those in need which is an interesting way to finish.
I’ve heard of Nick singing at a couple of funerals which is interesting. One was Shane MacGowan’s funeral last week. Shane sang one of the versus on Death is Not the End (each of Nick’s girlfriends also contributed a verse.)
Do you not have to be fucked up to write these songs? Nick could of course throw it back at me by saying “Do you not have to be fucked up to enjoy listening to this?” Guilty as charged. I really like this album but try to make sure people don’t see me enjoying it. Sort of the same surreptitious behaviour I employ when reading something like Anaïs Nin’s
Little Birds.
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
In our last two weeks of the 1001 I was not looking forward to another hip hop album but was pleasantly surprised by this one. The subject matters are reminiscent of a Tracy Chapman album and the beats are well put together and well produced.
The Thrills
3/5
Sounds like UK indie mixed with some of Matthew Sweet’s cute popness. I’m not big of either of those but I’m surprisingly above 2.
White Denim
4/5
I'm glad to know this since it’s a good choice to play when folks who like indie are visiting. It’s probably a little vanilla for me but as far as indie goes I like it.
Neil Young
4/5
When we had Harvest I think I labelled that as my favourite NY album. Now that I listen to this one I'm wondering if I need to revisit that. I still have the vinyl copies of both.
The title song, and Southern Man are two of my favourite NY songs overall. Interestingly, the two singles, "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and "When You Dance I Can Really Love", are probably the two songs I care for least.
On balance Harvest still gets the nod for fave.
Can
3/5
I will accept that this album would have been influential. For example, I can see how a song like Aumgn would have influenced songs like The waiting Room from the Lamb and On the Run from DSOTM. While I really like those two albums, those two songs are not the reasons I like them.
Nanci Griffith
3/5
It´s plain vanilla country. She has a happy voice which I would not find acceptable for a male country singer but it works for her.
Roxy Music
4/5
This is a fine debut album. Strutting out the esoteric sounds on their first album showed they had a lot of confidence.
Public Image Ltd.
3/5
I see how this was an influential album but it was not as enjoyable as their previous album.
The Psychedelic Furs
2/5
I remember this band from back in the day and back then I thought they were OK but I wasn’t a huge fan. Not much has changed over the years.
Tom Waits
4/5
The subject matters of his songs are a mess and so is Tom but he is a lovely mess. He has so many albums that I don't know and all his albums have very strong highlights. I'm glad I got to know this one.
Kings of Leon
2/5
Not my gig
Solange
4/5
It seems to check a lot of the boxes I've set out for soul I don't like but - I like it. It's super cool album and one I'll continue to enjoy.
R.E.M.
4/5
This was a new sound for REM. I like the old sound but also like this one. There are enough monster songs to get to a 4.
Deee-Lite
2/5
Sounds a bit too much like disco for my liking
Throwing Muses
3/5
Another of the few albums that is hard to find. I liked it but thought it would have sounded dated even on release.
Underworld
4/5
I'm digging the thumping, cool drum licks and the occasional ambient airiness.
Heaven 17
3/5
That was fun to listen to. Very dated.
The Pogues
4/5
I don’t know if my enjoyment was higher since Shane just recently passed, but I very much enjoyed this one.
The Beta Band
2/5
There were a couple of decent songs but I can’t imagine ever listening to this again.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
4/5
I was introduced to N Khan’s music decades ago. His voice is spectacular and is nicely augmented by percussion.
American Music Club
3/5
I get a sense that if I listened to this 5/6 times I would end up liking it.
Doves
3/5
Holger Czukay
3/5
It most certainly was eclectic. It falls in the category of albums that I might like if I listened to it a dozen times. After a couple of listens it's stuck in the middle.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Prior to this album I knew some of Nick's "cult following" songs like Deanna but this is the first of his albums that I listened to a lot and from which I knew every song.
There are some monster songs here. It's hard to even consider a 3 or lower rating for an album that has the lyrics:
I counted up my blessings
And I counted only one
One tiny little blessing
And now that blessings gone
The Coral
4/5
I’ll restate my view that you need to listen to many albums 10 times to decide if you like them. There just isn’t time to do that but I like the early days feeling I’m getting from this one. It sounds like an English version of Os Mutantes. (How’s that for a blast from the 1001 past?)
The Beta Band
3/5
There are some interesting beats on this trippy album. I listened to it as background yesterday and listened to it again today with serious volume. It’s an interesting one. I like the way the guitars come in and obnoxiously interrupt the beats on Human Being and Broke. I realize that if I don’t give this a 4, I will likely forget it and never listen to it again. I can’t get there.
and I want to listen to it again.
TV On The Radio
4/5
I joined the 1001 hoping to get exposure to bands like this. I though their Dear Science album was better but this one is also good