1001 Albums Summary

Another album that stands out because of when it happened more than what it's doing. However, if you released this today and said it was a Jack White side project, no one would doubt you.

What always blows me away about this album is how American it sounds. Sure, the Stones had long been riffing off the blues but a song like Rip this Joint expands that into some New Orleans sounds and Sweet Virginia sounds like it was recorded in Nashville. Just an amazing sublimation of influences while transmogrifying them into something not new but altogether transporting.

First time hearing this or anything from Julian Cope. It feels aggressively artful. That is, the existence of the songs and their collection into this album represents a single object. As songs in and of themselves, they show a stunning array of style and execution.

This band has always floated around the periphery of the music I listen to. Oft recommended but seldom listened to. What turned me off in previous listens was the lyrical directness. I always felt like the music begged for something more abstract and circuitous. This listen was quite enveloping though. Something finally clicked.

This M.E. riff must have been sampled a thousand times. Clearly a groundbreaking record in its day. It feels a little like a museum piece now. It's intentionally non-organic but there are some melodies and chord progressions here that reach toward the human listening. The title of the album makes it interesting to think about how pleasurable the sounds on the album actually are. There's an antagonism there that's intriguing.