Classic jazz album. Jimmy Smith is the organ player.
Track 1: Relaxed, pleasant blues.
Track 2: also relaxed, cool jazz feel. Impressive tenor sax solo (Stanley Turrentine).
Track 3: faster tempo, retaining a subdued feel. Darker (minor key---called "Minor chant") Really very good if you're in the jazz mood. I'm warming to the album here.
Track 4: slowed back down, which I'm a little disappointed about. Sax is still honking fire though
Track 5: a bit disappointing---ends on probably the least interesting/challenging song of the album. It's kind of pleasant, but sounds a bit like department store musak (filled with impressive solos, to be fair, but not the highlight of the album)
This album was a 3
Rating scale:
5 Blown away
4Very impressed, loved it
3Good, solid effort, nothing special though
2 kinda bad
1 very bad
These songs are built on a 60's pop/rock core, but tons of experimental engineering which makes it a wild listen. Sometimes the recording sounds amazing---sometimes more of a miss. Sometimes very hectic, but lots of variety in the compositions. There's also a Brazilian flavor here---it doesn't come through on every song, but fun when it does.
1. Fun, upbeat. wacky breakdown.
2. Woah: When the fuzzy guitar comes in
3. I love the guitar at the beginning of this song too. This one is a welcome slow-down, with a busy break in the middle.
4. Starts with fun bird sounds/is that a bottle cap? Then monkey noises? A jungle jam for sure.
5. The full organ and voice contrasts nicely with the guitar, which sounds like it's being played through a broken pocket radio.
...
8. Reminds me of a Zombies song with samba-sort-of twist
9. This is a great song. Weird, slow, fun intro to something totally different. Catchy.
10. Awesome clarinet.
11. Best song on the album? Love the drums. Love the riff. Love the organ. Love the guitar solo.
Score: 4 - loved it
One of the first CDs I bought for myself and listened to on repeat, when I started getting into rock in middle school, was a "best of" Deep Purple. I loved it... but I never listened to any of their real albums! This is actually a live album from a performance in Osaka, Japan. It's got a bunch of tracks from that "best of" disc.
1. Highway Star- voice recording is awful, in a charming way. awesome electric organ solo.
2. Child in Time - I forgot what a great song this is. Fun jams in this version.
3. Smoke on the Water - nice to hear a different version of the classic
4. The mule - I like this song. I'm less familiar with it. Long drum solo.
5. Strange kind of woman - excellent extended jam on this track
6. Lazy - wowzer of a synth intro. Fun outro. Best track so far?
7. Space Truckin - 19 MINUTES LONG. That synth doing the main riff is THICC.
Rod Stewart's band?
1. I love how this starts. Great chugging distorted guitar and bass---sick tone. Honestly went a little bit downhill when Rod's voice came in though.
2. Feel-good song. Sounds familiar (but I don't think I've heard it before)
3. Ballad. I actually like Rod's voice here. Some nice organ, a fun riff. Chord changes are meh.
4. Honky tonk.
5. Famous song: Stay With Me. Fits here. It is a highlight.
6. Another ballad. Sounds like Wild Horses.
7. More honky tonk, but better.
8. Upbeat. Familiar sound. Pretty ok. But the piano jam at the end is kind of fun.
9. Nice guitar tone---sounds like ACDC at the beginning. Once it gets going though, it sort of sounds like they're confused about the song's key? Nice guitar solo in the middle, sounds like Jimmy Page. Woah---steel drums??? This is actually probably my favorite song on the album because it's so weird... Not really sure if it's actually good haha.
Score: 3. good, solid effort.
Punk with face-melting, virtuosic heavy-metal guitar. I'm very into the vibe---with just 4 parts (drums, bass, 1 guitar, vocal, for most tracks I think) the mix is great.
Lots of fast tracks, but track 4 e.g. is really groovy and catchy. Kind of a reggae groove to track 5---interesting change of pace and not *too* out of place. Track 7 has a very 80s vibe (think the Police plus hair rock). Track 9 is great, sounds a bit like a punkier Rush. I like the eclectic influences---I'd say the band is at its best when it sounds less like Van Halen, which fortunately is most of the time.
Beautiful vocal harmonies; jangling guitar; laid-back, feel-good melodies. I was already pretty familiar with this album, and while I wouldn't rank it among my favorite albums, I'll put it on every once in a while e.g. for a peaceful break on a long drive.
Some tracks I really like a whole lot---I might give them a 4. But others just aren't moving me at all. Since the quality is so bumpy, I don't think I can give the album *as a whole* a good score. That's not to say there isn't great stuff here. But as a whole it just plays like a poorly assembled mix tape. Verdict: kinda bad.
1. Bittersweet Symphony. What a flashback. This is actually a pretty good song, despite being inescapably overplayed '98-... today?
2. Sounded good
3. Transition here to a grungier feel, doing a pretty good job rocking out. Nice atmospheric breakdown. Reminding me of just-pre-Kid A Radiohead a bit.
4. Slow down: Acoustic ballad with lots of reverb. Sounds a fair bit too country for me.
Normally I like diversity in an album, but this song is kind of making me feel like the diversity here is more an attempt to have broad commercial appeal, which, 🤢.
5. Cool intro noises! Back to warm enveloping grunge rock. Feels good.
6. Another great opening. Reversed noises here make you feel like you're in a dimension of fun-house mirrors, but the very pleasing bass line makes it feel safe and good.
7. Not a fan of these chord changes. I think this is worse than the country song. Disappointing. I feel like this album is all over the place.
8. Good but unoriginal bass riff. Overall seems a bit generic/forgettable... I think there are better versions of "this song" out there by other artists.
9. Called "Lucky Man", but not an ELP cover. The vocal sounds out of place to me. Otherwise fine. The strings in the background seem too dramatic and pop-y.
10. (Organ?) This is a ballad. It sounds like a schmaltzy prom song from the 90s, which I guess is exactly what it is.
11. Is this the same riff from 2 songs ago? I could be at the Bronze.
12. Slow, slide guitar, and vocals way back in the mix and distorted. Interesting change of pace. I can dig it.
13. Good follow up to the last song. Some fun jamming here, though the melody isn't particularly strong. I guess this is technically a "hidden track", so I'm not sure whether to count this as officially the last song of the album.
I feel a bit let down by the end of this album. It just went on a few tracks too too long. That's preventing me from giving it 5 stars. But I still loved it.
1. Crickets... Become fun 80s thumps... Becomes foot-tappin' pop!
2. Smooth transition to another pleasant ditty. Eno/Byrne vibe. Crickets out.
3. Another similar vibe---this one like a machine made of pleasant and well-fit cogs. I am loving this
4. And it keeps getting better. There's this video-game organ sound in the background which I love, but it's disguised in the mix so that the whole song just sounds goofy and fun. Oh my GOODGod that guitar solo slipped in. I'm drooling.
5. Slowing it down a minute. Makes sense, because that last song was a very tough act to follow.
6. Smooth transition to this song which is somehow miserable and goofy at once, kind of a masterpiece. I love the descending riffs and violins, which remind me of gentle giant.
7. Beach Boys?! by the way, Every once in a while this album surprises you with a disgustingly pretty jazz chord, and it's just the best.
8. Woah, straight up 80s guitar pop. Still stuff to love here, but it's comparatively a bit generic here.
9. The comparative slump did not last long. Love the opening here. This song is a whole different vibe---something a bit "Revolver".
10. Space song!
11. High energy space-pastoral
12. Weird change of pace: noir to funky jazz, partially in 7. This one felt a bit out of place.
13. Ballad... Might be about death? A weaker track
14. Funny orchestral piece
15. Starts with a child singing (meh). Kind of an atheist anthem---seems a bit preachy (lol).
This is a hip hop album with influences ranging from rave music to disco to indie pop. The sounds on this album---a lot of percussion and synths---are abrasive. They seem to say "if you don't get it, if you're not in the in-group, you can f*** off right off." There were some sounds I liked throught: some traditional hand drums, some whiny out-of-tune synths. But overall, it wasn't a pleasant experience for my ears.
The single from this album that everyone and their mother knows, paper planes, sticks out like a sore thumb from the rest of the songs. Not that the album was a particularly coherent whole.
It might be clear that I didn't enjoy this album. During the first half, it became clear to me that MIA was trying to do something with this album that is alien to my thoughts about the goals of music. I wouldn't have made... any? of the same choices. The songs dont take you anywhere. It's more like each song drops you into a single, small, uncomfortable room, from which you can't escape for about 3 minutes. The beats and vocals are repetitive and often grinding. I ultimately looked up some of the lyrics to gain more insight into what the heck I was listening to. Themes include partying, drugs, crime, violence, poverty, and racism. There is a lot of anger there, which makes sense of the sonic palette. The second half of the album I enjoyed more, armed with this knowledge. Plus, the songs are a bit more pleasant.
The album was sort of academically interesting to me, but I have to admit that I kind of hated listening to it. I guess that means it's not for me anyway, so I can just f*** right off.
Things I expected and got: space sounds. Synths, lots of phasers/flangers and delay, sick extended guitar jams.
Things I did not expect: space flute! Space sax! Space monologues (maybe should have expected).
I hear Pink Floyd, Rush, Jethro Tull in here. Plus Space. Unfortunately the bass lines can get repetitive, and there aren't too many really great melodies to hook into.
This is the jazz album I didn't know I was looking for, but definitely was. Blown away.
1. Love the groove. The trumpet/flugelhorn riff is fun. The sax quality has a Canterbury scene sound, which I'm into. Here's the trumpet solo---what a intro!!! Holy cow I am so into this... Piano solo ugghhgbfffnnn
2. Slowing things way down---lovely cocktail bar/impressionistic style piano to start. Trumpet solo starts to heat up... tasty alto sax solo. The band is so in sync, it just feels incredible. The technical imperfections are part of the magic.
3. Another tasty groove holding us down with the winds blowing strong in the skies. The break before the piano solo stops you cold, and in fact you notice the bass before you realize the piano is even taking it, but it gets going. Could be a stronger climax here though. A minor complaint about a great track.
4. Fun bass line. Quiet and kind of mysterious. This doesn't sound like American jazz---it's just more fun. This song by itself doesn't go anywhere new... Except into a fun solo to start the next track!
5. This has a Mariachi/Super-Mario vibe! Moving into a hard swing. To be honest this isn't my favorite part---it almost sounds like the band is having trouble holding it together. But now we're onto solo piano... And back to impressively high speeds. Really in sync at the end here---still a satisfying close to the weakest track so far.
6. Dreamy dark piano. oOOh mmmhm into a funky funky funk! This track is definitely not disappointing.
7. Drum solos!
8. Sounds like a lazy summer day in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood. I'm into it. The piano solo adds a just a hint of mystery, drums add some edge, open up some new dimensions. I love the unison melody that takes us out.
9. Rhodes piano? Mellow opening into a triumphant wall of horns. back to the mellow groove... Lovely keyboard solo, and now we have a groove going. Very nice. Mmm heatin up. I'm bobbin my noggin. Ready for the trumpet solo when it comes---hits perfectly. I love the topography of this piece.
10. Jungly drum intro with some wanton sax. And vocals! Bantu? Love this as a cap to the album. I assume the vocals are placing the album in South Africa, where Masekela grew up. It's a departure from the rest of the album, but a good one. The final trumpet note leaves you hanging---there is definitely more to come for me: I am going to check out the rest of Masekela's catalog.
Elvis Costello, on this album, sounds like what Billy Joel would sound like if Billy Joel kinda sucked. The sound is... Unoriginal. It's exactly what you would expect it to sound like if someone who grew up in the rock&roll/punk scene, and who also happened to love Broadway musicals, but wasn't a talented enough singer to make it, told you that they were going to make a 50s pop revival album. The influences seem to be just a list of the most tired genres of white American/British music.
The instrumental aspects of the album, with a few exceptions, are slightly more boring than necessary to achieve their purpose, which is apparently to be entirely subordinate to the vocals. This is unfortunate, because the vocals are pretty annoying. Costello is not a great singer, and I think the mix engineer did him no favors here: the vocals are dry, abrasively saturated, and way too loud. We looked up some of the lyrics, and our consensus was that it was difficult to tell if he had anything interesting to say, but it pretty much felt like the answer was no. Lots of love/breakup songs. Some annoying choruses (e.g. "this is hell").
Wouldn't recommend.
Just good fun.
Way muddier mix than I remembered. This is kind of charming sometimes, but I would have liked to hear the impressive instrumental arrangements a bit better. The stadium guitars that appear every once in a while are pretty funny---but I'm definitely not complaining.
It's funky. So it's great.
I listened while conversing, doing other things, and none of the songs particularly stood out to me. In addition, it's full of "background noise", which I wasn't into at the moment. But maybe it's better if you're really devoting your attention to the music. Definitely worth another listen.
The first few tracks I was absolutely loving. Then I started hearing some sort of ridiculous, hilarious lyrics, that were oddly juxtaposed with the music. I was into that. But I felt like the second half of the album got a bit tired. Some songs sounded like a band at the peak of their career, writing songs for the sake of writing songs, with nothing new to say.
I would love an EP version of this album with the fat trimmed.
This album is a mellifluous murmur. You could hear this 200 years from now in a high class lounge, possibly in space. More specifically the first three tracks sound like someone took some ordinary Bossa Nova and remixed it by subtly distorting and manipulating the backing band. After that the album changes it up a little bit. Some fun songs near the end, e.g. Bananeira. Gilberto's voice is exposed and lovely and perfect throughout the album.
Ultimately this album is limited by it's genre as lounge music, but it's wonderful for what it is.
-major keys
-jangly clean guitars
-the same fast, aggressive drumming on almost every song
This is feel good music. It's definitely not a chore to listen to. However, listening to this album further cemented my opinion that REM is a band that does one thing well and that thing is not particularly memorable or original. My favorite track was 9-9.
