1001 Albums Summary

They were a tight blues band buried beneath all of the psychedelic murkiness. Excellent vocals by Balin and Slick.

Lemmy, Eddie and Phil’ masterpiece. Hard rock/metal’s eternal standard. Must be listened to from start to finish to appreciate its brilliance.

Despite fillers, Band 6 and Zilch, it is a solid album from the band. They were finally able to play their own instruments and they were able to be a real band.

I tried to listen to this album on Spotify and realized that two of the songs were not available because they were cowritten by Neil Young. Neil Young is in the middle of his whiny little bitchpalooza about Joe Rogan and Spotify, so only those two songs are not available on the platform. I found a friend with a copy of the CD, and after listening to it, I realized that the two songs cowritten with Neil Young, Music is Love and What are Their Names, are the two weakest songs on the album, so really old Neil did Spotify a favor. The rest of the album is perfectly atmospheric and harmonious. The album with the two omitted songs is four stars and without, five stars. Thanks Neil.

Ska is not everybody's bag, and I get that. There are some duds on the album, but overall it captures the sound and the vibe of the late 70s alternative scene perfectly. Elvis Costello's production is top notch and the band's influence on his late 70s/early 80s output is evident. It's a fun listen if you can appreciate ska.