Album #1 (1001 challenge extended): "St. Louis to Liverpool" by Chuck Berry(1964)
"St. Louis to Liverpool" is the seventh studio album by American rock and roll musician Chuck Berry. Rock and roll is the sole Wiki-listed genre. The album was written and recorded after his release from prison and spending 20 months for interstate trafficking of women for prostitution: in his case, underage women. It was also written to capitalize on his popularity during the early 60's British Invasion. It was recorded in Chicago at the famous Chess Records. Chuck Berry was on vocals and guitars. His band included Matt "Guitar" Murphy (guitar), Johnnie Johnson (piano), Lafayette Leak (piano), Paul Williams (piano), Willie Dixon (bass), Odie Payne (drums), Fred Below (drums), Ebby Hardy (drums), Jasper Thomas (drums), Leroy C. Davis (tenor saxophone), James Robinson (tenor saxophone) and Louis Satterfield (bass). The album reached #124 on the US Pop Album Charts. Critic Dave Marsh called it one of the greatest rock and roll albums ever made.
"Little Marie" opens the album with electric guitar and harmonization vocals. Berry's distinct bluesy with country-tinged electric guitar sound. A bouncy piano and rock and roll beat. Berry with subdued vocals describing his ex-wife calling him home to reunite with their six year old daughter and her. A guitar riff and piano rolls begin "No Particular Place to Go." The start-stop beat. Driving and fast guitar solos. "Promised Land" opens with a classic Berry riff. Upbeat with the piano killing it.
Horns are added to "You Can Never Tell." The piano is upfront and carrying the melody. Even a piano solo. Berry's opening riff in "Bobby Soxer" is very similar to "Johnny B. Goode" And why not? Another ripping solo. He's encouraging a young teenage girl to dance.
Berry's bluesy-edged and country-tinged guitar tone stands out on this album. On solos, riffs and fills. The backing band is outstanding. Short and upbeat rock and roll songs with a prominent piano and at times horns. Is it hard to listen to the content of these songs given Berry's background? Yeah, a little bit, but it is a classic sound and not all rock and roll stars are good or even likable people. But, I couldn't totally shake it. However, it a classic album of music that all rock fans should enjoy.
4.5 out 5
Album #2 (1001 challenge extended): "Crystal Castles" by Crystal Castles (2008)
"Crystal Castles" is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles. Synth-punk, chiptune, noise and indie electronic are the Wiki-listed genres. The duo consisted of producer Ethan Kath and singer Alice Glass. The duo used electronic sounds with a circuit-bent Atari 5200. Commercially, the album reached #47 in the UK and #3 on the US Billboard Heatseekers Album Chart. It also received generally favorable reviews.
"Untrust Us" opens the album. A bouncy and melodic synth. A synth beat. Glass' vocals up and down the scales. Hmmmm, interesting. The first-released single "Crimewave" has a dance beat and synth bass. Echoing and robotic vocals. Hypnotic. A melodic synth break. A loud and heavy drum ending.
"Vanished" goes dreamy with the synth melodies. Kath on vocals with Glass. Laser sounds. Start/stop beats. More pop like. The album closes with "Reckless.". A oscillating synth melody. A club-like beat; it sounds like an 80's Ministry song. Layered synths.
Well, this was unique. Heavy synths being melodic, noisy and video-game like. That Atari 5200 is ringing true. Weird idiosyncratic beats. The music can be described as dance, experimental, dance-pop, punk and techno. The tone seems to change between techno-adult and video game-dance kid-like. Glass' vocals can be straight-forward, screaming or distorted. This album kept my attention with its changing styles even though it was annoying at times. Short songs kept the annoying aspect low on those specific albums. Overall, an album I'd recommend for any electronic music fan.
3.5 out of 5
Album #3 (1001 challenge extended): "Almoraima" by Paco de Lucia (1976)
"Almoraima" is the tenth studio album by Spanish flamenco guitarist, composer and record producer Paco de Lucia. Flamenco and jazz are the Wiki-listed genres. The album is considered a landmark recording of flamenco, rethinking what constituted flamenco and incorporating bass, congas, the Moorish lute-like oud and rhumba rhythms. de Lucia plated guitar and the oud. Other musicians on the albums included Ramón de Algeciras (guitar), Alvaro Yebenes bass) and Pedro Ruy-Blas (percussion).
The self-titled "Almoraima" opens the album with percussion and an aggressive Spanish guitar. It slows down. It speeds up. More percussion and handclaps. Just exquisite guitar. "El Cobre" speeds things up with a fast beat. Toe-tapping and handclapping beats.
"A la Perla de Cadiz" adds a choir at the start and end. The guitar controls the pace with starts and stops. A rhumba beat underlies "Rio Ancho." A scooting pace. The guitar impressively goes up and down the scales.
The focus of this album is the extraordinary guitar work of de Lucia. It gets layered with other guitar or the oud. The other musical instrumental are relatively sparse but there is chanting, a choir, a subdued bass and percussion. I am a flamenco music novice but the other flamenco I've heard seems to have been busier. Nonetheless, de Lucia's guitar work is fantastic making this a very enjoyable listen. A recommendation for any music fan.
4.5 out of 5
Album #4 (1001 challenge extended): "Diamond Jubilee" by Cindy Lee (2024)
"Diamond Jubilee" is the seventh studio album (and a triple vinyl album at that) by Canadian band Cindy Lee, a project of Patrick Flegel. Hypnagogic pop (evokes cultural memory and nostalgia), psychedelic pop, indie pop, brill building (girl group music from the 1960's), slacker rock, noise pop and lo-fi. There's a few new ones. The album was originally released in full on YouTube. The band included Patrick Flegel (performance, engineering, production), Steven Lind (guitar, bass, drums, synthesizer strings, claps, engineering, production, mixing) and Joshua Stevenson (mastering). The album had wide-spread critical acclaim.
A slow guitar which eventually gets louder opens the self-titled "Diamond Jubilee." Fingers snapping, synth strings. Drums come in midway through. Dreamy feminine vocals. A 60's psychedelic vibe. "Baby Blue" continues the 60's retro sound with a spy-like guitar. Layered harmonized vocals as they're trying to get someone's attention. This is very Velvet Underground. "Flesh and Blood" layers guitar strikes with a ringing-David Bowie "Heroes"-era guitar. A 70's sounding rock beat and bass. Feminine and masculine vocals. The pace picks up and the song ends with a distorted guitar.
"Dracula" gets a soulful groove going with the guitar melody and beat. A high-pitched guitar melody overlayed with a synth. Echoing feminine vocals. An interesting 70's synth break. The music matches the lyrical themes of isolation. We hear that spy-like guitar again in "Lockstepp." An ominous-sounding synth. A weird drum ticking. Great mood-capturing music. "If You Hear Me Crying" has a handclap rock beat. A piercing guitar solo. Dreamy feminine-masculine vocals. The song gets louder with dueling guitar solos at the end.
"Exclaim!" magazine's Kaelen Bell nailed the album's music description as "Built on strains of 50's girl group pop, lush 60's psychedelia, itchy 70's radio rock, lo-fi 90's clutter and sparkling production choices grafted on from some alternate universe." I love the use of the grafted here since that's exactly what is done. There's a song with a chunky garage rock style guitar and a dreamy synth. And it works. There's pyschedelic, fuzztone and spy-like guitars and retro elements including garage, 70's soul/pop, bluesy beat, the Velvet Underground, post-punk and movie-score like. The vocals are feminine and masculine, dreamy and buried. Yes, the album is long at 202 minutes but you can literally start and stop at any point and enjoy this album. So much to like here. Surely one of the best albums of the 2020's and a very high recommendation.
5 out of 5
Album #5 (1001 challenge extended): "A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships" by the 1975 (2018)
"A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships" is the third studio album by English band the 1975. Experimental, electronic, rock and pop are the Wiki-listed genres. Well, that covers everything. The album was intended as a follow-up to their previous album "I Like It When You Sleep, For Your Are So Beautiful Yet so Unaware of It." The album is considered a concept album questioning society's relationship with technology and its constraints on millennials and also a portrayal of lead singer Matthew Healy's heroin addiction. In addition, the recording of the album had to be halted for Healy to get treatment for his addiction. The bandmembers included Healy (vocals, piano, guitars, keyboards, drums), Adam Hann (guitar), Ross MacDonald (bass) and George Daniel (programing, synthesizers, keyboards, percussion, piano, backing vocals). Over 50 additional musicians were also used. Commercially, the album hit #1 in the UK and reached #4 on the US Billboard 200. The album had wide-spread critical acclaim especially for its production and portrayal of modern life.
After the mostly instrumental self-titled "The 1975," "Give Yourself a Try" opens with a distorted synth/guitar and a fast-ticking drum. Healy with high-pitched vocals encouraging people and himself to recognize themselves. This sounds a lot like the Postal Service and that's not a bad thing. "TooTimeTooTimeTooTime" continues with the synth focus and is slightly lighter. An electronic beat and more poppy. Upbeat music juxtaposed with Healy's darker lyrics of paranoia and insecurity in a modern relationship fueled by social media. Bubbly strings sounds which eventually gets louder begin "Love It If We Made It." Healy's rapid-fire vocals through a vocoder running through and hopefully surviving various societal failures. Who thought Dylan might been have an inspiration. A dreamy, flowing synth. Horns added in the middle eight. Back to bubbly strings. This is a great song.
"Sincerity is Scary" fuses electronic jazzy drums, a wobbly synth and a piano to give an R&B-jazzy pop song. A song that builds with the large London Gospel Choir on backing vocals. The last released single "It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)" opens with a power pop guitar. Synths, an electronic beat, very poppy. Female backing vocals. Another happy-sounding song with darker lyrics as Healy sings about his drug addiction. I'm always a sucker for musical and lyrical dichotomy.
The music is largely synth-driven pop with electronic beats but there are elements of jazz, R&B, experimental, gospel, power ballads and post punk. There is a nice style change of pace between songs. The vocals can be clear and straightforward, rapid-fire or distorted through a vocoder. The lyrical focus is information overload in modern society mixed with Healy's struggles with drugs, anxieties and fears. At times the songs can be a little too poppy and the vocoder can really annoy me but the production details, overall experimental edge, lyrics and a few extremely strong songs won me over. A solid recommendation.
4.5 out of 5
"Yellow & Green" is the third studio album (and a double one at that) by American heavy metal band Baroness. The Wiki-listed genres are progressive metal, indie rock and sludge metal. It was the only Baroness' album performed as a trio with the departure of bassist Summer Welch and the last album with drummer Allen Blickle who left after a 2012 tour bus accident in England. The bandmembers included John Dyer Baizley (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, bass), Pete Adams (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Allen Blickle (drums, percussion). Commercially, the album reached #30 on the US Billboard and #85 on the UK charts and was critically well received.
The first album is called "Yellow" and opens with the echoing, psychedelic guitar instrumental "Yellow Theme." Next comes a harder edged guitar and rock beat in "Take My Bones Away." Baizley with clear rock vocals, not the distorted, guttural vocals heard in a lot in the modern heavy metal genre as he sings about addiction and a toxic relationship. Driving, echoing guitars with underlying keys. This sounds a lot like early Queens of the Stone Age, not a bad thing at all. "March to the Sea" is slower with a melodic guitar. The song then goes heavy with the drums and pounding bass. Then comes a bigger sound with a layered melodic sound. Very anthemic.
High-pitched guitar notes begin "Cocanium." An underlying organ and prominent bass. There's a Pink Floyd-esque guitar sound. I think we all know what this is about. The "Yellow" album closer "Evla" takes us on a ride. Acoustic guitar strumming and buried, melancholic lead vocals. A dreamy guitar. It's a song that builds with a weird wah-wah echoing guitar solo. Distorted guitar takes the song through the outro.
The "Green" album opens with another instrumental. A bigger sound reminding one of Queen. "Board Up the House" is another song about addiction. Loud echoing guitars and drums and harmonized vocals. An echoing melody with a 70's rock sound. In "Psalms Alive," they actually get a groove going with bass and drums which are very idiosyncratic at that. Continued melodic. The guitar recalls vintage indie bands of the 80's. These guys keep surprising me.
Melodic, anthemic, big, trippy, prog and psychedelic. These are not typically descriptors of the music of a band classified as heavy metal. And that's true, this is not typical traditional or even modern heavy metal. Their sound recalled Queens of the Stone Age, Pink Floyd, the Flea-like late 90's bass, Queen, Incubus and Soundgarden. The guitar is in the minor key a lot, a la 80's indie rock. There's plenty of changes of beats. Baizley has a great, clear singing voice; he doesn't need distortion or to go guttural. Plenty here to like. A high recommendation for anyone who likes rock music. Any one of their first five albums are worth a listen.
4.5 out of 5
Album #7 (1001 challenge extended): "Spirit of Eden" by Talk Talk (1988)
"Spirit of Eden" is the fourth studio album by English band Talk Talk. Post-rock, art rock, experimental rock, ambient and new wave are the Wiki-listed genres. The album was a radical departure from their earlier synth-pop and had a lengthy recording process where there were hours of improvised performances that drew on elements of jazz, ambient, classical music, blues and dub, was heavily edited and then re-arranged into an album. The songs were written by singer Mark Hollis and producer Tom Friese-Greene and the bandmembers included Hollis (vocals, guitar, organ, melodica, piano and varriophon), Lee Harris (drums) and Paul Webb (bass). 15 other musicians also contributed. Commercially, the album was a disappointment reaching #19 in the UK and, critically, it had a mixed reception but grew in stature and is now considered an underrated masterpiece. It is also credited with pioneering the post-rock genre.
"The Rainbow" starts the album with soft strings and stark guitar notes. Yes, very post-rock. A howling bluesy harmonica and a slow beat come in next. Hollis with subdued vocals. A piano too. Shakers and a glimmering synth gives an air of hopefulness. The song alternates between the subdued and hopeful. Another quiet start with "Eden" with guitar distortion. The song is more melodic with piano. Longing vocals and a tom-tom drumbeat. The song gets louder with various electric guitars and ends with guitar distortion.
"Desire" opens with synths and gets louder with a ringing bluesy guitar and hard drums. They get that soft-loud-soft dynamic going. Echoing vocals and what ends up being the hardest rockin' song on the album. Slow drum ticks open the only released single "I Believe in You." Emotional vocals and a dreamy guitar. A synth melody and an underlying organ. This song had to be an influence for Radiohead.
Sparse guitar notes in what would be called post-rock, minimal drums, a piano, an organ, a synth and even a harmonica in a few songs. Both subdued and loud in almost every song. The vocals and lyrics can be emotional, loud, soft, obscure and spiritual. The music style is almost irrelevant as it blends ambient, hard rock, blues and experimental. The improvisational recording and editing into songs are evident with the pace and instrumental changes within each song. It is uncommon to hear music where the artist is pretty much unconcerned with the audience and only playing and creating for himself. It is also uncommon where the music achieves this level of beauty. This is a great album and a very high recommendation.
5 out 5
Album #8 (1001 challenge extended): "Alive or Just Breathing" by Killswitch Engage (2002)
"Alive or Just Breathing" is the second studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. Melodic metal core is the sole Wiki-listed genre. It was their first album on a major label, Roadrunner, and was produced by their drummer Adam Dutkiewicz. Bandmembers included Jesse Leach (lead vocals), Joel Stroetzel (guitars), Mike D'Antonio (bass) and Dutkiewicz (drummer, piano, guitars, backing vocals). Commercially, the album reached #37 on the US Billboard Heatseekers Chart and #122 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was well received and is considered a landmark recording in the metalcore genre.
Tinny pounding drums open the album in "Numbered Days." Leach screaming, talking and singing. A metallic pulse. Melodic guitar riffs. Then bam! The band goes into thrash mode and settles there for the rest of the song. A metallic guitar riff begins the first single "Self Revelation." Fast drums and here it is, guttural vocals. Then back to melodic singing. Screeching guitar fills in with mostly a thrash metal style. An ominous guitar riff and thunderous drums usher in "Fixation on the Darkness." Screaming vocals very Al Jourgensen like. In fact, the music sounds a lot like very late 80's Ministry...not a bad thing in my world. We get a back and forth between the melodic and thrash.
"The Last Serenade starts softly before it kicks in with the metallic guitar riff and heavy vocals. The melodic voice singing the title in the chorus with guttural vocals angrily screaming whatever he is screaming. An athematic guitar, believe it or not, highlights "The Element of One" with an underlying metallic riff and beat. The singing voice asking questions while the screaming voice answers him.
The music on this album goes back forth between thrash and actual melodies. It's the same with the vocals and melodic singing, screaming/death growls and guttural vocals. Metallic down-tuned guitar riffs and venturing into thrash. The singing voice seems to offer hope while the screaming/guttural vocals portray his inner chaos and struggles. The music and vocal changes kept these songs fairly interesting. If it didn't it would have gotten very repetitive for me. This music is not exactly in my musical wheelbase but something I entirely dislike and the songs mentioned are all pretty good. If you're a Slipnot, Bullet for My Valentine, Ministry or metal fan, there's plenty here to sink your teeth into. The rest of you, stay away.
3.5 out of 5
Album #9 (1001 challenge extended): "Contra" by Vampire Weekend (2010)
"Contra" is the second studio album by American rock band Vampire Weekend. The Wiki-listed genres are indie pop, world beat and synth-pop. The use of "contra" is for the meaning of opposite specifically rejecting the idea of rock musicians as poor, underprivileged rebels and also prejudices against affluence and wealth in music. Ah, defending their Columbia education. The bandmembers included Ezra Koenig (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, piano, programming), Rostam Batmanglij (piano, backing vocals, keyboards, harpsichord, drums, synthesizers, sampler, production), Christopher Tomson (drums) and Christopher Baio (bass, backing vocals, synthesizers). Commercially, the album reached #1 in both the US and UK and had significant critical acclaim.
"Horchata" opens the album. Koenig with clear, loud vocals. Latin percussion beats and marimbas. Strings, harmonized vocals and a Casio creating a flute-like melody. A reflection on the passage of time. "White Sky" has an electronic beats, claps and a shimmering synth melody. Koenig yodeling. Various backing vocal chants. He's exploring NYC. They bring a ska beat to "Holiday." A scooting guitar and synth melody. A celebration of summer freedom and maybe a deeper meaning on the cost of that freedom.
A galloping synth and beat open "Run." A glorious blaring synth harmony. "Cousins" opens with a strumming guitar. Rapid-fire drums and a break. Koenig also with rapid-fire vocals. A rattling sound, bells and they go up and down the guitar scale. "Giving Up the Gun" is a synth-pop gem. Handclaps beats and a shimmering synth. A bell anchoring the rhythm. Bell taps and an underlying synth. You have to disarm your identities of youth as you get older.
Latin beats, ska beats, handclaps, world music melodies. marimbas, sampler, piano, synth and strings. Various singing styles and backing vocals. Lots and lots of little musical details by Rotsam's production. And all this adds up with very catchy songs. This is a high level album. I'd say their best although it's neck and neck with their next album "Modern Vampires of the City." A strong recommendation.
5 out of 5
Album #10 (1001 challenge extended): "Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)" by Digable Planets (1993)
"Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)" is the debut studio album by alternate hip hop group Digable Planets. Alternative hip hop and jazz rap are the Wiki-listed genres. The samples lean heavily on Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler's Dad's album collection. The album is also less overtly political than their subsequent album "Blowout Comb." Besides Butler, the bandmembers included Mariana "Ladybug Mecca" Viera and Craig "Noodlebug" Irving. Commercially, the album reached #15 in the US. It was also highly regarded critically.
A Herbie Hancock-tribal beat sample and ainimal noises open "It's Good to Believe." Gentle hip hop beats. Quick rappin'. A good blend of sampling. A drum tick then into a beat starts "Where I'm From." The melody and beats from a KC & the Sunshie song. All rappers take turns at the mic. A celebration of hip hop culture and their NYC community. "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" combines samples of the Honeydrippers' beats, Art Blakely's horns and Fred Wesley's weird synth laser sounds. Butler and Viera alternate as lead rapper as they honor and celebrate jazz. Smooth and one of favorite early 90 hip hop songs.
They go psychedelic in "Jimmi Diggin' Cats." People talking. A weird wavering sound. Viera repeating the song title as they imagine meeting Jimi Hendrix. Yes, a psychedelic vibe is necessary. On "Nickel Bags" they tribute well, yes, pot. A handclap beat and a flute Herbie Mann sample in a very interesting song.
Chill, laid back, smooth rapping. The jazz samples carry the melody, hooks and beats. Yes, some psychedelia. The lyrics are mostly hopeful and a celebration but there is some social commentary in a pro-choice song. The sample selections are not over-the-top, blend well together and set the jazzy tone. Maybe lacking in some of the humor of rap albums at the time but this is a really good album and a solid recommendation.
4.5 out 5
