The vocals are a constant annoying problem, hard to get passed these to even start to enjoy the mediocre guitar soloing.
Wonderful, unparalleled storytelling, varied sound, perfectly English.
More flawed with age, but "Monkey Gone to Heaven" still gives a nostalgic chill, "Debaser" and "Here Comes Your Man" are chiming fun and "Gouge Away" a cleansing churn to finish it off.
More varied than I recall but the lumbering stop/start riffage can get repetitive. Reaches towards texture at the end and front-loaded with more dynamic numbers.
Drifts by at mid-tempo with a few forays into higher blood pressure (\"Play For Today\"). The mix has some nice hidden layering. \"In Your House\" is an hypnotic ode to boredom and perhaps intrigue.
Still nothing that really sounds like this, even with a pronounced Steve Albini influence on the drums. The tight, speedy tempo and lurching cascade of "Very Ape" preceded by the delicate, dour, violin-augmented "Dumb" are original sonic touchstones that few other bands have approached. "Scentless Apprentice" is an updated, perfectly-cooked thud of earlier postpunk. The singles "All Apologies" and "Heart-Shaped Box" balance the sometimes-harsh growl of Kurt Cobain's vocals and lyrics with saccharinely laced layering. The pacing of the album is ultimately flawed even if each song aside from "Tourette's" and "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" stands on it's own as an example of the unique sonic possibilities that meaningful production and raw talent might engender.
Peerless in its melding of gospel, psychedelia, saxophones, and evocations of air and space travel. "Come Together" is a singular moment of impossible tension and balance; "Home of the Brave" a giddy, skittering comedown from the blast of "Electricity." The drug references throughout are so humanized as to land in a universal space that thankfully doesn't require firsthand knowledge of opiates to enjoy.
The most intense ode to hanging out that there ever was. The title track is so transparently, obnoxiously, maddeningly stirring that it still overwhelms me with its sheer belief, and my eyes get wet with both ironic and unironic tears. "Jungleland" is one of the more beautifully layered songs of the 1970s, and "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" features some scenery-chewing Prince-y vocal tics.
\"Norwegian Wood\" has a lovely melody undercut by a clunky chorus -- \"Nowhere Man\" has precisely the opposite problem. \"In My Life\" is sweet but John's vocals from this time period sound ever more callow with age. It took me too long to realize that the album had ended and Spotify were playing a random Love song.
Like a great road trip, whooshes by with moments of poignance, insight, kicks and chug.
Surprised by how varied and wonderfully odd this album gets, as well as occasional use of electronic texture and field recordings.
Subtle and subtly varied, full of restrained, cool movement with just enough emotion and intrigue to add texture. A "just so" masterpiece.
