Title track is an instant winner, heard it before but never really listened to it. Appreciate the Lennon influence on “Fame”.
A little uninspiring. Consider that the Beatles released Revolver in the same year - that album blows Face to Face out of the water when it comes to production, pushing musical and lyrical limits, etc. I suppose it’s a little unfair to compare though. Some standout moments but altogether too forgettable.
Now THIS is country. Lush songwriting, genuine emotion, classic production. And such a pure voice. Even at her most saccharine, Dolly is earnest and wins me over every time.
I like the punk Beach Boys sound of Psycho Daisies, and the classic British Blues Revival sound of “The Nazz is Blue” was up my alley. There’s a good bit of weirdness sprinkled in too, like “The Hot House of Omagararshid”. Jeff Beck is the shining star of the album musically, of course, but shout out to Jim McCarty on drums - percussion sounds fresh and just the right amount of wild throughout. Altogether, the album has a decently tight feel, which i prefer over the looser psychedelic/virtuoso supergroups of the time like Cream and early Pink Floyd. I did some reading and found out that the lead vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf died at the age of 33 by electrocuting himself on his own guitar. That’s a tragic and crazy way to go.
Bit of soul, bit of searing funk. I’m a particular fan of the latter. “Run Charlie Run” and “Do Your Thing” are my favourites, but not so much the soppiness of “Love Woke Me Up this Morning” and “I Ain’t Got Nothin”.
I’m sad we seem to have lost this type of hip hop. Good-natured, socially conscious and not afraid to be hard-hitting. Pretty much every track a banger, “After School Special” has no business being that funky. I will be delving deeper into Jurassic 5 as a result of this recommendation.
Dark, moody, richly layered. One listen isn’t enough.
Strange and compelling album, mixing traditional Brazilian music with dashes of psychedelia. Quite a few filler songs, and the vocals are frequently lacking. Starts strong though and the first track “Tudo O Qué Você Podia Ser” is promising - but honestly, clocking in at over an hour the album gets a little tiring.
This is the kind of gem I started this 1001 Albums thing to find. I’ve come across Tom Waits a few times and knew he was some sort of eccentric, folk-bluesy, spoken word type of artist. I hadn’t heard of this album however, and the concept is wonderful - recorded in a studio made up like a late night jazz spot, Waits becomes this sleazy master of ceremonies character, delivering lengthy rambling intros to each song, slur-singing his way through, lapsing into a sort of standup comedy. The faux-audience whoops and applauds and laughs along, and you’d be forgiven if you thought the whole thing was impeccably recorded fly on the wall audio from an actual jazz bar. The music is clichéd in an achingly endearing way, Waits’ lyrics are lewd and poetic. I read a few negative reviews complaining that Waits keeps almost forgetting that an album needs songs. To that I’d argue that you need to expand your conception of what an album can be.
Such a pure voice. Interesting mix of tracks, mostly covers. Some misses but mostly hits. I appreciate the cover of Beatles’ “For No One” which for me has the saddest lyrics to any Beatles song - Enmylou’s cover reveals the country soul of the song’s theme. Boulder to Birmingham is of course a classic and has earned its place in my personal country favourites playlist.
Interesting mix of live and post-produced, acoustic and electric. Personally the acoustic side without Crazy Horse is much better than the rough-sounding electric side, and the opening track is an instant winner. 3.5 stars altogether, dragged down from 4 because some of the later tracks are a little self-indulgent. I hear it criticised every now and then but I love Neil Young’s voice. It has a really raw, reedy quality, that seems to break in earnest and truly elevates the emotion in his songs - see “The Needle and the Damage Done” from the album Harvest. I had to stream this via YouTube. I’m a little heartbroken that I can’t listen to Neil Young on the go through Spotify, but I appreciate his sticking by his principles.
Decent enough background music to work to, set a vibe etc. Makes me feel like I’m standing in a lift or waiting room. That sounds a little disparaging, but don’t get me wrong - the musicianship is top notch. Nothing terribly exciting but a good, mellow introduction to bossa nova.
In my rebellious teenager phase, I tried and failed to get into Metallica. No I’m in my rebellious adult phase, nothing much has changed. I just don’t find the majority of Metallica’s work sonically interesting enough - though I’m sure this album must have hit like a ton of bricks back in 1986. While there are some good moments when the thrash hits its groove, there are too many bloated tracks (the title track just doesn’t need to be over 8 minutes long), and the production on Hetfield’s vocals has always grated on me. It’s a solid 2 for me, elevated by the singular outstanding track Orion. Although I still prefer the Rodrigo y Gabriela cover.
Got what a tight ship Brown ran. Band is spot on for a live performance. However - the songs seem somewhat truncated and the whole things sounds like JB was rushing through the set. Never heard a live set sound so much like a production line before. Brown’s vocal quality and energy is undeniable however, I think a lot is lost when we remove the visuals. Standout track for me is “I Don’t Mind”. Overall, short and very sweet.
Piece of music history and I have many fond memories of listening to this on my CD Walkman as an edgy teen. Kurt’s performance is the essence of raw. The closing Leadbelly track with the cello… my god.
Another new find for me, I had not heard of Violent Femmes before this. Sounds a lot more 90s than early 80s. Love the bare-bones production. And the xylophone solo on Gone Daddy Gone has no business being that good.
Blues at its peak.
A classic, will always remind me of my undergrad days.