1001 Albums Summary

The first half of this album is by far the best part of it, the back half seems like a lot of samey filler. I don't mind political messages, but to say the politics on this album are ham-fisted is an understatement. Also, this albums mastering is a victim of the loudness wars, it was honestly fatiguing listening to this album all the way through at a normally very tolerable listening volume. This teeters between a 2 and a 3 for me, I'll be nice and give it a 3.

Not my cuppa tea. I'm sure for the right person this album rules.

I love Zeppelin, but this album has never been my favorite. Aside from a few good tunes like Houses of the Holy and Ten Years Gone there isn't much to gain here. There are definitely better Zep albums. That being said still enjoyable.

THIS IS MUSIC FOR GIRLS

It was pretty unremarkable. Why someone would add the sounds of babies crying and pestering children to music is beyond me. There were a couple snippets of interesting composition (the discordant choir into the fluttering wind ensemble at the end of "The Bed" was quite enthralling in my opinion). But, overall, I feel Lou Reed's ambition outpaces his ability, especially as a vocalist.

One man's schizoid dreams made into an interesting and visionary album.

Miles Davis, clearly, has the ability to create sublime and transcendent music. There are sections of this record that ooze with grace, sections that contain the burning white coals of genius, sections that give me that same feeling as when I first closed my eyes and got immersed into a song. However, Miles uses Modality as a cure-all instead of as a singular prescription. There can be a beauty in creation without mooring; but it is my belief that the lack of standard harmony and musical context detracts from this album and, unfortunately, composes the majority of its play time.

I really love how much George Harrison hates taxes. I really hate how much he loves sitar. Taxman fucking SLAPS, Eleanor Rigby fucking SLAPS, She Said She Said fucking SLAPS, For No One fucking SLAPS, Tomorrow Never Knows is one of the greatest compositions of the 1960's. And it's not even the best Beatles album.

Led Zeppelin is one of those bands where I think their most popular songs are often their least interesting. The highlights of this album are The Lemon Song and Ramble On. The transitions from double-time to normal time on The Lemon Song are nearly perfectly in perfect and show that LZ really understands "groove" even if they are just considered a rock band. Ramble On is one the greatest rock songs of all time. JPJ's bass line is like its own melody upon which the entire track rests. The rest of this album is basically unremarkable to me.

I have always and will always love this album. Visionary, beautiful, unique; it has a voice and it's not afraid of indulging in itself. Infinitely listenable.