1001 Albums Summary

Hard to argue against this album as a classic, as you can hear so many things that inspired bands that came after, but not something I would personally ever have in heavy rotation. Stand out for me were the drums, which were killer on nearly every track. I was surprised Heart of Glass was buried so deep in the track list, but I guess you never know what’s going to be an enduring pop culture hit.

Is it cliché for a white man nearing middle age to love Bob Dylan? Probably, and yet here we are. Stand out tracks for me are Maggie’s Farm and It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue. Star deducted for mispronunciation of guillotine during an unjustified 7 and a half minute track, but otherwise stellar work from old Bobby D. I can’t believe I don’t already own this one on vinyl.

Complaining about someone’s vocals on the heels of praising Bob Dylan is, admittedly, a little rich, but I struggle to enjoy Ray Davies voice. Paired with the unevenness of the tracks, I couldn’t find my way into this record. My wife expertly described this album as having “a Monty Python vibe,” and if this concept album had actually been the backing track to the TV show that it was written for but that was never produced, I might have enjoyed it more. The only stand out for me was the complete lack of bangers.

I was fully prepared to give this album 5 stars after the first two tracks. Cinnamon Girl is a banger of an opening track, however the remaining tracks fail to reach those heights for me. Throw in not one, but two 9+ minute tracks and this short 7 song album still manages to drag under its own weight.

Sparsely arranged and lyrically dense, Cohen spends forty five minutes swinging an emotional hammer at your temples. Gravely, sardonic vocals punctuate every track on this absolute killer of an album.

The National is a band I’m supposed to like, one that it would make more sense than not for me to like, but…I do not. On previous records, Matt Berninger‘s disaffected baritone, for me, read as bored, and completely pulled me out of the music. With that in mind, I tried to approach this record with fresh ears, and while I still can’t say I’m a fan of The National, I found this record to be my favorite of theirs to date.