1001 Albums Summary

It seems harsh to rate a childhood icon so poorly, but I find it hard to imagine I'd ever listen to this album again. For some reason, it reminds me of that scene in Billy Madison where he calls Steve Buscemi, and Steve is holding a gun while putting on lipstick and listening to some easy-going doo-wop. This feels like the album I'd be listening to if I were to be putting on lipstick while holding a gun (for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzYeDm1Vpxs) I did give it two stars (not one) because I feel like some of these songs would be fun to sing with friends while playing piano, and they had a bit of a feel-good American innocence vibe (too bad most people wouldn't know them). I also found "Last Night I Had a Dream" to be kinda fun and funky, and "Memo to my son" got me teared up a bit (but not enough for three stars).

I've never encountered music in which the sound is in such tight alignment with what the band members look like. If Chat GPT had to come up with hippy music, I think it would be this. It's folksy and light-hearted - I'm not sure I could see myself ever voluntarily listening to this album again. HOWEVER, during summer mornings and afternoons, my family sometimes sits out on our porch and we let the kids run amok for about an hour while my wife and I try to relax. I feel like this music would reflect that vibe perfectly. 2.5 stars.

I liked "Jungle Line" because it sounded like Bjork (I only sometimes like Bjork). All else was fairly unenjoyable and not repeatable.

I liked "Loaded" - it feels like I've heard this sampled in a bunch of other mixes and albums. I still don't feel like any of this makes it to my playlist, so 2 stars.