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Mon Oct 23 2023
Licensed To Ill
Beastie Boys
I've never quite gotten the appeal of the Beastie Boys. After listening to Licensed to Ill all the way through, I...still don't get the appeal. But then I have listened to this album all the way through before. It's interesting, amusing, and am glad to listen to it as a cultural thing, but it's just not that interesting, musically, intellectually, or any other way.
2
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Tue Oct 24 2023
Purple Rain
Prince
Still one of my favorite albums of all time, start to finish. Great stuff.
5
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Wed Oct 25 2023
In A Silent Way
Miles Davis
Liked this way more than I expected. I didn't realize this was considered his first true foray into "fusion," though I think that term is kind of weird and limiting. I'd say this is less fusion and more just jazz but with non-traditional instruments (electric piano, organ, and guitar, basically). But I can see how his style is changing somewhat as well, with different types of chord progressions (less progression or change, for one thing). Definitely a really enjoyable listen.
4
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Thu Oct 26 2023
Hard Again
Muddy Waters
Love this album. Great stuff. Shows the real power of the blues.
5
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Fri Oct 27 2023
Sticky Fingers
The Rolling Stones
4
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Sat Oct 28 2023
Pink Moon
Nick Drake
Love this just as much as the first time. Thanks VW for injecting it back into popular culture!
5
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Sun Oct 29 2023
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
Ray Charles
Kind of a mystery to me why this album was included on the list. I love Ray Charles, and there's certainly some country music I love, but this particular album felt like a bust, just taking what makes Ray Charles great and muting it somewhat, and replacing it with not very interesting harmonies and arrangements to represent country music. Still giving it 2 stars because it's Ray Charles, but kind of a disappointment.
2
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Mon Oct 30 2023
Exile On Main Street
The Rolling Stones
Some of the Stones' best work--full of driven, catchy blues riffs. Tight musicianship (for a blues-based rock band anyway), they make blending sounds seem effortless. Great stuff.
5
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Tue Oct 31 2023
Eliminator
ZZ Top
It's funny how listening to this right after listening to a Rolling Stones album really highlights, for me anyway, how superior the Stones are to a band like ZZ Top. According to critics (some anyway), this album was the height of ZZ Top's signature style. But it's so much less interesting than the music of the Stones. The Stones blend all kinds of sounds seamlessly--rhythm guitar, lead guitar, slide guitar, piano, sometimes electric organ, bass, and drums (sometimes two drummers)--in a way that makes the sounds blend together to produce a rich, textured sound. ZZ Top, by contrast, is pretty much just a drummer who doesn't vary much from a particular rhythm, a bass player who plays pretty predictable lines that vary little within a song or from song to song (often just one note), and guitar riffs that mostly all sound the same, with some occasional breaks for some lead guitar. Pretty disappointing overall.
1
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Wed Nov 01 2023
So Much For The City
The Thrills
Very enjoyable jangly pop. I hadn't even heard about this band before it popped up on my list. I guess it came out during the time I was dealing with little kids and didn't have the time and energy to notice new music. But definitely reminiscent of psychedelic-inspired rock/pop.
4
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Thu Nov 09 2023
Tommy
The Who
Really enjoyed this. Super weird, as a rock opera, and not sure if I think it works in that respect, but purely as a theme album, it was compelling.
4
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Fri Nov 10 2023
3 + 3
The Isley Brothers
Perfectly enjoyable R&B. Didn't really rock my world.
3
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Sat Nov 11 2023
Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Great stuff! I can see the appeal of Knopfler guitar work more after listening to this album.
4
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Tue Nov 14 2023
The Wall
Pink Floyd
Just as great as I remembered. Yeah, kind of overdramatic, but what amazing music.
5
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Wed Nov 15 2023
Abraxas
Santana
Love this album. Great stuff.
5
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Sat Dec 02 2023
Vivid
Living Colour
Boring
1
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Wed Dec 06 2023
Armed Forces
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Not my favorite EC, but still very good stuff. I feel like he hit his stride later, maybe with Imperial Bedroom.
3
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Sat Dec 09 2023
The Gershwin Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald
It's Ella, so great stuff. Though I like her albums that have straight up jazz bands backing her. This particular album has arrangements and a backing band that were a little more pop. But still great stuff.
4
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Sun Dec 10 2023
Butterfly
Mariah Carey
Did not enjoy.
1
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Mon Dec 11 2023
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
Hadn't even heard of this, but really enjoyed it.
4
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Tue Dec 12 2023
Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson
Enjoyed it but didn't love it.
3