Modern and sharp, this album isn't playing around, and it starts from the very top; strong bass lines, rhythmic guitar and poignant solos take the blues to the next level; reminds me of the spirit of The Holding Company, only with African sensibilities (maybe a touch of jazz a la Art Blakey). African music can be deeply and effortlessly innovative, and I don't know if another word would more clearly capture the soul of this record; mixing rock, blues, country-western, spirituals, and their own West African sound (forgive me for being overly broad with 'West African') together into some profoundly moving, smooth, refreshing yet nostalgic, and surprisingly poppy. A surprising feature of the album is Damon Albarn's backing vocals.
What starts more traditional, in a rock and blues space, becomes more experimental as the album progresses, with funkier rhythms and percussion. Deeper still, the record becomes unapologetically Mali, and speaks to the homeland Songhoy Blues was forced to leave due to escalating violence.
I really enjoy their use of repetition, chanting, and call and response to build something complex and sonically layered; this is serous dance music; the atmosphere is of emotional momentum and a great, sad journey towards the unknown- the album isn't sad, necessarily, but their is a deep understanding of sadness, love, celebration, and freedom emanating from the record, and connecting the group to the great blues artists of the US, like B.B. King, Albert King, or Muddy Waters (which makes sense, considering the impact the transatlantic slave trade had on West Africa and the US). Solidly groovy, fundamentally rocking, and makes me want to dance. Ultimately, the album is expansive and cuts to the quick of so much of the human condition- that we are more similar than we are different.
Standouts: Soubour, Irganda, Al Hassidi Terei, Wayei, Petit Metier, Desert Melodie, Mali.
Excellent; the beats have an immense amount of gravity, and the samples / re-interpretation of songs was both innovative and richly deployed; enjoyed the meta textual element of the album being posited as a film, and personally imagined an additional layer, with the filmmakers perhaps watching us watch the movie; this saturates the album with vivid color, with the lyrics painting sharp and cutting images.
Ms Lauryn Hill's professional reputation blurs some of the lines and pulls me out of the album, and makes me come to the table with my own considerations.
Erotic; haunting; electric; Originally recorded in 1970, this album sees the beginning of Led Zepplin's transition from rock into a more folk or eastern-inspired music (with re-recorded orchestration by the Bombay Orchestra, done during three trips to India during 1972, after they finished touring Japan in '71); no studio musicians were used, with only the band's members performing, and expanding their instrumental repertoire with new sounds. Definitely a departure from their prior work, but ambitious and executed extraordinarily well.
Standouts: Friends, Since I've Been Loving You, Gallows Pole, Tangerine, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Enjoyed the vibe and the airy sonic landscape they created with their simple and lighthearted arrangements; rich lyrics, but similar melodies on many songs made the songs blur together a bit. A sense of fun and youthful irrelevance made me smile. Can see why "When Love Breaks Down" was a hit single. Standouts: Bonny, Goodbye Lucille #1, Horsin' Around, Desire As.
Some people hate harmonica; those people should be hanged for high crimes and hate in their heart. Between Neil's voice, his masterful guitar playing, and the soulful harmonica, he paints a picture of America that (in my mind) comes out of the Hudson River School. You can hear the impact of Joni Mitchell on his sound, with the pair first meeting in the mid 1960's. They would go on to spend time together while Young was part of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, with Joni dating Graham Nash (their home inspired the hit 'Our House'). Harvest was released in 1972, after Joni's 1971 Blue, and around her 1972 For the Roses. Specifically, his orchestration reminds me of For the Roses, using guitar, strings, piano, horns, and his own voice as potent and colorful paints with which to create his vast landscape. Even his track ordering reminds me of Blue, beginning large and expressive, and slowly moving into something softer, gentler, and sadder as one moves through the album. The album has a Joan Didion sensibility as well, both capturing the vision of the hippie movement and the heartbreak and hardship of living in it's malaise, while having a distinctly Californian point of view (though Didion herself was more fond of The Doors). The album cover is even reminiscent of Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem.
His sound here builds on his work with both Buffalo Springfield and CSNY, while crafting his own vivid and buttery songs and lyrics: "Alabama" has sonic memories of CSNY's "Almost Cut My Hair". Incidentally, "Alabama" inspired the writing of "Sweet Home Alabama", with the latter rebutting Young's lyrics describing the racial injustice of the state at the time. Overall, I think the influence of this album transcends any individual song contained within. I think you can even hear the whispers of Young's songwriting in modern pop (?) music, such as Mitski's latest "My Love All Mine".
Highlights: Out on the Weekend, A Man Needs a Maid, Old Man, Alabama, The Needle and The Damage Done, Words, and, of course, Heart of Gold.
British supergroup composed of Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong, and Tony Allen. I really enjoyed the ambiance and rock influences. The instrumentation is familiar and expansive (very Albarn); the way rock is juxtaposed with electronica and synths makes for a very modern and expensive sound; quite smooth and has a nice flow both in individual songs and as an album; has a dream-like nature to it; droning is used create atmosphere, and to be frank, I'm into it.
Ultimately, nothing seems incredibly memorable, but the tunes are all quite tight, as might be expected from such a line up of professionals. A bit like a low-energy Gorillaz album, if more acoustic oriented. Loving the assortment of instruments, however.
Edit: Yeah, Blur is better.
Standouts: History Song, Northern Whale, The Bunting Song, Green Fields, The Good, The Bad, And The Queen.
Classic dad-rock (though my own dad would never be caught dead listening to Boston); would be remiss to ignore the iconic cover art, which would become a mainstay of the band, with each of their albums featuring UFOs or space shuttles; high energy and made for head banging and fucking some chick behind the dumpster outside the concert because you got caught trying to sneak drugs inside. Hope you're ready to be a dad yourself because congrats, she's pregnant. Has a very similar vibe to Styx, Bon Jovi, Steve Miller Band, and Foreigner, but I suppose that comes with the territory of this kind of hard / glam rock. Tight vocal harmonies across the board, with vocalist Brad Delp belting his tenor into the stratosphere (his voice is kind of insane).
The album is surprisingly short for the amount of hits it contains. The song order is strong, starting with some of the band's biggest hits of their career. You know, after dunking on this album a bit, I have to acknowledge it does serve a bit more than it has any right to; some of these songs colored childhood car rides with my mom (she likes to have fun).
Many of these songs have a similar sound and feeling to them, but I don't know if it bothers me as much on this record; the outright energy, the swing, and the groove of each song feeds and builds the next. There's a nice flow to the album, and I picture a live band at a roadhouse just rocking out, and I can't really fault them for that. I also enjoy that the band wasn't scared to release songs of varied length, rather than making each song a uniform 2.5-3 minutes.
Standouts: Side A, Let Me Take You Home Tonight
Bouncy and very relaxing. I found myself drifting off into my daydreams while listening. Varied and buoyant drum beats had me tapping my feet from the jump.
That said, it was a little too sonically similar from song to song, making it difficult to tell where one song ended and another began. And yet, here in East Harlem, the album felt like home, and like the music that wafts into my room through the screen window from the street.
Standouts: El Cuarto de Tula
Instantly I can see the thread connecting this album and the influence of the Beastie Boys with hip hop and rap from the 90s-present: before even checking, I could tell Rick Ruben produced this. Additionally, there's a level of comedy within the lyrics and the boy's voices that, coupled with their consistent flows and consistently obnoxious vocals, mostly work to their advantage (although I did find the album to be grating at times), shaping a strong character for the group on their debut.
Love the amount (and variety) of samples and the use of electric guitar on the tracks; the atmosphere is incredibly youthful and almost proto-grunge in a way, and creates a strong image of a rock n roll slam poetry event (think Staten Island Patti Smith mixed with the The Clash); there is a distinct level of whiteness present, and it shows itself in the simplicity of their groove and flows, and some of their more shallow lyrics; quite long for a debut, but with a characteristic goofiness, I found more enjoyment here than I anticipated; I would be remiss to not mention the album cover as well, which is certifiably dope, AND opening for Madonna on The Virgin Tour- THAT'S puss.
Standouts: Rhymin & Stealin, She's Crafty, Fight For Your Right, No Sleep Till Brooklyn, Slow and Low
To be entirely honest, I don't usually like listening to the Dead's live albums: they meander and can go on forever (6 songs -not counting the last and seventh, clocking in at a mere 37 seconds - totaling 1:13:09...seriously?), and each performance is of variable quality depending on the crowd, the set list, and the how high the group was; BUT here we have a 1969 recording, which means Jerry and Pigpen (on harmonica) are still with us, and the band is just revving up to their cult status while playing small free shows in The Haight. That alone warrants a listen. The album cover is gorgeous, and as we open with Dark Star (at the Fillmore, no less), a sense of peace and dreamy wonder come over me. The Grateful Dead's music is evocative in a way that so much rock is not: it has such a strong milieu and encapsulates the loving, tripping heart of the hippie movement and of the Summer of Love.
Very soothing and trance like. Probably a dope trip for the audience and performers alike. Each song feels like a movement. The second half is darker than expected, dabbling in the blues and the erotic, warped distortion of LSD and heroin. One can imagine the kaleidoscopic liquid light show that might've accompanied and illuminated the concert. A serious showcase of the band's musical abilities and an early hint as to how deeply and lovingly they would change the landscape of rock n roll.
Standouts: St. Stephen, Turn on Your Love Light, Death Don't Have No Mercy.
Harder than I usually go, but if this isn't the definition of shredding some mad guitar (Dave Navarro's performance is the highlight of the record), I don't know what is! From the jump, this album has it's dial set to 10,000; impressive instrumentals (especially the percussion and seldom used strings), as well as how the songs are constructed to showcase both the headbanging vocals as well as the instrumentalists; the album art is alluring, and pairs exquisitely with the music, taking you to the west coast immediately, and placing you within the world of the artists.
Progressing through, I found this a little one note - loud, angry, dissonant, and a tad compositionally similar until track 7, by which time, felt desperately needed; it has the feeling that every song uses the same vocal and instrumental effects/reverb, which comes off as a little flat to me, particularly when paired with the album's length. I enjoyed the atmosphere and found many heightened moments, but saw little in the way of a sonic journey or arc across the record until the last three songs. Ultimately, I wanted more introspection on this album to compliment the rage, but found too little too late.
Standouts: Ain't No Right, Obvious, Three Days, Then She Did..., Of Course
Bouncy, and had me dancing in the shower. Can feel how Kraftwerk influenced so many bands, from Daft Punk to the DJ circuit. Not too much to say, just a solid dance album.
Standouts: Metropolis, Neon Lights, The Man Machine
Well done but unmemorable; I liked this more than I anticipated; sounds more modern than most records from 2002; Jeff Tweedy's voice was chilling.
The guitar and percussion- like, come on now; the tempo is ideal for headbanging; some absolutely gorgeous guitar solos, and I enjoy the way the songs are structured to highlight the instrumental work; the strain and veracity of the vocals adds to the atmosphere of intensity and lyrical violence and soul; would love to hear Gaga perform Metal Gods; has elements that remind me of Foreigner, Queen, The Who, and AC/DC, and which would later build towards works such as Nine Inch Nails or Guns N' Roses.
A few of the melodies are flat and lacking a certain je ne sais quoi that might elevate the tracks to a higher sonic and spiritual place; Several anthemic songs that I can totally see hyping up a sold out arena. Interestingly, I expected this album to be much 'harder' than it was: there is a nice variation in volume, intensity, and feeling, which works well to keep me engaged and demonstrates a level of craft and vision for the complete album. More and more it reminds me of Foreigner/Styx and AC/DC, with that kind of tenor mixed with powerful rhythmic guitars and solo expressions to keep people roused and dancing.
Standouts: Rapid Fire, Metal Gods, Grinder, You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise, The Rage.
High energy, superb set list, short and sweet, and I loved hearing the audience sing along.
What an opener; really excellent rhythms and grooves, with strong vocal work; love the heavy harmonica and electric guitar; enjoyed the variations on genre, playing with the blues fundamentals that would form rock and country, and colorfully taking those forms to a new place; the album has a solid pace; a richly warm and healing sound for a dark and rainy day.
Standouts: Mannish Boy, I Want to Be Loved #2, The Blues Had a Baby and They Named it Rock and Roll, Crosseyed Cat
Songs that span generations. Evocative, human, and American.