1001 Albums Summary

If I could effect one change in the world, it would be to divorce the foremost progressive musicians from their infatuation with medieval motifs. How ironic that borrowing from an ancient aesthetic takes away from a timeless quality that would otherwise be present in some of this music. Zep suffers from the same disease of having music that now sounds hopelessly like it's definitely of its era. I guess when you're a flautist though, you have no choice but to make music for, like, traversing glens and dales or whatever.

This album may have commenced the tradition of soundtracks that are better than their movies. The whole sonic palette on this album channels the ethos of the era, from the mournful, lilting string sections to the anxious walk of the bass. None of the chord progressions in these songs ever resolve; they just kinda persist with a nervous energy. Also between Ian Anderson on Friday and now Superfly, the early 70s were truly a golden era for frizzy-haired dudes with receding hairlines. What a commanding look that was, we gotta bring that back.

Look, I have no issue with the overarching message of the album nor the buttery smooth instrumentation, but at some point in this album you have to acknowledge that the entire project lacks, uh, "variety". You're given fair warning after a song centered around What's Goin' On is followed up by a song centered around What's Happening, and it doesn't get any more imaginative from there, musically speaking. Sure you get the occasional bongo and guiro, but a little Latin percussion isn't enough to mask just how similar all of these tunes end up sounding.