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Tue Jan 30 2024
Licensed To Ill
Beastie Boys
The punk community, being one of the first to embrace the upcoming Hip Hop scene in New York, shares quite a lot with its neighboring genre. This is greatly highlighted in this 1986 Beastie Boys record.
The production highlights the punk and hip-hop elements in some of its best moments "Party for your Right" and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" as well as the first two tracks. Weak drum machine beats (like the reverse 808 on "Hold it Now") and mediocre scratching are unfortunate flaw I have with this record.
MCA, Ad-rock, and Mike-D have distinguished and enjoyable vocals. MCA has a more raspy cadence while Ad-rock (RIP) has a higher pitched, more nasal, "whiny", and sarcastic delivery. They're almost constantly bouncing off one another on these songs. Songs often burst into messy, college-dorm-bumbling drunk-like chants...not complaining it adds to the charm and it's what makes the Beastie Boys, the Beastie Boys. Yelling while delivering these lyrically witty, snotty, and "rebellious" lyrics about partying and girls is the reason you may love (or detest) this record.
"Party for Your Right", may be the most notable song on the album. Despite it leaning more towards its punk origins with snotty lyrics sounding Descendents-esque, the hook and riff make it a unique hip-hop track. The short solo is also strikingly enjoyable. Certainly a highlight. Same sentiments for "No Sleep Till Brooklyn"
My favorite song has to be "The New Style", the way they rhyme here is incredible over these electric guitar interjections. I love the way the beat switches near the end with the howling-chant vocals. It also has one of the chunkier beats and is riddled with hilarious one-liners and punch lines (that one Jimmy Page line).
The biggest flaw would be some of the weaker and more repetitive and uninteresting production and sample choices like "Girls", "Brass Monkey" and "Slow Ride". The closing "Time to Get Ill" on the other hand has a colorful mess of samples while still managing to sound cohesive and enjoyable.
7/10
4
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Wed Jan 31 2024
London Calling
The Clash
London Calling is widely considered one of the greatest punk records ever. To me though, it transcends what is typically considered punk. Oddly enough I'm surprised it's not more "post-punk" if anything.
The opening title track is incredible. An ominous bassline drives the song eliciting a sense of dread with its prominent flood imagery. The flood of course being the rise of fascism and police brutality in England. It's one of the greatest opening tracks to a record period.
I'd say it sets the tone of the album well...but it doesn't. From this point onwards, the Clash went through a large range of sounds and genres, thus my "post-punk" sentiment. For how "punk" it yearns it be, this album is oddly accessible and catchy.
I love the catchier songs here like "Rudie Can't Fail" and "Lost in the Supermarket"; the latter of which has such a nostalgic feel about it as Strummer sings about loathing his consumerism-driven personality. "Koka Kola" also has an anti-consumerism attitude, sounding a lot like a commercial jingle.
Strummer is a great vocalist; he has a sort of lax, lazy, and slurred delivery when it comes to most of the songs. Most of this album, whether reggae-leaning or traditional punk rock-leaning, is laced with incredibly catchy choruses and a colorful pallet of instruments.
Aside from Strummer, bassist Paul Simmonon is on the mic for the song "Guns in Brixot", easily the most rebellious track on the album. Calling for arms against any oppressive forces. It's a slower, trudging punk song that's one of the more standout moments on this album.
I also absolutely adore the closer, "Train in Vain", catchy, sweet, and nostalgic. This again shows the Clash's more pop sensibility.
Looking at this album as a whole is tough. I enjoy many of the individual songs. Be it the sweet piano and jazz-driven tracks (The love centric - "The Card Cheat"), or reggae passages, or the darker and catchier bassline-driven tracks, the Clash always has something new and unique to offer with each new sound. It's quite "all over the place" but the songs stand their ground and if you're able to enjoy this as more of a compilation of many different, inspired ideas, you'll be able to enjoy this album as a whole.
9/10
5
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Thu Feb 01 2024
Remain In Light
Talking Heads
Talking Head's 1980 Brian Eno-produced record stands as one of the funkiest displays of post-punk attitudes and ethos. Digitally spliced with tight licks of guitar, bass, and horn enterlaced through each track, this album remains one of the most mind-bending listens of the 80s.
The unrelenting punch of the polyrhythmic, afro-inspired percussion and the slap bass hits are woven throughout the first track as Byrne rambles about his mortality under a controlling government. "Fire cannot hurt a man". I love the group vocals that close this track off, alongside the cacophonous nature of its guitar solo.
There's a moment in the song "The Great Curve" right after the strung-out and noisy guitar solo where the drums, bass, and horns form an insatiable groove that I consider to be one of those "How does music get this good" moments.
"Once in a Lifetime" has Byrne's best ramblings. It feels like a burst of panic runs through him as he comes to terms with all his regrets, as well as with what's to come. A great psychedelic synth loop arpeggiates throughout this track with one of the catchiest choruses in their entire catalog.
I love the downward and dark spiral this album takes, both sonically and thematically. "Seen and Not Seen" is subtle instrumentally and Byrne talks about his desire to morph his face into an ideally attractive magazine-ready image. "Listening Wind" leans towards the New Wave sounds of this album; dark and gothic laced with lyrics about a rebel's journey for liberation. "The Overload" is the darkest and most ambient track, allegedly based on a Joy Division sound.
All the tracks on this record are so distinct and enjoyable. The album starts fast, punchy, and visceral and slowly spirals down into something gloomy, gothic, and dark, all the while remaining one of the cleanest and futuristic-sounding albums of all time.
10/10
5
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Fri Feb 02 2024
In Rainbows
Radiohead
In 2007, Radiohead released, from what I've seen, the most highly praised album in their discography. Fusing electronic elements with ambient and twinkling guitar passages lying in the backgrounds of these tracks, Radiohead rests under a warm blanket for this influential release.
Above all else though, I assume this album gets all the praise because of its comforting atmosphere. It's soft and light, and Yorke's crooning over most of these songs paints a melancholic image of a man longing for something more, in a relationship, affection, or life in general.
As beautiful and enjoyable as this album is, I do find myself wanting a more punchier track at times, akin to some of Radiohead's older releases. The first two tracks certainly satisfy that desire to a certain extent (the opening "15 Step" is my favorite song on the album alongside the penultimate "Jigsaw Falling into Place"). But many of the songs feel like they're building up to something orchestric, grandiose, and cathartic, but end before reaching any such point. Also, Yorke's crooning on certain songs (like "House of Cards") is flat-out uninteresting and too similar to vocal passages I've heard on other Radiohead songs and the instrumentation isn't interesting enough to carry the entire song. Maybe that's why I like "15 Steps" so much, it's the vocals and the way Thom delivers them with such punch, vigor, and an almost restrained anger that makes the song stick out on this album.
But I don't believe this album wants to build up its tracks, and that's fair; not every track needs to have a crescendo. Instead, this album is comfortable in the warm, pillowy, and spacey cacoon it built for itself and your enjoyment of this album rests on how much you're willing to let yourself float along to that. There are many gorgeous moments. When the strings come in at the end of "Reckoner", the vocal choir passages at the end of "Nude", and the entirety of the piano-driven "Videotape". Also the acoustic guitars and bass all over this album are great.
"Jigsaw Falling into Place" is probably the most whole song on the album, a gorgeous art rock track with lush instrumentation and one of my favorite Yorke performances ever as he draws inspiration from the hazy environment he's in while being inebriated in a college-era night. The sense of nostalgia that drives this track's lyrical themes makes it so enjoyably melancholic.
8/10
4
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Sat Feb 03 2024
Power In Numbers
Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5's 2002 album title tells you everything you have to know about this record. Despite not having more members than your usual hip-hop group, the posse elements of this group are amplified as the album is filled with the members building off the momentum established by the previous members. For the first few tracks, you never hear a single member's verse for too long before the baton is passed to the next MC.
The group stands out in the bling-era hip-hop that was starting to make waves around this time, sticking to the roots of hip-hop production. Beats are bassy, funky, and filled with DJ scratching courtesy of producers/DJs DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist. The instrumentals are varied generally, but all stick to a similar cohesive theme. It's not rare to find a song that has a sample filled, or beat switched outro (Like "I am Somebody").
A Day At the Races has one of the smoothest beats, with a crunchy bassline and psychedelic guitar licks. All the verses are super smooth and it feels like a chill summer evening. Daddy Kane's feature doesn't disappoint.
Lyrically speaking, braggadocious and punch-line-based verses are dominant here. This style never generally gets tiresome because of the aforementioned relaying style of the group. All members have immense talent for flow on these smooth beats. My favorite has to be Chali 2na who has a deep, booming voice that is the most memorable whenever he comes in.
"Remember His Name" switches it up with Akil telling the story of an individual growing a rough life. In typical hip-hop storytelling fashion, the twist at the end implies he was talking about death itself giving his verse a different twisted meaning. I enjoy how they flip their established posse style of rapping in the phone call segment. The group tackles the subjects of their fame and sticking to their roots on the incredibly smooth and catchy "What's Golden", another favorite for me.
The hooks generally work very well, I especially like Nelly on "Thin Line". Also, High Fidelity has a generally enjoyable hook.
Ultimately though, the highlights of this album are when the guys are exchanging verses rapidly over these insanely stripped-back, bassy, and funk-laced beats. I feel the album is a tad too long but I don't consider that much of a downside since it's generally enjoyable when the group is doing their thing. But near the end, it gets mildly repetitive (aside from the interesting instrumental closer). Still, a very enjoyable, laid-back posse hip-hop LP that harkens back to the origins of the genre and stands out in its era. If you love posse cuts, you'll enjoy most of what's offered here.
8/10
4
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Sun Feb 04 2024
Queen II
Queen
Queen has always been *that* band, whose songs I've been enjoying for as long as I can remember (since I was 6 or 7). Their bigger songs "Somebody to Love", "Under Pressure", and "Don't Stop Me Now" were absolute staples for me as a child and some of my earliest memories of music enjoyment as a whole. So, when I saw this album had none of the many songs I've recognized from Queen, I was a bit wary but made sure I still went in with an open mind.
It's admittedly a very early release in their discography, released in 1974 far before any of their big singles (like Killer Queen on their follow-up). I love the booming guitar portion on Father to Son, courtesy of Brian May and the closing vocals by Mercury were incredible.
Generally, the songs have varied instrumentation and theatrical aspects not unlike progressive rock songs at the time mixed with hard rock and ballad passages. By looking at the song titles alone, I knew I was in for something fantastical, whimsical, and grand.
The highlight though, as I had expected, was Freddie Mercury. His melodies, vocal passages, and large vocal range make or break the songs here. His outro on White Queen for example is enchanting and gorgeous. The backing harmonization is another Queen staple and despite being milder than I remember, I find them very enjoyable when they do crop up.
My enjoyment unfortunately dwindles whenever the band strays from the progressive sounds on this album or their traditional glam rock and ballad style. The "Hard Rock" inspired "The Loser at the End" despite it showing off Mercury's range, is very dull and one-note for me. There's a big chunk of songs near the middle of this album that I'm quite ambivalent towards.
The album regains its footing on the short piano ballad "Nevermore" as it leads into the incredible "The March of the Black Queen". I hadn't heard this song before this album but my god, is it a perfect Queen song. The band plays to their strengths highlighting everything that made the band so enjoyable for me so many years back with a dizzying number of switches and phases. Freddie's lyrics are cryptic but the imagery he paints alone more than makes up for it. The fact that he's able to switch between all these new melodies so rapidly, is astonishing. All the instruments on this track blend beautifully; the mastering is superb. The medley-like nature of this closing part of the album followed by "Seven Seas of Rhye" works very well in closing off this overall enjoyable Queen album.
7/10
4
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Mon Feb 05 2024
Smash
The Offspring
This is my first Offspring record; their 1994 release Smash. It sort of fuses a metal/alt-rock vocalist style with instrumentals that are more punk rock-oriented. The vocals are much clearer, more structured, and more melodic than your typical hardcore vocalist but it's not quite the pop punk I know. Just listen to Dexter's lead vocal passages on "Bad Habit" and the brief harmonizations just before the bridge on "Gotta Get Away" which sound like something out of an Iron Maiden album.
If I had to compare them to anything I "know" it would be Descendants who I haven't listened to in a while. I seldom listen to pop punk but I do think, overall, this album is too long and repetitive; there are a few exceptions though.
I enjoy the guitar tone and passage between each verse on "Come Out and Play" and I think this song, overall, flows particularly well. The song takes a look at the loop of violence in the youth while masking itself as an angry "let it out" song. "Self-Esteem" is also another pop-punk classic and one of those teenage girl-trouble angst anthems I'm sure I would've enjoyed if I heard it when I was younger.
The following series of shorter tracks, while generally enjoyable and benign, are overall uneventful and one-note. The deeper cuts here I'm sure could grow on me after re-listens but on initial listen, I wouldn't call them highlights.
I do like the playful and catchy nature of "What Happened to You?" alongside its shorter, peppier guitar solo. The protagonist asks his friend, who fell off the deep end, what happened to him while reminiscing on what he used to be in the first verse contrasting the more upbeat nature of the track.
The final "Smash" picks up the pace, being catchier and punchier than most of the previous tracks within its first few minutes. The message about being true to yourself despite the direction of trends is genuinely good, especially for the younger audience they may have. I enjoy the reprise instrumental passages that close off the song as well (although there's an oddly placed chunk of silence??).
I'm quite ambivalent about this record. Can't say I enjoyed every track but there were some fun enjoyable ones here. Enjoying this album depends on whether you're looking to satisfy a catchy pop-punk itch while still getting a taste of the slightly noisier punk and alt-rock genres.
6/10
3
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Tue Feb 06 2024
Fragile
Yes
The opening to "Roundabout" is one of the most visceral starts to any prog album I've heard. The listener is lulled into a false sense of serenity before being spiraled into that crunchy, distorted bass groove that drives the entire first half of the track. In typical Yes fashion, this song is chock full of organ, crunchy bass, and occasional ambient passages.
I love the whimsical and calming keyboard and electronic tones on "Cans and Brahms" that are followed by the softer vocal layers over the gentle acoustic strumming of "We Have Heaven".
The following "South Side of the Sky", when compared to the previous tracks, I don't enjoy as much. I enjoy Jon's lead melody and the little ambient passage and following build-up near the halfway point, but the groove itself is relatively tame and uninteresting.
I feel similarly about the following shorter tracks but the song "The Fish" has a psychedelic, groovy, and cavernous nature and is one of the standout tracks on this album. The following "Mood for a Day" is a nice, but oddly placed, little acoustic piece acting as a breather in this album (that honestly didn't need one).
Similar to "The Fish", there's something ethereal about the layered synths grouped with that typical Yes groove that kicks "Heart of the Sunrise" off. Honestly, I think the first three minutes of this track take the cake for having the best groove on the entire record. Jon's sentimental vocals grow to a cathartic peak before being snuffed out by the returning groove near the halfway mark. The vocals complement the piano-driven groove during the final couple of minutes, making for a strong finisher.
Overall, a very solid Prog record; maybe not as cloudy, colorfully varied, and ambitious as "Close to the Edge". In its own right though, there's a lot to find enjoyment in here, and in Yes' formula and style overall.
7/10
4
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Wed Feb 07 2024
Superfuzz Bigmuff
Mudhoney
Mudhoney's 1988 EP might have loud and varied riffs for days but overall, I can't say I'm a fan of the vocals on this album. There is something muted about about the way they're delivered which doesn't blend well with the louder, distorted instrumentation. The song "No One Has" has an incredibly hypnotic loop, drenched in distortion which is enjoyable when it's at the forefront, but I can't get with Mark's vocals personally here. The exception to this is the song "If I Think" where he rides the slower and louder parts of the song very well and the song closes out with one of my favorite parts of the EP.
I like the slower, trudging, hypnotic nature of the guitars in the opening part of "Mudride" with the almost tribal drum pattern that drives it forward. The guitar passage near the middle is cacophonous, and another one of the highlights of this EP. Probably my favorite song here.
Overall, the instrumentation here is the highlight, the guitar riffs are generally hypnotic and paint a dreary atmosphere that's parts macabre but also stimulating. I also really like the drum work. Overall though, I can't say I found anything special in this EP but it's a solid piece of grunge rock nonetheless.
*I haven't had my deep dive into grunge rock nor its history but assuming this record came out in '88, I can only imagine its fusions of punk ethos with slower, growly vocals influenced many of the 90s grunge bands that I am familiar with. Maybe I'll grow to appreciate this album more for what it is as I continue this journey.
6/10
3
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Thu Feb 08 2024
I'm Your Man
Leonard Cohen
The only other Leonard Cohen record I've heard was "Songs of Leonard Cohen" in '67 and that record was a folk, singer-songwriter record entirely. Then here we are, nearly two decades later and I hear "First We Take Manhattan" and it's entirely new wave-influenced. Flashy, glitzy synths dominate the brighter female vocal portions, while these low-end eerie-sequenced synths loom over Leonard's bleak lyrical depictions of terror. The imagery of taking Manhattan and then taking Berlin sparks something unsettling within me. It's certainly a striking start.
Once the initial shock wears off though, there isn't much of note in this album. "Ain't No Cure For Love" is enjoyable but doesn't try to provoke imagery that's as compelling as the opening track. I understand it's not supposed to, it's a love song, and for that, I think it does a fine job but it sounds generic and reeks of the cliches of the era it came out in.
"Everybody Knows" string-synth-backed instrumentation spliced with (what sounds like) Spanish guitar is quite pleasant and another highlight. It's another darker track lyrically, painting a dreary and pessimistic view of the world. The baroque-inspired "Take this Waltz" is another highlight, primarily because I feel like it's a much-needed switch-up in sound, with gorgeous string-backed instrumentation and charming vocal passages that very much evoke the gleeful emotions one would feel when in a ballroom waltz. I also like the lowkey closer "Tower of Song" though admittedly, I can't pinpoint what this song is about, maybe an old man reminiscing over the songs he's written over his career and his everlasting appreciation for the art form.
I think Cohen's deeper delivery alongside the longer, unsettling tracks filled with varied synth tones and solos are the drawing factors here. I'm certainly intrigued and appreciate an artist switching up their sound this drastically (especially when it comes to hopping on new trends), but I can't say I am personally a fan of this one.
6/10
3
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Fri Feb 09 2024
Broken English
Marianne Faithfull
This is my first Marianne Faithfull album, and from what I've read, her music dates back to the mid-60s, operating in the folk scene at the time. Similar to the Leonard Cohen 80s era, this is another folk artist who hopped on the new-wave train.
There's a killer bassline on the opening title track. I like Marianne's delivery here, it's slightly off-kilter. I also like "Witches' Song" but I found a lot of the lyrics in this song and this album in general to be very cryptic but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing and par for the course for this type of music.
The instrumentation is overall very low-key on this album, not too much interesting going on. Typically not a good thing but it spotlights Marianne's vocals and lyricism which are certainly worth paying attention to. "Guilt" is a lyrical highlight, showcasing the protagonist's fear of committing potentially harmful actions, and expressing guilt for even having these thoughts. "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" is also a very tragic track detailing the regrets of an older housewife and the instrumentation is particularly standout here.
Despite working with the new-wave instrumentation on this album, Marianne sticks to her roots in terms of songwriting (I can only assume) as there is very much still a folk nature to the way everything's delivered on many of the songs here. It's a strange dichotomy that mostly works. The album has a strong ending as well with the ominous and dystopian "Working Class Hero" followed by "Why d'Ya Do it" which shows a complete switch up in Marianne's vocal delivery and lyricism when compared to the previous tracks. The instrumental is more lively here as well, filling the space with organs, horns, and an incredible post-punk groove that twists and turns throughout the track's 6-minute runtime. A much dirtier punk-inspired track that is probably my favorite here.
I think the instrumentals of the earlier tracks leave a lot to be desired but overall, a very enjoyable listen. I'll be checking out her previous (and later) works after this.
7/10
4
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Sat Feb 10 2024
C'est Chic
CHIC
I wasn't familiar with CHIC until this listen, aside from obviously being familiar with guitarist, and band co-founder, Nile Rodgers, and the song "Le Freak". I haven't listened to "Le Freak" in its entirety but after hearing it now, it's quite the elegant disco track. Pristine mixing, ear-wormy vocals, and glammy strings partnered with a killer groove, it's everything I wanted from a record like this. I guess all that applies to most of this album, there were quite a handful of highlights.
"Savoir Faire" is an outright gorgeous instrumental track that encapsulates a blissful city-night feeling in its repetitive, yet continuously enjoyable 5-minute run time. "I Want Your Love" sparks a similar feeling within me with a particularly enjoyable outro.
I also generally love the vocals on this album, mostly performed by Alfa Anderson. My favorite would be the vocal melody on "At Last I am Free" about being so free that you can't even see it in front of you. That particular melody repeats throughout the entire second half of the song before slowly fading out; it's beautiful. "Sometimes You Win" is a particularly wholesome track lyrically speaking.
Overall, the formula on all these songs is very similar; thick basslines, plucked rhythm guitar, string segments, light piano, and emotive lead vocals. I personally really enjoy this formula and it makes me wonder why Disco gets such a bad rep, perhaps it gets repetitive but in its nearly 40-minute runtime, I never really felt that way (aside from maybe the subpar closer). This is a wholesome album that's very spacious and manages to be patient while still filling out the entirety of its sonic space with gorgeous instruments. I haven't listened to much 70s disco but this feels like a gold standard for the genre. It's an album you can just lay back to and breathe for a bit.
8/10
4
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Sun Feb 11 2024
Fishscale
Ghostface Killah
After an incredible RZA-produced run in the 90s, many of the Wu-tang solo members left behind that minimal, off-key, and gritty sound that kick-started their careers for something more flashy and glossy to keep up with the changing sounds of hip-hop. When it comes to the 2000s, no Wu-tang member transitioned better than Ghostface Killah.
The first full song is nuts. The beat is loud with blaring horns in your face on a heavy beat. Ghostface's storytelling on this track is superb; his lyrical style I always found somewhat disorienting with his excessive use of pop-culture references and slang but on "Shakey Dog", it's not hard to visualize the absurd scene he's setting. Ghostface raps about a variety of things ranging from the mafioso-styled ramblings to intimate lust-driven songs. There's also "Whip You With a Strap" which has Ghost reflecting on his relationship with his mother as a child. "Momma" also tackles the topic of his mother but with a much more empathetic and emotional view; detailing her struggle and the implication that has on her dependents.
I just love Ghost's flow; It's almost non-existent. The word delivery just flows seamlessly from one bar to another. There isn't a flow like it and it's very addicting.
This album's production credits are scattered and varied so you'd think it'd turn out to be an absolute mess, and it sort of is. But the beats are just too good so I'd say it comes off more chaotic (colorful even) than incoherent. I already mentioned "Shakey Dog" but the Just Blaze produced "The Champ" is another highlight. These beats are noisy, laced with sound effects, and strange, almost out-of-place, samples (like on "Kilo" and the Dilla-produced "Whip You With a Strap"). As loud as some of these beats may be, Ghostface is just as loud on most of these tracks so this blend yields extravagant results that tend to be my favorite moments on the album. Not all the songs are explosive; other production highlights are the fuzzy electric guitar leads on "Clipse of Doom", the overblown synth chords on "Jellyfish", and the marine-themed "Underwater"
The features mostly consist of other Wu-tang members. It's been over 10 years since their conception at this point and their chemistry remains undefeated (like on the track "9 Milli Bros" featuring most of the clan over the MF beat). The standout is his partner-in-crime Raekwon who does the story-telling thing just as well as Ghost (like on "R.A.G.U" and the sinister closer). There's also Ne-Yo with his sticky chorus on the 2000s R&B classic "Back Like That". I can say the same thing about Megan Rochell on "Momma".
This album is quite long but strangely enough, on this relisten, I can't say it overstays its welcome. What Ghost and his band of producers do well, they do very well on this project. A wild hip-hop album that's sharp, tight, and, above all else, undeniably enjoyable.
9/10
4
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Mon Feb 12 2024
Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan
1965's "Highway 61 Revisited" was a landmark record in folk and Dylan's career. The once-entirely folk artist veers into the sounds of hard rock while continuing to refine the lyrical prowess that was seen in the previous "Bringing it All Back Home".
In contrast to his previous album, I find Dylan's vocal and lyrical presentation here more aggressive, while still finding a clear patch to fit in comfortable blues and ballad cuts. Said aggression is kicked off with the brilliant "Like a Rolling Stone" which is a song about an individual forced to live out on their own after being deceived by once trusted cunning characters with a chorus that almost rubs it in the protagonist's face. The protagonist is almost being scolded over this organ and harmonica-driven opener. I've always been a fan of the "rolling stone" metaphor introduced by Muddy Waters.
The aggressiveness carries over to the next track "Tombstone Blues" as Dylan recites anecdotes of conflicts instantiated by the wealthy and powerful before shifting down to the image of struggling working-class people. Like most of this album's anecdotes, they're part funny, entertaining, and at times surreal, throwing character names around without a means of introducing them and forcing the listener to immediately place themselves in the strange scene he's set. The song has a garage rock tint to it with the loud, almost overblown, drum beat alongside the incredible electric guitar interludes between each verse. I feel the same instrumentally about the title track which has one of my favorite opening verses in any folk song.
Then there's my favorite track "Ballad of a Thin Man", an eerie track thanks to the organ and piano pattern here that's slow while invoking a looming sense of dread within me. The lyrics tell a different story though; of a well-educated scholar who struggles to come to terms with the wildly eccentric room he's walked into. The song comes off as a metaphor, or a jab, at those who are unable to accept nor understand the changes and strides in the evolution of music seen in the 60s. But Dylan pities the individual he's describing here knowing accepting change can be difficult when seemingly eccentric imagery projects itself and overshadows a movement's true soul. But being able to accept that eccentricity is key to understanding a musical movement.
I've mentioned the more aggressive tracks, lyrically, but the slower ballads are very enjoyable as well. The blues-styled "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" is a warm and enjoyable track. I feel the same about "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" a confusing story that's still enjoyable in its own right strictly because of the sweet anecdotes it's composed of. This song also has one of the sweetest piano-driven instrumentals. It's also worth mentioning Dylan's vocals on these songs, and the album as a whole. Dylan, in typical folk fashion, sticks to a single melody and repeats it. I wholeheartedly think this album showcases his best vocals as Dylan is highly aware of his vocal range and uses his voice optimally as a result.
The album closes off with an acoustic-driven track "Desolation Row" where Dylan sings about the tragic endings to characters' stories leading them to a twisted Desolation Row. It's a long song that's a melancholic closer to this incredible record. I don't think everyone will appreciate this album as much as I do. It's long and repetitive and Dylan's vocals are not particularly ear-grabbing at first but you'd be hard-pressed to find an album so tightly packed with meaningful tracks that perfectly encapsulate the strange and confusing time in which this album was written.
10/10
5
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Tue Feb 13 2024
Born To Run
Bruce Springsteen
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen's 1975 album "Born to Run" is a record that I, even after a relisten, still find myself to be ambivalent towards. It's primarily the production of this album. This came out in the mid-70s and by those standards, the production here is squeaky clean and admittedly luscious. There is a certain charm to the clarity of each instrument here and the way they blend to form these jovial walls of sound that are reminiscent of the best nights out. On the other hand, the artificial nature of its polish leaves me yearning for an edge that, in my opinion, would've complemented Bruce's vocals much better. I think my main problem is a lot of the jazz sections that come in that feel utterly unnatural in the mix for me. The exception to this is the sax section on the ambitious closer "Jungleland", which has my favorite closer instrumental on the album.
Bruce's vocals, when they do work, are utterly mesmerizing, emotive, and, above all else, powerful. The guttural nature of his delivery works wonders on some of these tracks. The dude can write great melodies too, none better than the opener "Thunder Road" where he seamlessly switches between the many melodies that this track's composed of. The melodies are easily the highlight of this album. I also enjoy the chorus of "Night" a song about letting loose when you clock out of your shift. After the first few songs, and say for maybe the title track, I find his voice becomes mildly grating and I'm not even sure why. I like his vocals but whenever I get to the end of the second half, I really can't enjoy his vocals anymore. It might have something to do with the repetitive nature of the subject matter that crops up throughout this album, another thing I feel this album has going against it; Bruce just loves love. Nothing wrong with writing love songs and, for what it's worth, I think Bruce is particularly skilled at that, it's just that I wish there was something more interesting here to digest. Again, the exception to this is the outro to the closer, where his soaring vocals close out the album over these gorgeous arpeggiated piano keys.
It might seem like I hate this album when I don't. "Thunder Road" is one of my favorite rock songs of all time. For the most part, I enjoy the first half of this record way more than I do the second. I enjoy this album's accessibility as well, it's very easy to slide into and is filled with melodic hooks that evoke a nostalgic sense of both melancholy but also glee. It's also just super catchy.
6/10
3
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Wed Feb 14 2024
evermore
Taylor Swift
This is quite a shift in continuity for me...I was just getting around to listening to Taylor's catalog starting from her releases in the 2000s and now this album crops up, one that was released during arguably the singer-songwriter's most successful decade yet.
My frame of reference is small here. I say it feels like a more mature, sobered-up, and melancholic take on her debut minus the more upbeat perky country tracks that that project was riddled with. "The National" member Aaron Dessner's production style is minimalistic with most of the instrumentation consisting of subtle electronic-esque drum machine, piano, and acoustic guitar. It makes for a very dreary atmosphere while still feeling like a warm blanket on a brisk morning. I particularly like "tolerate it" for that exact reason. I like the bolder instrumentation on "no body, no crime" with HAIM which has one of the sticker melodies. Generally, the music sounds great and is luscious when it needs to be. Minimalism works in this record's favor especially considering these tracks' subtle build-ups.
Lyrically speaking, a majority of this record's subject matter can be bottled down to Taylor's "romantic troubles", but that would be an unfair assessment since there's a subtle depth to the way Taylor chooses to portray her adult life relationships. For example, I like "happiness" which tackles the limits of maturing post-relationship. I also really enjoyed the duet "coney island" with The National member Matt Berninger. Lyrically it's a nostalgic look at a relationship but the highlight here is the way the two's vocals blend near the end of the song. The other duet on this album with Bon Iver works very well as a closer as well. "long story short" is Taylor's optimistic look at her future but also her satisfaction with where she is in the present.
This is a good folk-pop record but, admittedly, I do think it's too long for its good. The lyrical themes and overall concept never got dull, but the minimal nature of the production and Taylor's vocals left me worn down by the end. There's no sticky hook or pop track to be found in the mix here, which I respect, but I tend to also really enjoy those Taylor tracks. Nevertheless, I respect Taylor for sticking to her guns and fully committing herself to the intimate mood she sets out to capture with this album's sound.
3
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Thu Feb 15 2024
The Queen Is Dead
The Smiths
Punchy, tight, and relentlessly catchy while managing to be unabashedly fractious, The Smith's 1986 release "The Queen is Dead" stands as one of the perfect examples of pop-rock and jangle pop aesthetics jumbled together to form a landmark release in 80s pop.
Love him or hate him (I hate him), Morrissey's admittedly a great singer with the timbre of a Victorian-era teenage poet yearning for rebellion and companionship. This record has a subtle nocturnal vibe too as if a lot of the stories told here take place under a full moon. Whether that's him going on a walk with the prince on the anti-Royal family anthem that is the title track, or the graveyard smug-fest "Cemetary Gates" where the protagonist criticizes the shallow nature of his companion's poetry.
The gorgeous, yet morbid hit off this album "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" with its incredible string-back chorus showcases the band at their most elegant and high-gloss. "I Know It's Over" is a longer ballad-type track primarily backed by gorgeous, yet skeletal acoustic strumming that builds and builds as Morrisey likens his loneliness to being buried alive. It's a slower track that builds with Morrisey's vocals near the end being some of my favorites of his. His lyrics on this track also showcase a self-aware nature with him criticizing one's over perception of their likability.
I can't ignore the other members of the band. Andy Rourke's (RIP) basslines are so full and lively on all these tracks. My favorites have to be "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" and "Cemetary Gates". There's then obviously guitarist Johnny Marr whose psychedelic tone is essential in outlining this album's entire mood. Just listen to his guitar break on "Big Mouth Strikes Again", my favorite song. It's an explosive track criticizing the protagonist's inability to bite their tongue (a sentiment that has only since become more applicable to Morrisey himself). It's also worth mentioning the way the guitars are layered by Marr on the song "The Boy with the Thorn on His Side".
You know, I had to listen to this album in the background when writing this because I feel like I have this album etched into my musical memory already and it just reminded me that I just love every song on this thing. That's all it comes down to really...every song on here is just really good (even the psychedelic and unsettling closer that usually gets a bad rep). Funnily enough, I can just as much understand why someone would find this album repulsive due to its, at times, cheesy nature.
5
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Fri Feb 16 2024
The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
Badly Drawn Boy
I hadn't heard of Badly Drawn Boy before this record and of all things, the album art here definitely drew me in. In hindsight, it's a lot like the album itself, colorful, with a strange, almost tacky aura that only adds to its enjoyability, charm, and endless stream of creativity.
There's a certain punch to the instrumentals that's hard to pinpoint here. This album's unique fusion of folk, baroque, electronic, and country rock works well to showcase Damon Gough's ear for effective genre fusion. "Camping Next Week" is a perfect example of this, with a prominent bassline and bizarrely placed guitar solo layered on top of a boilerplate folk instrumental. I love the imagery here relating the typically refreshing feelings invoked by a cool morning on a camping trip juxtaposed with the feelings of loneliness and a sense of longing.
There's something almost unsettling and surreal about the way the instrumentals are layered here. It's difficult to describe but it could have to do with the plethora of string arrangements, bizarre sound effects, and slightly overblown mixes. Just check out the first half of "Stone on the Water" and the strange ambient/noise interlude on "Cause a Rockslide". I also love the synth layer driving the groove on "Once Around the Block". The instrumentation on this album is so diverse that even throughout its hour-plus runtime, it never felt tired nor like it was retreading old ideas. The lusciousness of some of these tracks cannot be understated, like the country-rock-driven "Disillusion" that breaks into a bizarre and sinister grainy piano segment. These sudden switch-ups are scattered throughout this album.
Damon's singing style is subtle. While not entirely whispery, it's soft-spoken and is ever so slightly overpowered by some of the harder instrumentation here. Nevertheless, I enjoy the slightly off-kilter delivery and he's able to complement whatever direction the instrumental goes in here. The album's themes primarily deal with loss, grief, and forgiveness, with the feelings of a nostalgia-filled day out in the loose grip of nature. The song "Magic in the Air" is utterly gorgeous in its nostalgic portrayal of a seemingly inseparable emotional bond between two lovers. I can't emphasize enough how well Damon's lyrical imagery on any given track complements the form the instrumental is taking.
I'm blown away by how much I enjoyed this album that had gone completely under my radar. Not many negatives on my end relating to this thing and, safe to say, it's been the best first listen on my 1001 journey so far.
5
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Sat Feb 17 2024
Brothers In Arms
Dire Straits
Honestly, just a lot of very solid pop-rock and new-wave-inspired tunes throughout this thing. Rather than a coherent flow between all the tracks, in both subject matter and theme, it feels more like the greatest hit collection from the band. It's certainly a product of its time (like on the song "Walk of Life) with rasped vocals delivered by Mark over a cutesy and cheesy synth lead melody. Despite it being an 80s pop-rock staple that I've heard many times before, I can safely say it still holds up. Just as cheesy is the saxophone melody that kicks off "Your Latest Trick", maybe less to its benefit though. I can't say I enjoyed the more subdued and intimate sound presented in this song.
"Why Worry?" is one of my favorite tracks on here. Something about it reminds me of a later-era VU track (probably because I see many similarities between Mark and Reed's vocals). It's a track with a comforting message but above all else, it's the incredible sounding instrumentation and the patient build-up over its 8-and-a-half-minute runtime. There's almost an ambient element to the serene latter half with the dusty drum loop, guitar plucking, and dreamy synth work.
My favourite song though has to be the title track. It's a slow-building, synth-backed song with probably my favorite lyrics by Mark here. Mark's tribute about recovering war-torn individuals or battle-ravaged lands is marked with surreal astronomic imagery relating to the difficulty of overcoming one's self. It's also sprinkled with messages calling for peace in the world by putting everyone's sense of individualism into a grand-scheme perspective. Nothing to dislike about this track, it's a gorgeous closer.
Some other favorite production moments are the strange tribal drums on "Ride Across the River" and the sudden crashing guitar chords on "The Man's Too Strong". I will say though, listening to this thing, you tend to notice all the worst tropes and staples of 80s popular music. I also feel like a lot of the songs after the first three tend to be less memorable (aside from the couple I mentioned). Aside from that though, this was still a highly enjoyable first listen.
4
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Sun Feb 18 2024
The Gilded Palace Of Sin
The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers huh...
Heard of them but never checked them out. By looking at this cover, my first assumption was a psychedelic band from the 60s but no, they're entirely country rock.
I liked "Sin City", a lot. Something sinister about the way L.A is painted as a bottomless pit of manipulation. "Do Right Women", while I'm not a fan of the sentiment here, I enjoy the barrage of synths that come near the halfway mark. The song topics vary. "Uncle" is about getting drafted while "Hot Burrito #1" details a tragic breakup. Honestly, musically speaking I enjoy "Hot Burrito #2", primarily because of that sick organ-driven instrumental break halfway through. I will say, that despite sounding like a very typical 60s country rock release, there are marks of progressiveness and psychedelic music in many of these tracks.
I also typically enjoy the harmonies and the melodies overall. It's nothing super unique vocally speaking but the grainy, slightly low mixed vocals over the vibrant instrumentals work for me. That typical country twang to the vocals I enjoy too. The spoken word closer was a personal favorite. The theatrical nature of the poetry details the story of the close-minded protagonist finding common ground in his beliefs with a young hippie. It's a sweet and optimistic closer capturing the uncertain times and changing political tides of the '60s.
Despite being a relatively short listen, I still think the songs start to sound somewhat the same as the album progresses, despite the little interesting moments intertwined within the tracklist. That said, it never gets tiresome and remains for the most part enjoyable. It's a very solid little country rock album.
4
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Mon Feb 19 2024
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
This is a tough album to review because, with all my Western-influenced music bias, I find it difficult to talk at length about what I enjoyed about this album. All I know is that I did really enjoy it. Bueno Vista Club's self-titled is a Son Cubano record which, to my understanding, originates from eastern Cuba and fuses elements of Latin dance music with African-inspired percussion.
Aside from saying that I enjoyed this album from front to back, I can comment a bit on some of the songs I enjoyed the most. "Chan Chan" immediately caught my ear with its catchy refrain. The longer "El Curato de Tula" was another highlight. It has one of my favorite vocal hooks and a highly enjoyable trumpet-laced percussive groove. I also like "Armor de Loca Juventud" with probably my favorite glistening Spanish guitar break near the middle which feels like a scorching August afternoon. I like the piano solo on the latter part of the title track, shining a light on the album's jazzier elements. The instrumental palette across a vast majority of these songs is largely similar which works to the album's benefit. The whole thing comes off as one cohesive experience, almost like a single song. A very enjoyable experience.
4
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Tue Feb 20 2024
Zombie
Fela Kuti
It's a very tightly packed and delightful 70s Afrobeat album. The funk elements certainly stick out more I'd say with groovy bass and horn lines dominating the entire forefront of the mix. Fela's vocals on this album alongside his share of backing vocals work only to add to this album's firey pace. The title track is likely the best example of this with an almost call-and-response chorus, utilizing the imagery of zombies to describe the Nigerian military at the time. They're also just insanely catchy. This album is filled with politically charged commentary (primarily relating to Nigeria), as indicated by this album cover.
The following two songs on here establish two other fantastic grooves. The layers of horns at the beginning of "Mr. Follow Follow" are pleasant and I appreciate the slower pace this track takes in particular. Even the closer "Observation No Crime" is a slower track. A small thing, but I like the grandiose closing seconds of this song. While I do think the funk and jazz elements of this album stand in the foreground, with solos and brassy horn sections taking the lead, the afro-inspired percussion is certainly noticeable when establishing these standout tribal grooves.
It is a solid record overall if a bit boilerplate and repetitive at times. The fundamentals, lyrical themes, and overall mood established here are still top-tier and the performances are great.
4
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Wed Feb 21 2024
25
Adele
Adele has been a staple in my childhood and teenage life, and with her latest, my adult life. There's always a song she's dropping every few years that dominates the radio and, by extension, my head. I remember hearing many of the songs off this album when it came out back in 2015. If there's anything that allows Adele to stand out among the crowd of contemporary pop vocalists is her powerful, soul-inspired vocal style. Her voice is the standout without a question. I mean the song "Hello" has instrumentation that is so lowkey that it only makes Adele's vocals stick out. It's almost like some sort of glorified acapella song. Yet, the song still sounds huge and theatrical which is quite a feat and speaks to Adele's enormous vocal talents.
For me, my enjoyment of this album came primarily from those nostalgic moments from when I was in high school and this album first dropped and I couldn't avoid those singles. I mentioned "Hello" but "Send My Love" has probably the catchiest chorus here. Adele's vocals here are reminiscent of her contemporaries as opposed to sticking to her unique power ballad style. "When We Were Young" has to be my favorite song here though. I just really enjoy the chorus here and I think the minimal production works especially well. The nostalgic lyrics here are almost tragic as Adele romanticizes her relationship's past while yearning to leave her barren and monochromatic present. At least that's what I get out of it.
Lyrically speaking Adele may not be particularly special across this thing but she's capable of depicting breakups in interesting ways like on "Million Years Ago" and "Water under the Bridge" which I like despite it probably sounding the most 2015-poppy here (with those vocal cries in the chorus). I think the mixture of these intimate, heartbroken lyrics and the powerful delivery adds only to the message like "Love in the Dark" which is my favorite production here with strings and piano that complement Adele's vocals very well and I enjoy the harmonies here. "All I Ask" works to the same effect.
This is a very intimate and personal album for Adele I'm sure. A lot of slow piano ballads and when the songs get faster, the instruments remain very underspoken (to the point where I think it's almost washed out on certain songs like "River Lea"). I think the ballad-type songs are the strongest.
Can't say I enjoyed every single song here as much as the more popular ones, but it's still a very good listen.
3
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Thu Feb 22 2024
Grace
Jeff Buckley
Had no time for a re-review today but obviously great album: highlight of course is “Hallelujah”
4
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Fri Feb 23 2024
Maggot Brain
Funkadelic
George Clinton's opening lines on the title track here have always haunted me, in both their delivery and placement within this song. Without any context, Clinton gives you an ultimatum of sorts, either accept the filth exuded by humans or rise above it all and see through it. Clinton seems to take the latter route with Hazel's ascending piece of serene and minimalistic psychedelic guitar that goes through several different phases and facets. I don't understand "Maggot Brain", as a descriptor, song, or album (although it was supposedly the nickname of guitarist Eddie Hazel). This opening title track certainly stands out here because there's no other song like it on this album.
"Can You Get to That" is an insanely catchy funk track. I love how deep the vocals get on the refrain (I assume Clinton's?). The drumming done by Tiki (who also plays them on the entire album) is superb here. "Hit It and Quit It" is equally as catchy and musically dense with more psychedelic elements mixed with typical funk organ and synth passages. I love the way the instrumentation builds and hits on the refrain to fill the sound.
I don't think I can express enough how amazing the production is on this album. Entering the new decade, Funkadelic knows how to merge all the most impressive, forward-thinking sounds of the '60s and elevate them to another level. The instrumentation is so lush and just builds on so many of these tracks. "You and Your Folks..." with Billy Nelson on vocals and "Super Stupid" both show the album going in a more funk-rock direction when compared to the previous two songs. I love that subtle evolution this album has. I also love the slightly humorous, yet tragic tone the lyrics take on "Super Stupid" recounting a supposedly real story regarding Hazel's coke and heroin mixup.
"Wars of Armageddon" has one of the most killer drum beats on this album, and eventually builds to this incredible groove. The organ and bass are complemented by what sounds like a diverse set of samples and eventually an incredible guitar passage. This is like an incredible plunderphonics track from the past and the mere fact that something this insanely hard, punchy, and chaotic exists in '71 is beyond me.
I don't get this album. I don't know whether it takes itself seriously or not. There's always been a sort of mystique around this thing for me. It just sounds so far ahead in the future and so far above its time in so many ways it's surreal, and I love it for it. This album rests alone in a soundscape so far above and ahead of anything.
5
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Sat Feb 24 2024
Eliminator
ZZ Top
The general cycle of my enjoyment of this album is enjoying the first few seconds when the punchiness is at its max and most visceral. Then when the vocals come in, my enjoyment plateaus. I don't mind the vocals typically but to me, they contrast the instrumentals in a way that's less than stellar. Then when the distorted, bluesy guitar takes the forefront again, my enjoyment goes up once more before one last steady decline. "Sharp Dressed Man" is an exception here and it's a song where I think every aspect blends particularly well with one another. Not a fan of how it just fades out though. "TV Dinners" is another favorite of mine because it, ever so slightly, reminds me of a The Doors song.
I sort of already mentioned this but easily my least favorite part of any of these songs is the vocals. They're not bad per se (unless we're talking songs like "I Need You Tonight") just very one-dimensional. The song structures aren't very interesting either and neither are the lyrics. The only thing this album has going for it is its hard rock instrumentation which I will say, does sound great and Billy Gibbons is a very talented guitarist, taking notes for 60s legends and blues styles. Those moments when the drums and guitars hit are firey and the highlight of this album.
Overall not a terrible album, just not one I found particularly interesting. Still found stuff I enjoyed here though.
2
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Mon Feb 26 2024
Rock 'N Soul
Solomon Burke
This is as "early '60s R&B and Soul" as an album can get honestly. Dirty recording, howling or crooning vocals expressing feelings of endless love (or longing for love), and those typical backing vocal harmonies. It's certainly a trip to the past and the songs do remain enjoyable throughout.
Solomon Burke is immensely talented. I was not familiar with his music but the man is expressive as all hell. Parts of his vocals remind me a lot of Otis Redding and I can see why this album was massively influential for 60s R&B. I can't think of any *actual* flaws with this album; it does exactly what it wants to do and what it needs to do. Overall, even though it's relatively short, this type of "of-the-time" music works better in single form as showcased with the opening "Cry for Me". Weirdly enough "Cry For Me" sounds way more lively and full than most other songs here. It has an incredible lead melody, backing vocals, and bassline. I also really enjoy the other single "Can't Nobody Love You" with the more aggressive delivery nearing the end. Once you've heard those two songs, you've heard everything this album has to offer and from there on out, it's a matter of how much more you want of it. The song structures aren't particularly interesting in that sense.
That being said, another favorite for me is "Won't You Give Me (One More Chance)" with its cutesy guitar melody and catchy backing vocal. "You Can't Love Em All" is also a fun little song with an enjoyable call-and-response chorus.
Me not enjoying this album in its entirety doesn't take away from my respect for this Soul legend. He is a really really amazing singer and this album still works as a means to showcase that.
3
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Tue Feb 27 2024
Talking Book
Stevie Wonder
Where to begin with soul legend Stevie Wonder's album "Talking Book". The opening track "You Are The Sunshine of My Life" is so joyful and stands as one of the greatest fusions of soul and pop of the 70s. Short and sweet, the song's reserved instrumentation and subtle conga-driven percussion ease the listener into this album with one of Wonder's most approachable songs.
Stevie Wonder has a very solid and unique grasp of soul music. His smooth, almost boyish, vocals and effective use of guest vocalists to form memorable choruses are just as present here as on later albums like "Innervisions" and of course "Songs in The Key of Life". When compared to those albums, the mixes, especially on the instrumental side are a bit more washed out, but still pack a colorful punch with various genre fusions laced throughout. The best example of this is the always killer and iconic "Superstition". I mean this is one of the greatest grooves ever with an explosive mesh of horns, clavinet, and that bassline. On top of all that, Wonder rides this groove effortlessly. I enjoyed the juxtaposition between the somewhat abstract lyrics, which paint an eerie image of mindless belief, and the upbeat funky instrumentation.
Funk aside, the balladry demonstrated on the gorgeous synth-backed "You and I" is another highlight. More than anything, it showcases Wonder's talents as a vocalist. He's able to be emotive, while not straying too far from his comfortable range, yielding a vocal performance that comes off as subtle and humble rather than overblown or bombastic.
Instrumentally, there are some great moments here. I like the fuzzy bass and warm synth contrast on "You've Got It Bad Girl". It's certainly one of the smoothest songs here. I enjoy the folk twist on "Big Brother" detailing the empty promises made by politicians to try and win over African-American voters. "Blame it on the Sun", is another song that references the sun, with ethereal instrumentation feeling like a heat ray beaming through a skylight in an isolated cave. The album closes off with yet another incredible love song with one of the catchiest choruses here.
This here is the blueprint. Stevie Wonder's capabilities as a musician, singer, and songwriter are all showcased in a tightly-packed experience that effectively captures the evolutions in soul fusion seen in the 70s.
5
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Wed Feb 28 2024
Quiet Life
Japan
New Wave as a genre has always been very hit or miss with me. Japan's album "Quiet Life" is on the earlier side of the genre's inception (being released in the late 70s), and it certainly sounds like it.
I hadn't heard of Japan but their aesthetic is pretty solid (at least on this album). There's something foggy and hazy about the synth work here. Maybe it's me projecting this cover's vibe onto the album itself, but it feels like an intoxicated night out in the city. This is the vibe I get off most of the tracks; subtly somberful and dramatic. The washed-out mixes on the vocals and instrumentation are likely contributors to this aesthetic, which when it comes to looking at each song in a vacuum, is probably my biggest flaw with this album. "Despair" is hauntingly gorgeous, with saxophone and sorrowful piano leads driving a heartbreaking ballad. The lyrics are in French, but from what I gather, they're referencing the destruction of some sort of art medium. It's easily my favorite song here.
Aside from that though, with the more direct tracks, there's an interesting mood that's evoked overall, but nothing happens that excels these songs past that basic pre-established mood. Can't say I'm too fond of the vocals here either, especially on the song "In Vogue" where there's so much sub that it's just irritating. In general, though, I just find the vocals to be forgetful and sleepy and not in a way that particularly compliments this album's style. There are moments where it works, like on "Aliens" where I think the vocalist comes off more emotive and I think the song is particularly ear-wormy.
My overall conclusion after hearing this is that I find the instrumentation itself cool and effective, but the songs themselves leave a lot to be desired. Can't say I really dug this one.
2
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Thu Feb 29 2024
Colour By Numbers
Culture Club
When it comes to Culture Club, I've only ever heard the song "Karma Chameleon" before listening to this album. It's a pretty smooth new romantic track that I always found mildly catchy and is easily the best song here. Not sure why, but the harmonica always seemed out of place and sort of soured the mix. But I do like the chorus and the harmonies; they're very light and cleanly performed. Digging into it lyrically, the sentiment here stands out. Boy uses the imagery of a chameleon to describe the desire to blend in and conform to avoid alienation and scrutiny.
Clean and light are probably the two best adjectives I can use to describe this album's overall aesthetic. Boy George is a solid vocalist, taking influences from RnB vocalists which I find somewhat unique for this genre of music and adds some enjoyability and life to many of the performances. The vocals are the highlight here and generally carry (like on the song Black Money). I'll also acknowledge his good writing here, like on the closer "Victims" a song whose meaning is difficult to pin down, but the imagery is evocative and almost tragic.
The instrumentation is dull and dry to me for the most part. The harmonica and saxophone that occasionally crop up act as blemishes rather than enhancements and only serve to age this album. There are some cool moments, like the guitar solo on "Miss Me Blind", a song where I think the instrumentation's smooth, minimal, and reserved yet well-composed nature works in the track's favor.
Ultimately though, my issues with this record boil down to just lackluster songs that are neither memorable nor interesting. It seems to be a recurring issue for me with New Romantic.
2
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Sat Mar 02 2024
Entertainment
Gang Of Four
I wouldn't hesitate to call this a surrealist post-punk record. It feels like dancing while everything around you crumbles. The stems that make up these songs are skeletal and the album is less concerned with filling up the sonic space and more concerned with building rudimentary grooves that sound almost like repetitive sound bites layered on top of one another. To say it's danceable would be an understatement, I mean just listen to that bassline and distorted strumming on "Damaged Goods". Rarely do I hear basslines so clear to the point where it's practically driving the melody. "Natural's Not It" works just as well. While the instrumentals' simplistic, discernable, and punchy characteristics are the ingredients to this album's addictiveness, the vocals themselves work just as well to that effect. The melodies are stripped back, repetitive, and very basic but because the instrumentals leave a lot of room, the vocals are never drowned out and work in conjunction with the instrumentals in an undeniably visceral way. Both vocalists Jon King and Andy Gill (on "Natural's Not It") are very talented in this way and their subtle sarcasm contributes heavily to this album's overall theme (Given the already sarcastic title).
Certain songs here contain almost annoyingly catchy choruses like "Return the Gift", "I Found That Essence Rare" and "Glass". I say annoyingly because I tend to get them stuck in my head, not to knock them in any way. There's almost a nursery rhyme-esque charm to some of these choruses, which when paired up against the distortion on a song like "Return the Gift", works wonders. I love the way the instrumental builds at the end of this song too, it's one of the most fiery moments on this record. Synths pop in every once in a while like on the track "5.45" which is effective in establishing that song's ominous mood given the subject matter.
Now the Gang of Four is relentlessly political on this album. Taking their name from a CCP faction, it's quite clear what their leanings are; leftist and Marxist. Now I've never been good at writing about politics or dissecting political art in particularly creative ways, but I'll still give it a shot. "Natural's Not It" deals particularly with consumerism culture and has probably my favorite lyrics overall. "Damaged Goods" describes a relationship and the protagonists' shallow engagement with the other party, often interpreted as a critique of capitalism. "I Found That Essence Rare" describes the shallow and almost naive nature of the media's portrayal of life; criticizing their obsession with blissful ignorance. "Glass" to me just seems like a description of a monochromatic life under capitalism, filled with headaches, cigarettes, and a perpetual longing for meaning. The matter of unrealistic sex expectations also crops up in the song "Contract". The song "5.45" might be the most direct track here. Gill doesn't bother sugarcoating the media's desire to resell death, violence, and division as entertainment, nicely tying back to the title of the album. It raises an interesting question about what this album itself is trying to achieve, given the title "Entertainment!". The song's sentiment has unfortunately aged very well, as did most of the sentiments on this album.
I ramble and ramble like I know what I'm talking about at all. One thing I do know is that this album rules. It's damn near flawless. I mentioned it was surrealist and I still stand by that. It depicts all aspects of life under capitalism as unfulfilling, empty, and shallow over these catchy-as-all-hell songs. It's this incredible combination of two very different moods and sounds that makes this album so unique.
5
View Album
Mon Mar 04 2024
Vol. 4
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath is a band I know very little about; I know Ozzy Osbourne bit off a bird's head on stage once and also something about guitarist Lommi's missing fingertips inventing heavy metal. I mean they get a rep that very few bands back in the day do and it's not hard to see why when listening to this and their other stuff. Their genre of "hard rock" was more discernable than other hard rock at the time. It wasn't just loud, fast, or noisy like much of the music that would eventually lead to punk rock, but rather more seismic, crushing, and monstrous. They do all this while still sounding of their time and I think that's primarily due to Ozzy's high-pitched shriek-styled vocals which is a style seldom seen with more contemporary metal vocalists.
As for this album, I didn't even know it existed. I've heard of their first three but never this guy. The opening track is huge, with an incredible outro blending highspeed guitar riffs with these flourishing synth keys. This is after, of course, a heavy bout of guitar distortion in the first leg. This album oddly switches it up with the song "Changes" which is a gorgeous ballad detailing a breakup. The piano-driven instrumental alongside the backing melotron (I think) has an unsettling and eerie aura to it which is only amplified when considering how out of place this ballad is here. I still love it. Another strange piece is the following ambient and noise interlude "FX". Aside from those two tracks though, most of the other songs are standard Black Sabbath with all their heaviness.
I love the opening riff on "Supernaut" with Ozzy singing about a sort of freedom he yearns for in life. I love the solo and the strange percussion and acoustic piece at the end. Cocaine, which the band was doing a lot of at the time, is the topic of the incredible hard-rock track "Snowblind". I like this particular chorus paired with the riff here, there's almost something tragic about it. I love the drumming on this album a lot, especially the switch-up on "Snowblind" and on the entire song of "Cornucopia". The closer is just a non-stop barrage of rhythm and riff switch-ups and is the track where I see the most parallels with modern metal.
For as little as I've listened to this band overall, I'll make the uneducated claim that this is one of their more experimental ones. Most, if not all of these songs have little bits that stray from their traditional sound. I love the occasional soft switch-ups here. Dug this album a lot and until my inevitable relistens of their other stuff, I'd call this my favourite Black Sabbath album.
5
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Tue Mar 05 2024
Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson
This is my first Harry Nilsson album, an artist who I know very little about.
I like the opening track. Nilsson's vocals are so expressive, sporadic, and all over the place melodically. I think it works well with the sorta clunky horn-backed instrumentation. This is certainly an unorthodox pop album for the time, there's something so strange about the varied and inconsistent style of each track. Like the quiet keyboard backing "Early in the Morning" which has Harry taking an almost soul approach to his delivery. The melancholy image of waking up in the morning to an uneventful day pairs well with this instrumental. I love the piano ballad "Without You" and it's probably my favorite song here as Harry details a tragic breakup with an incredible vocal melody in the verses. The instrumentation here is gorgeous too.
Harry's certainly a talented vocalist and he showcases his range by taking on different styles all throughout this album. It keeps the album from getting stale or repetitive. I love the whispered vocals and the harmonies in the slower "The Moonbeam Song" and how it contrasts the following rock-inspired and organ-backed "Down". It's clear Harry takes a lot from the music around him and this album almost feels like a celebration of a lot of the popular music at the time; from RnB to folk to pop. Even tracks that are painfully standard like "Let the Good Times Roll" are still enjoyable to certain degrees. I think it just stands as a testament to how great of a songwriter Harry was. I love the pop-rock epic "Jump into the Fire" which has an incredible groove and is the most ambitious track here; it almost sounds like a Can song near the end.
While I do like this album's eccentricity at times, the song "Coconut" was a low for me. It was fun to listen to at first but I think it overstays its welcome. With that said, I do think it still contributes to this album's overall charm. I loved this record's eclectic nature. It doesn't offer anything particularly new or groundbreaking for the time and I think that's fine; sometimes an album can just have really good songs.
4
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Thu Mar 07 2024
Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
This is another absolute first. It's probably my first bluegrass record period. So when I saw that this thing was around 2 hours in length, I was a bit taken aback but still intrigued. "Grand Ole Opry Song" was a very enjoyable start to this album. I love the little chatter at the beginning of many of these songs. It's quite a funny-sounding song, it almost sounds like the manifestation of the stereotypes surrounding this type of music; with the yelped and twangy vocals and that finger-picked banjo. It's still quite enjoyable, I also enjoy the more mellow acoustic-driven follow-up "Keep On the Sunny Side" featuring Maybelle Carter.
With an album this long, it's difficult to dissect it in its entirety but below I'll jot down some of my other favorite moments.
- I love the instrumental track "Nashville Blues". There's something so relentlessly fiery about the performances here. Earl Scruggs' banjo playing is great here. It also made me realize how cool of an instrument the washboard is. This is probably my favorite song here.
- I love Roy Acuff's deeper and almost slurred vocals on "The Precious Jewel".
- I enjoy the storytelling on the song "The Tennessee Stud". I can't honestly begin to decipher what this story is even about, it seems to be a story about a cunning Tennessee man that's also being likened to a horse or something. No idea but it's certainly standout.
- A song called "The End of the World" having such a bright instrumental is pretty funny but also unsettling.
- After a series of slower tracks, the more upbeat, catchy, and immediate nature of "My Walkin' Shoes" is a nice change-up, nicely closing out the first disc.
- It leads nicely to the first track of the second disc, "Lonesome Fiddle Blues" which is a highly enjoyable guitar and violin-backed instrumental track. "Cannonball Rag" is another short and sweet acoustic cut that sounds familiar, probably because it's a standard in this genre. In general, I liked the series of shorter instrumental cuts here.
- "Honky Tonk Blues" is another one of the more immediate tracks, likely due to its shorter nature and simple yet prominent drum beat.
- I love the main instrumental melody on "Wildwood Flower" at the beginning that gives off a tiny music box feel. This entire song is one of my favorites overall, there's something so hypnotic about the acoustic guitar here. Maybelle's vocals here are so subdued and a much-needed breather nearing the end of this album. I know this song is a cover of another song but it's still a really good cover.
- The mournful title track (which is another cover) is another favorite of mine with the exchange between two vocalists detailing the passing of the protagonist's mother and how it's affected them. I love the mantra on the chorus and they bid their loved one farewell.
- I love the soothing acoustic-driven closing instrumental track, fits nicely after the previous somber track.
Lengthy records like this always give off this monolithic feeling to me and this album is no exception; it feels almost like a classic country epic. Yet, there is nothing conventionally "epic" about it; it's very laid back. It sounds like sizzling outside on an August afternoon, for better or worse, or maybe taking a walk in a smaller village. It certainly evokes a positive feeling in me and takes me to a happier and more simple place. The slew of guest vocalists and players also contributes to this compilation-esque attitude the album adapts. The diverse set of vocalists makes this feel like a collection of short stories, almost like you're taking a peek into the lives of many different men and women. Can't say every song here was incredible or anything and on the surface, a lot of the songs sound very similar. But I think that's fine and this is an album to be enjoyed in its entirety by soaking in all these textured instrumentals, anecdotal lyrics, and shiny twangy vocals. As a whole, it's pretty great but I can also see how some people would 100% despise everything about it.
4
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Fri Mar 08 2024
The Wildest!
Louis Prima
The opening track is quite incredible honestly. It follows a medley structure (given the name) and I love the drum beat and subsequent horns that blare in the second part (of the first part). The harmonizing between Louis and the backing vocals is also very pleasant. I also love Louis' vocals on this track and many others. He has some hilarious tongue-in-cheek passages and isn't afraid to strain his voice in overly performative and playful ways like on "Oh Marie" and the break on the second medley.
This album honestly doesn't even sound all that dated or anything. I mean don't get me wrong, it sounds like a late 50s record, but the dust that is typically associated with these types of records is nowhere to be heard. I can chalk it up to solid remastering with the digital release I used but I still thought it was worth mentioning. The second duet track featuring Keely Smith genuinely sounds great and Keely's vocals shine in the mix. Makes me wish she was featured more in the second half.
There are some interesting instrumental moments here, like the strange breaks on "The Lip"; honestly this entire song is pretty strange and probably one of my favorites. I also really like the tempo switch-up and trumpet solo on "Body and Soul". Overall though, there's nothing standout about the instrumentation, it's nicely done and the solos soar nicely whenever they do appear. The playing is very good, if a bit repetitive.
Side one is really good but it's right after the second medley where this album loses me almost entirely. It just sort of sounds like I'm listening to side one again. This album is relatively short, yet its sonic pallet is very limited which gives it little room for the development of interesting ideas. Not to say it's bad, just sort of uninteresting. I wasn't a fan of "Night Train" as an instrumental when compared to the standard "Body and Soul" for example.
When it comes to these 50s and records that are very much "of the time", their age either irks me or does well enough to draw me into the era in which they were recorded. I'd group this album with the latter with the heavy caveat being that I do wish the second side worked as well for me as the first. Still a pleasant listen though.
3
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Sat Mar 09 2024
Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
Rock rarely sounds this good, I mean it, like RARELY. There's nothing clean about it, it's just an absolute cacophony of varied guitar tones, highly complementary backing players, and dizzyingly abstract and hazy lyrics (that are very much reflective of the time). Calling Hendrix a great guitar player is useless, you can't describe this shit, you just have to listen to it. The thing is I've listened to this before, and maybe I was just an idiot, but I didn't get it. Actually, I can say for a fact I was an idiot. Maybe it was because Jimi Hendrix was hyped up to be such an incredible guitar player that when I heard this (And the equally incredible "Are you Experienced") initially, I didn't get the aficionado, lightning-speed guitar playing my naive ears expected. Instead what I get here is pure electricity, numbing and fuzzy guitar tones that are so sharp and piercing. Distortion and feedback are the name of the game here with chords and sounds that blend seamlessly.
The entire album has this insatiable live energy to it. I can't stress enough how much the dustiness of the rougher recording here works to this album's benefit. The song "Voodoo Chile" is this album's early masterpiece. The organ is so absolutely piercing and the drums pack such a deep punch. The song goes the distance in terms of length. It's like the band is trying to start a fire by solely using the friction between their instruments. It's like throughout its runtime, the fire blazes and then calms and goes out only to be ignited again. It's this up-and-down sequencing that makes this one track such a masterpiece.
While this monster of a track is more than worth a mention, the shorter and more immediate tracks bring all the same fire. "Crosstown Traffic" is insanely hard. I love the syncopated singing and guitar line. At least that's what it sounds like and if that's not the case, then paint me even more impressed. "Little Miss Strange" has one of the most loveable basslines by Noel Redding. It's just worth mentioning that with each one of these "small" tracks, Hendrix's guitar playing takes on a new form. "Long Hot Summer" is laid back to the core and it's these songs that shine a light on the more psychedelic, pot-smoking, sounds of this album. I enjoy the vocal effects on Hendrix's vocals in the latter part of the drug-induced love song "Gypsy Eyes". This is one of my favorite-sounding songs, the strange panning and cutting must've been mind-blowing for the time (and kind of still is). The following "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" manages to sound like a horrifying inebriated fever dream while also sounding utterly serene. I love the chord progression on the organs during the little rifts in sound. The bassline and psychedelic guitar pairing in the middle of "1983..." perfectly capture the feelings of escape that Hendrix yearns for on this track. It also subtly matches the sub-aquatic theme the song hints at. "House Burning Down" is probably the most immediate and catchy song here.
I have to mention "All Along the Watchtower", the Bob Dylan cover that introduced me to Hendrix. I always found the song's apocalyptic depictions of uncertainty to be mesmerizing. I always pictured the two characters here standing on a rampart (or watchtower I guess) of a large castle gazing into the oncoming danger in the distance while bickering about it rather than taking any sort of action. Hendrix does this song more than justice, with an incredible psychedelic passage nearing the end and an explosive finish. It's one of the greatest songs ever.
I can't put into words how much I just adore the sounds of this album. Hendrix's talk-sing vocals complement the noisier moments here. The way his vocals get drowned out on a song like "Voodoo Chile" only makes everything seem more explosive. I think this album's cover perfectly sums up what you get here; a grainy, blurred, skin-peeling fire-red experience that you'll never forget.
5
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Tue Mar 12 2024
Mama Said Knock You Out
LL Cool J
Ah yes, the bucket hat-wearing, hip-hop golden age rapper who I've always revered and respected, but never went out of my way to check out. Can't say I found this album to be standout in any way though. LL Cool J is certainly a talented lyricist, and at the turn of the decade, he managed to capture both the simplistic, clunk of the 80s flows and the complexity of the up-and-coming 90s styles.
The instrumentals are good here generally with most of it being produced by legend Marly Marl. I love the punchier nature of a song like "Eat Em Up L Chill" and this particular song showcases some of L's best rhyme patterns. Can't say I'm too big a fan of this hook though. I honestly really liked "Murdergram" which had an almost throwback sound. It's one of the songs with one of those obvious "80s" flows and the ambient audience noises in the background help nail that raw "in the moment" feel. I like the short transitional moments on "Farmers Blvd". Can't say I was a huge fan of the title track here though, I just found the instrumental far too clunky and L's flow even clunkier. His yelpier style doesn't work for me.
There are some interesting lyrical moments, here like "Cheesy Rat Blues" where L tackles the double-faced nature of his associates in a hypothetical situation where he lost everything. "Milky Cereal" was sorta funny too.
Overall though, yeah this album is too long, and can't say it's entirely interesting front to back. That's not to say it's bad, honestly aside from a few outright irritating moments (I'm looking at you "Jingling Baby" hook), I enjoyed this thing front to end. I just don't think it's doing anything special or distinct, it's just solid early 90s hip-hop.
3
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Wed Mar 13 2024
Deloused in the Comatorium
The Mars Volta
I've never considered myself to be a particularly "over the top" person, but rather a restrictive person who's more content with flying under the radar. So I find it strange that one of my favorite albums ever is probably one of the most "over the top" albums I've ever heard. I mean everything about this The Mars Volta debut is bombastic and overblown; be that the vocals, lyrics, production, length, and even the album's title itself.
The advent of The Mars Volta was preceded by the break-up of the incredible El Paso post-hardcore group At the Drive-In, of which the two core members of The Mars Volta, Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, were a part of. I mean the afro-guys more than stuck out in that band, most evident in the live recordings you can find scattered all across the internet. On one side you've got Omar who's more concerned with hitting his spaghetti leg moves than he is with hitting the right notes. On the other you've got Cedric, forgetting lyrics and jumping off speakers. Must've been hell to play with these guys but holy shit was it fun to watch. While some might hate this, it drew me in and was a gold standard I set for stage presence. It was a relentless live energy only rivaled by previous hardcore and post-hardcore groups like Fugazi.
I say this because the two afro guys would go on to match that exact energy on this massive cinematic debut. I say cinematic because the band has talked at length about how they were more inspired by the movies they would watch rather than the music they would listen to. Maybe that's why their music sounds so unique. They had the fundamentals down from their previous band, but rather than carry over the noisier hardcore noises of ATDI, they moved in a more progressive direction. With Rick Rubin assisting (alongside Omar) on production, the mix is allowed to thrive and flourish with every instrument occupying a space here, allowing a perfect blend with no one instrument overpowering the others. Jon Theodore's drumming is incredible all across this thing, with machine gun rapid-fire passages and fills to match Omar's many incredible riffs, like on the closing minutes of "Drunkship of Lanterns". Isaiah "Ikey" Owens does the incredible keyboard work here, comprising mostly of organs that add so much to every single song.
With an incredible backing set of players, this album was always set up to be something genuinely great, almost pristine, and easily digestible for prog fans generally. At least that's what I would say if it weren't for the biggest, likely negative for many, factor here and that's vocalist and lyricist Cedric. I mean on the surface, the guy lands somewhere between an emo vocalist and a pop-punk vocalist with lyrics that are almost laughably cryptic at times. And I love everything about it. The guy's range in the studio is undoubtedly amazing. It's what makes this band and this album so special to me. The first full track "Inertiatic Esp" absolutely demands the attention of the listener when it first starts, whether it yields a prominently negative reaction or one that's similar to mine which is pure joy, it forces a strong reaction. It's a litmus test for the rest of this album and I attribute that to Cedric's lead vocals.
I've talked a lot abstractly because I genuinely just love every second of this album and can't think of the best way to describe the music here. The full opening track is the band's most notable because of its catchy and memorable chorus, but also its staccato drum and guitar. It also goes the distance in terms of length and goes through a couple of facets and phases. Cedric's vocals truly shine on the following "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)" with some truly incredible moments (like on the bridge). It also has one of the hardest grooves in the opening seconds. "Cicatriz Esp" certainly still has Cedric shining in the beginning, but this is undoubtedly Omar's track with incredible guitar layers in the song's long instrumental mid-section. It plateaus into pure ambiance for a little bit before being bought back for an explosive finale. I say Omar because he handles the guitar and bass directly on this album, but he is also credited with being the musical genius behind and composer of all these tracks. "Televators" is a slower ballad-type track, sounding almost like something that appears on their next album, and is an incredible breather before the band brings it back for a grand finale on "Take The Veil Cerpin Text". This closer has one of the most winner choruses that showcases Cedric's poppier tendencies. Even with saying all that, it's hard to capture how the music sounds in words. It's unlike any other prog album and certainly is one of the most idiosyncratic releases within the genre.
I've neglected to talk about the lyrics here. I find it hard as hell to remember the lyrics to this thing because of Cedric's affinity for the thesaurus. The lyrics are super cryptic and take some looking into. It's a staple in their discography and an acquired taste. This album, just like their follow-up, is highly conceptual. It's based on a short story written by Cedric relating to an overdose sending a man into a coma. After the man wakes up, he takes his own life. The entire story is inspired by the life of Cedric's late friend, Julio Venegas. This is all accompanied by strange and surreal imagery and writing like the doctor with dog hands on "Eritarka". Televators is likely the most obvious eulogy to their late friend, even painting the image of his final moments through the protagonist Cerpin. Honestly, there's a lot to dig into here and whether you take the time to match the lyrics with Cedric's story or not shouldn't matter too much. I don't blame anyone for wanting to just enjoy this album on the surface level but its conceptual nature is always interesting to dive into on subsequent listens.
If there's one word I hate that is so commonly used to describe music it's "pretentious". It's such a dismissive word with an ugly connotation attached to it. It's a way of describing something you don't get or don't want to bother getting while simultaneously bringing down the people who do get it. People may listen to this thing and laugh at just how over the top it is and I'd honestly laugh along. But I hold this album so near and dear to me, it's one of the biggest staples in my life, and these songs and this band will always have a place in my heart. The Mars Volta is a band that understands how "over the top" their sound is and they use it to their advantage. If this is what being pretentious sounds like then I guess I'm a sucker for pretentious music because this thing is just perfect.
5
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Thu Mar 14 2024
The Madcap Laughs
Syd Barrett
My first solo Syd Barrett record. I never really heard any of Pink Floyd's earlier records that featured him before he left. I just know "Wish You Were Here" was in part dedicated to him. I know Syd's mental health issues (rumored to be related to schizophrenia) are often projected onto his works, so this is something I tried to avoid doing when listening to this album.
This album feels like an uneasy 60s or early-70s Beatles-esq pop record if it were recorded in some sort of uncanny alternate dimension. There's just something so off about so many of these songs, be that the strange stuttering instrumentals or the off-key singing. This album is also highly intimate with many of the stripped-back, skeletal, and rudimentary cuts here consisting of nothing but acoustic guitar and Syd's vocals. This folkier style works in the album's favor on a song like "Here I Go" which I like quite a bit, lyrically and melodically. The simplicity of these songs doesn't go over so well on a song like "Love You" which borders parody. The dronier track "No Good Trying" was probably my favorite track here. I wish there were more songs like it. The series of acoustic tracks nearing the end bog the album down generally, although I enjoy the songwriting on certain tracks. "Octopus" has pure imagery-based storytelling relating to a trip to an amusement park. It's a very jovial and partially surreal cut with Syd's all-over-the-place vocal style working in its favour. I also really enjoy "Feel" with a longing sense of loneliness being portrayed in the lyrics.
Overall, I'm relatively indifferent towards this album. There were a few interesting psychedelic moments here, but I can't say I was too fond of Syd's approach to the more folkier tracks. If there's anything I can praise endlessly though, it's Syd's standout personality that's put on full display here. His songwriting, whether simplistic or abstract, was the undeniable highlight.
3
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Fri Mar 15 2024
Sweetheart Of The Rodeo
The Byrds
A pretty solid '60s country rock and folk release. Easily the highlight here is the instrumentation and the gorgeous vocal layering on many of these songs. Immediately, "Hickory Wind" sticks out in this way, with gorgeous harmonized vocals and guitar layering that I enjoy quite a bit. "One Hundred Years from Now" leans in a more pop direction but I also really enjoy this song. I love the closer "Nothing Was Delivered", it sticks out by being the punchiest thing here. I think I just really enjoy how soft everything is here, all the music is so pillowy and soothing, and even the so-called "punchier" tracks are relatively mild and reserved.
Lyrically speaking, themes of love and religion are at the forefront here. I'm generally fine with this, but it doesn't go over so well on a song like "The Christian Life" that's far too blunt for my liking. Not to say the song itself is terrible; I do find it quite catchy. My biggest gripe here is that most of the tracks do tend to blend in with one another, which isn't particularly bad because, again, I do enjoy the harmonization in the vocals and guitars generally. The obvious standout here is the song "Life in Prison", only because this song's subject matter is far more unsettling and eerie when compared to everything else.
Not much to say about this, it's short and sweet, albeit sort of uninteresting and boilerplate at the same time.
3
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Sat Mar 16 2024
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin
Of all the big hard rock bands that came out in the 60s and 70s, Led Zeppelin is one that I've been mildly on the fence about. While I love their 4th installment in the self-titled series, and admittedly I do love many of Page's riffs here, many of the songs on this album end up falling flat for me.
This album is at its best during the punchier moments when the drums, bass, and riffs are driving these thunderous and relentless grooves. The muddiness, grit, loudness in the mix, and sheer stickiness of the riffs have always been what made LZ so iconic to me. The perfect example of this is the entire song "Heartbreaker", which especially during its final minutes, goes disgustingly hard with these noisy layers of guitar crashing against one another in the mix. It's such a great moment. I just wish the rest of the album was this thunderous and powerful. Rather, it's dominated by slower moments that are redundant, and uninteresting. I never understood the purpose nor placement of the percussion-driven interlude on "Whole Lotta Love" for example, it just bogs the song down. I'd say the worst part about the slower moments is that Plant's powerful vocals tend to shine better when he's being complimented by equally powerful instrumentation. This album meanders a lot and I think Plant's vocals, at least here, run a bit dry when he's just waffling. An example of this is in the quieter interlude of "The Lemon Song". I generally don't enjoy LZ's music for Plant's vocals; I even find them quite grating at times like on "Ramble On". Funnily enough, I sort of like "Moby Dick" a lot because it doesn't feature Plant's vocals, even the strange percussion interlude I find moderately charming.
My thoughts on this album aren't all negative. Again when the riffs DO hit (usually at the beginning of most of these tracks), they sound great, rough, and dirty. I think that's what I generally like about these guys' albums. I also like the organ-backed love ballad "Thank You". I generally enjoy it when LZ switches up their songs with lighter acoustic instrumentation in the middle of their harsher albums. I enjoy the serenity of the synth-driven closing minute of this song, both lyrically and instrumentally.
Overall, there are still many great *moments* here, but when looking for songs that I can say I enjoyed from front to back as just songs, I find they're few and far between.
3
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Mon Mar 18 2024
Hejira
Joni Mitchell
I've heard nothing but incredible things about this singer-songwriter legend Joni Mitchell, so I was certainly both intimidated and excited to dive into her catalog for the first time here with one of her "mid-era" albums. And honestly, I got exactly what I expected out of this.
To start, the instrumentation here is incredibly restrained (say for maybe the song "Black Crow"). The instrumentation is very textured and doesn't take any tangible form, it's more of a mix of gorgeous and serene bass, guitar, minimal percussion, and synth. There are hints of folk and country-inspired instrumentation scattered across a few of these songs (like the harmonica hanging in the background on "Furry Sings the Blues", courtesy of Neil Young). I can't overstate how genuinely pleasant and calming the sound of this album is, there's a hint of coldness but that only makes everything else feel like a warm blanket made to shield you from said coldness. The best example of this is "Amelia". I know Mitchell does the guitar herself on this album, and she does an incredible job.
As for Mitchell herself, on first listen, I certainly enjoy her performances as a singer. I love how off-kilter her melodic flow is in the opening "Cayote". Her melodies tend to be all over the place in a good way, but she still often returns to a common motif in many of these songs. As for the lyrics here, on first listen, I find there's a lot to take in. Albums this dense in meaning need many listens but I can still say I enjoyed most of it. Songs like "Blue Motel Room" and "Cayote" take me to particularly dream-like places. Many of the songs here tend to be story-driven in one way or another. Joni seems to be retelling the events that unfolded at certain points in her life vicariously through a character or fictional person or just anecdotally. The songs are loosely tied together through themes of separation and isolation, likely related to Joni's relationships, but I haven't taken the time to dive too deep into her personal life; I mainly took the lyrics at face value.
I do enjoy the second half slightly less than the first, finding a lot of the sounds to get repetitive, but I can attune that to the fact that this is a first listen, and on subsequent listens, I assume I'll enjoy it far more. This was a very pleasant first experience with Joni's music and I'm certainly looking forward to listening to more.
4
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Tue Mar 19 2024
Green River
Creedence Clearwater Revival
This is my first album from this legendary rock group. I was immediately drawn to two things though, this album cover that brings so much joy to me for some reason and the weird genre labeling they get of "Swamp Rock". In a way, those two things perfectly describe this album, even the "swamp" bit...
I automatically just love the sound of this album...like right away. I'm a sucker for this late 60s style that's very blues inspired and dirty with killer, round, and punchy drum beats. There are also some country-rock influences in some of these instrumentals like on the hit song "Bad Moon Rising", an absolute banger. There's a lot of dirt and distortion in the guitars, I love it, especially on the noisy outro on "Commotion" which perfectly matches the song's chaotic subject matter. I say dirty but it's nothing too crazy, I think it's just enough to match CCR's shorter and easy-to-dive into song structures.
John Fogerty perfectly complements these instrumentals vocally by drawing from the worlds of RnB and Blues (especially in the call and response on the closer "The Night Time is the Right Time"). I find the vocals on the song "Tombstone Shadow" to be very ahead of their time, they almost sound like something you'd hear come out of the 90s grunge scene. I love his gritty and guttural style, it doesn't overpower the mix and blends nicely. This entire album is mixed very cleanly. A lot of blues influence but also country influence in the slower song "Wrote a Song for Everyone", my favorite here. The sentiment is very tragic as John seems to address his lack of commitment toward his loved one and over-commitment toward making music.
I do think the final three songs are less memorable than my favorite songs, "Lodi", "Wrote a Song for Everyone" and "Bad Moon Rising", but I won't knock this album for that, those songs are still solid. It's certainly derivative at times, even for the time, but still very enjoyable and a great intro to the band. Everything here is just so easy to enjoy.
4
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Wed Mar 20 2024
Le Tigre
Le Tigre
Having already heard this Le Tigre album, I knew as soon as it popped up that I'd love it. The saddest thing about Le Tigre is that one stupid song they released which was also my introduction to the band. I hate that the 2016-era internet hate bandwagon is what I most commonly associated with this band for a long time (at least back when I had no understanding of this genre or this album's significance). I was an annoying young teenager at the time so of course I fell into it. I guess I'm not helping the association by making this the first thing I mention about this album, but this is about my experience. My first actual listen to this album was under better circumstances. I had finished going through Kathleen Hanna's other releases with her other Riot Grrrl/punk band: Bikini Kills. Honestly, though, I love the Le Tigre self-titled more than anything from that band (and I still really like that band).
After all that rambling though, I can say for a fact that this is one of the most idiosyncratic post-punk albums out there. Largely attributed to the electronic and dance-punk-based production all over this thing, which is incredible. None more notable than the opening "Deceptacon", which almost sounds like an electronic punk club banger. It's far more accessible than anything Hanna has done previously, with a relentlessly catchy doo-wop-inspired chorus. I also really love the droning and hypnotic follow-up "Hot-Topic" with the awesome shout-out bit at the end (something that clearly influenced James Murphy and LCD Soundsystem later on). The bass and drum are killer throughout this thing. A few tracks near the end almost have a hip-hop-esque feel to them instrumentally, especially on the bassy, looped, and sample-driven "Slideshow at Free University".
Maybe the thing I love most about this album, aside from its incredible electro-based production, is its self-aware nature lyrically. I'm not sure why, but compared to many other punk lyricists (In a genre that is already highly self-aware), Kathleen and co-vocalist Johanna come off as more self-aware, sarcastic, and overly blunt, yet still very enjoyable lyricists. I think the best example of this is in "What's Yr Take on Cassavetes?". I love the oddity of the song "Phanta", an almost sci-fi-themed story-driven banger that almost sounds proto-pop-punk. The following love ballad "Eau D'Bedroom Dancing" is utterly gorgeous and an incredible highlight, showing Hanna taking on a more soft-spoken performance. Aside from this slower song, every other song packs an incredible punch. Some of my personal favorites are the electronic groove on "Let's Run" and the organ-driven follow-up "My My Metrocard". This song is one of the more bluntly political songs, condemning then-NY-mayor and notorious piece of shit Rudy Giuliani contrasted with images of freedom within NY.
This is one of the greatest punk albums of the 90s without a doubt. It's one of the best-sounding ones for sure and as for the entertainment factor, it excels in that from front to back. It's just such a fun album to listen to for me, be that the catchy choruses, incredible dance-punk grooves that come off grainy and uneasy, or the subject matter tackled on most of these tracks. Genuinely just incredible and an album any punk fan should check out without a doubt.
5
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Thu Mar 21 2024
Electric Warrior
T. Rex
This is a first for me I don't think I've ever heard T. Rex in general (although the song "Get It On" sounds familiar). This is a glam rock record, a genre that I'm far from well-versed in, but I do think that this album is far lighter than what I expected.
I say lighter because a lot of these songs come off as super quiet, soft, and even one-note at times. All the staples of the genre are here, like the expressive lead vocals, the backing harmonies, and a very recognizable set of melodic patterns, but just minus all the extravagance I'd expect from a genre like this. Maybe that's me projecting my preconceived notions onto this album, but it feels like a lot of the songs are meant to pick up in pace, but simply don't. Nevertheless, I did enjoy a fair bit of this album still. I like the subtle space themes that run across a few of these tracks alongside the varied instrumental palette. I enjoyed the first two tracks quite a bit, and on the slower end, the horn-backed balled "Girl", I enjoyed as well. My favorite song here has to be the intimate and slower "Life's a Gas", the lyrical sentiment here really stuck with me, and the way it was performed was very charming. The more psychedelic instrumentation of this album also really shines on this song.
While not being anything too special, frontman Marc Bolan was still very enjoyable to listen to, but again he's on the more reserved end of the glam vocalist spectrum. It still works and the backing band is genuinely very solid. I find the mixing here slightly weird, everything seems almost bloated, and at times, it drowns out the vocals. It's not that big of a deal though. I also think the album gets a bit repetitive nearing the end, but overall, still dug quite a bit of what was offered here. It's a solid early 70s rock album that I think I'd get more out of on repeat listens. These are just my initial thoughts after all.
3
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Fri Mar 22 2024
#1 Record
Big Star
My first listen to a Big Star album. The album title sorta sums up what this album is to me, every song here sounds like it could've been a number-one hit back in its time, for better or worse.
Like many pop-rock albums around the time, this album sounds pretty derivative to me. There aren't many new ideas or interesting instrumental bits, aside from the hypnotic backing flute instrumentation to the serene "The India Song". With that said, I think there are quite a few solid songs here, as well as a few great ones. I loved "The Ballad of El Goodo", it's such a powerful little ballad that warms my heart. The chorus here is uplifting and the backing harmonization and lead vocals are great. I honestly think lead vocalist Chris Bell sounds way better on these slower and more intimate tracks. Like on Big Star's hit "Thirteen", which is a cute ballad detailing tweenage love. I think his vocals on the opener for example, which are louder and higher pitched, come off as derivative and grating. Songs like "Watch the Sunrise", another one of my favorites, have the band filling up the space with gorgeous sounds that come off as simplistic but wholistic at the same time. I also just really like the singing, harmonies, and writing of these slower songs.
The instrumentation and playing here are generally pretty good, even on the louder songs. I like the blaring sax on the opener "Feel". The entire instrumental, and subtle instrumental switch-up of "In the Street" was very great too. It's one of the better hard tracks here. The acoustic guitar on "Watch the Sunrise" is warm and soft and nicely captures the song's mood.
I did enjoy this album, even though there wasn't much that "wowed" me. It's just solid oldies pop music that sounds like it would pop off in the time in which it was released. Sorta still pops off.
3
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Sat Mar 23 2024
The Chronic
Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre's 1992 album "The Chronic" remains one of the most influential albums in West Coast hip hop, yeah, but it also stands as one of the most ICONIC pieces of music ever. After the break-up of NWA, Dr. Dre moved his sound in a different direction, one that's more laid back in many ways, but also one that's capable of bringing all the heat, pummeling, and relentlessness of albums like "Straight Outta Compton".
But if there's one thing this album has over that one and many other hip-hop albums of the time, is an unrivaled level of absolute ridiculousness. From the intro, we have featured artist and co-rapper Snoop Doggy Dog rambling a diss over this chaotic and messy piece of synth-instrumentation. It's an incredible tone-setter with Snoop changing his vocal inflection in these absurdly over-the-top ways. This entire album comes off as almost a comedy or a satirization of its genre, it's a parody of itself...and it's incredible for it. The very first full track "Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebrating)" is eerily addictive. Maybe it's the blaring synth or the bouncy bassline, or maybe it's the simple, yet smooth flows of both Dr. Dre and Snoop (including a sick back-and-forth at the end). The entire track is a diss at Eazy, homophobic yes, but it's so absurd you can't help but smile at it.
The "west-coast whistle" or "G-synth" or whatever you want to call it is the staple of this album. It makes this album a holistic experience. It captures a cruise through south central LA, in the scorching afternoon heat, and there's a blunt there of course. My favorite synth lines are on "Deez Nuts" and of course "Nuthin but a G Thang". I don't know what it is about this song but it's so addicting, I think it's the synth and bass. I also find it fascinating how simplistic Snoop's opening bars are like "1, 2, 3 and to the 4 Snoop Doggy Dog and Dr. Dre are at your door". Few rappers can pull off such a simple, almost nursery rhyme-type bar, and make it sound this smooth. Snoop's smoother delivery very nicely contrasts Dre's deeper voice all over this album, they're a great duo. "Deez Nuts" is just as ridiculous as it sounds, with a hilarious opener, and one of my favorite moments is that outro by Nate Dogg (RIP). In terms of hilarity, the skit "$20 Sack Pyramid" and the closer "The Roach" (one of two songs that interpolate Funkadelic's Mothership Connection directly) also hit the mark.
I likened this album to a comedy, but the serious and tougher moments also work just as effectively. "Lil' Getto Boy" sounds incredible instrumentally, because it's a much-needed change-up with a gorgeous flute-driven groove. Snoop and Dr. Dre detail what they've experienced and what they continue to witness with the youth in Compton. The most spine-chilling song here must be "The Day The N Took Over". This album was released around the time of the infamous 1992 LA Riots, and this song captures the angry reactions of the community at the time. With clips of reporters dubbed over these incredible layered vocals and the posse cut aspect of it, this entire song perfectly captures the heated and chaotic events that unfolded at the time. The two other posse cuts here are incredible, "Lyrical Gangbang" and my personal favorite "Stranded on Deathrow". The Deathrow label itself had a very eerie (and possibly sketchy) aura surrounding it, but this song, with epic synth leads and incredible verses, never fails to make me go crazy. Bushwick's intro is great and RBX's line "Blinded by the Light it's time to learn braille" is one of my all-time favorite hip-hop lines. The Lady of Rage verse is great too.
I think this album is so iconic that even if you've never heard any songs off it, you've still FELT this album through its influence. It sounds of the time but has also aged tremendously well. Aged well sonically at least, lyrically it stands as questionable today. I don't think it should be taken too seriously but I understand any criticisms leveled against certain lyrical moments here.
This album still sounds grand and sounds like this entire subgenre of Hip-Hop captured in one tightly packed, hilarious, and damn-near flawless experience. Easily one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever.
5
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Sun Mar 24 2024
Amnesiac
Radiohead
I don't have very much to say about this Radiohead album at all. A lot of the material here was recorded alongside their previous, more renowned, and acclaimed album "Kid A", and yeah it sounds like it.
I'll be the first to say I don't find Thom Yorke's vocals on this thing enjoyable. His crooning style I think does better to tie the entire album together than it does to make specific songs stand out. I think this album is a holistic experience and probably Radiohead's most isolated, and almost unsettling album (as far as I remember). The electronic instrumentals return here and work quite well to build atmospheric, bleak, and very damp atmospheres. Sometimes, the experimentation is at the forefront like in the song "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors". On many other songs though, the instrumentation, and music in general, feels stagnant, almost like you're floating aimlessly in a void. It's quite a soothing effect, and this album as a whole is very soothing and comforting. I think some great examples of this are the songs "Pyramid Song" and "You and Whose Army?". When it comes to the guitars, they're hypnotic like on the more direct "Knives Out", one of my personal favorites here. The string synths that appear on the song "Dollars and Cents" also nicely help paint a void-like image. The jazz-inspired closer is probably the most interesting thing here, with highly melodramatic lyrics. It's a grand closer.
So yeah I mean that's all I can say about this. Maybe I'm just not in the mood to enter this album's embrace. While I do enjoy its more daring and electronic-driven moments, I think this is one of their more milder and uninteresting albums, and I just can't jive with Thom's singing here. With that said though, you'd be hard-pressed to find a Radiohead album more pillowy, soft, and spacious.
3
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Mon Mar 25 2024
White Light / White Heat
The Velvet Underground
When it comes to 60s album runs that I deem to be both influential and visceral to this day, I think of the 4 (yes only 4) The Velvet Underground albums first. "White Light/White Heat" stands as easily the most challenging of their albums though, with instrumentals, ideas, and concepts to challenge listeners even to this day. It's easily their most experimental and is one of the best examples of albums commonly deemed "Proto-punk" or "early noise".
God the opening title track. I love the way it sounds, it feels like the band's submerged many fathoms under the Pacific surface the entire time with these muffled instruments. It's like all the instruments blend into one large sub-bassy blob before devolving into utter chaos in the song's final seconds as the track keeps skipping. I think it says a lot about this album when I call it one of this album's most poppy, considering Lou Reed's vocals are about smoking meth. The second track is the most controversial, not because of its subject matter per se, but more because of how utterly self-indulgent it is. In the stereo version, you have this hypnotic, huffing piece of instrumentation that's insanely grainy and unsettling trucking along for 8 minutes in one ear. I love Moe Tucker's drumming on this album, it's so primal and drives these noisy grooves so naturally. Panned on the other ear though, is co-vocalist John Cale reciting a short story. In short, the story is about a dude mailing himself to his girlfriend to surprise her and then getting stabbed when she tries to open the package. It's unsettling and so beautifully complements this song's music.
Grainy, hypnotic, dizzying, and noisy are all perfect adjectives to describe all the sounds on this album. But it all feels unintentional which is the best part, I'm not saying it was unintentional, it just sounds like it. Thousands of artists and musicians have tried to purposefully capture uncanny aesthetics in their music, but the naturally analog and lo-fi feel of this album's recording context plays out naturally and as a result, it amplifies this effect to unrivaled levels. The sub is so fat here it's nuts. "Lady Godiva's Operation" may be the best example of all of this. It may be my favorite song here. Not only is the riff and vocal melody here gorgeous, but the entire story is quite spine-chilling. It's about a lobotomy purposefully gone wrong (speculated to be about a transgender) with all the sound effects and gore included. I know it's probably talked about to death, but I just love Lou's interjections here, they're mixed so loudly and they so harshly clash with John's smooth and soothing singing, I love it. "Here She Comes Now" may be the most easy to digest song here. It's very serene and a nice rest from the utter chaos this album has had you (and will continue to have you) endure. It sounds like something off their debut (or their follow-up to this album). "I Heard Her Call My Name" may be the best example of proto-punk on this album. I love the call and response aspects that make this song sound almost like a garage rock song off a "The Sonics" record. Easily the best thing about this song is THAT DAMN GUITAR, it's so distorted and is composed mostly of feedback and pure noise. It's the type of shit thousands of bands try to emulate but in the mix here, it sounds impeccable. It's so disgusting and ear-shattering, I love it to death.
And then there's "Sister Ray". Right when the groove kicks in, you're taken aback by the fact that it's louder than everything here. There's a subtle organ with the groove initially that only becomes more defined and prominent as the song huffs on. I love those opening seconds with the guitar. The sound, throughout the entire song, is clipping through the mix, it's blurry, it's hazy, it's utterly distorted, and disgusting. And Lou Reed's not even trying to be coherent, vocally or lyrically. He's describing an orgy that gets busted by some police, with a whole slew of colorful characters. And the best thing? This mess trudges on for 17 whole minutes and gets even messier near the end. Any semblance of a coherent groove or direction completely vanishes by the end. My favorite part about it is the synth, it's so blaring and sounds like a cheap and run-down modulated organ. This is noise music at its best, this is experimentation, and it was all done back in 1968, and I find it hard to believe. This is high art, with lyrics like "Too busy sucking on my ding dong", you can't help but gawk at its utter ridiculousness.
I think this is my favorite VU album, but when I relisten to their other ones when they (inevitably) appear here, I might reassess, they're all just so incredible. This one though, is the peak of their experimentation, and I wouldn't hesitate to call it the peak of experimentation of the 60s in general.
5
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Tue Mar 26 2024
Live At The Star Club, Hamburg
Jerry Lee Lewis
I don't know much about Jerry Lee Lewis aside from the fact that he was one of the pioneers of Rock N' Roll and also his terrible marriage controversy. I think the latter almost tainted his image for me, and maybe his legacy, but this album still seems highly praised and talked about so I tried to go into it without that knowledge polluting my judgments.
This is a live album adapting the sounds of classic Rock N Roll in their most rudimentary and classic forms. Rock's often associated with the guitar I'd say, at least for me, but here Jerry offers just as much, if not more viscera on the piano. When matched with the drums and his singing style, the piano playing' lightning-fast and groovy presence is only made more grand. The most standout aspect is Jerry's "boogie woogie" style of playing, it just sounds iconic and takes me back to this time. "Money" may be the best example of this, there's something so raw about the presentation but at the same time, its contents prove to be highly organized and calculated. "Great Balls of Fire", maybe more iconic, is so immediate and sounds like a perfect encapsulation of what this type of rockabilly music should be, with bouncy basslines and hilariously placed piano slides. The vocals are also over the top, in a good way. I also really enjoyed the longer closer "Whole Lotta' Shakin Goin' On" which has a pretty great guitar solo (that's still mixed very quietly under the drums).
For a 1964 live album, this album still sounds incredible as well. The piano and vocals feel like the stars here, but the drums are capable of keeping up with the tremendous pace Jerry plays at. I've seen videos of Jerry live before and have seen just how crazy he is with the piano, using all parts of his body like his feet on the instrument. I don't know if he does that here because it all sounds too organized and well done, but it's the image I had in my head the whole time.
The version of this album I listened to was very short, and because of that, I think it was super easy to enjoy it from front to back. I do think a lot of the parts sound sort of the same, which is inevitable considering the limited nature of this performance's live roster. I don't consider this to be a flaw since it still all sounds really good at the end of the day. I don't like the slower "Your Cheating Heart", but aside from that, I enjoyed my time with this thing. It's one of those oldies records that still packs a punch to this day while still sounding very much of its time.
4
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Wed Mar 27 2024
D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
It's been a while since I've heard Throbbing Gristle's "20 Jazz Funk Greats", but from my recollection, I don't remember it being nearly as mind-altering and proto-industrial and noisy as this album is. Aside from that, I'm familiar with TG member Peter Christopherson's later endeavors with the great post-industrial band Coil but that's about the extent of my knowledge of TG. If I had to say anything about this album, it's that I think the most mind-blowing thing about it is its release date.
I think a lot of the songs on the album blend to form one large directionless void. It's all unsettling, there's not a single earwormy or straightforward track here. The electronic, glitch, distortion effects, and sheer power electronic vibe of this album may not sound so impressive today in the era of post-industrial electronic giants, but it's not hard to pinpoint just how many artists this record could've influenced. When paired with the technological limitations of the time, this album's existence alone is quite a feat and makes it worthy of praise.
As for the individual songs, they're still pretty enjoyable and distinct. Again the drones and walls of noise are all there, most notably on "Hamburger Lady" which has these vocals drenched in bizarre vocal effects paired with these strange piercing and high-pitched shots of noise. "Dead on Arrival" may be one of the most direct tracks here, it has several facets and phases and has an electronic groove that sounds so modern it's uncanny. "Wall of Sound" is probably the most haunting and bone-chilling track here, you can probably infer why purely based on its title. The thing I love about this album is how it's influential yes, but it's not "watered-down influential"; that is, the music it inspired doesn't outshine or overshadow it, and its potency is still prevalent even in retrospect. Too many times with influential albums, you can tell that they're very much "prototypes", that's not the case here. It's not clunk or aged in any way. The more "serene" and less noisy tracks with hazy, detuned blushes of noise like "Weeping" and "Hometime" are just as enjoyable as the noisy songs. Many of these songs are paired with either bizarre singing or interesting and uncanny field recording snippets or tapes that are seemingly random, but also tell a story. The tapes on "E. Coli" are probably the most unsettling, it feels like you're listening in on some forbidden memo about some super-mutant bacteria over these uneasy string-sounding synths. "AB/7A" may be the easiest song on the ears here, with a gorgeous ambient proto-EDM groove driving the entire thing, it's a gorgeous moment on the album.
While not perfect by any means, this album's existence alone I think is worthy of praise. It's not music for everyone and I understand hating every second of this, but for my ears, I think it's a very cohesive and enjoyable electronic experience.
4
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Thu Mar 28 2024
Hms Fable
Shack
I think this album might almost sound too good. I wouldn't say overproduced, just kinda "perfect". Just because it sounds perfect though doesn't mean the music itself is perfect. I've never heard of Shack and just by looking at their repertoire and popularity, I feel most people haven't either. With that said, they certainly sound ahead of their time in a weird way, so I wonder if there's some underlying influence with this album.
This album is definitely on the poppier side of indie rock, it's called Britpop for a reason. I can see why some people may roll their eyes at how cheesy some of these songs are, and many are admittedly cheesy, but for me, I enjoy it. It feels like a consistent sail through indie rock's foundation that would later be tinkered with and built upon in the 2000s. I mean there's not a single bad song here, right? And that has to count for something. I loved the songs "Comedy" and the following "Pull Together". I can't say the instrumentation was all that adventurous across this thing but I liked the slower nature of a song like "Captain's Table" and I enjoyed the theatrical strings on "Natalie's Party". The closer "Daniella" might be my favorite song here instrumentally, I love the mellower and almost haunting acoustic guitar here. The nature themes of the album come to a head in the lyrics, I love their cryptic nature. The entire record is just so peaceful and simple.
I'm shocked by how little I have to say about this thing considering how I enjoyed almost every song. I've always been a sucker for pop, growing up, and even now. Give me a catchy, simple chorus and I'm hooked, and this album is filled to the brim with them. Weirdly, it reminded me a lot of Ween's poppier songs from around this time. I think the second half is weaker than the first but overall, really dug this album.
4
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Fri Mar 29 2024
Private Dancer
Tina Turner
My first time listening to Tina Turner ever. Honestly, when I heard the first track here I rolled my eyes a little. It's about as generic 80s as you can get. I still think It's the weakest song here and is quite an underwhelming intro. I say all this just to say that everything after that, I enjoyed.
I mean yeah instrumentally speaking there's not much interesting going on, and that could've easily made this album unlistenable and just another run-of-mill poorly-aged 80s record. But the thing that makes it all stick out and so enjoyable is Tina herself. She writes some great damn songs, every song here sounds like a hit in its own right. Obviously "What's Love Got to Do with It" is incredible but I also love the guitar-backed "Let's Stay Together", this song doesn't feel like it's 5 minutes long. "Private Dancer" may be the most striking track here. A story of a woman wanting to be hired as a prostitute (or taxi dancer I guess) for a man. I'm not sure what the underlying message is here if there even is one, but I really enjoy its lengthy cinematic presentation and very intimate instrumentation. I like Tina's more fiery performance on "I Can't Stand the Rain", a tragic song about a lost relationship with a killer chorus. "Steel Claw" was very enjoyable too, it has another very catchy chorus as well with some 70s hard rock-sounding influence in the vocals.
"Thriller" by Mike is an album that I never remember for its instrumentation, but its songs. I feel very similar here, there's very little to be impressed by instrumentally speaking but Tina's a very talented, dynamic, and expressive vocalist and she practically carries this album. She has a strained and almost raspy vocal that seems occasionally buried in the mix but still manages to stand out. Her cadence blends the best aspects of both pop-rock and RnB vocal styles. The instrumentals here aren't bad or anything, they work very well with her voice and they're dynamic and varied enough across most of these songs. All-in-all I really enjoyed my time with this thing, it's just banger after banger which is all I can ask for from an album like this. RIP to this absolute talent.
4
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Sat Mar 30 2024
Seventeen Seconds
The Cure
I do enjoy the Cure's later works, especially "Disintegration" but I find that a lot of their earlier works, this album included, pale in comparison. I find that to be true in almost every single way, the instrumentation, the mixes, and especially the vocals here all come off so bleak and one-note, which is *almost* a good thing.
Like many albums in this gothier side of New Wave, when taking this entire album as one holistic experience, I do think it excels at sounding exactly how it needs to sound. The elements here are skeletal, like winter trees without leaves, but each track has one strong melodic element, be that a synth, piano, or guitar, that brings a smidgen of warmth to these generally cold songs. Similar to many The Cure albums, this one feels incredible nocturnal. The songs are long and repetitive, but very subdued and quiet. I love the short desolate and hopeless sound of the piano-driven opener quite a lot. "At Night" nails that somber vibe. I think the basslines and guitar are really strong and groovy on tracks like "Play For Today", it's the kind of Cure vibe I like, it's such a warm song. "A Forest" I feel the same way, but maybe to a lesser extent; the groove and airy synths are just as gorgeous though and I love the guitar on the outro and the ambient intro. I do think the stretch in the middle is where the album's at its weakest and it's where I think the songs blend in with one another a bit too much.
I actually really like Robert Smith as a vocalist, at least I thought I did, he didn't do it for me on this album. He feels less expressive and his vocals are almost washed out here. It works to a certain degree, considering the very cold and lifeless vibe of this album, but there were times when I was hoping for a little more. His presence is almost limited and he just sort of pops in from time to time and leaves unnoticeably. I feel like he does the best on "Seventeen Seconds", the closer, which is probably the best whole song on the album. His part is very short here, similar to most songs, but for some reason the sadness in his voice, and his lyrics sting here more than anything.
As an experience, I think I enjoyed this The Cure album quite a bit, but if anything, it just made me want to listen to some of their later stuff. Still solid.
3
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Sun Mar 31 2024
Dust
Screaming Trees
I wrote a review for this but I guess it got erased oh well (my dumbass prob just forgot to hit save). Maybe it's a sign that I should just get more to the point with these reviews. Here's the summary:
- I was conflicted at first but by the end, I really dug it.
- I was taken aback by the deeper, and smoother vocal delivery paired with the overall generic, but well-done grunge instrumentation. Grew on me though.
- Enjoyed the psychedelic and folkier elements near the back half.
- Best songs are "Witness" and "Sworn and Broken"
- I think this album works best when you're not thinking too hard about it.
Screaming Trees might have a new fan.
4
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Mon Apr 01 2024
All Things Must Pass
George Harrison
Literally The Beatles 2. George Harrison always felt like the under-spoken member of the Beatles to me, but also one of the most artistically ambitious. Oddly enough, I don't think the album's really all that experimental, although it does have its odd moments here and there.
I think my experience with this album was pretty magical; it was pretty late at night and I forgot I had an album to listen to so I put it on only to see that it's a triple album that's over an hour and a half in length. Nevertheless, I listened to this entire thing from front to back in one sitting. I'll say, if it was any other triple album, I might've not been able to do it, I needed something this easy to get through.
While I feel like many albums definitively benefit from their length, I can't say this is one of those albums. There's no long-running theme, progression, or reoccurring motifs to hold this album together. Instead what you get is something sort of scattered, almost like a collection of songs from the same period. I'm saying this sounds sort of compilation-esque. This album is a series of early pop-rock songs with folk, hard-rock, psychedelic, and country drizzled in, and your enjoyment of this album rests entirely on your ratio of "liked" to "not liked" songs.
Luckily for me, I enjoyed a lot of these songs. I mean how could I not, they're so easy to like. There's no use in rambling about them, there's too much to talk about but my favs were "I'd Have You Anytime", "What is Life", "If Not For You", "Run of the Mill", "Awaiting on You All", "All Things Must Pass", and "Hear Me Lord". The playing is soft on most of these tracks, very light, with the sonic space primarily consisting of piano, guitar, drums, and of course, George's vocals. He's a great vocalist. I tend to enjoy the "louder" songs here quite a bit less, they just sound a bit too clunky. The exception is the song "Art of Dying" which has a firey psych guitar line. It's also a song that showcases George's knack of religiously inspired songwriting. Themes on this album range from love, to religion, to political human nature commentaries like the aptly named "Beware of Darkness". There's something so deeply personal about this album, both musically and thematically.
Again, I spent most of my late evening with this, and as repetitive as it seems on the surface, there wasn't a dull moment here. I think that's mainly because as the album goes on, especially near the back half, it feels like the songs get more ambitious and harder to read. I mean when you get to the final instrumental hard-rock-inspired disc "Apple Jam", it feels like the album's evolved completely from what it was when it started. I think that change-up near the end benefited this album a lot, I enjoyed those closing songs quite a bit. I do think the album could've used some sort of ongoing theme to make it a bit more cohesive but taking it for what it is, it was a really well-done triple album.
4
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Wed Apr 03 2024
Lost In The Dream
The War On Drugs
I've been meaning to check out The War on Drugs, specifically this album, considering the fact that this is one of the most renowned indie rock albums of the 2010s.
This is a deeply intimate album, with an infectious melancholic aura that absorbed me on my first listen. It's a soft listen, and the longer songs feel like these hypnotic voids of endless thought, sadness, and yearning. Just listen to the repetitive outro of the song "Disappearing". While not the most interesting vocalist by any means, Granduciel's a great writer, beautifully capturing the gloomier elements of nostalgia on quite a few of these songs.
With that said, I still think I'm conflicted with this album. Having listened to it front to back, it still feels like something's missing. Maybe it's because I feel like all these songs follow a similar sonic pattern, instrumentally they're composed of the same set of airy and gorgeous sounds. The album has a few more "upbeat" tracks, where the drums are driving the song and those tend to be my favorites. I specifically like the songs "Red Eyes", "In Reverse" and "Eyes to the Wind" for that reason, they feel like great standalone indie rock epics. The more meandering, slow-burner tracks, while still enjoyable, I can't see myself revisiting very often. I'd say that applies to most of the final leg of this album except the closer. I think the closer is the best song here, with some clear Bob Dylan influences, the songwriting here showcases a stagnant sense of one's existence in the presence of isolation. It's like the mixture of growing past a lost relationship all the while still grappling with the fact that you're growing past it.
I think while I enjoyed my first listen of this album, especially the start of it, I don't see myself coming back to it very often. The writing and atmosphere here are top-notch, but when it comes to the songs, most of them didn't stick with me. The songs that do land though hit the mark and are near perfect, and I'll be revisiting my favorite songs here for a long time.
3
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Thu Apr 04 2024
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
I was expecting a very solid album here, considering how much I love the song "Fast Cars", and well that's exactly what I get from this self-titled Tracy Chapman debut.
As a vocalist, Tracy's certainly expressive, and honestly it feels like she's been ripped off quite a bit. Not sure why, but it feels like many pop and folk vocalists, especially in the 21st-century wave sorta sound very similar to her. I haven't listened to every 80s album, but from what I've heard, her style seems unique for the time. She has a deeper vocal style but with enough variation to keep it interesting while still remaining relatively subtle.
As a songwriter, Tracy's very direct with her lyricism, it's like she's trying to get her message through to the listener as clearly as possible, with no hiccups or room for misinterpretation. I think this is a good thing honestly and works wonders for this album's themes. Tracy tackles themes of poverty, racism, love, and other forms of injustice. Again it's all very direct, especially on the opener "Talkin' Bout a Revolution" and "Why?". I hate the general idea that good songwriting is almost synonymous with abstract
and symbolic writing, I find the writing here to be very powerful.
The songs themselves are really good too, just as songs. "Fast Car" may be one of the greatest folk songs ever, a tragic tale of yearning for escape and freedom from one's living situation. "For My Lover" is a great depiction of a chase of forbidden love. "Across the Lines" and the acapella "Behind the Wall" tackle the issues of police brutality, with the latter being the most haunting portrayal of it I've heard in a while.
I'd say the biggest thing that holds this album back is its lackluster production on certain songs, I just think it's tacked on and generic when extra instruments are introduced to try and fill up the sonic space. The mostly acoustic-only songs are the best here, painting melancholic images that are soft and comforting. I just think it gets sort of repetitive after a while. I don't mind it too much, after all, it spotlights Tracy's vocals more than anything.
Really enjoyed this album, pretty much just as much as I thought I would.
4
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Fri Apr 05 2024
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
Devo
This is a relisten to this Devo album. I listened to this album back when I was just getting into old-school punk many years ago. I remember not being a fan of it back then but I was wondering if it was because I was still unfamiliar with the genre. Maybe now I'd have a greater appreciation for this landmark release in the post-punk genre. Unfortunately, a lot of my issues with it are still there, albeit to a lesser degree.
The witty title of this album is pretty much what you should expect from this album, it's quite an eccentric post-punk record, maybe one of the most outwardly and shamelessly sarcastic, comedic, and unserious ones. I think that's most evident in the vocals and lyrics. Whether it works or not varies from track to track. A song like "Space Junk", I think I enjoy how outlandish its satirical story is. The song "Mongoloid", although distasteful, I still find somewhat catchy and enjoyable; it might be my favorite here song-wise. I suppose the message is somewhat uplifting, one of overcoming one's physical limitations, it's just delivered in a way that stands as questionable. I do enjoy the synths on this track too. Sometimes the eccentricity of the vocals is outright bothersome though like on "Jocko Homo", "Too Much Paranoias", and the lackluster cover of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".
I generally don't like the synths on this album though, I think they're tacky and clash with the more typical punk instrumentation. A song like "Jocko Homo", a song I genuinely can't stand, is the worst offender. I think a lot of the punk grooves here are less than stellar, they seem watered down and sort of lifeless. The opening "Uncontrollable Urge" has easily the best groove here. The organ-backed "Come Back Jonee" is alright, if a bit generic. The vocals don't help too much on that front either, sometimes they're just too buried in the mix. For as eccentric and out there as they yearn to be, I think they lack a strong presence on this album. I was honestly surprised when I found out Brian Eno produced this album as I typically love his production work (with David Bowie, Talking Heads, and his solo stuff).
There are certainly some great moments here, namely the opening synth build-up and short switch-up of "Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mummy)" and I think the closer's alright, but it's all buried in a sea of unenjoyable disorganization. I'm not opposed to experimentation, I just think on this album it doesn't work for me. Honestly, maybe that's a sign of true experimentation or a truly weird band, so I applaud Devo on that front. I believe this is an acquired taste, one that I have yet to "get" myself.
2
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Sat Apr 06 2024
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Red Hot Chili Peppers
My first RHCP album. I'm somewhat familiar with bassist Flea, and their big song "Californication" but aside from that, I had no idea what to expect. They've always been that incredibly popular band that I've just never gone out of my way to check out.
The opening track was certainly something. Sounds like a sick socially conscious hip-hop track of the time, something akin to Public Enemy or Beastie Boys and the bass line sticks out here (and on most of the album). Here's the thing though, I thought this was a single gimmicky thing, but quite a bit of the album is like this. It's half rap rock, with aspects of funk weaved in and half more traditional alternative rock. And honestly, I kinda liked it.
The alternative cuts are quite enjoyable, especially the gorgeous "Breaking the Girls", which has these nice flutes filling the sound in the background. It's a very varied album, with no distinct style being put on display by any of the members, they just sort of adapt their playing to whatever weird direction the song goes in. "I Could Have Lied" is another pretty good slow ballad-type song. "Under the Bridge" is a pretty famous song by them, funnily enough, I've only ever heard it from a Mos Def song that sarcastically spins it. It was a decent song, but not my favorite of these alternative tracks, I will say the vocals shine, especially in the second half.
I think the album's at its best when the guitar, bass, and drums are driving these powerful funk-rock beats. "The Greeting Song" and "Suck My Kiss" may be the best examples of this, with an incredible guitar solo thrown in on the latter. Flea's slap bass sounds great on a song like "Naked in the Rain". I have mixed thoughts on the long psychedelic penultimate track "Sir Psycho Sexy", on one hand, I enjoy its laid-back vibe but on the other hand, it doesn't justify its length. It was at a point in the album where this formula was already starting to get tired. I honestly like the brief closer quite a bit more.
Anthony Kiedis as a vocalist may be my only point of contention with this album. There are songs where his rap-rock style borders cheesy but is still generally enjoyable. His vocal riffs can range from incredibly catchy like on "Give it Away" to insufferable like on the following title track. He's pretty expressive though and adds a lot of character, fitting snuggly in this album's mix. He's a pretty entertaining lyricist, sometimes it sounds like he's rapping about utter nonsense. I like the strange imagery on "Apache Rose Peacock", one of my favorite songs here.
It does all these weird genre tropes without *really* sounding like it's parodying them. It's all quite cheesy at times but in a mostly enjoyable way. The album's also pretty long and does grow somewhat tiresome near the end, but I think it does a good enough job of maintaining its energy. Wasn't expecting this but it was a fun album with a lot of character.
4
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Sun Apr 07 2024
Let's Get It On
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye has always been, to me, the definition of soul music. The word "soul" as it's attributed to this genre of music is so perfectly captured by this man's voice. Each vocal line, each note hit, and each lyric is delivered with so much weight. "Let's Get It On", just like many of Marvin's albums, stands as an incredible display of this exact thing.
I'd say this is his most intimate album, but like in a hotel room kind of way. A 5-star hotel room that is, one that's glossy, high-class, and shiny. The production here is glistening and sparkling where strings, bass, piano, and synth lines encompass its very moody core. It's like if an album could smell really really good. These songs are incredibly subtle, they seldom build up meaninglessly or explode into bombastic anthems. I think the closing track is the best example of this; it's a very subtle song, showing a lot of restraint. "Distant Lover" I feel very similarly about, it has one of Marvin's most killer falsetto vocal lines in the chorus, and it's beautiful.
"Let's Get It On" is as iconic as soul tracks get but "If I Should Die Tonight" is my undisputed best song on here. I love the brief yet heavy string segments that bookend the song. The vocal layering here is incredible and the set of instruments is so diverse, it is the ultimate RnB song. The writing on this song is utterly gorgeous in its depiction of finding dream-like love. Marvin expresses how lucky he is to have found his one love, to the point where he'd be content if he died at that exact point. Writing on this album is generally incredible. I love the way Marvin depicts the different angles of intimacy, including the more tragic components in the final song "Just To Keep You Satisfied".
Every song on this album exists within a very tightly curated space, so it's hard to talk about these songs separately. Not to say they blend too hard with one another, it's just that this is a holistic album experience more than anything. I'd say the really great songs overshadow maybe some of the less memorable ones. Marvin is an incredible writer as I mentioned, but for certain songs like "You Sure Love the Bell", I find the writing to just be okay. Aside from those few nitpicks, this album's a real out-of-body experience in the most easily enjoyable way possible.
4
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Mon Apr 08 2024
Copper Blue
Sugar
I recently listened to the album "Dust" by Screaming Trees on this 1001 album thing. I had a strange experience with it, it was an album from a band I hadn't heard about ever and when it started, I was convinced it wasn't for me. But over the span of its relatively short runtime, the album grew on me tremendously. I say all that because I feel almost the exact same way about this Sugar album: "Copper Blue"
The first four tracks I'd say sort of mesh together into this fuzzy amalgam of generally very enjoyable alternative cuts. I love the vocals here, they're deep and almost drowned and muffled by the droney nature of the guitars here. It's after these first tracks that the album sort of starts to diversify itself quite a bit.
"Hoover Dam" is the most instrumentally diverse song here, with soaring guitar solos and nice quaint synth solos. There's something so brisk and open about this song's refrain, almost like a fresh of breath air in a large open field. "The Slim" has a very subtle build-up; by the time the track ends, it's evolved into something beyond life. The lyrics are generally abstract but they help contribute to this epic imagery. I like the poppier "If I Can't Change Your Mind" quite a bit too, it sounds very different than anything else here; it's striking in that way.
I will say the final leg of this album is maybe a bit more generic in its sound, and I don't enjoy it as much as the songs that come before it (although I like the catchy closer "Man on the Moon"), but overall really enjoyed my time with this album. Good stuff.
4
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Tue Apr 09 2024
Get Behind Me Satan
The White Stripes
This is my second listen to this album, although I'll admit it's been a while. I've gone through most of "The White Stripes" catalog once before and I'll admit, I was never a fan of them. There are certainly some standout songs like "Fell in Love with a Girl" and "Hotel Yorba" being my favorites, but in general, I was never a fan of the more skeletal alt style that the band pursued.
I mean there are certainly some alright songs on this album, I love the dirty distortion of "Instinct Blues", it sounds like an incredible spin on new-era blues and alternative rock. The guitar playing is great in this song. I do like the more eerie nature of the song "The Nurse" as well. I do think Jack and Meg White are talented and creative musicians, and if there's something I can compliment this album on endlessly, it's the interesting songwriting. Vocally though, aside from a few songs, I was never a fan of Jack's higher-pitched, shacky, and slurred style of singing. At its very worst, it flat-out annoys me.
There are little glimpses of interesting moments in these songs, but as a whole, there's no song here that sticks with me as great. An example is the little transitional keyboard and guitar interlude on "Take, Take, Take", I like it but the rest of the song bores me. Most of the acoustic cuts here, like the following "As Ugly, As I Seem" I find very one note and dry. The more distorted alt cuts are what hold this thing together. I already mentioned "Instinct Blues" but the opener "Blue Orchid" is quite a decent cut. I think "Blue Orchid" is one of the examples where this bands skeletal and simple style works at least somewhat in their favor. "My Doorbell" is fun but grows tiresome after the halfway mark for me.
I think my biggest issue with this thing is it all feels so one-note and hollow, not in a way that benefits the album, but more in a way that yields bland results. It's like the band took a set of rudimentary, yet diverse sounds and sort of molded them together. I can see why some may enjoy it but to me, it all comes off as very inconsistent, messy, and empty. The guitar playing and writing are good enough, but when it comes to enjoying the songs here, I don't find much.
2
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Wed Apr 10 2024
Station To Station
David Bowie
David Bowie is a generational artist, his music is revered by so many and I'd say for good reason, the guy's constantly switching it up and has been ahead of the curve when it comes to revolutionizing all aspects of art rock in the 70s and 80s. I haven't heard all of Bowie's albums but I've always considered "Station to Station" to be my favorite of his.
I genuinely think the opening title track is one of the greatest art rock songs; period. It so perfectly packs everything that makes this album so incredible into a sick 10-minute, multi-faceted epic. That means those deep, crunchy basslines, the tight and punchy drums, the very overt Krautrock influence, and all those fantastic funk rock elements. If I had to pick my favorite part of this song, it'd be the middle part with the little synth melody leading into the verses. I love Bowie's singing voice, especially when he's singing a bit deeper in his register. I know everyone dubs this Bowie's "cocaine phase" album, and this song sheds light on that lyrically at least. It's always painted this image of someone wandering around aimlessly while being lost in a subway station or a large city; it's surreal in that sense.
I do pretty much love most of the rest of this album as well, they all follow suit with the formula laid out by the opener. "Stay" probably has the funkiest closer but I'd still say the big single "Golden Years" is the most overtly funk rock song here, especially in those opening seconds. "Word on a Wing" is probably the most gorgeous track here. A piano-driven ballad with these subtle electric guitar tones hanging in the background. Bowie admitted this song's about cocaine (again) but I love its more blatant love-song guise. It also has one of my favorite vocal performances by him. I think the closing "Wild is the Wind" cover (which I've always considered to be a Nina Simone song) is very tasteful too, I particularly like the softer approach to the instrumentation here. Bowie does this iconic song more than justice.
I like this album, I especially love the fact that it doesn't overstay its welcome coming in at under 40 minutes in length. Each song packs its punch here and carries its weight. Maybe I'm not as much a fan of it (and Bowie in general) as most people but the incredible moments here are just that, incredible.
4
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Thu Apr 11 2024
White Ladder
David Gray
Another first for me, I've never heard of David Gray before this listen. I have to say though, this may be one of the most uneventful listens so far. There were some decent songs here and I was pretty excited after the initial folk and electronic fusion opener "Please Forgive Me". Unfortunately, a lot of the album isn't anywhere near as interesting as that opener, instrumentally at least.
With that said, I still largely enjoyed this album, I just don't think it did anything special for me. The acoustic-driven singer-songwriter songs may not have been my favorite here, but there were some highlights. I enjoyed the song "Nightblindness" quite a lot, it has one of the more intriguing choruses here, which paints a dreadful image of the uncertain future of a diminishing relationship. Oddly enough, I don't think it's a part of the actual tracklisting, but still thought I should mention it. The song "The Year's Love" is a great piano ballad. I'm not sure why, but the vocal performance on this song sounds very much ahead of its time, it feels like something that's been replicated by many poppier singer-songwriters in the 2010s and 2020s. Maybe it's the mildly guttural and raspy vocal performance or the nature of the melody itself. Still really loved it though. My favorite song on this album has to be "Sail Away". It's a more straightforward track structurally speaking, with a piano driving the song here, but it's David's vocal performance that sells this one for me. It's a very strong performance with a killer lead melody.
Not much to say for this one, was pretty easy listening. David Gray's a solid writer and a really good singer, but I think a lot of the songs, especially near the middle, left a lot to be desired as just songs. With that said, I'll admit that this album may very well grow on me in the future, maybe I'll grow to appreciate and understand its more straightforward and subtle approach. I do think there are some incredible songs here.
3
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Fri Apr 12 2024
L'Eau Rouge
The Young Gods
What a strange album. I've never heard of this group so I had very few expectations going into it, I'll say it was certainly an interesting listen.
It's a very weird album. I think I can easily categorize it as industrial, but sonically it jumps around all over the place (which I guess is common within the genre already). The vocals were pretty over the top, raspy, spoken word, and sung all in French. There were moments where he flat-out reminded me of a French Tom Waits (especially on the song "Charlotte" which sounds like "Rain Dogs" era Waits).
It's a cacophonous album and it's filled to the brim with seemingly abrupt switch-ups instrumentally. The opener "La fille de la mort" is the most evident of these, starting with a very light, almost waltz-type sound, before exploding into a sea of chaotic, dissonant strings as a wall of noise. My favorite part of the song is right after that when the strings brighten up and synchronize to form this gorgeous atmospheric melody over these spaced-out drum hits. The vocals are equally as spaced out in this part, I love it. I think this opener is easily the best song here. "Les Enfants" may be the most unsettling song here, especially the weird frantic string section with the simple drum pattern closing the track out. It sounded like something that would soundtrack a very old monster flick. I love the noiser layering on the closing parts of "L'Amourir", it's probably the most overtly industrial-punk moment on this album.
I think that's really what I mainly got out of this album; quite a few of these songs have some standout moments that are noisy, crushing, and enjoyable to that degree, but only when looking at them in isolation. As an album though, I only got mild enjoyment out of it and don't see myself revisiting it very often. This was more of a one-and-done "wow" type deal. One thing I can say is that it's surely ahead of its time in many ways and I can see how it could've been influential in the more direct and in-your-face facets of the industrial-punk scene.
3
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Sat Apr 13 2024
Tidal
Fiona Apple
Despite having technically "heard" this album before, I never truly listened to it. I can say that for certain because I sort of dismissed it initially. On this re-listen though, I was utterly blown away. Fiona Apple has always been an artist who sort of intimidated me, maybe it's because I started with her contemporary releases that were more puzzling and difficult to digest for me back when I heard them, lyrically and instrumentally."Tidal", to me, is the perfect blend of enjoyability, depth, and personality that I was hoping from an artist like Fiona Apple.
I'll start by tackling this album instrumentally. Although a majority of these tracks have strong piano-driven instrumentals, the rest of the sounds that fill the remainder of the sonic space here help diversify this album. I love the strings on the song "Never Is a Promise", adding a baroque twist to this song; it's the most gorgeous track here. The heavy drum and bassy intro to "Criminal" makes it sound almost like a trip-hop track. The album can be divided into two categories, you have the warmer and softer songs and ones that are more crunchy, visceral, and driving. The direction the music takes tends to match the lyrical angle tackled by Fiona in the particular song as well. For example, the tragic, slow, and almost lost depiction of the song "Sullen Girl" nicely matches the very vast, almost larger-than-life, and elegant instrumental direction the song goes in.
A lot of the songs on this album are more than easy to enjoy. Fiona draws from the many areas of the vast world of popular music when composing these songs, resulting in something very eclectic. But that's not to say the songs are watered down in any way; there's something wholly unique about the spin Fiona and her producers put on these songs.
Fiona's a subtle singer, I think that's obvious, but her range is evident and never overpowers the rest of the music and is never buried in the mix here. I enjoy her voice here. Lyrically speaking, this album tackles many different themes relating to Fiona's personal experiences with intimacy and self-growth. Fiona's wariness when entering a new relationship is tackled in a song like "Shadowboxer" while her desire to grow past a stifling relationship is put on display in a song like "Sleep to Dream". "The Child is Gone" may be the most tragic song here, depicting a loss of innocence which very much parallels Fiona's personal experience.
I don't think I've fully digested this album after one listen but everything about it comes off very personally driven and I'd attribute that primarily to Fiona's writing. This album has everything, the more directly enjoyable tracks on the front of the album, and the mellower, gorgeous, and melancholic tracks that slowly send it off. There seems to be a subtle progression with this album's lyrical themes, and by extension, its sonic depiction of those themes. It seems to be one of personal growth and acceptance, relating to herself and her relationships with others. Maybe my interpretation of these themes is shallow upon first listen, but I think that's the general idea here. This is such a well-rounded and meaningful album that I'm super glad I re-visited.
5
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Sun Apr 14 2024
The New Tango
Astor Piazzolla
This is my first foray into Tango, let alone "New Tango" that this album is dubbed as, both in the title and with its genre label. I guess "New Tango" sorta emphasizes the jazz fusion aspects of the genre. Bandoneon player and composer Astor Piazzolla seems to be a prominent (if not the most prominent) figure in this genre from what I've read. He's joined here by Gary Burton, the vibraphone player alongside Fernando Suárez Paz on violin. There's also a slew of other players on bass and piano; there is a very diverse set of instruments and players here.
Bass and drum aside, these tracks are entirely composed of piano, violin, vibraphone, and bandoneon and the best part of it is that there's no real instrument that sticks out, it's almost like a large time-share between all the instruments. I know this is typical in jazz but this effect was only amplified here because each instrument gives off such a unique vibe. Astor's bandneon for example gives off an unsettling, looming aura, while the violin portrays something epic, clean, and elegant. Sometimes one instrument is at the forefront for a certain period, and other times, a bunch of instruments are blending in with one another. The vibraphone is the most consistently present here, being layered on top of a lot of "solos" here. I love how most tracks follow this sort of wave pattern, reaching peaks and troughs in pace and energy. While the speedier moments, especially when the violins come in, paint a more classical, baroque-era image, the slower segments of this album feel mysterious as if something's lurking or building up. I love the way the pace picks up near the middle of the song "Milonga Is Coming" and how it slowly fades into ambiance near the end, it's very subtle. I have to mention the fact that this is a live recording; aside from the clapping, it's difficult to tell. It's all recorded so well but still, the typical live energy is certainly there.
After the slow, almost improvisational vibraphone-exclusive opening, I love the way the violin, piano, and bandoneon drive the second half of the song "Vibraphoneissimo". The titular track may be the most visceral song here. I'd attribute that to the violin primarily, but the way the instruments take turns stating their presence while also blending seamlessly with one another was incredible. I like the screeching violin noise that crops up occasionally as almost a transition to the next part of the song. This is an incredible song. "Laura's Dream" sounds like its title, it's a dreamlike, very slow, and long track, that I admittedly didn't find very interesting when listening to it actively, but it had a strange, lulling effect on me which I assume was at least somewhat intentional. "Operation Tango" may be the most cinematic-sounding song when considering the song name and the lead violin melody; it almost feels like the climax of the album.
Maybe as the album grew on, I started to grow tired of the limited instrumental palette and formula established on this live recording, but it never really became sour or unenjoyable. I think it speaks volumes to the amazing musicianship of all those involved in this when I say that this thing kept twisting, turning, and fighting until the very end. Even though I may not revisit this one super often, it was certainly a great experience and an even better introduction to this style of music.
4
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Mon Apr 15 2024
Master Of Puppets
Metallica
Metallica as a band has always been sort of foreign to me. I'd say I'm a casual metal fan, I've heard my fair share of albums in the genre and its many subgenres (especially the "essential" listens), but oddly enough, I've never tuned into this album specifically. I listened to Metallica's previous album "Ride the Lightning" and enjoyed it quite a bit, especially "Fade to Black" which I listen to very often still. I can't say I remember much about that album, but after my initial listen to "Master of Puppets", it feels like just an extension of the sounds on that album.
The riffs are incredible here, as you'd expect, it's Metallica. The opening distorted and muffled guitar tone on "Master of Puppets" stands as iconic and utterly mesmerizing. I love the stuttering nature of this song, it sounds like it never finds its footing and is always ready to break at any moment like in the strange, yet ethereal break in the middle. I do tend to love these gorgeous, atmospheric moments in metal music, they always sound so colossal, ethereal, and mystical. "Welcome Home" does this, it sounds very tranquil near the start before the drums slowly start to get louder and it transforms into its true headbanging form. It still retains that ethereal foundation throughout its entire duration, but just layers on top of it to the point where it feels like you're listening to two completely different songs on top of one another. The instrumental "Orion" was another highlight, I especially love the part near the halfway mark with the prominent bassline and the fuzzy guitar layering, this might be the most progressive-sounding song here. It's also just very melodic.
This album has heavy rhythm guitar riffs and machine-gun, rapid drumming for days, to the point where there's no point in me talking about them, they speak for themselves. The real hooks here are whenever Kirk Hammet comes in with one of his many eclectic shredding solos. They're flurries of unadulterated energy that never overstay their welcome or stray from the narrow path they carve out for themselves sonically. Guitar solos like this are usually the highlights of metal albums for me and this album is no exception. They're rapid, firey, and sharp, and send a rush of joy through me each time they crop up. My favorite has to be on "Disposable Heroes".
While I do like this album, I do have a few problems in general. While this doesn't apply to all the songs, I'd say there's a general lack of substance when looking at some of these songs holistically. The parts themselves are very well done, but the sum of those parts comes off blander than what the components make it out to be. I'd say the main reason for my feeling this way is James Hetfield's vocals. They're super one-note here and, at their worst, completely rigid and skeletal. He's not a bad vocalist, and I wouldn't say he takes away from any of the songs, but he certainly does little to add to (most) them. Vocally that is, lyrically his depictions of torture, control, and dark religious themes are interesting to listen to, although I'll admit I didn't pay them too much attention this listen. The title track is an exception because of its hooky nature and also because I like the way Hetfield depicts addiction and submission to drugs.
With all that said, I'd be lying to myself if I said I didn't enjoy this. In fact, I knew I was going to enjoy it no matter what when I got into it. While not mind-blowing, this album still feels like that low-hanging fruit that's super easy to grasp and equally as easy to enjoy.
4
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Tue Apr 16 2024
Catch A Fire
Bob Marley & The Wailers
This was a very sweet listen. I feel ashamed to say that I've never tapped into the albums of legendary Reggae artist Bob Marley. He was given the unfortunate fate of being stuck in my endless backlog. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've dived into Reggae too heavily in general.
I've certainly heard Reggae before, and this album fits the exact image I had of the genre in my head. Most of these tracks contain pretty "generic" Raggae-type grooves with thick basslines, a slow and varied set of stuttering drums, and skank guitar strumming. It's really what's on top of those pieces that sort of "fill in the blanks" and adds a discernable texture to these songs. I love the electric guitar on the song "Baby We've Got a Date" for instance, it's psychedelic-esque and ends the track off beautifully; it feels like sailing into a sunset. I love the synth closing up the following "Stir it Up". The clav and organ add a subtle dramatic edge to the song "No More Trouble", one of my favorites here. The common theme between all these instruments is how easy-going they are. They're textured, wide, and filling. I sort of dismissively mentioned the other instruments earlier but that wasn't my intention; the backing band does exactly what it needs to do. The bass is incredible, comprising entirely of the lower end, it sounds so clean in the mix and is incredibly melodic. It's what drives the heart of all these songs. I also enjoy those little drum fills which are, again, a pretty common Reggae staple.
Marley himself is an incredible vocalist. He's a powerful but lowkey singer, saying so much with a relatively restrained and held-back style. He's also accompanied by backing vocalists on quite a few of these songs that help fill the large gaps left by the sparse instruments. This album is dubbed "Roots Reggae" due to its focus on political messaging. I'd say that's surely the case on the first few tracks, especially on "400 Years", one of the many songs referencing Marley's Rastafarian alignments. I interpret "No More Trouble" as a yearning for something simple, or a return to form and a call for passiveness. With that said, a few of these songs take on topics of love and playful intimacy, like "Stir it Up" and "Kinky Reggae".
I think more than anything, I love how chill this album is. Maybe that sounds stereotypical and shallow, but there's something so satisfying about the way the instruments groove so patiently and calmly. It feels like a breath of fresh air.
4
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Wed Apr 17 2024
I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail
Buck Owens
I've heard of Buck Owens and was relatively excited to check him out, but I have to admit I got very little out of this album. I'll still say it's somewhat enjoyable but it certainly doesn't benefit from its simplicity. Everything about this album is simple and boilerplate; the lyrics, the themes of the lyrics, the singing, and especially the backing instrumentation.
There are some alright moments here, like the title track and I like the sparkling guitar that opens up "Let the Sad Times Roll". The deeper vocal delivery on "Streets of Laredo" was something as well. When it comes down to it though, I was bored and was in a perpetual state of "waiting for something to happen". It didn't even have that effect older albums typically do where they shoot me back to their time. I will compliment it by saying that emits this very somber, longing, yet simultaneously minimal and monotonous "satisfaction with what's here" kind of vibe. It's the reason why I found this album, as a whole, to still be decent listening.
I'm sure its significance is there in the honky tonk genre; it's just a significance I wasn't capable of appreciating due to how drab it all felt. Again though, I didn't flat-out hate it.
2
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Thu Apr 25 2024
Hysteria
Def Leppard
I'll be honest, I wasn't too keen on listening to Def Leppard primarily because I had this image in my head of an 80s glam rock band that made irritatingly antiquated and streamlined hard rock music. And, in a way, I was right, but the album won me over purely based on its more ambitious and interesting execution of that cheesier hair metal sound.
With longer songs here, Def Leppard is capable of fleshing out the mood of each one of these songs quite well, establishing unique sounds, riffs, patterns, and ideas that, even if you don't like them at the beginning, will force themselves into your head by the end. I can't recall the number of times a song started up and I was like "This one's not for me" and then by the time it got to the end, I was banging my head along to the chorus. The choruses are typically the highlights, with anthemic explosions of sheer catchiness not unlike many songs by Iron Maiden for example. My favorite choruses had to be "Women", "Rocket" (probably my favorite), and "Pour Some Sugar on Me". Instrumentally, the songs range from psychedelic to balladesque, to more typical throwback 70s hard rock-type sounds. I'll say the latter approach comes off as my least favorite, especially when those group, yelpy, chorus vocals come in; those genuinely sound terrible to me. I think the worst offender is "Excitable".
Lyrically, there's not much to digest here. Not to say the lyrics aren't substantive, it's just that they take a back seat when compared to the rest of this album's parts. The song "Gods of War" stood out as the overtly political and anti-war song here, even stitching in a Reagen sample near the end. Aside from that, blood-pumping and magnetic themes of love are what you'll expect across most of these songs.
I enjoy the songs near the beginning way more. As the album went on, I just found a lot of the vocal lines tended to bog the songs down. I will say, the first few songs won me over like nothing else. I even loved the slow ballad "Love Bites" which is such an unexpected left turn from the previous songs. Despite its many blaring flaws, there's still a charm to this album that I can't deny, so I still really enjoyed my time with it.
4
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Fri Apr 26 2024
Something Else By The Kinks
The Kinks
Because I've only ever heard "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks before (a song that I'm admittedly not a big fan of), I was expecting something sort of hard rocky out of this album. Boy, how wrong I was.
There's an undeniable charm to the simplicity of both the lyrics and instrumentals here, something common among pop-rock groups in the 60s; it reminded me a lot of earlier Beatles records. My enjoyability here varied from song to song, I'll start with the ones I really liked. Early on, I love the song "Death of a Clown" with this almost surreal backing vocal melody over Ray's metaphorical depictions of the soul-sucking aspects of show business, likening it to the shallow one-trick routines of a clown. The following "Two Sisters" might be the most striking song here, I wish more songs sounded like it. For one, I like the hypnotic harpsichord paired with one of the most haunting vocal melodies on the album. I'd say it's unsettling if it weren't for the wholesome message here; a story of two sisters (paralleling Dave and Ray's brother dynamic) learning to be content with themselves and their differences. I also really liked the song "Situation Vacant". Over a more straightforward rock groove, this song tells the story of a man handicapping himself to keep his mother-in-law satisfied, digging himself into a deep, irredeemable hole after a divorce by the end. I love the fact that this otherwise depressing song sounds super cheerful.
Quite a few songs near the beginning are quite enjoyable, like "Harry Rag" and "Tin Foil Man". It's really in the second half where this album begins to lose me. I found the more straightforward production on a song like "End of the Season" for example to be very drab. For how short it is, I do feel like this album's ideas and variance is limited. Not to say the songs are bad, it's just that I won't be revisiting the more conventional pop-rock songs in the second half of this album. The very obvious exception to this is "Waterloo Sunset", a serene closer and maybe one of the best 60s pop-rock songs I've ever heard.
I'm eager to check out more The Kinks records because I'm sure they still have a lot more of these infectious and ambition-sounding songs in their catalog. And while I do enjoy the psychedelic edge and insightful lyrics here, I can't say everything I heard on this album blew me away.
3
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Sat Apr 27 2024
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
A Tribe Called Quest
As a ginormous ATCQ fan, I've always, regrettably, dismissed their debut album. But I was always aware of its undeniable influence in the Jazz rap genre, ironing out many of the cluttered and eclectic jazz-sampling styles of late 80s groups like De La Soul. If I recall, I always found this album too long and repetitive, and I couldn't enjoy the more simplistic rhyming when compared to their two impeccable follow-ups "Low-End Theory" and "Midnight Marauders". With that said, I've scarcely revisited this one recently aside from a few songs, so I was super excited to dig in again.
I used to listen to this album a lot back in school during my 7 AM commutes to campus, and it always had this sleepy and hypnotizing effect on me, especially during those bleak mornings. I used to listen to ATCQ a lot back then. I feel like everything I initially didn't like about this album miraculously turned into the reasons I now love it. It's very well produced, and the cleanliness of the jazz beats here was a feat at the time. They're fuzzy and crackly, but undeniably cohesive, driving, and heavy. Their repetitiveness, and repetitiveness in hip-hop in general, is an acquired taste. It becomes less about looking for something new within each song, and more about letting already-established grooves and rhythms latch onto you. This album does that very well.
I love the triumphant horns on "Luck of Lucien". "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo" is one of the most fun beats to listen to here because of that driving drum beat that's filled with so much character. "Bonita Applebum" has a dirty guitar sample interjecting a more typical jazz groove resulting in an almost dissonant effect that still manages to work very well. I love the ethereal opening to "Rhythm" and the looped vocal sample across "Mr. Muhammad" sounds ahead of its time in a weird way, almost EDM-esque as well. I love the fat, bassy groove of "Go Ahead in Rain"
So yeah, the beats are great. But another thing that made me apathetic towards this album was its rapping. For one, Q-tip is very much at the forefront. He's an incredibly smooth MC, but Phife's yelpy, loud, and comedic rapping was something I always loved in these tribe albums. He is on quite a few songs here, but most of the songs here are purely Q-tip songs. The rapping here is fun, easy-going, and (for the most part) wholesome. With the exception of a song like "Pubic Enemy", a deconstruction of the prevailing spread of STDs, many of these songs are admittedly meandering. Simple punch lines and simpler premises are what you get here. "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo" is an aimless story of Q forgetting his wallet in a pub, yet it's still fun to listen to every time. "Ham N' Eggs" promotes healthy eating and "Bonita Applebum" is a nice little love song. This wholesome and easy-to-digest style of writing is very love-or-hate and your enjoyment of it can vary based on your current mood. Aside from Phife and Q, you have Jarobi doing the little interludes and Ali Shaheed Muhammad on DJ duty. Despite being more in the "background" upon initial listening, their presence is still very much felt.
I have to mention the song "Can I Kick It" as a whole because it's largely important to me. I love the bass loop that this beat primarily consists of, it's so warm and welcoming. I know it's sampled from a Lou Reed song, but to me, the bass works wonders over Q-tip and Phife's rapping here. It's a song that promotes a steady loosening of impeding stressors and worries through a love for music. I don't find it hard to call this one of the greatest rap songs of all time.
I don't think it's a surprise that I liked this way more than I remember from years back, I almost knew that would be the case. Tribe still stand as one of the most important groups to me in my early music discovery journey. While I do think this record is a tad bit bloated, it still contains that soul, emotion, wholesomeness, and life that I yearn for in jazz-rap records.
4
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Sun Apr 28 2024
Imperial Bedroom
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Elvis Costella is another artist that I've been meaning to check out for a while after hearing that he brings out the more artsy elements of New Wave. In a lot of ways, it sounds sort of like an Eno production, with these very colorful flourishes of organ, piano, and bass with a lot of baroque influence, especially on a song like "You Little Fool". The instrumentation paints something sort of abstract, similar to the vocals, it all feels very sporadic and linear in its progression. I love the string and horn combination on the closer track "Town Cryer".
Lyrically speaking, Elvis delves into themes of love throughout this album in interesting ways, especially on a song like "Pidgin English". I found the song "Human Hands" to be an almost comedic spin on this album's themes. I can give Elvis a lot of credit on the songwriting front, but his dynamic vocal style doesn't work for me, especially in the middle part of this album. I'm not sure why though, he's not a bad singer, just very derivative to an almost parodical degree. I'm not a fan of the general direction a lot of the vocal melodies go in here either. There are some exceptions like "Human Hands", "Little Fool", "Man Out of Time" and "Shabby Doll", some of my favorite songs here and great new wave songs in general.
In the end, while I found this to be a very pleasant listen, I felt like it was held back but relatively uninteresting song structures. All the pieces needed to make this a great album are there, it's just that they don't come together in a way that works for me specifically. For new-wave though, I admire its ambitious nature and cross-genre sensibilities.
3
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Mon Apr 29 2024
Shake Your Money Maker
The Black Crowes
This was an alright album but definitely not one that I'll revisit. I was sort of surprised that this album was released in 1990 as it's drenched in many of the hard-rock tropes that were seen in the late 70s, some that I'm not really a fan of. The playing is good, yeah, but it didn't stop most songs from boring me due to how boilerplate and unmemorable they feel. I know this is only a first-listen thing, but the flows of these songs just sound so mundane and run-of-the-mill. Ironically enough, the slower jams like "Jealous Again" and especially "Seeing Things" were my favorites here. The latter of which is an organ-driven and heart-wrenching ballad with some of the better writing. "She Talks to Angels" is another slower track about a heroin-addicted girl and one of the more insightful tracks here. I think lead vocalist and writer Chris Robinson's ability to paint a sympathetic image of the protagonist here goes over very well. This is my favorite song here.
The tracks that grooved harder had some powerful and noisy moments (like the short solos on "Struttin' Blues") but as entire songs, none worked for me. Doesn't help that I'm not a fan of the vocals on these types of songs to being with. They're certainly a talented band and I almost feel bad acting so dismissive after just one listen, but this sound is just not for me.
2