pretty upbeat album, heavy disco influence, not my personal favourite era?style of Brazilian music
He is talented and the album started off promising, Benny and the Jets is a cool tune, but I found myself getting quickly bored and by the time Jamaican Jerk-off (very corny reggae pastiche, super cringe tbh) came on I was pretty much done caring. The songs are all well produced but overwrought, overindulgent, overstuffed and
melodramatic and too long. "All the girls love Alice" is a promising boogie rock number but at 5+ minutes it ends up dragging. Overall I was unmoved.
Enjoyed this way more than i thought i would. Always just wrote off Van Halen as a boring classic rock radio band with a few hits that i heard a million times but actually sitting down and listening to this album has changed my opinion completely. This record hauls ass from front to back. It is fun and creative and entertaining as all hell. Even the hit tunes i had heard a million times on the radio sounded more interesting when i actually sat down to listen to them. The guitar playing is unreal. I was ignorant to Eddie Van Halen's style but i am now enamoured. I will definitely be doing a deep dive on Van Halen.
Besides the album opener "blue suede shoes" i wasnt familiar with any of these songs. The band is super tight and the production is sparse, which is cool in that old school rockabilly way. Elvis does some funny stuff with his voice on "one sided love affair" and "just because". Not sure if its meant to be comical but i laughed. In fact, much of this album came off as a little silly. I can appreciate the importance of this album and it's impact on popular music but the songs sound a little unserious and superficial. It doesnt have the emotional depth of later Elvis which I much prefer. That being said, i still liked it, but in a more acedemic, historical artifact kind of way, rather than a visceral and emotional kind of way.
Reading the wiki article about this album definitely provided necessary context to this extremely popular album of cover tunes. Especially when you learn that the record company was reluctant to release this album as it was a complete departure from Nelson's previous work. It wasnt what i was expecting, it was so much more.
When the album started playing i was quickly taken aback, it was not what i was expecting. I associated Willie Nelson with an outlaw country sound but this collection of soft and soulful covers of american standards is anything but. The production by Booker T. Jones is simple and elegant, allowing Willie's voice to shine. The musicianship is perfectly restrained with no virtuosic shows of talent but rather perfectly placed flourishes and cadences. The rhythm secrion is heavy on the downbeat, which gives these songs an exciting propulsion even though they are all performed at relatively slow tempos.
Willie's interpretations sound vital and necessary, he gives new life to these old songs, with a subtleness and ease few artists could achieve. His vocal delivery is understated, unhurried and unconcerned while at the same time engaging, arresting and immediate. Totally surprised by how much i enjoyed this.
I gave it an honest go but this album did nothing for me. All the songs sound samey samey, there is no forward momentum they all just sort of carry on in a really boring way. Her voice didn't strike me as anything special. The lyrics are all pretty standard sad romance cliches. I thought Norah Jones was supposed to be jazz. This sounds like
jazz for people who don't like jazz. Not for me.
After the first song I thought this would be a slog but the album really grew on me as it progressed. The middle bit is really strong with some excellent psychedelic jam out moments and the one two punch of black hole sun and spoon man. None of the other songs really stood out to me but I still enjoyed them. At 70 minutes the album is a bit of a slog. Would have been more enjoyable at 45 minutes. Overall, I liked it better than I was expecting. I probably won't listen to the album again but I'm glad I sat down and gave it a chance.
Really, not my jam but also, not bad, like i can appreciate why people like it. Better than other pop vocal artists but not as raw or authentic as Amy Winehouse.
I had never hear dthis before and i can confidently say now that this album goes hard. And when i say hard i mean this album is unrelenting in it's funkyness. I was enthralled for the entire duration. Will listen to this on repeat for a week.
Can appreciate the importance of this record but it really sounds dated in 2024. Sad how the lyrical themes remain entirely relevant.
Listened to the whole thing. Voice reminds me of Bob Dylan. Some good guitar playing, pretty restrained tho, would have liked if the band dug in a little harder and pushed the songs to more unexpected places.
If I were single and I had managed to bring someone home with me after a night on the town, and it was 1996, and I happened to have this LP I would totally put it on, or if I was the dj at a trendy upscale cocktail
lounge in a major metro city I would pepper my IHEART90s Playlist with
some of these mid tempo easy listening r&b tunes. Otherwise, meh.
Is this satire? I don't get it.
An amazing talent taken too soon. His joy and energy radiate from this album. Listening to this will transport you to another time. I love that you can really hear the audience. Not necessarily my favorite Sam Cooke versions of these songs, but an incredible live record nonetheless.
Cheeky little album. Enjoyed the instrumental bits. Easy listen while I cooked dinner.
This album has some of my all time favorite tunes. Nico's voice is incredibly powerful. The songwriting is perfect. Ill be your mirror was my wedding song. Would give it 6 stars if I could.
I like some Krautrock but this is a pretty uneven record imo. Some good ideas, some cool production for the time. A little too disjointed and "jazzy" for my taste. Sounds often like some mediocre musicians just noodling around having fun in a basement.
Genius level stuff, lyrically and musically. Genre defining.
This came out when I was twenty. It was overhyped then, it remains overhyped now. Just a bunch of maudlin, navel gazing, fluff. Nothing interesting musically. Lyrically equivalent of a suburban teenagers diary, which, I guess is the point, but it does nothing for me. Cliché after tired cliché.
Super fun record. So many cool samples. Production absolutely slaps on a decent stereo with subwoofers. A few tracks I'd throw on at a party but tbh probs won't listen again front to back any time soon.
A bit too experimental for my tastes. Not too much hooky or catchy. Boring.
Divorced dad blooz 1-3-5 pretty boring tbh. Waaaaay too long.
Unlistenable. Hated it. I dont get the appeal at all. Did nothing for me. Couldn't make it to the end of the second track. Comes off.as inauthetic and performative.
Didn't love it. Was familiar with the hits but nothing else jumped out at me. Guitar riffs started to feel repetitive. Paradise City Def the standout track.
Didn't really move me one way or the other. Pleasant music for the background of a vegan café or something.
I used to not like jazz. I still don't, but i used to too. I can appreciate the artistry and the talent. There were a few nice moments on here, the musicians are great for sure, and the murmurs of the audience make the recording feel present and intimate but im not really moved by this style of jazz. My rating reflects my appreciation of the music but also my lukewarm enthusiasm for it.
Masterpiece. Genre defining.
So.good. very warm, charismatic music. Great vibes, cool songs.
Already am a bug fan of Nick Cave. Listening to this album again reaffirms that he is a generational artist carving his own niche in the music world where he is free to express himself unapologetically. The depth of feeling on this album, the longing, the romance, the sadness, word can't describe. Masterpiece.
Micheal Stipe's voice is challenging to listen to but you can tell he is really giving it his all, so, goo for him, I guess. Didn't really frab me from the start and then they brought out the mandolin and I was done. Gives a sort of, idk, we think we are very smart kind of vibe. Pretty much the whitest album I've listened to so far and there habe been some pretty white albums. And I am white, so....
Not much to get excited about here. This album gives 50cents in the thrift store bin with the nana muskourri and a torn outersleeve energy. Pretty generic samba pop elevator music. I know verve is a good label and ms. Gilberto .ade some great music but this aint it. Sounds phoned in tbh. The second to last track, featuring a duet with a young boy is definitely bizarre. The last track sung in Portuguese verses into decent territory but never ascends.
I wish country was still like this. I watched the Tales Feom the Tourbus episode on Mr. Jones so i knowGeorge Jones was a freak, but in a good way. Album has sparse production, simple songwriting, great storytelling, great harmonies. Very nice. And it's only 28 minutes so it doesn't overstay it's welcome. Nothing groundbreaking, just good solid classic country.
So good. Put this on headphones and went for a long walk.
Was thoroughly entertained. The album has an amazing cohesiveness. The production is dense and multilayered. I loved it.
