SUPERB! Just beautiful from beginning to end. I want to give Stevie a big hug. Here is a great article about Living in the City: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/06/05/skyscrapers-and-everything/
Someone gave this to me on vinyl recently. I listened and really liked it but not as much as Innervisions
I appreciate the importance of this fusion of musical styles but it felt a little tedious to me - like one long 44-minute song.
I mean.... Stairway to Heaven really is the most perfect song. Listening to this makes me realize that Rush was definitely influenced by these talented lads.
I like a little Springsteen sprinkled in among other artists, but a little Bruce goes a long way. This is what I call testosterone rock. NOT that there's anything wrong with it.
I think this was my first blues LP. I love every single note and the band banter. Makes me want to sit in a dirty smoke-filled bar and drink whiskey. Hoz should have been in his band.
I'll allow it. But only if Sad Wings of Destiny and Number of the Beast are also in this collection.
Makes me smile. :) I'm obsessed with the lyric "1320 N. Columbus" in Train Leaves Here This Morning. But not so obsessed that I'm going to read this whole blog:
https://the-reconstructor.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-byrds-1320-north-columbus-1968.html
Groovy!! How did I not know Herbie Hancock is from Chicago? Cool cat and a very smart dude. Even though this wouldn't one of my desert island picks, I love the creativity and experimentation on this record. After it played on Spotify, the algorithm thought I'd like the Budos Band, and the algorithm was right! Much more accessible than Herbie and super cool!
https://open.spotify.com/album/7Gu0cy8nMC6Uk10PsdAHXd?si=IQ_JUYZJRNW0uOrkh3Mqqw
I like the cover art and a couple of the song titles and I sort of like Giles Farnaby's Dream. That's about it.
Full disclosure - haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but what I've heard is fun, fun, fun!
I really liked this. The stripped down musicality and the dreamy vocals were just what I needed. Also dropping XX on International Women's Day - was that intentional or just a cool coincidence?
I'm not crying, you're crying! There's something about his music that strikes such a deep chord. This will always be one of my favorite records of all time.
Ooooof. Boy did this define a generation. The pain in Curt's voice is palpable. Even if we didn't know he would kill himself months after this concert, we would have been concerned. Such simple music elevated to such profound heights. Still a little weak from listening to it.
I do love these boys. Such an interesting time for music. Is it disco? Is it funk? Is it prog rock? A great amalgamation of genres. Makes me wish I hadn't been so mired in heavy metal at the time so I could have appreciated new wave at the time instead of 10 years later.
Larry Macchione had this record on heavy rotation back in the day. I do love it. I'd forgotten about the pretty awesome guitar work, but then why else would Larry Macchione have liked it? Come to find out Randy California played with Jimi Hendrix's band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, in 1966, when Randy was only 16. "Much too fat and a little too long" are maybe the best lyrics ever, especially when said over and over and eventually fading out.
The studio version of The Gift was brilliant. Naturally I thought the live version would be even better, but instead it was 9 minutes I'll never get back. Just too much distortion and noise for me throughout the whole album. But it gets 3 stars only because of The Gift (studio version) and because Velvet Underground.
In the words of David St. Hubbins, "it's such a fine line between clever and stupid." Such vapid lyrics and silly pop sounds, but it's nice and it makes me smile and dance in the kitchen. The exact opposite of what I listened to at the time, so I'm happy to listen with fresher ears. Agnetha's voice is beautiful. So operatic.
I just can't with the vocals.
Wow! I really liked this! I'm not sure how I missed this band. I bet they would have been fun live before they started playing at huge venues. Great musicians, great lyrics and I love the singer's accent.
Oh, Rod! I love this album so much. Boy, you sure can hear Ron Wood! Love the good time, honky tonk, rock and roll throughout the whole record. We deserve this!
They sound like the love child of CSNY and Jimi Hendrix. The harmonies are gorgeous and you can hear the Purple Haze guitar riff in Sweet Ride. Went down a rabbit hole to learn that two of the band members went insane from LSD and that they were exploited by a greedy manager. Someone should make a movie out of this band's short life.
Man, if Bo Diddley had made money off of all his songs that bands have covered even of just Who Do You Love, he would have died as rich as he should have. I do love this concept album though- even if the whole first side is a cover. It's cool that they spliced it together from live shows at the Fillmore East and West. It makes wonder why a jam band like Grateful Dead rose of of the SF psychedelic scene to become it's own brand, when a band like Quicksilver Messenger Service, arguably just as talented if not more so than the Dead, sort of faded into relative obscurity (except from Deadheads who pride themselves on loving bands just like the Dead who aren't the dead -- looking at you, Todd Gascon!) Anyway, I liked it for the concept and because the musicians are good. 4 stars.
I have to give this 5 stars just because it was so influential and such a rich union of art and spirituality. But, yeah, not background music, that's for sure. I think you can only listen to this record through really good headphones in a dark room, maybe smoking a cigarette.
I love Gillian Welch, but this album felt kind of like a dirge. I like Revival so much more. Still 4 stars because she and Dave Rawlings are awesome.
If I were really drunk and stumbled into a 4 am bar, I'd probably love this band. The vocalist sounds like he's been punched in the face a lot, which makes me wonder if he sings like that because he's been punched in the face so much, or if he gets punched in the face so much because he sings like that. I did sort of like the first track, but there were no vocals. If I were making a horror film, I'd probably try to use that track in it.
Love this. It makes me want to take hip hop dance classes.
I made it about halfway through. Can't figure out how this made the list.
This was awesome. Loved the whole thing, especially Cowboy Movie.
Goodness! Language! But I like.
Perfect. Beginning to end. This record really shows off the Stones' versatility - country, R&B, swing, rock, blues. Tumbling Dice brings me right back to senior year high school. I love that Keith Richards gets a chance to sing. Keyboards on a lot of the songs are awesome.
Quintessential music to roll to. I've always loved this album, even though I've always hated Ecstasy. Ah, those heady pre-911 days, before the world lost its mind, and chill rooms were actually possible and not just something to ridicule. This music instantly calms me down and makes me feel very - well - airy.
George Clinton seems like such a fun guy. I love this. We need the funk, indeed.
What a great record! How did I not know that Donovan did vocals on the title track?! I love how theatrical this whole album is, and I love that they never tried to transform themselves from shock rock. Smart lyrics and great musicianship. So good.
I love Kate Bush. And I'm no johnny-come-lately fan who discovered her because of Netflix's Stranger Things. I've loved her since the 80s. But this record...I just can't. It feels very self-consciously art-rock. Her best is still The Kick Inside, and that album better have made this list. Still love ya, Kate!
I loved this! Like a cross between David Bowie and Weezer. The power guitars and the toy piano were great. Junk Shop Clothes and Valet Parking lyrics were awesome. I've already listened to the whole album twice.
A classic. Never gets old.
Fun. Makes me want to have a big cocktail party where people spill their drinks and ladies slap men for being fresh.
One of my all-time favorite albums.
Probably should have stuck with Roxy Music, Brian.
So I didn’t listen to this but I know I’ve heard it before and I know I liked it and so I’m giving it a five. Also, I want to reveal the next album and I don’t want too many “did not listens” in a row.
Changed the world as we know it. Always great listening, too. I wonder if they knew when they were making this music profoundly influential they were being.
Poetry + Passion = Perfection
Wow. I had no idea Billy Bragg was so versatile. He reminds me a little of Richard Thompson, but probably not as much of a dick. Or maybe more of one? I don't know. I liked the lyrics, the palpable passion, and the musicality, but I probably wouldn't voluntarily listen to this album again.
There was a time that I would have loved this, but now it kind of messes with my nervous system. That said, if you're gonna do death metal or thrash metal (nu metal?), you gotta be extreme and this is certainly extreme, without being completely unlistenable like some of it is. I actually listened to the whole thing, which was a surprise. I would never listen to this record again, but if they ever come to Chicago I would totally go to the show just for the scene.
Of course it's a great album. I sort of like the story of these prison albums more than the records themselves, but still. It's Johnny Cash and what's not to love.
I love this album. California Stars is one of my favorite songs ever.
Obviously one of the best records ever.
UGH!!! I don't know why Lenny Kravitz has always bugged me so much. I listened to the first 30 seconds of every song just to be sure, and yep - he still bugs the efffff out of me. Talented, sure. But he seems so manufactured, like a product of the industry.
I listened to the first 30 seconds of the first 4 tracks and didn't want to waste any more time.
I can see why the Beatles loved him so much. Really great talent and versatility.
So good. Dark and grand and sonically gorgeous.
LOL Jack and Cal!! I loved the first track. I think this record would be excellent listened to through super expensive headphones while tripping. But I have neither the headphones nor substances upon which to trip. Still, I will keep this in mind in case my circumstances change.
I love the Pixies. Doolittle Is one of my favorite albums ever (that better beyond this list) so by comparison, I give this one a three. I know diehard Pixies fans are obsessed with Surfer Rosa but I just don’t think it’s that great.
Listened to about half but not whole-heartedly.
Wow, what a blast from the past! I'm kind of surprised this made the list. I also didn't remember Paul Revere & the Raiders dabbling in east Asian sounds.
I'd never listened to this whole album before. 9th and Hennepin is brilliant. I could listen to Blind Love nonstop all day. And Downtown Train is one of the best songs written. Tom Waits is one of the greatest poets of our time. LOVE.
Perfect album for repotting plants on a Saturday morning.
Transformational! Such a talented and brave artist.
I used to always make fun of Duran Duran, probably because I was listening to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest when this came out. I still don't like them nearly as much as their new wave peers that I later came to love (INXS, Talk Talk, Simple Minds), but I shan't make fun of them anymore.
I love this whole album, but haven't listened to it in years, so I really should click "did not listen" but I'm giving it a five based on pure memory and so I can reveal the next album, which better not be Joni Mitchell.
So preciously earnest. Not for me.
I LOVED this album so much when it came out. It was the dreamiest combination of Radiohead and Pink Floyd with lyrics I couldn't understand and that was just what I needed. I still like it but now more impressed with the compositions than the dreaminess.
