1001 Albums Summary

This self-aware, pop culture offering and quasi-performance art commentary maintains its ironic edge while the artistry of its individual songs only appears both more technically capable and yet simultaneously ersatz decades after its release. As a testament to its skillful use of a contemporary musical lingua franca, it frequently imitates the dominant, saccharine tones of its time to a degree of precision that generations then, now, and in the future could easily miss its subtle subtext as an incisive parody of popular songs of the day, characterized by trite lyrics, pollyannish and simplistic themes and observations, and conspicuously shallow and unsophisticated melodies. While many mainstream critics maintain (and I’m sure are correct in) the position that the album was groundbreaking in its frank discussion of controversial topics such as drug abuse and sexual deviancy, lines like, “I’m feelin’ good. Y’know, I’m gonna work it on out … I’m feelin’ good, I’m feelin’ so fine. Into tomorrow, but that’s just another time,” and, “Here she comes. You better watch your step. She’s going to break your heart in two. It’s true,” are unmistakably banal and derivative, and probably sounded just as vapid (or more so) in yesteryear. However, unlike yesteryear, when listening today, it’s almost impossible to interpret this seemingly intentional pabulum as anything other than parody, rather than actual music. A legendary work of iconoclastic art first, and an erstwhile album second, The Velvet Underground’s eponymous debut is too smart and cool to get five stars — that would be bourgeois. When listening in a decidedly “more modern” context, with the benefit (or detriment) of an age of irony now behind us, the listener cannot help but think that either the band or the audience is being taken for a ride. The only thing that seems certain to me is that Andy Warhol, creator of the iconic and enduring cover art, was in on the joke.

Randy Newman’s haunting and enigmatic musical confession to a string of unsolved prostitute murders with occult overtones in the backwater bayous of Louisiana keeps it boozy and bluesy all these years later. While contemporary critics on the coasts gave him a pass at the time, probably owing to his charming piano trills, oozing authenticity, dripping contempt for his kinfolk, and romantic notions of power-drunk socialist Governor Huey Long, it’s impossible for the trained listener to un-hear Newman’s mocking taunts to criminal investigators in virtually every track, (and particularly evident in ‘Marie’ — doubtless a reference to Marie DuChamps — a down-on-her-luck mother of two who turned to truck stop solicitation to afford baby formula and went missing October 8, 1972), concealed behind the carefully crafted artifice of a folksy, simple-minded, slack-jawed drunk and mediocre ‘pye-ano’ player. The law may never catch up to Randy Newman, but the truth, while inscrutable, can be found in every bar of this absolute banger of an album. Three enthusiastic stars! You’re killin’ ‘em, Randy, or as you might say, “Bizzle bazzle BWOOMP-a-doo-boopy-doop — and that’s just how the bitch payyyys…”

Well, Stevie Wonder does it again — and by “it” I mean pulls the wool over our eyes in a deftly played, multidecade subterfuge of pretending to be a blind person. One listen to Talking Book quickly convinces the audience that this man is an accomplished musician — not a blind person. For the uninitiated, it’s easy to dismiss this critique as being ableist, or outright mean spirited. But anyone who knows anything about music quickly realizes that music consists of musical notes printed on paper — a decidedly visual exercise, despite its similar reliance on things like tonality, rhythm, melody and harmony, and other sound-y things that make noise. I’m not saying a blind person couldn’t make an album this good — I’m just saying if they did, they’d get the Full Five Treatment. Five stars for the long con — three stars for a great offering from a sighted person that continues to delight, more than 50 years after its release. (YouTube ‘Stevie Wonder isn’t blind’ if you don’t believe this humble reviewer.)