I'm definitely way more of a Y guy than CSN, but other than the immortal "Helpless", Young's contributions here aren't all that strong. Nash's numbers are some of the pleasantly gentle tunes ever put down, Croz puts on his cape and Stills is, eh, whatever. In the end, the Joni cover carries the day.
Didn't realize I knew "Sleep to Dream" until it came on; guess it just got overshadowed by "Criminal" in the intervening years. The rest was OK, although left me underwhelmed compared to her later more interpretive work (Cy Coleman covers and Watkins Family Hour collabs and the like)
While not my favorite Bruce or even the Bruce I cut my teeth on (how embarrassing to see your first concert and not time the "WOO!" correctly in "Workin' on the Highway"!), but certainly a peak among many melodically. “Darlington County” and the aforementioned “Workin'” are fun heartland rock. “No Surrender” and “Bobby Jean” are affecting paeans to friendship. “I’m on Fire” is as sexy and subtle as anything he’s done. And the singles are monsters, soooo, I think I've just talked myself into a 5 star rating.
best opening/closing track contender?
title track is scott AF
bobby keys' sax on "live with me" A+
nicky hopkins' piano barnburner throughout
The rockers are so ecstatic - The title track, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Tell Me Why”, “Anytime At All”, "I'll Cry Instead", “You Can’t Do That” - pure Beatle-boot stomping rush every time.
I don't find myself reaching for this sound very often, but after listening to it again, I suppose this is what I'd reach for. "Narayan" => "Firestarter" is pretty great.
Covers more ground than I thought it would upon start, and some interesting soundscapes, but still found my mind wandering (a lot). "Melt" and "Inspection (Check One)" held my interest the longest.
The title track is memorable beyond its years (even now), but I really just wanted to skip ahead to parts VI–IX of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" while listening. I think Syd would too.
First time listening to it all the way through since a friend's house in 1995. Massive singles are big and bold as ever, with "Chump", "Pulling Teeth" and "Sassafras Roots" standing out from the album track crowd.
When it works, it's on fire. It's tight, it's funky, it's on the floor. The highs are incredibly high, but the rest (notably the Paul McCartney collaboration) are just OK.
Singles stood out strong; "Sometimes You Win" was the best song I hadn't heard before. Ciao!
Really like Courtney and Eric swinging for the fences. Sounds so big and goes down smooth. The light just radiates. To that end, it's hard not to mention the Billy Corgan participation as this album feels like the sound he shot for with Zwan a few years later. But Love divides the "Hole" lyrical image with the sheen of guitars in excellent matrimony. The chiming "Heaven Tonight" was a nice surprise picked up on this listen.
Missing some of my favorite Peter Gabriel songs, but it probably is the most consistently awesome solo work of his. The opener kicks off and is somehow all at once both full of nervous tension and full bodied. "Modern Love" is a great organ fueled rocker. "Excuse Me" has the camp and circumstance, balanced by "Humdrum". Even the stylistically varied numbers like "Slowburn" and "Down in the Dolce Vita" still sound hooky and compact, with the former managing to touch on nearly every sound across the album in under 4 minutes. I had first heard the epic closer "Here Comes the Flood" on Robert Fripp's "Exposure" album (in a more subdued... Fripp-y version), so hearing this take was as startling as it was emphatic.
It seems like something I should like... and it's pleasant enough while it's on... but after a few listens I still can't really recall much about any of the songs. Didn't hit home for some reason.
It has been a very long time since I listened to this album straight through; while their take on "To Know Him Is to Love Him" was the tune I recalled most readily, "Telling Me Lies", "Wildflowers", "I've Had Enough" and the trad closer "Farther Along" hit home the strongest. Should revisit more often.
Consistently good & with very high peaks, which isn't always the case w/Paul post-1970 so a lot to be said for that. Title track and "Jet" kick things off proper.
"Bluebird" smooth. "Mrs. Vanderbilt" has a great chorus and sax, with fun verse that he'd kinda revisit later for "Famous Groupies" (which is also a lot of fun). "Let Me Roll It" is incisive, "Mamunia" great imagery, "No Words" lilting and pretty, "Drink to Me" works well and the closing track with its darkly bouncing piano. As good as it is, it's a bummer that the contemporary single "Helen Wheels" b/w "Country Dreamer" wasn't on the album proper, as those are two of my fave McCartney solo offerings. Doesn't stop it from being a classic.
Good sound and appropriate vocals, but it just kinda left me wanting to listen to The Gun Club. "Blast Off", "Hamlet (Pow, Pow, Pow)" and especially "Several Sins" were standouts.
Instrumentation was nice (organs, saxophones, liberal use of acoustic guitars). One-man-band(ish) thing is cool. Just didn't grab me upon listening. Some wore on too long ("Hey Jude" aspiring title track into the dull "Freedom Train" were lowlights), and others just grated (message song "Mr. Cab Driver", which made me long for it to be a "Lady Cab Driver"...). Felt like it got stronger at the end, with "Rosemary", "Be" and "Flower Child" probably being my favorite tracks.
Raspy, raw, rehearsed. Truly in concert with the audience, in every sense of the word. So incredible tapes were rolling. What a document. Peaks with “Bring it on Home to Me”. This is the important part. Everybody’s with you tonight. Yeah.
That sax! “Plastic Bag” my fave, but overall very enjoyable.
It was OK. "Newtown", "Love und Romance" and "Ping Pong Affair" caught my ear.
Fun, engaging, tight. "Lil' Darlin" an awesome closer. "Flight of the Foo Birds" is outstanding. Great album cover to boot.
"I Ain't the One", "Gimmie Three Steps", "Poison Whiskey", and "Things Goin' On" have the riffs (and the latter a piano solo). "Tuesday's Gone" and "Simple Man" superb ballads. "Free Bird" is Free Bird. Most excellent rock and roll.
Liked it more than I expected to? "Oh Baby" a surprisingly pleasant opener, and "Black Screen" a surprisingly genuine lament. In between, I mostly forget.
Strays into sleepy folky a few times, but more than makes up for it elsewhere. Slowed-down "You Can't Do That" cover is superb; slowed-down "Do You Wanna Dance" loses something. Same-tempo "Spanish Harlem" is as pretty as it was written. And yes, the "California Dreamin" flute solo is still sublime.
Finally got going by the last track, "Cargo Culte", but "trop de concept, pas assez d'album"
Very dense. It definitely requires more than the single listen I gave it, but it was interesting and intriguing. "Rock You" is a force, "Thought @ Work" with funky horns, "The Seed (2.0)" very catchy, "Rhymes and Ammo" deft. The big pieces in the middle didn't hit home, but maybe next time.
Not too long, not too tragic. Pleasant.
Terrific opening salvo -- "Hanging on the Telephone", "One Way or Another", and "Picture This". "Heart of Glass" walks the line between rock and disco, and album cuts like "11:59", "Will Anything Happen?", "Sunday Girl", and "Just Go Away" are equally as strong.
Been a very long time since Ive listened to this, so it was an interesting contrast against my recollection. Opener with the cool “Blue on Blue” sample is as strong as I remembered and does a great job giving it a jaunty reimagining. The rest was pleasant enough, but looking back only “Röyksopp’s Night Out” could I recall distinctly. Maybe that’s not the point with this kind of album. I should listen again before 20 years go by.
Hadn't heard this album before -- indefatigably pleasant. Spot on to what I expected going in, with big sound, swirling arrangements and pleasingly delivered vocals with a hint of snarl. "You're a Big Girl Now" stuck out; it's no patch to the Dylan classic (what is?), but it was a nicely arranged acoustic respite from the rest of the guitar sound. Some tasty organ throughout, too. I'll come back for more.
Rockin, goofy, sublime, catchy, and matter of fact - Lou’s NYC comes out in screaming black and gold. Mick Ronson tears it up all over to top it off.
Arrangements are fun at first, but wore by the end. Couple covers. Feels like I'd enjoy it more cherry picked for than as one big album experience entree.
I suppose I had some preconceived notions about this, but they were quickly dismantled. A pleasant mix of beats and more ambient textures. Like a dancey Eno, but doesn't go full Moby. Yeah, fun.
Whoa. Can't say it's my cup of tea, but... there were enough moments surfacing above the waves that tugged on me to keep it in 2-star zone.
Things I remembered upon listening:
* the piano intro to "Pyramid Song"
* the brief sigh of airy, drumless respite during "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors"
* pretty much all of "Morning Bell/Amnesiac" (which probably say something)
* the guitar sound on "Hunting Bears"
The rest was lost to the years, if I ever remembered it at all. I do really like the artwork, though. Bonus star for that.
I can't say I distinctly remember each track... but that may not be the point. The songs that do stick: "No More", "Rise Above", "Life of Pain" and, of course, the incomparable "TV Party".
Doesn’t have my fave De La Soul (“A Rollerskating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’”) but it’s pretty chock full of good ones. Skits are rather superfluous and it was longer than I remembered, but solid fun.
I've bought 3 Lloyd Cole albums over the years, hoping to find a song near as perfect as "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?" -- haven't found one yet. In fact the results have been a little, well...
Anyway, after revisiting it seriously for the first time in a long, long while, there's more here than I've given it credit for over the years. The title track has a great chorus, and there were a few other moments. But the closing track still takes the cake. Let's give it a full star extra just for that.
"LMK" and "Frontline" were OK, but the rest didn't hold my attention too well. The sound reminded me of some of The Weeknd's mixtapes, but the album turned to be more recent than that...
Solid singles, but their albums are a bit snoozy. "Hotel California" is no exception (and perhaps even a bit moreso than others -- "One of These Nights" I return to far more often). I suppose that's a big reason why their GH is so zenith-selling...
It’s OK, I enjoyed it upon its release… and still revisit it now and then (“Come Back to Camden” in particular, with its kinda throwback R&B ballad style), and I suppose it got some play back in the day on WXRT. But seems neither masterful, influential or historic. There are other Morrissey-adjunct albums I could imagine appearing on the 1001 albums list … this is far from one. 🤷♂️
Had only heard the studio versions of these songs before this. Massive. Everything you'd want in a 1972 live album (and even some of what you don't -- the drum solo). But it's barely a bump in the road as the Child of Time becomes the Space Truckin' Highway Star. Excellent.
I listened to this a few times because I felt like I was missing something... seems up my alley, but fell flat. I got excited as the last tune "Lazyitis" started because it felt like it was going somewhere different, but then I realized it was just "Ticket to Ride"... oh well.
Hmm, this was more boring than I remember it being... "Memory Boy" still stands out as an effervescent little tune though. "Fountain Stairs" is nice too. And the sax on "Coronado". OK fine.
I'll admit up front I've always been a little cool on Janis (opinions formed long ago for forgotten and likely specious reasoning) -- but I tried to listen to this 'fresh', and it was very solid. The songs in particular are top notch -- standouts for me were the soul cover "Cry Baby" and the Womack-penned "Trust Me".
It was pleasant; songs were well constructed and had a good mix of beat-oriented with some more "rock" elements. I can't say much stood out but I enjoyed it.
Pleasant piano trio jazz. Bill Evans isn't my typical go-to in the genre, but it went down easy and I could give it a few more spins, easy.
Enjoyably loud and aggressive. Singles are classic, and the rest very listable and fun. "Genocide", "Not the One", and the title track stood out. Also the "Killboy Powerhead" cover.
It's hard to think of what to write about an album so lyrically complete. And while the lyrics, topics, session mythology, and creator alone would probably have been enough to make it a discussion point in the pantheon, it wouldn't have half the impact if the tunes weren't there, and they are in spades (hearts? 😀♠️♥️). And if this is engrossing, the alternate take of "You're a Big Girl Now" on the Biograph compilation is well worth seeking out.
