A lot of acid was involved, which takes the whole record to a whole new level
A vintage classic, I feel like I’m listening to the imax 70mm version of a 35mm print from 1973. I bet this was felt like a classic from the beginning of the first song back in 73’
Songs like Queen Jane approx. honestly sound like they were recorded yesterday. Songs like highway 61 sound like the birthplace of Springsteen and a different type of storytelling amidst a rock and roll song. A good re-introduction record for me via Bob, but not enough to keep the needle moving and me searching for more
To me honest I thought Boston was 80s hair rock, I had no idea songs like “more than a feeling” and “hitch a ride” were mid 1970s. Feels ahead of its time in a way. Good, not great, but that’s just my taste
I was introduced to “The Band” through one of my all time fav big leaguers, Jon Jaso. It was an interaction he had with his manager at the time, Joe Maddon, that was documented in an interview which Joe stated, “I knew this guy was different when I walked up to his locker and he was listening to ‘The Band’”. So of course I dove deeply into their discography and found songs like “The Weight” “Long Black Veil” and “I shall be released”. I hear early Randy Newman in this record, and an influence on early Alabama.
This album can’t be anything less than 5 stars because it cemented Jon Jaso as one of my C-list athlete Goats and introduced me to some awesome music at like 14/15 years old.
Also, Jon Jaso is literally living on a boat in the Caribbean sailing the world as he sees fit, the modern day Robinson Crusoe. Probably listening to this record on vinyl. How fucking cool is that.
About as non-cocaine 80s music as it gets, which still happened to be a lot of cocaine. I try and put myself into the shoes of a 20 something with each of these albums and though I enjoyed the melody’s and the heavy use of the sax on this one, I think I would have avoided the culture club fandom much like I’ve avoided mainstream pop for my entire life
Stevie evokes a nostalgic soul sound, though this record dates to 1974, and places him directly in line with the “soul” era. The specific use of choral backups can’t help but remind me of the Elvis quote, “rock and roll is just a blend of gospel, and rhythm & blues.” I hear gospel, and I hear 70s contemporary rock arrangement, and I hear the classic sound Stevie is known for with songs like “you haven’t done nothin” and “please don’t go”
Iceland’s very own was far ahead of her time in 1993. Probably too far ahead, but nonetheless this record still carry’s its own weight in 2024 with songs like “Venus as a boy” and “human behaviour”. Listening through this album at times I felt like I was in a grimly lit back room of European warehouse waiting for an interaction with a Slovenian drug lord, and yet at other times I was just on the other side of that warehouse in an early 90s dance club dancing my worries away high on mescaline. Either way, this album is a bit of an anomaly for me. Not quite 4 stars because of its weirdness, but not quite 3 stars because it’s got these pockets of opal and excellence. 3.5/5 if I could vote it, I would
