All time classic record. A younger me would have been delighted with this - these days I find the Led Zep blues rock a bit pedestrian, but can’t deny it’s a classic and an excellent album. Kashmir is an obvious classic, but I was half asleep by the time I got to the end of side 1.
Just don’t get it, no matter how many times I try.
Roadhouse Blues - Just the right amount of raucous blues and dark, brooding Jim Morrison. A strong start which doesn’t blow your mind, but sets the tone admirably.
Waiting for the Sun - Tip top Doors psychedelic rock, weird Dorian flavoured chord progression in the chorus which is just jarring enough to catch the attention
You Make Me Real - Continuing a good run of tracks, there’s enough standard blues rock fare here, tinged with dark psychedelic influence, that it rocks you along. Not a standout but a decent track.
Peace Frog - Come on, it’s a classic for a reason. Great song by any standards, what a banger.
Blue Sunday - The segue from Peace Frog into this dreamy piece of psych pop is brilliant. Ray’s organ sits in the background adding mood and texture throughout as this song glides along. The syncopated rhythm of the chorus is a great hook.
Ship of Fools - Here comes the jazz… or perhaps not. Great jazzy drum groove in the intro morphs into a throughly… ok… verse, which is reprised at the end. This song is saved by a great, moody jam section and a solid bass groove.
Land Ho! - The wheels have fallen off here. It’s not bad, but when you know what the band is capable this sort of middling major blues rock is just a bit pedestrian. Again redeemed slightly by a good middle jam section.
The Spy - Sexy, slow blues, Doors style. This is more like it. Nothing groundbreaking from a songwriting perspective but it’s got that moody timbre which makes The Doors great.
Queen of the Highway - The Rhodes on the intro starts strong, and develops into a great groove. A nice bed for Jim Morrison to come to the fore with some characteristic crooning, plenty of space in the track and the mix for the lyrics to shine. Not sold on the middle 8.
Indian Summer - Standout track on the album for me, although it lends very heavily from their earlier work, particularly “The End”. However, this fresh twist on the idea remains great in its own right, exactly the type of evocative, slowly twisting, modal psych jamming which allows the band to settle in and paint a collage of sound for the listener to melt into. Fantastic stuff.
Maggie M’Gill - I imagine this would be a bit of a barnstormer played live. On record it remains fairly energetic, but again falls into the more generic type of blues rock so typical of a lot of 60s bands on autopilot. Not a bad closer to a pretty solid album.
I like this album, and maybe on a hip hop day this would have pushed my buttons a bit more. I was going to give it a 4, but I think for me it just lacks a certain lyricism and groove that would elevate it to a 4 or 5.
What a mixed bag of an album. At its peak, the brothers Gibb flirt with chamber pop, psychedelia and a quintessential early 70s pop sound, blending a singer-songwriter style approach with their trademark harmonies and some lush string arrangements. At its lows, it sounds like it was recorded through a broken microphone in the back of a tiled shower block, with some truly questionable vocal performances of some generally sub-par songs. Aside from the genuine classic “How Do You Mend a Broken Heart”, this record treats us to “Israel”, “The Greatest Man in the World”, “Don’t Wanna Live Inside Myself”, and “Walking Back to Waterloo”. Strong moments blend rich backing with strong melodies, well sung ballads and a production that, although retaining definite Bee Gees sound, echoes both The Beatles and a “Meddle”-era Pink Floyd.
There’s moments when the production is the main letdown of the album - at times the rhythm guitar work in particular sounds scratchy, thin, and degraded, in a way that can’t have been intentional. There’s moments where the anemic, flabby kick drum fails to provide any punch at all. These are problems also shared with earlier releases such as Horizontal, but after several years in the game you’d have expected a slightly higher standard of recording to be delivered more consistently. The low points of this album are unquestionably on Side 2 - “Dearest” and “Lion in Winter” are pure dross. “Remembering” on Side 1 is barely any better.
On the whole this album contains some great moments, but suffers from inconsistency and some really poor production elements (looking at you kick drum). A great example of the Bee Gees frustrating ability to be arguably the greatest songwriting team of all time, and simultaneously a group who struggled to find their sound and their own place in the world for such a long time.
Music made for moody montages in 2000s college dramas.
This album is an absolute joy.
I know this is considered by some to be the pinnacle of Dylan’s work, but for me it just doesn’t quite hit the spot. There’s undoubtedly some great songs on this album, but something about the production and performance just make it hard work for me to listen to. I’ll take 62-67 Dylan any day of the week.
Classic slice of 60s psychedelia
Once upon a time I was one of the tasteless melts who hated Coldplay. Those days are now gone. This album is class, and anyone who says otherwise doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
Shmooth, technical and flawless. Another great album that separates those with taste from those without - the musicianship and songcraft on this album is next level, technically brilliant, and an amazing fusion of rock, jazz and funk.
Bombastic, over the top, and bags of fun. The only drawback to this album is it’s slightly overlong.
Always thought I disliked The Smashing Pumpkins. Turns out I was very wrong. Absolutely loved this album.
I imagine this would have made an outstanding live experience, and the record definitely embodies a genre of experimental punk which is unique… I would hazard a guess that the band wanted to make an album which felt disjointed, chaotic, and challenging, and as artists they have definitely succeeded; as a listener, however, the challenge can be altogether too much to actually make it an enjoyable experience.
Wanted to hate it. Ended up thinking it was very good. Maybe a bit long, and gets a bit too much like 90's beige toward the end, but some incredible harmonies and good songs.
Honestly just find this so boring. Always have, probably always will. No matter how many times I try to get into it, it just bores the life out of me. Damon Albarn is just so tedious.
Completely unexpected. I was convinced this was KT Tunstall until I heard it. Most def. not and very good
Another complete surprise. This album is excellent.
What else can you say about this one. Generationally defining album with wall to wall hits and classics.
