Very raw album, i absolutely love the swagger employed in Jack's performances, from the super relaxed and cool vocals to the nasty twangy blues riffs, employed in a very simple setting with straight forward drum lines and a very standard distorted guitar tone, it's just some fantastic and fun rock'n'roll to jam to. Some super catchy songs as well, my favourites might be the obvious ones, Seven Nation Army, Ball and Biscuit and Hardest Button, but also Don't Know What to Do With Myself, Black Math, Cold Cold Night, Hypnotize, Little Acorns, No Faith in Medicine and We Love One Another.
I'm listening to the version available on streaming, which include all tracks from the british and american versions.
This record is nothing short of fantastic, specially as a debut album. I've been a huge fan of Jimi Hendrix for ever now... his bands' "sloppy" playing is so lively, from the funky but complex rhythms employed by the stunning performances of Mitch Mitchell (one of the goats!) to Hendrix's tasteful and expressive guitar lines, this record is a great showcase of what these guys had to offer. The songs are incredibly remarkable, with good & vivid lyrics dealing on themes of drug usage and out of body experiences, sex, crime, all that hedonistic shit with a very poetic base. Not only that but its all super catchy as well, "Fire" is amazing, as well as "Manic Depression", "Foxey Lady", "Purple Haze", "Hey Joe", "3rd Stone from the Sun" and "Wind Cries Mary". It is not as ambitious and psychedelic as what i feel is their magnum opus, Electric Ladyland, but it is still one of the greatest blues rock albums i have heard.
A very fun rock and roll album with some high theatrics. I will say that i wish the whole concept was more fleshed out, as the album carries its themes of love and heartbreak and teenage rebellion in a very surface-level manner, and i also don't care much for the whole Springsteen impersonation, i feel like i'd much rather listen to Born to Run if i was looking for these smirky love anthems, but yeah these compositions are pretty good from a musical standpoint and there are a lot of remarkable moments.
THE SHIT!
Absolutely stunning record. The very subtle and soft instrumentation contrats with the very psychedelic climaxes in a super satisfying and comfy way. I have no clue what these guys are saying because i don't speak icelandic but i interpret this record as an homage to being in the womb or something, as depicted on the album cover, a very comfortable place. The melodies are really pretty, as well as the very dynamic instrumentation that transitions from minimalistic, warm and ambient-like sequences to absolutely huge and epic climaxes, all while maintaining this gorgeous spacey / aquatic aesthetic. Such climaxes come in various forms and they are all super satisfying, for example, as walls of distorted guitars on \"Svefn-g-englar\", as an entrancing trip-hop groove on \"Ný Batterí\" or as a post-rock behemoth on \"Viorar vel til loftárása\". Other favourites are \"Starálfur\", \"Flugufrelsarinn\", \"Olsen Olsen\" and \"Ágaetis Byrjun\".
Very good record for disassociating 👍
Amazing album with high levels of chemistry between the musicians. I love how the songs flow, tracks like "Half Moon" and "Cry Baby" know well when to explode and when to strip back. The production really is great, everything sounds super crisp and you can surely feel a sense of energetic joy in the air. And of course, i can't not mention Janis Joplin's seemingly effortless delivery over these busy instrumentals, on which she confidently goes all out specially on the climaxes. Her vocals are unmatched really, one of the most characteristic singers in american popular music, i love her raspy but stunningly powerful tone. Technically impressive but also very powerful! Other favourites... hell this album is all killer. I'll specially shout out "Move Over", "Woman Left Lonely" and "Me And Bobby McGee".
Really good record, don't get me wrong, but after re-listening to it thanks to this challenge, i feel like this record is kind of a mess. It reaches some of Hendrix's psychedelic peaks in crazy tracks such as in the two installments of "Voodoo Child" or in "1983", but i don't know, it's not like the whole record follows this crazy more progressive direction. Rather, there's some big inconsistency on the tracklist with a lot of the simpler blues cuts being filled to the brim with aimless jam sessions. I guess they can be fun in a live setting but i'm not feeling them among these spiritual giants that clearly are the highlights of the record. Though, i feel that this album also presents some very interesting guitar experiments too. Sure, sometimes they don't hit but man, tracks like "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" and "Little Miss Strange" give me the blues stank every time. Also, i really feel like tracks like "Gypsy Eyes" were big inspiration for the whole US psychedelic funk / soul of the seventies. Weird album, very dense and somewhat inconsistent, but with some really good highlights and a looot to dive into.
Half a concept album, half a collection of killer singles, a similar dynamic to The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" record. Funny enough, just like on that one, there is barely any filler on here. Paul Simon's songwriting is magnific, songs like "Old Friends" have some of the best lyrics i've heard in a while. I'll say that this, to today's standards at least, is far from a grand concept album, but i really like how the first side depicts coming of age with each subsequent song dealing on topics relevant to an older age than the previous one. Cute record, i really like it.
Fantastic concept album about Victorian era UK, that eerily reflects what was going on in America at the time with the war on Vietnam. It has some very tongue-in-cheek writing, which makes it a cynically depressive record overall given the lyrical themes. The blend of orchestral instrumentation also brings a very epic and sort of medieval / refined feel to the whole thing, emphasizing the whole concept. The songs are super catchy of course, Ray Davies really surprised me with how vivid and crisp his writing can get at times, super dope stuff. Favorite tracks include "Victoria", "Yes Sir No Sir", "Some Mother's Son", "Shangri-la", "Mr. Churchill Says", "Princess Marina", "Young and Innocent Days" and "Arthur".
Great record, a staple of 00s rock with a very consistently good tracklist. For a record as heavy as this one, the pop sensibility present in the writing makes some very instantaneously catchy songs. There are a lot of cool things overall about it, from Bennington's stellar performances to Shinoda's clever rapping to the very influentially diverse beats that pull from classic trip hop grooves as much as it does industrial and heavy metal stuff.
Insanely energetic live album by one of the heaviest bands to reach the mainstream at that time. Even today, Live at Leeds sounds almost like proto-punk given how energetic and unhinged the performances are, yet the musicians' technical proficiency make up for an ability to extend out silly songs to their absolute limits. I just think that this is not a record that has aged the best given how much crazier rock would have gotten down the road, the novelty wears off after you listen to hardcore punk and thrash live stuff. It kind of feels like a relic, a time capsule of that early stadium concert experience, with some very simplistic blues tunes being performed with a stunning level of energy.
Some of Neil Young's best material ever lands here, i love "Old Man" and "Heart of Gold" with a passion, yet i feel like it is a super inconsistent record in terms of writing. Songs like "A Man Needs a Maid" and "Alabama" are awkward, not only for the weird string arrangements but also for the somewhat corny lyrics. Shout out to "Needle and the Damage Done" though, incredible lyrics on that one regarding helping a friend lost on drug abuse.
A solid debut from one of the most fun bands out of that era. There is a blissful kind of optimism through this whole record, a sweet sense of teenage innocence in these anthems about romance and simply having a good time. I think a few of these songs are a little bit awkward, specially the ones where they go for a more "experimental" direction, but songs like "Just What I Needed", "You're All I've Got Tonight" and "Moving in Stereo" are true relics of that era's teen lifestyle.
I barely know how to describe this other than as it being one of the most artful, revolutionary and emblematic releases in music history.
Led Zeppelin's debut is held in such a legendary status for a very good reason. Not only were these four guys some of the most talented musicians in the whole country, but they were also hungry, full of energy and creativity. Though i'm not too much of a fan of the slower cuts, as they don't have much going on outside of standard bluesery with some agonizing crooning from Plant that, while impressively energetic, it gets tiresome after a while. I do love the intense moments in here, specially "Dazed and Confused" and "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". The core compositions on "How Many More Times" and "Good Times Bad Times" are also very fun to listen to.
Sounds like an LSD trip. They get heavily immersed into the sounds they're making while jamming, that could be atributed to the substances they were probably on but those jams still have come out very hypnotic and fun to ease your mind to. However I do wish the songwriting side was a bit more inspired. The main ideas of the songs are not that memorable and honestly just kinda shallow, i feel like all songs on side A got something going on that should have been expanded on. Also, this may sound kinda dumb but i do wish they leaned into the darker psychedelic aesthetic more - In this album, Iron Butterfly are just kinda boneless The Doors, with a less passionate singer and closeted sunshine pop ideas... The title track rules though, one of the best psych songs ever.
Eh, it's not a bad record but i'm not a fan either. I don't usually care too much about mixing quality but honestly this album is deafening at times. The gated drums, the compressed ass guitars, the complete lack of dynamic range... It passes as a radio friendly mix but it surely tires me as a headphone listener. Even those gang vocal call and response bits, they just highlight the worst stereotypes of eighties hair metal. What captivates me about bands like Van Halen and Twisted Sister is the raw energy they provide, it is fun to headbang, move around and sing along to their shit. "Pump" sounds like it was made to play in football matches. Most of the tracks are slow and just exhale a fake swagger that Tyler's hoarse vocals just does not provide. "F.I.N.E", "Don't Get Mad, Get Even" and "Voodoo Medicine Man" are some examples of pretty bad offenders. There sure are some fun songs, I love the way they did the chorus on "Love in an Elevator", "What It Takes" has a pretty emotional performance and some actually good writing and of course "Janie's Got a Gun" is a classic. Shoutout to "Young Lust" too, very fiery intro tune. Eh... If i need a kicker i'd rather bump 1984.
Great album. Not as tight-packed as "Sticky Fingers" but still really fun and lively. The whole album has a very different feel from what i'd expect from a Stones record, it sounds a lot like just dudes having fun and jamming around, rather than merely a collection of singles - that definetly shows on the very busy and organic performances of these songs. I don't think these are their strongest songs ever but they're surely an amazing portfolio to showcase their rather eclectic influences, of course from the blues but also from country, rock and roll and even soul/gospel. Favorites include "Rocks Off", "Shake Your Hips", "Tumbling Dice", "Loving Cup", "Let It Loose", "Shine a Light".
