"So far away" is a good song, but is far out shadowed by the song after it.
"Money for nothing" is a great, great song. Influential, and has a good message. It still holds up today, I feel.
"Walk of life" is also a good song, and a good toned down one.
"Your latest trick" has a great saxophone. But overall forgettable.
"Why worry" isn't my style, it's too slow for me. But is a very clean song. I like the melody, as well.
"Ride across the river" Far more gritty. A take on war and the pointlessness of it. I agree, but again the song simply isn't my taste.
"The man's too strong" Again, not my taste. Too slow.
"One world" Great, I like the far more upbeat and rock style.
"Brothers in arms" Hate it.
I rate my albums based on many things, but mostly being its replayability.
And to put simply, this just is not my taste. Far too joking for me. Any consecutive listen would make the attempts at comedy extremely stale.
But the album is perfect at what it does, it's a feelgood album for anybody who's already in a good mood. I just can't see it being on repeat for anybody, unless they really find Louis Prima to be an EXTREMELY funny guy.
Favorite tracks: "Body and Soul", "Buona Sera", and "Be mine". No jokes, good vocals, harmonics, and great instrumentals.
Giving it a 3. The album has good highs, but low lows. Enough to only make it a "Once in a long while" album. Also, the first half is grating to listen to, someone must've put the gain on Keely Smith's mic way too high.
I rate my albums based on many things, but mostly being its replayability.
The album itself is highly replayable for those who are truly invested into soul (especially early soul) music. For me, personally, it is not my taste.
Not to say it's bad. I went into this album without any knowledge of soul music, but came out with a new appreciation for it. "Respect" is one of the strongest starts to an album I've heard, following with the emotionally packed "Drown in my own tears".
But, the following songs after "Drown in my own tears", without any good breaks, sound extremely same-y. If "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" were put in the early middle of the album, rather than the near end, it'd benefit the album a lot.
Aretha pioneered the soul genre with this smash hit, and I'm glad to have been blessed with the opportunity to listen to it. Overall though, I think as the genre has evolved past what Aretha pioneered, there are many better choices for when you need a soul session.
I do not rate solely on the importance an album had, which is why I'm giving it a 2/5. It's just not what I look for in music, and I would never replay it.
There was a version of me before I listened to this album, and now there is only the version of me after I listened to it.
This album covers love, hate, the meaningless of life. But it gives meaning to all of those things as well, it makes you love life.
I consistently cry to this album every time.
If I could give it a 6/5, I would.
I rate my albums based on many things, but mostly being its replayability.
I simply cannot like any of the songs. They end up sounding incredibly similar. It was a good feeling for the first few, and a few songs after "monkey man" brought some MUCH needed diversity. But, other then that, I don't think I'll ever be replaying this.
Favorite song: (Dawning of a) New Era
It brings much needed diversity, and finally changes the sound.
Worst song: Concrete Jungle
Everything in the song clashes, it sounds like free jazz. Eugh.
As much of an impact or resonance it may have, and how it sounded modern for the time--it ends up landing in a "boring" category for me.
1/5. I will forget this album in a few days.
Horrible Album. Atrocious and made me stop listening to music for months simply because of the awful taste it put in my mouth.
An incredibly charming album that expects not much from the listener except for them to like rock, catchy lyrics, and be in the mood for a good time. Optionally a banging set of speakers, too.
The only downside to this is that it really doesn't challenge the listener, though I am speaking from the viewpoint of a first-time listener nearly 50 years after it first released.
My favorite track definitely had to be "Little Dreamer", and in fact I like the 2nd half of the album far more than the 1st, but that may be because the 1st half is stuff I've heard a lot on the radio already.
4/5. It's a great album, infinitely re-playable. I just prefer stuff that's a little bit more unique.
Amazing 2/3. Past that, I had to actively ignore the lyrics to appreciate the music.
