1001 Albums Summary

Heavy Metal not my cup of tea. That said. This iconic album, I will give three stars. The lead singers voice is really jarring. He would be better off bring an accountant, saving his voice, and enjoying the weekends for a change.

At nearly one full hour, this band, Jefferson Airplane, which would eventually become “Jefferson Starship in the late 1970s packs a powerful punch, with their second released album “Surrealistic Pillow”. Classified as a “psychedelic rock” band, it really has more blues and folk rock influences than pure drug hallucination inspired tunes. Of course, one of the bands biggest hits, “White Rabbit” does have an unvarnished narrative of hallucinogenic drug references that gave Jefferson Airplane that “psychedelic” moniker. As this is my second “published review,” I have to say that I’m not in the habit of actually listening to an entire side of an album, let alone “both sides” of an album. But this process is a very healthy one for me, as I listen to “all tracks” of an album, including the “deep cuts” of an album that rarely get any airplay on radio stations. I felt that these “deep cuts” including “Today,” “Comin’ Back to Me,” and “Embrionic Journey” among other Jefferson Airplane songs deserve fresh hearings. This is the third album I reviewed, although Lou Reed’s “Transformer” never made it to the “publishing stage.” Nevertheless, Jefferson Airplane’s album “Surrealistic Pillow” is an album that I play again and again, as there are many songs on this album that sound pleasing to this writer’s ear. I give it five out of five stars.

I’ll say at the outset that I’m not a fan of the “rap” subgroup of the “hip hop” genré. I’m used to the hard, nasty, curse laden words that are so harmful to women, and other marginalized groups. But wouldn’t the worst of worst rap groups like Two Live Crew, NWA, and Tupac NOT be included in the 1001 albums that you need to hear before you die? Wouldn’t these groups be considered too rude, lewd, and socially unacceptable to be considered to gain entry into this vaunted list of “The 1001 Albums that you need to listen to before you die”? But A Tribe Called Quest is a bit different from these more raucous rap groups. They appear more refined, uttering poetry rather than raw aggressive lines. This poetry is articulated clearly and defines a story. This is what makes A Tribe Called Quest stand out from the rest of the hip hop community. While the group can’t resist throwing in an explicative here and there, especially on some of the songs like “Butter,” and “Infamous Date Rape.” A Tribe Called Quest proves that not all hip hop is created equal. One must keep an open mind, and decide for oneself if this group is truly a “cut above the others.” I think it is. I give “The Low End Theory” Four out of Five stars.