What an album to start this journey with! The lyrics are fairly impenetrable for me, but I love their feeling. The music is genre defining -melodic indie with folk and rock. It feels li-fi, but is so well produced and comped it is on another level. Wonderful 5⭐
4 stars
5 ⭐
Top 10 favourite. 2001, 21 years old at University. It was like this album was made for me - angular guitar underwritten with classic 60s pop sensibilities. I can remember where I was when I 1st heard Last Nite, and that is what your Favourites are all about.
The songs that aren't covers have 1 musical idea, repeated to the point of medium. The covers are ok, but hardly greatest album material. I don't appreciate it lyrically, and I feel that it is where it's got to hit you, as the songs are so repetitive.
The aim of doing this is to 1. find great albums I'd never listened to and 2. reasses albums I had once dismissed. This is one I am glad I have reassessed. After OK Computer, Radiohead dropped off a cliff for me. Kid A etc left me absolutely cold. This album had a cursory listen at the time, but the purchasing process was odd and I considered it less of a proper release because of it. I know I did prefer it to their post-OK releases at the time, but I never listened to it again until it appeared here. What I like about it is that there are songs with melodies and bass lines that groove a bit. And rhythm. Overall, it feels like these songs are allowed to breathe - all the intensity is dialled back a bit to let the tunes rise to the surface. Glad I listened again. The first time it was almost a 5, but a 4 is probably closer - it's not that great, but very, very good.l and one I will listen to again.
After slogging through 11mins long track 1, I was dreading the rest of the album, but I found I quite enjoyed the rest! It was weird, but inventive.
I had a friend who said "Why would I go and watch **** live? I can listen to all their songs perfectly on CD." For me, this album is the reason. Songs shouldn't exist in one perfect form - they are living, evolving things. And on this album, with Keith Jarrett improvising them from the musical either, that is demonstrated to perfection. He shows music isn't about the best piano, the best rehearsed, the best produced. It is also about the immediacy of the moment. My only problem with this album is that it sometimes reminds me of the theme tunes to those 80s US law dramas! They really spoilt melodic jazz for me.
Inoffensive and pleasent, but hardly exciting. Obviously not up with the real big hitters of the period and lacks the standout tracks that elevate bands from the crowd