Opener Chameleon pulls you in slowly…head nodding already…. Not sure about the windpipes on track 2, they got on my nerves. But all in all a great jazz inspired quartet of tunes, Hancock was such a pioneer, this still sounds so fresh.
This was an album of two halves - a great half and the fillers.
First the great - I loved the loose call-response of Walt Whitman’s Niece, the laconic and hopeful California Stars (which I saw Wilco perform live at Moseley Folk to singalong impact) the tender Birds and Ships sung by Natalie Merchant, Bragg’s rendition of Way over Yonder…with Merchant was lovely and I replayed Wilco’s inspired One by One over and over. But too much was plodding and dull folk rock. I’m not convinced the man who wrote This Land is Your Land really meant for so many of his discarded poems/lyrics to be turned into songs - the nice if predictable lyric of At my window sad and lonely has been turned into a boring song when it might have been better left on the page; I didn’t like Hoodoo Voodoo at all, hated Christ for President, and Eisler on the Go was totally forgettable. I really didn’t enjoy Ingrid Bergman though have since read gushing reviews. I relistened as a result and still don’t get the love. On the plus side the vinyl cover is evocative and I might buy it just for that.
Depressing, melodic, memorable, simple and accessible yet with flashes of complexity that will shape their later work, this is a brilliant album that never gets boring. It’s five stars all the way for the memories it evokes, for the statement of intent it sounded, and it’s a memory untainted by what happened afterwards - no sell out, integrity intact, musical virtuosity and potential evident here was fulfilled. Excellent.
Used sparingly, a Hammond orgsn can be a thing of musical beauty. This is ugly and awful. Reminds me of the elderly duos who’d for some reason get booked to appear at estate pubs around Shrewsbury and Telford and the like to “entertain”with awful covers. I’ve always hated green onions the track and a whole album of this tripe was unlistenable.
FFS! Another load of white blokes. Is this a 'history of white male privilege as told through music' list or what? Oh and look whose up next, another old white dude. Jeez. Anyway, I let out a sneer when this Who opus came up and expected to instantly write it off as overblown rock opera shite. Then I got to properly listen to Overture, It's a Boy and 1921 and was mildly interested. Thankfully this blemish on my coolness (you knows it) was soon dispelled - I had no idea that Tommy of pinball wizard fame had endured bullying growing up at the hands of Cousin Kevin and then sex abuse at the hands of some weird uncle. Fiddle About has to be the most ridiculous and excruciating song about a horrific experience I think I've ever heard. Tommy's 'miraculous' rediscovery of his sight left me perplexed - was he kidding all along, or was it PTSD, or was it a miracle? Actually, I don't care. Thanks be to god that we only had to listen to the 1969 version and not the deluxe.
I wanted to love this, truly. Marvin’s smoky voice and troubled soul made him an icon but these “sexy toons” just left me cold. 30 odd minutes of it left me feeling dirty and not in a good way. It sounds sleazy rather than sensual; the type of LP men would slide on to ‘impress the ladies’. The songwriting is lame, the production overblown. It’s no rightful heir or What’s Goin On.
After they exploded into our lives with their first LP I’d high hopes for Oasis. I loved Liam’s fuck you attitude and rasp. There are high spots - Champagne Supernova, Cast No Shadow, What’s The Story - and Hello will be a banging intro to their gigs this summer - but I can’t help being disappointed when I listen afresh to how plodding much of it is. Status Quo anyone…
I’m going to start this review by saying that the temptation to abandon this project is high, as we are now 9-10 albums in and there hasn’t been a single female artist and a total fail of diversity, with every performer so far either British or American, and all but one has been white. I didn’t come here to listen to familiar chart toppers from 1970s and 80s but to discover new sounds…secondly, Eminem is a sexist homophobe and doesn’t deserve even 1 on that basis but by that measure I’d have to eliminate huge chunks of the music making zeitgeist. I also need to allow for slim shady being a no filter alter ego used for artistic purposes to spout violent fantasies. But I can dislike all that while also thinking he lived an early life I can’t contemplate and that his anger and bitterness are rooted in the actions of adults around him. Some of his work is real poetry, some of the tunes are bangers. I gave an extra point for using music to get out of misery, and a point for the humour. Now Talking Heads - I didn’t get round to listening this time round but i remember it as a brilliant LP of the era, a classic and worth a 4 for Once in a Lifetime alone
This is exactly what I'm in this project for - music that has passed me by, that is different to anything I'd normally listen to, and which leads me onto other artists. Love the Latin vibe, acoustic tone, druggy beats and punk ethic, and loved learning more about Manu Chao. His Wiki entry is amazing. I found it enchanting and interesting and listened again after reading about him and found the experience was better for it. If you did not listen, make it one to visit on a sunny evening, with a glass of wine (or a spliff).
It's not even their best work so...
What a banging opening -1999 deserves its classic status and Little Red Corvette's memorable, then it peters right out. Not my cuppa tea back in the day (1982, aged 14) - I preferred my music spiky and lo-fi so no doubt sneered at this for its pomp and production. I remember back in the day finding the whole sexy talk of Prince squirmish rather than sensual, ridiculous rather than raunchy, and nothing's changed. Sample lyrics 'Work your body like a whore' and 'This is your pilot Prince speaking, you're flying aboard the Seduction 747 and this plane is fully equipped with anything your body desires' do natch for me.
Some proper decent beats. Share the Fall, Heroes, the brilliant Brown Paper Bag...all sounding as fresh now as 20 years ago.
So, I'm a big fan of The National, coming to them quite late and this was the first album I paid much heed to. Some of the tunes here are still iconic favourites in their live sets. Matt Berninger wears the weight of the world on his narrow shoulders well and paints incredibly moving vignettes of ordinary unhappy lives. The stomping Blood Buzz Ohio is possibly my favourite track of their entire output - 'I still owe money to the money to the money I owe', England, Vanderlye Cry Baby Geeks, Sorrow...okay, I love all of it really. It's not their best, that came later, and I can't give half scores (it's a 4.5) so it will have to be a four just because they grew on me much more later.
