Quintessentially English in both sound and writing. Dickensian. Jethro Tull is certainly eccentric. Who else could write a 7 minute + epic about a creepy old pedophile, by the end of which we are dared to sympathize with the man? In musicianship, they sit at a precipice- they are too prog-ish for mass consumption, but they are no Yes or King Crimson- they know how to rock. They have a flute player. Why? Why not is a better question. It works, adding a unique texture. Cross Eyed Mary is about a elementary aged prostitute. That’s two songs in a row about pedophilia. I don’t want to know about these guy’s personal lives. Or maybe they made outragous songs just for the fun of it, like the Rolling Stones, but more bookish. The drums sound very close, but not very loud. Pretty nice. Excellent acoustic work. I’ve heard this album many years before. We’ll get to that. Did I mention the acoustic guitar? Incredible. Mother Goose. Wondering Aloud and Cheap Day Return are excellent song fragments, but they aren’t complete. For wondering aloud that’s a real shame, because it really is a beautiful song. What is Up to Me about? The lyrics seem to be an enigma. Not even Dylan could be this enigmatic. My best guess is it’s about a guy who beats his wife. I have no clue really. My God. I listened to this album obsessively for a few weeks in 2019 when I was in 9th grade and at that time, I was an atheist. Most of the songs on side two take a heavy anti-christian angle, which I loved at the time and now look on with disgust. I can at least say that on My God, the lyrics are a masterwork, no matter if I disagree with the lyrics. It gave me quite the chill. And it’s wonderful music. Why the choir section though? That self indulgent section puts a big dent in what would otherwise be the standout track on the album. When I first heard the song, I pictured as this atheistic anthem, but upon further listening, it is really quite a comedic song. Hymn 43 is not an anti Christian song as much as it is an anti christian song- it is directed against the personal failings of christians to uphold His example. But you could make that song about any religion. Regardless, it’s a good hard rocking tune, with some pretty good guitar riffing. Slipstream is another beautiful acoustic fragment. If you tied all those fragments together you’d have a pretty good song. What on earth is that string section. Even stupider than the choir section on My God. Locomotive Breath. A commentary on “overpopulation.” Quite frankly to me it takes on eugenic overtones. But on the other hand it sounds quite relevant to today, just in the sense that it seems like we’re all on a crazy runaway train to nowhere. Is that buzzing sound intentional? It’s awful. Wind Up is the kind of song that only really works as a finale, but it does its job well. Another anti-christian drag. I can get some of the sentiments, and I used to embrace the whole thing, but I’ve grown up. I’ve moved on. If watching the world for the last 8 years has taught me anything it is that the worst kind of world is one in which everybody interprets reality through their own lens, instead of all agreeing on one objective truth. In no other world could Donald Trump become president. I think there is a good side of rigid dogmatism that Ian Anderson failed to get. Nice to relive some old memories. Excellent album all things considered.

Quintessentially English in both sound and writing. Dickensian. Jethro Tull is certainly eccentric. Who else could write a 7 minute + epic about a creepy old pedophile, by the end of which we are dared to sympathize with the man? In musicianship, they sit at a precipice- they are too prog-ish for mass consumption, but they are no Yes or King Crimson- they know how to rock. They have a flute player. Why? Why not is a better question. It works, adding a unique texture. Cross Eyed Mary is about a elementary aged prostitute. That’s two songs in a row about pedophilia. I don’t want to know about these guy’s personal lives. Or maybe they made outragous songs just for the fun of it, like the Rolling Stones, but more bookish. The drums sound very close, but not very loud. Pretty nice. Excellent acoustic work. I’ve heard this album many years before. We’ll get to that. Did I mention the acoustic guitar? Incredible. Mother Goose. Wondering Aloud and Cheap Day Return are excellent song fragments, but they aren’t complete. For wondering aloud that’s a real shame, because it really is a beautiful song. What is Up to Me about? The lyrics seem to be an enigma. Not even Dylan could be this enigmatic. My best guess is it’s about a guy who beats his wife. I have no clue really. My God. I listened to this album obsessively for a few weeks in 2019 when I was in 9th grade and at that time, I was an atheist. Most of the songs on side two take a heavy anti-christian angle, which I loved at the time and now look on with disgust. I can at least say that on My God, the lyrics are a masterwork, no matter if I disagree with the lyrics. It gave me quite the chill. And it’s wonderful music. Why the choir section though? That self indulgent section puts a big dent in what would otherwise be the standout track on the album. When I first heard the song, I pictured as this atheistic anthem, but upon further listening, it is really quite a comedic song. Hymn 43 is not an anti Christian song as much as it is an anti christian song- it is directed against the personal failings of christians to uphold His example. But you could make that song about any religion. Regardless, it’s a good hard rocking tune, with some pretty good guitar riffing. Slipstream is another beautiful acoustic fragment. If you tied all those fragments together you’d have a pretty good song. What on earth is that string section. Even stupider than the choir section on My God. Locomotive Breath. A commentary on “overpopulation.” Quite frankly to me it takes on eugenic overtones. But on the other hand it sounds quite relevant to today, just in the sense that it seems like we’re all on a crazy runaway train to nowhere. Is that buzzing sound intentional? It’s awful. Wind Up is the kind of song that only really works as a finale, but it does its job well. Another anti-christian drag. I can get some of the sentiments, and I used to embrace the whole thing, but I’ve grown up. I’ve moved on. If watching the world for the last 8 years has taught me anything it is that the worst kind of world is one in which everybody interprets reality through their own lens, instead of all agreeing on one objective truth. In no other world could Donald Trump become president. I think there is a good side of rigid dogmatism that Ian Anderson failed to get. Nice to relive some old memories. Excellent album all things considered.

Is there anything of intellectual value on this album? Of course not. But if you want that, go listen to jethro tull or something. AC/DC’s simplistic style of rock n’ roll works wonders and establishes this album as a classic. Bon Scott gives a tremendous performance, his last before he would go down his own highway to hell less than a year later. Night Prowler kicks ass. If I was a serial killer (Richard Ramirez) it would be my favorite song too. Also the title track is an all time classic. The eight songs between them ain’t too bad either. Beating around the bush has a great guitar riff, as does if you want blood you got it. A lot of the songs sound alike, but that’s kinda the point. The world has enough music that takes itself seriously. We need more music for delinquents.

The sound is very sparse and clean. Sounds very ethereal, dreamlike. Something that rewards close listening, but also works fine as something to zone out to. The lyrics don’t stick out much to me. The vocal duetting adds a nice touch. Everything sounds like it’s floating. Fantasy sounds like a conversation with a ghost. Perfect album for a rainy day. It is not exactly my kind of music but I like it. I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it again but if I heard it I wouldn’t mind. Also the cover is perfect for the music, aggressively minimalist.

The title track might just be the greatest guitar solo ever recorded. Eddie Hazel etched his name in history with this song alone. It’s a strongly held belief of mine that during the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, Rock and R&B/Soul were not separate genres, but instead existed as a spectrum, with the only distinction being the race of the performers involved, and this album is strong evidence for that thesis. This is a rock album, specifically a prog rock album. “Can You Get to That,” at least instrumentally, might as well be a CSNY song. Who was their drummer? He’s incredible. Hit it and Quit it is driven by a keyboard riff resembling the work of Keith Emerson. Emerson was quite funky. How have I never heard of this band? How has this incredible black prog band been hidden from me? We should be mentioning these guys in the same breath as the Yeses and Genesises and King Crimsons of the world. You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks really rocks. Damn this band is good. Super Stupid? Stupid good! They beat Deep Purple at their own game! And then on Back In Our Minds they do the same thing to the Stones! This album… a masterpiece born of the cultural wasteland that was the early 70’s USA… “Wars of Armageddon”, an anthem for the Nixon years. Psychedelic freakout! More power to the pussy! Fart solo… far out man! This album blew me away. Every expectation I had was shattered into a thousand pieces.

Eminem used to be good. Who knew. Eminem’s crazy, over the top style of humor makes this a very enjoyable listening experience. Peel the humor away and you get a gritty exploration of working class frustrations, and venting of Marshall’s personal demons. His lyrics are a lot smarter than people give him credit for, he walks a fine line between the juvenile and the profound.

It’s good. It doesn’t blow me away or anything, but it’s good. Eddie Van Halen’s guitar playing is simply incredible. The album is painfully dated though. Those synths… awful. Girl Gone Bad and Hot for Teacher are the standout tracks. It kinda pisses me off how people rate all of these “dad rock” albums at 1 or 2 stars. If you are a contrarian who hates rock and roll just for the sake of being different, then just come out and say it. I will be revisiting this sentiment many times to come.

This album takes me somewhere beautiful. It makes me feel five years old. It’s so wonderful. Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) is one of my favorite songs ever. The sound is all enveloping, surrounding you on every side. You can float away on it. Oh to be a child again. We need another Pet Sounds these days, a record without a hint of cynicism in it. Carefree, innocent. This is music for a simpler, better time. This is music for a perfect world. This is music for the kingdom of heaven.

Just a really good soul album. Steve Cropper’s guitar work is brilliant. Otis is an incredible singer. “Respect” is better than Aretha Franklin’s version. His cover of “Satisfaction” is so good that one journalist thought that the Stones covered him. There is not a single subpar song on here. An entire album of highlights. Otis was the man.