1001 Albums Summary

Would I listen to it again? Maybe not. Has my opinion changed after finding out the lead singer and songwriter is an anti-natalist weirdo? Maybe. But I do actually like the instrumentation. Especially on 'A Forest'. It is very atmospheric, and I probably enjoyed the parts without vocals the most and maybe it would be better served as an instrumental piece. The bottom line is that I'm pretty sure we can embrace every piece of music and love it as if we ourselves had made it / are the one who is generating it right now as it is heard. But I haven't done that and I don't like his misanthropic gothy southern-accent-having ass.

I feel like the instrumentation is solid. It's hard to sit through 17 rap songs all in one go. Maybe if I were in a different mood/ had a different temperament, I would enjoy it more. I feel like it is better, and the lines and rhymes less cringy/forced/clunky, than what I have heard before of this older style of hip hop. Maybe this is because it came out at a much later point than the others I am comparing it to, but Jurassic 5 seem to be masters of a craft no longer corny. They operate with the intelligence, subtlety and stylistic sense of artists in the solved late-stage scrubland of a genre that was out of its golden age and on its way out when this album was released. The Slim Shady LP coming out in 1999 puts Power in Numbers' 2002 release into context. Was it treading on new ground? Or was it already somewhat dated? Songs that jumped out to me were 'Freedom', 'If You Only Knew', 'Thin Line'. More thoughtful than most rap while never straying into kente kufi cringiness. Soulful and just generally solid. But it's also not my cup of tea. Maybe a later listen would be of benefit.

The best track on this album is 'Thinking of You'. An absolutely immortal banger. An anthem of Love with a capital L. It is not disco album-filler with the typical themes of romantic love, but it is rather an ecstatic spiritual declaration of divine love. "Without love, there's no reason to live" This is no simple love song. Of course there are elements of that, but the song is clearly about a higher possibility. Love not just for a partner but inwardly and outwardly in all directions beyond understanding. A transformatory ecstasy for the pavement, the shadows, the breeze - for this very day. Love is all. The substrate of existence is love. "What do you think brought the sun out today?" Maybe a soppy cliché but maybe a truth hidden in plain sight. Divine love can be tasted by considering the possibility that it was you who brought the sun out. That it was you who dawned the new day. That all love songs are about the listener. This song gets across the ecstasy of life. Sublime instrumentation and rhythmic foundations that would have made it an enjoyable and significant track even without the addition of its lyrical content. A crowning virtuoso vocal performance just shows it was no accident that this track came about and there is perfection on every level. Even small elements like the inclusion of conga drums just confirm that this is a cut above what is typically churned out. It is a true delight wherever in the song your attention strays to as every detail is of the highest quality. This is what music is. Through whichever car stereo this song comes on speaks the voice of god and the opportunity is provided for the ecstasy of this moment to be realised. A message who itself is the message. Love talking of love. All rises in the coda as Kathy Sledge unleashes her voice over the chanting of repeated lines in what must be ecstasy. This song makes it so the album it is found on could never be below 5 out of 5. "Once you try it, I am sure that you'll see"

'I wants to get funked up.' Obviously the production and instrumentation is amazing. I liked the intro of 'P-Funk' where the concept of the broadcasting mothership is established. The listener is slapped senseless as soon as the beat first drops and the funk starts. Reminds me of when edibles were fun and not yet nightmarish. Where you are floating in space and give everything up to the music. What better hands to be in than afro-american astronauts broadcasting funk across the cosmos. 'Give Up The Funk' was also another highlight. But does it have depth? Some of the tracks are very enjoyable and it makes for a very enjoyable cosmic journey to be lost in. But it is also just lacking another side to it. Is there any emotional depth or it all just a good time? If there was more emotional exploration then it would be 5.

'I'm so Bored with the U.S.A'? Nah, I'm so bored with this album. This is rebellion for people who live in a Simpsons montage. I go into this album expecting something explosive and seminal and hard, and, of course, it is going to be dated -- and maybe it was controversial and electric for those at the time (which I actually doubt because it came out in 1977 so it wasn't even that early) -- but it is just limp. Again, maybe that is because of what has come after it and what has influenced the ground on which I stand, but right now I can't really vibe with it. It feels watered down. There is sometimes a foreshadowing of the Nirvana to come - like in the chords of the track 'Deny'. But I already have Nirvana. If I were to get somehow lost in it without expectation of reputation, then maybe I would like it for what it is, but I haven't. I have listened to other 'historic' (old, not necessarily legendary) songs and albums and can see a perennial newness in them as they become loosed from their storied historical contexts and are heard afresh. This hasn't happened here. The chords seem simplistic, the sound - perhaps too clean, and the political and societal commentary is not that cutting or clever. I can't imagine this ever being rebellious or cool. Really, I should like a mad young man shouting about how terrible society is and causing a ruckus, but alas. I did actually like the song 'Police & Thieves'. Again, I believe if we sit with an album for long enough with an open mind and full, concentrated, curious attention, then we can love any song as if it were our own. But then would everything get 5/5? So I instead go off first impressions, listen only once, and give cunty sweeping statements to make it interesting. I would be interested to hear more emotion and tender introspection interspersed with the shouting. I feel that would have given it a better chance at being timeless -- more sadness with the frustration. There are hints of this in the beginning of 'Garageland'. The backing vocals and harmonica and the chord changes almost seem like it is going to reach a deeper level, but it never really does. I think it is missing a tragicness to go along with its other elements. Is punk just synonymous with nitwitted? 2/5

Not for me. I find it strange that this album is on the list. It's ok, but I wouldn't really listen again. Maybe you had to be there.

'Man in the Mirror' is genius. The rest of it is overrated.

Goes harder than the Clash. Crystal clear instrumentation and vocals. The title track is definitely the best song on the album. She needs to cultivate a better taste in men.

Man Down. That song was cool. I didn't listen to the rest. I think he is overrated, though. Feeling like it's an emperor's new clothes scenario. Obvious talent. But how good is it really? It's no Eminem.

The instrumental for Lady Gaga's Poker Face is better than this whole album. :/

Mong out music. I wonder if it's a case of the emperor's new clothes going on here. People online have said it is like whiskey and the more you try it the more you realise why people like it. But I'm wondering if they have deluded themselves or not.

One of the best albums of all time. And yet it was not a success when it was released and would cause The Zombies to disband shortly after. Stand-out tracks would be: Care of Cell 44 (Great start to the album. Fresh and positive. Unique and bright instrumentation. Beautiful and tight backing vocals and harmonies. Melancholious and optimistic at the same time. Exquisite Beach Boy-esque a cappella breakdowns. British innocence that is now nostalgic. Driving and inspired.) A Rose For Emily (Intricate and top-class harmonies. The song tells a story, and you are admitted into another world for a short while. Simple and complimentary instrumentation.) Beechwood Park (Stunning and haunting backing vocals (seriously, gives me chills when they first come in) - sounding for a ravishing moment and gone before they can be mourned. Another story song. Invoking memories and places that will not come back. We shouldn't underestimate the privilege it is to be let into someone else's world like this. Organ reminiscent of a Whiter Shade of Pale.) I Want Her She Wants Me (So many of their songs feel like the elusive heightened positivity only a Summer's day is capable of. Can really see the influence of the Beatles and the Beach Boys.) This Will Be Our Year (Classic. Unique sound. Clear and bright vocals and instrumentation. Every song seems to be arranged in a beautiful and considered harmony between the vocals and the instruments - there is never any playing where it is not needed, and silence is given appreciation and generous space throughout the whole album and this song especially.) Time of the Season (Immortal. White soul.) But truly, every song is enjoyable. The melodies and harmonies are utterly unique and remarkably crystal clear, and every song was a first take. Odessey and Oracle (unintentionally mispelled by their friend) is a portal to a better place. From the beginning of Care of Cell 44 we are transported elsewhere. To a place that feels like Summer. It feels like an innocent England. A creativity given the confidence and imagination to longingly venture onto the thin air of infinity, inspired and allowed for by the example of the trailblazing Beatles. This is the Summer of Love (it was actually recorded in the Summer of Love and you can really tell!). Daringness to dream and musically express beyond all predecession. There is a great forward positive energy, and the instrumentation gives way to the vocals and the vocals to the instrumentation. It is a wonder that the album was not a contemporaneous success as it fits right into the English pop and rock canon. The question is, are you better off for listening to this album? How is your mood during and after this album? Are you wondering and dreaming a little more since? The answer is yes. 35 minutes of pure musical genius.

Pretty Cool