1/1001 :: Buffalo Springfield - Again Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? **Maybe** but probably not Rating: Strong 5, **Light 6** Fav Tracks: **Mr Soul**, Broken Arrow I definitely consider myself a Neil Young fan and own a bunch of his music but admittedly I haven't listened to much before his solo stuff. That said, this album starts off with a bang. **Mr Soul** is a Neil Young classic I know very well as it's featured on a couple of his Greatest Hits collections. It's awesome and nothing else on the album sounds like it which makes it a little weird to set the pace with this and then jump into a Richie Furay song. I found myself liking the Neil songs on this album a lot. The Stephen Stills songs quite a bit. And with the exception of the funky Soul Train backed *Good Time Boy* the Richie Furay songs not at all. Overall the Neil songs sounded fresh and these other songs sounded very 60s which was fine (not offensive) just not so interesting... Good Sunday album though and nice to start here.

2/1001 :: Yes - Fragile Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Rating: Light 4 Fav Tracks: Heart of the Sunrise, South Side of the Sky Apparently this Prog Rock virtuoso of an album was released in 1971 but you could've fooled me because it sounded really 80's to my ear (and not in a good way)... While I had never listened to this album there were 2 songs that were very familiar. Roundabout & Long Distance Runaround are staples on my local classic rock radio station (i95 FM). And Roundabout being the first song set the tone for the album. These musicianship is highly skilled, but there was a ton of bad synth and noodley guitar work which frankly is not my bag. Ironically there were many elements here that reminded me of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (who I love) but without the edge and that was my issue with it. Also felt like half the songs were instrumentals and my TBH i only really liked parts of my Fav Tracks (Heart of the Sunrise, South Side of the Sky) as both of those songs could have used a real haircut IMO. Now on to No. 3 !

3/1001 :: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ✅ Rating: 9 Fav Tracks: Tombstone Shadow, Bad Moon Rising, Sinister Purpose Frankly I haven’t spent enough time with Creedence and while celebrated I feel like they’re a bit underrated. The Apple Music liner notes said when they made Green River in 1969 they were at the “height of their powers” and to my ear that rang to be true. This album is incredible. Frankly I thought every song was pretty damn good if not great… If I had one criticism of the album it’s that there’s not much innovation happening here. They’re all Southern rock blues based tunes but they’re doing it at a super high level. Sinister Purpose is the one song here where they seem to break the mold into something that almost sounds more mechanical and dare I say Post Punk-ish… I will be buying this on vinyl at some point

4/1001 :: Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ➖ Rating: 7.5 Fav Tracks: Mercy Me, What’s Going On I’ve been looking at this album for years wondering if I should buy it on vinyl even though I had never listened to it. It’s easily considered one of the greatest albums of all time and it’s something I should like right? Well, I thought it was really good but frankly I’m not sure I would ever listen to it again… First of all the production is quite impressive. I feel like Abbey Road inspired this type of album where the songs flow seamlessly into each other. Also, with Vietnam in full swing, Marvin’s approach to political commentary makes this one really special. Capped off with his lush voice and all the beautiful jazzy instrumentation it’s a graceful record. All that said, it’s something I can appreciate but not something I would generally reach for and that’s OK.

5/1001 :: The Black Keys - Brothers Heard before? ✅ Would I revisit? ✅ Rating: Solid 6, Light 7 Fav Tracks: Tighten Up, Howlin’ For You, Everlasting Light, Unknown Brother I’ve listened to this album a bunch actually. It’s not my favorite Black Keys album but Tighten Up probably my favorite song from them (if I had to choose). I said I would revisit the album because I do plan to buy this on vinyl one day. Waiting till the day I see it in the Used Bin for $15 bucks… But other than in a vinyl format I’m not sure I would listen to the whole thing without skipping tracks. Overall, the album would benefit from a nip and tuck. Clocking in at almost an hour I would probably cut 4 or 5 tracks especially because there are a bunch of tracks that are doing similar things. The Black Keys are always a little one dimensional in that way but sometimes it’s exactly what I’m looking for. Should also be noted this album would play well at a backyard BBQ…🍻

6/1001 :: Sam Cooke - One Night Stand! (Live At The Harlem Square Club) Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Rating: Strong 4, Light 5 Fav Tracks: Bring It On Home To Me, Having A Party This show happened in 1963 in Harlem (NYC). My guess is the crowd was 95% black (or more at that time) and if you asked anyone who went; it was probably the best show they ever saw. Listening to the recording you can feel the energy in the room. Yelling, dancing, drinking and twisting the night away was had for sure. I’m not a Sam Cooke aficionado but I know some tracks. Love Bring It On Home To Me and he seemed like a gracious host here garnering crowd participation and singing his ass off. All that said, I’m not a huge live album guy unless the recording is really great and the performance is tight. This is not that at all. It’s very loose and there’s a lot of crowd noise which gives you a good feel for what happened at the show but takes away from the recording a bit. I did like the album better the 2nd time around and even dabbled in a 3rd listen and it kept my toe tapping. Overall while I could see my self snagging a Sam Cooke greatest hits this album is not something I would buy or probably reach for again.

7/1001 :: Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters Heard before? ✅ Would I revisit? ➖ Rating: 6 Fav Tracks: Cosmonauts, Fetch The Bolt Cutters, Heavy Balloon I was definitely excited for this when it came out. I’m not a huge Fiona Apple fan but I loved Criminal and was happy when this came around (especially in the middle of Covid). Then Pitchfork gave it a 10 (yes a 10!!). Probably the most overrated Pitchfork review of all time. This album is very abstract. It takes many listens. Too many for me to love it but I commend her for going out on a limb. It’s layered, challenging, and not in the least cookie cutter. I actually kinda wish it was a little easier to listen too because maybe I would like it. There’s a lot of great here but it’s so left of center from a song writing perspective it comes off sporadic sat times. I put down maybe but there’s a better chance I won’t be going back to this…

8/1001 :: The Fall - The Infotainment Scan Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ✅ Rating: Strong 6, Light 7 Fav Tracks: Lost in Music, It’s A Curse Never heard of this band before let alone this album. I think based on the cover art I guess I thought this was gonna sound like YES or Steely Dan or something… It was of course neither of those things. Frankly I’m shocked this came out in 93. It had a very post punk feel to it. Very Joy Division but more quirky and not as dark. The album seemed to trail off at the end in quality but I also think that I might just need more time with it. Which is also why I said I would revisit. There are similar bands/albums I like better but I also think giving this one some more runs would be good.

9/1001 :: The Mamas & The Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Rating: Light 3 Fav Tracks: Somebody Groovy, California Dreamin’ Aside from Monday, Monday, California Dreamin’ and their cover of In Crowd I had never heard this album before. The Mamas and the Papas are a product for of the time. Feels like there are no original ideas here and it’s just a 60s (or at times 50s) pop album. The music is not offensive and I understand its place in time. These songs are a good backdrop for a movie that takes place in the 60s. Overall it’s fine, but unless I’m missing something it’s pretty uninteresting and I won’t be returning.

11/1001 :: John Martyn - Solid Air Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Rating: 2 Fav Tracks: Over The Hill, Dreams by the Sea I don’t know… I never heard of this album or artist before. There were some Nick Drake / Amigo The Devil type things going on here but honestly I listen to a lot of music like this and frankly I just didn’t find this one that interesting. Some cool acoustic guitar work with some atmospheric elements sprinkled in but I think if the music is gonna be this sparse the vocal needs to be more captivating. Maybe if I spent more time with it I’d find things to love but I got 990 more albums to go…

11/1001 :: The London Suede - Dog Man Star Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ✅ Rating: Strong 8 Fav Tracks: This Hollywood Life, The Power Was cool to see the reactions when I posted to #NowPlaying this Am. It was easy to see how someone could fall in love with this album. Dynamic, very operatic (like Queen at times) and also very very Bowie. Felt like Ziggy Stardust Vol. 2 in many cases. That’s not a bad thing if it’s done right and for the most part I’d say it was. Albums like this is why I’m doing this exercise. It’s a little over the top for me at times but that’s OK overall this album was fucking great. Wonder if these cats have enough good albums for a Discogs run? Lastly, feels like this album should’ve come out in 84 VS 94 but whatever I’ll take it…

12/1001 :: Faust - Faust IV Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Rating: 5 Fav Tracks: Just A Second/Picnic on a Frozen River File this under bizarre industrial album that would be cool to play if you owned a coffee shop and didn’t want to offend anyone with your music taste but also wanted to come off as avant garde. Lots of interesting parts here but the structure of these songs are so loose. A couple of them have no words too and would have been good contenders for our Discogs Instrumentals run. While I can appreciate this and thought some of it was pretty rad I’m not sure I would go back. That is of course unless I open up a avant garde coffee shop, which if I’m being honest I would love to do… So I guess there’s still hope, but the chances are slim.

3/1001 :: Massive Attack - Blue Lines Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Rating: 2 Fav Tracks: ——— I’m here to tell you I tried. It wasn’t the first…could be the last. Thing is “Massive Attack” is such a great name. But I want them to be a 90’s post hardcore band or something and they are far from that. I like Portishead but maybe Trip-Hop isn’t my thing. I know there are people that love this album but this vibe is not for me. You folks like this?