Well fuck. I wrote a long, almost thoughtful review for this one and when I had to refresh the page it got lost. Fuck it, now you get two stars because I'm petty like that.
One of those bands I'd heard about but never heard. Everything I heard about them sounded like they aren't my thing. Listening to this confirms they are not my thing.
A classic, stone cold. The smoldering 6/8 burn is strong with this one.
Not a fan of Black Keys. I'll try to give it a listen. Welp, still very meh. I don't see the appeal to these guys at all.
The heavy riffing songs are the epitome of swamp music. That opening drum groove on "I Ain't The One" really sets it all up. I'd be surprised if that hasn't been sampled for a bunch of hip hop songs. I never need to hear "Free Bird" or "Simple Man" ever again. Those have lost all their punch due to being overplayed, and Free Bird just being a straight up punch line.
This is one of those albums that is like air. It's such an integral part of the musical landscape that I can't imagine what pop music would be without it. That said these songs are also so ubiquitous that I rarely seek them out on their own. Wait a little bit and if you're listening to the right radio stations you'll hear one of them.
Well fuck. I wrote a long, almost thoughtful review for this one and when I had to refresh the page it got lost. Fuck it, now you get two stars because I'm petty like that.
Very mopey and weepy. I'm glad I didn't discover this when I was a sullen teenager full of imaginary heartbreak. I skipped a lot of these songs, too slow and boring. I was going to give it two stars benefit of the doubt for being a product of its time, then I realized that "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" was the only song I listened to all the way through. I'm okay to never hear any of these songs again. Glad the BeeGees left this behind for the more energetic tunes in the mid '70s.
This aged better than I thought it would back in the day. Could say more about my thought process back then. Super solid grooves. My one gripe is that it's too long. Everyone was trying to fill the 70 minute capacity of the cd and I get worn out before it's over. Could've been two albums.
I've known about "That Lady" for decades, feel really foolish for sleeping on the rest of this album. Their choices of covers and the arrangements just kick ass. I gotta go buy it and add it to my library. These songs need to be in my regular rotation.
Everyone knows "LaGrange" and "Jesus Just Left Chicago". The real killers on this album are "Master of Sparks" and "Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers". One of the very first albums I bought with my own money (5 or so years after it came out) because of LaGrange and I had no idea what I was in for!
Definitely an album that is of its time. The style isn't really my thing but the playing and production are top notch. Great guitar/bass interplay and a locked in drum beat are hard to resist. The themes they're singing about are still way too relevant today. The level of cognitive dissonance of right wingers listening to this and interpreting it as a paean to corporate bootlicking is off the charts. This band had something righteous to say and those tools took that message 180° in the opposite direction.
I didn't listen to this back when it came out but I remember there was a lot of hype and praise around it. I was pretty ready to not like it and was pleasantly surprised when I enjoyed this one. It started to feel pretty same-y to me so the different voices on "Get Out of My House" and instrumentation on "Fit But You Know It" were really welcome change-ups. I'd listen to this again, maybe more in chunks than the whole thing though.
Dug it, a lot. Haven't listened to it in years and it kinda took me by surprise as I'd felt like I'd had my fill of Radiohead. Reminded me of why they're such a great band.
Starting off great. Recognized "Ponta De Lança Africano" from a mixtape given to me in the '90s. This bodes well. Apparently Rod Stewart yoinked the melody for "Do You Think I'm Sexy?" from "Taj Mahal". And no Rod, I don't. This record grooves hard! I also appreciate that most of the songs are in the 3-4 minute range. It's going on my cookout/picnic playlist for sure.
Being a 'young punk' in the late '70s I was stupidly dismissive of anything with a synth and programmed beats as 'new wave fluff'. Listening to this decades later with more accepting ears I'm realizing how much I missed by being a young proto-hipster snob. This album is kicking ass. The bass is killing it from beginning to end. Social inequality themes are still all too topical.
A+ record. Been listening to these songs since the early '80s and they still sound as fresh as back in the day. Say no more.
This is hitting the spot on a Monday morning. When "One Two Cha Cha Cha" came on I got a big smile. Now I want to see this movie! The local dosa restaurant has contemporary Indian music videos playing all day. The old white dude cultural bias in me wants to hear these tunes in there. Next time I go I'll look for some similarities or nods to the oldies in those videos/songs.
Listening on a Tuesday morning. This one isn't landing with me very much. I really got into "Hail To The Thief" but I'm just not feeling this one. A little too samey tempos makes the songs all kind of blend into one long Thom Yorke moan. A little goes a long way. This one might work for me if I'm in the right mood but I doubt I'll give it another chance. Too many other things to check out.
Worked for me as background music and certainly a cut above meditation music. Some good themes going on but for me could've used a little more tension/release moments. The youtube cut I found was ripped from vinyl and had some hisses and other noise. Being old and remembering the days of scratchy records I really appreciated that.
1977? Feels like this one's been around a lot longer really. I tried to leave as much of my memories and feelings about the hits on this one behind for this listen. Had marginal success. "Get It Right The First Time" felt fresh at least. I still think "Everybody Has A Dream" was unnecessary. That one feels like he was angling for the Saturday Night Live outro song. I"d have put my feelings about the hits behind and given this 4 stars if not for that song.
This one's took me on a fantastic little trip. Works to either sit, listen and get lost in the music or to have on when doing something to help keep me going. I'd love to sit and listen to this on vinyl through a state of the art early '60s hi-fi, as God intended. Ah what the hell, first one (I'm only 20 in) I listened to twice in one day.
Aw hell yeah! I remember when this came out, it wasn't my scene but a lot of it was inescapable. Listening to it as a whole today I don't know if I would've liked it then as much as I do now (which is a lot). Sadly the themes are all too relevant (maybe even moreso) in 2025. Music and loops are definitely of their time but are still super solid grooves. I will be revisiting this fairly regularly.
Making 'simple' songs sound so vital and alive is no small task. Enjoyed this listen, haven't heard a lot of these songs in years. "Who'll Stop The Rain?" still can stop me in my tracks. I don't usually go for extended editions and bonus tracks but noticed that Booker T and the MGs are on a bonus track of "Born On The Bayou", Had to give that a listen and I wasn't disappointed.
Good lord this makes me cringe at what a blockhead I was back in my early 20s. I dismissed it as fluff, akin to the bubblegum pop that was all over AM radio in the '70s. If it wasn't fast and loud with distorted guitars and snide vocals I had no use for it. Listening in the intervening years I've opened up to the substance behind the slickness. There's some great music here. The hits are the strongest tunes, but there are a lot of those. Happy to hear this on a busy Wednesday morning.
I had this one back in the day (thanks, BMG Music Club) and don't recall what happened to it. Listening now I know why I don't miss it. I really appreciate the bigger names collaborating and bringing attention to Mr. Hooker, but the songs don't really bear repeat listens. JLH doing vocal vamps over Hooker-esque grooves laid down in a workmanlike fashion ends up with a somewhat sterile result. Oddly enough the track furthest from my sweet spot, "No Substitute", is my favorite one on the album. Taking it back to just JLH and a 12 string guitar has the strongest punch of the whole album. For that track and putting John Lee Hooker in the ears of a lot of people who had never heard (or heard of) him before I'm giving it three stars.
The blueprint for the 'Neil Young Sound'. I was hesitant to even give it a spin at first being pretty familiar with these songs over the years but I'm glad I did. I always seem to like the Crazy Horse stuff. Hearing the full album in order really gave me a lift.
I guess you had to be there. I get it, they were on fire and playing the hell out of their instruments. It just doesn't move me, and I'm familiar with a lot of the songs. From Wikipedia, "but were unenthusiastic about recording a live album..." and I can see why. There's something lost in the translation to vinyl here for me. Would have been a fantastic show to have attended but not having been there I'd rather listen to the studio versions of these songs. "Lazy" is maybe the exception to that feeling for me. This version is killing it. However I don't need a twenty minute version of "Space Truckin'"...ever.
Another of those bands whose name I was familiar with but the music not so much. Started off okay, pleasant sounding tune that moved along well, until it didn't end. These guys have a serious problem of not knowing when a song should be over. An unhealthy addiction to reverb too.