Sweet, late 60s original hippy vibes. Easy to listen to, but nothing really stands out for me on this. I feel they have their best work very much ahead at this point!
Some beautiful sad, real sentiments and washy lush sonic-scapes. The wrestling with God is both appealing and off-putting for me. I got quite bored and had to take a break about 2/3rds of the way in though. I had listened to some of the somgs off this before but not the whole album. Quite samey in places with occasional flourishes. Feels like it would benefit from cutting down to the old school 45 mins maybe. Again very of its time.
Very much what I think of when I think of dad rock. Only 30 mins but I got pretty bored. American Girl at the end sort of brought it back. Quite catchy and the sort of thing I could (and probably have) enjoy dancing to at Dad Rock at the Hope and Ruin. Over all though, this just entrenched me in my feelings on Tom Petty.
I wouldn't really listen to this now, but it was something I loved and was surrounded by 20-odd years ago. It was funny to revisit it. Energetic and throw away and big. Death drives and love-woes under the indie-club lights. It's not for me now, it's for me and my friends in our early 20s. And some music needs to be for odd, jerky, awkward kids. I think it holds up better than a lot of indie from that time, but that's probably not saying much.
Evocative. Miserable. Enjoyable. An emptiness in the sound that feels intentional and like a grey 80s day on a boarded up highstreet with towerblocks. Swishy synth sounds. Drained vocals. The hits are songs I have played and heard a million times. I mostly kinda enjoyed the rest but also felt a bit weighed down. I liked the abstract number at the end, which I hadn't heard before.
Great to revisit this. I still love the straight-up, dramatic, brilliantly executed instrumentation and wild, dark, playful poetry. Gloria and Land: Horses.. were always my favourites and still still stand out to me with their 60s R&B/soul references, semi-religious/sacrareligious vibes, and particular playfulness in the lyrics. There's something really brilliant for me in how it plays with and twists rock'n'roll story tropes and imagery, and that was certainly a lot of the appeal when I was younger and more obsessed with that stuff. I enjoyed the whole thing though, just as it started to get a bit samey something shifts up, a well structured album in that way. Kimberley and Elegie also stood out. I'd like to spend some time with other Patti Smith records, I haven't done much of that.
This album still absolutely kicks it. So fun and bolshy. Of its time in a fun way. Nostalgic for me for several periods of my life, and I think also just a solid album. Well structured. Entertaining. Well put together, exciting, mid-90s (popish, rapish)rave. Playing at shock value in a way I find myself throughly respecting looking back at how rave culture was perceived at the time. Tbf this came out a month or two before my 15th birthday when i was already obsessed with their hits off this and Music For The Jilted Generation, and loving it in that teen way and then again later as a raver through my late teens, 20s and 30s defo plays into it, but yeah. It does exactly what it sets out to do with aplomb. Banger.
Started out well. Into the opening track, didn't mind it being long at all. Golden Years is one of my all time favs. But felt boring and self indulgent by the end, last track reminded me of the music of boringly self-indulgent friends. Overall gonna give it a 4 because it has one of my favourite songs on it and was mostly enjoyable.
Fine I guess, for what it is. Nothing to write home about. I was trying to think what might be interesting about it beyond just being connected to CSN... I guess maybe 69 is early for this sort of thing, particular style of solo guy from band does kind of dull meander album. Maybe? I can't say it feels like something that needs marking anyway. I wrote the above before Arlen did their digging out from the book. Gonna leave as is. Lol.