They don’t make real yearners like this anymore. He kind of sums up some of my favorite qualities of country music: a smooth voice, heartache, and longing. These days, I veer toward the more folk side of these sensibilities, so I don’t think I’ll come back to this album much. But I appreciate it, and this would’ve killed in my 16-year-old room.
Where had this album been all my life??? I loved this album. Its more R&B songs were the best in my opinion, which after doing some research seems like it was a newer experimentation for her at the time. These songs were sexxxxxxy, the lyrics, the sound, her voice—no notes. I didn’t fuck with the ballads that were more about herself as much, unfortunately, I’m no better than a man. But My All, Fourth of July, and Baby Doll are going to be on repeat. Perfect music for walking around town.
Lowkey surprised myself by knowing every song in here already minus the last one, but that just speaks to the feat this album undertook in aiming to make a record entirely comprised of hits. Was very interesting to read about the historical importance of the album at the time. Wish they played songs like this at the club still. I can imagine how fun it must’ve been to bust a move to Baby Be Mine 😞
I wish I could give this half ratings, I really want to give this like a 3.5. I love Janis Joplins voice, the instrumentals on this album are crazy. It was interesting to read that some of the sounds on the songs were really creative, like a bottle breaking on the ground that was then being swept up. Janis voice is so raw and full of emotion, piece of my heart is an instant banger for me. Psychedelic rock is not something I’d seek out on my own, but there’s a lot to love here.
Unfortunately this album, to me, at its best sounded like a mediocre soundtrack for a 90s Disney movie. (Phil Collins just rolled over in his grave.) At its worst, it was mind numbing and anemic. Nothing more than a very drab man’s diaristic thoughts that could’ve stayed relegated to the journal. The production? Unsurprising. The lyrics? Uninspired. His voice? Meek. The first song, Allergies, felt like it belonged in a Benadryl commercial. It seemed as though he had nothing he really wanted to say in any of these songs. In the track, Train in the Distance, near the end he sings, “What is the point of this story?” I wish he’d asked himself that before he set out to write. Seriously, Cars Are Cars? Need I say more? But I hear he did some great stuff with his band after this album. Sometimes, I suppose, you have to make terrible art to get at the good stuff.
Not my thing but if I had something to compare it to I feel like it would hold up. This is the kind of thing I could appreciate if it was being played in front of me but would never seek out on my own.
Thank god, I needed a palate cleanser from that Paul Simon album. This was funky and groovy, Little Wing and One Rainy Wish were by far my favorite songs on the album. He’s a master on the guitar of course, made me wish more artists were doing this these days. The lyrics leave something to be desired but that’s not really the point of his music! Appreciated that as he said, he’ll always let his freak flag fly 🙂↕️Sad that he only got to make music for four short years, just thinking about all he could’ve done with more time.
Vacation’s over, we’re back. This was fine. We listened to it while on a drive and I think it made nice background music, but I couldn’t say anything that stood out to me about it. I frankly couldn’t really understand what he was singing about, but I still found it to be miles above paul simon’s album, which is apparently my new litmus test for a three-star rating. I’ll never listen to it again but it served me well for a single hour.
If I had to describe what I thought adulthood would sound and feel like in high school, it would’ve been a CHVRCHES song. (Now whether that actually came to a fruition is a matter of debate.) This album took me back to peak high school, and it holds up. They are so good at what they do. I think their music, for me, is less about the lyrics and more about the feelings the sounds invoke—their whole sound is very “hope core” to me, but something I wondered about yesterday was whether this sound felt that way to everyone else, or if it just felt that way to me because I associate it with a simpler time in life? Much to think about. I’m happy I listened to this. I’ll be adding it back into my rotation.
They remind me of a trippier weirder beatles—not sure if that’s accurate at all. Doesn’t do much for me, but reading about them was interesting. I liked their hit Something 4 the Weekend.
Pretty easy to listen to, I’d give this a 3.5. I understand why it was as popular as it was, and it’s the kind of music I think would even play better live or at a festival. The only thing I knew about U2 was that confusing Itunes incident, so it was interesting to read about it now in post and see how it went down in history as a major blunder on part of Apple and U2. Also, one tree hill creators inspired by their song?? Crazy.
Banger instrumental album. The instrumentation is very impressive. Also, this is the perfect fall time, hanging around the house while I cook a meal music
This was lovely. Saturday sun was really nice. No strong feelings to report.
This is one of those albums that explains to you very clearly why someone is a legend. Just the introduction alone stunned me. I've never listened to an Elton John album in full, but I get it now. The writing alone is masterful, and I so look forward to sitting with these lyrics—which is to say nothing of his voice and the music. Sweet Painted Lady was one of my favorites, as was the title track. Long Live Elton!!!!
Unfortunately, for me this album suffers from coming after Jimi Hendrix in this experiment, because to me the former was the better rock n roll album. Some songs were standouts for me: Ten Years Gone and Night Flight. I love the imagery of “packing all my hopes into a matchbox.” I can see why they were legendary, but not fully for me.
Please god no more british rock bands. 🙏Put me out of my misery. Anyway, I always love to ride for a badass group of gals making some interesting music. But this was just okay. The production of the music itself didn’t stand out much, with the exception of 2:1 and Vaseline which were a very welcome vibe shift near the end of the album. The lyrics weren’t much to write home about either. This wasn’t as bad as Paul Simon (I’m excited to see who might one day top him in disaster), but they were largely forgettable to me. Shout out for this one string of very relatable lyrics though: “I'd work very hard, but I'm lazy I've got a lot of songs but they're all in my head”
Dylan gets a four from It’s Alright Ma alone. I really wasn’t a fan of the first half of the album—I think he is at his best when he’s doing folk inspired work, though I can respect that he was trying something new with the electric guitars. It made a lot of sense to learn that A side of the record was him experimenting with a more rock side and the B side of the record (the latter half) was a return to his more traditional folk roots. I think Mr. Tambourine Man, It’s Alright, Ma, and It’s All Over Now Baby Blue are some of his best work. It’s Alright, Ma really spoke to so many frustrations of American life that still resonate today. It reads almost like a list of grievances (in a good way). I wish he’d stuck with the folk sound, and apparently I’m not the only one—the folk scene at the time were livid with him for departing the genre. Me too, Bob!!!
GOD I want to be a Millennial so damn bad. I would've been the main character in a business casual fit at the club with some of these songs. The hits are still bangers and positively laced with nostalgia. Much of the rest of it is largely forgettable, and a little too trying-too-hard-to-be-deep at times. I give this a solid 3.5.