Guitar really pushes melodies on this record. Lyrics are full of places and personal connections, giving a sense of environment. Production is super clean and clear. Not my cup of tea, but not a bad record by any definition.
Sinister, and yet fun. I’m convinced The Chauffer was the inspiration to a good amount of the White Lotus score.
Come for the high octane, stay for the weird stufff
There’s a tension and disconnection that seems to permeate the guitars. A lot of the songs are folksy, but then you hear the electric guitar come in almost impatiently and overly assert its presence. It works, oddly enough.
It’s an aging man’s dream fully realized, and you can dance to it…
As frigid as it is burning up, as subtle as it is quiet. Guitars in this are played by angry robots. I’m convinced they are not human, and yet more human than all of us.
Simple, direct, conveying hardship in the prettiest warbly voice imaginable.
Soft, bold, sometimes abruptly ending songs…fully realized character arc. Strong record overall.
Solid guitar playing is a highlight, vocals carry the melodies and really drive the songs. Some great hooks. However, the whole record pretty much sticks in the same tempo gear and blends the whole record into itself, which takes away something from my enjoyment.
Minor keys abound. The dramatic lead vocals and the even more dramatic lead guitar feel like they’re in Fleetwood Mac together and just had regrettable sex. The first half is more urgent than the back half and it meanders at points, channeling a bit of Wilco, a dash of Jeff Buckley and a shake of Afghan Whigs.
At points this feels like 60s Top 40 radio on acid, at others it feels like appropriation, but it was at a time where the intent of the appropriation was clearly from a place of respect. A lot of contemporary artists make more sense when listening to this record. Not if my generation, but I get it; maybe not all the way, but I can appreciate this record’s cultural significance. Boomer dad’s fave basement jams.
A full sounding record in every sense.
Beauty of a baritone, singing sad songs in kind of a hi-fi folk. Not my jam but I totally understand.
I knew very little about this band when I listened to the record, but found out they were all ex-GIs who put this together in Germany. I'm not much of a "garage rock" person, but I can see a lot of influence this band has had over then next many decades. Being a band made up of military folks making this kind of music in the 60s must have been a wild thing to contend with, considering most of the anti-war sentiment permeating the culture. The whole record feels very much "let see what happens" and that contributes to a lack of a narrative thread. Vocals are feral and impressive, the musicians sound like they're having fun (especially the guitars and organs); it would have been special to see this band live.
Some self-indulgent music can be forgiven. This is not among that music; I just can’t get into this stuff. The musicians are fine, the vocals are alright, but it’s 90% sizzle and swagger. It feels like I’m being sold something that should be likeable. There are a few good tracks (The Man Who Would Be King & The Saga jump to mind) but otherwise, this is a miss for me.
Strong concept, very ambitious genre-wise to mix soul, reggae, electronic synths and a mellow almost whispered rapping (alongside delightful singing feature players). This is a seed of trip hop, but much like a lot of other long-standing bands, I tend to like when they’ve mutated a bit for it to resonate with me. Think the Beatles, Wilco, or Radiohead; like those bands, Massive Attack benefitted from going deeper over time and mutating the forms they were playing with to find what they needed. They got better and more focused without Tricky; in fact, Tricky also benefitted from taking up more space on his own.
Sure it’s nicely produced, and the vocals are tremendous but this album wasn’t it for me.
It's interesting to hear this as I get older, and to realize all of the bands they are paying tribute to in their songs. As a kid I wouldn't have picked up elements of the Rolling Stones,. Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, AC/DC etc. in there without a musicologist feeding them to me in an earpiece. Welcome to the Jungle, Paradise City and Sweet Child o' Mine are timeless hits for a reason and each one showcases all of the band's many tricks on display, including earworm riffs and melodies, expert level singing & guitar playing, a huge pile of ridiculous swagger mixed with just the right dash of emotional schmaltz.
The positive vibes are lovely and the vocals are a standout. The songs tend to linger a bit long sometimes, but the medium of dance and pop music lends to just keeping the moments going for as long as they can. This record is well known almost exclusively for Groove is in the Heart, which is an iconic track that you will hear accidentally in your life at least a few hundred times. I don't think I've been to a wedding where a DJ didn't spin that track, and it always does the trick.
This feels like the record to launch 10 million tracksuits