Appropriate that this was the first record to come up for me, as I’d just listened to it a week or so before. It’s on regular rotation in my house — “The Boxer” is a longtime favorite, and the rest of the album is almost as perfect. "Baby Driver" is a weirdly sexy song, which hadn't really occurred to me until this most recent listen. I also didn't know until reading the Wikipedia page (thanks for the link, Generator!) that "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" was a song *about* Art Garfunkel, which Garfunkel sang without that knowledge. Sneaky, Paul...
Lots of Beatles and Beach Boys influence on this record, but it hits a sweet spot where it feels like a loving homage and not like a cribbing of style.
Country's first concept album tells a story about murder, loss, escape, and a quest for redemption. Or so I'm told. Really all I hear when I listen to it is one fantastic song after another, and a lackadaisical vocal delivery that tells some intense stories with a sort of whimsy and irreverence. An excellent listen!
This is an album that merits some reading about cultural context to fully appreciate it. When Britpop had become a cozy, predictable drudgery for the artists with whom it was most closely identified, some of them hunkered down in the dazed comfort until their diva tendencies made it unsustainable. Others (well, at least one of them) branched out to collaborate with some of the voices that weren't welcome in the dominant music scene at the time, expanding genres and minds.
AND! None of that is even to mention that this was presented to the world as a band made up of animated apes. So weird and awesome (and, in terms of the animated band members themselves, very cute).
I'd imagine anyone born within ten years of me knows "Clint Eastwood" and both the original and Soulchild-remixed "19-2000" (and has probably spent some time, as I did, being annoyed by how intensely overplayed both songs were), but the album is even more all over the map than those two very different singles would suggest.
"Double Bass" is a great instrumental break that's simultaneously hip-hop and something you would hear during the intermission of a movie in the 60s. "Latin Simone" feels out of place until you realize how perfectly it fits on such an eclectic album. Ditto "Slow Country," a trippy and disorienting blend of reggae and fuzz. The rhythm section on "M1 A1" could hold its own on a much heavier track, but as it is this is as close to Blur as the album gets. Whenever the band starts to sound too much like a Blur side-project, though, a beat kicks in or an echo-y and expansive guitar riff sends you off into a desert somewhere, or the bass pulls you down into the low end in a way that no mere Britpop band ever could, and you forget about the Blur connection.
What a fantastic treat to be told by an album generator that I *have to* listen to one of my favorite records of all time. I love, have always loved, will always love "Do You Realize?" more than just about any bit of uplifting media. The message -- that we are all tiny, insignificant motes of dust in an indifferent universe and we will all be gone before we know it -- is somehow so inspiring when paired with the swelling and ebbing of the music. Throughout the rest of the album, the groovy interludes, the weird noises, the screams of rage and the spacey expanses of utter calm...it's just so good.
In my forty-one years on this planet, most of the people I've encountered who identify as Air fans have been pretentious to an extent that's made me not want to listen to Air.
So, does the fact that I loved this record mean I was wrong to make assumptions, or does it just mean that's I've gotten extremely pretentious?
I'm an appreciator of outstanding musicianship, and I know that the energy of a live show -- the spell a great live band can set on its audience -- is hard to capture with only audio (or even audio and video...sometimes you just had to be there), but I don't have the patience to keep paying attention after eight minutes of guitar soloing. Even if it's exquisite guitar soloing, I just start yawning.
So I get why this album is on this list, and I respect it. But it is definitely not for me.
Outstanding album. I was only familiar with two of these songs when I first turned on the record, and even then not super familiar. It’s weird, because I feel like I’ve heard a lot of Neil Young in my life, but this seems like kind of a quintessential album that has never come to my attention.
Throughout most of the songs, there’s a driving groove that makes the long, contemplative (but never too complex) guitar (and fiddle?) solos feel lively and crisp. I say this is someone who finds jam bands extremely dull (see: my review of the Allman Brothers’ “Live at Fillmore East,” the album I listened to yesterday).
I’ll probably be picking a copy of this up on vinyl, or at the very least streaming it again in the near future.
Hmmm, I think I'm goth now? All it took was some driving, prominent bass lines without too many frills; a steady and unambitious drumbeat to match; some jangly, shimmering, but not overly complicated guitar that layers on more darkness despite sounding bright; lyrics that aren't afraid to be gloomy without being ironic or shocking; and emotional grandiosity that isn't theatrical or lamenting. It's a formula that got repeated (and, sure, improved upon) by bands with a bigger reach in the decades that followed, but this album had to have been a huge influence on the Cures and Interpols of the world.
As a bass player, I love a band where the guitar takes an occasional backseat to the rhythm section, and this album has a ton of those moments. Usually those are when the band sounds its most brooding...and clearly "brooding" is what they're going for here. Will Sergeant is restrained to the point that his guitar creates more space than it fills, so he's definitely still the lead musician here, but you only hear from him every so often and he rarely resolves a melody.
It's psychedelia without the showiness, funk without the syncopation, and blues without the ... well, without the blues, if that makes sense. (It doesn't.)
I listened to it twice. "Do It Clean," "Rescue," "Stars Are Stars," and "Villiers Terrace" were my favorites.
It's not really for me but I was fascinated by it. The low-end is so spare here that I thought there was something wrong with my headphones, yet the music doesn't necessarily lack "oomph" because the rest of the beat is so jagged and the vocal delivery is so passionate. I'd never heard of the grime genre before so I got a little bit of an education in listening to and reading about this album...it was eye-opening for sure, but I probably won't listen again any time soon.
I have a limited tolerance for Britpop but this album feels different than the other big albums from that era. I’d never really paid much attention to “Bitter Sweet Symphony” — annoyed as I was by how often it tried to seep its way into my ears against my will — but sitting down with headphones and letting it wash over me really solidified it for me as an all-time great song. But lesser known tracks on the record are nearly as good if less iconic. “Catching the Butterfly” is a highlight. It’s not as solid all the way through, but the less strong points feel intentional. The lonely dreaminess of “Neon Wilderness” is definitely not trying to be a tight anthem, or even really a “song” by some definitions.
I struggled with how to rate this one. Is it iconic and genre-defining? Yup. Important to the entire direction metal took in the post-hair era? Yessir. Does Darrell's guitar crunch and wail unlike any other guitar before it had ever crunched and wailed? Indeed it does.
But man, what a toxic record! I think back to being 16 and always being so furious at everything, all the time. I'm so grateful that I found aggressive music that pointed that anger toward the injustices in the world rather than just "fuck everything me punch now in face."
5 stars for the grooves. 5 stars for the guitar solos. 5 stars for the rhythm section. 0 stars for Phil Anselmo, his stupid fucking lyrics, and his ignorant ass violent nihilism on this record that would eventually evolve (as it did for so many Pantera die-hard fans) into far-right malcontented ugliness.
My first ever cassette purchase as an 8- or 9-year-old was, for reasons I can't recall, Rod Stewart's Unplugged live album. So he and I go way back. I love his voice (love it or hate it, no one can deny it's unique), and as a songwriter he's obviously talented...even if not everything quite lands with me.
Even though this album is pretty corny after decades of aging, and even though it's a tad racist and misogynist at a couple points (not great, Rod), it somehow still resonates with me all these years later. It drags at times -- especially in the repetitive "white man's blues" portions (not knocking a Brit for being enthusiastic about the genre, but it's still a little tiring after several songs) -- but the high points are great. "Maggie May," "Mandolin Wind," and "(Find A) Reason to Believe" are all classics for a reason. And while I think this version of "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" strips a lot of the fluidity and heart from Dylan's original, it's still a pretty good adaptation in the context of the rest of this album...which is perhaps a little rigid and a little lacking in authenticity.
4 stars because I'm rounding up from 3.5 -- glad I listened, probably won't seek out the full 40 minutes again any time soon.
Love this one! So wholesome, notwithstanding the Phil Spector of it all. Many of these are mainstays on my Christmas party playlists. The production is so bright and forceful, sounds great. And man, Darlene Love could sing!
Once again, I enjoyed being told to listen to one of my favorite albums ever. I could've just rated it 5/5 without even listening since I *thought* I knew the brilliant album like the back of my hand…but the fact that it's the day after Christmas also meant that, for the first time, I got to listen to the album on extremely nice headphones and picked up so many details in the mix that I'd never noticed before.
I'd imagine it's not for everyone, but I also can't imagine any way to improve it. A+!
This was a beautiful album — beautiful voice, beautiful harmonies, beautiful production — but it’s adult contemporary through and through. Jazzy, country-infused adult contemporary, yes, but still sort of a snoozefest by design. Not my thing, but I almost feel bad rating it only 3 stars when I can tell how objectively good it is.
I want to be the sort of guy who loves Marvin Gaye, but every time I listen to anything beyond one of his timeless classic, mega-hit songs, I’m just bored, even as he’s trying to preach important messages that he clearly feels passionately. “Save the Children” is a tedious drag. “God Is Love” feels completely empty.
The musicianship here is incredible. The horns, the drums, the bass guitar (oh my GOD the bass guitar!), and of course the voice. It’s all great, it all melds incredibly well…and I’m just not that into it.
I think, even though in my mind I knew and loved this album, that I’d never actually heard past track 5 or 6? It gets worse as it goes, and I was just bored by the end.
Obviously it’s iconic and historic though, and damn the production is outstanding, so credit where credit’s due: 4/5.
Perfect album, no notes. Paul’s bass and George’s guitar are both things of beauty. Unparalleled songwriting.
New discovery today! Love his voice, and I really like his songwriting even if it’s pretty bare-bones.
Cool record, but I sort of wished I’d listened to it at 1am with whiskey in hand instead of at 3pm while knitting a sweater.
I never knew Harry Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talkin’” was a cover, but lo and behold here’s the original. Love that song!
When I signed up to do this project, there was a sense of resignation when it came to the high likelihood that I would completely hate some of the albums, but I committed to listening to them with an open mind. This one elicited so many cringes it’s a miracle I didn’t turn it off before the end. It’s so painfully stupid. I refuse to give it too much credit for having some good, funky beats because the rhymes and flow are so immensely corny, dated, and childishly horny. Still, the beats and production earn it 2 stars rather than 1.
There was so much good hip hop in this era, I don’t get why this one made the list.
This is an album designed to be played (and probably only able to be fully enjoyed) as background music during the act to which Mr. Gaye repeatedly (exhaustingly) refers throughout. It's less enjoyable while sitting alone with headphones on and a knitting project in my lap.
The opening title track is an undeniable classic, and beautiful. But after two other songs apparently also designed to charm the panties off of 1973's more susceptible women, when he kicks into "Keep Gettin' It On," my eyes rolled so far back into my head that they did a 360 in their sockets.
Beautiful musicianship, but boring as hell after 8 songs.
This would be a 5-star band if the vocalist were less annoying and the lyrics were a little less bro-y, double-entendre-y, and sort of gross. The band sounds great, like a more emotional Strokes or a slightly less obnoxious [Kings of Leon as I'd previously heard them, which was solely through that "Sex is on Fire" song that I hated with a fiery passion].
As it is, I found the whole thing a little grating due to the vocals/lyrics. Shame, because the bass, guitar, and drums were all very much my sort of vibe.
I wasn't wild about this one, but I appreciated it as an album to "live in" rather than an album to listen to. Immersive soundscapes (apparently pretty revolutionary for their time) make for a very pleasant 45 minutes, and the last track is basically straight off of Brian Eno's "Music For Airports" (another album that I reserve for only my most stoned or my most stressed out moments).
I'd be interested to hear more albums from different points in Martyn's discography, because it's extensive and this sounds like an album full of sonic experiments to me. Wonder what he wound up sounding like in subsequent decades.
A friend once tried to get me into this album and it didn’t click with me after a few songs. I liked Beck, but the more upbeat, groovy, unpredictable version. My friend assured me repeatedly that this somber iteration of Beck was very, very good but I was pretty meh on it.
Today I learned: it’s very, very good. Why didn’t anyone ever tell me?
Didn’t realize it was a post-breakup album, but hot damn is it a good one. It sounds like a breakup where you get to sit in a warm, cozy room with lots of pillowy furniture and soft blankets and just be comfortably sad.
Not my thing. I think he could write (ahem, co-write) a head-nodding catchy tune, and his voice can't be denied...but what about this earned it a place on the list?
Fantastic. These dudes could play.
I recently started swing dancing with my wife, and that's really opened my eyes to all the glories of the big band sound. Had I heard this a year ago I think I'd have found it a lot less interesting.
I agree with the recorded audience: "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" is the high point of the record.
Surprisingly great record! I've always understood Waylon Jennings to be "Willie Nelson but boring," but I need to re-examine that. Maybe not as solid as some Willie records I've heard, but solid from beginning to end, and with some outstanding highlights along the way. "The devil made me do it the first time; the second time I done it on my own," is a perfect line.
I'm fanatical about this band (unique, I know), so it pains me that I even thought about giving the record 4/5, but there are quite a few skippable tracks here. Still, historically speaking, both Please Please Me and this record were monumental. It's interesting to hear some of the utterly shit recording quality on a few of these tracks from a band that was renowned for its polished instrumentation and tight harmonies. In these early records, though, it's not purely about every song being a banger or every recording session being a revelation; it was just incredible to have four dudes presenting as a single unit being this cohesive, blending genres, and making something brand new. Also worth mentioning just how much better this record was than Please Please Me, not to mention how much they improved for each of their next several albums. 5/5 even though it's one of the worst records...from one of the best bands.
