I love the penguins!! I thought this was such a lovely album - the switch up at In a Sydney Motel really got me. I loved the general discordance across the record. Think it would make a great meditation piece. 4 stars!
Is this one of the all-time great album openers? I came to Dylan late in life so I certainly don’t have the depth of knowledge to know where this sits in the Bob Dylan canon, but prior to listening to this album in full, “Like a Rolling Stone” was always up there for me (I love baying “diiiiiiiin’t youuuuuu when the occasion calls for it) and I’ve always appreciated the haunting of “Ballad of a Thin Man”.
Having now listened to this front to back like 5 times in the last 24 hours, it’s “Desolation Row” that really sticks with me.
I haven’t worked out what a 5-star album means for me just yet, so this is getting a 4!
Big Day Out mentioned!!
My rap/hip-hop education really started in 2015 when I was tasked with putting together a History-of-Hip-Hop event for the USSC. Julian lovingly pulled together a playlist for the event (which never got used because DJ TJA was on the decks all night) and I still listen to that playlist almost weekly to this day. “What’s Golden” is like a top 5 song off that playlist for me, so I was stoked to see this album pop up yesterday. It’s by far the best track on the album and while I enjoyed listening to it in situ, “Concrete Jungle” being the first autoplay track after the album finished cemented for me that I didn’t really love it on the whole.
This was really in one ear, out the other for me. Can appreciate it for what it is but it’s really not my jam.
I love accents in music!! I loved how cheeky this album was, it was a good laff (Nina, in the Cortina, couldn’t be more obscener??? That’s some writing for the ages). I definitely gravitated towards the first half over the second - Ian kinda lost me around “Blockheads”; the more yell-y stuff annoyed me, though am willing to admit I’m listening to this poolside and the yelling+layered sounds is just not the mood I’m in.
There were elements here that I love elsewhere - some Elton-style piano runs, our-house-in-the-middle-of-our-street vibes, and again accents!! Probably won’t return to this album anytime soon but I didn’t hate it!
The Isley Brothers suffered here for having covered two of my all-time fave songs (Summer Breeze and Listen to the Music). I just wanted to be listening to the versions I know and love.
There’s a lot to like here though, “Don’t let me be lonely tonight” gave me big Macy Gray vibes and “If you were there” will definitely be making it onto my Sunday morning playlist. Also, learning it’s pronouncing “Eyes-ley” and not “Izz-ley” has left me shook.
Can’t say that much of this album really stuck with me on the first few go-arounds. “Angels of Deception” was the song that cut through and I generally like the sound of the album. I think I would have more fun once I know the lyrics!
I’m re-listening as I write this and the outro to “Heartland” has really stood out but that might be the Venezuela of it all.
I think I’ll be revisiting this one in weeks to come!
This is my first exposure to The Byrds (forgive me) and this is not at all what I thought The Byrds’ sound was? I’m assuming Sweetheart of the Rodeo was somewhat of a departure for them (especially thanks to the bonus theatrical track of a woman insisting that this WAS indeed The Byrds).
On the whole, this album was a little too country for me. I did enjoy the liberal use of the banjo and the fiddle throughout (I’m not anti-country!!!). “You Don’t Miss Your Water” and “Blue Canadian Rockies” have broken through for me but not my fave album of this journey!
I really liked this! Much more my speed but also outside of my wheelhouse, insofar as I probably wouldn’t have found this album on my own.
The first track was the only one to download/save offline before I got on the plane to Saigon so I have a particular affinity to “You ain’t the problem” because I listened to it on repeat (and also because it’s a fun track!!).
KIWANUKA in its totality really felt like AN ALBUM to me. I love the highs and lows and the change of pace throughout, I felt like I went on a journey. “Hero” is the other highlight for me at this point, but I can certainly see this album making it into my rotation. 4 🌟!
Finally, an album I was already familiar with! I went through a brief phase last year where I mainlined “Stardust”, so it was nice to listen to the album in its entirety. Unsure if this is common knowledge but I was a diehard Michael Bublé fan as a teen (and still have quite a fondness for him to this day!) so that was my baseline for a lot of these songs.
I think this is such a beautiful album, excellently curated. Willie Nelson just so perfectly encapsulates the yearning and longing that often comes with being in love (requited or otherwise). “Georgia on my mind” is a forever fave and he knocks it out of the park.
This album well and truly had me in my feels and that’s how you know it’s a goodie.
I thought this was such a beautiful album and goes to show that you don’t need to understand what’s being said to be moved, and as someone whose primary experience with music tends to be through the lyrics it was a good reminder. I’m always moved by people who sing in their native language too, so I particularly enjoyed this album!
I was surprised/intrigued by how much the first 3ish tracks sounded like Balkan folk music to me and I think “Gidelam” was my fave! Had me grooving in the streets (I love percussion!!)
