Awesome vocals, instrumentation piano big vibe, some melodica on there, bro is probably doing a bunch of Coke on this record
OK this one is hard to sit through. It’s kind of the worst parts about super corny, classic rock and corny lyrics with corny imagery and corny themes all condensed into one with vocals that are in someway. Impressive but more than anything feel contrived and not nearly as sexy as this guy thinks they are.
Love. Not used to this production behind his intimate vocals, string section especially feels excessive but I guess it was a thing that producers loved to do in the 70s.
But also, literally Belle and Sebastian must’ve heard this album and based whole vibe after it. From the guitar to trumpets to Drake’s vocals.
👍 not really my vibe but full of great vocal samples and some very pleasing piano work
Awesome adventure in minimalist focus. Unique and intriguing production - super processed and compressed, clean and tight. Simple and meditative and I love the vocals. First Cure album I’ve really really listened to. Definitely inspiring for how exciting an album can be while being all together simple and straightforward, and somehow also super ambiguous and complex.
Honestly, pretty awesome. I’ve always thought Prog was a bit corny, but I really liked the instrumentation and production and there were some good philosophical lyrics that felt if anything on the nose but not too corny. Man that Nick Cave Bad Seeds album that was so cringe that it made Rush sound like Bach.
In the land of Wilco/Bright Eyes/ MJ lenderman/pavement. Not my favorite style of production / lyrics, but the upfrontness is charming and personal. Lyrics can be too goofy/on the nose/absurd but again it’s charming and I like his voice. I think I struggle with the sort of storytelling sort of songs like the girl and the boy who gets hit by the truck after he proposes, but it’s also compelling. Awesome production on Transylvania Blues when it goes electric unexpectedly.
Deceivingly fantastic production - the kind that gels so well you don’t notice how much clarity it still offers to each instrument. Want to turn it up loud on some good speakers. Awesome vocal performance and cheeky lyrics I had a very great time, especially considering I don’t really listen to this kind of music. Like this style and energy a bit more than other rocknroll.
ourt and Spark
I think that before properly listening to Joni Mitchell, I felt that her dense poetic lyricism was a bit too contrived for my taste. But this album demonstrated to me that her writing is quite the opposite - so relentlessly honest in her expression that it can be a bit uncomfortable. Listening closely is the only way to listen; there is such a nuance in her relatability. Not to mention how fun her vocal work is - slides and register jumps. And I kinda like the instrumentation of this album - dulcimer and piano work especially - though it feels over-arranged/produced at some points overall… almost a little fusion-y in a way that maybe is where the contrived feeling comes from or gets in the way of her honesty as a poet.
Awesome groovy good listen.
I really adored this album while listening to it. Liked her vocals more than I thought I would.
Great guitar work and surprising harmony in a lot of songs. Love the purity of the album. Just voice, guitar, and Joan Baez. Simple and perfect and thematically intriguing with the different character pieces.
Not my fav sound, esp the style of vocals
But the guitar work feels very much like the beginning of modern guitar work - like the strokes even like in the first song I heard geese taking some inspiration in 2112.
Wow, really love the guitar work. It’s a funny arrangement with the organ, and the vocals take getting used to, but they feel like solid songs that have a good mix of jam band elements - of which it felt like maybe they were a precursor to jam band style music. I also heard a lot of really interesting harmonic stuff that sounded very Indian-inspired.
Better then The Who 🤣
Crazy like fiddle genre swap in the end of the first song. Some really cool synth bits, interesting harmonic spots and some catchy melodies.
But other wise this sounds like proto-prog/dad rock. Corny lyrics a lot of the time (the opening of getting in tune made me laugh) and just generally the sort of classic rock and roll that I’m not a huge fan of. But objectively it’s a tight and high energy album that does go to a lot of different places. Just not my thing.
This is a pretty epic vibe. Just awesome production, peak 80s. That being said, I found myself a little bored somehow. Maybe this one needs another try on some good speakers. But also just not my favorite kind of love songs
Wow, this was an awesome album mostly instrumental with some unintelligible vocals reminded me a lot of duster. I really liked the grooves and instrumentation minimalistic, but never gets tired of an idea. Simple when it needs to be some cool processing as well. Plus there’s a cool thematic thread throughout the album this sort of ticking like a clock, but with different sounds as well as this wind or wave sound that brings the album together into one cohesive soundscape for a dream
Objectively awesome voice. Crazy ass voice.
But once again, the blues-y, classic rock n rolling style is just not my thing.
I guess it’s the style of storytelling and imagery that feels too obvious or specific or corny or just super white lol - like these songs all about the hobo or the country girl named Lucy or the country boy or old grandma. All stories to some extent, which I think is a large part of distinctly “American” music, are quintessential American themes and stories which cannot be separated from the music, in addition to the very direct folk and blues influences like on this album - country fiddle, blues piano, western guitar.
Also really like the unassuming, well balanced mix, and hard panned instruments. The thin mix in many tracks isn’t much to my taste but it really works - thin ass steel guitar and drum tone.
And yooo the last song is fire. So different than the rest of the album. Tight funky groove hard rock. Vocals are awesome in this track too, hard panned right, everything is super clean.
What a legendary and fantastically produced album. Depressingly hard to listen to considering lyrics about the substance abuse that lead to her death. But wow; so tight Mark Ronson production, especially the drums. Though I’ve never listened to this album front to back, its popularity made this a nostalgia trip into the past, partly because many of the songs I’ve heard many times before, and partly because vocals and songwriting style have clearly inspired so many artists after her. A piece of cultural bedrock.
What a wonderful album. Perfect introduction for me to to really listen to this legend with a critical ear. Found some awesome live videos afterwards too. Really wonderful. Awesome horns and background vocals and solos and rhythms. Musica!
