His voice of course is unmistakable, and the melodies are so unique. The instrumentals are doing so much, but the melody somehow fits right in. Something tells me that he isn't going to work on Maggie's farm anymore. Folky, rocky, bluesy, country; somewhere in the middle there. Either way it's fun, and a cool dense mix of genres but still consistent.
Started to fall flat for me by the time it got to Gates of Eden. It's too much of a turn for an almost 6 minute song that doesn't keep my interest. The a-side of this album was so big and dense and it just wasn't able to keep that up. But then It's Alright Ma does that same thing, for an even longer song, and nails it. It's so catchy, and demands my ear. It's lyrically impressive and poignant.
And in the end, it sticks the landing. I enjoyed this album much.
3.8/5
Different than anything I've listened to with real intent before. I just never have dove deep into hip hop and sample based music.
I definitely prefer vocal based music, but this is still a vibe.
The tremolo effects in Changeling are dope. Takes you to a completely new place. When it goes back to normal it almost feels like that wasn't possible. And the seamless transition into Transmission 1 is beautiful.
I really do appreciate the artistry of this album. Isn't quite my vibe but I respect it a lot. The back half of this album is make or break territory for me.
Why Hip-Hop Sucks In '96 got a real chuckle out of me. Well played, Shadow.
Napalm/Scatter is nice, that smooth transition right in the middle was well executed. One of few songs that spoke to me in any meaningful way.
Blue Sky Revisit is awesome. Well deserved spot near the end to round of this album. It's fair to say at this point that the back half leaned a lot more towards make than it did break.
Again not quite my vibe, but a really impressive work of art here. I can't knock it too much.
3.1/5
Some catchy hooks, but it just doesn't resonate with me yet. I was hopeful this whole album that something would really impress me. Smooth sax just simply ain't my vibe.
The use of the name Frankie for that song just doesn't work. So many lyrical choices are so cheesy and difficult to get through. The quality musicianship on the instrumental unfortunately can't do much to cover for that flaw.
The hook and general vibe on When Am I Going to Make a Living is the best on the album so far. By a lot. I enjoyed this track enough. It's not all bad.
I was hoping to be swung by one of these last few songs. Didn't quite happen. I respect the artistry, and I get why some people really enjoy this, but I am apparently not some people. It seems to land in this spot where to me it's easy to have on, but hard to listen to.
1.5/5
It's crazy how much the vocals carry the instrumental on this album. They do just enough to keep me happy while leaving plenty of room for accompanying the lead and giving Amy space to completely crush this. It's catchy and dynamic. Doesn't try too hard. It's just good. It's smooth, soulful, jazzy, funky, and more importantly purposeful. The lyrics are clever, and the performance is great. The thing that brings it down is it can be a little bit one note at times (but that note is *really* good) and it runs just a bit too long. It goes a little more diverse with songs like In My Bed and Help Yourself, I just wish it did more of that cuz those moments are really good. Also Help Yourself is so good, maybe best track on the entire record, how is it not on Spotify?
I also wish Cherry was it's own track, it's a fun little moment.
4.2/5
Immediately gets your head bobbing. Just so groovy. And it just keeps going. I like the intermittent use of harmonica on this record. Livens it up a little bit. Keeps me on my toes. I wish they did more of it.
My standout track here is Talkin' Blues. The groove is pretty consistent with the rest of the album, but somehow it just feels like the epitome of everything they were doing here. The instrumental, the melody, the message. It all comes together in a high quality way here.
I think it ends a little bit wonky. Am-A-Do is a fine track, but doesn't come off to me as an ideal closer. It's just another song on the record. I think ending on Revolution would have been smoother and more satisfying.
Overall I think it does what it was trying to do. It's a fun, groovy album, with meaningful lyrics if you really pay attention. It could have been a little more diverse, but it is quite good. A little bit outside what I would normally listen to, but I'm glad I spent the time on it.
3.6/5
The musicianship is great, and it seems like it was a fun show. A cool little time capsule of an album. The mix is a uneven at times, the trumpet sometimes just completely overpowers the entire band in an bad way. For a live show in 1956 I will say the production is fine, but when I'm comparing it to the history of the best albums, it's not better than most. This album isn't designed to be something you put on and listen to with unmatched intent and intensely critical ears from your home stereo, even if some people would do that anyway. It's designed to be heard from a stage while you admire the band and share the moment with an audience, and you'll never be able to do that. There's a cap on live albums, they'll never be perfect even if they're as good as they can be.
After the hour and 20 minute live show you get an entire album's worth of studio recordings and those are much more balanced and well suited for listening to in this format. I like the way it ends, but it really needs to be listed as 2 separate releases.
Skin Deep is probably my favorite of the live tracks. The album though certainly becomes hard to get through, it's just so long. And ultimately it's not for me.
2.3/5
Unique and familiar at the same time. Punchy, riffy, memorable, big. It's not overly one note and stagnant - it's actually rather dynamic/diverse. So many songs deliver their own vibe and it's makes this record really really enjoyable. It's also organized in such a way to maximize the diversity of these tracks. Keeps you on your toes the whole time. And I'm very impressed that they're able to keep this up over a 19 track album, even though I still find that to be too long for any album. It's everything from punk to big band to ska to classic rock, but it's all absolutely unmistakably The Clash. Wow.
Instrumentally it's impressive and delivers on it's own, and the vocals fit in perfectly. The tones and performances are creative and intentional in a way that just works. I love the vocal back and forth between the Joe and Mick on a lot of these tracks.
Hateful and Revolution Rock are standout tracks to me.
Work of art right here.
4.7/5
I feel like this album doesn't know what it is. Or maybe it exists only to be an unexpected concoction of sounds, but if that is the case I don't really respect it. Many of the parts just feel like they weren't well thought out, not arranged intelligently, and not written with a lot of intent. The tones aren't impressive, the singer is fine at best, and the instrumental often seems kind of random. The organ/keyboard doesn't do any favors to any of the songs it's used on. On top of that, the production is extremely lack luster.
There is but one song on this record I can stomach hearing again, Use Me. The least like the rest of the album, the most stripped back. This album is experimental, and the experiment failed. Use Me doesn't experiment - and it works. It isn't amazing, but I hear that song and I hear the potential of what this album might have been able to be. Very unfortunate.
They hit in a few moments and I have it give it points for that, but there is way, way too much miss on this record. I struggle to imagine why this is an album I must hear before I die. Maybe just for some perspective so I can really appreciate the good albums.
1.2/5
I really like the bluesy vibe here, which usually isn't the case for me so I gotta give it props there. The songs are just energetic and unassuming, and leave a good impression on me. The keyboard makes such a difference for The Doors. The way it integrates with the guitar is so different than most rock music, and it really works imo. The timbre of the vocal is also really unique to this band in such a good way. The arrangements and songwriting feel so purposeful. I think the way it's produced leaves a little bit to be desired, but it is largely made up for in the quality of the songs otherwise.
The instrumental performance is tight and impressive without trying too hard. It's dynamic and everything plays off each other in a way that really resonates with me. The guitar riffs are so good - they don't quite melt your face off, but they still demand my attention either way.
Even the songs that I don't think are awesome still got me vibing and having a good time. This album falls short of being 5 stars, but it's really not far from it. A better mix might have gotten it there, if only barely. I also appreciate how this album respects your time at 37 minutes. One of the biggest flaws with some albums is that they overstay their welcome. Not a problem here. It sticks the landing and gets out of the way. 11 good tracks. Respect.
4.3/5
I was looking forward to this because I never really dove into Prince before and I've only heard good things about his musicianship, but it didn't leave me impressed. I'm not sure I agree with the way many of the instruments are used on these songs. Housequake is a really good example of a song that just doesn't make sense. The lyrics seem rushed and the instrumental clashes with itself especially with that strange warbly synth in the background. Fortunately most of the album isn't quite like Housequake but man that song is not good.
There are long stretches of songs that just don't need to be there and get quite boring. There is no world where Hot Thing needs to be longer than 2:15. Any of it's catchiness and desire is completely erroded by the needless instrumental repetition. I guess that's how the album got to 80 minutes.
I've heard those stories about how Prince would write a song every day for long stretches of time. It's impressive but I think it really shows in a bad way here. So much of this record is severely under-developed. Only a couple of these songs are good. It starts with a filler track and a large majority of the track listing is just more filler.
Slow Love is one of few standout actually good song on this record. It was like a breath of fresh air once we got there. It's the first enjoyable track 7 songs in. The music compliments itself and doesn't try too hard. The lyrics feel like he actually tried to make sense of something.
I can say the album generally has a decent vibe, it's sure to get people to bob their head. But it absolutely overstays its welcome and doesn't inspire me to ever revisit it. At least it ends with a song that sounds like the last song on the record. Quality resolve at the end of a largely mediocre project.
2.3/5
I've heard almost all these songs before, but somehow I missed out on hearing the album as one thing. It's so good, so well crafted and diverse for the genre. Easy listening today. It's written intelligently, performed well, and despite the long songs it doesn't struggle to maintain my attention. The tones are so good. The guitars have such a dynamic range and it works so seamlessly. Everything has the space to shine in the mix as well - very well produced.
There are only a couple songs that aren't total bangers, and even those are still darn good and sound as good as anything else on here.
I'd never heard Through the Never before and it surprised me, I love the melody in that song.
4.4/5
Very Beatlesy. Catchy, dynamic, unique, performed well, dense, funny stereo imagery. Very well written and arranged and so classic. Obviously it has the benefit of being a Beatles record, but it just has this aura that it has always been both classic and fresh. The usage of harmony is so good. Every song, even if comparatively lesser, is at least a solid foot-tapper. A lil bit funky, a lil bit bluesy, a lil barbershop, rock percussion, good tones, good vibes. Fun record.
It's not the most complete album in their discography, I personally think there is a bit of a lull in the middle. It's bookended by runs of bangers and true classics, but there is a 4-5 song stretch where I would hope for a bit more.
I also do really wish the remaster chose to center the vocals in the stereo image. I understand why they might have pushed the stereo tech back in the day, but if you're gonna remaster it anyway then why not actually remaster it. Pushing everything to mono the way it was really designed is definitely a better listening experience, but that's not how they give it to you anymore.
Ultimately it is a very, very, very good album and easy to listen to. Absolutely necessary album. I'm putting it towards the top of my 4 range, not quite giving it 5 stars.
4.3/5
It's a fine live performance. Disc 2 is much more worthy of being recorded for this format than disc 1, but either way for recorded material I don't much care for putting live shows in the same conversation as studio recordings. If I'm being forced to then these songs are just fine in comparison. Would have been elevated a lot to have experienced it with the audience. Similar (in an opposite way) to how studio recordings don't do much for an audience in front of an empty stage.
I don't love the free time signature during much of what disc 1 has to offer, it's makes it very hard to feel the groove. The backbone of the percussion on disc 2 with the full band recordings make the performance so much more enjoyable. The mix is good for what it is as well.
Ultimately it is largely well performed and sounds good
2.8/5
Every time I draw an album that I've never heard of from an artist I've never heard of, I want to like it so bad. The name was cool, the cover art is interesting... But the album falls so short. It feels like it's almost close to being good, but it really isn't. Everything is about 50% wrong. The vocal melodies are unintelligible, the guitar parts don't compliment each other very well, the drum samples are distracting, the violin is just kinda there, the mix is okay at best, and the arrangements on their own aren't conducive to high quality music. The best thing about this record is the idea of it. It seems like it would have been something I'd really enjoy if any of it was done well.
It doesn't even conclude with something that feels like an end. I feel like the car just ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere.
Also the drummer literally counts only himself in on one of these songs?
Usually I can at least find a couple things redeeming about an album I don't like, but it isn't even performed super well. The guitar is regularly out of tune. The vocal performance is... unfortunate. The instrumental sections often aren't very good on their own either. Maybe I can say that the lyrics aren't too cheesy. But man... it's just a bad record. At least it's only 35 minutes.
The worst part is that I think it's all done on purpose. Maybe I just don't get it, but I don't think I want to.
1.1/5
It's not my vibe but I can definitely respect the artistry. Seems to be very good unassuming music to just have on in the background. Extremely chill. I don't think I'll go out of my way to revisit these songs. However, I'm glad to have heard them once. It's performed well, and really easy to just hit play and let it fill out the room.
Hard for me to really get into it, but it's good music
3.0/5
It's good, certainly. Background music for me. The performance is really well done. I'm not the biggest jazz fan but it's obvious that these musicians are experts of their craft. I don't like the choice to put 2 of the 3 instruments on the left side of the stereo image, the drums should obviously be right in the middle. I'm not gonna knock it too much for that but it's certainly something that takes away.
It's really good for jazz. I won't put it on myself, but I wouldn't mind if this was on in a restaurant.
3.4/5
This album is cool. The tones are really nice, especially that bass guitar. It took me a little while to come to terms with the vocal timbre, but once I got used to it I can vibe with it. It grows a little bit stale in the middle, but that's not because the middle songs are necessarily worse than the first songs, It's just a little bit too much of the same thing. Not a very dynamic album.
It's absolutely a product of it's time, and slots in nicely to rock music of that era. But I don't think they do it better than many of the others. I'll be saving a few of these songs. A lot of them are cool but some of them are a bit too much.
Wish they left off the live track and let the album close on Go Buddy Go
3.3/5
Nice to get an album I'm already familiar with every once in a while. So funky and diverse for the 90s punk scene. It benefits from being a preferred genre of mine but I really find this to be an incredible record. The use of harmony is very tasteful, the songs don't try too hard, the bass is amazing, the guitar riffs are delicious. There are a few track I didn't quite remember but I'm very happy to have found them again.
4.5/5
I'm struggling to understand how I've never heard of Norah Jones before. It's not my favorite kind of music, but reading into who she is, the successes she's had, and from what time period she had it, it's strange that this is my introduction. But outside of that --
It seems a purposeful and soulful record. She's certainly a good singer, though I must admit the vocal style seems like a precursor to cursive singing. It's not all the way there so it's fine, but there are elements. I think the instrumental is kinda lack luster. It could do a lot more to accompany the melody on a lot of these songs. It only does just barely enough to make a place for a melody to go, which is okay but I wish it did more. It seems like a catalogue of first dance songs, which maybe was the goal, but 14 consecutive love songs was quite a bit too much for me. Not a dynamic album. It's sweet and nice and that's about it for all 45 minutes.
It think Nightingale is the best of what this album does. The backing track does like 25% more and makes the song much more of an experience than most of the album.
2.9/5
The arrangements of these songs are so unique. The performance is also really deserving of praise. This is a record that doesn't really emulate, it's experimental and fun in a way that is still refreshing. The fact that it was self-produced as well is remarkable.
The pop hooks are so catchy, and the instrumental on it's own is so demanding of my attention. The vibe goes anywhere from electric pop to orchestral rock and lots of places in-between but somehow it's all glued together by Kate's vocal performance. I really dig it.
The B-side of this album really dives into the experimentation with all parts of instrument choice, arrangement, performance, and production. I don't think it's quite as well done as the A-side but it is still really cool. For example, the way that Waking The Witch is done is stunning. And it does absolutely stick the landing with the last few songs.
There are a couple tracks that bring it down, but largely it is very easy to get past those and enjoy this record as the wonderful experience that it is.
4.7/5
Queen is just one of them ones. So much talent on display here. It grooves and it rocks. The performance is so tight and diverse. The songwriting is awesome. The tones are gorgeous. The classics are classic of course, and for good reason, but the rest of the album is also stunning.
The song transitions are tasteful and make the album such an experience. There isn't one song on the entire record that doesn't blow me away for at least a moment. Ridiculous, incredible album.
5.0/5
This is such a good alternative rock album. It's also simply right up my alley as far as genre so that helps.
But regardless the tones are so good on this record, and it's mixed so well. Everything has space to shine, and everything deserves the space that it has. Each piece of these arrangements is so purposeful and works so cleanly with everything else. The vocal timbre is just right and everything is performed so gorgeously. I had a great time running through this album.
The guitar is tasteful and the bass so full that is feels like that would even be enough. But the percussion is tight and groovy without being repetitive and the keys and a dimension that is really working for them.
And it has an awesome closer to help resolve this project.
Wonderful use of 50 minutes.
4.8/5
I'm not big into hip hop, but I do appreciate the artistry. I like the beats in general, but many they reaaaalllly overused whatever that squeal is early in the album. It's so incredibly distracting and detracting from some otherwise really cool instrumentals. It also takes away from being able to hear the message. And every time is goes away the beat improves significantly.
These tracks have a message and relevant commentary on the world that is well thought out and well performed and I respect that. The beats are funky and arranged well. Unlike most albums, the middle is actually the best part imo. I really enjoyed this album for a good run of 7 or 8 tracks in the middle.
In the end, it's alright for someone of my tastes, I can't quite get all the way into it, but it's well made and I can get why people like it. Get rid of that squeal entirely and the album goes up a few points.
2.8/5
This is so well produced. I've never listened to a full album of his, and this is a good introduction to it. Each instrument in the beat really shines, and Jay Z puts on a great performance. I'm not a rap afficionado, but this it definitely well made, and I could see myself listening to a few of these songs again. A lot of people don't respect the lyrics on this album, and maybe for good reason, but the melodies, performance, and beats deserve a lot of props and I'm gonna give it to him.
I do love how instrumentally diverse this record is. It flows nicely and every track has it's own identity - and that really resonates with me.
3.6/5
