I went into Head Hunters fully expecting to feel confused and under qualified, since this was my first real time listening to Herbie Hancock and neither jazz or fusion is my usual thing, but this album totally caught me off guard.
Chameleon starts with a groove that immediately pulls you in, but after a while it begins to lose its appeal, like Herbie dared you to stop nodding your head. Probably my least favorite in the album, but still a vibe.
Watermelon Man was an instant favorite, funky, weird, playful, and just straight-up fun. It takes you out of the repetitive circle that is Chameleon and gives you something new.
Sly feels like the band just locked in and said “yeah, let’s see where this goes,” and somehow it works, even when it’s a little all over the place.
Vein Melter then comes in sounding like the lights just got dimmed and everyone stopped talking, and it’s lowkey feels like you’re floating in space.
Overall, for someone who doesn’t normally reach for jazz or fusion, Head Hunters surprised me by being way more groovy and enjoyable than I ever expected. Definitely a solid 7/10. Would get funked again
2112 avoids the worst excesses of prog rock and keeps all the good bits, earning its place in the dad rock canon (or mom rock, I don’t discriminate).The first side is pretentious and indulgent, of course, but that's why you're here, and it's just half a record. That said, a 20-minute track is a hard pill to swallow. Especially as it contains a section around the 7-minute mark that's just guitar tuning. For the rest of the runtime, we get songs, each distinct but tied together with instrumental chops and, most of all, Lee's vocals. There's nothing mind-blowing here, and calling out those who say there is is fair play. But that doesn't make the music any worse. Overall a solid 9/10.
more like david lowie am i right
Here we see a tastefully confusing piece of art that's surprisingly grounded for someone recovering from a crippling drug addiction. The synths and especially the drums are most notable, instrumentally, on this album. The drumming has a very loud, distorted sound that probably isn't to everyone's taste, but I think it sounds pretty neat. And it's front and centre in every track on side 1. The tracks themselves on the record's first side are short, catchy, thoughtful, and... I can't really explain how, but they're so darn artistic. Speed of Life, the opening track, is the opening to a new electronic era of rock music. Immediately following that, we get an electric, bass-driven interludey number with Breaking Glass. What In the World is a wobbly, synth-filled, two chord ball of energy. Sound and Vision, with its simple chord progression, manages to be one of the most satisfying standalone tracks in Bowie's discography. Always Crashing In the Same Car and Be My Wife are a one two punch of moody tracks driven primarily by synths (and both are great). Finally, we close side a with a return to simplicity in the fresh, upbeat instrumental track A New Career In a New Town. Then we get to side 2, arguably what the album is most known for. It's pretty good, again incorporating several layers of synths that flow rhythmically in and out of the mix. The four tracks on this side are all quite distinct from one another, and yet share that indescribable Bowie sound. Warszawa in particular creates a cool, yet very grim, atmosphere. Overall, it’s probably a 4.5, but I’ll round up :)
It took me over 24 hours to write this review because I quite literally didn't know what to write.
I think when I was younger I would have automatically given this an instant rating of 5. I mean, it's Rubber Soul, right? By the Beatles!?! But honestly, it's just kinda underwhelming. They just weren't there yet. Revolver was a big step forward, and by Sgt. Peppers they had completely changed their sound. Rubber Soul, to me, still has too many problems of the early Beatles, and some of them sure haven't aged well. The music is pretty crisp. Catchy, pop-rocky, with a clean and punchy sound. The mono mix sounds good and the production is overall solid, but the lyrics go "baby you can drive my car beep beep yeah", "run for your life if I catch you with another man, little girl". What is going on? The endless harmonizing becomes grating after a while, however it does have a few standouts, most notable Norwegian Wood, In My Life, and I’m Looking Through You. The funny part is, even though I have so many issues with the album, it’s still one I would gladly come back to because it is just that good and I have a lot of nostalgia for it. This may be a "it's not you, it's me" scenario, but the I’d probably give it a 3.5/5.
The lack of the Oxford comma is pretty whack, but overall really good album. I’d previously listened to some Stephen Stills and CSN&Y but I’ve never listened to any of CS&N’s stuff but really enjoyed this.
Not much to say, great harmonies on this (honestly it’s probably the highlight of the album). I like the song that goes, "Do do do do do, do do do do do do” and who doesn’t love Stills on guitar? Also I just found out that with the exception of drums (by Dallas Taylor) and a couple of additional rhythm guitars, Stills plays everything (acoustic and electric guitars, bass, organ, percussion) and is superb on all of them. I now have a greater appreciation for him, that’s for sure.
In the end, you gotta love the California mellow hippie vibe. 5/5
Admittedly I was nervous for more jazz fusion after Headhunters, but I’m genuinely shocked by how much I like this album.
This is an album that I didn't think much of just from the cover, but there is some funky, groovy, soulful, buttery goodness within this track list. All fantastically recorded and produced, the 13 tracks on this album have an incredible flow to them with just enough oomph to make each track shine. There's this great wavy sort of vibe to the album that gives it this really mellow and psychedelic tone.
I really enjoy how the middle tracks of this album like Rainy Day and Pling offer an instrumental break from the rest of the sung tracks. The first 4 tracks of the album kick it off by showing off everything that is going to make this album shine for the next 30 minutes after. The last leg of the album wraps things up nicely, going from the great hit Strawberry Letter 23 to the mostly instrumental Sweet Thang, and then finally to the funky Ice Cold Daydream.
The final track is a 13 minute that has this really hard to listen to bass in the mix on this song that just sounds really crackly and bad. It doesn't ruin the track as its only around for about a minute, but yeah that is probably the worst part of the album.
Overall, I like a ton of tracks of this album and I think as a whole work, it offers a lot both in terms of hits as well as instrumental experimentation. It's a great vibe all the way down and there's a ton for music fans to chew on.
A solid 8/10.
