I've heard the first track (Acknowledgement) prior, but have never intentionally listened to the whole thing. Dang. Moved me to tears.
And the freaking drumming of Elvin Jones!!! Holy hell. Check out this drumeo video on it: https://youtu.be/r8326NogS2A?si=8USXScIROFFyd9Q_
If this one comes up for you, listen to the mono version on Youtube. The stereo versions that are on the streaming services are very, very irritating. Coltrane in one ear, everyone else in the other. Yuck.
But yes, I'm buying this one on vinyl ASAP. This whole 1001 records thing is, I suspect, going to bankrupt me, but I'll have a good record collection.
What a ridiculous album! Drugs, hey? Also, Paul is obviously the silly one. So much tuba, which I get given that it's the bass of the brass section.
I get the critiques that this album is all over the place. Which is simultaneously it's weakness, but could also be it's strength. Depending on the strength of your drugs, of course.
Still, the bangers are bangers. While my guitar gently weeps sounds absolutely fabulous. Happiness is a Warm Gun is just weird. Love the tenderness of Blackbird, but who doesn't? I should learn that on the guitar one day. Also, Dear Prudence. Yes please. I still think it's hilarious that I went through ten years of my life thinking that it was a Siouxsie and the Banshees song. The follies of youth.
Oh, and once again, do the mono version. Gawd it's so much better. Otherwise you have Ringo bonking away in only one ear. Sure, listen to Revolution 9 in stereo for the fun effects, but John said that the album is better in mono. And are ya going to fight with John? I thought not.
Speaking of Revolution 9. I just realized that Skinny Puppy borrowed heavily from this in on Love in Vein. Tres cool. Then again they also sampled (kinda) Helter Skelter on the Rabies album, so that somewhat makes sense. In a fucked-up Skinny Puppy kinda sense. Still, I love it.
Anyhow four stars. Can't rate the Beatles less than that, right?
A 45 minute album with four tracks? Sounds like it would be a prog rock album, not Isaac Hayes' buttery soul. The first track was fabulous... and man this was sampled so many times. It's always a pleasant surprise to learn where samples originated from. Also, Portishead borrowed heavily from this sound. The second and third were also fab. But that last track is pure fromage! A bit of a letdown from the setup from the rest of the album.
Look, Hendrix isn't 100 percent my bag and that's just fine. I appreciate his innovation and mastery of the strat, and tonally this album is freaking great. While listening I realized how much Billy Corgan was influenced by this sound, but then again who wasn't? Also, it's strats and a fuzz face, so ya.
Pretty impressive stereo spread for a 1968 album too. I just think that I'm not completely down with his song writing and structures, which may just be a late-60s thing for me? Still a solid four stars.
Jeazus it opens with Gimme Shelter? Fucking hell. I was thinking about how this must have blown away stones fans when this came out, but it appears that Beggars Banquet (with Sympathy for the Devil) came out the year before, so this would sound like a continuation. But still, what a choon. And ends with You Can't Always Get What You Want, which still sounds freaking great. Both amazing. But, too many of the in-between tracks are too much like white brits discovering blues, which ain't my bag. Still, I was amazingly surprized by Country Honk, which is a country(ish) version of Honkey Tonk Woman, which apparently was released separately as a single. Paused the album to listen to the single and ya know what? The country version is better to my ears. Dig the fiddle work. Look ma, I'm learning things. Also Monkey Man, which Nick Cave could have written years later. Similar sounding chord progressions with some poetic raving over top. I'm thinking that I prefer the rock tracks on this album. Like.
Also in listening to this it's cool to hear how the bands I grew up on borrowed heavily on this concoction. I'm thinking mostly Primal Scream's more rockin tracks, and even a bit of Spiritualized (cuz white brits doing blues). I think I'll eventually get this on vinyl, given that it'll sound great on the Belles.
In 1999 I was raving to house and techno, so wasn't a huge fan of this album back then given that it's pretty chill and honestly pretty commercial sounding. Not much has changed in 27 years. To my ears it sounds like Moby was trying to convince directors that he can do soundtracks lol. A few tracks are a bit different... the one that sounds like Moby doing Underworld, and another that sounds like Moby doing Air.
I listened to the extended album on Spotify and actually liked the extra tracks more than the ones on the original album. Some were pretty cool ambient.
In my high school days in the late 80s this is one of the rare albums that the rockers, jocks, preppies, and us weird alt kids, could all agree that is great. I haven't listened to this in 30 years and yup, still great. Five stars. Perhaps for nostalgia more than anything.
Absolutely insipid, as expected. I didn't like them when they were on re-run TV when I was a kid, and it looks like I still don't like them. Almost feel bad for them, given how they were controlled by the producers and song writers.
The cool thing was the origin of Mister Bob Dobalina, which was sampled on Del the Funky Homosapien on Mistadobalina in 1992!
Sonic Youth are the coolest band that I 100% can't get totally into. I've actually never listened to EVOL and didn't know any of the individual tracks, so this was an interesting exercise. It sounds like... early Sonic Youth. I wonder why the went with this one instead of Daydream Nation?
John Prine should be beautified as St. John.
I'm generally not into albums that are tonally similar, which is why I think I'm not huge into the blues. But man this rawkus and raunchy album was freaking great. I enjoyed it much more than I thought it would, and I'll keep an eye out to buy a copy should I ever came across it.
I have a PhD in biology and I think this album is pretty great, even though hip hop ain't my normal bag. Cool vibes, some Mayfield-esque arrangements (which I'm a total sucker for), sweet rhymes, and overall a great message.
From hanging around other STEM PhDs I can attest the the order of weirdness and social awkwardness of science academics is: math heads > chemists > physicists > biologists. Ya, us bio peeps are the cool kids of the bunch. Totally explains that one star review. :-)
I think if you're an alt GenXer such as myself, either you're on team Nick (Cave) or team Tom. I'm on team Nick.
Regardless, it had it's fun parts. I actually think I preferred the ballads.
Today I learned that I am not a fourteen year old boy.
It's like bad. So bad.
Funny thing is that some of the tones (guitar and some basic synth sequencing) is Skinny Puppy-esque from the Greater Wrong of the Right, and I kept expecting something interesting to happen.
Honestly, I blame this album for MAGA.
Having said all that, I am ashamed to admit that a.) I liked the instrumental that honestly sounded more like a DJ Shadow track, and b.) as I was making dinner I found myself occasionally bopping my head to this. OMG what have I become?
If I was a stoned teenager in 1973 I would have loved this. Alas, I am not.
Good sounding but somewhat silly.
The finest elevator music ever made.
I have come to the conclusion that the Stones are best when they're doing gospel songs, instead of their usual blues thang. The wall of sound in Street Fighting Man may have been the first time this was used in rock? It certainly sounds more like a modern indie track in points, which is amazeballs. Still, aside from that and Sympathy for the Devil, noting else really jumped out at me as great.
WHAT A GLORIOUS WERIDO.
I know Earth People from a Andrea Parker DJ Kicks album, and Blue Flowers from... somewhere.. but have never heard all of Dr. Octagonecologyst. Yup, just as bonkers. Effing love this.
I know that Barry Adamson played with Nick Cave and the Badseeds back in the day, and I had a kinda big-beat album that he did in the late 90s back in the day (I wonder what happened to that CD??). Other than that I know bupkis about BA's back catalog. This is... absolutely not what I was expecting hahaha. Two tracks in I thought "damn this sounds like a fake soundtrack of a film noir flick", which upon reading the Wikipedia entry is exactly what it is. How astute of me.
Pretty cool all told, and it kept be engaged for the whole thing; impressive considering it's a instrumental. The late 80s recording thing of running everything through a giant compressor so there's zero dynamic range I found a bit irritating though... it would have been more effective if it breathed a bit me thinks. Not Adamson's fault per se, this was quite the norm back then. Or perhaps it was intentional? Who knows.
Anyhow solid 3.5 stars with a round-down to 3 for the dynamics thing.
