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.
Given that I don't like the violence and misogyny associated with gangsta hip-hop, by two minutes into the opening track I thought that I was going to dislike the entire album. Also, way to much first person singular in that opening track.
But the rest was OK. Not my bag but OK. Pretty slick rhymes and such, although I must admit that I didn't listen too closely to them (I was cooking dinner at the time). Tho I have mad respect for Nas for appearing in the 2020 remix of Fight the Power, which is all-the-more pertinent these days. Unfortunately.
Other than the hits on the radio, I have never listened to this album. Pretty silly, but then again we were all in our 20s when this came out.
Not very deep, but very very fun. Surprised that I like it this much cuz I'm not a huge big-beat fan!
Less cohesive than I was expecting... a few quirky (and not great, TBH) tracks. I guess that's what Ziggy Stardust is for. :-)
Raw yet somehow with pop hooks. The sound of UK punk with some degree of instrumental prowess (as opposed to the Sex Pistols lol). Pretty amazing for a first album! I really don't care that Strummer came from privilege, he showed though his actions that he was a decent human being.
This sounds like a Britpop band in 1995. Kinda like they mashed T-Rex and the Kinks with some punk influences (Buzzcocks?) into the Britpop mold. Youthful exuberance indeed.
I _should_ like this, given that I was generally into UK bands in the 90s (mind you more 'arty' bands like Slowdive, Belle and Sebastian, and such). I missed this one, which is perhaps why it isn't clicking with me. No nostalgia to attach to it.
The boys took their earnings from Licensed to Ill and bought themselves a Minimoog and a 909. :-)
I remember when this came out we all were surprised that it actually had some depth, as opposed to the white youngin' party rap of the previous. Infectious grooves and some sweet sampling, and what I consider to be one of the best recorded examples of what a Moog filter sounds like.
Anyhew super fun.
It's a classic for a reason. Sounds amazing in headphones.
One of the cooler things in music is that you can take the same (or very similar) instruments, give them to two different bands, and get completely different results. For example: Pet Shop Boys and Skinny Puppy.
Anyhew, 80s synth pop is obviously not my thang.
The Queen is Dead is the second album that I bought with my own money back in the 80s. Obviously I listened to it to death (on a double decker bus lol) back then, and I recall not liking Strangeways when it came out. I'm pleasantly surprised and loathe to admit that this album is better than The Queen is Dead. More variation in songwriting / structure / tonality.
It's unfortunate that Morrisey grew up to be a nazi tosser.
I'll need to listen to this again (was a bit distracted at the time)... but I dug it.
Peak 80s. It sounds SO FREAKING GOOD. I'll ignore the ubiquitous 80s saxophone thing here. :-)
Ok this is why I'm doing this exercise. Don't know squat about this guy, and thought that it was going to be shitty gangsta rap from the album cover. Wrongo! Super cool Atlanta (I'm guessing) vibes here with immaculate production. I can't even pigeonhole what genre of music this is... a cool blend of soul, hiphop, bit of funk, and some Caribbean stuff? Dunno, but I'd buy this in a heartbeat.
What a weird album. Cool concept having a jazz-based rock band, and I preferred the more jazzy tracks. And they're certainly accomplished musicians. The singles I heard on the radio when I was a kid must have been radio edits... because I don't seem to recall a long-assed horn solo in the middle of them.
But the slow jams are pure cheese. The kind of tunes that played behind a soft-focus sex scene from a 1970 move.
Minus one star for triggering traumatizing memories of morning calisthenics in grade one. :-)
I will reiterate my assertion that the Stones are at their best when they're not playing blues songs. Unfortunately, that's about half of the tracks on their albums of this period. I was going to give this one three stars, but oh man the last three tracks (Sister Morphine / Dead Flowers / Moonlight Mile) are absolutely fucking brilliant. I'm going to have to learn these on the ole guitar.
It's sweeping. It's majestic. It sounds amazing.
And it's depressing AF.
Christ on a stick I can't stand G&R. Never have.
I'm down for inane rock and roll but good molly there's better inane rock and roll out there.
The only reason I'm not giving it one star is the fact that Slash is undoubtably a guitar god. Just wish he played for a different band for this part of his career.
Regardez le grand fromage!!
I missed this one back in 2008... wowza this is dark and fab. Much much cooler than Dummy.
Ahhhhh memories of hosting the overnight radio show at CFMU with Clarke and Ove makes my heart sing.
This album is easy-listening Pixies. For those that don't like Frank when he gets a tad shouty. Still freaking great though. I'm reserving the five stars for Doolittle (obvs), but a solid four stars.
Love it... but not as good as Songs in the Key of Life. Second day in a row that I've gotten an artist's second-best album. :-)
One of those mid-90s albums that had a really silly single, yet the rest of the album is better. Pretty interesting musically, but man I can't get past the lyrics that were obviously written by a dude in his 20s.
So many of my friends cite The Black Crows as their guilty band pleasure, and they're absolutely correct.
I really must stop listening to an album and then reviewing the next day. Anyhew, this is freking great hip hop. Good energy, good vibes, good flow, good samples.
Pretty much the definition of early 80s cool in art-pop music (ya, this is pop). Somehow the Talking Heads managed to pull off that detached 80s 'we may all die in a nuclear war' sound while still writing good art songs, unlike contemporaries such as Nina Hagen and Laurie Anderson (which admittedly are 10000% weirder and artier). Pretty cool listen all around with no real stinkers of songs. I'd buy this one.
Pleasantly surprised by this. It's like... Adult Bjork. Sounds great with the string arrangements and some fairly wacko synth programming. At some points it sounds like Cevin Key did the synths lolz.
As a Canadian, I am legally obliged to give any Young album at least four stars. Hell, the presence of Thrasher alone gets this album there.
It's 1969. Everyone is dropping LSD and giving each other STIs. Frank, on the other hand, is straightedge and making... whatever the fuck this is. I liked the jazzier weirdo tracks more than the psych tracks, which is odd for me. The guys was obviously a genius, even at this young(er) age.
This sounds like some millennial virgins made some trip-hop without having any concept of sexy. It's just so... banal. Zero real emotion of any sort. The backing tracks are somewhat interesting, which saves this album from being one star.
Never heard of 'em. Really like 'em.
Kinda like Mark Lanegan and Jonathan Donehue had a weird Americana-ish love album. With some of that Rev weirdness.
I accidentally saw these guys at Lolapalloza in 2007, and thought that they were pretty cool. Recorded tho? It's 'aight. Definitely a distinct vocal style.
Delightfully delicate. Like fuck this is good.
Classic for a reason! Unbelievable that this came out in 1989, cuz it still sounds so fresh. I had thought that this came out the same year as the Dream Warrior's first album, but apparently their first album came out in 91. Regardless, it's so good to hear hip-hop that's fun and not all gangsta.
The most insidious of milquetoast yacht rock.
MOAR COWBELL.
Seriously though... take some French house and Detroit techno, filter though some mid-2000s Brooklyn bands (thinking of you, !!!), add cowbell, and a good dose of genX angst. It speaks to me.
I was initially going to write that, other than the obvious hits on this album, the rest of the songs are meh. Then Tiger came on... which made me smile because it's used at the end of Dustbunny, which is such a freaking fun movie. So bonus for that.
But ya, other than that, it's ABBA.
Memories of pseudo-goths dancing poorly in a dark club.
Mid-tier mid-90s.
These guys are obviously fantastic musicians. And I'm going to sound like my grade four teacher here... but this is why this album is so disappointing. They just didn't work hard enough to reach their full potential. One perfect song (Under the Bridge, or as I call it 'how to compress a strat to the point that you can hear the individual atoms in the strings), a few OK songs (Give it Away), and a lot of boring dreck in-between.
Oddly, of the filler tracks, Sir Psycho Sexy was the most interesting song (musically) if one ignores the lyrics. Also, my wife noted that the lyrics to the title track made her vagina as dry as the Sahara.
One other point. Why the hell are the snare hits so forward in the mix? They were like ice-pick hits that just annoyed the hell out of me.
I'm in my 50s and partially balding. Thus, four stars.
All kidding aside, I enjoyed this way more than I should have. We all know the title track, but the rest of it was max bonkers. Great guitar tones. And das flute!!! Only Moe Koffman can rock a flute like that. (Canadian reference yo)
Interesting! I never thought that S&G could sound so orchestrated and large. Fabulous recording... looked up the producer and apparently John Simon also recorded some other fab albums like Cohen's first album and Songs from the Big Pink. So that makes sense.
Also, I had no idea that Hazy Shade of Winter was originally their song! I love it when that happens.
Having a party indeed. Hot damn it would have been amazing to be there.
What a voice! Honestly, I think I may like Cooke more than Brown.
How can a bunch of obviously talented musicians collectively possess zero soul? Like none. Nada.
Dang I apparently really like T. Rex! Then again I should, given that my chosen name comes from Telegram Sam, albeit via Bauhuas.
A super-fun and whimsical record. A little bit more nuanced compared to Electric Warrior, and solid all the way through.
Pretty danged good ear-candy! This will require a re-listen to get more of the lyrics.
Immigrant Song? Fucking amazing.
The rest? OK.
Dammit Jim, I'm a shoegaze guy, not a britpop guy.
+1 for Girls and Boys. The rest is pretty typical of the time. Still, it's better than Oasis. Didn't finish it. Of their albums, I certainly prefer 13, which I understand makes me a weirdo.
Be still my little beating socialist heart.
So 80s production, but Bragg's songwriting shines through, even at his (relatively) young age. So much CE2 chorus! Levi Stubb's Tears is still one of the most devastating songs ever written.
Decent songwriting, some interesting sonics... and yet I just couldn't connect to any of this. Which may explain their lack of commercial success. Just some secret sauce is missing here that I can't quite put my finger on.
Radio Free Europe. Fuck yes. The rest? Ok. Amazing I wasn't even a teenager when this came out.
Memories of the cottage hanging out with Tom... this was an album that we could 'agree' upon. Some tunes hold up over time (I still dig Synchronicity II), but my god that Mother track is horrid.
Memories of the cottage hanging out with Tom... this was an album that we could 'agree' upon. Some tunes hold up over time (I still dig Synchronicity II), but my god that Mother track is horrid.
OK I liked this one waaaaaay more than I expected to. The nice thing about this kind of metal is that it's simultaneously can be serious music while not taking itself seriously. I like that.
I love that Halford just married his partner of 30 years. That's really sweet. I also speaks to the metal community that this guy was out in the 80s and they didn't care one whit. They just love the guy and want him to ROCK.
Also: did Grinder take it's name from the song on this album? :-)
I get that this is culturally important. And I also get how freaking angry young black men must have been (and still are) at the built-in racism in the American system. However, I do (like many) find the glorification of violence and the misogyny harsh and not appropriate to this era. The anger? Fuck hell yes. As for the music and flow... absolutely tight. Also, I was delighted to learn how much these guys gave back to the community over the years.
