1001 Albums Summary

Feels like sitting alone in a boat that's just slowly swaying back and forth in the water, except there is no water. It's just a boat a void with a disturbing lack of texture. It's a foam filled comforter in primary colors floating in space.

I had never heard of this before. It’s hard for me to hear that giant 80’s drum machine snare and stay open minded. The was the first sound in music I remember being taught by someone older that it was dated and lame. But the second track takes that sound to such an extreme that I was on board and was sort of disappointed when it was toned down in later tracks.

Listened to this while driving across the country. Perfect atmosphere for it. I listened to it three times. I can't believe I've never heard "Here I am". There's some great genres blending in that one, country, southern rock and Motown vibes. I want an Aretha Franklin cover of that song. Also, I keep thinking about how effective the simple the repeated cascading piano line in The Way I See You is. I also really enjoyed the bass in Early Morning Breeze. That one almost has hints of 60's psychedelia sound. Throughout the whole album she comes across so confident but utterly unpretentious. Loved it.

The White album is an obvious five star album in general, but it's not a five star Beatle album for me. I find it the saddest Beatles album. They sound further apart from each other than on any other album. They are doing a ton of experimenting on this album but they feel directionless and disconnected as a group. More than any other album it feels like they are just taking turns with a John song, then a Paul song then a George. There are multiple songs in which the lead vocals and harmonies are done by one Beatle. There are some absolutely incredible songs on this album: Julia, Blackbird, Dear Prudence, Helter Skelter, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, I Will, but there's also obvious filler. Wild Honey Pie, Don't Pass Me By, Why Don't we Do it in the Road?, Bungalow Bill. Don't get me wrong, I still love every song. (Except maybe Revolution 9 and Wild Honey Pie). Many people have suggested that if this had been cut down to a single album it would be their greatest achievement. I disagree. Even the great songs are missing that full Beatles magic. Especially for McCartney, this is the first album where you can hear a glimpse of what their solo careers will be. Some good stuff, but nothing that feels as good as those true John/Paul calibrations. Also, I don't love the mix on several of these songs. Long Long Long, for example, It think it's a really interesting song, but the way it's mixed is so muddy it's hard to listen to. Also, they use echo in weird ways that make certain instruments feel small and isolated. All that being said. It's the White Album and a I love it. But before this one I usually reach for Revolver, Rubber Soul, Abbey Road or Help. Let it Be too. Many people consider Let it Be to be a step down from the other albums of the late 60's but what I love about Let it Be is what's missing from this album. You can hear the Beatles playing and singing together, feeding off each other.

Love love the production. It’s so clean and clear in a way that supports her voice perfectly. She, like Dolly, reminded me what’s great about country. Unpretentiously relatable life issues. My only complaint is that some songs get a little same-sy. Highlight for me: Slow Burn, Mother, Space Cowboy, Wonder Woman.

This genre was never my thing, but I went in open minded. I was able to appreciate some of the musicianship and there was enough variety for me to see that they were exploring boundaries within the genre. I was on board for about a song and a half but then it turned into white noise and made me feel bad. This is still very much, not for me. I haven't really tried to listen to this kind of stuff in a long time and this was the first time as a parent, which made me listen to the lyrics from a very different place. I found myself getting angry at the sentiment of many of the songs. In some ways a get it. Rock and Roll was originally all about rebellion, as was Punk and Grunge, and many others, and in some ways this is that same spirit of rebellion just taken to an extreme. But to me it just paints a picture of pathetic dudes threatening violence on the world for not loving them. Real incel energy. Honestly, I couldn't understand a lot of the lyrics, so I don't know if the text supports this picture. But it feels like it does.

Just like how Led Zeppelin birthed a decade of guitar shredding rock that mostly paled in comparison to its source, listening to this gave me a similar feeling and a glimpse of the future of 80's pop trying to build off some of this magic.

Love the sound of The Who in this era, especially in the larger context of the mid 60’s, but the song writing itself just leaves me wanting more.

This album is just four incredibly talented musicians fully flexing the freedom that their insane skills afford them. Every instrument is bursting with personality. Are they saying anything all that profound? Not lyrically, but musically, yes. This album feels present and alive. Another band with incredible personality is the Beatles, but whereas the Beatles personality seem to stem from the boys themselves, their voices and melodies, Zeppelin's personalities live in their actual instruments. Pick any of the four at any point in any of the songs and each will tell you a different, captivating story while still supporting the whole.

Love the One You’re With is a great opener. That big sound with those doo-doo-doo’s into the big organ entrance is a really great moment. It made me excited to hear the rest. Then the rest happened. The big sound wasn’t enough to hold my interest. I got bored quick. Cringiest appropriation moment: Black Queen. “This is a song about a card game” he says at the top. Is it Stephen? Or is it a song in which you’re trying to sound like an authentic black blues man singing about your “Black Queen”? Maybe the next song “Cherokee” will be better? “The dark eyed, Cherokee, like the raven, she knows me.” Ooph.

Whereas the White album felt like four artists running away from each other in wildly creative but disjointed directions, this album, while still being wildly eclectic, feels entirely cohesive and deliberate. Each of the Beatles, individuality, is on full display, but this time they feel fully supported by the others (and George Martin). This is the Beatles making the absolute most of their final time together. And, it doesn't hurt that it's the album in which George Harrison fully arrives as a song writing equal to Paul and John. His two tracks are just as good as anything the Beatles ever did. Can we talk about Paul's bass on Something? It's insane. It's like he's trying to take over the song, like he doesn't trust that George's subtle medley is enough, so he squeezes all the melody possible out of that bass. Whatever his reason, the resulting contrast between the vocal and bass melodies creates one of the most amazing duets in history. Counter to counter melodies, how about the harmonies in Becuase? The completely opposite. This Boy, Yes is Is and Becuase are the Beatles at their Beach Boys finest. Even Ringo's contribution on this album is solid (though the Get Back documentary makes it clear that Harrison had a big hand in making that song work). Maxwell's Silver Hammer gets shit on for being hokey, and that's certainly true, but its juxtaposition of being cute mixed with the fact that it's about a serial killer certainly sticks with you. It's demented and visual and bizarre story telling. Oh, Darling and She's So Heavy are both songs that could have been throw away repetitive jams, but they both develop and build so incredibly well, that you don't want them to end. They find so many different levels within the same phrases. Especially She's So Heavy. You keep thinking that it couldn't possible have anything else to show you, then it just keeps surprising you. Then of course there is the medley. It's clearly just a bunch of little songs that John and Paul didn't get around to finishing, strung together in a medley of leftovers. You rarely hear people point to any of the individual songs in the medley as their favorite Beatles song (argument for Golden Slumbers) but collectively is a musical feast and t's a perfect metaphor for the Beatles themselves. Better together.

This album was hard to pin down for the first few tracks. Jazz/Rock fusion? I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but it certainly held my interest. But the back half was not nearly as dynamic or adventurous and the song writing failed to keep me engaged.

Very unique sound. Too much of the same sonicly.

Can’t tell if listening to this album while waiting 7.5 hours in an ER helped or hurt my listening experience.

I loved this. Five stars is probably too generous, maybe 4.25, but I'm going off of the excitement of discovering something I knew nothing about that really hit all the things I like. Present, stripped back guitars, full voiced harmonies, that tinge of punk energy mixed with jangly psychedelic rock melodies and a weird sense of humor checks all the boxes for me. Really doesn't feel 1980. Sounds more like indie stuff from the late 00's. I'm definitely coming back to this one.

The production is very well done, I can appreciate the craft, but the song writing falls flat for me. It doesn’t feel like we are going anywhere. The drone vibe of U2 that they do so well just doesn’t speak to me.

A lot of the song writing isn’t there for me, but I love the way this album sounds. Never been particularly into synth pop, but this album has such an interesting full body texture that a lot of synth stuff doesn’t. Liked this much more than I would have expected.

Henry Rollins does not do it for me as a singer.

This really didn’t do it for me. The bonus live tracks put this band in perspective for me. I could feel the energy working in that context, but in the studio it feels flatter. I understand that “Drone Rock” is meant to be a slow build, but so much of this just feels like a musical ellipsis. Just ideas hanging in the air that don’t develop or resolve enough to hold my interest.