y'all ever put this on with The Wizard of Oz??
gimme the kinks any day over this. there were a couple songs that stood out, but the rest feels like a product of the era.
first VU LP without John Cale, so the melodic sensibilities come more to the forefront here. you also get vocal turns from Doug Yule on the opening track and from Mo Tucker on the closer track, and they both crush. "What Goes On" is one of the all time greatest rhythm jams, especially their live recordings from other releases (notably the version from The Matrix Tapes).
This gets 4 stars due to the first half of the record. I could do without the lower tempo tracks, but the psychedelic aspects to this grunge record help it stand out above the rest. I'm also typically not a big fan of "showy" vocals, but Chris Cornell hard to deny on his performances here. "Black Hole Sun" itself is massively overrated and exists alongside other 90s singles that were/are popular but straggle behind the other songs on the album (see also: Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box" and Smashing Pumpkins' "Disarm").
they're all great players and I'm sure there's a lot to appreciate about this record. it's not something I'll circle back to but would be easy to put on to provide some sound in most polite environments.
my first time listening to this. I'm fairly neutral on DC hardcore in general (I prefer the Minneapolis strains). still, I appreciate music that gets to the point quickly and then moves on. I enjoyed this record more in its second half.
tension and menace coursing through the music and the vocals from start to finish. fuck yeah
endlessly gorgeous. you know when you see Dave Fridmann in the credits that you're in for an incredible headphones experience. these basslines rip.
the inclusion of this album raises significant questions about the creation of this list. what about this album qualifies it as music that I must hear before I die?? especially considering the wealth of alternatives in this genre that relegate The Offspring to lower tier?
I didn’t think this record was bad, but it doesn’t introduce anything new, nor does it push existing sounds to exciting new places. run-of-the-mill.
my first time listening to this straight through. I've heard some of these songs before, either by The Band or other groups covering them (most recently I saw MJ Lenderman cover "Long Black Veil" in Chicago a couple years ago).
strong songwriting here, tho I have to set aside everything else I'm doing to really pick up on lyrics.
I was surprised how low tempo most of this was. these dudes were sad in the late '60s. would be nice to have more songs in the "Chest Fever" arena to mix things up a bit, but ah well.
stirring string arrangements and her voice enrapturing. not the type of music I throw on often // this was excellent in its own right.
