Pre-listen: Dreading it - not massive on Queen aside from the classics!
Post-listen: Some really beautiful moments, some gorgeous vocals from Freddie and delicate intricate melodic moments from Brian May.
Some real madcap weird musical stuff on there, but of to-ing and fro-ing between the good the bad and the ugly! But realistically shows every facet of the band. Enjoyed, some tracks endeared me more than the jauntier ones.
Pre-listen: Know I’ll love the drums, but not sure what I’ll think of the albums direction as a whole. Looking forward to this one.
During listen:
3 tracks in: I really like the whole sound of it - much more Beatles in it than I remember, but unmistakable playing style when you think about it
5 or so on: Bit of jangle pop now, drum work great, slightly forgettable section but imagine was great fun live.
Getting to end: Influences very ‘of their time’, but it’s propulsive. Lot of bluesy stuff now.
Post-listen: Just heaps of fun. Confident band to come out the gate and play like that. There’s better from them I reckon, but so much frenetic energy. Bluesy, rock and roll, all the members terrific. Drums stellar. Piano I had to look up, Nicky Hopkins, that guy killed it! Statement of intent from a class act. Same rating as Queen but if you pushed me I’d be saying this was certainly the more enjoyable record overall. Classic track on each.
Pre-listen: One of my top albums of all time. An absolutely staggering achievement and just excited to write something down about it.
During listen:
First 3 tracks: Didn’t quite realise how similar in thematic movement it is to GKMC, bragadocious in the beginning. Of course with undertones aplenty but much like ‘f the world for 72 hrs’ you have ‘this d ain’t free’. Sonically, reflects this. Just one observation of many you could make.
Institutionalised: Wow, stunning. And the start of a creep towards something more sinister and dark that the album starts to move through.
These Walls: Christ, forgetting the brilliance of the lyrics, musically this is astounding - simultaneously sexy, groovy, and bitter, conflicted (that word again), genuinely sad.
Middle: Album is a journey. Never quite realised the weight of Momma. Lots of extremes of feelings around it, it’s a sanctuary in the middle of a storm. Also, first few times I listened I thought it’s quite dissonant, then the sweetness came through, then I think the underlying sourness hit me. Now musically I get taken through all of those and the brilliance of it is depending on which layer you focus on it has something different. But let it all hit you it’s really something.
HMADC: Everything. Isley bro at the end is so perfectly executed. I’m not religious, but this is the something that makes you almost convert!
Towards end: Drops in music (the pauses or pulls back) to emphasise words or gaps is great, just the attention to detail stunning. You Ain’t Gotta Lie is a really sweet tonic after Blacker Berry, sets up i so well, what a run (whole thing is).
Mortal Man: Wow.
Post-listen: A masterpiece. Gets better every time I listen. The poetry of it, abstract but never afraid to go full-throated. So intricate; full of moving parts that had to come together just right and did. There’s obviously so much here about the black experience and how wealth plays into that, I can’t relate but it puts me right there, so I can feel all of that and get taken on the journey. The themes of change and time shaping new ideas (sometimes for better, sometimes for worse) really forces you to map your own feelings onto it.
It’s a one off, it won’t be done again. True moment in musical history - hip hop history but also just musical history.
Pre-listen: Know what vibe I might be getting, but interesting to see just how much this grabs me.
Post-listen: Really great stuff, so evocative. The string swells and layering/mixing is just impeccable. Some ‘real shit’ thematically too. What an album, front to back it’s different vignettes of life. Hard to see how this funk sound can sound any better than this.
Pre-listen: I know the name, and know Zappa is meant to be very sporadic and jazzy rock with loads of improv, so we’ll see what this offers up.
During listen: Blimey, goes all over the place! Feels like there’s so many musical motifs and references I’m not getting. Enjoying the ride.
I’m getting Doors, Santana, jazz standards (warped), old school funk (feels 70s before the 70s)
Wonky, eccentric, trebly (recording techniques probably lent to this), erratic drums mixed back, guitar playing stunning tbf - maximalist in a way, but allows standout stuff room to breathe. Also culturally all about the place - can feel South American, African, Afro-American, all at same time.
Post-listen: Blimey, goes all over the place! Feels like there’s so many musical motifs and references I’m not getting. Enjoyed the ride. Doors, Santana, warped jazz standards, old school funk, blues; it’s all there.
Culturally as well, seems to draw on South American, African, Afro-American, Asian, and more all at once at times. Some grooves I just get thrust into more than others, musicianship outstanding though.
Willie the pimp, mr green genes, must be a camel, all standouts and pretty remarkable compositions. Couldn’t listen to it all day every day, but for the time I do, WOW!
Pre-listen: Eh. These songs are undeniable, timeless songwriting classics really. But not looking forward to listening quite as much as others so far as I’m just so familiar with Oasis at this point. But let’s see how we go…
Post listen: Never listened cover to cover. Really is a great album. A lot more weight to it when listened in full. The ballads being around the middle surprised me, and they felt more heartfelt than I ever remembered them when in full context. Wall to wall memorable, gotta say it’s no wonder it’s seen so influential.
