This sounds exactly like you want it to. Solid gold soul with R&B roots. An all time great voice in the prime of his talent with a stellar backing band, Booker T & the MG’s with Issac Hayes on piano. It’s all good but the highlights for me are the more pared down, slow jam affairs that end both sides. Side one closes with the now classic Redding penned I’ve Been Loving You Too Long, and the album closes with the incredibly plaintive You Don’t Miss Your Water. Despite having such an accomplished band, it’s these musically simple songs with great vocals that really let Otis shine and shows just how truly compelling his voice is by itself. Of course it has to be said that Aretha did it better when it comes to asking for some Respect, but the Stones can’t get no Satisfaction compared to Otis’s version here. All in all a masterful example of the genre. Giving it a 9 out of 10 only because even an exceptional genre piece like this cannot to me fully embody the concept of a perfect album when it’s mostly covers. It’s an awesome set. Not a 10.
I have a strong association with this album. My family used to listen to this all the time. And there’s also Running On Empty, a movie with (I think) River Phoenix, that had a huge impact on me as a kid. At the end of the movie there is a very emotional sequence that is scored with Into The Mystic from this album. “I wanna hear it. I don’t have to fear and I wanna rock your Gypsy soul…com on girl” transcendent horns. Beautiful. But the tracks that I was less familiar with don’t always succeed here and sometimes come across as a fine example of music which could easily be parodied.
It’s amazing how a couple of decades can make a protest record against the “establishment” seem like a bunch of callow and insincere millionaires whinging. Maybe it’s the promise this music held to a young man that someone was out there fighting the man and saying the inflammatory things that drove our fantasies of a better tomorrow. A promise that feel more fraudulent as you age because you discover that everything is “the man” and you are a part of the establishment by proxy no matter what you think or hate. There are hits here, Keep The Car Running, Ocean of Noise, that stand the test of time, but others fall short. Having been rent from the naive energy that drives them they seem overwrought and ultimately silly at times. Also one has to consider the band’s own opus when gauging this album and though better than some of the later outings, this is no Funeral and we’re the poorer for it.
Well I’ll start by saying that I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would going into it. Of course I’ve suffered the obligatory but brief fascination with Bob Marley’s Legend album that seems to possess many a young white man when they discover weed. Otherwise I find the reggae to be pretty generally bereft of ideas and rather childish. This album shows a surprising amount of range within the genre and the songs seem fresh and fun. It’s an album to be enjoyed under an umbrella on a beach with an adult beverage. Unfortunately though I’m not much for the beach…or reggae for that matter.
These guys wrote the book on riff rock and this is for sure their consummate outing. The rhythm guitar sound is iconic rock and roll and the tightness of the rhythm section is remarkable. And this is one of the best selling albums of all time having spent a stint on the charts that rivals Thriller. What can that possibly mean? Most people are idiots. Nah there’s something undeniable here for the straight forward rock fan. That’s just not what I am. Also “Let Me Put My Love Into You”?! Real subtle guys.
Wow! This is by far the sleeper hit so far. I remember this album coming out and being enamored of the single Take Me Out like everyone else at the time (it has over a billion streams on Spotify). But I also recall listening to the rest of the album and being frankly unimpressed. How wrong I was. Not only is this an excellent guitar rock extravaganza but I surprised to find that I now knew a lot of these tunes. It seems that in the intervening time since its release this album’s songs has been gaining traction in the zeitgeist. In this case, I’m glad to admit that I was wrong and happy to have found another audio gem to listen to.
Found this very soothing to have on in the background while working. The artistry is apparent and the scales used are exotic and interesting. But I don’t imagine myself needing to revisit it as I would a great album.
Surprisingly fresh and relatable for a fifty year old Afro-Brazilian record. Very enjoyable but it lost a star because many songs have someone yelping or making a sound like pulling a straw in and out of a McDonald’s cup. I found it very irritating and distracting. I’m sure it’s traditional AF but I hate it.
This is a fine example of a style of music that I don’t find especially moving or interesting. SZA is well respected in this genre and has worked with several artists that I respect and enjoy, like Kendrick Lamar and Childish Gambino, but I can’t say I found her superlative to others in this category.
Just awful. Such a surprising let down by an artist I truly respect. The first half, the acoustic side, sounds like any a collection of any post Peter Paul and Mary folk tunes about nothing in particular and I’ve spent a lifetime as a musician and listener trying to avoid exactly the sort of pointless rock & roll epitomized by the electric b-side. I will do everything in my power to never listen to another bar of music from this album ever again.
A solid album for PJ. It shows both the grit and the songwriting chops that make her great. However I’m not a fan of the way the guitars are produced. A little too slick to handle the bigger guitar parts that anchor some of the songs. It it is effective on some of the songs which bear more production weight like A Place Called Home and Beautiful Feeling but less so with material like the opening track.
One of my all time favorites. Hot on the heels of the breakup of his hit duo, Paul establishes the world music and eclectic influences that would mark his solo career while still being rooted in the songwriting sensibilities that made Simon & Garfunkel successful.
A million perfectly played notes. A fine example of the genre which encompasses smoky bar piano jazz. Have to say though I was only dimly aware of its completion when Spotify started playing other jazz albums.
I’m as unmoved by this album as I was when I was 16. The ubiquitous There She Goes was a long time hit on “alternative” radio and was the bane of my existence when it was continuously featured on MTV’s 120 Minutes which was the outlet through which I found new music. When one of my friends, also regular 120 Minutes watchers, inevitably got the album, I gave it one listen and dismissed it. My reaction is much the same now.
This is gonna date me. There was a time before this when the only entertainment I could muster for the frequent long drives I took was a box of old cassettes whose contents seldom changed or grew. In this box was Tears Roll Down, the first Tears For Fears greatest hits compilation, that I bought from a gas station checkout line. I knew and loved the well known singles (most of which come from the album being reviewed here). But I found the other songs at times challenging to like. Given time though and infinite replays, I came to cherish all of the songs. What I didn’t know at the time was that over half the songs from Songs from the Big Chair were on there. This is a nearly flawless album. All of the songs are it could be hits. There is thematic cohesion, incredible production, and tons of songwriting nuance. Love it.
This album will always hold a special place in my heart. This came out when i was 11 and it reminds me of Friday nights at the roller rink, drinking suicides and playing Donkey Kong 3. And the rhythm guitar on Panama is still one of my favorite guitar parts of all time. However besides the singles this album doesn’t have much more to offer. EVH though heralded as one of rock’s greatest guitarist is shamelessly self-indulgent as a lead guitar player and most of the band besides the bass player seem to revel in this same indulgence. For the memories it gets an extra star.
Even in the heyday of my obsession with The Cure this album was a bit much for me. Its relentless mood and full dedication to an aesthetic make it remarkable and one of the most thematically consistent Cure albums. However if you’re not invested by the first song, it’s unlikely that’s full listen will change your mind. Personally I like my maudlin with a dash of pop and melody.
I’m glad that this exists but it’s a difficult listen for the most part. It’s an amazing technical achievement and definitely defies all expectation of what an album comprised of only voices can be. This is not a cappella music as you think of it. But ultimately I found it at times unpleasant and unsatisfying.
mudpie - “ That was quite a double turd that Jagger and co. collectively shat out. I don’t understand why a single song on that record even exists. Can you imagine that there are people to whom that album is very dear? Really, each song was more pointless, boring, and sloppy than the one before it.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
It must be an incredible feeling to approach an instrument completely unfettered by anything save your own imagination. While this consummate ability may cause you to shit out a goofy, Django Reinhardt-style ditty like The Clap (and then name the composition after a venereal disease), it certainly leads to other gems here. Free of some of the excess that can mark the more didactic offerings of the genre and Yes’s own discography. There are some great rock jams, Starship Troopers pt2, and some, for lack of a better word, poppier tunes, All Good People. On the whole though it doesn’t beg me to relisten to it.
This is gonna be controversial but Low is not my favorite Bowie album. I appreciate the artistry and the choice of a world famous singer to put out a very instrumentally focused album. But the cumulative effect is a soundtrack for a movie that never was. The set of songs lacks the storytelling that underpins much of Bowie’s catalog. All in all a technical and artistic achievement to be sure but not a very compelling listen to me.
Post-goth and pre-punk, I was a bit of a metalhead. Even then I despised Megadeth. Dave Mustaine’s faux operatic nasal drivel is more than I can bear or take seriously. While I respect some of the musicality of this record in a purely technical way, it’s too silly to even bang you head to post ironically. I definitely laughed out loud more than once.
Mostly harmless. It’s lush and beautiful and I’m somewhat glad it exists. It even grabbed me a couple of times, like The Ocean’s glorious guitar climax or the haunting Last Orders. The exaggerated cowboy songs weren’t particularly up my liking but an overall decent listen.
There is an otherworldly texture that Fleetwood Mac is privy to that defies all sense. Songs like Sara achieve that quality. They are haunting and incredibly compelling. Others are not. Mostly everything that Lyndsey Buckingham takes lead vocal on has an unfortunate stink I’d call boogie-woogie and we’re the poorer for it.
I’m not super-familiar with Fiona’s catalog but this offering certainly demonstrates a wholly unique songwriting technique. For at least the first third of album this technique is hard understand and not particularly fun to listen to. After this opening salvo the songs become a little easier to digest while maintaining a similar aesthetic. All told this makes for a somewhat unbalanced listening experience.
I like a rap album that has a strong stylistic musical voice as this certainly does. Unfortunately I don’t think the performer was able to pull off raps with as much character and nuance as the backing tracks demonstrate.
