1001 Albums Summary

EXP - A very brash opening track, immediately captures the listeners attention with very strange voices and heavy distortion and panning. Up From The Skies - Heavy wah-wah emphasized on a funky, grooving beat, early frontrunner for best song? Spanish Castle Magic - A harsh switch from the funk of the previous track, this track blasts you with the hard rock blues one would expect from one of the most iconic guitarists of all time. Wait Until Tomorrow - This track brings the album back to the funk side of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, with an infectious guitar riff and a beat absolutely carried along by Mitch Mitchell's drumming ability. Ain't No Telling - Just before you can settle back into the more relaxed grooves, this quick track hits with pure electricity. Very fun lyrics going along with a snappy instrumental. Little Wing - From the use of the glockenspiel, to Hendrix's singing, this rock ballad manages to both fly by and keep listeners hooked onto every last note. If 6 Was 9 - The final track of Side One, longest track of the album and one of the most iconic tracks from the Jimi Hendrix experience. This powerful, politically charged track is a perfect product of its time with its references to the "hippies" and "white-collared conservatives" of the 60s. In the wake of Hendrix's unfortunate passing in 1970, the line "I'm the one that's gonna have to die when it's time for me to die, So let me live my life the way I want to" is both ominous and freeing, a perfect final line before the brilliant instrumental ending to cap off the first side of the album. You Got Me Floatin' - This track is unfortunately sandwiched between the powerful If 6 Was 9 and the fantastic Castles Made of Sand. As a result, it's possibly one of the more forgotten and skippable tracks of the album. Castles Made of Sand - One of the best songs of the album from a lyrical standpoint, Hendrix takes the audience on a journey through a remarkable and at times dark story with an underlying message about nothing lasting forever, life being just one big castle made of sand that eventually gets washed away. She's So Fine - Possible frontrunner for best guitar solo of the album. Carries an otherwise so-so song in its lyrical writing. One Rainy Wish - Absolute beauty in the form of music. A song that starts slow, soulful and dreamlike before hitting with the exact hard rock contrast that this album has provided alongside it's soft grooves. The song ends up having a surprisingly experimental breakdown during its ending, which benefits the overall dreamlike wonderment presented from the beginning. Little Miss Lover - Another by the numbers Jimi Hendrix Experience track, but one that manages to fit in better than You Got Me Floatin' could. Overall enjoyable, but not one to write much on. Bold as Love - The final track and part title track, it emphasizes all the strengths previously heard in the entire album. Rocking riffs and powerful drums contrasted with slow, methodical spaces to let each note hang and breathe, before a hard switch into a beautiful psychedelic solo sees the album out in a way that mirrors the opening track. Overall thoughts - This album is without a doubt a must listen to and a quick one as well. Listeners will get lost in the masterful grooves and lyrical whimsy of one of the greatest musicians taken from us way too soon. Of course, this album would not be complete without the contributions of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell who helped fill in instrumentally where Hendrix may not have been able to lyrically, helping complete the album to be the psychedelic wonder it has no doubt been recognized as. Fly high, James.

Before I begin writing my thoughts on each track, I want to preface with saying that obviously I've heard this album before. I believe you'd actually have to be living under a rock and purposely avoiding society within the last forty years to not hear at least three of the tracks from it. It also should be no surprise that this album deserves an immediate five star rating for at least six of the seven singles that came out of the record, all of which being absolute masterpieces in their own way. Without further delay, It's time to actually listen to the album and talk about the tracks themselves. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - This might be one of the greatest starts to an album ever. A simple but undeniable groove that immediately captures the listener. Alongside MJ's vocals are some absolutely low hanging backup vocals that can catch a crowd hook line and sinker. Even if it wasn't for the repeated words and phrases through most of the song, the final breakdown of "ma-ma-se, ma-ma-sa, ma-ma-coo-sa" gets EVERYONE. Baby Be Mine - An immediate departure from the electric opening, Baby Be Mine slows things down just enough to let you hang more onto Jackson's words and the beautiful synth. A quintessential 80s funk ballad. The Girl Is Mine - Alright, well they can't all be winners. This track is easily the weakest of the album and honestly one of the most mediocre tracks in both Michael Jackson and the great Paul McCartney's careers. Infamously, this track was the first single to be released and had critics expecting the album to bomb. Instrumentals are fine, vocals are fine, McCartney is fine - but it's just NOT the standard you'd expect from both this album and a collaboration between musicial giants. Thriller - I honestly don't even know what I could say about the next three songs that hasn't been said in much better words by critics and audiences from the past forty years. Thriller is everything that makes this album and so much more. From the unique theme to the just perfect instrumentation and vocals, and don't forget the fantastic Vincent Price cameo towards the end of the song. Perfection, and defintely worthy of being the title track. Beat It - As stated in my notes on Thriller, I can't possibly do this song justice. Another perfect Michael Jackson song with a perfect music video and one of the greatest solos in pop history thanks to the one and only Eddie Van Halen. Billie Jean - The trio of MJ's most recognizable hits ends with the beautiful Billie Jean. Regardless of who Billie Jean may have been or if she was ever real, Jackson sings his heart out in this track that is otherwise carried by its now iconic drum beat and funky guitar picking. Human Nature - The album may have moved on from the most recognizable singles, but it instead goes into what may possibly be my favorite song in MJ's whole career. This song is just beauty. I particularly appreciate Michael's softer vocals in this and just the entire feel of the song has this mystique to it that, at least in my own experience, keeps me listening again and again. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) - Ok so obvious joke about the basically unavoidable allegations of the man himself aside, P.Y.T. is another infectious jam much like the opening Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' that serves as a perfect way to give the album one last crowd pleasing groove before it ends with the final track. The Lady in my Life - This song is a perfectly fine way to end the album, it's a tad generic but pretty harmless and I'm sure it has its fans but it's not one I particularly find myself going back to. Despite that and my thoughts on The Girl Is Mine, I still think that front to back Thriller is an absolutely perfect album and a must listen to. Final thoughts - This album is everything good, and even a bit of the meh from the legendary Michael Jackson. There's a reason why it's the second highest selling album of all time and the most successful and revered in Jackson's career.