1001 Albums Summary

I'm not a huge U2 or Bono fan, but I'm trying this anyway. Brian Eno producing could be cool. Wiki says this one is pretty famous so I'm hoping the funk is in here somewhere, as it usually is. 1. Where the Streets Have No Name - alright, this is more or less what I thought U2 sounded like, kinda generic and shouty and reverb-y. Like a secular hillsong, basically. Structurally sound though, and the b7 move is kinda cool. 2. Still Haven't Found - still in that hillsong mode. I think this serves the same purpose as the spacey worshipy stuff in church, too. Just a simple 1-4 prog to put lyrics over. Not that 1-4 is bad, that's the genesis of a lot of great music. Simple is good, most of the time. In this case and the hillsong case though, I get bored easily. Lot of Christian imagery in the lyrics here too, so maybe that's a feature not a bug. I do like the mix on this one though, it does sound like Brian Eno's later stuff. 3. With or Without You - okay, this one is a little less hillsong. A little more house party band in the Nirvana boom, complete with 1-5-6-4 prog. I gotta say though, this album is not gonna beat the Christian Rock Band allegations. I actually searched "is U2 a Christian band" because it's just that close. They kinda are, enough imagery and you're no longer alluding but fully performing. On this one there's even a worship shout "oh oh oh" chorus thing. At this point in the album I've looked back at the wiki to check the run time and have decided this is going to be a SLOG. If I don't find a banger (and I know bangers) in the next 2 songs, I may pass this one. 4. Bullet the Blue Sky - finally a little bite. So far this is the best song on the album, but it's still a little bland. The funk is at least present here, I can't say it's strong but something is almost trying to emerge there. I like the backing vox, reminds me of Thomas Dolby's Aliens Ate My Buick, one of his most exciting albums imo. In fact, this song has a pretty similar structure to one of those songs, "Pulp Culture". The guitar solo has similar elements, and the whole thing is over a kinda loose ostinato. The poem is kinda weird but better than that floaty crap earlier. I'll take it. 5. Running to Stand Still - starting off with a bummer there, intro was that "Diggin my Potato" slide guitar stuff which could have led somewhere cool but now we're just in hillsong mode again :( I at least like the form for this one. Simple again, which is fine. This time, a little sauce at the end of the form though with the use of phrase rep. That's kinda cool. It's here that I notice I'm having a bit of trouble engaging with the lyrics, maybe it's because of the sonic-scape as a whole but they are not gripping me and that's a shame because surely this whole worshipy vibe is here as mostly a vehicle for the lyrics. 6. Red Hill Mining Town - I like the groove but STOP DOING 1-4 FOR A BIT. Geeze, again I'm not saying music has to all be Mahivisnu bc that sounds terrible too, but all the changes are variations of 1-5-6-4? 1-5-b7-4 ooohh! Fuck you man. Sorry, I'm just getting a little bored. Worst part is, if this were the second song on the album I wouldn't mind. I really like the chorus melody and the changes outside of the verse are more interesting than most of the album so far. By song 6, though? B-Side? I'm getting sick of the soundscape. Objectively I'd like to hear this one again most out of all of them so far, but I'm just ready for this to be the last song on the album as a whole. The previous songs were that bland. It's like eating a gross, gray, unseasoned steak 3 times in one meal and then someone offers you a perfect dessert, rich and sweet and deep. That dessert looks great, mm smells nice. Bet it tastes great, in fact I know it must. But gee man, after I filled up on that below avg steak? I just wanna go home, maybe dessert another time. It'll be a lot more fun when I have the pallette left for it. 7. In God's Country - I think I've heard this bassline before. Song is fine. This must just be the U2 sound that kept me away all my life. I was hoping it'd be a nice subversion of my expectations like Talking Heads was, but so far I'm on the money. 8. Trip Through Your Wires - hell, some different rhythmic content. Some different sonic content! Not all spacey ambient synth! Already takes this track to top 3 so far. Oh man I can't overstate how this song feels like I came up for air after being under too long. On its own I'd imagine I'd think of it as passable but after the rest, this is awesome. I heard that DX7 the wiki says Brian Eno was on! Finally. Was waiting for his ass to show up. 9. One Tree Hill - dig the octave guitar pattern to start but now we're back to U2 standard. Or at least, this album standard. NOTE TO SELF: try to vary your own melodies a little bit more. I think something that's grating to me on this album is that Bono's melody lines are so narrow and samey. I feel like he has a pretty good range, but he's just sticking around the plagal notes, 1234 mostly in the same octave. There's a place for that obv but I can't have that be boring over the backdrop of a boring soundscape with the band too. He saves it for the ends of the songs mostly, but I wish he'd incorporate that range more during the meat of the thing. The coda at the end was nice. 10. Exit - hey, nice subversion here with the major-minor shift/uneasiness! That was fun. Wiki says this song is about a serial killer, apparently. It feel like that, yeah. That was more exciting than most of the album, maybe like a low top 5 contender. 11. Mothers of the Disappeared - I think I've heard this one too. Either that or, I fear, the melody is generic enough for me to confuse it with other stuff. Or maybe the album was popular enough that folks bit off this original? The guitar melody that surrounds the thing is sweet and I do like it. I think overall this one isn't something for me. Most of it is pretty boring, I think the tracks are placed poorly. I can't engage with Bono's lyrics (at least not on first listen). It feels like the sonic interpretation of the phrase "all who wander are not lost" and I mean that in a derogatory fashion. I've learned from this that I need to write strong, memorable melodies in order to have people engage with the lyrics. I think by tomorrow, I could maybe sing back Track 11's guitar melody, but I don't think I'll remember any Bono lines. I remember hearing Billy Joel's "Sometimes a Fantasy" in the context of him flipping over the piano and all in Russia. That melody is so good I remembered it for years without ever hearing the full song. When I did go back and hear the full thing, it got even stronger in my head. I've only listened to it maybe twice? And I feel confident I could sing a fair bit of the verse and chorus. The words for the chorus even, if only the melody for the verses. That's excellent melody structuring, super memorable and it makes the lyrics stick much more than that bland stuff on this album. If I had to go again, I'd take 4, 6, 8, and 11 and leave the rest behind. Maybe Track 5 if I had to round it out. 50 minutes was too long for the album imo. *now that I've had some time to hit some other albums on this list, some I knew and some that are new, I can very confidently say this is a 1. I understand there's no objective "bad" and millions of people have real love for this group, but I just don't get it. It isn't for me and I've used this album to contrast better albums now. The idea that this is rated the same as Band on the Run and HIGHER than That's the Way of the World is absolutely insane to me. I wonder if I listened back to this album, would I enjoy the few songs that I thought were okay?

Finally, some good fucking food. There are tracks I've never listened to off of this album, so I'll try focusing more on those. For the ones that I know, it'll be more sparse since I already think very highly of them. 1. Respect - I don't really feel the need to go on about this one, it's pretty much perfect. She blew Otis out of the water. One new thing I'm noticing is that the organ sounds like a Vox Continental (The Doors sound) instead of a B3 which is totally what I'd expect and use if I played it. It works though, not intrusive and blends right into the mix. Bold ass key change with the sax solo always gets me. Okay that's enough 2. Drown in My Own Tears - okay, new one. I love a good old school church tune with a triple meter. Just classic trio too, very old school. No organ or guitar. Ohp nevermind there go the horns. I know Ray's version of this, I wonder how popular it was to cover. Big ups to the bgvs on all these btw, they keep right up with Aretha and add to the texture beautifully. And that classic "okay how are we ending this" church ending. 3. I Never Loved a Man - I've heard this one but never learned it. Wurly was more common than Rhodes in the 60s and it works really well for more bitey churchy stuff. I think I would have preferred the B3 sound on this one, but the Vox is okay too. Holy shit I'm learning from the wiki that this is her 10th album. 4. Soul Serenade - that opening with Aretha and the Wurly made me feel immediately. I wish the whole song was like that, but it's RHYTHM and blues so that's fine. Y'know, the last album had a lot of simple 1-4 riffing but it was so textureless. Obv in r&b and blues and funk and jazz and gospel, it's a lot cooler and more fun to listen to. I know it's normal and goes without saying but boy the church on this album is nuts. I wonder a lot about how much church and r&b influenced each other in the 60s. I think some churchy cats won't accept that it went both ways. 5. Don't Let Me Lose This Dream - when did Getz/Gilberto come out? Wiki says 64. So Bossa craze was here by 67. Obv Bossa existed before Getz/Gilberto, but it wasn't US popular like after that album came out. The take on it here is very nice, triadic gospel harmonies moving in tandem. And the song is really well written, never gets stale on a movement repeated. I also like the interpolation of straight ahead r&b in the minor sections with the bass playing the b7 line. Aside from Respect, this may be my favorite on the album so far. Very sweet and Aretha's voice of course is a huge contributor. Band is also killing. Boy these songs are short! I barely have time to think while they're going. Maybe I should listen once and then write the second time around. 6. Baby, Baby, Baby - heeeey there's that B3 sound. It had to be here for this trip meter church joint. Okay if there's a note I'm gonna take from this album it's to properly arrange my bgvs to be tight and harmonized on the pent scale like church dictates. They're so so simple and rudimentary on this album and this track but godDAMN they are perfect. It sounds like they start with a melody line and then assume that line as the tenor and build the also or the alto and sop line around it. I do that sometimes but I often get gummed up on which line is actually singing the "melody" and which lines are harmonizing around it. It's pretty solid here, the tenor has the melody and everyone else is singing on top. Helps that their ranges are high to begin with. Makes that tenor line clean and not muddy. Great memorable ending lick. 7. Dr. Feelgood - It's so funny that so many of these are the triple meter church/blues joint but I'm not tired of the same soundscape like I was for Joshua Tree. I think it helps that the songs are no more than 3 minutes mostly, the band is more killing, and Aretha is a better singer than Bono. I don't know about lyricist, but her range is more used and the melodies are stronger so the simple lyrics stick with me more. I mean this track is v similar to track 2, but I don't mind that. They're a world away on the album (good track placement, as opposed to what I thought was poor track placement on Joshua Tree) and they both sound great. Plus, neither is a 5 min long track. 5mins isn't long for a track, but it is when you're not enjoying it. 8. Good Times - woah, phrases of 6! I'm sure it's not arbitrary but actually it sort of feels like it. The groove on this one is tight but I actually feel that weirdness with the measure phrasing messes it up a bit. 9. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man - again bgvs killing. Love the progression of the chorus, very powerful. Here's a take: I don't think we talk enough about the bridge between "classic" soul and "classic" country. It's not this way anymore because of, but both forms of music are very heavily steeped in gospel and blues, America's original music forms naturally invented and pioneered by black people. Soul and country (as we knew it) came directly out of the aforementioned and only really differ in the instrumentation/personnel but their connection was a lot stronger than it is today, again because of. Also, looks like Muscle Shoals did this one and Respect. 10. Save Me - digging the bassline for this one a lot. Syncopated just right. I'm comfortable with that 1/b7 6 move, it shows up a lot but I can't remember where right now. 11. A Change Is Gonna Come - very sweet intro, mentioning Sam Cooke directly. Damn Aretha can sing. Her specific phrasing on "but I'm afraid to die" is going to stick with me for the rest of the day. The month? My life. I had no inkling that this track would be anything less than a blockbuster to cap it off and I was right. They changed the prog a little bit but it works for the arrangement. I swear there are vibes in this track but I don't see them listed in the personnel. Something aside from the piano and the organ are giving very very warm chord sounds in the back. It could be the B3 on a less bitey set of bars. I guess I could have done without the shout chorus at the end, but also I guess I'm dumb for thinking it wouldn't be there? It's an Aretha album from the 60s. It has more right to be there than I do. All said, I knew I'd be in for a good time here. I think I was expecting more funk-soul than church-soul given the prominence of the first track, but I'm not upset that it wasn't the case. For such a small band, the arrangments were lush and full. Again, Aretha's singing has a lot to do with filling that out. And her backups, as well. The only track I had really any sort of qualm with was Good Times because of the weird phrasing, but it's not a deal breaker. Weird phrasing is common in old school church too, so it fits. I'm reading that the piano was tuned a little sharp on this record? Didn't notice it once. Makes complete sense and fits the 60s church feel just right, even if unintentional. Sounds just like the keys for James Cleveland or Mahalia. I'm glad I got this one for my second day. I know that this list, much like a lot of these "Top (big number) Albums to Hear (verb statement)" centers a lot of white Anglosphere artists as the world's biggest and best while ignoring their influences completely. And since we're talking BAM here, those influences are almost always black or brown. Often outside of the Anglo completely. I bet Paul Simon's Graceland is on this list, but I bet none of Ladysmith or Fela Kuti's offerings are here. I know there'll be plenty of representation overall, but it just kinda stinks that U2 has 4 and Aretha *might* have 2. I'd listen to only this for the rest of my life if it meant I don't have to do Joshua Tree again.

I only know one Wings song (Let Em In) and it's a song I love very much. Of course Paul McCartney's famous offerings in the Beatles are hits for me, too. I think he's a great writer with a gift for making simple melodies and chord changes go a long, long way. I'm excited to listen, even though I have less than a sparse idea of what kind of band Wings actually is. 1. Band on the Run - I like the harmony lines in this tune. It seems like one of those non-sequitur songs, like Good Vibrations or A Day in the Life. I guess it depends, but I'm not always into those songs. Don't feel like the groove can really get going well if you keep interrupting with other textures. This one I dig though, mostly because the last section of the song (the actual "Band on the Run") lasts pretty long and allows me to get into it. I enjoyed that lush pastoral harmony thing in the beginning too. 2. Jet - gotta say I love the feel of this one too, switching between the fuzzy driving bass thing and the more laid back reggae skank. It works well. I'm not sure I remember much of Paul as the Beatles' bassist aside from Come Together and maybe Something, but he's got great feel here and I think his feel plays a lot into his writing style. Long bass pedals (technically) with chords changing over top seems to be a hallmark of bass-minded players. I'm definitely gonna hit this album again because I know I'm missing a ton in all that's going on in this track. The form seems pretty loose but I'd like to hit it again. And oooh that ending. Sexy. 3. Bluebird - man I love the melodies this guy writes. They are always so sweet. "Imma bluebird imma bluebird", I'll be singing that all day. Can't wait to sit down and listen to the lyrics on this album again, I know they're similarly sweet and evocative but simple and easy to digest and remember. Even now while typing I caught "Fly away through the midnight air-As we head across the sea-And at last, we will be free" simple af but man the feels. How do you get to writing like that?? See whenever someone rips on me for getting emotional about "Let Em In", they're just dead inside. His writing is very touching. This song is so so nice. I'm going back and forth between stank face for the band and blushing at how pretty this is. Makes me want to get off my ass and practice so I can write something that makes someone feel this one day. ** I just found out that Corrinne Bailey Rae did a cover of this on a tribute album?? About to be my jam for the year. 4. Mrs. Vandebilt - now the last song felt so removed from Beatles sound, but this one feels more in line with their later stuff. That's not a bad thing, just interesting I guess. Very bridge tone bass against loud acoustic guitar, drums in the back on the ride EXCEPT the kick which is right up front. Again, this may be the hookiest mother to ever live. "ho hey ho", stuck in my head already. I don't think I would have enjoyed this as much if it were on, say, Let It Be, but the arrangement here is much more than it probably would have been there. It also looks like Paul and Linda mostly did this album on their own? Get those specific white folks genes and lemme know what the lab turns up. Lennon doesn't have the sauce like this. I'm bumping to a song called Mrs. Vanderbilt. 5. Let Me Roll It - woah man, the reverb. Anyway with that initial melody line, Joshua Tree garners more to dunk on. I didn't even find it that singable right away, but it's way way more catching and interesting than anything on U2's album. This is gonna be the one that I have to get into but I'm gonna end up loving most. It'll be like, #2 when I start putting this in my rotation. Not a giant fan of that guitar riff throughout being SO damn loud. It's a little unpleasant. I read a lot of people saw this as a pastiche on Lennon's solo sound (unintentional) and I kinda hear it. Maybe that's why it's a little low for me right now. May get a little higher as time goes on though. 6. Mamunia - this song is a good example of the funk being present in non-funk songs. That descending line with the bass is so tight and on the one, I can't help but bob my head. It's not traditionally what I'd call funk, James Brown wouldn't be there with the Ohio Players or EWF. But it has a good feel. Also love the #4 change instead of going right to the 4. I think the full descent is a Paul McCartney sound, so it's nice that it was subverted in a cool way. Pretty melody as well, expected. 7. No Words - this whole album has a very Little Foot feel, or I guess the opposite may be true. It's got that mid-70s rock but super r&b harmony filled plus orch thing going on. Maybe it's a Wings original thing and everyone else is copying? Idk I'll look into it. Again what I was talking about last album, the link between the soul and the country sound profile is here again. Twangy guitars but churchy harmonies on top with a rhythm section driving it. 8. Helen Wheels - **omitted because I guess I'm listening to the UK version. I'll come back to this one.** Okay I'm back. Knowing this song is about a Land Rover pulls that shuffle right into context. LOVE this guy's melody writing. That "HELEEEEN" is catchy and the "never gonna take her away" actually gave me legit involuntary stank face. Yah this would have fit in great, wonder why they omitted from the UK release. 9. Picasso's Last Words - cheeky arrangement stuff here. Clarinet? And oboe. Sounds very Fool on the Hill of him. Also, yeah it includes the other songs on the album. Jet shows up in this song, not like a quick blink and you'll miss it riff. The whole arrangement just toned down. Same for Mrs. Vandebilt. This is a little strange, I've seldom or never heard this done that way. Beautiful bass melody near the end. Oh man, do I like Paul McCartney as a bassist too? Never thought about it. 10. Ninteen Hundred and Eighty Five - here's that sound again. That 70's easy listening/yacht rock thing. I can't think of many bands off the top. Pre Aja Steely Dan? Doobie Brothers? I like it, regardless, just interesting to hear that Paul McCartney did it too. I really wonder how much of an influence Wings had that I may not know about. Using the mellotron again, I see. Uh, hear. Crazy ending to this song. Big ass orch hits leading to like 10 secs of the initial track on the album. Ties it up nicely. It's a cute way to do it (non-derogatory). Gotta say, I really enjoyed myself here. Coming in with more of a "Let Em In" expectation as opposed to a Beatles classics one helped me loosen up a bit maybe? I dunno. That sound I was talking about is great in the right dosage to me and I think this was it. I couldn't listen to Steve Miller or the Eagles all day, but I think that sound coupled with the extra strong melodies and intricate arranging on this one could probably get me 2, *maybe* even 3 listens in one day. I'm gonna put this one in my rotation for sure, I'd like to learn these songs for myself. I think I can probably take a lot of writing stuff from here, especially since I've always admired Paul's writing chops on the Beatles stuff I do like (most of it is his stuff). Excited for more Wings stuff and to hit this one again soon. **I hit it again the next day and remembered a lot of stuff. Melodies, changes, words, rhythms. And all very enjoyable to sing back. This is gonna be a 5.

lol. well this is an easy one. I think I'll just listen to this one because today, don't really need to do the full review stuff here. Other reviews are about to pmo though. **reviews weren't so bad. The low ones that call this album disco (it's not, not all black music in the 70s is disco you prick) remind me of that racist white girl from York that turned off EWF for some kinda crappy noisy screamo. I kinda do wanna go through each track but I dunno, it'll kinda screw the magic for me. The only thing I'll say is this: After reading his book a while back, I think Maurice White's upbringing in church and then subsequent leaving the place in favor of a much wider spirituality speaks to me in a way that I've never noticed. I've had a similar path so far, although not exactly the same. Eg: on All About Love, he sounds like Andre for some of the spoken word part. Otherwise, I'll leave it as one of my favorite albums and one that I've spun a million times. Immediate 5, of course. Grooves tight af, vocals perfect. Message clear as a bell and positive but not overly. Holy lord, Step on the arranging! I gotta take more of my orch stuff from him. None of my tunes even consider the orchestra. They will. My day was prime to suck ass but instead I'm smiling ear to ear listening to the title track at 7:20am. Thanks, my favorite band of all time for proving your goodness once again. Roland, won't you hear me now.

I'm gonna keep it short here and edit later. Tracks 3 through 6 were all excellent and I enjoyed listening to them. I'd pick them up again later down the road even though they aren't traditionally my cup of tea. V nice melodies all throughout and the singer's falsetto is wonderful. Otherwise, basically what I thought it'd be. The band is nothing to write home about, and the arrangements on those other songs are similarly bland. If not for those 4 songs mentioned before, this would fall juuuuust above Joshua Tree and be a huge slog. But they got me through it, and the other songs weren't *bad*, just a little generic sounding. If I kinda knew Coldplay idk if I could have placed those as their sound with any accuracy. Those 4 songs mentioned before were good enough to earn the 3, but the rest of the album was milquetoast enough to deny itself the 4. I'd give a 3.5 if I could.

I like Elton John! I'm no super fan or anything but I like his voice and I think his writing is filled with emotion and Bernie Taupin's lyricism is evocative while remaining digestible and simple. Never heard before Honky Chateau so looking forward here. 1. Tiny Dancer - man I gotta say, I never expected that famous melody to be so delayed. Worked out well, hardly noticed this was that song until it showed up like 3 minutes in and hit like a truck. Wiki says this album is considered prog rock? I'm not sure I get that considering what we'd call prog today. Like, later Yes is what I'd consider early prog and even that's a stretch nowadays. Mix is so tight on this album, too. It's interesting that the sound I really associate with American country rock (big, cinematic strings, twangy guitar, lap guitar, lead piano) are all over the song and album from what I've heard. Not a bad thing, I think that concept actually works well here while it always flops with the country rock stuff for me. Maybe the writing is better, or maybe the drums actually mean something here? Either way, that connection I was talking about between country (og) and soul (og) still coming up and I'm still right. Strings killing it on this album, wonder who did the arranging. Nothing like Step's for EWF but just a big wall of sound appearing as a strong counter melody. Works well. 2. Levon - let's see if I remember that melody from yesterday! ** I did, like a second after writing that. That "heeee shallll beee leevooonn" is a really strong melody and v familiar. Same melody actually as "And looooove woooont leeet me waiiiitt..." in Major Harris' song. I think it's a soul cliche. This one also starts with piano intro only, I think that's just an Elton John thing? I think some of the melodies are similar too, and the way Elton John's melodic phrasing is too. But, I don't mind. Doesn't get stale very fast, and I think that's a testament to his singing and of course the arrangement of the song. Something I'm noticing on second listen is that Bernie Taupin's lyrics are evocative of emotion without really using them to describe emotion. He's mostly telling stories or painting profiles of characters with the words, but he's never saying "I'm sad and here's how I'll tell you in a clever, lyrical way". In fact, outside in, his lyrics are not terribly personal since they're about events or people. Kinda Dan-like in that way, less morbid though (normally). Again, strings playing the role of a strong counter melody when necessary. 3. Razor Face - I'm not sure I enjoy the lyrical structure on this one as much for some reason. It's definitely the same as before though. "Has anybody seen Razor FACE, I heard he's back and looking for a PLACE to lay down" has a meter similar to "BalleRINA, you must have SEEN HER" but something about the groove is complementing it this time. But, the groove is cool. Jam break down at the end, a la Pinball Wizard. This one's alright, not gonna be my first pick if the album comes back on but it's got a laid back feel and I wouldn't skip it. 4. Madman Across the Water - Strings once again playing very cinematic. Sounds like the theme to a modern western still set in the Old West. Not a bad thing, they are killing it. A little more than a one melody wall of sound on this one. Melody is very nice. The lyrical problem of last song doesn't happen here. Maybe it's because Tapin's usual structure is AABB (bad-sad, then moon-June, etc) and that structure doesn't work well with shorter passages. John's melodic passages are usually longer though, so it normally works out. Maybe that's it, cuz those lyrics are working just fine here. Not grating at all. ****ADVICE: Changing my normal lyrical structure and meter based on the length of a passage so that the words don't come out hokey or grating.**** Shorter melodic passages will need more varied rhyming patterns, while longer ones can get away with the somewhat expected AABBCC etc format. 5. Indian Sunset - this song FUCKED me up yesterday listening in the car. That "full of lead" line was nuts, melody and lyrics. I read that most of this isn't historically accurate, it's just a story and what a story. Even I with my level 2 apple imagination get a pretty vivid sense of imagery here. Vocals upfront after the intro are nice and bold. I wonder what motivated this song, it's a bit of an odd topic to write on without an emotional connection. Like, he's a 70s Englishman so to write something on a topic that would seem so intimate (potentially, I could be wrong) to a Native American is pretty left field, I think. Composition is once again v cinematic. And the lyrics are similarly cinematic, super strong and evocative. Hate to keep saying that word, but they're colorful. Ending is sick!! Let's hear it for abrupt endings not on beat one, or the tonic. 6. Holiday Inn - one thing I haven't touched on which is totally an Elton John-ism is the big full shouty choir for like one line or a few words to add punch to a moment. It's like the whole town showed up to shout "SLOW DOWN JOE!" mostly in tuned harmony and it really works. Makes that bit and the ones following it super memorable. I like the usage of mandolin in this tune, makes a nice bohemian sound that I think it intentional given the subject of the song. Whoever mixed these drums and the album as a whole deserves an award. I hope they got it. And if not, I hope they get it. Is it weird that I consider the Elton John sound to be almost quintessentially Americana, but he's so British? Like, MacArthur Park Americana. That sound. 7. Rotten Peaches - oooh minor 4! my fav. Goddamn that twangy ass guitar, how is this not country rock?? Like 70s country rock. I don't hear this as prog. I'm not insulting it by calling it country rock, it's way better than that. But the sound is there. I'm noticing that some of the songs have the same groove, and it's okay since it's not the majority and they're broken up well. Also noticing a very active and melodic bass player on this album, but especially this song. He hit a bad minor run up top but otherwise he's quite on it. 5-4-1 ending is cool with the lalas. 8. All the Nasties - oh my, large chamber choir on the feature! Same groove again, not quite tired yet. Getting there, but we're not there yet. Again, helps that other parts of the texture differ. This one is mostly keys and drums and that big choir. Pretty sparse on the other stuff for the most part. Starting with that "do do do dum do dum doo doo oh my soul" thing, I'm really having a good time with the groove, in fact. Good build up and craaaaazy reverb on the drums. You can hear the air inside the drum's reverb response. 9. Goodbye - super moody right up front. Orchestra doing more than punch tactics here too. This is so melancholy for the last song, that's unusual. Elton John was pretty clearly classically trained as far as playing and composing, the progression here shows that. The melody as well. I liked that. I think that it would have been super tight had we ended right after Holiday Inn. The last few tracks were good but they were when I started noticing some of the grate and churn that comes with having similar groove and melody structure to most of the songs. That said, the groove is a good one and Elton John can really compose. Taupin's lyrics are beloved for a reason. I think the choice to end on a low note is kind of a strange one, but I don't hate it. I'd say that if we stopped after track 6, I'd put this album at a solid 4. As it is, though, it's a bit bloated. So I'd call it a 3.7 or 3.8. Better than the last, but as a whole on the 3 level. Almost 4! (I'm going to make it so that the decimals don't round, but they're still good to note here)

Was looking forward to hearing this one. I only know Fast Car from her whole discography, so looking forward. Not really into folk music much from the 60s, I knew it had a resurgence in the 80s I guess due to this album's popularity. I talk about the sound as a whole being the subject of parody as I was growing up, but I really like the genuine thing. I would have excpected guitar only, but there's a band on most of the tunes. 1. Talkin bout a Revolution - she's got a very distinct voice. Kind of like Grace Jones with the slightly androgynous quality. I noted in my recording that I heard the style parodied a lot, but it's nice to know where it's from. The "finally the tables are starting to turn" line has soured, unfortunately. The tables are firmly on their legs and evil men laying on top. Maybe in 88 things were less bleak. Super cheap, fast music full of synth only was at its height in 88, so this must have been a breath of fresh air for some people. Not super poppy then, maybe, but a little poppy by today's standards. Short tracks all the way through. 2. Fast Car - did not know there was a band here, only heard her play this at Wembley Stadium the year the album came out. Melody is very nice, chords simple. Just a 6-5-4-1. Super earthy sound for the late 80s. The subject matter of this song was probably super tangible and relatable for some people. Melancholy lyrics that seem very personal to Tracy Chapman. On first listen, I'm pretty far removed from the subject matter so I can't connect as well as surely some folks did. That said, I still really like the song and feel a form of empathy for the characters described in the lyrics. It's not a bleak feeling, it's a bittersweet feeling. About her writing: it's sort of opposite of Taupin's on Elton John's albums. Both are story writing with a loose narrative, but Chapman's writing is a lot less removed from reality and an heavier on the use of specifics, many of which seem to be of personal experience. Taupin's are a lot more fantastic, and as a result his stories become vivid yarns instead of grounded, modern stories like it seems Chapman writes on this album from some sort of experience/perception of real life. Excited to hear more of that as a writer who is not good at yarns but is more inclined to lead with my own emotions. I want the things that I write to evoke an emotion in you that I feel in myself first. I have a hard time writing to evoke an emotion in a person that I don't feel myself. 3. Across the Lines - **going to have to edit this with the rest later. i recorded my thoughts while cooking and they are on google drive at work and at home. rating for now and will finish typing later. 2.

Hell yeah another classic I know. I guess I can hit this one before I vote though, it's actually not my fav De La album. That's likely gonna be De La Soul is Dead. But, looking forward to spinning again! It's actually been a while. 1. Intro - lol I forgot about this aspect, the game show albums of De La. This is the sort of album that I really wanna make, just dumb as hell but so so good. It makes the fun they had doing this come through. "Blood sucking freaks just like your mama" IS NUTS 2. 3 is a Magic Number - heck of a start for their first ever debut track. Schoolhouse Rock sample, very very cool. Right up my alley. The mix and multisampling is noticeably looser than it would become later, but it's working out still. Even their verses are a lot less tight but again, it's still working out because they are good at it. Not as good as they'd be in some years, but still high skill. God Schoolhouse Rock Bob Dorough sample is SO COOL. 3. Change in Speak - hey it's Bra! By Cymande! De La and Tribe had the best samples in the game. Jungle Brothers too. I guess all of Native Tongues? Anyway I'm trying not to pay too much attention to the music here and get more into the lyrics which i always have trouble with cuz the sampling work is so interesting to me. While trying to do that, their verses being less tight is coming back up again. Flow still great for everyone involved (Pos is in my top 5 for a reason) but they're voices literally aren't as clear as they'd be in the future. 4. Cool Breeze - lol 5. Can U Keep a Secret - I can imagine that if you don't find this kind of humor fun, you wouldn't like this album. I really, really do though. Just dudes having a good time and every few songs making something totally classic and great sounding. 6. Jenifa Taught Me - yeah see Paul's work is a lot looser here. Think about this and then Is Dead for something like Pease Porridge. It also has kind of an uneven sample but it remains funky throughout. This doesn't come close to that, even though I'm still able to listen and enjoy. The Little Derwin break is v funny. Again I bet if you take yourself too seriously, you wouldn't like that. But I do. 7. Ghetto Thang - funky up front, really like the sampling work here. That kinda cabasa groove with the bassline is working. I should hit the lyric sheet for this one, I hear some conscious stuff in here. 8. Transmitting Live from Mars - the French? Bon bon? Again dig the sample. This one is pretty Doom-like. 9. Eye Know - banger alert, been a favorite for ages. Anyone that samples Steely Dan is in for me. Works so well with the Otis Redding. This is an art I'd love to get good at. I wonder how to put all the elements together and hear them in your head before recording. Love their flow once again. Pos is my #1 in this group but Dave and Mase always keep up. 10. Take It Off - see man just sounds like black joy. Got a huge opportunity with the album and they're having a ton of fun with it while still making good music. Dream stuff. Take that Kangol off? Okay I'll tell 13 year old me immediately. 11. A Little Bit of Soap - I actually sing this one very often lol. One of my favorite tracks from the album genuinely. Someone was mad when they made this and it's v funny. 12. Tread Water - oh yeah I bet people were thinking this wasn't serious enough when it came out. It's too enjoyable, not serious enough, etc. It is serious though, when it needs to be. But when it doesn't? They're crafting stories with humor and joy and tight verses to boot. 13. Potholes in My Lawn - yup another classic. Never realized there's a jaw harp at the top of this and with the yodeling sample but I'm simply not surprised. Cmon man, yodeling sample? And it fits? How can you be angry about that? What kinda guy are you are? 14. Say No Go - this one I'm not as familiar with. Yeah I love their flow. It all works really well together, just similar enough to each other to facilitate cohesion when they're switching off verses. 15. Do as De La Does - this one is def satire on 80s hip hop. LL type stuff, maybe a little Grandmaster Flash with the call and response. The skits in the middle are still killing me lol. The Italian guy. 16. Plug Tunin - one of the best grooves on the album and that's really saying something. I often stim that "mmmmmmmyeayuhh" at the end of the groove after "Plug Tunin" is said. Crazy delay, whole whole quarter. Chuck D mention, neat. Also this came out in 88?? Sounds closer to mid 90s. 17. De La Orgee - this is crazy lol why would this happen. Someone just screaming bloody murder at the end is nuts. Why?? 18. Buddy - and the last track being followed by this one, Hip hop royalty. Somehow they got that Commodores sample to sound even crisper than it originally is. It's so clean. I don't know if I need to say much about this one, studded with the Native Tongues talent all over, critically lauded. You know how it is. I will say Q-Tip is here who is also top five for me, but his flow is still not as beloved to me as any of the 3 in De La. Afrika is on this?? 19. Description - hell yeah Poet by Sly and Fam Stone sample. Hey Q-Tip is back. Not sure I'm a huge fan of the flow they have going on between everyone here, but I like that sample. 20. Me Myself & I - well we've hit #1 on this album so there ya go. The recording on Spofity sounds kinda weird, that "play it now" has been replaced. I wonder why. It's the same Funky Worm sample but it's pitched differently on this recording. Hmm. Anyway, big classic. "BLACK IS BLAAACK" 21. This is A Recording - sample is sick. Like very sick, that bassline and the 1-4 synth. Their flow is back to normal here. Sample is The Sequence! Makes sense. The structure of the rhyme reminds me of Trapped Into Darkness a little. The way they state the title at the end of their verse. 22. I Can Do Anything (Delacratic) - again just dicking around lol wonderful. 23. D.A.I.S.Y Age - AWB sample up front kind of a tease! Wish that kept going, I was enjoying that. I'm not sure I would have chosen to cap the whole thing off with this one, it's a little weak for that purpose. It kind of acts as a theme so it makes sense, though. Hey they had an actual sweepstakes thing at the end of this! That's really cool. Yeah that was still as much fun as I remember it being. It's not their strongest outing, but for their very first and also in 88 it's really really really good. Identity was so clear right away and it makes the album that much more enjoyable. Knowing what De La would do later, I have a hard time giving a 5 but it's a solid 4.

Okay I'm back after a hectic ass week. As I was saying before I was deleted, this is an interesting one. I have a lot of Joni Mitchell stuff, full albums and tribute albums, etc. She's hugely respected in the jazz world, I like her voice and I really really enjoy all the stuff she's done with Weather Report (Jaco/Wayne/Joe, not just Jaco like on this one). I have this album and I've tried, but I just couldn't get into it. I remember thinking her style was a little too poetically dense for me, literally phrasing too dense. But, I am excited to try again, even if I don't know what to expect. 1. Coyote - Jaco sure does take over any track he's on, non derogatory. This is the third time I'm listening to this track trying to finish this album (I've been so fucking busy) and I must say, I really really enjoy this groove. Dig the hell out of a perc heavy, drumless, shaker and conga chug. That's grown ass man groove right there, make it funky without the funk engine. That said, I was right about the density of Joni's lyrics. Sometimes she just starts talking in regular old non-verse, like no meter. I think I'm getting more used to it, but I'm still not sure it's fully my thing. I like this track though. 2. Amelia - again, third or so time listening to this one. With the benefit of time, I've caught more lyrics and really enjoy what I hear. It is again, like Tracy Chapman, very descriptive and evocative but personal. I think it's somewhere in between Chapman and Taupin with the use of literal passage and metaphor and I really like it. Beautiful poetry. It just hit me with the line "a ghost of aviation", but this is about Amelia Earhart. Or at least, it's using her as a metaphor for something Joni clearly experienced. That's really cool. She even had Icarus allusion there, and I tried that without sounding overplayed. And, I really like the changes and vibe of the tune. Last time I wrote this, I likened it to Lori Lieberman and Lynn Ahrens work on Schoolhouse Rock and yeah, it really does have a quality that is digestible and peaceful but engaging just like most Schoolhouse Rock tunes (a project which may be a top 5 musical offering for me period, really tight shit). I think Joni Mitchel played guitar on most of these. I see Larry Carlton is here too. Lastly, I think that the dense nature of Joni's lyrics finds a better home here at a slower tempo. More room to breathe, less need (maybe she didn't need but, still) to jam all the words in by not singing and just talking at a high speed. I see this got recorded with Joni and an orchestra on Travlogue, may check that out. 3. Furry Sings the Blues - I heard this one first time last night. I don't uh, really like it that much. It's kinda soft rock, whic isn't bad. Kit is on this one. I figured out before reading that it was about an old blues musician on Beale Street that is dealing with time changing and Beale Street being torn down gradually. That's fine. I think the dense lyrical thing is back and it kinda KINDA fits but not as well as Amelia. So, this song is actually about a real blues musician, Furry Lewis, who was a Delta blues pioneer. And more specifically, it seems to be about Joni meeting Furry in his old age. That's all well and good, surely a pioneering blues musician is a folk hero to a folk artist like Joni Mitchell. One thing I super definitely don't like is Joni imitating him on this track? Not his musical style, but imitating his speaking voice and saying stuff I guess that he said to her? "Old Furry's got nobody" is really sad on its own, but it actually makes me more sad that Joni took what is surely an outward rep of a private feeling and imitated it for artistic effect on this album. I understand that this may be off the mark, but it feels like exploitation a bit to me. Not necessarily malicious, but I dunno. I have a thing already where old folks make me sad if they're unhappy, so maybe that's kicking it up a notch. Someone named Kelala apparently covered this, I'm curious to hear what she does with it (she's black). ALSO I'm reading that Furry legit didn't like Joni Mitchell's use of his name? And listening closer in this song, after Furry says "I don't like you" to Joni, she tells him that she isn't familiar with his music but she gets "such strong impressions of [his] heyday". Ehh. Okay, this one feels like a white girl discovering black music and then using it but not really understanding what makes it important, not respecting it. I feel like Joni must have with how much respect the jazz comm has for her, but idk. This track bugs me. Also, surely delta blues pioneers play harmonica better than Neil Young here. 4. A Strange Boy - I heard this one last night for the first time. So far, it had been the easiest to keep up with lyrically on first listen. Chords are simple but throw enough drama in to keep it interesting. Minor 1 to major 1 is cool. Larry Carlton is on the joint, clearly. That guy sure can play. Pretty simple stuff here, but I enjoy listening to it. Again, very direct descriptions of things in the lyrics. Not fantastical, but not too direct. She is good at that, when the track allows her room to breathe. 5. Hejira - heard this one last night and again Jaco is so up front but he deserves it cuz he really makes this track. Such thoughtful and melodic playing. It takes real bravery of me to play like that, especially coming from the church tradition where you get either a funny look or a killin look if you play anything other than the root and the difference between the two just depends on the person. Groove is pretty strong still without much perc or drs. That's also thanks to Jaco mostly, but Joni is comping right in the pocket too. I don't know if I've mentioned, I really do like her voice. And again, the more laid back feel does compliment her lyrical style, although it's not as dense on this track as on Coyote. 6. Song for Sharon - okay 8 minute song, hoping it's not a slog! So far I dig the changes. She is really good at writing changes that have just the right amount of tension and drama. And she clearly loves her minor 1 to major 1 cadences. So far not a slog as I'm reading liner notes on wiki. The song is about a woman choosing between marriage and freedom to do other things. I connect with that, actually. I do feel that my own dream has been kinda directly hindered by choosing to be in a relationship seriously instead. It's just a fact of life, unfortunately. I wouldn't choose to not get married, but when that door opened the other one closed. Anyway, no that wasn't a slog at all. Groove was tight and again, just enough tension and release to last. I'd like to see a lyrics sheet along with this one. 7. Black Crow - Jaco's back lol it's so immediate. OOOH damn that first harmonic chord. Is he back or what. I actually remember this one as one I enjoyed because of Jaco and I listened to it more often than any other Joni. Similar groove to Coyote, and cool changes. Joni over top is nice but really the groove from Larry Carlton, Jaco and her on acoustic is king here like goddamn, they are killing it. I could have gone my whole life without knowing they did stuff together, but thankfully I didn't. Funny, this one is probably the lightest subject matter so far but it's the heaviest groove. 8. Blue Motel Room - I know this one too. I always thought she had kind of a Billie Holiday feel on this one. Swings a little bit, upright instead of electric. And she's way way more melodic than lyrically dense here. Most of the time, anyway. Still a little of that talking thing. I think it's on purpose. Changes again are really nice. I have to sit at the keys and map it out, but I'm pretty sure that's a minor four move and she's using it kind of a lot on this album. However, it's a classic and a fav of mine so it hasn't gotten stale. It's not non-functional either so it's not so jarring and works out every time pretty much. Like I said, she's a great poet. "I've got road maps from two dozen states, I've gone coast to coast just to contemplate" and "funny how these old feelings hang around, you think they're gone no no they just go underground" are wonderful and charged. And she places them just right, so clearly she can do that. And damn the line about the Cold War right after, like she can write. I guess the whole jamming a talking line in is a choice, but I prefer she did more of what I just mentioned. It sounds way better and she's really good at placing lyrics like that. 9. Refuge of the Roads - Joni sounds good on guitar too, shouldn't understate that. Jaco is back, I love you Jaco Pastorius. Kit is back too, didn't expect it. Pretty crazy that the drummer on this album is the subject of some of the breakup-y songs. He was playing the soundtrack to his breakup, that's something. Yeah love the soundscape of this one. Horns coming in so sweet they sounded like winds. Jaco multi-tracking his orchestral bass feel. Good capper here. I really like the verse about the photo Earthrise. I was looking at it at the same time and it really made me feel. Insignificant, but also a part of something grand and unexplainable. It was a very earthy feeling and that last verse was really used from a composition standpoint to nail that right home. Well, all said, I think I've wasted some years not giving Joni Mitchell more of a chance. I think this album is a high 4. I would give it a 5, but I can't get over the feeling that track 3 gave me. I'm reading a Rolling Stone article about Joni Mitchell coming to see Furry and it's making me pretty mad, actually. Furry says she came in to ask about him on a personal level, not to write a song. I understand that they're not obligated to give him anything and it's not like he has an estate that would come after Joni or the label. But, she shows up to his ramshackle place in Memphis in a limo and asks him about his life to write about him and Beale Street, then the manager can't toss a dime from an RIAA gold album to fix a downed wire on the old man's porch? I truly understand that they're not obligated, but so what? People should only do the right thing when they're obligated to in some way? It's asshole behavior to me. Trying to separate art/artist here but it's really getting under my skin. Anyway. I'm reading that was Victor Feldman on vibes for track 2. Clearly the jazz world likes Joni (Herbie's tribute album?) and I do too, but that track 3 really rubbed me the wrong way. Whatever. Album itself is very good. It isn't lighthearted but it also avoids being a drag, I'm still not sure I like the half poem-half song approach. Gil Scott Heron was a poet first, but he usually chose rhythmic coherence over fitting every word in no matter what. Jaco is immaculate on the joint. As is Larry Carlton. I think I would actually be tempted to call this a 5 but the aforementioned rhythmic non-coherence and that damn Furry Sings the Blues are knocking it down to a 4 for me. Still, really enjoyed all the rest of it.

Hey lookit, first one I don't recognize at all, album or artist or songs. Cool. I don't really even know what shoegaze constitutes, though I have a pretty good idea. Not sure it'll be my thing but you never know. Let's do it. Ohhh! Exclaimed Italianly. 64 mins. 1. I Hang Suspended - cool, that's what I thought shoegaze was. Hrm, I'm gonna try to get through this whole thing but I'm not sure I can do 64 mins in one sitting. The melody is nice on this one, I like the kind of non-functional cadence on the "I hang suspended on your word". Singer's voice is surprisingly soft? I thought it'd be a little more screamy. 2. Upon 9th and Fairchild - both songs so far have started with that ambient space. But ooh I do like the bassline on this one. It's funny, this isn't quite the kind of music that your parents would hate like grunge was in the US in the 90s, but it's getting there. I did enjoy the initial groove but midway through, I think the chorus, it gets sorta generic again. The tinny vocals remind me of some of the Gorillaz stuff later on, Damon Albarn used that a lot. Again that initial groove is cool, but then it's just loud. The distorted guitar doing the Sun Ra gag sorta. It reigns it back into melody later though. Hey a string section! That's neat actually, nice addition to the soundscape. Gives it body. 3. Wish I Was Skinny - and now something totally different, very clean tones. This is closer to the toothless sort of alt rock that I don't associate with what I thought shoegaze was, but I guess it counts fine enough. Hand claps and bright cymbals. Melody ain't bad. It's a cute song, but a little dull. I do like the horn addition, and I appreciate that these folks are incorporating more into their sound than just fuzz guitar wall of sound. Weird ending but it's kinda funny. 4. Leaves and Sand - there's that sound I expect. I hate to be this way, I'm not sure it's my favorite kind of sound. Still kinda noisy but without real gumption behind it. I think the lack of any syncopation contributes to that. The wall of sound thing is this case I understand and it's a sound of extreme loud to extreme quiet for effect. Subito over many bars. But I dunno. If you're gonna be that loud you better be playing something I can move to. I did like the melody contour when the singer started up though. 5. Butterfly McQueen - okay I actually would rather not have the trumpet here. I dig the groove a little before the wall of sound starts wall of sounding. Yknow this album was inspired by Coltrane apparently, but I wonder if that's just in the title and the wall of sound phrase? His wall of sound doesn't mean the same thing it does here. I like the way this one ends and leads into the next song, Youtube's endless ads and DIAs endless bullshit kinda ruined the transition but I still got the idea. 6. Rodney King - have to pause here to do something but so curious what this will be like. Hmm the beat gives me pause but I'm letting it ride. This track is p simple but I like that the volume is used in conjunction with the higher pitched softer melody. I probably still wouldn't dance to this, but I could see someone doing so. Someone that dances like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. Hey the lyrics are pretty clever here. Just 3 lines, but fairly powerful for what they are supposed to be. Not the most powerful I've heard about the subject matter, but not so bad for some white British guys right after it happened. Synth ending was nice, if not a non-sequitur completely. 7. Thinking of Ways - oh nvm it's a transition again. I should have hit this on Spotify or my own cpu. I see some people making connections to the Beach Boys here, I think I would have gotten that too. I like this guy's voice, wish it was on more Brian Wilsony stuff like this instead of loud pre-emo. "I'm thinking of ways I can get out of things just like always" has a great contour and they stick the melody line on it to boot. Pretty nice there. It is around this time however that I begin to look at my watch, I think the run time here is going to knock this one down a peg or two. Plus they love that guitar that sounds like an ewe and a large metal door being fed through a chipper a little too much for me. 8. Barney - kinda Blues Traveler-y? Again, nice melody but a bit toothless. I think there's a middle ground between their wall and this, and I think it lies in a little bit of syncopation. A line or two, not just held chords. Oh as I say that, there's a hit on two to lead into the chorus. Immediately made me pay attention and blew some life into this, so I think I'm right on that. I like the bassist's tone, overdriven enough for the verses then that real fuzz for the instrumental breaks. The harmony vocal thing in the middle didn't really work. There are more than a few non-seqs that don't FULLY work. I know that's subjective by their nature almost, but eh. Not my thing, at least I don't think it works well here. 9. Spun Around - a little Doors intro with the organ and dry bass and stuff. But, I visibly made a face of slight disgust when the vocals come in with that noise around them. Again, I think the actual melody is quite nice and I'm sure the soundscape is just right for some people. I think it's distinct and interesting, but I wouldn't put it on my stuff or seek it out to listen. 10. If You Want It, Take It - yeah that Albarn style of singing again. I guess it's actually Boo Radley style. This sounds like what would be ubiquitous in a 90s or 2000s film about a freshman at college "just trying to score". I guess I don't mean that in a derogatory manner, that kind of thing has surely aged poorly but has its place as a time capsule to a specific emotion. For me, at least. Never looked up any of those soundtracks though... 11. Best Lose the Fear - thought we were dropping into 7 for a second there. Again, I like the addition of the organ here. Good extra texture. Again, nice enough melody - I like the chorus.  Looser feel on this track than the rest. It works for the vox but everyone kinda on their own in the rhythm section, ehh. And I liked the organ, but the clarinet isn't really working. Sounds sorta like a school band and there was one friend that played clari so just let him noodle around a bit. 12. Take the Time Around - so loud upfront, that's actually unpleasant to me. That fuzz is drowning the whole track, it had to be deliberate but man I don't like it very much. Goddamn and the double solo is even louder. I sound so old but like, this is approaching noise just for the sake of it. If you wanna be loud, be funky! Damn. Be loud and have a sick ass groove that's stank worthy, otherwise it's just pain. I didn't even pay attention to anything else in this track aside from how noisy it is. 13. Lazarus - mkay some New (Nu? Neo?) Reggae, kinda. OH SHIT WHY DO I KNOW THIS SONG?? OH SHIT ITS THE END CREDITS TO THE TELEVISION SHOW LAZARUS BY THE COWBOY BEBOP GUY! WATANABE! That's really a funny thing I never thought of, his other shows are so funky. Bebop and Space Dandy are in rotation for me all the time cuz they're so good. I do like the synth melody that is played here and the half-ambient bit in the middle. Was this a hit for them? It's probably one of the better ones on the album. Again, dudes regular old melody writing is pretty good. Very sound and smart. I think it comes through better here than some other songs. 14. One Is For - interesting arranging choice again, cello and vibes. Short one, more of an interlude. Not much to say here from me. 15. Run My Way Runway - again, I get that they're going for a thing here but I don't like it. The oscillating noise, the trumpet back to noodle. I'm trying not to check out for the rest of this album but I'm really struggling. Even with the melodies, which again are very strong and singable! It stinks cuz I think they could be on a better album. Stopped this one 20 secs early, legit hurt my ears. 16. I've Lost the Reason - breath of fresh air here, chill and quiet. Same thing as before, nice changes and melody. Unfortunately, we have a U2 problem here. Kinda too little too late. Plus, after the intro we're back to the standard fare about 1.5 mins in. 17. The White Noise Revisited - sadly, I just couldn't be arsed. I kinda skipped through this one and then shut it off. Getting really really tired of the sound now, vocal effects etc. Sorry. Some things to note: I like the melodies a little more often than not, I like their use of the orchestral and jazz instrumentation, and their changes on the songs are kept interesting and not so predictable. I think I like the feeling this album evokes. I was never into shoegaze or emo when it was popular but of course I was around people who were. It gives me nostalgic feelings for childhood, like middle school time. But aside from that and some nice melody writing on maybe 70% of the thing, it was just sorta loud and incoherent to me (oh god that's the Weird Al lyric in his Nirvana parody). Incoherent musically, I mean. Like, the addition of brass and wind could have been neat but it seems like they just got a cat and let the person noodle over grooves that don't fit that vibe. Not even particularly good noodling, just noodling. In addition, this album is waaaaay too long. Like 20 mins too long. I could have cut it at 45 and it still may have been a tad much. I had to cut it in half because I left work and went home, came back a few hrs later. Still was a bit of a slog. But, I'm glad I did cuz I'm not sure I could have taken 64 mins of this sound. I can't tell whether this should be a high 2 or a straight 3. I think I'm gonna settle on 2 for now, may change later. **coming back later, I think straight 2 is appropriate actually.

Holy shit why is this album two hours long. Band on the Run was 30 minutes and it's a damn joy. What are you doing George? You better be bringing your A-game through the whole thing too. I have a high expectation after hearing one of the other solo Beatle offerings. I already know My Sweet Lord and the whole controversy and all. I like that song though. Hoping the rest comes out as good. 1. I'd Have You Anytime - I like the m3 change. 4 to b6 is a cool one. Hey "let me roll it to you" is back. Chill opening, I like George's guitar tone. Love the melody and the way it moves key centers with the m3 jump. That was quite nice, peaceful and floaty but not ambient. Looks like Bob Dylan wrote some of that, curious how I'll feel when I get to his work. 2. My Sweet Lord - not much to say here, I already liked this song before taking this project up. 3. Wah-Wah - what a big sound when the whole band comes in. Groove has got some good drive to it and I love the bass tone. I can't help but think the bassist has got some Hawkins influence. Love that crazy out chord during the "wah wah" chorus. In contrast to the last album, this track is also very loud but everything is balanced just right. The bass is pretty forward but needs to be to drive the song. Guitars and solos are a little louder than drums, but they never hurt. Great balance here. Even with that though it is pretty hectic. I'm not really sure what's being said by George and it's hard to focus in on it because this big big sound is just the whole track. It's like the sound of a train, rhythmic and funky but all sounds reaching a unified volume level so it's hard to pick out what's what on first listen. 4. Isn't It a Pity, v1 - we love descending chords with pedal tones in this house. There's that mellotron rhyhtm too in the keys. See, now this to me sounds like rock music. It's not too folksy or country, has a good groove and room for the bass and kit to toss in some funky licks. And on this album particularly just a big big sound. It feels like it was recorded in that room from Walk Hard with all the aboriginal choirs and goats and stuff and FUCK I just realized that scene in that movie is an allusion to this specific album and portion of George Harrison's career. Or maybe it was a Brian Wilson call? Maybe both? Anyway, digging this song a lot tbh. I dunno about 2 hours, but George is already living up to things. Great melody, growing soundscape with more perc and strings coming in later, laid back groove that isn't overpowered by any one element. Very nice. And the drama of that second chord in the refrain. Stank face here and there from that chord and what the bassist decides to do over it now and then. 5. What Is Life - lively! Motown 4 on snare groove. This song feels like a poolside water park day as a kid. Again very big. Reading the wiki I can attribute that to the actual Wall of Sound technique from Phil Spector. The Boo Radleys album page mentioned Wall of Sound too, but not in this way. Then I mistakenly said it when talking about Coltrane, but I meant "sheets of sound" which I don't even think is a term Coltrane ever said in conjunction with Giant Steps. Maybe? Anyway, this song is alright. Feel good little Motown knock off. 6. If Not For You - hmm, Dylan written. I like the melody and like the last song it's an uplifting jaunt with lively accompaniment. Unlike the last track(s), it's a lot more sparse with instrumentation. Finally noticing Billy Preston on organ. Still a pretty unappreciated part of Beatles imo, I know everyone knows about "the fifth Beatle" etc, but ask those people to sing a Billy Preston track and how far will they get with that? 7. Behind That Locked Door - pretty country western up front, which I don't hate. I actually like classic style country. Lovely lyrics. I gotta say though with the reputation George got around this time for all the spiritual stuff, a lot of what I've heard so far are more akin to Beatles era love songs. Well written and sound good, but a little schmaltzy too. Not a dig, just thought it'd be Wah-Wah all the way through. Hey there's Billy again. ****I think organ really is my favorite instrument. It's the MSG of pop music arranging, it fits everywhere under like, three specific drawbar settings and can be even more versatile. This isn't a big lesson for me, but remember to incorporate it when songs are missing a little something subtle but full of body.**** 8. Let It Down - okay now there's that big ass sound. See? Billy fits right in still with the crazy organ growl. Very crunchy on this tune but just permeates the whole track. It's like a hug for the rest of the instruments. I love the chord changes for the verse in this. That b6 is really nice and I think it has some extension giving it that warm color. George's slide guitar is the icing on this track, very very nice. Again, Boo Radleys, this is a heavy ass loud song but that chorus groove is damn near mighty. It the volume works in its favor, not just as another thing to happen while listening. 9. Run of the Mill - I like the playing with time on this one. I know Here Comes the Sun has that bit of 11/8 in it, so fun to hear something I'm counting as 4/4 -> 6/8 each one measure OR as one long measure of 7/4. Don't know much Paul or Lennon (or Ringo, but that's my fault) stuff that deviates from standard common time. The way it's done here is coherent and remains groovy, too. 10. Beware of Darkness - weird changes here, feel just a tad unnatural. Pretty downer song though, so maybe that's on purpose. I think this one will grow on me during subsequent listens, it's got a mysterious feel and I dig that but its gonna have to deepen with age. Brave ending too! Let's hear it for abrupt or non-conclusive endings. 11. Apple Scruffs - "apple scruuuuuuffs" got an actual reaction out of me, that was a cool cluster he sings there. I wish the guy playing the wood block would give the 2 and 4 more love and maybe ghost the 1 and 3 but it's okay, tune still drives. 12. Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp - that tamb sound with the snare is Beatlesy. Again even here, very wide sound. Pretty reverby all around. 13. Awaiting on You All - huh, halftime groove to standard switch up. Back to lively and huge sound, just like 20 people playing in a room with one or two good mics. I like it though. I'm glad this one came a long, the last track I was just starting to think about getting a little bored. It's been like an hour, though. Still not a slog yet, as opposed to some other albums that were an hour and I tapped out halfway through. Nice melody here, funky. 14. All Things Must Pass - okay, title track. Strong melody line to open things up and nice harmony on the chorus. Big sound as usual, but more subdued here. More people just playing the chord for the bar to add to the sorta bittersweet vibe. That horn line works okay but would have been killer on a synth. 15. I Dig Love - hmm, not sure what to make of this one. Thank you for the wurly! And I like the line "small love, big love I don't care". The song as a whole feels a tad out of character, it feels like this would have better life as a church irreverent r&b hit, in the vein of "Let's Go Get Stoned" by Ray Charles. I can hear it in a slow 6, especially with that #4 and Billy on the joint again. Ringo is here too. I know this may be lame and maybe a cold take, but Ringo is not a bad drummer. I think he's a studio session cat that pretty much brings exactly what's needed, no more and no less. He works. 16. Art of Dying - 70s action cop movie ass intro. But, that said I do dig the groove for that reason lol reminds me of Lalo Schifrin. Big horns mixed to the back. Minor 5 to minor 1 underappreciated sonic texture for sure. Pretty cramped, but works for a specific vibe. And the constant 2-1 in the melody makes for some evil sounding harmonies. And the melody is strong on this one. Guitar solo going crazy! Killer lead in and everything. Someone hit a m6 at the end. Nice. 17. Isn't It a Pity, v2 - did not realize there are two takes of this on this album. Damn I did not realize the first one was 7 mins! It felt like 3, I was enjoying it so much. Reading the wiki, the Beatles rejected this for their band? Dumb, very dumb. This is a beautiful song. So much so that I don't mind this reprise appearing here. The album is in no way a slog and this still isn't pushing it that way. 18. Hear Me Lord - apparently, according to wiki, this is often seen as the last track on the album because the third LP, side 5 and 6, are instrumental jam stuff. I'm still gonna count that upcoming stuff, though. Again, this is rock music to me. Driving groove, organ laying the groundwork, bass up front with a punchy tone. Piano dicking around and everything. Great stop time on "above and below us". I bet you that was a Billy Preston idea, it's a little churchy. I wonder how much credit that guy didn't take for stuff during and after the Get Back sessions. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Beatles all got a small might funkier after the fifth Beatle, a black organ playing church boy showed up. This song is kind of in contrast to the joyful sound of My Sweet Lord, it's more of a a prostrated, begging kind of prayer. This one is okay, but I like the former better. 19 - 23. Apple Jam - I'm gonna skip through most of this as I can kinda get the gist from a few minutes of each jam. Out of the Blue reminds me of some jams I've been at in PA, kinda loose with some musicians drunk. The bass is a little out of tune at times. One chord a feel for about 11 mins. Organist is doing good work here, though. Can't tell if it's still Billy. Johnny's Birthday is just a joke for Lennon's bday. It's the kind of thing that I'd like to include in my works. I heard this kind of thing described as "silly, but intentional" in reference to Louis Cole recently, and I really like that. Zappa falls there too. When I describe some of my favorite things as "the dumbest ___ ever to exist", that's what I mean. It is silly, but it has intention and effort put into being that way and that's what makes it cool. Plug Me In is kind of a Jerry Lee Lewis type blues. I think they were going more for Chuck Berry but the guitar playing isn't quite tight enough from Harrison or Clapton (fuck that guy). I Remember Jeep would be cooler if the drummer (Ginger Baker who is normally v tight and is tight throughout this track SOMETIMES) would just keep it in the pocket the whole time. Early on he gets a little too out and what would be a sick shuffle can get a little too loose. Billy Preston is here on keys and he sounds good, though. Okay after I typed that, he got it together. This is the best jam on the Apple Jam so far. Matter of fact, I hit the whole 8 minutes and didn't get bored even though it's all just 1-4 in one key. Again, jams I've been a part of. lol at someone trying a classic ending at like 7:45, playing it wrong and having it be missed by the rest of the band entirely. Claps at the top were chunky and nice. Lastly, Thanks for the Pepperoni is clearly a Chuck Berry send up but again I'm sorry, they just can't out Chuck the Berry. Half time midway through isn't awesome, tbh. I'll take I Remember Jeep. I think if I'm singing the songs tomorrow like I was for Band on the Run, I'll change this to a 5. George is better than Paul at crafting wide, ethereal soundscapes that still have bite and groove, but Paul is better at writing a memorable melody and fleshed out chord structures. I think that the brevity of Band on the Run makes it stronger, too - here, some of the songs are a bit flatter than others, but it's still a good album. Like a 75-25 split. That's really really good for such a long album. But Paul's split is like, 90-10. The only song on BotR that's a little flat is Picasso's Last Words and according to the wiki, he wrote that one for Dustin Hoffman as a barside trick. And that melody is STILL super catchy, I sing it without realizing sort of often now. Wings is like, 3 people too. I'm just saying brevity and concise personnel won out over length and focus on the biggest sound possible. But, not by a ton! This is a great album and I enjoyed myself, even the Apple Jam stuff (mostly). That, however, I have to be in the mood for. These are all instrumentalist playing, but Clapton and George Harrison are no Joe Pass or Mike Stern, or Grant Green or Wes. Even Billy Preston, in all his glory, is no Oscar. He could be a Jimmy Smith, though. But imagine Jimmy Smith doesn't have his band and instead has George Harrison and Ginger Baker and Clapton. Not as good, right? If I hit Apple Jam in conjunction with the rest of the whole album, it would be a drag. On its own (which seems was intended according to the wiki, since Apple Jam was a "bonus disc" included to help justify the price of the record, rock's first triple LP), it's manageable. I think the 100 minute run time is actually justified, maybe barring Apple Jam. Good on George Harrison for his first solo outing. Alright, Paul and George got theirs. Ringo went another way and hey, that's fine. I wonder if John can keep it up as the, ahem, *checking notes*... "biggest jackass Beatle to ever live"? We'll see when Plastic Band comes up here eventually.

Boy I have absolutely 0 idea of what to expect here. I think that given time, I could have eventually guessed Boo Radleys would be like, early grunge or shoegaze adjacent. This is 82 and I have no idea. Really curious, though. I'll start listening before I pull up the wiki. **later** Oh, it's new wave! I've listened to some now and I dig this so far. Funny, the singles are the ones I don't like much so far. Only knowledge I really have of new wave is Thomas Dolby and Cars by Gary Numan (Newman?). I like those, the former being some of my favorite work of the 80s. And what I heard in the car before coming back to write this was surprisingly funky? I guess I just figured Dolby was an unusual white Brit, but maybe there's more to that. 1. Favourite Shirts - like, this is almost a disco track. One thing I was noting yesterday on first listen was how tight the guitar comping is. That's basically Nile levels. The bassist isn't Bernard Edwards but they are also pretty funky, some nice licks when they can but otherwise right in the pocket. And this track wasn't like, a blockbuster from what I heard yesterday, there are better tracks on the album that I prefer. I'm not full on dancing (that's later actually) but I've got a bassists heel tap going on. Interesting also is that melody isn't screaming out to me, but the groove is tight enough that it's taking precedence. 2. Love Plus One - that sax is just funny lol it's very silly, I'm not sure if it's intended to be. I like this groove, but this is one of the singles I was talking about in the beginning. The "ayayayay" and the sax/horn tones are kind of annoying. Just a tad. I think I could get used to them, cuz the song vibe is pretty relaxed otherwise. Just an easy driving groove. This would probably be lower on the album for me despite that. 3. Lemon Firebrigade - another bassist heel tap going on. I like that horn line! Very dramatic. And the groove right after actually gave me a little dance time with the added perc. Love a good swing pattern triangle groove. The latin influence so far is really a bit shocking considering, but I guess Thomas Dolby had a wide berth of influence too. This album sounds like it could be the soundtrack to the movie Brazil in a different universe, it's so squeaky clean in the mix and arrangement and playing. Heey 4 ending too. I like that one a lot. 4. Marine Boy - yeah this is the one that had me dancing for real in the car yesterday. Funky ass guitarist! And cool chord progression, the 1sus - 1 - b7sus - b7 is one I fall into a lot. I'm seeing on the wiki now that someone "dismissively" compared this band to the Doobie Brothers in some kind of popular outlet. What a dummy. The Doobie Brothers sound great! And yeah I see the comparison here but it's not a negative one. Michael McDonald is a great writer and can hold a groove quite well, they have those hits for a reason. Anyway, this was my favorite track on the album of what I heard yesterday. 5. Milk Film - I'm gonna pull up a lyric sheet for this in a moment cuz the title is hilarious. Very tight uptempo groove here and I actually like the melody a lot, pretty hooky during the verse anyway. The "I'll be the only one" bit, which I guess is the chorus, is a bit annoying. I think this album is usually skirting the line between glossy pop and annoying dredge pretty well, skating right against what is cool before crossing over into lame. It does dip here and there, like this chorus. But I like the verse a lot, it didn't cross there at all. And the ending is funny but I love those, brave if you're being serious about it. 6. Kingsize - yeah this is the one from yesterday where I noticed that they're just doing some disco sometimes. And good disco at that, you could put this on the dance floor at a black club in the 80s and early 90s hip hop artists would fucking hate it on principle, that's how you know it's good disco. One thing is that the solos fit the aesthetic well, they're not always super tight. I guess I'm always expecting Michael and Randy Brecker to show up. The sax solo here had its moments, though. Slap bass interlude with that swing triangle, that's sick. Yeah bassist is actually killing this song, and the changes compliment his lines well. Or the other way around. 7. Fantastic Day - another single, but I don't think I like this one very much. After the last 3 it is a letdown somewhat, very poppy but not very funky. I saw someone describe this album as "twee" and I don't agree at all, aside from this track. At least so far. This one isn't good to me, I'm afraid. Chorus melody isn't bad on its own but the groove doesn't compliment and the wide SNL 80s sax is pushing it over that line the album has been skating. 8. Baked Bean - lol funny track name. I'm telling you again, that bassist is putting the shit down. Like most of these tracks are giving me some room to dance here. This ones got me pretty good. The vocalizations on this one that aren't melodic remind me of Devo or some more of Dolby's stuff. Another thing this band does is bring it down on the groove for a bar or two quick and then hit it hard right back in, that texture change works really well. Horn line pretty funky here. And oh shit weird sax solo, I like that actually. Completely unrelated musically, but the groove is so tight that there's space for that sort of thing. 9. Snow Girl - big thing I'm noticing after an hour or so break, these grooves are tight and fun. Singable even, but there isn't a whole lot of texture contrast. Put it against Aliens Ate My Buick, that album has all sorts of textures on it that pair well with each other. That said, aside from track 7, this is probably the closest to a new texture on the album so far. And I still like the groove and all the interlude stuff that happens in this track. Bassist still super tight and up front with it. Not much to say, some darker colors in the chords that I enjoy. 10. Loves Got Me in Triangles - cool drum groove up front I gotta use for something sometime. Now that's a Dolby melody if I ever heard one. Again, the groove is quite tight, especially for that horn interlude, that's just good disco at that point. 11. Surprise Me Again - track 10 was so strong that this more straight ahead new wave pop is a little dull. Chorus is floaty and I dig it there but that's about all there is to this one. 12. Calling Captain Autumn - once again. I mean, is this just a cleanly mixed British disco band? That whole nonsense syllable chorus isn't nearly as annoying here as it was no track 2. This is reminding me of Devo a bit with the shouting chorus. Horns are killing this one for sure, they're allowed to sound a little crunchier in the full section I'm noticing. Hey that was a blast. I'm glad to know that I'm enjoying new wave so far and that it isn't just one artist. Genuinely excites me to find other like artists in the future. Without looking, I'd have to imagine this is the sort of album that can get annoying to people fast. It's very overpolished and whimsical, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought the groove was pretty infectious throughout the whole thing, the playing was mostly on the one, the songs ranged from okay to good. The only this was the moments of skating too far over that annoying line from the other side. I don't think it happened often enough to really notice overall and maybe it's one of the things that I'd stop noticing overall when the album is in rotation. I'll definitely be hitting this one again. I can't say that I personally see any kind of deep genius or songcrafting mastery at work here, but I did have fun with a tight album and had some dancing. It's past inoffensive and has crossed over into good, so 4.

Okay sick and this is Raekwon's solo debut too. 70 minutes is a long ass time and Wu-Tang can sometimes be sorta dense just by the nature of it. But, I've got high hopes. I'm sure I'll hear some crazy sample work. May have to break this one up as it is getting late and I must sleep. 1. Striving for Perfection - yeah there's that sample work. Wiki says the album is supposed to be cinematic and in the vein of a mafia film and I feel that very strongly here. Something about pioneering mafioso rap? Anyway, this is just a skit to intro things. It does well at that, I understand the premise. 2. Knuckleheadz - YUP there's that sample work. Honestly it's gonna be hard to type while trying to catch all their verses in one listen. Goddamn though Ghostface in like a truck. U-God has incredible flow, so funky. 3. Knowledge God - yup there's that sample work. Some of the coolest work in that decade comes from Wu Tang. Some stuff super aged poorly but I dunno, I'm meeting it where it is. It's a Wu Tang album from 1995, some things are unfortunately expected. Okay have to break for bed, really tired. I'm gonna try going through this with a lyric sheet, I feel like I'll get more out of it than just the beat which is almost guaranteed to be good. 4. Criminology - fuck RZAs sampling work is godlike. Ghostface kinda showing up Rae on his own album though. That first verse was insane, flow incredible 5. Incarcerated Scarfaces - DOOM and RZA have the same idea about using spoken samples to set a mood, both really work. RZA just gets his from movies mostly and DOOM goes TV and cartoons. That black Trump line aged like heavy cream. Two of em actually. I say aged poorly but I dunno, that's not uncommon for hip hop in the 90s and 00s even among the lighter acts. I heard something about musty Africans and A-rabs? I dunno, I'm not offended on behalf of anyone but I can recognize that it's jacked up. Beat was a little weak, too. 6. Rainy Dayz - I'm realizing I have a hard time with this album cuz the music is great. The beats are RZA and it's Wu so the flow is good. Crazy mixed meters and everything. I can't relate to anything I'm reading though and that kinda dampens it for me. But only when I'm reading the lyric sheet. I can imagine this album and other """""gangster""""" rap albums caused a big stir for parents and guardians of suburbanite and rich kids. I don't think that was warranted either though, art should tell a personal story and that's what everyone on this album is doing. It's gonna hit someone right in the chest because it'll be a shared experience or set of experiences, so there's no need to get pissy over it existing. Like, this is the sort of music that kids shows written by all white guys have an episode seeing the main character run a fowl of rappers for not being "cool" and the lesson is that real "coolness" is in being yourself so take that! And those episodes miss the mark every time by misunderstanding why they're even giving that lesson, they're always very lame. So, I can't personally relate to anything here but I'm still listening and enjoying what I hear. That said, beat is a little weak on this one too (Criminology is the best so far) and Blue Raspberry is mostly not singing in tune... 7. Guillotine - RZA back with it on this one. I misspoke earlier, DOOM and RZA do take similar cues in their sampled material but RZAs are very sparse. A lot of them use shorter and less fully arranged cues from movies, while DOOMs beats get a little wider because he's using full orchestra stings often. From old superhero cartoons and such. Ghostface once again showing the whole lot up. 8. Can It Be All So Simple Remix - BEAT IS CRAZY SO IN THE POCKET. I know the original from 36 Chambers and I gotta say RZA outdid himself here, the beat is way cleaner even though a lot of it uses the same sources. 9. Shark Niggas - skit leading into the next 10. Ice Water - sample is hilarious but also super cool. Beat very heavy. Grew on me really fast after the initial laugh at the deep "ahhh" and it may be my favorite on the album. Anyway the subject matter is the closest I've gotten to connection. One thing I can imagine is that this album did wonders for people who really wanna cosplay struggle and a lifestyle from the projects, but they never actually lived that life. Music makes that sort of lifestyle visible and therefore accessible, but I remember people in the 00s taking it too far. I'm enjoying the album cuz it's good art that tells me about the artist and their lived experience, but I don't wanna live any of this or pretend like I did or do. 11. Glaciers of Ice - I'm still keeping up with the lyrics sheets but I'm not sure I'm getting a lot out of it. Gonna keep going though cuz I wanna properly engage with every part while I'm doing this whole project. Sample is a little bit of a let down after the last track 12. Verbal Intercourse - here's Nas. I like the Dilla in this beat. Just uneven enough. Insane Tupac name drop in here. Obv everyone is firing on all cylinders here. Constant use of f slur on a song called Verbal Intercourse is a choice. 13. Wisdom Body - way more chill vibe on this one, needed. Still pretty crazy with the intro though but I expect it. Beat is sick. 14. Spot Rusherz - cool beat but even reading the lyric sheet I just don't know what's going on. I'm removed from it completely, I grew up sheltered I guess. 15. Ice Cream - okay again for an album with crazy homophobia on it, that first line is insane. It becomes clearly about women later but boy. Beat is okay, not my favorite on the album. I got about halfway and skipped this one. It's got a similar setup as Buddy, but if you're gonna talk about all the ways you love women physically, you gotta do it a little more lighthearted which obv is not gonna be from Wu Tang. Otherwise it's a little too uncomfortable for me. 16. Wu-Gambinos - METHOD MAN thank god. Killed his verse too. RZA jumped in too, unusual flow as usual but it works. Not as clean as the others but that rushing of longer words into a smaller space kinda works. It's interesting at least. Beat is okay. "I call my brother son cuz he shine like one" is sick. 17. Heaven & Hell - now that's what I'm talking about, that sample is sick as fuck. That's what I think of for Wu Tang. Perfect texture for Ghost. I would love to play this with a live band. Yeah this is sick, stank face all the way. And Blue Raspberry is in the key! Hooray. 18. North Star - after the speech upfront the beat is great. Unique cuz there isn't a heavy 2 and 4 but it works. I like the sound textures on a good portion of it and Wu Tang and guests are clearly capable of their trade. I wish I could get into the subject matters a lot more than I can, cuz this may have been a 4 or 5 for me. As is, I can't give it more than like a 3.5 and that's mostly on the strength of RZAs production and Ghostface being so prominent, he's a top 10 for me. Method Man showed up and sent that one track through the roof. I dunno. Maybe on subsequent listens it'll raise up and objectively (or as close to as I can get) this is a really good album. But a big part of music and art for me is that I feel something, and that's totally subjective. First listen, there's so little to connect with here for me other than the damn fine beatmaking that I don't really have a strong feeling to note. Glad I listened to it, will do again in the future but I don't think it'll be right away. One thing that gets me listening back to all of this on WhoSampled is the breadth of samples is nuuuuuts. What do you mean Knowledge God samples Stanley Black's Russia from 1965?? That is so obscure I can't even find much info on the album. I think like 2.5 or 3 of this 3.5 goes to RZA, that's insane creative ability. And dedication to the craft, I would never think to use something almost by definition unfunky to make a beat. but he did and it was great. Hmm. I'm gonna go back to this one sooner than I thought and reassess.

Take Five and Blue Rondo are cool and all, but Strange Meadow Lark is just haunting. It's so beautiful and keeps working when they swing it too. Best cut on this album for me. After track 3, it starts to peter out a bit (aside from Dave Brubeck doing that crazy mid solo metric modulation on Kathy's Swing, THAT was sick). Good album, interesting premise of playing with time sigs. I'd give it like a 3.7 or 3.8, but I'm not rounding up so 3.