1001 Albums Summary

Legendary hair rock album. Eddie’s riffage echoes through the rock canon and is heroic status is plain to see. The songs can be lacking in writing but not for personality and of course the rhythm section cannot be understated. Anthemic, heavy, and bouncy; “Runnin’ with the devil” is a fantastic opener and delivers in showing exactly who Van Halen are. Followed by Eruption, a phenomenal display of virtuosity without the peacocking tedium of like-musicians (I’m looking at YOU Satriani). Eruption is a phenomenal display of virtuosity without the peacocking tedium of like musicians (I’m looking at YOU Satriani). This song changed the face of guitar forever. An excellent cover of The Kinks’ “You really got me going” which holds its own salt, Van Halen’s bravado really shines on this rendition. The quintessential Van Halen track needs no introduction - “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” begins with possibly the most epic riff to grace the airwaves of the time (and possibly all-time) and continues with no letting up. “Jaimie’s Crying” is an understated mid-tempo rock romp with a moody undertone. The chorus is an infectious punky ear worm and the passion is heard in the wailing guitars. This song is a clear highlight of the album. The last leg of the album is not as good as the first leg, that being said it’s not bad in the sightest. The album is extremely solid Hair Rock and its legacy shows. It’s clear Atomic Punk is influenced by the NWBHM sound with some added classic punk’isms but doesn’t prove to be anything special except for a solid VH track. Feel your love tonight is another excellent poppy rocker with sweet backing vocals adding to its hookyness. Little dreamer is a decent hard rock ballad with a good atmosphere but lacks any stand out elements. Van Halen brings it back with the bluesy Ice Cream Man, dialing it down for the first minute, then transitioning to a 50’s rock and roll 70’s hard rock fusion that works to its own merit. A commendable effort although nothing brilliant. The album finishes strong with an epic swan song with “On Fire”, a fiery metal proto-thrash sound which sounds like a Metallica if they emerged from the 70’s. Overall this album reflects the prime of Van Halen and hard rock in this period, the Led Zeppelin of their time if you will. But unlike the Led Zeppelin of their time they remain a product of their time. It is one of the best debut albums in the Hair Rock space, and a cut above much of the genre. Rating: 3.75/5

Emerging from the melting pot of New York's CBGB Club, Patti Smith combines poetry wrought from memory and a punk attitude before punk got its tenure. Patti Smith delivers one visceral performance after the other and not without substance, with some frankly excellent lyrics ranging from tragic tales to the human abstract. Horses starts off with a bang with Gloria, a song that thoroughly embodies the spirit of adolescence. With its changing swings in tempo, unappologetic denouncement of religion, and the hypocrisy of worshipping lust, the disillusion of the narrator comes to a boil as the song crescendo. Musically I would describe this a mishmash of punk, prog and rock & roll that serves to elevate the lyrics and performance. Redondo Beach tells the story of the tragic passing of a girl after an argument and sets it over a ska groove and somehow it works perfectly. A unique melancholly is present in between the mournful lyrics, pained vocals and upbeat 12 bar blues. Birdland is a 9 minute epic concerning the inner turmoil of a young boy after the passing of his father. The dreamlike imagery evokes a disconnect from reality that the boy feels and in a way be thought of as a detatchment from humanity. The heavy desire to not be alone is felt in the boy's wanting to go with the ship; the ship being symbolic of souls being taken away. The inhuman quality of the dead highlighted by the refrain is two-fold, we find that to be seen as inhuman is no different from being dead, a political sentiment that can be interpreted from lines in the song. On the otherhand, the yearning of the boy to go with the ship connotates death as freeing, possibly from the shackles of humanity. Patti creates a contrasting abstract of death as both a freeing and oppressive force which only serves to highlight the the boy's internal conflict. Free Money is a powerful expression of the obsessive desire to escape poverty, even if it means stealing. The desperation is built up as the song goes on, shifting from sombre to a manic climax as the singer repeats 'free money' over and over. Kimberly is a melodic punk ditty that is reminiscent of Lou Reed's song writing but still unmistakenly Patti Smith with her raw spontaneous vocal styling. Not the most interesting melody Break It Up interestingly is cowritten by Tom Verlaine and anyone familliar with Television will recognise his signature wailing guitar work. Honestly I'm not sure what this one is about though like other songs there is imagery of death. However, the passion is there with every passing chorus becoming more and more inflamed beautifully ending with the repeating group chorus. Land: Horse / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer(de) is the centre piece of album with its run time comparable to Birdland and includes the album's namesake. Split into three parts, though I don't have the time to parse the lyrics, they are chaotic cobweb with the vocals overlapping each other at times. The song is avant garde in its approach reminiscent of The Velvet Underground - a likely influence given that John Cale produced the album. Land of a Thousand Dances seeming to be the bulk of the track is bookended by Horses which seems to be the introductory section and la Mer(de) being a ending. Overall, I don't think I haven't spent enough time with this track to come to a conclusion with its seemingly impenetrable artistic scope. Musically its excellent with the unusual avant punk blend and Smith's unique vocals being the highlight. Elegie - the final track is a haunting elegy with instrumentation sounding like it resurrected. A fitting end to an album which has many themes touching upon death. Overall, horses is a spectacular album that defied my expectations. Even without listening to the lyrics, the album is written superbly with fantastic performances from Smith and her musicians. Lyrically the album is one of the best I've heard, seeming as I don't often consider lyrics too deeply is indicative of the poetry put to song. At times however some of the songs can become repetitive and the lyricism can burden the songs with their need to be heard. Thinking back to Land, it can be hard to become engrossed due to the lyrical density. Favourite Songs: Gloria, Redondo Beach, Birdland, Free Money, Break It Up, Elegie Least favourite song: Kimberly (if I had to pick one) and Land (if I had to pick two) Rating: 4.5/5

Nirvana plays what is basically their greatest hits album in the form closest to how Kurt Cobain conceived these songs. The reason this album has the notoriety it has is because when stripped down to the bare essentials, the song writing speaks for itself and the band's tight performance proves why they reached the zenith of popularity at the time. About a Girl is the first great nirvana song, just a really interesting tune and dissonant chord progression. With this being played years later, the performance is even better. An excellent first song. Come As You Are is by all means a Classic and this performance is no detraction. The acoustic sound works so well despite the original using such heavy distortion. Jesus Doesn't Want Me For a Sunbeam is a cover originally by The Vaselines. The accordion adds a brightness not seen in nirvana songs and seems to just work. That being said, this is probably my least favourite cover on the album, because, despite being an alright song, it's not particularly interesting and the melody doesn't speak to me. The Man Who Sold The World has Nirvana covering a lesser known David Bowie song and completely surpassing the original in the way you wouldn't even realise it was a cover. The mostly acoustic instruments work extremely well with the cutting electric guitar soaring atop the rhythm section. Pennyroyal Tea is a great Kurt Cobain solo performance and features bare bones acoustic strumming that brings a spotlight to the really good song writing. Dumb is a self-deprecating song about being an outcast. Because the subject is different, he's led to believe he's dumb, not as good, etc. The blunt lyrics are the crux of the song. Musically, the song is really poignant, especially the bridge, which is one of Nirvana's best instrumentals. Being an acoustic set, this song benefits from its dark string backing and contrasts nicely after Pennyroyal Tea. Polly has some of the darkest lyrics in all their music and the music matches the misery of Polly, the girl Kurt is talking about. This is a great performance of the song, might be better than the original recording. On a Plain is one of nirvana's catchiest songs; not mentioned enough if you ask me. The melody is simple, its lyrically succinct. The acoustic guitars sound really good too. What more do you want? Something In The Way, The Batman song ~ song from The Batman. Its so bleak and depressing, it's immediately clear why a Nirvana song written about living under a bridge is the theme song for Batman. Apparently Kurt possibly did live under a bridge for some time. This song is perfect for a unplugged gig - one of the highlights of the album for sure. Plateau is the first Meat Puppets cover and stands out on the album stylistically. It's not my favourite, however Nirvana make pretty good work with the song. Kurt Cobain uses falsetto and it sounds really good with the redneck accent. Oh Me is another Meat Puppets cover. The instrumental is pretty damn fine and the bass lick is really cool. Solid performance and a good tune. Lake of Fire is the last Meat Puppets cover and it is legendary as far as covers go. Kurt kills the vocals on this one, never heard the original but I'm not sure the original dudes would've sung it better. All Apologies has one of Nirvana's best riffs and is one of the best songs so it's interesting to hear how it sounds live. I do think its a bit empty compared to the original but either way its a solid rendition. Where Did You Sleep Last Night as the final song is the chef's kiss, the ideal send off. Nirvana smashed this cover. Their style of grunge compliments Lead Belly's bluesy folk, Nirvana smashed this cover. Kurt's screaming vocal in the later verses sound immense, its heavier than a lot of heavy metal. Favourite Songs: About a Girl, Come As You Are, The Man Who Sold The World, Polly, Something In The Way, Lake of Fire, All Apologies, Where Did You Sleep Last Night Least Favourite: Jesus Doesn't Want Me For a Sunbeam Overall, this album stands to be one of the finest live albums in the popular canon. No doubt I would buy this on vinyl. Still can't believe I have never listened to it in full. Nirvana at their peak performing their greatest hits and a few of the best covers out there makes this an essential. Rating: 4.75/5