7/10. Give another listen for sure. Favorites: "Yoshimi Part 1 &2," "Fight Test," "Are You Hypnotist??," and "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)" (for its title alone).
Strong first half, fades toward the end for me. Track 2-4, new favorites. Any album with "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "God Only Knows" is perfection.
Deserves another listen to get full scope of it but I can see myself getting into individual tracks more. First song was my favorite. The length was working against it and I'm give 4 stars off the assumption that with more time I will return to it and gain more love for it.
Love sound of it, but distinction of it is lost with only 5 tracks but then the first and last track are parts all together. Am I supposed to recognize the distinction from part 1 fading into part 2. Though it was good for doing work to.
One of the easiest listens. Could throw this on at any time and be into. Fits any occasion. Best time: listening while baking baklava. Plan upon return.
Hard-hitting music that you can just sit and listen to. Feels like culmination of Bowie's mysticism, ending with Lady Grinning Soul (still remains my favorite). Kicked off with a jazzy, chanting tone and slowly descending into further otherworldly feelings. The Prettiest Star most fascinating. Let's Spend the Night Together should be a required lesson on how to do a cover and make it your own.
Unexpectedly favorable toward it, but tracks blend together and I can't Billie Joe Armstrong's voice, but I'd call it decent. Might even put it on again. Perfect length of an album.
This album is only saved by the instrumental tracks, specifically "Beck's Bolero" otherwise it sounds like a person's idea of a classic rock album, rather than a classic rock album. Won't degrade it further by calling it AI's idea of a classic rock album because I wish to continue my faith in the human race over AI (but AI probably would have better vocals).
Did B.B. ever try his hand at stand-up comedy? Made me shimmy my shoulders with the music and shake my shoulders with the jokes. The audience is an additional instrument within the music, showing how to truly make a great live album. They shout, they laugh, and they participate in the music as much as a back-up singer would.
Personal favorite: "Worry, Worry" for B.B.'s "A wife, woman, or whatever you want to call her, she don't do like you think she should, don't go' upside her head. That don't do but one thing, that make her look smarter, and she won't let you catch her the next time."
I've recently decide this was my favorite Beatles album. The medley alone makes it worthy of it. This listen around I found it a bit less cohesive. Of course, this is in part due to The Beatles going their separate ways, and it's not messy in the same way White Album is. It definitely has the best parts of themselves coming together (pun not intended) and working together, as seen in the medley. However, the first half can feel a little jumbled at times.
"Come Together" used to be viewed less favorably by me, but I think I've come around to it recently. Its overplayed status still stands for me, but John's voice is at his strongest here, and his psych lyricism started with "I Am the Walrus" is now sharpened here. It makes coherent sense, but still includes lines like "toe-jam football" (a personal favorite). I realized I've never read through the lyrics of "Come Together" and I'm shocked at how different it makes my view. I never realized he said "Ono sideboard."
"Something" was Sinatra's favorite love song and it's definitely up there for me, however it's definitely their BEST love song.
"Maxwell" has the same quirkiness as "Ob-La-Di" and I love both, but I think it once again is a case of sharpening what had been on previous albums.
"Oh! Darling" once again used to be a skip, now, might be in my top 3 from this album. Paul's voice at his strongest.
"Octopus's Garden" is Ringo at his best. I never skip this. It always gets me in a good mood. I don't care, I love it.
"I Want You" Is this the best Beatles song? It has aged better than any fine wine. Definitely best Beatles side closer.
"Here Comes the Sun" Overplayed status tends to be my reason for disliking a Beatles song, but maybe that excuse doesn't apply when the overplayed-ness is the reason I love this song. It's a smiling sun. The Teletubbies Sun Baby. The song's quality is tripled by the fact it comes after a sharp cut-off from the dark and grimy "I Want You"
"Because" I will forever picture Alice Cooper doing a spoken word of this in the Sgt. Pepper movie. One of the few good performances. The scene captures why this song is so good. It takes the sereneness of "Here Comes the Sun" and mashes it with the darkness of "I Want You." It's creepy, but also beautiful. "Across the Universe" done in a basement.
"You Never Give Me" I love the opening and ending of this song. The middle can be mixed for me. I jam along to it, but it does lean slightly musical theater and doesn't live up to why the beginning of the song is sooooooo good. The jumbled nature of this album can be witnessed in this song. It's good, but sometimes it's Frankensteinish.
"Sun King" I have always felt this song is underrated. Feels like sunbathing, but on the roof of a house, in a plastic lounge chair. The garbled Spanish/Italian is a cherry on top.
"Mean" & "Pam" I love when Beatles do characters and I like to imagine a more elaborate story where all these characters are connected. Movie Sgt. Pepper kind of tries to do this and perhaps that acid dream is what this would look like.
"She Came" ALWAYS GOOD. No comment. Just let the music play. The transitions are at its peak here.
"Golden Slumbers" This is my favorite song on the album. I will prefer other songs at different times but I always have to let this one play up to the climax. Paul is at his best of doing what Paul does. Strong voice, strong lyrics, and taking nostalgic tunes from his childhood and transforming them.
"Carry" & "The End" Just let the music flow. Very symbolic that "The End" was unknowingly (or sort of knowingly) the end.
"Her Majesty" I heard someone complain recently that this album didn't end with "The End" but somebody replied back that they liked this as the ending because it goes back to how The Beatles started as just boys messing around and making music. It's a similar reason I've warmed to Let It Be (album) with songs like "Maggie Mae" and "One After 909" as being this tribute to Liverpool and boys being boys. Gonna go board my flight now.
The opener crushes. I want more albums to open like a storybook. Sets a tone. Also, like "Let There Be Light" for its interesting movement. "D.A.N.C.E." ruins the beginning flow with its Kidz Bop sounding voice and becomes more watered-down plain sounding. The more sluggish damp sound continues from there, recovers slightly, but any time vocals come in I roll my eyes ("TTHHEE PAARRTTYY"). Falls flat and starts becoming repetitive by the end where I feel I could've really liked some of the tracks had the previous ones not bored me before. Some songs needed to be cut. A long album for this style of music doesn't work in my opinion. Becomes monotonous.
It wasn't the worst, but any interest was diminished by the sexual comments that come off more sexist than anything sexy. I tend to chuckle at songs with allusions to sex (i.e. Sabrina Carpenter) and maybe it's because it's a man and commenting on "cock" can automatically come off as weird, but it's the same ick as a man being a gynecologist. Why exactly do you feel a need to do this?
Funky and loved. Felt there was a good mix between the slow & smoother and the drilling & upbeat. Some songs could drag for a little too long, but I did appreciate some of the long ones, particularly "Asphalt Jungle," though middle of it could've been trimmed.
"Poet" "Family Affair" "Luv N' Haight" "Runnin' Away" were also favorites.
Top was "Thank You for Talkin' to Me, Africa" and not just because Donkey sings it in Shrek the Third. Might even prefer it to "(Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" version. Love the slow, subdued, loopy quality of it. Great closer.
Easy punk rock listen. Perfect length. Some songs blended together for better or worse, making it hard to differentiate between tracks. Made it cohesive but also made it a tad too much of the same. I'll say I enjoyed every song, but "White Girl" because the lyrics were clunky and odd to me on that one. Can't pick one out of the lineup as a favorite.
Andy Bernard performing Sweeney Todd's opening number in Season 7, Episode 3 of The Office, entitled "Andy's Play" paired with Sally Bowles and the Emcee performing "Money Money" in the 1972 film version of Cabaret.
Solid but forgettable. Wouldn’t skip if song came up but probably never put on again.
More than ever I was able to see the transitionary significance of this album in the Beatles catalog. Previously I had only seen this album as the start of their experimentation, which is definitely is, but I noticed the early Beatles peeking through. The album feels playful in a way that would continue in future albums, but usually through their experimentation which can sometimes come across sloppily (see: White Album's dud tracks). Here it still has the refinement of the early Beatles tracks, mainly that of A Hard Day's Night where you can feel their power but that they are still holding back, still holding on to their rockabilly roots with the harmonica, whereas here it is replaced by something more suitable for their songs, whether sitar, organ, maracas, etc.
Lyrically, they are at their strongest point for a classic rock song, not yet psychedelic confusion, though the LSD was beginning to kick in, just not yet in songwriting. Songs affected by it, still make sense, namely "Norwegian Wood" which never misses and I consider The Beatles at their most poetic and layered (in the words of McCartney: "We just wanted to write songs about prostitutes and lesbians.").
The cheese is still there ("Drive My Car" and "The Word") but is slightly more suitable because the instrumentals kill, mainly the guitar on the opener.
Future Beatles classic song formats, in my opinion, debut here, mainly McCartney songs like "Michelle" which has a humor in it with the French reminiscent of "Maxwell" or Spanish-Italian gibberish on "Sun King"
"Girl" is a top track that exposes a dark Beatles core that I find might be its strongest here until a song like "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" paired with "Run For Your Life" which I'm still not sure how to feel about.
Except that it shouldn't be the closer. "In My Life" should be the last track. It is possibly the Beatles song that makes me feel the most, which is truly saying something when it comes to The Beatles.
This is the debut of George, who was and probably is restrained here, but at least allowed to begin to flourish with his work, mainly "Think For Yourself" and the lyrics on "If I Needed Someone"
Best Ringo song might also be on this album with "What Goes On"
"Wait" used to bug me, but now it's one of my top tracks. Along with "I'm Looking Through You"
I still don't like "The Word" probably the only song I would skip on this album, but it's not a horrible song. It just kind of bores me. (Replace it with "Day Tripper"?)
Top: "Girl" "In My Life" "Norwegian Wood"
No mention of "Nowhere Man"...I still don't know how to feel about this song.
Good for what it is. Among other 90s girl rockers, I'd rank it low, but still sonically pleasing. Picked up in the second half for me where songs seemed for distinct. "Jacob Marley's Chain" was a favorite and one I'd definitely listen to again. I liked "Mr. Harris" and "Stupid Thing" but others didn't stick out to me. Maybe another listen would show greater highlights, but didn't seem interesting. Nothing loathsome, just forgettable.
Yeah, I mean, if I'm a drunk mom on South Street maybe.
I'm very close to giving this a 5-star, which is why I wish these reviews were out of 10 or I was allowed a half star, so this is probably a 4.5 star album for me.
This is mainly due to the tracks in the middle that didn't stick out to me. Nothing was bad or loathsome, just not impressionable (I'd say track 4-6 run, but maybe that can be blamed on my mind drifting).
My pre-conceived notions were gladly incorrect. While at times the song could be slow, they never felt like a drag. Great music to just have on to have music in the background of your daily doings. "Son Of Sam" was a great opener followed by "Somebody That I Used To Know," which can understandably be found on many playlists nowadays. The grooves were unexpectedly present on this album, most notably for me on "In The Lost And Found..." "Happiness/The Gondola Man" and "Better Be Quiet Now."
My top tracks had to include "Pretty Mary Kay" where I found Elliott to be the most present in his voice in lyrics. However, the top song is "Can't Make A Sound" which used every inch of the 4 minutes it had. I always love songs that start quiet and then explode. This song almost made me give this album 5 stars, if only the album was a tad shorter (or my attention span could stretch a tad longer). "Bye" was an excellent closure and I'm always a fan and voucher for albums to include more instrumental tracks (WHEN USED WISELY) because they can end up being standouts, as seen on here.
I'm on the edge with this one. It's great at times, kitschy for sure, which can edge from fun to odd ("Vega-Tables"). The transitions are without a doubt the highlight of the album, but it can also blend songs together. I love the opener so I will label that as my favorite. Why is this on here over other late in life classic rocker outputs? I don't know. But it's fine for being exactly what Brian Wilson was put on this Earth to do.
I don't know what he is saying and there is barely any music. Maybe it would work pretty as spoken word. Jack is ramblin' after all.
Like the titular track, this album feels like a hotel you can't check out of. Cliche after cliche after cliche. I'd begin to enjoy a song, like "New Kid" but then it would go on for 5 more minutes repeating the same thing. "Hotel California" as a song isn't even enjoying with the way it's sung and Frank Ocean's "american wedding" has superior lyrics that it just makes me want to listen to his song. Maybe that's why he was sued.
Out of my usual genre selection, but for first impressions it was solid. Its biggest win is that there is never a dull moment, even if something isn't up my alley it was entertaining. "Remember Tomorrow" and "Strange World" were high points, especially the latter as it differed from the rest of the album in a way that is usually my speed.
I'd give Iron Maiden another try. Is this the start of me becoming a heavy metal fan? As long as it keeps the room cool.
Bland. Maybe conditions of listening but I'm not excited by anything I'm hearing. I don't even feel an intense negative toward anything. It's just there.
Neutral. It seems an album that would be hard to have a strong opinion about either way. I liked it and found it an easy listen with the perfect runtime but I wasn't jamming along with it. If any of these songs came on again I would happily listen, but I find it unlikely to go out of my way to play any of them.
I did have favorites: "Southern Man" "Till the Morning Comes" and "When You Dance I Can Really Love"
I feel this is a fault on me more than the album as this is a genre I am near-completely in the dark on. I enjoyed it, but there's no urge to ever listen to it again. Perhaps, I will find a new interest and appreciation for it as we travel further in this album experience.
I'm sorry Billy Bragg, but your voice takes some getting used to. I think I would enjoy this album more if it fit the vocal perimeters I prefer. The writing that I caught was enjoyed, but diminished my interest as the album went on.
The album title gets 3 stars alone.
Already a fan, now even more. It is the definite predecessor for many albums today, specifically by female pop artists, but has an adventure to it that I can't see quite working the same in a different time or by someone else. It's fun, but also political—politically fun where those words don't act as antonyms to one another. Definitely could listen again and again and again and will/has inspired a further riot grrrl (and those adjacent) deep dive.
Favorites: "Hot Topic" "What's Yr Take on Cassavettes?" "My My Metrocard" "Slideshow at Free University" "Les and Ray"
Footnote: The song titling feels like the origin for many an alternative artists' song titling (though Wu-Tang and Prince probably are the forefathers).
I have always found Jarvis Cocker to be an odd lad out of UK music scene, particularly in the 90s. I feel that represented in the album, which at times can be very interesting, and other times abnormal, mainly his voice, which sometimes works for me and sometimes doesn't. The music as a whole is fairly good, though can sometimes be repetitive, which could be blamed on the runtime being a tad too long for my taste. Most songs were enjoyable, but as an album I feel it can miss in some spots. Definitely listen to these songs in the future, but unsure about revisiting as an album.
Favorites: "Something Changed" "Live Bed Show" "Disco 2000" (already a favorite prior to listen) "Underwear" and "Monday Morning"
I just...I'm very tired of this "laid-back" sound being considered "good."
