Overall 3.75/5: What stood out about this album was an interesting pallete of sounds. There were some really nice bass lines and guitar grooves in some of the songs. There were some very catch choruses I really enjoyed. The singing style is not my favorite and sometimes the melodies/chord progressions were a bit boring and repetitive for my taste.
I Wanna Be Adored 4/5: cool atmospehric start, relaxing full sound, very 80 sounding with punch snare, 3:08 it is nice how it changes up a bit. A little repetitive with saying "I Wanna Be Adored"
She Bangs The Drums 3.5/5: Nice bass line, nice harmonies in chorus, cool instrmental break, the singing style is not my favotite, reminds me of "I'll Be There for You" (Friends theme I think)
Waterfall 3.2/5: cool sound to start song, she's a waterfall is a good hook, but the song doesn't seem to be going anywhere super interesting so far, nice instrumental at end
Don't Stop 3.5/5: The warpy instrument being used is interesting, really long intro, really cool sounds right before lyrics start, the vocals seem to be overpowered a bit to me, most experimental song so far. Maybe not my style but I like that it is different
Bye Bye Bad Man 3.5/10: Kinda sounds like the Beatles, classic minor 4 sound, like the bye bye bad man hook, nice guitar sound, I like how the drums switch up, builds up well
Elizabeth My Dear 4/5: Beatiful and simple but why so short?
(Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister 3/5: Not a huge fan of the guitar rif at beginning, very repitive, 0:46 gets better when chords change, the second verse I like a bit more, 3:00 I like that riff
Made of Stone 4/5: Like the moody guitar riff, just an alright melody, I wish it went more places in verse, good catch chorus, I just like harmonic minor 5 chord. I am alredy wanting to sing the chorus, favorite chorus so far.
Shoot you Down 3/5: Like that is starts out with the bass riff, 0:53 nice when it just singing. Overall though, a little boring. I wish it changed up more the second verse and chorus to keep my interest. Good guitar riffs. My least favorite so far
This is the One 3.7/5: Big intro and than calm bass line is cool idea, interesting bass line, great start, chill first verse but I hope it builds. 2:08 starting to build up, nice harmonies. I wish the chords would change up a bit more or the melody change up to go somewhere different. Repetitive for the length of the song
I Am Ressurection 4/5: Like the drum into, this is a long one so wondering where it will go. 0:42 nice riff into prechorus. Good buildup. I like the insturmental part. I am glad it is not just a long guitar solo. There are some nice parts where the energy goes up and down. I think it could be about a minute shorter because I got a little bored at the end.
Fools Gold 2.75/5: Groovy drums and bass line to start. The melody is a bit boring. The instrumenation does not change much and I love funk music with repeated grooves but this song is way too long for how repetitive is it for my taste. The guitar solo was good but should have come earlier. Great drumming. The end is really cool though with the added sounds.
Overall 4/5:
The Beatles have so many unique songs, and I get why they are covered so much. I think I regonized about a third of the songs before listening to this whole album. My first impression of this album was there was a TON of experimentation going on which I appreciate. Some of it I enjoyed and some of it I did not. Personally, I am not a huge fan of the Beatles singing, but the chord progressions, melodies, song structure, and rhytmn are so unique for some of these songs. This seems like an album where you impression might change after multiple listens because there is a lot to take in.
Taxman 3.5/5: interesting use of stereo, cool bass and guitar riff and the drums fit well. The song was not as interesting as other Beatles songs for me though
Eleanor Rigby 5/5: Classic, already familiar with this one, the Cody Fry version of this song is great
I'm Only Sleeping 4.5/5: great harmonies and melody, interesting reverse guitar, interesting chord change in middle of song
Love You Too 3.5/5: Like the sitar and Indian instruments, the melody was not interesting to me though, unique for a rock band which I can appreciate
Here There and Everywhere 5/5: I am familiar with this one. This song goes so many places for the length, unique chord progression which is what makes the beatles music intersting for me.
Yellow Submarine 4.5/5: Familiar with this one. I know people clown on this song sometimes because it is kinda stupid. It agree it is kinda stupid but to me it's funny and charming.
She Said She Said 2.5/5: There is a lot going on here, but not really for me. The guitar tone is pretty unique and there are some interesting rhythmic elements here.
Good Day Sunshine 3.3/5: It is a fun upbeat song that makes you want to bop your head. The piano is very low which is interesting and I like the piano solo. The modulation at the end caught my attention
And Your Bird Can Sing 3/5: I like the harmonies guitar riff, and nice classic line cliche. I didn't dislike anything about this song, but nothing really caught my attention like some of the other songs
For No One: 3.5/5 Classic ballad sounding but there was one chord in there that suprised me which I liked.
Doctor Robert 2/5: I like the middle part, but the amount of times I heard Doctor Robert got kinda annoying and repetitive.
I Want To Tell You 3/5: Cool sounding intro. I love the dissonant piano parts, very jazzy. Nice middle section to mix things up.
Got To Get You Into My Life 4.5/5: Familiar with this song and the chorus is very catch and I love the brass parts and lead up to the chorus. I have to say the Earth Wind & Fire version of this song is so much better (but I am bias because that is my favorite band)
Tommorow Never Knows 2/5: All the background sounds caught my ear hear. I don't even know what was going on at the 1 minute mark. I can't say I enjoyed listening to this my first time around but I appreciate expermentation. That was almost too much to take in for my first listen.
3.25/5
When I first saw the cover, my expecations were very different that what I heard. Dusty Springfield has a beautiful soulful and emotive voice. I knew nothing about her before, so I did not expect a soul album.
Personally, I got a little board in the middle section of the album because the songs felt predictable and nothing I haven't heard from this type of music. I've heard "Son Of A Preacher" man and that song is a highlight on the album. Just a Little Lovin' is a nice first track.
The standout track for me was "The Windmills of Your Mind" becuase it felt so different from the rest of the songs and had some intresting instrumentation and is a beatiful song. I learned that this song was a cover but still love this version. "In The Land of Make Believe" was also a song I really liked. The title alone is intruiging and the groove in this song is really nice.
Overall 5/5:
I liked this album more than I thought I would. The album cover definitely portrays the dark, strange, and uneasy feelings of these songs. At the same time this album is really beautiful and has so many unique sounds, production, lyrics, and harmonies. Surfs Up and Surfin USA couldn’t be any different.
Don’t Go Near The Water 3.75/5: interesting sounds give uneasy feeling, the piano part is interesting to start and end the song. Nice harmony at end.
The Long Promised Road 4/5: I like the middle section and the overall melody. Songs builds well.
Take a Load of Your Feet 3.5/5 : weird but cool vocal delay and background vocals. Fun background sounds
Disney Girls 4.8/5: Funny song title, but overall a nice ballad with amazing harmonies. I’ll listen to this one again for sure!
Student Demonstration Time: 4/5 Another memorable title, interesting unique topic for a song. I like the use of alarm/police sounds. Other than that, just a solid blues song
Feel Flows 4.5/5: Song gives me an easy feeling, the flute part was cool and there were so many interesting sounds. Definitely an experimental song but didn’t feel like too much.
Lookin at Tomorrow (Welfare Song) 3/5: fits the vibe for a song called welfare song
Day in The Life of a Tree 4.8/5: what a weird concept for a song. I love it! I’m envisioning the tree as I hear the song.
Til I Die 4/5: now we are a cork in the ocean lol. I’m usually not a person to pay attention to lyrics but these got my attention. There’s so many layers of sound that sounds so full
Surfs Up 3.5/5: Really interesting melody, I have no clue what this songs about after a first listen.
1/5 I hated it… the song had no interesting melodies and consisted of an annoying whiney depressed British man who clearly needs help. The drum patterns all sounded similar and didn’t change throughout the song. They also got very annoying to me. The chord progressions or bass lines were never all that interesting and there was always a moody synth. Seriously, what is the appeal of this album?
One Hundred Years 2.25/5: song has an interesting dark mood, very repetitive I wish the song went somewhere else
A Short Term Effect 2.5/5 : interesting eerie sounds again but pretty boring, the vocal delay effect was interesting. I find this singing annoying. The drums beat gets old. The tempo shift was cool.
The Hanging Garden 1.5/5 : cool drum pattern and into, but god I hate the singing. Once again, the song doesn’t develop and gets very boring fast.
Siamese Twins 0.5/5: incredibly boring bass line and drum. I didn’t think the album would get worse but it did. Depressing lyrics again, what a surprise. Ughhhhhhhh. The song ends with “is it always like this”. That’s how I feel about the album. Is it always repetitive, whiny, and boring like this in the album.
The Figurehead 1/5 : more of the same boring shit. I genuinely don’t understand how people enjoy this music. I guess if you are depressed. The instrumental part where the guitars change up a bit is the only reason I like this song more than the previous
A Strange Day 0.8/1: the synths to start the song were cool and the same boring familiar formula starts again, a repeating drum loop and some minor chords with a moody synth and an annoying whiney British dude talking about how he’s sad
Cold 1.5/5: I liked the cello sounding instrument, finally something sounds a bit different. But this is really pissing me off this is considered a top 1000 album. None of these songs have any sort of development.
Pornography 1.25/5 : glad to be done with the album almost… interesting buildup at the beginning of the song with all those voices in the background. But wait this is the whole song and it develops into nothing.
5/5
Aretha Franklin is one the greatest (if not the greatest) singers in all of western recorded music. Her voice has so much emotion, feel, and power in this album which is accompanied by some great danceable bass lines and a great horn section. Chain of Fools and You make me feel like a natural woman are amazing songs and I see why they are hits. Ain’t know way was another song I really enjoyed I have never heard before.
3/5 I almost rated this a four, but ultimately this album is not the type of music I typically enjoy. This is defintely a "raw" album with some interesting rhytmic ideas and intersting guitar tones. I enjoyed the driving bass and drum fills (even though I got a little bored at some points). This album has a lot of catchy hooks as well and I appreciate the experimenation.
Bone Machine 3/5: Some weird lyrics, "Are love is rice and beans and horses lard" A decent song with a simple driving bass line and chord progression
Break My Body 3.5/5: This song is a little dissonant at times which I like. The melody and guitar together clash a bit which makes sense for the song.
Something Against You 3.25/5: Intresting intremental tracks with some weird shouting in the background that are cool. The drum fills are really
good
Broken Face 3.25/5: The broken face hook is kinda funny and catchy, quick fun song
Gigantic 3.75/5: This song has a catchy hook and I like how the verse is more chill and builds to the chorus. I think the end of the song could have been cut short, the same thing is just being repeated over and over again with no variation
River Euphrates 3.75/5: Cool echoey guitars to this song. The bass lines are starting to get boring in this album I wish they were more varied. Intersting time signature
Where Is My Mind 4.5/5: Very famous song, the guitar riff is so memorable
Cactus 3.5/5: Very interesting rhythm, the time signautre unexpectedly changed, not too much else going on though
Tony's Theme 2.5/5: The vocals were different.... kind of an annoying song, but when Tony is shouted it is catchy I can't lie.
Oh My Golly! 3/5: This song has great drum fills and fun fast guitar strumming, but nothing too different from the rest of the album. The end of the song was pretty funny
Vamos (Surfa Rosa) 3.5/5: It is interesting how the tempo changes in this song, creates an interesting feeling especially with all those intereseting guitar tones. Not exactly sure the meaning of this song...
I'm Amazed 2/5: I am really not sure what the point of this song is... it was interesting how the conversation transitioned into the song
Brick Is Red 3/5: Pretty cool riff and I like the pauses in this song. Not really a fan of the guitar tone.