So, I grew up on the Beatles, and their later solo work, this was one of my mom's favorite albums, dad liked it, but preferred Harrison. So I've heard this album a *TON*, I adore the two big hits that start the song for different reasons. But the rest of the album is just... a good 70s album, but not exactly my style of Yacht Rock hits that I fall into as comfort music, it's more experimental. I know a lot of the backstory of the album, the band had two members quit JUST before the album, and the previous two albums were kinda disappointing, so this was a make or break album, and it absolutely was a hit. Track list: "Band on the Run" – 5:12 Reminiscent of the Abbey Road Medley, a sprawling song that feels like Paul's style combining multiple themes into a coherent single if long song. Very fun and exactly my jam. "Jet" – 4:09 The other massive hit from the album, quite fun, and poppy, very much in Paul's more upbeat styling. A wonderful one two punch to open the album. "Bluebird" – 3:23 Pretty, fun, but nothing to write home about, a little repetitive in places. Things needed to come down and be quieter after how hard Jet hit. "Mrs. Vandebilt" – 4:40 This feels like a deeper album track Paul would have put on a later Beatles album. Not bad, but nothing special. "Let Me Roll It" – 4:51 A stranger mix of his harsher rock sounds with a gentle ballad. By this point it's a nice solid album, but this song feels like him trying to emulate Lennon's style. "Mamunia" – 4:51 Yup. More Paul. While this is more of good Paul, it's just... dragging and repetitive. He really needs John to kick him out of ruts. "No Words" – 2:35 Weirdly, this sounds more like a Harrison song. But it's the shortest song on the album, and it's a shame, because so far it's the third best song on the whole album. "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)" – 5:49 Yay Paul doing his Americana shtick... I've always hated when he does these, it's not a bad one, but eh... I think Elton John does the schlocky Americana so much better than Paul does. And this one also does the "let's jam three or four songs into a single song", including throw backs to Jet. I get what he's going for, but Band on the Run, Live and Let Die, and the Abbey Road Medley do this better than this one. "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" – 5:28 Nice closer, but this sounds like he's emulating Brian Wilson. A stronger song (likely 4th place for the album for me) to wrap the album, but it just goes on TOO long, just when you think it's about to end it starts again. Overall thoughts: I mean, it saved Wings. It redeemed Paul, and is widely considered the best post Beatles album by any former Beatle. But, I'd frankly rather listen to the two singles, or some Beatles albums. Just like John went kinda sideways with his solo stuff, Paul really needed someone to tell him when his ideas are bad. Favorite song: Jet Least Favorite: Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me) Album rating: 80/100 Familiarity: 90/100 Would I listen again: Yup, it's in my rotation for Beatles albums, so it comes up now and then. Not bad at all, but yeah, could be better.
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4-Star Albums (3)
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I need to check how many of his albums are on this list, because... WHY? This is very middle of the road for him, I mean, it's not bad, but there are better albums (and singles) from Curtis. I'd never listened to this album of his before, but my dad loved the artist. It's... nothing special, nothing great, but a good (not great) example of the genre and his talents. I can listen to it on a technical level, and love what is done in songwriting, recording, and production, but for just casual listening, I'm not fully on board. "Billy Jack" 6:10 Funky, fun, but slow. This isn't exactly my normal jam as an entree, but more a side dish. "When Seasons Change" 5:28 Love the bells to open.another nice slow funky track, but by this point his falsetto is starting to grate on me a little. "So in Love" 5:15 The only single on the album, it's the strongest of the album so far, but very much more of the same, but more upbeat than the previous two. "Jesus" 6:13 Hey a bit of very slow Gospel! A change of pace without feeling out of place on the album. "Blue Monday People" 4:50 Well, a step up from the last track, back up in tempo while still feeling Gospel... At this point I'm grooving, but not enjoying. This album so far is what I would have as background music, not active listening music. "Hard Times" 3:45 Well, this sounds like it was written for Blacksploitation movies (which he did a lot of music for), it's the B-Side for So In Love, so it's more famous, and so far the second strongest track on the album. "Love to the People" 4:07 B Side to a non-album single, and... well... at least it's short. I'm kinda over the album by now. I simply lost interest. I can appreciate the technical sides, the writing, the recording, the mixing, but the results just... not my thing. Favorite Song: So in Love Least Favorite Song: Jesus Album Rating: 65/100 Familiarity Rating: 5/100 Would I listen again?: Nah. I'd let some of his stuff filter in, but I really didn't fully enjoy this.
Okay, now we're talking! This is considered the blueprint for the Blacksploitation soundtracks, and was one of his best solo works. This is a huge album, and so much better than the No Place Like America album. Also much easier to listen to in my opinion. I'm more familiar with some of the stuff on this album, but never fully listened to it. "Little Child Runnin' Wild" GREAT start to the album, soul, smooth, and just so emotional with strong lyrics and the instrumentation is great, perfect way to begin without a really grating falsetto. "Pusherman" Falsetto is back, but... it's not as grating as later, this feels SMOOTH, and is dropping a great feel and sound for the movie, while standing on it's own two feet. The fact that the album is more driving and up tempo really helps with his voice and style. "Freddie's Dead" First single off the album, and the biggest hit, yes bigger than the title track. And just the GROOOVE... oooh, I love it, everything about this just makes me happy. "Junkie Chase" (instrumental) Funky action soundtrack piece, WOW those brass hits, and the wah-wah guitar... it all goes together so beautifully, it's just a brilliant piece and you can just picture the kind of chase scenes it would underscore. "Give Me Your Love (Love Song)" Slowest track so far, a solid breather after Junkie Chase, and still so stunningly funky with the bass and percussive piano chords. It just keeps moving while being a nice change of pace. "Eddie You Should Know Better" And this is even slower, this points towards the more soul feel of There's No Place Like America, and this is more orchestral feeling, deeper and richer. But this is now too slow, we need to pick back up again after this. "No Thing on Me (Cocaine Song)" Backing beat is picked back up in speed, with a spoken word stat that is high range, and then when the singing starts back into falsetto, starting to grate a little. But SO smooth and nice for the track. "Think" (instrumental) Oh man... the oboe. This is just such a good 70s jazz piece, it feels like something the Not Ready for Primetime Players (SNL's band) would play to close out a night. It's Just a vibe, and with just the right hint of meloncholy. The oboe is what sets it apart, it's not the sound you'd expect on a piece llke this, and it just makes it so much more elevated! "Superfly" And the second single, and title track. SO funky, SO energetic, so *70's* This is one anyone that knows this era knows, and for good reason. It's also VERY much the model for title tracks for Blacksploitation films, compare it to Shaft (which came out a year prior) and the similarities in the styles are obvious. It's just fun, if VERY much of it's era. Overall thoughts: FUN! I mean, it's dated in style, and feels a little exploitative and stereotypical in places, but it not only succeeded at what it was attempting to do, but became the standard for it. This is Curtis's best solo album, and the whole thing is just a blast. Two great singles, and really what I was talking about in There's No Place Like America on how good he can get. Favorite Song: Think Least Favorite Song: Eddie You Should Know Better Album Rating: 8.5/10 Familiarity: 6/8 Would I listen again: Oh *HECK* yeah. This is fun in all the right ways, and the instrumentals are just so damn awesome they set my creativity off! VERY fun!!
And on to the next one. I'll be honest, never heard of the act, and I'm not doing much research before I listen. So I'm going into this with a familiarity of 0/10. So, no time like the present, let's dive in with the album. "Chan Chan" Oh. OH! This is GOOD. No hablo español. So the lyrics aren't meaningful, but wow, the sound... this is gonna be fun one isn't it? OH! That TRUMPET! Yeah, I'm in love. I was about to talk about the spanish guitar and bongos being so subtle, but that muted trumpet was such a perfect spice. Yeah, if this is setting a tone I'm gonna love this album. "De camino a la vereda" This just... feels like Havana or San Juan. It feels tropical and sunny. And now I need to go make a rum drink, because DAMN. Caribbean, and specifically Cuban things like this are my JAM. "El cuarto de Tula" Yeah, this is GOOD. This whole album so far would go on my Tiki Bar playlist. It's just the right vibe. I'm loving the whole thing so far. The talent and ability is amazing, and you can just tell they are friends and having FUN. This feels like a party jam session that got recorded. "Pueblo Nuevo" Oh! PIANO. This is a different feel, and I'm here for it, nice piano jazz. This is the kind of stuff my grandfather and father used to play. (Grandfather was a professional jazz pianist) This gives me happy memories. "Dos gardenias" Ooooh, down beat. LOVE it. This feels... Smokey. Soulful and gorgeous. This is so good with that muted trumpet so forward. "¿Y tú qué has hecho?" Oooh, this has a more traditional sound, and the duet is stunning. The baritone and tenor are blending nice, even if the bari is sounding a little croaky. This is just great! Wait, is it the tenor that is croaky? This is weird, I can hear one of them, but not which. "Veinte años" Just realizing these are all latin standards. THAT'S why it sounds so familiar... this is COOL. They are so talented and making them all their own. This is also the first female voice this far forward, in another duet. "El carretero" Back to the party! That upright base is FAT, I'm loving how forward it is, and the washboard is a nice driving percussion in the background. This is just expertly crafted. "Candela" The percussion!! And then the ensemble singing. Gosh... this sounds exactly like what I'd hear in the bodegas in Tampa where I would buy cubanos when I was in High School. I can practically smell the stewed pork, the toasted bread, and the pickles. Now I want a sandwich. "Amor de loca juventud" Wow, this one is familar, it sounds so much like some stuff my grandfather would play. Actually a little distracting because of that, but so good! "Orgullecida" Huh... again! Except with a gorgeous country twang to it, this is a treat! Steel Guitar is so fun to listen to. It either sounds tropical or country, this does both at once! And once the trumpet kicked in, it almost sounded like a Louis Prima track. "Murmullo" More Piano! Yay! Oh... wow... this is GOOD. the brushed snares, the bass, and the duet with the piano, it's just nostalgic and so good. "Buena Vista Social Club" This feels like a wonderful extension of the previous track. Just with no vocals. "La bayamesa" And a nice smooth finish to the album, this wtapped perfectly and with the drink I made earlier I'm just floaring and happy. GREAT hour of music and experience. Gosh, this was a surprise. SO much fun, so enjoyable and weirdly nostalgic in odd ways. ALso some of the combinations of instrumentations were unexpected in charming and bewitching ways that seemed to blend genres and just make this album more unique. It was a joy to listen to from start to finish, and such a wonderful experience. Favorite Song: Candela Least Favorite Song: Buena Vista Social Club Album rating 9.5/10 Familiarity: 4/10 Would I listen to again:This is my favorite so far. This whole album has been put on my Tiki Bar playlist, and yeah, I would vibe with this, expecially on a beach with flip flops and a cuba libra in my hand.