Own it (CD) - This album begins with a sample of one of the most iconic drum tracks ever laid down: "When the Levy Breaks" - and punctuates with a Black Sabbath guitar riff. The rhymes laid down over these beats, with the signature Def Jam scratches and hits...these guys arrived fully formed. The end of Side 1 - "Girls" and "Fight for Your Right" followed by the killer run of tracks on Side 2 - "No Sleep...", "Paul Revere", "Hold it Now...", "Brass Monkey" - just genius production. I remember hearing "Girls" as a kid at the neighbor's house and thinking it was hilarious. I love the aggression in "Fight..." and "No Sleep..." and the contrast in the sparse production of "Paul Revere" and "Brass Monkey" - that backwards effect in PR - so cool. Overall, just fun and listenable start to finish - 4/5
Own it. This is such a tight band. Listening to this, it's often hard to believe that this is live - while at the same time understanding that the outrageous choices made in improvised sections would only happen in a live setting. In the opening track, there are moments that harken back to Muddy Waters' work with Little Walter on harmonica from the early 50s - even though no harmonica is present. The seven tracks here are all blues - but unlike other live blues sets, each track has a unique identity. "You Don't Love Me", "...Elizabeth Reed", and "Whipping Post" are my favorites on this listen, but there is so much to find in the sessions that I'm sure that will change on more listens. As a curated and edited set from four shows, it's a five-star album. I give it 4 stars simply because it's something I have to be in the right mood for while also having enough time to listen to the extended tracks.
Own it (CD). I love Fatboy Slim in general, particularly because of the videos associated with this album. I'm not really in an EDM/House mood today - but I am enjoying some of the lesser-loved tracks here like "Kalifornia" and "In Heaven" I'm giving this 4 stars because of the classics on this album, but it's a soft 4 - more like 3.5-3.75 that's rounded up.
Own It (CD) - A lot of gems here. This is a masterclass in song interpretation and arrangement. Nelson Riddle and Sinatra created the blueprint for vocals and big band in Sinatra's early years at Capitol. After 1955s "In the Wee Small Hours," this album is decidedly more pop-oriented. It includes one of my favorite Sinatra/Riddle tracks in "Pennies from Heaven," as well as a masterful and overlooked interpretation of "We'll Be Together Again." As a curated collection, this album doesn't disappoint. And although I prefer the more introspective Sinatra, I can't give this less than 5 stars.
Do not own it. This is my first time listening to this album start to finish. Mark Knopfler is what I would describe as a guitarist's guitarist - like John Mayer - such thoughtful licks that add just the right touch without being overblown - and deceptively hard to play. I love "Six Blade Knife" and the acoustic touches in "Water of Love." "Sultans..." is a 10/10 song with a top-tier solo that is eclipsed by the outro! 5-star debut album, 4-star overall.
Do not own this. Lou Reed's voice is not my favorite - I understand the importance of his work with the Velvet Underground, but I just can't handle both Reed and Nico for the full run of an album. This album, however, has the ever-so-magical touch of Bowie and that makes all the difference. The romantic ode to "whatever works for you" in "Perfect Day" is lovely in and of itself. I'm drawn to the guitar tones in "Hangin' Round" - very fuzzy and warm while adding a jagged edge. The good stuff is pretty good - "Walk.." "Satellite..." - and plenty of campiness too in the tuba-heavy "Make Up" and "Goodnight Ladies" and whatever "New York Telephone Call" is. I know he's using what God gave him, but vocally, Reed just doesn't hold up to the energy in songs like "I'm so Free." 3 stars.
Own it (CD + LP). I'm always happy to take the journey through this album. And what a great way to start the week! How can you not feel energized by "I Feel the Earth Move"?! This album is an embarrassment of riches - a collection of songs that have become standards that every mom and grandma knows by heart, plenty of dads and grandpas too. The production on this album is so clean - with every instrument and vocal clear in the mix, shifting nicely around in stereo - like you're there in the room with King and her cat. I first heard "You've Got a Friend" as sung by James Taylor - and although I prefer his acoustic guitar arrangement - King sounds so much more sincere in her performance, they are her words after all. Many great albums are not for everyone, but Tapestry is objectively beautiful and if you don't like at least half of the tracks on here, maybe you just don't like music? 5 stars.
Own it (CD) - What is the best way to experience this album? I've listened to it in my car and through high quality headphones...The car sessions are most tolerable, but I don't think you get the best experience unless you hear all the nuance though headphones. BUT WOW - it wrecks your ears. I wish I had found this album in the 90s when it came out, but I went all in on grunge and if Walmart didn't carry the album - I couldn't really get my rural Idaho hands on it. Nevertheless, while I recognize the importance of this recording - especially now that we're going through a Shoegaze renaissance - it's not really something that I reach for on a repeat basis. It just demands so much from you as a listener - it's so dense and layered, but you have to dig through each layer deliberately since everything is compressed to the same molten lava level of intensity. Don't get me wrong, that opening track just absolutely crushes. It's soooo good. but my ears need a massage after a full listen of this album - some Brian Eno or Steve Reich to rinse off the fuzz. HIghlights - "Only Shallow", " When You Sleep", "Sometimes", "Soon". I'll still give it 5 stars - maybe specifically for that snare sound in the opener.
Do not own it. I'm not sure if I've ever listened to this album front to back, although I'm familiar with "Novocai..." and "Rags to Rags" (the latter of which I had on a Sampler CD from the very first issue of Maxim magazine called Chill Out with the Class of 1997 - an incredible collection and the best thing to ever come out of that magazine). There is so much to be said about the production and songwriting here. Mark Everett is such a smart lyricist - you get the sense that there is more to gleaned from each listen. I love the 80s-electric-piano-sitcom-theme-song riffs in "Susan's House." "Rags to Rags" has such a great chorus payoff with a nod to the Pixies or Nirvana in the quiet-loud-quiet setup. I love the vulnerability in "Not Ready Yet" - this songwriting is so incredibly gen-x. The critics that called it pretentious or out-of-touch were clearly out-of-touch themselves with the most introspective, self-deprecating, and sarcastic generation. That said, the second half of the album is a bit forgettable musically, and feels very of-it's-time 30 years later, although much more sophisticated than the other jangle-pop of the 90s. I personally love the work that Jon Brion and E.Z. Mike (of the Dust Brothers) did with the production - sparse at times, quirky, balanced, just right for E's rough-around-the-edges vocals. Really good with a handful of great tracks. 4 stars.
Do not own this one. I've heard Dr. John, but I've never heard this album. I immediately love this. It's weird, spooky, nonsensical. Dr. John himself is entrancing - with the chanting voices in the background swirling from right to left with the drums - that psychedelic mood all over the opening track. This is like all the lore of all of New Orleans coming together to conjure images that are far-distant and ever-present all at once. You can see the image of the candido moving in Congo Square to "Danse Kalinda Da Boom." These grooves are dirty and tropical, shadows on the edge of bright sunshine. There are traces of Van Morrison, Bernstein, Miles Davis, Varese, Howlin' Wolf, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and an ever-present touch of Ray Bradbury. And I'm reminded of "Autumn Brown" by The Stranglers and "A Girl Like You" by Edwin Collins. I'm sad that I've lived so long without this voodoo magick in my life, but I'm stoked to have found it just as spooky season is beginning. I'm obsessed - 5 Stars.
Do not own it. I've been looking for this album for my collection for a while - still no luck. STAX was a magical place in the 1960s. This album, backed by the legendary Booker T and the MGs, also boasts keyboard work from Isaac Hayes?! AND it was recorded in two sessions over two days? Different times. But if you've seen Redding's performance at the Monterrey Pop Festival, you understand that this man was a live performer first and foremost - so the short studio time makes sense. Sam Cooke had been gone for just about 7 months when Redding recorded this album - covering 3 of Cooke's songs - with a very poignant version of A Change is Gonna Come. I've heard many of these tracks many times - still finding new moments to enjoy. This time through, the opening track and that odd modal guitar riff stood out the most to me. I have to wonder how the impact of James Brown might have changed had Cooke and especially Redding survived the 1960s. Redding was a young man and listening to this album you can hear that he was not far from the proto-funk sound of Brown's early 60s output. 5 stars.
Do not own this. This was my first listen to this album and these tracks. The opener - the lead single it would appear - has strong Carly Rae vibes - Like "Run Away With Me" maybe and Robyn too. Great combo for hit, dance-floor-ready pop - even if a bit derivative, that's pop after all. Interesting production by Jack Antonoff on these first few tracks - there's some fun little touches and quirky bits - like the little vocal explosion moment in "Homemade Dynamite" and the background vocal chanting in "Sober." I'm noticing that Lorde's songwriting has stayed strong and sincere, certainly not surface level, but Antonoff's approach is a bit more generic and even overshadows the clever lyrical content - not in a good way. So far though, the sparse yet melodic approach that worked on Pure Heroine is nowhere to be found. This album has some heavy lifting to do on the back-half to pull off anything extraordinary. "Liability" slows it down but is not particularly memorable - it didn't really hold my attention even on a second listen. Okay now - the back half delivers. "Writer in the Dark" is excellent, bringing that poignant songwriting together with production that actually fits really well. Strong finish. It might get better with multiple listens, but there's nothing too groundbreaking here. Solid. 3 stars
Own it (Digital MP3). I love Beach House. Back in the day I would have called this "indie" and left it at that - but then I learned that Dream Pop was a genre. This is a nice soft pillow for my ears. Shoegaze and Dream Pop tend to have this one-song-blends-into-another feel, and for me that's kind of the point. I want to put on a Beach House album or Sigur Ros album or MBV album or whatever, and be put in the same moody, lush, sound environment for 40-60 minutes. There's nuance from track to track, "Norway" has this wonderfully microtonal drone hanging out just below the surface; "Walk in the park" has a lo-fi drum machine beat to back up the pulsing keyboard; there's the shifting syncopation in "Used to be," and so on. If I had to pick a favorite from the album, I would probably go with "Lover of Mine" - the opening arpeggiation on keyboard is a nice break from the dreamy drones on preceding tracks, but I especially love the vocals in the pre-chorus, that harmony is stunning in contrast to the minor modal sound of the verses. I love this album and I am so happy to revisit it here. 5 Stars.
Own it. (CD) - Okay - I did not own this until today. I literally went to the Record Exchange and found a used copy for $4 after listening to it. I wasn't aware of this album prior to it popping up in this project. Well, that's not entirely true, I'd heard of this group as a reference point, but that's about it. To say that my mind was blown may be overkill, but as I listened through each track, it was like pieces of a much larger puzzle were falling into place. Not only are these tracks gorgeously presented, they mix the traditional sounds of British Isles folk tunes with drums and electric guitar in a way that American folk rock groups never did to that point. It highlights just how much American bluegrass and folk traditions owe to this British heritage. Further, "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp" and "Gallows Pole" from LZ III and much of Nick Drake's output make much more sense in light of this album. I love the traditional instruments, mixed meters, and modes throughout - particularly in tracks like "Tam Lin" where stories unfold in ways that clearly paved the way for country artists like Marty Robbins to emerge as great story-tellers. There are few albums that look backward and forward with the same effect of Liege and Lief. One of my biggest issues with the American Psychedelic movement of the late 60s is that everything turned into a jam and the structure of that jam was aimed directly at the acid trippers. I was afraid at several points during this listen that the jam would go off on these rails and become the incessant generic noodling of Big Brother, Jefferson Airplane, or the Grateful Dead. But it didn't and the result makes me want to listen again and again. 5 Stars.
Own it (CD) - Well, this is quite a choice to follow yesterday's Fairport Convention album. The first time I heard "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" was on the Woodstock film. I had recorded it on a VHS tape from PBS and while I was originally amazed that naked hippies were shown bathing in a film that aired on public television, the live performances of CSNY, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker and especially Richie Havens captivated me - opening a channel in my brain I wasn't even aware I had. Those harmonies! I immediately tried to find music to play the song on my guitar - I was in love with a girl named Judy at the time and I didn't even worry about whether or not her eyes were actually blue while I struggled to re-tune my guitar to whatever weird tuning was being used. Historically, there is so much of the 60s captured on this album - the later Deja Vu would provide a full epilogue - and a look forward to the singer-songwriter days yet to come in the 1970s. "Guinnevere," Wooden Ships," "Helplessly Hoping," - these are once in a generation songs just hanging out on a single album. "You don't have to cry," is a personal favorite for the guitar work punctuated by harmonics and a driving bassline - and again, those harmonies. "Helplessly Hoping" has such a great lyrical focus, I think of it as part one of Deja Vu's "Our House." The Byrds may have defined the start of folk-rock in America, but this album and its follow-up are the pinnacle of the genre in this era. 5 stars.
Own it (CD) - Admittedly, I've come to this album rather late. I was of the opinion that synth-pop wasn't legit unless it was from the early 1980s. And Depeche Mode had already released a number of comps, greatest hits, and singles collections from their work in the 1980s before this album arrived. "Personal Jesus" and "Enjoy the Silence" were of course all over the radio in 1990, but 1990 was a weird in-between time for music anyway. This glossy 80s sound had been done, dance-based house music like C+C Music Factory was intermingled with Whitney and GnR and Michael. Then the grunge thing happened and well...So for me, this album got left behind. Of course, now, returning to this album, the production feels crisp, meticulous, refreshing. The songwriting is deep and personal. It is brooding and heavy at times as in "Waiting for the Night" - and I love the pulsing synth bass in this track. That synth hook in "Policy of Truth" is peak - no matter how many times I've heard it. I think this album is a stellar culmination of the 80s synth sound - and there are layers to be uncovered on each listen. Listening to "Clean" through my studio monitor headphones, I notice the pop of the bass and drums in a new way - that Pink Floyd influence really coming through. Not a single track I would skip on here. 5 Stars
Do not own it. Everyone who loves The Cure seems to have a different favorite album. There certainly are plenty to choose from. RYM has this album as the 2nd highest rated Cure album - things tend to skew dark at RYM, so this isn't surprising. When I saw them live about 10 years ago, they only played one track from this album: "One Hundred Years". It's a killer opener and sets the tone pretty solidly. The frantic drum licks, the dark, dystopic lyrics...the distance from the New Wave sound of their debut album three years earlier to Pornography seems much greater than the distance from this album to their 90s output or even to their most recent album from a few years ago. "The Figurehead," for example, sounds akin to "Burn" from The Crow Soundtrack. But ultimately, I think that weighing one of the Cure's albums against another is less effective than looking at each album in relation to the time of its release. In 1982, there weren't a lot of other bands creating music like this, at least not with commercial success in mind. I do love Killing Joke's work in the gothic rock sphere and I hope we get one of their albums on this list. "Cold" is a fantastic track with that synth drone...I think it makes a far better closing track than "Pornography." I don't understand why bands put tracks with polarizing features or production at the end of otherwise stellar albums, like "Hats off..." on LZ III or "Pornography" here. Drugs probably. 4 stars
Own it (CD). I clearly remember VW's "Pink Moon" moment. I found a compilation of Drake's work while in grad school (shout-out Rodeo Records in Ellensburg, WA, RIP). This is magical music. And I discovered it around the time that I discovered Elliott Smith, decades apart - but linked so closely in my mind and the sound and sentiment, the tragedy.
Everything on this album seems just right - the production, the guitar picking, the strings, Drake's soft vocals. Nothing feels forced or contrived. I love how haunting River Man is, how Way to Blue swells and then abruptly ends, the urgency of the Cello Song. The authenticity of these songs reminds me of the spirit of Robert Johnson's recordings - the late discovery by the public, the eerie lyrical content, the way that Drake and Johnson inhabit their recordings as so much more than participants - like ghosts. I'm not sure that this is my favorite of Drake's albums, my favorite song of his, "Black-Eyed Dog," isn't on the studio albums, but it's still a 5 star effort.
Do not own this one. Another seminal debut album that helps to define an emerging genre? Okay! There was a point at which I was afraid of music like this. I mean, I bought Nirvana's Bleach a year after Nevermind and that combined with the back half of Incesticide was about as dark as I was able to handle as a young teen. Then, my older sister sent me a cassette of Killing Joke - and I realized there were worlds to explore out there beyond the safety of Nirvana. This album by S&theBs introduces noise and chaos without ever asking too much from the listener. Other post-punk and/or proto-shoegaze bands from the late 70s and early 80s can sometimes become too self-indulgent for me - but I don't think there are many misplaced notes here. The drums and bass stand out on tracks like "Switch" in a very effective way - tying the band to New Wave a bit more than punk. I love the echoey, repeating guitar riffs on tracks like "Overground" - each track here sounds distinctive and begs for repeat listens. I've always appreciated the way S&theBs shift tempos mid-song, particularly the gradual acceleration and deceleration present throughout this album. Nothing is "snapped to the grid" or "quantized" and that's such a great thing. 5 Stars.
In 1998, I was deep into my studies as a music student in undergrad - most of my listening time was spent with classical and jazz and whatever garbage Carson was peddling on TRL. So, I missed this album and maybe that's for the best. I was pretty depressed back then and Jarvis Cocker's lyrics would have likely hit me with a force I wasn't equipped for. I immediately love this, I'm a sucker for Britpop, Art Rock, theatricality, hooks, banality. Bowie is here, Talk Talk is here, Leonard Cohen is here, XTC is here, the Kinks. The production is so wonderfully layered and not overly compressed - I especially love how the vocals are always up front - Chris Thomas is a legend. This is the kind of album with enough variety to bring you back again and again, finding a new favorite track each time you listen. But each track is truly essential to the rest, once I hit play, I'm in it for the whole album. Once I can find a copy on CD, this will be in regular rotation for me. First listen was 4-stars - second time through and I'm convinced it's a 5-star effort.
Own it (CD). Is this my favorite LZ album? No - it's in the top 10 though... Actually, "Ramble On" is top 5 LZ songs for me. The build in that track is sooo good. I remember seeing a modern dance group at the local art museum about 20 years ago - they did a performance set to "Ramble On" that featured some young, beautiful dancers whipping their hair around during the chorus...sexy as hell and perfectly matched to Bob Plant's vocals. I loved the track before that, but the visual has stuck with me all these years and made me love it even more. Everytime I listen to an LZ album, especially I-IV, I find new things to love. The drum pickup in "What is and Should Never Be," the crunch of the distortion in the "Lemon Song." Page's work throughout is urgent and essential - the sound of a band exploding and becoming part of the Zeitgeist as they record from the road. 5 Stars.
This will be fun. I'm sure that I know a few of these tracks, but I'm not what you'd call a big fan of Oasis. Liam's voice can be a bit too whiny for me sometimes - that's the case in the opener. But "Shakermaker" really grooves. "Live Forever" has been played to death and has a very "of-it's-time" sound to me now, but hell - for a debut album this is an incredible run of tracks so far. Yeah, I'm definitely enjoying the non-singles tracks more here. "Up in the Sky" has a killer riff. The Beatles comparisons are certainly apt - but I'm feeling a bit of the Verve's A Storm in Heaven from a year earlier as well. The production is huge, always on the brink of becoming overwhelming, but with just the right amount of restraint applied. I'm actually surprised at how much I'm enjoying this album so far. Britpop was not easy to find in rural Idaho in the 1990s when I was a teen. Besides, in 1994 the sound of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden and STP and the like outshone everything else. My best friend bought "What's the Story..." when it came out in 1995 and we loved it, but this album feels heavier - like a cross between The Catherine Wheel and the Black Crowes. I mean, this is straight-up blues-rock on "Bring it on Down" and ZZ Top could have written "Cigarettes & Alcohol." Of course, when all of your songs are anthemic rockers, the sound begins to get a bit repetitive. That has always been my main criticism of Oasis and by track 7 or 8 my ears are craving a left-turn or two. Ah, and then the gratuitous acoustic anchor that was so common in the 90s. There are a few five-star tracks here, but overall I'm feeling 3 stars for the album. Might buy a copy if I find it used.
Well, here we go. I'm pretty sure I've listened to this before, but it's been a decade or so. Kanye is, of course, not all there these days. But I can suspend my disbelief for a listen to what many claim to be a top-tier hip-hop album. "We Don't Care" is solid - layered production with nice little bass-line touches here and there. I suppose we'll get these silly interludes all the way through - could become a distraction from the main tracks. "All Falls Down" - incredible (these sped up vocal samples are thematic I guess?). Okay I see what's going on now with the interludes and the not-so-subtle commentary they are providing - bold move, but it is Kanye after all - and there is a bit of questionable harmonic tuning in "I'll Fly Away." I like the intent behind "Jesus Walks" - but it's a bit too Disney for me in the plodding, chanting production. "Never Let Me Down" is a fun track, but I love the bass punches in "Get Em High" - this track grooves. "Slow Jamz" was a bit disappointing until Twista comes in. Ludacris! I'm a little lost here at the end with all these "Skits" - "Two Words" has brought me back - great production on this one. And there is that Chaka Khan sample on "Through the Wire" - another great track with great lyrical content. Okay - I've been listening to this album for an hour and he tags on a closer that is nearly 13 minutes long - with the same damn beat the whole time? This was a really incredible debut album in general - but I think he could have used an editor. I suppose that's what happens when you self-produce and don't hold your ego in check. 3 stars.
Now this is a well-designed concept album. I've listened to this album many times, but it has been a good decade since the last time. The transitions here are so smooth. I love the move between "Dance or Die" and "Faster." I mean, this is like a big dance party moving from R&B, Funk, Hip-Hop, Disco, Latin...
Monae becomes more self-indulgent on later albums, but this debut feels like she's just on a fun, exploratory journey. "Sir Greendown" slows it down, showcases some nice vocals and serves as a nice transition to the very personal, emotional, and effective "Cold War" - seriously, try to watch that video without crying. "Tightrope" also has a killer video with some fun choreography. It's amazing how much variety there is from song to song here, but everything still feels related, connected. "Mushrooms and Roses" has a beautiful marriage of 60s psychedelia and Prince-esque funk rock - again, the variety here is astounding. Moving into Suite III, the collab with Of Montreal is very "Of Montreal-ish" - it's a good track, but it takes me out of the world that Monae has created. "Wondaland" may be my favorite track on this album. Then we get this ethereal folk ballad in "57821" - it just kills me when that bass-line kicks in in the 2nd verse - and I'm a sucker for the big mallet deep bass drum thumps. Ahh - and then the Debussy at the end of the already gorgeous "Say You'll Go" - c'mon! And then - Janelle just slays the vocal performance on this closer. I love this album. 5 stars all day.
Boom! That intro with the synth hits just smacks you! I't probably been 20+ years since I listened to "Bad." That 16th-note rhythmic pulse that fades continuously from left to right and back is just so cool.
By the time MJ released this album, everything he did was a major event. His music and image were inescapable in the 80s. Admittedly, I'm a "Thriller" die-hard, maybe because I feel like I was over-exposed to this album. Or maybe it's just too 80s, like soooo 80s. "Speed Demon" is like "Axel F" with some PCP. Boinky synths, that crazy fast run in the chorus, there's just a lot going on here. "Just Good Friends" - phew - between the constant drum machine snare hits and MJ's vocal scat eehees and woos - it's quite an assault on the ears. And you had Stevie Wonder...he didn't really pop out at all. "Another Part of Me" gets back to a good funk groove - that snare hit is still a bit harsh, but overall this one moves - a great start to the second side of the album. And then we get into the best run of tracks on the album. The writing is much better from "Man in the Mirror" to the end. I mean the opening two tracks notwithstanding, it's criminal how much better the back half of this album is - smoothly criminal even. I'll go 4 stars here for the 5 #1s this produced and for being the inspiration for Weird Al's Even Worse.
I haven't purchased this one yet, but I'll be adding it to my collection soon enough. Yes, yes - this is the start of Heavy Metal, Doom Metal, etc. and so on. But there are still all of the elements of the blues-revivalists here - from the guitar riffs to the honking harmonica. The occult themes may seem shocking, but Robert Johnson (who was discovered by the blue-revivalists in the the early 1960s and inspired them greatly) was singing about the devil back in the 1930s - he just didn't have 100w overdriven amps and effects (studio, pedal, or otherwise) to drive the point home.
Don't get me wrong I love the first 4 Sabbath albums and am just as amazed as anyone at how good this run of albums is AND how heavy this debut is. But I think that it's short-sighted to think that this album and it's sound just came out of nowhere and shocked everyone. It's hard for a debut album to achieve that. Rather, Black Sabbath takes the sounds of Blues Rock and Psychedelia and mashes them together to great effect largely due to the talents and innovations of each of it's members. The result is cathartic, but that catharsis is a bit outsized because of it's retrospective nature. I was scared of Black Sabbath as a kid, or more precisely, I was scared of Ozzy. But I do love this album - just as much as I love LZs debut or Pink Floyd's output from this period, or hell, even Funkadelic's debut. But to think that anyone picking up an album titled Black Sabbath with a witch-looking lady of the cover and un upside-down cross in the gatefold didn't know what they were getting into...
All that is to say that this is essential listening, and easy to call the first of this or that genre etc., but Black Sabbath were far from the only ones with this approach and sound at the time - they were just the best at it. 5 stars.
Nice! This is another first-listen-ever for me. I have an idea of what to expect as I've listened to other artists from Mali and Senegal and Algeria like Ali Farka Toure (direct ties here) and Tiniarwen. The rhythmic groove of this desert blues band is infectious from the start.
Have you ever looked at Timbuktu on a map? I mean, I know it's used as a reference to remoteness - but wow - remote is an understatement. For something as lively as this music to grow out of the literal desert is remarkable. "Al Hassidi Terei" really cooks. The blues influence is strong in the intro of track 4, "Sekou Oumarou." Repetition is key in this music - like in minimalism - so that when a change happens in the texture, the timing, the vocals, the percussion, etc., it feels very significant. There is also some afro-beat / Fela Kuti influence showing through in places on these tracks. I love the complex polyrhythms in "Ai Tchere Bele" - it sounds too busy at first, but if you really focus on the various drum parts, the larger picture emerges. The closer, "Mali" is gorgeous and shows how the complex rhythmic structures of this music can be stripped down to a single guitar & voice and still have the distinctive drive of the full band.
Exceptional. I'm so happy that this was on the list - I may have never discovered it otherwise. 4 stars.
This will be a short review for a short album. How can you not love Louis Prima? That one-of-kind raspy delivery, the fun songs, the way he jumps out of the track and owns every moment. Singing in close harmonies like you hear on the track 2 duet is deceptively hard, but it just sounds so so sweet, and it's a hell of a lot of fun when you hit it right as a singer. I appreciate that this album also takes time to showcase Prima's top-tier trumpet playing and the sax of Sam Butera - there is a clear link here between the end of the big band era, the bebop movement in jazz, and the early rock n roll sounds of Capitol and Atlantic records. The "Night Train" interpretation here is great - that choppy stroll rhythm with the pregnant pauses between verses - very hip. Overall, this is fun listen with plenty to glean from Prima and the Witnesses, sitting somewhere in between the emerging rock and roll sounds of the mid 50s and the Jump Band heyday in the early 50s. 3 stars.
I own this one. Lots of love for this album and I expect that there are more Neil Young albums on this list. Some things I love: "Out on the Weekend" - the single note drone during the chorus; "A Man Needs a Maid" - the first low entrance of the strings of the LSO under the piano in the first chorus and the huge build at the end; "Old Man" - written for a landlord of Young's, but with a message that reaches into the soul of father/son/male relationship dynamics; "The Needle and the Damage Done" - like Tom Petty's "Don't Fade On Me" or Elliott Smith's "Needle in the Hay", a cutting, solitary, emotion filled plea to someone the author deeply cares about, almost uncomfortable in its intimacy. Essential listening. 5 Stars.
This will be interesting - I've definitely never heard this one before. The guy on the cover looks a bit like a guy my ex was cheating on me with - with that little chin beard fuzz, maybe thats what the album title is about? Okay, I'll try not to let that influence my objectivity.
The acoustic nature of this would have been right up my alley in 1993. And so far this is maybe better than the jangle pop that showed up everywhere a few years later. The quiet-loud-quiet in "Jupiter and Teardrop" is on target for the time, certainly showing some Pixies influence and jiving with thier tour with Paul Westerberg.
Okay - yeah, I know "Fuzzy" - this is a great track. "The Hook," although lyrically deeper than the Blues Traveler song of the same name, is a plodding 4 minutes - I prefer the jauntiness of the Popper's harmonica. Interesting use of falsetto in "Stars n' Stripes" - Grant Lee Phillips has what I would imagine is a polarizing voice. Is he singing with a regional accent or is that pretentiousness? Some of these tracks are just a synth or two away from shoegaze or dream pop. I find myself thinking of how much better these songs would be if Jeff Buckley had written/performed them. "Dixie Drug Store" is not great - like a bad take on "Tangled up in Blue." Had I heard this album in 1993 I probably would feel differently, but there are many other albums from that time with a similar alt-country, indie, acoustic sound that don't feel stuck in time like this one. It's okay. But I likey won't be searching this one out.
First Bowie album on the list for me! I guess there are two ways to consider this album. One is as the work of art concept album exploring Aladdin Sane as "Ziggy Stardust in America" - something that would require an intimate knowledge of ZSATSFM. The other is as an exemplary work of glam rock and Brit pop by the emergent musical genius of David Bowie. It's experimental and avant garde at times and I love all of the risks taken. I also really appreciate the snapshot of early 1970s America through Bowie's unique vision. The fragmentation of rock was in full swing at this point and bits and pieces of many major players show up here. "The Jean Genie" is a clear stand-out on this album, and perhaps in more tolerant times "Cracked Actor" could have been a lead single as well - it's got that Rolling Stones groove and grit. But overall, as with most of Bowie's albums, Aladdin Sane is best experienced start to finish. Mike Garson's piano work throughout is inspired. Fun Fact learned during this listening: Mick Ronson (no relation to Mark) on guitar here was raised in the Mormon church and eulogized in a Mormon chapel in London after his death - his biography , however, does not read like a typical Latter Day Saint. 4 Stars.
I was a Janis Joplin apologist at one point - I require my class to listen to her cover of "Summertime" with BB & the HC and I cover her as a part of the counterculture/psychedelic scene. The polarizing nature of Joplin's voice and performance was half the point of talking about her, and the class is always mesmerized by the mythology of the 27 club. But over the last few years, I wonder if I'm spending the time wisely covering Joplin? At any rate, she - particularly on this album - is hailed as a masterful white interpreter of black music, as we needed/need more of those. These might be blues-based tunes, but calling her a white blues/soul singer has never sat well with me. Amy Winehouse would like a word. Oh, wait. There is no warmth or richness to her voice, it's all rasp and sheer force. But Joplin's voice is singular, and at the beginning of "Cry Baby" you can hear the oddity of her scream projecting multiple, distinguishable tones at the same time. Maybe it's the trained singer in me that just cringes at her timbre - knowing the vocal nodes in her future would have been devastating to her signature yowl, had she lived. And yet, I find myself awed and pulled into her energy here and there. Damn - this band is cooking in "Half Moon" (far too few people have heard the Rufus/Chaka Kahn version) and dig that funky bass keyboard in "Buried Alive..." But I could go the rest of my life without hearing Janis sing "Me and Bobby McGee" or "Mercedes Benz" again. This is a good album though, all told - but I'm not convinced it's worth all the praise that has been thrust upon it over the years. Should you have to go to the extremes physically and emotionally and mentally - literally dying in the process - to creat great art? If she hadn't ODed duing the making of this album, would it still be held in such high regard? 2 stars from me.
Well now, this is quite the departure from yesterday's Janis Joplin album. This album is a bona fide masterpiece. There is nothing misplaced here, every note choice, where to place an ending consonant, Riddle's expert, savant-like arrangements - the song choices themselves. Sinatra's lived experience led to this collection and his ability to interpret these songs so eloquently - if you've been heartbroken, you feel the poignancy of Sinatra's emotion in tracks like "I get along..." and "What is this thing..." It's a journey - and for me, each time I listen, a new song speaks to me.
After leaving Blue Note, jazz-vocalist Kurt Elling released an album called Night Moves as a quasi-nod to "In the wee small..." It's one of my favorites of his, an homage to Sinatra's journey through late-night melancholy found here. But unlike Sinatra, Elling's dusk-to-dawn journey, bleary-eyed as it is, is joyful and optimistic. You'll find very little of that here with Sinatra. It's a brilliant concept, calling for whisky and a few salty tears. "Last Night When We Were Young" with it's bold climaxes and Sinatra's vulnerability in the lyric, is just devastating. I'm sure that some might find this album boring or contrived - but put it on when you're alone and in need of a buddy with whom to commiserate and you may just find Sinatra and the Nelson Riddle orchestra to be your spirit guides through the darkness. 5 Stars.
Excited for this one - it's been on my list for a while, but I haven't dug in yet. Track one - I get the proto-grunge, proto-shoegaze hype that has been applied to this album - pretty apt in all aspects outside of J. Macis' vocals. The mastering is very 80s punk - I feel like this should be louder than it is, but it has that very familiar SST sound that I know from Minutemen, Bad Brains, Meat Puppets, etc.
This is another album that I wish I'd had access to in my teen years. I was listening to lots of thrash metal alongside grunge, and the messiness of this Dinosaur Jr. album would have been a nice foil to the polish of post-Bleach Nirvana. Or maybe it would have been too much? Certainly not by the time I had discovered the Toadies and Campfire Girls and Sugar. There is enough hidden in these tracks to require multiple listens to really get this album. The link to Treepeople and Built to Spill is very clear - I was trying to put my finger on why the sound of this album was so familiar - lots of exposure to thier sound here in Boise where BTS and Doug Martsch are revered. Excellent album - I'm looking forward to peeling back the layers of this sound during future listens. 4 stars.
I already know what I'm giving this one - but a few notes. I love Blur, but I didn't listen to them that much in the 1990s. In fact, I was listening to Gorillaz for years before I knew that Damon Albarn was involved -THEN I began to get interested in Blur - especially after I saw their vidoe for "The Universal." I think of them as the Kinks of the 1990s. Very British - a few exceptional singles - but their real artistry is especially apparent when listening to an album from start to finish, as a whole. To me, this one has more of a sonic throughline than a lyrical or thematic one, as their earlier albums displayed.
This self-titled album, with the woo-hoos of "Song 2" isn't my favorite Blur album, but it's still a no-skips affair. It's weird and experimental at times, radio-aligned pop at other times, lo-fi (nearly twee) jams here and there, grungy-punk in songs like "Chinese Bombs" and never boring. Like their contemporaries in Radiohead, Blur are nearly always distinguishable without being overly repetitive. It's true artistry IMO. 4 stars.
Mmm. I saw Norah Jones on ACL in 2002 just before this album was released. I was instantly enamored. Her voice on this album contains so much more than her 21 years of life should have contained. That's an awful sentence - oh well. I was in grad school at the time, studying vocal performance with a decent amount of jazz singing under my belt - and this album blew me away. I get that "Come Away With Me" and "Turn Me On" and "Don't Know Why" have been overplayed in coffee shops and the like in the 25 years since this album was released. Get over it. I would say that I'm shocked by the abundance of "3s" this album has been given, but I know that jazz is certainly not for everyone. It's a demanding genre, even on a pop adjacent album like this one. By many traditional metrics, this album is exceptional - particularly for a debut. But I think one of the most remarkable elements is Norah Jones defining a signature sound that you can discern throughout her incredible career - she has a signature touch, using voicings and accents that are unique to her. That's the real genius at work here - and when I realised at 23 years old that she is about 6 weeks younger than me, well...I tempered my self-expectation as a musician just a bit.
But oh - that voice, that coy smile. As Tom Moon wrote of Jones in his book "1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die," "All she has to do is whisper and it's devastating." 5 Stars
I'm disappointed that this is the first Thin Lizzy album I'm getting. In general, I'm not a huge fan of live rock albums. The exceptions are the one-offs that have a different mode than the studio release, i.e. - Tesla's Five-Man Acoustical Jam, the various unplugged albums, special appearances like Tiny Desk, or Metallica with the SF Symphony, etc. The Allman Brothers at the Fillmore is exceptional due to it's improvisational manner and the impending change to the band's make-up following Duane's death. But albums like this just seem like filler - an extra grab at some cash from the super-fans when band creativity has stalled, or to meet contract demands.
Thin Lizzy is a great rock band - underrated in the US by folks under 60. Or maybe a better way to say that is that they are an comparitively unknown classic rock band from the 70s. Just as with Frampton Comes Alive from a few years earlier - there is plenty of studio magic applied to this live set. That work undoubtedly aided in it's popularity, it's a very clean sounding live album - particularly by 70s standards. The guitar work on "Still in Love with You" is exceptional - great tones, great solos, great drum work also at ~6min mark during the transition to the coda. Other than the chance to hear Huey Lewis play harmonica on "Baby Drives Me Crazy," I'm not sure why I would choose to listen to this collection of dubiously live tracks (those backing vocals on "The Boys Are Back..." are sus) versus the studio albums. Side 3 into side 4 is a bit of a let down in truth. I'll give it 3 stars for the sound quality.
Well, judging by the reviews of others, this is not a beloved album by many. I personally dug this album when it came out - the complexity was so refreshing at a time when groups like the Black Eyed Peas were ruling the charts (no shade) - and I'm so happy to revisit it now.
The sound of Bitte Orca, to me at least, is a natural outgrowth of Talking Heads, Bowie, maybe Beck...? But it's really its own thing, and again, to me, the album is a bit more accessible than maybe Animal Collective or other prog-style bands of the time. That said, it fits right in with early St. Vincent, TuNeYaRdS, Grizzly Bear, and other indie acts of this era.
My ears love the close harmonies and the varied sonic palette created on this album - the Moog-like (maybe it is a Moog) figures over the pulse at the beginning of Useful Chamber is really cool - and the unfolding sonic texture of that track just continues to reward those brave enough to dive in. Ultimately, that's what this album is about to me - I don't pay much attention to the lyrics - there are no clear melodies to hum along with - but the textures and sound combinations are uncommon, surprising, novel, and distinctly Dirty Projectors. The production is great too - leaving room for each moment to stand out and allowing the listening to focus on specific elements at will.
This is not for undeveloped ears - like, if you don't like spicy foods, don't order your Thai takeout at "authentic" heat levels, you know? 4 stars.
This is a first listen for me. Interesting start - the first 20 seconds of "Albatross" could be a rough demo for "Beat It," but then the guitar comes in and it is clearly not Michael Jackson. At all. I mean, honestly this sounds like the stuff we used to make up in my high school garage/basement band. But when you read the history of how this album was made - that comparison isn't far off.
Like other reviewers, I'm not sure why this is a must-listen. Maybe it's contextual. As in, if you really want to appreciate the post-punk of Joy Division and the Cure and Siouxsie ane the Banshees, etc., you must listen to PIL? Which would sort of make sense if it wasn't for the fact that those bands were contmporaries.
Okay - I'm sort of enjoying the shitty production (or lack of production) the more I listen. It doesn't seem like there was any sort of plan for any of these songs - just a chord progression and a tempo, with Johnny Rotten (Lydon) making up words. I know that melody isn't a focus of music like this, but there hasn't been a discernable melody on anything through the first 4 songs..."Careering" is slightly better. But the number of streams decreases significantly (by more than half) after this track. Not a good sign.
But most of these remaining tracks are shorter, so there's that consolation.
And a break from the random vocals for a few tracks! But he's back for "The Suit" - sigh. Seriously, we used to play music on the sidewalk in my youth with observational, stream-of-consciousness lyrics like these - just as a joke. "Radio 4" is weird, but in a way I don't dislike...
I guess overall I like the experimentation here, the lo-fi recording is fun, the steady (if shifting in tempos) pulse of bass and drums, the guitar just kind of playing whatever, the occasional surpise. But the vocals kill this album for me on nearly every track they're on. I actually might listen to this again, but I'm still giving it a 2.
First listen on this one. No doubt that Amy Winehouse is a singular voice. But it's telling that this album didn't get a Stateside release until after Back to Black had blown the doors off over here. A few tracks in and this album seems to be having a had time figuring out exactly what it wants to be, jazz, soul, r&b?, some of each? Amy's voice here isn't as settled as it on later recordings - there's too little chest voice and makes it a bit tinny. Some of that is age and technique, but it also could have been improved with some better mics for her big voice and some clever production. She's naturally nasal and that adds a lot of high end to her timbre - not an issue if you know how to deal with it.
Including the "Moody's Mood..." vocalese is interesting - her take is pretty straightforward and it shows her knowledge and versatility. Pulling off a tricky vocalese like this is deceptively hard.
Now the production on "In My Bed" is quite good and rawness of her vocal benefits from this denser approach. "October Song" lays down a great groove, but I feel like the vocal is too busy - and it has an interpolation of "Lullaby of Birdland?" - apparently she wrote it for a pet canary. "What is it About Men" is another nicely balanced track - a good loungy groove.
Final thoughts - the weird fuzzy bass on the opening track and again in the "Outro" is very cool, can't tell exactly what it is, a bari sax? a synth? a broken circuit in the board? There is a ton of potential throughout - but she does suffer a bit from the "there can never be enough notes in this phrase/melisma" form of soul singing. I much prefer a nice, connected legato that shows control. She achieves this at points on this album - but thank goodness for the albums yet to come. 3 Stars
This was the first Muse album I ever bought. In 2006, the fatigue from the 'Lil Bush administration was intense (if we had only known what was to come 10 years later...). The lyrics from "Take a Bow" hit just right in the political moment, and there's something so powerful about the build-up to the last verse - only to have a heavy half-time feel slowly build even more to the end. That is what Muse is and will always be to me: a band with huge anti-establishment rock anthems full of hooky guitar and drum parts that feel cathartic at times and deeply personal at others. If you came to Muse because "Supermassive Black Hole" was used in Twilight and/or in various video games after its release, you might not feel the same.
To me, Muse is a natural torchbearer for the 80s/90s prog rock of Queensrÿche or maybe even the industrial post-punk of Killing Joke. Regardless, this is a complete album, tied together by all of its elements. It may just be me, but the piano part in "Starlight" is very reminiscent of ABC's early 80s tune, "Be Near Me" - I love the snare pattern.
I think the lyric in "Invincible," and Matt Bellamy's delivery of it are epic. And that guitar solo is next level as well - not over the top, but just right for the moment. Great end to the first half.
"Assassin" punches hard too - I especially love the syncopated snare accents at the end of each measure. "Exo-politics" has themes that remind me of Megadeth on the Rust In... or Countdown... albums. And those drum fills in the chorus of "City of Delusion..." are just massive. The slow burn "Hoodoo" with those ambitious piano licks and drum sequences in its middle section, followed by the 3rd single for this album, "Knights of Cydonia" help maintain the momentum to the end. That message that spoke to me so poignantly in the opening track is cemented here in those shouted chorus lyrics: "No one's gonna take me alive...you and I must fight for our rights...to survive." punctuated by the heaviest riff yet on the whole album - it's just so fucking good.
All that and a surreal album cover by the legendary Storm Thorgerson. I'd forgotten how much I love this album. 5 stars.
Okay - so I hadn't really explored this album until I started seriously collecting CDs about 18 months ago. The often fickle elitists over at Rate Your Music rate this as Young's best solo album - and it's hard to argue with that objectively, but the man does have a billion solo albums, so your own mileage may vary. Personally, I haven't listened to this album nearly as much as the earlier 70s albums, but it's growing on me as a complete album in a way that Harvest and After the Gold Rush have yet to do.
The opening track is reminiscent of a Muppets tune, not in a bad way. But "Revolution Blues" is another level - some great guitar work from David Crosby and even better lyrics from Young, cutting through the whole Laurel Canyon mythology via Charles Manson. It's one of the best Bob Dylan tunes not written by Bob Dylan. "For the Turnstiles" highlights what will become Young's decades-long battles with the music industry from 90s Ticketmaster to the 2020s and Spotify. "On the Beach" is classic Young disillusionment in a 12-bar blues format, albeit with some great non-bluesy chord changes here and there.
I suppose the genre labels of Country Rock and/or Folk Rock fit this album, but for me, this is more akin to the "Alt-Country" movement of the 90s-00s. I'm reminded of Ryan Adams' "Heartbreaker" on tracks like "Motion Pictures (For Carrie)" and "See the Sky About to Rain." Neil Young is making timeless music on this album. But I suppose that's to be expected from a musical genius like Young. It's a sad album at many points, but there still seems to be a sense of hope running through it. Contemplative and wistful and weird in places, On the Beach grows on me with each listen. The power in the lyrics, the simplicity of the accompaniments, Young's meditative strumming. Essential listening for the sad bastard in all of us. 4 Stars.
Yes! I love this album. My ex-brother-in-law introduced this to me 25 years ago (I miss that guy). We were talking about concept albums, and he brought this one up. I get that this isn't for everyone (wait until you read my take on Scritti Politti!), but the hooks, melodies, and production are all top shelf.
Much has been made of the Beatles' obvious influence on this album, and sure, the chamber-pop sound has plenty of roots in the Beatles' more whimsical output. It's impossible to hear "Big Day" without recognizing the influence of "Rain" or "Magical Mystery Tour." But what I especially love about Skylarking is the consistency of the sound production from song to song while preserving each track as its own thing. It's a fun album, plain and simple. There are also elements of R.E.M. here, and in turn, you can hear the influence of this album on R.E.M.'s late 80s output - whether or not that's real, it's what I hear.
Some things I really love:
The opening 4 tracks and the way they all work together;
The transition from "Ballet..." to "1000 Umbrellas" and the lyrical cadence of that track with its Elenor Rigby-esque strings;
The absolute weirdness of "Another Satellite" and the harmonic dissonance in its verses with that odd refrain - but I especially love Andy Partridge's vocal delivery of the chorus - with that note on "orbit" just out of his range;
The jazziness of "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" - so croony and bordering on the edge of cheese;
That guitar riff in "Sacrificial Bonfire" and the big bass drum punctuations - then the full orchestrations in verse two - an excellent end to the original run of this album.
Side note - for whatever reason, I'm reminded of Blur's "Parklife" after listening through this album today.
Not so hot take - "Dear God," although a phenomenal track on its own, is out of place on this album. No matter where you place it, it disrupts the continuity. I remember when first discussing the album, my ex-BIL mentioned that it was the most popular track from the album. I was perplexed. This is still a 5, regardless.
Okay - first time through this one. RYM lists this album as primarily "Downtempo" - and then includes about 40 esoteric sub-genres. As I'm listening, I guess that designation fits well - I don't generally think of anything with vocals as truly "ambient" and this is certainly slow enough to disqualify an IDM designation.
The chill-out trend in music was a bit overdone in the 00s - my girlfriend at the time listened to a ton of those chill-out samplers. Good background music, but nothing that stood out. This album has that vibe, but more in a Dido or Air fashion than the generic crap she listened to. In fact, if you listen to this on regular speakers, you're missing a lot of the subtleties that are going on in the production. There are clicks and pops that come through on a good set of headphones that I believe set this album apart.
I'm five tracks in, on "Poor Leno," and my curiosity has finally been piqued - or at least alerted to the fact that this is a new track. It's uptempo for sure - but the vocal melody is complex and interesting - no idea what the words are beyond "Poor Leno..." but that hardly seems to be the point. So now that I'm tuned in - the next track (A Higher Place) has a cool 8-bit sounding drum track - again, something I think you need to hear through headphones to really appreciate. But I'm not a big fan of the repeating vocal sample or sped-up guitar lick or even the Yanni-esque piano line melody.
Ooh - I've heard "Remind Me" before. Probably an alogrithm dropping it into something that started off with Portishead or Aphex Twin. The melodic figure carries this track as the beat is rather straightforward. It's a well-devised couplet - good contour. This track should have been longer.
I'm lost again on this next track - there is some harmonic confusion with the sax sample - it just sounds inconsistent. The final track has some really cool phasing and deacying synth work about 2 minutes in that should have formed the whole track - but it takes too long to get there.
Look, on an album like this that is largely electronic instrumentals stitched with samples and manipulations, I think it's important to pick a lane. There are half-formed ideas here and there, some odd transitions within and between tracks, and occasional harmonic misses. But for a debut from a Norwegian group without the inital resources or exposure of UK or American contemporaries, this is still an impressive album worth a repeat listen. 3 Stars.
I mean - I feel like this is one of those albums that entitled Boomers hold in high esteem because it represents a time and place that they alone occupied during the 60's RNR genesis - "oh, you like Jimi Hendrix? well, without Love there would be no Jimi Hendrix or the Doors or, or, etc."
"Forever Changes" is a great album by Love. And this is another album by Love. Maybe I'm not in the right headspace for this album today - but how does an album like this with a 19-minute grunting jam session on its second side become a crucial album on a list that only includes *checks notes - ONE BILLY JOEL ALBUM??! This should have been an EP.
Okay - rant over. Maybe. Side one isn't terrible - in fact, it's a pretty impressive production for 1966 - predating many of the otherwise early psychedelic touchstone albums. "She Comes in Colors" is a good track - but I enjoy it even more as "She's a Rainbow" by the Stones - I guess there were no grounds for litigation over copyright? Outside that curiosity - there's not much that seems memorable here - but certainly plenty that others may have found inspirational, given its 1966 release and Love's shows at the renowned Whisky a Go Go in LA. 2.5 Stars.
I know this is coincidental, but just yesterday I railed on the absence of Billy Joel albums on this list (this is the only one) while reviewing the Love album that is not Forever Changes, and today...
Anyhow - I understand that Billy Joel has problematic lyrics here and there, has a sound that some may call cheesy, and isn't often described as an all-round decent guy. But, damn - these are some great songs. And The Stranger isn't an isolated incident. There are five singles from this album that have stood the test of time - dare I say that they are a legit part of the fabled Great American Songbook? Yes I dare, especially "Just the Way You Are" and "She's Always a Woman," overt sexism notwithstanding. That Fender Rhodes on "Just the Way..." is just top shelf. Come ON! I'm now aware that everyone loves Vienna - a helluva song - but not one that I was even familiar with a decade ago. My favorite track here has to be "Only the Good Die Young" - that intro and opening line are just too good...overt uh, lots of stuff notwithstanding. 5 Stars.
I'm happy to see this album on the list. The first two tracks are great to have on a running playlist. "Under the Pressure" sets a perfect pace for a 9-minute mile. I have a distinct memory of a rainy fall morning - running down a trail with my dog, "Under the Pressure" chugging along with me. "Red Eyes" fits this mood as well. All of the long tracks may be off-putting to some, but I like the groove that develops over time in these tracks. This may not be post-rock, but there is that sense about it. Each track unfolds slowly over an ever-present, ever-steady beat. The guitar work is Tom Petty and Dire Straits, with Talk Talk and OMD synth-pop. I see the Waterboys listed as an influence and absolutely agree.
This album has a tendency to fade into the background as you listen - and sometimes you really want that. For me, it's a bit like Sigur Rós - music you can enjoy passively and still tune in actively if you want and enjoy it just as much. The sound is consistent and true to itself all the way through - that's especially impressive when you consider that the album took nearly two years to record. I love the transition from the shifting instrumental "The Haunting Idle" to the steady beat of "Burning." 4 Stars
I had a whole write-up of this album - but I guess I forgot to click on "save" yesterday. In short - I like the Quincy Jones sample in the opener, there are a number of decent background grooves, I'm not overly fond of the vocal loops, good trip-hop, but mostly forgettable. If I really want background music that I can ignore - I usually let the algorithm suss that out for me. 3 stars.
I have a confession to make about Hip-Hop: LoveBelow/Speakerboxxx by OutKast was the first hip-hop album I bought. Well, that's not entirely true - the first album of any kind that I bought with my own money was To The Extreme by Vanilla Ice, which I bought on cassette from Musicland in the mall. But between 1990 and 2003 I bought many many albums and until OutKast, none of them were hip-hop. Since then, my journey though hip-hop has been largely educational and experimental and I'd like to thank OutKast for putting me on the right path.
On it's surface, Stankonia is easy to dismiss as the album that contains OutKast's 2nd biggest hit: "Ms. Jackson." But the slow groove of "So Fresh, So Clean" and the frenetic weirdness of "Snappin' & Trappin'" are much more representative of the real focus of OutKast's sonic direction on this album - to me anyhow.
There is endless variation on this album, hooks coming in unexpected places, like the funky synth bass line in "Xplosion" or the "hahahaha's" in "We Luv Deez Hoez" - and is that a Roland CR-78 on Humble Mumble? Probably not, but that rhythm in the first few minutes is very old-school DM.
Well - I do love this album. Lots of catchy choruses, conscious lyrics, great hooks, complex beats - it's a stepping stone from the complexity of Aquemini to the pop-crossover concept of SpeakerBoxxx/The Love Below. 4-stars.
Okay - this is a new one for me. Is this trip-hop? Synth-pop? Looking at the streams and other info, it looks like the cover of Neil Young's "Only Love..." is the most popular track here. Interesting, it's been simplified a bit too much harmonically for my taste, but I guess that lends itself well to the house feel. Ah, and then the endless repetition of a "movie-line sample" in "Wilson." Samples like this always remind of the Joker's line that is sampled in Prince's Batdance: "This town needs an enema!" - the sonic collage technique that would eventually lead to the genius of DJ Shadow and Avalanches, but here it just sounds a bit dated.
Halfway through and I'm enjoying this at a pretty mid-level. I keep waiting for something novel in the sound - an interesting chord change or something...but it's just mellow and chill and easy to place into the background. "She's the one" is not a well-executed track; the vocals are pitchy - and in an electronic atmosphere, it really sticks out. Phew - I'm barely halfway through this? I don't know how many tonal centers this music runs through but I can safely say that so far, it's not enough. C'mon - "Stoned to Say the Least" has the same beat and bassline for over 6 minutes - and it changes only because the elements begin to drop out toward the end.
"Nothing Can Stop Us" is by far the best track here - and the only one I was familiar with. And it's largely due to the very effective use of the Dusty Springfield sample. It's ahead of its time for 1991, for sure.
I'm afraid it's a bit downhill from there. "Kiss and Make Up" has a nice Ace of Base-type beat. "Like the Swallow" is weird - almost in a post-rock way. I kind of dig it, but it's so far out of place that I don't understand what it's doing here. Aaaaannnd then the vocals come in. I just can't get past the unsupported singing. I almost wish Trent Reznor would make a guest appearance on this track and give it the punch it deserves.
I don't get the hype. 2 stars.
