1001 Albums Summary

First two notes was all it took. What an album. Smooth voice. Lyrics. All of it. What a way to start this journey. Already had Northern Sky downloaded but we miss out on so much with the absence of records that we listened to grove to groove. Has a bit of a Rodrigues vibe; orchestration is delicious. Released about two weeks after a loved one died. Makes ‘I could have been’ a bit sad and sorry to listen to, and somewhat tragic when finding out that this remarkable self-taught young Englishman was himself dead four years later.

Triggers a summer of witnessing a teenaged friend slip into depression. We had so few albums so we listened to this one over and over. Listening to it now, a few songs are decent, others just sound like Morrison is an aging lounge act, drunk and lacking energy. Saw his grave in Paris with same depressed friend a few years later. The whole thing now gives me the ick.

Listened to the full album but didn’t realize I was on track 6 before figuring out I’d heard them all the first time around. Everything sounds the same, but in this era, the songs were all about dancing—course you’d just want them to just keep swinging with your partner from one tune to the next. Sinatra’s voice is like another instrument in the band, not forced, not overtaking, just included. Around and around the floor you go, oh fox-trotting fiends of the post-war baby boom begetting generation!

If you’ve ever painted with watercolours, you’ll know that the outcome is about timing and the right amount of saturation of keep colours true—too much pigment mixing with too much water and you’ll end up with mud. This album is 11 tracks of mud. Who can hear the strings in the background over the whacking drums, and that’s before you mix in Adele’s overstretched voice. There is nothing subtle here. I really want to like this--I mean, come on, it’s Adele, but she sounds like a kid learning to play the clarinet: Too much air and then, cracks and screeches that make your molars ache.

In the spirit of 1001 albums, listened to the whole thing. Would I do that again? Nope, but have at it if you like the idea of juvenile gangsta Beavis and Butt-Head. A reminder to listen to more Snoop.

First album I bought with hard-earned babysitting money. I still have it and still know all the lyrics to every single song. So many times you’d never hear if you didn’t listen to the entire thing. Some a bit weak…well, honestly many more than just some. Listening to it, I wonder who has the harder job--Bernie or Elton? Title song earns a 5, Dirty little girl a 1. Album overall, middle of the road: 3