1001 Albums Summary

Jimmy Hendrix probably is one of the most if not the most citied influence amongst rock bands even today. I only knew a few of his songs before going into this album. What can I say: The man deserves the legendary status that has. At its strongest points Electric Ladyland feels like Jimmy is sharing otherworldly experiences he gotten in a alternative, probably drug induced, reality. His voice and guitar playing are extremely expressive, the production is raw and feels authentic. Overall this record has this mythic quality about it that really stands the test of time. Still, Ladyland is not a 'perfect' album to me. The frequent jams during the album are extensive, sprawling and experimental. At the time probably every original and wild - However, since Hendrix is so influential a lot of the musical ideas he presents are hardly surprising. The jams were not unpleasant, since the raw artistic intent Hendrix puts into the music still is engaging. Still for me the more loose parts of the album fell a bit flat. Overall, really strong album that I have a lot of respect for.

I have a blind spot for what happened in the music scene in the 10s and for Soul music. Needless to say, I had no idea what I was getting myself into with this album. Overall this was a pleasant and entertaining listen. I especially liked the lyrics on this one which kept me engaged throughout. Favorites songs were: Rich Kids, Crack Rock, Pyramids & Monks. The small interludes sprinkled throughout the album are another highlight. At times hilarious, they set the theme of this album very well. I also liked the guitar work. However, the vocal performance did not emotionally engage me much, dampening the overall impact of the album for me. Overall a strong 3 for me.

Very solid classic blues rock with some jazz influences to spice the music up. The mix works surprisingly well: While the more formulaic blues influences keep the music grounded the jazz parts add enough spice that it's not boring. When the instrumental parts sprinkled throughout are, overall, great. Especially the guitar playing, which has a very contemporary sound to it, presented some interesting ideas that clicked with me. I like the vocal performance on this track: The voice of the lead singer blends really nicely into the sound of the band and the delivery has just enough lunch to be not boring. Of course it helps that the record has some generally catchy hooks.. Favorite track is probably Razor Boy which uses its musical ideas to create a contemplative atmosphere. What's holding the record back are the parts where the band go full "jam mode". At times these parts overstayed their welcome and playing felt too unintentional, almost random to me. Some of the tracks even end with a fade out while the band continues to jam. A bit more focus and this record would be the best thing since sliced bread. As it stands the album is a light to decent 4 out of 5 for me.

Number of the Beast, The Trooper and Run for the Hills - That was my understanding of Iron Maiden to this point. Color me surprised when I tapped into their debut album: I had to double check if I got the right album playing. Not only was the vocal performance much more grounded than I was expecting, the album had some very tender moments (Remember Tomorrow and especially Transilvania into Strange World), which I found beautiful and moving. The album has a organic flow of tracks into each other, with a nice range of somber and more "in-your-face" moments. The more progressive parts of the tracks caught me a bit less: While I appreciate that the band was presenting some more extensive instrumental ideas, I found especially the power chord heavy riffs a bit too repetitive. Overall the album is a really strong, albeit a bit generic, debut. Definitely sparked my interest in the band. I feel a strong 3 out of 5 for this one.

Solomon has an amazing voice. His vocal performance feels powerful, majestic like a lion's roar. His voice is center stage in this album and that for good reason, as he carries most of the songs by himself. Overall this album oozes vintage charm and is a nice listen. The songwriting is a double faced sword. The easy to understand and campy lyrics are essential to the overall vibe of the album. However, I think the songwriting does not work with the overall concept of the album, which is love. The lyrics depict love in a very naive and over romanticized way - which would be fine if the tracklist had one or two songs with this subject matter. But, since ALL the songs are love songs and love is depicted in this overromantized way, the overall depiction feels shallow, inauthentic, almost tacky. I also had some problems with the flow of songs. Most of the songs had very little build up, or release: It was mostly Solomon roaring with his lions voice from the get to, while the band miyandered around one or two musical ideas. A couple of the tracks just ended completely random with a volume fade. For a couple of tracks that happened when Solomon sang at his highest intensity, leaving me puzzled. Overall, it is "nice" music as long as you don't think too hard about the lyrics, or want more than an amazing vocal performance. I feel a light to decent 2 for this one.

During my listen I jotted down a lot of reasons why this album shouldn't work. The tracks overuse simple A/B rhymes throughout. The lyrics come off as something written by a unruly teenager trying to seem all fly and gangsta, but ultimately read more immature than cool. The overall feel of the album is Bart Simpson trying to stick the finger to teachers/adults. "59: Christie Street" is basically "Lolz I saw a vagina!" The lines are delivered in cartoonish almost goofy voices which made me think of Justin Roiland. It's like Mr. Meseeks and Mr. Poppy Butthole came together to record a hip hop album. However: Somehow it works. The trio delivers their wonky lines with such authenticity and ernisty that it comes off as fun, but never silly. It's the neighbourhood teenagers bullshit boasting about their misdeeds in such an endearing way that is infectious. The rebellious rascal energy of these troublemakers reminded me of my own teenage mindset, their bears made my head bop. I love that this album has moments like "5-Piece Chicken Dinner" which have no other purpose than to be fun, adding to this vibe. Ultimately I think it's a fun album, but it's too long for what it brings to the table. I think the album would have achieved the same energy and message at half its playtime. As it stands, It is a light 3 for me.

Brutal, Morbid and Cartoonish. This album feels like listening to "Tales from the Crypt: The Musical - 18+ Edition". My favorite track is the opener "Song of Joy". It tells of a mysterious family murder while leaving who did the deed open. It is implied that the culprit is the poor soul telling this story, but we cant be sure. Now they are asking us to open our doors for them. Probably a bad idea, but their morbid story was so exciting and the prospect of them telling us more of his tales is too enticing ... I couldn't think of a better introduction to an album of this kind. The following tracks are a mixed bag. Strong tracks are "Where the Wild Roses Grow" and "The Curse of Milhaven" which engage due to their drama and interesting reveals. "Lovely Creature" and "Death is not the End", are also to my liking, letting their horror unfold between lines. However, most of the tracks are more "Show, don't tell" and focus on blatantly describing gruesome acts of violence. Worst offender is the 14 minute long "O'Malley's Bar" which feels like a school shooters power fantasy. "Stagger Lee" is extremely profane for no reason. "The Kindness of Strangers" concludes that trusting strangers will only get you raped and killed. It is dark humor that aims for nothing more than shock value. To some this might be distasteful, for me it's just boring. The music in this album couldn't stand on its own without the lyrical content. While the musical ideas presented are interesting enough, they are repeated over tracks that are often a bit longer than they should be. Ultimately, I can appreciate what this album is going for, but for me it is too blunt. I prefer ghost stories to be subtle, mysterious and eerie. This has too much splatter for my taste. It's a light to decent 2.