1001 Albums Summary

It’s good. I don’t think it’s anything absurdly original or out of the box as it mostly carries on from where Roxy Music started (particularly Psycho Killer). I find David Byrnes lyrics to be kind of bland and uninteresting on certain songs as well. It strays a bit too arty for my personal liking through the middle section of the album, but there’s first 2 songs and the last 2 are stellar. There’s some genuine belters on this album, so I can’t knock it too harshly. 3 stars, they’ve done much better.

Very enjoyable experience. Not quite touching the sides of trip hop yet like Bjork does in future but that doesn’t diminish at all from the album. The choice of samples is fantastic, coupled with the Icelandic influence and unusual rhythmic lyrical patterns. Its absorbing. And the bass sounds phenomenal. Bit of a fall off in the last 4-5 songs from the heights of the A-side but it’s just a very comprehensive project that makes you wanna dance, sing, nod your head. Crying and One Day are classics. Very good album. Hard to ignore that she released multiple better albums tho.

To be perfectly honest, I don't really know what makes a jazz album good. I haven't spent enough time with them on my music journey. I can seriously appreciate the talent of the performers, however. The way they seem to flow through each other in waves, coming together at points, adventuring off into different rhythmic structures in others. It's mesmerising. There's never a point in the record that I am bored. I'm impressed by the subtleness of the bass, never overpowering the focal piano. Endeavouring on runs in the gentlest way. Evans himself never puts so much as a finger out of line, it's phenomenal. Alas. I wish I could say I understand what makes great jazz great. No skips. Lovely music.

I think my rating for this is significantly increased by Papa Was a Rolling Stone, and the final two tracks which are funky as anything. Motown is not really my area of expertise, but I've listened to enough of it and the soul scenes that came before and after to say that I think there are probably 25-50 better projects than this one, including one or two of their own. That does not detract from the incredible musicianship on this album, however. Particularly the brass and bass, which are subtle but provide that secondary point of interest to the singing ensemble. Do Your Thing is a prime example of this. Will I be listening again? Yeah, I don't see why not. Will I be listening often? No, not by any means. It's no What's Going On. It's not even comparable to The Temptations Sing Smokey. But it's a lot of fun.

It's a very gorgeous experience. The guitar melodies are so intricate, yet full bodied and absorbing. His voice is intoxicating. You can barely take your ears away from the album. Genuinely sounds like it could have been produced today. I can definitely see how it has influenced so many different artists, though perhaps not as clearly I might if I had listened to the entirety of his discography. Further, it's always a nice breath of fresh air to hear something so creative without the reliance on a rhythm section. All that knocks it down is my misunderstanding of the folk genre I'm afraid. I can appreciate the craft, the loveliness of the songwriting and singing, the self-examining lyrics. Maybe if I was more cultured. Or if I'd grown up with Simon & Garfunkel instead of The Smiths.