One Album A Day - 012
As I noted before, I've been working through the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, as presented though the 1001 album generator web site. My goal is to present a week (or so) of reviews, once every week (or so).
So here's the next few albums I listened to:
# - Year - Album - Artist - Rating - Global
100 - 1973 - Space Ritual - Hawkwind - 2 - 2.71
101 - 1989 - Disintegration - The Cure - 3 - 3.8
102 - 2012 - Channel Orange - Frank Ocean - 2 - 3.37
103 - 1982 - The Message - Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five - 3 3.28
104 - 1974 - Bad Company - Bad Company - 4 - 3.27
105 - 1968 - The White Album - Beatles - 4 - 4.18
106 - 1973 - Head Hunters - Herbie Hancock - 5 - 3.57
107 - 2000 - Heartbreaker - Ryan Adams - 3 - 3.02
108 - 2000 - Chore of Enchantment - Giant Sand - 2 - 2.71
109 - 1995 - Garbage - Garbage - 4 - 3.35
110 - 2000 - The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem - 1 - 3.53
111 - 1980 - Kilimanjaro - The Teardrop Explodes - 3 - 2.93
112 - 1997 - Tellin’ Stories - The Charlatans - 4 - 2.96
And this posting's Reviews:
112 - Tellin’ Stories - The Charlatans - 4
Yet another Brit-pop album... I does seem like there's a lot of late 20th century UK bands (that I've never heard of) on this project. Whatever.
Looking at Wikipedia, it seems these guys' claim to fame is touring in support of Oasis. Although this album did hit #1 in UK (but apparently did not chart in US).
Whatever. This is my favorite (so far) of these, it doesn't sound like all the others. Good solid rock feel, the vocals aren't strained, the bass sounds good. The songs are pretty upbeat and catchy. I'll be listening to this again, I was thinking high 3, maybe round to 4. But the more I listened, the more I dug it. Easy 4
111 - Kilimanjaro - The Teardrop Explodes - 3
Generic 1980 Brit-pop. I guess it is pleasant.... enough. Really, it's fine... really. I mean, I feel like I ought to like this. And I don't dislike it. But it is nothing especially special.
I've never heard of The Teardrop Explodes, and I was still pretty musically savvy in 1980. I was doing the whole "college radio" thing back then, they clearly didn't make any splash in the US.
Anyway, easy 3.
110 - The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem - 1
Well, at least it's clear right off with what's in store, with the 25 second "announcement". Coarse and profane, misogynous, homophobic, violent, that's this album. In the song Marshall Mathers, he raps "I think I was put here to annoy the world".. well A for effort, if not execution. I'm not impressed, I'm not outraged either. It just seems so very trite. And long, at over 70 minutes.
That said, the song "Stan" has a pretty cool sound / groove. But the lyrics follow the ramblings of a pathetic fan who kills himself and his pregnant girlfriend because Eminem didn't respond to fan letters fast enough. Cheerful, huh?
Most of the grooves are tolerable, better than a lot of the Hip Hop I've been fed through this project. But Hip Hop is supposedly about the lyrics, and the lyrics here are pretty much intolerable.
Note: Spotify only has 17 of the 19 songs from this album, but you know, I've had enough and won't dig up those other.
I was going to give this a 2 since some of the grooves are decent, but sheesh. The crap messaging knocks it down to 1/5. I have to wonder about what kind of person love this stuff.
109 - Garbage - Garbage - 4
Somebody was listening to a lot of Nirvana.... At least that was my first thought when I put this on. But it moves in different directions as we go along, and even that first song works.
My expectations were pretty low going in, another mid 90's album from a band I've never heard of. With a name like "Garbage". But I'm pleasantly surprised. This is rather good. Actually, quite good. Some of it it really good! The music is mostly upbeat, solid alt-rock. Lots of good bass, which is a big thing to me. The lyrics are a little angst-y, but not excessive. Nothing too complicated. Really good, clean sound.
Really, this is the kind of thing I came to this project for. I'll need to listen to this a few more times. 4/5
108 - Chore of Enchantment - Giant Sand - 2
Well... meh? This album didn't hook me. It didn't delight me. Nor did it offend me. Or challenge me. I didn't hate it, or like it. There must be some reason it is on the list, some reason why I "must" to listen to it before I die. But I can't discern it.
The vocalist generally sounds like he's half asleep. The playing is competent, but laid back. clean and clear, but nothing memorable. At best it hints at Velvet Underground, but without the edge, the spirit, the ... well the danger. Maybe Neil Young's "Tonight's The Night" without the raw emotion and angst.
My first thought was to give this a 3, because it is certainly competent. But it creates no real emotional response at all. The Allmusic review sums it up nicely: "Many of the songs tend to drift by without grabbing hold". And a reviewer at Sputnik Music said: "There’s just enough meat to keep the listener interested throughout the sixty minutes of Chore of Enchantment." No, there's not enough meat. Boring is a sin in music. That'll knock it down to a 2.
107 - Heartbreaker - Ryan Adams - 3
I'm not familiar with Ryan Adams, so I checked the reviews... it appears that Mr Adams is a reprehensible human being. Well, that's unfortunate. On the other hand, Rock Star and Reprehensible Human Being go together more often than I'd like to think. I'm not sure starts were better in my youth, but the lack of 24 hr news cycle and no social media provided a level of insulation, and maybe allowed a level of willful ignorance on fans' behalf.
Anyway, what about the music? I was pleased that this album from the year 2000 is not all synths, autotune and drum boxes, with no hint of rap or hip hop. The opening song has a rollicking feel, somewhat reminiscent of Dylan's "From A Buick 6". That's a nice start, but also the high point. It doesn't drop off much, at least. This is a pretty relaxed feeling album, with a very "natural" feel. Acoustic guitar, harmonica, a touch of banjo. Un-affected vocals. Very "real". Especially compared to other albums from 2000, like Britney Spears, Eminem, NSYNC.
Really, this is the type of sound that I generally like, and that's good. But it's just not especially memorable. Still, a lot better than I expected. Might've been pushing towards a 3.5, but gotta dock a bit for the personal "problems".
3/5
106 - Head Hunters - Herbie Hancock - 5
Proving that Funky can be Fun, Head Hunters is one of the great Jazz albums ever. Peaking at #13 on the Billboard 200 (in 1974), it had great crossover success, and is one of the top selling jazz albums of all time. Wikipedia says it was “Among the defining moments of the [then] emerging jazz fusion and jazz-funk movements…” That pretty well sums it up.
I own this album, am quite familiar with it. I’d certainly recommend it to anyone interested in classic Jazz, fusion or funk
It is an easy 4.5/5, in this case I’ll round up because of its significance.
5
105 - The White Album - Beatles - 4
The Beatles are probably the most important band in 75 years. Read the biography of almost any rock musician from the late 60’s through the early 80s and you’ll find out they were inspired to take up music by the Beatles. The Beatles released a dozen albums in just over 7 years in the UK, and 11 of them reached #1. Yellow Submarine “only” made it to #3. This was repackaged into 17 US releases, 14 of which hit #1 (with the other 3x hitting #2). They are iconic, they are pervasive. In the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, anybody who listened to music knew Beatles songs, even if they didn’t realize they were Beatles songs.
So, what about The White Album? This is the 9th UK release, coming on the heels of the perfect trio of “Rubber Soul”, “Revolver” and “Sgt. Pepper…”. The bar couldn’t be set higher. And this album comes close to meeting expectations, but falls a little short. A double album, with 30 songs clocking in at over 90 minutes. It’s certainly ambitious. And there’s no shortage of brilliant music. From harder songs like “Helter Skelter” and “Back in the USSR”, to some of the prettiest songs they did, like “Blackbird” and “I Will”. And everything in between. And there-in lies the problem.
This album is all over the place, and sometimes seem like the members are lurching 4 different directions from song to song. I’ve seen it referred to as having a “fragmentary style”. Strains within the band are well documented, and reportedly, only 14 of the 30 songs feature all four members performing. Revolution 9 brings Yoko Ono into the process, and should never have seen the light of day. In retrospect, this album showed that the Beatles were not going to last much longer.
BUT (and a big but) it all works out and the wealth of high-spots outweigh the weak spots. I wish it were more cohesive, I wish that it were more concise. I wish that “Revolution 9” had been discarded. I wish I could go 4.5, but that’s not an option. And I can’t give 5 stars to an album that devotes 8+ minutes to Revolution 9.
So 4/5 it is.
104 - Bad Company - Bad Company - 4
Bad Company hit the scene in the summer of 1974. The summer before I started high school, a fine time. And the album made a huge splash, topping the Billboard album charts and selling 5x Platinum. And I had one of those 5 million sold, mine was on 8 track tape. Yes, this was the sound of that particular slice of the 70’s. It was all over the radio, and one of my heavy-rotation albums back then. annd still a staple of and almost every song from the album was a staple of Classic Rock today. And I still listen to it occasionally 50 years later.
That said, it’s not really “compelling”…. It’s not deep and meaningful. One of my favorites, but never my actual favorite. Just good, solid, mid-70s rock. It’s a notable coincidence that the first single (Can’t Get Enough) was on the charts at the same time as the Rolling Stones’ “It’s Only Rock And Roll (But I Like It)”. And sometimes that’s enough.
Bad Company would go on to release 4 more successful albums in the 70’s, but none were as good (or as successful) as this debut.
Solid 4.5/5, but rounds down to 4
103 - The Message - Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five - 3
Well, I saw this was another Hip Hop album, and my expectation were really low. But it’s also from 1982, so maybe there’s hope. I’ve heard of grandmaster flash, but didn’t have any associations.Fortunately, my expectations were misplaced.
The first song “She’s Fresh” really nails the funk, pegs the scale.
“Its Nasty” rips off (sorry, samples) the riff from Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love”, but build it into a better song.
“Scorpio” has a good groove, but I don’t dig the mechanical vocal effects…. Guess that was cutting edge in 1982 (yes I was there).
I’m not a huge fan of “It’s a Shame”, more beat box and scratching standard 80’s rap, not much groove, but harmless.
“Dreaming’” is an homage to Stevie Wonder, complete with a spoken dedication, and interlude. Frankly the “dreamin ‘bout you Stevie” stuff is kind of creepy.
“You Are” continues in the same vein as Dreamin’, sort of standard soulful slow dance song, with lots of synth strings. Nice piano, though. There’s a spoken part that reveals the “You” is Jesus Christ, which comes off as discordant in the context of what sounds like a seduction song.
“The Message” - oh yeah, I’ve heard this. A little too heavy on the programmed beat, and certainly more rap than funk. But it’s got some funky in there, and is an indication where the style can excel.
Overall? Not bad. Several pretty good songs, and several that were ok. “Dreamin’” and “You Are” are almost jarringly out of place, and pretty forgettable. That said I can see why this was popular.
very solid 3/5
102 - Channel Orange - Frank Ocean - 2
I’ve listened to more Hip Hop in the 100+ days of this project, than in the whole of my life previously. And I’m still not a fan.
This is not really bad, though. The soul aspect helps along. And the beats are more shuffling than pounding. But still too much fixed beat, too much mostly spoken vocals, not enough melody. Too much auto tune (anything more than none is too much). But there is some sense of these being actual songs, and that’s good.
I was feeling generous, was going to give a three, but the longer it went, the more I lost interest. I found myself checking “how much more” when it was just past 1/2 through… too often. By the time I was about 75% through, I was down to a 2. Sorry, just too much.
2/5
101 - Disintegration - The Cure - 3
I’ve never listened to the Cure (before this). My impression is based on their reputation as providing “introspective gothic rock” for this kids who dressed all in black and moaned about hating life. I watched their induction ceremony to the rock and roll hall of fame, which pretty much reinforced that. So let’s actually listen to an album and see what we think:
The sound is pretty lush, a “big room” feel. Lots of synth. The pacing is generally sluggish, the vocals are sort of strained, a tormented soul calling out. Modern English meets Dumptruck. Wikipedia called the band’s sound “dark and tormented”, and I guess that fits. But this album isn’t that harsh, and it rather works. Not the kind of thing that’ll end up in my collection, but I can certainly respect it. The hit Lovesong is pretty good, pulls the elements together nicely. A bit faster, a bit less mopey, the keyboards are brighter, and an accessible 3:29. A nice change from most of the album’s 5-9 minute songs.
Now this mix could be really irritating, but like many releases in the early days of CDs, it is excessively long, clocking over 70 minutes.
Overall, I’ll give this a 3/5, I’d go 3.5 if I could.
100 - Space Ritual - Hawkwind - 2
I would probably like this if I used or had ever used, hallucinogens. But I don't / didn't. I had some friends in college (late 70's) who had some Hawkwind, and they were into a lot of the harder "mind stimulants". That must be the key. Don't get me wrong, I like prog music: yes, ELP, Genesis... even Triumvirat, Crack The Sky and Nektar. Pink Floyd, ya know. But this compares to Yes like Yes compares to ABBA... It is pretty far out there.
This is an early 70's live album, but the quality seems poor even by those standards. Space Ritual is very muddy sounding, and the vocals sound very far away. The squeaks and whistles and "space sounds" are right up front, though. On the other hand, maybe that's on purpose? Musically it's not horrible, but the jams don't really have any direction, and the weird sounds rather bug me. Looking at Wikipedia, I see that Lemmy was the bass player here, before going on to Motorhead. I'm not sure what that means, but it is an interesting factoid.
I don't hate this, but a cleaner sound, and a bit more concise presentation would help a lot. And some of it is pretty decent. But a lot more isn't decent. As it is, clocking in at almost 90 minutes, this just seems like wretched excess.
Sorry, this is a 2, I struggled to make it a little past 1/2 way through.
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