One Album A Day - 013

 

 One Album A Day - 014

 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).  It's actually been a while since I posted, sorry.

So here's the next few albums I listened to:

• # - Year - Album - Artist - Rating - Global
• 125 - 1996 - Roots - Sepultura - 2 - 2.77
• 126 - 1969 - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - Neil Young and Crazy Horse - 5 - 3.53
• 127 - 1982 - Thriller Michael - Jackson - 5 - 4.23
• 128 - 1969 - In A Silent Way - Miles Davis - 5 - 3.62
• 129 - 1994 - Grace Jeff Buckley - 2 - 3.68
• 130 - 1976 - Ramones - Ramones - 4 - 3.57
• 131 - 2003 - Youth And Young Manhood - Kings of Leon - 4 - 3.15
• 132 - 1969 - Kick Out The Jams (Live) - MC5 - 4 - 2.92
• 133 - 2011 - 21 - Adele - 3 - 3.7
• 134 - 1962 - Green Onions - Booker T. and The MG's - 3 - 3.41
• 135 - 1992 - Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine - 2 - 4.02
• 136 - 1986 - E.V.O.L. - Sonic Youth - 2 - 2.88

Here's my summary page.

And this posting's Reviews:

136 - E.V.O.L. - Sonic Youth - 2

Sheesh. “My violence is a dream / a ‘real dream’ / a skinny arm / a crush on living sin”. … what the f- is that supposed to mean? I get it, you’re goth, you hate the world. Blah blah blah.

I looked at some of the critic’s comments on Wikipedia and I see comments like: “one of [Sonic Youth's] strangest albums", "a difficult album” and “no wave chaos." And "bring[s] form to the formless, tune to the tuneless, and … melody and composition on their trademark dissonance.”

Yeah. I can see all those descriptions here, but none of them appeal to me. I don’t suppose it sucks, but I can’t dig it either. But the further along I went, the less I liked it. Started at 3, worked down to 2

135 - Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine - 2

Rage against the machine? Well, these guys are certainly angry. The music isn’t horrible, but the lyrics are repetitive, and what passes for emotion is simply shouting. Did I mention the lyrics are repetitive. Yes, they’re repetitive. A line or phrase repeated over and over. Sometimes a pair of lines repeated, and then repeated again. With the occasional UGH thrown in. Did I mention that the words are repetitive? Maybe if I shouted it?

I know a lot of people like this…. But I got not place in my heart for it.

I’ll give the music a 3/5, there’s some interesting stuff here. -1 for the lyrics and shouting. 2/5

134 - Green Onions - Booker T. and The MG's - 3

Early 60’s instrumental groove. The title track is iconic, peaking at #3 on the US Hot 100, and topping the R&B chart. One of the great instrumental tracks, back when instrumentals were part of the hit mix.

Which leads to the downside. This is not an instrumental track, it’s an instrumental album from an instrumental band. A dozen tracks over 36 minutes. And while the song “Green Onions” is brilliant, the rest of it kind of blurs into the background. Maybe what you’d expect in the background of an early 60’s beach blanket movie.

I owned Green Onions on 45 back in the late 60’s, and I have a “Hits” album by Booker T and MGs. Their peaks are great, perfect for your oldies playlists. But the whole album wears a little thin, except as background music.

3/5

133 - 21 - Adele - 3

3.71

Global reviews

This is all very well done. Adele is certainly a talented singer. And the music is impeccably crafted, perfectly polished to a sheen. So why don’t I like it? It’s all so exacting, pretty. So… well, soulless. I felt no emotional connection to any of it. Nothing at all.

A very, VERY competent album. Which is really a letdown. I’m following it up with Dusty Springfield’s “Dusty In Memphis”…. Much better.  3/5

132 - Kick Out The Jams (Live) - MC5 - 4

From wikipedia: “critic Lester Bangs, writing his inaugural review for Rolling Stone, called Kick Out the Jams a "ridiculous, overbearing, pretentious album". And I say, yeah, so what? I’ll add that it is sloppy, and the recording is a bit muddy. But it is also raw and primal, and frankly wonderful.

Call it proto-punk, call it garage rock, call it whatever you want. But you can’t say it doesn’t rock. 4/5

131 - Youth And Young Manhood - Kings of Leon - 4

This record kicks off with a bang, the energetic “Red Morning Light”. Very fun rocker, nice clean sound. And it keeps on going in the right direction. This reminds me a little of looseness of the Stone’s “Exile on Main Street”, with a bit more Black Crowes feel. But higher energy.

Not a huge fan of the singer, but it doesn’t detract. Would like to hear a bit more bass and a bit less snare drum, but that’s just me. This’ll rate another listen. 4/5

130 - Ramones - Ramones - 4

The debut album of the Ramones, a record which shook the world. I remember my older brother playing this at high volume, and my being truly amazed. From the opening “Blitzkrieg Bop”, it starts at 100 mph and doesn’t let up. This is not virtuoso, but they play fast. The songs are short and sweet, 14 tunes in 29 minutes! Lyrically, the songs are not to be taken seriously, from “Beat on the Brat (with a baseball bat)” to “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”, this is simply fun.

Full disclosure, not only have I owned this album sine the late 70’s, I saw the Ramones live at a small club in Ohio in 1978…. And it was an experience to remember.

The only downside with the Ramones it that they are pretty much a 1-trick pony. But what a trick it is. Well worth having. 4/5

129 - Grace - Jeff Buckley - 2

All I knew of Jeff Buckley coming into this was his cover of Hallelujah, which I don’t especially like.

A bit overwrought, and a bit overblown. Faux “deep and meaningful”…. Instead of whining, we have tortured shouting. It does not ring my bell.  Apparently this was really successful, and is highly regarded. I can’t fathom why. There’s a couple of songs I don’t hate, that’s something. 2/5

128 - In A Silent Way - Miles Davis - 5

Miles Davis’s “Kind Of Blue” was one of the first Jazz albums I acquired, back in the late 70’s. That, and “Bitches Brew” are long time standards in my collection. But I’d never heard this one. Wikipedia says this is “Davis's first fusion recording, following a stylistic shift toward the genre in his previous records and live performances.” And it is not a subtle shift. Starting with electric piano, then electric guitar. It features two songs, one per album side. But the horn is certainly the same.

This has the “fusion” sound for sure, the keyboards dominate. The long somewhat rambling songs. But it all works, all the pieces come together into a really nice sum. This (like the best Jazz records) is going to take several listens to really digest. But I’ll make the effort, and can tell my appreciation will grow. There’s a real good chance this’ll get added to my collection. 5/5

127 - Thriller - Michael Jackson - 5

This album dominated the early 80’s. 7 of the 9 songs were released as singles, and all 7 made top 10. It is the top selling album in the world. Helped drive the concept of “meaningful” (and big budget) music videos. Influential? Oh yeah.

This is impeccably put together, every note a perfect. Everything grooves, the melodies are memorable, the hooks are perfect. There’s a reason this album dominated the world. It’s that good. That said, it’s pop. It’s not jazz, or classical, or even prog. It’s pop, but as good as pop gets.

The only downside is the creepy factor of Michael Jackson, which didn’t really come hot until later.  Easy 5

126 - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - Neil Young and Crazy Horse - 5

This is the first of a trio of essential albums from Neil Young. Between 1969 and 1972 he released “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”, After The Gold Rush” and Harvest”. An amazing trifecta of outstanding albums. All of which I’ve owned for many years.

From the opening of “Cinnamon Girl” through the last strains of “Cowgirl In The Sand”, the album is outstanding. It has the loose style that Young fostered with Crazy Horse, not sloppy, but “real”. Not polished but full of texture. Cowgirl, Cinnamon Girl are iconic Neil Young songs, along with Down By The River. The title track is a classic. The others are very solid complements.

All 3 of the aforementioned songs are 5/5, and this one kicked off the run.  Easy 5/5.

125 - Roots - Sepultura - 2

Well…. This is my first “metal” album here, and I simply don’t appreciate the genre. The vocals are the sound of angry puking, which seems to be a real “thing” in metal. It’s almost like every band is a parody of the style. I looked up the lyrics, and they seem benign, but the “chorus” is generally a single phrase repeated 4-6 times. The music is really driving, high energy…. Relentless…. Perhaps exhausting. And there’s not a lot of variation from song to song. By the time I was 40 minutes (10 songs) in, I was worn out and had to take a break.

There’s some moments here. The percussion / rhythms are often interesting. I almost liked Ratamahhatta, which seems to be in a foreign language (but not one that google translate could figure out).

On the other hand, Breed Apart found me thinking of a Spice-Girls-in-Hell kind of vibe…. I could almost sing along Wannabe’s “slam your body down and wind it all around”!

The instrumental Jasco and the tribal Itsari are pretty cool, but jarring it its deviation from the rest of the album. The last song is basically 12+ minutes of ambient jungle(?) sounds. It makes Beatles’ Revolution 9 seem like a pop song.

When I was in university, I went through a period where I would listen to the 1st side of Sex Pistols’ “Never Mind The Bollocks” to get pumped up before heading out to campus parties. I can see this might have a similar appeal. But that was many years ago, and was only for a few months. And only ~20 minutes at a time. I see a similar appeal here.

Not my thing, but better than a lot of stuff I’ve heard here. 2/5

One Album A Day - 013

   One Album A Day - 013

 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
• 113 - 2012 - Blunderbuss - Jack White - 4 - 3.43
• 114 - 1957 - At Mister Kelly's - Sarah Vaughan - 3 - 3.42
• 115 - 2008 - Dear Science - TV On The Radio - 3 - 3.17
• 116 - 1998 - Moon Safari - Air 4 - 3.56
• 117 - 1996 - Murder Ballads - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - 1 - 3.11
• 118 - 1975 - Marcus Garvey - Burning Spear - 4 - 3.2
• 119 - 1974 - The Grand Tour - George Jones - 4 - 2.75
• 120 - 1993 - Siamese Dream - The Smashing Pumpkins - 3 - 3.8
• 121 - 1974 - Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan - 4 - 3.42
• 122 - 1998 - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill - 3 - 3.64
• 123 - 1971 - What's Going On - Marvin Gaye - 5 - 3.96
• 124 - 1974 - Phaedra - Tangerine Dream - 3 - 2.7

Here's my summary page.

And this posting's Reviews:

124 - Phaedra - Tangerine Dream - 3

I remember the name Tangerine Dream, I think a friend's brother had one of their albums (back in the mid '70's). But I don't know that I've ever listened to them. Wikipedia notes the album features Tangerine Dream's "now classic sequencer-driven sound", and this site tags this as electronica which is one of my worst rated genres (123 reviews in).

This is very ambient, background-y, kind of random. Instrumental, and mostly keyboard / synthesizers. No drums. Shades of early Pink Floyd meets Kraftwerk. None of that is necessarily bad. But after the 17 minute title track, I'm still waiting for this to do SOMETHING. It's pleasant enough, but doesn't really have any discernable melodies, and seems to sort of meander around between motifs. Another quote on Wikipedia calls it "Layer upon layer of futuristic sounds piled one on top of the other until the whole thing climaxes in some interstellar void". That actually is a good summary. Except 50 years later, it is not so futuristic. Definitely background music, might seem really "deep" if you're stoned. But I'm not.

This is rated 2.7/5 on the site, I think that's probably good. Since I can't give it 2.7, I'll have to round. I'll go 3/5 because it's at least a bit different, not like the generic 90's Brit-Pop that comes up too often. That's being really generous, but 2 just seems overly harsh.

Side note: only 2 of 4 tracks are on Spotify, representing just over 25% of the album's playing time. I listened via Youtube, where I was able to pull up the entire album.

123 - What's Going On - Marvin Gaye - 5

Make it easy: 5/5. I wish I could give it 6/5. I know this album well, it is one of the albums I would qualify as "important". Something everyone should listen to before they die.

This is music with a message. That can be really hard to pull off without being overbearing, but Marvin Gaye nails it here. The music carries the message, but the message doesn't get in the way of the music. The iconic songs "What's Going On", "Mercy Mercy Me" and "Inner City Blues" are... well... iconic. Among the best. The rest of the album ties in and it all ties together.

There's a reason this album is near the top of everybody's "Best Albums" lists

122 - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill - 3

This is an album that I've heard of for years, it is certainly renowned. But if I've heard anything from it, I don't know it. Wikipedia says "neo soul and R&B album with some songs based in hip hop soul and reggae". I went into this cautiously optimistic. First song is totally hip-hop, meh. The more soul songs are pretty good. The more hip-hop, the less I like it. Lyrics like "So I keep makin' the street's ballads / While you lookin' for dressin' to go with your tossed salad"?? That's just dumb.

There's a lot of spoken interludes between songs, but I find them more distracting than adding to the experience. And I frequently found myself wishing the songs were around 4 minutes long vs 5-6. I have nothing against long songs, as long as there's a point. These don't really hold up to the length (IMHO).

“Doo Wop” is a high point, the hip-hop singing is offset by the solid musical groove. Then we move to “Superstar”, which leaves me cold. really cold. And so on. The more soul songs are better, the more hip-hop, not so much. There’s several songs that are pretty good for the genre, though, I can understand why it was popular, without loving it.  Solid 3.

121 - Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan - 4

Another one that I own and like. This is Steely Dan's 3rd album, and the last one where they were technically a band, rather than a vehicle for Fagen and Becker. I say "technically" because there were more than a dozen other players augmenting the 5 members of the band.

Regardless, this is a great album, probably my 2nd favorite behind their first (Can't Buy A Thrill). It has all the things that make Steely Dan great: solid pop sensibilities over a slightly Jazzy groove. precise songwriting, solid musicianship, well produced. But it also has the things that can make Steely Dan a little irritating. They's a bit clinical, perhaps too "clean". The lyrics can trend toward obtuse. And there's just a certain feeling that these guys KNOW they're good, and that they're smarter than all us mortals who are lucky enough to listen to them. With a song about Charlie Parker, and a Duke Ellington cover, these guys let you know they understand and appreciate "real" music. With references to The Queen of Spain, Sqonk's tears and and Napoleon... well these guys are beyond the average.

All that said, this remains a very good album. Most of the songs are good to great, and none stink. "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" is a prime 1974 single (#4 in US) and at least 1/2 of the album got solid AOR radio play. "Any Major Dude..." "Night by Night" and "Pretzel Logic" are outstanding. All my complaining doesn't change the fact that I enjoy this album, and have for years. Easily at least a 4. But not quite good enough to round to 4. I'll save that 5 for their debut, assuming it shows up on this list.

120 - Siamese Dream - The Smashing Pumpkins - 3

I certainly know OF the Smashing Pumpkins, though I couldn't name any songs off the top of my head. Digging into this, the sound is certainly familiar, and I'm pretty sure I've heard a few of these songs. But after an hour, it starts to blur together. Yeah it's grunge, and you can certainly hear similarities to Nirvana.

It OK, and has a few points that are higher than the rest. but nothing that hangs with me 30 years down the line. Solid 3, but nowhere near making 4.

3/5

119 - The Grand Tour - George Jones - 4

I’ve had some exposure to country music all along, starting with TV shows like Hee-Haw or Austin City Limits. And a few albums, notably compilations by Hank Williams and Buck Owens. But I wasn’t familiar with George Jones beyond the name.

I quite enjoyed this, though. It is classic 70’s country. The hit “Grand Tour” is pretty much the blueprint for “my baby left me” songs, and it really hits the mark. No footstompin’ music, and nothing like the “bro country” of today. This just oozes with heart and soul. Three chords and the truth.  Solid 4/5

118 - Marcus Garvey - Burning Spear - 4

My prior reggae experience is “The Harder They Come” soundtrack, Bob Marley’s “Legacy”, and a couple other pieces by people like Peter Tosh. It’s definitely a niche genre for me, but one I can appreciate, and occasionally enjoy.

I wasn’t familiar with Burning Spear, but this is certainly reggae. I’d say generic reggae, but that sounds like a negative. Maybe definitive is a better word. It has the relaxed, laid back groove that defines the genre, the primary driver of the songs. That and the vocal stylings. All very good. That said, it also has the one downside of reggae: it can all sort of blend together.

This is a solid offering, certainly worth the listen. There’s several standout songs, and all of it is good. This falls into the 3 to 4 range that is frightfully common as I go through the 1001 albums. I’ll round this one up, it is a refreshing change of pace, and a genre with which everybody should be familiar.  4/5

117 - Murder Ballads - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - 1

This is the 2nd Nick Cave album served up here. I rated that one “2”. This is more of the same, except the entire album is songs that relay the details of crimes of passion. Yeah, take a melancholy, mumbling singer, and have him recite grim and gory songs. With a healthy dose of gratuitous profanity. Yep, murder porn set to music. Example lyric: “I sang and I laughed, I howled and wept / I panted like a pup. / I blew a hole in Mrs Richard Holmes. / And her husband he stood up”…. Part of a 14.5 minute slog where he clinically describes 12 murders. No emotion, no passion, nothing. We don’t get a hint as to his motivations, the thoughts or fears of his victims…. Nothing. Just moderately graphic explanations as to how each is killed.

Seriously, 50+ minutes of this crap.

Apparently this was well received, though I can’t comprehend why. One Rolling Stone reviewer is quoted as saying “never before have manic elements elevated Nick Cave’s shtick to art”. Yeah, whatever…. I’ll stick with “crap”.

As before, the music isn’t horrible, though it is overall slow and slogging and dragging. Cave’s vocal style is not really singing, but more spoken in a morose, “I hate the world and myself” sort of tone.  Sorry, this doesn’t work for me at all. 1/5

116 - Moon Safari - Air - 4

The album kicks off well, with an interesting song, "La femme d'argent". Great groove, nice electric piano. Kind of Deodato meets Brian Auger and a dash of Kraftwerk. At its best, there's a smooth, jazz fusion feel. The longest song on the album, at just over 7 minutes.

It takes a notable step down for "Sexy Boy", with a decidedly inorganic sound, and useless vocals which mostly repeat the title over and over and over and over. Not a bad groove, though. "All I Need" rebounds. When they use "real' bass it groves so much better, and the vocals this time are carrying actual vocals.

It seems to bounce around between the two levels, really good, and OK. "Talisman" is great, "Remember " is meh.... etc.

But there's a charm here, and I overall enjoyed this album. Overall, I'd probably go 7/10 or 7.5/10. But this is a 5 point scale, and integers only. I'm rounding up today, because this is really interesting, and several of the songs are solidly good. So that's 4/5

115 - Dear Science - TV On The Radio - 3

Proof that all the good band names were used in the 20th century. TV on the Radio? At least we know it wasn't developed by a marketing agency. I've never heard of these guys, but looking at Wikipedia, it seems they were pretty well respected at the time.

They have some interesting things going on here, interesting rhythms, some cool vocal things in the background. Overall good sound. Not a huge fan of the lead singer, but not too detracting. Good variation in the songs, without seeming to ping-pong aimlessly. I enjoyed most of this, a couple of songs missed the (my) mark, but not badly. Not quite good enough to give it a 4, but super solid 3. Add it to the "check it out again" list.  3/5

114 - At Mister Kelly's - Sarah Vaughan - 3

I was a little disappointed here, but that could be a matter of expectations. It's fine , she's a great singer, but it didn't "wow" me. I'd really prefer a studio recording over live.

Easy 3, though. I was just hoping for more.  3/5

113 - Blunderbuss - Jack White - 4

Musically, this is pretty good. But I’m not a fan of Jack White’s singing voice. It seems like a cross between Cheech Marin on “Earache My Eye” and the guy from Red Hot Chili Peppers. Which is not (IMHO) a good thing.

But again, musically it is good. The songwriting is solid, the sound is good, nice variations in instrumentation and tone. There’s a lot of very nice piano scattered around. As the album progresses, I’m floating around between 3 and 4. But the further this goes the more I lean 4. Definitely will need to listen again.

4/5

One Album A Day - 012

  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

Here's my summary page.

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.

One Album A Day - 011

 One Album A Day - 011

 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
88 - 1979 - Reggatta De Blanc - The Police - 5 - 3.44
89 - 1969 - Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago - 4 - 3.19
90 - 1989 - Raw Like Sushi - Neneh Cherry - 3 - 2.71
91 - 1974 - I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight - Richard Thompson - 4 - 3.04
92 - 2005 - Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes - 3 - 3.46
93 - 1998 - Ray Of Light - Madonna - 3 - 2.96
94 - 1970 - Deep Purple In Rock - Deep Purple - 4 - 3.35
95 - 1990 - Fear Of A Black Planet - Public Enemy - 1 - 3.34
96 - 1978 - The Modern Dance - Pere Ubu - 3 - 2.54
97 - 1990 - Shake Your Money Maker - The Black Crowes - 4 - 3.29
98 - 1984 - A Walk Across The Rooftops - The Blue Nile - 3 - 2.87
99 - 2001 - Amnesiac - Radiohead - 3 - 3.44

Here's my summary page.

And this posting's Reviews:

99 - Amnesiac - Radiohead - 3

I only knew the name Radiohead, was totally ignorant on the music.

Overall, pretty decent. Well done, good sound. Don’t love the singer but not too bad. I can see why lots of people like this. But it didn’t really “wow” me either. May grow on me if I listen again.   3.5, round down to 3

98 - A Walk Across The Rooftops - The Blue Nile - 3

Hmm…. A Scottish band from 1984 that I’ve never heard of. Could be interesting. Check reviews, average rating is 2.87…. Uh oh.

It’s ok, nothing special. But then again, I never really “got” the rhythm sound of the 80’s. And especially the UK synth-pop bands. The drums are way too treble-y / compressed, there's way to much of the synth sounds that dominated the era. The songs are kind of down beat.... But it works OK, for what it is. And what it is is not what I prefer.   3/5, it wasn’t boring.

97 - Shake Your Money Maker - The Black Crowes - 4

I’ve owned this album since it was current (1990). I really liked it when it came out, and still enjoy / appreciate it. It really throws back to the blues-rock of the late 70’s, which I grew up on. Maybe reminiscent of Bad Company meets Grand Funk, with a big hat tip to the 70’s Stones and a few hints of Zeppelin. This got a lot of play on Mainstream Rock radio, that would’ve been how I discovered it. I was in my early 30’s, with a wife and 2 young kids and my job that had me on the road a lot; this was like comfort food for me.

33 years later it still gets played, but I wouldn’t call it essential. The high points are very high: Twice as Hard, Jealous Again, Hard To Handle (great Otis Redding cover), She Talks To Angels (one of the saddest songs of its time), Stare It Cold…. The rest is very solid.

There’s nothing too dramatic here, just good old fashioned straight ahead rock and roll. And there ain’t nothing wrong with that.   4/5

96 - The Modern Dance - Pere Ubu - 3

I know of Pere Ubu from back in the day, and I have the 1976 single “Final Solution” on a compilation album. But this album will be new to me. I’m pretty interested to listen to this. I “warmed up” by playing the aforementioned Final Solution, which I like (rated 3/5 stars on my iTunes). So on to the album.

I like the overall sound here, a little “unpolished”, good driving rhythms. Not a huge fan of the vocal stylings, but reminiscent of Television. And some of the more experimental passages aren’t my favorite. But this isn’t boring, it’s different, and there’s several high points that take me right back to 1978. Really, this is the kind of album I came to this project to hear. That said, this is certainly niche, and not something I expect to purchase.   Solid 3/5 for being ambitious, and interesting.

95 - Fear Of A Black Planet - Public Enemy - 1

Hip Hop is my lowest rated genre, barely beating Electronica…. It is just not my thing. I’ve had on other Public Enemy album, it rated 1/5 for me.

I don’t like the lack of any sort of melody, nothing approaching a “hook”. No discernible verse-chorus type structure. I just don’t like the scratches and squeals and samples and such.

This seems to be a very well respected album, with Platinum sales, and 4x songs that were atop 11 on the Rap charts. It ranked #300 on Rolling Stone’s greatest albums list. It was certainly successful. It’s well put together. I can see where the messages resonate with a lot of people. It’s just not a style of music that I like. Similar to I don’t like Opera.

All that said, I like this one a little better than the previous one (It takes a nation…). I but I didn’t make it all the way through the 63 minutes, so I guess it’s still a 1/5

94 - Deep Purple In Rock - Deep Purple - 4

Deep Purple is an interesting beast. With 4 distinct configurations over their initial run, designated Mark I, Mark II, Mark III and Mark IV. Over those 4 configurations they released 10 studio albums in 8 years, plus 3 live albums. I've often thought their constant changes really held them back from even bigger success than they had. Smoke On The Water is one of the best known songs in rock, and Machine Head is a brilliant album. The double live Made In Japan is universally considered among the top live albums ever. All of which were the Mark II band.

In Rock is the configuration that broke the band into the stratosphere, and defined the sound that they would be instantly recognizable. This album rocks with Ritchie Blackmore's guitar, and Jon Lord's organ, which are 2 of the really defining keys to Deep Purple's sound. The album starts hard with Speed Kind and really doesn't let up. Really solid 70's hard rock, one of the bands that kicked off the entire heavy metal genre.

All of the Mark II albums are very good, but only Machine Head is essential. Well, Machine Head and Made In Japan. And In Rock isn't far behind those benchmarks.

Aside: This album is not available on Spotify, only 2 songs. And I only owned 2 songs (via an anthology collection). But it is on Youtube, which worked fine.   Solid 4/5

93 - Ray Of Light - Madonna - 3

Not expecting a lot here, last Madona album to come up here didn't really wow me.

I was a little surprised just how far down she is in the mix here, I thought she was a spotlight voice. Then again, I think I had a similar comment on the last Madonna album here (Music). The sound is overall lush, certainly well produced from a music standpoint... but the vocals are too far away. Overall, I like this a little better than Music. But it's really nothing special. And LONG. If these were 3-4 minute songs, it would be better. But each songs repeats for 5-6 minutes, which is simply monotonous.

Since it exceeded my (low) expectations, I'll go 3/5

92 - Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes - 3

White Stripes are one of those bands that everyone gushed about during the early 2000's. But I know more about their image than their music. The whole Red/White/Black thing... Were they siblings? Spouses? Both!?!?! And Jack White being touted as the greatest guitarist of the millennia. The only song I could identify as their was 7 Nation Army, which is one of the most overplayed bits in ages.

Anyway, on to the music:

Overall, this is fine. Pretty good even. Not my favorite, but certainly solid.

Probably the closest I have in collection to this is Them Crooked Vultures.

The highpoint was "The Denial Twist", because I'm quite familiar with Weird Al's parody "CNR". You know how it is. or you should.

Anyway, yeah it's good. Certainly NOT boring. I'd probably go 3.5 if I could. But this one'll round down to 3   3/5

91 - I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight - Richard Thompson - 4

I'm not sure what I expected here, but not what I got. Richard and Linda Thompson are one of those highly respected groups / performers that I've never heard. I mean, this made the Rolling Stone list of 500 Greatest Albums (albeit at #479), one of 2x R&L Thompson albums on that list.

Anyway, I quite like this album. It is very much English Folk, somewhat reminiscent of Steeleye Span. With what I think is a renaissance type mood. I've listened to this twice today, and I'mm sure I'll listen to this again, and I expect it to grow on me. For now it's 4/5

90 - Raw Like Sushi - Neneh Cherry - 3

Just 3 days ago, I was complaining that over 10% of my “assignments” here were Electronica, and how it is my second worst rated genre. I didn’t note then that the only genre ranked below Electronic is Hip Hop. So here we go, an album tagged both Electronica and Hip Hop. Groan. But also tagged Pop. Well let’s give it a shot….

I like this a lot more than some of the other Electronica or hip hop albums I’ve been served here. There’s songs that remind me of Madonna, and of the Spice Girls…. Maybe Paula Abdul. These are actual songs, with melody and such. Certainly dance music, but retaining the basic concepts of being music.

Overall, it’s ok, better than any of the other Electronica albums I’ve listened to. It gets a little repetitive, especially when the bonus tracks roll along. But really decent overall.

3/5

89 - Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago - 4

The debut album from Chicago is notable in a lot of ways. It is an auspicious debut, reaching #17 on the US album charts, and selling double platinum. It includes several really great songs including 2x top 10 singles (Beginnings and Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?) and another top 25 (Questions 67 &68). This was a new sound, horns like this kid had never heard (in pop music). Killer guitar, shifting soundscapes.an impressive start.

It's also a bit audacious. How many bands release a double album as a debut? And there's the rub. 32 minutes of this album are outstanding; really really great. But the album runs 76+ minutes, and a good bit of that is not compelling. I wish they had been more concise, maybe cutting a song or two (looking at you, Freeform Guitar and Poem 58). I just wish the whole thing was a bit more concise. It could've been stunning, instead it's just really good. This is early Chicago, before Tery Kath (guitar) died, and before soft rock stardom took over. 

Full disclosure, I own this album.   All in all 4/5

88 - Reggatta De Blanc - The Police - 5

The Police exploded onto the music scene during my freshman year of college, and dominated the airwaves over 5 albums in just under 5 years. I have all their albums on vinyl, all bought when current. They brought a different sound, new and exciting. People would stop by my dorm and ask “what is that?” When it was playing in those first couple of weeks. Of course, soon everybody knew. Looking back through the lens of 45 years, it is easy to forget just how unique this sound was at the time. The Police were one of the drivers bringing New Wave to the masses at the end of the 70’s.

It is interesting that Regatta de Blanc is the first Police album to show up here. It is actually the lowest charting (US) of the 5 releases, only making it to #25. It is a really solid album, but doesn’t have as many standout songs as their other records, but doesn’t have any real low points. It is probably my 2nd favorite of the 5 releases, only a hair below the debut. They really lean into the “White Reggae” thing here, as evidenced by the album title, but still includes a couple of straight rockers, “It’s alright for you” and “no time this time” which are both excellent.

It’s a great album that has stood the test of time. Hugely successful, influential…. 5/5