Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Album: Then Play On
Release Year: 1969
Genres: blues rock, roots rock
1) Coming Your Way; 2) Closing My Eyes; 3) Showbiz Blues; 4) My Dream; 5) Underway; 6) Oh Well; 7) Although the Sun Is Shining; 8) Rattlesnake Shake; 9) Searching for Madge; 10) Fighting for Madge; 11) When You Say; 12) Like Crying Like Dying; 13) Before the Beginning.
Not many people know that Fleetwood Mac's career began in the late Sixties, when they played blues clubs and the like, barely managing to pay the bills. Yeah, the band went through quite a few incarnations, and Then Play On is a snapshot of the first- long before Christy McVie or Lindsey Buckingham came aboard. We're still in the band's blues period here, although in a few songs you can hear the artsy pop element within, struggling to emerge. That ounce of pop tendency, added to nine parts aggressive blues guitar, moaning vocals, and handclaps, makes for a nicely strange listen (even though some of it bores me to death).
I like to pick out the overarching mood of every album, and this one is rather dark. Not doom and gloom per se, but "dusky," as George Starostin puts it. Though the lyrics might sometimes contradict it, there is a general pessimistic feel to the whole thing, as if each song is only a futile afterthought. It's an interesting mood, and I like it. Unfortunately, this is also the era of folksy hippie crap (not that all hippie music was crap), and we get a healthy dose of it on tracks 7 and 11. Seriously, that pseudo-spiritual "la, la, la, laaa lala la" on "When You Say" makes me wanna puke- good thing it's short.
But! On track six we get the real treat, and the centerpiece of the album: the fan favorite "Oh Well." What begins as a bitter, rip-roarin' heavy blues chant suddenly morphs into a mystical, medieval-sounding acoustic piece. The second portion may not go anywhere musically over its six and a half minutes, but I'll be damned if it's not worth every second anyway. Love it! Then you have your straightahead blues numbers, and they're solid, with "Rattlesnake Shake" being my favorite of these. Some people hate the "Madge" jams, but they're downright ferocious, and I like them. I only wish they'd cut out that guy calling "Yaaadz? Yaaaadz?" (no, not "Madge") in the middle. Otherwise, I don't usually mind a band padding an album with stuff like this.
So all in all, a good effort from the early Mac, even though it wouldn't have killed them to break a little more from contemporary conventions. But then again, these guys eventually became a platinum album-writing band, so I guess we can't ask too much. Not two thumbs up, but certainly one.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Villains
Alright, time to try out the new style. No more "good song-bad song," no more rating scale. I'm not the all-knowing deity of musical quality, after all, so I'll settle for just posting my personal thoughts on whichever album appears first on my shuffled playlist. This way I can account for subjectivity instead of perching atop that cursed ivory tower of "high art," and we may focus more on the effect of a given album rather than just the same old "form, fluency, and composition" approach I favored before.
Artist: The Verve Pipe
Album: Villains
Release Year: 1996
Genres: alternative rock, grunge
1) Barely (If at All); 2) Drive You Mild; 3) Villains; 4) Reverend Girl; 5) Cup of Tea; 6) Myself; 7) The Freshmen; 8) Photograph; 9) Ominous Man; 10) Real; 11) Penny Is Poison; 12) Cattle; 13) Veneer.
This was another of the albums I picked up at the pawn shop, and I must say it was one of the best ways I've spent a single dollar. It did take me a few listens to pick up on exactly what makes this album different from the piles of other pseudo-post-grunge albums out there, but it came to me. There is real texture in this one, real evidence of loving craft. Sure, the songs mainly follow the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus format, but there are all these subtle touches that really bring out the different tracks and give the album real depth. There's this constant mood throughout, so the whole thing sounds like standing in the middle of a slow, gray rain...and it's a beautiful thing.
"The Freshmen," the album's big radio hit, does its work well enough. It's pretty and it's painful, and I do like the minimalistic guitar work. I still prefer "Reverend Girl," even though there is little in the style to separate it from its peers. I mean, that slurring repetition of the title in the chorus has been done a million times before, but this time there's the distraught lyrics and a nice piano-driven bridge to make it more believable. "Now my lover smells like rain," Vander-Ark sings, and in that moment, I'd say she certainly does.
It's all about the little breaks from the normal style. How could "Cup of Tea" sustain its roaring chorus without the surreal, poetic lyrics and the little "dig it!" in the middle of each verse? What would make me love the chorus of "Myself" more than the unexpected switch to falsetto in its last iteration? Who would expect the guitar solo in "Drive You Mild" to last as long as it does, or for it to actually accentuate the meandering verse structures before and after? And who the hell would expect a song as traditionally-sung and -structured as "Penny Is Poison" to sound as real as it does? I didn't, and I was pleasantly surprised. These guys know how to write a song- too bad they let mainstream pressure get the better of them down the road.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
As Ugly as They Wanna Be
Artist: Ugly Kid Joe
Album: As Ugly as They Wanna Be
Release Year: 1991
Genres: hard rock, thrash
1) Madman; 2) Whiplash Liquor; 3) Too Bad; 4) Everything About You; 5) Sweet Leaf/Funky Fresh Country Club; 6) Heavy Metal.
Best Song: Madman
I found this CD at Pawn America for a dollar, and as soon as I saw the cover I had to have it. And, just as the cover suggests, this is about the dumbest, trashiest-sounding 90's rock you're likely to come by. But it's also a lot of fun, even though you may feel ashamed of yourself before it ends.
Imagine Guns 'n' Roses, early-nineties Metallica, and KISS spitting out some sort of musical offspring, and you might have something resembling Ugly Kid Joe. The tunes are catchy, no matter how ridiculously campy they all are. It's like they took all the bad rock cliches and inflated them to cosmic proportions, and still managed to be listenable. Maybe the whole thing is actually an elaborate satire on the mouth-breathers who take this stuff seriously! But probably not.
The lyrics are braindead too, like something out of a preteen comic book or something. It's nothing but insanity, drugs, and murder, but then again, that about all this genre can manage. This kind of music is what a fourteen-year-old wannabe rebel would think was cool. And it's that very same juvenile spirit that makes it so much damn fun. Who's gonna deny the fun in a simple, head-banging chorus like "too bad, too bad, too bad too bad Johnny, whatcha gonna do?" Or lines like "I hate your daddy's guts too, boo-hoo" in "Everything About You?" It's a perfect example of "so bad it's good."
The bass in track five is kinda cool, but I can never remember how the rest actually goes. I do know that seven minutes is too long for this type of music, though. Hell, four is even too long on repulsive, pseudo-rap-metal tripes like "Whiplash Liquor," but at least that one gets you a few cheap laughs. I give the prize to "Madman," thanks to its rip-roarin' chorus and nice guitar solo.
So grab this if you want a cheap thrill, or even to entertain your less-than-brilliant friends. And, who knows- you might find yourself wanting to spin this once in a while...
Rating: 6
Album: As Ugly as They Wanna Be
Release Year: 1991
Genres: hard rock, thrash
1) Madman; 2) Whiplash Liquor; 3) Too Bad; 4) Everything About You; 5) Sweet Leaf/Funky Fresh Country Club; 6) Heavy Metal.
Best Song: Madman
I found this CD at Pawn America for a dollar, and as soon as I saw the cover I had to have it. And, just as the cover suggests, this is about the dumbest, trashiest-sounding 90's rock you're likely to come by. But it's also a lot of fun, even though you may feel ashamed of yourself before it ends.
Imagine Guns 'n' Roses, early-nineties Metallica, and KISS spitting out some sort of musical offspring, and you might have something resembling Ugly Kid Joe. The tunes are catchy, no matter how ridiculously campy they all are. It's like they took all the bad rock cliches and inflated them to cosmic proportions, and still managed to be listenable. Maybe the whole thing is actually an elaborate satire on the mouth-breathers who take this stuff seriously! But probably not.
The lyrics are braindead too, like something out of a preteen comic book or something. It's nothing but insanity, drugs, and murder, but then again, that about all this genre can manage. This kind of music is what a fourteen-year-old wannabe rebel would think was cool. And it's that very same juvenile spirit that makes it so much damn fun. Who's gonna deny the fun in a simple, head-banging chorus like "too bad, too bad, too bad too bad Johnny, whatcha gonna do?" Or lines like "I hate your daddy's guts too, boo-hoo" in "Everything About You?" It's a perfect example of "so bad it's good."
The bass in track five is kinda cool, but I can never remember how the rest actually goes. I do know that seven minutes is too long for this type of music, though. Hell, four is even too long on repulsive, pseudo-rap-metal tripes like "Whiplash Liquor," but at least that one gets you a few cheap laughs. I give the prize to "Madman," thanks to its rip-roarin' chorus and nice guitar solo.
So grab this if you want a cheap thrill, or even to entertain your less-than-brilliant friends. And, who knows- you might find yourself wanting to spin this once in a while...
Rating: 6
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Led Zeppelin IV
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Album: Led Zeppelin IV
Release Year: 1971
Genres: hard rock, art-rock, blues-rock
1) Black Dog; 2) Rock & Roll; 3) The Battle of Evermore; 4) Stairway to Heaven; 5) Misty Mountain Hop; 6) Four Sticks; 7) Going to California; 8) When the Levee Breaks.
Best Song: well, that's the very definition of "obvious," isn't it?
That's right, I called it "Led Zeppelin IV," instead of "Untitled" or "Zoso"or whatever weird name the diehards like to tack onto it. I like the chronological names, because they reflect the band's slow progression from heavy blues to big, bloated, immortal anthems like these. And, as soon as the numerical names stopped, the music also took a longer leap than it ever had before. I mean, you can't tell me Houses of the Holy sounds anything like the first four, can you?
(GET ON WITH IT!!!)
Alright. The fact that this contains "Stairway to Heaven" hardly gains it any "subjectivity points," does it? But this is, without question, the biggest, boldest album the band would ever release. Everything that made Led Zeppelin who they were, they poured on triple thick on this album, effectively undermining any amateur critic's attempt at analyzing it outside the band's popular image. Fortunately for me, when I heard the album, I had only a passing familiarity with Zeppelin, so I was a blank slate for about five of these songs. It didn't take me long to reach my verdict, either: Five of them kick astronomical amounts of ass...and the other three suck.
I would like to take this album as a whole when reviewing it, but it just doesn't lend itself to that kind of analysis. Why? Partially because it's not an intelligent album, but mainly because each song has such a HUGE identity that it's impossible to ignore any one in particular. It kicks off with "Black Dog," a heavy, plodding blues number with a great distorted riff and an even better solo. Who wouldn't want to stomp their foot to that beat and sing along with the braindead lyrics like "Hey hey mama, when you shake that thing, gonna make you burn gonna make you sting"? "Rock & Roll" is even better, though; that incessant drum pattern and rollicking melody, combined with Plant's frantic delivery, make it one of the most energizing, feel-good songs I know.
Unfortunately, this is where we run into trouble. "The Battle of Evermore" is incredibly pretentious, has no coherent melody, and its six minutes consist of just as much wailing as singing. I'm all for Tolkien references, but they have to do his work justice. This one does not. "Misty Mountain Hop" is a bit more listenable, but it's twice as stupid. That keyboard riff is just embarrassing to listen to--you're Led Zeppelin, for crying out loud! You can't mix off-rhythm lyrics with synth loops that make me think of bunnies jumping back and forth, and then think something good will come of it. As for "Four Sticks," which comes next, I can't even remember how it goes, but I do remember it bored me slightly less. Alright, so Bonzo could play with four sticks. We all know he was good. We also know rock songs based on drumming alone tend not to be very good.
"Going to California" really redeems the album, though. It's a simple guitar and mandolin (?) ballad, and Plant's singing actually suits it! I'd always thought he could only do heavy songs, but this one made me reconsider. Then we close with "When the Levee Breaks," which Led Zeppelin did NOT write, but they did make it theirs. The beat pounds along as if to crush the listener, while the guitar and harmonica give it a "sharper" edge as well. The impending breaking of the levee doesn't just mean flood anymore--it seems to mean the end of the world. This isn't just blues. This is doom.
Yeah, that's a nine down there, alright. 3/8 of the album may suck, but the rest is just so friggin' incredible that it gets a nine anyway. And that about wraps up the...oh, wait. I didn't mention "Stairway to Heaven" yet. Uh, well...it's "Stairway to Heaven." That's it. I'm done.
Rating: 9
Album: Led Zeppelin IV
Release Year: 1971
Genres: hard rock, art-rock, blues-rock
1) Black Dog; 2) Rock & Roll; 3) The Battle of Evermore; 4) Stairway to Heaven; 5) Misty Mountain Hop; 6) Four Sticks; 7) Going to California; 8) When the Levee Breaks.
Best Song: well, that's the very definition of "obvious," isn't it?
That's right, I called it "Led Zeppelin IV," instead of "Untitled" or "Zoso"or whatever weird name the diehards like to tack onto it. I like the chronological names, because they reflect the band's slow progression from heavy blues to big, bloated, immortal anthems like these. And, as soon as the numerical names stopped, the music also took a longer leap than it ever had before. I mean, you can't tell me Houses of the Holy sounds anything like the first four, can you?
(GET ON WITH IT!!!)
Alright. The fact that this contains "Stairway to Heaven" hardly gains it any "subjectivity points," does it? But this is, without question, the biggest, boldest album the band would ever release. Everything that made Led Zeppelin who they were, they poured on triple thick on this album, effectively undermining any amateur critic's attempt at analyzing it outside the band's popular image. Fortunately for me, when I heard the album, I had only a passing familiarity with Zeppelin, so I was a blank slate for about five of these songs. It didn't take me long to reach my verdict, either: Five of them kick astronomical amounts of ass...and the other three suck.
I would like to take this album as a whole when reviewing it, but it just doesn't lend itself to that kind of analysis. Why? Partially because it's not an intelligent album, but mainly because each song has such a HUGE identity that it's impossible to ignore any one in particular. It kicks off with "Black Dog," a heavy, plodding blues number with a great distorted riff and an even better solo. Who wouldn't want to stomp their foot to that beat and sing along with the braindead lyrics like "Hey hey mama, when you shake that thing, gonna make you burn gonna make you sting"? "Rock & Roll" is even better, though; that incessant drum pattern and rollicking melody, combined with Plant's frantic delivery, make it one of the most energizing, feel-good songs I know.
Unfortunately, this is where we run into trouble. "The Battle of Evermore" is incredibly pretentious, has no coherent melody, and its six minutes consist of just as much wailing as singing. I'm all for Tolkien references, but they have to do his work justice. This one does not. "Misty Mountain Hop" is a bit more listenable, but it's twice as stupid. That keyboard riff is just embarrassing to listen to--you're Led Zeppelin, for crying out loud! You can't mix off-rhythm lyrics with synth loops that make me think of bunnies jumping back and forth, and then think something good will come of it. As for "Four Sticks," which comes next, I can't even remember how it goes, but I do remember it bored me slightly less. Alright, so Bonzo could play with four sticks. We all know he was good. We also know rock songs based on drumming alone tend not to be very good.
"Going to California" really redeems the album, though. It's a simple guitar and mandolin (?) ballad, and Plant's singing actually suits it! I'd always thought he could only do heavy songs, but this one made me reconsider. Then we close with "When the Levee Breaks," which Led Zeppelin did NOT write, but they did make it theirs. The beat pounds along as if to crush the listener, while the guitar and harmonica give it a "sharper" edge as well. The impending breaking of the levee doesn't just mean flood anymore--it seems to mean the end of the world. This isn't just blues. This is doom.
Yeah, that's a nine down there, alright. 3/8 of the album may suck, but the rest is just so friggin' incredible that it gets a nine anyway. And that about wraps up the...oh, wait. I didn't mention "Stairway to Heaven" yet. Uh, well...it's "Stairway to Heaven." That's it. I'm done.
Rating: 9
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Parachute
Artist: The Pretty Things
Album: Parachute
Release Year: 1970
Genres: art rock, psychedelia
1) Scene One; 2) The Good Mr. Square; 3) She Was Tall, She Was High; 4) In the Square; 5) The Letter; 6) Rain; 7) Miss Fay Regrets; 8) Cries from the Midnight Circus; 9) Grass; 10) Sickle Clowns; 11) She's a Lover; 12) What's the Use; 13) Parachute.
Best Song: Grass
You guys have no idea how happy I was to see this album come up on the "shuffle" list. And, come to think of it, you probably have no idea who the Pretty Things are, either. They were an artsy rhythm and blues band from England, and they wrote S. F. Sorrow, the first rock opera ever (yes, it even came before Tommy), in 1968. The Pretty Things were never songwriting masters, but they were still damn good, and I can only think of a few of their songs that I honestly dislike. So they weren't the Beatles or the Stones (their idols), but they did their work, and there are some real gems in their catalogue. Like Parachute.
I downloaded the album, took my Zune to the basement, and played it good and loud. I was planning on drawing or something while I listened, but I was so enthralled by the album that I just sat there most of the time, wondering where why it had taken me so long to find this. Seriously. The enthusiasm of the whole thing, the curiosity, the innocence with just a hint of darkness--it was like travelling back in time to some carefree summer so many years ago. Nostalgic as I can be, it's no surprise that in one listen, it became one of my favorite albums.
I see Parachute as a dream, with the scenes constantly changing and blurring into one another and still making perfect sense. You start with a brief overture, then a nice five-track suite that goes from naive to lovestruck before ending in the excellent groove of "Rain." I always think of this as the "light and happy" part of the dream sequence, since a childish perspective seems to come through in the lyrics. And no, they didn't copy the suite idea from The Beatles. Of course not.
Then the album takes a turn toward heavy, psychedelic blues, starting with the hard-rocking "Miss Fay Regrets." A glance at the track titles tells us we are in the "nightmare" phase, with Phil May howling twisted lyrics over some very dark jams--just listen to that bass intro to "Cries from the Midnight Circus!" You can almost see the debauchery going on inside the tent, can't you? Guys...? "Sickle Clowns" is probably better, though: that relentless guitar/bass interplay drags you through all seven minutes and makes it seem like three.
But, in the middle of those, we get a nice break with "Grass" (good thing, because otherwise you wouldn't know when one ended and the other began). This song is beautiful, and the scene is heart-wrenching. Yes, even I can feel it. It's sitting in a field at sunset with her (whoever she may be) and knowing she is leaving, forever. Normally I hate mushy shit like that, but the Pretties really knew how to pull it off.
The final third is a "recovery" of sorts, with the melodies getting feather-light and carrying you away again. Is "She's a Lover" a triumphant response to "Grass?" If it is, than "What's the Use" is kind of a cruel choice to follow it, but I don't think they meant the songs to connect. That's just me, overanalyzing as usual. Finally there's the title track, which is just a nice, chill, piano-driven instrumental that floats you back to reality, the dream now fading and the sun coming over the horizon.
So, if you haven't guessed it by now, there's not a single note on this album I don't like. And yet, I cannot give it a ten, because my experience of this album is overwhelmingly subjective. As much as I love Parachute, I know a ten would not be reasonable, because the "nightmare tracks" are too similar, and "Cries from the Midnight Circus" is too long. I just don't mind it, myself-- that's all. Yes, it's sad, but logic must triumph over emotion in the end, even in something as sanguine as music.
Rating: 9
Album: Parachute
Release Year: 1970
Genres: art rock, psychedelia
1) Scene One; 2) The Good Mr. Square; 3) She Was Tall, She Was High; 4) In the Square; 5) The Letter; 6) Rain; 7) Miss Fay Regrets; 8) Cries from the Midnight Circus; 9) Grass; 10) Sickle Clowns; 11) She's a Lover; 12) What's the Use; 13) Parachute.
Best Song: Grass
You guys have no idea how happy I was to see this album come up on the "shuffle" list. And, come to think of it, you probably have no idea who the Pretty Things are, either. They were an artsy rhythm and blues band from England, and they wrote S. F. Sorrow, the first rock opera ever (yes, it even came before Tommy), in 1968. The Pretty Things were never songwriting masters, but they were still damn good, and I can only think of a few of their songs that I honestly dislike. So they weren't the Beatles or the Stones (their idols), but they did their work, and there are some real gems in their catalogue. Like Parachute.
I downloaded the album, took my Zune to the basement, and played it good and loud. I was planning on drawing or something while I listened, but I was so enthralled by the album that I just sat there most of the time, wondering where why it had taken me so long to find this. Seriously. The enthusiasm of the whole thing, the curiosity, the innocence with just a hint of darkness--it was like travelling back in time to some carefree summer so many years ago. Nostalgic as I can be, it's no surprise that in one listen, it became one of my favorite albums.
I see Parachute as a dream, with the scenes constantly changing and blurring into one another and still making perfect sense. You start with a brief overture, then a nice five-track suite that goes from naive to lovestruck before ending in the excellent groove of "Rain." I always think of this as the "light and happy" part of the dream sequence, since a childish perspective seems to come through in the lyrics. And no, they didn't copy the suite idea from The Beatles. Of course not.
Then the album takes a turn toward heavy, psychedelic blues, starting with the hard-rocking "Miss Fay Regrets." A glance at the track titles tells us we are in the "nightmare" phase, with Phil May howling twisted lyrics over some very dark jams--just listen to that bass intro to "Cries from the Midnight Circus!" You can almost see the debauchery going on inside the tent, can't you? Guys...? "Sickle Clowns" is probably better, though: that relentless guitar/bass interplay drags you through all seven minutes and makes it seem like three.
But, in the middle of those, we get a nice break with "Grass" (good thing, because otherwise you wouldn't know when one ended and the other began). This song is beautiful, and the scene is heart-wrenching. Yes, even I can feel it. It's sitting in a field at sunset with her (whoever she may be) and knowing she is leaving, forever. Normally I hate mushy shit like that, but the Pretties really knew how to pull it off.
The final third is a "recovery" of sorts, with the melodies getting feather-light and carrying you away again. Is "She's a Lover" a triumphant response to "Grass?" If it is, than "What's the Use" is kind of a cruel choice to follow it, but I don't think they meant the songs to connect. That's just me, overanalyzing as usual. Finally there's the title track, which is just a nice, chill, piano-driven instrumental that floats you back to reality, the dream now fading and the sun coming over the horizon.
So, if you haven't guessed it by now, there's not a single note on this album I don't like. And yet, I cannot give it a ten, because my experience of this album is overwhelmingly subjective. As much as I love Parachute, I know a ten would not be reasonable, because the "nightmare tracks" are too similar, and "Cries from the Midnight Circus" is too long. I just don't mind it, myself-- that's all. Yes, it's sad, but logic must triumph over emotion in the end, even in something as sanguine as music.
Rating: 9
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Fragile
Artist: Yes
Album: Fragile
Release Year: 1971
Genres: progressive rock
1) Roundabout; 2) Cans and Brahms; 3) We Have Heaven; 4) South Side of the Sky; 5) Ten Per Cent of Nothing; 6) Long Distance Runaround; 7) The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus); 8) Mood for a Day; 9) Heart of the Sunrise.
Best Song: Roundabout
If you ever wanted to acquaint yourself with both the best and the worst aspects of progressive rock, I see no better candidate to demonstrate them than Yes. During their "classic" period from 1969-1974, they released seven albums, all of which (except maybe Time and a Word) tried to be "epic" on some level, featuring amazing song lengths, frequent and unpredictable time-signature changes, dizzying instrumental passages, and Jon Anderson's mind-screwing lyrics. Yeah, these guys have gotten their heads up their collective ass plenty of times, but I actually applaud them for doing that when they produce something as good as Fragile.
The very best progressive albums have a concept, a unifying theme, and I've heard at least a few people call Fragile an environmentalist project. Yeah, okay, there's a picture of Earth on the front...but where else do they get that idea from? If you ask me, there are no consistent lyrical themes, because Jon Anderson doesn't write lyrics for their literal meaning. Instead, he uses them as another sort of instrument, arranging them for their composite sound, their effect on the listener when combined with the music. No, this album's theme lies in the music itself. It's hard to pin down, so I'm going to borrow George Starostin's take on the recurring motif: movement. The music is always moving, but it's more than that: it's taking us on a journey around the world, giving us as many vantage points as possible, and it's never, ever boring.
There's a lot of diversity in the melodies and structures, which makes the album such a joy to listen to. A band like Yes runs a great risk of becoming tiresome if they play the same way for forty minutes, so I'm sure glad they decided to mix it up on here. We start with the sunny, enthusiastic "Roundabout," make our way to the desperate "South Side of the Sky," hit an amazing groove with "Schindleria Praematurus" (I love how musical they make scientific names), and reach a warm, rousing conclusion with "Heart of the Sunrise." The sense of ascension (toward "the chair that really fits you," then to the sun itself) in that song is really nice, even if it is a bit overlong.
Oh, and the members each have their little solo spots on this album too, like the bittersweet acoustic guitar workout "Mood for a Day" (my second favorite), or the brilliant vocal layering of "We Have Heaven." Maybe the solo spots are what make this album so good: they gave the individual members a chance to vent their huge egos in preparation for the larger collaborations. I mean, this is still a Yes album, so it's going to be at least a little pretentious. Some of the atmospheric and instrumental passages may or may not seem too long to sit through, but I don't mind them because they work as a part of the larger piece. So rock on, Yes, and remember not to devolve into a lame new-wave band. Oh, wait...
Rating: 8.5
Album: Fragile
Release Year: 1971
Genres: progressive rock
1) Roundabout; 2) Cans and Brahms; 3) We Have Heaven; 4) South Side of the Sky; 5) Ten Per Cent of Nothing; 6) Long Distance Runaround; 7) The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus); 8) Mood for a Day; 9) Heart of the Sunrise.
Best Song: Roundabout
If you ever wanted to acquaint yourself with both the best and the worst aspects of progressive rock, I see no better candidate to demonstrate them than Yes. During their "classic" period from 1969-1974, they released seven albums, all of which (except maybe Time and a Word) tried to be "epic" on some level, featuring amazing song lengths, frequent and unpredictable time-signature changes, dizzying instrumental passages, and Jon Anderson's mind-screwing lyrics. Yeah, these guys have gotten their heads up their collective ass plenty of times, but I actually applaud them for doing that when they produce something as good as Fragile.
The very best progressive albums have a concept, a unifying theme, and I've heard at least a few people call Fragile an environmentalist project. Yeah, okay, there's a picture of Earth on the front...but where else do they get that idea from? If you ask me, there are no consistent lyrical themes, because Jon Anderson doesn't write lyrics for their literal meaning. Instead, he uses them as another sort of instrument, arranging them for their composite sound, their effect on the listener when combined with the music. No, this album's theme lies in the music itself. It's hard to pin down, so I'm going to borrow George Starostin's take on the recurring motif: movement. The music is always moving, but it's more than that: it's taking us on a journey around the world, giving us as many vantage points as possible, and it's never, ever boring.
There's a lot of diversity in the melodies and structures, which makes the album such a joy to listen to. A band like Yes runs a great risk of becoming tiresome if they play the same way for forty minutes, so I'm sure glad they decided to mix it up on here. We start with the sunny, enthusiastic "Roundabout," make our way to the desperate "South Side of the Sky," hit an amazing groove with "Schindleria Praematurus" (I love how musical they make scientific names), and reach a warm, rousing conclusion with "Heart of the Sunrise." The sense of ascension (toward "the chair that really fits you," then to the sun itself) in that song is really nice, even if it is a bit overlong.
Oh, and the members each have their little solo spots on this album too, like the bittersweet acoustic guitar workout "Mood for a Day" (my second favorite), or the brilliant vocal layering of "We Have Heaven." Maybe the solo spots are what make this album so good: they gave the individual members a chance to vent their huge egos in preparation for the larger collaborations. I mean, this is still a Yes album, so it's going to be at least a little pretentious. Some of the atmospheric and instrumental passages may or may not seem too long to sit through, but I don't mind them because they work as a part of the larger piece. So rock on, Yes, and remember not to devolve into a lame new-wave band. Oh, wait...
Rating: 8.5
Monday, April 18, 2011
Ramones
Artist: The Ramones
Album: Ramones
Release Year: 1976
Genres: punk
1) Blitzkreig Bop; 2) Beat on the Brat; 3) Judy Is a Punk; 4) I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend; 5) Chain Saw; 6) Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue; 7) I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement; 8) Loudmouth; 9) Havana Affair; 10) Listen to My Heart; 11) 53rd & 3rd; 12) Let's Dance; 13) I Don't Wanna Walk Around with You; 14) Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World.
Best Song: Blitzkreig Bop (or anything else)
HEY! HO! LET'S GO! Johnny Rotten, Joel Madden, and Billy Joe Armstrong: bow down to your rightful lords and masters! Before punk became the Gospel of anti-establishment teens, before punk meant attacking every social norm in existence, before punk was punk, there was the Ramones. They played could barely play their instruments--and yet, they did punk better than just about any band manages today.
How? Simple: the Ramones were great at stripping away all the extra layers of rock music, leaving just the bare-bones essentials, and showing us that yes, those essentials are all you truly need to create satisfying music. I assume the drumming rarely strays from 4/4 time (I can't identify time signiatures), and the bass lines are just one or two notes over and over. Johhny Ramone slams out the same chords, and Joey yelps as much as he sings. At first listen it may be nothing but a pointless, talentless racket, but I implore you to try it a few more times. It'll come to you. The simple lyrics which awaken the irreverent youthful spirit? The snarling yet indifferent vocal delivery? The catchy-as-hell melodies? They do their work, and the reward is great.
Don't expect anything intelligent in the lyrics. The Ramones weren't political; they were all about partying, making out, watching horror movies, and other D-student thrills. I mean, come on: "now I wanna sniff some glue/Now I wanna have something to do." Or even: ""Beat on the brat with a baseball bat. Oh yeah." That's it. They're kids who don't want to take out the trash or do their homework or put up with the bitchy girls behind them in biology class. They just wanna rock, man, and I'm on board with them one hundred percent. It's like reliving high school and pulling off all the shit I was too smart to do in real life. The stupid lyrics may leave some wanting a little more, but with punk, it's either that or more anarchist crap, which I'd say is just as braindead, just in a different way.
There are a lot of these little touches I love, too. Like the way Joey manages to fit the word "basement" into one syllable in track 7, or the weird "ba-boom" drum thing after "baby baby make me loco" in "Havana Affair," or even the jangly guitars in the swaggering intro to "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," which set the simple-minded, freshman-year mood just fine. I could go on, but I'll just let you find the rest for yourself.
Most of these songs barely reach the two-minute mark, and they're almost indistinguishable from one another--which is great! Songs like these don't have the momentum to sustain them for any longer than that. The rapid-fire style works wonders, keeping us moving, keeping everything fresh. Maybe they couldn't write rock operas or progressive epics, but they still had a great understanding of composition, those Ramones. All the sudden, that cliche about how "the genius lies in its simplicity" seems to have found a home.
Gabba gabba hey.
Rating: 9
Album: Ramones
Release Year: 1976
Genres: punk
1) Blitzkreig Bop; 2) Beat on the Brat; 3) Judy Is a Punk; 4) I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend; 5) Chain Saw; 6) Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue; 7) I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement; 8) Loudmouth; 9) Havana Affair; 10) Listen to My Heart; 11) 53rd & 3rd; 12) Let's Dance; 13) I Don't Wanna Walk Around with You; 14) Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World.
Best Song: Blitzkreig Bop (or anything else)
HEY! HO! LET'S GO! Johnny Rotten, Joel Madden, and Billy Joe Armstrong: bow down to your rightful lords and masters! Before punk became the Gospel of anti-establishment teens, before punk meant attacking every social norm in existence, before punk was punk, there was the Ramones. They played could barely play their instruments--and yet, they did punk better than just about any band manages today.
How? Simple: the Ramones were great at stripping away all the extra layers of rock music, leaving just the bare-bones essentials, and showing us that yes, those essentials are all you truly need to create satisfying music. I assume the drumming rarely strays from 4/4 time (I can't identify time signiatures), and the bass lines are just one or two notes over and over. Johhny Ramone slams out the same chords, and Joey yelps as much as he sings. At first listen it may be nothing but a pointless, talentless racket, but I implore you to try it a few more times. It'll come to you. The simple lyrics which awaken the irreverent youthful spirit? The snarling yet indifferent vocal delivery? The catchy-as-hell melodies? They do their work, and the reward is great.
Don't expect anything intelligent in the lyrics. The Ramones weren't political; they were all about partying, making out, watching horror movies, and other D-student thrills. I mean, come on: "now I wanna sniff some glue/Now I wanna have something to do." Or even: ""Beat on the brat with a baseball bat. Oh yeah." That's it. They're kids who don't want to take out the trash or do their homework or put up with the bitchy girls behind them in biology class. They just wanna rock, man, and I'm on board with them one hundred percent. It's like reliving high school and pulling off all the shit I was too smart to do in real life. The stupid lyrics may leave some wanting a little more, but with punk, it's either that or more anarchist crap, which I'd say is just as braindead, just in a different way.
There are a lot of these little touches I love, too. Like the way Joey manages to fit the word "basement" into one syllable in track 7, or the weird "ba-boom" drum thing after "baby baby make me loco" in "Havana Affair," or even the jangly guitars in the swaggering intro to "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," which set the simple-minded, freshman-year mood just fine. I could go on, but I'll just let you find the rest for yourself.
Most of these songs barely reach the two-minute mark, and they're almost indistinguishable from one another--which is great! Songs like these don't have the momentum to sustain them for any longer than that. The rapid-fire style works wonders, keeping us moving, keeping everything fresh. Maybe they couldn't write rock operas or progressive epics, but they still had a great understanding of composition, those Ramones. All the sudden, that cliche about how "the genius lies in its simplicity" seems to have found a home.
Gabba gabba hey.
Rating: 9
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Phobia
Artist: Breaking Benjamin
Album: Phobia
Release Year: 2006
Genres: alternative rock, pop-rock
1) Intro; 2) The Diary of Jane; 3) Breath; 4) You; 5) Evil Angel; 6) Until the End; 7) Dance with the Devil; 8) Topless; 9) Here We Are; 10) Unknown Soldier; 11) Had Enough; 12) You Fight Me; 13) Outro; 14) Diary of Jane (acoustic).
Best Song: The Diary of Jane (either version)
You know those songs or albums that aren't all that special in and of themselves, yet you enjoy them because of the memories and such associated with them? Yeah, that's what this one is for me. All you have to do is turn on your local hard rock station for fifteen minutes, and you will already have heard everything on this album. Angsty verses, power choruses, pseudo-screaming, songs about broken relationships...the cliches are all here. And yet, on Phobia they're tolerable. Usually.
There's a fine line between "satisfying" and "whiny," and I must say the guys really flirt with it on here. Slow songs, with lines like "fly over meeee, evil aaangeeellll" that still try to sound half-badass, just come off as pathetic. And who's taking them seriously when they mke "dancing with the devil" sound like something out of a teen drama? But, there are still similar songs that don't give me any unintentional laughs. I like the meandering verses on "Until the End," and both "Breath" and "Had Enough" contain respectable hooks, so there's that. I really don't know what makes them any better than the others, but I'm not going to spend much time trying to figure it out.
So Phobia is whiny and cliche, and yet I find both of those flaws more forgivable than not. Why? Beats me. Maybe because the melodies are still more catchy than not, or because there are enough interesting moments to redeem the boring ones. Or is it because they're all bookended with two versions of the excellent anthem "Diary of Jane," including a piano version which contains elements of true feeling? Yeah, it's probably the last one.
Rating: 6.5
P.S: I know, I rated the album kind of low for flaws I already said were mainly forgivable, and u mad. But bear in mind that this is a pop rock album, and on those can never score too highly on the "absolute" scale. If this rating were adjusted to compare this one only to other pop-rock albums, I would rate it closer to a 7.5 or an 8.
Album: Phobia
Release Year: 2006
Genres: alternative rock, pop-rock
1) Intro; 2) The Diary of Jane; 3) Breath; 4) You; 5) Evil Angel; 6) Until the End; 7) Dance with the Devil; 8) Topless; 9) Here We Are; 10) Unknown Soldier; 11) Had Enough; 12) You Fight Me; 13) Outro; 14) Diary of Jane (acoustic).
Best Song: The Diary of Jane (either version)
You know those songs or albums that aren't all that special in and of themselves, yet you enjoy them because of the memories and such associated with them? Yeah, that's what this one is for me. All you have to do is turn on your local hard rock station for fifteen minutes, and you will already have heard everything on this album. Angsty verses, power choruses, pseudo-screaming, songs about broken relationships...the cliches are all here. And yet, on Phobia they're tolerable. Usually.
There's a fine line between "satisfying" and "whiny," and I must say the guys really flirt with it on here. Slow songs, with lines like "fly over meeee, evil aaangeeellll" that still try to sound half-badass, just come off as pathetic. And who's taking them seriously when they mke "dancing with the devil" sound like something out of a teen drama? But, there are still similar songs that don't give me any unintentional laughs. I like the meandering verses on "Until the End," and both "Breath" and "Had Enough" contain respectable hooks, so there's that. I really don't know what makes them any better than the others, but I'm not going to spend much time trying to figure it out.
So Phobia is whiny and cliche, and yet I find both of those flaws more forgivable than not. Why? Beats me. Maybe because the melodies are still more catchy than not, or because there are enough interesting moments to redeem the boring ones. Or is it because they're all bookended with two versions of the excellent anthem "Diary of Jane," including a piano version which contains elements of true feeling? Yeah, it's probably the last one.
Rating: 6.5
P.S: I know, I rated the album kind of low for flaws I already said were mainly forgivable, and u mad. But bear in mind that this is a pop rock album, and on those can never score too highly on the "absolute" scale. If this rating were adjusted to compare this one only to other pop-rock albums, I would rate it closer to a 7.5 or an 8.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Hospice
Artist: The Antlers
Album: Hospice
Release Year: 2009
Genres: indie rock, art rock
1) Prologue; 2) Kettering; 3) Sylvia; 4) Atrophy; 5) Bear; 6) Thirteen; 7) Two; 8) Shiva; 9) Wake; 10) Epilogue.
Best Song: you know...I don't think individual songs are important on this album. Maybe "Wake," though.
Normally, I would spend most of the review talking about structure and presentation,with some time on lyrics. On Hospice, however, it's all about the lyrics. I mean, the album would still be nice background music without them, but all the songs are pretty similar, and it's obvious that the music really is secondary here. Even though it does tie into the lyrics pretty well, in the end it's just a vehicle for the narrative.
The narrative, I understand, is often deemed absolutely heartbreaking, and I will admit it's not one to shrug off so easily. Briefly, it's about a guy working in hospice who falls in love with a dying woman. She emotionally abuses him (I can understand being a trifle bitter in this situation), but he feels compelled to stick around and open up, to carry a burden he can never lift (pointless). Oh well. Nothing quite as idiotic and destructive as love, huh? Anyway, she dies hating him, and he's all the worse for his trouble.
Yes, it's very sad and all, but I have trouble deciding how convincing it all is. As shameful as I find it, I can certainly sympathize with those who struggle with the ridiculous irony of human emotion. The emotion comes through in the immediate sense--I can certainly see and feel the protagonist crying out in frustration and resigned agony at his inability to turn away from a destructive relationship. Yet I can't help seeing the whole thing as a bid to grab hold of the listener's fragile adolescent emotions and steer them toward adoring the band for all eternity, just because they were able to play upon their heartstrings for an hour. Oh, all you irrational, melodramatic youngsters!
Meh. Maybe I just find it hard to define a position on anything that deals with emotions I have never felt, but since the music rarely strays beyond "pretty," I see little reason to listen to Hospice unless you want to be depressed. That alone makes me suspicious. However, I must admit I really enjoy other "tragic" albums, whose genius lies in their ability to make tragedy beautiful. If the artist does it just right, you find yourself wanting to spin the album, just to get that unearthly feeling: the sadness of the narrative, but the pleasure at hearing something truly special. I have yet to decide whether Hospice manages to do that, or if it's just manufactured angst in disguise. Either way, it's a unique trip, and for that I commend it.
Rating: 7.5
Album: Hospice
Release Year: 2009
Genres: indie rock, art rock
1) Prologue; 2) Kettering; 3) Sylvia; 4) Atrophy; 5) Bear; 6) Thirteen; 7) Two; 8) Shiva; 9) Wake; 10) Epilogue.
Best Song: you know...I don't think individual songs are important on this album. Maybe "Wake," though.
Normally, I would spend most of the review talking about structure and presentation,with some time on lyrics. On Hospice, however, it's all about the lyrics. I mean, the album would still be nice background music without them, but all the songs are pretty similar, and it's obvious that the music really is secondary here. Even though it does tie into the lyrics pretty well, in the end it's just a vehicle for the narrative.
The narrative, I understand, is often deemed absolutely heartbreaking, and I will admit it's not one to shrug off so easily. Briefly, it's about a guy working in hospice who falls in love with a dying woman. She emotionally abuses him (I can understand being a trifle bitter in this situation), but he feels compelled to stick around and open up, to carry a burden he can never lift (pointless). Oh well. Nothing quite as idiotic and destructive as love, huh? Anyway, she dies hating him, and he's all the worse for his trouble.
Yes, it's very sad and all, but I have trouble deciding how convincing it all is. As shameful as I find it, I can certainly sympathize with those who struggle with the ridiculous irony of human emotion. The emotion comes through in the immediate sense--I can certainly see and feel the protagonist crying out in frustration and resigned agony at his inability to turn away from a destructive relationship. Yet I can't help seeing the whole thing as a bid to grab hold of the listener's fragile adolescent emotions and steer them toward adoring the band for all eternity, just because they were able to play upon their heartstrings for an hour. Oh, all you irrational, melodramatic youngsters!
Meh. Maybe I just find it hard to define a position on anything that deals with emotions I have never felt, but since the music rarely strays beyond "pretty," I see little reason to listen to Hospice unless you want to be depressed. That alone makes me suspicious. However, I must admit I really enjoy other "tragic" albums, whose genius lies in their ability to make tragedy beautiful. If the artist does it just right, you find yourself wanting to spin the album, just to get that unearthly feeling: the sadness of the narrative, but the pleasure at hearing something truly special. I have yet to decide whether Hospice manages to do that, or if it's just manufactured angst in disguise. Either way, it's a unique trip, and for that I commend it.
Rating: 7.5
Friday, April 1, 2011
Ire Works
Artist: The Dillinger Escape Plan
Album: Ire Works
Release Year: 2007
Genres: heavy metal, progressive metal
1) Fix Your Face; 2) Lurch; 3) Black Bubblegum; 4) Sick on Sunday; 5) When Acting as a Particle; 6) Nong Eye Gong; 7) When Acting as a Wave; 8) 82588; 9) Milk Lizard; 10) Party Smasher; 11) Dead as History; 12) Horse Hunter; 13) Mouth of Ghosts.
Best Song: Milk Lizard
I almost called this "experimental metal," but I quickly decided not to, since that just seems like a cop-out, a way to lazily categorize something you don't actually know where to place. Truth is, this album really isn't that far out there, even though I doubt any drooling, drug-addled metalhead would ever swear loyalty to a song like "Sick on Sunday." Some of these songs barely include any screaming at all, which is good for me--but not because I think screaming automatically degrades the music. No, this album is special because the screaming becomes a necessary product of the electrifying and brilliant musical motifs. That's a far cry from those metal acts who think screaming and heaviness is a prerequisite of good music (or at least a cheap substitute), when the reverse is actually true. The trick is to write your songs in such a way that it becomes a minor travesty to imagine them without the brutal delivery, and Dillinger do exactly that on Ire Works.
Speaking of which, I must reiterate that I normally hold a bias against metal, for the reasons I stated above. And yet, I love this album, and what initially drew me in was the ever-present groove. Be it a claustrophobic assault like "Fix Your Face" or a smooth, rollicking number like "Black Bubblegum," each song has a real melodic flow underneath all the slamming chords and drum spasms. Oh, and I have to take a moment to praise "Black Bubblegum." Purists will hate me for this, but to hell with them! The chanting verses, with the falsetto at the end of each line, and the furious, head-banging chorus make it irresistible. The other songs have similar moments of revelation, in atmospheric and symphonic passages as well as power choruses, but those are more subtle...which just makes it even more rewarding when they finally occur.
This album sometimes reminds me of King Crimson's Discipline, with the interlocking passages, clever time signature changes, and an emphasis on a cerebral groove, but not even King Crimson dared to throw a jazzy piano breakdown into a metal song. That happens on "Milk Lizard," and it's just one of the many delightful elements of that track. The sinister riff, the suffocating, lustful verses backed by some evil-sounding brass, the solos, and of course the climactic chorus, which we don't even hear until the two-minute mark, are sublime together. The other songs are almost universally great, too, and once again, it's that groove that keeps 'em going down easy (I'm sure there's a sexual double-entendre in there somewhere, but let the freshmen figure it out). Ire Works is meticulous, literate, and fascinating. It's the very model of metal done right.
Rating: 9
Album: Ire Works
Release Year: 2007
Genres: heavy metal, progressive metal
1) Fix Your Face; 2) Lurch; 3) Black Bubblegum; 4) Sick on Sunday; 5) When Acting as a Particle; 6) Nong Eye Gong; 7) When Acting as a Wave; 8) 82588; 9) Milk Lizard; 10) Party Smasher; 11) Dead as History; 12) Horse Hunter; 13) Mouth of Ghosts.
Best Song: Milk Lizard
I almost called this "experimental metal," but I quickly decided not to, since that just seems like a cop-out, a way to lazily categorize something you don't actually know where to place. Truth is, this album really isn't that far out there, even though I doubt any drooling, drug-addled metalhead would ever swear loyalty to a song like "Sick on Sunday." Some of these songs barely include any screaming at all, which is good for me--but not because I think screaming automatically degrades the music. No, this album is special because the screaming becomes a necessary product of the electrifying and brilliant musical motifs. That's a far cry from those metal acts who think screaming and heaviness is a prerequisite of good music (or at least a cheap substitute), when the reverse is actually true. The trick is to write your songs in such a way that it becomes a minor travesty to imagine them without the brutal delivery, and Dillinger do exactly that on Ire Works.
Speaking of which, I must reiterate that I normally hold a bias against metal, for the reasons I stated above. And yet, I love this album, and what initially drew me in was the ever-present groove. Be it a claustrophobic assault like "Fix Your Face" or a smooth, rollicking number like "Black Bubblegum," each song has a real melodic flow underneath all the slamming chords and drum spasms. Oh, and I have to take a moment to praise "Black Bubblegum." Purists will hate me for this, but to hell with them! The chanting verses, with the falsetto at the end of each line, and the furious, head-banging chorus make it irresistible. The other songs have similar moments of revelation, in atmospheric and symphonic passages as well as power choruses, but those are more subtle...which just makes it even more rewarding when they finally occur.
This album sometimes reminds me of King Crimson's Discipline, with the interlocking passages, clever time signature changes, and an emphasis on a cerebral groove, but not even King Crimson dared to throw a jazzy piano breakdown into a metal song. That happens on "Milk Lizard," and it's just one of the many delightful elements of that track. The sinister riff, the suffocating, lustful verses backed by some evil-sounding brass, the solos, and of course the climactic chorus, which we don't even hear until the two-minute mark, are sublime together. The other songs are almost universally great, too, and once again, it's that groove that keeps 'em going down easy (I'm sure there's a sexual double-entendre in there somewhere, but let the freshmen figure it out). Ire Works is meticulous, literate, and fascinating. It's the very model of metal done right.
Rating: 9
Monday, March 28, 2011
Islands
Artist: King Crimson
Album: Islands
Release Year: 1971
Genres: progressive rock, symphonic rock, jazz fusion
1) Formentera Lady; 2) A Sailor's Tale; 3) The Letters; 4) Ladies of the Road; 5) Prelude: Song of the Gulls; 6) Islands.
Best Song: Islands
King Crimson is such a hard band to describe, partially because they more or less invented what we now call progressive rock, and partly because their music has always been so detached from the individual musician. Lead guitarist and founder Robert Fripp refers to an abstract entity when mentioning King Crimson, calling it "a way of doing things." That's more than a little pretentious, but: 1) Robert Fripp has always had quite the arrogant streak, and 2) the music is so friggin' brilliant that I don't care one bit. The songs are epic in proportion, the musicians are mind-blowingly talented, and they fuse so many genres in such a unique and theatrical way that one can't help but be blown away.
Islands,unfortunately, is not one of those albums. It's still very clever, of course, but "clever" and "exciting" don't always shake hands. The whole thing feels like the musicians were about to doze off during the sessions, even through the rollicking segments of "Ladies of the Road." It's all gray and matte, as if there were a sonic fog covering the band as they wrote and played. Sure, that helps keep it subtle, like in the pretty but overlong "Formentera Lady," but it has an equal chance of putting you to sleep.
The disappointment here stems from the contradiction of styles, I think. This is easily the most classical-influenced album in the band's history. You'll hear woodwinds and classical piano all over the place. With classical, you expect it to be moving and uplifting, but much of the album is bleak and almost lifeless. The whole thing speaks to you as if from a dark void, cold and lonely. The one time this approach proves rewarding is the title track (and possibly its prelude), which paints such a haunting potrait of isolation that I am almost willing to forgive the lackluster songs before it. We start on the island, but the music lifts us up and up, into the cosmos. Let's see Uriah Heep take a whack at that. Wait...let's not.
Other songs have their moments, but I wouldn't put them anywhere near a "Best Of" list for the band. "The Letters" is lopsided and would work better as poetry. "A Sailor's Tale" is alright, but it just meanders on without really getting anywhere. Yes,I know the album was made at a time when the band was on the verge of breaking up. But when has King Crimson ever not been on the verge of breaking up? Look at all the lineup changes! I guess the mighty Crim is too much for mortal men after all.
Rating: 6
Album: Islands
Release Year: 1971
Genres: progressive rock, symphonic rock, jazz fusion
1) Formentera Lady; 2) A Sailor's Tale; 3) The Letters; 4) Ladies of the Road; 5) Prelude: Song of the Gulls; 6) Islands.
Best Song: Islands
King Crimson is such a hard band to describe, partially because they more or less invented what we now call progressive rock, and partly because their music has always been so detached from the individual musician. Lead guitarist and founder Robert Fripp refers to an abstract entity when mentioning King Crimson, calling it "a way of doing things." That's more than a little pretentious, but: 1) Robert Fripp has always had quite the arrogant streak, and 2) the music is so friggin' brilliant that I don't care one bit. The songs are epic in proportion, the musicians are mind-blowingly talented, and they fuse so many genres in such a unique and theatrical way that one can't help but be blown away.
Islands,unfortunately, is not one of those albums. It's still very clever, of course, but "clever" and "exciting" don't always shake hands. The whole thing feels like the musicians were about to doze off during the sessions, even through the rollicking segments of "Ladies of the Road." It's all gray and matte, as if there were a sonic fog covering the band as they wrote and played. Sure, that helps keep it subtle, like in the pretty but overlong "Formentera Lady," but it has an equal chance of putting you to sleep.
The disappointment here stems from the contradiction of styles, I think. This is easily the most classical-influenced album in the band's history. You'll hear woodwinds and classical piano all over the place. With classical, you expect it to be moving and uplifting, but much of the album is bleak and almost lifeless. The whole thing speaks to you as if from a dark void, cold and lonely. The one time this approach proves rewarding is the title track (and possibly its prelude), which paints such a haunting potrait of isolation that I am almost willing to forgive the lackluster songs before it. We start on the island, but the music lifts us up and up, into the cosmos. Let's see Uriah Heep take a whack at that. Wait...let's not.
Other songs have their moments, but I wouldn't put them anywhere near a "Best Of" list for the band. "The Letters" is lopsided and would work better as poetry. "A Sailor's Tale" is alright, but it just meanders on without really getting anywhere. Yes,I know the album was made at a time when the band was on the verge of breaking up. But when has King Crimson ever not been on the verge of breaking up? Look at all the lineup changes! I guess the mighty Crim is too much for mortal men after all.
Rating: 6
The Doors
Artist: The Doors
Album: The Doors
Release Year: 1967
Genres: psychedelic rock, Gothic rock, blues-rock
1) Break on Through (to the Other Side); 2) Soul Kitchen; 3) The Crystal Ship; 4) Twentieth Century Fox; 5) Alabama Song; 6) Light My Fire; 7) Back Door Man; 8) I Looked at You; 9) End of the Night; 10) Take It as It Comes; 11) The End.
Best Song: Light My Fire...I think...
If you ever entertained even the slightest desire to acquaint yourself with The Doors, I'd say it would be well worth your time. That is, of course, if you also have no objections to plunging headfirst into the nightmarish mind of Jim Morrison. Love him or hate him, you can't deny he was certainly unique, and I will say without hesitation that the debut album is the best place to start your journey. While the band would eventually mature into a tight blues-rock outfit, the early albums showcase the members at their most raw and daring, and as with many other bands, that's the period I like best.
But even among the other early Doors releases, this one still stands apart from the rest. Why? Because it is so consistent, so congruent throughout, that we feel it dragging us deeper and deeper into the void, and our visions are gruesome and yet quite beautiful. Everything is so...primal! That's the word I was looking for! Whether Morrison is howling his petition to stay in the "Soul Kitchen" or awaiting the approach of the "End of the Night," you see through his eyes. This album brings the listener so intimately close to the body and soul of the music, like a lover, and there's no topping that atmosphere.
Of course, there is still some irritating filler on here ("I Looked at You," for example), but it goes down easy enough, given that it's surrounded by so much great material. "Light My Fire" is probably the best, with meaningless verses but some truly mesmerizing keyboard and guitar solos (don't forget the other guys- Morrison hated that). And no review of this album is complete without special mention of "The End," the excellent eleven-minute Gothic epic. Spiritual and demonic at the same time, it meanders here and there, telling of "weird scenes inside the gold mine," a long snake heading west, and other eerie imagery, building up tension all the way. Then there is the climax, which I don't have the heart to spoil for you. Get the album, or at the very least, Youtube it. But if you're faint of heart, don't try to sleep right after.
Rating: 9
Album: The Doors
Release Year: 1967
Genres: psychedelic rock, Gothic rock, blues-rock
1) Break on Through (to the Other Side); 2) Soul Kitchen; 3) The Crystal Ship; 4) Twentieth Century Fox; 5) Alabama Song; 6) Light My Fire; 7) Back Door Man; 8) I Looked at You; 9) End of the Night; 10) Take It as It Comes; 11) The End.
Best Song: Light My Fire...I think...
If you ever entertained even the slightest desire to acquaint yourself with The Doors, I'd say it would be well worth your time. That is, of course, if you also have no objections to plunging headfirst into the nightmarish mind of Jim Morrison. Love him or hate him, you can't deny he was certainly unique, and I will say without hesitation that the debut album is the best place to start your journey. While the band would eventually mature into a tight blues-rock outfit, the early albums showcase the members at their most raw and daring, and as with many other bands, that's the period I like best.
But even among the other early Doors releases, this one still stands apart from the rest. Why? Because it is so consistent, so congruent throughout, that we feel it dragging us deeper and deeper into the void, and our visions are gruesome and yet quite beautiful. Everything is so...primal! That's the word I was looking for! Whether Morrison is howling his petition to stay in the "Soul Kitchen" or awaiting the approach of the "End of the Night," you see through his eyes. This album brings the listener so intimately close to the body and soul of the music, like a lover, and there's no topping that atmosphere.
Of course, there is still some irritating filler on here ("I Looked at You," for example), but it goes down easy enough, given that it's surrounded by so much great material. "Light My Fire" is probably the best, with meaningless verses but some truly mesmerizing keyboard and guitar solos (don't forget the other guys- Morrison hated that). And no review of this album is complete without special mention of "The End," the excellent eleven-minute Gothic epic. Spiritual and demonic at the same time, it meanders here and there, telling of "weird scenes inside the gold mine," a long snake heading west, and other eerie imagery, building up tension all the way. Then there is the climax, which I don't have the heart to spoil for you. Get the album, or at the very least, Youtube it. But if you're faint of heart, don't try to sleep right after.
Rating: 9
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Wall
Band: Pink Floyd
Album: The Wall
Release Year: 1979
Genres: art rock, arena rock, rock opera
1) In the Flesh?; 2) The Thin Ice; 3) Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 1; 4) The Happiest Days of Our Lives; 5) Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2; 6) Mother; 7) Goodbye Blue Sky; 8) Empty Spaces; 9) Young Lust; 10) One of My Turns; 11) Don't Leave Me Now; 12) Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 3; 13) Goodbye Cruel World; 14) Hey You; 15) Is There Anybody Out There?; 16) Nobody Home; 17) Vera; 18) Bring the Boys Back Home; 19) Comfortably Numb; 20) The Show Must Go On; 21) In the Flesh; 22) Run Like Hell; 23) Waiting for the Worms; 24) Stop; 25) The Trial; 26) Outside the Wall.
Best Song: Comfortably Numb
Yes, people, I am reviewing The Wall, the second-most famous Floyd album behind Dark Side of the Moon. While certainly not the first rock opera, or even the best, it definitely stands out as the most famous, so I knew I would have to tackle it sooner or later. It's intriguing, thought-provoking, and monolithic, but it's also overblown and clumsy. It showboats too much for a rock album. So sorry to disappoint the fanatics who swear by it, but this is not their best work. Don't get me wrong, though--this is nonetheless an essential stop on anyone's journey through rock history, and a very enjoyable one at that.
The story goes that during one concert, Roger Waters spat on a disruptive fan and subsequently realized how alienated he had become from his fellow man. He proceeded to write the story of Pink, a wimpy kid growing up in wartime (presumably WWII) England with no father and a horrifyingly overprotective mother. He's emotionally abused by the disciplinarian school system, and his mother represses him to the point that he becomes unable to form adult relationships, thus forming a disturbing Oedipal bond between them. Pink subconsciously builds a "wall" around himself, isolating him from the world in order to prevent more emotional suffering. He grows up to be a rock star, but his wife's infidelity is the last straw. He completes the Wall, and immediately regrets it, but resigns himself to his fate. For some reason, he then becomes a sort of dictator, "cleansing" the world of gays, Jews, blacks, et cetera. This is probably just a hallucination, a metaphor for the damage he has done to others by refusing contact with them. He puts himself on trial within his own mind, and finding himself guilty, tears down the Wall.
The album begins promisingly, with a decent overture and the first two parts of "Another Brick in the Wall." The music complements the words quite well: the endless guitar thrumming of Part 1 really drives home Pink's loneliness in his father's absence, and the guitar solo at the end of Part 2 sounds like an obvious "tsk, tsk" at the sad state of the British educational system (in Waters' opinion; I have no idea). "Mother" is sweet and creepy at the same time: "Mama's gonna check out all you girlfriends for you...keep Baby healthy and clean." Errghh. Then we feel Pink's loneliness increase until he finally decides to cut himself off entirely from humanity, and the first disc ends.
The first few songs on Disc 2 are decent, but it sure goes downhill after that. "Comfortably Numb" is great, of course, with the famous, mind-bendingly awesome solo and chill-inducing vocal deliveries. The rest are overblown, melody-less, and just boring. And what's with the rebirth of Nazism? I guess there is an appropriate way to do that in a story, but Mr. Waters certainly doesn't have a clue. It's cliche and pointless here; a total red herring, distracting us from the original theme of the album. "Run Like Hell" is decent, but it still only stumbles along, rather than flowing like the great stuff I mentioned earlier. And then we get to "The Trial," which is so hammy and cartoony and carnivalesque (yep, that's right) that it destroys nearly all the empathetic grimness we've gathered on Pink's behalf. It's so hilariously bad unless you have the film handy, since this still is the best segment visually.
The main problem with this album is, half the time it forgets it's a rock album and just goes straight into "bad opera" territory. For example, I cannot stand "Don't Leave Me Now." It's nothing but Pink's pathetic, high-pitched, nails-on-a-chalkboard wailing about his wife leaving him. It would have been fine for a song opener, but four minutes? Come on, Roger. Sure, this is a rock opera, so we should expect some of the characters' exaggerated passion to spill over onto our side of the stage. But this is one of several glaring moments when Waters forgets the other half of the term: it is a rock opera, and melody should always be the top priority. It happens in "Bring the Boys Back Home," too, except this time the grand, bombastic, orchestrated anthem has NOTHING to do with the theme of the album. It's just Waters moaning about war and how, yeah, it's still going on. Forget the showboating. I think the subtle moments, like the little girl at the beginning of "Goodbye Blue Sky," are far more moving. Ah, well. Maybe it's just 'cause I've never been dumped.
Still, on the whole, The Wall is a very good album. The story is well suited to the band, and David Gilmour is in top form--so even when the songs suck, you can still enjoy his playing. We can really empathize with Pink, and the album succeeds in a adding a certain "romance" to his awful struggle. And who can honestly say they've never been in Pink's shoes before? No wonder this one's so popular among young adults--you'd almost think Waters invented Emo before 1980. The difference was, Waters' emotional crises were genuine, and he actually knew how to make a good song out of it. Even it would have sounded better on Broadway.
Rating: 8
Album: The Wall
Release Year: 1979
Genres: art rock, arena rock, rock opera
1) In the Flesh?; 2) The Thin Ice; 3) Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 1; 4) The Happiest Days of Our Lives; 5) Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2; 6) Mother; 7) Goodbye Blue Sky; 8) Empty Spaces; 9) Young Lust; 10) One of My Turns; 11) Don't Leave Me Now; 12) Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 3; 13) Goodbye Cruel World; 14) Hey You; 15) Is There Anybody Out There?; 16) Nobody Home; 17) Vera; 18) Bring the Boys Back Home; 19) Comfortably Numb; 20) The Show Must Go On; 21) In the Flesh; 22) Run Like Hell; 23) Waiting for the Worms; 24) Stop; 25) The Trial; 26) Outside the Wall.
Best Song: Comfortably Numb
Yes, people, I am reviewing The Wall, the second-most famous Floyd album behind Dark Side of the Moon. While certainly not the first rock opera, or even the best, it definitely stands out as the most famous, so I knew I would have to tackle it sooner or later. It's intriguing, thought-provoking, and monolithic, but it's also overblown and clumsy. It showboats too much for a rock album. So sorry to disappoint the fanatics who swear by it, but this is not their best work. Don't get me wrong, though--this is nonetheless an essential stop on anyone's journey through rock history, and a very enjoyable one at that.
The story goes that during one concert, Roger Waters spat on a disruptive fan and subsequently realized how alienated he had become from his fellow man. He proceeded to write the story of Pink, a wimpy kid growing up in wartime (presumably WWII) England with no father and a horrifyingly overprotective mother. He's emotionally abused by the disciplinarian school system, and his mother represses him to the point that he becomes unable to form adult relationships, thus forming a disturbing Oedipal bond between them. Pink subconsciously builds a "wall" around himself, isolating him from the world in order to prevent more emotional suffering. He grows up to be a rock star, but his wife's infidelity is the last straw. He completes the Wall, and immediately regrets it, but resigns himself to his fate. For some reason, he then becomes a sort of dictator, "cleansing" the world of gays, Jews, blacks, et cetera. This is probably just a hallucination, a metaphor for the damage he has done to others by refusing contact with them. He puts himself on trial within his own mind, and finding himself guilty, tears down the Wall.
The album begins promisingly, with a decent overture and the first two parts of "Another Brick in the Wall." The music complements the words quite well: the endless guitar thrumming of Part 1 really drives home Pink's loneliness in his father's absence, and the guitar solo at the end of Part 2 sounds like an obvious "tsk, tsk" at the sad state of the British educational system (in Waters' opinion; I have no idea). "Mother" is sweet and creepy at the same time: "Mama's gonna check out all you girlfriends for you...keep Baby healthy and clean." Errghh. Then we feel Pink's loneliness increase until he finally decides to cut himself off entirely from humanity, and the first disc ends.
The first few songs on Disc 2 are decent, but it sure goes downhill after that. "Comfortably Numb" is great, of course, with the famous, mind-bendingly awesome solo and chill-inducing vocal deliveries. The rest are overblown, melody-less, and just boring. And what's with the rebirth of Nazism? I guess there is an appropriate way to do that in a story, but Mr. Waters certainly doesn't have a clue. It's cliche and pointless here; a total red herring, distracting us from the original theme of the album. "Run Like Hell" is decent, but it still only stumbles along, rather than flowing like the great stuff I mentioned earlier. And then we get to "The Trial," which is so hammy and cartoony and carnivalesque (yep, that's right) that it destroys nearly all the empathetic grimness we've gathered on Pink's behalf. It's so hilariously bad unless you have the film handy, since this still is the best segment visually.
The main problem with this album is, half the time it forgets it's a rock album and just goes straight into "bad opera" territory. For example, I cannot stand "Don't Leave Me Now." It's nothing but Pink's pathetic, high-pitched, nails-on-a-chalkboard wailing about his wife leaving him. It would have been fine for a song opener, but four minutes? Come on, Roger. Sure, this is a rock opera, so we should expect some of the characters' exaggerated passion to spill over onto our side of the stage. But this is one of several glaring moments when Waters forgets the other half of the term: it is a rock opera, and melody should always be the top priority. It happens in "Bring the Boys Back Home," too, except this time the grand, bombastic, orchestrated anthem has NOTHING to do with the theme of the album. It's just Waters moaning about war and how, yeah, it's still going on. Forget the showboating. I think the subtle moments, like the little girl at the beginning of "Goodbye Blue Sky," are far more moving. Ah, well. Maybe it's just 'cause I've never been dumped.
Still, on the whole, The Wall is a very good album. The story is well suited to the band, and David Gilmour is in top form--so even when the songs suck, you can still enjoy his playing. We can really empathize with Pink, and the album succeeds in a adding a certain "romance" to his awful struggle. And who can honestly say they've never been in Pink's shoes before? No wonder this one's so popular among young adults--you'd almost think Waters invented Emo before 1980. The difference was, Waters' emotional crises were genuine, and he actually knew how to make a good song out of it. Even it would have sounded better on Broadway.
Rating: 8
Sunday, March 20, 2011
The Incident
Album: The Incident
Artist: Porcupine Tree
Release Year: 2009
Genres: art rock, progressive rock, alternative rock
THE INCIDENT: 1) Occam's Razor; 2) The Blind House; 3) Great Expectations; 4) Kneel and Disconnect; 5) Drawing the Line; 6) The Incident; 7) Your Unpleasant Family; 8) Yellow Windows of the Evening Train; 9) Time Flies; 10) Zero Degree of Liberty; 11) Octane Twisted; 12) Seance; 13) Circle of Manias; 14) I Drive the Hearse.
REMAINING SONGS: 1) Flicker; 2) Bonnie the Cat; 3) Black Dahlia; 4) Remember Me Lover.
Best Song: I Drive the Hearse
Let me start by saying that yes, I picked this album completely at random, so do not accuse me of taking yet another opportunity to plug one of my favorite bands. Second, this album is hard to get into. At first listen it seems bland and uninspired, but spin it a few more times and you'll see its beauty.
"The Incident" (the song sequence occupying the entire first disc) is pure Steven Wilson. Sure, the preceding albums were also written mainly by him, but to hear this one is to see that all the extra layers fall away. It's Steven, alone in a dark room in the wee hours, reading from the hearts and minds of various "characters." Briefly, the theme of the piece is dehumanization through callousness and apathy, and though I'm not sure how well the songs follow it, I can tell you I really don't care. They all flow neatly and logically.
As per usual, the songs are dreary and despondent. All of them. Sometimes I marvel at the band's ability to hold my interest through a dozen albums of what could almost be suicide notes, but maybe that's just an indication of their prowess. Anyway, at least the brands of depression change several times, from detachment to resentment, to painful reminiscing, to regret. There are some dark, mid-tempo rock songs ("The Blind House," "Circle of Manias"), beautiful ballads ("Kneel and Disconnect," "I Drive the Hearse"), and a progressive epic ("Time Flies").
I don't like to spend a lot of time on individual songs (or segments, as these technically are), but I must point out "Time Flies" and "I Drive the Hearse." The first begins and ends as a flowing, yearning song of regret for past failures, concealing a faint glimmer of hope, with a great guitar solo in the middle. "I Drive the Hearse" is, in my opinion, the most haunting and beautiful song Wilson ever wrote. "Silence is another way of saying what I want to say. Pride is just another way of trying to live with my mistakes. And you were always my mistake."
As I said above, though, the main flaw with this album is that it gets monotonous at times, particularly toward the end. After a while, you realize they're not playing anything you haven't already heard in the past hour, and I can see how that would turn some people off. The atmosphere is even darker than on previous albums, and this one certainly doesn't invite you in. But press on, I say! Give it time, and it'll grow on you.
Oh, I guess I forgot to talk about the four songs on the second disc. Uh, well...they're okay.
Rating: 8.5
Artist: Porcupine Tree
Release Year: 2009
Genres: art rock, progressive rock, alternative rock
THE INCIDENT: 1) Occam's Razor; 2) The Blind House; 3) Great Expectations; 4) Kneel and Disconnect; 5) Drawing the Line; 6) The Incident; 7) Your Unpleasant Family; 8) Yellow Windows of the Evening Train; 9) Time Flies; 10) Zero Degree of Liberty; 11) Octane Twisted; 12) Seance; 13) Circle of Manias; 14) I Drive the Hearse.
REMAINING SONGS: 1) Flicker; 2) Bonnie the Cat; 3) Black Dahlia; 4) Remember Me Lover.
Best Song: I Drive the Hearse
Let me start by saying that yes, I picked this album completely at random, so do not accuse me of taking yet another opportunity to plug one of my favorite bands. Second, this album is hard to get into. At first listen it seems bland and uninspired, but spin it a few more times and you'll see its beauty.
"The Incident" (the song sequence occupying the entire first disc) is pure Steven Wilson. Sure, the preceding albums were also written mainly by him, but to hear this one is to see that all the extra layers fall away. It's Steven, alone in a dark room in the wee hours, reading from the hearts and minds of various "characters." Briefly, the theme of the piece is dehumanization through callousness and apathy, and though I'm not sure how well the songs follow it, I can tell you I really don't care. They all flow neatly and logically.
As per usual, the songs are dreary and despondent. All of them. Sometimes I marvel at the band's ability to hold my interest through a dozen albums of what could almost be suicide notes, but maybe that's just an indication of their prowess. Anyway, at least the brands of depression change several times, from detachment to resentment, to painful reminiscing, to regret. There are some dark, mid-tempo rock songs ("The Blind House," "Circle of Manias"), beautiful ballads ("Kneel and Disconnect," "I Drive the Hearse"), and a progressive epic ("Time Flies").
I don't like to spend a lot of time on individual songs (or segments, as these technically are), but I must point out "Time Flies" and "I Drive the Hearse." The first begins and ends as a flowing, yearning song of regret for past failures, concealing a faint glimmer of hope, with a great guitar solo in the middle. "I Drive the Hearse" is, in my opinion, the most haunting and beautiful song Wilson ever wrote. "Silence is another way of saying what I want to say. Pride is just another way of trying to live with my mistakes. And you were always my mistake."
As I said above, though, the main flaw with this album is that it gets monotonous at times, particularly toward the end. After a while, you realize they're not playing anything you haven't already heard in the past hour, and I can see how that would turn some people off. The atmosphere is even darker than on previous albums, and this one certainly doesn't invite you in. But press on, I say! Give it time, and it'll grow on you.
Oh, I guess I forgot to talk about the four songs on the second disc. Uh, well...they're okay.
Rating: 8.5
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid
Album: Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid
Artist: Collective Soul
Release Year: 1994
Genres: alternative rock, pop-rock
1) Shine; 2) Goodnight, Good Guy; 3) Wasting Time; 4) Sister Don't Cry; 5) Love Lifted Me; 6) In a Moment; 7) Heaven's Already Here; 8) Pretty Donna (Instrumental); 9) Reach; 10) Breathe; 11) Scream; 12) Burning Bridges; 13) All.
Best Song: Shine
Well, if your debut album has "Shine" on it, why bother making any of the other songs memorable? Am I right? Nah, most of the others are decent, but "Shine" is unquestionably the winner here. Who can resist the carefree melody or the "Whooo-ooo-o-oaah...heaven let your light shine down" in the chorus? What a great summertime anthem, huh? Brings back memories.
The band's name has some real significance on this album, since over half the songs have this "gospel" feel to them, trying to be uplifting, I assume. Sometimes it works, like on "Goodnight Good Guy," but just as often, it makes a mess of things. Some of the songs sound like they belong in the soundtrack of a sappy teen drama. Not that all the softer ones are bad, though--I will admit I like "Burning Bridges"--but since these guys are obviously more suited to straddling the fence between pop and hard rock, hearing them try to embrace only the light side is disappointing. "Scream," for example, is awful, trying to rock out but ending up sounding more laughable than anything.
Like I said above, the guys are obviously trying to strike some deep emotional chord within the listener with their tender vocal deliveries and soaring guitar passages. Trouble is, they're still just a pop band, and it's hard to be truly convincing when you've been blatantly commercial from the start. But, I think the major flaw of this album is that it's just so tame that none of the songs (except "Shine") stand out. It's mostly uniform and bland, with a few nice hooks scattered here and there to keep you awake. I don't listen to it often, but at least I don't grate my teeth to it, either.
Rating: 6
Artist: Collective Soul
Release Year: 1994
Genres: alternative rock, pop-rock
1) Shine; 2) Goodnight, Good Guy; 3) Wasting Time; 4) Sister Don't Cry; 5) Love Lifted Me; 6) In a Moment; 7) Heaven's Already Here; 8) Pretty Donna (Instrumental); 9) Reach; 10) Breathe; 11) Scream; 12) Burning Bridges; 13) All.
Best Song: Shine
Well, if your debut album has "Shine" on it, why bother making any of the other songs memorable? Am I right? Nah, most of the others are decent, but "Shine" is unquestionably the winner here. Who can resist the carefree melody or the "Whooo-ooo-o-oaah...heaven let your light shine down" in the chorus? What a great summertime anthem, huh? Brings back memories.
The band's name has some real significance on this album, since over half the songs have this "gospel" feel to them, trying to be uplifting, I assume. Sometimes it works, like on "Goodnight Good Guy," but just as often, it makes a mess of things. Some of the songs sound like they belong in the soundtrack of a sappy teen drama. Not that all the softer ones are bad, though--I will admit I like "Burning Bridges"--but since these guys are obviously more suited to straddling the fence between pop and hard rock, hearing them try to embrace only the light side is disappointing. "Scream," for example, is awful, trying to rock out but ending up sounding more laughable than anything.
Like I said above, the guys are obviously trying to strike some deep emotional chord within the listener with their tender vocal deliveries and soaring guitar passages. Trouble is, they're still just a pop band, and it's hard to be truly convincing when you've been blatantly commercial from the start. But, I think the major flaw of this album is that it's just so tame that none of the songs (except "Shine") stand out. It's mostly uniform and bland, with a few nice hooks scattered here and there to keep you awake. I don't listen to it often, but at least I don't grate my teeth to it, either.
Rating: 6
Monday, March 14, 2011
Ocarina of Time Hyrule Symphony
Artist: Ryuichi Katsumata
Album: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Hyrule Symphony
Release Year: 1999
Genres: classical, Renaissance, game soundtrack
1) Title; 2) Kokiri Forest; 3) Hyrule Field; 4) Hyrule Castle; 5) Lon Lon Ranch; 6) Kakariko Village; 7) Death Mountain; 8) Zora's Domain; 9) Gerudo Valley; 10) Ganondorf; 11) Princess Zelda; 12) Ocarina Medley; 13) The Legend of Zelda Medley.
Best Song: I have no idea.
WARNING: This review may not be entirely subjecive. But then, what review is?
Ocarina of Time is the greatest video game ever made. Period. That is my firm conviction, and it seems only fitting that such a game should receive an equally epic soundtrack. Thanks to the brillaint Koji Kondo, it did. My version of the soundtrack is the fully orchestrated one by Ryuichi Katsumata, and I don't even have to tell you how incredible it is. But I will anyway.
I guess a huge part of my love for this album comes from having beaten the game at least six or seven times, but I think even someone who has never even heard of it could still enjoy this music. Right from the title theme, with its sweeping refrain, you're dropped into Hyrule feeling like you first popped the cartridge in yesterday. There's even a medley of the ocarina songs, in all their mysterious, majestic glory.
Then you go through songs for all the different races of Hyrule: lighthearted and danceable for the Gorons, graceful and regal for the Zora, simple and good-natured for the Kokiri. Each song places you right in the middle of a landmark of Hyrule, all of them teeming with life and full of great secrets. You listen to the theme for the Market, and you can almost hear the bustling crowds and those two laughing guys with the red and blue shirts. You hear the Gerudo Valley theme, and suddenly you and Epona are making that epic leap across the gorge, with a thousand-foot drop to the river below. Hyrule springs to life, as vividly as possible, and you relive the greatest 64-bit adventure known to man.
Rating: 10
Album: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Hyrule Symphony
Release Year: 1999
Genres: classical, Renaissance, game soundtrack
1) Title; 2) Kokiri Forest; 3) Hyrule Field; 4) Hyrule Castle; 5) Lon Lon Ranch; 6) Kakariko Village; 7) Death Mountain; 8) Zora's Domain; 9) Gerudo Valley; 10) Ganondorf; 11) Princess Zelda; 12) Ocarina Medley; 13) The Legend of Zelda Medley.
Best Song: I have no idea.
WARNING: This review may not be entirely subjecive. But then, what review is?
Ocarina of Time is the greatest video game ever made. Period. That is my firm conviction, and it seems only fitting that such a game should receive an equally epic soundtrack. Thanks to the brillaint Koji Kondo, it did. My version of the soundtrack is the fully orchestrated one by Ryuichi Katsumata, and I don't even have to tell you how incredible it is. But I will anyway.
I guess a huge part of my love for this album comes from having beaten the game at least six or seven times, but I think even someone who has never even heard of it could still enjoy this music. Right from the title theme, with its sweeping refrain, you're dropped into Hyrule feeling like you first popped the cartridge in yesterday. There's even a medley of the ocarina songs, in all their mysterious, majestic glory.
Then you go through songs for all the different races of Hyrule: lighthearted and danceable for the Gorons, graceful and regal for the Zora, simple and good-natured for the Kokiri. Each song places you right in the middle of a landmark of Hyrule, all of them teeming with life and full of great secrets. You listen to the theme for the Market, and you can almost hear the bustling crowds and those two laughing guys with the red and blue shirts. You hear the Gerudo Valley theme, and suddenly you and Epona are making that epic leap across the gorge, with a thousand-foot drop to the river below. Hyrule springs to life, as vividly as possible, and you relive the greatest 64-bit adventure known to man.
Rating: 10
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Cornerstone
Album: Cornerstone
Artist: Styx
Release Year: 1979
Genres: pop-rock, arena rock
1) Lights; 2) Why Me; 3) Babe; 4) Never Say Never; 5) Boat on the River; 6) Borrowed Time; 7) First Time; 8) Eddie; 9) Love in the Midnight.
Best Song: Love in the Midnight
Yeah, I'm reviewing a Styx album. I can already hear you guys jeering at me for sinking so low, and so early in the blog at that-- not to mention that this is quite possibly their worst album. Actually, it's third-worst, ahead of those horrendous '90s releases. This one's still tolerable. Mostly.
Anyway, despite their obvious flaws, I still like Styx, and I'm going to review this incredibly mediocre pop album. That's right, people: it is not a rock record. Only the last two songs edge anywhere near "rocking," and "Eddie" is so damn embarassing I don't even count it. Hearing James Young screech pseudo-political lyrics during a very inadequate and forced-sounding song is not my idea of good music. I'm borrowing George Starostin's term "inadequate" here, and in this case I define it thus: Imagine you've been threatened by a massive biker holding a knife. You're scrawny and weak, and you've wet yourself a little. Yet you insist he leave, or you're going to beat him to a bloody pulp. That is inadequacy. See where I'm going with this?
But I digress. The rest of the album is pretty uniform, and unfortunately, Dennis DeYoung dominates. Almost all of the songs consist of pseudo-rock melodies, stripped and watered down to make bland pop anthems. All is not lost, however-- I still have two favorites on this album. "Boat on the River" is a great, European-sounding folk ditty, which apparently was very popluar across the Atlantic. I heard a recording of them playing it in Germany. The audience went crazy. Meanwhile, "Love in the Midnight" starts out with eerie medieval verses before developing into a soaring rock anthem with some actual feeling, so I guess that's a winner too.
Of course there's "Babe," the song with which the band effectively Bieberized themselves. Worse, there's "First Time," which I'm not even going to discuss. It doesn't deserve it.
Rating: 4
Artist: Styx
Release Year: 1979
Genres: pop-rock, arena rock
1) Lights; 2) Why Me; 3) Babe; 4) Never Say Never; 5) Boat on the River; 6) Borrowed Time; 7) First Time; 8) Eddie; 9) Love in the Midnight.
Best Song: Love in the Midnight
Yeah, I'm reviewing a Styx album. I can already hear you guys jeering at me for sinking so low, and so early in the blog at that-- not to mention that this is quite possibly their worst album. Actually, it's third-worst, ahead of those horrendous '90s releases. This one's still tolerable. Mostly.
Anyway, despite their obvious flaws, I still like Styx, and I'm going to review this incredibly mediocre pop album. That's right, people: it is not a rock record. Only the last two songs edge anywhere near "rocking," and "Eddie" is so damn embarassing I don't even count it. Hearing James Young screech pseudo-political lyrics during a very inadequate and forced-sounding song is not my idea of good music. I'm borrowing George Starostin's term "inadequate" here, and in this case I define it thus: Imagine you've been threatened by a massive biker holding a knife. You're scrawny and weak, and you've wet yourself a little. Yet you insist he leave, or you're going to beat him to a bloody pulp. That is inadequacy. See where I'm going with this?
But I digress. The rest of the album is pretty uniform, and unfortunately, Dennis DeYoung dominates. Almost all of the songs consist of pseudo-rock melodies, stripped and watered down to make bland pop anthems. All is not lost, however-- I still have two favorites on this album. "Boat on the River" is a great, European-sounding folk ditty, which apparently was very popluar across the Atlantic. I heard a recording of them playing it in Germany. The audience went crazy. Meanwhile, "Love in the Midnight" starts out with eerie medieval verses before developing into a soaring rock anthem with some actual feeling, so I guess that's a winner too.
Of course there's "Babe," the song with which the band effectively Bieberized themselves. Worse, there's "First Time," which I'm not even going to discuss. It doesn't deserve it.
Rating: 4
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Beautiful Freak
Album: Beautiful Freak
Artist: Eels
Release Year: 1996
Genres: alternative rock, indie rock
1) Novocaine for the Soul; 2) Susan's House; 3) Rags to Rags; 4) Beautiful Freak; 5) Not Ready Yet; 6) My Beloved Monster; 7) Flower; 8) Guest List; 9) Mental; 10) Spunky; 11) Your Lucky Day in Hell; 12) Manchild.
Best Song: Novocaine for the Soul...or anything else
I remember listening to my sister's copy of the Holes movie soundtrack (which is great, by the way), and suddenly deciding "Eyes Down" was one of my favorite songs. "Eels?" I thought. "I need more of this!" So, having decided the first album was the best place to start, I picked it up, and it immediately became one of the cornerstones of my collection.
I suppose I should explain what makes it so great. I mean, there is no musical virtuosity here. You will not find any guitar solos. It's just Mark Everett (or E, as we fans call him) and a couple of other guys singing and playing a dozen sparse but quirky almost-rock songs. But, at the risk of sounding cliche, therein lies its genius. There are no pretentions to bury E's message. In fact, the general simplicity enhances the songs. They all have this "secondhand" feel to them, which I love. There's so much character here. There's such an offbeat yet sincere beauty to this album.
It's full of this delicious irreverence, too. Listen to the little "hooray!" in "Susan's House", right before E talks about a kid selling crack. No, this is not a happy album-- look at the song titles, for crying out loud. It's all about the underdogs, the misfits, the freaks: the ones E undoubtedly identifies with. Yeah, the "outcast angst" thing has been done a million times before, but the great thing about E is that he can take those cliches and make them sound good. Example:
"Turn the ugly light off, God, don't wanna see my face...Every day they rain down on me, a flower in a hailstorm. I'm living for the drought."
That's from "Flower." Take the other lyrics by themselves and they sound childish and trite, but put them in the song and they're perfect.
I really can't think of anything negative to say about the album, except that I don't care for the title track. The whole album's a bit of a downer, sure, but hey: it's Eels. Being happy isn't in their contract.
Rating: 9
Artist: Eels
Release Year: 1996
Genres: alternative rock, indie rock
1) Novocaine for the Soul; 2) Susan's House; 3) Rags to Rags; 4) Beautiful Freak; 5) Not Ready Yet; 6) My Beloved Monster; 7) Flower; 8) Guest List; 9) Mental; 10) Spunky; 11) Your Lucky Day in Hell; 12) Manchild.
Best Song: Novocaine for the Soul...or anything else
I remember listening to my sister's copy of the Holes movie soundtrack (which is great, by the way), and suddenly deciding "Eyes Down" was one of my favorite songs. "Eels?" I thought. "I need more of this!" So, having decided the first album was the best place to start, I picked it up, and it immediately became one of the cornerstones of my collection.
I suppose I should explain what makes it so great. I mean, there is no musical virtuosity here. You will not find any guitar solos. It's just Mark Everett (or E, as we fans call him) and a couple of other guys singing and playing a dozen sparse but quirky almost-rock songs. But, at the risk of sounding cliche, therein lies its genius. There are no pretentions to bury E's message. In fact, the general simplicity enhances the songs. They all have this "secondhand" feel to them, which I love. There's so much character here. There's such an offbeat yet sincere beauty to this album.
It's full of this delicious irreverence, too. Listen to the little "hooray!" in "Susan's House", right before E talks about a kid selling crack. No, this is not a happy album-- look at the song titles, for crying out loud. It's all about the underdogs, the misfits, the freaks: the ones E undoubtedly identifies with. Yeah, the "outcast angst" thing has been done a million times before, but the great thing about E is that he can take those cliches and make them sound good. Example:
"Turn the ugly light off, God, don't wanna see my face...Every day they rain down on me, a flower in a hailstorm. I'm living for the drought."
That's from "Flower." Take the other lyrics by themselves and they sound childish and trite, but put them in the song and they're perfect.
I really can't think of anything negative to say about the album, except that I don't care for the title track. The whole album's a bit of a downer, sure, but hey: it's Eels. Being happy isn't in their contract.
Rating: 9
Rubber Soul
Album: Rubber Soul
Artist: The Beatles
Release Year: 1966
Genres: pop-rock, art-rock
1) Drive My Car; 2) Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown); 3) You Won't See Me; 4) Nowhere Man; 5) Think for Yourself; 6) The Word; 7) Michelle; 8) What Goes On; 9) Girl; 10) I'm Looking Through You; 11) In My Life; 12) Wait; 13) If I Needed Someone; 14) Run for Your Life.
Best Song: In My Life
So it only took me two random song picks to come up with a Beatles album, which I guess is for the best. After all, are they not a universal standard by which we (unfairly) judge other musicians? Actually, I hope not, because then everything else would seem...well, sucky. Just be forewarned that I find it hard to write about Beatles albums-- first, because they're so uniformly good; and second, because it's all been said before.
Anyway, I've heard this album being called a defining Beatles album, apparently because it sits right between the "Beatlemania period" of the early '60s and the "artsy period" of '66 onward. I guess that's somewhat accurate, although a few listens will show that the real transition didn't come until Rubber Soul a few months later. The melodies are still fairly simple, although there is certainly an artistic touch to the songs, making them richer and fuller, although at times the album could use a little more punch. Such a transitional phase is still great listening, though. There are a few average (relatively speaking, of course) tracks in the middle, like "The Word" and "Girl," but even those are saved by some interesting instrumentation. The rest are all winners.
Take "Norwegian Wood," for example. It's so simple, yet intriguing, and the sitar compliments the whole thing perfectly. Or "In My Life," a genuinely touching tribute to those past and those we love now, with great harmonies and a piano solo. By now, I'm afraid I've said about all I can without reviewing each individual song, so I'm going to leave off here. Oh, but George's guitar licks on "Run for Your Life" are some of the coolest I've heard in a while.
Rating: 8
Artist: The Beatles
Release Year: 1966
Genres: pop-rock, art-rock
1) Drive My Car; 2) Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown); 3) You Won't See Me; 4) Nowhere Man; 5) Think for Yourself; 6) The Word; 7) Michelle; 8) What Goes On; 9) Girl; 10) I'm Looking Through You; 11) In My Life; 12) Wait; 13) If I Needed Someone; 14) Run for Your Life.
Best Song: In My Life
So it only took me two random song picks to come up with a Beatles album, which I guess is for the best. After all, are they not a universal standard by which we (unfairly) judge other musicians? Actually, I hope not, because then everything else would seem...well, sucky. Just be forewarned that I find it hard to write about Beatles albums-- first, because they're so uniformly good; and second, because it's all been said before.
Anyway, I've heard this album being called a defining Beatles album, apparently because it sits right between the "Beatlemania period" of the early '60s and the "artsy period" of '66 onward. I guess that's somewhat accurate, although a few listens will show that the real transition didn't come until Rubber Soul a few months later. The melodies are still fairly simple, although there is certainly an artistic touch to the songs, making them richer and fuller, although at times the album could use a little more punch. Such a transitional phase is still great listening, though. There are a few average (relatively speaking, of course) tracks in the middle, like "The Word" and "Girl," but even those are saved by some interesting instrumentation. The rest are all winners.
Take "Norwegian Wood," for example. It's so simple, yet intriguing, and the sitar compliments the whole thing perfectly. Or "In My Life," a genuinely touching tribute to those past and those we love now, with great harmonies and a piano solo. By now, I'm afraid I've said about all I can without reviewing each individual song, so I'm going to leave off here. Oh, but George's guitar licks on "Run for Your Life" are some of the coolest I've heard in a while.
Rating: 8
Monday, March 7, 2011
Death Walks Behind You
Album: Death Walks Behind You
Artist: Atomic Rooster
Release Year: 1971
Genres: art-rock, progressive rock
1) Death Walks Behind You; 2) VUG; 3) Tomorrow Night; 4) Streets; 5) Sleeping for Years; 6) I Can't Take No More; 7) Nobody Else; 8) Gershatzer.
Best Song: Death Walks Behind You
I have no idea what a Vug is, or a Gershatzer. I don't know what's wrong with the guy on the cover, either, but he appears to be suffering from the same thing that possesses this album, which is like the soundtrack to a nightmare. It's not pure progressive rock (the songs aren't long or complex enough), it's not straight hard rock (the songs aren't direct or accessible enough), but it does fit somewhere in between, with the band's taste for the macabre giving them some originality. The songs all have this hard, dangerous edge to them, helped in no small part by Vincent Crane's portentous delivery, and the album as a whole feels like an assault...on the hapless unseasoned listener, of course.
Check out John DuCann's ferocious guitar solo in the opening of "Sleeping for Years," for instance. It's angry, and I don't mean "jilted-lover angry" or "the Man's keeping me down angry." This is pure sadistic glee, boiling up from the primitive subconscious, and it's so damn cathartic to listen to- not to mention it predates "Eruption" by about seven years. But aside from that, there are dark, pounding riffs all over this album (especially the one in the title track), and the guys get some really nice grooves going-- some, in fact, could have made the charts. Oh, wait: ELO did that instead, ripping off the chorus of "I Can't Take No More" to make "Don't Bring Me Down." Ahh, well.
Still, I have to point out that the albums really drags in some places. "Streets" is just boring, and the instrumental "Gershatzer" is a lot less creative than its title might suggest. Sometimes they sacrifice melody and rely too much on the "scary and grotesque" schtick, which can make the songs seem plodding and clumsy. Still, the album is definitely enjoyable--assuming you can tolerate the synthesizers, of course.
Rating: 7.5
Artist: Atomic Rooster
Release Year: 1971
Genres: art-rock, progressive rock
1) Death Walks Behind You; 2) VUG; 3) Tomorrow Night; 4) Streets; 5) Sleeping for Years; 6) I Can't Take No More; 7) Nobody Else; 8) Gershatzer.
Best Song: Death Walks Behind You
I have no idea what a Vug is, or a Gershatzer. I don't know what's wrong with the guy on the cover, either, but he appears to be suffering from the same thing that possesses this album, which is like the soundtrack to a nightmare. It's not pure progressive rock (the songs aren't long or complex enough), it's not straight hard rock (the songs aren't direct or accessible enough), but it does fit somewhere in between, with the band's taste for the macabre giving them some originality. The songs all have this hard, dangerous edge to them, helped in no small part by Vincent Crane's portentous delivery, and the album as a whole feels like an assault...on the hapless unseasoned listener, of course.
Check out John DuCann's ferocious guitar solo in the opening of "Sleeping for Years," for instance. It's angry, and I don't mean "jilted-lover angry" or "the Man's keeping me down angry." This is pure sadistic glee, boiling up from the primitive subconscious, and it's so damn cathartic to listen to- not to mention it predates "Eruption" by about seven years. But aside from that, there are dark, pounding riffs all over this album (especially the one in the title track), and the guys get some really nice grooves going-- some, in fact, could have made the charts. Oh, wait: ELO did that instead, ripping off the chorus of "I Can't Take No More" to make "Don't Bring Me Down." Ahh, well.
Still, I have to point out that the albums really drags in some places. "Streets" is just boring, and the instrumental "Gershatzer" is a lot less creative than its title might suggest. Sometimes they sacrifice melody and rely too much on the "scary and grotesque" schtick, which can make the songs seem plodding and clumsy. Still, the album is definitely enjoyable--assuming you can tolerate the synthesizers, of course.
Rating: 7.5
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