Blood, Sweat & Tears

Don't really know what to make of it. It wasn't particularly coherent but it also wasn't bad but also not outstanding or anything

Quite good, but it outstays its welcome a bit. Anyway. I like trains.

This is who did Spinning Wheel? No shit? I used to play that song in Middle School "Jazz" band.

Also, this is a good choice for the list. It won album of the year in 1970 and has seemingly been completely forgotten about in music discourse.

This one’s not for me, sorry. Another album I don’t understand why it’s here. But then again, who am I to decide who deserves a spot on this list?

It was a huge struggle to get to the end, but I made it… though I think I lost a lot of blood, because I feel pretty weak :-(

This is a great album that's like 5 genres. It does each of them really well.

Blood, Sweat & Tears is the second album from Blood, Sweat & Tears and definitely one that needs a few listens before you fully form an opinion on it. At first it feels like a bit of a mess, constantly jumping between styles and ideas, but strangely that ends up being both a negative and part of the album’s charm. Overall, I found it a really enjoyable listen.

It’s difficult to place the album into one clear genre. There are elements of jazz, rock, funk and even big band music all mixed together, sometimes within the same track. It feels chaotic at times, but in a good way — almost like a perfectly controlled mess. The musicianship throughout is excellent and the bass in particular really stands out across the album.

That said, the long instrumentals do drag things down a little for me. A couple of tracks feel overindulgent and could easily have been trimmed without hurting the overall album. Still, despite those moments, I enjoyed this album a lot more than I expected to and it’s definitely one I’ll come back to again.

Favourite tracks: “More and More” and “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” are brilliant
Least favourite tracks: The long instrumentals really let the album down at times
Album artwork: Standard album cover

There are some interesting sounds in the album but overall this album is pretty boring for me. And some parts just sound like a bunch of random noises.

These instruments can scare away, but it was actually a very interesting journey.

This is the type of album where you hear a really good song and then get disappointed and assume most of the rest of the songs aren’t going to be able to top the one you just heard. But nope, the next song is just as much of a masterpiece as the last. Anyone who doesn’t think that this album is worth at least 7 stars shall be pulverized immediately.

15 trillion stars

Was this album better than yesterday’s album, The Infotainment Scan by The Fall? Yes.

I can't listen to that kind of music, I'm not sensitive enough, don't understand, not in my field of interest, just no.

I don't really know this band except for the two big songs that are both on this album. I didn't really like the first few tracks, but once "And When I Die" hits, it was all good. That song and "Spinning Wheel" are remarkable and also deeply weird. With "God Bless the Child" in between, we're in four-star album territory. Little drum solo and we're out. Good night.

Last thing I needed was a soft jazz version of In A Gadda Da Vida fronted by the guy from The Commitments.

Some pretty good songs, but overall a lot that didn't really catch me.

Surprisingly good, really disliked the first track but the rest is really good. Maybe slightly long.

Not sure this aged well

I found this mostly forgettable and occasionally annoying. The hits were all well and good, but the mid NOLA jazz and some of the cheesy covers brought this down. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

Bookended with borrowed classical flourishes, the album quickly dives into psychedelia before veering off to Broadway—something in the vein of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. From there it slips into crooning, then suddenly detours into samba. It’s all over the place.

I recognised “Spinning Wheel,” though I hadn’t realised it was theirs as my only exposure had been old TV variety coveres by the likes of Shirley Bassey or Frankie Vaughan.

Then comes their take on “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy.” After that, we’re in church (and I do love a bit of organ), before shifting into straight jazz, and finally landing on a direct lift of Sunshine of Your Love.

This is quite a journey of an album. I enjoyed the ride—but I’ve no real desire to take it again.

did not expect variations on a theme by erik satie

Makes you realise how blummin' good the Beatles were this is not remotely innovative

An all over the place album. It has enjoyable moments overall but lacks cohesion. It was a fairly interesting listen.

7/10 [DROP]