Reviews by badger72

The first shock was that it didn't have Brown Eyed Girl. That song more than any other was responsible for me avoiding Van Morrison for decades.

The second shock was there was no Jackie Wilson says. The song that made we want to listen to Van Morrison.

The third shock was that it was absolutely shite. That blaaach voice tone is awful.... sounds lIke his tounge is hanging out of his mouth like a dog while he sings. Beside You is just a drunk wailing over an acoustic guitar and flute. And not in a good Tom Waits way.
The only time the album comes alive is The Way Young Lover do, where the horns and strings provide a lift of excitement away from that exhaust voice wail. Apparently these were ocerdubbed later to Morrisons displeasure which speaks volumes.
The sound of the album is pleasant, the upright bass, the acoustic guitar are all interesting and then that timeless oaf starts wailing away. If only this was an instrumental album...

At the start of Obby fucking Dobby, I was ready to ditch this turkey and leave a two word review simply declaring "Pub Rock". However as it played on and after much consideration, I thought this was unfair and decided to rewrite the review. It now read "Shite Pub Rock."

However, the rule of having the listen to the entire album means I heard Run Through The Jungle and I was engaged me once again. There was something 13th Floor Elevators in the overloaded guitar. I got this vibe with the first track, Ramble Tamble but the vocals kinda killed it. That song starts of magnificently then gets turned into a early 50's rockabilly song sung by some dope gargling rocks. Fortunately coming up the the 2 minute mark, the band take the mic away and go back to guitars and it really fucking soars for a few minutes but unfortunately the calculous clown ends up back behind the mic.

This is then the pattern, some wonderful muscular rock which is ruined by a pub singer and drags the whole enterprise down to some really proficient bar room band.

Now I know nothing about Creedance. Much like those one hit wonders you hear about on Todd In The Shadow, CRC are Bad Moon Rising to me so it is a suprise when Wikipedia tells me this is their 5th album. Now maybe being album number 5, with the generally god awful covers, they were just sitting back and leaning into what I unshakeablely presume where their bar band roots. Who knows but I know for sure, I certainly don't care to find out.

The exception on the shit covers front is I Heard It Through The Grapevine which they managed not to destroy but flag up as a missed opportunity for the aforementioned Elevators - the heavy drum and bass break at the chorus are just waiting to be soaked in Roky Erickson and Stacy Sutherland acid fuelled reverb waves while Tommy Hall's electric jug punctates the space between.

Who'll Stop the Rain is a divergence and a pretty little, if empty, distraction it is.

Run Through The Jungle is as good as this record gets. But it really sounds like a sketch of a Black Angels song. After that it is Ramble Ramble. The entire thing is very unessential. When the cover My Baby Left Me, there is no doubting why she left.

While that god awful cover alone should make it 0/5, My Baby Left Me pushes it up on 1.5/5.

Well, George Michael, great singer, yeah? Really. It seems to me the bar is set a little low to say he is a GREAT singer. Certainly good, absolutely inoffensive but great?

Anyhow, I listened [insert without prejudice joke here] and it was ok. What was baffling was there were 6 singles from this?! Before I listened to it, you could have literally put me in front of a firing squad and I couldn't have named any beyond Freedom. A couple of hours after repeated listens and I couldn't do much better.

And why is it whenever a pop artist wants to be taken seriously they slow everything down and go heavy on the ballads? It is not like the artist people will call serious are known for their ballads.

This was ok. Freedom is an obvious standout and nothing comes close. The rest is fine, if clearly unmemorable

Before Elvis In Memphis, there was Dusty and this is wonderful stuff. A perfect Sunday morning album with it's easy listening soulfulness. Just a little lovin kicks things off wonderfully with it's tounge in cheek sexiness. The Sweet Inspirations backing vocals really help elevate the music.

This was heading four a solid 4 until a horribly misjudged cover of Prince's The Beautiful Ones caused it to all come crashing down.
And it started so promisingly. Riding on the delightful vibe from the mid 80s Hip Hop underrated gem, Hey Dj by The World Famous Supreme Team, Honey is a joy. This high is kept up by Butterfly.
Clearly Mariah is an amazing singer but her vocalising is not overpouring. It really pisses me off when amazing vocalist oversing. The mastery and display of technique overshadows the song. Less is more.

That is not too say she don't vocalise! More unusually to these ears what she does is use her voice to replace Instruments so in the sounded which would be your normal guitar, bass, keys etc. Mariah voice is all over the mix, humming or cooking where a synth would be or ambling though the tunes where a lead solo should be. A song like the Fourth of July at point sounds like the only other musician is a drummer keeping time with a snare as a multitude of Maria's fill up the speakers. It is not always overpowering but it can be a little much and it helps make the album increasingly seem a little one dimensional at times. This is broken counter intuitively by Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) with some of the heaviest beats on the record which revived the album while Mariah lets loose with some wide-screen wailing. And it really works.

Then comes the Prince cover. At the start, it calls back to the original so strongly that I almost thought I had somehow changed records and that is its ultimate undoing because it fails to compete on almost any level. The nadir is when co-vocalist Dru Hill approaches Prince's impassioned cry of "Do you want him..." with the enthusiasm of someone asking "Do you want fries with that?". Given that obvious external Prince reference point, the whole song is overbaked and empty compared to the original, and worse, so is the album. Mental running through the tracklis and the scope, the depth, imagination and just down right fun of the purple on just isn't there.

However, it is probably unfair to compare the two because until those two world collided, Butterfly was doing ok. It did however, break the spell the album was just about keeping that had me overlooking faws. It is definitely a little one note pacing wise, and the overload of voices in the soundscape didn't created enough uniqueness between the songs but it was still a strong album that I would certainly listen to again but I'll be stopping at Butterfly reprise

Dr Hill

This is great! My heart initially sank playing it for the first time as, well if you call your all Back At The Chicken Shack, I am expecting a bolt of nervous energy because a chicken shack is not we're I expect to find laid back jazz. Then again, I have no farm experience.

The last jazz album I got was Dave Brubeck's Time Out. That reminded me of Charlie Brown and I didn't like it (the record, no issue with Charlie) whereas this sounds more like something from The Pink Panther. (comparisons I'm sure will make any jazz aficionados screen crawl).

As it played on, I kinda dismissed it and it faded into the background bit then when it ended, I was surprised and missed it. So went back to the start because while it was it background, little bits kept getting my attention and I wanted to hear it again. Definitely a very enjoyable record and one I will return to.

3.5/5

Literally and breezy, it wash over me without connecting. Guru's vocal has no depth and the raps largely haven't much to say. DJ premier has not got much in the way of hooks.
Who's Going To Handle The Weight is a great example. The opening about Knowledge and Power and Guru talking about being raised a Muslim gives me an expectation there's going to be some depth to this but it is quite literally rambling. The loops and beats go nowhere. The Disposable Heroes of Hip Hop which came shortly afterwards just blows this totally away.

It is away too long.

Breaking up the growing monotonous soundscapes, the ever so slightly What Do Yo Mean This Time has a wondrous horn driven swing and concerns the age old issue it is trying to get shit done when you have so many women throwing themselves at you.

The album ends on a relative high with The Meaning of The Name which is at least delivered with some conviction.

Overall, some heavy editing would've helped this record for me. It is a very long 50 minutes. A tight 38 dropping at least 3 tracks would help. It is just too much of too little

It is Halloween and is this the horror? No. It is a fly in amber, something frozen in time. Because of context, it is frozen as a remarkable work of art The reality, removed from that context, it is just hovering around shit and irritating.

Bits of this sound like a sound track to a 90s Micheal Mann movie, where Moby didn't get the call. Actually, running with that brain fart, that is exactly what this sounds like - a portfolio. An audio calling card for work.

The novelty wears off, the marvel of it's construction is old. The tunes aren't there so what is the point?
It is better than some of the things I have had to listen to which makes it a 2 but if there wasn't stuff that - for me -shouldn't be here which I am forced to mark, this would be a straight up one every day

1.5/5

It is really really good without ever being exceptional. Warm, soulful, smooth though the sudden fades at the end are tremendously jarring.

I don't like Bruce. I don't like his stadium sized geatures or his bluster rock about the 'common' man. The way songs are populated with clichés about hearts n cars, bars n highways and everyone seems to be called Bobby with a girl called Jenny...
(These names may have never appeared in a Springsteen song but I imagine it happens in almost every second one).
Friends who are fans miss the point and tell me I should listen to his more acoustic albums because that's the way into him. Who actively wants to get into Bruuuuce?? The Man they call The Boss which is strange because every common working man hates The Boss. Maybe that's it. It is all role play! This non common man's audiences are made up of middle management and it is all one big joke? This weirdly shaped man does all that running around and playing long gigs because he's "working hard".
The fans tell me when I listen I'll understand. I know they'd be aghast that my first Bruuuce is Born In The USA. It is the one they wince ever so slightly at.

After 20 seconds, if this was a reaction video, I'd pause and performatively laugh. It sounds sooo fucking lame! That fist pumping snare, the piss weak synth, the shouty gravelled sincerity - it is shit.

It does not get better. Then the next two songs come along like prime examples of this bland 80s bluesy/country heartland rock. Working On The Highway (could the title be anymore on brand?!) at least starts off like someone has pressed the wrong button in the studio until it settles down for a limp 50s style rock n roll pastiche.

Downtown Train bucks the trend. Over a stones like guitar intro, the syth takes over and grounds the slower song which free from the standard trappings sounds a little more interesting. I'm on Fire keeps the more intimate mood going, and again synths dominate which is no bad thing. It can't last and it doesn't. The rest of the album - with the exception of Dancing In The Dark - continues on like the start. That awful sound and style of music which is just sooo Bruuuucey.

They took 7 songs as singles of this 11 track album?! A quick check of the internet history books and only Michael Jackson did the same (but he was MJ and that album was Bad) and Def Lepard (ummm...) managed the same feet. Maybe others did but that's what I'm seeing.

Maybe the amount of singles meant more of this record stuck in my head than I thought. From the tracklisting I only recognised 3 the title track, and two of the three decent songs on this I'm On Fire and Dancing In The Dark. As for the rest, it was exactly as bad as I expected but those 3 songs push it up to a two star (but really more 1.5). I am defo not Bruuuce

much better than expected! I had avoided nirvana after 91 because I was bored with the soap opera. A fantastic live band but too much drama and nevermind wasn't quite everything it was cracked up to be. Give me sonic youth and babes in Toyland anyday.

But this was raw, and grittier than expected. I reallylime this and but I fear the novelty will wear off

3.5/5

Eddie Hazel's guitar is something else. The searing soloing on 'Maggot Brain's is pure emotion and I have never heard that song, or his playing, gets it's due outside of a conversation about Funkadelic.

The rest of the album sounds more what I would expect, loose riotous, celebration of life and while it sounds like that, the duality within the record is much darker. Everything about the record is so much darker. There is death, despair and destruction everywhere and - be in relationships, class, pollution - everything is fucked.

This sort of jazz makes me think of Charlie Brown cartoons and Woody Allen films. A long way to say I am an oaf when it comes to jazz appreciation. Technically, this might be very good. I am sure it has the crazy time signatures but what I learned was I know jack shit about time signatures. Is four-to-the-floor even really one??

Take Five comes on and it a shock to recognise a song (piece?) from the record. Never knew
This record plays and I imagine an New York literary dinner party, film sounds tracks etc.

A game of two halves, innit? A album with a reputation talking about Chilton's mental state, it been depressing, harrowing etc. yet side 1 scarely shows this. Only Big Black Car and the (unnecessary) cover of Femme Fatale, change the pace from uptempo power pop. But great songs. Kizza Me is a wonderful opener. Basically, the template of most college rock to come. The strings underneath are a great touch too

The real weight of the albums reputation rests largely on two songs - Kangaroo and Holocaust. That is not to demean the other tracks but those two really break the mould. Without them, it would be a good record but they elevate it to the next level.

Another album I was hoping to be proved wrong about

[Presses Play]

Aw for fuck sake?! Who is voting this shite in!!!
Literal cannot be arsed finding words to describe how bad this is but if anyone listening to 'Man Research' doesn't want some form of revenge on the artist I admire your zen like capacity to push that rage down. It doesn't even enter my head that someone could like it.
0.5/5 and it only gets a mark for the melodica bits

As a kid in the late 70s, early 80s, my dad would bring us on a Sunday drive to visit relatives. Casey Kasem American Top 40 would always be on the radio. Weirdly, it never seemed to have the same songs that you'd see on Top Of The Pops.You'd get some of course, but a lot seemed to me for grown ups. They had no spark, no glamour. And it wasn't old time music like Elvis or Bill Hailey ether, becauseneven though you knew that stuff was a 100 years old, it still had energy that made you want to move. No, this was music with all the vividness and life sucked out.

Donald Fagan, stuck me as one of the architects of ripping fun out of music and I avoided him and his ilk ever since. I was looking forward to having my eyes and ears opened to what so many people fuss about.

And we are off to a promising start with the opener IGY. Yes, it sounds a little tepid but now I appreciate it a little more, maybe because it sounds familiar. In it's lite reggae shuffle, I can elements for the template of Bowie's Tonight albums. This could be interesting and I'm feeling positive.

Green Flower Street is fucking awful. That asthmatic keyboard sound and lame 'funky' sounds.

Ruby Baby is an improvement but the only in the way the song holds the note at the end of the chorus, beyond that, nada.

As it plays on, particularly during the instrumental breaks, the penny suddenly drops - this is soundtrack music for cop shows! And maybe it sounds okay watching a semi speeding muscle car crashing through some empty cardboard boxes; in isolation, it feels like being waterboarded with wet cardboard.

New Frontier at least has a pulse. But sadly, those same awful vocals - like The Beach Boys without balls. Yeah, * said it, balls. By the title song, I am begging it is the end or at least being able to adjust the speed to give it a little kick.

The Goodbye Look plays the now disappointing trick of starting the song with something at least a little instrumental interesting before it all sinks into the same smooth quagmire.
The last song has a weird cheerleader part presumably to wake people up.

That was fucking awful. I listen to the Suicide album last week and it struck me how divisive that record could be. I see this record as the same. The difference being I loved Suicide! This? I cannot understand how anyone would listen to this for pleasure. It offends me that I gave to give it one star on the app it is the worst yet

This is one of those albums that seemed to get great reviews, a lost gem etc. It is largely soft, adult, American rock with very little emphasis on rock. Denis has a pleasant bit of grit to his voice which is nice when expecting Beach Boys style songs but it is large un-inspiring fair with nothing that would compel a second listen

Fantastic stuff! I would give it a 5 if it wasn't for the fact that their next album is better!

4/5

The cover does not give off encouraging vibes, man and it is with a sigh I press play on the latest installment.
And immediately my preconceptions are blown away as the energy rush leaps out of the speakers. This sounds great.

If it ended at about the two minute mark before that organ solo kicked in... If.
But it didn't. Instead what sounds like something clown in a cape from a parody movie noodles away for an eternity (probably about way less than a minute but it feels like a lifetime). The song comes back and just when I'm hoping it might get back on track, the guitarist picks up the gauntlet the organ player put down for the dullest soloing ever and challenges him all the way.

The next few songs plod on in away that I'm sure conasouirs of the genre might enjoy but to me is just dull.

Then, like a beast of an ocean liner, Smoke glides into on one of the great riffs. This moment could flip this thing around. Most people know the story behind the song but the joys of a riff like that is being to busy playing air guitar while going ner ner ner, ner ner ni-ner to pay any attention. Unfortunately, a side effect of doing this thing is digging a little deeper and I make the istake of looking at the lyrics which read like 10 year Old's "My News" story.

Worse is yet to come because either the beauty of the riff or the boringness of that 10 year Old's story about a fire has annoyed the organ player and they've decided on the next so g to make everyone get a migraine.

Thankfully there is only one song left and it is called Space Truckin'... and while, I'd have previously thought NO ONE can fuck up a song called Space Truckin', these guys make me actually worry. In the end, I don't what is more surprising, that ultimately they don't or that coming up to the 3 minute mark, how hard they try to!

Final thoughts is that the pluses of the first few minutes of the Highway Star, the riff of Smoke or the almost glorious stupidity of Space Truckin' are heavily counter balanced by a lot of drudgery... But to give the good bits some credit, the take a previously nailed on 1 and elevate it to a VERY VERY generous
2/5

I kinda guessed a britpop album would be the one that made me question the whole "must" hear but I didn't expect it to be everyone's fav little/big brothers Supergrass?
What is there people must hear?! A couple of vaguely catch guitar based songs - like you can't get that on ten other albums around this time.
The only thing of interest is wondering why it starts with In it For The Money rather than roaring out of the gate with Richard III.

It is not bad, it is not great.

2/5