Reviews by deksametazon

Between pop and blues, blues is more my forte these days, so it's no wonder I tend to steer more into the Peter Green side of Fleetwood Mac than the pop heavy Stevie Nicks one.

But a problem arises with the earlier recordings of Fleetwood Mac, and that's how their best songs are scattered between compilations, singles, and studio albums, which makes it a pain in the ass as a record collector to collect all the good stuff. Thankfully, a double LP compilation such as this one collects 95% of the good stuff the band created in that early period.

Another plus is the addition of Dragonfly, one of the better songs from that early post-Green period of FM, and I'd Rather Go Blind. The minus is the lack of a lot of songs from Then Play On, their best blues album, which is to be expected on one hand as that album is more than a pure blues album. Also the closing remix of Albatross is... eh? Thankfully, it's at the end, so I treat it as sort of a bonus to it all.

At the end, this comp is all you need for this era of FM. It's a good starting point, and if you like what you hear, go for Then Play On and the solo stuff.

I kinda swore into the whole idea that Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac is the superior era for the longest time. Might just be my middle finger shaped brain doing the rounds, but I genuinely thought that no way some pop was to dethrone the prince of blues.

I still do think they're neck and neck, but Rumours surprised me quite a lot when I heard it in its entirety. Of course, the songs everyone and their grandmothers know like Dreams, The Chain, and You Can Go Your Own Way are instantaneous classics that took personal turmoil and turned it into catchy hooks and great guitar solos, but the other tracks on here stand high among them. Songbird and You Make Loving Fun are examples of deep cuts (if you can call them that, in an album every track is famous and well known), that I'm always in a mood to listen to, especially the latter. The funky bass line with the intimate, uplifting and optimistic feeling is a recipe for a great melody.

It's an essential. This is what a pop album should sound like: diverse, simple sounds with a lot of thought put through them, and the emotion presented in such a way that it does feel like a document of a tough period, but does not feel like airing of dirty laundry, which is a quality I think is ofter overlooked when talking about this album.

The best thing to come out of the sessions for this album isn't even on here lol.

There's a clear indication of a shell shock from the departure of Peter Green, as the band is in a clear state of flux, and going in and out of the motions. There's not a lot of bad here, just an abundance of questionable decisions. Who let the guys tackle 50s country?!

When talking about Long Season, there isn't much you could say about it that pushes the envelope into some never before seen territory in music. The ideas are basically rehashes of the spaciness of Pink Floyd, dub, reggae and dreamy atmospheric pop.

So what's the deal, and why do I like it?

I'll tell you what's the deal: even though most of the time, this album fails to bring something new to the table, their approach to bridging existing elements feels more like an intertwined highway rather than a flimsy wooden bridge. The ideas that exist are undoubtedly great on their own, and they just get better when they're put together buy musicians such as Fishmans. Add that beautiful life affirming attitude these guys seemed to be abundant in, and you get an album like Long Season, really organic musicianship with a lot of talent.

Friendship ended with red screamy man, now Gary Fink is my best friend.

This album has been floating around Reddit in the past few weeks, mainly in r/vinyljerk, but also in r/vinyl.

Sadly, Gary passed away in 2008, but he left us a beautiful and warm singer-songwriter album. Gary had amazing talent on the piano, undoubtedly, which is the only instrument present here, and even though it's a lone piano, it still has a lot of depth. The closest comparison I would give it is that it's an Elton John demo, minus the gay, plus the love for God. It may get a bit repetitive, but that's the essence of religious music I guess. Even if you're not into Christian albums, it's still a mighty fine album. Shame it's recorded on a damn Crosley, so the sound is hella wobbly and crackly.

Considering this is the last album for the birthday portion of the deep dive (shameless plug: [List1541075], check it out)., might as well write a few quick thoughts about this one.

FFS is two bands: Franz Ferdinand + Sparks. You can see where the name comes from. And its sound is a combo of both bands. FF brings the modern indie sound whilst the Sparks give it a synthy, glammy pop edge, turning an album that shouldn't quite work for me to a great and whimsy piece of music. Its very theatric and slightly humorous, courtesy of the Sparks genius. Collaborations Don't Work is one of those songs that oozes that savoir faire, or that know-how to navigate the dreadful modern pop soundscapes whilst simultaneously keeping it how I like it. The rest of the album follows a similar fashion.

In essence, this album doesn't quite give me a reason to return to Franz Ferdinand, but because of FFS, I just might continue on with my Sparks exploration.

A fun and playful album that sounds like commercials playing over the radio. It stays behind the vague mystery of changing channels, lo-fi production, and vast sound collages, and only seldomly gives out glimpses of being something I could occasionally find interesting.

Not bad, but mostly uninteresting and very snooze-inducing.

Real suburban shit. This is for the people who dream of tackling the backwoods but can't even muster to leave the room when guests are over.

Sam has decent energy, probably enough to sell stadiums and theatrical venues, but can he find his way to my heart? Not really. Here's the thing, Heartland Rock is not my thing because of The Boss and Tom Petty taking it to such heights that it's impossible to see what it was originally, as is with all things once they reach a certain threshold of popularity. Also worth noting, is that the Heartland style died out the moment the internet came around. It was just a matter of time until people got the memo.

Where does that leave Sam Fender? It leaves him in a tough spot of doing something with limited merit in the grand scheme of things, but good enough to be considered a nostalgia act, but hey, as long as it pays the bills, right?

German Gang of Four? You could say that. A great post-punk workout, with standard instrument playing characteristic to that genre, alongside some influences from cold wave to dance punk that Peter Hein's growling and angry vocal style, something that audibly transcends the language barrier.

I like it. It has style, unique characteristics, and a charmingly elegant and infectious energy, despite the gravelliness of it all. Probably due to how the aura it has hits close to home, with the vexation and uneasiness, the pessimism, and the sole building on the cover which resembles a lot of building in my hometown.

A weird ass mishmash of post-punk and peculiar long form expression found in experimental and krautrock circles. The opener surprised me with how weird the production and layering of it is, with the vocals sounding like they're coming from another room. Even with that, it's fairly innocuous until the third song, when you start to notice why this album is revered in art circles.

Loveless Love and Forces at Work have that artsy motorik combining the base of the krautrock drive and the standard three-chord punk attitude. Moscow Nights is pure art melancholy, and the cover of Paint it Black on the expanded version is a great homage. Still, there's a few moments where it starts showing cracks, like on the s/t song that drags a bit too long with the instrumental, and the straight forward punk songs are good, but I've mostly moved on from that style of music.

Still, it's a good album I'll probably keep, relisten to here and there, and, who knows, maybe bump it higher.

The opener, aptly titled Krautrock, is a textbook composition that brings the template of the genre Krautrock into play: driving motor-esque rhythms mixed with a bag of psychedelic and drony passages. Sad Skinhead is a fun take on pop by avant-garde, and Jennifer is a cool pulsating number.

Other than the closer, which is similar to Sad Skinhead in that it's a shorter pop oriented song, Side B is more of the same, with a slight twist and addition of a folky twang to its suite like feel.

My krautrock knowledge is limited, but Faust IV is to me, the perfect blend of accessible and the autobahn-driven motorik that adorns the genre. Faust IV is one of the albums you seek when you look into Krautrock, no doubt.

Dude, that first song is amazing. It's obviously a nod towards George Harrison in more ways than one, but it's a damn good nod.

The rest pales in comparison, often going between okay and skippable. It's shallower than I would like: the lyrics often don't have a moment that make me think deeper about meaning, and the instrumentals are passable and sometimes even corny to an extent.

Still, I applaud the change in direction. His previous album was a dud, and I'm glad he ditched that trad pop approach for something more profound. Even if this isn't quite it, it's getting there!

Disappointing

After a four-year absence, I hoped he would give us more of that misanthropy like on "God's Favorite Customer" or "Pure Comedy", but instead we got an album your average 50yo mom would play and say that she's hip with the kids.

I mean, good on John for taking time off and fighting his battles (and hopefully coming out on top), and if he loves what he put out, I'm happy, but putting aside sentimentality, this is a very plastic-sounding love album that you would find in the back catalog of John Denver or Neil Diamond, and nothing more. Every song sounds more or less the same, and I'm very disappointed, but if you're into bland crooning that tries to emulate that 50s pop or you're someone's mother trying to impress her son/daughter by following the trends, do check it out.

The opening one-two of Right Here, Right Now and The Rockafeller Skank is like a one-two punch to the nostalgia gut, and at the beginning, I had a feeling it would feel as if the rest of the album would drag on and be a chore, but it's quite the opposite: a fun album, full of playful rhythms and passages that reveal more than meets the eye.

Other than the first two songs, Build It Up - Tear It Down rocks, and Praise You is a beautiful song that almost feels like it belongs in Madchester.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2023: #27 An album from a country you've visited (32nd Album)

It's got everything I love about punk: the message, the anxious tonality, and the eclectic energy that's unique and characteristic to each song, yet I still find myself grasping at air here most of the time.

It feels watered down, with the punk being way too much in the background, and the experimental portion being up front, which I'm not opposed to, but please make it somewhat memorable.

It's a widely known fact that Before and After Science is Brian Eno's last conventional rock album, but something I don't see talked about is how the cover also reflects that. A stark, black and white illustration of Eno on a black background. Reeks desolation and coldness, like how huge explosions and supernovas are depicted in media.

The music also depicts that well. I know it has mostly to do with the fact that Eno was getting more and more into the ambient side of things, but most songs here sound like a farewell of sorts. Especially side B, which combines the breathtaking sounds of ambiance with the sparse brand of rock, to create an intimate cradle of nostalgia for our hearts to play in. Side A is very much ahead of its time, with a combination of new wave, proto-punk, and an artsy side of rock to reel in the casual listener. You come for the A side, but stay for the B-side type of album.

To come back to the cover, or rather the packaging, the original LP also came with four simple prints of empty rooms and a mountain chain, that evoke a feeling of emptiness, but also a sense of happiness and contentment. That's the power of true art right there.

A tasty, gentle slab of music that's perfect for waking up the world around you after a long winter. It is unlikely that someone like Brian Eno will ever appear, who proved on this album how great he really is as an instrumentalist, vocalist, producer, and God knows what more.

I have a feeling that if this album was exclusively pop-oriented, that is, if it was completely filled with vocal songs, it would not have the same charm. Similarly and vice versa, if it was exclusively ambient, it would be too monotonous and boring. By combining the best aspects of both worlds, Eno has produced an album that, as it develops, becomes the soundtrack for a movie that's playing in our minds.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2025: #33 An album from Mongolia (47th Album)

Music transcends language. Even if I don't understand most of it (there are moments in German and a song in English), no one can say this isn't an enjoyable piece of music. It isn't Nina Simone or Billie Holiday level of vocal jazz, not by a mile, but still a nice vibe overall.

Yeah, new age music is a hit-or-miss ordeal. Mostly miss, but I listened to it, hoping it would be something above the quality quota, considering that even people who didn't really indulge in that kind of music knew about this band (read as my father and his cohorts). So what did I get?

Bad music.

Bad Christian music.

Bad Christian sex music.

Most people already wrote, but it really does exude the 90s in all its cliches. It's like the audio representation of a soft-core futuristic vampire movie. Very mild and very skippable.

Oh look, it's for people who like wet socks. Wearing your influences on your sleeve is one thing, but wearing their pants, shirt, and coat is a whole different pair of slippers. I mean, just listen to track 10 and tell me that isn't a bad Sandman imitation. Listen only if you like female Mark Sandman over some meh dream instrumentation.