Rated 8/10
Easy to over-analyze this one. A sonic gem. Stevie wonder at his musical, spiritual, and intellectual peak. Absolutely astonishing record. I could listen to Higher Ground all day every day. Some other brilliant cuts that I was unfamiliar with like Too High and Misstra Know It All make this a great listen. Will revisit many times I’m sure.
Every song is about some kind of conflict. Outlaws. Guns. Cattle. Saddles. Way out west. It’s all here. I’m just kind of digging it and HOLD UP THE MASTERS CALL! Jesus makes an appearance holy cattle stampede Marty. Calm the fuck down. However not a note out of place. Iconic vocal sound. Strumming acoustics. Lots of backgrounds and echo. Far west on the country western spectrum.
Amazing album. The perfect positivity antidote to my last two albums 😀 (Liquid Swords and Rage Against the Machine). Lots of variety stylistically from cut to cut. Really exceptional recording quality and virtuosity. Never realized what a great singer Maurice White is, this is just next level.
Settle for Nothing is a great Nirvana song
Love the snare sound on this album
Bullet in your head: so much sabbath!
Stylistically homogenous throughout which is the album’s greatest strength and weakness at the same time as it could get the point across with Bombtrack and Take the Power Back, then call it a day. Freedom is also cool. A good heavy rock album with a lot to say that kind of popularized the rap-metal hybrid genre that was outside the mainstream.
Rated 8/10
I would give this a five star rating if it was just side one. A career defining disc for the band.
