Reviews by mitch058

I'm not entirely sure why, but I've always thought that all of the place-named-based one-name bands (Boston, Europe, Kansas, Asia, etc., even Journey) were all largely an 80s phenomenon and largely the same sound. Apparently Chicago is *not* of this ilk, perhaps in part because they started off with three names (CTA), but more likely because they were earlier and my weird stereotype isn't even accurate. Regardless, I was happy to realize that I've heard their biggest hit before (and many times), "Does anybody really know what time it is?", which I always enjoy listening to, as well as their not-as-big singles "Questions 67 & 68" and their cover of "I'm a man". The rest of this album doesn't quite live up to their biggest single (although I really enjoyed "Someday (August 29, 1968)", and "Free form guitar" is just a hot mess), but it's also a fun album to have in the background as you go through what increasingly feels like a Broadway musical of a gritty urban environment with a lot of soul (and horns).

I know many people's idea of the best (and perhaps only) way to appreciate the Dead is through their live performances, so I guess it's only fair to get a live album from them in addition to "American Beauty". But I'll admit that I groaned out loud when I saw it was well over an hour, as my tolerance for Dead-style noodling is *considerably* shorter than 75 minutes. But I'm sure many Deadheads are disappointed that we didn't get their whole discography.

Not much to say about the so-called songs themselves (I mean, c'mon, calling a 23-minute orgy of meandering noodling a "song"?), other than this album was exactly what I expected and dreaded; to be fair, though, "St. Stephen" is better than the rest. On the other hand, it's probably a significant upgrade to the one Dead show I *almost* attended at RFK Stadium (DC) in the summer of 1993. For reasons completely unrelated to the Dead, I got as far as one of the tunnels into the stadium and could hear music playing, but then pretty much freaked out about life in general and never went inside. Apparently Sting was the opening act, and Jerry Garcia and he even sung "Walking on the Moon" together, which might have been interesting (in a better frame of mind). Probably for the best anyway, so that now listening to this album I don't have weird flashbacks or the urge to curl into a fetal position.

I think I first came across The War on Drugs through Pandora (probably not the best thing to admit, I know), and I was drawn to something in their 80s-throwback/nostalgia sound, so I'm glad we got an album by them in this collection. I'll admit, though, that they're kind of a one-trick pony, in that I have yet to hear a song by them that doesn't sound largely like all of the others. Good for a music mix/playlist, not as much fun during an hour straight of their distinct take on life, music and somber reflections. But I'm glad to hear other tracks than their singles, and I enjoyed the videos for "Under the pressure" and "Red eyes" (more so the latter, with its talent show story, than the too-long former).

I know the Wikipedia entry cites Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan as influences (or at least inspirations, both musically and lyrically), but I'll admit that every time I hear them, I think more of Don Henley, especially "Boys of summer", albeit in a much more minor/bleak key. Bummer that Adam Granduciel couldn't have found some way to mention seeing a Dead Head sticker on a Cadillac....

I know Korn--and this album in particular--was big in the nu-metal scene for a while, but that doesn't really mean that they needed to be included in this collection, especially since the project also includes Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park (and apparently System of a Down), and inexplicably *doesn't* include Disturbed. Although to be fair to Korn, I'd have probably included them before Limp Bizkit, as Korn at least seems to have more ambitions than Fred Durst's outfit; that's not saying much, though (and pretty funny that Durst appears on "All in the family"). It's always felt to me that Korn tried to outdo Rage Against the Machine, except they lacked the messages or focus (or talent) of RAGM.

As for the music itself, it's about what you'd expect from Korn, and I've always been impressed by Jonathan Davis' distinct growls and guttural sounds, so it's not all power chord, pounding drums and overloaded distortion. I enjoyed seeing the videos for both of their singles, "Freak on a leash" (especially the Todd McFarlane animation) and "Got the life", and I'm struck by just how profoundly *ugly* the band members are (and how SoCal with the dreads and baggy shorts). I also liked it that Ice Cube featured on one of their tracks, plus of course Cheech on the musical part of the hidden track quasi-cover of "Earache my eye". Overall, though, it starts off pretty strong with the first five songs or so, and then tails off pretty quickly; it definitely could have been about half or a third as long and not suffered at all (and in turn prevented a lot of suffering for a large number of this project's listeners, I suspect).

While I've never been a Madonna fan, I'm a bit shocked to realize that I've never heard this album outside of the (massive) hits on it (and I can see that those singles are over half of the album, so I guess I've heard more than I realized). A bit disappointing that this isn't the only Madonna album in the collection, given that it seems like this was and is likely her peak; that said, I give Madonna tons of credit for evolving her style and sound over several decades of performing. This is just too 80s-pop for me to be able to call out any particular tracks as favorites, but I like it that Prince collaborated with her on the album, most obviously on "Love song", which makes for one of the more interesting tracks on the album, but I liked his distinctive guitar work on the opening title track as well as "Act of contrition" too. (Apparently also on "Keep it together", but I didn't really hear it.) Of the many videos from this album, I particularly enjoyed the David Fincher-produced and Metropolis-inspired video for "Express yourself". The others weren't as compelling: I know the video for "Like a prayer" was a big deal at the time, but it didn't do much for me; "Dear Jessie" was just an insipid animated effort (much like the song); "Oh father" was a bit disappointing, given that Fincher also directed it; and what *is* the deal with the mermen (and mer-children) in the "Cherish" video???

I know very little about Jerry Lee Lewis, aside from that he's *not* the same person as Jerry Lewis (thankfully), and he had something bad associated with him with underage girls. (I didn't realize until I read the Wikipedia entry that the scandal was that he married his 13-year-old cousin (first cousin once removed, so definitely *not* kissing cousins) about 6 years before this was recorded, so I guess she was finally older than 18 when this came out, but still a first cousin....)

Backstory aside, this seems like it was a fun performance, and even though nearly all the songs are covers, he definitely infuses his own style and swagger. I've never been a big rock-n-roll fan, so there aren't any tracks that really stood out for me, although the opening track "Mean woman blues" is particularly intense-sounding. And the recording seems well-done for a live album in that era, although I really can't get behind Stephen Erlewine's (Allmusic) rant that "compared to this, thrash metal sounds tame, the Stooges sound constrained, hardcore punk seems neutered, and the Sex Pistols sound like wimps." But hey, he's a famous critic, and I'm not.

Although I know we've already gotten Adele's debut album, and I generally wish most artists only get one album in the collection (to make room for others), I'm happy to get another chapter of her journey singing through heartbreak and seemingly wearing her heart on her sleeve, but also happy to hear her exploring beyond that range in her lyrics (and music).

I'm never quite sure why I have a soft spot for Adele, and not for other similar anguished/emotional singers in this collection like Tori Amos, Alanis Morisette, etc. but I do. I'm impressed at how many songs I recognized from this album through various airplay services (radio, Pandora, etc.); my favorites are her singles "Hello", "Send my love" (both with decent videos), "When we were young", and "Water under the bridge", as well as "River Lea". And a thank-you to Adele and this album for singlehandedly reviving the idea and popularity of the album format in 2015--it's kind of hard to imagine how *any* album could have sold 3.38 million copies in the US in the first week it was released.

It's always fun to get an album that I not only already own but also enjoy listening to, even if I haven't really listened to Franz Ferdinand for many many years (and I think they've somewhat recently disbanded too? No, I guess I've confused them with Panic at the Disco...). One of the things that struck me back when I first bought and listened to this album was how consistent they were on each track, somehow without sounding *too* similar from song to song. My favorites are probably their big hits "Take me out" (and what a great and hypnotic animated video!), "Dark of the matinee" (with a fun video as well) and "This fire", but I also enjoy the remainder too, with a particular nod to their opening track "Jacqueline" as well as "Darts of pleasure" and "Michael" (as much for the latter two track's creative videos as the songs themselves). Given how much energy they pack into their songs, I've always imagined they were a lot of fun live, but never quite managed to seek them out. But I'm sure I would have chanted "My name is Super-Fantastic!" with them.

I'm not sure I've ever heard of or listened to Saint Etienne before, so it's nice to get a new-to-me album and sound, and thankfully they've largely followed through on the promise of an interesting album. And in many ways, even though they're *not* part of the whole Madchester scene, I feel like Saint Etienne delivered on fun/bouncy/interesting dance music much better than most of the Manchester bands of the same time. I particularly enjoyed their creative cover of Neil Young's "Only love can break your heart", "She's the one" and their semi-big hit "Nothing can stop us" (semi-big in the sense that I might have heard that single before--I'm not sure), but I also enjoyed it that there were few duds in the album too, aside from the mood-killer of "Like the swallow" (although there's also nothing particularly exciting either on the album, I'll admit).

Although we *did* get Limp Bizkit earlier, and I now see we'll eventually get Korn as well, I'm honestly more than a bit surprised that Slipknot made the cut to be in this collection. (But a very odd coincidence that I just read a reference to Slipknot as an influence on this (modern) Greenland band Sound of the Damned....) I know they made waves in the rock-is-destroying-our-children crowd, and they're definitely not the worst of the 90s/2000s death/nu-metal generation (and certainly better than either Limp Bizkit or Korn), but they're also not all that interesting musically, frankly. The drums are the best part of their sonic onslaught, and they--and apparently producer Ross Robinson--captured a believable live sound with the album (and I think they were known for impressive live shows). There weren't too many tracks that stood out, although I enjoyed "Surfacing" and "No life" more than most, and the Shining-inspired video for "Spit it out" was...weird but compelling (that track also has a bit of a Linkin Park/Rage Against the Machine connection, as does "Me inside", which apparently was the replacement for the "Frail limb nursery"/"Purity" tracks that were pulled shortly after the album released).

I don't entirely fault the project for including Slipknot, but as a former metalhead (more from the 80s than Slipknot's generation), it's kind of embarrassing to recognize that most metal bands (old-school or nu/newer) have really limited and stunted range, especially in the theme/lyrics department. And what a shame that this collection *doesn't* include what was probably the most interesting, thoughtful and talented metal-ish band from the later 90s/2000s, Disturbed.

Ugh--I'm sure it's all fairly random, but it's a bit tedious to get so many early 80s synth-pop/new wave albums all in a row (although thankfully no Duran Duran, yet). Although I guess there were four singles from this album, and it went platinum in both the UK and the US in short order, I'll admit that the only song that sounded even remotely familiar was "Don't you want me". The remainder (to me at least) is somewhat generic-sounding new wave pop tracks; solidly produced and laid out, I suppose, but not very compelling. The music videos for "Open your heart" and "Love action (I believe in love)" are equally uninspiring, although the video for "Don't you want me" is more compelling.

The Wikipedia entry has a number of interesting tidbits about the album: the two female backing singers were in high school when this was recorded (and ended up with long commutes to get to their relocated recording studio); this was the first #1 album for the Virgin label since Mike Oldfield's 1973 album "Tubular Bells" (which I know of thanks to this collection, and equally baffling how either of these albums ended up at #1), and saved Richard Branson's Virgin label from bankruptcy; and this was the first album by Human League after jettisoning two original members a year earlier, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, who went on to create the band Heaven 17 and release a competing album in 1981, "Penthouse and Pavement" (another album I've listened to courtesy of this collection). (The other anecdote that seemed amusing was that Lester Bangs apparently OD'ed listening to this album.)

Given how few jazz albums overall there are in this collection, it seems a bit odd that we'd get four different Miles Davis albums (and this is the second so far for me), but I haven't listened to his music all that much, and always felt like I *should* listen to more, so I'm not complaining. Unlike his earlier "Birth of the Cool", this seems more like what I imagine Miles Davis' core sound became. It certainly seems to be his most popular and classic album, and I like the idea that he gave each of his incredibly talented band members a scale to work with and freedom to improvise (or that's what I gathered from the description of his "modal jazz" approach). The recording is also impressively clear and high-fidelity given that it was recorded in 1959.

I'm not enough of a jazz aficionado to be able to call out any particular track or solo or instrument, but I *did* appreciate that this is more than just nice background music, largely because the tracks aren't really tunes per se (and "All blues" seemed to encapsulate the best of the album in this regard). And my apologies to Miles Davis and jazz connoisseurs everywhere for the four-star rating--it's all because of my ignorance of all things jazz that I didn't appreciate the album as fully as I should have....

The first (and in many ways only) exposure I had to Richard Thompson was listening to "1000 Years of Popular Music" that a friend lent me many years ago, and I was intrigued by his obvious interest in music and (likely more important) lyrics over the spans of centuries. Although we won't get that album/show in this collection, it feels like this album from many years earlier channels a similar sentiment, and both Richard and Linda pull it off really well. I'm also impressed at how well this was recorded/produced, given when it came out (and also sad that it didn't even get released outside the UK until nearly ten years later). I also enjoyed the mix of distinctive but traditional-folk-oriented tunes like "Cavalry cross" and "Down where the drunkards roam", and more modern sounding tunes like the title track. (There are a few duds along the way, like the pub-song-style "We sing Hallelujah".)

Unlike the Fairport Convention albums in this collection, or even really "1000 Years of Popular Music", this album makes me think Richard Thompson is a kindred spirit to the likes of Leonard Cohen or Nick Cave, and I mean that in a positive sense. Not very happy tunes, admittedly, but not as bleak as they might be (with an exception for "The end of the rainbow", which pretty much defines unremitting bleakness).

I may be one of the few people left who's only heard the title track and nothing else from the lauded "Imagine" album, but now I can no longer say even this. I'm glad to have heard it at long last (and I can see I'll get to listen to his debut album eventually too), but I'll admit that I was a bit disappointed that it didn't really blow me away. "Imagine" (the song) is so ingrained as a cultural touchstone that it's impossible to really evaluate fairly, but the rest of the album doesn't really match "Imagine"'s style or reach. I like it that Lennon seems comfortable exploring his own directions as a post-Beatle (and fun that George Harrison played on so many tracks), but if I hadn't known that John Lennon was a former Beatles member, I'm not sure this album would even really register. I *did* enjoy "Gimme some truth", especially with the quasi-video of him singing the lyrics in a studio, and it has an almost "Subterranean homesick blues" feeling. And I appreciate Phil Spector's restraint in not overwhelming the album with strings and walls of sound. But aside from "Imagine" (the song) there's not a lot that pulled me in (and his anti-McCartney rant "How do you sleep?" is mildly off-putting, a 70s version of a diss track, albeit with a solid backing rhythm).

How funny (or perhaps deliberate) to get this album right after Yes' "Close To The Edge", which saw the exodus of Bill Bruford to King Crimson and the creation of this album soon thereafter. It would have been even better if this was the only King Crimson album in the collection, but alas, that's not the case (and I'm not entirely sure they warrant two albums in this collection, even if the lineups were totally different for each album). But at least King Crimson's form of noodling is more varied and somewhat more interesting than Yes', and that's definitely on parade in this album (which has a truly foul-sounding recipe for a title).

I'm a bit hard-pressed to identify any standouts on this album, I'll admit, although I *will* say that I am very weary of the prog-rock era's ultra-long tracks, so Part I of the title track is definitely not on the shortlist. Thankfully, the following track "Book of Saturday" is a nice contrast in both length and accessibility. And I can see why "Exiles" was one of their concert standards, as it has a Pink-Floyd-esque-ness to it, although I liked the equally Pink-Floyd-inspired "Easy money" cosiderably more.

Overall, though, I'd have voted for more of Robert Fripp's guitar (like in Part 2 of the title track) and a *lot* less of David Cross' violin. I think Alan Niester of Rolling Stone put it best about this album (and probably prog rock in general): "You can't dance to it, can't keep a beat to it, and it doesn't even make good background music for washing the dishes." Even the dishes of leftover aspic-coated poultry.

Well, at least the onslaught of early 80s albums has come to an end (for now), but I'm not sure the emperors of prog rock were really who I envisioned replacing them. But so they did, and I can't imagine a bigger contrast between short and sweet synth-pop cuts and this epic album set in long-form bombasity. I can't really say I enjoyed any of the three tracks, but I have to say I'm quite impressed that they managed to put together an 18-minute-plus song/assemblage, especially given how it sounds like their creative process in the studio was to literally campaign and vote on every instrument and bar at every step. (Less impressive, but totally understandable, was poor Bill Bruford's departure to King Crimson after the album was completed; it's a wonder that most of the rest of the band didn't hibernate for years after a grueling recording process.)

One of the things that's struck me with these early 70s albums, and this one in particular, is how different each era has been in terms of what's popular and what's appreciated, both musically and more generally. It's equally baffling to me that this album was so well-received (and purchased), and the same with Joni Mitchell's "Blue", not to mention films like "The Conversation" or even "The French Connection". All of these would likely get little to no attention or traction even 15-20 years later, let alone in the 2020s, but I for one appreciate the chance to listen to these albums that I'd likely never have played if I hadn't heard them when they came out. (I'm also very grateful to Yes that this prog-rock manifesto is mercifully short overall; as a non-fan, this is hard to slog through....)

I'm not sure exactly why the 1001-song generator seems to be stuck in an early 80s eddy of synth-pop, but I hope it passes soon, and I'm sorry that this album came in the midst of the 80s glut, as I'd probably have enjoyed it a bit more in isolation. (Maybe. 80s new wave wasn't ever my favorite.) I was glad, though, to hear their megahit cover "Tainted Love" in context, and relieved that the rest of the album wasn't radically different from their breakout single. I'm not sure too many of the other tracks really stood out for me, but I *did* enjoy the *very* 80s video to "Frustration" as it seemed to bring to life the duo's apparent fear and hatred of growing up and being trapped in "respectable" adult life (I particularly liked the electric-corded lawn mower as the pinnacle of suburban disappointment); the videos for "Sex dwarf", "Entertain me" and "Secret life" weren't as effective, but definitely reinforced the whole cabaret/disillusionment theme of the album (and while the tame version of "Sex dwarf" is pretty ho-hum, the banned version is remarkably graphic and twisted--I can see why the BBC only aired it one time before burying it for all time).

It's a little disconcerting to get yet another early(ish) 80s album in a row, but I'm glad to have a chance to hear something by Frankie Goes to Hollywood aside from their mega-hits "Relax" and "Two tribes". I'm not sure I needed a double album's worth of Frankie, but it's an interesting album despite the too-long runtime. It almost seems like the 13-minute-plus title track is a bit of a capsule/showcase of the other songs, and almost begs to be the soundtrack for some 80s movie (a la one of the Beverly Hills Cop or Lethal Weapon movies) (but definitely *not* to Mad Max III...). I'd never seen the video for "Relax" before now, but I'll admit it didn't really shed all that much light on what the song is about (but remarkably suggestive for the 80s given the S&M themed gay nightclub setting). And fun to have a pretty creative cover of "War" as the following track; the "Born to Run" and "San Jose" covers aren't as distinctive, however. It's a mystery to me why the video for "The power of love" is basically the Christmas Three Kings story....

It's kind of a bummer that it sounds like Trevor Horn's production of the album pretty much dominated the band's sound on the album (to the point that most of the band members didn't even play most of the instrument pieces on the album). It's hard to know how different the album might have been without Trevor Horn at the helm, but hopefully Frankie doesn't regret the choice too much. And kudos to them for being insistent on being open about their sexuality.

Funny to get yet another early 80s British album for a third day in a row; thankfully each of them hasn't been all that similar, and "Underwater Moonlight" definitely comes in as the most rock-oriented of the three for a change of pace (the other two were Japan's "Quiet Life" and The The's "Soul Mining"). And much like the other two, this seems a bit lost in the shuffle, without a lot to distinguish it other than it was their second and last album before Robyn Hitchcock embarked on his solo career (of course, it probably didn't help them that they released the album in the midst of a printer's strike in the UK, so no album reviews to generate buzz). Not a lot stood out for me, although I enjoyed two tracks quite a bit, "I wanna destroy you" and "Insanely jealous", and also their title track, and there's a good sense of humor throughout (or at least I hope it's meant to be humorous) that reminded me a bit of The Kinks.

That said, the Wikipedia and "1001 Albums" entries seem to differ on my tepid evaluation, praising the album as an unheralded one-off psychedelic rock classic, paving the way for bands like REM, The Replacements, Stone Roses, Pixies, etc. I guess so, but I'm not likely to listen to this again or even remember much from the album even a few days from now, I suspect.

I'm pretty sure I've heard of The The before (perhaps from long ago), and likely some of their songs too, but apparently not from this album, as nothing sounded familiar. Matt Johnson's style isn't really to my taste, although I don't really blame him, since a lot of early 80s pop-oriented music wasn't all that interesting or particularly varied. And I'll give him credit for a remarkably H.R. Giger-infused music video for the opening track "I've been waitin' for tomorrow (all of my life)", even if there wasn't really any connection between the lyrics and the unsettling imagery.

Kudos as well for remarkably unrelenting dark lyrics set to fairly upbeat tunes; not the sort of contrast you encounter that often. Add in a decently interesting album cover (the UK version cover, that is, which apparently is one of Fela Kuti's wives, smoking a joint, and painted by Matt Johnson's brother), and it's a more interesting album than I expected. It's still not really to my taste, but I have to say that it's *way* more entertaining and interesting than any Cure or Smiths album.