Reviews by tall_poppy

Tortured and challenging, more of a shriek of separation than a fully realized collection of songs. Great moments though

Isaac Hayes has a sort of mellow sophisticated soulfulness, not jazzy, and not poppy. He’s political, he employs some classical music devices, he’s cerebral, but still soulful. Sui generis in that genre. 4.5

I’ve owned this record for almost forty years, and friends of mine hail it as outstanding, but I’ve never liked it. The rich dramatic vocal style doesn’t work for me, the production is commercial and sounds now horribly dated (didn’t sound great then), and the songs are a real mixed bag. I don’t understand the reverence in which it’s held, and am really surprised to find it on this list. 2/5

Costello’s best and one of the great albums both of its time and of the punk / new wave genre. The songs are diverse and yet unified, with the pounding musicality of the Attractions enhancing every moment of the record. It’s an extraordinary listen, combining sarcasm and spit with deep skill, unlike any other group of musicians working at that time )though there weee certainly other great bands). An all-timer.

Stunning record, in a period where jazz and rock met more on the rock end of things, this is a creative powerhouse of a debut record from a band that would go on to help define the 70’s and 80’s with finishing returns. Young men with guitars and horns, singing soulfully, and in some cases writing some with massive hooks. The energy jumps off of the stylus. 4.5

Their best record and one of the best LA / SoCal records of the sixties. The titans each produced fantastic and ambitious pieces (Young with Broken Arrow and Expecting to Fly, with the help of Jack Nitzsche, and Stills with Bluebird and Rock N Roll Woman) while Furay’s Child’s Claim to Fame is gorgeous proto country rock, and the secondary songs are all excellent as well. With the exception of Mr. Soul, for which I can’t unhear the theft of the Satisfaction riff, and is otherwise a banal number, escorting the exceptional guitar break. And all of this as the band was fracturing badly. 5 stars.

Very likeable gloss to the evolving sound of Hole on this record. Some excellent power rock, songs with massive hooks but still enough anger to pack a punch. Ignore all of the noise around the making of the record, the songwriting etc, and just give it a listen.

Very likeable gloss to the evolving sound of Hole on this record. Some excellent power rock, songs with massive hooks but still enough anger to pack a punch. Ignore all of the noise around the making of the record, the songwriting etc, and just give it a listen.

Oh wow. 1/5

An unbelievable leap from the first records, prompted by Ashley Hutchings’ convalescence after the band suffered a tragic car accident. His fascination with the origins or British folk led to this extraordinary blend of traditional, in some case centuries old, folk music, reworked by FC, and original pieces by Richard Thompson and band. Sandy Denny’s vocal performances are powerful and at times breathtaking - she was never better - and the band rocked with enormous conviction, in a “folk rock” sound that simply didn’t exist prior to this. One of the best and most important records of the rock era imho.

Quirky ever so English classic of rock satire.

Often cited as their best and perhaps most modern record (although the iconoclasm of their first two shouldn’t be discounted), its hushed mood ballads (Candy Says / Pale Blue Eyes / Jesus) and mid tempo percussive rockers (What Goes On / Beginning to See the Light / I’m Set Free) all sound very fresh today, and Reed’s lyrics are a bit less shocking and more mysterious and questioning. The band sounds completely different without John Cale, and would never again be as avant garde, but this new normal-ness suited these songs. Phenomenal and important record.

A bit of an odd choice of album to showcase Astrud, whose airy bossa nova helped lead the wave of this extraordinarily popular movement in the 60’s for me her debut from a couple of years earlier is much more significant, followed by Look to this Rainbow in 1966. But Beach Samba is still representative of the sound, though La La some of the peppy arrangements of the debut, and the songs are simply not as good.
Bossa Nova can divide a room, some “get” its existential sadness and mellow reflection, others hear elevator music and run screaming. I’m of the former, but do understand the latter. On this record, particularly. On the plus side, Stay and Canoiero and the title track capture some Bossa magic, whereas much of the rest of it is a bit, um, bland. Not her best and well worth going back to her self titled debut to understand why the music was so popular in its day.

I like this record, mostly on the basis of a few songs - Down to Zero and Love and affection chiefly - and it shows Joan moving into her peak phase, finding her voice etc As she incorporated a bit more rock edge into her sound (on Show Some Emotion and thereafter) it elevated here even further. Still, a remarkable artist and happy to see her on this list.

In a way a quantum leap from their debut, showcasing a leaner sound and the use of distortion and feedback in pursuit of art rock. Ultimately perhaps the songs are not as strong as on their debut (although sister ray’s swallowing up half the record may make that points moot?) but it’s a powerful and important artefact.

Ugh

Not bad.

Undeniably brilliant lyrically and with song variety that benefits from the sensitivity of the Nashville vibe. For me it’s a little overhyped though - versus say the more ground breaking Highway 61 - and it doesn’t quite work its way into the pantheon. Impressive but a little overlong, and the often absurdist lyrics are starting to grate a little bit by this point.

Love this record. Walker started out as a disciple to early 60’s Spector Wall of Sound style pop and over the course of his first four solo records - quickly in fairness - added layers of complexity, lyrically and sonically, and even iconoclasm that not only make clandestine but subtly exploded the simplicity of that earlier sub-genre. The darkness of the lyrics, the real drama, and sonically, the strings and clever song structures, are at their best a most challenging on Scott 4. Try Seventh Seal, Old Man’s Back Again, Duchess.

Maybe the first of the “modern-sound” version of this quintessential band, mature and more likely to be found on adult-oriented radio than college stations. Not a bad thing, but it lacks the zeal of their earlier work and their sound palette changed over the previous couple of records as they wrestled with stardom. Give me the first three records….i do occasionally spin this and enjoy it. 3.5