(7/69 contd.)
Tim Buckley - Happy Sad: The precocious young talent has transitioned from the troubadour aesthetic to that of a stoned soul artist with an affinity for dense instrumentals. Pretentious in theory and arguably more so in execution, and anyone with lesser talent would fall flat on their face in the process. This is not a lesser talent we are talking about, however. A
The Doors -- The Soft Parade: Morrison's steadily increasing alcohol addiction is an explanation, not an excuse. C
Monday, April 30, 2018
Sunday, April 29, 2018
April 29, 2018
(6/69 contd.)
Deep Purple -- Deep Purple: The compositions are growing tighter, the musicianship more pronounced. Rod Evans' attempts at crooning are a bit bizarre but generally work, and damn, those guitars are on point. B+
The Jeff Beck Group -- Beck-Ola: Did Beck take a page out of Jimmy Page's book for this one? Never the most innovative lad in the world, he was. This is nothing but capable blues rock at its core, yet it receives brownie points for Beck and Ronnie Wood's elite interplay. B
Elvis Presley -- From Elvis in Memphis: The best album by the so-called "King" to date, but then again, he was never really considered "The King of Quality Full-Length Albums", eh? His voice is better than ever, admittedly, which makes the uninspired song choices (as per usual) much more palatable. B
Alice Cooper -- Pretties for You: Some of the stupidest psychedelia you'll hear this side of Kaleidoscope. This backing band deserves better. C
Procol Harum -- A Salty Dog: Impressively, the tracks with more ambition work far better than those that attempt to play it safe. Give me more "Wrecks of the Hesperus" and less "Juicy John Pinks" any day, and while you're at it, toss me a few of them juicy-ass "Salty Dog" chord changes. A-
White Noise -- An Electric Storm: Production-wise it's incredibly ahead of its time, the atmosphere encapsulates you and entrances you in its entrapment. Minus a half-mark for a horrible track featuring "chipmunk"-ed vocals, or, as I refer to them, AIDS in musical form. B
(7/69)
Fairport Convention -- Unhalfbricking: Ah yes, they've really figured their sound out now. The English folk-rock instrumentation coupled with Sandy Denny's ethereal vocals and some brilliant production makes this easily the best album of theirs to date and one of the best albums of the genre this year. A-
Deep Purple -- Deep Purple: The compositions are growing tighter, the musicianship more pronounced. Rod Evans' attempts at crooning are a bit bizarre but generally work, and damn, those guitars are on point. B+
The Jeff Beck Group -- Beck-Ola: Did Beck take a page out of Jimmy Page's book for this one? Never the most innovative lad in the world, he was. This is nothing but capable blues rock at its core, yet it receives brownie points for Beck and Ronnie Wood's elite interplay. B
Elvis Presley -- From Elvis in Memphis: The best album by the so-called "King" to date, but then again, he was never really considered "The King of Quality Full-Length Albums", eh? His voice is better than ever, admittedly, which makes the uninspired song choices (as per usual) much more palatable. B
Alice Cooper -- Pretties for You: Some of the stupidest psychedelia you'll hear this side of Kaleidoscope. This backing band deserves better. C
Procol Harum -- A Salty Dog: Impressively, the tracks with more ambition work far better than those that attempt to play it safe. Give me more "Wrecks of the Hesperus" and less "Juicy John Pinks" any day, and while you're at it, toss me a few of them juicy-ass "Salty Dog" chord changes. A-
White Noise -- An Electric Storm: Production-wise it's incredibly ahead of its time, the atmosphere encapsulates you and entrances you in its entrapment. Minus a half-mark for a horrible track featuring "chipmunk"-ed vocals, or, as I refer to them, AIDS in musical form. B
(7/69)
Fairport Convention -- Unhalfbricking: Ah yes, they've really figured their sound out now. The English folk-rock instrumentation coupled with Sandy Denny's ethereal vocals and some brilliant production makes this easily the best album of theirs to date and one of the best albums of the genre this year. A-
April 28, 2018
(5/69 contd.)
The Meters -- The Meters: Booker T. & the M.G.'s REVAMPED -- BIGGER & BETTER THAN EVER. Get your groovin' proto-funk instrumentals right here, right now at no extra charge to you. B+
(6/69)
Johnny Cash -- At San Quentin: Capitalizing off the success of At Folsom Prison? Perhaps. But the increased energy of this performance compared to its predecessor makes it distinct in its own way, and Cash's personality on the stage alone makes it a worthwhile listen. A-
Elton John -- Empty Sky: Aww, drat those young new-fangled kids. Once Elton learns to stop using those tacky vocal affectations and Bernie Taupin learns to stop believing lyrics about Vikings have any value at all, they might very well make something of themselves. C
Pink Floyd -- More: There’s a great ambient EP hidden in this mess of tracks. The decision to couple that ambience with some of the Floyd’s heaviest material to date is confusing to say the least, however. C+
The Steve Miller Band -- Brave New World: Sailor hit us with "Gangster of Love", now with Brave New World we have "Space Cowboy". Wouldn't it be a novel idea if Miller were to couple those two song titles into another song a few years later, turning it into a hit in the process? That Paul Ramon kid seems pretty talented as well. B-
Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band -- Trout Mask Replica: Cut this record in half and it’s his best album hands down. Keep it as is and the cacophony of polyrhythms grows very fatiguing after a while. Not the musical Anti-Christ that many will have you believe it is, however. B
The Grateful Dead -- Aoxomoxoa: I have faith that the Dead are capable of making a truly great record, and they inch closer to that status here. It's unfortunate that they had to demolish any chance they had of entirely doing so with the inclusion of "What's Become of the Baby", easily the worst track of their career to date. B
The Meters -- The Meters: Booker T. & the M.G.'s REVAMPED -- BIGGER & BETTER THAN EVER. Get your groovin' proto-funk instrumentals right here, right now at no extra charge to you. B+
(6/69)
Johnny Cash -- At San Quentin: Capitalizing off the success of At Folsom Prison? Perhaps. But the increased energy of this performance compared to its predecessor makes it distinct in its own way, and Cash's personality on the stage alone makes it a worthwhile listen. A-
Elton John -- Empty Sky: Aww, drat those young new-fangled kids. Once Elton learns to stop using those tacky vocal affectations and Bernie Taupin learns to stop believing lyrics about Vikings have any value at all, they might very well make something of themselves. C
Pink Floyd -- More: There’s a great ambient EP hidden in this mess of tracks. The decision to couple that ambience with some of the Floyd’s heaviest material to date is confusing to say the least, however. C+
The Steve Miller Band -- Brave New World: Sailor hit us with "Gangster of Love", now with Brave New World we have "Space Cowboy". Wouldn't it be a novel idea if Miller were to couple those two song titles into another song a few years later, turning it into a hit in the process? That Paul Ramon kid seems pretty talented as well. B-
Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band -- Trout Mask Replica: Cut this record in half and it’s his best album hands down. Keep it as is and the cacophony of polyrhythms grows very fatiguing after a while. Not the musical Anti-Christ that many will have you believe it is, however. B
The Grateful Dead -- Aoxomoxoa: I have faith that the Dead are capable of making a truly great record, and they inch closer to that status here. It's unfortunate that they had to demolish any chance they had of entirely doing so with the inclusion of "What's Become of the Baby", easily the worst track of their career to date. B
Friday, April 27, 2018
April 27, 2018
(5/69 contd.)
Skip Spence -- Oar: Schizophrenia meets Johnny Cash meets psychedelia. There is no real need to pedestalize and romanticize insanity like many fans of this underground cult classic tend to do, but the musicality is sufficient enough to excuse it. To a degree. B
The Who -- Tommy: He's deaf, Jim! And blind. And dumb as well, apparently. But lord, can he work a pinball. Not the first rock opera but the most ambitious one to date, and one that justifies its length even if all but two or three of the songs are unlistenable out of context. Also, fuck Uncle Ernie. A-
Crosby, Stills & Nash -- Crosby, Stills & Nash: To critics and decriers of so-called "hippie bullshit" music: the door is that way, and I invite you to let it swing closed on your ass as you exit. Vocal harmonies that top both the Byrds and Hollies combined with a counter-culture sensibility leads to the rise of perhaps the most singularly impactful band of 1969. A+
The Hollies -- The Hollies Sing Dylan: An album full of Dylan covers that are stripped of all substance and whittled down to their most rudimentary qualities, with a hefty infusion of bubblegum to complement it. Misguided in every sense of the word. D+
Traffic -- Last Exit: A bridge between the two eras of Traffic, albeit a makeshift one and a very rickety one at that. Second-rate studio cuts comprise the A-side and the B-side consists of two long jams that predictably overstay their welcome by about four-and-a-half minutes each. Winwood still jams hard, though. C+
Skip Spence -- Oar: Schizophrenia meets Johnny Cash meets psychedelia. There is no real need to pedestalize and romanticize insanity like many fans of this underground cult classic tend to do, but the musicality is sufficient enough to excuse it. To a degree. B
The Who -- Tommy: He's deaf, Jim! And blind. And dumb as well, apparently. But lord, can he work a pinball. Not the first rock opera but the most ambitious one to date, and one that justifies its length even if all but two or three of the songs are unlistenable out of context. Also, fuck Uncle Ernie. A-
Crosby, Stills & Nash -- Crosby, Stills & Nash: To critics and decriers of so-called "hippie bullshit" music: the door is that way, and I invite you to let it swing closed on your ass as you exit. Vocal harmonies that top both the Byrds and Hollies combined with a counter-culture sensibility leads to the rise of perhaps the most singularly impactful band of 1969. A+
The Hollies -- The Hollies Sing Dylan: An album full of Dylan covers that are stripped of all substance and whittled down to their most rudimentary qualities, with a hefty infusion of bubblegum to complement it. Misguided in every sense of the word. D+
Traffic -- Last Exit: A bridge between the two eras of Traffic, albeit a makeshift one and a very rickety one at that. Second-rate studio cuts comprise the A-side and the B-side consists of two long jams that predictably overstay their welcome by about four-and-a-half minutes each. Winwood still jams hard, though. C+
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