Bringing It All Back Home

Rolling Stone Rank: 31

Another Dylan album in the top 50.  I understand why it wasn't higher, but yet I can see why Stone rated it as high as it did.  I found nothing wrong with the music, but it didn't really hit me as greatness.  I invite criticism, because I really have nothing good or bad to say about it.  Solid blues from the man, and yet there were times when the classic "Dylan whine" just gets on your nerves.  

Overall though, its Dylan at his core.  If you like him, it's another album to put on the shelf.  If you dislike him, you find another reason to stay away.  Don't like this one form your opinion, but it's worth a listen.

Stats

Album: Bringing It All Back Home

Artist: Bob Dylan

Year: 1965

My Favorite Song: Subterranean Homesick Blues

Tomorrow: The Stones

Blue

Rolling Stone Rank:30

Hello again, my computer was down again for a few days.  So, sorry to my hundreds of fans I'm sure you were on the edge of your seat.  Just kidding.  In case your reading this, I know that I'm the only one that reads these things, which is fine with me. 

The album I listened to a few days ago was Joni Mitchell's Blue.  Fantastic.  As I've said many times, the music that I respect most is the one that comes from the heart.  For me, it's passion.  That's the only thing that matters.  It doesn't matter the genre, doesn't matter the style, or really the era.  If you can feel that passion, that raw emotion, then you can really connect to an artist and to the music.

It's one of the reasons that I don't like rap music as much as other kinds.  I mean, yes, there are exceptions, from what I've heard about Kanye's new album, it's filled with emotion.  And while it's not the style people aren't used to, it's the emotion that draws you in.  The main problem I have with most rap is that I feel like the artist could care less about what he/she is doing.  They could care less about what they're saying, it's just a total turn off for me.  

Anyways, back to Blue.  I loved it.  It wasn't great to exercises to, but I listen to it later in the car, and it really came alive.  The emotion just pours out of every single song.  And so simplistic, so bare bones, I really enjoyed it.  Anyways, give it a listen.  Tell me what you think.

Stats

Album: Blue

Artist: Joni Mitchell

Year: 1971

Favorite Song: A Case of You

Tomorrow: Dylan

Led Zeppelin

Rollins Stone Rank: 29

Hello faithful reader(s). As you may or may not know, my personal life has had some major changes in the past few weeks. Anyways, I thought this would be a good time to get back to listening to the music that I love. Something about wanting something in my life to stay great, while rest of it falls apart. ok, so. moving on.

I totally agree with the Rolling Stone writer on this one. Listening to this album was like watching Jordan at UNC. Wow, you knew if was great, and yeah they won some games, but you had no idea he would be that good. Same thoughts on these boys from England. The first thing that jumps out at you is "wow, Robert Plant has a ridiculous voice". His range and emotion shine though on this album, almost drowning out the rest of the band.

Essentially the album is signature blues. The first few songs fool you with some pretty heavy guitar riffs, but by You Shook Me you can tell the albums true spirit It has all the usual aspects you would expect. Slow moving, blues progressions, elongated guitar solos, with little to no chord change underneath. I love the guttural screams that Plant gives throughout the album, most notably in Dazed and Confused and Communication Breakdown.

Overall, a great listen. I would obviously recommend this to anyone . It would be great to listen to all the Zeppelin albums chronologically. They are a great example of a band that kept getting better with each successive album.  But, that's not my game.

That's it for me, a short one to get this back up and running again. Oh yeah, Happy Holidays

Stats:

Album: Led Zeppelin

Artist: Led Zeppelin

Year: 1969

My Favorite Song: You Shook Me

Tomorrow: Joni

Who's Next

Rolling Stone Rank: 28

Last day before work starts, so expect the frequency of these post to drop off, but I hope to continue to write even if no one reads. I have kind of enjoyed writing about all the music that I'm listening to, in fact today I went back and read some of the earlier posts. quality. Anyways, the summer didn't go exactly as planned, but I definitely enjoyed it. btw, what a great way to end the summer.

Who's Next, the epic album that followed Tommy. Townshends use of synthesizers really makes the album unique from the rest of the music coming out of the rock genre at the time. completely a studio album, which I love, Who's Next starts off with a bang in Baba O'Riley. Most of the songs in the album vary between prog rock, acoustic, or straight rock. But nothing tops the closing song of the album. One of the greatest songs ever written, Won't Get Fooled Again, really brings the album together.

But then it got used in a tv show.... please to enjoy:

Take some time, take a listen, post your thoughts.

Stats:

Album: Who's Next
Artist: The Who
Year: 1971
My Favorite Song: Behind Blue Eyes
Tomorrow: Led Zeppelin

King of the Delta Blues Singers Vol. 1

Rolling Stone Rank: 27

Not much to say about this album, it is really great but it is in the vane of all the other compilations that I have listened to thus far. It's not really the best of listening, but it's truly fascinating tho hear the beginnings of Rock and Roll.

Also, the myths surrounding Robert Johnson are extremely captivating. All the stories revolve around a meeting between Johnson and The Devil. As legend has it, he sold his soul for his musical talent. I can't remember exactly where I read it, but there was this first-hand account of somebody who knew Johnson before and after his "transformation". This type of story-telling is pretty common for the blues genre, people go ape over this kind of stuff.

Anyway, I love the album, but I wouldn't recommend it for a casual fan. The sound just doesn't translate well to 2008. But for you music majors, or blues fans its a great album to have. It shows the beginning of blues, and further along the line, rock.

Take some time, take a listen, post your thoughts.

Stats:

Album: King of the Delta Blues Singers Vol. 1
Artist: Robert Johnson
Year: 1961
My Favorite Song: Hellhound on my Trail
Tomorrow: The Who

The Joshua Tree

Rolling Stone Rank: 26

Going to make this review short as well. Sorry to loyal readers. My thought on U2 is that they are a great band, Bono is a great singer. They are very good at evoking emotion, and being socially relevant. They are very good taking up a cause. But, i don't think they are very good at writing original music. Don't get me wrong, Joshua Tree was very very entertaining to listen to. But as a music major, there was one major aspect that upset me. The endless subdivision this band seems to employ, I couldn't get over it.

Whether it's the bass playing 8th notes, or the rhythm guitar hammering out 16th notes. I just couldn't take it every song. I get that it moves the music along, i get that it keeps the music full of energy. I just can't take it all the time. Even Exit, what I thought was their hardcore song, went back to 8th note subdivision in the chorus.

It really took away with how good this album ought to be. I know that I should keep an open mind, but that really ruined that album for me. I'm going to give another listen in the next few days, trying to listen to it fresh and see if that does anything for me.

So all that being said, the hits sound great. That are fantastic at writing a hit song, a song that builds throughout until it hits a peak towards the end. Really enjoyable, and great to work out to, but it just got tedious.

Take some time, take a listen, post your thoughts.

Stats:

Album: the Joshua Tree
Artist: U2
Year: 1987
My Favorite Song: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Tomorrow: Robert Johnson

Rumours

Rolling Stone Rank: 25

Quite an interesting album this was. Fleetwood Mac blends the California polished sound with an R&B down and dirty style. They almost seem to alternate every song between these two competing styles. But then again, they alternated songwriters on nearly every song, except The Chain which they all wrote.

Another captivating aspect of this album was the emotional state that the band members were in while composing the album. Check this out: Mick was in the middle of his divorce. John and Christine got divorced during the album. Lindsey and Stevie (Lindsey is the guy, Stevie is the girl) also broke up during the making of this album. This of course led to all the band writing songs about the break-ups of their significant other, who were in the band (hence the title of the album, Rumours. You see they all thought the others' were spreading rumours about them....oh you get it? OK.) But after the album was done, they all kind of realized that the highly emotional writing had helped them to get through their tough times, and oh yeah, there was the great album as a record of their recovery.

So given that background, it's easy to hear the tension throughout the album, hard to explain but you definitely feel that raw energy running throughout the album, emotionally charged would also be a good way to describe the aesthetic. And of course you can hear a mature Nicks ready to move on, her voice and writing are different from the rest of the band, you get the sense she a rising star in the making.

Overall, I liked the album. I liked the style they have, the songs vary just enough to keep me interested, but they don't stray too much from their California roots(Think pre-Walsh Eagles). If there is one problem with their sound, it's that I don't think they every resolve the tension built throughout the entire album. For me, it just ended, keeping me in the edge of my seat. I just want a rock out song somewhere in there. But then if it did, I'm sure I'd complain that "it all sounded great except for that one lazy rock out song". So let's just agree to disagree, Rachel Ray is on TV which is making me hungry.

Take some time, take a listen, post your thoughts.

Stats:

Album: Rumours
Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Year: 1977
My Favorite Song: The Chain
Tomorrow: U2