tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53667108140418234832024-03-17T20:03:17.794-07:00Eric Talks AlbumsReviews of Classic AlbumsEric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-23872011530697383552024-03-17T00:22:00.000-07:002024-03-17T00:22:10.443-07:00The Albums of 1973: Led Zeppelin: Houses of the Holy<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRSw90PiRbnBUvwr0yRAGkdVFF4DEat4aanU-sJ8bLrKXUgxwZEfoImHcSWpqktEiIeXG79MR9JaPEEJGYgIBXdx23_d9GNYjVT62QA2DvZ0w9-I2z3moKZxAqDKsNYJcKIr5MH83y6t9Yhxp-V9FtcfLxBJ056oTpav2Qhs_gwOu0XifkTwJLKEH_wA0/s202/download%20-%202024-03-17T012255.132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="202" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRSw90PiRbnBUvwr0yRAGkdVFF4DEat4aanU-sJ8bLrKXUgxwZEfoImHcSWpqktEiIeXG79MR9JaPEEJGYgIBXdx23_d9GNYjVT62QA2DvZ0w9-I2z3moKZxAqDKsNYJcKIr5MH83y6t9Yhxp-V9FtcfLxBJ056oTpav2Qhs_gwOu0XifkTwJLKEH_wA0/s1600/download%20-%202024-03-17T012255.132.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Release Date: March 28, 1973</b></i><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Jimmy Page</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: The Song Remains the Same; The Rain Song; Over the Hills and Far Away; The Crunge</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Dancing Days; D'yer Mak'er; No Quarter; The Ocean</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i>Houses of the Holy</i> proved to be Led Zeppelin's most eclectic record yet -and their most melodic. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"The Song Remains the Same" begins the record on a rapturous note, both hard rocking and ethereal. Like "Stairway to Heaven", "The Rain Song" relies more on mood and atmosphere to great effect. "Over the Hills and Far Away" leans into the folkish side of the band, Plant's vocal and Page's riffs repeatedly crest and build. "The Crunge" was considered by some an attempt to channel James Brown with somewhat mixed results, an interesting experiment, nevertheless. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Dancing Days" revels in its bacchanalia ethos, "D'yer Mak'er" merges the Zeppelin sound with reggae and remains a classic rock staple. "No Quarter" is one of Zeppelin's most ominous tracks, merging synth-heavy prog-rock with a foggy dystopian atmosphere. "The Ocean" closes the record, more of a throwback to the earlier sound of the band, a joyful swagger with the band at its creative peak. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i>Houses of the Holy</i> sounds so fully realized and confident, all members of the group showcasing their skills as individuals and as a potent unit. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-50721006506973613872023-11-24T22:15:00.000-08:002023-11-25T00:59:55.986-08:00REM #15: Collapse Into Now<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEopR0lKdAmXyb0FkK2lsyJHyNISk0ChFlLdIuGIvl1qUzcMdNysqkPI1P6vCGO8y2G1-kohIe7ULWSgJTWeCEIBOxj8bEdoUv1O9f98deHaAX5s-3i6DkTBpCWTJG0J2f5DntgBF0RSnkERUljrN2BfJ8IoAd-gj740qJKVc4DUGw56sivyVROPa9_SNF/s220/download%20-%202023-11-24T230214.758.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="220" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEopR0lKdAmXyb0FkK2lsyJHyNISk0ChFlLdIuGIvl1qUzcMdNysqkPI1P6vCGO8y2G1-kohIe7ULWSgJTWeCEIBOxj8bEdoUv1O9f98deHaAX5s-3i6DkTBpCWTJG0J2f5DntgBF0RSnkERUljrN2BfJ8IoAd-gj740qJKVc4DUGw56sivyVROPa9_SNF/s1600/download%20-%202023-11-24T230214.758.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Release Date: March 7, 2011</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Mike Mills (bass, keyboards)</b></i></span></div><div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Jackknife Lee & REM</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><i>Track Listing: Discoverer; All the Best; Uberlin; Oh My Heart; It Happened Today; Everyday is Yours to Win; Mine Smell Like Honey; Walk it Back; Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter; That Someone is You; Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I; Blue</i></b></div></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><i>Collapse Into Now</i> was pre-determined to be the final REM record, in a mutual decision to disband. The album features a variety of tracks calling back to different eras of the group's history, often referencing older songs. There's also a sense of time passing, the lingering message throughout is one for posterity, many of the songs are addressed to "the kids." </div><div><br /></div><div>"Discoverer" recalls the more muscular sound of <i>Monster </i>from 1994, and the sentiment going back to <i>Murmur's </i>opening track "Radio Free Europe." The power pop of "All the Best" has a one more for the road vibe, "it's just like me to overstay my welcome." "Uberlin" offers fantastical daydreams with neo-psychedelia sound.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Oh My Heart" is one of REM's most poignant songs, told from the viewpoint of someone returning to New Orleans amidst the devastation left by the storm. "It Happened Today" is baroque pop, commenting on the nature of interpretation. "Everyday is Yours to Win" offers a compassionate message to someone in despair at the state of the world - evoking a lullaby. </div><div><br /></div><div>"Mine Smell Like Honey" offers subtle sarcasm on ego, "Walk it Back" is piano driven and a meditation on time passing."Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter" is punkish and juvenile by design. "That Someone Is You" is guitar driven, mocking a sophomoric rant by an adolescent. "Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I" muses on celebrity and cultural obsessions. The final REM track "Blue" features Stipe giving a spoken word poem, with Patti Smith providing back-up vocals, always a influence on the band since the beginning, then the fadeout goes into a reprise of "Discoverer."</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Collapse Into Now</i> is a fitting farewell. REM began as a fledgling college band in Athens, Georgia and climbed their way up from a cult band to mainstream success. Through it all, they stayed true to progressive ideals and avoided becoming the walking cliché so many rock bands become. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-68577804657906325092023-11-21T00:10:00.000-08:002023-11-21T00:15:36.199-08:00REM #14: Accelerate<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPepgOg0scoGKleJjseGvqwK_DrH0VQyISy0644l4r_R3n3KT1E6KaI8KhKrtPKV7fjPOxNSAVFBfxBF11TIh047KjDnMIMCQqw9A8WnilYmi1uAqnOCwCvv0UJn64c-T9AEAvQqm4Kt99LhBwcoYzw58q-hLeZL377Aphq2VyZRJAjNP8f2NQouocckRR/s225/download%20-%202023-11-21T010742.281.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPepgOg0scoGKleJjseGvqwK_DrH0VQyISy0644l4r_R3n3KT1E6KaI8KhKrtPKV7fjPOxNSAVFBfxBF11TIh047KjDnMIMCQqw9A8WnilYmi1uAqnOCwCvv0UJn64c-T9AEAvQqm4Kt99LhBwcoYzw58q-hLeZL377Aphq2VyZRJAjNP8f2NQouocckRR/s1600/download%20-%202023-11-21T010742.281.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: March 31, 2008</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Mike Mills (bass, keyboards)</b></i></span></div><div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Jackknife Lee & REM</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><i>Track Listing: Living Well is the Best Revenge; Man-Sized Wreath; Supernatural Superserious; Hollow Man; Houston; Accelerate; Until the Day is Done; Mr. Richards; Sing for the Submarine; Horse to Water; I'm Gonna DJ</i></b></div></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><i>Accelerate </i>marked a return to guitar driven rock for REM in what would be their penultimate LP.</div><div><br /></div><div>A punk infused opener, "Living Well is the Best Revenge" also has a politically charged bent, "Man-Sized Wreath" continues in a similar vein, a song full of swagger mocking the idea of swagger and the political rhetoric of the post 9/11 era. "Supernatural Superserious" swerves into pure power pop mode, an observational look at American youth. "Hollow Man" may reference the T.S. Eliot poem "The Hollow Men", which envisioned futuristic men as violent and empty, but the REM song pushes against the sentiment. "Houston" offers subtle commentary on post-Hurricane Katrina climate in America, "<i>if the storm doesn't kill me the government will."</i> "Accelerate" is a moody rocker with a positive energy. "Until the Day is Done" throws scathing commentary at Big Business and all it represents in 21st Century America, especially timely in that it was written just before the 2008 crash. "Mr. Richards" satirizes a certain type of "W" era warmonger, preaching the merits of an aggressive foreign policy to callow youths. "Sing for the Submarine" is a surreal interlude, Stipe in perfect form delivering a dream soliloquy. "Horse to Water" is punk poetry, "I'm Gonna DJ" ends the record on a defiant and jubilant note. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Accelerate </i>was well received. The smooth production often masks the incisive political commentary, adding more depth to the record on repeated listens. At 34 minutes, it's also the shortest REM record. They undoubtedly sounded rejuvenated, a band still with something to prove. Not a classic by any means, but certainly a late career triumph. </div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-75198551286989849492023-11-17T14:46:00.000-08:002023-11-17T14:49:53.465-08:00REM #13: Around the Sun<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88AViRGaVodubjLewkJrj1AQw-5mnZ6D_G_E67tID_-suU328GaA7tj7N_LMvwdZucadCxYA-0m1huPT_-Ukh5zoUaMuSx-VfctCWmIbkr7_2wc9vpTojNIkf0rnyX_FsJiqU9QYvluXIWXc7Os6EBovJxAQvgGmj7pWlv0fnTVPdu1Mxt4gp3m8rDuct/s225/download%20-%202023-11-17T011231.207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88AViRGaVodubjLewkJrj1AQw-5mnZ6D_G_E67tID_-suU328GaA7tj7N_LMvwdZucadCxYA-0m1huPT_-Ukh5zoUaMuSx-VfctCWmIbkr7_2wc9vpTojNIkf0rnyX_FsJiqU9QYvluXIWXc7Os6EBovJxAQvgGmj7pWlv0fnTVPdu1Mxt4gp3m8rDuct/s1600/download%20-%202023-11-17T011231.207.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: October 5, 2004</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Mike Mills (bass, keyboards)</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b><i>Additional</i></b><i><b> Musicians: Scott McCaughey (keyboards, percussion); Ken Stringfellow (keyboards); Q-Tip (rapping on "The Outsiders); Bill Rieflin (Percussion); <br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Pat McCarthy & REM</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><i>Track Listing: Leaving New York; Electron Blue; The Outsiders; Make It All Okay; Final Straw; I Wanted To Be Wrong; Wanderlust; Boy in the Well; Aftermath; High Speed Train; The Worst Joke Ever; The Ascent of Man; Around the Sun</i></b></div></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div>"Leaving New York" opens <i>Around the Sun</i>, a poignant ode to New York City with melancholy post-9/11 subtext. Lyrically, the song speaks to the leaving the city and the end of a friendship. The electronica fused "Electron Blue" remains a favorite of Michael Stipes he described as a futuristic song that came to him in a dream. "The Outsiders" begins as a synth-pop song and ends Q-Tip providing a rap as a coda, which speaks to the political frustrations and inertia of the Bush era. "Make It All Okay" continues on in a similar vein speaking to miscommunication in a fraught relationship. </div><div><br /></div><div>"Final Straw" was written as a protest song about the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, but avoids topical references in favor of an oblique Socratic dialogue. Cultural and political disillusionment are expressed a bit more forcefully on "I Wanted to Be Wrong, Stipe sings <i>"everyone is humming a song I don't understand." </i></div><div><br /></div><div>"Wanderlust" lightens the mood, with Stipe inhabiting a poetic wanderer in modern America, possibly imagining a reincarnated Kerouac. "Boy in the Well" conjures early REM with its minimal production and flickering Americana. "Aftermath" offers hope through gaining self-knowledge, REM at their stateliest. Atmospheric and moody, "High Speed Train" may actually work better if seeing it performed live. "The Worst Joke Ever" speaks to creativity and malaise. "The Ascent of Man" injects some much needed soul to counter the overcast mood of the record. "Around the Sun" ends the record on an upbeat note, promising to keep seeking for the answers as long as the world's still going. </div><div><br /></div><div>The album cover art features REM as fading shadows - and that suits <i>Around the Sun</i>. All members admitted to being bored and frustrated during the making of the record, sales were moderate, while reviews were tepid. The post 9/11 world, especially for idealists and Progressives, brought on disillusionment, and here REM flirts with succumbing to it, but not quite. The record can be read as a warm hug to their fans, pointing the way through introspection. </div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-60290616575766547462023-10-26T20:53:00.002-07:002023-10-26T21:07:23.142-07:00REM #12: Reveal<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0r37ELUv-0Oa-6iNOelL34Elc0s2Hikwa1p1zLlgpkJ_NlBNVcTM6RIQF8MniZ0ITcSz-3Y8nREZPIFjxZi1CXj0Ik-wCO7jmSW3FYCThNSKMu78CV244GW_CgeIT4bQE-gTmBlKXWZio1_R4q2UgdR5uHPixAMbVDu8xH-WCejl-d6uzpOZ9BGldisbO/s225/download%20-%202023-10-26T002541.374.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0r37ELUv-0Oa-6iNOelL34Elc0s2Hikwa1p1zLlgpkJ_NlBNVcTM6RIQF8MniZ0ITcSz-3Y8nREZPIFjxZi1CXj0Ik-wCO7jmSW3FYCThNSKMu78CV244GW_CgeIT4bQE-gTmBlKXWZio1_R4q2UgdR5uHPixAMbVDu8xH-WCejl-d6uzpOZ9BGldisbO/s1600/download%20-%202023-10-26T002541.374.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: May 14, 2001</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Mike Mills (bass, keyboards)</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b><i>Additional</i></b><i><b> Musicians: Scott McCaughey (keyboards, percussion) Joey Waronker (drums); Ken Stringfellow (keyboards)<br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Pat McCarthy & REM</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: The Lifting; I've Been High; All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star); She Just Wants to Be; Disappear; Saturn Return</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Beat a Drum; Imitation of Life; Summer Turns to High; Chorus and the Ring; I'll Take the Rain; Beachball</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">By 2001 REM had achieved <i>carte blanche</i> in terms of their career. They were a rich rock band with total creative freedom and a loyal fan base supporting their tours and buying their records. Their legacy was set in stone. Musically, rock and pop no longer commanded the youth market like in decades past. The way consumers were interacting with music was in flux with the internet becoming a Wild West for free downloads and with streaming just around the corner. Part of REM's new mission was assuaging their fan base through reissues, live albums, and collections of unreleased tracks. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">New albums were no longer the centerpiece of a REM's existence, with them becoming cottage industry on their own. <i>Reveal </i>is a stellar album, less experimental than <i>Up</i>, yet seemingly tailor made to be what one would expect from REM. But a subtle unease traverses through the slick lyrics and hypnotic melodies. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Like most REM tracks, "The Lifting" benefits from multiple listens. Written as a prequel to "Daysleeper" from <i>Up</i>, it's about an office drone who once had high ambitions about life. With its dreamy pop intro that could open a Cardigans song, but there's an emphatic frustration with the character, a figure who imagined a life of color, but it's still black and white. It also contrasts dreams with mundane nature of life, drawing a comparison to " A Day in the Life." </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"I've Been High" applies a retro '80s pop sound, with recurring REM imagery of water, the sky, and falling. "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna be a Star)" follows a familiar character, a young woman trying to break into show business, musically it feels like a spiritual sequel to "Man on the Moon." Michael Moore directed the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHlpWokiduk" target="_blank">playful video</a> for the song, following REM as they visit a Catholic High School in Brooklyn and mingle with the students. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"She Just Wants to Be" could possibly be about the same character from the previous song, a track celebrating experiencing the world, but also complicating the sentiment. "Disappear" follows a world- weary character on other side of the spectrum of the young person in the precious song, always on the elusive search for meaning and finding nothing, eventually preferring to leave the world. "Saturn Return" continues in a similar vein, the lyrics are labyrinthian with Stipe's haunting vocal and the rich soundscape creates a sublime mood. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Some have read "Beat a Drum" as a tribute to Bill Berry who left the band to become a farmer, weary of touring and shaken after a brain aneurism, Berry chose the quiet life. The song's themes of transcendentalism also draw parallels to Emerson and Thoreau. "Imitation of Life" could be read as the band satirizing themselves, with its overtly sweet optimism. "Summer Turns to High" also revels in darkly sweet imagery, with hints of <i>Pet Sounds</i>. "Chorus and the Ring" is lyrically the most adventurous. A melancholy resignation sustains "I'll Take the Rain." "Beachball" ends the record on a low key vibe in a jaundiced vision of paradise. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Musically and lyrically <i>Reveal </i>offers everything one would expect from REM, bright melodies, and sublime lyrics. I marginally prefer <i>Up</i> because of its less constrained style, there's an uneasy insularity on <i>Reveal</i>, a safe record in the best possible sense. </span></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-67275855591662230382023-10-21T19:00:00.001-07:002023-10-21T19:36:29.120-07:00REM #11: Up<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrt1u_2GoLegec-bytty_vZ9f7LW-7AFtIxT_x7jvMMX4rLA1qI7LukVAjaWL4NzIKMFFT9yZg0BRzrg7feRQwTLXQkLeWGAQceoOmWwO5DePlrPYof1KDWdbA2Tz1rmg3Q6DMjxLPEFpqyB4oMXhBhpApz6JOQ9df_GVi8ebvwORDhh1yDAjhTMxMt2T/s225/download%20-%202023-10-21T023318.327.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrt1u_2GoLegec-bytty_vZ9f7LW-7AFtIxT_x7jvMMX4rLA1qI7LukVAjaWL4NzIKMFFT9yZg0BRzrg7feRQwTLXQkLeWGAQceoOmWwO5DePlrPYof1KDWdbA2Tz1rmg3Q6DMjxLPEFpqyB4oMXhBhpApz6JOQ9df_GVi8ebvwORDhh1yDAjhTMxMt2T/s1600/download%20-%202023-10-21T023318.327.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: October 26, 1998</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Mike Mills (bass, keyboards)</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b><i>Additional</i></b><i><b> Musicians: Scott McCaughey (keyboards, percussion) Joey Waronker (drums); Barrett Martin (drums)<br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Pat McCarthy & REM</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: Airportman; Lotus; Suspicion Hope; At My Most Beautiful; The Apologist; Sad Professor; You're in the Air</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Walk Unafraid; Why Not Smile; Daysleeper; Diminished; Parakeet; Falls to Climb</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">With the departure of drummer Bill Berry, REM continued on as a trio, employing a handful of session musicians on keyboards and percussion. <i>Up</i> was recorded throughout 1998, with members working more as individuals and exploring electronica sounds under the influence of Radiohead. Barely on speaking terms at times, it took a three-day retreat in Idaho for the band to air out their differences and deciding whether to continue. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i>Up</i> opens with "Airportman", a gently melodic soundscape of electronica, influenced by Krautrock. "Lotus" introduces the spiritual themes on the record, with its surreal lyrics and pop-electric sound. "Suspicion" is in a neo-psychedelic mode, with stream of consciousness lyrics, in one of Stipe's most evocative vocals yet. "Hope" borrowed its melody from Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne", lyrically the song is directed at someone unsure if they should go in the science or religion route in trying to make sense of mortality.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"At My Most Beautiful" is a pristine piano ballad inspired by Brian Wilson. Aural waves and reverb sustain "The Apologist," with its moody themes of compromise and control. "Sad Professor" is a character sketch of melancholia similar to REM's earlier interest in eccentric characters. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"You're in the Air" is a love song, baroque, and haunting thought Stipe's vocal. "Walk Afraid" marinates in existential angst, a secular prayer. "Why Not Smile" drowns in earnestness and honesty, which makes the sentiment even sadder. "Daysleeper" offers poetic reflections on modern life, globalization eating away at the soul of Gen X, prescient in its sentiments and somewhat reminiscent of "Fakin It" by Simon and Garfunkel. "Diminished" is the longest track at six minutes, lyrically ambitious with more wordplay and striking imagery, in the fadeout Stipe performs a fragment of "I'm Not Over You." </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div>"Parakeet" is a metaphorical in how we can trap ourselves, "Falls to Climb" brings the introspective themes of <i>Up</i> to a proper conclusion. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Up</i> offers a variety of dreamy melodies and rich themes. Musically, REM was updating their sound with elements of Brit Pop and electronica, while maintaining their thematic preoccupations on life and how to live it. Stipe continued to expand his vocal range, often inhabiting the characters in the songs. <i>New Adventures in Hi-Fi</i> was their farewell to the 1990s, <i>Up </i>had them looking forward to the 2000s. Record sales declined in the US, but the record performed better in Europe. With their days of mainstream success behind them, <i>Up</i> signaled REM was settling into becoming a niche band. </div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-523655311095392502023-09-30T23:57:00.004-07:002023-09-30T23:59:50.081-07:00The Albums of 1973: The Isley Brothers: 3+3<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKfvCJJev0iFm6_oy3Hxg-jhGxRiuQh6tdPPJjw8ShrwTxQ4f1Vhrko-hhmCi6eIgUkKoeiJj4addNuO-A0rcyTwWaXyajuXD2DRXaqs4y03QaHxmpRtPD9uQG7xIA_FqYptWqdhMS9mzcXCrIF2EI6W6UVptaknf_0PGzaF5XhmDGOFvJ_xZbIbDSXlK/s225/download%20-%202023-10-01T023808.331.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKfvCJJev0iFm6_oy3Hxg-jhGxRiuQh6tdPPJjw8ShrwTxQ4f1Vhrko-hhmCi6eIgUkKoeiJj4addNuO-A0rcyTwWaXyajuXD2DRXaqs4y03QaHxmpRtPD9uQG7xIA_FqYptWqdhMS9mzcXCrIF2EI6W6UVptaknf_0PGzaF5XhmDGOFvJ_xZbIbDSXlK/s1600/download%20-%202023-10-01T023808.331.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Release Date: August 7, 1973</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Ronald Isley (vocals); Ernie Isley (lead guitar); Marvin Isley (bass); O'Kelly Isley (vocals); Rudolph Isley (vocals); Chris Jasper (piano, synth)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley, O'Kelly Isley</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><i>Side One: That Lady; Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight; If You Were There; You Walk Your Way; Listen to the Music</i></b></div></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>Side Two: What it Comes Down To; Sunshine (Go Away Today); Summer Breeze; The Highways of My Life<br /></i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div>The Isley Brothers had a remarkable run of records during the 1970s - and <i>3+3</i> was one of their best. Consisting of originals and memorable covers of pop hits, <i>3+3</i> is a standout from the crowded year of 1973.</div><div><br /></div><div>The record opened with "That Lady," an update of their 1964 hit reimagined as 1970s funk. Jimi Hendrix had toured with the Isleys in the mid-1960s, Ernie Isley's guitar on this track took inspiration from Hendrix, earning the group a Top Ten hit. James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" is performed wonderfully as a quiet soul song. "If You Were There" is upbeat and melodic, "Walk Your Way" is gospel inspired. The Isely's took the Doobie Brother's hit "Listen to the Young Music", maintaining its festive spirit while incorporating a synth sound that builds to a memorable fadeout.</div><div><br /></div><div>"What it Comes Down To" was another hit single highlighted by Chris Jasper's synthesizer. "Sunshine (Go Away Today) was hit for singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards, a post-60s lament, the Isley's expanded on the notion with their moodier version. The Isley's had covered Seals & Croft's "Love the One You're With" a few years before, here the they took on "Summer Breeze", expanding the song to an epic six minutes, adding a note of unease accentuated by distorted guitars. A lovely piano intro opens "The Highways of My Life," an introspective track to close the record.</div><div><br /></div><div>In its nine tracks <i>3+3</i> incorporated a variety of emotion and styles, the production left behind a timeless sound.</div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-66663221866669937972023-09-25T18:47:00.000-07:002023-09-25T18:47:02.628-07:00The Albums of 1973: Bruce Springsteen: The Wild, the Innocent, & the E Street Shuffle<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnP5r6X8HKQHxP_llFuM8ruOriT-xc-easBBTgT7BvOfwljBDZ-Eo0OogV74VtQBzuHQCiNK5HGIpHz6oMA5ftfMDriSDNy37PmqHrZyk2l_dfsA0RU6HbVEGWNq-2WMK_le3uqAz8WnZewbhDLM_tj-9Ii4pJd02bFe5KO2Zqd6pij01_ExgtQO07lSg8/s225/download%20-%202023-09-25T053317.697.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnP5r6X8HKQHxP_llFuM8ruOriT-xc-easBBTgT7BvOfwljBDZ-Eo0OogV74VtQBzuHQCiNK5HGIpHz6oMA5ftfMDriSDNy37PmqHrZyk2l_dfsA0RU6HbVEGWNq-2WMK_le3uqAz8WnZewbhDLM_tj-9Ii4pJd02bFe5KO2Zqd6pij01_ExgtQO07lSg8/s1600/download%20-%202023-09-25T053317.697.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></div><b><br />Release Date: November 5, 1973</b><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><b>Produced by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos</b></p><p><b><i>Side One: The E Street Shuffle; 4th of July Ashbury Park (Sandy); Kitty's Back; Wild Billy's Circus Story</i></b></p><p><b><i>Side Two: Incident on 57th Street; Rosalita (Come Out Tonight); New York City Serenade</i></b></p><p>Bruce Springsteen's sophomore record <i>The Wild, the Innocent, & the E Street Band</i> built upon the homespun sound of his debut <i>Greetings from Ashbury Park. </i></p><p>"The E Street Shuffle" is lyrically similar to the New Jersey scenes on the first record, a celebratory opener full of consequence. "4th of July Ashbury Park" paints a portrait of a specific moment in time of the Jersey shore, cinematic in its scope with its heightened reality, even sounding archaic with references to "greasers" and "factory girls". The song is addressed to Sandy to whom the singer is confessing a heartbreak, and expressing a sense of time passing that will never return, at least for him. "Kitty's Back" is a bittersweet farewell to another legendary figure who enraptured the imagination of many in an ambitious composition moving from folk, R&B, and gospel. "Wild Billy's Circus Story" eulogizes a traveling circus in a curious hybrid of Dylan and Bradbury. </p><p>Side two featured three 7+ minute epics critics often cite as Springsteen emerging as one of the great American songwriters. "Incident on 57th Street" tells a sprawling tragic love story of "Spanish Johnny" and "Puerto Rican Jane." The theatricality of the song would continues through Springsteen's work during the 1970s. "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) is similar in sentiment, with Bruce switching to the first-person perspective. A standout from his early live shows, certain to send the audience out on a high note. "New York City Serenade" is the most abstract lyrically, more kaleidoscopic, and musically the most adventurous. </p><p>While the record sold moderately, critical notices were strong, and it got a lot airplay in the Northeast. It's easy to view <i>Wild & Innocent </i>as mere prelude to <i>Born to Run</i>, but the album stands on its own with its sprawling romanticism and swashbuckling theatrics, one's left with no doubt Bruce and the band left it all on the record. </p>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-32303012716566237802023-08-28T22:02:00.000-07:002023-08-28T22:02:10.354-07:00The Albums of 1973: Paul McCartney and Wings: Band on the Run<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKvwIKjvTNhTUmp-xOlgzEJPp_k_M0nlnW4GnRRW44p7efAww4-J3_1B3wnOaViY064BnJbGfHGiGPW2bR8xLY_IJ2ETg7D8x9yRt8KJEEPS811DwJ0UwDKSm-gD4g547RfmTBOOhKcIbj7EqO580qdosyRf58EnB37943s3RlnNUO7FByOSaajzPe8VR/s225/download%20-%202023-08-29T001901.590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKvwIKjvTNhTUmp-xOlgzEJPp_k_M0nlnW4GnRRW44p7efAww4-J3_1B3wnOaViY064BnJbGfHGiGPW2bR8xLY_IJ2ETg7D8x9yRt8KJEEPS811DwJ0UwDKSm-gD4g547RfmTBOOhKcIbj7EqO580qdosyRf58EnB37943s3RlnNUO7FByOSaajzPe8VR/s1600/download%20-%202023-08-29T001901.590.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: December 5, 1973</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Lineup: Paul McCartney (vocals, bass, guitars, piano, keyboards, percussion); Linda McCartney (vocals, keyboards, percussion); Denny Laine (vocals, guitars)</b></i></span></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Paul McCartney</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: Band on the Run; Jet; Bluebird; Mrs. Vanderbilt; Let Me Roll It</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Mamunia; No Words; Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me); Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i>Band on the Run</i> bookended a challenging and prolific year for Paul McCartney and Wings which began with the release of <i>Red Rose Speedway</i>. In search of creative inspiration, McCartney with band members Linda McCartney and Denny Laine recorded most of the record at EMI studios in Lagos, Nigeria. Planning for days on the beach and recording at night, they instead found the country in political turmoil following a civil war that had ended in 1970 with a military dictatorship in charge. The change of scenery and some of the dangers that came with making the record resulted in a record even McCartney's most begrudging critics praised. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">The album also bore a striking resemblance to the concept records of the late Beatles period, although McCartney never intended it as such, although are recurring romantic themes of escape and adventure. "Band on the Run" opened the record with one of Paul's best songs since the Beatles breakup. Conceived as a mini suite opening with weary guitar melodies, then into a crescendo of resolve, and transitions into an anthemic pop song.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Another FM staple, "Jet" was inspired by the McCartney family dog. The non-sensical lyrics and big production were primed for arena rock shows. "Bluebird" is wonderfully produced and performed, both subdued and fantastical. "Mrs. Vanderbilt" also spans genres from rock-pop to Paul's fondness for writing singalongs. Many noticed "Let Me Roll It" sounded like a John Lennon pastiche, even with lyrics possibly aimed at his old bandmate. Musically, McCartney was proving he could still write rockers with the best of them.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Inspired by a famous hotel in Marrakesh, "Mamunia" has drawn comparisons to "Rain", also similar in sentiment to "Mother Nature's Son." Co-written with Laine, lyrically "No Words" could be on a lounge singer's repertoire but works fine as a pop song. Reportedly written on a dare by Dustin Hoffman, "Picasso's Last Drink" is another mini suite with a reprise of "Jet" and "Mrs. Vanderbilt" tying both sides of the record together (and works as a quirky tribute to the legendary artist). There's a Sci-Fi edge to "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" to close out the record, a bit of prog rock on the fadeout.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i>Band on the Run</i> never ceases to be entertaining, a retro extravaganza and celebration of '70s pop.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-77306527905026579492023-08-24T15:46:00.000-07:002023-08-24T15:46:30.553-07:00The Albums of 1973: The Allman Brothers Band: Brothers and Sisters<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRmyg-mfqvYG2JMcQE-jHBheE_wCtJkdMZWDOeFJiqYH13Ika7FwMf9fIEXwX1o-qjV0RdHpJzxBpN4bVEwI38Lnx8hRdT_aMMbMAEtT-dq8qgbP-I5_JiZA-CxLR18OCLlmgijpafPoljr_imUDLiHIvLDtq1i0ERn0QQBHOaL2v2lcdh_i-olaYAP1g/s225/download%20-%202023-08-24T181043.451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRmyg-mfqvYG2JMcQE-jHBheE_wCtJkdMZWDOeFJiqYH13Ika7FwMf9fIEXwX1o-qjV0RdHpJzxBpN4bVEwI38Lnx8hRdT_aMMbMAEtT-dq8qgbP-I5_JiZA-CxLR18OCLlmgijpafPoljr_imUDLiHIvLDtq1i0ERn0QQBHOaL2v2lcdh_i-olaYAP1g/s1600/download%20-%202023-08-24T181043.451.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Release Date: August 1973</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Gregg Allman (vocals, guitar); Dickie Betts (guitars, vocals); Berry Oakley (bass); Jai Johnny Johanson (percussion); Butch Trucks (percussion); Chuck Leavall (pianos, vocals); Lamar Williams (bass)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Johnny Sandlin</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: Wasted Words; Ramblin' Man; Come and Go Blues; Jelly Jelly</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Southbound; Jessica; Pony Boy</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">The Allman Brothers Band were recovering from the loss of two founding members of the group, Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley had both died in motorcycle accidents within a year of each other. With some lineup changes and a determination to continue on they recorded <i>Brothers and Sisters</i> through the summer of 1972. It was released a year later to high acclaim. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Wasted Words" opens the album on a rollicking note with its blend of blues, rock, and soul that pack a punch and highlights all aspects of the band. "Ramblin' Man" was written by Dickie Betts and became a hit single for the band, even though they were initially reluctant to record it believing it was too much of a departure from their signature sound. The lyrics present a Southern sojourn from one who's been everywhere and seen it all. "Come and Go Blues" was a Gregg Allman composition and achieves a more epic effect in its appraisal of a relationship. "Jelly Jelly" is more in the traditional blues and soul style and breaks into a slightly extended jam. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Side two opens with two iconic jams: "Southbound" and "Jessica." Both written by Betts, "Southbound" is fueled by an erratic energy and "Jessica" has no lyrics and it doesn't require them, the music is expressive enough. Another Betts composition, "Pony Boy" closes the record. Inspired by Robert Johnson, channels traditional blues and ends the record on a homespun note.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">A chaotic tour in 1973 would follow and as the decade progressed the band's output fell off with internal group conflicts and members pursuing their own projects. <i>Brothers and Sisters</i> finds the Allmans at the peak of their powers. </span></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-43904323982040972792023-07-31T01:21:00.003-07:002023-07-31T01:25:59.061-07:00REM #10: New Adventures in Hi-Fi<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGgdQRJj5iJ3s3bP3m2aZQt-JYsF52wJIc8dgYSIa3_xTpzDJq46MBu3OhONUJ1D2Zl4wQTxqVXGkLK6hl78OJHKAilWd_FVbZT7c3qN9R7QvJf0RvMMLchCUuPW8b2kCWtPbzn2JFhSNIL_eVigrA9Y4quOYL5J-J_2H5m4l83RE5gFWEqa62nsCsc9Ao/s220/download%20-%202023-07-31T024938.255.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="220" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGgdQRJj5iJ3s3bP3m2aZQt-JYsF52wJIc8dgYSIa3_xTpzDJq46MBu3OhONUJ1D2Zl4wQTxqVXGkLK6hl78OJHKAilWd_FVbZT7c3qN9R7QvJf0RvMMLchCUuPW8b2kCWtPbzn2JFhSNIL_eVigrA9Y4quOYL5J-J_2H5m4l83RE5gFWEqa62nsCsc9Ao/s1600/download%20-%202023-07-31T024938.255.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Release Date: September 9, 1996</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Michael Mills (bass, keyboards); Bill Berry (percussion)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Scott Litt & REM</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us; The Wake-Up Bomb; New Test Leper; Undertow; E-Bow the Letter; Leave</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Departure; Bittersweet Me; Be Mine; Binky the Doormat; Zither; So Fast, So Numb; Low Desert; Electrolite</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Recorded over the course of their 1995 tour in support of <i>Monster </i>during soundchecks for their shows, <i>New Adventures in Hi-Fi</i> finds REM at the peak of their powers. The sound is REM at their most bold and melodic. A panorama of styles are on display: power pop, punk, New Wave, and jangle rock.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us" opens the record on a reflective note, MIke Mills contributes a hypnotic piano that centers the song along with Stipe's cryptic vocals, <i><b>"The story is a sad one told many times/The story of my life in trying times."</b></i> End of century themes are a recurring thread on the record - and the opening track hits an ominous tone at the height of Pax Americana '90s.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div>"The Wake-Up Bomb" is punk-rock-pop track driven by Buck's guitar, Stipe channeling a manic character, perhaps an extreme version of himself, who wants to accomplish everything fast:</div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>My head's on fire and high esteem</b></i></div><div><i><b>Get drunk and sing along to Queen</b></i></div><div><i><b>Practice my T-Rex moves and make the scene</b></i></div><div><i><b>Carry my dead, bored, been there, done that, anything</b></i></div><div><br /></div><div>"New Test Leper" opens with <b><i>"I can't say that I love Jesus/That would be a hollow claim"</i></b> and satirizes hollow evangelists dominating the airwaves demanding money and offering deranged hope. "Undertow" features blistering guitars, the narrator confronts his mortality without looking for solace from religion, a defiant secularism. </div><div><br /></div><div>Patti Smith, a major influence on REM, joined Stipe on backup vocals on "E-Bow the Letter." At seven minutes, "Leave" closes side one, with more pulsating guitars and driving synth, the lyrics tell of an intense journey of self-knowledge and a drive to escape the past.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Departure" pays homage to Cheap Trick, with Stipe channeling mid-70s Todd Rundgren in his vocal. "Bittersweet Me" is another rocker, REM at their best with introspective lyrics that builds. "Be Mine" is more stripped down and builds into a romantic ballad. "Binky the Doormat" borders on Dadaist imagery , "Zither" a subdued instrumental. "So Fast, So Numb" is a surreal pop song directed at someone involved in drugs and leading a chaotic life. "Low Desert" channels the early REM sound, a travelogue of being on the road.</div><div><br /></div><div>The record closes with one REM's greatest songs, "Electrolite." Stipe spoke of wanting to write a farewell to the 20th Century and a tribute to Los Angeles, inspired by driving along Mulholland Drive. The lyrics namecheck icons of American cinema James Dean. Martin Sheen, and Steve McQueen. Mills contributed the sublime piano track, melancholy and triumphant. The song's closing verse:</div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>Twentieth Century, go to sleep</b></i></div><div><i><b>Really Deep</b></i></div><div><i><b>We Won't Blink</b></i></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div><i><b>Your eyes are burning holes through me</b></i></div><div><i><b>I'm not scared</b></i></div><div><i><b>I'm outta here</b></i></div><div><i><b>I'm not scared</b></i></div><div><i><b>I'm outta here</b></i></div><div><br /></div><div>REM allowed themselves go epic on <i>New Adventures in Hi-Fi,</i> but the exuberance running through it was tempered by a sense of finality. In some ways, it's the <i>Abbey Road</i> of their catalog, a record showcasing the best aspects of the band coming together, channeling both the past and future. Rumors were swirling the band was about to break up, and it would be the final REM record with the original lineup. Bill Berry announced his departure the following year. REM continued as a trio until they officially disbanded in 2011. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-64650881428170621262023-07-25T23:03:00.002-07:002023-07-26T01:38:46.750-07:00The Albums of 1973: Stevie Wonder: Innervisions<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgKq0SxkqBo25JjzY-dMMBdU5pkK6eoB04X0EHP_dOSM0cTiy0eKBWjKH_afi3ARN-q4qMH2Lx6q3ruV1cBLsKytujZe5lSghgHc9NxU56vyGfiK7o-KLME-733YL8QQhzTB0U79KJUp4N48CPuV0Gb0kv62hxoRqOuhV6mWCHYbVwdE3cVgdsS-_JJ7i/s275/download%20-%202023-07-26T003949.496.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgKq0SxkqBo25JjzY-dMMBdU5pkK6eoB04X0EHP_dOSM0cTiy0eKBWjKH_afi3ARN-q4qMH2Lx6q3ruV1cBLsKytujZe5lSghgHc9NxU56vyGfiK7o-KLME-733YL8QQhzTB0U79KJUp4N48CPuV0Gb0kv62hxoRqOuhV6mWCHYbVwdE3cVgdsS-_JJ7i/s1600/download%20-%202023-07-26T003949.496.jpg" width="275" /></a></b></div><b><br />Release Date: August 3, 1973</b><p></p><p><b>Produced by Stevie Wonder</b></p><p></p><p><b><i>Side One: Too High; Visions; Living for the City; Golden Lady</i></b></p><p><b><i>Side Two: Higher Ground; Jesus Children of America; All in Love is Fair; Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing; He's Misstra Know-It-All</i></b></p><p>During the 1970s, Stevie Wonder released one incredible album after another, playing most of the instruments and seamlessly shifting between soul, rock, funk, and jazz. <i>Innervisions </i>belongs on everyone's record shelf.</p><p>"Too High" opens the album, a mellow funk song with hints of psychedelia, the story of drug addict in love with an ingenue who's also an addict. "Visions" is even more mellow, imagining a utopia,<i> "where hate's a dream and love forever stands."</i> Understated in its power with its subtle hypnotic melody evoking the moment between wakefulness and sleep. "Living for the City" won two Grammy's, tells a tragic story of a young Black man making his way to New York City as part of the Great Migration only encounter the harsh reality of a racist justice system. "Golden Lady" is a jazzy love song, with Moog and synth, ending side one. </p><p>"Higher Ground" opened side two, another classic that hit #1 on the R&B charts, is a spiritual journey sung with angst and resignation. "Jesus Children of America" is a meditative prayer on the state of 1970s America. "All in Love is Fair" is a more of a pop standard, it became a hit for Barbara Streisand the following year. "Don't You Worry "Bout a Thing" is effortlessly catchy, recovering from the slightly annoying intro (a man tries to impress a woman with worldliness). "He's Misstra Know It All" describes a con-artist, possibly a corrupt politician. The track build gradually from one of foreboding, then gradually bringing the figure down to one of inconsequence. </p><p>Musically, <i>Innervisions </i>is close to perfection, it holds up through an infinite number of listens.. </p><p><br /></p>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-17770654573707657672023-07-08T14:04:00.000-07:002023-07-08T14:04:22.392-07:00The Albums of 1973: Steely Dan: Countdown to Ecstasy<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUy0615FJj_Y0RpOTAj2f36of8pVVSsCQPa59lbEi8h44kp7i8NTb0PJV8sF7StRJeMutYKeaRC-O2vmgcUd94Wq9erSYvEicMrFzpVtrSQD1j52XVeNWoAWiZSDd85rrq15OcQDo4ZSMrgEr9lPJZCqy3JwFich-QoC3QH_5uO2oKnRUoUpK0yePw5dR/s225/download%20-%202023-07-08T055627.467.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUy0615FJj_Y0RpOTAj2f36of8pVVSsCQPa59lbEi8h44kp7i8NTb0PJV8sF7StRJeMutYKeaRC-O2vmgcUd94Wq9erSYvEicMrFzpVtrSQD1j52XVeNWoAWiZSDd85rrq15OcQDo4ZSMrgEr9lPJZCqy3JwFich-QoC3QH_5uO2oKnRUoUpK0yePw5dR/s1600/download%20-%202023-07-08T055627.467.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Release Date: July 1973</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Denny Dias (guitar); Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (guitar, pedal steel guitar); Walter Becker (bass, harmonica, vocals); Jim Hodder (percussion); Donald Fagan (piano, vocals)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Gary Katz</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: Bodhisattva; Razor Boy; The Boston Rag; Your Gold Teeth</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Show Biz Kids; My Old School; Pearl of the Quarter; King of the World</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Steely Dan's impressive second album<i> Countdown to Ecstasy</i> features their trademark of pristine arrangements and superior musicianship. Lyrically, there's a cinematic flourish with all the tracks spanning many genres from film noir, Sci-Fi, satire, and regionalism. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Bodhisattva" has the hallmarks of 50's jukebox rock record by way of a John Coltrane record. The song satirizes trendy 1970s Eastern spirituality on the West Coast. The metaphorical, xylophone punctuated "Razor Boy" creates a mood of dread and exhaustion. Heavy, infectious riffs on "The Boston Rag" describe a figure who may be a petulant child or part of an underworld. "Gold Teeth" is more of a jam track, the electric organs and frantic guitars conjure a heady atmosphere.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Show Biz Kids" stomps along with a hypnotic chorus and describes surreal scenes in Las Vegas. "My Old School" goes for more of a straightforward narrative, describing a 1969 drug bust at Bard College when Donald Fagan was arrested, Watergate conspirator and Nixon associate G. Gordon Liddy made the arrests. But the girl who turned them in is the central figure of the song, a track could easily be mistaken for a pleasant nostalgia trip. "Pearl of the Quarter" describes a New Orleans scene, more sentimental than the rest. "King of the World" describes a post-Nuclear War world, musically like a '70s Dystopian film soundtrack. </span></div><div><br /></div><div>Musically and thematically adventurous, <i>Countdown to Ecstasy</i> can be read in a few ways, a snide response to prog rock, a proto hipster record, or a series of private jokes. </div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-71275354021486118652023-07-01T21:18:00.001-07:002024-03-17T02:30:26.238-07:00REM #9: Monster<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDbhQJR3nRLu7NNoL-Win5S83TIT6B7s6L6aiRgnjiOu7z8ElbEvuoZuPmQO_AQMkqWFCCpfUMSNj56FUUn9prisgjYIQF0hhQS2nDqODCA67eX0PtJXqrRRZMObuEQ2g7Od2jP70Gy97fCN9i1SoVxwKfhvcQxm8ZzHqTz-5mNXAYQGA8s7dOsce2YGnQ/s225/download%20-%202023-07-01T055740.672.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDbhQJR3nRLu7NNoL-Win5S83TIT6B7s6L6aiRgnjiOu7z8ElbEvuoZuPmQO_AQMkqWFCCpfUMSNj56FUUn9prisgjYIQF0hhQS2nDqODCA67eX0PtJXqrRRZMObuEQ2g7Od2jP70Gy97fCN9i1SoVxwKfhvcQxm8ZzHqTz-5mNXAYQGA8s7dOsce2YGnQ/s1600/download%20-%202023-07-01T055740.672.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: September 27, 1994</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Michael Mills (bass, keyboards); Bill Berry (percussion)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Scott Litt & REM</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: What's the Frequency Kenneth; Crush With Eyeliner; King of Comedy; I Don't Sleep, I Dream; Star 69; Strange Currencies</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Tongue; Bang and Blame; I Took Your Name; Le Me In; Circus Envy; You</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i>Monster </i>marked a shift in tone and sound for REM. Released in 1994 and recorded over the course of several months while touring, the album takes a sardonic look as pop culture amid mid-90's euphoria, but with dark forebodings ahead. America is presented as a grotesque carnival of parasites and obsessives.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" opens the distorted guitars that appear throughout the record. Inspired by a "post-modern" incident in 1986 when CBS news anchor Dan Rather was accosted in Manhattan by two men who claimed to be time travelers, repeating over and over "Kenneth, what is the frequency?" One of the men was convicted of shooting and killing a stagehand for the Today Show, under the delusion the media was controlled by evil forces. REM used the incident to satirize cultural critics/academics trying to understand the younger generation. Cryptic lyrics like, <i>"withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy"</i> and Stipe's staccato delivery result in a hybrid of New Wave and Sci-Fi. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">On "Crush With Eyeliner" takes on the persona of a stalker infatuated with a model, uncertain if he's in love with her beauty or fame. Performed in a 70's glam rock song in the style of T-Rex and David Bowie, Stipe menacing on the refrain, "I'm the real thing." "King of Comedy" follows up in a similar vein, commenting on the exploitive nature of show business and the perpetual greed. "I Don't Sleep, I Dream" is both conniving with a nefarious narrator. "Star 69" sounds more like '80s REM, referring to a parasitic relationship, an essential part of any tabloid narrative. "Strange Currencies" could be a sequel to "Everybody Hurts", but more hopeful and cathartic. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div>On "Tongue" Stipe sings in a falsetto accompanied by piano, soulful in its own unique way. "Bang and Blame" sounds like REM doing their own rendition of a Nirvana song, Stipe and Cobain were friends and were considering making a record together. "I Took Your Name" muses on the fragility of identity in a hypermedia plane, a song suited for the social media age, Peter Buck's riffs ripple like a ZZ Top tune. "Let Me Down" is both stripped down, slightly derivative. "Circus Envy" continues in a punkish style with swampy guitars. "You" ends the record on a properly discordant note, brimming with ambivalence. </div><div><br /></div><div>REM rose to fame by ignoring the trends and embracing their insularity (up to a point). <i>Monster </i>revealed them being influenced by the music going on around them, spurring some of their most iconic songs. Every band that hit mega stardom will inevitably make a record about the surreal nature of fame - and <i>Monster </i>is that record for REM. </div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-53189508688030301242023-06-14T23:11:00.004-07:002023-06-15T15:30:08.054-07:00The Albums of 1973: Paul Simon: There Goes Rhymin' Simon<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPUTeJc6qUKQPDXCrtsWgktPT1z7SBYRWReTKzlqjJEYi73yVXQ9VVcsKUrgym1f6FE05G6iA1B_F3usOB1cuBFzyf1h2-r3olYjhEMfneQNS0UXStDMF_OzBJAqmyiRHtZUKJNtM9YMCIoxBBL-vPRttZrR02-A8cvaZRhmk4e4UIr__-E4oAr2E6g/s225/download%20-%202023-06-15T015812.460.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPUTeJc6qUKQPDXCrtsWgktPT1z7SBYRWReTKzlqjJEYi73yVXQ9VVcsKUrgym1f6FE05G6iA1B_F3usOB1cuBFzyf1h2-r3olYjhEMfneQNS0UXStDMF_OzBJAqmyiRHtZUKJNtM9YMCIoxBBL-vPRttZrR02-A8cvaZRhmk4e4UIr__-E4oAr2E6g/s1600/download%20-%202023-06-15T015812.460.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></div><b><br />Release Date: May 5, 1973</b><p></p><p><b><i>Side One: Kodachrome; Tenderness; Take Me to the Mardi Gras; Something So Right; One Man's Ceiling is Another Man's Floor</i></b></p><p><b><i>Side Two: American Tune; Was a Sunny Day; Learn How to Fall; St. Judy's Comet; Loves Me Like a Rock</i></b></p><p>Paul Simon's third solo album is a collection of catchy tunes, both observational and introspective. "Kodachrome" falls into that category, a standard of FM soft rock. "Tenderness" is a sleepy but direct plea for mutual understanding in a relationship. "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" is wonderfully arranged, blending Dixieland with pop. "Something So Right" is poetical expression of self-realization. "One Man's Ceiling is Another Man's Floor" sounds inspired by Randy Newman with its opaque, whimsical narrative. It's impossible not to hear "American Tune" as a follow up to Simon & Garfunkel's "America", a mostly apolitical approaching middle age moment of reckoning (yet poignant). "Was a Sunny Day" borders on parodical folk, "How to Fall" spins childish fable, while "St. Judy's Comet" is a slightly neurotic lullaby, and the popular "Loves Me Like a Rock" ends the record on a jaunty note. <i>There Goes Rhymin' Simon </i>is impeccably eclectic record that goes down easy.</p>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-60865139567154349282023-06-11T19:46:00.001-07:002023-06-11T19:46:48.534-07:00REM #8: Automatic For The People<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7vOwexEO8FnTwP3hqtnN-xg51qNriKBlFYnzPXHoFyvcpM50DRLOoBerYTT55mbfwRCvp4v7wuGt1N2KmH3bSMkoezzcVNIyQlTidtc8SLk6OQQzf5_dwRCDYvJmA5b8G3QUKM7S600cnPrQf7jk0vzVCnU728ag47z_BME-DwDPdksQR0J3GKwvCZA/s225/download%20-%202023-06-11T213036.351.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="224" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7vOwexEO8FnTwP3hqtnN-xg51qNriKBlFYnzPXHoFyvcpM50DRLOoBerYTT55mbfwRCvp4v7wuGt1N2KmH3bSMkoezzcVNIyQlTidtc8SLk6OQQzf5_dwRCDYvJmA5b8G3QUKM7S600cnPrQf7jk0vzVCnU728ag47z_BME-DwDPdksQR0J3GKwvCZA/s1600/download%20-%202023-06-11T213036.351.jpg" width="224" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: October 5, 1992</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Michael Mills (bass, keyboards); Bill Berry (percussion)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Scott Litt & REM</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: Drive; Try Not To Breathe; The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight; Everybody Hurts; New Orleans Instrumental No. 1; Sweetness Follows</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Monty Got a Raw Deal; Ignoreland; Star Me Kitten; Man on the Moon; Nightswimming; Find the River</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i>Automatic For The People</i> is considered by many REM's best album. Released a month before the 1992 Presidential election that would elect Bill Clinton, the record is both looking back and exploring how to move forward. </span>With the band entering their 30s and the musical landscape in flux, they made an impassioned effort to push their sound to its limits. A philosophical album as well, many songs deal with mortality, memory, but also living.</div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Drive", like the opening track <i>Murmur </i>"Radio Free Europe." is a clarion call, a displaced anthem with references to the past and present aimed at young people, performed in Stipe's opaque style with a big production with a string section. On "Try Not To Breathe" Stipe takes on persona of a dying woman imploring her family not to worry, a heavy track full of drone and poignancy. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight" has Stipe inhabiting another character, a recluse (possibly a fading rock star) enjoying solitude and the mundane. References to consumer brands like Nescafe and Dr. Seuss create a blissful setting, the production adds an epic quality (also dated now with the recurring image of the pay phone). </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Everybody Hurts" is perhaps the most straight forward ballad REM had recorded up to that point. With an iconic video and powerful lyrics with the majestic production, the song transcended the band. The swampy "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" serves as a welcoming coda to "Everybody Hurts." The sublime "Sweetness Follows" is another meditation on mortality, ending the first side on a dirge. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div>"Monty Got a Raw Deal" is (probably) about the life of actor Montgomery Clift (1920-1966), or in a larger sense the fate of celebrity (works as a companion to the Clash song "The Right Profile"). "Ignoreland" condemns the course of America under the Reagan-Bush regime, the non-confrontational stance of the media, and mentality of the "Super US Citizen." The issues mentioned in the song have not gone way, but more amplified. "Star Me Kitten" is a complex love song, full of drone and droll humor.</div><div><br /></div><div>Written as a tribute to the late comedian Andy Kaufman (1949-1984), "Man in the Moon" paints a phantasmagoric portrait of the recent past. Major historical figures are referenced alongside cult heroes like Kaufman and the wrestler Fred Blassie, and of course Elvis, who Stipe playfully mimics. The iconoclastic nature of Kaufman, finding humor by exploring the edges, takes on a prophetic meaning.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Nightswimming" is another ode to solitude, with a simpler arrangement of piano and strings. "Find the River" ends the album on a note of continuity with its metaphorical river journey, encapsulating many of the ideas on the record.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Automatic for the People</i> solidified REM as a musical force for the 1990s, an album of great depth, of its time, but also one of universal themes that seamlessly project into the 21st Century. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>A 40-minute interview with Michael Stipe and Mike Mills on the making of the record:</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnGwA5gK29g">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnGwA5gK29g</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-18096875812889603502023-06-09T21:27:00.003-07:002023-06-09T22:16:14.257-07:00REM #7: Out of Time<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNENg0urVZ-ePX6c_GdIPTY3_DRh8HYITByXZ1T9s-NwGTp6CFU7k59W8n_VrN1B0KRlbeve1bUyZdFjFvM7hu6zsYkExSsifllL1gShO_PrBnSJ2ZACjhYgu_r5QolYBpryJC0t5Fqt3IdJVseQPlTp5xCyw_WliEi5FNlulbliLVdbP3Ad3hhkwuxQ/s229/download%20-%202023-06-09T223935.398.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="229" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNENg0urVZ-ePX6c_GdIPTY3_DRh8HYITByXZ1T9s-NwGTp6CFU7k59W8n_VrN1B0KRlbeve1bUyZdFjFvM7hu6zsYkExSsifllL1gShO_PrBnSJ2ZACjhYgu_r5QolYBpryJC0t5Fqt3IdJVseQPlTp5xCyw_WliEi5FNlulbliLVdbP3Ad3hhkwuxQ/s1600/download%20-%202023-06-09T223935.398.jpg" width="229" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: March 12, 1991</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Michael Mills (bass, keyboards); Bill Berry (percussion)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Scott Litt & REM</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: Radio Song; Losing My Religion; Low; Near Wild Heaven; Endgame</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Shiny Happy People; Belong; Half a World Away; Texarkana; Country Feedback; Me in Honey</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">After an exhaustive tour in 1989 in support of <i>Green</i>, REM kept a low profile for a few years but returned with another massively successful album in 1991, <i>Out of Time</i>. Eclectic and more introspective than <i>Green</i>, the record solidified REM as a musical force for the '90s.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Radio Song" opens the album with melodic hooks and mass media commentary, with hip hop artist KRS-One providing backup vocals. "Losing My Religion" became REM's biggest hit to date, with an iconic video that got constant airplay on MTV. The title was according to Michael Stipe a Southern expression for a heart breaking, the soul-searching lyrics made it perfect anthem about angst and young adulthood. "Low" is more of a hypnotic pop song, the barebones arrangement amplifies the talents of the entire band: Berry's moody percussion, Mills playing a haunting organ, Buck with a catchy riff, and Stipe's distinct vocal performance. "Near Wild Heaven" was written and sung by Mills is more of an upbeat love song with echoes of '60s pop. "Endgame" is an elegant instrumental, a dreamy psychedelia piece.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Another hit single, "Shiny Happy People" featured Kate Pierson from the B-52's on vocals, was on the surface readily made for <i>Sesame Street </i>(according to Stipe the lyrics were inspired Chinese State propaganda after the Tiananmen Square protests). A controversial song in the REM canon, but it shouldn't be. On "Belong" Stipe sings in spoken word lyrics, returning to familiar themes of family bonds and freedom. "Half A World Away" blends classical with pop, thematically similar to the previous track. "Texarkana" is a Gen-X Americana, while "Country Feedback" continues in sojourn mode. "Me in Honey" manages to evolve into an uplifting rocker to end the album.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><i>Out of Time</i> is a confident, and at times, great record. The band was meeting and experimenting with the challenge of achieving (and being) a mainstream success. With a mass audience ready to embrace them, REM was starting to transcend their college rock sound and becoming a cultural force through their own music and personas. </div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-4479308179207012542023-05-04T21:49:00.002-07:002023-05-04T21:55:51.631-07:00REM #6: Green<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nhMX74jQXACbE32r6aT_Kklbh6SZ7K1JY8WXcoyjbKzcr6khEt025Ocy2wwf6CQni_0vSIWsEt_Pug41vZ6TBjf3aXgboWHxzeAp1KHleaWrF49u-oG_QQmyL6yiWo_iAH_Om65sqCKnmDtFVeyCkWwWA_mlMAjWXp874WshHEtqqnu7l1c3lEGapw/s226/download%20-%202023-05-04T194559.812.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="223" data-original-width="226" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nhMX74jQXACbE32r6aT_Kklbh6SZ7K1JY8WXcoyjbKzcr6khEt025Ocy2wwf6CQni_0vSIWsEt_Pug41vZ6TBjf3aXgboWHxzeAp1KHleaWrF49u-oG_QQmyL6yiWo_iAH_Om65sqCKnmDtFVeyCkWwWA_mlMAjWXp874WshHEtqqnu7l1c3lEGapw/s1600/download%20-%202023-05-04T194559.812.jpg" width="226" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: November 7, 1988</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Michael Mills (bass, keyboards); Bill Berry (percussion)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Scott Litt & REM</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: Pop Song 89; Get Up; You Are the Everything; Stand; World Leader Pretend; The Wrong Child</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Orange Crush; Turn You Inside-Out; Hairshirt; I Remember California; Untitled</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i>Green </i>would be the final REM album of the 1980s, a decade whose sound the band played a big role in shaping. Coincided to be released on day of the 1988 Presidential Election between George Bush and Michael Dukakis (REM campaigned for Democratic candidates), <i>Green </i>marked where the band had been and where it was going as the '90s beckoned.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Originally intended to be one half electric and other acoustic, the record waltzes between radio friendly numbers, social commentary, and introspective acoustic numbers. "Pop Song 89" comments on Gen X dissonance as the '80s were closing, bolstered by Peter Buck's melodic guitar hooks. "Get Up" is the most playful number on the record, an ode to indolence reminiscent of Lennon's "I'm Only Sleeping" with some Beach Boys harmonies added in for good measure.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"You Are the Everything" channels Walt Whitman with its embrace of experience, the closest REM comes to straight up love song. "Stand" channels '60s bubblegum pop and self-help mantras, becoming a hit single. "World Leader Pretend" may be told from the perspective of someone with power who feels powerless in a wonderfully sublime and evocative track. In contrast, "The Wrong Child" is mostly acoustic, told from child's perspective who feels like an outsider.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Orange Crush" is a more direct song dealing with the use of toxic Agent Orange by the American military during the Vietnam War. "Turn You Inside-Out" is about power and relationships, metaphorical on many levels, Stipe sings with a sarcastic edge. "Hairshirt" meanders a bit, an emotional examination of another power relationship. "I Remember California" is conniving and cryptic. "Untitled" ends the record on a reflective note.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i>Green </i>has a sense of weariness and circling introspection that somehow makes it less accessible than previous REM albums even though it's full of catchy tunes.</span></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-33412289210603401992023-04-27T15:51:00.000-07:002023-04-27T15:51:04.188-07:00The Albums of 1973: Faust: Faust IV<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVLMgxb2dhDZnLxVXCHAOmV7usa73m-s1oS0bChaqkbW5ebsR9qVx8vPjYRlfOXUUTwRAm44AWNebF-Ac1bi4_pVGhvhSQL5Jcwixq_O5GNt9vj_2_sa7AZxEANmP8xThqUZM7CWeu2TaOrWRz7bKIEZhNZGjYR_dzMzjVqwiok6ssGsiLp4g98Cdug/s225/download%20-%202023-04-27T184734.336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVLMgxb2dhDZnLxVXCHAOmV7usa73m-s1oS0bChaqkbW5ebsR9qVx8vPjYRlfOXUUTwRAm44AWNebF-Ac1bi4_pVGhvhSQL5Jcwixq_O5GNt9vj_2_sa7AZxEANmP8xThqUZM7CWeu2TaOrWRz7bKIEZhNZGjYR_dzMzjVqwiok6ssGsiLp4g98Cdug/s1600/download%20-%202023-04-27T184734.336.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: September 21, 1973</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Werner "Zappi"Diermaier (drums); Hans Joachim Irmler (organ); Jean-Herve Peron (vocals, bass); Rudolf Sosna (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Gunther Wusthoff (synthesizer, sax)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Uwe Nettlebeck</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: Krautrock; The Sad Skinhead; Jennifer</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Just a Second; Giggy Smile/Picnic on a Frozen River/Deuxieme Tableau; Lauft . .Heibt Das Es Lauft; Oder Es Kommt Bald . . .Lauft; It's a Bit of a Pain</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Experimental German band Faust released their fourth album in 1973, appropriately titled, <i>Faust IV</i>. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Krautrock" opens the album with 12 minutes of drone, synth, and tape loops in a collage of electric noise. "The Sad Skinhead" is more of a pop song and a strange one that. "Jennifer" is both hypnotic and epic with its minimal lyrics (and a surreal fadeout to a Western piano). "Just a Second" is a medley of sound collages, "Giggy Smile" moves from art pop into free jazz (ends with shattering guitar solo). The one with the long German title blends together folk and closes out with a meditative synth/organ piece. "It's a Bit of a Pain" is a pretty cool song.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Faust IV must've offered a breath of fresh air in its stretching of the album. Neither indulgent (or downright cheesy) like much of prog-rock, it offered a sonic experience for the mind, ready made for repeated plays.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-13241586819312972602023-04-23T21:06:00.001-07:002023-04-23T21:07:15.146-07:00The Albums of 1973: ZZ Top: Tres Hombres<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilnIP_QNG5rvPjD1uN_LZ2kvEJjpY4bqI3P3qY9L3B31tvTTY-ewIvACkblP-GsCLUUNXYzH6MhgOTdKS6yoD1Co6dPqnJESEOI5MzUTUjhuxGL65bS2oDqYrTFMQnsK0VQszoJw1-jnrip76m-1wzTyukOXi8jcBTd9jvYce8yBs6JEmq4bxKM3IKIw/s225/download%20-%202023-04-23T235556.193.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilnIP_QNG5rvPjD1uN_LZ2kvEJjpY4bqI3P3qY9L3B31tvTTY-ewIvACkblP-GsCLUUNXYzH6MhgOTdKS6yoD1Co6dPqnJESEOI5MzUTUjhuxGL65bS2oDqYrTFMQnsK0VQszoJw1-jnrip76m-1wzTyukOXi8jcBTd9jvYce8yBs6JEmq4bxKM3IKIw/s1600/download%20-%202023-04-23T235556.193.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: July 26, 1973</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Billy Gibbons (vocals, guitar); Dusty Hill (bass, vocals); Frank Beard (drums)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Bill Ham</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: Waitin' For the Bus; Jesus Just Left Chicago; Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers; Master of Sparks; Hot, Blue and </b></i></span><b><i>Righteous</i></b></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Move on Down the Line; Precious and Grace; La Grange; Sheik; Have You Heard?</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">The third album by the Texas trio ZZ Top is a solid 33 minutes of blues-based tock. The riffs are razor sharp; the tracks get right down to business. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Waitin' for the Bus" and "Jesus Just Left Chicago" are banded together to start the record, are both straight up blues, the latter a sort of hip gospel. I imagine "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers" is about playing some of the toughest joints in Texas, certainly not Led Zeppelin country. "Master of Sparks" is allegedly a true story about some crazy driving around the highways of Houston. "Hot, Blue, and Righteous" ends Side One on a soulful note.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Move on Down the Line" sounds like a lost track from <i>Exile on Main Street</i>, followed by another road rocker, "Precious and Grace." "La Grange" was inspired by a John Lee Hooker groove and became one of ZZ Top's first hits and a staple of FM radio. "Sheik" features more intricate guitar work with a swampier sound. "Have You Heard" is another synthesis of the spiritual and the blues.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i>Tres Hombres</i> sounds refreshing in 2023, as most of the tracks are around three minutes, while the production and playing are air tight.</span></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-66293679559484531982023-04-23T20:17:00.001-07:002023-04-23T20:17:56.166-07:00The Albums of 1973: The O'Jays: Ship Ahoy<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jy9s4gkm_rT7R4ioMqfNSm8aLLXkhfTrcYgOpAEBoNSbo7txnBfc_f8oCGVQ3G9kOX3O1c3LEb47Tiz1th7CLJDFJjRm93Htin1XWGspND41fQkEq9Wy7se2d5x-65YD_VHOR30T_csBY4mCGfuBBUEXWWq0uAbuDFe5CXdyS17gc44WO8eTXkGqiA/s225/download%20-%202023-04-23T005724.128.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jy9s4gkm_rT7R4ioMqfNSm8aLLXkhfTrcYgOpAEBoNSbo7txnBfc_f8oCGVQ3G9kOX3O1c3LEb47Tiz1th7CLJDFJjRm93Htin1XWGspND41fQkEq9Wy7se2d5x-65YD_VHOR30T_csBY4mCGfuBBUEXWWq0uAbuDFe5CXdyS17gc44WO8eTXkGqiA/s1600/download%20-%202023-04-23T005724.128.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Release Date: August 1, 1972</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Eddie Levert; Walter Williams; William Powell</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Track List: </b></i></span><i><b>Side One: Put Your Hands Together; Ship Ahoy; The Air I Breath; You Got Your Hooks in Me</b></i></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: For the Love of Money; Now That We Found Love; Don't Call Me Brother; People Keep Tellin' Me</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">The O'Jays returned in 1973 with <i>Ship Ahoy</i>, a powerful follow-up to their classic recorded the year before, <i>Backstabbers</i>.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Put Your Hands Together" opened the record with a call for unity, gospel infused with the bold horns, strings, and vocals.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">An epic at nine minutes "Ship Ahoy" is a recounting of the Middle Passage, following a slave ship from Africa to the Americas. Originally intended for the soundtrack for the 1973 film <i>Shaft in Africa</i>, the track is a marvel of production, a haunting and essential meditation on the past and present. "This Air I Breath" is ecologically themed, a call for cleaner air. "You Got Your Hooks in Me" is a romantically themed pledge of devotion.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div>"For the Love of Money" gained a life of its own in many movies about greed (and a certain reality show). "Now That We Found Love" muses over the challenges of a relationship. "Don't Call Me Brother" is another nine-minute track, calling out phony friends, the takers of the world. 'People Keep Tellin' Me" ends the record on a note of faith and persistence in the face of turmoil. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Ship Ahoy</i> is an album of conflicting moods reflecting on the early 1970s, the current state of the world, and relationships, a classic of 70's Soul. </div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-37148602194482040882023-03-27T00:29:00.003-07:002023-03-27T00:34:00.326-07:00The Albums of 1973: John Cale: Paris 1919<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp66QWTNSOW1a-DOjwRYUrq9onxur9UhsoY5aXoJhNFHPPSb9bp8sTzFKmP3cp2OaJY9pXlvE6dOI9BJtwoGR1QBoLaMBQDzGrmmovqFHlI76L1TeUAABJj1KxRujACb7TkPfEC8yuYRWXhaNeuQ7_eUlxklUDYSWKEB82GNlzirGeuaVmjPAcwFdHcA/s225/download%20-%202023-03-27T004414.808.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp66QWTNSOW1a-DOjwRYUrq9onxur9UhsoY5aXoJhNFHPPSb9bp8sTzFKmP3cp2OaJY9pXlvE6dOI9BJtwoGR1QBoLaMBQDzGrmmovqFHlI76L1TeUAABJj1KxRujACb7TkPfEC8yuYRWXhaNeuQ7_eUlxklUDYSWKEB82GNlzirGeuaVmjPAcwFdHcA/s1600/download%20-%202023-03-27T004414.808.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: February 25, 1973</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Personnel: John Cale (Vocals, Piano, Guitar); Lowell George (guitar); Wilton Felder (bass, saxophone); Richie Hayward (drums)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Chris Thomas</b></i></span><br /></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: Child's Christmas in Wales; Hanky Panky Nohow; The Endless Plain of Fortune; Andalucía; Macbeth</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Paris 1919; Graham Greene; Half Past France; Antarctica Starts Here</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div>A founding member of The Velvet Underground, John Cale left the band in 1968 and went on to a prolific and acclaimed career as a solo artist and producer. Cale's first two solo albums: <i>Vintage Violence</i> and <i>The Academy in Peril</i>, the former an art pop record, while the latter consisted of sonic landscapes. A 1971 collaboration with Terry Riley, <i>Church of Anthrax</i>, was also composed of soundscapes. <i>Paris 1919</i> continued in the art pop mode with pristine arrangements, abstract lyrics, and song titles alluding to 20th Century events and figures.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Child's Christmas in Wales" is the title of the famous Dylan Thomas story. Cale's version is lavishly produced like a post-modern hymn with dense lyrics layered with vague references to peace, the past, conflict, and religion (recurring motifs on the record). "Hanky Panky Nohow" features more surreal imagery with an exquisite string arrangement. </div><div><br /></div><div>"The Endless Plain of Fortune" obliquely alludes to the Boer War, a conflict at the start of the 20th Century (1899-1902) which would foreshadow the brutality of the two world wars. Cale's semi-detached phrasing creates an atmosphere akin to floating above the historical chaos. "Andalucía" paints a portrait, an evocative love song. "Macbeth" is fast paced and more playful, musing on the events described in the play, reimaging the tragic Scot as a psychedelic character from a Michael Moorcock story.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Paris 1919" is a baroque pop song with no direct references to peace conference that ended The First World War, except that <i>"the continent's just fallen in disgrace"</i> as an absurd romance plays out. References to "the church" may allude Christianity's influence on European history as staccato strings drive the song. "Graham Greene" follows a vaguely calypso rhythm, following an unnamed protagonist rubbing shoulders with political figures - possibly a spy out of a Greene novel.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Half Past France" seems to take place in the interwar years, maybe following the spirit of a WWI soldier. Cale narrates the song in a sleepy tone, like a lullaby. "Antarctica Starts Here" tells the story of a fading "movie queen" in the vein of <i>Sunset Boulevard</i>. Cale's whispery vocals here adds to the uncanniness of the entire record. </div><div><br /></div><div>All nine tracks on <i>Paris 1919 </i>are magnificently constructed and immersive. Cale creates an entire world in each song rooted in the past - viewed through a cryptic lens. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-6548352911762518782023-03-19T21:49:00.000-07:002023-03-19T21:49:21.321-07:00The Albums of 1973: Hawkwind: Space Ritual<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5C-f8sEsm1bXkd6Q2Avp1XMf5o5HYZL7S9ZNIYsCZNs6xtVEtJhQgOPdaH4iGDx9Gt-NTMBFsApdMER3dKUtMqm_mvZArP-tux3GqqFoER7qI7gvoBQptcaUyxGJM6T8bpMN4x4huNfNOMXmaCZ7KgIG3139G-xVDEvjPH_FBL4Oyk3m3_-K4MOQVLQ/s200/download%20-%202023-03-19T222932.281.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="200" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5C-f8sEsm1bXkd6Q2Avp1XMf5o5HYZL7S9ZNIYsCZNs6xtVEtJhQgOPdaH4iGDx9Gt-NTMBFsApdMER3dKUtMqm_mvZArP-tux3GqqFoER7qI7gvoBQptcaUyxGJM6T8bpMN4x4huNfNOMXmaCZ7KgIG3139G-xVDEvjPH_FBL4Oyk3m3_-K4MOQVLQ/s1600/download%20-%202023-03-19T222932.281.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Release Date: May 11, 1973</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Dave Brock (guitar); Nik Turner (saxophone, flute); Lemmy (bass, vocals); Dik Mik (electronics); Del Dettmar (synthesizer); Simon King (drums); Bob Calvert (vocals); Stacia (dancer and visual artist)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Hawkwind</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: Earth Calling; Born to Go; Down Through the Night; The Awakening</b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: Lord of Light; Black Corridor; Space is Deep; Electronic No. 1</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Three: Orgone; Upside Down; 10 Seconds to Forever; Brainstorm</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Four: Seven by Seven; Sonic Attack; Time We Left This World Today; Master of the Universe; Welcome to the Future</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Hawkwind stood out as a unique voice in British rock during the 1970s incorporating elements of psychedelia, progressive rock, science fiction, and proto-punk. </span> Throw all these elements together and one gets "Space Rock." Sci-Fi writer Michael Moorcock often contributed lyrics for Hawkwind; their live performances were improvisational blending technology with poetry. <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">They've</span> built a daunting catalog over the decades (35 albums) with a rotating group of members. </div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Hawkwind <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawkwind_discography" target="_blank">already released three studio albums</a> prior to their genre defining 1973 live album <i>Space Ritual</i> taken from two concerts performed in December of 1972. The album begins with "Earth Calling," an aural track of spaceship sounds setting up the listener for what's to come. Then the hypnotic and sonic attack of "Born to Go," lyrically about escaping to space as a place to break boundaries, counterculture meets Sci-Fi:</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>We're breaking out of the shell</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>We're breaking free</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>We're hatching our dreams into reality</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Down Through the Night" continues with infectious bass riffs, imagining a space bound crew of immortals in a state of hypersleep. Another poem, "The Awakening" muses on the state of hypersleep and the new form humanity might take, "a clear century of space/away from earth." </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Lord of Light" has Utopian visions of "from the realms beyond the sun," bass driven with a long saxophone solo. "Black Corridor" is another spaced themed poem, possibly inspired by <i>2001: A Space</i> <i>Odyssey</i>. "Space is Deep" combines electric guitar, synth, and more space age poetics, "Electronic No. 1" serves as a synth interlude. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Orgone Simulator" borders on industrial-psychedelia rock, the lyrics muse on a futuristic technology (virtual reality) that gives one a sense of omnipotence. "Upside Down" explores the disorienting haze of space travel, all distortion and ennui. Another spoken word track, "10 Seconds of Forever" imagines a space traveler looking back at their life.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Brainstorm" is evocative of a paranoid astronaut with brooding lyrics about fears of being turned into a machine and losing one's humanity. Musically it's a rush of muscular electronic noise and ethereal landscapes with relentless powder keg drumming.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"Seven by Seven" is Wagnerian in scope and theme. Moorcock contributed verse for "Sonic Attack" a dark vision of space travel and potential future incarnations of humanity. A war song for the space age, "Time We Left This World Today" breaks into chants amidst an electric fog. Nietzsche type lyrics on "Master of the Universe" point the way towards a modern metal sound. "Welcome to the Future" was the final track on the 1973 release (reissues added more tracks) serves as a benediction of sorts from the future.</span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i>Space Ritual</i> is a unique experience for those open to it. Hawkwind's aggressive and occasional melodic sound offers a splintered vision of the future. Galactic travel serves as both a means of escape and freedom but could also spell doom for humanity where it will lose itself in technology and repeat the mistakes of the past on a cosmic scale. </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div> </div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-81614035358079852332023-03-11T14:52:00.002-08:002023-03-11T14:52:50.983-08:00REM #5: Document<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInsS07ISLyPAHSmripctN0dsrsjDLEXogdqbnZQ_F5w01nfmJhy7bs4oETN5tpYtUI0vv1j0yrGISzir84qJ0Y3-uSLMyax-vIGlUbYdyMGRxg3TChQ6CSVp9hK8WNXMM_frPTPOmSu_zeLmR75E6SFNpWKgvUkqeFEsow0okn2OcwFLmcuM4Mpqlhw/s225/download%20-%202023-03-11T164822.729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInsS07ISLyPAHSmripctN0dsrsjDLEXogdqbnZQ_F5w01nfmJhy7bs4oETN5tpYtUI0vv1j0yrGISzir84qJ0Y3-uSLMyax-vIGlUbYdyMGRxg3TChQ6CSVp9hK8WNXMM_frPTPOmSu_zeLmR75E6SFNpWKgvUkqeFEsow0okn2OcwFLmcuM4Mpqlhw/s1600/download%20-%202023-03-11T164822.729.jpg" width="225" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Release Date: August 31, 1987</b></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Michael Mills (bass, keyboards); Bill Berry (percussion)</b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Produced by Scott Litt & REM</b></i></span><br /><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side One: Finest Worksong; Welcome to the Occupation; Exhuming McCarthy; Disturbance at the Heron House; Strange; It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine); </b></i></span></div></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b>Side Two: The One I Love; Fireplace; Lightnin' Hopkins; King of Birds; Oddfellows Local 151</b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i>Document </i>marked another step in REM's rise to mainstream recognition, aided by two hit singles "The One I Love" and "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I feel fine). </span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div>"Finest Worksong" opens the album, an alt-folk rock song:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Time to Rise has been engaged</i></div><div><i>You're better best to rearrange</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Unlike their contemporary Billy Bragg who drew directly upon the style of Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, REM settled into their own sleek progressivism in response to the Reagan/Thatcher '80s. "Welcome to the Occupation" features oblique references to American diplomacy in Central America, profit, and its consequences. "Exhuming McCarthy" in a similar vein calls out reactionary forces in America which were slightly more stealth in 1987, and far more open and brazen these days. "Disturbance at the Heron House" is sustained by easy going hooks with wry social commentary. "Strange" was a cover of a song by the British punk band Wire, with REM channeling '70s rock with autobiographical lyrics about stage fright.</div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe the first iconic song REM recorded, "It's the End of the End of the World (as we know it)" features rapid fire lyrics in the vein of Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" satirizing late 20th Century Millennialism, with references to the band's own history. It got constant airplay during the '90s and was infamously banned by Clear Channel after 9/11.</div><div><br /></div><div>Side two opened with another hit single, the anti-love song "The One I Love." "Fireplace" featured a first, a saxophone on an REM record - and a return to more surreal lyrics. "Lighnin' Hopkins" appears to have no connection to the legendary bluesman, other than Stipe's vaguely bluesy vocal. It sounds like New Wave reinterpreting the blues. The meditative "King of Birds" is focused on the musings of an aging man who might be a genius, thematically like the songs on <i>Fables of the Reconstruction</i>. In a similar vein, the closing track "Oddfellows Local 151" returns to the Southern Gothic themes REM had explored on past records - a great addition to the Halloween season.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Document </i>suits the uneasy mood of the late '80s with songs shifting between the ominous and playful. Also highlighting the shifting sensibilities from within the band, one ambitious for fame and radio play, and the other showcasing the band's experimental side. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5366710814041823483.post-9273916982772029762023-03-03T21:56:00.002-08:002023-03-03T21:57:33.895-08:00The Albums of 1973: Al Green: Livin' for You<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIObBqnhOYXHtNa9k04PdjHuqpcYB2h0DSFZms2bM6-hHrsqgO4lQVSU5OHoEpbxpPZ4HtVOxF_C3U29V-qmNFbew-rbEnOtUMwK7d3eoh_3cQX614_Ldh3C0tiZIZ8G1FEhCVNBc1NZbuRCYRoGllMihqx7pPABTKduivTc1H7H21gEJSDgX7fFzMGw/s220/Livinforyou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="220" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIObBqnhOYXHtNa9k04PdjHuqpcYB2h0DSFZms2bM6-hHrsqgO4lQVSU5OHoEpbxpPZ4HtVOxF_C3U29V-qmNFbew-rbEnOtUMwK7d3eoh_3cQX614_Ldh3C0tiZIZ8G1FEhCVNBc1NZbuRCYRoGllMihqx7pPABTKduivTc1H7H21gEJSDgX7fFzMGw/s1600/Livinforyou.jpg" width="220" /></a></b></div><b><br />Release Date: December 6, 1973</b><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><b>Produced by Willie Mitchell</b></p><p><b><i>Side One: Livin' for You; Home Again; Free At Last; Let's Get Married; So Good To Be Here</i></b></p><p><b><i>Side Two: Sweet Sixteen; Unchained Melody; My God is Real; Beware</i></b></p><p><i>Livin' for You </i>was Al Green's second LP released in 1973 after the masterful <i>Call Me</i> came out in April. Mellower and even experimental in terms of vocals and production, <i>Livin' for</i> <i>You </i>continued to push the boundaries of soul music.</p><p>The album opens with the title track is somewhat like "Let's Stay Together," the exquisite production sets the tone for the album. "Home Again" moves from melancholy to elation, while "Free At Last" stays in a steady mid-tempo. In "Let's Get Married" Green vocalizes as if improvising an inner monologue. The good vibes going on "So Good to Be Here" expressing elation at being in the right place. </p><p>"Sweet Sixteen" is slightly menacing in its determination. A restrained version of "Unchained Melody" achieves a vivid effect overall, recorded with a steely confidence by Green and the session musicians. As the title expresses "My God is Real" expresses a fervent belief. At over eight minutes, the closing track "Beware" makes for a sweeping finish. Waves of uncertainty run through this track in a subtle emotional journey.</p><p><i>Livin' For You </i>is timeless in more ways than one, everything from Green's gripping vocals to the production sound as vibrant as ever. The range of emotion and resonance on these songs demands repeated listening. </p><p><br /></p>Eric Gillilandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00778517683750389280noreply@blogger.com0