This album feels thrown together. An instrumental here, a joke song there. It's clear he's not taking himself too seriously, which isn't surprising in the larger context of Diddley's music. Still, there are plenty of good grooves to be found. 3.5/5.
Howlin' Wolf is the pinnacle of blues that I've heard to this point. Gravelly, passionate vocals, simple but effective guitar work, and potent lyrics. Before this I'd just heard a greatest hits, and the singles from that collection that also appear here are definitely the standout tracks. But the rest is pretty strong too. 4/5.
This album is languid to a fault and perfect for a lazy summer afternoon. I'm three years into Portuguese, but I still don't have a good enough grasp on it to critically analyze these lyrics. That being said, this is a very pleasant album, but the mellowness comes without enough standout tracks. 3.5/5.
~~~~~
1959 Results:
GOLD MEDAL
Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers (Moanin') - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers 4/5
SILVER MEDAL
Little Girl Blue - Nina Simone 4/5
BRONZE MEDAL
Moanin' In The Moonlight - Howlin' Wolf 4/5
HONORABLE MENTIONS
4. Having A Good Time - Huey "Piano" Smith & His Clowns 4/5
5. Kind Of Blue - Miles Davis 3.5/5
6. The Shape Of Jazz To Come - Ornette Coleman 3.5/5
7. Chega De Saudade - Joรฃo Gilberto 3.5/5
8. Mingus Ah Um - Charles Mingus 3.5/5
9. Time Out - The Dave Brubeck Quartet 3.5/5
10. Go Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley 3.5/5
~~~~~
1960:
a. Albums in my collection still to hear front to back:
- At Last! - Etta James [Rhythm & Blues, Soul]
b. Albums in my collection rated and ranked:
1. Sketches Of Spain - Miles Davis 4/5 [Modal Jazz, Third Stream]
2. Giant Steps - John Coltrane 4/5 [Hard Bop]
3. Blues & Roots - Charles Mingus 3.5/5 [Post-Bop]
4. Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger - Bo Diddley 3.5/5 [Rhythm & Blues, Rock & Roll]
c. New album selections:
- Soul Station - Hank Mobley [Hard Bop]
- The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery - Wes Montgomery [Hard Bop]
- Change Of The Century - Ornette Coleman [Avant-Garde Jazz]
- O Amor, O Sorriso E A Flor - Joรฃo Gilberto [Bossa nova]
- Link Wray & The Wraymen - Link Wray & The Wraymen [Rockabilly, Rock & Roll] _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
New Listens / Non-Scored Re-Listens [*] For The Week Ending 6/2
The Strong:
Clash The Truth - Beach Fossils*
3rd - Big Star
Life - The Cardigans*
XO - Elliott Smith
At Last! - Etta James
Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons
Moanin' In The Moonlight - Howlin' Wolf
The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society - The Kinks*
Transformer - Lou Reed*
Cookin' With The Miles Davis Quintet - Miles Davis Quintet
Stankonia - OutKast
My Name Is My Name - Pusha T*
A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead
Michigan - Sufjan Stevens
Contra - Vampire Weekend*
The Solid:
The Blues - B.B. King
Singin' The Blues - B.B. King
Go Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
Tell Me How You Really Feel - Courtney Barnett
The "Chirping" Crickets - The Crickets
Czarface Meets Metal Face - Czarface & MF DOOM
Daphne & Celeste Save The World - Daphne & Celeste
Soul Station - Hank Mobley
The Colour In Anything - James Blake
Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon - James Taylor
Oh No - Jessy Lanza
Chega De Saudade - Joรฃo Gilberto
Johnny Cash With His Hot And Blue Guitar! - Johnny Cash
Congratulations - MGMT*
Milestones - Miles Davis
Big Echo - The Morning Benders
Kindred - Passion Pit*
Your Queen Is A Reptile - Sons Of Kemet
Steve Lacy's Demo (EP) - Steve Lacy
Virtue - The Voidz
The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery - Wes Montgomery
The Good, But Flawed:
Love Ire & Song - Frank Turner
The Not Worth Collecting:
Licensed To Ill - Beastie Boys
~~~~~~~~~~
Previously Scored Re-Listens For The Week Ending 6/2
Etta James is one of the greatest vocalists ever, and this is where she came into her own. The material is more subdued compared to a lot of her bluesier work, but it's impeccably executed and very emotionally expressive. 4/5.
This was a worthwhile hard bop album and very well crafted, but it didn't move me much. Given the title, I found myself wishing the secondary genre were soul jazz instead of cool jazz.
There was a lot of good playing and improvisation on this album. Sometimes I enjoyed the avant-garde directions it took, and other times I did not. Lou Reed considered this the greatest album of all-time, and it's worth a listen, but I wouldn't put it in that conversation. 3.5/5.
This was very similar to the last album by Gilberto, but for some reason I was feeling this one a lot more. The song structures and arrangements felt more lively and whole, but just as warm and smooth. 4/5.
A peppy little instrumental album focused on Wray's guitar. Insubstantial but fun. 3.5/5.
~~~~~
1960 Results:
GOLD MEDAL
At Last! - Etta James 4/5
SILVER MEDAL
Sketches Of Spain - Miles Davis 4/5
BRONZE MEDAL
Giant Steps - John Coltrane 4/5
HONORABLE MENTIONS
4. O Amor, O Sorriso E A Flor - Joรฃo Gilberto 4/5
5. Tonight's The Night - The Shirelles 4/5
6. Change Of The Century - Ornette Coleman 3.5/5
7. Blues & Roots - Charles Mingus 3.5/5
8. Soul Station - Hank Mobley 3.5/5
9. Link Wray & The Wraymen - Link Wray & The Wraymen 3.5/5
10. Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger - Bo Diddley 3.5/5
11. The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery - Wes Montgomery 3.5/5
EDIT: I forgot about The Shirelles before, so I accidentally listened to an extra album from 1960 ยฏ\_(ใ)_/ยฏ
~~~~~
1961:
a. Albums in my collection still to hear front to back:
- King Of The Delta Blues Singers - Robert Johnson [Delta Blues]
b. Albums in my collection rated and ranked:
1. Please Mr. Postman - The Marvelettes 4/5 [Girl Group, Pop Soul]
2. Two Steps From The Blues - Bobby Bland 4/5 [Rhythm & Blues]
3. Olรฉ Coltrane - John Coltrane 4/5 [Modal Jazz]
4. Africa / Brass - John Coltrane Quartet 3.5/5 [Modal Jazz, Post-Bop]
5. Forbidden Fruit - Nina Simone 3.5/5 [Vocal Jazz, Soul Jazz, Rhythm & Blues]
6. My Favorite Things - John Coltrane 3.5/5 [Modal Jazz, Post-Bop]
c. New album selections:
- We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite - Max Roach [Avant-Garde Jazz]
- Out There - Eric Dolphy [Post-Bop]
- Showcase - Patsy Cline [Nashville Sound] _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
New Listens / Non-Scored Re-Listens [*] For The Week Ending 6/9
The Classics:
Oracular Spectacular - MGMT*
The Strong:
If Wishes Were Horses - Blueboy*
Lookin' For A Love Again - Bobby Womack*
Songs For The Gentle Man - Bridget St John
We All Belong - Dr. Dog*
Only In Dreams - Dum Dum Girls
The Blue Trees - Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
O Amor, O Sorriso E A Flor - Joรฃo Gilberto
Wounded Rhymes - Lykke Li
We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite - Max Roach
Time To Pretend (EP) - MGMT*
Electric Version - The New Pornographers*
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix*
In And Out Of Control - The Raveonettes*
Care For Me - Saba
Stargazer - Shelagh McDonald
Meat Is Murder - The Smiths*
Holiday In Rhode Island - The Softies*
It's Love - The Softies*
Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night - Stereolab*
A Sailor's Guide To Earth - Sturgill Simpson*
Morning Way - Trader Horne
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend*
The Solid:
Emmerdale - The Cardigans*
Easy Beat - Dr. Dog
Fate - Dr. Dog
La Question - Franรงoise Hardy
Bark Your Head Off, Dog - Hop Along
Everything's Fine - Jean Grae & Quelle Chris
Link Wray & The Wraymen - Link Wray & The Wraymen
Hasta La Raรญz - Natalia Lafourcade*
Mass Romantic - The New Pornographers*
Change Of The Century - Ornette Coleman
Writer's Block - Peter Bjorn And John
Real Estate - Real Estate
Visions Of The Country - Robbie Basho
Teulu Yncl Sam - Sidan
Make It Happen - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles*
The Good, But Flawed:
Freedom - Amen Dunes
~~~~~~~~~~
Previously Scored Re-Listens For The Week Ending 6/9
My side project while I go through the years in order is listening to a lot of indie pop, jangle pop, and twee pop. These are genres I always like, but probably never more than during the summer. I've been editing my longstanding list extensively for the past couple weeks, and now I've worked through the backlog of stuff that was sitting in my library unrated. I expect I'll continue browsing the genre charts on RYM to find new albums for the list. But I also would greatly appreciate feedback on the list and listening recs from anyone who's reading this! The link to the chart is in my signature ๐ _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
A conceptual avant-garde jazz album with passionate, evocative vocals and African percussion? I'm in. Very cool music and meaningful in a way that many of its contemporary albums are not. 4/5.
Raw and earthy as the delta silt from which it rose, this is essential blues music. Intense emotion and imagery grows out of simple instrumentation and vocals. The only time I don't like this is when the lyrics describe domestic violence. 4/5.
Ironically, this record is less out there than what he would produce later. Still, there's a lot of interesting stuff happening and Dolphy's playing in particular is excellent. Not a big fan of the frequent walking bass lines though. 4/5.
~~~~~
1961 Results:
GOLD MEDAL
Please Mr. Postman - The Marvelettes 4/5
SILVER MEDAL
Two Steps From The Blues - Bobby Bland 4/5
BRONZE MEDAL
We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite - Max Roach 4/5
HONORABLE MENTIONS
4. Olรฉ Coltrane - John Coltrane 4/5
5. Showcase - Patsy Cline 4/5
6. King Of The Delta Blues Singers - Robert Johnson 4/5
7. Out There - Eric Dolphy 4/5
8. Africa / Brass - John Coltrane Quartet 3.5/5
9. Forbidden Fruit - Nina Simone 3.5/5
10. My Favorite Things - John Coltrane 3.5/5
~~~~~
1962:
a. Albums in my collection still to hear front to back:
- Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan [Contemporary Folk]
- Surfer's Choice - Dick Dale And His Del-Tones [Surf Rock]
b. Albums in my collection rated and ranked:
1. Playboy - The Marvelettes 4/5 [Girl Group, Pop Soul]
2. Baby It's You - The Shirelles 3.5/5 [Girl Group, Pop Soul]
3. Meet The Supremes - The Supremes 3.5/5 [Soul, Pop Soul, Girl Group]
c. New album selections:
- Howlin' Wolf - Howlin' Wolf [Chicago Blues, Blues]
- Coltrane "Live" At The Village Vanguard - John Coltrane [Modal Jazz, Hard Bop]
- Tijuana Moods - Charles Mingus [Post-Bop]
- Tous Les Garรงons Et Les Filles - Franรงoise Hardy [Yรฉ-yรฉ]
- Sentimentally Yours - Patsy Cline [Nashville Sound] _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
My side project while I go through the years in order is listening to a lot of indie pop, jangle pop, and twee pop. These are genres I always like, but probably never more than during the summer. I've been editing my longstanding list extensively for the past couple weeks, and now I've worked through the backlog of stuff that was sitting in my library unrated. I expect I'll continue browsing the genre charts on RYM to find new albums for the list. But I also would greatly appreciate feedback on the list and listening recs from anyone who's reading this! The link to the chart is in my signature :)
Recs appreciated but no pressure! It would also be cool to hear what one of your favorites or least favorites is out of what I've listed. Or something you've been meaning to check out for a while, or something you've never heard of. _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
Recs appreciated but no pressure! It would also be cool to hear what one of your favorites or least favorites is out of what I've listed. Or something you've been meaning to check out for a while, or something you've never heard of.
Wow. Pretty extensive list so hard to give recs.
Hmmmm... For me the biggest thing would be perhaps a reappraisal of Beat Happening's discog. And way more Replacements (from what I remember) is needed.
Hmmmm... For me the biggest thing would be perhaps a reappraisal of Beat Happening's discog. And way more Replacements (from what I remember) is needed.
Good idea, thanks! I still have Black Candy and Jamboree to listen to, so I've downloaded those for the coming week. I also don't think I listened to the original version of self-titled last time, so I'll revisit that.
As for The Replacements, I love them. The problem is that the "Swingin' Party" and "I Will Dare" singles are the only releases of theirs with genre tags that fit the strict entry requirements of this list. But Let It Be, Tim, and Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash are all favorites of mine that would surely qualify if the genres fit. _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
baystateoftheart
Repo
