Cockney Rebel - The Human Menagerie
This album is so rich and colouful, it has pop sensibilities in spades and it’s not afraid to show them. I've always suspected I might like a bit of Glam Rock and should try getting into it, as it has been a major influence on many Britpop bands. Even though the obvious point of reference should be Suede, the first one that came to mind in this case is Pulp. It’s not only their sound, where they share a lot in common, it’s their attitude just as much, a self-obsessed, delirious, painfully honest confession that ranges from irony, frustration and loathe to lust and ecstasy. I don’t like much from 1973 - or the ‘70s in general for that matter -, so this might not mean much, but I can see this as a potential album of the year.
2. Torn between Leonard Cohen and Faust, I think the latter might be slightly closer to your style.
Oh yes, this is my style. I was in just the right frame of mind to lay back on the couch, ignore the rest of the world out there, and just lose myself in this bonkers musical mind fuck. That unsettling, creepy change near the end of the first track that shocked me out of the happy bouncing along I had been doing was an impactful jarring clash. There was a few of those in this experimental, daring, and ahead of it's time album. I loved the second song on this album, I got totally lost in it, and the last song was just a wow way to end the album. Blown away by the thoughts of this being created and the "let's do this..." decisions that were made to make this. I always knew I would get around to it one day but this is the first Faust album I've heard and I'm looking forward to more for sure now. 9/10, 6/$2 for 1971, and #29 for the decade.
Let's go with dance punk next: Tus Amigos Nuevos - Triunfo Moral
Top 33 Music Albums of 1971 by EyeKanFly (3 picks left)
6. Teaser And The Firecat by Cat Stevens
17. Songs Of Love And Hate by Leonard Cohen
19. Just As I Am by Bill Withers
20. Nursery Cryme by Genesis
21. The Yes Album by Yes
22. Pearl by Janis Joplin
25. At Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers Band
27. Electric Warrior by T. Rex
29. Every Picture Tells A Story by Rod Stewart
30. The Great Concert Of Charles Mingus by Charles Mingus
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
According to the general consensus, this is Weezer's comeback album after over a decade in the wilderness of bad music. I can't speak to how accurate that is, as I haven't heard any of the records between Pinkerton and this one. But what I can say is that this is a very good listen. In terms of instrumentals, composition, and catchiness, it's excellent power pop. Fun from beginning to end, even if I can't decide how much the closing suite adds. Lyrically, the songwriting is a bit uneven and often insubstantial, and is Everything Will Be Alright In The End's biggest drawback, but that's to be expected. Ultimately it doesn't much mar the music, which is too relentlessly infectious to be bogged down by some mediocre lyrics. 3.5/5.
5. All Summer Long - The Beach Boys
9. Mellow Yellow - Donovan
10. Headquarters - The Monkees
11. The Monkees - The Monkees
13. More Of The Monkees - The Monkees
16. Boots - Nancy Sinatra
17. A Long Vacation - 大瀧詠一 [Eiichi Ohtaki]
18. Happy Together - The Turtles
19. The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees - The Monkees
22. That Lucky Old Sun - Brian Wilson _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses by Brutal Truth
Extreme albums demand extreme listening, and it took me a while to get to this because I needed to make sure I devoted enough time and focus to this one. Or something like that. Right from the start (well I guess track 2 since the opener is just a sorta static-y intro) this is pretty great. I'm going to do something a little different with this review and break it up by instrument:
Drums: holy shit the drums on this album are everything I could've asked for in a metal album. There's a big range, with some moments with some very technical drum-heavy parts, but without getting too technical or a-rhythmic so as to become inaccessible. But then there's other moments when it's just that pure adrenaline THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP at a breakneck speed I couldn't even imagine someone actually playing. This is probably my favorite part of the album, drum highlights are in "Birth of Ignorance" and "Walking Corpse"
Bass: this is probably where the album is the weakest. Sometimes metal will be heavy on bass OR drums, sometimes both, and this one's very heavy on the drums. It's harder to even hear the bass on some tracks on this recording.
Guitar: wailing, not as technical as the drums but still wonderful. Highlights on "Time" and "Denial of Existance"
Vocals: now this was fascinating. I don't think I've ever heard a metal album where the vocals are both low and grumbly but also coherent and intelligible. It took me a few listens to really fully appreciate this, and I really like it. I think if someone were trying to get into death metal, this is probably an album I would have them listen to as an introduction or "gateway drug" as it were. Vocal highlights on "Birth of Ignorance" and "Anti-Homophobe"
Low 4/5 on this one, one of my favorites from Mercury's chart so far.
2)
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Happy Together by The Turtles
I haven't heard the whole album but there's fun tunes in addition to the title track on here.
3)
Mercury's Top Albums of the 1990s
The albums I'm most looking forward to are in bold, but I'm open to all of them!
31. Souls at Zero by Neurosis
40. Long Hair in Three Stages by U.S. Maple
45. Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell by Social Distortion
47. Resurrection of the Bayou Maharajah by James Booker 48. And She Closed Her Eyes by Stina Nordenstam
50. City by Strapping Young Lad
56. March 16-20, 1992 by Uncle Tupelo
57. His Best (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection) by Little Walter
58. Ocean Machine: Biomech by Devin Townsend
62. Heartwork by Carcass
(feel free to pick anything, not just the bold ones. I've decided I'm going to see this list through the end, 28 albums left) _________________ 51 Washington, D.C. albums!
Purplepashranker, rater, & music list makerProfile Western Australia
This would have been the first album I would have picked for myself when I started 1971 here a few weeks ago. Glad it finally got chosen. I've always loved the well known songs but have never heard a proper album of theirs until now, just compilations. Half of the songs on this album I already know and like, and hearing them spread out throughout the album made this a joy to listen to. All of the other album tracks that were new to me were also great. Seriously not a dud in there. I love his charismatic vocal presence, I love the sound of his voice and the guitar sound, I love the hookiness in the songs. Cosmic Dancer may be my favourite T. Rex song, and if anyone that likes both T. Rex and Nick Cave and hasn't heard Nick Cave's version from 2020 go listen to it. Fantastic version. An easy 9/10, 5/43 for 1971, and #18 in my decade chart...but give me some more familiarity with the album as a whole and this album might even end up higher in the years to come, although my top 4 of 1971 is pretty elite so probably not.
I'll get the last one of these I've heard out of the way now. City by Strapping Young Lad.
Top 33 Music Albums of 1971 by EyeKanFly (2 picks left)
6. Teaser And The Firecat by Cat Stevens
17. Songs Of Love And Hate by Leonard Cohen
19. Just As I Am by Bill Withers
20. Nursery Cryme by Genesis
21. The Yes Album by Yes
22. Pearl by Janis Joplin
25. At Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers Band
29. Every Picture Tells A Story by Rod Stewart
30. The Great Concert Of Charles Mingus by Charles Mingus
31. Junkies Monkeys & Donkeys by Jericho Jones
City by Strapping Young Lad
I'm honestly surprised I liked this as much as I did. Huge huge parallels to Nine Inch Nails in the industrial category, which isn't necessarily a good thing. I've never been much into NIN, I respect what Reznor has done for music production and for expanding the genre, but for whatever reason NIN's music just doesn't sound good to my ears. It's always a slog to listen to when I put my ears to it.
Strapping Young Lad sounded a bit like that at first, but it became clear pretty quickly that City is a lot more rock-oriented than NIN's music. The metal and industrial elements are much stronger and more significant than the rock elements, but it's still there and I think that's what makes the difference between the two for me. I also see that Strapping Young Lad has a live album called "No Sleep 'Til Bedtime" which is a hilarious title, might have to check that out. 3/5, middle of the pack, will definitely consider listening to more of the band.
2)
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Just As I Am by Bill Withers
This has "Ain't No Sunshine" but it's so much more than that. The first track "Harlem" is my favorite Bill Withers song, and the whole album features some immense talent, including Booker T. (who also arranged and produced) and many of the MGs (most prominently Donald Dunn), as well as Stephen Stills. Hope you like it.
3)
Mercury's Top Albums of the 1990s
The albums I'm most looking forward to are in bold, but I'm open to all of them!
31. Souls at Zero by Neurosis
40. Long Hair in Three Stages by U.S. Maple
45. Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell by Social Distortion
47. Resurrection of the Bayou Maharajah by James Booker
48. And She Closed Her Eyes by Stina Nordenstam
56. March 16-20, 1992 by Uncle Tupelo
57. His Best (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection) by Little Walter
58. Ocean Machine: Biomech by Devin Townsend
61. Heartwork by Carcass
62. Seasons in the Abyss by Slayer
(feel free to pick anything, not just the bold ones. I've decided I'm going to see this list through the end, 28 albums left) _________________ 51 Washington, D.C. albums!
Last edited by EyeKanFly on 12/30/2021 16:53; edited 2 times in total
Cue it up. Turn up your speakers. What do you hear?
Pink Floyd may have have SANG about being another brick in the wall, but Killing Joke make you FEEL it. That YOU are just a brick. Perhaps surrounded by other bricks? Hard to say. You feel alone. Cold. The only weight you feel is that of indifference as you go about your brickly existence.
Yikes! Well don’t get all depressed on me. It’s Christmas! Sing some Rudolph, grab yourself a nog and cue it up again. Now, what do you hear?
It’s metallic. I see a massive factory hammoring out rivet after rivet after rivet. BUT, the workers are all in rhythm. In a trance. It’s like they’re dancing as their hammering those rivets into the steel with sparks. And fire from the weld. And the hammers. Lots of hammers! Is this one of the first industrial metal albums?
They invented it, dude! Sheesh. Get a clue. BUT, it’s not your fault, really. Killing Joke never quite fit in, did they? Lost somewhere in the vast chasm between post-punk & metal. Humans are NOT quite as fluid as they should be. We’re only too quick to categorize. Judge. Assign. Killing joke are Killing Joke. And they are, without a doubt, arguably the most underappreciated metal band of all time.
Long Live The Joke!
Ps. This is just as good as their self-titled debut. IN FACT, Their first FOUR albums are ALL industrial metal landmarks. Etch in your name now before it’s too late!
RYM 1982 Metal Chart and then sent through the Reponiumnn
Judas Priest - Screaming
Iron Maiden- Beast
Rush - Signals
Saracen - Heroes, Saints & Fools
Motorhead - Iron Fist
Manowar - Battle Hymns
Legend - Death In A Nursery
More - Blood & Thunder
Stan Hubbs - Crystal
Tank - Filth Hounds of Hades
BOLD = Pick Me. please?
Last edited by Repo on 12/23/2021 21:31; edited 3 times in total
I also see that Strapping Young Lad has a live album called "No Sleep 'Til Bedtime" which is a hilarious title, might have to check that out. 3/5, middle of the pack, will definitely consider listening to more of the band.
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🤣🤣🤣
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
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Purplepash
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