Trollheart

Title: Silver Apples
Artiste: Silver Apples
Genre: Experimental/Electronic
Familiarity: Zero

1. Oscillations: Oh I'm really digging this! Funky with a big helping of electronica and the vocal is great too. Somehow I thought it was going to be an instrumental. I read the guy who plays the synth here made it himself. This is 1968 after all, so you have to respect the sounds he can get out of it. Aw, it's over.
2. Seagreen serenades: Another great beat, very catchy, love the percussion. Oh man! Whistle! Superb! Love this.
3. Lovefingers: This is slower, with a sort of Daft Punk feel to it. Yeah, decades before those two guys came on the scene! Hear vestiges of Ultravox in there too.
4. Program: Love the carnival style that opens this, then it settles into a really nice groove with a great vocal and what sounds like violin. Synth-created, sure, but it sounds great. Sampled classical music and speech works very well, and would have, I think, have been pretty revolutionary for that time period.
5. Velvet cave: I have to say I wasn't totally taken with that one. Not sure what it was, but the album seemed to take a sudden dip in quality.
6. Whirly-bird: This one's okay, but again, oddly, just ok. Bassline is nice.
7. Dust: This has a very bleak, atmospheric feel to it. Almost doom-ish. Sweet. Percussion again is excellent and really adds to the atmosphere created.
8. Dancing gods: Based on a Native American dance, it's good for what it is but a little boring.
9. Misty mountain: Much better. To close, we get an early attempt at techno, and it's a blast!

End result: Another undiscovered gem for me. Enjoyed pretty much all of it, and again, have to give great props to the guy for creating a synthesiser almost before they were in vogue and making it sound almost like something out the seventies.

So, Love or Hate? This gets a Love.

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Trollheart

Title: Holy Land
Artiste: Angra
Genre: Power/Progressive Metal
Familiarity: I've heard one or two albums by them.

1. Crossing: Anyone not expecting a Love already doesn't know my tastes very well! This is called an instrumental but there are choral vocals, very classical sounding, quite religious in theme. Nice opening.
2. Nothing to say: Good fast powerful rocker, as expected. Love the keys.
3. Silence and distance: Thought this going to be a ballad, and for nearly a minute and a half it was, then it kicked up and is really rocking along nicely now. Ends on a lovely piano piece.
4. Carolina IV: Sounds a bit tribal to me. Kind of reminds me of a mixture of Yes and It Bites. Changing completely now, rocking out. Now into a kind of eastern thing. Interesting, and considering it's ten minutes long there needed to be some variety. There is. It certainly never gets boring. Slowing down now on piano and bringing in cello, then back into the main theme, and we're still only slightly more than halfway through. It really does remind me of Yes though; singer even sounds like Anderson.
5. Holy land: Another low-key opening, with some really nice flute and piano, then it gets more intense
6. The Shaman: Great power rocker, with again that real sense of Jon Anderson in the vocal. Some sort of spoken words, possibly (probably) in Portugeuse, though given the title it could be some obscure native tribal chant or ritual. Great solo from Bittencourt, sounds like a didgeridoo there at the end?
7. Make believe: Sweeping organ and rolling drums, slower song (ballad? Sort of). Love the piano.
8. Z.I.T.O: Weird orchestral intro then it powers up into a fast power metal anthem. What does it stand for? Checked the lyric, haven't a clue. Good song though. Slows down a little in the middle for a bit, then picks up again. Some very neoclassical guitar.
9. Deep blue: Gorgeous ballad with orchestral backing and I think a full choir. Just beautiful.
10. Lullaby for Lucifer: And despite its rather odd title, another ballad, almost acoustic and with I think sea sounds (though that could be the rain outside) and a really accomplished vocal. Lovely.

End result: No surprise to anyone I'm sure to hear I loved everything about this album. Oddly enough, I wasn't that taken with their latest, but this is, to put it in Dublin parlance, savage. Shade too close to Yes for my tastes, but it's a great album, and its being a concept sets the seal on it.

So, Love or Hate? Compared to the other Angra albums I've heard, this is far superior and so I award it a True Love.

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Trollheart

Title: A Wizard, a True Star
Artiste: Todd Rundgren
Genre: Rock
Familiarity: Have heard of him, but don't think I've heard anything by him

1. International feel: Reminds me of Devin, though I know he was going for a sort of Beatles Sgt Pepper thing. Very progressive. Nice start.
2. Never Never Land: From the stage production of Peter Pan apparently. Meh.
3. Tic tic tic it wears off: Very short but quite nice instrumental
4. You need your head: Not mad about this. Also short but quite frenetic. Guitar is quite fantastic, can't be denied, but, you know...
5. Rock'n'roll pussy: Most of these tracks are pretty short aren't they? This one is okay, but just that. Very repetitive.
6. Dogfight giggle: Is this Animals? No. Sod it then. Some dogs panting. Jesus. I'm sure it demonstrates Rundgren's prowess on the guitar, making these sounds, but for me it's just annoying.
7. You don't have to camp around: This one's okay. But again, just okay. Nice vocal harmonies, even though it only runs for a minute. Organ's cool. Actually I like this now. What can happen in a minute huh?
8. Flamingo: Another instrumental. Clever sure but meh.
9. Zen archer: The first thing approaching a proper song, with a nice carnival style rhythm that reminds me of ... no, I won't say it. Are they flutes? Like the midsection. Sax here is gorgeous. Changing this to Blue. Was Green.
10. Just another onionhead/Da da Dali: Quirky. Not bad. But a few too many of these are relying on their oddness, and this isn't a Zappa or Beefheart album. Meh. Second part is annoying. I hate it when they use twenties styles in rock music. Grrr!
11. When the shit hits the fan/Sunset Blvd: Well it's got a great title at least. Bit of a damp squib though. Instrumental. Not bad but nothing great. Oh, ok: vocals in the last few seconds. Still kind of meh to okay. Give it an Orange.
12. Le feel internacionale: Sort of a reprise of the opener? Not sure why this is even here?
13. Sometimes I don't know what to feel: Now it's a soul song. It's not bad, but I'm really not soul-ed. Sorry.
14. Does anybody love you?: And another soul one. It's okay.
15. Medley: This starts off well, but I don't quite get the idea of switching from rock to soul for the last three tracks, and this lasts ten minutes. I think it's a homage, so fair enough if so, but what about the other two? It's a great track for the most part, but if I want to hear a ten-minute soul track, I'll listen to a soul album.
16. Hungry for love: It's okay but nothing special.
17. I don't want to tie you down: Nice sort of folky piano ballad.
18. Is it my name? : Now this is more like it! Powerful keyboard intro, sense of Yes in the melody, good rocker. Why isn't all the album like this?
19. Just one victory: And a gospel one to end on. Impressive, but again, too many styles here and it's just hard to wrap my head around.

End result: Although I have never heard any Rundgren up to now, I feel this was not the album to make an introduction to him. It's just too quirky and the styles are all over the place. Hard to get a decent idea of what he's about. I would have thought maybe one of the Utopia albums instead? Confusing. Good parts, but not enough of them.

So, Love or Hate? Can only muster a Like on this one.

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Trollheart

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Pet_Sounds

That's not Rundgren's best album imo (Something/Anything is), but I was expecting a Meh from you. Glad to see you enjoyed it more than I thought.

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Everybody's dying just to get the disease

Trollheart

Title: Emotion
Artiste: Carly Rae Jepsen
Genre: Pop
Familiarity: Zero, though I have heard of her

1. Run away with me: Nice catchy pop song. No autotune which is nice, and the bass is supercool. Pleasant song, nice beat. Her voice is very sexy indeed.
2. Emotion: This one's a little more Janet Jacksonesque when it opens, but it changes into a more solid melody when it hits the chorus. Kind of reminds me of acts like Johnny Hates Jazz and Curiosity Killed the Cat, only, you know, better. Yeah, I'm that old. Touches of Kylie in there too.
3. I really like you: This sounds very like early Miley, but has a nice sort of semi-rock backing. It's cute. Oh cool: she writes her own songs. Good for her.
4. Gimmie love: Ballad? Got a slower feel to it, nice synth, very sort of dark. But not a ballad. Slower certainly than the other tracks. Sort of a marching beat. Catchy if a little simplistic.
5. All that: This is the first ballad. And it's pretty damn beautiful. Sense of 70s soul in it. The descending keyboard riff is cool.
6. Boy problems: The spoken bit at the start is cringeworthy; song's a bit throwaway. Is that brass?
7. Making the most of the night: This one's a lot better. I like the juxtaposition between the verses (soft and laidback) and the chorus (pumping and dancing)
8. Your type: Almost a striding, swaggering, rocky beat to this. Interesting guitar work. Like the lyrical idea too, quite refreshing. Yeah, went downstairs after this track and it was playing in my head, and not in a bad way.
9. Let's get lost: Started out quite lightweight but then kicked up. This may be another blue. Yeah it is. Wolves at the end?
10. L A Hallucinations: Oh god no! I don't like this at all. The kind of almost videogame pop song I hate. Make it stop!
11. Warm blood: Yeah, don't like this one either. What's the ****ing vocoder bit? Jesus. This album has taken a terrible turn at the end. Yuck.
12. When I needed you: Well the final track rescues it. Assumed this would be a ballad. Was wrong. Good closer, quite powerful.

End result: A decent pop album, and I'd probably listen to her other stuff now. I have a sort of inbuilt distrust of and disdain for X-Factor/Idol pop stars, but I could be persuaded to listen to this one some more, and she certainly seems to be finding her own identity and existing outside of and independent of the powerful forces of manipulation many of these often one-album-wonders end up struggling under.

So, Love or Hate? Give this one a Love.

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Trollheart

Title: The Door Behind the Door
Artiste: The Black Ryder
Genre: Shoegaze
Familiarity: Zero

1. Babylon: Nice kind of dark, introspective instrumental, good start.
2. The seventh moon: Oh good holy fuck! Is that the voice of a sultry angel or what? I think I'm in love! Song's massive too. A real laid-back powerful lament which just drips emotion. I love this.
3. The going up was worth the coming down: Another beautiful dreamy track, but with a male vocal this time. Almost as good as the female. Though not quite. The sort of backwards masked cello (?) at the end is immense. Nearly pushed this to a Blue.
4. Let me be your light: Oh she's back with a sort of, well, shoegaze vocal I guess; quite muddy at times, just adds to the attraction in this case. Love everything so far. Hear elements of Mostly Autumn here certainly.
5. Santaria: And another beautiful track with some Edge (U2)-like guitar in it; sort of puts me in mind of “With or without you”...
6. Throwing stones: Beautiful (seems I'm using that description a lot here; ya man ya bob!) acoustic song with herself on vocals again. She sounds a little different here, not quite as ethereal as on the first track, more kind of earthbound than angelic. Still beautiful though. There I go again! Sublime gospel feel to this.
7. All that we are: All right; running out of superlatives now. Think I'll just relax and listen to this. Oh, this sounds very 21st century Marillion. Lovely. Oh good ****ing god! Lush organ! There surely can't be anything on this that I don't love?
8. Until the calm of dawn: Cello? I'm fainting with pleasure here. This album could replace sex, it really could. The mechanised vocal fits in so well. I'm actually delighted to see that the last track is twelve minutes long, and I don't often say that!
9. Le dernier sommeil (The final sleep): Oh my god. How do you make music sound like the sun rising? I don't know, but these guys have managed it. Almost spiritual. This is actually drawing tears, it's so moving and gorgeous. Shut up Batty: you'd be crying too if you heard it. Is this twelve minutes of orchestral instrumental? A third of the way so far and no vocal. Yet. I kind of hope there is none, it might break the fragile spell this track is weaving over me. I've not words enough to describe how awe-inspiringly sumptuous and moving this is. I feel like I felt when I first heard Hospice. Thank god; it was all instrumental. It's a long time since anything has moved me so profoundly.

End result: If more shoegaze (if this is shoegaze) was like this I would want to hear much more of it. As usual though, seems these guys only have two albums, but thanks a bunch for turning me on to them, bob. Loved every single damn moment of this album, from first note to last.

So, Love or Hate? Oh wow, I don't know. Hard one! Yeah, we're back on track, bob. A True Love if ever there was one. Superb is not praise strong enough, if such exists.

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Trollheart

Yeah, I didn't for a moment think it was his best. More an experiment, and as I said, a kind of odd way to introduce someone to the guy.

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TechnicLePanther

See for me, it's Rundgren's best outing. You might like Utopia more, so I'd definitely recommend it if you haven't heard it already. Something/Anything always struck me as a bit bland, and I think you'd be Meh-ing a lot of those songs. A Wizard, A True Star is less proggy than Utopia, but less poppy than Something/Anything, so I wanted to see what you thought.

tl;dr You'd pry love Utopia, and meh Something/Anything, and AWATS is in the middle of those, so I threw it at you.

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Many have tried to destroy it... but... true evil never dies. It is only... REBORN

SUGGEST ME AN ALBUM - I'm probably not going to listen to it but I will if you bother me enough.

Plainview

Got the perfect album to Rec you when you open back up!

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