Sorry folks, couldn't restrain myself for a whole week...
Solex—Low Kick and Hard Bop
1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in (first time)?
I've owned this album for a little over 11 years and am a huge fan of it, but I do remember the first time I ever listened to it. I bought it on a trip to New Orleans, and the first time I listened to it was while driving through Louisiana over swamps filled with gnarly trees and small houses up on stilts with boats docked in front of them. Somehow the landscape suited the music perfectly and I fell in love with it immediately.
2. Did your first impressions change, i.e., did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?
If I recall correctly, the more I heard the more I loved it.
3. Which was stronger in your opinion, the opening tracks (first 2-3 songs), or the ending tracks (last 2-3 songs)?
The whole thing is solid from start to finish.
4. On repeated listens (if you did so), did you find you liked the album more, or less? Feel free to be very detailed if you like.
More. It's one of my favorite albums of the aughts.
5. What is your favorite track from the album, if you have one?
Either "Not a Hoot!" or "Look... no fingerprints!"
6. What is your least favorite track from the album, if you have one?
Don't have one.
8. How would you describe the variety of tracks available on this album? Feel free to be very detailed if you like.
It manages to have a decent amount of variety while maintaining a very distinct style.
9. What is the overall mood on this album?
Fun retro.
10. Is this an album you would listen to again all the way through (for personal, recreational use, outside of listening to it for this club), or are there just a few songs that you would listen to?
Again all the way through! I've listened to this album probably hundreds of times and continue to love it.
11. How well do you already know the band/artist?
Extremely well.
13. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
No, not really.
14. Would you recommend this album to others?
Absolutely! And I have many times. Hell, I'm the person who started what I think is MB's only Solex thread several years ago.
15. Are you interested in listening to more albums by this band?
I own most of her material but would be curious to hear her last few releases, which I haven't yet heard.
16. What sub-genre, if any, would you assign this music to?
Indie roots retro pastiche? Who knows? She definitely has her own sound, which is why I love her music.
18. Your overall album rating on a scale of 1-10.
10/10