Can - Tago Mago

R.E.M.'s debut album Murmur could be up there too, it was a pretty pivotal album for alternative college rock in the early 80's.

Well I already have Automatic in there, and I did say I wanted to try to restrict it (at least at first) to one album per artiste. Do you think Murmur is a better choice than Automatic?

Oh, I missed that in the list, d'oh. I think if you're fairly new to REM (as in, you've only heard Man on the Moon or Losing My Religion on the radio), then start with Automatic. Whoever suggested that to you made a good call.

^^^ this ^^^


Nope :)

Picked up the album. Listening to it now, I'm on "Dancing Out In Space." Amazing album so far. Favorite track is "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)"

Yeah, I know it's not on the list, even the updated one, but what the hey? This is my journal, so I'm just gonna review this.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_X5BeEPA8T...torpedoes.jpeg
Title: Damn the torpedoes
Artiste: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Year: 1979
Chronological position: Third album
Previous experience of this artiste?: "Into the great wide open", "Full moon fever", "Southern accents", "Highway companion". Oh, and the Travelling Wilburys. Yeah.
Why is this considered a classic? Again I'm really not sure, but I think it may have had something to do with his stand against MCA and the input of producer Jimmy Iovine.

My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Great
One track in --- Great
Halfway through --- Great
Finished --- Great, again only because I have no higher choice. But Great x 100 to the power of infinity. At least. Maybe double that. Or triple.

Comments: My earliest memories of Tom Petty, before I even heard his music, was of one of my boss's raving about this very album, and later I saw the videos for You got lucky and a live video that really stayed with me, with Petty wrapped in the Southern flag playing Refugees. I bought "Southern accents" and was really upset when it wasn't on it (what? No, I didn't look at the track listing! "Southern accents"? It had to be on it! Well dagnab it!) It's the track that kicks this album off and it sounds as good to me now as it did thirty-odd years ago. As The Batlord would say, a bitchin' track! The next one is nearly as good, and I'm getting a good feeling about this album.

Yeah, this just keeps getting better. Surprisingly, though the guitar work is great as I would expect from Petty and Campbell, I find myself being more drawn to the exceptional organ work of that man, Benmont Tench. Just superb. Ah hell, stop talking Trollheart! This is flawless. I love this so much it's getting a full review on the Playlist some time soon. I'm in love. Not in a gay way, you understand. Just platonically and musically. This guy is a god. Eric who?

Favourite track(s): Refugee, Here comes my girl, Even the... Ah, hell! Just everything! I love this album!
Least favourite track(s): We don' need no steenking least fah-vor-eet trax!

Final impression --- This is fucking amazing!

Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see
E) Bit underwhelmed; was ok but a classic?
F) Definitely enjoyed it, but again would I consider it a classic?

A. A! Oh God, A!

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/i...eWwtl5owSaGmSB
Title: Souvlaki
Artiste: Slowdive
Year: 1993
Chronological position: Second album
Previous experience of this artiste?: Not a thing
Why is this considered a classic? I really don't know. It was recommended to me. But I can see how it is. Mind you, I've never heard their other albums: are they all this good?

My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Great
One track in --- Great
Halfway through --- Great
Finished --- Great

Comments: I don't know why but I thought this would be something totally different, but from the very first chords I really loved it. A real wall of sound with laidback, I guess you'd say dreamy vocals, which only get better with track two when the female vocalist (Rachel Goswell, it says here) takes over and I just sort of float away and turn up the volume. Sublime! The appearance of Brian Eno on synth during Sing is a great bonus.

I see why Slowdive are being compared to My Bloody Valentine (Spotify "suggested" them to me on the basis of having listened to MBV, though the rec itself came from Duga I think?) : the same feedback and low vocals with an almost lazy quality is here, but Slowdive do it much better for my money. Of course that's only my opinion, but if MBV were like this I'd be more inclined to listen to them. So this is Shoegaze/Dreampop, is it? I like this. I like this a lot.

Favourite track(s): No point: I love everything here
Least favourite track(s): See above

Final impression --- Excellent album, excellent band and I need to hear more.

Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see
E) Bit underwhelmed; was ok but a classic?
F) Definitely enjoyed it, but again would I consider it a classic?

Another big A here!

Shoegaze is half noise pop, half dream pop. Between Slowdive and MBV, you get a good picture of the same genre.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...kMezzanine.jpg
Title: Mezzanine
Artiste: Massive Attack
Year: 1998
Chronological position: Third album
Previous experience of this artiste?: "Teardrop" and that's about it.
Why is this considered a classic? Stop asking me that question! I don't know...

My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Good
One track in --- Good
Halfway through --- Meh
Finished --- Meh verging on Bad

Comments: I know only one Massive Attack song --- Teardrop --- and I love that, but will that love prove to run through this album or will that song be the exception in a collection of tracks I won't enjoy at all? Time to find out. Oh wait! There is one other MA song I know, something called Keep my baby safe or something. It's not on this album. So why do I mention it? Well, I just do, is all. Never mind all that: on with the album. So Wiki tells me that Angel was used in "The West Wing" for the episode where Zoey was kidnapped, and I remember that being very dramatic and atmospheric. I don't to be honest remember the track but I do like it now I hear it. Don't like Risingson and of course I love Teardrop, who doesn't?

Next one's good but the low vocal is a little distracting, sitar-ish sound is nice. Lovely instrumental follows, then I'm not mad about the next one. Yeah, I doubt this band would be for me. Kind of a case of I like a few songs but would be unlikely to last through a whole album. Again. Like, I sort of like it, but I don't love it. You know? Seriously, by the time we get to the title track I'm bored and just doing other stuff while letting it play in the background. Bit of a fail really.



Favourite track(s): Angel, Teardrop, Inertia creeps, Exchange
Least favourite track(s): Risingson, Man next door and pretty much everything after that.

Final impression --- Didn't leave any real impression on me. Other than the tracks I knew and one or two others all sort of blended into a dirgey haze of low-key music and even lower-key vocals. Not my thing at all.

Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see
E) Bit underwhelmed; was ok but a classic?
F) Definitely enjoyed it, but again would I consider it a classic?

For the first time, I award this album a B.