#99 – There’s a Riot Goin’ On (Sly & The Family Stone)

 

I’ve been sitting on this album for months. Why!? I don’t know. It’s cool, it’s groovy, and I can hear the depth of this album, complete with overdubbing and the imperfections of analog recordings. Honestly, it’s great. But this has been a tough album for me to get my head into.

“There’s A Riot Goin’ On” is an aptly named album, echoing the turmoil that Sly Stone and his family and band were going through at the time, including heavily increased drug use. This album has some serious funk happening, but its also got a strange sense of isolation to it. Tracks like “Family Affair” are cohesive, well-produced, and have a beautiful depth of sound and clarity to them, but there is no doubting the undertones of loneliness. The sounds are complete, but they are separated from one another, which, as I discovered, is due in part to the fact that this album was primarily recorded by Sly, alone in the studio, using overdubbing.

So track by track it’s kick ass and showcases Sly’s funk vocals, backed by the smooth and mellow synths and guitar fills. “Smilin’” is a great example of these sounds, and the easiness of some of the tracks. The entire album is hailed as a critically acclaimed (and criticized) recording for its time, but for me, there is a lack of momentum across the entire album. I really don’t want to finish listening to most of the tracks on the album (with the exception of a few). At this point, I try to remember to contextualize this album and remember to keep in mind that this is a follow up to a much more psychedelic sound on previous albums, so the darkness that fuels the funk on “There’s A Riot Goin’ On” is a very different underlying energy. It still captures elements of the psychedelic 60s but serves as a much bolder transition into a new sound for Sly and The Family Stone.

I suppose that’s one of the main reasons that this album is number 99 on the Rolling Stone list. And I can respect that. I just don’t think this is the kind of music I want to listen to very often. So with that, onwards to number 98…(and I feel good to leave this album behind)…

#100 – In The Wee Small Hours (Frank Sinatra)

Usually regarded as one of Frank Sinatra’s best recordings, In The Wee Small Hours captures the feeling of time slowing down, cocooning the crooner in a melancholy state – a state which is perfectly freeze-framed on the LP cover. Sinatra is legendary, as we all know, but my experience listening to this album was contrary to what I expected. Most of the Sinatra tunes I know tend to be more upbeat and jovial. And if you know anything about this album already, you know that it isn’t exactly jovial!

The downfall of Sinatra’s controversial relationship with his second wife, Ava Gardner, seems to have inspired this April 1955. Although Sinatra didn’t write the songs on the album, its still considered to be one of the first “concept” albums, because it has such similar themes of melancholy, late-night heartbreak. Its also one of Sinatra’s top selling albums, originally released in a 2-disc, 10 inch LP, as well as a single 12 inch LP. According to Wikipedia, by 2002, In The Wee Small Hours sold over 500 000 units and was certified as a Gold release.

What I love about In The Wee Small Hours is the timelessness of recordings. Sinatra’s voice has spanned almost 50 years of recordings and been played everywhere, in every movie, in every restaurant, in every home. The beautiful warmth and easy intensity of his vocal stylings are matched by studio artists who accompany him with equal warmth. I think this album is one to add to a list of LPs to pick up, because listening to a vinyl recording of this, as opposed to digital, would be fantastic. It would be even smoother, even warmer, and even more melancholy as a result.

I’m not sure what else to say about this album, so maybe I should just leave it here. To send off though, I decided to plug in a nice video in here of one of my new favourite tunes from this album, “I’ll Be Around”. There is a subtle difference in this track that distinguishes it from others on the album. There is definitely a difference in the instrumental track, although I can’t make out what it is, but Sinatra’s voice has less push and more of a sense of calm at the beginning of this track. It caught my attention, and now I love the subtle difference. Its refreshing.

Track Listing

Side One

1. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
2. Mood Indigo
3. Glad To Be Unhappy
4. I Get Along Without You Very Well
5. Deep In A Dream
6. I See Your Face Before Me
7. Can’t We Be Friends?
8. When Your Lover Has Gone

Side Two

1. What Is This Thing Called Love
2. Last Night When We Were Young
3. I’ll Be Around
4. Ill Wind
5. It Never Entered My Mind
6. Dancing On The Ceiling
7. I’ll Never Be The Same
8. This Love Of Mine

Enjoy this album! And guess what! We’re officially at the 100 mark now. Next up, number 99…

#101 – Fresh Cream (Cream)

Okay, it’s been way too long since I’ve posted anything. Truthfully, I’ve listened to this album, Fresh Cream, a few times, but didn’t know what to write about it. And it’s definitely grown on me, as much of the music I’ve listened to does after a while.

So yes, Cream. This album was released in January 1967, although the UK version was released one month prior. It included one track that the US version does not. The US version includes the single, “I Feel Free”, where the UK version includes “Spoonful” instead. Just prior to the release of the UK album, “I Feel Free” was released as a single. For Cream, this album came as their debut record so it makes sense that it did well – it was released by a new supergroup of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.

To me, the album is good, but not phenomenal. Yet, it’s rated higher than Disraeli Gears on the list of the greatest albums. “I Feel Free”, “Four Until Late” and “Toad” are my favorites tracks on the album. The other tracks seem a bit lack luster to me. I feel like the second side of the LP release is where the real magic starts to happen. It’s almost like the first half of the LP was a warm up until you flip the record over and get to hear the real juicy stuff on side two. And on the second side of the LP you really get a sense of diversity on the album. Ranging from the airy amp up anthem, “I Feel Free”, which starts off the entire album, to the country feeling in “Four Until Late”, to the more classic rock sound in “Toad”…this album definitely delivers a sense of diversity by the end.

Many of the tracks I really enjoy, but for some reason as an album, it doesn’t excite me. That said, it is an iconic album in history, and it’s driven by Eric Clapton’s incredible guitar and vocals. And something else cool about the release is that it was officially released in both stereo and mono recordings for LP. I would love to get my hands on one of those LPS and give it a good listen. Classic rock was made with analog sound and personally, I think it would sound even better with the warm and depth of that mode of sound, as opposed to mp3 or CD.

Anyway, I’m happy to listen to Cream, and I really dig Clapton, but this album isn’t one of my favorites and I’m okay with that.

Track Listing (US Release)
Side One
1. I Feel Free
2. N.S.U.
3. Sleepy Time Time
4. Dreaming
5. Sweet Wine

Side Two
1. Cat’s Squirrel
2. Four Until Late
3. Rollin’ and Tumblin’
4. I’m So Glad
5. Toad

#102 – Giant Steps (John Coltrane)

I struggled with this album, and I’ve been listening to it off and on for a few weeks now. Finally, I just decided to write about it.

Giant Steps is considered to be a jazz standard and is especially well known for being difficult to improvise over the chord progressions of the same name. Coltrane released this album in January 1960 and was well known for improvising songs on recordings.  My understanding is that “Giant Steps” is no different. In fact, according to some of my research online, there are other cuts from the recording sessions that you can hear the other musicians struggling to improvise with Coltrane’s speed and progression.

As an album, I find Giant Steps to be very similar in tonality. I’m not sure if its just my lack of education in this style of jazz, but for me, it has a similar sound and feeling throughout much of the album. And that is, by no means, my attempt at dismissing the album – its completely impressive to listen to someone play sax that fast and with such unique chord changes.

Now, I love listening to the title track on the album. I love the smoothness of the intro and outro. The intro provides a base from which the entire track expands into a seemingly chaotic but also precise expression. And then I love that the whole song gets wrapped up as he revisits the opening chord progressions during the outro. To me, Coltrane’s saxophone takes on a different sound than any other jazz music I’ve really heard. The harmonies and intervals between notes is unique. The piano underscoring provides a solid and familiar sound to tie the sax harmonies to, but it is really original compared to the other jazz I’ve listened to.

Honestly though, I don’t know what else to say about this album. Clearly, Coltrane is incredibly talented and demonstrates skill and a musical sense that is unique from other musicians at the time. Still, I’d love to hear your thoughts about this album, and about Coltrane’s career. His name is known, even if someone doesn’t recognize his music. That’s impressive!

I will gladly listen to his album now, and I am starting to enjoy it more and more, especially a few tracks. Still, I can’t listen to this style of jazz non-stop. It can get a bit monotonous to me.

Track Listing

Side One

1. Giant Steps
2. Cousin Mary
3. Countdown
4. Spiral

Side Two

1. Syeeda’s Song Fute
2. Naima
3. Mr. P.C.

#103 – Sweet Baby James (James Taylor)

Released in February1970

In my home town, James Taylor was played (a lot, I should add) on the Easy Rock station. As a result, the music of James Taylor has always seemed a bit stiff to me. After listening to Sweet Baby James a few more times, and just sitting with it a bit and trying to understand it a bit more, it still felt a bit stagnant to me. What was I missing about this album?

I listened to it a few more times and started doing some reading, trying to gain a better understanding of the context within which this album was released. And that’s when I started to understand this album and its success. In a time dominated by music from The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, the stripped down sound of James Taylor probably felt like a breath of fresh air. It is totally breezy! Its simple and has space in every track that really lets you hear Taylor’s beautifully simplistic guitar and lyrical imagery.

In “Oh, Susannah” you can practically hear the wind rustling between notes.  ”Sunny Skies” almost feels like it could be the opening of a 70s-version of the TV show ‘Friends”. Its got such an easy, upbeat feel to it. Most of the tracks on this album have a similar musical structure to them – and I don’t mean that in terms of the lyrical structure, I mean that in terms of the overall sound. The instrumentation and lyrics work together in a similar fashion for most of the tracks on this song. That said, “Steamroller” was a total shock to me when I heard it on the album. Its a bluesy-jazz tune with more vocal variations in one track than you can hear on the entire rest of the album. And I loved it! I was impressed that James Taylor, who I thought was just a nice, quiet man singing honestly about his troubles and his experiences, could put so much intensity into his vocals (a great example is when he sings “I’m a napalm bomb for ya baby”).

“Fire and Rain” is a song that I feel like everybody knows, and again, when I really started to listen to this song, I started to understand it on a much deeper level. Its immensely personal, referring to the loss of a friend (Suzanne) who committed suicide, as well as referencing his own personal struggles with depression and drug addiction. He also sings “sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground”, which is a mention of his work with The Flying Machine, which was a band that Taylor pursued a career with prior to his solo success with Peter Asher, Paul McCartney and Apple Records. Once I began to see the depth of this song, and recognize the personal stories that Taylor worked into his songs, his music became so much more meaningful to me.

To think that Sweet Baby James was released in 1970 in the midst of the pyschedelic rock era is amazing to me.  I still won’t say that its one of my favourites, but I do feel like I understand its musical significance in a very different way than I did before I decided to write about it. So that’s great news! Sweet Baby James has a totally different sound and honesty than any other music I’ve heard from the late 60s and early 70s.

#104 – Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (Ray Charles)

I haven’t written an entry for two weeks now, and its been mostly because I haven’t been sure what to do with this album. I’ve listened to it start to finish a few times, and was a little caught off guard. I love Ray Charles and specifically, my friend helped me clarify that I love the live music I’ve heard from Ray Charles. But something shocked me when I listened to this album. It wasn’t as soulful and expressive as I expected. At least, not on the first listen.

When I first listened to Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, I thought it sounded like Ray Charles was singing over the background tracks of really white music. The precision and stiffness of the choral background tracks, and the string arrangements…it just didn’t seem to add up for me. But I listened to this album a few more times, and finally, decided to do some reading, and discovered the songs from this album were selected from about 250 country and western songs that one of Ray’s producers sought out for him. He selected the final tracks on the album, but wanted to make his own versions of these tracks. Ray played piano in a hill-billy band when he was young, and so he was heavily influenced by country music in his early days. He also said that country and western music is just like blues and jazz, and that the lyrics are not smoothed out  the same way that other music might be – they are honest, they are blunt, they say it like it is. And I can definitely say I agree with this. Most country songs I’m familiar aren’t incredibly poetic, rather they tell a story in clear and plain English and that story is what people connect to. My understanding of this album is that Ray believed the same thing was true of Blues, and as a result, he fused the two genres by taking country and western songs and making his own R&B, blues, and jazz versions of them.

And so, with this context in mind, I re-listened to the album and discovered a whole new sound and an entirely new experience. Suddenly, this album has so much more weight as an artistic expression and also as a piece of musical and social history. Ray combines the two genres with ease and every song sounds like his own.  Before, I thought Ray was not as soulful and expressive as other recordings I’ve heard, but now that I listen with a new perspective I feel like he kind of tricked me. Like this album was so much smarter than I imagined it to be when I first listened. He is soulful and soft and honest on tracks like “It Makes No Difference Now”, and with the slow and easy horns and drums on this track, it feels like its straight from Ray and nobody else, like there never was version of this song before this album was released. Some of my personal favourites are “Hey, Good Lookin’” from the original release, and “Here We Go Again”, which was on the 1988 re-release of the album, possibly because I feel like they both capture the deep, soulful vocals that so many of us know  and love about Ray Charles. I never knew this was a country cover until I was researching this album, but now that I do, it seems completely obvious that the main vocal line has country influences.

So yes, Charles was successful at combining Country and Western music with Blues and Jazz, two genres which he already said were so similar. What’s even more exciting about this album is that it was one of the best selling albums by a black recording artist at the time. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music was released in April of 1962, in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The combining of genres on this album was symbolic of the movement to move past racism and prejudices. The recording significantly increased the amount of white listeners that Ray had, without losing his established listener base, which was mostly black. This album was a unification of American music and of American society, and as a result, it is incredibly significant in music history.

I have to admit, I was getting annoyed over the last two weeks, thinking about this album, wondering what I really had to say about it. Now I’ve been pleasantly surprised, and I actually think this has been one of the most transformative listening experiences for me so far, because my opinion and my view of the album changed so much from the first time I listened to it, until now. I’m really thrilled that I had such a fascinating learning experience from listening to this album. That’s what this project is all about.

Enjoy and please let me know your thoughts, as well.

Track Listing

Side One

1. Bye Bye Love
2. You Don’t Know Me
3. Half as Much
4. I Love You So Much It Hurts
5. Just a Little Lovin’ (Will Go a Long Way)
6. Born to Lose

Side Two

1. Worried Mind
2. It Makes No Difference Now
3. You Win Again
4. Careless Love
5. I Can’t Stop Loving You
6. Hey, Good Lookin’

#105 – Rocket to Russia (Ramones)

Cover of Rocket to Russia (released on November 4, 1977)

Listening to Rocket to Russia was my first experience with the Ramones. They are distinctly different from anything I’ve listened to so far on my list.

I hear the Ramones as a Beach Boys influenced punk-rock musicians. Aside from the surfing references,  you can hear similarities in the simple harmonies and melodies that the Ramones bust out on ”Rockaway Beach” and “I Can’t Give You Anything”. There is definitely a sense of rebellion on this album (which in my own opinion, tends to go hand in hand with punk-rock). Tracks like “I Don’t Care” capture that rebellious spirit with a little more of a hard-rock sound.

Without doing too much research on this, its clear that the Ramones are known for their influence on what was becoming slightly monotonous pop music in 1977. In other words, they tried to do something a little different after so many people emulating the typical successful rock and pop styles of bands like The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Rocket to Russia is a simple but energetic American-punk rock album that is definitely worth a listen. I don’t really want to write more about it, not because I don’t like the album, but just because I feel like I can see and hear the uniqueness of this album and I am ready to move on to something a little different! I hope you enjoy this one, though!

#106 – Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964 (Sam Cooke)

A few years ago “You Send Me” and “Cupid” sung by Sam Cooke and I immediately loved his soulful and simple style. It was really great to see that this album was on the Top 500 list by Rolling Stone. Its a totally different style than anything on the list so far, but if you’ve listened to Sam Cooke, you know that he is truly a legend, like the album name suggests.

Cooke’s easy, smooth and soulful sound is flawless. There is an ease to the sound of this album that is unique to Sam Cooke. Of course, tracks like “You Send Me”, which was later sung by Aretha Franklin, and “Twistin’ The Night Away”, which Rod Stewart later performed, are iconic and now, timeless.

Most of the tracks are 50s-style love songs, which are all pretty sweet, romantic, and innocent. “Wonderful World” and “You Were Made For Me” are great examples of this: “As sure as there are stars above / You were made for me”. I mean come on, this kind of love song isn’t written anymore! The music of Sam Cooke has timeless themes and sentiments, but most artists nowadays don’t articulate themselves the way Sam Cooke does…which makes sense, because the music of Cook is from 50 years ago!

Sam Cooke had 29 Top 40 hits in only seven years, from 1957 to 1964.  That’s a pretty huge achievement. Not only that, Cooke was significant because he is one of the first black performers of the time  to take care of the business side of his career, along with the performance side.

If  you want some quintessential Sam Cooke, check out Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964. Its captures Cooke’s greatest hits before his controversial death in 1964. To me, this album is a 27-song time capsule that transports me to the 50s when I listen. And I love it.

#107 – Hunky Dory (David Bowie)

Hunky Dory is the fourth studio album from David Bowie, released in December of 1971. As much as I love some of Bowie’s stuff, this is the first album that I’ve actually listened to and I feel like it was a full theatrical experience. It has a very showy feel to it but it is so easy and fun to listen to.

Starting with “Changes”, which is an anthem for Bowie’s own re-invention and continually developing style, the album is a start-to-finish success. It reminds me of the combination of Queen, Elton John and The Beatles…that is, if I were to compare Bowie to other artists. There is a very explorative feeling to this album. Its almost like Bowie wants to take us all on an adventure, and when the album starts, its just the vehicle warming up to take us on a fast-paced, dynamic, wild ride through the mind and feelings of Mr. David Bowie.

The reason I haven’t posted about this album for so long is because I feel like I really don’t know how to write about this album and do it justice. Even after reading about Bowie, I feel like I don’t know that much about him, but I feel like there is a really focused sense of artistic and personal expression on this album. So part of me was thinking “Gosh, what do I even do with this?”.  But I think that’s part of this experience for me, is listening to these records and being honest with my reactions.

I’m listening to the album right now as I’m writing this, and “Kooks” just came on.  I feel like this song captures the overall spirit of Hunky Dory. It’s upbeat, and a bit hokey – sounds a lot like a showtune to me. But that’s just it, I think that the idea of a show or facade echoes is just a guise, and acts as a vehicle to share some of Bowie’s deeper thoughts about how the world works, which he sings about in “Quicksand”. He seems to be confused by religions and “bullshit faith”, among other things, and so his thoughts are like quicksand, that he is sinking into. Much deeper than Hunky Dory sounds! So although Hunky Dory is a name that evokes the idea of happiness, the album is much deeper!

Bowie amps up the beat again with “Fill Your Heart”, which is a perfect contrasting song to follow Bowie’s over-confused thoughts in “Quicksand”. And its pretty clear, he literally suggests filling your heart with love because it will “clean your mind and make you free”. The best, right?

There are also two shoutouts to Andy Warhol and Bob Dylan on the album via the tracks containing their names. In particular, what I loved about “Song for Bob Dylan” is that Bowie emulates Dylan’s vocal patterns and style in parts of the song, particularly the beginning, as he sings “Here it is, Robert Zimmerman”. Doesn’t that sound like a melody Dylan would sing?

I love the diversity of this album. I’ve been listening to it for weeks and I still feel like there is so much that I haven’t given enough thought or attention to, but I’m ready to move to the next album, so I’m going to leave Hunky Dory alone for now.

If you haven’t listened to any Bowie, this is a GREAT album and I am so happy to have listened to it! I think there is another Bowie album on this list, so I look forward to working through that soon!

I want to hear your thoughts about this album. I know some of you out there love David Bowie, and if so, I want to hear more! What do you think about this album?

#108 – Aftermath (The Rolling Stones)

The British version of Aftermath was release in 1966 by Decca records, followed by the U.S. version. I listened to the U.S. version of the album, since that is what is listed on the Rolling Stone list of Top 500 Albums of All Time.

It was a bit of a strange experience for me listening to this album, because I listened to it with all the general knowledge of the Stones being a great rock band. So I approached it from a different, and I must admit, biased mindset. It was interesting for me though because at first, I didn’t love it. My first thoughts, admittedly, were a bit of disappointment. These songs seemed so simple to me, but not in an exciting and powerful way. I had more of a feeling of “That’s it?”, and thinking the songs sounded more amateur than I expected (I feel like I’m saying musical blasphemy here…).

The more I played the album start to finish, and really listened to it (as opposed to putting it on in the background), the more I began to like it. Even as I’m writing this, its playing and I’m realizing how some of the songs I am starting to love more and more. Right now, “Under My Thumb” is playing, and I just love the marimba riff in the background that has this mellowed out tonal quality that also lightly softens the sound of the song.

From my understanding, this album was notable at the time of release because of the musical diversity and experimentation. The marimbas on “Under My Thumb” are a great example, however you can still hear the rock-blues base that the Rolling Stones built on. It was also the first album completely written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, which is pretty huge.

As a side note, I’m listening to this album right now wishing I had a vinyl copy and a record player here, because I feel like this album would be seriously phenomenal on vinyl.

The by the fourth or fifth song on this album, I began to recognize that the songs have this loose pattern of one catchy lines that’s followed by the songs main riff (as in “Doncha Bother Me”). I guess that kind of corresponds with the bluesy inspirations.

I also felt like I recognized tracks on this album, even though I can confidently say that I’ve never played it before (at least, not knowingly). I instantly recognized “Paint It Black” and the opening riff to the song, and the album, which immediately, I thought “Oh yeah, I know this…” The first side of the album was more familiar to me, although songs like “High And Dry” and “I Am Waiting” sounded familiar too. Actually, I really love the ho-hum, drifting, calm, repetitiveness of “I Am Waiting”, and how it really brings up those feelings of calm anticipation you experience when you wait for…anything!

I’m happy to finally have listened to this album – my first second full Rolling Stones album. So now, tell me…what memories do you have of this album? What does it remind you of?

Track Listing

Side One

1. Paint It Black
2. Stupid Girl
3. Lady Jane
4. Under My Thumb
5. Doncha Bother Me
6. Think

Side Two

1. Flight 505
2. High And Dry
3. It’s Not Easy
4. I Am Waiting
5. Going Home