The Album Review Club - Week #191 (page 1286) - Harlequin Dream - Boy & Bear

Gave it it's first listen of this review week and then had the overwhelming urge to play Foggy's Roan nomination so gave that a whirl which then put in the mood for something like DSOTM :-) Not sure what that says about either album or me. Might just alternate between the two for the week.

Second listen down and some of the things I've always disliked about it remain but other ones have obviously dissolved in the mist of time allowing me to enjoy the aspects I do like rather more.
 
Speak to me - not much to say really its a pretty harmless short intro no point in scoring it.

Breathe - dull 4/10 wouldn't turn it off, would be fine in a lift :-)

On the run - wouldn't even class it as a song 1/10

Time - Much better 8/10 good addition of female vocal bit of a classic

The great gig - not sure of the point really could have tagged it on the end of time but it would have been a pretty long boring outro if they had. 2/10

Money - now we are talking, great lyrics musically interesting and performed very well. Nice sax solo to boot. Could have cut most of the guitar solo and it would have been a 10.
Top top tune 9/10

Us and them - getting a bit repetitive now 2/10 if you've already made Time and the great gig why do this ?

Any colour you like - like a noodling jam session, is it even a song ? Not really, seems unfinished 2/10

Brain damage - stand alone its a pretty decent song, suffers from what has gone before but 5/10 on its own.

Eclipse - At this point i have finally accepted its not an album to rate individual songs because there really isn't individual songs. It just merges into one long entity. Money is the exception and gives hope that the album is going to go somewhere, a change of pace and vocal style perhaps. An increase in tempo something a tad livelier to peak the interest. It doesnt happen, not even a bit.

Tbh Money doesnt belong on the album, cut it and you have 35 odd minutes of the same thing . Just call it dark side of the moon, a 35 minute song for people with a low boredom threshold or more likely having a puff.

I get the same out of lying on the beach at night slightly pissed listening to the ocean and the wild life.

The alternative have time, money and brain damage on and actually come up with some other songs. Its actually a very lazy album. Astonished its rated so highly.

3/10
 
Coatigan said:
While their music (to my or chat gpt's knowledge) doesn't feature in the show, they do get a couple cultural reference mentions. At least 4 according to A.I.

Guess that qualifies them as Friends Music.
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All that new wave synth stuff Bimbo nominates in the Rock Evolution thread qualifies as Friend music. I must ask him what year he discovered decent guitar-based music :)
 
Wonder if by the end of this thread, a few of us might be able to use Music in Friends as a specialist subject on Mastermind. Possibly having never watched the show in some cases too!
 
RobMCFC said:
All that new wave synth stuff Bimbo nominates in the Rock Evolution thread qualifies as Friend music. I must ask him what year he discovered decent guitar-based music :)
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I have still not dipped my toe in that thread, so maintaining my blissful ignorance.
 
hilts said:
Speak to me - not much to say really its a pretty harmless short intro no point in scoring it.

Breathe - dull 4/10 wouldn't turn it off, would be fine in a lift :-)

On the run - wouldn't even class it as a song 1/10

Time - Much better 8/10 good addition of female vocal bit of a classic

The great gig - not sure of the point really could have tagged it on the end of time but it would have been a pretty long boring outro if they had. 2/10

Money - now we are talking, great lyrics musically interesting and performed very well. Nice sax solo to boot. Could have cut most of the guitar solo and it would have been a 10.
Top top tune 9/10

Us and them - getting a bit repetitive now 2/10 if you've already made Time and the great gig why do this ?

Any colour you like - like a noodling jam session, is it even a song ? Not really, seems unfinished 2/10

Brain damage - stand alone its a pretty decent song, suffers from what has gone before but 5/10 on its own.

Eclipse - At this point i have finally accepted its not an album to rate individual songs because there really isn't individual songs. It just merges into one long entity. Money is the exception and gives hope that the album is going to go somewhere, a change of pace and vocal style perhaps. An increase in tempo something a tad livelier to peak the interest. It doesnt happen, not even a bit.

Tbh Money doesnt belong on the album, cut it and you have 35 odd minutes of the same thing . Just call it dark side of the moon, a 35 minute song for people with a low boredom threshold or more likely having a puff.

I get the same out of lying on the beach at night slightly pissed listening to the ocean and the wild life.

The alternative have time, money and brain damage on and actually come up with some other songs. Its actually a very lazy album. Astonished its rated so highly.

3/10
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Would not take great issue with very much of that.

Too much saxophone, not a fan of the warbling Claire Torry, some meh songs and generally could never see what the hype was with it. Even Money is just ‘ok’ for me. I’ve got the A Collection Of Great Dance Songs compilation album, and the re-recorded version on there does have a bit more oomph tbf.
Has an iconic cover I suppose.

Meddle, WYWH, Animals, The Wall, The Final Cut. All albums I would prefer to listen to ahead of this one.
 
I listened last night. It is just so familiar. Like a pair of comfy slippers, I cannot for the life of me raise any emotion about them at all. Of course @hilts is correct, its not a collection of songs and cannot be judged as such. Its a concept album, a whole piece of music. I think if the mood was right; night time, mellow, a very good glass of wine or malt, a very good hifi, low lights I might enjoy a listen maybe once a year and enjoy the production, the familiar instrumentation, some of the female vocals, one or two of the solos but I suspect I would very quickly want to listen to something more interesting - I ended up listening to Joanna Newsome last night and have to say enjoyed Ys so much more. Of course, I don't have the emotional attachment that @GornikDaze has to the music albeit it reminds me of parties and nights hanging out with friends. I know many rate this album as one of the greatest ever made and Floyd the greatest band ever. I just have never been one of them. I cannot give it any more than a 7 and that reflects more that it leaves me cold and emotionless rather than the obvious skill in its creation.
 
hilts said:
Speak to me - not much to say really its a pretty harmless short intro no point in scoring it.

Breathe - dull 4/10 wouldn't turn it off, would be fine in a lift :-)

On the run - wouldn't even class it as a song 1/10

Time - Much better 8/10 good addition of female vocal bit of a classic

The great gig - not sure of the point really could have tagged it on the end of time but it would have been a pretty long boring outro if they had. 2/10

Money - now we are talking, great lyrics musically interesting and performed very well. Nice sax solo to boot. Could have cut most of the guitar solo and it would have been a 10.
Top top tune 9/10

Us and them - getting a bit repetitive now 2/10 if you've already made Time and the great gig why do this ?

Any colour you like - like a noodling jam session, is it even a song ? Not really, seems unfinished 2/10

Brain damage - stand alone its a pretty decent song, suffers from what has gone before but 5/10 on its own.

Eclipse - At this point i have finally accepted its not an album to rate individual songs because there really isn't individual songs. It just merges into one long entity. Money is the exception and gives hope that the album is going to go somewhere, a change of pace and vocal style perhaps. An increase in tempo something a tad livelier to peak the interest. It doesnt happen, not even a bit.

Tbh Money doesnt belong on the album, cut it and you have 35 odd minutes of the same thing . Just call it dark side of the moon, a 35 minute song for people with a low boredom threshold or more likely having a puff.

I get the same out of lying on the beach at night slightly pissed listening to the ocean and the wild life.

The alternative have time, money and brain damage on and actually come up with some other songs. Its actually a very lazy album. Astonished its rated so highly.

3/10
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Sums up a lot of my feelings with the tracks I do not like.
That great gig in the sky is as bad as it gets though.
Just a noise of shite.You were being far too generous giving it a 2.
Thinking back the first time I had heard this album was 2nd year at high school where a music teacher put it on regularly.
Good ending though he also put on a Billy Connolly album featuring a song called McGinty.
The whole class loved the Billy Connolly album and asked for that to get played more often.
So the teacher also introduced me to Billy Connolly.
An artist who i regard as the best in the business he is in.
 
I love Pink Floyd, but is DSOTM really the greatest album ever made? (Noone will ever win that argument anyway)....i dont even think its Pink Floyd's greatest album.

I reckon most say its the best as we seem to have been condition to say so. Everyone (albeit those who arent substantial Floyd fans) will say its amazing...because it is. However, Animals or Wish You Were Here are significantly better......id almost stretch it and say i prefer the Wall!
 
I've given it a listen. With headphones. The best way to listen to a PF album in my opinion.

It's an album and as such should be listened in one go. It's beautifully crafted and sounds amazing but DSOTM is a very stop/ start album. There's moments that pull you out of your smooth listening experience, yes those bloody clocks but not the woman stubbing her toe, before settling down again. I like the album.

But...

My trouble is with what was to come. The next Pink Floyd offering which in my mind has loads more going for it. Better atmosphere, better songs and better solos. WYWH is, in my opinion, about as good as an album can get. And because of this I can only score Dark Side a measly 7.
 
AlexWilliamsGloves said:
I love Pink Floyd, but is DSOTM really the greatest album ever made? (Noone will ever win that argument anyway)....i dont even think its Pink Floyd's greatest album.

I reckon most say its the best as we seem to have been condition to say so. Everyone (albeit those who arent substantial Floyd fans) will say its amazing...because it is. However, Animals or Wish You Were Here are significantly better......id almost stretch it and say i prefer the Wall!
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Meddle is my favourite PF album, apart from the football crowd bit, but DSOTM was my first introduction to them so I have a special affection for it.

But, I rarely listen to it these days. I think it’s popular because it’s less niche than their earlier albums and lots of people can say they’re Floyd fans without needing to listen to the more difficult stuff. Plus the album art makes a good t-shirt.

A prog rock or experimental rock album needs the difficult bits, and this doesn’t have enough for my liking. Still some great songs on there such as “Us and Them” and “Time”.

I’ll give it 8 out of 10.
 
Citizen of Legoland said:
Meddle is my favourite PF album, apart from the football crowd bit, but DSOTM was my first introduction to them so I have a special affection for it.

But, I rarely listen to it these days. I think it’s popular because it’s less niche than their earlier albums and lots of people can say they’re Floyd fans without needing to listen to the more difficult stuff. Plus the album art makes a good t-shirt.

A prog rock or experimental rock album needs the difficult bits, and this doesn’t have enough for my liking. Still some great songs on there such as “Us and Them” and “Time”.

I’ll give it 8 out of 10.
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Summer of 68 is a brilliant track :-)
 
The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd

The Dark Side of the Moon is a good album, but there are enough annoyances in there that stop me from giving it very high marks.

Let’s start with the positives: the three-note/chord that first appears in “Breath (In the Air)” and subsequently throughout the album is one of those simple yet powerful sounds. That track, plus “Time”, “Money”, “Us and Them” and the closing pair of “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse” are all excellent. In fact for a concept album where the tracks bleed into one another, it’s perhaps surprising that you can extract “Time” and “Money” and appreciate them just as much in the standalone format.

On the negative side you have “Speak to Me”, a pointless track, “On the Run” which sounds like the entrance mood music to a theme park ride, the clocks at the start of “Time” which don’t spoil it but would be better off jettisoned and worst of all the talking which gets in the way of the music on a number of tracks.

As for “The Great Gig in the Sky”, didn’t somebody say above that David Gilmour felt that it wasn’t quite right and needed some vocals? Well, he was definitely wrong because Richard Wright’s chords are superb and I could quite happily have listened to it vocal-free. I’ll take @mrbelfry ‘s “stubbed toe” (very well observed by the way) and raise it to a “chimp in a hot bath”.

It is difficult reviewing an album like The Dark Side of the Moon more than 50 years after its release. Maybe in 1973, listeners thought that weird effects and people talking over the music was cool, but it most definitely isn’t. Having said that, some of that music is very good and I enjoyed my re-listen this week. I agree with plenty of others when they say that Wish You Were Here is a better album, and all things considered, 7/10 feels right. Excellent nomination @GornikDaze, and I’m enjoying reading people’s thoughts on this classic album.
 
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