Crumbs, I owe a few reviews, work has been a more than full time occupation for around a month but this being the first weekend in several I've not felt the need to log on to my work computer there is finally a bit of breathing space. Mind you when I saw that Aerosmith were up this week I considered prolonging the work excuse for another week but decided that wouldn't be right and I really should get Back in the Saddle of which Apple Music tells me few album opening songs are more formidable... well more of that later I'm sure.
I scored the Doves a 7 but to be honest that was a slightly emotional score and based on the potential for it to seep into my consciousness with repeated playings. Which it finally has and could well have been an 8 in normal circumstances.
There was the usual discussion about all indie bands sounding the same, I have some sympathy for that up to a point. My wife likes to have Radio X on in the car and it's not unusual for a song to be playing and we're guessing which indie band it is, running through our usual suspects only to find at the end it's someone completely different. I don't think the Doves fit into that generic sound at all and there are plenty of indie bands who don't but then one man's meat...
Ironically Rob was up next with what could have been another generic American singer songwriter of which he is so enamoured and of which we've had plenty on this thread. All the same? Depends who is listening. I honestly didn't have time to listen much to Bruce Hornsby but when he wasn't boogie woogieing it up on the piano I didn't find much to differentiate him from a lot of others of that ilk. I'm intrigued by him though as he appears to be having some sort of career renaissance with his latest album, under the name BrhyM getting a good review in this month's Uncut and the heading "NYC chamber ensemble yMusic complete Bruce Hornsby's transformation into avant-pop savant".
A few months ago, or possibly longer, another Uncut review of a Hornsby album had me giving him a listen but it didn't stick. Looks like that's just The Way It Is, a mightily fine song in itself though which will remain on my playlist of one hit wonders to be occasionally brought up on shuffle when I'm lacking something specific to listen to.
High hopes for the Midnight but again too few listens to allow it to get any sort of foothold. This and the Bruce Hornsby weren't helped by their length when time was at a premium.
The Rolling Stones came along just as the mist started clearing a touch work wise and were helped by the familiarity of more of the songs than I expected and a more manageable length. Ultimately though it didn't do much to shift my impression of them as being somewhat ordinary. Miss You and Beast of Burden were decent enough but I'm in the Jagger is a pretty poor vocalist camp, listening to Keith sing though confirmed why they hadn't bombed Mick out of the band early doors. The country pastiche was Ok first time but if I'm going to have one country pastiche in my playlist it's going to be Labelled with Love every time.
I would have scored the Stones a 6 (same for the Midnight and Hornsby too probably, in fact I might actually have done that, I can't remember). A comment about Shattered, which a couple of reviewers lauded. First time I listened to that it had filler written all over it and then I realised it was the albums closer. Repeated listens of that didn't change my view that it is a pretty rank song, sorry Stones fans. Not that they need my approval, there is obviously something very enduring about them.
And so to Aerosmith and the conversation about all bands and artists from a certain genre sounding alike. I may be getting my genres mixed up but I can listen to the Blue Oyster Cult and UFO many years ago and think they had a point of difference but first impressions, and they are only first impressions, of this was, well it sounds like what I expect it to sound like.
I had it on in the car and there was just time for Apple to randomly throw one song at me before my journey ended. Sympathy for the Devil. In answer to
@BlueHammer85 question, it's still no...
